Author's Note: Short and bittersweet. Constructive criticism is always welcomed.

Fiat Justitia Ruat Coelum

Chapter Ten: The Lies We Tell

"How's the princess getting along?"

"Better," Gai answered his captain with a tight smile. "At least, that's what Doc says."

"The mother hen still hovering over his chick?"

Gai couldn't hold back his laughter. "Any longer and he'll be taking up permanent residency."

Marvelous' eyes sparked with a masked feeling, his grin a little unsettling. "Wouldn't that be something?"

Gai's smile fell. "They almost lost her, you know."

The dark-haired captain gave a casual shrug of indifference. "Those hallucinations are quite the parlor trick."

"She thought you were her husband," Gai deadpanned, his tone unusually serious.

"Not nearly long enough for any real fun though," Marvelous threw his spymaster a wicked grin. A small noise sounded in the corner, one that could almost be mistaken for a sigh of exasperation if the captain hadn't known any better. He raised an eyebrow at his second-in-command. "Something to add, Joe?"

Joe stood from the table where he had been going over some notes, grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair and shrugging it on in one fluid motion. "No," he said after an interminable pause.

"It's not a joke, Marvelous," Gai added, his brows furrowing. "Even Ryunosuke couldn't get to her. If you hadn't let Takeru in when you did –"

"Against my better judgment," Marvelous muttered more to himself than to anyone in particular. "Now the idiot's gone and got it into his head that he can just stroll up to the castle whenever he takes a fancy, risking his neck and, more importantly, ours."

"Is that what's got you so riled up?" Luka chimed in as she slid in the door, blowing on her fingers to warm them up after several hours out in the cold on lookout. "He's only visiting in the dead of night and only for a couple hours at that. It's been necessary," she added with a frown when his expression hardened at the reminder.

"The necessity of it is over."

"Hardly," Luka scoffed with a flippant wave of her hand, turning to hang up her scarf and coat on a peg hammered into the wall.

"I thought she was getting better," Gai said, concern coloring his face. Even Joe paused for a moment where he was wrapping his own scarf around his neck to listen.

"Her fever spiked again," Luka informed them with a brusqueness that belied her concern. "She's still having difficulty breathing and she's not eating enough, or at least, that's what Ahim said."

"Luka," Marvelous' voice held a note of exasperation in his warning even as she crossed her arms over her chest in defiance. "You can't order me away from Ahim, Marvelous."

His chin was set at a mulish angle. "Is that so?"

Luka merely raised a delicate brow at him, her stance immovable. "I'd like to see you try." The two stared each other down, tempers flaring until Gai broke in. "C'mon, guys, don't we have enough fighting to worry about without it coming from each other?" When the two didn't budge Gai made to move to stand in between them, but Joe's hand on his shoulder kept him from doing more than rising halfway out of his chair.

"She's my sister, too," Luka said in the quiet and the three watched Marvelous' shoulders fall just a fraction.

"I know."

"We all care about her, Marvelous," Gai added in the ensuing silence. "And we need Shiba's help. If Ahim were in Mako's position right now, any one of us would be doing exactly what they are."

"Aren't we already?" Joe asked without inflection and Marvelous sighed gustily, raking a hand through his hair in frustration. A captain had to know when to bend to the will of his crew lest there be a mutiny.

"Fine, but only one of them at a time, and the Shiba lord only in the dead of night."

Gai's smile was as immediate as if someone had just lit a candle. "Done and done."

"And only a couple hours," Marvelous barked.

"Yes, yes," Luka placated, sidling up to her captain's side and sliding an arm around his waist, threading her chilled fingers through his warm ones. "We hear ya."

"I mean it," Marvelous called to his lieutenant's back as Joe made his way out of the room. "We don't want to blow this out of the water at the last." Joe waved his hand above his head to signal that he had heard before letting himself out and shutting the door firmly behind.

"You lot are going to be the death of me," Marvelous muttered.

"But you love us anyway," Luka quipped before placing a cool kiss to her captain's flushed cheek.

Mako felt the bed dip under added weight and she struggled to pry her eyelids open, her gaze unfocused and blurry as she blinked in the lone candlelight. She felt a press of lips against the top of her head and stirred fitfully under the covers tucked in tight around her. "Takeru?"

"Sleep," he told her in response but she stubbornly shook her head. She'd slept through his arrival the night before, sinking into a deeper and less troubled slumber than she had done since she'd been in this thrice accursed place.

Placing her palms flat against the bed she tried to push herself into a sitting position on shaking limbs. Takeru was beside her in an instant, sliding behind her and helping to lift her up to lean against his body in support since she still lacked so much of her own.

"You should be resting," he told her but his scolding tone was lost in how tightly his arms embraced her, holding her close.

"I am," she reminded him, threading her fingers through his where they rested against her stomach. "More than I would if you weren't here." She felt him sigh behind her, the movement too quiet to have heard with her ears. She let her lids flutter closed, the feel of his heartbeat against her back more soothing than any lullaby she'd ever known, so strong and reassuring and alive. "Takeru?"

"Hmm?"

"How – how did you survive?" Her voice was quiet even in the silence of the room. She knew Ahim was out in the hallway somewhere, keeping watch with Joe or Doc or Luka or whomever was on duty that night. Genta and Ryunosuke were likely just on the other side of the door, but it seemed to be an unspoken agreement amongst them all that they give the couple some privacy. It made Mako feel safe in a way she hadn't in months, knowing her friends and family were so near at hand even if she worried non-stop about their safety with every painful inhale of breath.

Takeru held her close, resting his chin upon her head. "You saved me," he murmured in wonder, still amazed at their one stroke of luck. "The pendant," he elaborated at her noise of confusion. "It deflected part of the blade where it would've pierced my heart. It wasn't an insignificant wound, but your gift kept it from being instantly fatal." She squeezed his hands in response, tears welling behind her closed eyelids, unable to respond for a moment. He understood anyways. "It took a while to heal enough that I could come after you. It was…maddening, but Kaoru was adamant."

"How is she?"

"Worried," Takeru said after a moment. "Frustrated, angry as hell. She would have come as well but her presence would be too easily missed in comparison to mine. For all anyone knows I'm either still in the hands of the court physicians or dead." Mako's fingers trembled in his at the thought and how easily it could've been true. He held her closer until her shaking eased. "Sorry."

"Don't be," she murmured. "Kotoha?" She'd seen Chiaki briefly when she'd awoken once, but they hadn't been able to talk. Her temperature had been spiking again and she'd been waking sporadically between fever-dreams.

She could feel the smile in his voice as he answered. "Furious at being left behind. Chiaki had a hell of a time convincing her to stay with Takeshi and the girls." Mako shifted at her son's name, her breath quickening. "He's fine," Takeru soothed. "Confused and misses his mother, but well protected. Genta kept him safe from all harm in the market and Kotoha has never let him out of her sight since, or so Kaoru told me." He felt Mako relax at the news. "Eiji?"

"He's beautiful, Mako. The captain has been as good as his word. He's well looked after." There was a long silence, then, "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"Me too." Tears danced behind her closed eyes as she remembered the chaos of his birth. The pain she'd felt in her heart not only her body; brining their child into the world in such a dark, cruel place, not knowing if Takeru was even alive. She shied away from the memories, turning her face into Takeru's shoulder. He untangled their fingers to brush away the damp hair plastered to her face, making soothing noises as he did so, but she would not be comforted.

"You already know, don't you?" She felt Takeru tense beneath her. "You haven't once…you haven't asked about Ayako." Mako could feel her heart rate climbing, her breathing turning into short, quick gasps, unable to stop them and not caring enough to try. "You know."

"Yes." Takeru's voice was quiet as he gathered Mako close, his lips pressing together as her body shook in his arms. He felt her pain as acutely as his own.

"I'm sorry," she gasped. "For not...being a better mother…I couldn't – couldn't protect them…our children."

"Mako." Takeru had never felt more helpless than he did now, not even when the false king had had him dragged from Mako's rooms, threatening her harm if he'd failed to cooperate. Then he'd been angry, frustrated and filled with a hatred that could all be directed toward the man who had played with their lives like puppets on a string. Takeru had been surprised at the time to discover that his concern for her well-being had far exceed that of his own, but had known help was on the way – that it might come in time to save her even if it wouldn't for him. But there was no help coming this time. They were on their own. Kaoru wouldn't be coming; couldn't risk open war against a country so far away that knowingly held one of her own hostage, not against rulers who would take such great and personal pleasure in killing Mako long before they arrived. No, Kaoru's hands were tied. Where many would not succeed this time, she had to trust that a few might.

And Takeru was used to fighting, had been training all his life to protect and defend that which he held dear. But what good was that training now? How could he protect that which he loved most from her own pain? From the knowledge of what had happened? Something that neither of them had been able to prevent or fight against. He grit his teeth against the words that pushed against his lips, remembering all too well the first conversation he'd held with the captain and his crew, the knowledge they'd shared about Mako's arrival and what had happened to her, their unborn child and their first born – their daughter, Ayako. He couldn't tell Mako what he knew, what he'd learned. All he could do was gather her close as she cried, as she mourned, her barely mended heart ripping open along its stitches to shatter anew.

"You are not to blame for anything, Mako," he told her fiercely. "You've done so much – risked so much. Eiji is alive and well because of you. Ayako knows that too. Knows how hard you fought for her, protected her. She loves you, Mako, and doesn't blame you for what happened. It wasn't your fault."

Mako only sobbed harder, her breathing coming in uneven gasps as she struggled for air with her already weak lungs. Her sobs gave way to coughing that wracked her frame and Takeru's heart clenched in his chest. He made a short, quiet whistling noise that had the door flying open, Genta and Ryunosuke's pale and drawn faces appearing at once.

With a muffled oath Ryunosuke produced a vial from beneath his layers of clothing and pressed it to Mako's lips as Takeru held her upright, murmuring encouragingly into her ear the entire time so that she wouldn't reject the liquid if she was caught in another bout of delirium. Genta hovered at the doorway, his concern palpable but on alert for any sound or presence in the hall.

"What happened?" Ryunosuke hissed, his face tight with strain, the dark circles under his eyes prominent.

"Ayako," Takeru murmured, too low for Mako to hear as the amber colored liquid took hold and her coughing began to ease, body relaxing as the sedative took hold. "She – it was about Ayako."

"What did you tell her?" Ryunosuke's tone was accusatory as he snapped out his question, and he visibly struggled to reign in his emotions, knowing Takeru was not to blame. "I apologize."

"I couldn't tell her anything," Takeru said, heedless of Ryunosuke's apology, his face gray and wretched as he stared down at his wife, her breathing shallow but more even, her face damp from tears and fever. "Only that it wasn't her fault."

Ryunosuke took in a deep, steadying breath. He huffed it out on a sigh and nodded, bringing his hand up to rest on Takeru's shoulder in a sign of camaraderie and comfort. "The sedative will hold her under until morning. She should rest." He looked up at a rustle near the door to see Genta standing aside for an exhausted-looking Ahim to enter, her silent and dark-haired companion no more than a step behind.

"What happened?" Ahim's soft voice asked into the quiet, the concern on her face obvious as she hurried to her roommate's side.

"She'll be fine," Ryunosuke assured the tired young woman, rubbing a hand across his own face as he did so. "I gave her a sedative." He read the look on Joe's face with a tightening of lips. "It could be addictive," he answered the unspoken question. "I don't want to give it to her often if it can be avoided."

Ahim was nodding before he'd finished speaking. "No one should be held sway by such drugs if it can be avoided." She brushed a gentle hand across Mako's face as Joe shifted uneasily on his feet. He looked at Ahim's weary form with a small frown. "Ahim…"

"I am fine, Joe," she assured him quietly. "I will rest soon. I promise." He looked like he wanted to argue but, acutely aware of their audience, kept his words to himself.

"Guys?" Doc's worried voice sounded at the door, his shock of blond hair bobbing like a ghost in the dark. "Gai says it's time."

"I will look after her," Ahim assured the two men who hovered by Mako's side. She stood to give them a moment to say their goodbyes and swayed. Joe's hands were immediately there to steady her. She looked up at him with a smile and a blush. "Thank you."

"You're going to rest," was all he said in reply as he directed her toward her own bed, his grip on her firm but gentle. Feeling eyes on the back of his neck he glanced over his shoulder to see Ryunosuke eyeing them curiously. Warmth rushed to the back of his neck but he kept his emotions off his face and concentrated on helping Ahim to sit as she murmured her thanks.

"C'mon, Take-chan, let's leave the ladies to rest," Genta murmured as he padded into the room, leaving Doc to keep anxious watch at the door. He helped his friend to stand on unsteady feet, the pained look on Takeru's face obvious as he was forced to leave her behind yet again. "I know," Genta told him, his voice too quiet to be overheard. "But she's not strong enough to travel yet, even if we did manage to get her out. And you getting caught by Almanzor or his fetching bride would only set Mako back even further. We can't help her if we can't stay safe ourselves. Let her rest."

Takeru nodded numbly at his oldest friend, his mind latching onto Genta's words even as heart screamed at him to stop with every stumbling step he took away from his wife's side. "Ryunosuke," Genta called over his shoulder as he helped his friend out. The prickly caretaker scowled but visibly pushed himself away from his charge's side, muttering darkly as he marched out of the room, his words a litany of curses upon Almanzor and his entire line and all the things he planned to do to them once he got his hands on them. Genta couldn't stop the grin that pulled at his lips, even as he kept a firm grip on his friend's arm, continuing to tug him out the door as Takeru glanced back, unable to draw his eyes away from Mako's dozing form until he couldn't see her anymore.

"Joe," Doc hissed from the doorway as Genta and company began to make their way down the darkened hallway. With a silent huff Joe too turned and headed for the open entryway, looking back only once as he moved to shut the door, catching Ahim's bright smile before the door hid her from view and following the trio.

As soon as the door's latch clicked shut, Ahim felt her bright smile dim, exhaustion sweeping over her and she shivered in the room, pulling the blankets of her bedding higher. "Please," she entreated to the heavens, "watch over them and keep them safe."

A small noise sounded in the otherwise silent room and with a patient sigh, Ahim struggled out from beneath the blankets, draping them around her like a shawl to move quietly to her roommate's side. She fussed with Mako's blankets, tucking in the other woman with quick, sure fingers, brushing stray dark hairs off of Mako's face in the process.

"You are okay, Ms. Mako," she began then halted abruptly at the sight of new tear tracks on the other woman's face. "Oh, Ms. Mako. I am sorry, so terribly sorry." She dipped a clean cloth into a bowl of water sitting beside the bed and dabbed at Mako's face with it. "You are not okay. Neither of us is, are we? I apologize for the lie. It has become an unfortunate habit, I'm afraid. No harm was meant by it, quite the opposite, in fact."

She bit her lip as the other woman shifted uneasily in her sleep, murmuring something too unintelligible for Ahim to hear. "I hope you can forgive me for it one day, Ms. Mako. Forgive all of us."

Her eyes welled with tears for Mako's pain, her heart aching at the thought of what she must be going through and wondered if she'd have the strength to continue on as Mako had. "This is not your fault, Ms. Mako. If anyone is to blame it should be me.

"We need your help, Ms. Mako. I need your help. I too want to keep my family safe. If I hadn't…" She sighed and shook her head. "What has been done is done. Lamenting our past actions will do us no good now, not if we are to continue forward. And I need you to continue forward, Ms. Mako. They need you to continue forward – your friends, your family, your husband and children… You must pull through this. You will pull through this. You are strong enough, Ms. Mako.

"Do not let them win," she whispered fervently. "Do not let them break you. Do not let them inflict more pain on your family. You can survive this. You will survive this, and one day it shall fade into nothing more than a dark memory, obscured by all that is bright and good in the future. And –" Her breath caught, silent tears trailing down her own face. "Maybe then you will find it in your heart to forgive us the falsehood we tell to keep you here. To keep you fighting though you long for nothing more than the sweet allure of peace."