Author's Note: Before you start reading this, if you haven't read The King & Queen you may want to read that first because this is a continuation. I know I haven't finished The King & Queen, but I wanted to go ahead and start this one as a promise that I will be finishing it at some point.
Ch. 2- Until They Return
Mials attempt at changing Brianna's cloth diaper was laughable if it wasn't for the shrill screams of Brianna. He felt frustrated and incompetent at this point in time. The door opened and a she demon entered. She had short brown hair and big blue eyes. She looked at him with concern. He looked to her pleadingly.
"Joanna, please tell me you know what to do?!" he yelled over Brianna. She came over quickly and began to undo the poorly wrapped new diaper. She examined his work at wiping the poor girl. She picked up a clean strip of cloth and dunked it into the Mials drink which sat on the desk. She cleaned Brianna up with a swift gentleness Mials couldn't believe. Brianna began to quiet. Joanna picked up the bare baby.
"I need a cleaner cloth." she said. As Mials dug into the bag for another cloth, Joana checked the little puff of silver fur on Brianna's backside. Luckily, it was still clean. A slight giggle erupted from Joanna.
"What?" asked Mials as he laid out a new cloth on the desk.
"I'm just imaging that this is how you and Master Kurama looked as babies." she mused. "To think such fierce fox demons had such as adorable start." She laid the now cooing Brianna down and began to swaddle her correctly. Joanna smiled at the precious baby. Brianna smiled back causing Joanna to giggle. "Goodness, you are precious!" she exclaimed softly.
"Does it make you want one anytime soon?" he joked. She side eyed him as she picked Brianna up.
"You stay on that stuff your father taught you to make!" she replied sternly. "I want to see how you do with baby sitting you sister before we even think about a baby of our own!" He chuckled. "Where is your mother anyhow?" she added. Mials picked up a small folded letter. "Go ahead and read it." she encouraged. Mials looked torn, but unfolded the paper.
"My dear Mials, if you are reading this letter, it means that Spirit World agents will likely catch up to me and your aunt. We will av aided them as long as possible. All attempts to request asylum back to Demon World have failed. With the barrier now in place, we can no longer freely moved through the worlds as we had before. We found a cave where the veil between the worlds is thin and have been able to send word to Lord Yomi for aid in the security of your little sister. Know he did all he could to help us. The only one able to still pass through the barrier is her. I will continue to try to return in whatever way I can. I hope your father has returned home safely. Please convey to him a message of peace with Yomi… and tell him I'm sorry. I love all of you very much! Love, A.K." he read aloud. He sniffled a little. Joanna looked at him sadly.
"She'll return." she said trying to lift his spirit. "As will your father. All we need to worry about right now is this little peanut." He nodded. Brianna began to fuss a little again. "She's hungry." said Joanna.
"I sent Senju to get some milk from that village nearby." he said.
"He knows to get goat's milk, right?" she asked. "Cow milk can be too hard on her stomach." Mials baffled looked answered her. Joanna sighed. "You are extremely fortunate I'm here." she stated.
"That is very true." he replied stepping closer. He rubbed her right shoulder sweetly.
"Don't even think about it." she said noticing the glint in his eyes. "Not tonight." She led the way out and down to the front doors. The movement seemed to calm Brianna. Joanna paced with a slight bounce by the front doors, waiting on Senju. After what felt like an eternity, the doors swung open and he staggered in with a fresh shiner on his face.
"What happened to you?" asked Mials.
"Did you get any milk?" asked Joanna at the same time. Senju handed Joanna a bag of milk with a leather nipple on it already. Joanna looked surprised. "Is it goat's milk?" she asked as he closed the doors.
"Yes." he replied. "The bruise is in a way how I learned to get goat's milk." They walked in a bit further as he talked.. "The first farm I came across, I was given permission to try to milk their cow. After it kicked me in the face and the farmer had a good laugh, his daughter came our and was of much help." Brianna eagerly took to the leathery nipple and began to suckle. Her little ears twitched as she drank down the milk. Senju chuckled at the sight. "She is something else."
"Who was cuter?" asked Mials jokingly. Senju laughed.
As days turned into weeks, Mials got better at the ends and outs of taking care of his baby sister. This strange new arrangement drove away some of their numbers, but the war on the boarder of Mukuro and Yomi's land was escalating. Soon people from the village came seeking refuge from the fighting. Knowing they had goods and talents that were much needed, Mials let villagers in. They settled within and around the base. At Brianna's first birthday, the numbers were almost 200 and as long as there was room, he saw no harm in letting them come.
The base became a village of about 500 by the time Brianna could walk. At about two and a half years old, the whole village got a good chuckle watching Mials chase Brianna, who was buck naked, all over the grounds. Finally the streaking child was apprehended by Joanna. Other women in the village gushed over Brianna and went out of their way to look after the adorable little fox, but Joanna was the one Brianna was closest too. Brianna was broken of calling her 'ma' by Mials, but Bianna looked to Joanna like a mother and Mials like a father. As she got older she could sense a rift between Mials and Joanna, but Joanna stayed close by for Brianna. She didn't quite understand the whole situation.
One day Joanna took Brianna to the spring nearby to bath her. She was about four or five now. She was inquisitive and talkative for the most part, but she wanted to ask questions she knew vexed her brother.
"Where's my mommy and daddy?" she asked Joanna out of the blue as they got out of the water.
"I'm not sure." she replied honestly. She tried to think on how to best address this as she helped Brianna dry off. "They are very powerful demons. When the barrier between the Demon World and Human World went up, I believe they got trapped in Human World."
"Do you think they are still alive?" asked Brianna.
"Yes, I do." replied Joanna. She slipped Brianna's dress over her head.
"Why did they leave Demon World?" she asked as Joanna pulled her long silver tail through a small slit in the back of the light green dress. "Is it because of the fighting?"
"Your mother is half human." said Joanna as she dried off. "I think she wanted to keep a home there for you a Mials soneither of you would forget the grandmother you're named after."
"Do you think they will ever come home?" she asked as Joanna got dressed. Once dressed, she knelt down before Brianna.
"I think maybe one day they will find a way." she said taking her little hands. "They love you and your brother SO much! There's no way they would ever stop trying to come home! I know they want to see you as much as you want to see them! Until they make back, you have me and your brother and Senju to tell you all about them!" Brianna smiled a little. "Would you like me to tell you a story about them while we walk back?" Brianna nodded happily.
As she grew older, she realized that the stories changed depending on who told it. Senju told stories in a graphic reality that sometimes terrified or disgusted her while Mials told her stories in a more fairy tale approach. She liked most how Joanna told stories. It was a good balance of both. She believed her the most and sought her stories out the most. She didn't care how many time she heard the over and over again. It made her feel closer to her mother and father. She also loved to here stories from the villagers about their own lives and adventures. She took a great liking to Valentina, who was the farmer's daughter that helped Senju the night she was brought home. She was a tall, beautiful she demon. Her hair was maroon and her eyes were blue. She was mostly Domini demon which was rare these days and her family passed down the heritage as best as possible. When hearing of Brianna's roots, she demanded to teach her the heritage too. Senju hung around Valentina a lot. Brianna caught them sneaking a kiss a few times. She was intrigued by the complexity of relationships.
Growing into her double digits, she took an interest into the politics of the land. One night over dinner, she broke the tense silence between Milas and Joanna with a question.
"Are we a part of Mukuro's land or Yomi's?" she asked inquisitively.
"Neither." said Mials shortly. "Why would you ask such a question?"
"I'm just curious." she replied. Joanna shot Mials a stern look as he sighed in annoyance. "So does this mean you are the lord of this area?"
"No!" he snapped. "Our mother and father are the lord and lady of this land! You know that!"
"Stop snapping at her when she asks questions!" hissed Joanna. "Let her learn!"
"Nothing outside of this forest is worth learning or exploring!" retorted Mials. "Remember that, Brianna!" She looked down to her food feeling belittled. Joanna got up from the table swiftly, clanking her dishes as she gathered them up. Mials watched her. After a moment her followed, leaving his plate behind. Brianna quickly and quietly followed them to the kitchen. She stood outside the door way out of sight.
"How dare you tell her that?!" yelled Joanna. "How dare you treat her like that?! You treat her like a prisoner!"
"I treat her like a child!" he yelled back.
"She's 14!" bellowed Joanna. "She should be learning about all of Demon World! You know as well as I do that we will end up either Mukuro or Yomi's territory as soon as the fighting is over!"
"It's my job to keep her safe until they return!" he replied.
"They are never returning!" she yelled at him. "Stop being delusional! They are probably dead! Now would be the perfect time to side with Yomi and ally his army! Most of the people in the village want that!"
"I will never side with Yomi!" snapped Mials.
"Why?!" she retorted. "Because he had a crush on you father over 500 years ago and made a couple mistakes?! He brought Brianna here! Your mother entusted him with that task!"
"My mother is too kind hearted about that monster!" yelled Mials. "He tried to have us killed when I was a child!" Joanna scuffed.
"That's not the story I got from your mother." she hissed.
"I don't care!" snapped Mials.
"You should." she replied seeming to be out of energy to argue anymore. "I'm done."
"What do you mean you're done?" he asked.
"We can't do this anymore." she replied. "We don't agree on anything anymore. Honestly, I've only stayed this long for Brianna."
"Joanna!" snapped Mials in a more sad and desperate tone. "Are you really going to leave me over the stupid arguments we have?!" There was a long moment of silence. "I still love you!"
"I do too, but…" Joanna sniffled. "I can't do this anymore."
"My mother and father argued."said Mials. "They never-"
"She walked away, Mials!" snapped Joanna softly. "Your mother left for Human World because she couldn't take the fighting anymore! Granted she had every intention of coming back, she still left because it was too much! Your father had to always be right! You are just like him in that regard!" There was another pause. Brianna's eyes mist at the weight of this information. "I'm not going to be like your mother and let love keep me in an unhealthy relationship. I'm going to stay with Valentina for a little bit while I figure out what I'm going to do next..." she sighed heavily, "and how I'm going to tell Brianna I'm going." Brianna ran to her room and threw herself onto her bed. She began to cry into a pillow.
