Author's Note: This chapter was a lot of fun to write. I'm so excited for things to start happening now! Enjoy! Constructive Criticism is always welcomed.

Fiat Justitia Ruat Coelum

Chapter Four: In the Dark of the Night

Mako inhaled deeply as the smells and sounds of the marketplace surrounded her.

Vegetables and meat roasted over burning embers, mixing with the tang of spices and baked bread. Shopkeepers called out their wares as people mingled, laughed and gossiped. Children darted between the stalls and people's legs as they chased each other with shrieks of laughter. A couple of stray dogs added to the chaos as they ran alongside the children, barking excitedly at the madness.

Mako looked down at an insistent tugging on her hand, breaking her attention away from the crowds.

"Momma, can we go over there?"

Mako smiled in the direction little fingers were pointing. Someone had spotted a sweets seller's table. "And what will we do if we spoil your appetite?" She ran a hand fondly through her daughter's dark hair.

Pleading eyes gazed up at hers.

"Please, Momma? Just one piece!"

Mako sighed, a smile tugging at her lips. "Alright, Ayako," she agreed at last to the delight of the little girl. "But we have to get some for your father and brother as well." She glanced around the crowded marketplace as she let her daughter tug her forward.

"Where did they get to?" She muttered with a concerned crease of her brows, her hand skimming over her swollen belly.

"Daddy took Takeshi over to the man with the wooden boats." The little girl informed her without turning around, her eyes on the prize.

"I hope they'll be able to find us." Mako's hand soothed over her belly as the child inside her shifted.

"Don't worry, Momma," Ayako assured her with all of her six-year old confidence. "Daddy will find us. Even when Takeshi and I play hide-and-seek, Daddy knows where we are. He always finds us."

Mako laughed, finally allowing Ayako to drag her closer to the sweets. "Your father does have an uncanny ability to show up right where he's needed," she remarked, smiling at the memory of when Takeru had first entered her life years before. She looked at her daughter with fondness as the little girl's eyes widened at the selection of delectable goodies before her.

"Well now, what do we have here?"

Mako smiled at the man behind the wooden stall. "Good afternoon," she greeted. "My daughter and I have been tempted away by your sweets."

The older gentleman, his head a shock of graying hair laughed outright. "May they be as appealing on your tongue as they were to your eyes." He smiled indulgently at the little girl who stood in rapture at the selection before her. "What'll it be, little one?"

Ayako turned to her mother. "Momma, can we get some for Chizu, too?"

Mako studied the sweets with a mother's practiced eye. "Possibly, but she's only three," she reminded her. "It'll have to be something she won't choke on easily."

"I think I can help with that," the old man smiled kindly as he directed Ayako to a selection of easy to chew goods. "Getting something for your sister, is it?"

Ayako giggled. "No! Chizu is my cousin. She couldn't come today. Uncle Chiaki says she's got a cold." She eyed the sweets. "I have a little brother. His name is Takeshi." She pointed at a few of the goods and tugged on her mother's sleeve. "Can we get those for Chizu and Takeshi?"

Mako nodded. "Those'll be fine."

"What a good sister you are," the man smiled as he began placing a few of the selections off to the side. "Looks like you'll be well-practiced by the time your next brother or sister comes along." He nodded toward Mako.

"Momma's gonna have another baby," Ayako informed him promptly.

The man chuckled. "Yes, I can see that." He scooped up a few more sweets under Ayako's direction. He studied Mako with a careful eye. "Would you like to sit down for a moment?"

Mako smiled at his kindness. "Thank you, but I am fine. I wish to stand as long as I am able to." Her hands skimmed lightly over her belly, her baby moving at the touch. "It won't be long before I'm told to keep off my feet."

The man chuckled. "Enjoying your last few days of freedom while you can, eh? My wife always did the same before the birth of a child." He began wrapping up the sweets in a square of clean linen. "Now she enjoys spoiling the grandchildren rotten." He looked up at Mako with a bittersweet glimmer in his eyes. "Enjoy every day with them," he nodded toward her daughter and swollen belly. "They're grown and gone in the blink of an eye."

He handed the package over to Ayako's excited grasp as Mako pulled out some coins from the little bag she held inside her deep sleeves.

She slid the coins into his hands with a grateful smile. "Thank you." She squeezed his hands around the metal bits, waving away his protests when he caught sight of the amount.

"It's no use arguing with her," an amused voice sounded from Mako's side as a warm hand slid around her back to rest at her hip. "Trust me."

Mako settled into her husband's embrace with a quiet sigh. Despite her claim to stand on her feet until she was forced off them, leaning against her husband's solid support was doing wonders for her back.

A little hand grasped her fingers. She looked down to see her son hiding his face shyly against her leg as he stared up at the older gentleman in front of them.

"This is your family then?" The sweets seller smiled at the group before them and Mako nodded. "They're beautiful."

"Thank you," her smile was soft as she ran a hand through her son's dark hair as he turned to peer curiously at the bag in his sister's hand. "I think so, too."

"Are we ready to go?" Takeru asked as Ayako excitedly showed her brother what they had purchased.

Mako nodded and allowed him to steer her away as they gave their thanks once more to the older gentleman.

"Gave your guards the slip again, I noticed," Takeru commented quietly to her as they made their way through the crowd, trailing just behind their children.

"As did you," Mako nodded with approval.

Takeru smiled, his grip tightening on her side briefly in affection. "Ryunosuke will pitch a fit when he finds out."

Mako sighed. "He worries too much."

Takeru eyed the tired lines around her mouth. "You should rest for a minute." When she opened her mouth to protest, he cut her off with a chaste kiss against her temple. "Indulge me," he murmured in her ear. "Just a brief moment."

Mako sighed with exaggeration but conceded. "Alright," she agreed. "But only for a minute." In truth, her feet were beginning to ache. It'd be nice to rest them for a while, but after insisting that a little time wandering the market was good for her that morning, she was loathe to admit she needed a break.

She glared playfully at the smile tugging at her husband's lips. "What?"

"Nothing," he insisted as he directed her to a wooden bench in a quiet corner.

"Momma, can we go over there?" Ayako asked as Takeru helped his wife sit.

The couple looked over to see their eldest, sweets in hand, pointing toward a group of children playing a game by a copse of trees on the edge of the market. Mako glanced at her husband, communicating without words.

"Stay with your brother and stay in sight," Takeru warned as he sat down beside Mako. "We want to be able to see you at all times."

"Okay!" Ayako's delighted grin lit up her face as she grasped her brother's hand in her free one and the two scampered off to join in the fun.

"And you said I'd be the one to give Ryunosuke the fits," Mako muttered as she watched her children with a careful eye, Takeshi ducking shyly behind his sister as the gathered children invited them into their play after a moment.

"I used to do the same to my caretaker," Takeru admitted. "How do you think Genta and I met?"

"Speaking of Genta, where is he?" Mako glanced around the bustling market. "I thought for sure he'd at least be following you like a shadow."

"Following in the wake of a playful wink and impish smile." He chuckled quietly at Mako's raised brows. "When we took Takeshi over to see the carved boats, Genta caught sight of the baker's daughter next door. We left him in more or less of a daze."

"Ahhh," Mako murmured in amusement. "Has the arrow pricked him at last?"

"Considering I'm not sure he heard me when I told him we were leaving to find you and Ayako, it's quite possible." His arm slid around her shoulder, and Mako leaned gratefully against him.

"Speaking of courtship," she glanced up at her husband. "Do you think Kaoru's new suitor will meet her expectations?"

Takeru's eyes glanced off into the distance as he considered her question. He was quiet for a long moment before he answered. "I hope so. He's a good match for her."

Mako laid her head against her husband's shoulder. "I hope so too."

A high-pitched shriek sounded close at hand and the couple jumped, startled by the sound. Takeru was on his feet in an instant, alert and searching.

"Stay here," he told her. "I'll go take a look." He paused at the tug on his sleeve. He looked down to see Mako's worried expression and smiled gently. "I'll be right back." He gave her a quick, soft kiss that left her flushed before heading in the direction of the sound.

Mako pushed herself to her feet, wavering for balance, and looking down with a start when a pair of hands grasped her arm firmly. She smiled down at her daughter. "Thank you, sweetheart."

"Where's Daddy?" Ayako's eyes frantically searched the agitated crowd as Mako took her son's hand firmly in hers.

"He went to see what's happened," she answered, her own head struggling to see over the crowd. "We're to wait here until he returns." She glanced at the area where her children had been playing only moments before.

"Where did all of the other children go?"

"They ran off after that lady screamed." Ayako looked at her mother, her eyes anxious. "Momma, I want to go home."

"As soon as your father returns," Mako assured her as Takeshi squeezed his mother's hand, his other clutching the small package of sweets from earlier, his grip on it tight.

Mako exhaled with relief when she spotted her husband's head weaving through the crowd toward her at a steady pace, Genta at his side. She tensed when she caught sight of their grim faces as they drew closer.

"What is it? What's happened?"

"We need to return," he murmured in her ear before picking up Ayako.

Genta nodded his greeting, his usual cheerful grin set into an anxious line as he scooped up Takeshi. The young boy's arms circled his neck as Genta set an immediate course out of the market and towards the direction of the castle gates.

Takeru shifted Ayako to his hip and grasped Mako's hand firmly in his as he followed behind his closest friend.

The small group tried to push their way through the growing, agitated crowd as panic and gossip began to swell. A sudden surge in the press of bodies around them left Mako stumbling. Takeru halted and grasped her around the waist until she found her balance again.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Mako assured him, holding tight to his arm as her eyes darted around the crowd. "What's going on?"

"Where's Takeshi and Uncle Genta?"

Mako and Takeru started at Ayako's question, looking around in vain at the throng of people around them, everyone pushing to get somewhere in a hurry.

"They'll be fine," Takeru assured them both despite the concern creasing his brows. "Genta knows these streets like the back of his hand." He braced his wife as someone elbowed past. "We need to get out of this crowd before either of you get hurt."

Mako nodded with a grimace, stumbling behind Takeru as he led the way toward a quiet alley.

Pushing free of the crowd, the little family crowded into the narrow passageway between buildings, breathing fresh air as they surveyed the crowd. Takeru set Ayako on her feet and guided them a little further into the recesses.

"Takeru, what is going on?" Mako pressed.

"There was a murder in the market square," he murmured back, eyes darting frequently to the alley's entrance.

Mako's eyes widened. "In broad daylight?"

Takeru nodded.

"Whoever did it is either very bold or incredibly stupid."

"I'd prefer the former, if you don't mind, your ladyship," a voice drawled from the shadows.

Mako and Takeru spun around as a group of men seemed to melt out of the shadows. They spoke in a foreign, harsh tongue to each other, large grins on their faces as they held their weapons with ease.

The apparent leader spoke once again in the common tongue. "Needed a lil distraction, see? Makes things easier for us." The man fingered his blade lovingly as he approached. "Now, why we'd like things to go smooth," he grinned up at the family as Takeru drew his own weapon. "We don't really mind a lil fun, neither." The man nodded his head toward his fellows and the group advanced.

"Stay behind me," Takeru urged his family as he planted himself solidly in front of them. Mako grasped Ayako's hand in a white-knuckled grip and tucked her behind her.

Ayako grasped her mother's sleeve, pressing herself to her mother's side. "Momma," her voice came out shaky as her panic grew.

"Don't leave my side," Mako warned her, eyes darting between the advancing men and her husband as they backed them into a shadowed corner.

The men stared each other down, weapons poised for one breath of a moment before they charged. With a sudden clang of metal on metal the group met blades with Takeru.

Gasping, Ayako clung to her mother, her eyes wide. "Daddy!" She shrieked when a blade found purchase on his arm. Mako's grip on her daughter's hand tightened, her other pressed across her belly, cursing herself for giving their guards the slip earlier.

She had no weapon – hadn't thought to bring one after so many years in her husband's peaceful country, and at this stage in pregnancy, she'd be more hindrance than help if she tried to get involved. She'd have screamed to get attention from the crowd, but in the frenzy it was in already, she doubted anyone would do more than glance their way. And what would they see if they did? Only a dark alley with shadows too thick to pierce with any clarity.

A rustle of clothing had Mako turning too slow before a sharp blade kissed her skin below her jaw. She froze even as Ayako let out another shriek.

The tenor of his daughter's scream had Takeru spinning around in desperation. He stumbled in his steps as the man's blade pressed further into Mako's neck when Takeru moved toward her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the leader warned with glee where he had been leaning against the wall, watching the show. "Unless you want your brat to witness her mother's very messing ending."

Takeru's grip on his blade was white with strain as he glared at the man, his mouth pressed into a thin line. If looks could kill, Mako had no doubt the men surrounding them would have been sent to the underworld several times over.

"Drop your weapon," the leader continued, picking at the dirt under his nails with his blade. When Takeru didn't immediately comply the leader gave the barest of nods to the man holding Mako.

She gasped, stepping closer to the man behind her in an effort to release the pressure of the blade biting into her skin. She felt the warm trickle of blood begin to roll down her neck.

"Mommy!" Ayako shrieked and Takeru's weapon clattered to the ground.

The bandit leader pushed off the wall and advanced toward them with a casual stroll as his men encircled Takeru, pulling his arms behind his back and forcing him to his knees.

The blade at Mako's neck eased, pulling back so that it was still within her vision but no longer resting against her skin. She focused on her breathing as the child she was carrying stirred inside her belly. She rubbed a hand against her stomach in a subconscious gesture as she watched her husband with growing dread.

"What do you want?"

The leader paused, glancing at Mako with a curious tilt to his head. "Want?" He spread his arms wide. "It's not what we want, your ladyship. It's what we need."

Mako worked to keep her voice steady as she stared the man down. "And what is it that you need?"

"I need for you to come with us – quiet like, if you'd please."

Mako blinked in confusion. "Go with you?"

The man flourished his arm toward the darkness of the alley. "We've been sent to collect you, Mako Shiba, to pay for your crimes against the kingdom of Aduro."

Mako looked at the man in bewilderment. "Aduro is gone. Pluvia reclaimed its stolen homeland years ago."

"Precisely," the man nodded in agreement. "With your help." His sudden grin had Mako's blood run cold. "See, some folk aren't too happy about the arrangement, what with the First Princess herself helping to commit regicide and all. Murdering a king's a hefty crime, you know."

"Leave her out of this," Takeru struggled against the arms holding him back. "She never touched the false king."

The leader nodded to one of his men who punched Takeru swiftly in the gut, causing him to curl over as he gasped for air.

"Takeru!"

"Daddy!" Ayako broke from Mako's grasp with a surge of anger. "Leave my family alone!"

"Ayako! No!" Mako tried to stumble forward, but was held in the tight grasp of her captor, her heart in her throat.

Ayako swung out at the bandit leader who grasped her arm with ease and a throaty laugh.

"Looks like the kitten's got claws!" He held her wrist tightly as Ayako tried to pry his fingers off.

"Please," Mako begged. "She's just a child."

"Truth be told, I have no interest in harming kids, but I'm not above using 'em," the man admitted before he rested the blade lightly against Ayako's shoulder. The little girl froze, her face pale as she eyed the weapon with trepidation.

"Mommy?"

The fear in her child's voice nearly made her sick. "Leave her alone!"

The leader met Mako's gaze. "I'll leave the child alone if you come with us without a fuss."

"Mako," Takeru wheezed as he found air, alarm etched across his face, reading the directions of her thoughts.

Mako looked from her prone husband to the sword lying so casually across her daughter's shoulders.

"I'll do what you ask, just leave my family alone."

"Mako – don't!"

"There's a girl," the man grinned. "No reason to be unreasonable." He jerked his head toward the opposite end of the alley. "Start walking."

"My daughter –"

"Soon as I know you ain't gonna bolt, I'll let her go."

Mako pursed her lips, something about the man's tone setting off alarms in her head. She paused. The man behind her raised his blade in silent warning. She ignored the weapon and eyed the leader. "What about my husband?"

"Well," the man scratched at the back of his head. "See, there's the sticking point. I've got different orders in regards to him."

Mako felt something flutter through her stomach as dread seeped into her veins. She almost didn't dare ask. "What orders?"

She wondered, for the briefest moment, if she detected a hint of sympathy in those cold, dark eyes.

"I was only ordered to bring in you, your ladyship." He nodded toward the man at her side and a strong hand gripped her arm before beginning to drag her away.

"No!" Mako fought against the man's grip, struggling to get back to her family. "Takeru!"

Takeru surged to his feet, surprising the men trying to hold him down. Startled, the bandit leader shoved Ayako away as Takeru grabbed one of his opponents' swords and advanced toward him.

Ayako tripped, scraping her knees against the dirt, gritting her teeth against the bite of small pebbles. Her head snapping up in fear at her mother's horrified cry, she turned just as something warm splashed across her face.

A strange, metallic smell filled her nose and she touched the warm, sticky stuff, eyes widening as her fingers came away with a rust-colored paint. She looked up in time to watch her father fall, a deep crimson stain carved across his chest, the bandit leader's blade coated in the same scarlet paint.

"Daddy?" Ayako's voice was tremulous as she watched Takeru fall face first to the ground.

A soft thud sounded behind her and Ayako turned to see her mother's captor trying to get Mako to stand after her legs had given way beneath her. She paid the man no heed as she stared at the fallen body of her husband in numb disbelief, his name whispered off her lips in question.

Ayako watched as her mother suddenly cringed, her arms encircling her stomach. "Momma?" She scrambled to her mother's side as Mako doubled over in pain.

"Get her to her feet," the bandit leader snapped as he wiped off his blade.

"What if she's having the child?" His subordinate asked.

"Then she has the child in the back of the cart," the man shrugged. "So long as we get the job done, it's no concern of ours. She won't last long where she's going anyway." He glanced down at the slain man at his feet, a crimson puddle beginning to spread from underneath his body. He sighed heavily as he eyed Mako and the child at her side. "If she has the brat on the side of the road, maybe that's best. We can leave it at an inn. Give it a chance in this world." He thrust his sword back into its scabbard.

"Pick her up and carry her if you have to, we have to move before someone comes looking for 'em." He glanced down at the little girl at her mother's side. "I gave your mother my word." He pointed toward the market. "Get going."

Ayako clutched her mother's sleeve, shaking her head frantically. "No."

The man sighed in exasperation and marched forward. Grasping her wrist tightly he yanked the little girl away, shoving her toward the market. "Scram!"

Ayako fisted her hands at her side, angry tears beginning to roll down her cheeks as she refused to budge. She glanced at her father's body then at her mother as she was hoisted into the arms of her captor. Ayako glared at the bandit leader. "I hate you," she whispered, her voice harsh.

The man waved his men onward then advanced toward the little girl. He towered over her, one hand on his hip, the other resting on his sword's hilt with a practiced ease.

"The way I see it, you have two choices," he told her quietly. "Your father is dying. Your mother won't be far behind. You can either head toward the castle and what remains of your family, or you can join your parents."

Ayako glowered at the man with all the hatred a six year old could muster, her jaw set stubbornly. Hot, angry tears mixed with the stains of her father's blood, dying her clothes new shades.

He studied her for a long hard moment. "Death it is then."

Mako awoke with a scream.

Ahim bolted up in bed, her eyes immediately searching for an assailant in the dark room as a baby's startled cries started up.

Heart hammering in her chest, Ahim fumbled at the candle's wick before she finally managed to light it. Stumbling out of bed, she raced across the floor, the cold biting into the soles of her feet as she rushed to Mako's side.

With a firm but gentle grasp she shook her roommate's shoulders. "Ms. Mako, wake up! It is only a nightmare." Mako fought her grasp for a tense few minutes, fingers scrabbling against Ahim's grip and the band around her own neck.

"Please, you are scaring your son," Ahim pleaded, wondering what she would do if she couldn't wake the child's mother.

Mako surfaced slowly, the hysteria and screaming in her head reaching a crescendo as she fought against her attackers, trying desperately to get back to her husband's fallen body and the stubborn, defiant stance of her child.

A gentle tone tinged with desperation filtered into her nightmare and Mako slowly woke, blinking in the flickering candlelight with a gasp as she looked around her in confusion.

"You are alright, Ms. Mako," the voice soothed. "It was just a dream."

Mako shuddered in a desperate gasp of air. "It wasn't a dream."

"It was," the voice insisted as arms wrapped around her thin shoulders, rocking her as gently as a mother would a child.

Tears swam in Mako's eyes as she fell against Ahim's slight shoulders. She shook her head. "No," she moaned. "You don't understand. It wasn't a dream – it was a nightmare. A nightmare that was all too real."

Understanding jolted through Ahim. "A memory," she whispered. When Mako nodded, Ahim held her tighter, empathy rolling through her. "I'm so sorry."

She released her hold when Mako struggled against her, her child's cries finally breaking through the hazy gap between sleep and waking.

Mako leaned over her bed, scooping her son out of his basket and, holding him close, rocked him in imitation of Ahim just moments before. It was a long few minutes before Mako managed to soothe his cries. Ahim never budged from her side.

Once the infant had been calmed, Ahim rubbed soothing circles into her back.

"Would it help to talk about it?" She asked quietly.

Mako shook her head wearily, exhaustion weighing heavily upon her shoulders. "No," she whispered. "I doubt there is very little in this world that will help live with the memories of your family's murder."

Ahim sucked in a quiet breath of surprise.

Mako recalled the blacksmith's words. "Though I suppose I won't have to live with only memories much longer if Kamilla has her way." She glanced at the child in her arms. "If only I'd had him on the road."

Ahim blinked, startled by Mako's wearied confession. "Why would you wish that? They would have forced you to leave your child behind! You would never have seen him again."

"Exactly," Mako clutched her child to her chest, unshed tears in her eyes. "It would've torn what was left of my heart out, but at least then he would have been safe."

Ahim glanced down at the child as he watched the pair of them with dark, anxious eyes. "We will not let anything happen to him, Ms. Mako. I swear it." She started at the sudden burst of laughter that came from the other woman. It was eerie in its lack of mirth as the candlelight flickered, shadows wavering across the walls.

"The last person who told me he wouldn't harm my child killed my husband in cold blood."

Ahim studied Mako for a long time with furrowed brows before she surged to her feet. She grasped Mako's arm and tugged the bewildered woman to her feet beside her. "I would like you to dress yourself warmly and bundle your son tightly." She moved across the room and started rifling through her own spare bits of clothing, tugging on layers. She glanced over to see Mako staring at her in confusion. "Please."

Mako did as she was asked, throwing the sling around her shoulders to nestle her son inside the layers as she began pulling on what meager clothing she had been given. When at last they were as bundled as their spare clothes would allow, Ahim blew out their candle and moved to the door to lean her ear against it.

She was still for a long minute, listening intently before motioning for Mako to follow with a finger against her lips for silence as she eased the door open.

The pair stole out into the hallway, shadows dark and haunting in the echoing silence. Mako shivered as much from the chill in the air as the one that raced down her back at the unnatural quiet. Back home, even in the dead of winter, the hallways had always felt warm and inviting. There had always been a few people wandering the halls, voices hushed and footsteps quiet as they moved. Here, even in sleep the monarchs were a threat.

Ahim eased their door shut before grasping Mako's hand firmly and tugging her along behind her through the shadows with a familiarity and effortlessness that had Mako watching the woman's back with more than a little curiosity.

Together the two women made their way through the frigid castle, avoiding the sparse candlelight set along the walls. Their clothing whispered as they moved, the only sound aside from the occasional tap of their shoes when they stepped a little too hard.

If Mako was being entirely honest with herself, it was only she who seemed to be making any noise. Ahim appeared to move through the night like a shadow herself. She doubted Ahim's movements would startle even the mice.

Her son too kept an almost unnatural silence as if he could sense the need to remain undetected as they moved, and for that Mako could not have been more grateful. She didn't know what they would do if they were caught, or if they were even allowed outside their room at night for that matter.

Mako tried to pay attention to where they were going, but in the dark it was difficult to maintain any landmarks. And with no moon in the sky that evening, not even the moonlight that would have shone through the high windows made a mark on the floor. All Mako could tell was that they were heading upward. They climbed one set of stairs after another until finally Ahim reached a door.

Ever so slowly the young woman opened the door just wide enough to allow them to slide through it sideways. She beckoned for Mako to follow, shutting the door firmly once she'd slipped inside.

With the door shut, Mako found herself in an impenetrable darkness.

"Watch your step," Ahim breathed next to her. "And follow me." She kept a firm grip on Mako's hand.

After hitting her shin against the first step she followed Ahim up a seemingly endless curving staircase. It felt to Mako that they had stepped out of time as they wound round and around, higher and higher until she began to wonder if this wasn't some dream lingering still.

Lost in a daze she bumped into Ahim's back when the younger girl came to a sudden stop.

"Sorry," Mako murmured but Ahim simply felt along the door before her, fingers tracing familiar patterns until she found the latch. With a small satisfied click the door opened allowing a wall of chilled air to rush over them. Mako shivered violently, amazed that it could feel any colder as she followed Ahim into the frigid open air.

And then she looked up.

The heavens shone above her – stars like frozen ice suspended in an endless array of brilliance against the velvet ebony sky.

Everywhere they twinkled above her in patterns as familiar to her as the back of her hand, and she gasped in quiet amazement as nostalgia washed over her.

While she'd had little love for the land of her birth, it had surprised Mako how she'd missed certain aspects of it once she had arrived in Takeru's homeland. She supposed now that it had been the overwhelming plethora of new experiences as she'd had to stumble through a new language, new people, new culture and land.

While she loved Takeru, and never once regretted her decision to follow him to his home, it had been a strange comfort to discover that the night sky was the same.

She'd once spent many a night staring up at the evening sky feeling that while much had changed, there would always be one constant in the world.

And here she was, startled once again to realize that despite everything that had happened – through all the immense changes and tragedies in her life – there was still one constant. There was one sight as familiar to her as the laugh of her children or the gentle press of her husband's lips had once been.

She looked down in awe from the majesty and wonder of the dancing lights in the heavens to see that Ahim had moved to the parapet, her gaze as transfixed upon the sky as Mako's had been.

Taking in a strong breath of the crisp, cold air Mako joined Ahim at her side.

"My sister likes to stargaze," Ahim murmured, her warm breath clouding in the air before her.

Mako looked at the younger girl but Ahim's eyes were focused only on the brilliant show above.

"She would climb to the nearest, highest point and stand there for hours, just watching the sky." A sad smile touched her lips. "I used to join her."

"Is she…?" Mako wasn't sure how to ask, but Ahim was already shaking her head.

"She is very much alive," she whispered. Her gaze flickered briefly toward the town spread out in front of the castle. "I see her sometimes, when she manages to sneak into the castle." She answered Mako's unspoken question. "But it is difficult." She turned to Mako then.

"We were inseparable for so long, my family and me." She laid a gentle hand on Mako's shoulder. "Believe me when I say that I understand how much you miss them."

Mako felt her eyes water and she looked hurriedly up at the sky to blink them away. Ahim followed her gaze.

"I feel closer to them out here, knowing they too are under the same stars." A small smile graced her face as she gazed up at the midnight sky. "Our loved ones will find a way to reach us, Ms. Mako. I believe they will move heaven and earth – even a king from his throne – to accomplish it."

Mako felt a weary smile tug at her lips. "It took that much just for us to be together in the first place."

Ahim glanced at her out of the corner of her eye before turning to face Mako, her hands folded together at her stomach. "I know of your story, Ms. Mako," she confessed. "Indeed it has traveled far and circled well." Her head tilted in question, her expression open and curious. "Why is it that you do not believe he will come for you?"

Mako frowned and looked away, painful memories surging forward. "I saw him cut down before my eyes." Her arms came up to shift her son closer to her in a subconscious gesture. "I was pregnant. They had our daughter." She cringed at the images that flooded her mind. "It was so fast," she whispered, her voice soft. "There was so much blood."

"Are you certain he has passed on?"

"I saw him struck down –"

"But are you certain he is gone? Did you check that there was no breath in his lungs? No beating of his heart?" Ahim's tone was gentle but firm and Mako looked at her in surprise. Ahim smiled then.

"Do not be so quick to give up hope, Ms. Mako. After what the two of you had to go through to be together, I do not believe he would fall so easily into Death's arms." She looked up at the sky, the stars shining in her eyes and Mako watched her in wonder. "Until you know with absolute certainty, have faith that he will find his way back to you."

The two young women's eyes were drawn to the sky as a star shot across the heavens.

And for the first time in a long while, Mako wondered who else she was sharing the night sky with.

A group of travel-stained, weary travelers paused at a small inn just below the mountain pass.

The hour was absurdly late, but they had been making good time and hadn't dared stop. Where they were headed, it was best to move as quickly as possible under the cover of nightfall. Too many eyes watched the road for hurried strangers and their horses.

"We'll stop here for the night," one instructed and the others breathed a collective sigh of relief.

It had been a hard day's ride for all, and both man and beast were exhausted.

"We'll see to the accommodations," another answered before slipping off their horse. One of the traveler's companions quickly followed suit.

"Make sure the sum is heavy – they won't appreciate being woken from their sleep," the first advised.

"Pay them for their silence, as well," the last murmured.

The two stayed with the horses as the other pair slipped into the inn. They waited, horses stamping in the cold until their companions emerged, the owner of the inn blinking heavily from sleep as he gazed at the group.

"Come in, come in," his breath fogged before his face, and he shivered under the coat thrown hastily over his nightgown. "I'll show you to your rooms." He covered a yawn, his jaw cracking from the effort. "And then we can all join the realm of sleep." That he didn't look cross at the late disturbance spoke of either a long familiarity with late-night strangers along the route or a well-appreciated sum of money passed into his keeping.

The last two cloaked figures slid carefully off their horses, their bodies sore and aching.

The innkeeper directed one of the travelers to the stable, while the remaining trio picked up their things and began to haul everything toward the inviting warmth seeping from inside the inn, rubbing their hands together to try and circulate their blood.

Just outside the doorway, one of the travelers turned to gaze out and over the canopy of trees, tracing a line down the mountainside and across the valley to the castle that couldn't yet be seen where it lay nestled against the far reaches of the mountain range.

A sudden star shot across the sky, drawing the figure's eyes up to the dizzying display in the heavens.

A firm but gentle hand lighted on the figure's shoulder.

"Don't worry," one of the traveler's companions murmured. "We'll get them back. Even if we have to tear it apart brick-by-brick." With a brief squeeze of reassurance the companion vanished into the shadowed warmth of the inn.

The figure stood gazing up at the dazzling sky for a long time, stars reflecting in dark eyes before turning and following inside.