October 29, Fall, year 36

I… buh.. What?!

Claire had felt like getting up high, and taking in the view. Since Alan and Mirei were once again off with Yue, Haruka was minding Hoshi and Meri, Skye was in court, and the older twins were off doing their own thing—Lauren was drawing, Jamie was just walking—she had a spare hour before she had to go to her next lesson with Miharu.

So she climbed staircase after staircase until she was in a hardly used tower near the very tip-top of the palace. It was simple, and in fact reminded her a little of the receiving area of the Harvest Goddess's place within the Goddess Pond. The stone floor was a simple silver-veined marble, extending up into simple, slate-grey walls. There were several large windows, and she leaned out one, smiling faintly.

That high up there was a chill, but it was caused by an actual breeze that swirled through the tower. Claire stretched out her hands lightly, towards the sky where she had seen the Earth two weeks before.

"Just two more months," she sighed. "Almost one. And then it's homeward we go! Uncle Tak will be glad to see us again, and I'll get to visit Pony! I can't wait to see my little namesake, and Skye's!"

She still wasn't quite able to believe that her sister had named her twins—indirectly—after them. It was flattering and sweet, if a little silly.

Then again, who was she to talk? She had named her second twins after her parents. And that was only because she'd promised herself that she would name her first daughter after her best friend.

"I'm thinking too much…"

Claire pulled her mind away from the past, instead looking up and out over the land. It wasn't the same view as from the sky and the cloud-carriage, but it was still pretty amazing.

She sighed softly, resting her chin in her hands. It was almost going to be sad leaving this place. But on the other hand she much preferred her imperfect Earth, where it might take twenty-five days to grow the pineapples, and they might get blown away by a storm but it was always worth the effort.

Here… effort didn't seem like it was even possible. People talked, complained, and let those higher in the chain of command deal with it.

A frown crept across her face, and one hand dropped to the stone sill, fingers drumming an irregular rhythm.

In truth it reminded her a little of living in a dream-like state. Everything was so beautiful as to be almost… surreal.

She jumped when a hand touched her shoulder lightly, spinning defensively. Hikari took a step back, holding her hands out to show that she wasn't armed, and Claire relaxed, giving her friend a faint smile.

"You are a hard one to find," Hikari seemed a little put out. "What are you doing up here in the Tower of Memory?"

"Thinking," the blonde replied, leaning back against the stone. "Looking forward to going home, to be honest. No offense."

Hikari tilted her head fractionally, curiously.

"Why is that? These lands are the most beautiful place in all of the Kingdoms…"

"It's…. superficial," the farmer said after a minute. "The beauty, I mean. It's all surface beauty, but it's all made by the people behind the scenes, not by the people who display it. Kind of like a thin veneer of paint or polish, if you scratch at the coating, it might fleck away, and after that…"

She shrugged and shook her head, making her braid flip back and forth.

"You were looking for me?"

"Miharu was, actually," Hikari nodded slightly. "She wishes that I tell you of your tardiness."

Blue eyes blinked once, twice, thrice, and then the blonde smacked her forehead in exasperation. For a second, cat-green eyes glinted with something that looked like humor.

"I didn't think it'd been that long," Claire sighed, turning towards the stairs. "Sorry to make you hunt for me Hikari."

"It was no bother," she said. And for a second an uncertain expression flickered across the Princess's face. "I was thinking about coming up to the Tower myself, to do some thinking. But come, we must hurry if you wish Miharu to be less upset."

Claire giggled, and preceded Hikari down the stairs, her steps light. The Princess followed, attempting to keep up. It wasn't her intention to trip, but her new skirts were more cumbersome than she had anticipated, and she hadn't let her servants hem them properly before taking them out.

So inevitably, Hikari stepped on the front hem of her dress, and overbalanced into Claire. Both of them tumbled down the last of the stairs, and Claire—in her attempt to keep Hikari from getting hurt—hit the stone with a painful-sounding crack, and lay still, arms tight around Hikari's shoulders.

For all of three seconds, triumph filled those cat-green eyes. That was one obstacle down… right? Elation fled as quickly as it had come, as Hikari ran for a guard, and someone to fetch Miharu, as well as Skye and the missing children.

She hadn't wanted to admit it… but she was fond of the farmer. More fond of her than she was of following orders from him.

Tenshi flew in from one of the large, open-air windows, landing with more haste than decorum and bent to whisper into Skye's ear. The acting-king turned three shades paler, and tossed everything over to Daisuke, running out of the room as quickly as he could.

Whispers spread, queries and shock, as Tenshi repeated the words to Daisuke, this time as an explanation instead of an instigation. He nodded almost regally, and took up where Skye had left off as Tenshi launched herself for the skies again.

Things were being dropped all around the palace, by various small and not-so-small hands as the message was passed to family and family alone. Lauren immediately abandoned her sketchbook and pelted for the infirmary, Jamie at her heels.

Alan and Mirei had been fetched by a pair of messengers from the city where they had been playing with Yue and his friends, and the second they hit the stonework, they too were running.

Meri had tried to run, but had found herself tripping over too much, and had allowed herself to be swept up by Haruka and carried to the infirmary.

Skye, naturally, arrived first, his legs being the longest. He flung the door open with no regard as to who might be behind it—thankfully there was no one—and slid past an apprentice healer over to the bed where Miharu was standing.

The head healer gave the Prince a stern look over her book.

"Elephant," she said crisply.

"Claire..? Is she?"

"Not deaf," the blonde muttered. "Heard you coming a mile away…"

The blonde was sitting up in the bed, a white bandage wrapped around her head, Hikari sat on the other side, and for a brief second Skye wondered if the Princess had been crying. But he pushed the thought away as he half-sat, half-collapsed onto the bed, and pulled Claire into a tight hug. She protested quite vocally as his hands landed on the bruises from the stairs, but didn't push him away.

An after a few second it didn't matter much anyways as all five children piled through the door in a rush and all but jumped on the bed to make sure their mother was okay. Claire bore this with a surprising amount of patience, a lot of complaining yelps, and gentle laughter and hands to wipe away the worried tears of the family.

Hikari slipped away in the confusion, but she didn't go unnoticed. Skye couldn't help being slightly suspicious, and Miharu noted that she hadn't gotten to treat the girl's ankle from the fall.

But when Claire was finally able to get breathing room, the Healer turned back to the farmer with a serious expression on her face.

"Claire, along with some rest… there's something you should know. It will hinder your return home."

"…what?" Claire couldn't keep the annoyance out of her voice.

"…You're pregnant."

For a long moment there was silence. Then, everyone began to speak at once, except for the frustrated farmer and her stunned husband.

Pregnancy had been what she'd hoped it wasn't. Even with her usual mild pregnancies, she really did not need another child… But if her estimate was correct, it was too late to attempt to abort.

"You're a little over three months," Miharu had to raise her voice to be heard of the mix of excitement and confusion. "I… don't know whether I should be congratulating you or making apologetic noises."

"Enough!" Claire said sharply.

All talk ceased. Abruptly.

"Okay, Miharu, why can't I go home?"

Miharu exchanged looks with Skye, who answered instead, his face perturbed.

"If you go through a portal now, not only will it kill the baby… you'll die too."

Claire's jaw dropped slightly, and her eyes went wide. She held up a hand to forestall another outburst of babble from her children as she gathered her scattered wits.

"Your due date looks to be sometime near the middle of March," Miharu continued, her voice gentle. "I'm sorry, I know you were looking forward to going home quickly."

Claire just nodded mutely, and took several deep breaths. She would not lose it in the infirmary, where anyone could—and would—walk in without warning.

"Can I take her back to our room?" Skye asked Miharu, knowing that Claire was teetering in a dangerous spot at that moment.

"Keep her awake for the next few hours, she hit her head pretty hard and even healing magic can't make falling asleep after a concussion safe," the healer nodded. "Five hours at the least. And try not to talk too loudly."

The last comment was aimed at the farmer, who scowled down at her blanket covered lap.

"Claire?"

"What?"

"Are you angry with me?"

A sigh, quiet and frustrated.

"No. I'm angry that I can't go home."

"But they're connected, my love."

"Skye…."

Blue eyes narrowed a little more, up at the prince-turned-thief-turned farmer and husband, in whose lap her head rested.

"Do you want me to be mad at you?"

"Not in particular, but it would make sense. Ow!"

He rubbed his shoulder lightly as she huffed.

"It takes two," she said sharply. "So do be a dear and drop it, before I actually think about snapping at you."

"It would make you feel better…"

"No," a sigh now. "It would make me feel guilty for yelling at you and taking things out on you."

Silence, almost thick enough to cut. Cloth rustled as the blonde slowly sat up, and made her wobbly way over to the window. Skye followed carefully, at a distance. He wanted to help but knew better than to offer it in her current haphazard state.

"I want to go home." The complaint was soft, pain-filled. "And now we have to wait until March before that can happen… It's just not fair."

Now she turned to him, seeking shelter and solace. He couldn't blame her, he wanted to go home as well, as did the rest of the family. Slow tears soaked the front of his shirt, calling forth the memory of her reaction to her first pregnancy. She had been frightened, and uncertain.

"A week after the baby is born," he said quietly, "we'll be allowed to go home. And I promise you, we won't ever have to come back, okay?"

She sniffled, nodded, and allowed him to soothe her.

So now I have to wait til mid-March before I can go home. But at least… Well, Skye gets his sixth kid. I wonder if it'll be a boy or a girl? Miharu didn't say how many there were either. I hope it's a single birth…

I asked Ten-chan to send a message to Jill too, telling her of our changed—again—return date. And Uncle Tak, and Muffy. Muffy will make sure that the rest of the people who know the truth find out.

I'll… just have to put up with it.

At least one thing is being predictable. My emotions are on the roller-coaster ride from hell.