Eva feels a gentle breeze passes over her as it gently caresses her face, which causes her to cling closer toward her husband's natural body heat.
As the couple was venturing out on their walk of Noursaia, it seems as if the citizens were wide awake meaning that the marketplace and stores were beginning to open and start business for the day.
"It looks as if it's going to be a beautiful day in Noursaia today." Aikka predicts to his wife once he feels her lean further in to his arm.
She peers up at him and then looks ahead with a smile on her face to comment, "It sure is."
"So is your leg feeling better now?" Eva asks her husband.
They leisurely travel down one of the main streets travelers would use whenever they would first enter in Noursaia.
"Much better, thanks to you." He claims as he gives her shoulder a tight squeeze with his left hand.
"I know. I'm the healer in the family." The raven haired woman with crimson tips quips while she silently takes in the entire surroundings of her new homeland.
The young woman discovered she was married to Aikka with two twins that were as different as night and day with another kid on the way. She truly liked being in the role of a wife, but especially as a mother.
"It seems as if it's all a dream." Eva softly muttered to herself but her husband overheard what she said.
"If you say so." He agrees with his wife.
They both observe the citizens out in to the streets as they slowly start to bring life to the peaceful planet.
"When we get back, do you want to tell Natalie that we picked her as a representative for Noursaia?" She proposes when they pass by another couple on the street.
"Yes," Aikka agrees with the proposal.
"...and we must inform Jordan of our decision." The woman also mentions Jordan's part in her plan.
"I don't think he would think twice about coming here for you that is." Her husband hisses to himself.
The orange haired male recalled the Avatar and his actions last night but Eva did not hear what he said.
"But it's all a rush, why now, it hasn't even been 10,000 years yet and..."
"Actually its almost around that time, we have exactly one more year. I thought I told you about that." He noted when he stared at her weirdly.
'Uh oh, I got to think of something quick.' Eva reckons.
Her crimson eyes peek up at him with the hope that she did not give away the truth with her facial expression.
"I forgot...stress tends to make me forget things." She downplays while she mentally knocks herself upside the head for such a lame excuse.
"It's okay. Just as long as you're healthy." Aikka proclaimed after he softly patted her belly with his hand, which earned a smile on her face.
"Excuse me," He was roughly bumped by a cloaked figure, whose head hung low so that their face could not be recognized by either one of them.
"That's weird. Usually people don't wear their hoods on while in Noursaia." The orange haired male mentions while he scans the area for the cloaked figure but his effort was to no avail.
"It's alright Aikka. It was just a gentle nudge. It's over and let's move on." Eva calmly advises her husband.
"I'm glad you are here. I probably would have chased him down until I found out his identity." The young man describes his plan of action in a serious tone.
"You're crazy you know that." She declared as she wore a funny expression on her face while she looked at him.
"I know I am." Her husband admits to what his wife tells him about himself with a slight chuckle.
They continue to walk until Eva started to feel slightly winded and asked Aikka if they could stop for a break.
Her crimson eyes immediately noticed exactly where they were when the sight of the pond appeared in her vision.
'This was where I was 'dropped' off and Rick found me.' She recalls to herself.
The pregnant woman allowed her mind to drift off somewhere else upon her arrival there.
"I remember I proposed to you right in this spot." He reveals once he helps his wife down to the second level where a small hill of green grass was.
"It was a day just like this," Aikka speaks up again before he casts his gaze out onto the lake.
"You couldn't believe that I found this spot. You practically fell in love with it when you first saw it!"
"The look on your face was priceless when I was down on one knee you were like 'Aikka what are you doing?'."
"It was scary yet funny when I asked you the big question all you could do was hug me and cry." The Noursaian illustrated in a dazed tone about the day he proposed to her.
Eva nods her head in agreement as she hugs him in the exact manner that she did from that day, except he lays his head against her protruding stomach.
Her husband remained there until he felt the baby kicked against her belly.
"I guess I'm not the only one who enjoys this spot." Aikka quips while he lifts his head up.
When another breeze hits her face, she stifles a laugh before she includes, "You're right! The fresh air here feels good."
She feels his arm wraps around her shoulder in a protective manner.
All she could do was naturally ease against his body for the umpteenth time since she relishes the feel of his body against hers.
Unbestknown to the couple's knowledge two set of eyes closely watch them, a red and black eye and golden eyes.
One watched in disgust while the other watched in jealousy and confusion.
0000
"Captain Andros," A solider properly addresses Natalie by her title.
She turns only to watch someone runs up to her, stops in a mid-salute until she recognizes the solider and returns the salute.
"The action just recently moved again and then suddenly stopped." The reports were barked out rather then talked.
"Strange, but solider," Natalie momentarily pauses to make sure that he was attentive to what she was about to say next.
"Yes ma'am?" He asked her in confusion as to why she kept him in her presence.
"Here's some advice for you, solider, I'm standing directly in front of you so you don't have to scream outloud the details of the report." She irritably explains to him while she rubs the inside of her ear with one of her hands.
"I apologize, ma'am. I will remember to work on that." The male apologizes to the superior officer.
He then turned away and took off in a sprint down the hall in the same fashion he did when he approached her.
The raven haired woman ventured down the hallway with various soliders of lower ranks that when she passed by greeted her with a 'Good Morning' or more commonly heard 'Captain.'
Her green eyes focus back onto her stride with a curt nod or a verbal response back to those who greet her.
Natalie then stumbled upon a golden framed portrait with a golden rectangular prism lamp underneath to highlight the subject in the picture.
The subject in the oil painting was none other than herself. The section was known to the soldiers and non-commissioned officers as the Hall of Captains. These soldiers were able to reach the rank of Captain plus signficantly impact the Noursaia military in some sort of fashion.
The young woman stood in front of the portrait when a glare caught her attention, which caused her to peer down.
She then noticed a golden flat bar etched with a phrase that read: 'First Female to reach the rank of Captain' underneath her name.
It sort of caused a feeling of pride to well up inside of her but there was a hint of remorse that came along with the picture that was in the hall.
Ever since she earned the coventant rank of Captain, she became completely untouchable to men.
Instead of flirting, they would be cowering in their boots at her presence or would totally avoid her all together, which really was irritating her.
"Aw, its so good to see you, Natalie." She suddenly hears a familiar voice calls out her first name.
"Same here. It's been a rather long day today." Natalie agrees with the voice as she maintains her gaze on the picture instead of the person.
"It's a pretty picture, you know." The person asserted once they stood right next to her and stared at the picture as well.
The oil-painting portrait displayed the still image of her clad in a simple elegant long white dress with quarter-length sleeves with white wrist length gloves that adorn her hands.
She was sitting in a wooden four-leg chair with one of her arms laying against the surface of the table.
Her metallic sword was propped against the side of her chair with the hilt closest to her body while her helmet was placed near her arm on the table.
Her raven-colored hair was styled in long basic curls to soften up her facial features. Her eyes reflected a sense of seriousness, which always made Natalie frown.
"Cheer up! It's not that bad!" He jokingly retorts with a small smile on his face.
"How did you do it, Dad?" She questions the older man, who stands alongside her with equally long raven-colored hair with black glasses that cover his eyes.
The man lifts his hand until it was at the crown of Natalie's head and rustles her hair as if she were a little kid.
"Come on now, that's not funny!" The young woman frustratingly proclaims as she reaches up to grab his hand from atop of her head.
"Yes, it is squirt." Her father objects while he watches her fix her head of hair back to its normal position.
"Rick, shut up!" She annoyingly exclaims after she hears the word "squirt" leaves his mouth.
"And she shows some emotion," Rick claimed as if he discovered a long lost hidden treasure.
His daughter just releases a "humph" and folds her arms across her chest until warmth circulate throughout her body.
Her green eyes could only see Rick's chest when he placed his chin on her head.
A stranger would have mistaken it as a lover's embrace but it was better defined as an exchange of family love.
"I've heard some rumors about you being selected as Noursaia's representative to participate in the Oban races." He hints, which catches her attention as she peers through his shades.
"Are you sure?! I mean I know I can fly but not as good as you or the king and queen. I look like a rookie compared to you three." Natalie lists off reasons in a rush tone.
"So was Eva...she was a total rookie when she found first started out and look at how she turned out to be a good pilot, a wife and a mom." He supports his claim with a small smirk.
"You got a good point there Rick." She beamed a smile that only he was allowed to see, besides Eva and Aikka.
"What ever happened to you using Dad?" Rick inquires with a hint of sadness.
"You know you were never really my dad." The raven haired woman points out as the mood shifts from happiness to depression.
"Did it stop me from bringing you up as my own Natalie Andros, oh no?! And don't you dare forget that!"
"But anyway, I know that your parents would be so proud of their daughter for the life that she has chosen." He asserts in an tone of encouragement while he shakes both of her shoulders up and down.
"I think they would be too Dad, I think they would be too." Natalie expresses her hidden joy as it almost sounds as if she tries to convince herself otherwise.
"Now, straighten up and clean up that face of yours! You have a job to do." Rick reminds her of her position.
She wipes the tears away from her face until she looks like she was earlier before she meets her father.
"Good, now I don't expect you back home after the curfew time so I will let you stay out a little longer tonight." He interjects before he walks away from her.
Realization did not hit her about what the older man exactly said until he walked off.
"Hey! I'm not a little kid anymore!" The young woman angrily declares as her voice seems to echo throughout the hall.
Her gaze returned back toward the picture and instead of the frown she wore earlier it was replaced with a smile and headed in the direction of her office.
0000
"Kiera and Kieran get away from there!" A housemaid shouts out when she hears pots repeatedly bang and clang against the floor.
They were knocking them over due to their horseplaying.
The set of twins immediately took off running knowing that their youth and speed would carry them as far away from any dangers of the housemaid's reprimands.
"I'm bored." Kiera mentions to her twin brother with a sigh.
"Well, we can't do anything fun because mommy and daddy are still out." The twin boy responds to his twin when sudden boredom hit them once again.
"I got it!" The girl loudly pipes up when an idea clicks in her head as if someone flips the on switch to turn on the lightbulb.
"What is it?" He asks out of pure curiosity to what his sister currently thinks at the moment.
"You know Morose, right?" She quizzes her brother.
"You mean that girl who attends our Archery class?" Kieran infers after he racks his brain for an image of the girl's face.
"Yeah, that's the one! You know she doesn't like me right? Well...she has this clique or group of fake people, who laughs at every snap of her fingers."
"So I was thinking, let's pull a prank on her." Kiera suggests to her twin with a hopeful expression on her face.
"It sounds good but I'm still not convinced that you will be able to pull it off." He expresses his doubts while he observes his twin's current action.
She tries to figure out the right words to use in order to convince her brother that she could successfully pull it off before another idea hits her.
"She's the one that has a crush on you and stalks you everywhere after class." Kiera includes in her description of Morose.
She observes the expression of disgust that appears on his face, which signals to her that she gains his participation for the prank.
"So I was thinking that maybe we could…." Kiera whispers the rest of the plan in her brother's ear.
Kieran's smirk morphs to a toothy smile when he listens to the details of his sister's plan.
"Are you in or not?" She declares in order to make sure that he was along with the plan that she had set for the duo to execute together.
"Count me in!" Kieran firmly affirms his participation in the prank against Morose.
They both take off in the direction to gather the proper supplies that they will need.
2222
Author's Note:
11.23.16 Major editing revision
Major editing cleaning 06.23.17