Note: All Suikoden elements belong to Konami.
Rebirth
Chapter 6: Innocence
by ArchFaith
You're pregnant, Sierra.
She heard what he said, saw his face as he said it, felt the gentle pressure of his fingers looped into her own as the words came out of his mouth.
"What?" she whispered automatically, leaving no time for any thoughts to cross her mind. "What did you just say?"
Nash sighed, slowly squeezing her pale fingers as a frown appeared on his face. He knew she wouldn't believe him, knew that with her, he could never hope to argue; even the simplest of truths she believed to be lies. Now, with this impossible statement, how could he ever sway her? Nonetheless, he had to.
"You're pregnant, old girl," he repeated. "You're—you're going to have a child."
Her sleepy eyes suddenly snapped open, and she quickly wrenched her hand out of his grasp. "Are you trying to insult me!" she demanded, the anger rising in her voice as crossed her arms over her chest. "Is that what your friend told you? That I was pregnant?" The old familiar scowl had returned to her face, and even though it had been one of the things he had been hoping to see again, it was, for the time being, unwelcome. "What kind of nonsense is that? Need I remind you that I am a vampire, for God's sake? Honestly, you naïve little—"
"Sierra," he interrupted, his voice low. "Now just listen to me for a moment…look, I know this whole thing sounds stupid, alright? But then how do you explain your illness? You know as well as I know that vampires are immune to human diseases…so what else could it be besides—"
"Immune to human diseases, and incapable of human pregnancy as well!" she interjected, hurriedly sitting up in the bed. "If that is what was worrying you so much, you needn't worry any longer. I thought you had more sense in you, but I suppose I was wrong!"
"Yeah? Then how do you explain the migraines? Or the leg cramps, huh? This sickness has been affecting you for months now…what else could it be? A cold? A fever? Or maybe you're just slowly fading out of existence…"
"Do not mock me, boy!" she whispered, in a low, dangerous tone. "I may not know what exactly is wrong with my body, but I do know that the only thing existing within it is my soul, and nothing—"
A small, tingling feeling had rapidly begun to descend down her spine as she spoke. She had initially tried to push it away, to dismiss it as but a trifle, but the pressure bearing down on her had now increased. As she brought her hand to the middle of her stomach the pressure suddenly erupted into a kind of dull pain, with small, pinprick-like pangs slowly piercing through her abdomen, an aftershock of the tremendous discomfort she had felt earlier in the day.
"Oh," she sighed, bringing both her hands to her stomach as Nash leaned forward, his worried face stretched in alarm.
"What is it?" he demanded, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Are…are you hurting again?"
A box of sharp needles had seemingly tumbled open inside her thin stomach as she looked up at him, her teeth gritted, red tears pooling at the base of her eyelashes. "It's nothing," she managed to falter out, "nothing I can't handle…ahhh…."
The inner needles were threatening to pierce through her stomach now, to rise up out of the fine pale skin, sharp and bloody as they started piercing her from within. "Ooooh," she whispered, starting to tremble as the pain seared through her stomach. "Nash…oh gods…"
A strange feeling suddenly overcame as she lay writhing on the bed, her hands pressed tight against her stomach as the agonizing pain engulfed her. It was a small feeling at first, just an inkling; but gradually, the pull became stronger, the direction of its emotion more evident as she focused on the strange sentiment, struggling for a way to distract herself from the torture that was slowly devouring her. A small feeling, almost microscopic…a vague sense of calmness, almost if some unknown source was trying to comfort her, to reassure her. It was tiny, a small, pent-up emotion scratched out inside of her; and, as much as she tried to find it, to determine its cause, to see what exactly it was, she could not.
By the time she opened her eyes the pain, though still stirring around inside her, was slowly receding. Nash was still sitting next to her, running his warm hands up and down her shoulders, his face worried as his azure eyes quickly locked on her white face. She slowly sat up, trembling hands still on her stomach as she focused her ruby eyes to his.
"What else did your friend say?" she asked, her voice sounding thin and defeated as she narrowed her eyes. No telling what kind of emotions she was feeling now; she was always hard to read, his old girl, and the last thing he wanted to do was upset her at such a strange time as this.
"Not too much else," he answered, propping himself up with his muscular arms. "Just…just that he thought you were pregnant."
She slowly blinked; keeping her face turned to his she absently brushed a piece of hair off her damp forehead. "Did he say how many months he thought it had been?"
"No," the blonde boy replied, patting her arm gently.
She was silent for a while, her eyes half-open as the confused contemplations sprang up in her heart once more, her hands folded upon her stomach as Nash continued watching her, his brows knitted in anxiousness. She did not believe him—or did she? She seemed almost resigned during their last exchange, but he knew it would only take the strongest of evidence to completely convince her…
Finally she spoke again. "This sort of thing is impossible, you realize…I do not know what to think. On one hand, it is unfeasible that an eight hundred year old vampire should conceive a child…but on the other, what else could this illness possibly be? I have not experienced anything like it in all my lifetime…one solution is just as cloudy and confusing as the other…"
His hand was resting on hers once more. "Surely…if this is the case, that I do happen, by some impossible trick of nature, to be carrying some freakish brat…there would be a way of ridding ourselves of it?" She hadn't meant to say so bluntly; the words had just slipped out, and she regretted saying them as soon as she closed her mouth.
"Why would you say that?" he asked sharply, giving her a look. "You'd want to destroy it?"
"No, no…but there is no way of knowing exactly what the nature of this being may be," she answered. "You told me it spoke to you…perhaps it is malevolent. The old legends and stories…dismissed as myths, perhaps. But maybe, in this case they might be true."
"And what if they aren't? What if…what if this kid turns out to be normal?"
"In my opinion, any child conceived between a vampire and a mortal would certainly not be normal," she replied, the old acidity springing back into her voice. "But then, who is sure of what the future will bring…" She shifted her eyes to the window, seemingly gazing into the distance. "Nash…if this impossible notion is indeed correct, as I now feel it may very well be…you realize what this will mean, do you not?"
He slowly nodded as he brushed a small piece of blonde wavy hair out of his eyes. "It will mean…that you and I are going to be parents."
She blinked. "Imagine that." She turned her eyes to him. "You are young yet, my boy."
"And you're very old."
Frowning, she narrowed her eyes, suddenly feeling an irrational urge to start crying. "We do not fit, you and I. This…this entire ordeal should have never occurred. But…I suppose, until there is other evidence…that I am—"
She was trembling suddenly, her lithe frame quivering as though she was chilled by a non-existent wind. She looked to him with pained eyes as he quickly moved towards her; she allowed him to draw her into his arms, let him smooth back the thin silver strands of hair she laid her head down on his shoulder.
"…a child," she said simply, closing her eyes.
He nodded, squeezing her tightly as she continued shivering in his arms. "Yeah…a child," he repeated, his lips brushing lightly over her forehead.
"Our child."
To be continued…
End notes: Oh man…I had a really hard time writing that. I've been taking college placements tests, and I'm swamped with studying…whenever I try to write, I always hear a little voice saying "You should be studying!" and then I feel bad. But I hope this short chapter was satisfactory…I was gonna write a few more chapters until the birth, but I think it may occur in the next chapter or the one after…and don't worry…the baby is going to be…something unique. That much I will say. But please review, even if there isn't too much to review on, hehe. It really boosts my mood to hear it, especially with all this school stuff I have to deal with!
Kuroi Neko-kun: Teehee! Well, the picking may be over, but the wondering part is still to come!
Virtue: Yup:sings: updating can be hard to doooooo…..!
Pipp-ORK: Well, Sierra reacted…now…how exactly is she going to adjust?
Aoi-butterfly: At this point, I can't really gurantee everything will be fine for them…because you know how these two are…
Thundersenshi: Well, here's the next chappie…working on the next one soon…
Greatlight432: Lots of friends gotten pregnant? You must be quite an aunt then!
Next chapter: Sierra is dazed and kind of reluctant to admit she is carrying a child. Nash, anxious and worried that something will go wrong with the delivery, decides to make a few arrangements…Stay tuned!