I FINALLY GOT THIS UP THANK GOD! Special thanks to my beta for getting it back to me.

I actually got this back earlier today during my lunch break but before I could update it, the e-mail wouldn't open on my tablet, then my tablet died so I couldn't upload it until I got home then i couldn't get the internet working so yeah...it was one long mess after the other.

Sadly i'm not as ahead with my chapters as i would've liked due to two HORRIBLE work weeks that were non-stop stress, fortunately last week was very inspiring writing wise so i used it to complete my poetry so upon completing my latest project Funeral for Flowers and the magnificent spring weather I plan on taking a break from poetry and working exclusively on Timaeus, and in the mean time gather the notes and outlines for my short stories and get reinspired to work on those during my vacation in Flordia :)

GOAL: Finish writing the Ocean Arc by March 21st (Locri Arc I hope to write either while on or after my vacation:)

So thank you all for waiting!

Chapter XLIII: Declaration

It had taken Rhebekka a full minute to process what Yugi had told her before she recovered enough to speak. "I'm… what?"

"You're carrying a babe," Yugi repeated. "It's the only thing that explains your symptoms."

She blinked once, then burst into laughter. "Well, damn me for not thinking of that a month ago!" she chuckled.

"I wasn't sure at first since there wasn't a lump," he explained. "Then I remembered Mother once told me how every woman carries a babe differently." He blushed at the fond memory of him as a curious, hapless child too young to understand what he was asking but old enough to be interested. His ever-patient mother had simply smiled. "Sometimes, you can't even tell they're carrying. For others, it's as clear as day, some show no signs of it, while the rest show the signs all at once."

"Ha!" Rhebekka said with a loud snort. "Well, aren't we just a pair, then? Two surgeons with a shipload of men under our care and we couldn't even tell one of them was with child. Won't that be a tale?"

Yugi shot her a look. "I resent that." He sounded insulted, but there was a hint of amusement in his tone that Rhebekka did not miss. "If I recall, it was you yourself who blamed your stress, then called it seasickness."

"Nay, brat," Rhebekka countered, imp-eyed and grinning. "I blamed you and Timaeus for causing my stress. And I'll have you know, I've been seasick during storms before. I'm just better at hiding it than most," she boasted proudly. " 'Twas a whole matter of things. I'm curious, though." She fixed him with a sly, cat-eyed smile and invaded his space with her leer. "What made you conclude there was a child in me and not something else?"

Yugi blushed. "Well… I knew you were married and you love your husband—" he tried to say, but she cut him off.

"Aye, but I've seen neither hide nor hair of my husband for nearly three months, and I am on a ship full of men, so do you wish to imply something?" She arched a brow teasingly.

Yugi blushed redder. "Of course not! I'd never… I mean, I was sure it must've been before but—"

"You had no confirmation," Rhebekka finished. "Oh, we fucked at least twice the night before I left," she said so bluntly that Yugi lost his voice. "And once more in the morning," she added with a grin and laughed at Yugi's shocked face. "If I was to be going half a season without the touch of a man, I damn well wanted to make sure I remembered it! But the question is how did you know if we did or not?"

Yugi nearly stumbled when he tried to adjust his seat.

Rhebekka smirked. "Timaeus told you, didn't he?"

Yugi blanched. Rhebekka's smirk spread to a smile that curled at the corners. "Of course he'd know. I'm his Quartermaster; my husband is his First. He told you how he kicked us out of the main house for fucking too much, didn't he?"

Yugi's entire face suffused with color and his whole body went stiff. Rhebekka laughed so loud, she had to hold her sides. Yugi felt his face darken with each bell-like chime.

"Oh, don't look at me like that! There's no shame in enjoying your husband. You enjoy it when you kiss Timaeus, don't you?" Her smirk was an impish thing—a mischievous creature so adept at telling tales and exaggerating truths, it almost dared Yugi to try and trick it with a lie.

With a sharp glare that almost exhaled smoke from his nose and a blush he had no hope of concealing, he changed the subject. "With the rate conception takes and how you left Locri three months ago, you should be about seven or eight ten-days by now."

With a smirk that curled, she shook her head slowly. "Aye. Eight, more likely," she agreed, letting it slide. Plopping down on the couch, she patted her flat belly gently, almost disappointed there was no lump there. "So I'm carrying a babe. If you're right, she may be nine by the time we reach home. Ah, won't that be a shock for the man?" She had a wicked face on that looked halfway between a delighted smile and a vengeful snicker.

Yugi shook his head. "How do you know it's a girl?" Certainly boys were more favorable as a first-born, but there was no true certainty of gender until the child was born—unless Atlantis had discovered a solution to that, as well?

Rhebekka smiled. "I've been sick nearly a week, dining on nothing but apples, nauseous each morning, and all her bouncing's made my temper sharper. My mother was the same when she carried me. Believe me, the brat's a girl," she said, absolutely certain. Then a pondering look replaced her delight. "This is going to be a problem, though."

"What is?" Yugi asked, confused.

"Unless…" The girl continued pondering, then her eyes brightened. "Oh, yes, it's perfect!"

"What is?" Yugi asked again, bewildered.

Instead of an answer, Rhebekka seized him by the wrist and flew them out the infirmary door and across the deck, moving at such graceful speed that Yugi struggled to catch up with her.

She swung the Grand Castle doors open. They found Timaeus still seated where Yugi had left him. He spun to the sound of the doors crashing open, his face the mask of the Trierarch in Rhebekka's presence—though his eyes betrayed him when they fell on Yugi gasping, Rhebekka's hand still tight around his wrist.

"Trierarch?" Rhebekka began in her sweetest yet sternest voice. She let go of Yugi's hand and gave a low bow. "As I'm sure your consort has made you aware of my condition, I have a request for you."

Timaeus arched a brow, though his gazed shifted to Yugi. He offered Timaeus a smile and took a seat on the couch to settle his breath.

Rhebekka smiled brightly at the show of affection, then hardened her face. "Just so," she began. Timaeus spun to her, his chiseled features thoughtful but his eyes shadowed. Once more, he was the intimidating and sardonic Trierarch, and she the haughty Quartermaster.

He said nothing. He did not need to. Not to her. Yugi watched the scene unfold with fascination until Rhebekka smiled.

"In light of these recent events, I need you to relieve me of my duties immediately."

Their faces dropped.

"I beg your pardon?" Timaeus blinked twice, uncertain if he'd heard her correctly. Yugi was too stunned to speak.

"I still intend to be your Quartermaster, but I will simply have to take a less active role. As the previous events have shown, in my current condition, I can no longer perform my duties to the fullest extent of my abilities. I'll need assistance." An impish glint sparkled behind her eyes.

Timaeus recognized it at once and smirked. "We're in agreement."

Yugi spoke up, sensing he was missing something. "That's all good and done, but who can we find to take on the extra work under such short—" Their gazes turned to him, all plotting eyes and curled smirks, and he stopped. "… Why are you both smiling at me like that?"

X X X

The men were not pleased when Timaeus rang the summons. They were even less so when neither their Trierarch, his consort, nor their absentee Quartermaster were not already stationed at the stern and ready to give whatever command it was that was so grievous that they were forced to leave their hot meals and warm hammocks behind. Nonetheless, they did as they were bid with the same silent diligence and subservient respect that they always did. When the Trierarch still did not address them directly or show any signs of arriving, their tight lips loosened and rumors began to circulate. What was the announcement? Did it involve their wayward Quartermaster or his new consort? It must've been one of those for him to include both in the discussion but leave his other officers absent.

The sterncastle doors swung open, bringing with it a wave of silence. The company gathered, standing in a crowd off to the sides until only officers were left standing in the middle with none to their backs. Only Otogi was absent. They waited with fidgeting patience. No one spoke.

The Trierarch stood bedazzling in his armor and mantle and looking every inch the indomitable Trierarch they loved and respected. His sword hung at his waist, the curved blade a great shining thing like a fallen moon and just as fierce—but it remained sheathed, and the men relaxed when it stayed hidden.

Two figures stood on either side of him. Rhebekka was on his right, having exchanged her familiar surgeon smock for a long dress of dark green velvet that matched the emerald-cased spectacles she wore on her nose and the ribbons tying up her long hair. It did nothing to mar her elegance. If anything else, seeing her dressed in formalwear—a reflection of her status both on and outside The Eye's sphere of influence—made her look more intimidating.

On his left was Yugi, the consort he'd chosen over their Princess—who, not moments ago, had stood against the entire crew with the fearless pride and certainty of a lioness in defense of one of her own. And to think that he had actually defended Otogi, the same man who had done nothing to hide his dislike of the boy from him or anyone else and who, not an hour ago, Yugi had treated his arm with strategies they thought only their Quartermaster adept in—and without so much as batting an eyelash or asking for anything in return. Wearing a silver-armored under-suit with a matching green mantle and boots, he looked like a younger version of the Trierarch. The only other splash of color was the gold and amethyst wedding bracelet woven around his wrist like a twist of blue water-lotus.

They walked the steps to the forecastle in unison—Timaeus first, followed by his Hands: Yugi on the left, Rhebekka on the right. The company followed their steps with quiet, curious eyes and bitten-back tongues. The three arrived on the dais and stood there, silent and powerful—Timaeus and Yugi at the front looking nearly identical in their silver armor, their neutral masks and their flaming black hair and circlet of gold and silver adorning their heads like regal crowns. Yet while Timaeus' sharp face was pulled into a curled, unreadable smile, Yugi's lips were pinched—his expression calculating and void. To the left, Rhebekka stood tall, beautiful, and invincible, radiating power though she wore no armor at all. Her sweet heart-shaped face belonged to a little girl, but the sharp, piercing emeralds were calculating and clever like that of a secret ruler—a controller without a name and the power behind the throne. Standing there fully-armored, decked in all their finery, and wearing identical neutral masks, they looked every inch the perfect, ruling trinity—a sight so rare that their next words would be nothing less than absolute law.

No one spoke. Their gazes focused obediently on the man at the head of the dais.

Then Timaeus boomed. "Gentlemen." His voice carried on the wind like a brass bell. His mismatched eyes were suddenly alive: the emerald, ferocious and shining bright as danger, the other the pearly void that commanded absolute authority. "Let you all be witness to this official announcement!"

They stood silently and waited for him to speak, then were surprised when he stepped back and the Quartermaster stepped forward.

"Gentlemen," Rhebekka announced, her voice boisterous and young compared to the brass echo of Timaeus' alto. "Let me first apologize for my frequent absences as of late." A long slender arm abandoned her side and gracefully adjusted its direction towards her heart, a gesture to herself. "As many of you have guessed, I have been slowly recovering from an illness that, until recently, I was unable to place." She spoke so openly that it did not sound like a weakness. She continued with a pixie-like laugh. "Oh, I chalked it up to many things: stress, too much work, anxiety over our dearly-beloved newlyweds…" Neither Timaeus nor Yugi flinched at the comment, but Yugi's hand slipped into Timaeus' and squeezed.

"I even thought it might be seasickness!" She laughed, loud and boisterous—like it was the punch-line of some rich jest. A few snickers came from below at the suggestion that something so simple could undo this bold, fearsome woman.

"Unfortunately, or perhaps quite fortunately, I was wrong on all accounts." She adjusted her stance, her eyes suddenly brightened, her lips curled, and there was something odd about the tightness of her dress. "I am with child."

The words lingered in the air, the echo of them swallowed by the silence that came from the sheer shock of it. Eyes expanded, mouths dropped or were covered, and others bowed their heads—red-faced or wide-eyed—as if they were suddenly reminded that the Quartermaster was a woman, a married woman, married to the Trierarch's First.

"As such!" It was the Trierarch's voice that called, alerting all to his presence and snapping their attention back into focus.

Timaeus stepped forward next to Rhebekka and she made no move to step back. For a second, they looked like the ideal image of a Lord and his Lady, but then the truth settled and the idea looked distorted and unnatural in face of what they truly were: a Lord and his Right-Hand, a Commander and his Second-in-Command. Her power and ferocity were all her own, but she was an Officer with a rank and a purpose, and answered to the Trierarch no differently than any of the men beneath them.

"In regards to the Quartermaster's conditions, there has been much discussion, of which we have come to an agreement," Timaeus completed and shifted his bi-colored gaze to Rhebekka. The girl smiled. Neither step forward nor back.

"My condition has improved, but as many of you have seen, I am not as…" There was a deliberate pause. "Active in the field as I was once. Since I can no longer conduct my duties as effectively as is required of me, I have asked the Trierarch to formally relieve me of my active duties effective immediately."

There was a loud yet hushed gasp, followed by a string of loud protests, which were quickly silenced with the swipe of her arm.

"Fret not, men," she said with a comforting, ironically-maternal smile. "I am not retiring, nor do I plan to. I will still continue as your Quartermaster and the Trierarch's Second." Another pause. Another smile. "However, I can no longer actively serve as your Physician or your Cook." She let the information linger, then continued. "My condition comes with sickness. That is a fact. I can no longer see to the health and aid of you men if I myself am ill, regardless of its origin. Nor do I wish to neglect these duties because of it."

The men listened with stricken faces: some grieved, others concerned, some worried, and others wore simple defeat. More silence followed, yet the smiles did not leave either the Trierarch's or the Quartermaster's face.

"However…" Rhebekka continued with a sly smile. "I have no intention of abandoning you as such jobs are vital to the health and survival of this ship and her crew. Until my relief from duty has ended, I shall summon a replacement to see to my active tasks as a co-Quartermaster. My chosen will thus take over my roles as Physician and Cook until such a time when The Eye has returned to port in Locri, and will assist me and the Trierarch with any and all tasks you may need of us until that time. Just so…" Her smile was bright and impish. "My chosen has already been selected: someone who's already proven themselves adept to the needed tasks, someone who continues to educate themselves daily on the workings and running of this ship, and who has been trained by none other than the Trierarch and I."

Brows arched high with surprise and scrunched in confusion. Murmurs were exchanged and others waited with anxious excitement to see who among them was picked or who was so skilled enough to be adequate for the task, if only for a short time.

Rhebekka and the Trierarch exchanged a special look. The eyes of the men returned to the dais just in time to watch them both step aside and reveal the chosen standing in the middle and stepping forward with the rising call of Rhebekka's introduction. "Our Trierarch's Consort and our new Magistrate Ujalah—Yugi."

Suddenly spotlighted, Yugi had only a second to collect himself before he stepped forward, his face a neutral mask that copied his husband's. The armor Timaeus had lent him for his shoulders suddenly felt heavy and immovable, but still, he kept walking—never flinching, never stopping, never looking anywhere but ahead of him until he reached the rail of the dais, gripped the wooden sides, and gazed down at the men who stared back at him with mismatched eyes ablazed in unfamiliar colors and emotions. He remembered the first time he'd addressed them like this: an angry child surrounded by a gangly forest of soldiers bizarrely colored and shaped, who stared at him like a foreign creature their Trierarch had brought home to spoil, and they met the decision with a mixture of hate, betrayal, and bitterness. Now, staring down at the sea of faces all wearing an identically-uncertain expression, he felt no fear or rage or the desperate need to back his pride or earn their approval.

He stood before them, a child no longer but a Consort of their Trierarch, a co-commander of their ship, and soon to be their co-Quartermaster.

"Soldiers of Timaeus," he spoke formally. "Much has changed since I last stood before you." He tried to sound strong, but only managed to sound humble. He felt a quick, tightening squeeze around his waist, comforting him for half a heartbeat before it disappeared, and he smiled.

"Indeed, much has changed since that first day. This journey has been long and difficult, and I know I had not made it any easier. Nor can I fault your for your fears at the thought of me becoming your Magistrate. I cannot hold that against you. But I am no longer the child I once was, nor are you the same men who wronged me. I have come to know many of you and many more have come to know me, and it is my hope that trust can continue to build. And it is also my hope that you one day feel for me the same loyalty and respect you show my husband." He paused for a moment to catch his breath and inhaled quietly. The expressions on the men's faces did not change, but he did not waiver.

"Until that day comes, I will continue to serve you as faithfully as I have these past ten-days, and I assure you all now…" His eyes hardened and his words rang with a gravity that rivaled that of the Trierarch's when he spoke. "So as long as you are under my authority and under my care, you are mine to protect; and so, I will not see you starve, I will not see you permanently marred, and I will not see you made any less the men you are just because the sea is a harsh mistress and the journeys are long and hard." He pressed a hand to his heart. "On my oath as a child of Sekhmet and a former Prince of Kemet, and on my oath now as the Consort of your Trierarch, your Dragon Knight, and as the Magistrate of Locri…" He tightened his grip and remembered the oath Timaeus had made all those months ago when it was his own honor that needed defending. "We are The Eye of Timaeus. We are the Dragon Warriors of Atlantis. We are the pride of Locri. Remember your Honor, men, for without Honor, there is only villainy. And so, as long as you are under my care, I will keep you strong!" he finished with a powerful breath and fought with all his strength not to deflate.

He felt a hand press into his back and he relaxed into the touch as Timaeus stepped to his side, neither in front of him nor behind him. He raised his arm and addressed them both. "Do you all speak as witnesses to this declaration? If so, speak now! For all to hear and know that it is done!"

They waited.

And waited still.

Down below, the men all exchanged looks, but none moved to be the first witness. Neither Timaeus nor Rhebekka moved their faces, twin masks void of emotion and expression, but Yugi felt his cracking.

"WITNESSED!"

The word boomed through the silence like a cry in a deep cave, and all spun to the source of it. The three faces on the dais rose in unison and gasped at the lone figure standing outside the doors of the infirmary, his arm still wrapped in a thick sling. Otogi slowly stepped forward, and when the men saw him, they expected to see outrage on the fact that he was not summoned to this meeting. But when they looked, he only smiled, and his bright green eyes were fixed on the dais—specifically, on Yugi's own amethyst gaze.

"Witnessed!" he said again.

"Witnessed!" Ryou's raspy call came next.

There was a short pause, then a gruff clearing of his throat before Raphael added, "Witnessed."

"Witnessed!" Someone else called from the back.

"Witnessed!" came another from the left. A copy echoed from the right. "Witnessed!"

"Witnessed! Witnessed! Witnessed! Witnessed!" More and more cheers followed until the whole ship was booming with the unorganized cacophonic repetition of the word. Then it harmonized into a single, perfect chant:

"Witnessed! Witnessed! Witnessed!"

As the shouts continued, more cheers of approval rang loud and clear as bells until the whole ship was alive and chanting its acceptance. Yugi's heart left his throat and settled to fluttering like a flock of ibis in his chest. At his side, Timaeus beamed proudly, eyes bright in a fond, silent encomium. Rhebekka smirked at his left, her head bowed ever so slightly in acknowledgment of her superior, but her smile was the bright bliss reserved for a dear friend.

Standing there amongst the dais with Timaeus at this side, Rhebekka to his left, and the crowd cheering their approval at his rank, on a magnificent ship sailing North against the alpenglow, Yugi fought tears prickling his eyes—like he had just inherited a kingdom of dreams and the future was a bright, clear path of possibilities.

But amidst the howling screams of chants and cheers, a single whisper of silence that Yugi did not miss secretly slipped back into hiding.

Nor did he miss the anger burning in its owner's slit lavender eyes.

This chapter was so much fun to write! and I was so proud cause I got it done in a weekend (an afternoon at the library and finished it up in a pizza hut while eating a late lunch-i was THAT in the zone!)

I originally didn't plan on the end, and originally Otogi wasn't going to be in this chapter, but halfway through it I came up with the PERFECT cameo for him! XD How awesome was that? But it looks like Yugi's not out of the woods yet ;)

Anyone wanna guess who those lavender eyes belong too ;)

As always read, review, comment, critique, ask questions, post theories and go nuts!

NEXT UPDATE: April 4th to17th (I already have two chapters prewritten, one more to edit and then I hope to complete chapter 44. The goal is to get it posted by the 17th and then return to weekly updates.)

Next Time: Yugi settles into his new role as Quartermaster with mixed results; a slander goes too far and a fight breaks out and Timaeus has a few words for his new Quartermaster.

Enjoy!