"Son? What's the problem?" The King was relaxing in his bed, a few letters strewn across the bedspread. His eyes were uneasily flicking from an out of breath Soul and the myriad of soldiers he'd dragged in with him.

Soul was having a difficult time formulating a response, his hand weakly waving away the practical platoon he'd brought with him. "Was mother here?"

"Well, yes, for a while," his father raised his eyebrows.

"Was she alright?" Soul pressed as he finally got enough air in his lungs.

"As far as I know." The King started to stack his letters and ease from the bed, crossing the room with deliberate steps. "Are you alright?"

Soul shook his head with a sigh as he cleared some sweat from his brow. "Someone broke into our room. They tried to hurt Maka."

"Broke in?" His father's hands were instantly on his shoulders, shaking him. "Where were the guards?"

"Sent on a wild fucking goose-chase," Soul spat. "And it was…" He wanted to erupt, to spell out her name clear as day to his father, to end this but it suddenly struck him how effortless that had been for Medusa. Taking control here was too simple for her, so within her grasp that it struck Soul how easily it could have been his father or his mother, both of whom he doubted would be able to save themselves in the same way Maka had. "It was terrifying but I was worried about you two. No one's been here except for mother?"

"Just your mother, but-"

"Keep it that way," Soul's voice cracked and the order warbled into begging. "No one is to see you beside me and mother, that's it. Promise me."

His father's hands dug into his shoulders, "What's going on, Soul?"

"I don't know," he murmured helplessly as he eased the grip from his skin so he could get a step away, the rest of the possibilities urging his feet forward. "But I need all of you to be safe. So promise me."

"I promise," his father answered tentatively. "Go check on your mother, please."

"Right," Soul nodded swiftly as he turned for the door. He couldn't stop from returning to a run as soon as he hit the hallway. While their rooms were never far apart, it took an eternity for Soul to reach his mother's , finding the guards just as idle outside her door as they had been at his father's.

He knew better than to barge in but his knock was just as aggressive, rattling the door and giving way to her surprised voice from inside. "Who's there?"

"It's me, Mother," Soul tried to quell it from being a shout. The door thankfully slipped away from under his hand and without acknowledging the shock on her face, Soul pressed through the door and forced it shut behind him. "Mother, I need you to be honest with me."

"What's gotten into you?" The Queen narrowed her eyes as a soft hand came to his shoulder.

Soul grabbed it, clutching her fingers tightly. "Did you talk to the physician about Maka? I know the two of you backed her into this deal-"

"Soul," the Queen started to admonish but his grip on her fingers silenced her.

"Mother, I can ignore that, forget it, but my wife is pregnant," he urged the second half out like he was spitting his heart with it. "If anyone is putting that in jeopardy I can't and won't forget it."

"I don't know what you mean." She wasn't pulling away and the concern was solidifying as her eyebrows folded downwards. "Did something happen to Maka?"

He finally let a shaky exhale, taking one last moment to examine the honesty reflected on his mother's face. "Someone tried to hurt her tonight, Mother. They broke into our room."

"What?" The Queen was instantly frantic, her other hand now gripping at him just like his father had. "Is she alright? Is the baby?"

"Fine," Soul breathed out a slow sigh of relief. "I just need you to promise me no one visits your room tonight other than father or me. That's it. And tomorrow…" he stole another desperate breath, "I'm going to have to figure something out."

"I don't like this," the Queen urged quietly. "Why aren't you with her? And what happened to the guards?"

"It's alright…" Soul was once again trying to pry a death grip off his shoulders, this time bringing his mother's hands between them. "Black Star's with Maka. I think you'd be happy to know that she keeps herself fairly safe on her own." He added a meager laugh at the end, watching none of it placate his mother.

"You married a headstrong girl," his mother sighed.

"Like father like son," Soul offered daringly, getting a frown from her in reply. "Promise me one more thing, mother."

She shook her head softly before sighing again, "I don't know how promising you anything keeps your wife any safer, but if I have to…"

He let all the humor fall away for the moment as he squeezed her hands back to rapt attention. "No more dealing with the physician."

"Soul," his mother sighed.

"Maybe you thought you had the kingdom's best interests at heart-"

"I did," the Queen insisted as she brought away her hands. "Leave you childless? That would be foolish, even if it was obvious that you did and do favor her. It's not that I wanted the alternative."

"You mean her death?" Soul offered with little forgiveness for the terseness. "Or my unhappiness with a different bride?"

Her lips crinkled, the words smoldering on her tongue before she rearranged them. "I certainly didn't want either of those things."

Soul's eyebrows practically hit his hairline as he let a soft laugh tremble from his lips. "I hope that's the truth," he slowly eased his hands out of hers, "but I have to get back to her so while I want to press you I have to go."

"You shouldn't have left her in the first place," his mother huffed.

Soul let another weak chuckle rumble in his chest before he started for the door. "Don't let anyone else into your room, mother. Just be safe, please." He didn't wait for a reply or any more admonishment from her, just rushing out the door and back into the hallway. It only seemed logical to run again, to make the same desperate dash for her safety, but he forced steady footsteps. I'm going to have to let her go soon, let her be responsible for her own safety and our child, and I know I'm going to be ridiculous enough as it is when I set eyes on her again.

So he reined in his heart, forcing it to settle as he reached the door and opened it, finding the two of them standing stiffly in the room. If he didn't know better, he would have assumed he'd caught them in the middle of a tryst, the two both unable to make eye contact with him at first, just exchanging a fleeting glance that seemed to exchange some wordless plea. It was Maka who managed to look at him first, a tentative smile stretching her lips. "Are your parents alright?"

"Both are fine," Soul couldn't help his brow from furrowing. "What happened here?"

"Maka was hurt," Black Star almost instantly blabbed as Maka's head jerked towards him.

She was instantly moving towards him, her fist socking instantly into his side. "We said we were going to ease him into it!"

"He's going to be crazy either way!" Black Star's complaint was only softened by another punch, sucking the air from his stomach as he forcefully grabbed her fist. "Listen here, princess-"

"Hey!" Soul made both of them jump before he crossed the floor, forcefully parting the two of them. His grip shook both of them before he started again. "You'll both have plenty of time to fight with each other later. What I need now are some damn answers." He turned his head to Maka, "Are you alright? The baby?"

"It was a scratch," Maka offered quietly.

He sighed as he now set his eyes on Black Star, rattling him for good measure. "And?"

"The blood was black," Black Star practically barked back, still raring for a fight.

"What?" His arms fell limp as the word barely made it from his mouth.

"It's not anymore," Maka reassured him with her fingers smoothing his front and her voice trying to lure him back from shock. "I pricked my finger just a minute ago and that was normal."

"But…" Soul captured her hand, crushing it to his chest. "It was black, you're sure? When that girl tried to hurt you your blood turned black?"

"I think so," Maka let out with a trembling breath.

"It was definitely black," Black Star grumbled as he grabbed Soul's shoulder, trying to shake the shellshock off his face. "Look, did you do that weird practice today?"

"No," Soul muttered.

Black Star sighed with a certain level of finality. "Then it's just in her now."

"We don't know that-" Maka started but the looks from both men cut her tongue, leaving her worrying at her lip. "But not all the time," she reminded after enough silence.

"It's the baby," Soul let the trembling horror lurch from his mind and out of his mouth.

Black Star tried to hold back a groan, reining it into a grumble as he threw up his hands. "Well, if it is there isn't much to do about it."

Soul let helpless eyes fall on Maka's and she tried to smile sweetly. "He's right. If it is that… well, we just have to wait and see."

"You'll wait and see," he moaned as he turned from both of them, batting off hands and connections. "I won't be there to do a fucking thing about it."

Black Star let out a long sigh before he turned to Maka. "I'm going to go interrogate the girl."

"Give us at least an hour, will you?" Maka murmured back.

"Yeah, at least," Black Star motioned helplessly at his best friend before shaking his head. "Keep your temper," he nudged Soul and received a hit back.

Soul grimaced, "I have my fucking temper it's-" but he cut the rest as Black Star ambled away, slamming the door behind him. "Fuck," he continued to iterate as he dug his hands in his hair and started pacing the floor.

"Soul…"

"Maka, not yet," he begged as he continued his frantic rhythm.

Maka pressed out a tired sigh as she moved close enough to grasp the back of his shirt on the next revolution. She tugged it tightly, demanding his feet to stop even though his hands refused. "Listen to me," it was a direct order and her hands moved to force him around and then moved to his to smooth them out of his hair. "I have a theory, and before you start, yes, it is the best-case scenario of theories, but please listen."

As his only answer, Soul offered her a quick kiss, trying to taste the surety in her lips that he swore he saw in her eyes and hoped it would bring some calm to his heart.

Maka displayed her finger, showing the tiny pin-prick that was most definitely scarlet. "I did this, myself, after Black Star and I deliberated. I got a nice little speck of bright red blood." She placed a hand on his shoulder to keep her centered before she lifted her foot, showing off her ankle. "When I stepped on that girl in the middle of being frightened, anxious, sure I was in for a fight, and she scratched my ankle with her nails it bled black and like you said the black blood is liable to do it's mostly healed up already. So what's the difference?"

"You were in danger," Soul murmured.

"Don't you think…" She let a soft smile hit her lips as she took his hand and moved it to her stomach, encouraging his fingers to fan over where the swell would be in a few months. "... that the baby may have inherited more than one thing from you? Maybe there's the black blood, yes, but I think most of all it's desperate to protect its mother just as much as you are."

A warble of a breath crossed his lips after it pressed through his teeth. "Maka, I want to believe that but what if it's not that the kid loves you just as much as I do but it's a fucking parasite just keeping you intact until it's ready?"

Maka shot air through her nose as she firmly pressed his hand against her. "Technically, no matter what, it is just feeding off me," while that gave her a second of amusement she watched it only disgust him further. "But we already said there's nothing we can do now. When I get to Stein, I'll ask him. Maybe Papa can help as well or I'll find some way to communicate with Mira…" Maka shrugged helplessly. "I know that doesn't comfort you but to be honest, Soul, if you're sending me off tomorrow I need you to be alright with this part of it right now because…"

"Because," he grumbled as he relaxed into her, letting his forehead touch hers, "because there's right now to worry about. You're going to leave right after the feast tomorrow."

Her fingers clenched into his shirt as the idea dug into her heart. "Is that an order?"

"Sorry, it kind of is." As an apology, he lifted his chin, pressing his lips to her forehead. "Do you want to be mad about it?"

"Absolutely," she shot back instantly before letting the rest of it crumble off her tongue weakly, "but between actually being pregnant and the attack… I understand."

His hands searched for skin, dipping between the ties in her gown to touch lightly at her warmth. "You want to pretend it's your idea?"

She giggled before letting her head rest on his shoulder and her arms moved around his neck to pull him close. "Too late, Black Star knows the truth so that's ruined. My idea can be you announce it at the end of the banquet, a quick, last-minute send off so that there's not a lot of time for any followers to prepare. And there are two carriages. One you see off with Liz as a decoy for me along with some soldiers for show and the other just Black Star and me."

"Just you two?" Soul sighed.

"Yes," Maka returned emphatically. "We don't need people asking questions when it's Stein who's doing the kidnapping. And even if he's a pain in the ass, Black Star is the best fighter you have. Better than ten regular soldiers at least."

Soul chuckled softly, "Be careful or I might tell him you said that."

"Show your wife at least a little loyalty," she muttered.

"I'll show my wife more than that…" He smirked as he tilted his head, capturing her lips. His fingers were traveling again, easing up her back and taking material with them, leaving her dress lopsided at the bottom. One hand traveled back to her stomach, resting there, fingers splayed as if he was the one reading for a soul. Thankfully, his touch was warm and welcome. "I'm going to try to believe you."

"About what?" she wondered breathlessly.

"That our baby's looking out for you while I can't." He let his fingers flex tenderly against her abdomen. "That maybe, just maybe it'll be something good."

Maka grinned, "If you gave it to me, I'm bound to think it has to be something good."

"Speaking of," his murmur bordered on excited as he nipped at her lips softly. "I did get you something."

"Oh?" Maka blissfully leeched the joy of the moment, ready to shelve any of the dark thoughts that she was sure would come back for her tomorrow as they traveled. "Is this the mysterious gift passed between you and Liz?"

"You saw that, huh?" He pulled away just enough to serve her a sour frown.

"Don't blame me that you're terrible at sneaking," she teased and as a reward lost his touch.

Soul was slowly moving from her to the desk, leaning and feeling around below the tabletop until his fingers found the secret ledge underneath. He freed the box and straightened, turning back to her and displaying it between him. "At least I'm good at hiding things. I was going to wait, but now… well…" All he could do was shrug in defeat as he pressed the box into her hands.

"You didn't have to." She played with the wood between her fingers.

"Yeah, I did," he corrected quickly, his hands closing around hers. "Never actually gave one to you."

Maka laughed, "Liar. The hairpin, and our whole wedding night was pretty much a gift."

"Told you I don't take credit for the hairpin, but I guess I should say this inspired it." She was moving too slow for him so he urged the box open for her, displaying the necklace inside. "Hope you don't think it's a copycat gift, just kind of thought you'd like a matching set."

"Oh, Soul…" She bit her lip to stop the trembling. It was a perfect match, albeit slightly smaller so that there wasn't a huge cumbersome blossom around her neck, but instead it was an ideally proportioned honeysuckle blossom along with a few black pearl berries dangling down at an angle.

"Next one I'll go for a different flower," he murmured with a short laugh. "Can't believe I'm asking this but is there one for motherhood?"

"I don't know," she shook her head slowly, her gaze still glued to the necklace. "Myrtle, orange blossom for a happy marriage," she continued deliriously as her eyes filled with tears.

"Which one do you like the best?"

The echo of the past hit her full force and the tears shimmied down her cheeks. Soul was quick to clear them and even quicker at lifting the necklace from the box and moving behind her to clasp it around her neck. It sunk perfectly, settling just above her cleavage and she ran her fingers along the pearls, letting them clink together. "I like this…" she murmured, her mind half wrapped in the past, the still small spark of disbelief at the idea that he'd always loved her swimming in her mind.

He leaned in, wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling his nose to her cheek. "So I could get away with honeysuckle for the rest of our lives? You're making it a little too easy."

"As long as it's for the rest of our lives," she sighed heavily as she let her weight press into him.

"That's the promise," he savored leaving a kiss on her cheek before continuing. "I told you marrying you was happening one way or another and you… you've bonded our souls, Maka. There's nothing tearing us apart."

She moved his hands back to her stomach before she sighed sweetly, "Not to mention now there's a perfect mix of us here."

"A mix, huh?" he chuckled. "Was kind of hoping for a little girl. Just like you."

"A girl?" Maka slid her head against his shoulder, her eyes narrowing at him incredulously. "Everyone always wants a boy first."

"Why?" Soul shrugged. "Just to be the next King? I'd rather just see more of you in the world."

"Then…" Maka stared at him, the wonder still keeping her words slow. He wants a girl. Anyone else and I would think it was ridiculous but… "What would you name her?"

His eyebrows shot up as he stared at her. "A name, huh?" He hummed out as the wheels turned in his mind, buying time with another few kisses moving from her cheek to her neck. "OK, know-it-all, what's a name that means honeysuckle?"

While she had been trying to envelop herself in the bliss of this, a sudden coldness invaded her heart. "Yaara," trembled from her lips.

Soul stiffened, his arms flexing firmly around her. "Your mother's name, right?"

Did I tell him that? In one of our whispered conversations I must have, but ages ago, and probably buried in something else but here he is remembering. "Yes." Maka could feel the tears taking her again and this time her hands came to her face to clear them.

"Is that alright?" His fingers massaged softly into her stomach as his lips traveled along her shoulder.

"It's…" A stuttering breath eked out across her lips. "It would make sense, wouldn't it? She's gone. It would honor her and…" The idea caught against her heart and tore, leaving Maka to clear another wave of tears.

"Think about it," he murmured.

Maka tried not to, clearing it back with all the rest of the mess that she'd see to when she wasn't with him. "Wes if it's a boy."

It was Soul's turn to feel his heart lurch. "You're really trying to make my mother happy, aren't you?" He battled to urge a laugh from his mouth.

"It wouldn't make you happy?"

He let out a warm breath against her neck and let his cheek rest there as the idea settled in his head. "Maybe it would," he whispered and his arms moved from her stomach to wrap around her, melding her back to his chest. "I'd be happy just to have you, just to have a child that's healthy, not-"

"Don't," she hushed him quickly. "I want to go back to being blissfully unaware right now. Just for tonight, got it? I have a beautiful gift, a wonderful husband, a baby to celebrate and for at least the next hour, that's all I want to think about."