The Red Hope
Prologue: The Birth
Hello all! kani-leek-lover here!
First off, I'd like to say "I'm not dead!" and sorry for taking such a long time for typing up this chapter; school and other stuff has been really tough on me lately . . . But that's not going to stop me from writing for this story!
And introducing the last part of the prologue! After this is the beginning of the actual story! Again, sorry for taking so long . . . Not only was life getting in the way . . . It was a bit difficult writing this in general, because I had to write with different people and their perspectives, but I managed to get this done! Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, favored, and followed this story! You guys are awesome!
Also! If there are any other people who are looking for a really good Magi fanfics, I suggest reading Starry Skies by Gold Sparrow. It's sorta helped me man up and write this fanfic. It's an amazing story; awesome & mysterious plot (you'll know what I mean if you read it), hilarious characters (I'm not saying~!), and best of all, it's just plain awesome; I highly recommend it. If you guys ever get a chance, go search it up on Fanfic. It's a must-read!
Anyways . . .
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Magi
"One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star." –Friedrich Nietzsche
Let's take something incredible and unfathomable, and imagine it as something simpler, something easier to comprehend. Why don't we take a coin? Like all coins, there are two sides; heads and tails. If you flip that coin, you get either one; it all depends on the factor of chance.
However, in this case, what the coin represents is completely up to the person holding or using the coin.
It can be to decide a game, and it can be used to simply entertain someone, to just pass the time.
But, that of course, all depends on the user.
Cries of pain sounded through the medical wing of the hospital. Dim light weakly shone throughout the room, illuminated only by flickering candles and old oil lamps. Bathed in their glow, was a group of women; all of them surrounding one screaming in pain.
"Hold her down!" A voice hissed. "We can't risk 'him' finding out about this." Two women stepped forward, holding the struggling woman's arms down.
"It's too much!" The woman in pain cried out. Her eyes, desperate and pleading, looked at the nurse in front of her. "Please take it out!"
The nurse shook her head. "Keep trying!" She urged. "The baby will come out soon if you do!" The woman giving birth continued to wheeze, groaning in pain as she continued to pour effort into the life she was going to give birth to.
"Push!" Another nurse yelled at the woman. With all of her effort, the woman began to push, while sweat poured down her body. More screams left the woman's mouth as she gave birth.
"I can see the head!" One of the nurses exclaimed. "It's coming!"
"Prepare the water and towels!" One of the two nurses holding the woman down shouted.
"Get ready!" Another cried.
The woman screamed in pain. The lights in the room began to flicker.
And then suddenly, a cry erupted in the room.
A burst of light shone upon the world, with a new energy.
People everywhere stopped with what they were doing, simply watching the light with awe. The feeling of peacefulness settled as they closed their eyes with bliss.
Then the Rukh began to fly, spreading all over the world.
In a distant place, the Rukh swarmed around and flew in frenzy. A young boy lifted his head from an old, large book to look at them curiously. Nearby, a giant closed his eyes, admiring the Rukh.
"Hey . . ." The giant opened his eyes and looked down. The boy had temporarily put down his book. He looked at the Rukh with blank eyes. "What's going on?"
The giant smiled. "That Aladdin, would be the birth . . ."
A young boy stopped in mid run, his feet skidding in the rough sandy dirt. Strange white birds, ones he had never seen before, had rushed past him. As they had flown by, he could feel a strange sense of warmth fill his every being, leaving him with a feeling of unknown happiness.
"Hey! Alibaba! Hurry Up!" A shout interrupted the boys stare at the birds. The boy looked forward to him to see his best friend waving up at street ahead, dark hair blowing in the wind. "You slowpoke, you coming?"
"Hey! I'm not slow!" The young boy protested. He turned around, looking back at the blue sky to see nothing but clouds. The white birds he had seen were already flying away. Then he ran up the street. "I'll show you Kassim!"
His friend grinned, before sticking his tongue out childishly and running away, laughing. The blonde boy laughed as well, following the younger boy. But he looked slightly back behind him, hoping to see the white birds again.
'I wonder what those birds were . . .' The young boy's trail of thought quickly vanished as he caught up towards his friend, and tackled him from behind, both of them tumbling to the dusty ground, laughing freely.
The abundance of white Rukh that shone as it flew past the kingdom of Balbadd went unnoticed.
An old man was walking through a giant and vast library. Throughout the entire library, people were bustling around: each of them carrying long wands, various piles of books, bundles of scrolls, and notes of detailed diagrams. Light conversation and the flurry of footsteps echoed in the halls, the only noise in the grand library.
The torches and candles that lit the library began to flicker. Then the Rukh flew by the entire library, startling many people and causing them to drop whatever they were carrying. Cries of confusion from the many people disturbed the peace of the library, bewildered people looking up at the Rukh in astonishment.
"What is this?" The old man stopped to inspect the flying Rukh. "The Rukh . . . it's . . ."
"Chancellor Mogamett!" A man pointed at the Rukh. "What's going on? The Rukh . . . It's almost as if-!"
"Yes . . ." The older man turned back to watch the Rukh continue to fly. "I can see it."
The magicians gathered in the library began to murmur to each other. Everyone watched as the chancellor of Magnostadt Academy continued to walk. Two more magicians frantically followed him.
"Chancellor Mogamett," One of the magicians who followed after him asked. "What was that?"
"Is it going to affect us in the future?" The other one asked. Anxiety clouded both of their faces.
The old man simply gripped his staff tighter. "No, I can assure you, that won't harm us . . . That . . . was a phenomenon that even we cannot fathom."
"Phenomenon?" Both magicians were confused.
"Yes . . . It seems that the Rukh was very active due to this occurrence." 'Very similar to the occurrence many years before . . . But not exactly . . .'
The old man stopped at a wide and open window. He glanced out. The window overlooked the entire academy grounds. All over the entire academy, magicians everywhere were looking up towards the sky, keeping a hold of their pointed hats, pointing towards the direction of where the Rukh flew.
A young man paused. The sword he was carrying stopped in mid swing, gleaming as the sunlight hit it. The symbol imprinted onto the weapon glowing slightly.
The young man glanced down at the sword in curiosity. "Hmm . . . That's strange . . . My metal vessel is . . ."
Suddenly, a flurry of Rukh rushed past him, causing his long red hair, sand and dust to follow the Rukh as it continued away from the stone coliseum and traveled as a normal breeze.
"What?" The startled young Fanalis glanced at the Rukh in shock. "This is . . . impossible."
He glanced down at the sword in his grasp, the bright symbol still glowing. "Even my metal vessel is responding . . ." He narrowed his eyes and sheathed the sword.
He turned towards two soldiers nearby. "You two!" He called out. Both soldiers stood at attention. "Send a message to the High Priestess at once! Tell her I must speak to her immediately!"
"Sir!" Both of them replied and quickly turned away and headed towards the palace.
The Captain of the Fanalis Corps looked back at the sky to see that Rukh were already heading east.
Deep in the temple of the Sacredos Maxima, a young girl paused, the grip on the golden staff she carried tightening. All around her, green cocoons began to softly glow, and the ancient body that lay at the center of the room began to writhe slightly, as the Rukh floated above it, hovering around the room.
The girl watched the Rukh with squinting light blue eyes. "This power . . ."
She glanced around the secret room. The Rukh in the room were fluttering, emitting a bright glow full of emotion that the girl could feel, but was unable to completely understand.
She narrowed her eyes. "Power has appeared . . . far in the east . . ." She straightened her posture, stamping her staff firmly in the ground, the gold ornaments of her staff swaying with the motion. But before she could make a solid conclusion, she paused, hearing a noise echoing throughout the hall.
Hurried footsteps echoed through a tunnel that led to the room. "Lady Scheherazade! Lady Scheherazade!"
The High Priestess of Reim turned, facing the people with closed eyes. "Yes, I am here. What is it?"
The two were wearing thick robes, the colors of white, purple held together with a red and gold sash, each of them bearing the green laurel wreath symbolizing their affiliation to the Reim Empire. They each held out their right arms in front of their chests as a sign of respect.
"Lady Scheherazade," One of them started. "We apologize for disturbing you while you are in the temple . . . but this is urgent! Muu Alexius requests an immediate audience with you!"
She instantly perked at hearing this. 'Hmm . . .'
"And for what reason," She turned away to watch the Rukh as they began to fly away. "Does Muu need my presence for?"
The two looked at each other. "We cannot say . . . We were only ordered to deliver this message to you as soon as possible."
"I see . . ." The girl was in deep thought as she continued to watch the Rukh leave.
"Lady Scheherazade . . ." One of them hesitated. "Is there something wrong?"
There was a deep tense pause. The High Priestess was silent before she glanced towards the body that continued to squirm. "No . . . It's nothing. You don't need to worry about it."
The two of them shared a look that went unnoticed by the girl as she watched the Rukh soar farther and farther away.
A woman paused in her stroll as the Rukh flew by. With the Rukh disguised as a breeze of wind, the woman could only look up, glaring at the sky hatefully.
'What is this feeling? . . .'
"Gyokuen-sama," The woman turned to see two priests approach her. The white veils on their faces hiding the matching troubled expressions they both felt, as they bowed. "This light . . . along with this feeling . . . For it to be so close to here . . . What do you think it could be?"
The woman was silent for a moment, before a sinister smile warped her face.
She began to laugh. "Ah . . . AHAHAHAHA! I suppose that this is the result of King Solomon's arrogance after all! He created this . . . being . . . to destroy our dearest wish!"
"Being?" One of the priests repeated.
"I'm afraid that we do not understand Gyokuen-sama." The other priest said.
The empress lifted a sleeve to her mouth to hide her malevolent smile. "I expected so." She turned away from the two priests towards the direction of the light.
She turned back to look at them. As she did, a trail of black Rukh flew by her, flying towards the south as she simply smiled with dark eyes.
"Well . . . I really shouldn't say 'being'. That's not very accurate. This is more like an 'embodiment'."
The two priests shared a look. The wicked woman chuckled, raising a hand. "Ah . . . King Solomon is too prideful after all . . . To send another singularity into this world to prevent our success . . . And what should we do about this?"
"Destroy his pride." Both of them chanted. Their staffs held tightly in their grasps. "Destroy his will."
"That's right." Her eyes glittered. The hand that she raised formed into a fist. "And how shall we do that?"
"Sink the world in darkness. Create chaos." A joyful dark smile formed, and the woman beamed.
"Yes . . . even if we have these singularities brought by the arrogant King Solomon," More black Rukh erupted from the woman as she uncurled her hand and simply watched the black Rukh fly."We will stop at nothing to fulfill our goal . . . That is our purpose after all."
She turned back towards the direction of the white Rukh as they traveled her eyes filled with sick happiness and she her lips curled with dark hate. "We will annihilate anything that stands in our way."
The white was quickly chased away by the dark.
A young boy looked up at the sky from the tree branch he was sitting on. The Rukh flew by him: the white ones flying farther away, towards the east. The black ones flying south.
"Weird," The kid muttered. His red eyes squinted at the bright sky curiously. "The Rukh is acting up . . . I wonder why . . ."
The boy blinked once more at the sky, before shrugging carelessly, a yawn escaping his lips. "Well, I guess it doesn't have anything to do with me . . ." He grabbed a pink peach that hung from a branch above him and munched on it. Using his other free arm, he grabbed a nearby tree branch, and began to play with the peach tree branch, bending it this way and that.
The black haired boy sighed, stretching his arms out. "Ah~, it seems like things are finally going to get interesting here . . ."
"But . . ." The kid look down below him at the extravagant palace, and then towards the direction where the black Rukh was flying from. A dark grin lit up his face, red eyes flashing in uncontained excitement. "I wonder what they'll do about it . . ."
The tree shuddered as the branch snapped, falling towards the ground as peaches and leaves followed suit, splattering on the ground in a mess.
The Rukh flew by as a gust of wind, causing the candles in a study to flicker. Fingers paused over a yellow and aging scroll, crimson eyes flickering towards two symbols glowing softly before looking up, his face morphing into a look of shock as the visible white Rukh flew by the young teenager.
"What was that?" The teenager muttered, frowning to himself. "That was . . ."
He glanced down to the scroll in his hands, the language of Torran printed clearly, stating a vivid and detailed description of white birds.
"My brother and king," A voice exerted. Another teenager walked towards his elder brother at the center of the study, a black fan held in his right hand held towards his face, while his other free hand rubbed the back of his head while looking uneasy.
"What is it Koumei?" The older teenager continued to examine the old scroll in his hands with deep interest, his crimson
"Did you . . . See what happened?" The second prince of the Kou Empire rubbed his head again.
"Yes," The first prince of Kou finally looked up to meet his younger brother's slightly lighter red eyes, bordering on the shade of pink, meeting with a troubled gaze. "Is there something wrong?"
The second prince was silent for a moment before speaking. "The rats are running amuck."
The first prince paused. "I see," He nodded. "Do you know where they've been recently?"
His younger brother continued to rub his head. "No; our cats have been unable to locate them recently. They've found new hiding places."
The older teenager tilted his head back. "It seems they've gotten smarter . . ." He muttered to himself. He turned back to his brother. "See to it that there are no other rats running around the palace."
The second prince bowed. "Of course." Then he turned, and left the study.
Crimson eyes watched the Rukh through the window. Then he smirked. "It seems things are going to get more interesting from now on."
The candles in the study flickered uncertainly.
The white Rukh flew over a sailing ship in the sea. Surprised gold eyes looked up from where they were staring at endless blue, long strands of purple hair blowing in the wind as his eyes followed the white birds for a brief moment.
"What . . ." The confused voice of the purple haired teenager spoke, a mixed look of confusion, and awe taking over his features. "The . . . heck was that?"
"Sin!" Someone yelled. The teenager turned his head to see a white haired boy waving his arm across the ship. "We need your help on this!"
"Coming!" The teen shouted back. He turned to go across to where a group of people were handling heavy merchandise.
But not before tossing a frown over his shoulder as he looked back to watch the Rukh one more time.
Unseen by the boy's gold eyes, white lights shined, and the two familiar stars glowed.
An abundance of white Rukh fluttered around a gentle hand. Light blue eyes watched the Rukh flutter happily.
"It's here! It's here!"
A soft smile formed. A chuckled escaped the person's mouth. "It's been awhile since I'd last seen the Rukh like this . . . perhaps around 17 years ago?"
"Beautiful!" One chimed.
"Wonderful!" Another praised.
"Yes . . ." The person looked at the sky, listening to the praises of the Rukh's voice. "A divine feeling indeed . . ."
"But . . ." The person frowned, and turned their head towards the direction of the south. Far, far away, he could hear the faint flapping of more wings.
"Hate."
"Destroy."
"Disappear."
The person glanced at the white Rukh, before directing his attention towards the east.
"This is quite interesting," The person smiled again. "For something like this to happen . . . It must be the work of fate itself."
Faces flashed before his mind, before he laughed. "This phenomenal person will be taken to great heights, and will surely meet great people."
"However . . . my only question is . . ." He mused to himself. "How will the world react?"
". . . Of hope."
"Hope?" The boy tilted his head curiously.
"Yes," The giant replied, smiling at the Rukh. The boy also watched as the Rukh flew around happily.
"But I wonder . . ." The giant narrowed his eyes.
The nurses were busy. They quickly cleaned the baby, handling it with extreme care, before a nurse took the wrapped and crying bundle over to the exhausted woman.
"Congratulations my Lady," The nurse holding the baby beamed. "The baby is a healthy girl. Surely His Majesty will be pleased and overjoyed at the news!"
"No . . ." The woman muttered.
The nurse carrying the still wailing baby raised an eyebrow. She quickly glanced around the room, to see the other nurses in the same state of confusion as her.
"My Lady . . ." Another nurse tried to reason with her while the nurse still holding the new born attempted to desperately hush the baby. "What are you saying . . . This is your child . . . Surely they will accept it . . . You already have two children . . . And both are already apart of th-"
"No," The woman began to shake her head. "Take the . . . the baby away."
"My Lady . . . Please be reasonable . . ." The nurse managed to quiet the baby down and glanced over to the nervous woman.
"I said," The woman raised her voice. "Take it away."
The nurses in the room were confused. The baby held in the nurse's arms shifted, and a tuft of pink hair peeked out from the blanket. She and opened her eyes, revealing drowsy, rosy pink eyes, the same shade as a rose. The woman flinched when they landed on her. She quickly turned away. The baby gurgled slightly, reaching out a chubby arm towards her mother.
"My Lady . . . the baby seems to want your attention." The nurse holding the baby struggled to keep her grip as the baby continued to lean towards the direction of the woman.
"Didn't I say . . ." The woman's body began to shudder. "To remove that . . . infant away?" The disgust in the lady's voice was obvious now, and the nurses present in the room had to suppress a shiver at the hate in the woman's voice.
The baby began to cry insistently for her mother, and the woman shook her head frantically. "It's not mine . . . It's not mine . . ." The cries only increased as the woman continued to deny the truth in front of her, repeating the same thing over and over again. Panic and fear was evident in her eyes as her eyes flickered back to the crying and very much alive child.
"No . . . NO NO NO!" The woman began to thrash and wail hysterically. The reactions from her mother made the baby cry louder, and the nurses began to panic.
"GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!" The woman screeched. "IT'S A MISTAKE!" Two nurses rushed forward to hold down the flailing and screaming woman. The nurse holding the crying baby watched in fright before being ushered out of the room into the adjoining room next door.
The baby continued to scream, crying out for her mother who wouldn't come.
The tired, confused, yet kind eyes looked at the baby with a look of compassion, close to that of pity.
'The poor helpless baby.'
"Shh, hush little one," The nurse holding the baby whispered. Soft, gentle fingers brushed away the tears staining the baby's face. "It will be alright."
"What?" The young boy glanced at him curiously. Then the Rukh fluttered slowly, the glow gentle and soft. The boy's eyes flickered towards the strange behavior of the Rukh before focusing his gaze back on the blue Djinn.
The giant shook his head. "I can't say much to you Aladdin, but . . ." A sad look enveloped his features as he looked at the Rukh.
"It's unfair . . . For a mere child to be burdened with such a wish."
'Just like . . .'
What seemed like hours of the woman ranting and screaming in hate was actually a few mere measly minutes in reality. The rest of the nurses who attended to her walked into the adjoining room where the rest of the nurses were waiting.
"We've managed to calm her down," The head nurse sighed, and raised her hand to cover her face tiredly. "But she's refused to see the baby. She simply won't accept the fact that it's her child." Nervous murmurs formed.
"What should we do . . ." The nurse cradling the now asleep baby looked anxious. "We won't be able to hide this from His Majesty . . . the baby's looks will be obvious enough to know her parentage . . ."
"We can't afford to raise the child ourselves . . ." Another nurse looked at the baby. "We'll be discovered soon enough . . ."
"Our reputation will be at stake . . . Even if we do tell His Majesty." At that statement, the nurses began to look fearfully at the baby nestled peacefully in the nurse's arms.
"Wait . . . what?'
"Should we just get rid of it?"
'Huh? . . .'
"Well, it's an unwanted child after all."
'Why is everyone saying this . . .?'
"That seems to be the best option . . ."
'I don't understand . . .'
"We don't seem to have a choice . . ."
'Why would they?! . . .'
"Nobody will ever notice."
'No. This is wrong.'
The nurse holding the baby gaped in horror at the other nurses. "What are you saying? This is just a defenseless baby!" Her grip on the sleeping infant instinctively tightened protectively.
"Well what do you suggest we do?" One of the older nurses snapped. "Our statuses are in jeopardy. If you had to choose between the baby or your position, what would you choose?"
Hesitance was clear in the nurse's eyes as she looked down at the baby. "I . . . I . . ."
"Exactly!" Another veteran nurse said exasperatedly, spreading her arms out to prove her point. "It's either us, or the baby."
The nurse trembled. "But . . ."
The older nurse that spoke earlier stepped forward, walking in brisk steps towards the nurse clutching the baby close to her.
The older nurse laid her hand on the nurse's forearm. The younger nurse flinched slightly as a chill ran down her back. The older nurse leaned forward and offered her a stiff smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"This is for the best . . . You should understand right?"
The nurse's eyes widened as the older nurse began to reach for the unaware baby. "Sto-"
"That's enough."
The slightly tanned arm reaching for the baby froze. Shocked and anxious faces turned towards the entrance of the room, where an old lady in white robes regarded them with cold eyes.
"M-m-my Lady," All of the nurses immediately got on their knees, bowing, and their right hands clasped in the fists of their left hands. "W-what brings you here tonight?"
The old lady sneered. "Don't pretend to act humble to me. I heard what you were planning to do."
The nurses flinched. The older nurse that spoke boldly earlier sunk lower to the ground, groveling. "My Lady, please have mercy! You must understand, we were only trying to-!"
"Get rid of my granddaughter?" The older lady interrupted, raising an eyebrow as her steely eyes grew dark. "Attempt to justify yourselves in murdering a newborn?"
The older nurse flinched, sweat forming as she trembled before the powerful lady.
The old woman surveyed the entire room. She narrowed her eyes. "You should be more wary of your actions. Had I come later, it would've been too late, and I would've reported to His Majesty for you insolent people for killing one of his children and he would've had you all executed."
"M-my Lady," The head nurse lifted her head slightly. "I-if it isn't t-too bold to say . . . H-H-His Majesty isn't even a-aware of the fact that th-this is his c-child."
The old woman focused her icy gaze on her. "And my foolish daughter wanted it to be kept that way, had I not found out about her pregnancy." She scoffed slightly.
The head nurse's eyes widened. "D-Did you-?"
"Tell him? No . . ." The old woman sighed. "That is not my intention."
All the nurses relaxed, however, there was still a bit of tension in the room. "T-then why-?"
"That doesn't concern you." The swift reply immediately silenced the head nurse before the old woman turned towards the young nurse holding the baby.
"You!" She snapped. "Come with me! And bring the baby with you." With that, she turned and exited the infirmary.
The young nurse hesitated, before allowing herself to get back up on her feet and follow the noble, feeling the stares of the other nurses behind her.
"Wish?" The young boy's blue eyes had a faint look of curiosity in them.
"Yes," The giant sighed. "This is the result of a very important person's wish."
"If this wish is hurting somebody . . ." The giant glanced down at the boy who was watching the Rukh warily. "Then why bother to make that wish?"
The giant shook his head. "You misunderstand, Aladdin. This wish was meant to help people, not to harm or hurt anyone."
"Then why would you say-?"
"Because . . ." Sorrow filled his eyes. "Everything comes with a price. An eye for an eye. A life for a life . . . ."
The nurse had to quickly (and hastily) scramble after the noble lady, the baby held securely in her arms. They soon reached a set of exquisite wooden doors that the old lady sharply pulled open.
"Well?" The old lady snapped impatiently. "Hurry inside! Or we'll be seen!" The nurse flinched, and quickly scurried inside, holding the baby close to her. As soon as she was inside the room, the noble quickly shut the doors, and hurried over to the giant bed. She quickly pushed away the luxurious bed spread, to reveal two plain bags hidden underneath.
She pulled both of them out, and opened one. She picked it up and hurried towards the wooden wardrobe to rapidly throw clothes into the bag. If the nurse looked very carefully, she could see the older woman inspect the clothes in her grasp, before quickly shaking her head to herself and tossing them away. A few moments later, she completely filled the bag. After checking the bag one last time for anything she missed, she nodded to herself in satisfaction; she expertly tied the knot to thoroughly shut the bag.
The nurse fidgeted and continued to awkwardly stand in the room, continuing to hold the baby close to her.
The nurse trembled. "M-my Lady," She began. "I—"
"Oh stop your shivering," The older woman snapped. "I won't kill you." The young nurse flinched.
A drop of unseen sweat rolled down her face. "I-I . . ." The nurse blinked, before straightening her back out, brown eyes hardening in determination, and set firmly on the noble before her. The old lady raised a brow at the change in behavior.
"I swear that I've done nothing to harm the child," The nurse started again, the noticeable shakiness and stuttering gone. "I tried to defend the child as best I could before you intervened."
"Oh?" The noble continued to stare, her eyebrow raised higher in interest. 'I like the look in her eyes.'
The nurse nodded her head. "Yes."
"I see." The nurse sighed in relief as the old lady turned back to look at the bags.
"My Lady . . ." The nurse hesitated, before blurting out. "Why did you ask for me to follow you?"
There was an unbearable silence, before the noble turned back to the nurse.
"It's none of your concern. Now . . ." The noble woman held out her arms and gestured for the baby. "Please give me my granddaughter."
The nurse's eyes widened. "Wha-? Why?" The arms holding the baby tightened protectively.
"As I said before," The older woman replied calmly. "That doesn't concern you. Now . . ." Her gaze narrowed on the nurse. "My granddaughter if you will."
The nurse bit her lip, looking down at the infant in her arms, unsure of what to do.
The noble watched the internal struggle the nurse was having, and her eyes softened.
"You . . ." The nurse jumped, and tore her gaze from the sleeping baby to the noble who's seemed gentler. "What's your name?"
" . . . Evelyn my Lady." The nurse turned her gaze towards the floor.
"That doesn't sound native. Were you born here?" The old lady inspected her; her brown eyes and hair seemed normal, as well as her tan skin complexion. Everything about her suggested that she was a native to the country. Everything except her name.
"No my Lady," The nurse swallowed nervously. "I come from Reim."
"Hmm," The old lady hummed. "That's interesting. Reim is such a lovely place . . ."
The nurse averted her gaze down to the floor. The noble decided to cut to the chase. "Evelyn . . . You seem to be rather awfully attached to my granddaughter." The nurse blanched.
She immediately bowed. "P-please excuse me! I wasn't aware that this offended you—"
The old lady waved her hand in dismissal. "It doesn't offend me; however, this gives me quite the idea."
The nurse began to sweat. What was she going to do to her?
"Evelyn . . ." The nurse hesitantly looked back up into the thoughtful eyes of the noble.
"I'm going to one of the villages in the south you see. Far from the capital," The noble started. "And I need to bring my new granddaughter with me. So . . ."
Evelyn trembled. 'Here it comes . . .'
"I'd like you to come with me."
She stopped trembling immediately, eyes wide. 'What?!'
At the nurse's look of confusion, the noble chuckled. "Unfortunately, my age will prevent me from fully caring for my granddaughter. That's why I'd like for someone with experience to come with me."
Evelyn began to protest. "But surely—"
The old lady held up her hand, which silenced the nurse. "Not only that, I need someone who can keep a secret properly. Unlike those other fools the emperor employs in the infirmary." She snorted.
"And," she continued, her eyes softening at the sleeping baby. "You stood up for my granddaughter when you didn't need to, when you had no obligation to. That makes you more than trust worthy in my eyes." By the end of the explanation, Evelyn had a mixture of disbelief and something amid to wonder in her eyes.
"I will not force you to come with me, that is your choice. Therefore . . ." The noble looked straight into Evelyn's eyes. "What will you do, Evelyn?"
The question seemed to snap Evelyn out of her trance. "I . . ."
In a blank and endless space, there was a solitary man. He sat in a thoughtful posture as he watched a glowing, thriving white ball. Different forms of people constantly emerged, only to be replaced with a new one. The Rukh swarmed around it in frenzy.
The man watched, and his eyes fell to a particularly bright spot. The light shifted, and formed into a sleeping baby.
The man continued to watch. Then he turned back to the Rukh. 'So it's finally here, huh? I can't say I'm surprised . . .
'I only hope that she can grow up normally. But now . . .' He watched a slowly darkening spot with narrowed eyes. 'Even that seems impossible.'
Blue eyes stared down at the sleeping boy sadly. The giant's lips moved to complete his previous sentence.
"A girl for the world. Because after all, why would the world the world sacrifice itself for a single girl?
"But it can't be helped. It is his wish after all."
That being said, anybody can simply use a coin to decide something that seems deceivingly small, when in reality, it can create a greater impact on somebody's life, or even the world, depending on what the choice is made.
And so, the use of the coin continues, whether it is to settle a game, or to perform stunning tricks, flipping into the air, quietly soaring and landing on a person's palm, deciding with indifference.
And done! To the readers who wanted a longer chapter, I hope that this satisfies you! I'm extremely happy that I finished this chapter—it's all thanks to you guys! You have no idea how much your comments mean to me! Look forward to the next chapter, because tensions are going to increase! Hopefully, it won't take me as long to write the next chapter as I did for this one, but I can't be sure.
And for those of you who are confused:
1) Yes, I chose to use an coin to sort of 'describe' this chapter. You try and describe it! It's harder than it is, which is why I ended the chapter like that (Sorry to anybody who was expecting a better ending)
2) The people mentioned earlier that saw the Rukh felt the baby being born (I know. Totally cliché and weird)
3) The conversation Kouen and Koumei were having was being spoken in a code. It was so that they would know what each other was saying, but not anybody else would *wink wink, nudge nudge*
4) Yes, I made the Rukh 'talk' so to speak; Yunan's a magi, so it should be ok
5) The baby who was born is an unwanted child by her mother, so her grandmother came to take her away and raise her. Yes, all those bitchy nurses (except for Evelyn of course) attempted to get rid of her; because they were afraid they were going to be punished by the baby's original mother—a high ranking noble. Btw, her grandmother is also a noble-a very important one (more important than the baby's biological mother of course).
6) For the thing at the end, I'm not going to give away any spoilers. I know that that last part seemed a little uneven/unfair to all the other comparisons already mentioned, but all I can say is that you'll need to keep that in the back of your heads; it's gonna be important for what's gonna happen later in the story.
Anyone who has more questions, suggestions, PM me! And of course, reviews are always appreciated!
Thanks for reading!
~kani-leek-lover