15

I smiled with a nod, "the sooner I kill those men, the faster we will leave this town."

"But…"

I kissed Kairi's head, "watch over your brother for me. I will be back soon, so wait for me." Before she could reply, I sprinted out of the room and hurried out of the royal home.

A few hours later...

I looked to the blood that covered my clothes before looking to the puddle I had fallen into. When I stood again, my legs shook under my own weight. Even though it was pure agony, I walked until I reached the royal home. I quickly put my jacket around me so that the blood would be hidden and made my way inside.

I was surprised to find Kairi, the queen, and Shari waiting in the entry way for me, "Mom!" Kairi exclaimed in relief as she came to me.

I leaned on Kairi so I could stay standing, "is Akito awake?"

Kairi hugged me, "he was, but fell asleep about an hour ago."

I slowly moved from Kairi's embrace but felt light headed as I kneeled on the floor with a groan.

"Mom!" Kairi yelled as she kneeled in front of me, "are you okay? How much blood did you lose?"

I slid off my hood and slightly smiled towards her, "not much."

Kairi wiped cold blood off of my cheek, "is this yours?"

"No," I replied quietly, "that is from the one I killed. The other got away, but I severed his arm so he could not have gone far."

Kairi sighed, "let's get you changed."

I stood, but held onto Kairi for support, "I'm light headed."

Kairi wrapped her arm around me, "that is what happens when you use your blood to fight for a long period of time."

"Kairi…" I whispered and she looked to me. I slowly took off my jacket and put my hand over my wound right above my heart, "I think I may need to get help to stop this. The blood just keeps coming."

"Father is going to go mad when he sees that."

I smiled sadly, "I know."

"It isn't like you to get such an injury in battle."

I looked to the ceiling, "a little human girl, no older than three, suddenly got in the way," I paused to take a painful breath. "One of them went after her and the only way I could save her was to take the blow."

The queen gasped, "is the girl alright?"

I nodded as I looked to her, "yes, I made sure she got home before I left her."

"Why did you allow the men to give you such a horrible wound in order to save a mere human child?" Shari mumbled with a frown.

I let out a small laugh, "yes, I shouldn't have protected the girl. Wielders are not supposed to care about the safety of humans, I know. But…how can I put this?" I thought for a moment as Kairi helped me walk slowly towards the medical room. "When I saw that girl I remembered the human girl I was told was my little sister. I guess I saved the girl in her place, since I was not strong enough to save her at the time she died."

Kairi's grip around my waist tightened, "What are you going to tell Akito? He doesn't know about our pasts."

I looked to Kairi, "I will tell him, if he asks, that one of the men attacked me and held me down while the other stabbed me." My heart stung, "he doesn't need to know the truth of my past. If he did, he might come to hate your father, just as you have."

Kairi looked away from me, "will you ever tell him?"

I shook my head, "I will do all in my power to keep the horrors of our past hidden. I do not want him to hate his own people."

"But they're monsters!" Shari argued but became silent when I looked to her.

"But so are we." I stopped speaking when we came into the medical room. I was shocked to see Asher, the king, and Gonen waiting in the room.

"Eva!" Asher gasped in horror, but stopped when I put my finger to my mouth and signed for him to be quiet. I let go of Kairi and slowly walked over to Akito's side. I took his small hand in mine as he slept and then looked to the doctor.

"How is he?"

"He did just fine, until he found out you had left. He cried for a while and Kairi had to comfort him."

I looked to his sleeping face, "his eyes are red, the poor thing," I whispered before letting go of his hand and sitting at the bed beside his. "Could you patch me up, doctor?"

He nodded and came to aid me.

"How did it go?" The king whispered as he came to my side.

"One is dead, but one got away. I did cut off his arm, so he couldn't have gotten far."

"They gave you such a horrible wound…" Asher whispered, but looked to Kairi when she stood in front of him.

"A young human girl got involved and mom shielded her. Otherwise mom wouldn't have been this badly injured."

"So you have grown stronger since you left?" Gonen whispered and I was surprised he would talk to me, but I did not look to him.

"Yes, Kana's father taught me how to use my ability to its full extent. He also had the ability to control his blood, which I found out is still very rare."

"Only four Wielders in history have had mom's ability." Kairi added as she sat at the end of my bed. Everyone became silent as they drank in the information, but I broke the silence, "My king, I have a very selfish request to ask of you."

"What is it, Eva?" I closed my eyes and looked away in shame, "Please…please pretend that Kairi and I barely know you." I whispered and everyone seemed to hold their breath. "I do not want my son to know of our full past because he may end up hating his own father, just like Kairi. I don't plan to tell Akito or my soon to be born child of the past because it will cause them pain."

The king sighed, "then that means you will likely never come back here again, since it would cause problems."

"Y…yes, sir."

"But Eva!" The queen protested but when I met her eyes she stopped talking and watched the tears rimming my eyes.

"I had never planned to come back in the first place," I whispered before fully bowing towards the king so that my forehead touched the bed. "Please sir! I know I have no right to ask anything of you, but for the young girl you once knew, could you please fulfill my most selfish request?"

The king paused as I kept my head down, "are you doing this because you despise us, Eva?"

I looked up in shock, "of course not, sir! I am doing this because…!" I started to yell, but quickly stopped myself from releasing the truth I had never told them.

"Because…?"

I felt flushed, "b…because I love all of you. You, the queen, prince Asher, and Gonen are the closest I have ever had to relatives and in a way, I feel as though we were family long ago." Kairi watched me with regret, "I want to protect all of the people I care about so I am never going to associate with this household ever again and I will protect my children by keeping them at my side."

The queen suddenly ran over to hug me, "we love you too, Eva!"

"If this is what you think is best, Eva, then I will abide by your wishes." The king whispered and I felt myself quietly cry as I smile towards him.

"Thank you for everything, my king." I whispered as I cried, but felt relieved when the queen let go of me and Kairi replaced her.

Kairi slightly jumped, "oh my!" She whispered in a gasp as she let go of me.

"What is it, dear?" The queen asked so I quickly took her hand in mine and placed it over my stomach. She waited for a moment and then gasped, "Oh!"

I let out a quiet laugh, "This baby certainly is active."