Greetings all! This is the sixth edition of what is now my second posted fic. Enjoy!
(I don't own any of the characters in this fic—well, the one's that obviously aren't mine that is—one is mine though!!!)
Chapter 6Later that day Kayura decided to pay Badamon another visit—she had to know for sure. Storming into the Nether Spirit's tower, she demanded his appearance.
"Badamon, I need to see you—come out here now."
"If I were over you Kayura, I'd say your demands for audience with me were quite rude." The Nether Spirit droned as he faded into view.
"Whatever. Badamon, I need to know if you know."
"What do you mean?"
"Damn it Badamon, I don't toy with me. You know what I mean, just tell me so!"
The spirit smirked. "Would this have anything to do with the life that resides in your belly Lady Kayura?"
Well, that answered her question. Kayura scowled a bit. "Yes."
"You'd be pleased to know Lady that I have withheld informing master Talpa of this. No doubt he would not be pleased."
Kayura paused before she responded. "I supposed I should be thanking you then."
"Hmm. That is up to you. I do not care…has someone else found out about your little…secret?"
"Anubis knows."
"Then you should put your mind at ease. He will tell no one else. In the meantime, I suggest you go tend to yourself and stop worrying me." Badamon vanished before Kayura could say more. Regardless, she left feeling more at ease than she had been in a while. Walking back out and down the tower of the Nether Spirits, Kayura headed to her own private little building.
It was a day like any other, picturesque in its usual way. The relative serenity of the quad made her feel better—and for once she thought she could go on without worries for at least a little while. But of course, she'd have no such luck. Suddenly there was a very sharp pain in her abdomen and the horribleness of it caused her to double over to the soft ground. Immediately a strange shadow covered the quad and it became very chilly. A vicious gale blew up from nowhere; even in her pain, Kayura looked to see why everything changed so quickly. Black clouds of swirling thunder rolled over the sky like thick vapor of a witch's caldron. It sheeted over the amber-colored sky for as far as the eye could see. There was a terrible flash, and the largest lightning bolt Kayura had ever seen leapt from the black clouds and violently stuck the main tower of the castle, shattering one of it's two large needles. The thunderclap let loose was so deafening, Kayura could hear the ringing of it in her ears. But even through that ringing, she could hear that the storm had a sound—the sound of some ominous hungry beast. The storm was alive it seemed—like it was breathing, thirsting for some sort of destruction. Kayura was petrified, but what scared her most was a large swirl that was forming in the clouds about half a mile off. Then the clouds started to retract—retract into this portal—she watched in fear and aw as the blanket of blackness that extended for miles was sucked away. Suddenly it was gone, as quickly as it had come. Kayura remained where she was, too stunned to move—the pain she had felt before the strange occurrence was no longer there and she was afraid once again. She jumped to her feet and staggered as quickly as she could the refuge that was her room, hoping to escape the fear that seemed to follow her wherever she went.
Badamon creased his brow as he watched Kayura from his perch atop his tower. He glanced once at the sky then back to her.
"Hmm."
***
Kayura sat quietly as she lay in the warm water of her bath. In her hand she held a small mirror, glancing at it from time to time. It had been a full seven months since the conception—seven months of hell. The trial of just carrying the baby was taking its toll. This child, or whatever it was, seemed to enjoy making life miserable for her. As of late Kayura would be kept awake by horrible dreams of death and destruction, no doubt brought on by the hellish fetus. And when she wasn't being tortured in her sleep, she was reamed while awake. The countless scars and abrasions that flawed her alabaster skin were testament of that. Mysterious sores that refused to heal would crop up on her back and stomach; this along with aches, pains and discomforts of all sorts. Fever and fatigue sapped her strength continuously and she could never keep anything down. It was a miracle that she was still up and about half the time.
She avoided everyone, although Anubis was harder to skirt than others. Anubis, on her behalf, had managed to convince the Emperor that she was too ill for anything, thus allowing her to remain undisturbed. She was thankful for that, as much as she disliked showing it. Soja-no wasn't of much help. He would give her tonics from time to time—but had said that as the pregnancy progressed, little could be done to console the restless beast that ripened within her—a beast that would often let itself be known. Kayura had long been convinced that the creature had some type of telekinetic ability, an ability that had few bounds. Violent disturbances in the sky occurred more frequently and with greater strength. It projected its demonic wrath on others as well—there had been instances when things from animals to foot soldiers would be found horribly mangled and disfigured. There was even an incident where Dais was the victim of a mysterious infestation of gnats, flies and maggots erupting from one of his clothing drawers.
And it all scared her. It scared her because she knew it was her fault--the bizarre happenings and all of her own personal suffering. She recalled a time when she was threatening to Soja-no that she would carve the creature out of her belly if the madness didn't stop. He would only laugh at her and once again say that she couldn't do anything if she tried. Kayura cried after that and belted that he had no idea how miserable she was and how he could never understand. At that point he wouldn't say much of anything—he would mostly just leave when she became exceptionally emotional. Kayura had since figured though that he didn't care, but it hurt most when he ignored her obvious pain, especially for the fact that he knew so much.
It was as if her immediate life was caving in on itself. The physical and emotional strain that was being placed on her daily was becoming too much. Kayura would often become angry with herself and her faltering ability to cope with the changes. Granted they were unusual changes, she would reassure, but pessimism always seemed to win out. Every time she would try and find a silver lining, something horrible would happen and reassert the fact that this agony would be far from over.
She frowned inwardly. 'I refuse to cry.' Kayura told herself. But her determination wasn't what it used to be, tears begin to slide down her face. She wiped them away angrily, making a decision as she did. Revelation had come at lightning speed.
Pride and fear kept her from seeking help. Pride because as a woman in the proverbial 'man's world', she had to keep face; and fear for the mere fact that she was a woman. But Kayura could only take so much, and her breaking point was near. Pride now was a luxury she could no longer afford. It was time to take the hand that had been patiently waiting for her.