Chapter 70: Maximilien and Mariel V

Max and his lover walked through the forest in the middle of winter. About two feet of snow blanketed the ground they walked on, making progress much slower than normal. He was carrying her on his back, despite her many protests.

"Maxi, I can walk by myself." She said to him.

"Our child will be born soon." He replied. "I've been waiting for this day for more than a year. I don't want you wasting any energy."

"But we're not that far away from the portal." She said. "I can walk that far."

"No. I'm going to make sure you're well rested." He replied as he neared the portal to her world.

"Why can't the child be born in this world?" She asked

"Well, people already know you and I are having a kid here." He said. "The world has really softened up to Elves, but there might still be humans who are opposed to the idea. It's dangerous. Besides, your world has better technology anyway, so delivering the baby will be easier."

"The people in my world are much less fond of a relationship between Elves and humans." She replied. "If they find out that this child is the offspring of a Human and and Elf, it might be in danger."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that." Max said. "You and Sasha are really powerful, so I doubt anyone will try anything. Even if they do, I'm strong enough to stop them."

"Very well." She replied. "The baby will be born in a few days. We should be thinking of names."

Max, have finally reached the portal, spoke in the Elvish tongue taught to him by Mariel to open the gate. As he walked through it and towards her mountain, he started to think of what she had just said.

"Well, we don't even know if it's a girl or a boy yet." He replied.

"We could come up with two names. One for a boy, and one for a girl." She said.

"So what do you have in mind?" He asked.

"I'm not so sure. Something that reminds me of you." She replied

"What if it's a girl?" He asked.

"We'll figure it out when the time comes." She said.

"Okay. I'll keep thinking of names in the meantime." He said as he got closer to the mountain's entrance.

"Think nice and hard." Mariel replied, resting her head on his back.

"By the way, how do you think Sasha will react to this?" He asked. "Its been ten years since we've seen her. Finding out that you're pregnant might be a shock for her."

"We'll find out when we see her." Mariel replied. "She's in the mountain. I can feel her presence."

Max took a deep breath, knowing that what was about to happen could be an ordeal. He quickly made his way inside and out of the cold, laying Mariel down on a warm soft bed. As he tucked her into bed, he heard someone walking behind him.

When he turned around, he saw Sasha standing in the doorway. Because she was wearing her usual blank expression, he couldn't read what she might be feeling, so he waited for her to say something to him.

"It has been quite some time since we last saw each other." She said.

"Ummm, yeah." Max said. "How have you been?"

"Very well." She replied. "I have heard good stories about your work in the human world."

"You have?" He asked. "How?"

"My sons keep watch over the human world and report back to me every so often." She said.

"Ah, so they were watching me?" He asked.

"No. Many in your world already know about you and my sister's work." She replied.

"Oh, I guess you would hear about it sooner or later then, huh?" He said, sitting on the bed.

"Sister, why are you in bed?" Sasha asked, looking towards her elder sister.

Because Max had covered her in several layers of thick blankets, it made it difficult for Sasha to see the bump on Mariel's stomach.

"I'm just...tired." Mariel replied, doing her best to hide the truth.

"Is that so?" Sasha asked, slowly walking closer.

"Yes. Why?" Mariel asked, becoming nervous.

"You're hiding something, sister." Sasha said as she stood next to her sister.

"Your eyes deceive you, little sister." Mariel replied.

Sasha narrowed her eyes and looked down at her sister. As her eyes narrowed, they seemed to start glowing in a bright emerald color. After a few seconds, the glow disappeared and she quickly looked at Max, her beautiful green eyes seeming to pierce his soul.

"What have you done to my sister?" She asked.

Max could see that her fingers were beginning to twitch as she tried to resist reaching for her axe which hanged from her back. Knowing her patience was being worn thin, Max decided to be truthful before she finally snapped.

"We're going to have a family." He said quickly.

"Nonsense. Mariel pledged to never have children." Sasha said, becoming more aggressive in her speaking. "She would not go back on her word. Especially not with a human."

"Sister, he tells the truth." Mariel interjected. "The child will be born soon. In only a few days."

"Was this done against your will?" Sasha asked.

"Absolutely not." Mariel replied.

Sasha looked back at Max, who seemed frightened, then finally sighed, relaxing her muscles from their previously tense position.

"Why did you come here to give birth, sister?" Sasha asked. "The Humans seem to be more accepting of Elves. You very easily could have used one of the Human hospitals."

"Maxi thought our technology would let the process be more fluid." Mariel replied. "He was also worried about us being attacked there. Because of my relation to you, it's unlikely that anyone will harm us here."

"If you came through the gate to this world, there is no doubt someone saw you here." Sasha said. "I would not be surprised if word has already spread that you're expecting."

"Perhaps. I will be careful." Mariel said.

"It is not you I am worried about." Sasha said, looking at her sister's belly. "I will allow you to rest. Protect her, Max."

"I will protect my family with my life." Max replied.

"How very noble." Sasha said as she left the room. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

Max made sure to keep his promise, staying by Mariel's side for several days. He only ever moved to bring her food or drinks to keep her comfortable. Any time she seemed even minutely uncomfortable, he would somewhat overreact, tending to her every whim.

One day, he gathered water from a nearby spring. When he stood up to go back to Mariel, he felt the presence of several people. Using the trees that surrounded him, he could scout the area around the mountain.

Several people of mixed races were watching him from a distance. He could feel that they were hostile, so he hurried back inside. When he reached Mariel's room, he could see that she was tense. Not only could she feel the hostile presence outside, but she was about to go into labor.

Because Max read several books on both magic and sciences, he knew, more or less, how to deliver a child. It was a painful experience for him and Mariel both, as it took quite a strain on Max's mind. It was less painful for Mariel than it otherwise would have been because of the several medicines she was given to dull the pain.

After several hours, Max had managed to safely deliver the baby. It was a boy with pale skin and was incredibly small. He put it on a soft smaller bed next to Mariel's, then checked on her to see if she was okay.

She was breathing heavily and was very faint from her ordeal, but was ready to hold her child. Wrapped in a blanket, Max slowly laid the baby into her arms. When it was in its mother's arms, it stopped fussing, giving Mariel a chance to see its face.

As tears flowed down her face as the child grabbed her fingers with its little hands, Max was focusing on the hostility he felt outside in the forest. It was making him tense, but he decided to wait before confronting Mariel about it.

After a few minutes, he finally turned towards his 'wife' to talk to her about the situation outside the mountain.

"Mariel, I suspect the people outside want to harm the child." He said.

"You are strong enough to kill them if need be." She replied.

"I can't kill them." He said. "It will give everyone here more reason to hate Humans. If they choose to harm Humanity because of this, there is nothing Humans can do to stop them."

"I suppose. Then what will you do?" She asked.

Max thought for a while. Harming those people was out of the question, so he had to think of a way to get the child into the human world.

"You are too weak to run quickly at the moment, right?" He asked.

"Unfortunately, yes." She said.

With the current circumstances, he finally had an idea.

"Listen to me, Mariel." He began. "In a few days when you are able to walk, I want you to make your way to the portal."

"It will be more than a few days before I'm capable of making quick progress." She said.

"I know. I will protect you on your way there." He said.

"How?" She asked.

"This land is filled with trees and plants." He replied. "I can manipulate them to keep those people at bay while you escape."

"Using that magic takes a lot out of you. How will you escape?" She asked.

"I'm sure I'll have enough energy to escape. Don't worry." He said, although there was doubt in his voice. "Just relax for now."

Although she wanted to argue, she didn't have the energy to do so. She laid her head back onto her pillow, handing her son back to Max so he could lay him in his pen.

They sat rather silently in the room, with the only sound being the baby's soft cooing. For the next three days, they would pass the time by talking about how they would raise the baby.

On the third day, Mariel decided that she could run, albeit it slowly. She was highly skeptical of Max's plan, but chose to go along with it since they didn't have many options.

"Why can't you take the baby to the Human world? Why must I go?" She asked.

"Sasha isn't here to protect you at the moment." Max said. "The only thing keeping them from killing you and the baby is knowing that I'm here. If I take the baby and leave you here, you could get hurt."

"Very well." She said. "I'm ready to go."

"Listen, Mariel. If for whatever reason I'm not able to make it back to my world, don't bring our child back here." Max said.

"I am well aware." She said, wrapping the baby in several layers of warm blankets.

Fearing the worst, he gave Mariel a long kiss before they were to depart. When they left the mountain, Max kept his family very close to him. As they walked on a road in the forest, their path was blocked by a group of twelve Elves.

"Why do you block my path?" Mariel asked.

"Lord Mariel, why do you acquaint yourself with this human?" One of them asked.

"Who I acquaint myself with is none of your concern." She replied.

"We know you carry a human child with you." Another said. "Humans are banned in this land. Dispose of it."

"This child is mine, I will not dispose of it." Mariel said.

"Mariel, go to the portal." Max said. "I will handle these ones."

The trees around them wrapped around the group of Elves, restraining them in their positions. Mariel took this chance to begin the journey to the portal. Several other people of differing races seemingly appeared out of thin air to go after her, but they were all stopped by the surrounding trees.

It did not take long for them to realize that Max was the one controlling the life around them, so they cut themselves free with their magic and came after him.

Because Mariel was still very weakened from having a child, she could not move quickly, meaning the trip from Max's location to the portal would take several hours. During this time, Max would constantly have to protect her and himself.

This wasn't much of a problem while she was within ten kilometers from him, however, as she got further away, it took more and more energy to control the trees closest to her. Because he was devoting more energy to protecting her from incoming enemies than to fighting for himself, he soon began to take small injuries.

He was able to force his body to heal the injuries more quickly, but he knew that he could only do that so much before depleting all of the magic he had left.

By the seventh hour, he was nearly out of magic. He had sustained rather grievous wounds, but was still standing, making sure not to harm any of his enemies. It was clear at this time that he could not withstand another onslaught of attacks.

He knew that there would be no way for him to escape, so he decided to use all of his remaining magic to ensure that Mariel could escape. Just as his enemies were about to attack him again, Max was able to feel that Mariel had gone through the portal to the human world.

He let out a sigh of relief, knowing that his family was safe. Knowing that regardless of what he did, the Elves would not let him live, he lessened his guard just as their swords were about to land, letting them pierce his body.

Six spears skewered his body from his sides, back, and abdomen. He coughed up blood and fell on one knee. When they removed their weapons from his body, he fell onto his back, staring up at the night sky, filled with millions of stars.

He wasn't in any pain as his blood spilled from his body, dying the snow on the ground in a rich red color. He thought about how he didn't want to die, but was at the same time happy that he was dying saving his family. After several minutes of silence, his eyes finally became glazed over and his heart stopped beating.

As this happened, Mariel walked through the forests of Gallia, waiting for Max to walk through the portal. However, after several hours, she began to realize that he might not come to meet her. Still, she held out hope that he was alive. Perhaps her kin decided to capture him rather than kill him.

Still, she remembered what he told her, knowing that she had to leave her son in the human world, at least temporarily. She made her way towards the village she met him in so many years ago, knowing that they would take care of her son in her absence.

She slowly made her way to the village, where upon her arrival, they readily opened their gates to welcome her with open arms. They asked her several questions about her travels, which she quickly answered before explaining why she was there.

"I will need this village's assistance." She said.

"How may we help you?" The leader of the village, an old polite man, asked.

"I require you to take care of this child." She said, unwrapping the baby from his layers of blankets.

"But this child is yours." The man replied. "Can you or Maximilien not care for him?"

"Maximilien...is gone." She said, although she was having trouble coming to terms with reality.

"Gone? What do you mean?" He asked.

"The people in my world do not like humanity." She said. "In order to save this child, he...protected us. He has passed away in the process."

"I...I'm so sorry." He said. "I am sure we can find this boy someone who will care for him here."

"Thank you." She replied with tears streaming down her face. "I must go back to my land. Please do take care of him."

"Do not worry. He will be looked after." The man replied, holding the baby in his hands. "What is his name?"

"Alexandre." She said. "His name is Alexandre."

"A lovely choice." The man said. "We Humans will surely not forget about what you and Max did for both races. We will surely mourn for a great amount of time."

"Thank you." She replied as she walked towards the village gate.

She left the village slowly and in a solemn mood. When she reached the portal, she approached it with hesitation, but eventually chose to walk through it. Once back in her world, she quickly went back to where she last saw Max.

When she arrived, her eyes immediately laid upon a body surrounded by red snow. Knowing that he refused to harm any of her kin, she knew immediately that it was him. She rushed to his side, with faint hope that he may be alive.

However, these hopes were shattered as soon as she saw the wounds in his abdomen. She knew that it happened several hours ago, so there was no way for him to have survived. On his face, his eyes had remained open.

Reminding her of the first time she met him, he had died wearing a smile, something which fit his personality. As she knelt over his body, silently shedding tears, several people surrounded her from a distance, observing her.

After several minutes, she lifted his body, carrying it back into her mountain. She spent the night cleaning his body, already thinking about burying him. As she cleaned his body, she heard several explosions outside. After a few minutes, Sasha ran into the room where Mariel was dressing Max's wounds.

"Elder sister, how is he?!" She asked, showing more emotion than usual.

"He is gone, little sister." Mariel replied

"I'm sorry, sister." Sasha said, putting her hand on her sister's shoulder. "They will be sent to trial."

"Everyone hates humans here." Mariel replied. "A trial is meaningless."

"Where is the child?" She asked.

"With Maxi's old village." She replied. "They will keep him safe."

"I will leave you be for now." Sasha said. "I'm sorry."

One week later, a trial was held for all of those who were found responsible for Max's death. As Mariel had predicted, most people found them innocent, owing to their hatred of humans. At the very least, however, they allowed for him to be buried in the kingdom.

Mariel personally constructed his marble tomb, where his sarcophogus was to be laid. She made sure no one was capable of going near it except for her and her son by placing a spell in the surrounding area.

When she was finished, she placed a spell on his body, allowing it to remain preserved for as long as her magic supplied it with power. Sealing the tomb, she left him to rest, resolving herself to never go back to the human world unless it involved her son.

After a his death, she pretended as if her family didn't exist. For the next eighteen years, she would watch over Alex as he grew up with her gifted sight. But once he reached an age that he could care for himself, she could no longer see him clearly.

Whenever the subject of her family would come up, she would change it immediately to something more jovial. On the outside, she seemed extremely happy. Her sister, however, could see that on the inside, Mariel was grieving.

She could never recover from the pain of losing her husband or her son.

Author's Notes:

And that concludes this "arc" about Max and Mariel's backstory. Hope you liked it, although I definitely rushed it in the last two chapters. Or at least, it feels that way. If you have any questions or ideas, you can send me a PM or a Review. See you next time!