"Percival, I’m so sorry, have you been waiting long? These days it’s impossible to get anything done…" I hear the door close shut and Miss Laira sits down in her chair. I shake my head.
"No, not at all, it was a nice to take a break."
"Are you eating well? You look terrible." She looks at me concerned.
"I’ve might have skipped a few meals here and there…" I lower my gaze to my feet. "I’ve been kind of wrapped up with everything…"
"That’ no excuse to neglect your well-being!" Miss gives me a glare that I feel on my skin even without looking.
"I will, later tonight, right after I check on C… a certain patient…" I forgot we’re at the Palace…
"I’ll try to believe you – so anyways, what did you want to talk about?"
"I was thinking that it would be a good idea to ask the King to sanction a Rebirth Research Division – so we could get a team together to help us with the research and such, without having to use the soldiers… I also thought it should be you, who would need to do it…"
"Why wouldn’t you want to have the soldiers working on this? I’m sure there could be plenty of volunteers, especially some of the ones that came back with us this time around?" Miss Laira gazes at me with a puzzled look.
"Truth be told, not a lot of soldiers can read anyways… Also, I figured, since his Highness is so fixated on eliminating the Rebirth, having an official Research Division established, would mean that the work would continue even after the King is gone… Plus, that way no expenses would be spared and we could even hire scholars or simply people from the Royal City who can read to help! That way we would be creating jobs… The soldiers could be part of the guards or something?" I see the tears swell up in the yellow eyes. The misty rose skin blushes ever so slightly…
"Miss Laira?"
"So, you thought about it that far ahead?" She asks me. I nod.
"That’s a great idea, but why come to me with that? It’s your plan, shouldn't you be the one to ask the King about this?"
"With all due respect, Miss, I do believe you would be one of the, possibly, the few people that would be able to see this through to the end…" I lower my voice…
"Please don’t say that… Even if I realize it, I don’t want to hear it from you!" She weeps, covering her face with her hands…
"I don’t mean to burden you, Miss, I will make sure to do the research myself and I’ll make sure to leave detailed notes for you! Please, don’t think too much of it! It’s simply a precaution and to be honest, I’m a bit scared to face the King by myself, so…"
"You’re just a boy! You shouldn’t think that far ahead…" I see the Miss’s shoulders twitch. I stand up from my chair and carefully place my hand on her lilac-colored hair. I don’t say anything… I don’t know what to do…
"I’m sorry, Percival, I simply don’t want to see my friends suffer…" Miss Laira gives me a soft, sad smile, as she wipes her tears away… Even though you will be suffering the most? I think to myself, but don’t say it.
"Is there anything else you need me to do for you?" She asks.
"For the RRD? That’s what I want to call it…"
"RRD, sounds good. Yes, for the RRD?" Miss looks at me.
"No, for the time being that should do, to have it started… We’ll deal with it as we go along."
"Right, ok." She nods.
"Well, then I’ll see you later tonight." I bow.
"See you tonight." The Miss smiles at me with her quivering lips. I leave the office and stand behind the door to listen. Quiet weeps come from the inside of the room… I feel so bad…
I walk into the kitchen and my jaw drops to the floor. I see Breeze sitting in Crile’s lap, while she eats, with Crile nuzzling her neck and shoulder. I turn to leave, but I clash with Laira.
"Oh sorry, are you leaving?"
"I think we should." I take her by the hand.
"Well this is new." Laira can see the picture clearly over my head…
"New? I thought that’s how they always were back in the day?" I turn around to face them.
"No." Laira shakes her head. "Crile was never the kind to show his affections out in public…"
"Huh, who would have thought…" I look them over. They either don’t care that we are right here or are ignoring us completely.
"You know we can hear you, right?" Shadowkill speaks. Damn.
"Well, the kitchen is a public area…" I giggle nervously.
"Get used to it." Crile says to me. Somehow that sounds kinda like a threat…
"Is Percival coming round tonight?" Breeze asks Laira, as I go over to help with dinner.
"He said he will be, but honestly he looks so terrible, the boy is making me worry…"
"Evening everyone." Percival’s here.
"Speak of the devil." I smile.
"Hi, Percy, how’s your day been?" Breeze is the first one to strike up the chat with the kid.
"Oh, quite busy, how are you feeling?" The Cleanser answers yawning. I glance over at Laira and then at the happy couple… All of their eyes say the same thing. Attack.
"I’m doing fine, thank you for asking, I’ve been following the menu you put together for me and I have been steadily recovering." Breeze’s voice sounds weird. Almost like it has a sweet ring to it?
"That’s great to hear, Commander." Percival’s voice dies down a bit. I look over my shoulder. The kid’s nodding off right there at the table. Breeze carefully stands up, letting Crile get up too, the Noxian picks the boy up in his arms and takes the Cleanser upstairs.
"What did you do to him?" I ask. "I didn’t know you knew sleep magic?" I look at the Druid.
"Don’t be ridiculous, there’s no such thing as sleep magic. How is he?" Breeze asks the Assassin as he sits back down in his place, with his woman back in his lap too.
"Passed out like a newborn. He might just sleep for a whole day."
"It’s for the best, he did say he was skipping meals." Laira tells us.
"He’s too responsible for his own good, the kid will overwork himself to death at this rate, we need to make sure to keep close watch on him…" I catch the laugh as it tries to burst out of me, as I hear Breeze say all that…
"Oh, the irony of that…" Thank you, Crile.
"I know, I know, I’m not exactly the one to be saying this…" She agrees.
"Can’t be helped. If anything, you, of all people should know what that feels like, sis." Says Laira, setting some plates on the table.
"Perfect! Right on time!" Rixa crashes into the kitchen.
"Evening." Jack follows.
"Get a room." Culebra hisses, sitting down at the table too.
"It’ll be a bit before it’s ready." Laira makes the announcement.
"No rush." The Ram answers.
"Percival is sleeping at the far end of the hall." Crile lets the guys know.
"Oh? The kids here?" Rixa says, munching on the snacks.
"I saw him a few times in the past couple of days. He looks like a walking corpse." Jack confirms.
"That’s why we’d like to let him rest here for a few days." Breeze adds.
"Fine with me." Rixa’s the first to agree.
"No objections." Jack.
"Whatever." Culebra. As long as it does not affect the Mancer – we are free to do as we please.
"Thank you all." Breeze says, as Laira and I set the last plates and bowls on the table, sitting down to eat.
"Oh that's right!" I almost choke on my salad. Laira hands me a glass. I gulp it down and clear my throat.
"You were saying?" The Primerian mocks me from across the table.
"It's the first of the month." I say, with my stinging throat.
"Already?" Rixa mumbles with a mouthful.
"Here." The Ram tosses 3 gold coins on the table. The Mancer puts hers down too. So does the CC.
"Thank you very much." Laira picks them all up and puts them in our budget jar.
"What's this?" Breeze asks.
"Rent." I answer.
"More like food money." Laira corrects me.
"I call it extortion." The Warr murmurs over his glass.
"Marcus and I go shopping once a month. With so many of us living here we need the money for food and other supplies. We all talked about it and agreed to pitch in." Laira explains.
"We even have cleaning duties set up." I grin proudly.
"Except for her." Jack nods towards the Mancer.
"Somehow I'm not surprised." Breeze smiles. "Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help as well."
"Sure thing!" Rixa jumps off his seat. "You may sit there nicely, looking pretty just as you have!" He sends Breeze an air kiss with a wink and a self-pleased grin. Oh Gods...
"Now can I kill him?" Shadowkill gets up, reaching for his knives.
"Idiot." Jack lands a blow into Rixa's ribs, keeling him over on the dinner table.
"How childish." Culebra is not impressed. As usual.
"I appreciate the effort, Rixa, but there are limits to this." Breeze stares the CC down.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Oh well, I tried..." He weezes the words out and sits there rubbing his side.
"What else do you pick up on your shopping trip?" Breeze asks us.
"Oh just the usual bath stuff and other things. We keep most of the necessities in stock here just in case. We do have spares in the Palace, in case we get stuck there, but it does make it easier, not having to drag everything around with us all of the time." Laira explains as if nothing ever happened. Meanwhile it takes me all I have not to make any comments on what just happened. We finish our dinner without any more mishaps and call it a night soon after...
"I got the bath ready for you." I tell Breeze closing the bedroom door behind me. I hear a noise outside. Mumbling and feint footsteps. I crack the door open again, just a little, and see Percival dragging his feet down the stairs.
"What is it?" Breeze asks carefully.
"Looks like our Cleanser just woke up."
"Perfect, take him to the bath instead. He looks like could use one. I’ll wait." Breeze waves her hand to me.
"Sure." I go out of the room and find the disoriented caster in the kitchen.
"Good Morning, sleep well?" I ask the boy. Very, very slowly he turns around to see me.
"Mhm." He nods. Oh boy…
"Great, come with me." I take the boy by the shoulders and maneuver him down the hall to the bathroom.
"Here, you can take a bath, while we get the food ready. Here’s some change of clothes for you."
"Is that marble?" The boy suddenly seems a bit more awake.
"Yes, that’s the only thing that’s not made of wood here."
"It’s a big tub…"
"It’s Noxian sized, ah, here, use this." I hand Percy a wooden stepping stool. "We don’t want you to drown."
"Huh, oh sure, thank you. Wait, what?" And he’s fully awake now. I smile at his confused face.
"Wait, are you sure I can?" He asks me.
"Yes. You need it, Percival, you look like your moments away from dropping dead." I glare at him.
"Sorry…"
"Don’t be, just take those dirty rags off and leave them over there." I point to the barrels. "Pull the chain if you’ll need more water." I point to the metal chain next to the marble trench that’s towering over the marble tub. The boy examines the whole set up.
"Take your time. I’ll be back to check on you a bit later, but if you need anything – let me know." I tap the Lector stone on my bracer.
"Thank you, sir." The boy bows and I leave him be.
"The boy is in the tub." I reach for Breeze.
"Perfect." She answers. "I’m in the kitchen." I find her chopping some fruit.
"Let me." I take the knife from her.
"I can handle this much."
"Let me spoil you."
"Didn’t you say you intend to punish me?" She gives me a look.
"I do. By spoiling you first, it will make the punishment all the more sweeter later on…" I grin.
"Oh Gods…" She murmurs and sits down with a smile.
I soak in the hot water… "Feels nice…" I say it to myself… I hear my stomach growl.
"Right, better get a move on." I scrub myself head to toe, rinse the soaps out and get out of the tub. I slip and almost flatten myself nose first. I manage to keep my balance and pat myself dry with the towels. Next.
"Clothes." Right. I put my robes in one of the barrels that have other dirty clothes in it and change into the clothes that Sir Crile left for me. I was afraid they would be too big, but strangely they seem to fit nicely. I brush my teeth and my wet, short, brown curls and spend a good moment staring at my reflection in the mirror – my brown eyes look slightly glazed over. Dark circles sag half way down my face. My beige skin tone has acquired a ghastly shade of green-ish grey… I sigh and leave the bathroom.
"Something smells nice." I walk into the kitchen. "Commander." I nod. The Lady gives me a disappointed look.
"Lady?" I studder.
"That’s better." She nods at me.
"That was fast, you sure you didn’t want to soak for a bit longer?" Sir Crile asks me.
"I’m kinda hungry more…" I say quietly…
"Sit down, foods about done." The Sir points to a chair.
"The clothes look good on you." The Lady smiles at me.
"Thank you, whose clothes am I wearing, anyways?"
"Laira’s. From back when she used to drink a shrinking potion to make herself the size of an average Primerian girl." Commander answers.
"Oh…" Wow…
"And the lunch is now ready, here you go."
"Thank you, Sir. Lunch! Wait, what time is it? How long did I sleep?" I jump off the chair.
"You slept soundly through the night and most of the morning. Everyone left hours ago, we’re the only ones here, so don’t worry and take your time to rest up. That’s an order." The Lady glares at me again. I sit back down.
"Laira and Marcus are going to inform the Council that you will be taking a few days off, so don’t worry about anything and enjoy yourself for now." Sir pours me some ale.
"Thank you, I’m sorry for the trouble." I mumble, biting into the meat.
"Oh please." The Lady waves me off. "I've caused you way more trouble. This is the least we can do for you."
"I believe it’s your bad influence that has the poor boy neglecting his health." Sir mocks her warmly.
"Not at all!" I quickly shake my head. "I always lose track of time and things when I get immersed into books and such…"
"We figured that may be the case, that’s why we’re forcing you to take a break." Sir Crile speaks calmly to me. "And don’t even think of apologizing again!" He adds quickly. I shut my mouth and nod.
"Breeze? You ok?" I look over to the Commander. Her facial expression looks like she’s fighting something. She puts her hand over her mouth and quickly goes out the back door.
"Breeze!" Sir Crile runs after her as do I. I hear hurling sounds and stop in the door way. I quickly go back to the table and look at her plate. Broth, vegetables, a few pieces of fish and meat. I taste a few bites. Bland. It’s been a few days now since I took her off the liquid diet…
"Did she have anything off the menu?" I ask Sir Crile crouching by the Commander, she struggles to push me away.
"No. We have been following your instructions to the letter. She’s been fine so far."
"Water." Lady whispers wiping her mouth. The Sir goes back inside and brings out a glass with water for the Lady. She sips it through the straw. We watch her for a bit while she catches her breath.
"Breeze?" The sir gently rubs her back.
"How do you feel?" I ask the lady.
"Weird. I don’t know what happened."
"Lets get you back inside so I can examine you." We walk her back into the house.
"Do you think the heals stopped working or something?" Sir Crile asks me.
"It’s a possibility, but then I’m sure that would have happened sooner."
"Was it the food then?" Lady Breeze asks me too.
"It may have been, but you have been consuming solid food for a few days, so if it was the food – I think this would have happened on the first day…" We lay her down on one of the couches in the living room. I check her pulse. Steady. No fever. Palms a bit sweaty, but that’s normal with nausea. I scan through her body – doesn’t seem like anything ruptured… Strange…
"Has there been any other signs or symptoms?"
"Like what?" Sir Crile asks.
"Anything at all that would have stood out? Trouble sleeping? Food tasting weird? Frequent urination? Constipation? Anything at all?"
"Well, you had me drinking nothing, but fluids for a week, so…"
"Right. Any body parts that feel different?"
"I told you they got bigger!" Sir Crile points to the Lady’s chest, his green eyes sparkle…
"Oh, give me a break." The Lady says, sitting up, her double-colored, thick braid falls off her shoulder. Commander’s natural royal blue hair color has begun to show itself, blending in nicely with the darker, almost black blue… Making her azure skin look more a healthy Noxian shade of blue…
"Milady, pardon me for asking, but when was your last…" I can’t finish the sentence, it’s too embarrassing!
"My last what?" She begins the question and falls silent. I gaze up at the Sir.
"Don’t give me that look! I’m not a psycho! I said I’ll wait till you’re fully recovered!"
"Did anything happen before the battle, perhaps?" I whisper the words carefully, with my eyes toward the floor…
"Oh Gods…" The lady whispers… "Percival?" I hear her call me…
"You’ve been in suspended animation for about six months, and you’ve been awake for about six weeks now? If something did happen before the battle or around that time – then the timeline fits, because the freeze would have prevented the development and…"
"Percival what are you saying here, exactly?" Sir Crile crouches next to me.
"It’s possible that Lady Breeze is about six weeks pregnant…" I shut my eyes and hold my breath…
"Breeze!!!" I hear Sir’s voice a happy cheer. I look up, he has his arms around the Lady’s waist, giving her kisses on her neck and shoulder.
"Wait, Percy, are you sure?" She doesn’t wait for my answer. "No no no, I can’t be pregnant! I don’t know a single thing about how to be a mother!" She breaks down into a hysteria and covers her face, mumbling. Her shoulders begin to twitch harder, her sobbing getting louder…
"Percival?" The Sir gives me a confused look. I stand up.
"That’s normal. It’s part of the pregnancy, she might be more emotional now. I’m sure that her throwing up just now was due to the pregnancy as well…" The lady sobs louder, mumbling something…
"I can’t be, I’m not suited, I’m a horrible…"
"Can we do anything about her?"
"Let me take a look at the herb cabinet…" Huh? I pat my waist and torso down. Gone? How? "The pouch belt I had on me?"
"By the bed." Sir answers me, without looking as he tries to calm the Lady. I go back to the room and get my herbs. Sleep magic does not exist in our world, but there are herbs that help with insomnia and other things. I picked up a few tricks from Burla too, she was an Air shaman, and knew a few quick chants. One was a strengthening spell. I wonder if it would help strengthening certain properties in other herbs? I take a bowl and a measuring scale. I make the ratio of my enchanted herbs with some of the other ones, with a three to one, and grind them together, while the water boils. I place a teaspoon of the herbs into a cup. I whisper the strengthening enchantment, as I hold my palm over the top of the cup – the herbal dust makes a small wave, just for a moment and settles down. I repeat the same process with the rest of the herbs in the grinding bowl and store them in an empty bottle. I rustle for a pencil and scribble CALMING HERBS on the label. I pour the hot water into the cup and mix it with a teaspoon of honey. Hope this works.
"I slept with Rixa!!" I hear the Lady scream out and go back to her hysteria, as loud as ever… I freeze in the door way…
"He's so dead, this time for sure…" The sir whispers.
"Don’t! It’s not his fault! It happened long ago! Way back when..." The lady continues with her sobbing… I drag my feet carefully across the floor, trying my best not to get noticed. Sir Crile catches me in action.
"I didn’t hear anything!" I tell him quickly and set the cup down.
"Thank you." He nods and pries the Ladies hands open off of her face, her sky-blue eyes are sparkling because of the tears… Pretty…
"Ok, fine, whatever, I don’t care! It doesn’t matter anymore! That happened a life time ago! Forget it! You’re pregnant! Do you know what that means?" The Lady sniffs a few times and lightly shakes her head. Sir Crile continues…
"It means that from this point on you and I are a family! You’ll be a mother and I will be a father! We have a chance at another life together and I’m not passing up on it! Not even if I die! So, whether you like it or not, Zarri, you’re stuck with me!" Sir Crile holds the Lady by the shoulders. Only then I notice that the Sir’s face has sunken in even more than before. His blue-grey-ish skin darkened, and his usual short, spiky, dark forest green cut had grown out too… Now the hair's combed back. Something about that image of the two of them made me feel nostalgic… The Lady finally stops crying…
"There we go, good girl…" The Sir wipes the tears off the Lady’s face and sits back down next to her on the couch. He gestures to the cup. I pick it up and offer it to Lady Breeze.
"Look, Percival made this for you, it’ll help…" She carefully takes it from me and sips the lukewarm tea, holding the cup with both of her hands. After a few sips more, she glances up at me.
"I’m sorry you have to see me like this…"
"It’s alright, don’t worry about that, it’s perfectly normal." I smile at them. "I left the rest of the herbal mixture in a bottle in the kitchen, if you ever feel moody again, feel free to mix one teaspoon of the herbs with one teaspoon of honey and make tea with it, drink it slowly, I used an enchantment to strengthen the calming properties of the herbs, so don’t overdo it."
"Won’t the enchantment weaken over time?" The Sir asks me
"No, enchantments like that are used to reinforce an existing skill or ability – they only weaken once the skill is used, till then, the enchantment remains dormant."
"That’s helpful." Sir Crile nods.
"Burla taught me a lot…" I bite my tongue. I spoke without thinking! I brace myself for another wave…
"Burla was a good kid…" The lady says calmly. I hold my breath. "I should have never taken her with us to the Castle…"
"Looks like your spell is working." Sir tells me.
"Perhaps I should have used less of my Shaman herbs…"
"No, it’s fine. Thank you." Lady Breeze shakes her head. "You have an interesting look on you, Percy, is something the matter?"
"Oh no, I was simply thinking that the two of you feel strangely nostalgic, I wonder if that’s what watching parents feels like, that’s all, I’m an orphan, so…" I quickly shut my mouth…
"I’m sorry, we never knew…" Sir Criles looks up at me as well.
"Don’t worry about it." I shake my head.
"Then I want Percival to be our child’s Godparent." Lady Breeze smiles at me.
"What? Wait. I can’t possibly be, Miss Lair and Sir Marcus are better suited!"
"No, they are already aunt and uncle by default, because Laira is Breeze’s sister. The kid is gonna need someone as smart as you in their lives. It doesn’t matter if we’ll be staying here or going home. You've proven yourself to be more than qualified."
"Then it’s settled!" Lady puts the cup down and smile at me again. I bow.
"Thank you for the honor."