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 Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 11:22 pm
Suits of armor, wooden doors and various, comfortable-looking chairs lined the sides of the hallway. A very young, very concerned King Time paced up and down the center, with a look of disbelief on his handsome face. The sounds of his footsteps on the marble floors echoed off the walls of the long, rectangular room. He paused every now and then outside a particular door, pressed his ear up against the base, and listened desperately for some snippet of information.
There were complications. That's all the healer had told him when he'd come outside and, without meeting Nika's eye, wandered back into the Queen's bedroom. It'd only been seven months! She, and the baby, had another two to go. There weren't supposed to be complications. Time let out a groan of frustration, collapsed onto a nearby chair and buried his face in his hands.
He wished the healer would hurry up and finish the examination, so that he could go inside and see his wife. Nika wanted to hold her, dammit. He wanted to make all of this go away.
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 11:31 pm
A very young, disheveled Galilee peeked out from behind a suit of armor. He'd been pacing behind the king for as long as he could remember...even if his father told him not to.
He scooted forward, leaning against the armor trying to figure out what was going on. He knew that the queen was in the room, and the healer was in there. His mother was too, since she was assisting the healer.
Galilee pouted, he hated being left out of the loop. He leaned on the armor, watching Niko....then found himself and the armor tumbling toward the floor.
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 11:43 pm
The twenty-three year old Time had been too wrapped up in his own thoughts to notice the sound of Galilee's footsteps. He heard the, sure, but he didn't really care enough to look up at whoever it was that approached him. All he wanted to hear was the sound of that bloody door opening. It was ridiculous, really, that a slab of wood could seperate him from the one person in the whole world he never wanted to be away from.
The sound of the suit of armor and a little body crashing to the floor finally dragged him away from the dark, troubled recesses of his mind. Nika head snapped in the direction of the noise so sharply that he had to wince and rub the back of his neck. That was going to hurt in the morning, he knew.
"Galilee?" he cocked an eyebrow and looked the young boy up and down, eyes wide in surprise. If it had been any other day, Nika wouldn't have thought twice about Galilee's presence there. He'd grown quite used to having the other boy follow him around over the years, much like a second shadow. One that talked and liked to laugh when Nika, who was prone to random shows of clumsiness, fell or stubbed his toe on something.
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 11:58 pm
"S-sorry, Nika...I slipped," the little obsidian offered weakly. He looked down at the armor and gave it a slight kick, then walked over and looked up at Time. "Is she okay? Is my momma still in there?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 12:16 am
Nika waved off the apology with his hand. It wasn't like Galilee had been doing anything wrong. Nobody had told Obsidian not to bother Time that day. In fact Nika, who thought of Galilee as a younger brother, rarely minded the younger boy's habit of being always there. He thought that Obsidian looked up to him, which was quite flattering.
"I don't..." Nika's voice cracked painfully and he, angery and very scared for his wife and their child, returned to hiding his face behind his hands. When he spoke it was muffled, "I don't know. The healer hasn't told me much since he got here."
God. He hoped that she was alright. Time didn't know what he would do without her. The thought frightened him so much that he had to fight to keep from shaking.
"Yes, your mother's still in there." He spoke softly, determined to keep his voice steady.
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 12:28 am
Galilee huffed a little, crossing his arms. He marched over to the king and looked up at him. "Well...go order him to tell you what's going on. Father would tell you it's what kings do. If you don't, I'll go in there and ask Momma."
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 12:40 am
Galilee's simple logic was enough to make Nika chuckle, somewhat bitterly. That did seem like the most obvious course of action, didn't it? As King, he had every right to storm in there and demand to know what was wrong with his wife. Unforunately, he knew that it would solve nothing.
Sound would still be ill. Their baby would still be in trouble.
Nika groaned in frustration again and sat up straighter, so that he could knock the back of his head repeatedly against the wall. This was so difficult.
Why did it have to be her? No, why them?
"It won't help if you go in there, Galilee," Nika said softly, "The healer needs time to figure out what's wrong."
Ironic, wasn't it? Time was sitting out in the hall and he couldn't do a damned thing.
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 12:49 am
Galilee looked at the door, then moved to open it a little to peek in. He barely got a glimpse before it was slammed shut and an angry woman was heard muffled on the other side. He looked up at Nika, his golden eyes wide. "Momma sounds upset....what happened to your wife?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 1:12 am
He held his breath, feeling incredibly hopeful as Galilee opened the door, and then sighed in dissapointment when it was slammed shut again. It would have been so nice to know just a little bit more. Anything, really. Hundreds of questions beat like a ram against the inside of his closed mouth. They wanted out, but he knew better. His questions would go unanswered.
"She's," Nika's voice faultered and he paused to steady himself, "She's not good. Her and the baby- the healer says they might be in trouble."
The image of Sound clutching her swollen belly and claiming that she couldn't get out of bed that morning would haunt him forever. Nika couldn't shake the memory. No matter how hard he tried.
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 1:17 am
The boy looked at his king, then leaned on him a little...a strange version of a hug. "I'm sure it'll be alright. Momma's in there helping. She's had two of us...and another on the way. Father says she'd be just a good a healer as anyone, if she wanted to be."
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Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 4:05 pm
Galilee's makeshift hug was a welcome show of affection, even if it was a little strange, and Nika returned it gladly. The younger boy was only 11 and, more often than not, Nika felt like Obsidian had a better, much more controlled grasp on his emotions than Time.
Any other day for any other reason, Nika would have been embarassed by the tears that glistened at the corners of his eyes. Not this time, though. He didn't care about the tears.
...He just wanted his wife to get better. He wanted her, and their unborn child, to be safe and out of harm's way forever.
"I'm glad your mother's with her," Nika's voice shook, "Canatalena really does adore her. I think your mother might be able to help keep her calm."
He smiled awkwardly at the information Galilee gave him about his own family. Two younger siblings, hey? Nika closed his and leaned backwards, stiff and sore against the bench. Time had never gotten along with his own sister. He hoped that Io, who was almost two years old, and her new brother or sister would adore each other.
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Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 7:39 pm
"Father didn't tell you? I have a little brother....and Momma said she thinks we'll have a sister," Galilee smiled, then looked up at Nika. He sighed and patted the king's knee. "Nika...it'll be okay. I bet...you'll ahve another daughter. You wouldn't be lucky enough for a son. Then I can marry one, and be your son."
The idea seemed logical to Obsidian, so he nodded to agree with himself.
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Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 7:01 pm
There was a flicker of a smile on Nika's face. Obsidian was so much younger than he was. Yet, he seemed to understand the world so much better than he did. Galilee's concrete knowledge and confident logic was comforting. Time couldn't help but be jealous of him. He wished that he could be so sure of himself.
"Your father tells me some about your falling, yes," Nika nodded thoughtfully, grateful to the younger boy for the temporary from his problems, "is your brother as sure of himself as you are?"
In spite of all the chaos and the doubt and the fear that plagued his entire being, Nika couldn't force away a small chuckle. He wasn't sure why he couldn't be lucky enough to have a son, but the thought of having another daughter pleased immensely. It would be great fun to watch his girls, if that were the case, grow up together.
"If you became my son," the corners of Nika's eyes crinkled upwards when he smiled, "I'd be very lucky, then. Wouldn't I?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 7:31 pm
Galilee nodded, beaming, "Of course you'd be lucky. You'd have a great son, and future captain of your gaurd. Cause I want to be like my father, too. Got to protect you and the girls."
He leaning against the wall beside his king, looking up at Time. the boy sighed a little. "No, he's a know-it-all. He reads a lot, and doesn't like to play fight, or learn stuff Father teaches us. He's a lot like Momma."
Obsidian looked at the door, chewing on his lip. "Maybe she won't be anything like Io...maybe she'll be nice."
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Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 8:20 pm
"I shall have nothing to worry about, then," Nika chuckled and continued to let himself be distracted by this casual conversation, "if you are as good at protecting me as your father is. He's a very good man. As I'm sure you will be."
Onyx, Obsidian's father, was as much of a mentor to Nika as he was a protector. Time was a very young King, and often looked to his older captain for some advice. It had come in handy on more than one occasion and Nika was very grateful to him for that.
"I like to read," Nika said pointedly and prodded Galilee in the chest. Still, he was no know-it-all. He usually felt like more of a joker than a leader. At times like this, with the lives of his wife and future child hanging on a thread, the young King couldn't help but be reminded of his vulnerability. It terrified him.
"Io's still very young," Nika grinned, "you're just bitter because she likes to pull your hair. She'll be different when she's older. I think."
Didn't everybody change as they grew up? It seemed that way.
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