Sorry this took so long - updates for the foreseeable future probably will. I'm just about to start school again (teacher, not student, haha), and as you can imagine I'm a little stressed out.
Black Star had come when ordered to find Soul watching Maka sleep. Even though that topped the list of boring pastimes for Black Star, it was like pulling teeth to tear Soul away. They wandered the halls quietly to the parapet, the same old wineskin tucked under Black Star's arm. But as they took their usual spots, Soul waved away the drink, leaving Black Star to drown away the tension on his own.
After enough silence, Soul sighed, "She's pregnant."
Black Star was still half holding his breath. "I thought that's what today was about, you know, what the priestess said."
"Black Star," Soul stared straight at him as if saying his name wasn't enough, "She's really pregnant."
"Oh." While the swig probably looked like some somber glug to Soul, Black Star was celebrating. The secret had been driving him mad, keeping him dodging Soul at every possible moment and now, he was free! "Congratulations, right? You can actually celebrate for a minute." Black Star offered the skin again but Soul refused a second time.
"What if all of this doesn't work?" The sentence ground cruelly against his throat and his heart.
"Don't be an asshole," Black Star sighed. "It's going to. I tailed Medusa through the announcement. As soon as the word was out in the open she was off. Managed to get Kim away about two hours ago. Medusa was grinding and brewing up a storm. More of that flower or whatever but something else. Kim's trying to sneak out a sample without being too obvious."
Soul ground his teeth together as his hands rubbed worriedly along the tops of his thighs. "The feast tomorrow. I want extra guards."
"Got it," Black Star grinned. "Plus, I'm ready for a goddamn fight. All of these shady poisoning attempts are boring. I wish she'd give me my first real fight with a witch."
While maybe there wasn't relief in the idea of fighting, Soul let out a soft laugh as he stared at his best friend and his shit-eating grin. "You think you'd beat her?"
"With one hand tied behind my back," Black Star cackled. "This world has yet to throw something at me I can't handle. I'm a fucking God on Earth." To punctuate he threw back the wine again, only breaking from the drink to offer another round of laughter.
"I hope it's that easy," Soul nodded swiftly. "I want you two to leave tomorrow night, after the feast."
Black Star choked on his next gulp, coughing a few times to clear his throat. "Isn't that early?"
"Not by much," Soul's smile was anemic but he tried to his best to press it out. "Plus, the earlier you leave the less likely you are to cut it too close."
"We're cutting it close one way or another," Black Star refused to sugarcoat as he grabbed Soul's shoulder. "She's gonna be about to burst by the time you see her again whether you like it or not, Soul. It's just how it's going to be. But I promised, right? I'll get her back in time. Not like I want to have to be the one there when she gives birth." His lips twisted into a grimace until it disintegrated into a laugh as Soul punched his shoulder. "Come on, she's miserable enough with me as it is. Can you imagine how much more pissed off she'd be with me if I had to deliver the baby?"
"Don't fucking jinx it," Soul connected his fist with Black Star's shoulder again, only eliciting more laughter. "You are not delivering my kid."
"Maybe I should get a few pointers from the midwife before we leave," Black Star pondered out loud before receiving another assault from Soul. "OK, OK, we'll leave tomorrow. I'll hurry her along like a good guard dog. And really, worse case you meet us at Marie's right?"
"If I can," he sighed. "I may have…"
"Oh, shit," Black Star grumbled. "You may have what?"
"My father was talking about handing over the throne and…" Soul sighed as he planted a hand over his face, the next words coming as a warbled grumble from his palm. "He may have said something about when Maka got pregnant…"
"Oh, no," Black Star heaved. "No, no, no!" He discarded the wineskin to grab both of Soul's shoulders again, shaking them. "King? Now? Just because you knocked up some girl?"
"Not some girl," Soul hissed back as he dropped his hand. "King because I've done my duty. I'm helping my people and… I guess I need another responsibility to come along with being a father."
"Yeah, great time for crushing responsibility," Black Star muttered blankly.
"It's not like I could say no," Soul offered glumly.
"Sure, but you'd be an idiot if you didn't postpone," Black Star groaned as he gave him one more shake before letting go. "Tell him to wait, seriously. You can't be fighting a witch, getting ready to be a dad, and become King all at the same time."
And missing my wife, Soul added forlornly in his head, knowing that Black Star was liable to wretch at the romance. "I'll try. But that's just assuming he is planning on giving up the throne. Fingers crossed he doesn't try to announce anything tomorrow without talking to me first."
"You never know, your parents are full of surprises," Black Star muttered before he slowly stumbled to his feet. "Look, come on, if we're leaving tomorrow I have a few things I have to settle with your wife."
"Do I have to be there?" he offered a smirk as Black Star scowled down at him. "Alright, though you two are going to have to get along without me."
Black Star shook his head emphatically as he started the walk. "About as much chance of that as you sprouting fucking wings."
Maka's sleep was light and would be until Soul got back, just drifting in that grey area. It was a time she filled by imagining the baby there, the little soul nestled under hers that she still desperately wanted to see. Soul's soul had this interesting spikiness to it and she tested that out. Her mother had always said Maka's hand little wings, an angelic soul that was one in a million so that was the next vision. She settled on something in between, a mix of the two of them and let that shape further. It'd be a boy since that was always the first hope and expectation in a royal family. She hoped for Soul's grin but her eyes, maybe a pale blond that fell somewhere between the two of them. And his name would be…
That started a fluttered panic that brought her much closer to consciousness. This would be their last week together and there was a chance, a very slim one but still a possibility that they wouldn't see each other until there was a bundle in her arms rather than a weight in her stomach. And we didn't pick out names! It was an easy worry to perseverate on and Maka found herself gripping it tight, waiting to hear his footsteps coming back up the hall. With intent ears, she did hear the shuffling outside the door but it sounded like going rather than arriving.
She was a second away from sitting up when she heard the scrape. That sound was all too familiar and immediately identified in her mind as finding footholds on the wall leading up to the window. There was no way Soul was trying to be romantic, to mimic the way she'd visited him, or at least she hoped not since she assumed at this point he was drunk with Black Star. Maka slipped her hand under the bed and grabbed the dagger she had tucked against the wall and hid it under her arm while kicking down the covers. With apprehension turning her gut, Maka closed her eyes and searched for souls.
This in itself was exhausting, using her energy to locate the soul that was now bobbing through the window. It wasn't familiar to her, making her fingers clutch the dagger just a little tighter. The figure stopped at the bedside and Maka deliberated how soon was too soon to act when she heard more clambering in the hallway. The figure dropped to the floor and Maka quickly slid in the bed, opening her eyes to see the girl attempting to slide under the bed. Her foot came down hard on the girl's neck, freezing her in place and while Maka rarely ever had these moments, Black Star's voice rang in her head: You need to plant more weight on your foot. Really lean into the choke or you're going to get thrown every time.
She did as she was told.
They were exchanging some low laughs when Soul watched the strange evolution from elation to concern before Black Star disappeared in a flat-out run. What choice did he have but to follow and it was almost instantly obvious as he watched Black Star skid at the door. Where the hell are the guards? When was the last time I saw one in the hall? With that urging in his head Soul was only an instant behind his best friend, crashing through and almost tumbling to the floor with the momentum.
"You were right, Black Star," Maka offered calmly. "Just needed to plant more weight."
Black Star vaulted the bed to get next to Maka, seeing the girl crushed under Maka's feet, one on her neck and the other on a hand. The girl was weakly trying to tug at Maka's ankle but she looked dangerously close to greying out. Black Star dropped to the floor and pinned both hands while his knee went into the girl's chest. "Alright, get off," he directed roughly to Maka.
"I had it under control," Maka answered pertly but Soul didn't let her keep her pride in the moment, grasping her and pulling her back on the bed. "I'm fine, Soul," she murmured as his death grip on her didn't relax.
Soul didn't have much of a reaction besides a gruff grunt, his fingers doing the talking as he touched over her to find each piece intact.
"Did you see the guards?" Maka turned her face to his, somehow a soft, reassuring smile lighting up her features.
"No," Soul grumbled as his hands ran over her for a second check.
"Soul," she chided, making his eyes snap to hers. "Will you stop checking me and take a look at her?" Maka nodded down at the girl who was still sputtering for breath as Black Star pressed on her middle.
Soul didn't stop his fingers but let his eyes drop down to the floor, his jaw instantly tightening into a grimace. "The water girl."
"I thought so," Maka nodded surely. "So you poison your prince and princess and now you sneak into your princess's room. What are you up to?"
Black Star pressed the girl's wrists tighter, eliciting a squeak from her lips but nothing else. "Trust me, you may not want to say it now, but I'll make you say it later," Black Star grinned.
The girl let out a forlorn groan but her fearful eyes weren't for any of those in the room.
In the silence, the footsteps in the hallway came back and Black Star threw his voice over his shoulder. "Hey, you assholes!" The steady steps turned into a scuffle and four men erupted into the room, confusion at the liveliness for the late hour. "Where the fuck were you idiots?" he spat as the crowd came around the bed.
"Sir, the physician came by and said there was a problem with the Queen-"
"Was there?" Soul ordered quickly.
"When we got there the regular guards said she was visiting the King-"
"Go," Maka ordered Soul as she pressed him away.
Soul was on his feet, forcing off the bed as he threw a glance over at Black Star. "Stay with Maka."
"Duh," Black Star huffed as he watched Soul high-tail it out of the room. "Two of you go with him. The other two, get this goddamn girl out of here." The soldiers split as ordered, two of the men taking the girl out from underneath Black Star. "She gets her own cell. You stay with her until I tell you different. Anyone else gets the damn boot. I don't care if it's the King himself, got it?" The soldiers mumbled assent and dragged the girl from the room. Black Star followed them to the door before closing it behind them and turned back to Maka. "You sure you're OK?"
"Mostly," Maka pressed a hand to her face before using it to clear away her hair.
"Mostly?" Black Star took a tentative step towards her. "Not something with the baby, right?"
A frown cracked her lips. "I guess he had to tell you."
"Look, we're leaving tomorrow, so this," he motioned a hand between them, "has to go back to that thankful adoration you had for me during the contest."
"Thankful adoration?" Maka laughed. "When was that?" She was ready to offer more giggles, especially as she saw him revving up his response but the full details finally hit her. "We're leaving tomorrow?" came as a tight shriek.
Black Star grimaced, "Well, yeah, that's technically what we were on our way here to talk to you about. And after tonight I'm pretty sure there's no talking Soul out of it. That's another solid attempt on your life, princess."
"Which was about as dangerous as a toddler's plan." Maka's hands started to wring in her nightgown and she took to her feet. "We're going to catch up with Soul."
"Oh, no, we're not," Black Star shook his head. "It's him, two guards, and at least a dozen more posted at the King. He doesn't need us even if there is trouble. Especially if your goal is just to yell at him about sending you off a few days early."
"Are you going to stop me?" Maka pressed another step forward.
Black Star cackled, "Sure. You want to test that?"
Maka took another step and Black Star dodged in front of her, not touching but only a breath away from her. "I'm your princess."
He snorted another laugh, grinning at her, "Yeah, but my best friend's wishes kind of trump whatever title you have or will. You safe means more to me than the temper-tantrum you're about to have because you're going to miss your husband."
Maka sent a fist into his chest and repeated the action as he continued to laugh at her. "I hate this and I hate you and I hate being fucking useless!"
"Oh, cursing!" Black Star continued his laughter but let a soft hand come to her wrist. "But you notice you're not useless. You almost knocked that girl out. Can't wait to see more of that on the road."
She sighed as she pulled her hand away from his and turned back to the bed, throwing herself into the covers. "Aren't you supposed to be hoping there's no trouble while we travel?"
Black Star shrugged amiably but she watched as his eyes fell, his focus suddenly becoming tight again just like when he ran in the room.
"What is it?" Maka murmured.
"Your ankle." This time Black Star's touch wasn't soft, grabbing at the joint and twisting almost too quickly for Maka to follow.
"I know she scratched me," Maka shook her head dismissively, "but it's nothing."
"Yeah," Black Star leaned a little closer, his eyes narrowing, "but since when do you bleed black?"