Summary: When the Great One asked, Lady Celi von Spitzberg gave up her first love and her dreams for the future of her nation. Her decisions during her reign did not keep her people or her family safe. But now the new Maoh will soon arrive, and she must make choices that will shape the future of his rule and the happiness of her youngest son.
Rating: T
AN: Thanks to all of you who read – and to Yumi-chan Hamano for reviewing – the first chapter. Welcome to Chapter 2. From the anime we know that Dan Hiri Weller continued to return to his family even though he was no longer a part of it. We know that Celi loved him. So why did their marriage break up? This chapter explores a possible answer.
I do not own Kyo Kara Maoh or its characters. This is written for fun, not for profit. Enjoy and please review. Thanks!
The Maoh's Last Command
Chapter 2: A God's Promise
"And little Kurt watched, amazed, as the dragonet ran across his father's fields and launched itself into the air."
Celi smiled with pride. Her little boy – too grown now, he announced at the ripe old age of 45, to sit in her lap – cuddled against her side reading from his new storybook spread across their laps. She combed her fingers through his soft brown hair, remembering the joy on Conrart's face when his father rode into the courtyard in time for his birthday. He instantly abandoned his party to run full tilt into Dan Hiri's outstretched arms. They spun at dizzying speed until they collapsed to the ground laughing.
Dan Hiri had presented their son with the book along with a child's size sword, much to her dismay, during the gifting part of the birthday party. But her Dan was with them at least for a few days, so she could live with it. Right now, the sword sat atop Conrart's desk ready for his morning lessons. She'd make sure to have Gunter convince Conrart to use the wooden practice swords instead.
"Shall I read another story, Mother?"
"Let's do one story a night; the book will last longer that way." Celi pulled a ribbon from her sleeve to use as a bookmark before closing it and setting it on the nightstand, ready for tomorrow. "It's time you were in bed and I was at my meeting."
"With the Great One?" he asked as she tucked him in. Oh her boys were so sharp.
"That's right. Then I'm going to spend some time with your father. We have a lot of catching up to do." She kissed the tip of his nose, making Conrart giggle. "Sweet dreams, my precious one."
"G'night, Mother."
Celi decided to walk to the temple. Not a cloud marred the star-strewn sky and a warm breeze out of the south kept her warm enough that she didn't bother to fetch a shawl.
Two guards moved into flank positions to escort her. There'd been a time when a child walking these roads at night had nothing to fear. Not any longer. Mazoku had been waylaid, robbed, beaten, and worse. So far no culprits had been apprehended. Her brother Stoffel blamed the humans, and he wasn't the only noble to do so. He was just one of the few who had her direct ear.
The humans in turned blamed the Demon Tribe. For a time she had dared to hope that her marriage to Dan Hiri Weller might make for the foundation of a lasting peace.
A pity common sense wasn't spread as thick as stupidity.
Ulrike herself met them at the entrance and Celi's heart sank. Normally Shinou met her with a smile and one of his incredible stories as he escorted her to the meeting room. She felt like a friend stopping by for a visit. He'd done it at first to help her ease into the new responsibilities of being the Maoh, but over the years they'd both come to enjoy her visits to the temple.
When Ulrike came to the door herself, things had to be serious.
"Good evening, Ulrike."
The small woman bowed formally, "Celi Heika, welcome. Come with me, please?"
Leaving her escort behind, Celi followed Ulrike to the altar hall in silence. As they entered, the familiar sense of isolation came over Celi, as if this place somehow existed both outside and within reality. In a lighter moment, she'd considered secreting a yeast bun or an apple in one of the shadowed corners just to see how long it took to decay.
But she was Maoh and had the dignity of the title to maintain. It didn't stop her from hiding a sweet roll in the farthest, darkest corner.
She shot a quick glance at her experiment as they entered the hall. So far, so good. She'd been saying that for decades now.
Once behind closed doors, Celi asked Ulrike, "What is it? Have the humans declared war?" That question was only half joking.
Ulrike only said, "That is for the Great One to say."
Sparks of light began to appear, a few at a time at first but in greater numbers, spinning into a tornado of stars that coalesced into the figure of Shinou. He leaned back against the altar with his arms raised like a festival showman.
"Ta dah!"
Celi arched an eyebrow. "Impressive. It will go over well if you ever decide to appear at the solstice fest."
"Thank you, my dear. Did young Conrart enjoy my present?"
A grin brightened her face and for a moment she let herself forget that a brick was about to drop.
"You arranged for Dan Hiri to get here in time!"
The first Maoh shrugged, "I simply made sure all of his travel connections...connected."
"Thank you. Having his father there is the best gift he received, surpassing even his first real sword."
"Let him keep it."
Celi's jaw dropped, her smile gone. "He's still a child, years away from the need."
Shinou shook his head. "Conrart was born to the sword, for the sword. Better it come to him through you. Otherwise, he will seek out his heart's desire on his own."
"His grand destiny?"
"Part of it, yes. It is also why I summoned you. There is still your third son."
"Dan is home, I am fertile. As soon as we finish up this meeting, we'll happily get started tonight."
Ulrike's gaze shifted to her feet. Shinou's face went suspiciously still.
"Weller cannot be his father," the Great One told her."
"But he is my husband. Who else…. Oh, no!"
"Celi…."
"I said no! I love Dan. How can you ask me to betray him to wed another man?"
Another voice, warm and beloved, answered her. "Is it betrayal if I know and accept the necessity?"
Shock froze Celi as Dan Hiri Weller stepped out of a shadowed corner and approached her. He reached out to lift her hands from her sides and cradle them in his own. She opened her mouth to protest but he hushed her. The gentle smile on his handsome face broke her heart.
"It's alright, my heart. I understand and it changes nothing between us."
Celi shook her head fiercely, lifting her blonde hair into a cloud around them. "No, Dan. I'm going to lose you soon enough. I want every day we have left. Please."
Dan pulled her into his embrace and Celi wrapped her arms around him. She held on as tightly as her strength allowed. Ear pressed to his chest, she listed to his heartbeat. That strong pulse, steady even now, had lulled her to sleep so many nights. They'd whispered their dreams to each other cuddled like this, debating names for the second baby, twin to his mother as their first was to his father.
Gwendal's resentment of the man he saw as usurping his own father's place had been easing bit by bit, especially after Conrart's birth. He might never see Dan Hiri as a second parent, but friendship had seemed a happy possibility. They had been so close to becoming the family she'd dreamed of.
But like so many of her dreams, this apparently was not meant to be.
"It will be a month before a divorce can be finalized," she murmured into the material of his shirt now damp with her tears. "At least we have that."
Dan tensed and Celi tightened her grip. There was more? How much more did Shinou expect her to bear?
"I'm so sorry, Celi," the Great One told her. "The child must be conceived tonight."
Celi left the shelter of her beloved's arms to stare down her god, her so-called friend. "Have you lost your mind? We're still married. That is adultery. Any child born will have no legitimacy in the eyes of the nobles or our people."
Shinou assured her, "I will declare the birth legitimate if necessary, as I did your marriage to Lord Weller. No one will gainsay my word."
"We will expedite the divorce proceedings and the wedding," Ulrike added, speaking for the first time since the Great One appeared. "When the child is born, we will say he is a little premature."
"The rush will itself feed the rumor mill. What harm can waiting a month do compared to my child living under the stigma of illegitimacy all of his life?"
"You would give birth to a child, but it wouldn't be the right child. I wish it were different for both your sakes. Celi, I told you before that I see the possible futures and do what I can to guide Shin Makoku to the best possible one, yes? Well, the decisions of others affect the flow of Fate too. And sometimes the ripples they cause can be catastrophic."
"What decision caused this and who made it?" When Shinou remained quiet, Celi shouted, "Tell me!"
"No."
Dan Hiri wrapped his arms around her from behind before she could try to pummel a ghost. He pulled her back against his chest but she refused to be comforted.
"I want to know who to blame!"
"And that knowledge will color the way you see the child, every decision you make going forward, until you create the ripples that condemn the future." Shinou left his perch to stand before her, hands out in supplication. "I beg you to trust me one more time, Celi. The babe conceived tonight will face great hardships, but I promise you, he will be greatly loved, and at the end of it all, he will find his heart's joy. He will not face the choices you have had to."
Celi sensed nothing but sincerity from the Great One, but it wasn't enough.
"Swear to me, before these witnesses, that you will do whatever it takes to ensure this child's happiness."
"I swear it, Celi. As much as I can, I will guide your son to his best future. And for you, I will do more than I have ever done for any other Maoh."
At his nod, Ulrike reached into her voluminous sleeve and pulled out a brooch that covered the span of her palm. The flawless cabochon ruby in the simple gold setting flashed enticingly in the room's ambient light.
"It once served the Great One as a cloak pin. He had me commission the jeweler Cristoff to reset it in a pin for a lady. "
Celi's eyes went wide. Everyone who loved or invested in set gemstones knew that name. Cristoff was one of the most famous and gifted jewelry designers in Shin Makoku history. He also died 434 years ago, long before her parents had been born. Shinou really did take the long view of things.
"Keep it with you. While you wear it, I hear what you hear. We can communicate directly, no more need to come to the temple every time I need to speak with you. It will allow me to manifest wherever you are, though only you will be able to see or hear me. I can even advise you in private counsels with no one else the wiser."
Implying that it's going to be needed. "How much longer do we have?"
"If nothing else changes, we have sixty years. Not much more than that."
War and worse was coming, and her three sons, one still only a dream, must stand against it. The thought literally made her sick. Celi nodded, so very grateful for Dan Hiri at her back.
"You say it must be tonight. Who is the lucky father-to-be and where do I find him?"
He awaits you in the interior gardens of my temple. His name is Stephan von Bielefeld."
Celi tried and failed to recall a face to fit the name. They must not have met before. Lovely. Now Shinou expected her to give herself to a total stranger. Blindly she reached back and Dan Hiri grabbed and held her hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze before carefully placing it in Ulrike's outstretched one.
As the priestess led her away, Celi kept her focus on the back of her head. She didn't dare turn for a last look lest her resolve fail. Celi only later realized how odd a picture they must have made, like a child dragging her mother to see something in a shop window.
Ulrike led her to the double doors entrance to the garden the Great One's temple was famous for. Against the back wall, a pavilion tent had been raised. Celi smiled a little. Ulrike and her priestesses had done their best to create a romantic haven for them. From where they stood, she could make out rich drapes of cloth and brightly hued cushions through the tent flap. Burning incense she recognized as a blend the healers used to ease troubled minds mingled with the perfume of the flowers around them.
When she hesitated, Ulrike urged her forward. "Go on. Hold to your faith in the Great One and all will be well. I'll hold this," she gestured with the hand holding the ruby pin. Come to me afterward to pick this up, to talk if you'd like."
The priestess then left her alone. Hands clenched before her, Celi stepped forward and strode toward her duty.
Celi saw him before he saw her. He wore the legendary good looks of the Bielefeld bloodlines well. His blonde hair shone white in the moonlight and his eyes gleamed like quick-frozen ice. He sat on a granite bench twirling a night-blooming lily between his palms. His control must be excellent if that was the only physical sign of his nervousness.
"Hello."
Von Bielefeld dropped the flower as he stood up and bowed. "Celi Heika."
"Considering what is about to happen, I think first names are appropriate, Stephan"
Stephan gave a rueful shrug and half-smile. "As you say, Celi."
An awkward silence grew between them, like weeds after a good rain. Neither of them knew how to take the next step. Finally, Celi took a deep shuddering breath and plunged in.
"Do you have someone?"
"No. I'm afraid you aren't getting much of a deal with me. In fact," he admitted, "my family has been pressuring me to settle and spare the Bielefeld name the stain of my questionable honor. I am the rakehell that no one speaks of if they can help it."
That explained why they'd not met before this.
"I love my husband and I always will," Celi told him. "I may come to like you in time. We may even be friends. But don't expect more."
"I understand."
Celi kept going. "I intend to honor our marriage vows before the court and Shin Makoku. I expect the same of you. But know this. If during our marriage you find your soul's mate, I will not stand in your way." No one else must suffer as she had if it was in her power to prevent it. "I only ask that you bring no shame to your new station. Make discretion your credo from this day forward."
"Of course." Something changed in his expression and it gave her hope for their relationship. "It's more than I hoped for. Thank you."
She held out her hand. Stephan came to her side, lifting his arm for her to lay it upon. As he walked her along the stone pathway to the private pavilion the priestesses had set up for them, the scents of the myriad blossoms became forever associated with the loss of her second love. Many of the same plants grew in her own garden at Blood Pledge Castle.
In the morning she'd order the gardeners to take them out and plant something different, even if it meant creating new variations herself.
-o0O0o-
The moon rode high in the sky when they emerged, the deed done. Stephan bent to kiss the knuckles of her hands before departing through the shadows.
It hadn't been awful. The man had skills and strove to please, and he seemed happy enough with her performance. No fault to him that she wanted another's touch, to gaze into another dearer face. She placed her palm flat against her lower stomach.
"Well, little one. Here we go."
Celi made her way back through the garden to rejoin her escort. She'd see Ulrike tomorrow or the next day to retrieve the artifact. All she wanted to do was crawl under her covers and forget until morning what she'd lost tonight.
To her surprise, a familiar horse waited with Dan Hiri in the saddle. One of her grinning guardsmen made a stirrup with his hands. Her people were such romantics.
Smiling in gratitude, Celi accepted the boost and mounted up before her husband for one more day.
While the two soldiers settled astride two horses borrowed from the temple stable, out of earshot, Celi whispered, "You waited for me."
"I'd wait for you," Dan Hiri whispered against the back of her neck, "for the rest of my life."
And Celi knew that the end of their marriage was not the end of them, and her heart settled into peace.
-o0O0o-
AN: I couldn't find Wolfram's father's first name anywhere so I made one up. If anyone knows his true name, let me know and I'll correct it here. The rest of this story is written and just needs to be typed. I should have Chapter 3 finished and posted next week. See you then with A Brother's Betrayal. Please review and let me know what you think. Thanks again for reading!