The Forgotten Zodiac

"I swear to the Goddess, I'll never leave you," Soren said at once. The loyalty he'd lacked from others had yet found a place in the mage's actions, and he would not be deterred from it. What he had now with Lucia was precious, and he didn't want to abandon her, ever, because he knew what being abandoned felt like.

Yet, he could not quite put this to words, so he tried his best. "I was afraid that... one day you'd wake up and realize what you had <i>done</i> by marrying me. And now that you're... I feared that you'd..." he shook his head, trying to find words to voice. "Being with you is like being in a dream, Lucia. It still doesn't feel real. You know, I'd never imagined that I'd one day be living like this. There was a time when I wondered if I'd still be alive the next day. I <i>never</i>... want to live that way again, and I wouldn't be able to bear it if our child was... was 'raised' like I was, because of my mixed blood. So we... we <i>have</i> to stay together, don't you see? Because I... I don't want to go back. I never want to leave you. I've never been as happy, as when you became a part of my life. I only feared that... a child, with the mark... if you decided to go, I...

"I don't know how long I could live without you."

"Soren..." Lucia collapsed against Soren, wrapping her arms around his torso. "I don't- I don't know what to say." She reached up the back of his head and interlaced her fingers with his hair. On a sudden impulse, not unfamiliar for their relationship, she pressed her mouth against his gently, before slowly pulling her head back and resting her forehead against his.
"I don't know what I would do without you. I'm so glad I don't have to find out."

Soren put his arms around her in return, letting them rest against her back as she leaned against him. At her words, he smiled, and brushed a hand against her cheek. "As am I," he responded, glad her face was so close because he knew that she heard. And that he, hopefully, had said the right thing. He allowed his other hand to rest on her side, sighing softly.

Lucia stayed in that exact position for several minutes, breathing in the comforting and familiar smells that made up Soren: dry parchment, sharp ink, and the dusty smell of the Felirae library. After a time, nearly five minutes, she pulled away slightly to better meet his gaze. "Since you're not going anywhere, love, I do have one more question." She smiled brightly at him, somewhat contrasting with her tear-streaked face. "Are you hoping for a son or a daughter?"

Soren smiled, using the back of his hand to brush away her tears for a moment before allowing his hand to rest on her cheek, as if by covering the tears, he could make them have never been there in the first place.

"It doesn't matter to me. Whatever it is, I will love it, because it is ours," he said quietly, before pressing his lips to her forehead. Pulling back, he sighed again. "I suppose it's all right to tell other people now, then. I just hope this time I'm prepared for whatever strangling... I mean, hugging, Elincia wants to give."

Lucia laughed and stood up, entwining her fingers with Soren's as she rose. "Speaking of Elincia, they're expecting us TIMETIMETIME, which means we need to leave tomorrow at a decent hour, which means that I do <i>not</i> have time to read and cry onto your shirt all day." She lifted the book she'd been reading before her husband's entrance and marked her place before leading the way toward their bedroom, intending to pack. Mostly.

Elincia was walking down the hallways when she heard the voices of guests in the throne room. A small smile gracing her features, she quickened her pace to greet the arrivals. "Soren, Lucia, how long have you--" she trailed off suddenly as she entered the room. Her smiled faltered in surprise, but returned in full force at the faces she saw.

"Marche, Ritz! We weren't expecting you. To what do we owe this visit?" she asked, nodding politely to them.

"Nothing good." Marche replied. The couple's body language was tense, and it took one look at Ritz to see that she was resisting complete fury. "The nobles and several major clans have openly refused Mewt's rule, following a riot that climaxed in the... burning of Koringwood." He glanced nervously at his wife at that mention. It had been her childhood home, and the home of nearly all of her ancestors or her mother's side. The entire Viera tribe had been displaced with that fire, and it had left no doubt in anyone's mind. This meant war.
"Actually, I had a favor to ask." Marche paused slightly, pushing himself into the awkward situation of choosing to be in someone's debt. "Ritz's magic can be harmful to an unborn child, if used while pregnant. The thing is, if she stays in Ivalice, she'll be targeted because our enemies will know she can't fight back and she's high-profile. So, I was wondering, could she stay with you until this whole thing is over?" He stopped, watching Elincia for a reaction of some kind. It was obvious that he was uncomfortable asking for so blatant a favor, but it was his kid. He couldn't do nothing.

Elincia listened carefully to Marche's request, considering for only a moment before nodding quickly. "Of course, Ritz is most welcome here. Our relationship with you all has always been good, and I considered us allies, though the final paperwork stating that assurance hasn't been confirmed. We will, of course, be of whatever aid we can be. I..." she trailed off here, and her expression darkened withh sadness, "am sorry to hear about Koringwood. Crimea's deepest sympathies are with you."

After that, she turned to Ritz, smiling slightly. "Your staying here will be no trouble at all. If the senators complain, Ike and I will see to it. I hope you will be able to be at ease."

Ritz nodded and turned to Marche, one hand curled in his shirt. "You need to go; you don't have time to be moping about here." She released her grip on him and turned to Elincia again. "Mewt's made sure our enemies have no way of getting to Tellius, so there should be no danger to the citizens of Crimea. If there was, you know I wouldn't have come." The Hume female stepped away from her husband to give the mages room to form the dome. "Send me letters or something, or I'll get Shara to harm you."
Marche nodded at her stiffly and turned to the mages. "I'll get back here as soon as I can." The mages quickly completed the spell, and, within seconds, they were all gone.
Ritz turned to Elincia and shrugged, bags in one hand. "Is there a place I can put these?" she asked quietly, visibly upset by the goings on but holding it together quite well.

"Of course," Elincia said, taking one of the bags from Ritz. "Ike isn't here right now, he rode out eariler to meet Soren and Lucia on the road - they're coming to visit as well, you see, but we have plenty of room. Would you like to stay in the place you did last time?" she asked. She tried to steer the topic away from the apparent war going on in Ivalice to try and cheer Ritz a bit. "Have you ever been horse riding? We could go do that for a while later, if you wanted," she offered. "Or I could take you to the pegasus stables, and you could see Mist. She's just been dying to see you again. She's trying to learn to ride a pegasus, you know, and she's doing quite well..." Elincia rambled on about this and that, hoping she was helping.

"I'd love to see Mist again." Ritz started her way toward the place she'd previously slept, allowing herself to be as distracted by Elincia's chatter. "Soren and Lucia are coming as well? It's wonderful that they live so close, though I guess it's equally disappointing that Lucia moved in the first place." She walked in silence for a few brief seconds before filling the space with words again. "So how's everyone been? Syl said to tell Kieran he'll have to humiliate him some other time, and Mewt sends his apologies for missing another meeting with Soren. Admittedly, he was preventing mass riots and preparing supply chains; but his adorable little conscience still feels guilty."

"I'll pass that along," Elincia said. "Or, you can yourself, when they arrive." The queen placed the bags she'd taken from Ritz on the floor by the bed, then looked back at her. "So, off to see Mist and the pegasai, then?" she asked. "I forget, were you able to see my pegasus last time? I don't recall," she said, already heading out the door and towards the stables.

Ritz deposited the bag and skipped out of the room after Elincia. "Your pegasus? No, I don't recall seeing it. I barely saw the horses last time. Ivalice doesn't have those, you know. We have Chocobo- you met some of those, right? but no horses." She strode out of the castle, level with Elincia since she knew the way quite well from her frequent visits. "Pegasi are those horses with wings, right? Mewt was talking about how they use innate magic before everything went to, uh, heck."

"Yes, pegasai do have magical abilities, in a sense. They have heightened perception of the emotions of their riders, and often, if they are seperated from their rider, they can find her again. They only allow females to ride them, because of their gentler natures. I suppose, if the right natured boy, came along, he techncally could be a potential rider, but that just seems silly," Elincia said, glad they had landed on a topic that she could talk about intelligently.

At the sound of their voices, Mist emerged from the stables, smiling as she saw the Queen and Ritz. "Hi!" she hailed them, waving as they approached. "Ritz, is that you? It's so nice to see you again!"

"That seems quite unlikely. Even Mewt and Syl, who are possible the gentlest men I know, couldn't pull it off. Though, considering their respective childhoods..." Ritz trailed off before Mist exited the stables, whereupon Ritz emitted her typical shriek-turned-shout and broke into an easy run. "Mist! I was so sorry to miss you last time, but we had to leave in somewhat of a hurry. I'm sure you heard all about it."
Boyd exited the stables behind Mist, looking quite dishelved. "Mist, I finished mucking the-" He broke off when he saw his addressee was in conversation with Elincia and a woman he didn't recognize. "stables. Hello, Queen Elincia. It's nice to see you again." The fighter approached the group somewhat awkwardly, acutely aware that he was in no way dressed to meet anyone of social worth. He had been, before he offered to help his girlfriend; but he wasn't now.

Elincia smiled at Boyd, her gaze brightening a bit as she saw the way he looked. She tried hard not to laugh in the slightest as she realized what Mist had roped him into doing, then made the introductions. "Boyd, this is Ritz. She's from Ivalice." The Queen looked around, before saying "Where are Gatrie and Shinon? In town?"

Mist took Ritz's hands and swung them back and forth slightly in greeting. "I heard, I heard. How are you, though?" She smiled and reached forward to pat the girl's stomach. "Getting excited yet? Oh, how much longer until it's due?"

Ritz smiled at Boyd and waved, rather than deliberately cross the distance between them to shake his hand. He had, considerately, positioned himself at the far edge of the group; and she had no desire to get any closer. "It's very nice to meet you. I think I've seen you before, but usually from a fair distance." When Mist touched her stomach, she jumped visibly, but laughed it off and answered the healer's question. "Five months, about. It's funny; I have so many people who have the date memorized I nearly forgot it."
Boyd, grateful to be left out of the pregnancy talk, responded to Elincia's question. "I think so. Shinon said something about needing a drink, and Gatrie said something about meeting some girls, and then they headed off... To be honest, I wasn't paying that much attention to them." He glanced over at Mist before, realizing he'd just done so in front of Elincia, flushed red.

Elincia smiled at Boyd knowingly, then turned back to Ritz and Mist. "Ritz said she wanted to see the horses and pegasai, Mist," she said. The young valkyrie smiled and nodded. "I can show you them! They're right over in here," she said, half-walking, half-skipping back to the stable. She paused and smiled at Boyd as she passed him, then waved for the others to follow as she lead the way inside.

Ritz followed Mist quickly, gasping in awe and delight as she saw the equines. "I forgot how gorgeous they are up close." She gently reached out one hand and stroked one of the animals she remembered from an earlier visit, completely entranced by the being. She was so entranced, in fact, that she didn't hear Ike, Soren, and Lucia arrive until they were already inside the stables.
Boyd carefully worked his way away from the pegasai and to the horses, as horses were significantly less likely to bite his ears. He groaned inwardly when Ike entered the stables, loudly, as per the King's usual, and kept his mouth shut. Being around Mist's older brother always made him feel more foolish than being around Soren did when they were younger. It was so wonderful that they were both present, the one day he had to see Mist.
Ike entered the stables, leading a horse, and flanked by Soren and Lucia. After returning his horse to its stall and providing it with all the things a horse needs after a ride, he turned around to greet his wife and the other people there. "Ritz, I didn't know you were coming. Are you along?" He asked, looking around for Marche, Syl, or Mewt.
Lucia, after providing for her mount in the same way Ike had, embraced her sister. "I have so much to tell you," she murmured, before pulling back and greeting the rest of the party. "Ritz, Mist, Boyd. It's lovely to see you all."