Author's Notes:

Hello everyone! I was hoping to release this chapter a little sooner, but I was preoccupied with life stuff. I'll try to get out more chapters this week, but I am studying for semester finals, so there might not be so many. I hope you understand. Anyway, enjoy chapter 48!

Chapter 48: Recovery Begins

"Alex is...your son?" Louise asked.

"Yes. I gave him his name. I never thought I'd see him again." Mariel replied, staring at the moons in the sky.

"Are you sure you aren't mistaken, elder sister?" Sasha asked.

"I am positive. I'd never forget my own child's face." She replied.

"If you're sure it's him, why did you run away?" Louise asked.

"He probably hates me." Mariel said, laughing slightly. "I don't blame him. I sent him into this world alone. If he knew I was his mother, he'd never want to talk to me."

"You won't know unless you tell him." Louise replied. "Maybe he'd love to finally know his mother."

"I think you should tell him." Sasha said. "What is the worst that could happen?"

"We'll be there to support you." Louise said, smiling at her.

"Alright, alright." Mariel conceded. "I'll speak with him, but I blame you guys if it goes wrong."

They made their way back to Louise's house, where Alex and Shion had made themselves at home. Mariel stared at them for a few seconds, then turned around, about to leave the room again. However, before she could depart, Louise and Sasha blocked her way. She sighed and turned back to face Alex.

"Umm...hello." She said.

"H-Hello..." Alex replied.

"T-Tell me. Do you...remember your family?" She asked, rather bluntly.

"Family? No. I was abandoned when I was young." Alex replied. "It doesn't bother me anymore. I'm old enough to have gotten over it."

"What would you say to your mother if you could meet her again?" She asked quite timidly.

"Hm? I've never given it much thought." He replied. "I suppose I'd ask her why she abandoned me, then decide how to treat her from that."

Mariel took a deep breath, doing her best to calm her nerves, but to no avail. She began to hyperventilate, which made Sasha and Louise slightly worried.

"Just tell him." Sasha whispered into Mariel's ear.

"Right." Mariel replied. She looked back at Alex, taking one last breath. "Alex, I'm your mother."

Alex stared at her with a blank face. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking, so they were all very uncomfortable. After about a minute, he suddenly started laughing, making the situation even worse.

"Stop messing with me!" He said, laughing. "I'm obviously not an elf. My mother is probably already dead."

"I promise you, I am your mother." Mariel replied. "The only way you could live as long as you have is if you had an elf's blood. The only way you could be capable of having your strength is if you weren't human."

"There's no way..." Alex said, realizing how serious she was.

"I'm sorry." Mariel said. "I shouldn't have told you."

She began to walk away, with a sad expression on her face. Just as she was about to leave the room, Alex grabbed her hand. She turned around to look back at him, surprised that he bothered to stop her at all. Tears flowed down his face, but his expression was rather fierce.

"If you are my mother, I want to know why you abandoned me." He said, looking directly into her eyes.

"If you wish to know, I will tell you." Mariel replied. "Where I'm from, or rather, where we're from, the vast majority of people hate humans because of an atrocity they committed in the past. However, your father was a human being. When people found out they...murdered him. I knew they would be after you next, so I was forced to send you away and make you forget about me and your father."

"What was this atrocity that was so bad?" He asked.

"The humans waged a war on the four other races of the world, nearly making each of us extinct." Sasha said, almost emotionlessly. "I killed the man who started the war and helped found the kingdom where our races currently reside."

"I see..." Alex replied. "So you did it for my own safety..."

"I'm so sorry." Mariel said, beginning to cry. "I know your life must have been hard, but I'm happy to have met you. Even if you don't believe I'm your mother, I still love you. I'm happy you're alive."

"I think...I want to believe you." He replied, wiping his tears away. "Even if it's not true, you seem to care about me. Maybe having a mother to look after me...wouldn't be so bad."

Mariel smiled and gave him a tight hug, relieved that everything went well. When she let him go, she noticed the quiet, white haired girl standing behind Alex. Her expression and attitude reminded Mariel of Sasha.

"Oh, this is my wife, Shion." Alex said, introducing her.

"Your wife? You already got married?" Mariel asked.

"Well, let's just say we had a private marriage." Alex replied. "We met last year before the war began."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Shion said, bowing towards Mariel. "I would like to visit your world at some point in the future."

"This one isn't human either." Sasha said, staring at Shion.

She walked behind her, observing every inch of her body. She started to rub her back, feeling her bone structure, which made Shion extremely uncomfortable.

"I'll take you to my world later." Mariel said, pulling her little sister away. "I assume you know Saito as well. He-"

"Is he okay?!" Alex exclaimed.

"I see you two must be close. He is recovering from his wounds." Mariel replied. "He is mostly healed, but he is somewhat paralyzed."

"I'd like to see him immediately." Alex said.

"Well, I suppose he's healthy enough to talk to you." Sasha said. "Very well. We can leave tomorrow."

"Why tomorrow?" Mariel asked.

Sasha pointed at Louise, who had fallen fast asleep, still standing on her feet.

In Sasha's Cabin

Saito woke up laying in bed. He felt extremely groggy, but pushed himself off of the bed so that he was sitting up. It was already afternoon and rain fell outside. As it was already autumn, it was starting to become quite cold. Laura sat on the floor, letting his children play on her large wings.

"You can already move?" She asked when she noticed that he got up.

"Hm? Oh. I guess I did it subconsciously." He replied. "I still feel kind of weak though."

"Of course. It's been a long time since you've moved, after all." She said.

"I see you and the kids are getting along quite well." He said, laying back on the bed.

"They're very friendly. Quite strong too." She replied as they hung from her wings with their tails.

"Thank god." He said. "Human children can be a handful."

As he said this, the door to the cabin opened. Through it came Sasha, Mariel, Alex, Shion, and Louise. Laura immediately stood up and bowed towards Sasha and Mariel. Alex and Shion's eyes widened when they saw the tall woman's wings.

"Welcome back, Lady Sasha. Welcome back, Madame Mariel." Laura said.

"I told you not to bow towards us." Mariel said. "We're not royalty."

"Are those wings real?" Alex asked subconsciously.

"Of course." Laura said, looking down at Alex, who was much shorter than her.

Louise, only slightly surprised by the scaly wings Laura had, walked straight to Saito. She gave him a hug, slightly choking him. He hugged her back, not wanting to ruin the moment by saying something stupid.

"It's been a while." He said, sitting up to look at her.

"Your hair is long. It needs to be cut." She replied, smiling back at him.

His hair was, indeed, very long. Because of the amount of time he had spent incapacitated, his hair had grown to his waist and was rather unkempt.

"Let me keep it." He replied. "I think it's kind of cool."

"At least comb it." She said, running her fingers through his hair.

"Sure thing." He replied, giving her a kiss.

Their lips remained locked together for several seconds, but they were pulled apart when their children jumped on them, wanting the same amount of affection. They kissed they children's cheeks and played with them for a little while.

"They already look like a family..." Shion said as everyone observed them.

Eventually, Saito and Louise noticed that they were being observed.

"Sorry. We got pulled into the moment." Louise said, chuckling nervously.

"That's fine. You guys are adorable together." Mariel said.

"I think I'm ready to go home." Saito said. "I can stand as long as I have a walking cane."

"As you wish." Sasha said. "I will have Laura visit you periodically to check on your condition."

"Thank you." Saito replied. "What are Alex and Shion doing here?"

"Umm, Mariel is my…mother." Alex said, still having trouble coming to terms with it.

"Really?! Wow! I guess you do look alike, huh?" Saito replied, both excited and happy for them.

"I'm going to teach him everything I know!" Mariel said, hugging Alex tightly.

"I believe Shion is from this place as well." Sasha said. "I want to help her find her parents if they're still out there."

"I see. So I assume you guys will be staying here?" Saito asked.

"Yeah." Alex said. "I'll stay here for a few days, then I'll come back."

"I'll remain here until I find out about my family." Shion added.

"Alright. I guess we'll see you when you get back." Louise said.

She helped Saito stand on his own feet. It was still very difficult for him, but he could hold himself up with a cane. Louise opened a world door to her palace and led Saito through it, letting him sit down on a chair.

She then went back through the door and picked up her children, setting them on Saito's lap. As the world door closed, they waved goodbye to everyone. As they waved back, the door finally closed, leaving Saito and Louise alone with the children.

"How do you feel?" She asked once the door had closed.

"A little shaky, that's all." He replied. "I'm just happy to be with you again."

"Come on. I'll help you with your hair." She said, trying to divert her attention from her embarrassment.

She left the children in her bedroom, where she would be able to hear them if anything happened, then helped Saito into the bathroom. She had him sit in her bathtub and began to wash and comb his hair and body. He was much skinnier than normal from his time being inactive, and had a range of new scars added to his collection of old ones.

The feeling of her hands scrubbing his head and back soothed him, making his atrophied muscles relax. A feeling of happiness and relief came over him as he realized that his struggles were over and he could now relax with his family. However, the feeling soon disappeared when he realized that he now had to deal with Louise's family, as well as his own.

"Hey Louise, when do you think we should meet your parents?" He asked.

"They'll be visiting me this week." She said. "My sisters are coming too."

"I look so weak though." He replied. "They'll probably be against me being with you."

"This is your country as well." She said, moving his hair away from his face. "Even if they're against it, we don't have to listen to them. Besides, we have children, so we have to stay together anyway."

"Yeah. I'm more concerned about my own parents, anyway." He replied, holding her hands.

"I really hope they understand." She said gloomily. "I know you miss them, after all."

"If they don't like that we're together, I'll just stay here forever then." He replied, turning around to look at her. "Being with you and my kids is far more important to me."

"Speaking of which, we still need to give them names." Louise said.

"I guess we do." Saito replied. "Any ideas?"

"Riza for our daughter." She said quickly

"You sound like you already decided." He replied.

"Well...you gave me a few months to think about it." She replied, rather embarrassed. "You can pick another name if you don't like it."

"I love it, don't worry." He told her, lifting himself out of the tub and putting on a gown. "What about for the boy?"

"Gabriel." She said, just as quickly as before.

"Sounds good." He replied, giving her a hug. "I assume the country doesn't know about them?"

"I made sure to keep them a secret. Only the palace guards know." She replied, as she helped him into bed.

"We should let your parents know first." Saito said, having Louise rest her head on his chest.

"Well, they'll have to find out one way or another. They're visiting soon, so they'll see the kids anyway." She replied, slowly becoming tired.

"I'm more worried about your parents and Eleonore." He replied. "You're not still afraid of her, are you?"

"Not anymore, no." She said. "I got over it."

Saito remained silent, thinking about what happened since he arrived in Halkeginia.

"Hey, Louise." He said. "Tomorrow, do you mind teaching me a little?"

"Teaching you what?" She replied.

"Everything aristocrats are taught here." He continued. "If I'm going to be a King, I'm sure there are certain things I should know. I'd also like to know about what happened since I was made unconscious."

"I suppose I could help you." She replied. "Don't push yourself too hard, though. You're still not well."

"I understand. Thank you, Louise." He replied

After a few minutes of silence, both of them fell asleep, finally able to have a peace of mind. Their dreams were peaceful for the most part, with only a few brief images of the war flashing every so often, only to be replaced by images of their happy future together.

Author's Notes:

Hello everyone! Sorry for the late chapter, as usual. I promise, I'm doing my best to get them out on time, but life doesn't always agree with you. The first thing I want to address is that the link to the map of Halkeginia is on my profile page. I moved it there after realizing that doesn't support links for whatever reason. It is quite a crude map, so bear with me. Anyway, thanks for reading. See you next time!