Silent Lamb

by xeveningx

In silence lay secrets that have haunted her for years and she's ready to give up everything in order to take them to her grave. At this point,there's nothing to make her waver.Or is there? In the end,it's her choice: unravel the truth and destroy everything she's come to love, or forever be the scapegoat and lose herself in the process? (Rated M for themes.)

17. Building Bridges

Chapter Seventeen

Building Bridges

---

A stranger.

She'd never seen a stranger here.

The stranger was...strange. And blonde.

Why was he blonde? And why was he undressing? He came in with the ship that came everyday to their home but he wasn't like those other people. He wasn't bringing in the good food that mama and uncle cooked.

"...weird."

"What?"

"Shh," she hissed, her finger on her lips as she turned to her little brother. "He'll see."

"Who?" the little boy inquired. Though he couldn't speak as well as she could—she was good with words and was really smart, or so baba told her—he knew how to ask questions. A lot of them.

"Him," she pointed out from behind their hiding place near a rock. Mama always told her to keep away from the ships. But she always wanted to see them. The sea was strange. The ships were strange. She liked strange things. And that was why she couldn't keep her eyes from the stranger as he walked on, passing by their hiding spot without noticing either of the two.

But the stranger didn't get far. He met up with her uncle Ha and stopped to talk. The stranger knew her uncle?

"Shushu Ha," her little brother said a little too loud, pointing at their uncle. Not wanting to get caught, she grabbed her little brother by the hand and dragged him away. But even when he could walk, running wasn't something he did very well without tumbling. And tumble he did, tripping her and sending them off on a couple of circles before stopping a few feet away from their uncle and the stranger.

The blonde stranger looked confused but Uncle Ha wasn't too happy to see them there. Oh, they were in trouble now.

---

Exile: Year One

---

It was strange. Ceara had never been one to feel or get sick, especially not for months on end. And it wasn't the best of times to get sick either. After four months things, as well as the others, were starting to calm down.

Kouha had taken well to the life here. Since he had never been one to care about what others thought about him, his attitude in Samon was almost the same as back in the palace. What was changing gradually was his temper. Most of the time, Kouha had been quite a tempest to deal with, one that could roar to life at any second and destroy half a population or simply maim a single person completely. Now he was just a much calmer boy. Seemed like the quietness and proximity to his brothers made him accept his calm demeanor better. It wasn't to say that he didn't lose it at times.

This life also treated Koumei well enough. His wound had already healed, leaving only a palm-sized scar on his chest. His hairstyle also changed. It was actually something that he asked Ceara for help with. Since she was the one that could more or else maneuver a knife without accidents happening, he entrusted her with the make over. She didn't have a reason not to agree. Koumei guided her through most of what he wanted. In less than an hour, his long hair was completely gone and in its place was a stylish look that reminded her very much of Prince Hakuren. Ceara figured; the two of them had been quite close when little. She supposed it was Koumei's way to change for this new life.

Kouen was the one that was having the hardest time adapting. It wasn't so much adapting to this new life that he was having trouble with, either; she swore that as long as that man had scrolls or something new to read, he'd be content and appeased. What he was truly having trouble with was having to adapt to an arm and legs that felt completely foreign to him. Ceara couldn't know what that felt like but simply seeing how frustrated he got at times, sometimes even lashing out at them only to later apologize, made her chest tighten with pity. It was like he abhorred what his body became—she bet it was the uselessness of being able to do nothing about it that frustrated him the most—but it was a feeling that receded when he appeared to understand, time and time again, that it had been his choice to give his limbs to Hakuryuu.

Still, Ceara hated having to see him like that. That day hadn't started all that well, either. Kouen had woken up on a particularly bad mood. She hadn't even left her room when she heard him all the way across the hall, shouting obscenities at the top of his lungs that she had to cover her sensitive ears for.

Surprisingly through these bouts of anger, Kouha had proven the best to calm him down. Perhaps a touch he gained from having to live with his mother for so long. And whatever he did usually worked most of the times after a while. But this particular day wasn't one of those times.

Ceara had wanted to help but knew that she couldn't. Not when that morning she had felt like puking her innards out. Again. The worst was that she hadn't eaten anything but still could smell what was being cooked in the kitchen by Koumei. Fish. The smell of it simply sent her stomach hurling.

Not wanting to sour the mood and wanting to find something more appetizing to eat, Ceara left the place without telling anything to anybody and headed west. She remembered some of the soldiers there talking about a small orchard being near the western shores of the island. Fruits sounded delectable right now and the mere idea of sweet, succulent fruits made her stomach feel a little less queasy. The further she got from the horrid smell the better, but the further she went the more she realize that she kept feeling a little too unrested. Not tired, just not fully recovered even with the amount of sleep she had. Ceara twisted the crystal bangles around both her wrists—the permanent shackles that Hakuryuu had left her with if only to let her live that life longer—as she climbed the small hills like the obstacle course they were to get to that hidden orchard.

It shocked her that even this was putting so much strain on her. I seriously need to get checked out. The practitioner they had at Samon was good for his old age but as senile as he was, he sometimes had to be reminded by the couple of attendants he kept around about what he'd been doing. His judgement wasn't one Ceara trusted much, not unless those same attendants that would eventually take over his job agreed with whatever conclusion he came up with. But with the way she'd been feeling these past months, she'd even take the kook's word at this point.

That would come after she ate something, though.

It certainly took Ceara longer that she first thought to reach the orchard, if one could call the place that. It truly was just a bunch of different trees that had been fenced off. By the looks of it, they were trees of different fruits too. Not all were in bloom and even less were bearing any fruit. Thankfully, the one that was was the lone peach tree that stood somewhat apart from the rest. Walking past the fence, Ceara grabbed part of her robe as a makeshift basket and picked some peaches from both the ground and low hanging branches. Those were the best by the looks of it. Tender but hard all the same.

Just peachy.

She chuckled at her own joke and picked more as she bit into one of them. They were amazingly sweet and did just right by her stomach as her nausea began to fade away. Five minutes and two and a half peaches later, Ceara thought that she had enough to last her for a couple of days and began heading back home. Surely by then, things should have calmed down. Or so she hoped.

"Oof." A careless misstep down the hill brought her down. Ceara let go of her half-eaten peach and the hold on her makeshift basket as she fell to clutch at the ground to keep herself from rolling down the small hill. Once she came to a complete stop, she sighed heavily. How clumsy of her.

I should really be more careful.

"Ceara!"

At hearing Kouha's voice from afar, she gazed up to see the boy waving his hand over his head as he wandered her way. If he was there, then the whole fuss from this morning should be over with. That was good news. Now her problem would be to get those peaches she dropped back. In a complete hurry, she got up quickly but as soon as she stood up a sudden spell of dizziness hit her hard enough to render her back to her feet. She heard Kouha shout but ignored it as her whole world spun for a full second. By the time, Kouha got there the spell was mostly gone but she could still feel her head light.

Kouha rushed to her side and grabbed her arm to help her up. "Ceara, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I think—" But the dizziness came back with a fervor when he pulled her up. "Slow down. I'm dizzy."

"You look sick, too," he added with worry etched on his face. "Here, let's go back and see Old Man Zhu."

She didn't want to but it felt like a necessity at this point of complete absurdity. Ceara was clearly not in the best shape and she wanted to know why. Kouha accompanied her to Zhu's lodgings on the west side near their home and the old man welcomed them with open arms and an expression of concern at seeing Ceara's state.

"Sit her, my lord. Slowly." Kouha did as he was told and set Ceara down on the stool. Zhu went about examining her with his two attendants helping him out. After checking her out, he asked a few questions. What surprised her was the fact that the few he asked were things that hit straight to everything she'd been feeling for the past few months. Her nausea, her loss of appetite, and her tiredness were all things he pointed without hesitation.

"Master Zhu," she asked a bit better now that she was sitting down and offered a glass of water. "You seem to know what's wrong with me. Is it treatable?"

The old man had the audacity to laugh heartedly at her problem, something that neither she nor Kouha were appreciative of. And Kouha was the first to tell him.

"Spit it out, old man."

"Sorry, sorry," he mumbled, coughing a couple of times into his sleeve. "No, child, you are completely healthy. Just burdened."

"Burdened?" she repeated, not understanding.

"Yes, yes," he continued, "It'll last some months more but the nausea should subside after a while. You seem to be craving lots of sweet things, I see. Yes, that's a good sign that you're both healthy."

"Um," Ceara hummed, trying really hard to decipher what the old man was saying. Although a part of her had an inkling of what he meant, Ceara didn't want to admit it. Not without some concrete confirmation. "W-What do you mean by b-both, Master Zhu?"

The old man stroke his beard pensively before a chuckle came from him. "Why, you and your child, of course."

Oh goodness. I heard him wrong. I must have. He didn't just say that.

Her mind repeated those same questions as Zhu spoke to her and Kouha. Her mind half-listening, she noted that there would be quite some limitations for her aside from other things now that she was...with child. Ceara had to ask him a couple of times to make sure and even ask his attendants to make sure that he wasn't going truly senile this time.

But no. He wasn't wrong. She was with child.

I'm...going to be a mother?

The thought made every horrible feeling evaporate into thin air as her hand came close to cradle her stomach. Now she knew what the tiniest bump in her abdomen was. Now that she looked for it, she found it. That bump...that was a life. It was growing inside her.

It's my child and—

"Dear gods…" She had overlooked when they departed from Old Man Zhu's lodge but stopped all at once in the middle of the path home when that heavy thought crossed her mind.

"Ceara?" Kouha asked when he noticed her stopping. But she didn't listen. Ceara was still lost in the thought of telling him. And to her amazement and shock, Kouha seem to know exactly what she was thinking. "Are you sure it's his?"

At hearing this, her head snapped up with tears prickling at the edge of her eyes. "There's no one else that it could be...I-I-I've never been with anybody besides him! Oh gods…how am I going to tell him…?"

"You could always just tell him, you know?" Before her anxiety and panic could shut his idea down, Kouha raised his arms up in mock surrender and continued. "No, hey, listen to me here. He's not as insensitive about things as you think. Especially not now."

"But this will only be more trouble. He's already dealing with enough stress having to cope with all that's happened. Telling him this could just make things worse."

"Or it could makes things more bearable. Have you thought about that?"

"How in heavens could it do that?" she asked, actually sounding desperate for an answer. "It's a child, Kouha. Kids seldom make things easier." From her experience, they often made things a lot busier not easier.

"En-nii is a sensible man, Ceara," Kouha assured her with a small smile. He gently took her arm and wrapped hera over his to guide her back as she continued to freak out. "I doubt he will not pay attention to you. Especially not when you're carrying his kid."

"Oh gods…"

"Relax," he said and soothingly patted her hand on his arm. "You'll make yourself feel worse, and you heard what Old Man Zhu said. You need to take things easy for right now. It won't do either of you any good."

"Either of whom any good?"

Both her and Kouha froze immediately, although the latter didn't know why, when they heard Kouen's voice rise over their conversation. They'd been so into their own little talk that they had failed to notice they had arrived near the house. What was worse, Koumei was helping Kouen out on a walk like he usually did. Neither of them noticed or recalled that small yet important detail.

Out of panic, her nails dug into Kouha's arm. He cringed slightly but patted her hand to try to calm her down and get her to loosen her grip. With a small push, he urged her forward. Ceara took the few steps but kept her glance askance.

"Ceara?" Hearing him say her name only made her growing anxiety tenfold. "Is something the matter?"

Yes.

You can't do this alone. And he deserves to know. It's going to be his, too.

Relegating herself to whatever may come now, Ceara took a deep breath before lifting her gaze to meet Kouen's. "T-There's something...that I need to tell you…"

---

When Alibaba came to Samon Island after Kougyoku told him that Kouen was still alive, he expected to find Koumei and Kouha there. And although they weren't what they were three years prior—nobody seemed to be—he found them just like he thought he would.

What he didn't quite expect in his wildest dreams was seeing two toddlers in the island. What was more was their uncanny resemblance to the Kou siblings, especially to Koumei. But something told him that that was a wrong conclusion to make. Although both the girl and boy, siblings from the looks of it, had uncanny fiery red hair, they also had the brightest blue eyes Alibaba had ever seen.

Not true. I've seen those eyes somewhere before.

But the more he thought about it the more he couldn't seem to remember. The unmistakable feeling of stares brought to his attention the tiny pairs of blue eyes boring holes into him with their gazes.

The young boy that was perched on Kouha's shoulder as the younger Kou sibling carried him suckled his thumb as he laid his head against his shoulder and watched Alibaba. The little girl, too, who trotted beside Koumei to keep up with him as he took her by the hand would constantly throw curious glances behind her shoulder at him.

Both stares gave him a fright and sent a chill up his spine, almost like needles prickling at his back. Why? Why were a couple of children making him feel uneasy by their mere gazes? Alibaba shook his head out of that feeling knowing that he had other things to concern his mind with. That thought settled once Kouha and Koumei led him to the small study in what he assumed they had called home for the past three years since their exiled. In that room, he found the man he had sought after.

"Long time no see!" Alibaba called a bit surprised but glad to see him nonetheless. "To think that you're still alive, Kouen."

Kouen grinned, his aged appearance surprising Alibaba somewhat. "It took you three years to answer my summons. You're a little late, Alibaba."

The seriousness of their encounter, though, shattered completely when the little girl let go of Koumei to run over to Kouen. Reaching him, she tugged at Kouen's robes and raised one hand to grasp out towards him.

"Baba, pick Haku up."

Alibaba understood what she said but didn't quite hear the first word. What did 'baba' mean? Kouen however didn't seem confused and instead asked, "What do you say?"

The little girl smiled with some of her teeth showing. "Please!"

Alibaba couldn't believe his eyes at the genuine smile that came over Kouen's features, softening them somewhat as he reached his normal hand out to the girl. Gleefully, she took it and wrapped her arms around it before Kouen easily lifted her onto his lap. Crawling up, she nestled against his shoulder, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck and kissing his cheek.

"Thank you, baba."

"My pleasure," he quietly responded, letting her be with his arm cradling her against him.

"Baba! Yuu too!" the boy suddenly cried out, stretching his arms away from his mouth and Kouha to reach out towards Kouen.

Curiosity winning him over, Alibaba leaned in to Koumei to ask, "Hey, they called him 'baba?' What does that mean?"

Koumei scoffed but smiled as he answered. "It's an endearment in Kou's language. It means father."

Oh. Father.

Then it sank in.

"FATHER!"

The little boy, Yuu, jumped in Kouha's arms scared at being so near Alibaba when he shouted. Tears began to well up in his eyes and soon enough he broke out into a loud wail.

"Oh, sorry," Alibaba apologized, wanting to calm the boy down but only making him more frightened at approaching him.

"Yuu-chan, don't cry. It's okay," Kouha cooed but was ignored as he wailed harder, this time calling for 'mama.'

As if summoned by his cries, the doors to the study opened and Alibaba only saw a woman walk in straight to Kouha before taking the boy into her arms.

"There, there," she hummed under her breath, bouncing on her knees in a soothing motion for the boy. Her long caramel hair swayed back and forth as she did this and stark blue eyes came in and out of his view. As if by magic, the little boy's cries stopped in an instant and were reduced to a few hiccups as his thumb returned to his mouth and he laid his head on the woman's shoulder. "There, that's a good boy." Finally, the woman turned to face them, her look more than peeved. "Now, can someone tell me who shouted so loud to make him cry?"

Both Koumei and Kouha pointed at Alibaba who simply looked at the two siblings before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. Once his eyes landed on the woman's face, though, both their eyes widened at seeing one another.

All at once, their voices rose a bit too high.

"It's you!"

"It's you I heard," she called out shocked but was drowned by Alibaba's much louder exclaim.

"You're the general from Kou!" Alibaba called, finally remembering her. "You're Miss Reizei Kohaku."

"No!" Alibaba shrunk at the high shout that came from the little girl at Kouen's side. Her cheeks puffed, the little girl glared back at Alibaba. Seeing that glare finally made him understand why their stares had been so bearing on him. They look just like Kouen. "Haku is right here!" she proclaimed clapping a hand against her chest. "Mama not Haku. I'm Haku."

The woman he knew as Kohaku chuckled nervously but nodded. "Yes, Kohaku, you're right." The young woman turned to Alibaba then with a smile. Finally, he got a good look at those stark blue eyes, the same ones on both children. "And sorry but my real name is Ceara of Eriu." Still holding onto the boy, she reached one hand out, "Nice to meet you again, Alibaba Saluja." Alibaba returned the gesture and shook her hand with a small 'nice to meet you' but retracted when a crooked smile came to her lips. "Although, it's kind of weird to say that to someone who's supposed to be dead."

Alibaba chuckled at that. That was something he'd have to get used to, he supposed. "I suppose so. That aside, I'm surprised. Never knew Kouen and yourself were together back when I first met you in Kou."

"We weren't," she said rather simplistically and bubbly. "Some things happened after our exile, and we've been together for the past three years. We actually married not long after we found out little Kohaku would come to our world." That explained some things. She walked over to Kouen's side and reached down to the little girl. The toddler jumped up from Kouen and accepted the ruffling of her head with a giggle. The little boy's cheeks puffed as his grasp on her got tighter. Miss Ceara bounced the little boy once more as she cooed at him before speaking. "And Yuu came a year after. He's our youngest one as of now at one."

Yuu raised his head and picked up his hand to show off two fingers at her mother's face. "Yuu is two."

She chuckled and cradled her son closer to her making him giggle too. "Yes, that's true. You're going to be two next month."

Alibaba still couldn't believe the familial scene he saw before him. He watched as Miss Ceara argued childishly with Kouha who jogged up to her wanting to take little Yuu away from her. Neither she nor the boy that clung so tightly to her were yielding to his request and Kouha seemed to be running out of ideas to convince her.

"Ceara, you shouldn't be carrying Yuu," Kouen told her, finally intervening in the familial dispute.

Miss Ceara pouted at this, turning to him this time with a slight frown on her features. "He's not heavy. Carrying him won't hurt me or the baby."

"Baby?" Alibaba repeated. It wasn't until she turned again to face him fully this time that he noticed the large distended belly of hers that he somehow failed to see when she first walked in. "Another?"

Ceara couldn't do anything but smile at him. "What can I say? I grew fond of big families." Her hand reached out to Kouen's hand, one he took into his without any thought whatsoever. "Besides, we owe Kouha a godchild."

"Damn straight you do," Kouha called out, hands on his hips. "After that fiasco with Yuu-chan you don't get to disown me with this next one."

"Yes, yes," Miss Ceara cooed, trying to appease the older man like she did her children. But after that, she turned to Alibaba with a knowing smile. "But I'm guessing that's enough of that. After all, I think you came here with the intentions to speak with En." She turned to her daughter then and patted her head, "Come along, Haku. Let's leave your father to speak to this nice big brother, all right?"

"No," Kohaku called out, clinging onto Kouen's neck fervently.

"Kohaku," Kouen chastised, but the girl still didn't flinch and instead buried her face further against her father's shoulder.

Miss Ceara sighed and scrunched her nose for a second before a thought came to her. "How about we go for a walk on the beach?"

Both tiny heads turned up to their mother, their faces bright with excitement. Kohaku climbed down from her father while Yuu tugged at Miss Ceara to put him down. Once both were on the floor, they reached up to their father's robes and began to pull.

"Beach! Beach! Beach!" they chanted together, pulling at Kouen every time they called out.

Kouen lifted his gaze up at Miss Ceara with a raised brow. "This is your plan to give us time?"

"You'll have some once we reach the beach," she pointed out. "They'll run off to play and we'll have time to hear out Alibaba. After all," she said turning to Alibaba with a curious gaze, "I want to know what this young man has done to bring our Kougyoku so much encouragement. Don't you?"

Alibaba couldn't help wonder how Miss Ceara knew he'd gone to see Kougyoku first. But that thought quickly dispelled when he heard Kouen sigh and give her a small smile. Simply seeing him so expressive like that was strange, especially because he'd been such a stoic man before.

With her and Koumei's help, Kouen stood on his legs; Alibaba couldn't really tell what was wrong with them but the cane certainly told him that something wasn't right.

Once he stood up fully, the children squealed and ran up ahead to run around the door waiting for him. Miss Ceara stayed by his side to help him but Kouen and Koumei argued with her saying that she shouldn't. Seeing a place to intervene, Alibaba stepped up and took Kouen's artificial arm.

"I have him," Alibaba assured her with a smile.

Miss Ceara smiled and nodded asking Koumei for help herself. Kouen sent him to her and he dutifully went, letting them go ahead as Kouha caught up with the two toddlers and Kouen and Alibaba took their time. The children, seemingly knowledgeable of where to go, guided the way to the eastern shores of the island.

---

Kohaku bounced with every other step as she trotted ahead. Her little feet carried her towards the waves as they ebbed into the ocean, and she squealed in delight as she ran away from them as they reared back onto the sandy shores. Yuu tried mimicking her but since she was much faster than him, he cried out to his sister to slow down as the water lapped against his legs. Kouha chastised them from behind, telling them not to go too deep into the water. The two called out in unison but neither seemed to want to listen in actuality.

Ceara couldn't help but chuckle at her children's habits. They reminded her too much of herself. But as they were being watched over by Kouha, she focused more on listening in on what Alibaba had to say. Kou was on an economic downfall. And although he was trying to help, he needed the magic research that Kou had been working on.

She knew very little of that subject. She'd known such things existed, it was why there were dungeon monster corps in their military to begin with and why artificially made magicians like Kouha's attendants existed. Despite knowing this, Ceara never really sought out to learn more about it.

But she was sure that the three brothers knew. And Alibaba thought so too. It didn't make it that less surprising that he asked Koumei to return with him to Rakushou and to Kou, though.

"You're asking a pretty hard thing," Ceara admitted right after he spoke. "What you're asking could easily dismantle Hakuryuu's and Kougyoku's reign and its legitimacy. Especially because you want to bring former princes of Kou who've been accused of murdering the emperor and the crown princes."

"Our sister is right." Ceara sighed in defeat at hearing Koumei say that. She never liked him calling her so formerly. Kouha's nickname was cute, one she actually liked. Koumei's felt a little more forced, one he assured her wasn't. Ceara didn't believe him though. "If such criminals as us return to Kou, the legitimacy of their reign will suffer a great blow. It would cause an uproar and it could risk our nation falling into civil war."

"It's not like you'll be returning as princes."

Huh? That certainly caught her off guard. It wasn't until Alibaba explained himself further that she understood. They wouldn't be returning as princes. They would still be there as exiles, as criminals, and would be treated as such. It certainly could work but…

"There are no problems then." Her train of thought stopped when she heard En move, landing a firm hand on Mei's shoulder. "In that case, take him with you. I ruled in times of war. Koumei will be a suitable ruler in times of peace. Since the beginning, I had thought of leaving the Imperial throne to him once the war was over..."

Ceara smiled at that. Certainly sounded like something he would do. And apparently Kouha knew while Koumei hadn't. Thankfully, there wasn't a need to convince Koumei once Kouen put his two cents in.

"Mama! Mama!" Ceara turned at the voices that called out to her. Kohaku ran up to her with Yuu trotting behind her as the two carried shells they found that had been washed up by the shore. Putting more attention to them than to the conversation, she failed to notice when Alibaba received a call. More importantly, from whom. But there didn't seem to be any hostility when Alibaba spoke to Sinbad. In fact, there was this strange easiness with which he spoke with that she kept hearing.

She certainly agreed with Kouha when he said that Alibaba said whatever came to his mind. But despite this span of insanity, Ceara had to admit that Alibaba's argument was sound. Be it its people, criminals, or princes, they were all property and assets of the Kou Empire. And as such the empire should be able to use them as it saw fit for its own prosperity. But the argument seemed to be escalating and it turned into a loud rumble that even she could hear. Even her children, susceptible to emotions at such young age, whimpered and clung to her in fear as Alibaba raised his voice.

But just as fast as it rose, it quickly became normal again. Somehow he convinced Sinbad. And just like that, her brother-in-law decided to depart their small island.

"Is Shushu Mei leaving?" Kohaku asked her, her face expressing the confusion she felt with all the commotion that was going on.

Oh, this would be hard. Kohaku loved her Uncle Mei. But she wouldn't lie to her. Bending down as best she could with her stomach as it was, Ceara cradled her little girl's cheek in her palm. "Yes, sweetie. Uncle Mei is going back home."

"But…" Kohaku spoke a bit confused if her frown was anything to go by. "Shushu Mei's home is here. With Haku and Yuu. And Mama and Baba and Shushu Ha, no?"

Ceara knew this would be hard to explain to her as attached as she was to her uncle but she'd have to try. Before she had the chance, though, a firm hand rested on her hip which got her attention.

"En?"

Kouen glanced at her before gazing down at his children who looked up at him confused and downtrodden by the news. "Your uncle won't be going by himself. You, your brother, and your mother will accompany him too."

Now Ceara was just as confused as her children, although who was sadder about the unexpected news was anybody's guess. "Wait, what?" she whispered unable to understand what he meant.

"Mama's going too?" Kohaku cried, her tears welling up as she gripped Ceara's robes tightly.

"Mama no go," Yuu called out doing the same as his sister, already crying.

"You have to," Kouen told her, setting his children's worry aside for a minute.

"Like hell I do." She hated cursing in front of them but this wasn't the plan. This wasn't even close to what was decided. Only Koumei was needed back in Kou. He knew enough. "There isn't a need for me to go."

"There is," he corrected her. It wasn't until his hand came to lay on her distended stomach that she understood why. "There's nothing assuring us that what happened with Yuu won't happen again."

Ceara frowned at that, her own hand coming up to her unborn child before her eyes came down to her youngest son. Yuu lifted his face, tears staining his beautiful chubby face and obscuring his bright eyes.

Yuu's birth—what he spoke of she didn't recall. All she did was seeing her son well and healthy before passing out and then suddenly waking up with a jump of her heart. And a voice.

Regardless of what did or didn't happen, Ceare knew that the incident had changed the three men she lived with. All of them worried to an extreme after Yuu's birth and became almost paranoid after she found out she was with child yet again. They feared for her unborn child, those already born, and herself. They didn't want for her to be gone from any of their lives.

"It's a precaution, Ceara," he told her under his breath, "They need you alive."

"And they need their father," she corrected him with a frown but felt the sting of the tears on her eyes. Using the heel of her hand, she wiped them away wanting to make her point without getting emotional. Damn her mood swings. "I need you."

"You'll come back," he assured her, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "This will only be until after they're born and we're assured you will be fine."

She didn't want to leave. She really didn't. After three years of this, she had grown so used to it. Finally, she had a family again, one that loved her as much as she loved them. And now he wanted to send her away. Despite all this, the saner part of her also knew that he was right. This might actually be the best choice for her and their child.

"Fine," she agreed with a heavy sigh and gave him a pitiful excuse for a smile. "But I'll have you know that I'm not happy about doing any of this."

"As long as I know you are in the best hands possible, I'll manage with that resentment," he assured her, laying his forehead against hers.

"I no wanna go!" their daughter's cries rang through the air catching both their attentions. "I wanna stay with baba! Shushu Mei no go too!"

Ceara couldn't keep the sigh that escaped her. Convincing her was one thing; convincing Kohaku and Yuu that they needed to leave with her would be another. Despite how much Kouen told her otherwise, he was a wonderful father and one their children loved to no end. Kohaku and Yuu would be fine in either of their hands. The thing was that Ceara didn't want to leave them. It was her overprotectiveness all over again. Leaving them here for months would be hell for her just as much as it would be for En. But he seemed to be able to swallow that heartache as he knelt down with trouble to reach Kohaku's and Yuu's line of sight.

He cradled their daughter's cheeks as she cried with a scowl on her face, her glaring eyes resembling his.

"You won't be gone forever."

"Liar," she spat, sticking her tongue out.

"I swear it, baobao," he said, using his other hand to round up Yuu near him as well while still holding his cane. "This is actually something important that I'm tasking you two with."

"Dasking?" Yuu repeated, mispronouncing the word.

Somewhat seeing where her husband was heading, Ceara used him as support to kneel down before them as well. "It's a very important job, Yuu."

"You will go with your mother and keep her safe."

"Keep mama safe?" Kohaku asked.

Kouen nodded and patted her red head. "Your mother needs to leave to have your baby sibling somewhere safe."

"Home is safe," Kohaku corrected him with a quiet sniff.

"It is, Haku," Ceara confirmed and wiped the girl's eyes of tears with her sleeve. "But your father and I want to be sure that your baby brother or sister is okay. And that mama is going to be okay too. Do you get that?"

"Is it because of Yuu?" she asked.

Ceara tried her best not to cringe. It amazed her that Kohaku remembered what had happened when she hadn't even been a year old. She wasn't wrong but neither of them wanted to admit that and make their son feel bad or to feel like he was the reason all this was happening. "No, sweetie." She reached out with her arms and both children ran up to her and clung tightly to her while Kouen stroke their heads soothingly. "Never think that. Nothing we do is ever your fault. This is just to make sure mama and your baby sibling come home healthy." A new idea came to her at that word. "You guys remember how I tell you to always eat all your vegetables." There wasn't an answer to that, only a couple of nods. "The reason for that is so that you're healthy and don't get sick. And well, what mama and baba are doing now is making sure mama is healthy by going with Uncle Mei."

"Good food?" Yuu asked seemingly understanding the core idea of what she meant.

"Yes, Yuu," she assured him, "And good people who will help mama and your baby sibling be okay. And once your baby sibling is here with us, we will come back to baba."

"We promise it's just for a while," Kouen added, wiping Yuu's eyes as he lifted his gaze to his father. "Just until your mother and sibling are well. After that, you'll come back."

"Shushu Mei too," Kohaku corrected with a puff of her cheeks.

Ceara couldn't help but sigh in relief. That Kohaku was being cheeky meant that she was going to go along with this, no matter how stubborn she would be against it. Yuu only nodded in agreement with his sister and broke from their mother's embrace to hug their father. Kohaku sniffed and hiccuped but did the same, both hanging onto their father like they would never see him again.

They will. This will only be for a little while.

She had to convince herself of that too. Her sensitive ears caught En's soft 'I love yous' to their children and that just touched her heart. He had always been a loving person despite never really showing it. Once they had Kohaku and Yuu, those things flourished like never before. Even Koumei and Kouha thought it strange but not unlike him. He always had been like that deep down and the three of them knew that.

Kohaku pulled back from their embrace and rubbed at her face with her sleeve before looking at her father with a determined expression.

"Haku take care of mama!" she proclaimed with slightly puffy eyes.

"Yuu too," he commented, wiping at his runny nose but with a little of his sister's determination seeping into him.

"Good," Kouen said with a smile. "I'm sure you two will do a great job. So take care of your mother for me, all right?"

"Yes!" they exclaimed in unison, grabbing onto their father's hand tightly.

Ceara turned to Alibaba and the others who had witnessed this whole scene unfold. With a somewhat forlorn smile, she responded, "We'll be accompanying you as well, Alibaba. Although it'll be for a shorter time than Mei, do take care of my children and I."

Alibaba grinned before nodding. "Of course."

He was a good kid. Three years hadn't changed that. Surely, if anybody could, he would be able to help Kougyoku restore Kou to its former glory. Her hand came to her stomach and the child that she carried. Ceara knew their concern had ground to stand on, but a part of her still thought of it as unnecessary. Then again, she didn't remember much of Yuu's birth unlike Kohaku's. But she saw the fear and panic in their eyes, especially Kouen's. That was real.

Whatever happened that she couldn't remember had scared them to death. She didn't want to be the cause of that again. And if she and her children had to leave Samon Island—leave home—in order for them to be if only a little bit more at ease, then she would swallow her own anxiety and go.

It's only until you're born and healthy, my star.

Only to make sure that what happened didn't happen again.

---

Exile: Year Two

---

A year had passed already since their exilement and in that short year not only did she find herself with child but that its father was a man that had accepted her just the same.

To her surprise, Kouen had been the one to suggest they wed. Ceara didn't know why; her first thought was that it was so the babe wouldn't be a bastard and fatherless. But Kouen dashed those ideas when he told her the real reason why. He had denied for long enough, he told her, but he had to accept what others saw in himself. He had to accept that he did indeed feel something for her.

Ceara didn't want to bring her hopes up. It didn't help to when things were in such fickle state. But this life changed more than just their statuses, it changed their minds. Or what Ceara liked to believe better, it allowed them to be who they truly were. It allowed them to be human. And it allowed Kouen to tell her he loved her and their child she bore.

She was about six months along when they held the ceremony. It was quaint, small, and Ceara loved every second of it. Not three months later did she birthed the little cherub of hers: a girl that she named after her dearest friend, a choice that her now husband agreed with.

Ren Kohaku was the first to be born. Days ceased being quiet ever since their little girl's birth. Kouen could not have been happier in her opinion. She never saw him actually smile that warmly until after Kohaku's birth. Neither had she seen him return to a semblance of who he used to be so quickly; it was like the frustrations from before had been set aside so that he could care for Haku. Kouha had been right. Kohaku's birth had indeed made things better.

Imagine their surprise and shock when just six months later they found her with child yet again. Kohaku was not a babe of a year yet when Old Man Zhu told her that she was once again about four months along. There was glee for sure—who knew she was this fertile?—but there was also explicit concern from Zhu. Too close, he'd said pensively, and that precautions should be taken. And they were. During her pregnancy with her second child, she enjoyed the leisure time raising Kohaku the best she could while remaining at home resting. There was no more trips to the orchard, the beach, or kitchen for her. Then again, Ceara had her hands full with the little sun that had been born into their lives. Her smart little girl that reminded her way too much of her husband.

But all the precautions in the world didn't prepare them for what happened. She remembered little of that early godforsaken morning. Zhu and his assistants ran through like clockwork just like she'd seen them the first time around. Some things had been easier the second time around—things like measuring the pain or the right times to push—but the amount of pain was unexpected. She recalled being in pain before but birthing Kohaku had not hurt as badly as this. But she ignored it as best she could and instead focused on the laborious task of birthing the child.

She lost track of time after five hours. In the early dawn, Zhu finally told her that the little babe was coming. Just one more push.

"It's a boy." She couldn't believe she heard that over her pain and lightheadedness. But her giddiness was short-lived when she failed to hear the most beautiful sound ever. Her baby boy wasn't crying.

"W-Why—" she croaked, her head spinning as she tried pushing herself up. The women put her down wanting to calm her down but Ceara struggled. Why? Why wasn't he crying?

Her head spun with worry. But everything suddenly muffled instantly and it scared her. Her breathing labored, she saw her vision blur and tunnel until nothing but darkness came over her. The muffled noises disappeared quickly thereafter and everything seemed peaceful and quiet.

Her body didn't hurt anymore. Her head didn't feel light either. It felt peaceful and nice. It felt calm. It felt like sleeping now would be good. And a soothing voice only made it seem that much easier.

"All is well, child; you have performed your task formidably. Rest and leave if you must. There are now plenty who can carry this gift for us. You deserve your peace. Now...sleep."

But before she could fall asleep, her sharp hearing returned and caught a single noise.

Cries. Lofty and deafening cries of a newborn. The sound—it's energy—rushed through her body and she couldn't help but inhale sharply at the hit that her heart and lungs took. It was like she'd been drowning and her head had finally broken through the surface. What had been minutes felt like hours underwater.

When she finally opened her eyes, she didn't notice Kouen, Koumei, or Kouha at all. All she wanted was her little boy.

"...where…" she whispered, her throat sore from the hours of labor. "...my baby…"

"Ceara, you're—" Kouen didn't get to finish his sentence. Zhu came right up with his medics to check her. Shockingly to them, she struggled fiercely against them, pleading to see her baby. It wasn't until after their fussing that they obliged and she finally got to hold her little boy. A boy that had that same fiery red hair as his father and big sister.

"...h-hey, you," she cooed weakly with a chuckle when her baby shifted and tried grabbing at the fingers she used to touch his little face. "...welcome to the world, my love…"

Ren Kouyuu came to their world just shy of Kohaku's first birthday. The two were but a month apart in birthdays yet couldn't have been more different with how quiet her little moon was. But little Yuu had also caused other changes with his arrival, one being the three men's strange attitude towards her.

It wasn't until after a few weeks of them acting weird that she finally beat it out of them to tell her what was making them act like that. Kouen was the one that told her the truth one night after their children were blissfully asleep.

"Ceara...for a split moment after Kouyuu was born...you died."

---

With things set, the four of them readied themselves for the trip back home. It would be a long night for them, she could tell. This would be an overnight departure to Rakushou but at least that there seemed to be a blessing in disguise. Ceara thanked the heavens that their kids were so young for once, since they collapsed soon after the sun fell over the horizon. It would be much easier to get them through this long journey like that.

Koumei and Alibaba took her children inside as they slept, her little girl still sobbing even in her sleep. Ceara set that aside for a second to go and say her goodbyes to the two that would be staying in Samon Island. She gave Kouha a chaste kiss on the cheek which he reciprocated and gave her a sad smile.

"Take care of him for me. And take care of yourself too."

"I will," Kouha replied with a crooked smile, "You take care of yourselves too, all right?"

She nodded and glanced up at her husband, the man towering her even as he leaned on his cane and on two artificial legs, and gave him a genuine smile. Reaching up, she brushed her hand through his hair before laying it upon his cheek.

"Be good with Kouha. Try to have patience, okay?"

He didn't answer. There wasn't any need to, frankly. Instead he gave her his piece. "Don't act rashly and take better care of yourself. Our only goal is to avoid what happened from happening again."

Ceara nodded. "I will." For once she wasn't lying. To get better as soon as possible, she would have to actually listen to that advice. She would actually have to be careful until this child was born.

"And be sure to come back. All of you."

A sudden presence she knew all too well presented itself when she heard those words. What was more, it spoke.

"Why put so much faith in something so uncertain?"

It's not.

"We will," she smiled, ignoring that voice that played in her mind. Leaning in as close as her distended stomach would allow, she stood on her toes and gave a chaste kiss to his lips before stepping back. "Be ready to meet your new child when we come back!"

Everything after that was a blur. Because they were stowing away in the ship, Alibaba snuck them through the cargo and told them that by the morning they would be docking at Rakushou's shores. It'd be fast. Kohaku and Yuu would surely be awake by then.

Needless to say that Ceara didn't feel like parting from them. Instead she kept near, soothing them as they slept with her quiet songs. By doing so, she utilized her magic to keep them calm through the whole trip. But using Silver Echoes only made her presence more prominent. And soon, she appeared fully without any prompting. Ceara hated that.

"How adorable they are when asleep."

"Leave, Euphemia."

Euphemia, however, was unfazed by her words soaked in threats. Not like she cared, anyway. Ceara cast her gaze aside to where she heard Euphemia and met eye to eye with the spirit or mirage or whatever it was. There wasn't any telling what exactly she was.

All Ceara knew for a fact was that it reminded her of Murmur.

And she hated that. This thing...it wasn't anything like her kind djinn.

Despite seeing her fully in her form, Ceara still couldn't fathom how this could be. She understood why she saw her, not so much the how.

The rukh she often heard around herself, even with the one bracelet she had on, hovered around Euphemia caringly but the young woman she saw in faint appearance never paid them any attention. Like she didn't care for them. And the matter of the fact was that she didn't, not about them or about anybody. That wouldn't change no matter how meek or friendly she appeared.

That was a facade. A hollow soul used as a vessel, a messenger. Something she would eventually become a part of once she, too, died.

And the one thing she would never allow either Kohaku, Yuu, or this child in her to become.

Done with her mind games, Ceara raised her hand at Euphemia's specter and felt the seal on her left shoulder spring forth with life. She rarely used it so vigorously or with such strength. The only times were for protection or to rid herself of this pest. "You're forcing my hand, Euphemia. Leave before I will you away and we both suffer from it."

The ghost tilted her head curiously, clearly perplexed by her demand. "That is not prudent. You will harm yourself and the progeny in you. Vessels are priceless, so I would not suggest you do that."

"Then leave. Now," Ceara finally demanded.

"Very well," Euphemia agreed. "But I warn you once more, Ceara of Eriu, you mustn't go against our master's orders. She only has the best at heart for this world. You must bestow our gift. A Champion must be born. It is what is best for the world."

"If she's anything like you, I highly doubt that." Ceara readied what would disperse Euphemia if she didn't leave that instant. As if sensing her threat becoming real, Euphemia lowered her head as a bow before disappearing completely. But she kept her hand aloft, only lowering it once she felt her presence completely gone and heard the rukh around her fly about as normal.

This was getting out of hand. Ever since Kohaku was born it'd started getting worse. Yuu's arrival didn't make it any better, either. But Ceara would be damned if she was going to let that freak or these 'others and their master' dictate how she was to use her powers. The thought of calling the one person that she knew would know what to do came to her but she cut it short as soon as it came.

Rakah didn't answer her call a year ago when this first happened and she and Kouen agreed that he was their only lead on how to approach this. She doubted he would answer her now of all times.

"Sister?"

"I'm here," she whispered not wanting to awake her children. Not like they would, anyway, since she continued humming, easing their minds with her voice and the magic of Silver Echoes.

Koumei came out from the adjacent room with Alibaba behind him. His voice lowered, he nodded at the toddlers. "You should rest as well. You'll need it. It won't be long before we arrive to the eastern shores. It'll be another few hours on carriage back to the capital."

"I will, thanks," she replied with a crooked grin. At seeing the former Balbadd prince, Ceara's mind concocted a question that she hadn't thought about before. "By the way, Alibaba, have you come into contact with Aladdin?"

The boy's enthusiasm from the whole day wavered a bit, perhaps from being reminded that he was still separated from his friend after three long years. "No, regrettably. But surely if I help Kou, he'll notice me. For now, anyway, helping Kougyoku and the Kou Empire is my priority."

"I see. As things stand, though, I am glad to hear that." He gave a sheepish, almost boyish grin at her answer. Ceara had been wrong at thinking the young boy hadn't changed over these past years. Even when she didn't know the unique circumstances of how in the world someone that was supposed to be dead came back, she could tell that those experiences changed him. Or more like opened him up to himself and thus allowed him to share that brilliant part of himself with the world.

At least that was what her gut was telling her.

Enthused about what would become of them once they landed in Rakushou, she patted the chair next to her at Alibaba. The young man took the hint and took the seat while Koumei shook his head but joined them.

"So do tell me, Alibaba. What is it that you plan on doing to help Rakushou and our Empress?"

A brilliance, the same that told her that this boy was unique in his own way, shone like a thousand suns in summer from him as he beamed a grin. Without much more prompting he began explaining the plan that he and the rest of the parliament in Rakushou had concocted. Ceara knew this information would be good for Koumei since he would have to deal with all this as the new 'strategist' of this economic war. But she also benefited from the information.

After all, what was the purpose of returning if not to help.

"That's a splendid plan you've come up with," she complimented with a smile. Alibaba shyly rubbed the back of his head.

"We've stumbled into trouble thinking of how to transport our goods but with Koumei's help, I think we can manage just fine."

"You surely will." Ceara laid a gentle hand on Koumei's shoulder, reassuringly. "Mei's knowledge will undoubtedly help in this."

"You flatter me," he countered as his gaze went askance and he scratched the back of his head, a habit that never really went away over the years.

"Justly so," she guaranteed with a cheeky grin, "En may have his strengths but where smarts were concerned, you were always miles ahead of him. There was a reason he intended to leave you the throne, you know?"

"I suppose so."

His unusual meekness got her to smile before her eyes wandered off to her sleeping cherubs. She hummed softly as her fingers brushed through their hair. "I want to help these endeavors as well."

"You mustn't," Koumei reminded her, "in your condition—"

"Of course it's not going to be now, Mei," she corrected him with a pout. Wanting to talk to the one that would actually take her seriously, she turned to speak to Alibaba. "I still have a couple of months until I give birth. I'll need a few months to recuperate after that, half a year at most. But through that I can still help you and Kougyoku. Not to boast but I've worked with the people before. They might not be fond of me anymore but I learned a lot about them and can teach you how to work with them efficiently."

"That would be a great help," Alibaba agreed with a beaming smile. "But I'll have to agree with Koumei on this one and insist we wait things out. You can help us but only after your condition is taken care of. How does that sound for you?"

She agreed and the plan was set much to Koumei's dismay. He surely feared Kouen's reaction but neither he nor Kouha were here. Ceara could deal better with one mother hen than three. But her work would have to wait a few months.

"Indeed. Do take care of yourself. That is a precious thing you carry."

There was no warning this time. Ceara simply activated Silver Echoes without a word, the seal on her shoulder shining brightly even from underneath her clothes as her powers burst out and dissipated all at once. Euphemia's presence disappeared just the same, the surge of rukh actually making her shattering visible as tiny shards of torn up rukh fluttered like broken glass before disappearing.

Alibaba stared dumbfounded and Koumei only flinched from the sudden attack. Ceara simply wiped her nose from the blood that began falling from it as she stared at the place where Euphemia's ghost had been standing.

"Her again?" Koumei asked without any prompting. Ceara only nodded as she tilted her head back to help the nosebleed stop.

"Her?" Alibaba repeated utterly confused.

It took her raising her hand to get Alibaba to give her a moment before she lowered her head to stare at him and answer. "I don't know how to accurately describe it. All I know is that it's not good. What it wants, I won't give to it. Even over my dead body. And it's the reason I've been wanting to speak with Aladdin."

---

Exile: Year Three

---

As Kohaku grew, it became clear that not only had she inherited her father's looks and deadly glare but also his intelligence and curiosity. The little girl was able to learn things rather quickly. Whatever they taught her, whatever they said, she would catch onto and absorb it.

There was no telling how special she could come to be. Although she already thought of Haku as her bright little sun, they all knew she would achieve great things.

Because of this, it wasn't rare for her imagination to flare. It often did and it was mostly her and Kouha who went along with her plays as she would babble loudly in the open, entertaining her little brother in the process. And because of this, Ceara didn't see anything wrong with what her daughter had said that day after she had barely turned two.

"Mama, who pretty lady?"

"What pretty lady, sweetheart?"

"She!" Kohaku chimed giddily, pointing her finger out. Ceara broke back from her small errands to glance at where her daughter pointed. The chill that ran down her back stopped her in her tracks.

"...you're—"

The woman's specter, or what appeared to be, gave her a smile before her gaze fell down to her children and waved her small hand. Fear struck her even more when Kohaku waved back as did Yuu, forcing his hand to close and open. Ceara rushed to pick them up to run out of the room and bring them to the others. She knew that she was still there; it followed her. But the moment she put her children in their room, she sprinted out without a word. She ran all the way to the shore until her legs and lungs couldn't take her anymore.

Only then did she face the specter. "What do you think you are doing, Euphemia?"

The phantom appeared from thin air and looked just the same as the first time she'd seen her years ago when they were first exiled, before she even knew about Kohaku.

It was a woman, or at least what looked to be a woman. Her small round eyes appeared a gentle aquamarine that gazed at her. Her full lips pursed into a line, aloofness etched on the perfectly round face of hers. She was dressed in odd robes; they were silks that wrapped around her torso and across one shoulder to connect to the belt on her hips where more silks flowed down. Her feet weren't visible, they disappeared into a glow that blurred her after her knees. But what caught her attention most was her hair; it was long to her back and blazing in flames the same aquamarine as her eyes.

It reminded her of Murmur. And her assumptions had proven right the first couple of times she spoke to her. Apparently, Euphemia had been part of Murmur's tribe back in Alma Toran, the Dea Icaunis. The name had sounded familiar to Ceara and for a good reason. Murmur's tribe had situated themselves in a stretch of islands in the middle of the world: islands they dubbed the Isles of Icaunus, and islands she had known as the Eastern Isles. Her mother's and brother's birthland, and her own.

Those with Icaunus blood were connected to her tribe of Dea Icaunis. And as such they were descendents of Euphemia's who turned out to be Murmur's granddaughter.

When Euphemia didn't answer, Ceara decided to ask her why she could see her, a question that she never answered before. Euphemia pursed her lips and averted her gaze before replying. "My grandfather and our tribe's chief supported me greatly when I decided to join my friends in order to aid Master Uraltugo in creating this new world you live in now. Us seven were the ones that went into the core of Alma Toran to strip it from the gifts Ill Ilah had bestowed upon the world. I was the first bearer of the Silver Echoes of this world."

"...the first…?"

Euphemia didn't bother explaining that subject further. Instead, she diverted and continued elsewhere. "We helped craft this world in Alma Toran's image from the outside. And once it was completed, continued to aid to its existence from within it. We are the sources of the magic in this world—the source of Ill Ilah's gift—and you, as our descendents, carry that same task."

It was the same thing Aladdin said to her. Because she possessed Silver Echoes, she held and could control the source of sound magic, or rukh compatible with that magic, in her body. And it was what was slowly killing her now.

"W-What task are you talking about?" Ceara asked, wanting to get as much vital information as she could.

"The task to bestow the gift of sound upon this world. The seven of us took from Alma Toran to give to our people, and as our descendents, you must do the same. The gifts demand penance in order to keep the world functioning. For us, the reason sound is still here in the world is because you and those who bore Silver Echoes before you have paid its due penance."

"Paid...penance…?"

"You suffer so the world may live."

What? They suffer? Her and those that bore it before her… There has been others? Who—

"My family—who from my family?" Ceara asked vehemently, holding onto her shoulder were she felt the seal thrum with energy from the rukh that had gathered around her like moths to a fire. "Who's had this before me?"

"A plethora of people have," Euphemia replied but tilted her head, her eyes becoming somewhat blank as she gave some more thought to it. "But if what you inquire is whom of those you knew possessed it then it would be those which you call Speirr and Cael of Eriu."

Mother...and Cael?

Euphemia shook her head languidly, however, and heaved a heavy sigh. "Alas, neither were capable of fully wielding Silver Echoes. Speirr of Eriu barely even touched the surface of our powers before she perished. As such, Silver Echoes followed the line of inheritance and was bestowed to her firstborn and most compatible. Lamentably and despite the great potential, Cael of Eriu was killed before our powers awakened in him. So it followed the line once more and came to you. I must commend you, Ceara of Eriu. Over the span of this world's creation, you are the first aside from myself who's been capable of wielding Silver Echoes to such exemplary magnitude." Her head hung for a bit as another sigh escaped her. Ceara noted something this time; the sigh and look weren't out of pity or sadness, they were out of disappointment.

"Alas you have suffered greatly and your body cannot withstand the rukh of the world as you are now. We theorized that this would be a possibility. But because only humans are left now in the world to wield our gifts, we must find a way to make this assimilation work."

"Assimilation. You mean the seal and how it makes the rukh course through my body?"

"That is but a side effect. You wield Silver Echoes for minimalistic tasks and that's dull compared to the true power beings like us could produce. You were a grand candidate for our gift, Ceara of Eriu. But, as you are now, it is impossible for you to fully become the Champion I once was venerated for being. I say this with a heavy heart but you can no longer succeed me. But not all is lost." A smile spread across her lips as she clasped her hands together happily. "Thanks to you and your valiant efforts now there are more vessels compatible with our gift. Surely one of them will be able to wield Silver Echoes like I once did. So now, Ceara, bestow our gift to them and create the Dea Icaunis Champion this world needs."

Champion. Bestow. Inheritance. The instant it clicked in her mind, Ceara felt the insurgence of energy that gathered around her. It was the rukh. Her mind held but not completely taken by anger, Ceara could hear the ruckus of the rukh that surrounded her and heard the cacophony of the energy that her emotions were causing. It was so much that sparks of vibrant green flashed across her vision and across the field, creating a field of noise that affected neither her nor Euphemia.

"You want me to give this curse to my own children?"

"Of course." The nonchalance that she spoke with only fed into her anger and caused the field to pulse. A slight crack came to her ears but she ignored it as her fists tightened, leaving her knuckles white. "They are the most compatible. And as young as they are now, your progeny should be able to wield Silver Echoes with your tutelage swiftly. With your guidance, they can master our powers before they expire. You can cultivate these vessels to be worthy of being Champions of this world."

"Champions, gifts." She took a step forward and under her feet the ground pulverised as she stood on a sphere of sound. "You talk about this as if it's some kind of extraordinary feat. Like my suffering, the death and suffering of those that wielded this thing, is somehow honorable, even desirable!"

The blank stare that Euphemia gave her told Ceara her answer even before the apparition replied.

"It is honorable." Euphemia spread her arms out to show her their surroundings, as if to show her exactly what they were capable of. "We wield the powers that god itself created! We succeed the weak ones that perished under the hands of Patientia and safeguard the world from its demise. We stood with her as Champions of Alma Toran, and stand now as guardians of this new world! To die for this cause, is to die for the greater good! Do you not see this?"

"The greater good to me is my children and the people I care about and love!" she exclaimed back, the barrier extending further even more. "And for me to pass this godforsaken curse to them would be the same as leading them to their death. That I will not allow!"

"But you must!"

"I will not!"

"Mama!" Ceara's head snapped at hearing the cries of her daughter. From afar, she saw her little girl running towards her with more people behind her. Before she could run further, though, Kouha dashed up and caught up to her to scoop her into his arms. Kouen and Koumei followed as closely as they could with Koumei holding Yuu as he cried. The three of them stared knowingly at her powers but Ceara also saw the concern in their eyes. The rest of the people simply stared in terror at the sound barrier she had built. What was more, she could see how the vibrations were beginning to escape and pulverize nearby foliage and trees.

It was running out of control.

No. I can control. It's mine.

Ceara took a deep breath to calm her anger and felt how the barrier responded in kind by shrinking further and further until it became nothing but a tiny sphere of sound in her palm ready to rupture from the vibrations encapsulated in it.

"I will not bestow this to them."

Euphemia showed no signs of anger. Just like before, she showed no sign of any emotion as her blank, aquamarine eyes stared at her passively. Ceara didn't know if they could see her, but the sound of her voice clearly resonated and came to all of them now that her powers were so concentrated and controlled.

"What a shame. But they are young. Although the perfect candidate would be a progeny at this age, the transfer can wait a few years until you expire and still be successful. And when that happens, you will have no say in our choice. Silver Echoes will choose its vessel and they shall carry our legacy until a Champion rises once more. This world deserves its guardian. Your selfishness will not hinder our Master's mission to us seven."

"For all I care, you, yours, and that shit-eating master of yours can disappear," Ceara confessed tired of her nonsense. "I won't give this thing to any of them and I won't die either."

"You cannot stop us from achieving our Master's mission. Such a feat is a fool's errand alone."

"I won't be alone." Ceara couldn't help the cheeky grin that came over her lips. Lifting her hand where the sphere of sound was, Ceara minded her control just as the bangle on her wrist—one of the two—broke and fell from it. One limiter was enough. "And I won't be dealing with your shit anymore."

Flicking the sphere her way, it floated to her and exploded in the contained area that Ceara created. The vibrations shredded her body made of sound rukh and made it scatter like broken pieces of glass. Her presence disappeared and Ceara felt a lightness to the air around her. Weak and exhausted, Ceara failed to hear the shouts calling her name when she passed out without a word.

---

When things were planned, they needed to be followed. That was why they were called plans.

Alibaba would present them as newly added to his entourage in order to help Kou's revival. That had been the plan. It was a pity that both she and Koumei had to hide their faces behind masks. It mostly scared Yuu seeing his uncle and mother like that but Kohaku managed to convince him of it all being a game like she believed it to be.

"Mama and Shushu Mei are it. We hide. They find us, we lose," she'd explained childishly.

"Yuu no wanna lose," he assured her with a shake of his head.

"Then we hide!"

Ceara blessed the heavens that Kohaku grew so much faster than either of them expected. That would give her some peace at having left them with a couple of maids while they dealt with this. Alibaba assured her it would only take a couple of minutes for her since their main issue would be discussed with Koumei. Ceara didn't find issue with that since she was quickly tiring from standing so much.

Alibaba finished presenting them as the reformed Imperial 'strategist' and 'counselor' as fast as he had promised. Koumei bowed to the parliament and she followed suit, listening to the old men that were crying from seeing Koumei and most likely pitying him for having to hide his identity. They didn't seem to care about her presence. Ceara doubted they remembered her at all. Not that it bothered her.

But it's not all of them. Her eyes and ears did catch the rare sight of a quiet pair that stood off to the side closer to Kougyoku. At rising from her bow, and the instant her stark blue eyes met a pair of mossy green and gray eyes, Ceara almost felt like shouting in joy.

Goodness, you two have grown.

Seijin stood tall above the rest of the parliament almost at Ka Koubun's height. She should've expected as much seeing as he was at his peak age at fifteen; he still had much to grow, though. He definitely looked the part of a young man. His golden hair was mostly cut and styled short except for the long stresses that he gathered at his nape as a long tail. He looked in tip-top shape as well with his physique much better than his twelve-year-old self. But that same tenderness and loyalty that she had always seen in his eyes was still present and gazed at her fondly from a distance.

A perky little thing also stood beside him and that almost got her to chuckle in amusement. Despite being his senior, Parisa now stood a whole head shorter than Seijin. Her hair was much shorter than before but was still gathered to the side of her head with a small ponytail that curled into itself. The small wand she remembered her having was gone, now replaced by a wooden staff wrapped in vines that curled out at the top and blossomed with white bell flowers with small shining pearls dangling from inside them. Like those flowers, Parisa had truly grown into a beauty of her own.

Both gave a glance to her alone it seemed while the others were distracted with Koumei. Seijin briefly touched the silver vine ear cuff he wore before bowing respectfully while Parisa bowed, crystal bangles clinking from both her hands.

Her tender albeit silent reunion was cut short when Koumei went straight to the point and asked for the location of the magic research facility. They were about to part and Kougyoku was about to join her when she heard a couple of familiar giggles and tiny footsteps nearby. Before she could even speculate and hope she was wrong, her two cherubs clashed against her body with loud laughter. For once in a long while, Ceara felt flustered at having her children bursting in like that.

"Mama found you!" Kohaku called out giddily.

"Mama it! Mama it!" Yuu shouted with glee like his sister.

What?

But...I thought I was already it.

Murmurs began to spread around the room like wildfire on the driest of grass. Luckily, Kougyoku whom they had only just encountered with now like all the others, approached them. As if sensing the qualm they had caused, Kohaku and Yuu clung closer to Ceara while staring up at Kougyoku. Their empress shocked the parliament men by kneeling to meet the children with a small smile.

"Oh my, who do we have here?"

Kohaku shrunk closer to Ceara as did Yuu but surprisingly enough, he spoke over their shyness with a quiet voice. "Yuu."

"Yuu is your name?" she asked to which he nodded meekly. Kougyoku clasped her hands together and smiled sweetly at them. "That's a rather fine name for such a brave young boy like yourself. And is this your sister?" Yuu nodded again, this time more confidently and coming a bit away from Ceara's robes. Kougyoku turned to Kohaku this time with the same smile. "And what would your name be, sweetheart?"

"K-Kohaku." Puffing her chest and cheeks, she stepped away from Ceara while still having a firm grasp of her robes. "Ren Kohaku."

Ceara visibly cringed at that. She'd forgotten that Kohaku had gotten into the habit of saying her complete name after she learned it. Her eyes wandered over to Koumei who simply shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. He was right, it didn't really matter now, anyway. No matter what the people who heard her say her full name would think, it would only be speculations. And with the misinformation they had, Ceara knew they would never guess who sired the two.

"Is that so?" Kougyoku chimed in gleefully. "My name's Ren Kougyoku."

"That's Yuu and Haku!" Yuu called out recognizing their surname as well. "Baba and mama too!"

"Isn't that splendid," she cooed before reaching out her hands. "Say, Kohaku-chan, Yuu-kun, would you like to go explore my home with me? I'm sure you'll find lots of fun things to do here."

The geezers from parliament began to oppose about this but her children didn't seem bothered by the whispers. Instead, they seemed encouraged. Kohaku reached out to Kougyoku without hesitation but before Yuu even touched her outstretched hand, he looked up at Ceara with pleading eyes. "Yuu go, mama?"

Ceara looked away for a second knowing that if she stared too long at that face she would eventually cave. There was a damn good reason Kouen took over disciplining them most of the time. She caved way too easily. Gazing at Kougyoku wasn't any different. Even after three years, that puppy look was still there. What was worse...it worked, too.

"Don't worry," Kougyoku assured her. "You may accompany us as well, Miss Counselor. I'm sure you'll find our palace a pleasant place and our staff truly a sight for sore eyes."

Oh, Kougyoku worked on her subtlety over the past three years. Ceara could easily tell that the sentences were carefully crafted for a reason. She wants me to join them for something. And Ceara really wanted to know what.

"That's a good idea," Alibaba chimed in. "Miss Counselor isn't in the best shape to be walking around too much, though. Perhaps a small walk and then rest would be good. Don't you think, Kougyoku?"

Their empress nodded with a smile. "Certainly sounds like a fine idea to me. Ka Koubun and the rest will guide you and our Lord Strategist to the research facility while Miss Counselor and I acquaint ourselves. Is that alright with you, Miss Counselor?"

"Certainly, your majesty," Ceara replied with a smile and with a small bow. Kohaku and Yuu both clapped and cheered, jumping up and down before taking one of Kougyoku's hands before urging her to take her to see her home. Each group left to their respective locations within the first few minutes. Not quite alone though. Aside from Seijin and Parisa, Kougyoku had an entourage of maids that followed her around.

Everywhere. Literally.

She supposed that it was lucky that in her state there wasn't much energy in her to walk around Rakushou's palace anymore. This prompted her and Kougyoku to take refuge in one of the many parlors scattered around the palace. Once situated and once her children were gone to explore the large room, Kougyoku quickly called out for her maids to retrieve some afternoon refreshments. The maids left quickly at their order with her two old friends following behind. Kougyoku, however, stopped them briefly as she called out to them.

"Parisa, Seijin—" Ceara watched tentatively as both turned to face their empress with a low bow.

"Yes, your majesty," Seijin replied solemnly for the two of them.

"Do summon the captains. Tell them that I request their presence immediately, would you?" Captains? Of her defense corp? What for?

Seijin, however, didn't seem disturbed. In fact, a bright grin came to him as he and Parisa raised from their positions. When he rose, there was a gleam in his eyes that he directed at her before replying. "Of course, your majesty."

"We shall convey your message to them," Parisa replied with a smirk of her own.

Before they left through the doors, they smiled and bowed again but this time they didn't mean it to Kougyoku. No, for this one, they faced her alone and their expressions changed completely, showing off the happiness with smiles that spread from ear to ear as they raised once more.

"Welcome back, Master," Seijin called out with nod and the broadest smile she'd ever seen as he tapped his Household Vessel.

"There's much to talk about but that can wait for later," Parisa assured her with a wink. She waved her hand about and snickered, "We must heed our empress' orders, after all. I trust you understand, Miss of Eriu. But we'll surely have time later."

"We will see to it that there's time," Seijin promised her . "For now, excuse us."

Ceara couldn't keep the smile that came to her lips. They had changed but hadn't really. She was glad about that. Her small bubble burst, though, as within seconds after the door had closed Ceara had to cover her ears from the squeal that left Kougyoku. Her magenta eyes shining brighter than she'd ever seen them, the young woman lunged from her seat to hug Ceara with tears prickling her eyes.

"A-Anegimi! How I've missed you so!"

"I've missed you too, Kougyoku," Ceara commented, hugging the young empress tightly against her. When Kougyoku's hand brushed against her belly accidentally, the girl jumped back before an even wider smile appeared on her lips.

"And look at you," she called out gleefully before her eyes turned out to the two kids that were climbing onto chairs again and again, testing their cushiness. "Look at them! You have kids!"

"We have kids," she corrected as her hand came up to stroke her distended stomach. "Your brother certainly proved himself to be a family man."

"Big brother Kouen, I'm sure." Ceara couldn't help scrunching her nose before nodding to assure Kougyoku of her suspicion. That caused another squeal to escape her. This one wasn't high enough to hurt her hearing, thankfully. "I can't believe it! Oh, I wished I would've been there. I wish I could congratulate him too. They're adorable little things!" Kougyoku's breathed hitched as she winded herself mute before a serious look came over her. "Do they have godparents yet?"

What is it with these siblings and wanting my children? Ceara couldn't help but chuckle at that commonality between them. Seemed only Koumei was the odd one out of the bunch.

"They do actually. We convinced Koumei into taking Kohaku. He didn't seem as confident about it as we were when we decided on it. Yuu also has a godfather, though not one he sees often." Ceara looked over at her children who were now jumping up and down on the chairs. Quickly, she chastised them, telling them not to and the two looked at her then each other before chiming a 'yes' and climbing down the chairs to run around again.

"And this little one?" she asked reaching out but holding herself back. Ceara smiled and took Kougyoku's hand to bring it against her stomach. Her cheeks dusted pink at feeling it, suddenly chuckling when it moved inside her. "Quite the active one, I see."

"Which is why Kouha already took the role of godfather without even knowing them." Ceara sighed remembering the whole debacle that prompted Kouha to fight for his claim on their third child. "I guess he expected that Koumei would take the firstborn and he would follow if we decided to have more. Which is why he wasn't really fond of us when En and I decided that Yuu wasn't going to be his godson. So, we kind of promised him that the next one would be all his."

"Yuu's not Kouha's godchild?"

"No," Ceara confessed, "That falls upon the younger brother of the man whom Yuu was named after."

Kougyoku had to think about it for a second before a gentle smile came to her lips. Her sight went over to the young boy in question before that smile broadened. "Hakuryuu must be happy."

"He was." So happy in fact that he cried a bit when they first told him. He, Aladdin, and Morgiana visited them once before they disappeared almost a year ago. That had been a few months after Yuu's birth. And when they told him their son's name, he only had one thing to say.

"Ren Kouyuu; a fine name, indeed. I will gladly take that responsibility if you will have it of me. I'm sure…he will grow to make his namesake proud."

"I only wish he could see him more often to tell him stories about his uncles," Ceara admitted with a defeated sigh. There were a lot of things that she wanted to tell them herself but knew that now wasn't the time. They wouldn't understand.

Kougyoku reached out and cradled her hand with hers. "Surely the day will come when that's possible, anegimi."

"You think so?"

"I believe so, yes."

Tears sprung from her eyes and she hated it, laughing them away instead. How she abhorred how much more emotional she got when pregnant. Certainly made her cry much more than she ought to. The maids returned swiftly with the refreshments promised. Ceara appreciated the drink since she was parched; Haku and Yuu were gaudy over the succulent fruits that were brought. The scene itself made the two women chuckle as they continued talking.

Everything stopped though when Ceara heard footsteps approaching the door. Quieting for a second, she let the knocks on the door rumble through the room before Kougyoku called out for them to enter.

The person that entered wasn't human. Not anymore at least. And neither was the other that sat on their broad shoulder. Despite that, Ceara recognized them instantly. She stood up abruptly, dropping the cup she'd been holding, and ran up to them before hugging the giant of a man that now stood before her.

This time she didn't hate the tears. She embraced them tightly because of the happiness she felt in her.

A couple of firm clawed-hands gripped her shoulder gently and brought her at arm's length. A good head or two over her, Sousei smiled warmly. His dark ruby hair was still long and now rested over his right shoulder in a long, thick braid that ended near his knees. Horns protruded from his head and were swept back, the right one pierced at the tip by the looks of it with a short chain dangling a small gold coin with a crest on it: their family's. His attire was different from when he fully saw him assimilate before. He wore loose trousers and an even looser robe. It seemed to only be there for modesty's sake since it was wide open and barely hanging by his shoulders, leaving his marked chest and abdomen in plain view.

Sousei smiled at her, that boyish grin of his having all the confidence and charisma she always saw in him. "Welcome home, Ceara-nee."

"Oh, me too! Me too!" a slightly higher pitched voice called giddily as the small creature climbed down from his shoulder to perch on his arm like a monkey with her sharp claws.

Large ears perked once, the left one pierced at the tip with a golden hoop and a gold coin emblazoned with the same crest as Sousei's. Her dark chocolate mane poofed out with the tips of her mane flaring to gold as she moved and the light began to hit it just right. Her wolfish nose twitched for a second before she grinned wide, her large incisors peaking out from her lower lip. Her fluffy tailed swept back and forth, the tip gleaming gold as well before she jumped from Sousei's arm and onto Ceara's.

"Welcome back, Ceara-nee!" she squealed, hugging the life out of Ceara.

"Too—tight," she wheezed but held her just as tightly.

"Knock it off, Sui." Said little thing giggled and lessened her grip before pulling back to grin at Ceara.

Ceara only smiled, the tears coming down her cheeks as well before she buried her face against Suisei's mane. "I missed you guys."

"We missed you too," Suisei mumbled and hugged her again. Reaching out to him, Ceara chuckled at seeing Sousei bending down to reciprocate the embrace he readily came to.

Gods, I missed this. I missed them.

"I love you, Sousei, Suisei. I love you so much."

"We love you too, Ceachi."

"Mama, no!"

Yuu's shriek caught all of them off guard and made both her and Sousei flinch at the high pitch of his voice. Parting from their heartfelt reunion, Ceara wiped her eyes before gazing down at her son who, for the first time ever, had a glare that resembled his father's way too much.

"What's wrong, Yuu?" she asked with a chuckle.

"No, mama. They scary!" he shouted.

"Yeah!" Kohaku shouted as well but safely from Kougyoku's side. "Get away, mama!"

"Yuu care mama. Baba said!"

It took a moment for Ceara to decipher her two-year-old's babble. He was the brave little one that took their father's words way too seriously sometimes. A chuckle came to her at the misunderstanding before she gave Suisei back to Sousei before she bent down to pick Yuu up and motioning for Kougyoku to bring Kohaku with her.

"They're not monsters, honey," she assured him and Kohaku with a glance and pat on the head. "They're mama's family."

"Mama's?" Kohaku asked confused as she stared up at Sousei warily.

"Yes. They're mama's little brother and little sister. Just like how Yuu's your little brother, Haku, and how Haku's your big sister, Yuu."

"No," Yuu pouted. Suisei snickered and climbed down Sousei's arm again to get at Ceara's height. The little fluff stuck out her tail and brushed Yuu's face playfully with it. Her son didn't seem to appreciate it and swatted her tail away.

Suisei visibly deflated with a defeated grin. "Guess not."

"They're...yours?" Sousei asked. He bent down to look at Kohaku—still with a whole head over—as Suisei climbed up to sit on his head. Kohaku shrieked before sticking her tongue out and quickly hiding behind Kougyoku's robes.

"Mine and—" Ceara pursed her lips to quiet herself from saying something unnecessary. Kougyoku however didn't seem fazed. Far from it. She actually nodded as if telling her that it was fine to say it. So she did.

"...and Kouen's."

There was silence. For like a second. All hell broke out after that when the two shrieked out in disbelief. It took her a while to explain that yes, the ex-first prince was not dead; yes, she and him married during their exile in Samon Island; and yes, he was the father of their niece and nephew and soon-to-be-born third child.

"Who would've thought?" Sousei said with a chuckle as he sat on the floor. Due to his height, he apparently hated sitting on chairs now. Instead he took the floor as his seat. Suisei, on the other hand, simply rolled around on the floor, tucking her tail and limbs into herself to form a little ball of fur that could roll about the room. The kids, after having lost their fear of her and despite still being frightened of Sousei, clamored about the room following a ball of fur that went rather fast in her opinion.

"Well, I saw it coming it a mile away," Kougyoku replied pompously. Her eyes narrowed mischievously while the grin on her lips didn't disappear. "Just like I saw you and Parisa-san getting together as well."

"Parisa?" Ceara repeated curious. Turning to face her little brother, she caught him just as he stopped trying to shush Kougyoku behind her back. His cheeks dusted a dark crimson as he averted his gaze, something that was highly noticeable due to his much fairer skin tone in his assimilated form now. "Care to elaborate for me?"

"Well...you see—" He cleared his throat and took a more serious expression but it all was for naught since the effect was greatly diminished due to his still tainted cheeks. "It happened over time, really. Risa stayed in Kou even through the hardships it went through to help Seijin with his assignments. And since Kougyoku—I mean, her majesty pardoned us Household Members with the International Alliance's permission, Sui and I have worked as the corps captains. And because of the work that Seijin and Risa were doing on your behalf, we got to spend a lot of time together. That's how we spent these past three years. And well…" His sheepish nature returned as he began to mumble.

Although Ceara heard him loud and clear, she played along if only to embarrass him further. "Huh, I didn't hear you, Sou. You and Parisa are what?"

This time, though, a furry head perked out from its ball as Suisei's ears perked up in enthusiasm. "Souchi and Risa-chan are gonna get married soon!"

"Suisei!"

"What? Are you not?"

Sousei didn't have the heart to deny it. What his mumbled 'yeah' barely told her was clearly shown by his flushed face getting redder and redder. Soon both began to quarrel and bicker like she remembered. Ceara couldn't help but laugh wholeheartedly at their antics. No matter how much they grew, they never changed.

None of them changed. Not Sou, not Sui, not...

At the somber reminder, Ceara's mood fell and she got the sudden urge to meet with her again. That just made her feel worse. This guilt she felt—unfounded as her mind told her it was—wouldn't go away, and Ceara knew it wouldn't ever leave if she didn't face this last ghost for herself.

Sad to break their happy reunion, Ceara raised her voice when she spoke to them. "Sousei, Suisei, I would understand if you don't want to but...could you take me to where she is…? Please…"

It took the twins a minute to understand what she asked of them and just as she had a expected a somberness came over them like a dark cloud. She hated to do this to them but Ceara had to put these mixed feelings she's carried for years to rest now. And the sooner she did, the better it would be. As if understanding this, Sousei stood up and Suisei returned to her post at his shoulder. Her little clawed hands soothingly stroke Sousei's head but Sousei didn't seem to need it after a deep breath.

He gave Ceara a grim smile and nodded. "We'll take you to her."

---

Exile: Year Three

---

Ceara couldn't cry. There wasn't an ounce in her that felt any remorse or sadness at the words that the little, smuggled letter told.

But she couldn't deny that there was something wrong.

"What is it?"

Kouen's voice didn't reach her. Not at first. He had to touch her shoulder to break her out of her daze. When she finally noticed him, she blinked a couple of times before feigning a smile.

"A letter from Seijin. Something happened in the palace. Nothing important, really. Just that someone passed away."

Not someone! Her! She—

But she quieted the voice in her that shouted with a loud voice. She had to. There shouldn't be remorse or sadness. Not after all the things that she did to her. Not after all the pain and suffering. She was so concentrated on convincing herself of that notion that she failed to see Kouen reading the letter over her shoulder. It wasn't until Ceara felt his arms surround her from behind that she shook a bit taken aback by the gesture.

"Whatever you are feeling is normal. Don't hold it back."

"I'm not holding back," she admitted and forcefully undid his hold on her. Crumpling the piece of parchment in her hands, she ran for the door only muttering a quick 'I'll be back' before running out. He wouldn't follow. He knew better than to do that.

So she had the chance to run to the eastern shores. Kohaku and Yuu were asleep; even if they woke up, Kouha and Koumei were there to help En. She could afford a few minutes away. Even at the beach she didn't stop and instead kept going into the waves as her hands crumpled the paper up into a ball. Once far enough, she yelled out at the same time she threw the letter out with all her might into the ocean. The ball hit the water soundlessly and disappeared just the same. Out of breath, Ceara took a moment to compose herself and what she felt.

Frustration. Anger. Annoyance. That was it.

Not sadness. Not loneliness. Not remorse.

She deserved to die, a part of her told her. After all that she did to you, she deserved to die.

Did she…?

But the louder voice of her torment won the battle and didn't allow her to feel those things. It was easier to hate. So much easier to be angry and know that she deserved it.

"...you were a monster…" she whispered into the air, hoping it would carry her emotions away. Hoping to clear this sudden feeling that she couldn't begin to describe but wanted nothing of. "...you brought this...upon yourself…"

And after the night faded away into dawn of her convincing herself of that, she returned home. Kouha and Koumei asked questions; she didn't answer with anything specific, only with quiet 'I'm alrights.' Kouen knew better than to ask, so he didn't. She skipped breakfast but before her children even noticed something was wrong, Ceara came back to her usual self.

It was like the night before and the news it brought hadn't happened. And that's what she wanted to think. So she did.

---

"Reizei Masami"

Her name was the only thing engraved upon the gravestone. Ceara was somewhat surprised that they had been allowed to bury her here after the fact but she supposed that simple favor from Sousei and Suisei was enough to have Kougyoku agree.

As dusk was starting to end, the sun's rays began to touch the stone less and less, making the name less visible to her eyes. But her mind didn't forget what she had learned but a year ago from Seijin's letter.

An emptiness carved itself on her inside the more she stared at it. For some reason, that same emptiness made her ask the most imprudent of questions.

"Seijin...never mentioned how it happened," she whispered to Sousei and Suisei as they stood a few steps behind her and to the side. "How did she die?"

Sousei wanted to speak by the sound of it but in the end the words seemed to lodge in his throat. It was Suisei who replied to her query.

"Sami-nee...drank one of her poisons." Ceara heard her swallow and clear her throat before continuing. "Risa-chan said that it was water hemlock. That she passed out and most likely didn't feel any pain at all."

"Did you...find out why…?"

Suisei shook her head with a solemn definity. "There wasn't any note in the room where they found her. Neither did we notice anything wrong. At least...I know I didn't."

"I didn't either…" Sousei whispered coming closer and laying the small flowers he and Suisei had picked to leave for her. "She must have been in pain somehow for her to choose death rather than face whatever it was. But I won't…" He took a deep breath and knelt before the grave. "I won't judge her. There wouldn't be a point in doing that. We all had our demons. Perhaps hers were just too big for her to handle."

"And she never talked to any of you about it?" Ceara asked.

Her little sister climbed down from Sousei's shoulder and went to the grave to place the small crown of flowers she had made on top. She heaved a sigh and wiped her arm across her face before shaking her head. "We...weren't on good speaking terms for a while. Even after we did start talking, it wasn't the same. I guess she never really saw us the same after we chose you during the civil war. The funny thing was that after we were released, she never spoke one bad word against you. Granted she never spoke about you at all but when you were brought up in passing by us or by Seijin or Parisa, she would remain quiet."

"There was this look that came over her, though," Sousei pensively said as his brow furrowed. "I never understood what that was about."

Ceara hummed understanding. There were no more questions left for her to ask after that. None that they had any answers to anyway. She stared at the gravestone that her siblings mourn at silently and tried feeling what they did.

But there was nothing.

Not even the anger, the frustration, or the annoyance.

Looking at the gravestone of Kohaku's eldest sister only brought emptiness to Ceara. Emptiness and disillusionment for feeling said emptiness. She honestly thought that if she ever did get to see this exact scene before her that everything she felt when she first read that letter would be there just the same. She's been wrong though, and she couldn't understand why.

A few minutes later, dusk ended and the sun's absence gave way to the darkness of the night. Ceara watched Sousei and Suisei as they rose from their mourning state and turned to her.

"Let's go back inside," Sousei told her somberly and quietly.

"Yeah," Suisei agreed with a small yet just as sad smile. "Those littles one are surely asking for you right about now. We should take them away from Risa-chan and Jin-chan before they drive them crazy."

Ceara nodded and waited until they walked forward to lead the way before she started walking. Her steps were slow though, her footsteps feeling mightily heavier than before. The night brought with it quiet, something that was absurdly overrated for her. Everything was always making noise. Not one moment was filled with silence. There was always something, and if not, there was always the rukh that flocked to her like a beacon.

But tonight, they remained silent. At realizing that, Ceara stopped and hung her head in thought.

Why...

Why now when all she wanted—all she wished for—was noise? Why when the noise helped her forget?

Why when it distracts me...from the truth of how this makes me feel.

It wasn't just emptiness. There was remorse, there was sadness, there was sorrow. But they weren't the type that she could muster and express. Not now, at least. Any tears she had for Masami had been spent over the years of hatred, anger, and pain she'd dealt. Even recognizing the truth of what she tried hiding from herself couldn't get her to cry for her.

And so all remained silent.

Until it didn't.

"Masami one-sama!"

The cheerful voice and laughter that burst out of nowhere and echoed like a beautiful note made Ceara snap back into reality. Turning to where the voice traveled, she looked back at the gravestone only to see the noise bouncing around the rukh that gathered there. Because of her, the sheer amount of rukh was astounding and the sounds of it caused enough reverberations to make a mirage only she could see.

A faint outline of a small girl—barely of age nine—ran towards the gravestones giggling all the way. A sound that was all too familiar to her. The little outline of green jumped into the arms of another, their outline appearing as the vibrations resonated with the rukh around the place. There was no mistaking Masami in her beauty. She caught Kohaku in her arms and twirled about laughing alongside her sister.

When they finally stopped, Kohaku drew her head against her shoulder with a smile on her face. Masami cradled the girl in her arms tenderly but her expression changed when her eyes landed on Ceara. Astounded that she could see her, Ceara couldn't move or say a word.

There wasn't a need.

Masami only smiled tenderly at her as she cradled Kohaku closer and as two other faint silhouette's garnered the two girls in their arms. There wasn't any disdain or ill intent. For once, Ceara saw the smile for what it had once been.

Tender. Compassionate. Loving.

Ceara could do nothing but return the gesture and bow to them like she had done long ago when she had been a child. This time, however, it wasn't as a servant. It wasn't for forgiveness either.

It was simply her resolve to see them off. Her last farewell.

At lifting her head, she only saw Masami lower her head slightly as if nodding before the rukh dispersed and their images faded, the laughter ebbing with them.

"Ceara-nee?" Ceara turned at Suisei's call. Both her siblings looked at her from a few feet away as if just having noticed she'd stopped following behind them.

Sousei furrowed his brow before speaking. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes," she replied as she caught up to them, "everything is fine."

She left that gravestone with no remorse or tears. Only peace of mind and a smile.

---

The Kou Trading Company, with Alibaba's and Koumei's help, would certainly prosper. And now that they had teleportation magic to assist in deliveries, all that was needed were outlets from which produce and people could travel. And as such, Alibaba was chosen to represent their newly formed company for that. By the end of that week, he left Rakushou with a grin on his face for what wonders of this world awaited him after three years.

Koumei remained at work with Kougyoku, Ka Koubun, and the rest of the parliament working on things from the capital. She, sadly, couldn't work for much with only a few months left before she gave birth. Although she held the title of Imperial Counselor, she hadn't done much of any advising to anybody mostly because none of them allowed her to work in her condition. So until she recovered, she was relegated to being babysat by her siblings, Parisa, or Seijin. The latter two took the position today.

Parisa took over entertaining her children with her magic while Seijin worked on the sidelines. From the appearance of things, Seijin had become one of the members of Kougyoku's parliament, much to her surprise. Three years ago this wouldn't have been possible with him being but a servant. Now, thanks to Kougyoku's regime and her kindness to allow hard work to overcome status, Seijin garnered a position that rivaled the importance of Alibaba's as prime minister. Ceara was sure that if it weren't for Ka Koubun and his expertise in the subject, Seijin would have taken that role even before Alibaba came to Kou. All that at such young age of fifteen.

I can only imagine what he'll be capable of in the future.

There truly wasn't much to advise the young man in where his work was considered. Truly he had things under control. It wasn't until he asked for her advice personally that she found it odd. When she asked about what, Seijin gave her a knowing smirk before passing the parchment to her.

"Master," Seijin called, relishing in being able to say that after three long years, "I believe this will be something you will want to involve yourself with."

Curious, Ceara took the parchments and skimmed them through. Only when she noticed what they were did her eyes widen.

The orphan houses?

"But I thought these would have disbanded after Sinbad imposed his laws." They allowed people to travel freely between countries after all. And she surely knew of other places in better countries where these people could live.

"The one in Balbadd and Rakushou did. Not the one in Shika."

"It didn't?"

"Somehow. Despite being part of the Kou Empire, Shika was more capable to acclimate to the commerce war that Empress Kougyoku spoke of. It was mostly due because of their location."

Location. The southeastern shores. "Fisheries."

Seijin nodded. "Not only that but after being released, Sousei-dono actually worked separately from his post as captain of the defense corp in order to assimilate Shika and the Eastern Isles to make that market flourish for them. Because of their location, certain species are rare and exotic to them, sort of how the Southern Creatures were for Sindria, and that made it possible for them to stay afloat. Because of this, the houses weren't evacuated. It, in fact, still stands and I hold reigns of it as its supervisor."

"That's amazing, Jin. You did a wonderful job."

"Hardly," he said with a frown. "I couldn't stop the ones in Balbadd and Rakushou from falling. However, with this resurgence of the empire, we might be able to open them back again."

Ceara got thoroughly informed after that about the leniency services like the orphan houses she had established years ago now had in the new world. The International Alliance couldn't really be hard on them since they provided necessary services even in times of peace like these. Peace didn't mean tragedies wouldn't still befall. Children and women were still left without places to call homes. And since Seijin had placed them under his name which wouldn't connect him to the Kou Empire, he was allowed to manage them without hindrance.

"So once we gather necessary funds, more can be opened," she surmised.

"Exactly." Seijin finished his piece then but still seemed fidgety to her for some reason. It was after a while of uncomfortableness that she finally bullied it out of him. "I-It's nothing bad. Actually, it's pretty good."

"Then tell me," she insisted.

Seijin nodded and with a smile took a journal that she had noticed he always carried with him now. Grabbing it when he offered it, Ceara leafed through and saw columns upon columns of names, dates, and positions.

This is…

"The memoirs…" she whispered as every single name settled into her mind. "But I thought...nobody wanted to be apart of that after everything was found out. Why—how?"

"They didn't," he assured her with a scoff. "But after this came out—" he placed another scroll upon her lap, this one seemingly made amass "—there was a gradual change of heart until it all started up again."

Ceara opened it and was astonished with only the excerpt that started the whole thing.

"This is our truth, one that we found and inferred on our own. We serve no lord, we serve no master. We have made our own decision. And with this, it is our hope that you can make yours as well. A cognizant one.

We—Sousei and Suisei Reizei—gives you ours."

It was a memoir of their own. A published one. One that garnered all the things that they could about their family. It was completely transparent. It talked about their parent's gifts and problems—their father's alcoholism and their mother's raging tendencies. It talked about Masami. It talked about Kohaku. It talked about the fire at the estate.

But mostly, it talked about her and Masami. More specifically, the truths and lies that each had said to the world. Most of it, Ceara had known for a long time—her involvement in Kohaku's death, her impersonation, her conquering of Murmur—but there were also things that she had no idea of. The one thing that shocked her the most was learning that Cael and Masami had actually been involved way before Masami was engaged to Hakuyuu. And there wasn't much room for doubt, either, because the twins had made sure that every statement they made was supported by evidence. Actual evidence that they had found and scavenged over the three years.

"When was this published?" she asked quietly.

"About nine months ago," Seijin told her. "After three, the letters started coming back. By the end of the year, Parisa and I were flooded with them. Plenty were from those that we had transcribed and returned three years ago, like you told me to, but many new ones appeared as well."

Incredible.

Ceara couldn't believe that this—Sousei and Suisei's mere act of truthfulness—had convinced the people of one thing or another. Perhaps they still didn't view her in the best light, but this at least told her that they believed them, and ultimately her, to the point that they were willing to place their trust back in the memoirs she had created.

They wanted their stories told. And they wanted her to be the one to tell them.

"A good amount of letters have already been transcribed." Seijin rubbed the back of his neck nervously but smiling sheepishly all the same. "There's still a lot more work to be done before it's complete. Certainly with your help, though, I'm sure it can be done."

There was no helping the surge of happiness that overcame her at hearing this. So much had happened and yet hope still found its way to them. Things could still work out. All they needed was to work hard for this. Work and believe it's possible.

Because it is. And we can make it happen.

"Then sign me up, Jin," Ceara called out enthusiastically, "I may not have as much free time as I used to but I will do my best to make this memoirs a reality. Their stories have to be told."

Seijin nodded with pride in the smile that he showed her. "And we'll be the ones to tell the world what they've entrusted to us. It may be three years late but we can do this, Master."

"Yes, we can."

---

It amazed her how easy it was to get used to the palace again. What was more, Kohaku and Yuu found it rather enjoyable with so many new people and places to meet and explore. Many times, especially at night, they would cry inconsolably wanting their father. All Ceara could do was be there and ask Koumei to help give them comfort. Her relationships with her former friends and siblings also grew as the weeks went by.

Seijin proved to be a great young man that helped greatly for Kou's cause. Parisa did as well, granting much more comfort to any magician in Kou that would have otherwise left the country. Sousei and Suisei had changed over the years but in the best of ways. Sousei flourished into a man that had a natural talent to lead, especially when he started working to help supervise the food production. What he had feared all his life doing had turned out to be one of his best abilities. Despite still having a childish nature, Suisei grew to naturally take care of others and encourage them on. This time she truly became the older twin sister she was born as.

It was with their help that she managed to cope without Kouen and Kouha. It was because of them that Kohaku and Yuu could endure their separation from all they knew and be able to smile right now.

Within a month, Alibaba was back with good news. All the countries had given positive responses to opening teleportation magic circles in their territories in order to move along trade. And although Parthevia had yet to agree to anything, Alibaba mentioned that things had seemed to have gone smoothly.

But things weren't always what they appeared. She couldn't keep her gut from telling her that something wasn't right after Alibaba's cheerful return. Apparently, Koumei shared her sentiment.

"It just seems...too easy," he had said but didn't explain anything further. There wasn't really any need to because Ceara felt that those words explained things just right. By the end of that month, however, the tensions from not having Parthevia's answers finally ruptured when a single answer came to them.

They had refused. And although Ka Koubun had a point with how the other countries had already accepted, Ceara doubted that Parthevia would be an isolated case. And her fears turned out to be right when Alibaba tried contacting the rest of their collaborators.

Sasan, Artemyra, Magnostadt, Heliohapt, even Balbadd and Reim; all of them had refused to allow a Kou Trading Company outlet. All because of a rumor about Kou rearming itself. Everybody was completely devastated, including her. Alibaba took it a step further and went to Parthevia the minute he could in order to assuage this problem.

He had to or else everything they had done till now would be for nothing. But through his absence, Ceara couldn't help think that all this seemed a bit too planned. It felt like they set the pieces down accordingly to their plans but someone else had dictated where said pieces fell and were thusly capable of dismantling them with one fell swoop.

"...it feels too set up to be a mere coincidence…"

"Indeed it does."

Ceara looked up at Koumei as he hid his face behind his fan. He'd spoken quietly for nobody else to hear but knew that she would be able to hear even the quietest of whispers. "You have your suspicions?"

"As I'm sure you do as well. And I'm also sure our conclusion is one and the same."

Sinbad. She didn't voice it, however. It didn't matter, anyway, who spread the rumor. What mattered now was dealing with the outcomes. They had two options, either dispel the rumor from its source or change their plan.

Change Koumei's plan…

The realization of what that implicated came to her suddenly, and she didn't wait to ascertain her suspicion. "You've got something else, don't you?" she whispered to him. "Some kind of contingency."

Koumei gave a subtle nod. "However, I wish to know what Sinbad has to say about this. It could very well verify or disprove our conjectures and also prove useful for the future to know how to deal with this man."

Ceara saw that decision for what it was, cruel but necessary.

Alibaba came back that same day with the news that he couldn't stop the rumors. At that, everybody was downtrodden. The air in the place literally changed and became heavy and Ceara felt it drown her. It felt horrible.

"I think that's your cue, Mei."

He didn't answer. He simply raised his hand. "You needn't worry, Minister Alibaba. I have a backup means of transport in place." And Ceara had to admit that his idea wasn't bad at all. Transport as far as Kou's boundaries and ship normally from there, keeping the produce chill and viable with the tiagram talismans.

But even that sounded like a back-out solution. Frankly, it was. Which made Alibaba's point even more valid. They had to regain people's trust in Kou, practically rebuild it from the ground up. If that could be done, then their original plan could easily work again. But they would have to be transparent with their neighboring countries. They would have to show just what kind of nation Kou was aiming to become in this new world.

Kougyoku agreed, although, she also admitted that she had no clear vision of what she wanted her country to become. It was hard to hear but she admitted to having only been following behind her brothers' footsteps.

She's been following a beaten path.

And for this country she loved, and as its empress, that shouldn't be the case. She was following a path literally beaten into shape, one Ceara helped in making. But a path like that would never work in this new world. As scary as it was, Kougyoku had to traverse past that and create a new way.

For her and for her people.

"No, you're right, your majesty." Ceara watched Mei intently at hearing his words and noticing the tenderness in them. "All those who aspired to unify the world through military might...have perished. Hereafter, please envision your own dream and share it with everyone. You can handle it."

"Lord brother…"

Ceara could only smile warmly at the tenderness of the scene. Kougyoku had everybody's support, including her brothers. Including hers.

"There's no need to follow their beaten path," Ceara said to the crying girl as she stood up to get to her. Gently with her sleeve, she wiped the young woman's face from her tears before cradling her face in her hands and smiling. "You have what it takes to go beyond what they did. You are and have always been capable of accomplishing great feats. You only need to believe in yourself more, and know that from that strength you show we will make the choice to believe in you too. Traverse on with courage, your majesty, and we shall follow."

"A-Anegimi…"

Kougyoku couldn't help but wrap her arms around her and embrace her tightly. Ceara did the same and stroke her head soothingly. She needed encouragement aside from Alibaba's. She needed it from her people. And she had it.

Pop.

Ceara doubted that it was audible to anybody but her. It certainly was tangible to her, especially because she felt the warm liquid trickling down her legs much too fast.

"...oh boy," she mumbled, stepping away from Kougyoku to look down.

The young empress followed her line of sight and shrieked when she saw the water on the floor. "Anegimi! You're—"

"D-Don't worry, Kougyoku," Ceara assured her, despite finding her reaction funny, and went about gathering the edges of her robes to ascertain herself that, yes, her water had indeed broken. "It's just time for this little cherub to join us, is all."

Koumei was the first to run up to them. "Already?"

"Apparently so," Ceara mumbled and took his arm to support herself at the small surge of pain that ran through her body. "Oh, yeah. It's happening."

Kougyoku acted like a true trooper then. Ordering Ka Koubun to work on without them with Koumei's alternate transportation plan, she hurriedly ordered Seijin to ready the sickroom and staff for a delivery. Parisa stayed with them to help get Ceara there as quick as possible, and it helped them get there quite fast indeed. Mei and her helped her lay down on the bed the healers had prepared and a much too familiar process began after that.

Despite her state, Ceara found Alibaba's nervousness adorably funny and chuckled between the bouts of pain that were coming faster than she thought they would. This one definitely was coming in a hurry and the medics were still getting ready.

"H-Hurry, people," she groaned as a huge wave of pain came over her. "This one really wants to come out now!"

And it really did. It was wracking pain across her body like crazy. Ceara didn't know whether minutes or hours went by but the pain kind of blurred everything together. It only got worse when she started to push. Different hands came and went for her to hold as the pain increased. At first she saw Kougyoku, then Koumei. By the time the doctor told her 'one more push,' Alibaba had taken their place and was just as nervous and jumpy as before.

The doctor said push, so she did. And with it she heard a wonderful cry.

"It's a boy," she heard someone announce. Ceara was overjoyed but not enough to ignore the pain that she was still feeling and one that urged her to keep pushing. The doctor hastily returned as she did so and with that last push, there was utter relief.

Alibaba's voice rose over the rest and reached her ears with a chuckle. "T-They're twins!"

Twins?

It took a while for them to be cleaned and for her to be tended to but once they were, Parisa and Kougyoku came up to Ceara as Koumei helped her sit up from the bed.

In their arms were a couple of bundles both with small messes of dark caramel hair. Surely, as they got older it would turn lighter like hers. Wanting to hold her two little ones, Ceara reached out. Parisa gave her the one she held first which she cradled in her right arm while the one Kougyoku gave her snuggled against her left arm.

They're so small.

So much smaller than Kohaku and Yuu when they were born. When she voiced her concern, Parisa waved her hand off dismissively.

"It's normal," she assured Ceara, "having two and having them small is completely normal. You'll just have to take a bit more care of them to make sure they stay healthy." She gave her a grin then and pointed her thumb out towards the door, "By the way, there's a couple of little devils who are beyond eager to meet their new brothers."

Ceara smiled and nodded, asking Koumei to bring them. He came back a few minutes later with Sousei and Suisei who had been caring for her children. Kohaku and Yuu came in on either of Sousei's arms while Suisei strutted in behind him. Urging him closer, Sousei kneeled before her bed to allow Kohaku and Yuu a better look.

"Look, Haku, Yuu—" Ceara loosened the grip on her newborn sons if only to allow them to move freely and for her older children to see them, "—they're your new baby brothers."

"Two!" Kohaku cheered with an giddy chuckle.

"That's right, Kohaku. Two new brothers."

"Baby," Yuu cooed and reached out to touch. Ceara reminded him to be very careful and that put him on the spot. Thankfully, Yuu was careful enough and simply poked the nose of the older twin, his birth denoted by the little red ribbon that Parisa tied to his wrist. His younger twin bore the same ribbon but in a blue color. Yuu quickly retracted his hand when the baby squirmed but giggled when it smacked its lips. "Soft."

"They are, aren't they?" Ceara murmured. The tiny little boys opened their eyes a tiny bit and from it Ceara saw their eyes. They were a vibrant crimson tinted in gold but were much too soft to be like their father's.

"So, Ceara-nee," Sousei called out from behind her children, "what are their names going to be?"

Names. Neither she nor Kouen had thought this bundle would end up being double. The name they picked out wouldn't do. I suppose I must improvise. Her gaze wandered for a second and came to Sousei and Suisei. At that instant, she gave it some thought and came up with the perfect names.

"The oldest one will be Kourei." Ceara gave Kourei, the one with the red ribbon around his wrist, a small kiss atop his head. Kourei squirmed for a bit before gurgling. "The youngest will be Kousei." She gave another small kiss to the cheek of the one with the blue ribbon. Kousei stayed quiet and simply shifted his head towards her warmth. "And they'll be my little stars."

"Sei and Rei," Suisei said softly under her breath. Chuckling, she gave her brother a glance and the two grinned.

"Then I suppose it's fine if we call them Seichi and Reichi, right?" Sousei called with a grin of his own.

"Sei! Rei!" Kohaku and Yuu chanted in between chuckles, repeating the chant quietly when Ceara hushed them a bit.

"We should leave them to rest," Koumei suggested. The smile in his face clearly told her that he was more than happy for her and about the blessed names of her twins. He began ushering people out that needn't be there.

Ceara kissed Kohaku and Yuu goodbye. "Be sure to behave for Shushu Souchi and Gugu Suichi while mama gets some rest, alright?" They gave a chorus of yeses that eased her mind. Everyone as they left gave their congratulations and wishes for a quick recovery. Parisa and Kougyoku were the last to leave as they placed her children in the cradles that had been placed next to her bed.

Parisa smiled and bowed. "I'm sure you'll be wanting them nearby. However, I'll be close to care for them while you rest. So do rest assured, Miss of Eriu."

"Thank you, Risa." Ceara reached out to Kougyoku as she smiled, ready to leave the room.

"And don't you worry about anything, anegimi." Kougyoku held her hand tenderly and smiled before placing it on her bedside. "I'll be sure to take care of everything with everybody's help. You just focus on getting your due rest."

Ceara smiled and squeezed Kougyoku's hand. "I know you will. But that's not why I stopped you." Kougyoku's brow furrowed and prompted Ceara to continue. "I never expected two, in all honesty. Kouha might have some trouble with them by himself. What I'm asking is if you'd like to be their godmother too."

Shock came over Kougyoku's face before it turned into pure bliss and amazement. The young empress came to take her hand and squeeze it before she answered. "I would be honored." And so they agreed on it.

Kouha would be Rei's godfather while Kougyoku would be Sei's godmother. Frankly, Ceara couldn't think of anybody better.

The two left thereafter leaving her to some blissful silence. Silence except for the calm fluttering of the rukh that surrounded her. But even that seemed quite monotone with how tired she was. It didn't help that Rei's and Sei's soft breathing sounded so soothing to her. Soon enough, Ceara's exhaustion took over and she fell asleep.

---

It took six months for the Kou Trading Company, now known as the Fanfan Trading Company, to rise to the level of its competitors. Although the majority of this achievement started with their food production line and their patent of the teleportation magic circles for transportation, the selling of the tiagram talismans itself was what broke the proverbial glass ceiling for them. People were now capable of creating their own inventions with those talismans they bought from Fanfan and it spurred an industrialization the kinds she never imagined possible.

She thought three years of Sinbad's hand had been incredible to create this new world of peace. But seeing what Alibaba accomplished in less than the appointed year had truly been a miracle in the making.

What a turn of events.

A lot of things seemed to have changed because of him. Ceara managed to return to Rakushou, to Kou, to her home. Her children got to know more of the amazing people she called a family. And what was more, her two baby boys were born in the city where her husband and their father had grown. That was another thing that surprised her and made her heart soar with love for the people she now called a family. Although they were not a princess or princes by title, the people that knew of the nature of their heritage acted almost as if they were. But Ceara could see that even those who knew nothing of their heritage other than they were of the Ren Family, came to love her children.

They came to love Kohaku, the rowdy little girl that had the free spirit of a bird and a golden heart, something she was sure she got from both of them. They came to love Yuu, the quiet boy that was more curious about the outside and the wonders this wide new world had to offer than even her or her father combined. And they loved little Rei and Sei, who were little cherubs full of wonder for their new home and family.

Truly things were going smoothly. To her relief, Koumei also managed to figure a way to deliver letters to Samon—of course with Kougyoku's permission and secretly from the rest of the palace. And it was there how he managed to inform her husband about the new additions to their growing family. It saddened her that she couldn't do this in person and that for the first time, he had missed the birth of his children. But she supposed that knowing she and their children were doing fine in Rakushou would have to suffice for now.

Despite her wanting to return, Ceara knew that there was still plenty to be done. The year that Sinbad had given Kou had yet to expire. Ceara wanted to make sure that the man wouldn't interfere yet again with Kou's resurgence. And if staying some more months until it was over and she could be assured that Kougyoku had everything she needed to continue her regime, then she would stay.

A regime that she was now ready to claim of her own volition. The young empress should be at the Tenzen Plateau where the assembly of the International Alliance would be held. As nervous as she had been about it, Kougyoku had come to her to vent the night before. She told her little of what she intended to do, but Ceara really didn't need to know in order to encourage her.

"Kougyoku, I'm sure that whatever it is you have decided to do will be the best choice. If it is your choice, then you have nothing to be nervous about. Hold your head high and remember that it's normal to be afraid."

Kougyoku smiled, tearing up a bit at hearing words she surely hadn't heard in three long years. Her empress nodded, determination coming to her delicate features. "But I won't let it hold me back."

Surely, Kougyoku was before Sinbad and the rest of the Alliance by now. But there was no worry in Ceara's mind that everything would turn out fine.

Setting that aside, Ceara focused on her task at hand instead. Today, surely, would be another busy day. Ever since she got better from Rei and Sei, Ceara made the best of her free time which was rather limited with two newborns and two infants. Nonetheless she made it work in order to help Seijin with the orphan houses. Just like he had said, after Kou regained trust from the people it was much easier to work in order to establish these institutions. Although they weren't for housing anymore, the Houses stood mainly as educational establishments now and stood strong indeed because of it. Aside from the one in Shika, six months had given them enough time to re-establish the one in Rakushou and Balbadd and even open ones in the Eastern Isles. Currently, they were even negotiating with Magnostadt and Reim to establish new houses. And since these services were established under the Fanfan Trading Company's name, they added more to Kou's newfound integrity.

As for the memoirs...Ceara had returned to being its author as Ceara of Eriu. Now that Kougyoku let it slip that their Imperial Strategist was in actuality Ren Koumei, there hadn't been any further need for her to hide her own identity. Not many were happy but because their empress deemed it to be fine, they had no voice to complain with. A part of her wanted to think that it also had to do with the fact that she had helped them alongside Koumei. Perhaps their view of her was changing. If theirs could be changed, Ceara thought that the mind of the masses could as well.

So instead of letting Seijin carry on the memoirs like they had planned to, Ceara asked for the task back. Seijin had no reason to deny her.

"You started this endeavor," he told her when she had asked for the memoirs returned, "I think it fitting that you be the one to finish them."

So she took them. At first, she thought that people would oppose. But it appeared that just like she had hoped, they had seen past what had happened and put their trust again in her hands. Ceara honestly believed that all this renew hope was due to what Sou and Sui did. It felt like it, at least.

And because they were now in an era of peace, there was a clear end goal. No more wars meant no more losses. No more losses meant that any future stories could be told by others. All she needed to focus on were the stories of a past long gone. Gone but not forgotten.

"It's nice to see you so happy, Miss Ceara."

Hearing his voice after such a long time brought a smile to her lips. And it gladdened her that he had made it home safely. "Welcome back, Aladdin."

The young man that Aladdin now was stood before her, smiling warmly. Coming closer, he asked if he could accompany her for a while to which she happily agreed. Leaving things aside for now, she sat with Aladdin for some afternoon snacks. They shared some idle chatter at first. Because they had been busy announcing Alibaba's and Morgiana's wedding to their friends, Ceara had missed their first arrival. But now, she heard attentively to what the magi had to say, his eyes lighting with every description of the things he'd seen in the Dark Continent. She added her share of stories from Samon after their visit and certainly about the new addition to her family.

Aladdin chuckled at hearing this. "I'm sure Uncle Kouen must be extremely happy about that."

"I'm sure he is," she agreed with a chuckle of her own. Ceara took a sip of her tea before returning to gaze at the young magi. A thought came to her head, one she had been playing around with ever since the night Alibaba brought them back to Rakushou. "I'm sorry for being so abrupt about it, but I must ask—"

"It's about Miss Effie, right?" When Ceara couldn't well decipher the name, Aladdin shook his head and gave her a small yet somber smile. "I guess you know her better as Euphemia of the Dea Icaunis." Ceara couldn't help the tightening of her grip on her skirts. Aladdin nodded and took his staff from where he'd leaned it next to her desk. "Miss Ceara, what I can show you of Miss Effie is limited. Even I with Solomon's Wisdom aren't privy of things that existed before Alma Toran."

Ceara's brow furrowed at that statement. Not privy to things that existed before his original world?

"It's fine," she admitted, "whatever you can show me will help."

"Before I do, would you mind telling me why exactly you harbor so much hatred towards her?"

She couldn't believe the simplicity in his voice. If he knew about Euphemia, then she didn't understand how he didn't know about this cultist mentality that she harbored. Nonetheless, she gave him the benefit of the doubt and explained what she knew. She described what Euphemia had told her about wanting for her to bestow her children with Silver Echoes despite knowing how it would certainly shorten their lives. All in order to create this Champion that their so-called Master wanted for the world.

Aladdin hummed in understand as he tapped the end of his staff on his forehead. "That's...odd. Were those her exact words?"

Ceara nodded. "More or less."

"Mm. Well, let me show you what I know then." Gripping his hand on the spiked vines of his staff, he bled his palm slightly before letting his fist hover over his cup of tea. Once drops of blood had dropped, he casted magic on it, allowing a projection to appear between them.

The images were blurry at first but cleared up quickly to show a young man in glasses and strange robes holding a staff. Around him were seven different people. People of different tribes from Alma Toran she was guessing. What was more, despite being so different from each other, they held the same determined look in their eyes. And among the eight, she saw Euphemia. The only reason she recognized her was because she was exactly the same as how she saw her. Everything was the same. Everything except that blank look in her aquamarine eyes.

Ceara didn't know how to describe it. Only one word came to her that came remotely close to describing what she saw in those aquamarine eyes: life.

Aladdin pointed out Ugo, his djinn and friend from long ago, as the man with the glasses just as he began speaking.

"We have no way of knowing what can happen to you all by trying to do this." Ugo pursed his lips into a taut line and hung his head. "What we're asking of you could very well mean death. Or worse."

"Master Ugo, we know this." Ceara stared at the young woman that had spoken. Or at least what looked like a woman. Her body was covered in crimson feathers and her face was a mix between human and birdlike. Ceara couldn't describe her even if she tried but what caught her attention the most was how bright her eyes were.

A bright emerald sheen.

The young bird woman fisted her chest and smirked. "We're all aware of this. We may not know the risks or what may happen to us when we get there. But we made up our minds. We'll face this risk ourselves in order to give everyone a chance."

It was Euphemia then who stepped up and smiled warmly, something that shocked Ceara since she had never seen such emotion from her, or any other for that matter. "Lord Ugo, she taught us to be compassionate. She taught us to be there for one another and those who cannot fend for themselves. But what is most, she taught us to have hope. And we share the hope that together we can succeed. We can retrieve Ill Ilah's gifts to Alma Toran that master told us about. We can do this for the sake of the people we love. So please believe in us."

"I do believe in you. You're her apprentices after all." Ugo couldn't help grimace at the thought of possibly sending them off to their death. "But what you're asking of me is to send you headfirst into something unknown. That dimension isn't something any of us was aware of in the first place. We know very little if anything about it. It exists outside of Alma Toran. Even Solomon thought better than to tamper with it and he could see it. It's the reason why..."

He held his tongue. Whatever he had wanted to say brought him grief.

To Ceara's surprise, the smallest of the eight stepped forward and took Ugo's hands in her own. She was a child but in her large doe-eyes Ceara saw so much that it astounded her. Ugo seemed to have noticed what she had and let his lips tug upward into a small smile. The child simply smiled back and shook her head, her dark blue hair bouncing back and forth. Those eyes—bright and large as the moon—were tender as they gazed at Ugo.

Then she spoke.

"It is our choice, Ugo jiisan. She holds those gifts within her now. We know where they are. Effie-nee is right. Together, we can reach her. Together, we can retrieve them. We can save our world. And...even if it's not salvageable anymore and it may be sad to see our home disappear, a. But a world isn't home without the people that make it so. We must do what we have to in order to make our 'home' survive. Have hope, Ugo jiisan. I do. No matter how dark and abysmal things may seem, I will always have hope."

"Ignis." Ugo's eyes watered a bit at their words but he wiped them off with his sleeve quicker than they could see. "Y-You're right. You guys, thank you for this and for everything up until now. I know it was hard to continue your work without her but you did splendidly. I will retain everything you ever collected, no matter what happens. I will safeguard what you spent your whole lives creating. And also...I'm sorry that nothing you wished for came true."

"What are you talking about, Master Ugo?" the bird woman called out with a cheerfulness that amazed Ceara. The grin that appeared on her was mirrored as smiles or grins among the other seven. Even Ignis as she stepped back to rejoin them had a smile to her as she held her hands behind her back. "Our wish did come true. We have each other now." She reached out with her hands to wrap an arm around Euphemia and ruffling Ignis' hair. Her grin broadened as she turned back to face Ugo. "And if that's not what it means to have friends, then I have no idea what is."

The images began to break up and before Ceara knew it, the images disappeared and the clairvoyance magic was dispelled.

Aladdin regained her attention when she heard him move to straighten on his seat. "I have a few other memories concerning Miss Effie but they don't have anything to do with the seals or with the one they call master. This is the only memory from Alma Toran that exists about this."

"What about their journey?" Ceara asked genuinely curious.

"They made it," Aladdin assured her. That's something she could conclude herself though seeing as they were all alive here in this world. "But I have no memories that allude to anything about whatever happened during it. They traveled to a place outside of Alma Toran and returned, that is all we know for sure. Whatever happened in between that span of time, there's no way for me to know."

"I see." Ceara nodded and sighed. Despite her disillusionment of only having learned so little about Euphemia, she smiled warmly at Aladdin. "Thank you, Aladdin, for showing me all this."

The magi reciprocated the gesture. "You're welcome, Miss Ceara. I will be sure to help you more once everything settles down. I know that you're time is limited and that there's great things at risk but without knowledge I cannot be of much help."

"Where do you intend to get more knowledge if Solomon's Wisdom can't help you?"

At this, Aladdin grinned and sat back against this chair. "The Dark Continent is a dimension unlike any other. Even during Alma Toran it was exempt to a lot of the rules of the world. The same is true about it now as well. There must be some clue there and I think I might know just the person to ask. But, if I may, can I ask for your patience? Like I said once things settle down, you and I can head there and ask my friend directly."

The thought of going to the Dark Continent and meeting this friend of Aladdin's lighted a fire in Ceara's heart so fierce that she felt like her chest would burst. The simply idea made her giddy.

I could finally see the world. If only part of it for the both of us.

"I'll hold you to that promise then," she accepted with a smile. "I'm not fond of leaving my children at such young age either so I think it will be best for us to wait too."

"Of course." Aladdin grinned and reached out his hand. "Then it's a promise."

Ceara chuckled at his boyish grin but shook his hand firmly nonetheless. "It's a promise."

---

Epilogue

The Sixth Champion: Ceara of Eriu

---

Peaceful. Things were so peaceful now.

Ceara for once relished in the absolute silence that echoed in her room. Kohaku and Yuu were quietly asleep after having played for so long with Sousei and Suisei. Rei and Sei were taking their afternoon nap as well, completely fed and needing the rest. It truly was perfect for her to work on the memoirs.

Everything was quiet. Everything was still.

Then she felt it.

At first she couldn't breath. It was like something held tightly onto her lungs. Then it was her heart. It beat to a pace that wasn't her own; it's beating was incongruent with the panic that her mind raced with. All of a sudden her body felt heavy as if chains were wrapping around her body and neck to hold her down.

Her mind was quickly turning blanker the tighter the chains wrapped around her. The more they wound, the more she felt something was chipping away from her.

No. Leave me alone. Get off—

"Get off of me!" she shouted.

The moment she did, Ceara felt the seal on her shoulder pulse with energy. That single lashing destroyed the chains and lifted the heaviness from her body. At the lightness, she dropped to her knees and held onto her shoulder. That surge of power exhausted her so much that it was unbelievable. Not even dispelling Euphemia had ever caused this debilitating sensation. Breaking those things had been harrowing.

Her eyes darted upward to her children but was relieved to see that she hadn't harmed them by accident. Giving herself a few seconds, she regained the necessary strength to stand and go to them. They were still asleep. The mere relief got her to fall by their bedside. It was almost as if nothing had happened.

Did I imagine this?

No. That sensation—those disgusting chains—there was no way she imagined that.

"Shit. We're late here too."

Ceara couldn't believe her ears when Rakah's voice reverberated in her inner ear. Turning to where she had heard him, she watched as a teleportation magic circle opened. This one, however, wasn't like any other magic circle she'd seen before. This one fractured the light before her and bent into itself until a portal large enough opened.

From it, Rakah came out, a grimace on his face. Ceara couldn't believe what she was seeing. And by the amazed look on his face, Rakah hadn't expected to see her there either.

"Speirr?"

"Oh, she's here! Our timing was wonderful then."

The young woman's voice she heard caught her by surprise, especially when she couldn't see whom it belonged to despite knowing it came from the portal. Rakah clicked his tongue and glared behind him. "Did you even listen to what others say to you? I said that that bastard already took control over this one already."

"It's inevitable, Rakah ojiisan. It's something that's bound to happen. What we care about is that she's fine from its control."

Rakah gave Ceara a once over before he spoke. "You there, darling?"

"What the hell are you doing here? How the hell did you even get here?" Ceara shook her head and instead flared at him. "What in the hell happened?"

Her questions didn't garner any answers. What's worse, they got a crooked grin from him. "Yeah, that's her alright. Ever the patient and eloquent one."

"Good." Ceara's eyes widened as from the magic circle another figure appeared to come into her room.

A young girl came through and Ceara could easily tell that she was maybe Aladdin's and Seijin's age. She was dressed oddly, in a style she could only describe as similar to Alma Toran's people yet unique in its own way. In her hand, she held a magician's staff made of pure silver and etched in blue gems with the top curving like a crescent moon as if something was meant to be cradled in that space. She had skin on the darker side but not too dark. There was just the faintest kiss of the sun on her skin. Her wavy midnight blue hair was short from behind but was enough for it to be tied into a small tuft of hair springing at the back of her head; long bangs fell over her shoulders almost reaching her stomach. The bright emerald loc hair tie she used popped out as did the small medallion that was emblazoned with a symbol that she thought seemed familiar. There wasn't a clear name in her head, though, but she did recall it being from another country.

What shocked her most were her eyes. Eyes of molten gold.

Her large doe-eyes gazed down at her and widened in worry. Concern etched on her young, pretty face, she trotted over to Ceara before falling to her knees and putting her staff down.

"Are you okay, Miss Ceara?"

Her voice had a lilt to it as she said her name. It sounded like Rakah's but just not as pronounced. "I-I am," Ceara admitted. The girl helped her back on her feet as Rakah approached them. "Who are you? Why are you here? What the hell happened just now…?"

"The rukh of this world was rewritten," Rakah explained to her.

Rewritten? "As in changed? How? What does that even mean?"

"Sinbad hijacked the Sacred Palace." That place, Ceara had heard about it from Aladdin. It was where he was raised by Ugo. "And it means that this whole world now yields to that man's will."

"What?"

"Miss Ceara, what you felt just now—those chains?—they were your rukh being rewritten. Or at least trying to be." The young girl smiled though as she stepped back to pick up her staff. "But because of what you possess, because of Silver Echoes and because you're in Miss Euphemia's direct line of descendancy, you were strong enough to divert that rewriting."

"So...I'm still me?"

"Lucky for us, yes," Rakah replied as his shoulders slumped. "But things won't be calm for much longer. What Sinbad intends to do won't be good for anybody."

"Please, stop with this ambiguous talk." Ceara stepped back and faced the young girl and glared. "Tell me who you are?"

Rakah eyed the girl that stood beside him curiously as if awaiting for her to answer. The girl didn't give him a glance and instead smiled at Ceara and bowed her head slightly.

"My name is Basia Calore. I hope you can forgive my rudeness but we are in a hurry. We must leave immediately." Basia swept her staff behind them—the staff flared with energy that sprouted to line the curve around the outside of the crescent with bright blue wings that grew smaller as they reached the staff; on the vacant space an orb of the same bright blue sprouted and glowed brightly—and opened the portal anew, the fractals of golden shards breaking apart to open a doorway.

Ceara however stepped back away from them. "I have no idea why you would even think I would go with you to wherever you'll take me. Forget that I don't know what the hell you're up to, I will not be leaving my children where something terrible will happen. I won't leave them where somebody's changed their rukh and will."

"Oh, your little devils weren't affected."

She couldn't believe what her ears heard Rakah say. "What?"

"They share your lineage. And although the bloodline has thinned, it is still effective." Basia came forward towards the bed and smiled. "They look just like you and Kouen ojiisan!"

"You know…?"

"Yes," Basia replied giving her back to her children and facing Ceara once again. "And I also know that you don't want to do what Miss Euphemia wants of you. I know you'd rather fight and find a way to stop this than ever give it to your children." Ceara saw as the grip Basia had on her staff tightened. "And I know this because it is the same thing that the remaining bearers want as well. They don't wish for the relay to continue. They want to stop it. And I've found a way to do that without any of you dying."

Impossible. But could it be a chance that she has?

No, her mind shouted at her to doubt the girl before her. Ceara knew nothing of her and what she knew of Rakah didn't put any trust on anybody he was friends with. But the part of her that wanted to believe, the part that had hope, wanted to trust her.

There was something about her...something that simply told Ceara that the girl wasn't lying. It was the same thing that told her she could trust her.

"Even if I did believe you," Ceara began with a hint of hesitance in her voice, "I won't leave my children here. I don't trust the people who've gotten their rukh rewritten like you said to care for them."

"That's understandable." Basia gave her a knowing nod before motioning to the portal. "Where we're going it is safe for now. It's not connected to your world or any other. Not even god himself could reach it because of the walls separating it from the rest of the worlds. Another has already brought her son as well, fearing the same as you. So please, bring them with you and come with us. There isn't much time for leisure."

"Why?" Ceara asked wanting one last answer before she came up with her answer. "Why isn't there time?"

"Because to stop this once and for all, we have to reach a world where all this is already reaching its peak." Rakah's explanation confused her but when Ceara thought about it in the sense of how Alma Toran and her own world were two completely separate entities, it became a little clearer to her. "In that place, the clock is ticking down. The walls become thinnest then and that's how we came to get you. Only now is when we could bring you along. But just like we can use that to our advantage, so can those that are trying to stop us. That's why we need to round you all at the core."

"The core…"

"The original world," Basia told to her. "The one where all the others, including this one, branch off from. If we can change the outcome at the core, it will have ripple effects on its branches. If we stop things there, we will help stop them here and in all the others as well. Miss Ceara, this is why we're here. Even Rakah ojiisan changed his views. Despite all the things he's done to you all, he's agreed and willing to try this as a last shot to end the relay of the gifts. The others as well have decided on their own to do this. That is why I'm asking you, Miss Ceara—" Basia reached out to offer her hand to Ceara, "—come with us in order to stop it all. To stop the destruction of the world, the relay, and save yourselves and those you love."

To stop this all. To save her children, to save her family, she would do anything.

That hasn't changed.

And it never would.

"If that's what's at stake then I will go."

Basia's smile widened and she nodded. "Thank you, Miss Ceara. Now, let's wake them and get going." As Basia helped Ceara wake her groggy toddlers and carry the twins, Rakah approached her with a bag that clanked as he waved it around.

"Here." Rakah exchanged Rei with the bag, reluctant as Ceara was about giving him her son. She took it nonetheless and opened it, gasping as soon as she saw what was inside. "We had to retrieve them now since you're only their master in this world. You'll need them."

Beleth. Marbas. Murmur.

"My king."

"My king."

"My king."

Ceara couldn't help but smile as she placed her metal vessels on her, loving the warmth that she had missed for three long years. "It's been far too long, my friends."

"We should leave," Basia suggested, trying to handle Sei in a way that wouldn't wake him up. Kohaku groggily held onto her staff with one hand and rubbed her eyes with the other as she walked. Yuu did the same while holding onto her sister's clothes. Ceara took Rei back from Rakah and followed behind him and beside Basia as they entered the magic circle.

A small pressure came over her for an instant before it dissipated. When she opened her eyes, Ceara saw nothing but a grand expand of green beneath the bluest sky she'd ever seen and in the far horizon she saw a lone tree, one bare of any leaves and its bark a dark putrid color.

Basia took them all to the grand oak that stood in the plain and set Sei down on the floor. Kohaku and Yuu went to their baby brother at her mother's request as she herself set Rei down next to his twin.

"Will they really be safe here?"

Basia nodded and waved her staff as a small bubble of blue energy came off from the orb. It wavered in shape like a bubble of soap until it shook to form tiny arms and a tail with two white spots that she assumed to be the eyes. "Care for them alongside Theo-kun, would you?"

The little wisp of blue nodded once. A strange noise came from it, like a high squeak, before it parted into two and then again into four. Once they separated they transfigured into larger beings with a human silhouette before they rounded about her children. They seemed to be able to speak in a way she didn't understand but that Kohaku and Yuu fully did.

It was unnerving to say the least.

"My wisps are extensions of my rukh given form by my life magic. They'll take good care of your children, Miss Ceara, of that I can assure you."

"Oh, baby Bass, you're back. About time!"

"Basi, thank god you're here."

Ceara turned to the two new voices that came to her ears. The first one had a heavy accent and drawled on but had a kind of mellowness to it. The second had been a worried voice with a lilt very similar to Basia's.

"Yes, and we retrieved her just fine as well!" Basia called as she turned to face the two women she'd heard. Ceara did the same to find them standing behind her along with a young boy that clung to one of them.

"Your Effie's successor, I presume." The taller woman grinned tenderly as she laid a hand atop the young boy's head as he clung to her leg. Her hair was long and of an auburn color, her eyes shining brightly with an emerald sheen. The feathers behind her right ear bristled as the grin widened. She shared many of her soft features with the boy along with the feathers and bright green eyes. But it was those same eyes, a strange feature whose origin eluded her, that seemed to carry fierceness in such little boy. "Oh wait that's my bad, you're name is Ceara, right? You're not Effie." That realization seemed to come to the woman quite heavily, as if the fact saddened her, but her demeanor quickly changed back to the cheerful one before she continued. "That's good in my books, anyway. You'll be better than her, I'm sure. My name is Noé."

"Speirr...?" The tenderness with which the other woman called her name made her turn confused. Bright red eyes gazed at her with that same tenderness she had heard in her voice before a smile spread across her full lips.

"No, Ish." Ceara glanced back at Rakah who gave her one long glance before turning to the woman with a smile just as sad as hers was. "She ain't our, Speirr. She's Ceara of Eriu."

The woman's eyes began tearing up at that but her smile grew wider for some reason. She nodded her head vehemently as if ridding herself of some notion and making her dark midnight hair sweep about. She wiped at her eyes with the heel of her hand before smiling again. "Nice to meet you, Ceara. My name is Ishtar. Ishtar Calore."

"Calore…" Ceara couldn't help but stare back at Basia as she came over to that lady's, Ishtar's, side. The hair had made her think it but the name had only solidified her thought. "Your daughter."

Ishtar nodded but the smile disappeared from her lips as determination took over. "She was the one that brought us together. All to end the relay of the gifts once and for all."

"Glad that you all get to introduce yourselves to each other," Rakah called with a wave of his hand, "but we have to get going. Our world's destruction isn't going to wait on us."

"And neither are we," Noé called out with just as much determination. Her features softened though as she turned to her son and knelt before him. "Be good, Theo. I will come for you when it's all over."

The boy, Theo, nodded as the feathers behind his left ear drooped. "Be careful, mom." He threw himself at her arms and held her tightly as she did. "...I love you."

"I love you too."

Ceara turned away from the scene to see her own children that now stared up at her as she approached them.

Kohaku tilted her head as she knelt before them. "Mama?"

Ceara cradled her cheek in one hand and took Yuu's in her other. "Kohaku, Kouyuu, mama has to go for a little bit."

"Mama go?" Yuu repeated, tears springing up from his eyes already. That he wanted to cry didn't help Kohaku restrain herself as her own tears began to come as well.

"No, Haku don't want you to go," Kohaku cried. She threw herself at Ceara just as Yuu did and Ceara held onto her children tightly before kissing both their heads.

"I don't want to go either. But mama has to go save our family."

"What's wrong?" Kohaku asked.

"Something bad. It wants to hurt mama and baba, your uncles and aunts, and all the nice friends you made back in the palace."

"No!" Kohaku shrieked, her tears falling as she shook her head. "No hurt my family. I love mama and baba. I love everybody."

"Which is why I'm going to help them," Ceara assured her, wiping their tears with her thumbs. "But I'll be back. And once I am, we'll go back home to baba. But for right now, mama wants you to stay here. You'll be okay here. Can you promise me you'll wait for mama?"

Kohaku and Yuu wanted to cry and protest. They wanted to. She could see it in their puffy eyes. But her brave little sun and moon only nodded.

"Thank you," she whispered and kissed their foreheads. "Take care of each other and of your little brothers for me."

Kohaku and Yuu hugged her once more before they both said a quiet 'I love you.' Ceara now wanted to cry. She didn't want to leave them but if this is what it took to make all this better. To safe everybody and stop this once and for all, then she would.

For them. For her family. Always.

"I love you too." Getting up was the hardest thing to do for Ceara. It hurt every fiber of her being to leave them but she did. As she got up, a little red head bobbed up from her side to her children.

Sheepishly, he turned to Ceara with a smile. "I-I'll take care of them for you, Miss. Since I'm the oldest here, Mom said that I have to take care of the little ones." He took a deep breath, letting the feathers behind his ear bristle. "So don't you worry. We'll wait here for you and mom."

Ceara couldn't keep the smile from coming to her lips at the little boy's bravery. "Then I'll leave them in yours hand, young man. Take care of yourselves."

Turning before she could regret it, Ceara walked up to the odd group that had gathered.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head." Ceara glanced up at Noé as the taller woman placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed good naturedly. "We'll be back before you know it." Curiously enough, Ceara saw the same anguish that she felt in Noé. Leaving their children behind would be hard. But this was for the best.

"Alright, ladies," Rakah called out as he got his wand out. Basia beside him did the same thing and both motioned outward to cast a magic circle, creating the fractal opening of the portal. Ceara summed that this would be the one to take them to that world—the original one. "We're walking into hell so you'd better be ready."

"Right." Ishtar beside her held onto the hilt of a sword at her side before light engulfed her and Ceara watched as she djinn equipped and felt the heat emanating from her very being. Fire. Blue fire.

Not wasting a second, Noé garnered the same conclusion and equipped hers as well. The bright light that came from Noé almost blinded her but it was the grand golden wings that spread behind her that astounded Ceara. Light.

Being the last, Ceara lifted the feathered pen in her hands and touched it to her lips.

Here we stand, friend. Let's give this all we have to finally stop this.

"Your wish is my command, my king."

All at once, Ceara felt the powers of Beleth envelope her as she took the form she'd bestowed her. This power—Beleth's, Marbas', and Murmur's—that was a gift.

It was a gift bestowed upon her by beings that recognized her. Beings that became her friends after all that happened.

Friends, family, loved ones. Those were gifts. And the love, friendship, and hope that they gave them were the kind of gifts that should be passed on. And that was what she would do.

For them...

Ceara might not have been the Champion that Euphemia wanted her to be. She would not save the world because she told her to. She wouldn't save them because it was her legacy. Ceara would save them because it was what she wanted to do and certainly not the way Euphemia wanted. She would stop this and the relay of the gifts to save them.

I'm not the champion you wanted me to be. No, I'm much more than that.

Ceara would be the champion that she deserved to be for her loved ones and for herself.

Always for them and for myself.

Without anymore hesitation, Ceara followed beside the other four and stepped through the magic circle.

---

A/N

Silent Lamb started on Nov 10, 2016. On Sep 22, 2017 it now ends. This story started as a quaint little idea for D. Gray-Man, then it settled down not finding what it needed to flourish. A year later, I find myself watching Magi and then reading it only to fall in love with the series. It inspired me to revisit that quaint little idea that suddenly burst to life with all the new magic I found. Now both Magi and Silent Lamb reach their end. Magi soon enough, but I am proud and sad to say that Silent Lamb is now complete.

This is far from the end for me and Magi though. I love the series to no end and will continue with this fanfic series that I've set for myself. Silent Lamb was supposed to be a stand alone fic. Now it's sprouted into something I never thought it would. And I hope that you all will accompany me down this long, winding road I'm taking.

Ceara. Noé. Rakah. Ishtar. Basia.

These are all names that you will see more of in the series as a whole. Although Silent Lamb ended, this will certainly not be the last you hear of Ceara. Although it might be a while before she returns, I can promise you that much at least. That can also be said about some minor characters that have appeared in Silent Lamb.

As a last gift to you, and since I am pretty sad about seeing SL end (especially b/c Kouen is and always will be my most favorite character in Magi ( ´•̥̥̥ω•̥̥̥` ), is that I'll accept any kind of requests if you want to send them. Take it as a little scenario or headcanon thing, if you will. I've always wanted to start one as a side blog on my tumblr but haven't found myself brave enough to start it（*/∇＼*）. Maybe one day, but take this as a little gift and sneak peek to what could be one day. Digressing, I'll compilate an extra chapter just for extras and omakes. So anything you want to ask, just go ahead and do and I'll do my best to give you cute or sad or any kind of moments you want to see with Ceara or any other character from this story. It will be sometime before I upload that, though, since I want people to have time to request what they like. So go crazy with it people! ⤴︎ ε=ε=(ง ˃̶͈̀ᗨ˂̶͈́)۶ ⤴︎

Also a huge thank you to magi-related from tumblr ( ˘ ³˘) . I commissioned this lovely person to have another picture of Ceara. With how this came out, I'll surely be commissioning them in the future for the other characters as well. I always thought that art tells more than words, and in this case, it's true. Plus I love seeing my babies come to life like that. By the time I post this, though, it won't be finished just yet. And since I didn't want to leave you guys waiting for this behemoth, I'll just be reposting the chapter with the proper link to the commission once it's done. You can come back later or just check out my tumblr ( xeveningx) to see it if you think you'll miss it.

And because it's been such a short span between chapters, I'll just give a huge thank you to everybody who stuck with this story for the past ten months. Crazy, right, that it's been that long? I have every one of you lovelies to thank for encouraging me forward, whether you reviewed, followed, favorited, or read it, I give you a huge ol' thank you and a lot of hugs and kisses. 〜٩( ╹▿╹ )۶〜 I truly couldn't have done it without you all being there and encouraging me on.

Also a sidenote:
I know a lot of you won't be pleased with how Masami ended. I was really amazed how a lot of you wanted her to just be dealt with because of how cruel she had been throughout the story, no matter her reasons for being like that. And because of that I almost know that what I've written as her conclusion might not satisfy those people. But the way I see it is that there was no more need for violence. The way that these characters grew to be, especially Ceara, told me that violence would only perpetuate a never ending cycle of sadness and hatred. The point of this whole story was for Ceara to grow from her own cycle of sadness and hatred and learn from that. And she did in my eyes. She ended one cycle (one that she had a part of) knowing that despite how everbody ended, things couldn't have ended better or worse. They just were. Overall, it was acceptance that I was trying to portray in that scene. Something along the lines of, things may not have ended the way you expected them or think that these characters didn't get what they deserved like they do in pretty or totally conventional stories (the good guy wins and the bad guy loses) but things seemed to have somewhat fallen the way they should have in the end to me.

So for now, I'll leave you how I always have. I really, really hope you enjoyed this chapter and Silent Lamb as a whole! And also stay tuned, all you lovelies, for what the future brings for what I've dubbed the Gift Bearers Series. Hope to see you all next time when we delve into Noé's story: "The Meanderer." ヾ(*･ω･*)o