The Forgotten Zodiac

Soren gently pulled his arm free from Lucia, smiling a little. "I don't know. I would want to be accused of usurping Ike's throne," he said, shifting uncomfortably at the thought of what might happen if any noble other than Ike or Elincia walked in to find Soren and Lucia in the King and Queen's places. "They should be back any time now, so you're likely to have to stand soon, anyway," he excused.

Lucia sighed, but she could see Soren's point. "We could share this one," she offered. Her husband had every reason for refusing that suggestion as well, for she was not the best at sharing space meant for one and it would cause great ridicule were Ike and Elincia to return, as he seemed to be expecting. "I think Ike would probably consider giving it to you, especially, I don't know, any time before he gives a public speech? Your loyalty is decidedly unquestionable."

"And I'm much better with words than he is, though I hardly sound like a King," Soren said, a small smile appearing on his face. "I believe that your typical king would sound more... masculine... than I do," he said. The mage's voice, unused for the first seven years of his life, save for screams, now was a bit whispy and hoarse, normally. He knew how to command the attention of others, but usually he did such by lowering his volume and casting a chilling glare - he didn't... "I don't know if I'm cut out for giving speeches," he said.

Lucia sighed and smiled, reaching up to take hold of Soren's arm again, though, this time, she mad no move to level the height difference. "I supposed that's okay, since no one seems to want you to. I have every confidence that, if you were needed, you would do an excellent job." She looked up as the door to the outside world opened, and her gut-reaction politics smile was quickly replaced by a genuine one. "Speak of the devil. Ike, Elincia!" The Crimean retainer rose immediately, both to greet her sister and to vacate the throne for the Queen. "How's everyone outside doing?" She inquired, refering to the refugees.

Elincia smiled at her sister as she stood, then glanced at Soren. "You mean that your husband hasn't yet given you a detailed report of what's happened?" she asked, a subtle jibe at the mage's usual fastidiousness. Soren opened his mouth, but Elincia cut in with a reply before he could say anything.

"We've had two more added to the mix. Defactors from the other side, apparently... and Alexander Issand is one of them," she summarized. With a light shrug, she quickly added, "Also, Greil once again cried when Soren held him."

The mage's face darkened a shade, and he looked over to Lucia and tried to smile a bit.

"Oh, Soren!" Lucia wrapped both arms around her husband's side and leaned down to kiss him of the cheek. "I'm sure it wasn't your fault, Soren. Wasn't he sleeping, when you left? Babies are cranky when they've just woken up." Her reassuring smile slipped away as she thought about the defactors. However Mewt had contained the spell, he had done an excellent job. No one had been able to follow them through until now... Yet, if the spell was common knowledge in Ivalice, Crimea could become a battleground; and that was simply unacceptable. "Alexander Issand, you say? Wasn't he one of the ones who helped refind the spell originally? I thought his alliances were strongly to the other side. Do you know what made him defect?"
Ike, who had been grinning like an idiot after Elincia brought up Greil's reaction to Soren, for he couldn't help being glad that there was one less competitor, straightened up as the conversation turned to a more serious tone. "No idea, in particular. He claimed he'd brought battle plans with him, but I'm not sure what for. Mewt's still planning his counter-attack and launching raids from here. There might not be any <i>battles</i> for a while."

Soren straightened after Lucia's kiss, looking at the King and Queen. "I'll be able to brief you on what Mewt's planning," he said. "Withing the limits of the confidentialy required for tactics. I'll be working with him closely from this point on," the mage explained. "And I'll be sure to bring anything worrying to your attention, as well as anything that might require Crimean aid."

Elincia nodded. "Thank you, Soren. I trust your judgement. And, honestly, with Bastian being as tied up as he is in politics, you're likely the best man for the job," she said.

Soren, smiling slightly at the compliment, turned to Lucia. "Well, are you ready to find something else to do?" he asked, then quickly turned his gaze to Ike. "Unless you required anything else? A babysitter, perhaps?"

Ike responded to the question, or taunt, quite wildly. He crossed both arms over Greil, took several steps back, and turned around, refusing to face Lucia. "No! We do not need a <i>babysitter</i>," he exclaimed, spitting out the final word with obvious contempt. "I am perfectly capable of holding my own child." The King rotated himself sideways to make eye contact with the 'threats' to his parental rights, still holding Greil firmly. "The day I have to get a babysitter is the day I quit something," he announced grandly. In the moment, he did mean it. Ike always intended to have time for his son, no matter what came up. If you didn't make time for your only child, what would you be making time for?
Lucia couldn't help smiling at Ike's antics, for, as ridiculous as they were, it was touching to see the way he cared for his son. "Don't worry, Ike, I have no intention of stealing Greil from you. I'm sure I can find something to manage. There's people here I haven't caught up with yet, so I could always just go visiting."

Soren, though he looked a bit pained at the word "visiting," felt as though he hadn't been spending enough time with Lucia recently, so he offered a "I was only joking," to Ike before offering his arm to his wife. Looking to her, he asked, "Did you want to go see your brother? Maybe Kieran or Mist...? They're all in the knight's barracks, likely," he suggested, listing off some people he had learned to tolerate being around.

"Bastian's due back any hour now," Elincia offered, thinking she was being helpful.

Soren gave the Queen a flat look, then glanced back up to Lucia. "...did you mean you wanted to see him?" he asked.

((Now I see what he meant. I thought he was asking if she could keep herself entertained while he was off with Mewt.))

Lucia hurried to soothe her husband, knowing how strongly he disliked Bastian. The argument over his wedding invitation had been long and somewhat heated; Lucia had only won by reminding Soren that, unless they eloped, which had already been vetoed by Elincia, Bastian would be in attendance. Refusing to invite him only made them both look spiteful, and it was much preferable to be generous in victory. "I have to talk to him at some point, Soren; but you don't have to worry. I was talking about Geoffrey. I haven't had any real time to talk to him since I arrived, what with Greil being born, and the Ivalicians, and everything." She took her husband's arm and started toward the barracks, calling over her shoulder that she would see Elincia at dinner.

((Oh, haha.))

Soren seemed to be slightly placated by her answer, and relieved that she had not been talking about Bastian at all. He walked alongside her to the barracks, passing a few guards in the hallway.

"He may be out on patrol," Soren said, looking over to his wife. "Or do you know that he's not?" he inquired. He slowed his pace as Lucia thought, just in case they had headed off in the wrong direction.

Lucia did indeed pause to think, mostly to review the guard schedule, which she had learned when she lived in Melior. It had been some time since she needed to access it; but, after a period of thought, she was able to remember the broad points she needed. "Kieran takes this afternoon shift, or, at least, he did before we were married. I suppose things could have changed, but the barracks aren't that far. The walk will do us no harm." She resumed her pace cheerfully, maintaining a light hold on Soren's hand. "Did Greil really cry again?" She asked, a touch of a smile tracing her lips.

Soren, once again, gave a small grimace. "Yes. Yes he did," he answered, frowning slightly. "I'm not certain if I really believe the excuses Elincia makes for him - I'm fairly certain that he just doesn't like me," the mage said. He sighed, then looked up to Lucia. "He didn't cry at anyone else, after all. My luck can't be <i>that</i> bad." Soren stopped to consider his words, then nodded to affirm them. "After what it's been, I certainly can't chalk up every bad thing in my life to just be part of some run of bad luck. No," he shook his head, "The Prince is barely a week old, yet he has already decided that he doesn't like me."

"Well, I can't say I believe in good luck or bad; but, really, Soren, liking is a function of thought. He was just born; there's no way he has the capacity for that level of thought." The amusement she felt at Soren's run of misfortune faded as she saw the disappointment and regret he felt. "I'm sure there's some other factor. For example, he's used to the men who hold him to be fairly large, Ike, Geoffrey, Kieran, when Ike isn't around. Maybe he just," she paused, trying, and failing, to find words that wouldn't affront Soren's masculinity, "hasn't figured out what you are yet. He probably just needs more time."

Soren made a small, scoffing noise in the back of his throat, but a faint smile tugged on the corners of his mouth. He knew that <i>he</i> was never any good at comforting, and sometimes it made him feel better when others failed at the gesture. He understood what Lucia was saying, however, and was slightly reassured. Slightly.

"I assumed it was my demon eyes," he muttered, not sure exactly if he wanted to voice that thought or not. Sure, Soren was fairly stoic, and normally wouldn't <i>say</i> a thing such as that, but the man was entitled to his own thoughts. And, he had to admit, he'd gotten better at sharing. Lucia was spending the rest of her life with him, after all, so he felt compelled, more and more, to open up to her. It was only fair - she had to put up with him, didn't she? She might as well know what was on his mind.

At that comment, the quirk of a smile returned to Lucia's face, though she fought to cover it. "I doubt he was looking at your eyes. Besides, again, the fear of glowing red eyes- which yours hardly are, I've woken up next to you, is something learned as you become more exposed to things. He has no reason to think that your lovely, scarlet eyes are anything but friendly." Lucia observed her husband's face carefully for a second before she came to another conclusion. "You should smile more, not seeing your teeth might be throwing him off. And maybe put your hair up. Your hair might make him expect a woman, but you clearly aren't. He might simply be confused about your gender identity. That would make me cry." She laughed lightly and smiled at him, pressing up against him as best she could while walking. "Though, I'll admit, I do have absolute proof inside me."

"If he has no preconcieved notions about my eyes, what would make him have one about my hair?" Soren asked, goaded into the light banter with a smile. The expression faltered, however, as Lucia reminded him that, soon, they'd have their own baby, and likely Soren would need all the practice time he could get with little Greil... at Ike's descretion, of course. The mage's gaze rested on Lucia's stomach for a moment, when he realized that, by staying silent for as long as he had, he might have started Lucia to worrying again. She'd never exactly expressed, at least, not since their original conversation about it, a worry that Soren would leave her, or worse, stay and no longer love her or the child, but nothing could be further from the truth. He would admit to a fair amout of unease at the thought of being a father, but the small part of him that envied Ike, and had for years, was a bit appeased at the fact that he now had nearly everything the King did in a sense, despite the cursed mark on his brow.

Things were going to change when the child was born, but looking back over his life and how much it had changed already, he thought that this was certainly something he could handle.

He smiled up at Lucia, the expression relaxed and genuine, as it almost never was on the mage. "I'm excited," he said.

Lucia, who had been about to respond with an analysis of the people Greil had been around and their physical characteristics, was caught offguard by Soren's comment. While it put her offbalance, it was in a positive manner. A grin spread across her face, from both her natural excitement and from how infectious true emotion for Soren was. "Me too." Her eyes drifted down to her stomach before sliding back up to Soren's amber ones, the smile reigniting on her face. "I can't wait to be parents, though," her expression darkened slightly, but it was deliberate, "after watching what Elincia went through, I'm not looking forward to giving birth." The noblewoman stepped away from Soren partially and examined his form critically. "Would you do it for me, if it were possible?" She asked, reentering the banter they were so comfortable with. Despite all Soren's reassurances, serious discussion of the child still made her a little nervous.

Soren feigned his best "oh-Goddess-Lucia-don't-curse-me-while-you're-in-labor" face, and looked up to her. "Well, there's obviously a correct answer to that one," he said. "And since a reversal is impossible, then I'll say yes. Of course." The mage grinned slightly again. "Of course, I'm not exactly sure how much longer we're going to have to wait. There's no record for pregnancy terms of the Branded." The mage usually didn't throw around that particular term so freely, but it was obvious that he was still trying to banter; getting back into the light conversation from the more serious one proved, to him a least, a bit difficult. He usually coped with the world by speaking about in terms as grim as reality was - he'd lightened up quite a lot since being married.

The two had gotten quite close to the barracks by this time, and could now hear a few familiar voices talking from where they were. Namely that of Mist and Boyd.

"Are you sure your brother would stick around, with those two about?" he asked.

"Who, Boyd and Mist? They aren't that terrible. You know," Lucia paused her speech to prepare a statement that suitably balanced the serious and the lighthearted. "They sort of remind me of us, in a way. Obviously, we're completely different people, but the way they dance around being in love is rather familiar." Before Soren had to respond, they rounded the corner and entered the general barracks room.