A/n Hello Dear readers! Things have become busy again. It's that time of year. NaNoWriMo is next month and the holidays. Updates may be sporadic. But here's a little something now.

Enjoy!

Chapter 18

It was the most amazing experience, my Dear, and I hope you will be able to visit the sea sometime. Kenshin did not have any sort of sea-legs, as you can imagine, and welcomed being back on solid ground while I was content to frolic in the sea until nearly dark.

Misao absorbed every word on the paper as she wandered blindly into the forest behind the Keep. She weaved and stepped with unsteady balance as she kept her head down onto the papers as she walked. Though she seemed to be a bit haphazard and distracted, her footfalls were silent and she never once lost her balance when the ground under her step turned out to be unstable. A few yards behind her was her ever faithful guard. Aoshi walked at a leisurely pace, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword while his eyes continually scanned the forest around them.

"Oh, it sounds so wonderful." Misao spun around on one foot to face Aoshi. "I don't think I've enough royal blood to turn into a mermaid, but I would so like to see them." She spun around again and staggered forward.

Being that he had no idea what was in the letter other than a few parts where Misao had read out loud in excitement, Aoshi wasn't entirely sure what she meant by it. But it was obvious that the Lady Kaoru had in fact turned into a mermaid and swam in the sea, the birthplace of all Water Kin.

"Kenshin was there for the whole thing!" Misao called over her shoulder. "They were on a boat with a glass bottom so they could watch them."

"A boat made of glass seems to me to be a horrible idea," Aoshi said softly. "I highly doubt the Lord Kenshin would risk going out into the water in such a boat."

"Not made of glass, silly, the bottom was glass. They don't pull the boat to shore." Misao chastised him as though he were a small ignorant child.

His eyes were glued to those delicate ankles and bare feet as she crossed the moss covered ground. Her shoes dangled, forgotten, from two of her fingers as she returned to the letter. After their stunt in the kitchens, their time together had been cool. Aoshi suspected that Misao felt a little bit embarrassed about the whole thing, Gods knew he did. He couldn't look at her now without hearing the pound of her heart or the taste of her lips and the feel of her hands slipping past his pants.

Damn his wandering thoughts. He cursed himself as the very thoughts caused his cock to stir to life; which it had been in a constant state of half arousal every moment he was around her be they in public or alone. He was only half paying attention now as it was. He was supposed to be watching out for anyone who may be lurking. But let's be honest, no one was lurking out here. They were as alone as alone could be. Even with his mind on the female before him he still thought about the probability of Drow pressing closer.

"Where are you taking me, woman?" He finally asked, as she looked away from the letter for the first time and lifted her dress to hope over a rotting, mushroom covered log. Creamy pale legs flashed as she jumped and once again he cursed himself as his thoughts immediately turned away from the enemy.

"To my favorite spot." She turned and gave him a brilliant smile.

He nearly tripped, distracted as he was. "Your favorite spot?" His lips turned down as he glanced around, easily stepping over the log she had encountered. "You mean that you come this far out often?"

"All the time." She chirped. "Kaoru and I have our own places when we need to be alone and away from it all."

Alarmed, Aoshi paused. "Out here?"

"You're kind slow today, are you alright?" Misao joked as she continued down the path.

"You two are important Ladies of the Keep you should have your alone time in the church," Aoshi said in a rushed tone as he followed. "Not a mile behind the Keep where no one can possibly help you."

Misao looked over her shoulder and scoffed at him. "We're not completely alone, we have our guards. You Fire's seem to think we're rather stupid, don't you."

He might have thought that in his youth, but he had now learned that the Water people were far smarter than anyone must have thought. Ever moving, ever flowing, always learning. When he didn't answer Misao turned back to the path and continued. It wasn't much longer when he could hear the rush of fast-moving water. A stream? Must be, for the river was too far from the Keep. Alarmingly, Misao vanished behind a thick growth of ferns. Aoshi picked up his feet and followed after her.

The overgrown path curved around the ferns and he nearly collided into the back of Misao as she stood at the edge of the suspected stream. Aoshi backed up a step and composed himself. Misao gazed out at the rushing water.

It was a rather large stream. Perhaps a full two arms, length in width and in some parts looked rather deep. To their right, the water cascaded down from a shelf of rocks in a small, merry waterfall that filled a large basin of earth before flowing out over the rocks and roots of trees.

"Kaoru and I used to swim here when we were young." She nodded toward the deep pool of water under the waterfall. She gave an unladylike snort as she turned to Aoshi. "Hell, we swam here last a few months ago before the winter had set in."

So, this was the secret place of two young girls with far too much on their shoulders. Aoshi could easily picture the Lady Kaoru and Misao frolicking in the water, laughing and for a while not thinking about their duty, or their home being invaded by the likes of Fires. But so very quickly did his thought turn back to Misao. His ice blue eyes turned in her direction.

"Gods Above and Below, what are you doing!?" Aoshi exclaimed. Misao had undone the ties to the back of her dress with quickness and ease and the dress was now puddled at her feet. Her under dress only touched her knees and her shoulders were left bare. And then, in broad daylight with him standing not five feet away, she reached for the hem of the underdress and lifted it up and off her body, tossing the white garment down with her dress. It was with cruelty to himself that he let his eyes travel up her pale legs. Shapely calves and thighs lead up to tight rounds of flesh.

That was all he allowed himself to see. He tore his eyes away as she took two running steps and threw herself, screaming with laughter into the pool.

But the damage was done. His cock was rock hard and his blood hot and burning. His Earth libido and his Fire hot passion mixed far too well and he was a slave to his hormones. Yet he thought he was far more disciplined to let his nature take control.

Misao surfaced, he could hear the slap of hands on water and half a second later a spray of water hit his back.

"Come on, you just gonna stand there? Too much Fire in you to like water?"

"Are you mad?" He growled, hands flexing at his side. "You mean to tell me you and Kaoru stripped down to swim out in the middle of nowhere with guards?" He turned to look at her, he couldn't help it. Thankfully the water was stained a light tea color and it concealed her parts. But even so, as she kept afloat, round globes of flesh would rise and sink and if he watched close enough, would catch a glimpse of blush colored nipples. He was sinking fast.

"What's wrong with that? The guards made sure we were safe. Besides they didn't see anything, they weren't looking."

"How do you know?" He felt childish for arguing with her about something that happened long ago.

Misao shrugged her shoulders. "If they did so what? We peeked at men ourselves. We don't have anything they haven't already seen before. Now are you going to join me or are you going to stand guard?"

If he so much and shed one item of clothing, he'd be lost. No, he had to at least keep his level head. "I'll keep watch." He grunted. Already regretting his choice.

Misao pulled a face and then shrugged. "Alright."

Aoshi thought he would prowl the area to make sure they were safe, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from Misao. She was glowing with power. A soft blue-green light swirled around her body, a light glittered all around like tiny fireflies swarming her body. She laughed as she swam, her eyes focused on nothing he could see. Water Nymphs. No doubt they played danced with her and he suspected the occasional splash in his direction was from them. The sight was like from a dream. The larger, very real water nymph vanished under the water and appeared elsewhere in the pool with a curious looking stone in her hand. She examined it a moment before vanishing back under the water to return it. She resurfaced under the spray of the waterfall.

Apparently, the pool wasn't as deep as he had thought because she stood and let the water cascade over her body. Her breasts were above water now. Nipples tight and pointed from the chill and tipped up toward the sky. Her black hair hung long and straight to float on the surface of the water behind her.

"Look at who's peeking." Misao winked at him before turning her back to him.

Aoshi opened his mouth to reply but no sound came out. He closed it, cursing himself. He was ready to march into that pool clothes and all. His hot blood was scorching, his body hard, and his nerves frayed down to its last thread. He would have her, he didn't care anymore. Misao would be his.

"Woman." He ground out. Misao looked over her shoulder, an eyebrow arched in question.

"Yes?" She pushed her wet bangs from her face.

"Come here."

"Why?"

"Come to me or I'll have you in the water." He snapped. Eyes flashing.

… . . …

Goddess, she was just teasing him. Surely stripping down to her skin might have been too far and too low even for her. But Hell's Fire, she didn't care about that anymore. She wanted Aoshi and nothing was going to stop her. She didn't think she would have to go as far and baring it all. But here it was and there was nothing she could do about it now. If he had been a Water then he would have got the message long ago, but he was Fire and Earth and he was as proper and stubborn as they both are.

But as his eyes flashed and his voice took on an unearthly tone, she suddenly felt that she made a mistake. But she would be damned if she would show it. She turned, chin up and shoulders back as she made her way across the pool. Her feet found easy purchase on the smooth river rocks and the nymphs glanced between the two of them and giggled before dancing off to the other side of the waterfall.

"You always give girls that look?" Misao pointed out, trying to distract herself from the way her legs hardly held her up, or the fluttering in her chest. "No wonder everyone is scared of you." She looked away to reach for the bank but Aoshi reached down with his two large hands and plucked her out of the water. His hands were hot and burning against her water cooled skin, but Misao paid no mind as Aoshi's mouth covered hers. He didn't seem to want to hold back this time as his tongue pillaged her mouth. He took what he wanted as he had her arms in his hands pinned to her side, she was helpless to take anything for herself.

Misao was sure she would be angry. But she wasn't. All she felt was glorious heat growing in her middle and crawling up to her heart and plunging down to her sex. Finally, he let her up for air and he let her arms go. Misao wasn't about to let him get away again and she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck. As he was nearly bent double to reach her, all he did was stand up straight and Misao found her feet kicking the air. She looked at his face and found a firestorm in those strange ice colored eyes.

"I'm not letting you get away from me, Aoshi." She murmured. She wrapped her legs around his hips, wincing at the way his belt and swords pinched at her thighs. "You're wearing far too much." She informed him.

"And I intend to keep it all on out here." Aoshi returned as he dipped his head to her neck.

Against her better judgment, she bared her neck to him. His stubble rough chin scraped against the sensitive skin of her neck and sent her tingling from the roots of her hair down to her very toes. She grabbed his thick dark hair and pulled. He didn't stop, instead, he clamped down with his teeth. Wetness pooled between her legs and the ache of want made her growl with frustration.

"Stop! Don't start something if you're not going to finish it this time." She demanded.

Aoshi unclamped his teeth and pulled away enough to look at her. "I don't intend to leave you wanting again." His voice was just like his eyes, burning and deep with emotion. "Tongue or fingers?"

They were moving now, and Misao watched as he carried her away from the stream bank and over to a patch of new ferns and overgrown spring grass. "What?" Misao blinked with heavy lids as Aoshi set her down on the grass.

"Tongue, or fingers?" He asked again and his hand slid down her thigh to her sex where she was embarrassingly slick with wetness. Misao seized under the jolt of sensation that shot from her very core. Aoshi had his other hand on her chest holding her down to the ground as his fingers spread open her lower lips and found that sensitive bud. Two strokes had Misao mewing, her head thrown back.

"No answer?" Aoshi mused a smile on his lips as all Misao could do was keen softly. "Tongue it is then."

Misao eyes opened and she looked down to find Aoshi settle between her legs. "What?!" she yelped as he took her thighs and pulled her bottom into his lap, leaned forward and pressed his mouth to that same sensitive bud his fingers had teased moments ago.

"Oh, Goddess! Tongue, Tongue!" Misao gasped, one arm moved to drape over her face in sudden modesty. His tongue flicked and cupped her sensitive bud with the same skill he used killing her with his fingers. And in what felt like a moment later she came undone. A keening cry rose up over the sound of the water as her body trembled and broke into fragments. Aoshi's big hands splayed over her hips, keeping her from twisting away from him in her pleasure.

She lay trembling, a soft glowing warmth of power settling over her heart and soul. She gasped for breath in wonder at the feeling. Was this the power of lovemaking? But it was just a taste. But she felt so at peace and yet recharged with energy.

Aoshi pressed his tongue flat against her sex, lapped her slowly once, twice, eyes locked on to her reaction as she slowly came down to earth again. Her whole body was flushed a soft peach blush. Slowly he set her hips down on his lap and his large long fingers pressed into the flesh of her thighs and massaged them, wanting to feel them hooked around his hips. His hands continued upward to a narrow waist, across her ribs to cup the globes of her breasts. She gasped under the cover of her arm.

… . . …

He was trembling. Misao could feel his hands trembling on her body and his body shuddering against her legs. He was fighting himself. Being out in the open wasn't something Aoshi was used to it seemed, and he refused to drop his guard and get naked with her. Well, he didn't have to get naked. Misao moved her arm, her eyes fell on the underside of the trees around them and the deep blue of the sky. She pushed up off the ground to find Aoshi looking like his control was thread bare. She pressed against him and took hold of his shoulder and settled against him.

"Misao." Aoshi warned, getting to his knees.

Misao ignored him, her hands, though shaking and rushed, made quick work of the buckles and belts that held his equipment. His swords fell off his hips to lay at his knees and Misao finally found her prize. His throbbing hard cock all but sprang free when she pulled at the ties of his pants. His arms wrapped around her and went to pull her away but as she gripped his hardness he could do nothing but groan into her hair and press her hand against him.

"Misao." He repeated, softly, unable to fight his needs any longer. "I don't want your first time to be here."

"Why?" She breathed into his ear. She pressed her hips forward, felling him hard and burning as he slid against her slick sex. "You are of the Earth and I am of the Water. Why wouldn't this be the best place?" She asked softly.

He paused and looked up from where he was watching her attention on his cock. "You're right." He said, his voice rough like gravel. "I will try, but it will hurt, my dear."

"Please Aoshi." She begged. "Please."

The begging worked, she watched his control crumble like dry clay and was replaced with a hunger that excited her all over again.

"First." He huffed and reached between them. Misao felt his finger slip across the lips of her sex, back and forth and then one finger slid deep inside her. Misao's breath hitched and she arched her hips against his touch, pressing him deeper. He pulled away and then inserted a second finger with the first. She squeezed her eyes shut as her body went rigid.

"Do you feel a pinch?" Aoshi asked his lips at her ear. His other hand was pressed into her back. Misao was sure he was branding his hand print into her skin.

"Yes." She hissed.

"You're so small and so tight." She was very much unused, not even fingers had touched her here. Aoshi felt a smug pleasure in knowing no one had known Misao as he was now. And...he knew….no one ever would. If the gods allowed. He also felt unease. She was not stretched in any way and he was much larger than she. He could not avoid giving her pain no matter how much he tried. His fingers pressed deep and withdrew and then deep again, he spread them out inside of her, earning him a sharp cry and a wave of wetness as the female trembled against him. He could feel her barrier, the ring of flesh that his cock would stretch and more than likely tear and cause her to bleed. He didn't look forward to that part of it. And he didn't want to do it out in the wilds where he wouldn't be able to make her more comfortable.

But she was right. They were in their element and no place could give her more comfort than the water a few feet away. He had prepared her as much as he could in such a short time she was giving him and he pulled his fingers away. She whimpered in protest, which made him smile. Already she had grown used to the invasion.

He angled her hips and pressed forward. It was all he could do to not slam into her. As much as he wanted to rut hard and fast he refused to do so. Not for her first time. It didn't matter how exposed he felt. How distracted he was, he would not cause her any more pain than necessary. His cock found her opening and she was so slick that it easily started to slide inside of her.

Misao bucked her hips just then, slamming herself upon him.

"Misao!" Aoshi barked, shocked and undone by the urge to thrust himself deeper. Already she had him nearly to the hilt. Her body shuddered and she turned away from him. He knew her face was twisted in pain, knew there would be tears. He wrapped his arms around her and held her still."It's alright." He whispered over and over as she took deep breaths. "Slowly would have been less painful." He offered uselessly. Already he could see and feel the power of the forest around them start to flow into him. If he looked closely, he'd see soft trails of green glittering light flowing into him. His Earth blood called to the forest through the act of mating.

"I'm not a doll." She sniffed and then turned to him. Her eyes were red and her cheeks flushed deeply. "I can take the pain, I'm a woman remember. We're built for it." Her arms, which were wrapped around his neck for dear life loosened and her hands knotted in his hair. "There now. The pain is gone."

And with that, she started to move and Aoshi was helpless to stop her. He was more than twice her size and she was a tiny kitten compared to his strength but she had him helpless. Harder and harder she moved until he felt himself bumping against the back of her core. The barrier that would hold his child, should he plant one in her. The very thought had his hands moving down to grip her buttocks with near savagery, pulled her to him with more strength and violence. Misao's head fell back as she keened loudly, her breasts at the perfect level of his face and he easily took her nipple into his mouth. She came undone at his actions. Her body shuddered in his hands and her sex clamped on his cock as a scream tore from her throat.

He felt his own climax turn and boil and finally surge to the surface. Their body's slapped together in a fierce rhythm as he refused to let her slow. Then, almost painfully he fell over the edge. He bit his lip hard enough to taste blood but still, a cry escaped him as he fell forward, pinning the girl between himself and the earth. His cock drove as deep as was possible as he spilled his seed. Over and over the waves of pleasure racked him and still he drove her into the ground. Finally, he was spent and he collapsed, pinning the girl under him. His body buzzed and hummed with Earth energy. He still had mind enough to turn and roll off of Misao before crushing her.

… . . …

Yahiko stood up from the garden to scan the growing vegetables and found the dusty mouse brown of his sister's hair bobbing between the tomato plants.

"Make sure you pick off all the worms, Suma." The ten-year-old called.

"I am!" her squeaky voice chirped from between the dark green foliage. The tomato worms were bad this year. In fact. Most of the garden was being plagued by one sort of pest or another. It was Yahiko and Suma's job to comb through the garden every morning and pick off as many as they could find. The tan Earth boy's apron pockets were full of the squirming soft white bodies of the worms. They would make the chickens a fine feast.

Done with his half of the patch, Yahiko carefully stepped to help his five-year-old sister. Like him, he was dark of skin from being outside in the sun. Unlike her, his hair was deep and rich in color like his mother, while Suma looked like father with honey colored eyes. He gave his sibling a loving pet on the head before hunkering down on the other side of the row she was working and checked every leaf.

"When's papa comin' back?" Those large honey eyes turned to her brother before focusing back on her work. She was not afraid of the giant bugs, plucking them from the leaves as if they were burrs stuck on her stockings.

"Soon, Little Sister." Yahiko said gently "He's settin' traps for rabbits, it takes some time."

"It's not the right time for eatin' rabbits." The girl huffed.

"He's not eatin' them. He's catching them for their fur. For Mama's new baby."

"Oh, I forgot." The girl flashed a smile, showing a single missing tooth. "For the new baby blanket."

At that moment Yahiko spied the front door opening from across the field of their village and saw his beautiful mother step out. "Here Suma, you can take the worms to the chicken today, I know that you love to teat them." he quickly stripped off the apron and gave it to her waiting hands.

"Yay! Maybe that old cock will stop tryin'a spur me if I give him the most treats."

"If he tries to spur ya, just give him a swift kick." Yahiko warmed before darting across the field of vegetables, around bean pokes and over stone-lined water ditches. He rushed up to his mother and plucked the laundry basket from her hands.

"Here Ma, Papa said you shouldn't be liftin' nothin'." The boy scolded.

Tall and willowy, his mother smiled down at her boy and set a hand on his mop of messy hair. The simple brown tunic she wore made her deep earth brown eyes shine. She was a fair bit paler than her mate and children. She worked indoors with some of the other expecting females.

"I think a basket of clothes is light enough, Little Yahiko."

The boy's eyes narrowed and he leveled them at her swollen belly where his little sister or brother grew. "I don't wanna risk you gettin' hurt." The goddess would be upset with him if he let his mother get hurt on his watch.

The woman could only sigh and smile and indicated that he should follow her. The boy stuck by her side like a gosling to its mother and had done so for his whole ten years. She didn't try and argue with the boy. It was their nature to protect. Earth men turned into right servants when in sight of a round belly.

"Are you going to go with your Papa to help skin the rabbits, Little Yahiko?" she asked as he handed her item after item to hang on the line.

"Yes Mama, I need to learn."

"Yes, you're ten now, almost a man." She sighed wistfully to herself as she looked down at those big brown eyes, the face that was quickly losing the baby fat and turning hard and angular. He would be a handsome one, like his father. She would have him for only four more years before he would be off with the men. And every year she would lose him little by little. But for now, he belonged to her and he was content in being her Little Yahiko.

"You should be keepin' an eye on your little sister."

Yahiko glanced up, eyes turned to focus on the distance. He could just make out Suma walking over to the chicken coop with their aprons full of grubs.

"Nothin' will mess with her." Yahiko proclaimed. Even so, perhaps he should go and watch for that mean rooster, he liked to attack when your back was turned.

His mother quickly hung the rest of the clothes while he was distracted and scooped up the wicker basket. "Well off then, nothin' left for you to do here, Little Yahiko."

The boy whipped around and spied the now empty basket and huffed. "Be careful, Mama."

"Oh, now my boy is tellin' me to be careful when I should be tellin' him that." She tossed her chestnut braid over her shoulder. "Off with you!"

The boy was gone in a flash. Eating up the ground and slipping between the tender stalks of the plants. The urge to protect was strong in him, like in his father. She smiled as she watched him climb over the wooden railing of the chicken run, bird scattered in his wake. It must be hard trying to divide his attention between two females. She set her hand on her belly. For Little Yahiko's sake, she hoped the new babe would be a boy, and not another girl for him to fuss over.

… . . …

Kaoru woke from an early morning nap. She sat up from the over filled mattress and glanced out the window. The light showed that it was well past the afternoon. The girl frowned. She had slept rather well that night, why was she napping so long? With a sigh, she climbed out of bed and wandered over to the large window. It over looked the Kingdom. The sea spread out in all directions and to the side, she could see the hint of color that was the land they had left. She wondered how the fire guards were doing. She hoped Kenshin had been keeping in touch with them. She didn't want them to be idle and finding trouble in the Water lands. She was sure he was keeping them disciplined, but she knew of their passionate temper. No word had come in the days they had been there so she was sure everything must be fine.

Even so, her stomach turned and she frowned. She had been feeling unwell for far too long. Was it her time with Kenshin? Was his Fire just too much for her Water? Her eyes fell on the large shining rooftops of the Healer Institution. All the major Healers came out of that collection of buildings. Corurin's Silveroak Acadamy as amazing as it was, was a step down compared to the Water hospitals. She wondered if Megumi would come here to study. Surely she could only go so far in a school for Fires.

Perhaps Kaoru would visit the place. If anyone knew what was the problem, they would.

… . . …

The sound of the ocean rolled in though the wide open windows of the exam room. The sound was soothing and the smell of the salt spray was calming. It all went ignored however as Kaoru sat in the soft blue room with seashells embedded into the walls.

"Are you sure?" She asked the sweet old healer. His name was Dr. Gensai and he reminded Kaoru of the healer assigned to her and her father when she was a child. He had passed not long before her father had and she never realized how much she missed him until seeing Dr. Gensai. He had bushy white bows and a small, white, pointed beard that balanced his round happy face.

"Oh, very sure. You are quite with child, my Lady Kaoru." He bowed his head every time he said her name like she was of royal blood.

Kaoru drew the modesty sheet closer around her naked body. She was pregnant? Already? "How long have I been?"

Gensai tipped his head in thought. "At least a few months."

"A few months?!" Kaoru gasped. "I've only known my husband for a few months."

Gensai chuckled softly, clasping his hands behind his back. "Is your husband the first man you ever knew?" He raised a brow at her but at her startled look he reversed. "Yes, as you are married to a Fire I'm sure he is the only man you knew." He cleared his throat. Obviously not yet sure of intermarriage of such conflicting elements.

A few months? Kaoru repeated to herself. This meant that she had become pregnant very early, perhaps even their first time together in the grove of rowan. She pressed her hand to her belly. It was still flat if a bit soft. She couldn't believe there was life in there already.

"My Lady." Gensai bowed his head. "I'm the personal Healer to the Royal family and I understand that you and your Lord Husband are to travel through the Fire Lands?"

"Yes, in a week or so."

He bowed his head again, lower this time. "If I may be so bold to say that I do not think it is a good idea for you to accompany him. This pregnancy is delicate and Water fae often find that travel is difficult, even in the best of health."

Kaoru swallowed. She knew the trip would not be easy. But she didn't think she would be with child so quickly. "But I must." She said. "I've to pledge loyalty to the King."

Gensai blinked and nodded his head. "Yes, It was bold of me to say, but I wanted to warn you. You are past the time of spontaneous loss. If you were to lose the baby due to it being weak, you would have by now. So you can rest knowing that the child is strong and is rooted well. But I can not promise that it will survive the stress of the Fire lands."

Kaoru nodded. Her eyes distant. "I understand. I'll take care of myself."

Gensai gave her a soft smile. Kaoru was unsure if he was being reassuring or if it was pity.

Kaoru bit her lip. This was a chance she didn't want to throw away. Giving Kenshin a child, male or female, would cement his as well as her place in the Keep. Sure he was assigned there by his King but that didn't mean that men would rise up against him if they felt he had a weak hold on it. He seemed quite stressed at the idea of crossing the dessert with her, even though he didn't voice it often. Knowing she was with child might push him over the edge and cancel the whole thing. She was sure the Fire King would understand and not want to risk her already risky pregnancy. Kaoru was at a crossroads. If she told Kenshin, he might turn around and she wouldn't be able to pledge loyalty for at least a year. Not something the Fire's would like, being that Kenshin already pledged. He would lose face if he bent a knee to a Water King but she didn't pledge loyalty to the Fire King. If she didn't tell him, she risked the pregnancy. No one would know or suffer but her, however.

"…Could you please not breath a word about this to anyone?" Kaoru finally asked.

The old man raised a brow and blinked slowly and sighed. "It is a heavy fact to carry my lady. Are you sure you wish to carry it in secret?"

"Losing the child would greatly distress my Lord Husband. I want to spare him that. He's been nothing but kind and loving and the best I could ever hope for. This pledge is important to the treaty and I don't want to risk him forcing us to return home. If I lose this child I will suffer alone and in silence."

"My Lady I beg you to seek a Healer if you ever do think you are to lose the child. You are far enough along now that a miscarry will be a danger to your life as well."

Kaoru was sure she could trust their healer to keep the secret. He was her people after all and a healer at her Keep. She nodded. "I will."

… . . …

The bath was like a small pool. It was large enough to hold many people and deep enough for the water to reach a man's navel. Kaoru was freshly scrubbed and washed and she settled into the bath to soak. The bottom was covered in beach sand, which seemed to be counter-intuitive to getting clean. But the sand felt good on her feet and as she settled on a stone bench she kept her feet from the bottom anyways, tucking them next to her body instead. She turned and watched as a servant scrubbed Kenshin's hair. He sat on a small stool as the servant worked his hair into a giant lather of bubbles and then tipped a bucket of warm water over his head over and over to wash all soap away. He stood then and made his way over to the pool and sat next to her on the bench.

"So much water." He mused with a loud sigh. "I've never been in or around so much water in all my life. I've no idea how much your people love to bathe." He looked at her from the side of his eyes and his lips twitched into a smile.

Kaoru couldn't help but smile back. Since learning she was with child she seemed to feel better. As if knowing her ill feeling was due to the child made it easier to bare. She nearly burst from having to hold the news to herself. She wanted to see the look on his face and in his eyes as she delivered the news. She didn't know how she held it in the moment she saw him after the examination, but she did. She didn't even dare breath it to her handmaidens. Not to mention Sano. Kaoru knew his loyalty was too much for him to keep the information to himself.

"I'm sorry. I know the water makes you uncomfortable."

Kenshin shrugged. "I will survive, that I will."

But his joke was lost on Kaoru. "It doesn't hurt you? Does it?" She reached out, her hands pressed on his chest as if she would push him from the water.

Kenshin took her hands and moved them to wrap around his chest and he pulled Kaoru against his body and wrapped his arms around her as well. "No worries. A bath, a pool or a small stream will not harm me. Just cause me discomfort and tiredness, that it will. Any larger however." He trailed off. He rested his chin on Kaoru's head. "Although to be truthful I look forward to leaving. Not because of the water." He added quickly. "Seeing you in your home lands makes me yearn for my own. I haven't been there in a while."

Kaoru turned her head so she could nuzzle his neck. He smelled like man and herbal soap. "You haven't?"

"When my mother died, I was just an infant. My father hated being surrounded by memories of her. He left our home and moved out of the Fire Lands and into the hills of the Air Nation."

Kaoru's eyes grew. "So far away?"

"Mmm." Kenshin trailed his fingers up and down her spine as he thought. "He really loved her." He said in a far-off voice. "I wish I knew her."

There was a few long moments of silence and Kaoru was unsure is she should break it. But she was curious. "So you were brought up with the Air people?"

"I was." He confirmed. "When I hit my training years I was sent back to the Firelands for a handful of years." He shifted then, to look at his wife's face. "I didn't meet their standards so I was sent back."

Kaoru blinked up at him for a moment before the realization set it. "What?" She gasped. "But I've seen you fight. You're the best fighter I've ever seen?"

Kenshin raised his brow in amusement. "You've seen many battles?"

"Well, no, but even your own men respect you as a fighter." Kaoru countered.

Kenshin laughed softly. "Relax woman." He tightened his arms around her. "I'm not an outcast of my people. I was just too small for their fighting style. They knew I was better built for the swift style of the Air People."

"So they sent you back to learn their style?" Kaoru nodded. "You are quite small for a Fire." She smiled at him.

"Woman, I made peace with my lot in life a long time ago." He gave her one more squeeze before climbing out of the water. "I used to be teased that my mother was actually an Air woman. Like that was supposed to hurt me. I loved my mother no matter what. I wouldn't have cared if my mother was a Water female." He glanced back at Kaoru. "No offense, Love. We didn't know any better back then."

Kaoru huffed a laugh as she too pulled herself from the water. At once a servant came and wrapped them in towels. "You speak sweetly of her, even though you didn't know her." She mused.

Kenshin survived his servant's attack with towels and was being dressed. They both were still uneasy at being served in such a way. But they both agreed that at a castle as the royal guests, they could only accept it. A white shirt was being buttoned on him while another worked on drying his long hair. "I knew the impact she had on my father. I do not remember him as he was before, only who he was after my mother passed, but when he speaks of her, I can see the hint of the man she made of him." He turned away, focusing on the servant's quick work of the mother-of-pearl buttons.

Kaoru saw emotion in his eyes, and it touched her. "Has….has it been a while since you've seen your father?"

"Mmm." Kenshin nodded. He swallowed before continuing. "Not long after we were married and had destroyed the last drow stronghold in the Nether Expanse, we parted."

"So long?" They were married over ten years ago, why would be go so long without seeing him? "Is there bad blood between you two?" She pushed.

Kenshin shook his head and then nodded. He still refused to look at her. Instead he took the offered pants from the servant and put them on. "I wasn't much happy with our marriage." He paused then, looking over at the group of females that clucked around Kaoru. She was dried, powered, perfumed and nearly dressed. Her hair was still being dried. "Perhaps we can talk about this some other time, that we can."

Kaoru nodded. If it was a delicate matter, privacy would be easier. "I'll ask again, some other time."

A/n Wooooo! Aoshi and Misao
Yahiko showed up
Kaoru is expecting! I never realized how packed this chapter was! Makes me a bit sad that I ended it in Kenshin having a bit of an uncomfortable conversation. I wonder what pulled him and his father apart?
Reviews are loved! Thank you for reading.