Huh?
Pregnant? Who? Celine?
I should uh, I should move. I should congratulate her.
Smile, come on, Blanc, smile, smile, smile, SMILE!
I should uh, I should thank her. Yes. Tell her that I love her.
Tell her that I will protect her during this time, and that nothing will harm or inconvenience her. What a disgusting fucking lie.
A father, huh? Haha, a father. I wonder what the child is? What would their name be? Wait, no. Not now.
Come on. I should get up.
Come on, come on, come on, COME ON!
MOVE, FOR VITA'S SAKE! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! SAY SOMETHING! SMILE AT LEAST!
"Blanc?" asked Celine, looking at him worried.
Blanc looked pale, his mouth slightly open, eyes wide open.
Words were on his tongue, ready to be said. Yet none came.
His hands began shaking slightly.
This was not the time. Not the time or the moment. Breathe. Breathe.
"Sorry, uh…" began Blanc, stuttering as he jumped to his feet all of a sudden, "How do you know?"
"I did not realize before, but I am a week late, and I threw up several times today. I would have loved to see a Daughter to confirm, but since it's not possible, I can only just assume," said Celine.
"Oh my love," said Blanc, putting his hands on her cheeks, "my love, thank you. I love you."
"It is not confirmed yet," said Celine, smiling through the tears.
"All the same, thank you," replied Blanc, kissing her.
As their lips connected, Kael and Lune began clapping, with a wide smile on their faces. Happy for Blanc and Celine.
As the two's lips departed one another, Kael and Lune ran up to them, hugging both of them at the same time.
"Congratulations, Brother, Sister Celine," said Lune, "I wish for a boy."
"A boy?" Blanc asked while crouching to be at eye level with her.
Lune nodded fiercely, "Yes, as an aunt, I want to train him with the sword."
"You already thought this far?" giggled Blanc while turning slightly towards where Celine was.
He placed his hands on her stomach before kissing it.
"Whatever it may be, boy or girl, I will be happy as long as it is healthy," said Blanc as he placed his forehead to her belly.
"I agree," sniffed Celine, with a warm smile on her face, as she placed her hands on his hand, playing slowly with his gray hair.
"So do I," said Kael, putting his hand on her stomach as well.
"Do you feel it kicking yet?" asked Lune, placing her hand everywhere on her stomach.
Celine just laughed at her question, wiping away the tears before replying, "It's too early for that, Lune. If I am with child, it should be smaller than a pea now."
"A pea? So small?" Lune asked.
"Smaller even," she replied, "but it will grow. And it will kick. And when it does, I will let you feel it, okay?"
"Promise?" asked Lune.
Celine nodded to her, "Promise."
After another few words from Kael and Lune, they went to take a bath, leaving only three present at the table and near it.
"Co-congratulations, Celine, Blanc. I hope it will be an easy pregnancy and a healthy child," stuttered Miyanna, looking at the ground instead of the two, before getting up and turning to leave.
"Miyanna," said Celine, stopping her in her tracks.
"Hm?" Miyanna asked, turning toward them. Only to have Celine suddenly in her face, hugging her tightly.
Celine whispered something in her ears, which made Miyanna's eyes jump from Blanc's face, as he watched the two, to the ground in quick succession.
He did not know what they discussed, but Miyanna only kept nodding, showing Celine a smile from time to time as they talked.
He did not try to listen to their conversation. If it were something important, Celine would tell him.
Other things flooded his mind even as he watched the two with a straight face that did not show the turmoil inside of him.
He managed to control himself and make Celine not feel bad about the discovery of the pregnancy, at least.
But he cursed his lust, he cursed his stupidity… 'Then I will make you a mother,' he said after the battle with the wolf pack. How utter stupidity.
How can one know the risks and still do it?
Why did he do it?
A cave in the middle of the forest is not a good place for a pregnancy, even if all he did was clean the damn place and take care of Celine.
No… she needed proper care from people who knew how to handle a pregnancy and a proper place where she would be taken care of during the pregnancy and childbirth.
Did he have any experience in such a thing? Absolutely none.
Great, just great, JUST WHAT I FUCKING NEEDED. I've put another person I love in danger.
A bad moment for my mistake to come back and stab me in the back.
What to do… how to solve this? How to solve everything?
How to calm my mind?
I can't think. I need to think. I can't. I can't. I can't.
HAHA, I AM FUCKING USELESS.
Breathe, just keep on breathing.
That's it. Good. Calm your mind, Blanc. Panicking now won't solve all the issues or make your worries go away.
Okay. I am calm now.
Let's think. I still can't.
Should I talk with Celine? No… do not put this weight on her.
But it's too much alone. But she is pregnant.
That's exactly why I should speak with her.
"Okay? Leave it to me," said Celine to Miyanna, as her hand moved along Celine's stomach.
"Mhm," muttered Miyanna, as she sent a final glance towards Blanc, who kept watching them without even so much as blinking.
Celine turned back towards Blanc as Miyanna turned and went to her room, sniffing.
"My love?" asked Celine, looking at Blanc's empty eyes that still watched the spot where both of them had stood previously.
"Celine, love, you know we cannot remain here if you are pregnant, right?" asked Blanc slowly, each word heavy.
"The battle will be long over by the time I give birth, if I really am pregnant, that is," Celine exclaimed.
"And what if you are pregnant, as you suspect, and we lost the battle? What then?" asked Blanc, still looking at that same spot.
"Then I will… then at that time… I'm not sure," said Celine.
"You cannot give birth here. I can only protect you and bring you what you need. But if there are issues, you might die during childbirth. And I would rather not be a father at all than to lose you," muttered Blanc, finally moving his eyes towards hers.
"My dear," she replied, now she was the one who placed a hand on his cheek, "your heart is heavy, and I have added another burden. I am sorry,"
"Do not be, my love. I do not regret it. But I would have loved a better time and place for such a thing," said Blanc.
"Then, when my belly starts growing, we leave. It should be a few months until then," replied Celine.
Blanc shook his head at her words, "No, earlier than that. Tonight, I will go back home. See how the battle is faring. If it ended and we can go back, why wait?"
"But why risk it, Blanc? What if it did not end? What if we lost? Would you risk dying for such an answer?" asked Celine.
"I will not die. I can move in silence," replied Blanc, "I cannot keep Kael and Lune steady for long. They are restless and will become more restless as the days pass. My mind is flooding me with shit I would not rather speak about. I have fought against the Iron Line in my mind over and over again. I saw my family die a hundred deaths, including yours. I need answers. I need to be able to keep you safe. All three of you. If that means risking my life for even an answer, whatever that may be, will be worth it."
Celine sighed, "They said they will come for us if they are victorious."
Blanc nodded sharply, "And that's the issue. We might be waiting for ghosts. Who knows what may come if we stay longer? We need, I need to know what happened. And if we have lost already, we leave. And at least I will have an answer for Kael and Lune, whatever answer that may be."
"And go where?" asked Celine.
"Where? I do not know. To your father's domain, to the Imperial Capital, outside the empire. Anywhere else I could get you the help you need," sighed Blanc after replying, letting his eyes fall to the ground, "I do not know, Celine. Isn't this better than waiting?"
"It might be," began Celine, "It will offer answers, yes. But it might just make things worse."
"The risk of worse things happening is below the advantage that answers might provide us with," said Blanc.
"Have you decided you go then?" Celine sighed.
Blanc nodded, "There is no other way. I'll be leaving in the dark after Kael and Lune fall asleep. I'll be back by morning."
"It took us days to get here," said Celine.
"I travel alone, my love."