Author's Notes:

Phew! I took longer than I would have hoped! I'm not at my height when it comes to creative work, bah…
This chapter is shorter than the last few, but to be honest it is a bit difficult to find the right place to cut. Because there's no action going on right now this chapter feels rather uneventful, even though a few important things are addressed.

I hope you can enjoy it anyway :3

Disclaimer: D. Gray-man belongs to Katsura Hoshino

Kapitel 71: Empty Mirrors

Ellen was standing in front of the mirror, her mouth open for the startled cry that had never managed to pass her lips. How foreign it was. She turned her head to the side upon hearing the floorboards creak slightly, seeing Link enter through the door.

"I've put everything on the table," he told her and Ellen continued looking at his reflection behind hers. Foreign indeed. She searched the world beyond the mirror surface with her eyes, not reacting to Link's words. There was no black shadow floating behind her and obstructing the reflection of anything but her. There was no her looking back with an expression she knew she did not wear. There was no one in the world beyond the looking glass that was not real right where Ellen was. There was nothing wrong with the picture.

"Ellen," Link called again, with a bit more force to his voice. "Ist was?"

"Don't you think something is off…?" Ellen asked after Link had walked up to her. Because she didn't turn her head towards him Link tried to catch her eyes in the mirror. She looked up at him, her expression worried.

"No. You look as you always do. I don't think that giving birth to a child has put a stamp on you for everyone to see." He put his hand on her shoulder and turned her away from the mirror. She found it hard to turn her eyes away. "Is there anything else?" he asked, her strange behaviour causing him suspicion. Ellen noticed and she pulled herself together. Even though Link was her friend and she would have loved to share her discovery, he was still an inspector of the Vatican. She could not risk him reporting this to her uncle. She didn't know the meaning of it, but it was unusual enough – especially considering what had happened – to cause her worry.

"If you see nothing out of the ordinary it must be my imagination. Let us eat then!" she said with a smile and Link chose to accepted this answer.

-o-

Throughout the course of the meal Ellen's mind kept on circling around the issues of the missing Noah though. Instead of feeling relief her anxiety started growing to an almost unbearable level. Over the weeks the presence of the Noah had sharpened from a mere glimpse of something in a dream to a voice in her head and a different side to her whenever she looked into the mirror. To have her gone like this… Ellen just couldn't tell herself that it was a good sign.

"I think you need to eat more, Ellen," Link commented when they were done with their lunch. Ellen looked up at him, slightly startled to be called out of her thoughts. When he returned the look she directed her eyes down to the table. She hadn't even eaten half of what Link had brought up from the dining hall. "If you do not feed yourself properly then the Innocence will draw on your life instead. You shouldn't risk it."

"I'm not… I just am not hungry enough to eat all of it," Ellen said and Link decided to leave it at this. He was not going to patronize her, it was sufficient to provide advice. She was mature enough to pay attention to her own well-being. At least he liked to believe that. She really was no child anymore, not after what had happened just a couple of hours ago.

"Good. Let's just return you to the infirmary then." Ellen sighed, but nodded. Link offered her his arm, but she gratefully declined.

"I think I'll feel better if I manage on my own," she told him and Link suppressed a snort, but he nodded. "I want to prove myself that I'm fine. And that-"

"That this was of no consequence?" Link continued, cutting her short and Ellen's face showed first surprise then slight embarrassment. "Don't try to fool yourself." He wouldn't say more on the topic and both fell into silence. Ellen, after walking down the corridor for a while, did put her hand on Link's arm before descending the stairs. He acknowledged her with a nod when she looked at him.

"I'm just confused."

"Of course… But I don't think I can contribute anything to aid you apart from reassuring you that you will figure out what to do with time. I'll be there to listen if you need someone." Ellen laughed gently and put her head on Link's shoulder.

"Thank you."

"Gerne."

They arrived at the door and Link pushed it open. The Matron welcomed them back and took Ellen by the hands, guiding her to the bed. Ellen smiled at Link and he excused himself, leaving the infirmary room.

"I hope you ate properly," the matron said after Ellen had sat down.

"Yes, not as much as I usually do, but I ate as much as I could," Ellen replied and the matron nodded, feeling Ellen's temperature.

"Well, I would not worry about that yet. So far you seem to be doing fine. I've corresponded with some doctors in London and I gathered that you are doing surprisingly well for such a dangerous birth." Ellen pulled her lips up into an almost apologetic smile and the matron shook her head. "Yes, I know. You exorcists are really something else. But don't force yourself into a too swift recovery. Take your time. There are enough people out there to take care of exorcist tasks. You just focus on your baby." Ellen's smile slipped, but the matron didn't take notice because she turned back to the crib.

"She's a good baby. She's been asleep almost all of the time you were gone. But she's bound to wake up sooner or later to eat." Ellen sighed to herself. "By the way." The matron turned back to Ellen and the girl looked up at her. "Some of your friends dropped by, but I only allowed a glimpse. I think you would like to be present when they interact with your baby."

"Oh… You needn't have turned them away. I'm sure they'll be careful." The matron raised her eyebrow and Ellen was a bit confused. Should she be more protective? Was she expected to jealously keep her baby to herself? "Well… Of course, I'd like to see how they react to her." The matron nodded at her, her smile firmly in place again.

"I'm sure they will come back." Almost on cue there was a knock on the door followed by its prompt opening. But not Linali or Rabi came to visit, it was Kanda, a bag tugged under his arm. "Oh, there is Kanda. I'll be next doors if you need anything," the matron said, patting Kanda on the shoulder as she passed him.

"I wonder why she always leaves us alone," Ellen mumbled and Kanda walked up to her. "Shouldn't she keep her eyes on us?"

"Hey. Back?" Kanda asked casually and Ellen nodded. He put the bag on the bed next to where Ellen was sitting. "Did you have lunch?"

"Yes, Link took me outside. We've eaten in our room, it was a bit more comfortable to me than in here. I needed a bit of time to myself," Ellen explained and Kanda sat on the chair. "What have you brought with you?"

"Oh…," Kanda started, his question as to why she had needed time alone in the first place momentarily forgotten, and drew the bag to himself to take out the contents. Ellen widened her eyes when she saw Kanda proudly showing her a beautiful white dress for a new-born. It had laces all around the collar and there was flowery embroidery stitched onto the fabric. "This… Do you like it?"

"It looks rather expensive," Ellen said, touching the fabric, then she looked up at Kanda's face. "Where did you get it?"

"I ordered a bunch of stuff with General Tiedoll's help. He was very enthusiastic to get Emily a nice first set of clothes. I think you might have baby clothes to pass on to her, but for that we most likely would have to ask your mother. And… Well, I like the idea of getting her something very nice and new." Ellen let go of the fabric, unsure how to react. Kanda noticed it and laughed, ruffling her hair.

"Don't worry. I'm not wasting the money on needless things. I keep meticulous track of our finances. I planned on buying things for the girl, it doesn't matter if it's a bit earlier than expected." Now Ellen had to laugh. To be honest, she was rather surprised by his unexpected engagement.

"Very well done," she complimented the young man, rubbing his forearm affectionately. After that she fell into a pensive silence. Kanda looked at her for a while, waiting for her to say something else. She looked to her side, past him and to the mirror standing against the wall. She wondered why the staff hadn't removed the mirror from this room when it was transformed into a patient's room. There was the constant possibility of death in an infirmary; a mirror did seem grossly out of place. She was ill at ease looking at it, feeling that something was wrong and that the absent Noah was a sign of impending danger. Kanda noticed her intent gaze and turned around.

"What's wrong? Do you need a mirror?"

"No… Not at all… It is just…" It was really difficult for her to say the words, but she trusted Kanda, he knew about the strange reflections she had been seeing. "The Noah is gone… I don't see her anymore." Ellen could see Kanda widen his eyes, but then he already turned around to her with a frown on his face.

"It's gone?"

"Yes…," Ellen said and Kanda turned this around in his head for a while.

"Maybe that's good… Maybe you managed to lock her away properly," he said, but then he was distracted by the sound of blankets stirring. He got up and checked on Emily, seeing that she was waking up.

"I do not dare to hope that it means that… The Noah will not go away and I've seen some strange things during the night," Ellen told him but he was focused on taking Emily out of the crib. "Yu."

"I'm listening," he said and held Emily to his chest. "Maybe we should change her clothes." Ellen clenched her hands into fists and frowned. Kanda took Emily, who was starting to squirm and whimper, to the bed, taking her out of the blankets she was still wrapped in.

"The barrier between her and me has been growing weaker. I heard her in my head, I had visions of her. It's been getting more frequent. In the mirror she has been getting closer and closer and now she's gone! That's not-" Emily started crying. Kanda gave a start, hands that were buttoning up the new gown hovering above her.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked, a tad of worry in his voice. Ellen huffed in exasperation. "Ellen, she's crying."

"Kanda… What I'm saying to you is important!" she replied but Kanda picked Emily up and held her towards Ellen.

"And I was listening! Here." Ellen opened her mouth to protest but Kanda put Emily into Ellen's arms and stepped away from the bed, clearly ill at ease. "Maybe she's hungry." Ellen wasn't happy at all, but she gave in as she didn't want the baby to be crying either. Emily did prove to be hungry, but she still wouldn't stop crying when she was done drinking. Kanda took her back and walked around with her a bit and soon her wails died down into hiccups and finally she fell silent. With a sigh of relief Kanda put her back into the crib.

"Okay, that wasn't that bad… Now back to the mirror reflection," Kanda started, but there was a knock on the door. Ellen sighed yet again, but buttoned up her blouse and bid whoever her visitor was inside. She was a bit surprised when she found it to be her uncle. She got up from the bed at once, but he lifted his hand to stop her.

"Calm, Ellen. Just stay seated," he told her, then he smiled, still something Kanda couldn't get used to. "I hope I do not intrude at an inconvenient moment," he said and Ellen shook her head, even though it wasn't the truth. Leverrier turned his head to Kanda and after mustering him sternly, he did nod at him. "How are you two doing on your first day of parenthood?"

"As of now there haven't been any incidents… I guess she is still going easy on us," Ellen told him with a small smile on her lips. "Please, go ahead and take a look at her." Kanda stepped out of the way, even though he kept his eyes firmly on the tall man as he made his way up to the crib.

"She looks healthier than I expected. I worried that she would be sickly considering the circumstances of her birth," Leverrier said and reached out to brush a gloved finger against her pink cheek. "Does she have a name yet?"

"Emily," Kanda answered and Leverrier looked up at him. "Emily Kanda." The man pulled his lips and eyebrows up and Kanda couldn't help imagining that he was both amused and pitying him at the same time.

"Very well then," he said and stepped away from the crib. "I assume that everything will turn out for the better now that she is born. For you especially, Ellen," he assured her and Ellen blinked up at him, but nodded.

"I do share that hope," she said and Leverrier reached out to pat her head. "You have not told mother yet, have you?"

"No I have not. Not yet. But I think that it is important that she will be informed soon. You might want to arrange something…"

"Arrange what, uncle?" Ellen wondered and the inspector inclined his head towards the crib.

"For example you need to decide if she will stay here or be given into someone's care," he replied. Kanda drew down his eyebrows.

"Of course she will stay here!" he argued but Leverrier merely snorted, not paying him any attention, and kept his eyes on Ellen.

"This is the Black Order after all. Your mother once made a decision to keep you away from it as long as possible. Now it is your choice to figure out how her future will be."

"Ah… Thank you for the advice," Ellen said, her tone of voice almost humble, and her uncle nodded.

"If you will excuse me then? I need to be on my way back to Rome. We will stay in contact," he said and Ellen smiled. "Fare well and good luck." With this he turned around and left the infirmary. Ellen watched the door close and turned her head towards Kanda at once, her voice showing uncertainty.

"Yu-"

"She stays here," Kanda firmly said, his expression darker than Ellen had expected.

"But he does have a point. This is not an ideal place for anyone to grow up," Ellen tried to reason but Kanda just wrinkled his nose.

"I grew up within the order and so did Linali and so will Timothy. This is not a bad life," he told her sternly and Ellen sighed, pity seizing her heart thinking about how Kanda's childhood had been. Locked up, fighting all the time.

"But is it a good life…? Yu… She is no exorcist. She's just a baby…"

"But she's my baby! I don't want her to be taken away!" Kanda shouted, louder than he intended and promptly Emily started crying again. Kanda pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation, while Ellen still looked at her husband.

"We're not talking about giving her away… She will still be your child, no matter what happens. But I don't think this is something you should be selfish about. Think about it. Just think about it. We don't have to make a decision yet." Kanda removed his hand from his face and looked at Ellen, then at Emily, her face already turning red from crying. But he nodded.

"I will think about it. But I don't think that I will change my mind." Ellen nodded, then she looked over at the crib where Emily continued crying. She exchanged a look with Kanda.

"And what should we do now?" Kanda looked at the crib with a lost expression, then he turned around.

"I'll get the matron." When he was gone Ellen sighed deeply. Her uncle had been right to raise the issue. Was this Bermont Castle, the headquarters of the Black Order, really the right place for her to be?

-o-

Over the course of the day people kept on checking on Ellen and she was very grateful for the diversion. Kanda mostly kept her company in the room, writing and reading but he wasn't really talk-active. Linali on the other hand was at least entertaining to be with.

"She's pretty! But she looks so fragile!" Linali said after Kanda had put Emily into her arms. He took notice of how willing she was to get into close contact with the baby, not that he had expected something else. But it did make him realize that Ellen seemed more reserved and almost afraid. He had never seen her take the baby out of the crib now that he thought about it. Linali took a seat on the bed next to Ellen. He watched how Ellen only directed a quick gaze at the baby in Linali's arms before looking up at her friend. "When I first saw her, just newly born, I was very afraid that she'd die… It was scary…"

"It's a bit of a blur to me, to be honest…," Ellen confessed, picking feathers out of a hole in her cushion. She was leaning against the wall, Linali next to her.

"Ah, to me too," Linali said with a laugh, "and to be honest I really don't know if I want a baby of my own after seeing it…" Ellen sighed.

"I think I've had enough too," she replied, but was immediately rewarded with Kanda's surprised exclamation of "what?". Both of the girls looked over to him; he in turn stared at Ellen with a confused expression.

"Why are you so surprised?" Ellen asked with a laugh and the usual calm returned to Kanda's face, but Ellen could see that he had forced it.

"Because you're only 15 years old, saying that you'll never want kids again seems foolish."

"Yes, I'm only 15 years old. That's exactly the point," she told him with her eyebrows drawn down sceptically. "I didn't decide to have a child in the first place. If I have one again then not just because it happens, but because I want to have it and decide to have it." Linali looked from Ellen to Kanda with a bit of worry.

"Ellen's right," she said tentatively and earned herself a glare from Kanda. "And you have Emily now, be happy!" Kanda sighed and shook his head, turning back to what he'd been doing before.

"I'm not complaining," he said as peace offering and Ellen accepted it with a nod.

"By the way, what are you doing?" Linali wanted to know, rocking Emily slightly when she began to stir.

"He's doing his homework," Ellen said with a smirk and Kanda glared at her from underneath his bangs.

"Don't be so casual about it," he said and Linali blinked at him in confusion. Ellen turned to her to explain:

"He thinks that now that he's a family father he has to do certain tasks. Next to accounting he's ordering items he thinks we need and he's trying to keep his eyes on what's going on in society."

"Why that? I thought you couldn't care less about that?"

"He still thinks it's stupid and a waste of his time. But society is where we'll belong one day when the war has ended," Ellen told her with a smile that Linali instantly returned.

"Ah, I wonder if I'll always be the slightly strange aunt with the gloomy work nobody knows anything about," she said after a while, sighing dramatically.

"I doubt you'll be here forever, Linali." The other three looked up and found Rabi standing in the door, a huge grin plastered onto his face.

"Rabi! Hello!" Ellen said with a smile and bid him in. The red-head lifted his hand in greeting and walked up to the bed, hugging Ellen and Linali tightly.

"I'm so glad that you're safe!" he said after he had let them go again, then he bent down to look at Emily. "What a lazy girl. Whenever I'm here she's sleeping!"

"Stop complaining, idiot. If she's not sleeping then she's crying," Kanda commented, not looking up from the newspaper. Rabi laughed.

"I'll take sleeping over crying I guess!" he joked, but then he coughed and looked over at Ellen. "Actually, I want to talk to you if you can leave the room?" Ellen looked up at him in surprise, but she nodded and got up from the bed.

"I'll be right back, just tell the matron I'm on the toilet should she make a fuss about me being gone," Ellen said and Linali nodded, while Kanda looked at Rabi with an inquiring look. Rabi just grinned at him, not offering an explanation, then he led Ellen out of the door and into the corridor.

"Let's walk a bit," he suggested and Ellen nodded. By now her steps were steady and fast again.

"You're being all mysterious. What exactly is this about?" Ellen wondered, following Rabi up the stairs and to a room unused by the Black Order. It was full of boxes and leather suitcases piled on top of each other. Letting himself into the room, Rabi took a seat on top of a box and asked Ellen to come in. She pulled the door close, hearing the click when it shut properly. It didn't make her uneasy though, but Rabi's expression when she faced him did. His face was serious and he had his hands folded between his knees.

"There are two things I'm worrying about, I'm sure you can easily guess the first," he started and Ellen sighed, leaning against a box labelled with 'maps'. "You – I mean the Noah," Rabi corrected himself, but then he sighed deeply and uttered a humourless laugh. "No… this is exactly the problem. You. The Noah. I mean when I talked to her it was you. But different…" Ellen lowered her head, but didn't say anything to interrupt him. "I've seen Noah before and while she was intimidating, she didn't seem… like an enemy…"

"Maybe that's because she's inside of me now…," Ellen said, "and you're my friend. I'd be sad to know that you might consider me to be your enemy." Rabi shook his head. "But this shouldn't make you think she's on the good side."

"But you are. I know that and yet I've avoided being around you… I was afraid…"

"Why were you afraid? If you didn't fear me hurting you, then why?" Ellen wondered, walking over to him. Rabi took her hands into his.

"I must have hurt your feelings… I'm sorry for being such a selfish guy… But I'll try to explain it to you…" He looked up at her. "Promise that what I tell you will not leave this room. Not yet." Ellen, confused as she was by the urgent tone of his voice, nodded.

"I won't. I promise."

"You know… That first and foremost I am a Bookman," he started, then he snorted slightly, "or an apprentice, I should say."

"Yes. Do go on," Ellen bid him and Rabi sighed. "Therefore, when Panda deems it necessary to switch sides to record another aspect of history, we will have to do that. I will have to leave. And the 14th is very interesting to us Bookmen. So, if she appears and if she leaves the Black Order… we might have to follow her…"

"But… I won't leave the Black Order… I can tell you over and over again. I am an exorcist, and if it means that you will stay here, then I'll work harder to not become anything else," Ellen promised, but Rabi gave her hands a tight squeeze.

"That is not it, Ellen," he said and smiled up at her, "but thank you." Ellen looked at him with confusion. "What I was afraid of is that I'd be at your side… But you wouldn't be yourself anymore… Leaving the Black Order and leaving my identity as Rabi behind, I'd do that. But staying with you, someone that means a lot to me, without being able to be your friend like we used to… I was so afraid that you'll just disappear and I'd be reminded day by day how I failed to protect you." Ellen listened to him in silence, but her heart got heavy when she did. Rabi looked up at Ellen again. "But then she talked to me… She told me that in the end she was just another part of you, for as long as you've been an exorcist she's been with you too. If you allow it, you'll be able to grow. And she told me that as long as I would be able to think beyond the simple divisions of good and evil, I don't need to be afraid of becoming an ally of the 14th…"

"Rabi…," Ellen started and watched him slip off the box and stand up straight. He let go of her hands to put his palm on her head, tousling her hair with a big grin on his face.

"What I mean to say is that I know that this will probably not help you that much, but I don't think that you're actually in any danger of disappearing… The 14th is not like other Noah… Maybe you can actually use this as a chance to fight the Earl." Ellen looked at him in silence for a while, then she sighed.

"I don't think I have any choice," she muttered and Rabi removed his hand from her head to put it on her shoulder. "And that is what disturbs me so. Being an exorcist is difficult enough…" Rabi laughed, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

"And on top of that you are a mama now!" he exclaimed and Ellen couldn't help rolling her eyes. Rabi had to laugh when he noticed. "I guess you're sick of hearing everybody state the obvious."

"Well, that's not it," she started and Rabi waited for her to go on with a smile on his lips. But Ellen shook her head. "This is not important. What was the second reason why you needed to speak to me alone?" Rabi took one step back to cross his arms over his chest.

"It's in fact about your daughter," he said and Ellen raised her eyebrow. "Yu told me you wanted me as her god-father," he said, then he smiled sheepishly, scratching his reddening cheek. "I'm very flattered, actually, that you even ask me." Ellen watched him for a moment, then she put her hands into her hips.

"But you can't," she stated and Rabi sighed deeply. "I'm not offended, so don't fret. But why can't you?" Rabi turned away slightly, wiping dust off the boxes with his finger.

"I was very excited at first, but then I started thinking… I'm a Bookman… I probably won't stick around for long… Maybe I'll change names and identities dozens of times. Maybe she will not see me for years." He looked up and Ellen was a bit surprised to see his pained expression. "I really want to be part of her – part of your family. But what kind of god-father would I be? Emily would be constantly disappointed in me. I can just hear her voice in my head 'Papa, why is the stupid rabbit uncle not coming to my birthday parties?'" He laughed slightly at that, but shook his head with another sigh. "I guess I'm just not a reliable person…" Ellen put her hand on his shoulder and Rabi turned his head to look at her.

"You're an idiot, Rabi," Ellen chid with a patronizing tone, "You are already part of our family and if having a god-child gives you just one single reason to stick to being Rabi and to come back to us then you should cling to it!" Rabi was clearly surprised by that and stared at Ellen. She huffed and grabbed his arm. "Under these circumstances I won't accept no as an answer. You will be her god-father and I will expect your visit for birthdays and holidays at the least!" Ellen forbid counterarguments by raising her index finger warningly and opened the door.

"Oh- oh, wait Ellen!" Rabi yelped as she pulled him out of the room and down the corridor. "Fine, okay! Mercy please!" Ellen stopped and turned around with smile.

"It's a promise, Rabi," she said and held out her hand to him.

"Not one among gentlemen, so much is sure," he said and shook her hand. "Thank you, Ellen." Ellen smiled up at him.

"You're welcome."

-o-

Ellen handed a letter to a Finder and smiled gratefully when she put it into her bag with a nod.

"I'll reach its destination within no time, I promise," she said and Ellen thanked her.

"Have a safe journey," the white haired girl called after her when the Finder left the entrance hall, then she sighed when the door closed.

"Was that the letter to your mother?" Ellen gave a start and turned around to find Linali standing behind her. The other girl laughed when she saw Ellen's expression. "Sorry. You're rather jumpy, aren't you?" Ellen loudly exhaled, dropping her shoulders.

"I haven't slept properly. I've been looked up in this infirmary room for three days. And it feels that whenever I've fallen asleep, the baby wakes up and wants something," Ellen said, rubbing her knuckles against her forehead. "And I've got that stupid head-ache…" Linali took Ellen by the arm, pulling her with her gently.

"Then come, let's have a cup of tea and some biscuits," she suggested and Ellen nodded. They ordered something in the dining hall and then carried their trays up to Linali's room.

"Ah… Quiet," Ellen said with a sigh, letting herself fall into an armchair. Linali giggled and poured tea into two cups. "Thank you, Linali… A change of scenery is just what I needed."

"You're welcome. I assume that you are a bit exhausted by now," Linali said, pouring milk into her tea. "Almost every time I come into the room Emily's crying."

"Yes… Kanda is already worried that she might be sick and pesters the matron about it all the time," Ellen explained with a heavy sigh. "Well, I certainly don't hope that she is sick, but when nothing I do calms her I do get worried too…" Linali took a sip of her tea, thinking, while Ellen started eating a piece of strawberry cake.

"What if she's not really sick," Linali started and Ellen looked up into her friend's face. The girl clearly was uneasy, but she bit her lips and continued: "what if it is because of Innocence…?"

"Innocence," Ellen started and threw a lump of sugar into her tea. "I would be lying to you if I claimed that the thought hadn't entered my mind yet," she confessed. "Months ago I asked Kanda about his opinion on Innocence being hereditary."

"You actually talked about things like this?" Linali asked with some surprise in her voice, but Ellen just shook her head, stirring the tea absent-mindedly.

"No, heaven forbid me thinking about anything sensible at all back then," she said and Linali couldn't help forming a small smile. "We talked about it on the journey to our first mission. And he told me there was no proof at all that compatible parents would have compatible children."

"He's right. There is no proof. The Order has experimented in the past with exorcists' relatives. It was to no avail," Linali said with a sad expression, still finding it difficult to think back to all the things she had seen as a child. "And the chances are pretty slim for anyone to be compatible. There are only 109 cubes and so many, many humans out there."

"But we've already seen that I'm very lucky. Or unlucky actually," Ellen mumbled and Linali nodded at that. "And as I've heard there hasn't been another case of two exorcists having a child yet… And on top of that I'm a parasite type. And on top of that I had the Innocence circulate in my bloodstream that was also connected to the baby…" Both of them were silent for a moment, but then Linali put her tea cup down.

"What if Emily is not compatible," Linali started, her voice very low. Ellen raised an eyebrow at that.

"Then I'd say she's rather lucky considering the circumstances," she answered, but Linali clenched her fists on the table, shaking her head. "Linali? What's the matter?"

"Do you know what happens to people that are not compatible but are exposed to Innocence?" she asked and Ellen widened her eyes. "What if… What if she's been poisoned by it?" Ellen opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She was shocked. Why had she never thought about it like that? Why had nobody else ever thought about it like that?

"We need to get her to Hebraska," Ellen said in an urgent tone and both girls left the table at once, their tea and dessert abandoned.

To be continued

Notes:

Ellen still hasn't properly engaged herself with Emily, but I'm getting there! I have so many things I need to tell and I'm trying to find the right time for all of them. I'm also trying to show the other characters' general reaction to the Kanda offspring. Maybe the pacing's not ideal – feel free to tell me if that's the case! I have a feeling I need a bit of a push right now, because my motivation has dropped to the basement.

In any case, next chapter there should be mother-daughter interaction! I'm slow! *lol* Sometimes I really wonder how many chapters this story will end up being when I only make baby-step progress within a chapter.