Purity in the Stars *Maleficent: Mistress of Evil- Udo Love Story*

Chapter Twenty Eight: Heartbeat

Life both begins and ends with a singular heartbeat.
It either beats once, and continues to do so for an entire lifetime, or it makes one last fruitful rhythmic song before welcoming whatever the notion of death brings.
Life isn't limited to just those two types of heartbeats; it's the seemingly never ending middle of one's lifetime that the variations begin.
The way your heart pounds when you lock eyes with your secret beloved, or the way it sings when you receive good news or embrace a loved one.
The way the heart trembles when life seems so uncertain, when anxiety and ill will threaten to overtake you.
The way that your heart somehow manages to tell you that everything will be okay as long as you have faith in it; steadily pumping blood through your veins no matter how bad or good of a day it may be.
The intercommunications of how the mind converses with the soul which then communicates with the heart may never be solved, but Yuna knew one thing for certain in this moment.
Her heart was going to explode.
Was it the rocking of Mina's ship, or was it pregnancy nausea? Yuna didn't know but gods, she felt like she was going to hurl.
Yuna lay wide awake on her stiff cot. The crashing of ocean waves pummeled the wooden wall to her left, and the overhead swaying of her lantern above her.
Her fingers were...tingly.
Her toes were numb.
Her stomach was churning.
Her heart was racing.
Discreetly, Yuna let her fingers ever so tenderly trace up to her stomach.
As soon as her fingertips touched the skin, it was like an electric shockwave pulsed all throughout her being. Yuna's breath hitched, and her eyes inexplicably filled with tears for what seemed like the thousandth time that night.
She remembered just hours earlier;
"A heartbeat."
Shrike broke into a teary, jovial laugh. She repeated with more vigor;
"A bloody, fucking heartbeat!!"
The Jungle Fey was laughing almost hysterically now through her loud cries, a very tumultuous emotional cocktail indeed.
Yuna lay still as stone on the infirmary cot, brain short-circuiting as her friend exclaimed at her side.
She was dead silent, but her eyes couldn't stop their tears.
Shrike didn't seem to notice, her hand coming up to cover her unbelieving smile. She shook Yuna's shoulder joyfully as she shot up from her seat.
"Yuna, you're pregnant!" Shrike cried again.
Yuna blinked.
Then she blinked again.
Her hands were clasped tightly atop her stomach, her mouth ever so slightly agape. Her shocked blinks only caused more tears to bleed past her eyelashes.
Slowly, Yuna repeated.
"I'm...pregnant...?"
It was more of a wondrous inquiry than a statement.
Yuna let the sentence hang in the air, and it suddenly all materialized in front of her.
'Oh my god.'
"I'm...pregnant."
Sharply, and suddenly, Yuna turned her head to look at Shrike.
"I'm pregnant?" She repeated for the third time, her complexion pale; her eyes misty and disconnected.
Was this what an out of body experience felt like?
Oh god, was Yuna's soul literally exiting her body?
Shrike's laughs almost immediately died down upon locking eyes with Yuna, her expression slowly losing its glee.
The two stared at each other in silence, and Shrike cleared her throat uneasily.
"Well...yeah?" She answered. Shrike felt unnerved, she laughed anxiously;
Yuna's reaction was worrisome to the fey.
Shrike expertly glanced over her shoulder, making sure that the only occupants in the room were their slumbering companions.
Shrike cautiously turned back to Yuna;
"It's...Udo's, yeah?"
That seemed to pull Yuna from her shock. She stared at Shrike incredulously, and then perhaps the most gut-wrenching expression of hurt crossed her features.
Well, now Shrike has done it.
She made a pregnant woman cry.
"Of course it's Udo's!" Yuna bellowed, teary eyes trying to glare at the now frantic fey.
Shrike was quick with the damage control.
"Okay, okay!" The jungle fey cried out, trying to hush Yuna so that their intimate moment remained as such.
Shrike grimaced,
'Pregnancy hormones. Right.'
"I didn't mean anything by it, Yuna!" Shrike sat down by Yuna on the bed, rubbing her shaking shoulders encouragingly.
Yuna finally let a pitiful cry leave her lips, and Shrike didn't have to be a detective to realize the tears were from something else.
Shrike continued,
"Your reaction was...unusual. I just wanted to make sure everything was alright." Shrike continued to dote over Yuna's distraught form.
She tried to give Yuna a happy grin, using her natural uplifting energy to incite calmness upon her friend. When Yuna's tears didn't cease, and another cry bubbled past her pink lips, Shrike gently pressed;
"...Accidents happen all the time, Yuna. I know Udo will be so ecstatic when you tell him...He's wanted this since we were little fey. It's okay."
While the words were meant to quell Yuna's anxieties, Shrike also genuinely believed them. The Jungle Fey couldn't help but smile amidst the chaos in that small infirmary.
'Guess we finally get some good news, hm?'
"Maybe it's a good idea to talk to Udo about everything you're feeling; it's natural to not feel ready for this, especially when it was unplanned-"
Shrike couldn't finish as Yuna cut her off.
Yuna could finally sputter out a coherent sentence through her crying. Her hand covered her mouth, and her eyes were squinting into crescents. She removed her hand (wet with her tears), and Shrike's eyes widened as she saw the sweet smile etched onto Yuna's flushed cheeks;
"I'm so happy!"
Yuna laughed airily; glowing like a bright pearl in that infirmary that somehow managed to bring so much pain, and so much joy all in one night.
The words slowly dawned onto Shrike. Her smile became a twin of Yuna's; dorky and ecstatic.
Yuna's nose scrunched in a genuine smile, before her lip quivered harshly. She cried again, and Shrike pulled her friend into an embrace.
It was a cocoon of colors due to Shrike's rainbow wings, and the girl allowed herself to sneakily place her hand over Yuna's.
The friends touched her lower belly carefully. Still feeling and hearing the ever-present; thump thump thump thump with her magic, Shrike embraced Yuna tightly.
It was such a foreign feeling that the girl was experiencing. Mirth, love, anxiety, worry, excitement... was it really possible to feel all of this in an instant?
Yuna's smile grew into Shrike's shoulder. She turned her head to look at the room's other two occupants, solemn but not quite so upset anymore.
Her eyes fell to Maleficent, and she had to suppress a laugh.
'You called it.'
The ship rolled again, and Yuna was harshly pulled from her daydream.
She let out a surprised shriek as the ship crashed against the outside waves; the force of it knocking her from her bed and sending her down to the wooden floors below.
Luckily, reflexes quick as ever, Yuna managed to catch herself in a rather awkward position. Her knees bent beneath her, and she clambered against her bedside table, but it was surely better than landing on her stomach.
Yuna sighed heavily, her heart thundering from the adrenaline of the short fall and of the sharp fear she'd felt.
It was still so...weird.
Was there really...something growing in her?
Her dark bedroom aboard Mina's ship was serenely quiet, and Yuna smiled in the shadows. Delicately, she rest a palm against her abdomen. She'd only spent about three hours aware she was with child, and yet this new habit was unbreakable.
Inwardly, the girl was jealous that Shrike was able to feel the baby's heartbeat when she was unable to.
Stupid wonderful magic.
'It feels like this is all just a dream.' Yuna contemplated on the cold, wooden floor.
From her sitting position, she brought her knees up to her chest in a secure manner. Her hands raked across the front of her cotton dress (luckily she'd managed to change out of her Winter Solstice garb), wondering with sheer awe how something could be there.
'Just at twilight, I'd been so horrified when Maleficent entertained the idea that I might be...' Yuna trailed off with a shake of her head.
How could she ever be upset at such a prospect?
'Does it make me a bad mother already? As unexpectedly happy as I am... I'm so terrified at the same time.'
The inner-confession made Yuna grimace, and she let her head fall against her bed with a wince.
'And now I'm going into a den of swindlers, pirates and prostitutes... mother of the year.'
Suddenly, Yuna paused.
Then she stiffened, muscles tense and heart pounding into her eardrums.
It hit her fully for the first time;
Mother.
Mother.
MOTHER.
Tears immediately sprung to Yuna's eyes again.
Her door flew open with a "thud!", and Yuna had a heart attack for the second time that night.
James stood in the open doorway, hair tussled and sprinkled with the outside seawater and his expression rather surprised at seeing the healer on the floor.
Yuna clutched her chest from the unexpected surprise, forgetting about her cathartic tears and existential crisis (momentarily, of course) to glare at the merchant son.
"James, whatever happened to knocking?" She hissed dangerously.
Right, the group of remaining companions had run into a bit of trouble trying to disembark from Ulstead.
To keep matters short;
Fate seemed desperate to keep the fool in their party, and when the group of departing and worried friends came across James slumped over in the ports with little to do and no ambition... of course he forced himself into tagging along.
Naturally, no one was too keen on the idea... but of course in Percival's ever annoying wisdom;
"If he sailed us to Miyagata, I don't know why we'd ever expend his services."
Which led to now;
"Well, excuse me for making sure that monstrous wave didn't send you tumbling down the halls."
The handsome lad held a scornful scowl, the tension between the two of them surmounting.
Yuna rolled her eyes, pushing herself up from her knees so that she could fully stand.
'Please tell me why are paths are so keen on crossing.'
She steadied herself as the ship rolled again, looking at the boy.
"I'm fine." She replied curtly. Feeling somewhat bad for her blatant distaste for the obviously troubled man, Yuna immediately sighed with a bit of regret.
"...Thank you."
She mumbled, looking away from James. Hastily, she forced her eyes to dry.
The male leaned against the doorway. Yuna briefly wondered if she caught the slightest glimpse of remorse in his emerald eyes as he stared blankly into her room.
It peaked her interest (and her pity), and she began to wonder if he had underlying motives.
'Why was he even at the ports to begin with?' Yuna's hand rested on her hip, feeling exhaustion begin to pull at her.
She still hadn't slept since the chaos that was the Winter Solstice, which was followed by her literal entire world flipping on its head.
Still, she asked anyways;
"...Is something the matter?"
James tensed at the question and it didn't go unnoticed by Yuna.
"...Mina requested your presence." James replied, still looking away from the healer. "In her room, I mean."
The statement made Yuna smile.
When she was a child, and even a few times when Mina had briefly stayed with her and Udo, the teen could never sleep a wink without her elder sister tucking her in.
Of course, Mina would skin Yuna alive should this sensitive information ever come to light.
Yuna reached onto her bed and picked up a thickly knit blanket that was a deep mossy color. It was warm and heavy; perfect for the chilled winter night in the middle of the dangerously cold sea.
"...Lead the way?" Yuna offered the man, unable to ignore the clearly troubled emotions swirling within him and permeating throughout their atmosphere.
Wordlessly, James nodded.
He took a step from the doorway so that Yuna had space to exit. The girl put out a flickering flame from an overhead lantern, and tucked the blanket under her arm.
Yuna ducked out of the room and James fell into stride at her side as they walked. The ship halls on Mina's vessel her narrow, and prone to sway with the sea's mighty waves. It still amazed Yuna so profoundly and made her so immensely proud;
'I can't believe my little sister commands this all on her own.' Her heart sung.
Yuna let the awkward silence settled between her and James for a moment more, before breaking it. However, James also seemed fed up with the white noise at that exact moment;
"So why exactly were you slumped over in the ports at two in the morning-"
"My father disowned me-"
The two froze.
Quickly, their heads shot to the other;
"Your father...disowned you?" Yuna questioned astonishingly. 
The narrow wooden corridor seemed to shrink even more around the two, and the flames of helpful lanterns cast dancing shadows over the pair.
The surprise from James' expression slowly went back to that same, beaten puppy look he had before, and the wealthy (well...maybe not so much anymore) man nodded solemnly.
"...Yes." He confirmed quietly.
James fiddled with his sleeves uncomfortably. Yuna suddenly saw the man for not what she'd always seen him as. At one point, the merchant's son was an arrogant and cocky rich boy who still needed his butlers to wipe him after a bathroom break.
Hell, he'd hit on her that fateful day like she'd simply throw herself at him! Throwing around half-hearted proposals and one night stands left and right.
It that moment, under a pitiful candlelight, Yuna didn't see that anymore.
She saw...hurt.
Confusion, pain, remorse.
It didn't change all the negative first impressions, but gods, Yuna wasn't heartless.
Her jaw set as the weight of the words pressed onto her. Softly, Yuna spoke;
"...Is that why you were loitering around the ports so late?" She whispered.
The man nodded again, wincing like the observation physically hurt him.
Yuna pressed again, speaking to James like he were an abused child.
"For how long, James?"
She saw it now; his thinner frame and the dirt smudging his cheeks and long hair. He still had that princely air about him...but the sorrow and pity he emitted overtook it.
Gods, how long was he stuck in those clothes?
"...Little over a week." James answered hesitantly. He sighed so deeply; almost like the confession had freed his spirit. His hand came up to rub the back of his neck, looking away from Yuna.
His booted feet kicked at the dust bunnies on the floor;
"Father remarried; shacked up with a count's daughter from LèFemonte. Had a new baby; a little boy."
James explained with a bitter laugh.
Naturally, Yuna could see where the story was leading...she clutched at her clothes beneath the blanket.
"Apparently there was no space for me in their newly built, spacious plateau with ten bedrooms and several recreational and art rooms. I knew it was really just code for, "I married a woman twenty years younger than me and want to forget about all my burnt bridges in Ulstead". Me turning eighteen makes my father able to toss me aside and rescind my finances as he so pleases."
Yuna felt a chilling horror grip her,
'His dad just...left him? Like he was nothing?'
She felt a desperate urge to say something to make it better; something to make this grown man who in that moment seemed so similar to a sad child feel a little less hopeless.
James kept speaking anyway;
"Can't way I'm surprised. I always kind of knew dad would never want to part with his business and give it to me... I think he was always just a bit annoyed with me. Sent me away to boarding school and fencing lessons every chance he got."
James laughed so bitterly at that, and shook his head.
"Some parents just aren't too good at the whole "unconditional love" thing, I suppose."
Something in Yuna snapped.
Her arms shot out and immediately pulled the lad into a tight hug. Her eyes burned with tears, and she suddenly couldn't help but to rub down the young man's hair like she'd always do with Leo.
James was of course taken aback by this;
After all, she did commit a federal crime to evade his last marriage proposal.
"Some parents don't know how lucky they are."
Yuna could finally correct the man.
James was stiff. He made no move to hug Yuna back, but Yuna could tell it was for only one reason;
He was on the verge of a complete breakdown.
She continued to stroke his hair gently.
'How could any parent...any twisted bastard make their child feel this way?'
The rage burned in Yuna, and she could've punched a hole through the solid wood walls.
'I could never, I would never...'
"It was a strange twist in fate that we crossed paths on the docks. You don't have to be alone anymore; if Mina let you on this ship...then she's already made up her mind about you. You don't have to worry about being alone anymore, okay?"
She could hear James suck in the sharpest of breaths.
He nodded with a haste; blinking to keep his eyes dry.
"O-Okay." His voice quivered, but he still kept his composure.
"I'm...sorry. For everything." He whispered.
Yuna shook her head;
"It's okay." She assured almost immediately.
"I never even properly thanked you for getting us to Miyagata. If it weren't for you steering the ship...then Mina and I would've never reunited. That thought haunts me. Consider us even."
Yuna kept her embrace tight, and James remained silent.
He couldn't deny how comforting the embrace was.
He waited until his hasty, tear-hidden breaths calmed (Yuna was polite enough not to point them out) to pull away.
"I uh...appreciate it." He coughed, awkward again.
Yuna wanted to keep the male in a comforting cocoon. This boy...felt so unloved. He tried to hide it, but Yuna could see it plain as day.
James was hurt.
No more ego, just suffering.
Still, he gave her a crooked smile.
"I'll break the awkward atmosphere now by just going back to my room and actually getting a good night's rest in a warm bed. I don't think Mina was joking when she said she'd be putting me to work, so I want to be at least a little bit prepared."
He chuckled, and Yuna smiled.
She didn't miss that hint of excitement in his tone.
"...Mina's room is right down the hall, but I know you already know that." The boy awkwardly shuffled, already trying to slink into the side exit of the hall that lead to the lower decks.
Yuna grinned;
Was she really suddenly fond of James? He was a bit too awkward of a teenager for her to not pity him a bit.
"Alright. Goodnight, James." Yuna smiled at the boy, going to continue her walk.
She briefly paused in front of him. With quick thinking, she took the blanket tucked underneath her arm and wrapped it around his thin shoulders in a warmth-filled gesture.
James' cheeks reddened with surprise, and Yuna kept her smile soft as she addressed him.
"It'll all be okay, James. This may actually be a blessing in disguise; the wannabe playboy persona wasn't really suiting you."
She winked playfully, before swiftly turning towards Mina's door.
James watched her go with a rather star struck expression. He tried to stutter out;
"Thank you, Yuna." As genuinely as he could.
Yuna waved him off with a smile, before clicking Mina's door open.
James watched her disappear inside, watching as the door shut behind Yuna.
Carefully, he drew the blanket tighter around his shoulders.
His heart still fluttered from the act of affection Yuna had given him; however, it wasn't in a schoolyard crush kind of way.
It was...comforting. Loving in a different sense;
It reminded James of a happier time when his own mother was still on this earth.
James lingered a moment more, before he disappeared into the darkness of the corridor.
The pain still burned tightly in his chest, but a spark of hope began to mix in with the remorse.
He waited until he was in his locked room before shedding tears.
In Mina's room, Yuna traversed the captain's bedroom with a skilled grace.
Mina lay on her grand bed, plain but spacious. Her eyes were closed and she rested comfortably on her back; white sleep shirt peaking over her rich red sheets.
The room was dark, and gods was Mina a messy teenager. Books and crumpled papers littered the floors and clothing was scattered on all available furniture. Plates of half eaten food scattered Mina's desks. With the guidance of the moonlight streaming in through the captain's large windows, Yuna was able to avoid bumping into any globes or compasses.
It had been too emotional of a night.
Absolutely draining.
Yuna collapsed on top of the bed, not even trying to wiggle under the thick covers. She rested on her left side, making herself comfortable just in time for Mina to turn onto her right.
The sisters made eye contact, and Yuna smiled.
"I was informed by your newest crew mate that you requested my presence."
Yuna kept her voice low, to be mindful of the crew's slumbering members.
Shrike had wanted to share a room with Percival; shaken by the night's events.
While the fey was over the moon from Yuna's secret, that the healer made the fey swear to keep or else she'd wake up "plucked", Shrike was still deeply troubled by her friend's fates.
Percival, ever the gentleman, took the floor while Shrike shifted uncomfortably on a standard sized bed.
Diaval was depressed.
It worried Yuna to see the raven so mournful, and she'd tried inviting Diaval to share a room for the night.
The raven politely declined, and Yuna didn't miss how a steadily heating fire grew in the man's dark eyes.
'I hope everyone can at least get a few hours of rest. They'll need it for tomorrow...'
The prospect of what tomorrow might bring gave Yuna a shock of anxiety, and she quickly pushed it aside before Mina could notice.
Mina smirked, clearly basking in the attention her sister gave her as Yuna brought a hand up to stroke her hair.
"What, you mean the trust fund brat who lost his allowance?" Mina clarified disingenuously, huffing.
Yuna smirked;
"The brat you let on your ship with no questions asked?" She teased right back.
Mina scoffed at the notion, letting out a rough chuckle.
Briefly, her features broke with a muted sadness that didn't go unnoticed by Yuna;
"I only did what Meg would've done. Nothing more." Mina answered quietly.
Yuna had to ignore the immature pang of envy hat hit her gut, continuing to stroke Mina's hair. She gave her sister a comforting smile;
"You miss her, don't you?" Yuna asked sincerely.
Mina's eyes stared up at her sister. Slowly, the drifted to an unspecified spot in the room, like the sheer question sent Mina into a trance.
Slowly, she nodded.
"Yeah. I do." She answered earnestly.
The captain scooted closer to her sister, finding comfort in the security Yuna brought. She stared up at her big sister, eyes shimmering;
"But I missed you more." Mina added in honestly.
"I prayed every single day that I would see you again. Shit, I missed you so much you had me reading the Bible."
Yuna giggled at that, her smile turning sweet as she stared down at the teen.
Mina was sixteen now; a young woman. Still, Yuna would always see her as eleven years old. As a baby. Innocent.
'Meg saw the same thing in Mina and Leo when she found them on her ship that horrible day.' Yuna thought, watching as Mina's eyes fluttered shut under her care.
'It made her want to take care of them; to give them a second chance. Mina...must see the same thing in James.'
Yuna combed a tangled strand adeptly with her fingernails, Mina letting out an annoyed sound as her sister did so.
'She must've taught them well; I'm so grateful.'
"I wish I could've met her." Yuna confessed, the thought pouring from her mouth before she could contemplate it.
"I'd...want to thank her for everything."
Mina shrugged, her eyes still closed. Her hand clung onto Yuna's sleeve like a small animal, and she nonchalantly replied;
"It's fine; Meg's spirit haunts the ship anyways. I'm sure she heard you. Probably said "thank you" in her weird little ghost language."
Yuna felt an odd chill course through her at the easiness of Mina's words.
She blinked,
"Ah. Right."
Yuna let the subject drop.
She hummed softly as she lulled Mina into a light slumber, her own eyelids beginning to turn heavy. Yuna remained quiet, her nerves calming in the silent room.
She adjusted herself on the pillow so that her head could rest on it. She and Mina still remained facing each other, both girls on their sides.
Yuna spoke softly in the night air, her hand stopping its ministrations against Mina's scalp.
"I'm sorry our time together has been disingenuous." The thought had weighed heavy on Yuna's mind for some time, and the guilt finally came bursting through her heart.
Yuna settled her hand atop of Mina's on her pillow. The teen opened her eyes at the sudden apology, eyes shining with her confusion.
Mina seemed completely lost;
"Where on earth did you get an impression like that?" She wondered aloud, tone genuinely curious.
Yuna squeezed her hand, expression turning solemn.
"Our time together has only been for the sole purpose of dealing with this war, and finding Azazel... it's not right."
Mina could see the regret beginning to swirl in her sister's eyes;
"I should be taking you shopping and out to girly tea dates; staying up all night with you like we're having a sleepover. Being able to reminiscence with you, and take care of you..."
Yuna smiled sadly;
"Instead, I'm left chasing after you while we try to stop the pirate who murdered our parents from starting a war. Not exactly an ideal reunion."
Her chuckle was dry.
Mina seemed completely astounded by the claims. She watched as Yuna guiltily let her smile falter; shaking her head.
'I'm supposed to be protecting Mina, and yet I'm letting her charge headfirst into all of this. I can't even defend her; swear that Azazel won't hurt her. What the hell am I even doing?'
"That's not true!"
The exclamation that Mina made nearly shook the bed as the girl shot up straight. She stared angrily down at Yuna, and the healer stared up at her little sister with shock.
Mina repeated herself with a furious vigor, eyes threatening to water from her anger;
"That's not true, don't say things like that! It isn't fair!"
Yuna tried to quiet her sister in fear of a worried guard or protective fey busting through the bedroom door. 
"Mina-" Yuna started.
Mina didn't backdown,
"You can't say all of that like it's your fault! If Azazel hadn't resurfaced, then we probably would've never met each other again!" Mina made the bed bounce again as she shook with her shout, sitting up from her comfortable blanket cocoon.
The frizzy bed head made it difficult to take the threat seriously, but Yuna tried anyways.
Mina pointed at her sister accusingly, her scowl hardening the crease in her eyebrows.
It did make Yuna wonder, however;
'We really would've never been reunited if all of this trouble hadn't come about...'
"We have the rest of our lives to be sentimental and go on adventures. Stop thinking you're the one who has to do everything!"
Mina wasn't shouting necessarily, but the next sentence did make her voice waver and tone rise;
"I'm going to take care of you too! This whole time, I've been trying to make sure you're okay...so..."
Mina's voice dropped low, her head hanging.
Yuna felt her heart squeeze;
'All this time, we were both worried about the exact thing. Five years apart really messes up your communication, doesn't it?'
"...So stop talking about regrets and all that sad shit. Especially when we're about to find Leo...and risk coming across Azazel...I can't take it. I wish you didn't have to be involved in all of this; wish I could just let you and Udo grow old in the Moors or some sappy shit like that and leave all the fighting to me."
Mina whispered her heartfelt confession earnestly, but also shyly. She was obviously embarrassed; cheeks reddening and only able to look at Yuna's hands on the bedsheets.
Yuna slowly smiled.
'You're so grown.'
Briefly, the teenage Mina sitting on the bed morphed to a much tinier one in Yuna's mind. Short bobbed locks, chubby apple-red cheeks, adoring and doe-like eyes.
'But you're still a child.'
Carefully, Yuna reached up to tug Mina back down. Mina complied easily, still embarrassed about her passionate declaration. Yuna guided Mina until she lay back down; pulled into her elder sister's tight embrace and face resting in the crook of her neck.
Softly, Yuna hushed her;
"You're right. What we're about to do might be dangerous, and if I'm being honest...it may even get us in trouble with the crown. We're acting out of their jurisdiction."
Mina opened her mouth to protest or possibly insult the monarchs, and Yuna hurriedly silenced her.
"But, I'm the grownup here, Mina. I make my own decisions, and I'm aware of the risks. What happened in the Moors tonight will no doubt send us into a declaration of war; the thorn walls that once surrounded the Moors will have to be put up again...Philip will call in the national guard, and Ulstead won't be the happy and welcoming little port city it always was. A lot of things will change, after tonight."
Yuna felt so much like her and Mina's own mother in that moment. Yuna remembered those nights in Miyagata so vividly it could make her cry;
Every single hard day at school, fight with a friend, horrid nightmare, or simply just a depressing and fleeting thought, their mother would hold her just like this.
Just the mere scent of her mother was so comforting; like magnolias after a harsh rain. It would quell Yuna and help her think clearly...
Now, she could be the same thing for Mina; for...
Yuna felt her stomach lit up with tiny butterflies.
'A lot will change after tonight.'
"We're going to be risking a lot. All of us. Leave the worrying to me, alright? We can protect each other; you're not alone in the middle of the ocean anymore. We're going to find Leo and stop Azazel, and I'm not going to let anyone die. Not Maleficent, not Ini, not you." Yuna's tone left little room for argument, and the woman was struck with an odd realization.
She didn't feel...hesitant, as she spoke the words.
She meant them wholeheartedly; felt them deep in her very soul with no fear.
Whether it was intuition or foolishness, Yuna knew she would ring the words true.
'Azazel tore was apart once already. I'm never letting it happen again...even if it means taking care of him tonight. No fey are going to die by his hands and no humans either.' The thought burned like a scorched ember within Yuna.
She felt Mina blink her damp eyes against her skin, and Yuna held her tighter.
"After all this, we can go back to Miyagata. You, me and Leo; we can visit mom and dad. Everything will be alright, and we won't have to worry about being apart anymore. You and Leo can just be kids, no more war. I swear that to you as your big sister, Mina."
Yuna grinned with an affectionate chuckle as Mina tried to hold back a, in her own words, "pathetic" cry. Mina nodded hastily against her sisters neck, wrapping her arms around her waist and squeezing her sister back just as tight.
"Okay."
Mina whispered out in a broken voice.
Yuna knew that the girl needed to hear the words and probably waited everyday for five years for someone to tell them to her.
It was a miracle that managed to survive without the other.
Mina held onto Yuna even tighter, and Yuna winked through a loving laugh.
"Don't squeeze me too tight Mimi." She lightheartedly chastised.
"Wouldn't want you hurting anything."
Mina didn't cease;
"I highly doubt I'm strong enough to hurt you-"
The girl stopped. Then, she tensed.
Yuna grinned wider; Mina was always quick to catch on.
The warmth Yuna had been feeling all night, an immeasurable and unexplainable sensation of pure adoration finally came bubbling to the surface with no glass ceiling.
The ship was quiet, the waves were loud, and there the sisters shared perhaps one of the most special moments of both of their lives;
"I'm pregnant."
Yuna's whisper danced about the sisters with an excited anxiety.
Mina was still as stone and as quiet as one too. Yuna waited nervously for the girl's reaction, jolting when Mina removed her face from her neck.
She looked at Yuna, resting her head on the same pillow as her sister. There, Yuna saw it;
Mina beaming.
"What?" She questioned breathlessly, but Yuna knew she didn't have to repeat herself.
Their voices were so soft that it only added to the sincerity of it all;
"I haven't told anyone yet; only Shrike knows. I just found out back in Ulstead." Yuna whispered, her cheeks blushing with a hidden glee.
Mina let the words sink in. A brilliant smile spread onto her lips; so bright that it was nearly lighting up the dark room.
Her hand came up to grip Yuna's tightly underneath the covers.
"I'm really going to be an auntie?" She whispered incredulously; like someone had told her she'd be a millionaire in the next year. Sheer disbelief.
Yuna nodded again, squeezing her sister's hand back.
"The best auntie ever... and I'm going to be a..." Yuna filled with that same love once more;
"A mom."
As soon as the sentence left Yuna's lips, a teary laugh escaped from Mina. The involuntary action of sheer emotion caused Yuna to laugh out as well, eyes squinting through their watery state. The sisters half laughed and half cried; holding onto each other as the sea dove up and down with their emotions.
Mina choked out,
"I don't even know what to say, Yuna..." She laughed again; a warm and loving kind.
She snuggled closer to her sister;
"This life you're creating...the one you made for yourself...I'm proud of you. I'm so happy for you...and for Udo." Mina's voice wavered again, and Yuna smiled into her thick hair.
"I must say I can't quite comprehend how I feel myself." She whispered, truthfully.
Wasn't it just over a month ago that Udo and her had fought? A selfish request she made to the fey, a confession that she simply wasn't ready to start a family...
It was like that all vanished. Like the only thing that mattered was right now; was this little growing life that she and Udo had made-
"It is Udo's, right?"
Yuna delivered a sharp kick to Mina's shin.
The teen snickered while Yuna glared, and then she stilled.
Mina pushed herself up onto her elbows; whispering out;
"Udo doesn't know yet?!" She exclaimed.
Yuna sheepishly grinned in response.
Mina groaned;
"Udo doesn't know you're pregnant, doesn't know that we left to get Leo and possibly encounter Azazel..." Slowly, Mina shook her head.
"You can't go." She stated.
Yuna sighed heavily, sinking further into the mattress.
"...It's not like he was here for me to tell him." She figured.
"I'm the only one who will be able to find Leo on Certos. If we find him, we might find out how to save the Moors and Ini and Maleficent; maybe even take out Azazel when he's least expecting it..."
Yuna spoke slowly, and Mina listened.
Mina could hear the doubt seep into her words;
"We're bartering a lot tonight...I keep telling myself this is my duty. That I need to do this espionage mission because it's "for the crown" and it might stop a war..."
Yuna's breath hitched.
"...But really, I just want to know that in the end, even if everything goes wrong...I did everything I could to keep my friends safe, to protect Udo. That I at least tried to get my brother back...it must make me a horrible mother already; doing this behind Udo's back will probably make him hate me. Selfishly pursuing my own desires when I just found out I'm carrying our baby; going into a den of wolves..."
Yuna could've shed tears, but instead she just swallowed the heavy lump in her throat.
The confession felt nice, truth be told.
"But even with all of that on the table, I need to do this. The Moors is going to die along with all the faeries, and this "Phoenix Curse" that Azazel is so maddened about...that's the key to fixing all of this."
Yuna let her eyes flutter shut.
"...and I also just can't let this one chance of getting Leo back slip away. I'd never sleep again knowing that he was so close, and yet I just let him go...I'm going to take the risk to bring him home."
Mina stayed silent the whole time Yuna spoke, even as she finished with a whisper;
"I don't know if that makes me a bad mother or partner, human being..."
Mina interjected with little tolerance for the nonsense;
"You're not a horrible anything. You're Yuna, my big sister. You're the best damn thing this world has to offer."
Yuna kept her eyes closed, but she shut up immediately as her heart clenched.
She felt Mina lay back down, staying close to her like a protective house cat.
"You're just...desperate. All of us are. None of us want to admit we're pretty sure not all of us are going to make it out of this, so we're bartering and taking chances every shot we get."
Mina pulled the heavy blankets over Yuna's body, and stunned the elder sister with what she did next. Gently, Mina took the initiative to pet Yuna's hair.
"That's what it means to be human. You try to protect what you love with everything you've got; from your friends, partners..."
Mina glanced at her sister's torso and smiled mirthfully.
"To little brats and babies."
She brushed away Yuna's bangs;
"If you're set in doing this; then you're going to bring Leo home. You're going to not do anything stupid, you're going to make sure that the little bud inside of you stays safe. I'd never forgive myself, or be able to look Udo in the eyes knowing that I let something happen to you or the baby." Mina whispered.
The sweetness of the words, and of her little sister's endearing actions made Yuna fill with warmth on that chilly winter night.
The ministrations of Mina made it harder to try and open her eyes, and Yuna felt her anxieties leave her as the desire for rest took their places.
What a night it'd been.
Yuna leaned into Mina's touch, nodding her confirmation of the girl's request.
"I love you." She muttered out, as sincere as she was tired.
Mina smiled,
"I love you too." She eyed the spot under the blankets where Yuna's stomach should be;
'You too.'
Although the coming hours brought with them many unknowns, the two sisters slept soundly.
When the morning sun rose, Yuna knew that everything would change, and in that moment for heart set with sound mind.
*
Rage.
Horror.
Hopelessness.
Few more words could describe Udo's feelings as he and Borra silently flew among the warrior fey back to Ulstead.
It was early morning as they made their descent, and Udo could've wept for how horribly wrong the night had gone.
The Cavernous nest was just like the affected Moors, however the "sickness" had been all encompassing. The land the Desert Fey roamed was like ash; no more warm and sun filled sand. The domain of the Forest Fey was rotted; dead tree bark and flora. The Jungle Fey's home was hot and humid decaying jungle; no sustainable life.
The Tundra Fey's snowy lands were melted away to cold and unforgiving stone.
Their Phoenix encased in ember no longer had her beautiful, orange light surrounding her.
Gray. Dull. Dead.
The skeleton itself threatened to disintegrate entirely; the ember surrounding her serving as more of a stone prison slowly destroying her rather than a protective and beautiful ember, freezing a moment in time.
Udo imagined that was the reason for Maleficent's current state of comatose.
His heart hurt. Screamed.
Roared.
He was no Conall. He wasn't even the Udo that loved and protected his kin with everything he had.
He was a failure. A disgrace.
The reason that the fey were going to all be wiped out.
"We're here. Save your sulking for later." Borra dryly said from his side; feeling much the same as Udo.
Wordlessly, the Fey descended onto Ulstead castle's dewy and silent courtyard.
They strode in forlorn silence, large wings shuffling against the trimmer topiaries. Udo dismissed the tired Fey to the guest wing of the castle where their sleepy families lay, and strode into the main hall with Borra at his side.
The whole castle was eerily quiet in the morning air. No maids, servants, chefs or attendants. Only silence.
Borra and Udo's bare feet pat against the cold marble as they walked; a depressing and exhausted air about them.
They made no comment about the Cavernous Nest or the Phoenix, nor what their next course of action should be.
They were simply deflated; completely lost for words.
Udo just wanted to have a certain bright-eyed healer back in his arms, where he knew she would was safe and away from harm. Yuna was the only thing left that Udo knew he could protect...
The two walked until they came upon the infirmary on one of the high floors; expecting to see most of their friends taking refuge in the nursing space.
Soft cries sounded from behind the door, and Borra pushed it open with tense anxiety over what sight may await him.
The two fey were greeted by a shock of golden hair weeping into Maleficent's bedsheets as she kneeled at her side, and a solemn man lost on what to say.
Udo recognized them instantly;
"Aurora. Philip." His dull tone actually sounded surprised.
The two turned at the call of their name; Philip offering the fey a small smile and Aurora simply crying harder.
Borra hastily left his friend's side; Ini the only thing he saw in that room. He sat at her side with worried eyes, scanning and memorizing. He watched her chest rise and fall with shallow but present breaths, and instantly he relaxed.
Wordlessly, Borra collapsed alongside Ini; hugging her frail body close.
Udo strode towards the king and queen,
"Aurora." He gently placed a hand onto Aurora's shoulder, meeting her teary gaze with sympathetic eyes.
"I am so sorry, Aurora..."
At the fey's touch and soft words, the queen lost it. She pushed herself up and launched into Udo's arms, crying into his Winter Solstice robes with little abandon. Udo held her comfortingly, rubbing his friend's back softly as he looked to Philip.
Philip stared back, defeated.
Udo spoke carefully,
"The Cavernous Nest is gone. Everything within it is turning to rot...our Phoenix is withering away." He winced as Aurora cried harder at that.
Udo stared down at Maleficent's form with a heavy heart, instantly looking away when it suddenly became too much.
Udo's voice was tired and weak,
"This is the same thing I saw at that peninsula, with the water nymphs. I have no doubt that Azazel is behind this; that whatever this "Phoenix Curse" entails, he is already acting on it."
The Fey confirmed with a solemn nod.
Philip took in the report as eloquently as he could; but Udo could see the flash of rage begin to boil in the king's eyes.
Philip let his body fall against the infirmary walls as he ran a heavy hand down his weary face.
Udo let Aurora continue to cry, lips set in a thin line as he looked to the fallen king.
"What will you do?" Udo questioned the king, though he expected little answer.
Philip's anger led him to look around the room, lost; like he were searching for an answer. He shrugged, hands aggressively hitting the wall behind him.
"What else is there to do?" Philip's voice dropped.
"I'll have to turn Ulstead into a full fledged military zone. Send our navy out and block any and all entrances from the sea; declare Azazel a national security threat..."
Something in Philip's demeanor darkened;
"...Kill the bastard."
It chilled Udo to see Philip turn so cold.
However, he couldn't find it in him to protest.
Philip sighed;
"Gods, where is Percival when I need him? He should've been the first one to greet us at the gate..."
Udo's curiosity peaked.
It was a curious thing, wasn't Percival always glued to Philip's side? Especially now that they were in the middle of a potential terror attack?
"He isn't here?" Udo clarified incredulously with a quick glance around the room.
Was it really just them?
Philip shrugged again, hand covering his face and muffling his words.
"If he is, I have no idea where he might be." Philip glanced to Maleficent.
"...I reckon I don't know where Diaval is, either. I didn't think he'd ever leave her side." Philip noted slowly and his eyes widened at the realization.
Udo didn't know why, but the sentence instantly alarmed him.
The exhaustion left his body, and an eerie worry began to take its place.
Why wouldn't Percival be here?
How could Diaval ever leave his beloved mistresses's side?
Where on earth was Shrike?
Shouldn't Mina be back by now? Why hadn't Udo seen her ship in the harbor?
Most crucially...
Where was his Yuna, with her bright eyes and sweet smile to greet him?
"Where's Yuna?" The Fey questioned suddenly. Udo's heart rate quickened, and he tried to remain calm.
Aurora pulled away from the fey, seemingly perturbed by the same notion that trouble the two men. Her face was red and swollen from her tears, but she was able to pause her hysterics to cautiously wonder;
"I thought she would've been waiting for you at the Moors?" Aurora questioned.
Udo slowly shook his head; anxious.
"I told her to wait in the castle where it's safe."
Udo looked from Maleficent and Ini. Hastily, he strode about the room as if searching for a clue; wings batting nervously.
"She treated Maleficent and Ini; she should be in here with them. The others should be in here too; where are they?"
At that, Borra finally lifted his head.
He let go of Ini's limp body, tired eyes holding the same amount of concern as Udo;
"They may just all be resting." Borra tried to reason, his voice course from the trying night.
"The spiritual fey are in the castle as well; Yuna may be having them check on Maleficent and Ini in her place."
Udo slowly nodded.
Right. Why was he so mental?
Of course Yuna would be sleeping in the castle; the poor thing must've been up all night trying to save their friends.
Naturally, she did save them; gods, Udo would never not be amazed by how gifted Yuna was. Hardworking, cunning, never accepting failure.
Two fey were alive because of her, and Udo let himself relax as his heart beat with love.
Udo let his shoulders relax from their tension.
He released a breath he'd been holding for the last painful minute;
"Of course." He breathed.
Udo chuckled at his own anxiety;
"They're all exhausted, just like the rest of us." He smiled tiredly at his three friends, all worn down and upset.
Udo tried to lift their weary spirits,
"Why don't we all rest, and we then call a meeting to-"
Heeled boots clicked down the hallway just outside of the infirmary, and then the wooden door was thrown open with forceful haste.
Udo and company jumped.
"King Philip!" A shrill voice cried out.
Philip immediately alerted;
"Lottie?" He questioned as he tore himself from the infirmary wall. He immediately held his breath at her obviously frantic demeanor.
The apprentice courier held in her hand a piece of parchment, eyes wide and her black hair wind-swept from her run across the castle.
"This note was found in General Percival's office, highness!"
Lottie bowed her head as Philip went to cautiously take it from her ebony hands.
The room was silent, and all eyes went to the paper like it were a potential explosive.
The iciness in Udo's gut hit him like an iron bullet all over again.
Philip slowly read the parchment, and the room's occupants watched with increasing worry as his eyes widened in sheer panic, and shock.
Lottie gulped anxiously;
"It would seem the General, Court Herbalist and others believe they have located Azazel...and a potential way to solve the Phoenix Curse." Lottie watched her King's expression adeptly;
"They're trying to save Mistress Maleficent and Mistress Ini."
The room instantly turned cold.
Udo felt his legs give out, and he caught himself on a nearby bookcase;
'Court...herbalist?'
A gut wrenching and breath stealing horror began to take over Udo. 
Before Philip could even respond, Udo reacted. His wings spread out to their full mighty span and his pointed eyes narrowed;
"Where are they?" His question hissed out.
Lottie startled at the fey's instant change in character. She stuttered;
"C-Certos!" Her heels clicked as she sputtered backwards. "They left on Miss Mina's ship before the sun was even up! They'll already be anchored by now..."
'Certos?' Udo's gaze hardened.
"Where is that?" He questioned again, voice strict.
Even Aurora seemed to shrink under Udo's growing aggression.
Borra slowly sat up from Ini's bed, and Philip rose a cautious hand to halt his friend.
"Udo." Philip began, speaking slowly.
Udo continued to advance, and Philip quirked a brow.
"I know you're scared for Yuna, but don't forget that we all have someone on that boat we care about." The king began.
"If they're heading for Certos to intercept Azazel, then I doubt fighting will break out. It's a lawless island; one enormous party town." Philip reasoned, though he himself felt unsure.
How the hell were their friends going to tread through Certos?
The attempt fell short on Udo, and his scowl hardened;
"Lawless?" He repeated in a low voice.
Philip sucked in a breath, and Aurora tried next to calm their increasingly aggravated friend.
"Azazel may not even be at Certos. If he is... then a royal fleet approaching an island like Certos may actually put them all in danger." Aurora tried to smile.
"We need to be tactful here, Udo. If we just leave-"
"When will you all figure it out?!"
Udo finally broke, and his white wings kicked up a storm in the infirmary.
Philip immediately went to cover Aurora and Lottie, and Borra stood with a harsh glare;
"Udo!" He yelled over the gusts,
"Stop it!"
Udo remained vigilant, his chest burning;
"There is no more waiting! You all claim you want to protect Ulstead and the Moors, and yet we all sit here and do nothing! There is no more time to be complacent and tactful; you may be okay with our friends putting themselves in danger because it means you don't have to, but I am not!!"
Udo's voice broke in his harsh yell, and his heart screamed.
His home was dying, his people were in danger, he was exhausted, terrified, overwhelmed;
And not the only person he should've been guaranteed to protect had thrown herself into god knows what kind of twisted and fatal game of chance.
His heart beat faster and heavier; hot blood coursing through his veins and his vision turning red.
Enough.
"I will not stand back and let this all happen! If any one of you want to actually stop a damn war from killing all of us, you'd do the same!"
No one had ever heard Udo shout in pure rage, barely even heard the kind fey raise his voice.
Even Borra, who was the closest and most cherished friend of the fey felt a growing fear over the male's wellbeing. He was at his wit's end; they all were, and Udo was doing what he'd always do.
Putting it all on himself.
Udo's wings brought him into the air, and Philip's eyes widened.
"Udo, don't!"
The sound of shattering glass was what answered the king.
The wind picked up small glass shards and cold morning air; and when the friend's lifted their faces from their shielding arms, Udo was gone.
As was one of the infirmary's windows.
The room was quiet.
Borra couldn't even come out of his shock to fly after the fool.
Slowly, without even looking at the courier, Philip shakily cleared his throat.
"Lottie."
The girl looked to him immediately, eyes blown wide like glass.
Philip swallowed thickly.
"...Call in the national guard. Declare Ulstead under attack."
The king still stared out the distant window Udo had expelled himself from,
"We're taking Azazel down. Neutralizing him."
Lottie's body trembled with fear, and she shakily nodded.
"Yes, your highness!"
She barely managed to keep her balance as she sprinted out of the infirmary and through Ulstead Castle's halls.
Aurora stayed by Maleficent, but looked to her husband worriedly;
"Yuna and Diaval are going to see Azazel?" She hastily rose to her feet;
"I can't let them. Not after what happened to Maleficent, I won't let any one else fall victim to him."
Philip stopped his wife, eyes conveying an unreadable emotion.
"No one will." He spoke firmly.
Aurora halted; she'd never heard her husband sound quite so...lethal.
"Borra." Philip called out expectantly.
The fey was already on his feet with a fleeting glance to Ini, nodding like he already understood what was expected of him.
"I'll put them up all around the coast and the Moors." The Fey gruffly whispered, nodding to the king and queen.
Aurora licked her dry lips as her nerves fired,
"Put what up, exactly?"
She already knew, but prayed it wouldn't be so.
"Thorns. Thick roots. Protective walls."
Borra confirmed in a solemn tone.
"Maleficent one cast the Moors in their protection, and into their darkness the Moors shall fall again."
Aurora's head fell, and her eyes shut in harsh pain.
How many times as a teen, when she lived in that cottage raised by the faeries, did she so desperately want to evade those thorn walls?
Oh, how joyous of a day it'd been when Maleficent let the Moors be free of those bloody dreaded thorns.
It hurt every fiber of her being, but Aurora knew it had to be done.
"Let me go with you." She whispered to Borra.
Aurora slowly left Maleficent's side with a heavy and grief-struck heart; approaching Borra.
"I'm still queen of the Moors. They need me right now; I've neglected them for far too long. If they need to go under the oppression of the thorns once more..." Aurora trailed off.
Borra eyed her carefully.
"Then you want to be in there with them." He finished for her.
Aurora wordlessly nodded, a long breath leaving her body.
Philip immediately reached for his wife;
"Aurora-"
"You stay here and manage things from your front. I'll do the same with mine." Aurora intercepted with a small smile.
She pressed a soft kiss to Philip's lips;
"We'll need this union between Ulstead and the Moors to work now more than ever. We're both going to be on the same side of this war." She whispered against his lips.
Aurora caressed Philip's face with a fleeting hand. The king looked down at his wife painfully;
He didn't want to have to admit it, but Aurora was right. As she often was.
Aurora tried to give Philip one last forced smile, before turning back to Maleficent.
Lovingly, her lips pressed against her mother's forehead.
"I'll be waiting for you when you wake up." Aurora promised quietly in the morning air, fighting back another round of tears. She looked up to Ini, and bowed her head quietly.
"Come on." She quickly collected herself, pushing off the bedside and striding past Borra.
"We have people and faeries to protect."
Borra and Philip exchanged one last look as they parted ways. Silently, Philip sat back down in the infirmary as he awaited the return of Lottie with his most esteemed crowns-guard.
The slumbering bodies of Maleficent and Ini lay silently in the room with him, and Philip finally let his head fall into his hands.
As Borra and Aurora hurried down the castle hallways, Aurora caught a brief streak of white in the pale sky out of the grand windows.
'Be careful, Udo.'
Said fey soared high in the sky with only one destination and one burning thought in his mind;
'No one is going to tear my family apart.'
The briefest, faintest, and earliest possible memory that Udo had of his passed parents wrapped around him tightly. The sea broke into an expanse of sapphire, and the faintest traces of rain began to storm over Ulstead as Udo flew;
'Again.'
                                               *
A rain was falling over the seas and coast surrounding Certos.
The party of friends had managed to gain a least a little bit of rest along the journey, though nerves and unease plagued most of their night.
It was early afternoon, but you couldn't tell from the thick and dark clouds decorating the sky. Aboard Mina's ship, the crew could see the faintest speck in the distance; Certos.
"This is as far as I can go. If I get any closer, my ship will be instantly recognized. It could tip Azazel off." Mina spoke on the wet and rain-soaked deck. The water made the wood smell fresh and new, and the teen smiled up at her sister.
She fastened a neutral colored head scarf over Yuna's hair and neck, securing it over her mouth as well. She wore a cloak of the same color; appearing as inconspicuous as possible.
As Mina finished tying off the knot, she nodded in satisfaction.
"Same look I had when we met in Miyagata." She mused.
Yuna smiled beneath the fabric, even though it was hidden.
"Not the most clever of disguises, but it'll do." She spoke through her nerves, hands wringing underneath her cloak.
"Hey." Mina grabbed her hands, squeezing then gently. Mist clung to her hair as she assured,
"It'll be okay. Best case scenario, you find Leo. Worst case scenario, you don't. Either way, no one is going to be hurt, and we'll get the hell out of here."
Mina spoke firmly, reaching into her side holsters.
Yuna nodded; her heart pounding.
"I know." She simply responded.
'Diaval will be with me and Percival will be there too. It'll all be fine.' Yuna released a shuddered breath.
"Here."
Mina's hand came away from its belt, and in its grasp a glint of metal flashed.
Yuna's eyes widened;
"You're giving me your gun?" She questioned incredulously.
Mina smirked,
"The more correct term would be a "pistol", actually." The heavy and loaded object was placed into Yuna limp hand, right on the barrel.
Mina closed her fingers firmly around it, and Mina looked to her seriously.
"Keep this underneath your cloak. If things go horribly wrong or you think something may happen, don't hesitate to use it." She spoke her words lethally low.
Yuna stared down at the carved metal; smelling the powder within it. Such a small thing, with so much death and destruction behind it.
Mina pointed down at the parts as she explained,
"You just need to turn the safety off and aim. Pull the trigger to shoot-"
"I know how a gun works, silly." Yuna pat Mina's head with a chuckle, her hand disappearing under her cloak to secure the gun to her person.
"Thank you, Mina."
The sister seemed taken aback by that;
"I figured I'd have to shove that gun down your throat to make you take it. That was easy." Mina huffed.
Yuna shrugged, fastening the bag at her side;
"Well, I'd be lying if I said going in there empty handed made me feel safe." She smirked, patting the bag at her side.
"I'll give this to Leo if I find him." She confirmed with the captain, the contents within the bag unrevealed.
Mina nodded in approval; "Give that to him, and he'll know you're the real deal." Her smile turned bittersweet, and in an instant she pulled Yuna down into a tight hug.
"Be careful." Mina whispered into her ear,
"For both of you."
Yuna embraced her back. Her nerves were still firing, but she began to make peace with what was about to transpire.
"I'll bring him home, Mina. I promise." Yuna whispered as she pulled away.
Mina met her gaze with one last nervous smile;
"Just make sure you come home with him." She said softly.
With that, the two sisters strode down the slick and long deck. Their friends waited for them at the end, and Yuna greeted Shrike with as bright a smile as she could muster.
The jungle fey was next to pull Yuna into a protective hug;
"You've got the signal flare in your bag, yeah?" She checked again for the tenth time that afternoon as they pulled apart.
Yuna nodded affirmatively;
"Locked and loaded." She confirmed with a wink.
Shrike grinned,
"Just fire that up in the sky if something does wrong. I'll swoop in save your arse before the color even burns out." Shrike's wings fluttered at that, like she were flexing.
Yuna giggled;
"Well last time you took me flying, you dropped me, so I might just take my chances with Azazel." She teased with a deep sigh.
Shrike grinned,
"Don't be smart." Her wing playfully bat at Yuna before the fey became more serious.
She looked Yuna in the eyes, before going down to her stomach. Shrike looked her back in the eyes before screaming a silent command at her friend.
"I'll make sure nothing happens."
Yuna stated firmly, catching onto Shrike immediately.
Shrike relaxed, her lips still holding a small smile. "You better." She quirked an eyebrow.
"Percival! You better take care of her, I mean it!" Shrike called out towards the general.
Percival, clad in boots, slacks and a cloak covered linen shirt, called back immediately;
"Well, I don't see what else I'd be doing!"
Yuna chuckled;
'Percival looks so...casual.' She contemplated in a slight state of shock at seeing the man.
Percival was practically never seen without his Ulstead reds fully dawned, and Yuna could quite comprehend that the casually dressed man was really her intimidating superior.
'He just looks like some...guy. You'd never think he was a General of Ulstead.'
Yuna smiled,
'Looks can be deceiving.'
"Hey now, don't forget I'm going to be there too."
Yuna looked to her right as Diaval approached them; still as tired and sad as the night prior, but with a gentle smile on his lips.
Yuna greeted him warmly as he stopped at her side,
"Little bird." She smiled at her close friend.
Diaval chuckled at that, and it made Yuna happy that he were able to do so after everything that happened.
"Little woman." He teased right back.
Yuna grinned, and she let Diaval tug her into a comforting side embrace.
With all hands on deck, Mina strode out of the group. She beckoned towards a few of her crew-mates, sending them on their way as she addressed her companions;
"Alright! It's showtime."
The teen was apparent in attempting to mask her anxiousness as she laughed.
Mina clapped her hands together loudly; whipping her head around to look at a distant figure up on the stern,
"James! Is our position steady?" She boomed out.
The figure startled,
"Y-Yeah!" His small voice stuttered,
"I m-mean, Aye C-Captain!"
Mina rolled her eyes.
"Well, seems we're ready." She forced a smile back onto her face.
"One last time; I need everyone to be aware of their roles. If we're going to make this work, then we can't leave anything up to chance." Mina said firmly. Her gaze was steely and calloused.
Her eyes flitted towards the distant point of Certos, and her gaze hardened even more.
"I need to stay here with the ship; if I take one step onto that island, I'll be recognized in a heartbeat. Azazel knows me and knows what I look like. He's familiar with my ship and my crew...this is as far as I can go without compromise."
Mina's frustration was evident as her nails dug into her pale knuckles. She rocked in her heels with a huff, shaking the thoughts out of her head.
"I'm sorry." She confessed sincerely.
"I brought you all out here and yet I have the easy job. I'll make it up to you all, I swear."
Percival finished his work along the ship's railings, fastening a knot that tethered a lone rowboat to the water's surface.
"No apologies needed when we're all fighting in this war together." The older man stated with little thought, cloak catching onto the icy winds.
Percival addressed the group with his hand still rested onto the rope's thick knot, his hood pulled securely over his bald head.
"I'll be going with Yuna onto Certos. Reconnaissance, if you will." Percival looked down at the small, rickety boat.
"Naturally, I'll be keeping my distance. But don't worry." Percival looked to Yuna, nothing but chivalrous sincerity beaming from him.
"I'll protect her."
Yuna smiled at the man, and was surprised when Percival smiled back to her.
"Well, count me in on guard duty too." Diaval chimed in, his dark eyes extra luminescent with his under-eye bags. His still gave the group a small quirk of his lips besides the morbid circumstances;
"I won't leave Yuna's side...or, rather, her shoulder." Diaval gave a lopsided grin.
Shrike seemed surprised;
"You can transform without...Maleficent?" She spoke the name carefully.
Diaval nodded, fingers already begin to morph into something more like feather than bone. He showed Shrike with a flick of his hand;
"Only back into my raven state, but luckily that's all we'll need for today."
Diaval gave Yuna's hand a quick squeeze; a gesture between the friends that they'd adopted sometime ago.
It was a reassurance; a promise from the raven.
Diaval gave a small wave to their friends and to Mina;
"This better save Maleficent and Ini, Mina!" The raven cawed with an affectionate wink.
Mina grinned as she watched the man transform before their eyes. Diaval's black garbs morphed into a small dark body; the feathers that replaced his fingers soon encompassing both of his arms. A black beak began to paint his face, and just like that, the tall man shrank down and squawked.
A black puff of magic followed it, and from that emerged the ever handsome little raven that Diaval was.
Yuna smiled softly as she held her fingers out, Diaval latching onto them instantly. He patted up her arms with his talons, coming up to perch on her shoulder proudly.
Yuna giggled when he snuggled into the scarf covering her head.
Mina watched with a relieved feeling;
If the loyalty of Percival and Diaval, she knew Yuna was in good hands.
Oh, who was she kidding?
'She can handle herself.' Mina watched her sister affectionately.
Shrike reached out to rub at Diaval's head, and the raven relished in it. Her other hand came up to Yuna cheek, rubbing it an affectionate final farewell. She gave Yuna that same look again, and Yuna nodded vehemently.
'I won't let anything happen to them. Ever.'
Shrike huffed, before taping Diaval's little black beak.
"Be good little birdie." She whispered.
"Caw!" Diaval responded in what sounded like an annoyed tone;
"Don't you already know Yuna and I make the best team?!"
Shrike smirked, before turning her attention to Percival.
The pair seemed awkward, comically so.
The group watched them with a peaking interest and Yuna made a mental note to rescind her bet with Udo;
Maybe the two were a bit weak in the love department.
"So, uh..." Shrike sighed, wings shielding her from the outside chill.
"...Be safe." She nodded firmly.
"Mina should've given you a flare as well. If you or Yuna are in trouble, just light that up and I'll have both of you out of there before anything can happen."
Percival was rather aloof, his grip on the knot tightening. He filtered between looking Shrike in the eyes to staying away into the ocean, and even James was snickering from his spot on the stern.
"Alright." He tried to give the fey a smile, but just ended up feeling like a dunce. Shrike breathed out exasperatedly as he spun on his heel and hurriedly began to climb over the railing behind him.
"See you when we get back." Percival he hurriedly bid her farewell, fumbling over his own self as he stepped onto the wooden ladder descending from the ship.
"We should hurry, Yuna." Percival stated.
Yuna nodded; alerting as her heart began to pick up speed again.
"Right." She agreed, her posture straightening.
Yuna gave one last fleeting look to Shrike, who smiled encouragingly.
Before she could look back to Mina, the girl had already darted towards her at lightening speed. One last time, the sister latched onto Yuna.
It knocked her back slightly, but Yuna smiled adoringly all the same.
"I mean it!" Mina's exclamation was muffled in Yuna's cloak;
"No funny business! No risks. Just come back...even if Leo's there. If you can't get to him, then just come back and we can think of something else..."
Mina tightened her grip.
"Please..."
Yuna looked down solemnly at the teen as she softly rubbed her head.
Yuna knew what she really meant;
"I don't want to lose you again."
The older sister felt a cold guilt settle within her;
'We didn't come this far and already take this risk to not make this work. We couldn't even catch a whiff of Azazel's trial, and now he's right here...'
"I promise."
Yuna pressed a kiss into Mina's hair as they separated, the lie coming out rather painfully from Yuna's lips.
Mina beamed, stepping back.
"Better hurry." She whispered, watching as her sister went.
'...I won't let this opportunity go. Not for Leo...and not for Maleficent or Ini either.'
Yuna wondered if James knew what she was thinking as she happened to make eye contact with him, the man watching her with a cautious watch.
She settled to just dismiss him with a wave, lips holding a small smile.
Percival just managed to keep his balance as he rocked into the rowboat; the sea and short span of wood and poor combination for balance.
He kept his stance as firm as he could as he stood; watching as Yuna gave their friends one last farewell. She threw her legs over the railing swiftly, eyes looking away from their companions with a pained expression.
One of her feet slipped under the ladder pegs, slick from fresh seawater.
Percival went to catch her, but Yuna gathered herself quickly and re-found her footing.
Diaval cawed in her ear, and Yuna sighed;
"I'm alright." She assured.
Only when she finished the descent and let one foot touch the wood of the second boat did Percival go forward to help her.
He firmly gripped her waist and hand, walking her securely until she could sit opposite of him.
Yuna smiled her thanks, and Percival bowed his head.
He sat down in front of her in the rowboat, facing towards each other. The general took an oar into each hand, and finally the rope knot tying the boat to the ship came fully undone as Yuna pushed them away from the barnacled walls.
A low layer of fog covered the sea with the rain, and Yuna instantly groaned as the constant rolling rhythm intensified in the much smaller boat. That aside, she was grateful Percival rowed; it was a straight shot to Certos, and she knew Percival would get them there with proud agility.
Turning over her shoulder as the sea splashed water droplets onto her, Yuna spared one last look to the ship that slowly became further and further away.
Their friends stayed at the stern the entire time, and Yuna allowed herself a small wave as she saw Mina's quickly breaking expression.
She turned away with a heavy breath.
'Here goes nothing.' Yuna tried to settle against the cold rocking waves, the gun metal at her hip was icy and her bag feeling like a heavy stone.
"It'll all be fine, Yuna."
Percival broke the tense atmosphere smoothly, grunting under the strain of his constant rowing.
Yuna relaxed under his assurance; it was hard not to. Percival was always an epitome of strength, and Yuna would never not respect that.
"I know." She nodded, fingers coming up to scratch Diaval's neck.
He cooed affectionately, and Yuna responded;
"Thank you for doing this, Percival. I knew from my first day at the castle that you were a good man." She whispered sincerely, finally smiling.
Percival lips settled into the general's own unique smirk, eyes scanning the ocean surrounding them.
"I knew you'd be a royal pain."
He quipped, and Yuna laughed out.
The rain began to fall harder, and Yuna placed a cold hand over her heart.
The beating there had sped up with an anticipatory anxiety, and she steadied her breathing;
'Maleficent, Ini, hold on...I'm going to fix this.'
She stared up at the dark clouds overhead, the rain like small and cold daggers digging into her cheeks. As Certos drew closer, and Percival gave Yuna a look that could only translate to,
"Are you ready for this?"
Yuna nodded firmly. Her heart beat with a steady and hot conviction, the cold air suddenly dissipating about her.
No more being worried; they had people waiting for them. Innocent lives that needed to be saved.
Yuna wouldn't sit back and let Azazel ruin this world...
She had too much to lose to let him.
Udo's soft smile flashed in her mind, and Yuna could've almost envisioned a small babe in his strong arms.
Their home, surrounded by the Moors' lush and serene nature. The wildflowers and waterfalls, faeries dancing in the evening wind and toadstools lighting the grounds like little lanterns.
Their friends and her family, right in those Moors with them. Perhaps some with their own little families as well...
Yuna finally felt like she understood her parents words; this is what she was supposed to do.
She would do it with no questions asked.
'I'm coming for you, Leo.'
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Hi everyone!
Show your support if you want, if not then I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
I loved writing Yuna thinking about motherhood and the baby; it's my new favorite thing ❤️ who's excited for that?! 👶🏻
Ending on a cliff hanger, but don't worry; I'll be back with a new chapter soon!! I can't wait to write this for all of you...
What do you think is waiting for Yuna?
Also; Udo may be on his way!!
See you soon guys! 🧚‍♀️
Akahana