Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne or Rurouni Kenshin!
Whoa! This one's long, I think the longest I've written for this story!
Enjoy this one to the fullest!
"Van-sama! Van-sama, where have you been?!" Merle cried, hugging the raven-haired king. She hissed when she discovered he was soaked to the bone. "You're all wet! What happened?!"
Allen laughed, patting his friend's shoulder. "You would never believe it, even if we told you."
Van nodded, sneezing. "Though being soaked through so much wasn't on the list of what I wanted to do today, but it was worth it."
He put an arm around Tenshi, who wore her normal clothing, as wet as the other two. Merle saw her and immediately asked, "Who's she, Van-sama?"
"She is the love of my life and soon-to-be-queen of Fanelia," Van answered, smiling warmly.
"Oh Van-sama, you look so happy! So there's going to be a wedding soon?"
"As soon as we can manage."
"But…what will your council say about it?"
"Van-sama, this is preposterous! You're gone for six moons and then you expect us to believe that you found a bride during your disappearance?"
"As you can see, she's right here. She is the one I've chosen, and if you don't accept her, I'll elope with her and come back with the documents to prove that we're married. She's the one I want, and I won't marry someone you've picked for me. A political marriage isn't what I want, and I won't have it."
The older men grumbled, before one stated, "So, we should plan for a royal wedding to be done in a month, so that all the preparations may be made."
Van nodded in satisfaction, happy that he'd been stubborn enough to get what he wanted. Tenshi watched the entire thing with wonder, knowing that she'd never seen Van this way, acting like a king. He was majestic, in a way that made her proud to have claimed this man as hers, and soon, permanently.
The wedding was extravagant, even more so than she could've ever imagined. No one seemed to think anything was wrong with her, even after she had been living for the castle for a few years and didn't seem to become with child. But, eventually, his council started mentioning to the king about producing an heir in passing, but as time went on and Van's twentieth birthday was getting closer, they began to demand, and soon, badger the poor monarch.
"Van-sama, we cannot wait any longer! Your birthday is coming up and already attempts have been made on the queen's life! If you don't bring forth an heir, then the kingdom might be lost!"
Van rolled his eyes. "You don't think I'm trying? Tenshi seems to be suffering from something and cannot stay in bed. She says it's called 'Inflammation of the Prelude', whatever that means. She also says she cannot rest until it is finished. I don't know how long it lasts, but she hasn't come to bed since we were wed. What do you want me to do? Tie her down and force her to make love with me? I cannot do that!"
"It doesn't matter how the queen feels, she obviously doesn't understand how important it is to have the king's child! Especially if it's a boy! You must talk with her or else we are doomed should you get assassinated!"
Van sighed and scrubbed his hands through his hair. "If you say so. I don't know what she'll say tonight, but she might just refuse again. I won't force anything on her if she's in pain or ill. It could drive her further into the ailment she's suffering from."
So, that night, Van approached his bride, placing a hand on her shoulder, only to hiss from the heat coming off her skin. "You're burning hot. Are you sure I can't help you by calling a healer?"
"Yes, this will pass soon enough. But for now, I must stay pure and have a cold bath until it cools."
"Do you know what this illness does?"
"Yes, indeed I do. Before we left, Kenshin gave me this disease of demons only, so no one in your kingdom will catch it. It lasts from one to ten years, and if the demon is impure or gets overheated, it will kill them. So I must do everything to keep myself cool at night and pure. Until it passes, I must not rest. So please, understand that I cannot produce an heir for you."
He nodded and laid himself down to rest.
So, when Van's birthday came about, he danced with his queen. He noticed her skin was perceptively cooler and asked, "Has it gone away?"
She smiled at him, nodding. "Finally. But tell me, do you want a boy or a girl?"
"A boy first, then a girl, if possible. I've always wanted both, so that both of us can have a child to raise. My council will insist that I raise our son and give him the best tutoring so he can be king."
"Is that so? Then isn't two better than one? What about two boys? I think that if we had two boys, then, just in case if one of them dies, the other can inherit the throne."
"You act as if you have control over what children we're going to have, Tenshi," Van joked, but when he saw her serious face, he asked, "Can you?"
"Somewhat. It's usually through my wishful thinking that I can have an educated guess. I'm frequently right."
"How do you know? I thought you've never had children."
"I haven't, but I pretended to be human for a while and was a fortune-teller for women who were having babies. I was almost always right about what they were going to have, so whenever a woman was expecting, she came to me. I'd just have a feeling and I'd tell her, and when she paid me, I would give my best wishes and give her a charm."
"A…charm?"
"Yes. I would pat her arm once if it was a girl, and twice if it was a boy, using my powers. So I would give the baby a 'push' into what it would be, but my powers back then weren't fully developed." She smiled, looking at their feet, then into his eyes. "However that was two hundred years ago. I'm much better now."
"Two…hundred years? How could you have lived that long?"
"Unlike humans and other creatures, demons live forever, unless they're killed. Kenshin was at least five hundred years old, from what I could tell."
"How did you know?"
"His aura. The more developed and refined it is, the older the demon is. I suppose I'm one of the younger demons, even if I'm only half."
"So what will you do once I'm dead?"
"Probably find an ocean and never have human contact again. By the way, I can't tell what exactly you are." She gazed at him as if trying to see through him to the other side. "You're not fully human, that I know," she whispered in his ear.
"I'll show you what I am tonight, in our chambers," he murmured back.
After the celebration was done, Van took her to his chambers. He stepped back so only their hands were touching. "I am a Draconian."
"A…Draconian? What's a Draconian?"
He arched his back, and a pair of pure white wings came from his shoulders, feathers flying everywhere.
"Of all things unholy…" she breathed. "You're an angel…"
Although she found herself undeserving, she discovered that her curiosity drove her forward to touch his wings. "They're…so soft…and beautiful…"
Van smiled and put his arms around her. "Tenshi, even though I look like an angel, here, on Gaea, the ones with white wings are also known as the Cursed Ones."
As she heard the term, she shook her head. "No, you aren't cursed. No creature with wings as pure as yours could ever be cursed, and your aura is just as clean."
"But why do I bring misfortune everywhere I go?"
"It's not you, my love. You're just always in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's never your fault."
She pressed her lips to his forehead, smiling tenderly at him.
In the morning, Van woke in his bed, Tenshi lying next to him, her head resting on his shoulder. He stroked her silky hair, making her smile in her sleep.
"Tenshi, wake up. It's morning."
Her crimson eyes opened, and she beamed up at him. "Good morning, Van. How are you this fine day?"
She sat up, and his eyes grew wide. "How long was I asleep?"
"What do you mean?"
"Your stomach…it's huge."
She looked down as she dressed, seeing her stomach for the first time since she'd fallen asleep, although she didn't act surprised. "I'm fine, Van. It's natural for demons to go through the phases of pregnancy within three months. Most of the development happens overnight. Now all he has to do is grow."
"He?"
"Yes, he. We're going to have a son. Is there a problem with that?"
"N-no, now I remember what you told me last night. Do you think that my council will accept that your…carrying…is so sudden?"
"I don't know, although I suppose they'll be happy either way. You're getting an heir and they can't complain how sudden he's going to come."
Van got up and dressed as well, wanting to get this out before anyone questioned it.
"My lord, this is good news!" one of the councilors exclaimed.
"To think we'll have a prince in three short months, instead of having to fret and wait for nine…this is nothing short of a miracle!" another chimed.
"My lady, how are you feeling?"
Tenshi smiled. "Just fine. You don't have to worry about me. I should be able to move about like normal, even the day before I deliver."
Van placed a hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps we should have a walk around the city, to see our people. They should be glad to see their queen is feeling better."
He took her out in the marketplace, a beautiful blue cloak over her red dress, leading her by the hand. People from all places came to see their queen, humans and Beast folk alike.
"My lady, it is good to see you blossoming with child!" a woman praised.
"May it be a healthy prince, my lady!" a Beast man congratulated.
A man with his heavily-pregnant wife approached her. "My queen, my wife has done poorly throughout her pregnancy, and now that she is heavy, we don't know if she'll survive the birth. Please, give her a blessing so that our child can live."
Tenshi raised the woman's chin, smiling gently at her. "Your baby will be healthy, a beautiful daughter." She tapped the woman's wrist once.
Van noticed this and knew that Tenshi would win the hearts of all the people with her "predictions", especially the happy parents of each healthy-born infant.
After that, bestowed women flocked to her, especially when it was heard that the woman she'd "blessed" had had her baby girl safely and both had survived. Women who also had tried and failed to become mothers also came to her for a blessing and prediction.
Van commented while they were having their separate audiences with the people, "You seemed to have won the hearts of the women of Fanelia with your 'wishful thinking', along with their husbands. My council sure seems happy about that."
"I do it because I want everyone to have a child instead of losing it so easily. The infant mortality rate is horrible here, and I should be able to help with that."
"But when other countries hear of this, people will gather in Fanelia just to see you. You won't have a moment's peace."
"On the contrary, I want to help everyone, and you will have many friends because of it, and have stronger ties with the countries already allied to you. What I have is a gift, even if I'm half demon."
"What about when our son is born? And our next child? Don't you want to raise them?"
"Of course. I will have to take a day off now and then, but we are royalty. Were you raised by your parents all the time?"
"No, I was tended mostly by my nursemaids."
"Our children will understand that we're rulers and will be busy most of the time. Don't worry."
So, what did you think of this new installment? Too happy with the loose ends? Don't worry, the Kenshin crew will make another appearance!
Please review!