She was exhausted that night, and she went to accompany Bucky and Audrey the next day, seeing that Audrey had brought her brother back once again from that dark hole of his thoughts, and it was a day of exploring the healer center, and getting to see the few complete prosthetics, with still a couple still unfinished, but getting there.
The next night, she wasn't exhausted, realizing that she couldn't hear the sounds of cars and people living up, down, and next to her anymore as she was used to New York being loud and busy, and it was kind of unnerving to her...She decided to find the royal gardens, hearing from Nola that it's really full of relaxing smells thanks to the flowers and such, releasing tension from Nola's shoulders of her own high-risk pregnancy worries, but not knowing the palace, Rebecca got lost.
"Great...", Rebecca whispered to herself. "Should've found a guide or something...", she sighed as she glanced around. Maybe she could at least retrace her steps back to her room.
She then heard footsteps and looked over to see Dazis who looked surprised and concerned, lowering and standing his unique spear that looked like a fishhook at the end of it. "Lady Rebecca? Are you and the child okay?", and Rebecca replied with a relieved, small smile, "Yes...we are okay...But I got lost...I was hoping to find the palace gardens as I couldn't sleep...".
Dazis sighed in relief, "You are very fortunate that I patrol this area in the middle of my shift...I could escort you back to your room, unless you are of a mind to be in the gardens?".
Rebecca spoke softly, "I don't want to intrude on your patrol, Dazis...", and Dazis shook his head, "Nonsense, and I'm duty-bound to help anyone in aid or trouble, and you are one of them. And luckily, I patrol this way to the palace gardens, so no one would even raise an issue with me about technically finishing the patrol sooner than usual...", with a smile.
Smiling shyly, Rebecca exhaled, "Well, if you're sure...Okay, then...", and Dazis offered his arm with a patient smile, and Rebecca took a deep breath, not getting really intimate close to him, but just of the border of being polite as she took his arm, being wary yet surprised to see that Dazis was only patient with warmth in his eyes, not smug or anything like...like that bastard was, as he escorted her, walking casually, with Dazis's unique spear in his other hand.
"Is that necessary?", Rebecca asked as she motioned to the spear. "I mean, do you all have any sort of usual trouble that would require those?", she wondered as Dazis chuckled, "Honestly, not too much, really... at least in terms of around here. Go outside the limits of the city...".
Rebecca nodded, "Right...Audrey told me that people go into hunting groups and such.", and Dazis nodded, "Yes, and since we don't have a wooden bridge between the edge of the lake and the cliffsides, it's even safer.".
"And the spear now?", Rebecca asked. "Eh, sort of a second nature sort of thing. It really isn't that necessary these days, but hey, never hurt to be a bit safer. We never really know what things are like after that volcano.", Dazis said.
Rebecca exhaled, "Good point...Were you there in the battle? Audrey said it had to involve something with the Heart Crystal...", and Dazis nodded softly, "Yes, it involved the Heart in a way as the Nazis and Hydra threatened it, putting the city in danger, all the people...I am not proud of killing human lives, even if it was our enemy...You see this tattoo?", gesturing to the side of his neck.
"I do...", Rebecca said, as his neck tattoo was like a wheel spoke in blue, with curls almost like flames on the borders, and of course, it was small yet intricate. Dazis replied, "In our culture, earning this particular tattoo meant facing fear in the fire of battle, and it can happen in ways including killing an enemy in close contact. I got it shortly after the battle to remember... I never saw their faces since they were armored and masked, but I heard them for a moment...", with a deep sigh as he would never forget how it felt to be on a Ketak for the first time, using that energy beam. It was so fast, and he knew deep down that they wouldn't care about the city, the people, but it was a waste of life in a way for they would have a choice to choose better lives if they ever had, than following madmen and believing in power...
"Well, if it makes you feel any better; according to Audrey, those HYDRA guys were like the most fanatical Nazis, all of them pretty much the worst of the worst in terms of their evil.", Rebecca tried to ease him.
Dazis looked at her, "You...you don't hate me for taking lives, even though they were evil? I know that all of the group who saved Atlantis are good people, and they even brought family along who is supporting Healer Nola, their Majesties, and Healer Abraham and Explorer Thaddeus, I...I must admit that I thought there are people who would judge people for taking lives, like on the surface, like in the stories and such.".
"I...I can't lie that there are people who thinks like that, but I do not hate you, for it was in self-defense, in the chaos of battle, and you were protecting not yourself, but the city, the people, and your family...", Rebecca replied with a reassuring smile.
As they came into the gardens at the entrance from the inside of the palace floor, Dazis looked surprised, and then smiled warmly, "You truly are a wise woman.", and Rebecca whispered, "...Do I?", taking a seat on a bench as Dazis is confused and concerned to hear the bitter tone.
"D-Dazis, I'm not even a woman...I'm a teenager...I'm 16 years old, and pregnant!", Rebecca looked at him, confessing a bit of truth as she is still wary, but somehow, she feels like she is able to talk to him easily. Dazis replied, "So? Look at me, I'm 20, almost 21 physically, but mentally and life-wise, I'm about 6,300 years old, as I was just an unborn baby, almost newborn in the time of the flood and sinking of the city...I was told that my mother barely made it into the city before the shield came down, while being in labor..."
Rebecca sighed as she shook her head, "That's... a lot of that is different... I doubt anyone here deals with the stigma of being so young to have a child... but... it was practically hell for me back on the surface these past few months...".
Dazis replied, "Why? You are an intuitive one, and you aren't afraid of being there to support people, and it would be good signs that you'd be a good person and a good mother as well. They should acknowledge that since you have a mate who gave you this child.", with a nod to her baby bump with a reassuring smile.
Rebecca looked ashamed, and Dazis narrowed his eyes, "No...Please don't tell me that he assaulted you without your consent!", as it was a crime for mates to dare assault their own mates without consent on both sides in Atlantis. True, it's rare, but it was not unheard of.
"He didn't! But he might as well have...I...I was stupid...And what do you mean by mate?", Rebecca weakly protested, and then asked in confusion. Dazis froze for a moment before deciding not to overwhelm her, as it's far too soon to say the truth of him having a possible mate in her but went to tell her the meaning behind being mates in a sense of his culture.
"Well, do you even know what mating is in the first place?", Dazis asked her as she nodded, "Yeah; it's more of the idea of animals having relationships. Amongst humans on the surface though; it's more of a wide range of ideas in a way. Where I was from, marriage usually was the indicator of a mating.".
Dazis replied, "Well, in my culture, being a mate is a special thing because it bonds them even more than marriage. Marriage on the surface, I heard is physically, platonically in love, and politically, but down here, mating can happen before marriage to on the night of marriage, and it is not just physical or emotional, but it's also mental and soul-bonding. I cannot say more than that for it's individually different to each person who finds their mate in a way, and if someone wants time to decide to be a mate, it's not rushed as you now know, Atlanteans live long lives.".
Rebecca looked surprised before nodding, and exhaled, "Well, I can say that I never had a mate...It...Yes, I mated, but I thought...I thought it was out of love, but...he..he betrayed me...He used me...", with a sob, looking down at the flowers in shame.
"Really?", Dazis asked as Rebecca took a deep breath, "Well, I honestly don't know... I'm not sure if he really was just using me in the first place... but I do know he certainly showed his true colors once he found out I was pregnant. Abandoned me and ran far away from the reach of anyone I knew. Probably knew Bucky would've killed him when he returned and made at least one smart decision... I only wish that smart decision was being a good man and staying...".
Dazis narrowed his eyes furiously, "How dare he?! If he was here, I would threaten his balls off for abandoning you and an innocent child who deserved love and attention and a family! Please tell me that he didn't hit you or the baby when he found out.", as harming a pregnant mother intentionally is another crime, which, again, is rare, but still, and seeing how Rebecca is remarkably someone he could see himself falling in love with, and he knows he could love her child too, for it's part of her...
"No, he didn't...I think I would have hit him where it hurts the most if he hurt my baby...I...I am not ashamed of my baby, but I'm afraid...What if I don't love them?...I want to love them, yet...I...I know deep down that they are part of me, hence why I wouldn't dare harm them by...a-abortion, but they are also part of him...", Rebecca replied softly.
Dazis sighed. He could see the trouble on Rebecca's face when she was saying all that. It was a good point; maybe she'd be lucky, and her child would pretty much look mostly like her, not carry much of the father's traits... but what if it was the opposite?
Dazis wanted so badly to hold her, to give her physical comfort, but doesn't mean that he can't help. "Lady Rebecca, I wish I'd argue against that point, but there's a way for them to have your compassion and heart...You feel them kicking, yes?".
Rebecca nodded, "Yes...It's still strange...I know I should be overjoyed and happy to know that they're okay, and I am relieved that they are alive, yes, but I'm...I still have thoughts of them looking like him.".
Dazis replied, "They aren't him for they are innocent, and besides, they are only growing, and there's no way to see their true looks, and we only have a way to pick up on the gender when they are old enough to develop their genitals already.".
Rebecca widened her eyes, "You...you do? We...we never have that way on the surface...How can you tell?", and Dazis replied, "Healers and some trained guards use their crystal to check on the baby/ies...Through I don't know why Healer Sweet didn't do it...".
"Probably because of his intimidating size...I don't care if he's Black or anything...But his size of being a giant...I know it's not his fault for being that tall and big...I...I suppose I was...was remembering how...that...the bastard was intimidating when he...he yelled at me and everything after I told him...", Rebecca whispered softly, relieved deep down that Dazis wasn't really tall or big, but just only an inch taller than her. The bastard...he was almost 3 inches taller than her...
"Well, it's up to you if you wish to know, perhaps Healer Nola would be perfect to help you at this moment, especially since she's pregnant too.", Dazis smiled reassuringly. "But not right now, right?", Rebecca said. "After all, it's a bit late and I don't want to bother her at this moment."
Dazis nodded, smiling as she's so considerate of other people's feelings, and scratched his cheek absentmindedly as he exhaled, "There's a rule that some guards are trained to know the basics of healing and that includes checking on babies...and I happen to be one of them...But I understand if you don't want me to.", remembering that one almost incident where he saved her the other day on the stairs of the narwhal ramp, almost intimately touching her baby bump and all, as it's not normal for her to be casually touched and all, considering that she came from a world of social rules and such.
Rebecca almost looks worried, "Do I have to change into hospital robes and strip down?", and Dazis shook his head quickly, "I'd never ask you to do that! Did they do that to pregnant women on the surface?", looking shocked that it's indecent to be naked in front of strangers, even if they are wearing hospital robes or such.
Down here, pregnant women wear their undergarments or their casual clothes under the hospital robes until they are asked to momentarily take them off to see how healthy they are with the breast milk developing or the birth canal working and put them back on after it is done. The rest of the checkup is then modestly comfortable. It's only necessary if the mothers notice an issue with the breasts or something else, and they are having a trusted healer they know.
"Yeah...It's...It's supposed to be mandatory and all for pregnant women...", Rebecca replied, and Dazis replied, "The only part you remove is the shirt, and no, you don't have to fully take it off, just bring it up modestly, as I'd need skin contact for my crystal to do the checking...But I won't do it if you don't want to do it right now...", knowing that he's essentially a stranger, even if they are getting to know each other.
Rebecca took a deep breath. "Dazis... I appreciate your offer, but I think I'd feel more comfortable either waiting for some time, or just going to Nola for this. I... I need some time...", she told him as he nodded. It was understandable, especially if she had trust issues with any other sort of man other than her own brother.
Dazis smiled patiently and warmly, "I understand, Lady Rebecca. All the same, if you want to get to know this child, try talking to them...You'll be surprised at how they respond. True, they may not understand everything, but they do understand emotion and tone in voices at this time of pregnancy as they are now kicking.".
Rebecca gave him a small smile, "That I can do... It's funny, but I feel like this garden is like a safe place for talking with you...Do you patrol through here a lot?", and Dazis nodded, "Yeah...Three shifts a day, only for a couple of hours each, otherwise I'm off duty or eating meals.".
"Then I hope I see you around, Dazis...", Rebecca replied, and Dazis smiled, "So do I, Lady Rebecca. If it's only an ear to listen or give you a hand, I'll be honored to be that for you.".
Rebecca's smile grew, and said, "You don't have to be formal with me, you know...I'm not a royal or anything.", and Dazis chuckled sheepishly, "I apologize, but it's a habit to be respectful and such toward guests, and the members of the household, and sometimes I let down to be casual in saying names without using their title and such...".
"I see...I will not stop you from being respectful and such, but please call me Rebecca...", Rebecca nodded, and Dazis smiled, "Of course, La-...Rebecca.", blushing at his fumble, causing Rebecca to give a warm giggle, looking at him.
Rebecca then asked, "So, what does that tattoo on your chest mean?", and Dazis smiled, "Oh, well, I got it at my apprenticeship ceremony to come into guard training, and this tattoo is a bit different in my own request...of course, they don't hurt when you get a tattoo any time as people getting tattooed gets healed at the same time by a crystal by the tattoo artist, next to the tattoo device maker...", as he went to make a conversation for the first time with Rebecca, enjoying the ambience of the gardens for the next hour, strolling after sitting on the bench for a while.
Sometime later, Rebecca is back in her room, stroking her baby bump, after being escorted by Dazis, and she gazed at the beautiful firelight lamps and such of the peaceful city in the balcony view nearby as she rested in her bed, "I think we're going to have a good life down here, little one...", smiling as she felt a kick, trying out Dazis' advice, as she asked, "Do you like Dazis, little one?".