I apologize for the delay.

I was preoccupied with things.

Thank you to those who reviewed. It really meant a lot to me.

Just a note, the Fahsars are similar to the horse-like animals in Escaflowne. Remember those? It was so long ago, but I still remembered those animals because I thought they were so cute.

Here is Chapter 4…

Chapter 4

Kaoru blushed as a tapered hand stroked her cheek. His hand was warm and comforting by that simple, callused touch. Gentle sea-blue eyes gazed intently into her sapphire eyes. Though his face held no emotion, his eyes glimmered with the feelings he felt for her.

"It is late, my princess," he murmured.

"I know." Her voice was soft and small.

"May I know the reason for your appearance in the dark halls?"

Kaoru blushed further, if that were even possible, and looked down "I – I was…"

Her chin was lifted by two fingers. His lips curved into a small smirk. "Any more of these night visits and the servants will deem me a seducer."

"Forgive me, I did not mean to-" Petal-soft lips grazed her own, cutting her sentence off.

Kaoru's eyes closed for a moment until he pulled away. She stared into his hazy eyes so filled with love and devotion. The pale crescent moon bathed them in a white glow from the window.

"How I wish time would fly faster," he murmured. "I want you by my side. I want you as my wife. I want you to be mine forever."

Kaoru's heart melted. "A year will fade into days and then we will be together forever."

He pulled her against his tall, muscled body, burying his face in her jasmine-scented hair. "I long for a child of our own to symbolize the absolute power of our love."

Kaoru lifted her head and kissed the tip of his nose. "A child you want, a child you shall get…after the wedding."

He groaned playfully.

She laughed. "I love you, Aoshi."

"I love you, too, Kaoru."

Kaoru gasped as she opened her eyes. The night was still and dark. The sun had but a few hours to rise. She turned on her side and sighed sadly. Her heart throbbed for her beloved. Nothing could stop the pain she was in. Perhaps she was just having mood swings like any other pregnant woman since her longing was stronger than ever. Or perhaps…

"Always know that I will be here for you," he said. "Always know that I will risk my life for your safety. Always know that I will get you back if you're taken from me." He pulled out a silver necklace with a sapphire pendant. "This represents my love and loyalty to you. If you are taken away, this sapphire will tell you when I am near or coming."

Kaoru shot out of bed and went to her closet. She opened the doors and dug through the pile on the ground in the corner. She pulled out a box and opened it. The necklace Aoshi gave her sat in a black velvet case. Holding it in the palm of her hand, she concentrated only on Aoshi.

His height…his ebony hair…his sea-blue eyes…his warm touch…his soft lips…

A beat.

Blue eyes shot open.

"He's near."

Kaoru went to her balcony and found Aoshi's hawk sitting there, cocking its gold and black head at her as if it were waiting for her. Around its left leg was a small letter. She walked up to it and gently tugged it from the hawk. It didn't fly off. It only made itself comfortable on the balcony rail and stared at her.

She unrolled the paper and read:

My love,

I am here. Do not fret.

But Kaoru was already fretting. She hurried back into her room and tore a small piece of paper from her stationary and wrote:

Beloved,

I beg of you, do not come. He will kill you.

She rolled it up and went back to the hawk. She tied it to the hawk's leg and stepped back. She waved her hand and the bird took off, silently soaring through the damp night. Quickly, she put back her necklace and covered it before closing the closet.

Something felt odd, this strange feeling made her wonder about her husband. She put on a thick, warm burgundy robe and crept toward the door that connected her room with her husband's and pressed her ear to it. She heard murmuring. As quietly as she could, she cracked open the door, knowing that her husband always kept this door unlocked so he could check up on her every now and then throughout the night.

"Is he near?" her husband's deep voice asked.

"Yes. I hear he's somewhere in the western region of the kingdom." Sanosuke's low voice answered.

Kaoru frowned. Is this what her husband talked about with Megumi as Sanosuke ushered them away from Kaoru's sight? She was not so naïve to see that Megumi was telling something unpleasant to her husband.

"Continue that orders I gave you earlier," her husband said. "But do not let Kaoru know about this."

"I didn't believe Megumi when she told me this." Sanosuke said. "And I still can't believe my ears now."

Her husband growled. "And I mean it now as I meant it earlier."

"You must let Kaoru know," Sanosuke said. "She can convince Lord Aoshi to retreat."

"Megumi said that, too, but I don't trust Aoshi."

"And you don't trust Kaoru."

"I didn't say that!"

"But you meant it all the same."

"I trust Kaoru with my heart."

"And yet you do not trust her enough to go into the battlefield to talk to Lord Aoshi."

Her husband started pacing, scratching his red head, his purple robes snapping in the air. "I know what her decision will be if I let her go to Aoshi."

"But she knows that you are capable of killing him. She knows that you would have hurt her family if she escaped from you; that's why she never left you. Kaoru will not leave with Lord Aoshi, that I know for sure. I trust her."

A small smile formed on Kaoru's lips even though he spoke the truth. She had seen her husband's fighting technique and it was ultimately dangerous. She was terrified for her loved ones if she escaped from him. He was – is – a possessive man and usually never let his possessions go.

"Kenshin, please," Sanosuke's tone was gentle yet desperate. "Kaoru is trustworthy. If you want, I can talk to her."

Her husband gave a defeated sigh. "I take back my orders from before. Just find out Aoshi's whereabouts and come back. Once we know where he is…" His tone was one of reluctance and pain. "I'll send Kaoru."

Sanosuke took hold of her husband and squeezed him.

As her husband gasped for air, Kaoru closed the door and went back to the balcony. The hawk was no where in sight, only the morning dew that hinted at the sun's rising.

"What are you doing up so early, love?"

Startled, Kaoru whirled around.

Her husband raised his hands. "I apologize for startling you. I didn't mean to."

Kaoru only stared at him for a moment and looked out into the sky. "I couldn't sleep."

"Nightmare?"

She shrugged. Hardly.

"Would you like to sleep in today?" he asked as he walked up to her. "You do not have to attend the meeting with the generals."

Kaoru stiffened when her husband came near her.

Immediately sensing her stiffness, Kenshin moved away. He walked up to the rail where Aoshi's hawk had just perched. "It's always so boring. These meetings. Hardly a spark of laughter, you know?" He offered her a kind smile.

Kaoru only looked away and unconsciously put her hand on her belly, as if protecting her child.

Kenshin's smile faltered at the unsaid rejection. His heart tightened at the memory at the announcement that his unborn child was dead.

"My lord," Kimiko came up to Kenshin, her expression grave and pained.

"What is it?" Kenshin was looking at some papers in one hand and held a cup of water in the other. He was tired from last night.

"It's Lady Kaoru."

Kenshin pursed his lips as he looked back down at the papers. "Let her be. She had angered me and I punished her. I will not allow her to be spoiled-"

"It's the baby."

He stopped and slowly looked up into the old woman's gray eyes. "B-baby? I…I am a father?"

"Not anymore, my lord." Kimiko looked down, tears threatening to fall.

Kenshin then noticed that there was blood on her apron. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"The child…a boy…" Kimiko sniffed. "He is…dead."

The papers fluttered to the ground. The glass of water shattered on the marble floor.

Kenshin immediately ran out of the throne room and up the staircase. It was then he heard her cries. Her pain-filled, anguished cries. Heart in his throat, he ran to their room.

There she was.

Knelt on a blood-soaked carpet mat.

Her hair in a wild dissary.

Holding a very small, bloody bundle in her arms.

"My baby…" she murmured through her tears. "My baby…My baby…"

She was shaking horribly from exhaustion and from last night's beatings.

Her maids stood far away from her. When a maid offered to help, Kaoru screamed at her to get away.

It was a heartbreaking scene.

A to-be mother kneeling in the center of the room, the sun barely shining outside, holding her baby drenched in blood and tears.

Then, she looked at him. At Kenshin.

She looked away.

But that two-second stare was all Kenshin needed to know her unsaid rejection and anguished curses.

Her once lively sapphire eyes had dulled to a mere gray and blue color with no spark of fire in them. They were once clear and shinning and were now red and puffy, producing waterfalls of tears.

"Kaoru," he murmured.

Kaoru held her baby closer to her chest.

He stepped forward.

She cringed.

He advanced on her slowly.

She shrunk, lowering her frail body to the ground.

He knelt in front of her.

She whimpered.

He reached out.

She winced.

"I…I…" He was at a lost of words.

"You win," she whispered.

Kenshin's heart died at those words.

"You win,"

Never had he heard her sound so…defeated…done for…spiritless…hopeless…

"I didn't mean-"

"Y-you've taken m-me from-m my f-f-family," Her shaking voice was raspy and low. "You t-t-took me a-away from-m my b-betr-trothed. Y-you be-at me wh-when I d-d-displeased y-you. Y-you to-ok me ag-gainst m-m-my will. B-but," She lifted her head. "But why take my baby?!?"

Kenshin was shocked by her words despite the truth it held. He could only stare into her dulled eyes.

He reached out again.

She winced again.

"Y-you can ha-have anyth-thing you w-want, b-but no-not my b-baby…" Her last words died into a wail.

Kenshin wanted so much to comfort her, but whenever he did, she either winced or backed away from him.

That night, he and Kaoru slept in separate rooms according to Kimiko's instructions. The whole palace was in an uproar and Kimiko took charge. She had threatened every servant and guard to not let it spread to the public. Since she was the eldest, everyone respected and listened to her.

Kenshin remembered he didn't sleep that night. Or the next. He just sat against the wall that separated his and Kaoru's rooms. His heart would contract at every muffled cry Kaoru made.

It had taken Kaoru all day to let go of the baby. When the baby was cleaned and wrapped for burial, it had taken Kaoru more than a week to let the baby be buried. The burial was a small service, opened only to those who were present in Kenshin and Kaoru's room.

Kaoru was silent throughout the entire service.

Kenshin had stared at her throughout the entire service.

Everyone else had cried throughout the entire service.

The next day, Kaoru did not eat. The day after, she refused comfort. The next, she sat by her window, staring into nothingness. For about a week, Kaoru did not eat anything. The week after, Megumi, Sanosuke, Kimiko, and three other guards had to force feed her. Kaoru's health had deteriorated dramatically and Megumi was getting frantic.

For the next three months, it was the same routine.

For the next three months, Kenshin avoided Kaoru, but sent her dozens of flowers, knowing that she liked the smell of it. It reminded her of home, she once told him.

At the beginning of the fourth month, Kenshin had gone to Kaoru and grimaced at the frail sight. He apologized to her as sincerely as he could and left. He went to his unborn child's grave and apologized to him.

Someone or something must have visited Kaoru that very same day for she said the very phrase everyone prayed for, "I'm hungry."

Megumi was ecstatic and relieved.

Kaoru's health had slowly returned after that.

It was months later that Kimiko had talked to Kenshin and Kaoru about making a new baby. Kenshin had refused at first, concerned about Kaoru's health, but, to his surprise, Kaoru had agreed to it. He was hesitant, but Kaoru was encouraging.

"I want a baby," she had said. "I don't want my first baby to not have siblings."

That touched Kenshin's heart. So that night, he gave her a baby.

And here they were.

Standing outside on her balcony.

Kenshin looked down and searched for his baby's grave. He smiled dreamily at it. You'll have a sibling soon, my son. Perhaps a little brother? Yes, I think that would be nice.

Kaoru glanced at her husband and noticed that he was looking at their baby's grave. Her heart skipped a beat at the smile he gave.

"A boy," he suddenly said.

Confused, Kaoru didn't answer.

Kenshin turned to her and smiled. "I think it'll be a boy. I told our son that. I told him that it would be nice to have a boy."

Kaoru bit her lip for a moment. "It may be a girl."

"A girl." Kenshin's expression turned curious. Then, he lifted a brow. "She'll have one heck of a protective father, that she will."

Kaoru lifted her hand to her lips, which were slightly threatening to smile at her husband's jest.

"Come to think of it, I don't think I will mind having a little girl." Kenshin leaned against the rail. "She'll make a wonderful princess. She'll be my little princess."

"She won't-"

"The law says that women aren't allowed to take the throne, but I think we should abolish that law," he continued. "I wouldn't mind having my daughter rule in my stead. It could certainly be different, but I wouldn't mind at all. Our country Liere should have a woman's touch, eh?"

Kaoru slowly nodded.

Hesitating, Kenshin held out his hand. He shyly looked away when Kaoru looked him questioningly.

Charmed at his shyness and his slightly shaking hand, Kaoru slowly slid hers into his. She marveled at how callused and warm they were. Much different from the hand that only gave bruises and split lips.

Shocked, Kenshin looked at their hands. His heart was suddenly pounding in his chest. That was quick. He stared at the small, slim hand in his larger ones. Her hand was warm and soft, pleasing to the touch. Now he knew why husbands longed for their wives' touch.

He mentally shook his head and closed his fingers slowly around hers and held her hand in a light grasp so that she could pull away anytime she wanted to. How he wanted this moment to last.

"Kaoru," he started.

She looked up at him.

"I…" He cleared his throat and used his free hand to scratch the back of his red head. He shifted his weight from foot to foot and cleared his throat again. "I…well…" He took a breath.

All the while, Kaoru waited patiently and held back the urge to smile at her husband's actions.

"I promise that the hand you hold…well, actually holds yours…" He shook his head. "…will never hurt you ever again," he said. "I promise…on my life…to make you happy. I promise to listen to you and take care of you for the rest of our lives. I promise that our child…will grow up happy and healthy. And he – or she – will know of our first. Of my mistakes and of my carelessness. I promise to be truthful and faithful to you for the rest of our lives." He paused, running his thumb over the back of her hand. "To this I say to heavens and beyond. Should I break any of my promises, my life shall be taken away."

At that very moment, the sun rose. There was an array of oranges, reds, yellows, and pinks that flew across the night sky. The birds sang their morning song. The horses neighed their good mornings.

An outline of gold outlined Kenshin's head as Kaoru stared at him.

The morning ray gave a soft yellow hue to Kaoru's skin as Kenshin stared at her.

It was at that moment, Kaoru felt something stir in her heart.

"I have…I have received word that…Lord Aoshi is here." Kenshin reluctantly said. "I ordered for Sano to find his whereabouts."

Kaoru gave an encouraging look.

"I want you to…Would you please talk to him?"

"About?"

Kenshin ran his free hand through his hair. "I know how much you love him." His tone was bitter yet full of longing. "I just want you to stay…well, not against you will or anything, but I don't want you to go. It would mean a lot to me if you…well, I mean…it's not like…actually, I do…I just…"

Kaoru slightly smiled the jumble of words he was spouting. "You want me to talk to him about retreating. And you're afraid that I would leave with him."

"W-well,"

She gave a gentle squeeze.

"Well actually, yes," he admitted. "I-"

"I will do as my king and husband says." Kaoru said.

"But-"

"Do not worry. I will be back. I promise."