Disclaimer: I do not own "Lilo & Stitch" or any of the characters therein.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR:
LILO AND LE'KRUUNE
She lay in utter silence and darkness, the walls of her prison cold and uncaring to her touch. Cold. Colder than ice, colder than loneliness, a stainless steel prison of unfathomable dimension. Beyond the screaming silence, beyond the glaring darkness, it was the burning coldness that she hated the most about this place. It was the last thing she remembered before falling asleep, and the first thing to greet her upon awakening. Absolute zero. In the haze of the passing hours, several specters came to pay her a visit in her delirium; many monstrous entities for which her fading mind could form no description or explanation. She did not wonder about these apparitions, for the memory of them vanished as quickly as the visitors themselves. She did not even feel the calloused fingers of the physician as he examined her, so numb was she from the cold. No longer bothering with the struggle, Lilo ceased her cry and sighed heavily into the impenetrable blackness, surrendering herself to the deepest regions of sleep, her mind and heart sinking like a stone into an icy abyss.
* * * *
Within an hour after being abducted, the little human-creature had begun to show symptoms of illness; symptoms, the physician explained, which suggested some sort of shock in reaction to her new environment. Since next to nothing was known about her species, the physician could guarantee little hope for her survival. This was all Le'Kruune had needed to hear to rush down to Quarantine to inspect the youngling alien for himself. When he arrived, he dismissed the guards and entered the chamber alone and unarmed. Inside the large, unfurnished room, an ancient vent made a raspy whisper from the ceiling as stale, contaminated air was filtered out and replaced with purified air. The sudden rush of cold, clean air caused Lilo to shiver in the far corner where she lay curled up on the stainless steel floor. Le'Kruune spotted her immediately and walked slowly toward her, his hooves remarkably silent against the steel. Bending over, he rested a claw on the little girl's head, then removed it, anticipating a response. When she didn't stir, he reached down and, with the utmost care, lifted her up into his arms.
If any of his other prisoners had been there to see, they would have stared disbelieving as Le'Kruune, ruthless dictator, rapist, murderer, and monster, tenderly held and cradled an ailing human child, with all the apparent concern of a devout father. For countless long moments he continued to hold her, the abysmal black holes of his eyes regarding her with feelings as alien to him as the girl herself. As she moaned in her sleep and snuggled, unaware, against his chest, Le'Kruune could not help but let a small smile cross his scarred face. Such a perfect specimen, he thought to himself. Such a beautiful child…
* * * *
FLASHBACK:
It was too soon. Way too soon. With nearly four weeks left to go, there had to be a problem. Babies born this prematurely rarely survived. This one HAD to. It was her first, and, at her present age and condition, likely to be her last. She was strong, therefore the baby had to be strong also. It could survive; it WOULD. She knew it would, for she herself had been born prematurely. Coming from a long line of survivors, of battle-hardened warriors, it would not be acceptable in the least for this baby to die. No. It wasn't going to happen. She would see this baby safely into the universe, or die trying. When the last contraction came, something wrenched violently inside her, tearing itself free from the prison within. Clamping her jaws firmly shut, she refused to scream. She had known pain as bad as this before. She could handle it. In the Gyu -Tek - Shi'il wars she had been shot eight times, impaled on steel rods, burned, and nearly eviscerated, and she had overcome all that and gone home a decorated war heroine. Yet none of that could have prepared her for the agony of childbirth.
Now, as the baby's head crowned, ZaiLeia Miik refused to admit defeat. She had been through too much to let another fragile life slip through her fingers. Of all those whom she had served and protected throughout her life, this child would be the single most important one of all. There was a deadly silence as the baby slipped out of her body and into the obstetrician's hands, shattered in a glorious instant as it let out its first shrill cry announcing its arrival. ZaiLeia let out an enormous sigh of relief as the doctor approached her with her newborn wrapped in a small white blanket.
"Congratulations, your highness. It's a girl."
Her heart melted as the tiny bundle was placed in her anxiously awaiting arms.
"She's so beautiful," a nearby orderly said breathlessly.
"Yes," ZaiLeia said hoarsely, a proud smile on her pale face. "I can even see a little of her father in her," she added, regarding her coloring. The infant's skin was a warm lavender with bright orange markings on her head and limbs, and light, silvery blue eyes the same as her mother's.
As if on cue, the door to the delivery room burst open and Horsthar Le'Kruune skidded to a halt at the foot of the bed. Breathing heavily, he made no attempt to regain his composure as he stared at ZaiLeia and the baby. Glaring back at him, ZaiLeia noticed his crooked belt and unkempt uniform. She knew where he had been; why he hadn't shown up until now, though she had been in labor for the past sixteen hours. If THAT was really more important to him than the birth of their child, then to hell with him. Still, it was his child, too, and as such…
"About time you showed up, Horsthar," she growled, as exhaustion threatened to overcome her. "Out demonstrating fair diplomacy, I assume?"
Le'Kruune said nothing; just continued staring at mother and child.
"Well, don't just stand there! There's someone I want to introduce you to."
As Le'Kruune stepped closer, ZaiLeia unwrapped the little bundle just enough for him to see inside.
"Meet your daughter, Taisiya."