Life Between Worlds Index
With a cry, she sits up, hands pressed to her stomach, blankets falling to her lap. She looks around, seeing the sunlight shining through the folds of her curtains, bathing in a soft golden warmth. A hole suddenly seems to open itself up in her heart. It feels exactly the same as when Cal died, only slightly different. She places a hand over her heart and closes her eyes. Diana’s image flashes into her mind’s eye and slowly fades away, leaving the feeling of extreme sorrow and emptiness in its place.
“You feel it too, don’t you..”
She looks up at hearing the Prince’s voice. He stands alone at the foot of her bed, bathed in the same sunlight as she is and in full armor.
“Hai,” she answers, watching as he comes around the side of the bed.
“You’re carrying Nephrite’s child,” he comments, resting his hand on her slightly rounded bare belly.
She looks at him with wide eyes. “H…how did you…?”
I can sense my former Guardian’s essence in you.”
“Ah,” she looks down, her long hair curtaining her face. “My apologies for not telling you all. I was going to say something today.” When next she looks up, she’s startled by the coldness in his eyes. “Prince…?”
“I can’t let you carry this child.”
“What?!”
His hand begins glowing. “I can’t let this child be born. It’s a weakness to the kingdom.” There’s a sudden burst of electric heat from his palm, and her entire midsection cramps.
Groaning, she doubles over in agony. Blood begins pumping from between her legs as her body expels the dead fetus.
“W…why…?” She whispers, devastated.
“He’s evil now, Pharaoh. I cannot have the seed of evil grow here. That child is why your worlds fell.”
“B…bastard…ah…” Tears fall from her eyes, the physical and emotional pain overwhelming.
“I’m sorry, HLM-san. I had to do this. I’ll get you a healer now.” He turns to go, leaving her to curl up in a ball of agony before passing out.
Again he’s thoughtfully watching the liquid in his glass. The stars had told him that Diana had died. It had saddened him; they were friends, after all, but he knew that Jae had to be devastated. They were lovers after all.
He takes a sip of the red wine in his glass. He’d had a vague dream about holding a lovely baby girl and knowing she was his. She was taken away by Prince Endymion, though. Combined with the troubling image of HLM curled up in agony, he has a bad feeling he knows what happened.
If that bastard killed my baby or hurt M-chan in any way, I’ll…
“Nephrite!” Beryl’s voice shrills in his mind.
“To the throne room! NOW!”
He teleports to the throne room to stand humbly before Beryl, bowing slightly at the waist, a loose fist over his heart.
“Yes, my Queen?” He asks, looking up at her.
“General Nephrite, because you failed in your mission to bring that Pharaoh here as your prisoner, I have additional orders for you.”
“My Queen?”
“You are to kill Pharaoh HLM during the upcoming battle. At least,” she smirks, “You were able to destroy those worlds of hers.”
He bows again, hiding his sorrow at this new assignment and hate of Beryl behind a façade of silent arrogance. “Yes, my Queen.”
“Do not fail me, Nephrite. Dismissed.”
He bows slightly before teleporting back to his rooms to drown his problems in wine.
The next attack isn’t for another week, so Neph thought he’d pay HLM one last furtive visit. When he teleports into her room, lat the following night, he’s surprised to find her looking very pale and small among the dark pillows of the bed they shared that wonderful night.
I didn’t do this, did I…?
He sits by her and gazes down at her slumbering face. Gently, he reaches over to move a lock of hair aside. She murmurs something and her lovely eyes open to look at him in confusion. He notes with a start that there’s no joy left in them. A light has been extinguished, and he fears that he will never see it again.
“Nephrite?” She whispers softly, brows knit in confusion as she struggles to sit up. He catches her in his arms when she begins to fall back with a whimper wrought with pain. She holds her belly.
“Hai…M-chan…what happened to you?” he asks as he pulls her close.
“You did…and…and…Endymion…”
Her first two words sting him deeply, but the sting is covered over with a smoldering anger at the other thing she said.
“What did he do?” The general asks in a soft voice.
“He…” her voice breaks in a sob, “…killed our baby…” She pulls down the covers to show him the bloodstained pads she’s lying on before bursting into tears against his chest.
Stars…my poor M-chan…I’m so sorry…
He holds her close with one arm and reaches down to touch the warm blood still coming out of her body.
…our child…
His free hand curls into a fist.
That bastard prince will pay dearly for this.
He wipes the strangely metallic blood from his hand, reminded of his own oddly colored blood. Gently, he strokes her long hair. Shortly, she pulls back to look up at him.
“I…I should hate you,” she whispers, gazing at him briefly before bowing her head and whispering in a barely audible voice, “but I can’t.”
He watches her in shock, the feelings warring within him threatening to tear him apart like an exploding star.
“Oh…stars…M-chan…I…I have to go…”
He leans over and places a kiss on her bowed head before teleporting out, not able to bear seeing her so broken. Once he rematerializes in his quarters, he falls to his knees, helpless and angry tears flowing down his face.
A week later, HLM is well enough to battle again after recuperating for a few days. She’s just pulling on he gloves of her battle gear when she sees Endymion appear in the reflection in the mirror.
“Hello, Endymion,” she greets him in a soft voice. “Don’t you know how to knock?”
He raises a brow and frowns. “HLM, I don’t want anyone to know I’m in here. Thank you for not telling anyone…”
She turns to face him, eyes cold. After all that she’s gone through, she just doesn’t know what to think or how to feel anymore. “I couldn’t hurt you in the way you hurt me.”
His eyes look truly apologetic. “I really am sorry for hurting you, HLM. I couldn’t let that evil thing be born here, though.”
“ ‘Evil thing’,” she repeats incredulously. “You’re talking about a baby! My baby! I’m not evil, am I? Just because its father was taken by the Dark Kingdom means nothing!”
He sighs as she turns her back rigidly to him. “M-chan…”
She twirls on him. “Don’t you DARE call me that!! You and I were never close enough friends for you to call me that!” She steps right up to him, eyes glowing with hurt and anger. She shoves him angrily back, making him stumble. “Get out! You invade my privacy, kill my child in my womb and now this?! How dare you?! You think that just because you’re the price you can do all of this?! Get OUT!” She screams as she shoves him the rest of the way out of her rooms.
The world seems to be blowing up all around him. Yet, somehow he feels exhilarated by it. The bloodlust drives all rational thought from his mind as he slaughters Moon denizen after Moon denizen with his sword, laughing as their lives flee their bodies.
He leaps back at the claw suddenly lashing at his face. He looks at the owner of that claw and blinks in surprise. He sees HLM crouched there, eyes glowing brightly.
She looks just as feral as I feel…
She’s covered in blood, claws dripping with the gore. Her eyes shine with insanity just before she lunges forward again. He blocks her strike with his sword and shoves her back.
They fight each other fast and hard. Equal in skill and ferocity. Moving almost as one, they dance a lethal dance, knowing that it will ultimately end in death. These star bound lovers battle with a ferocity and sorrow unlike anything seen ever before. Powers of hurt, anger and helplessness fuel this duel as they thrust and parry, moving around each other with dizzying grace.
Finally it ends, the small of the two falling to her knees, hot, shining blood gushing over her graceful hands. She looks up to Neph, and the world seems to still as their eyes lock. The moment seems to last forever.
M-chan…
Finally, the infinite moment is ended as HLM falls back onto the hard ground of the defeated Moon, hand over her torn open stomach, her life blood seeping out. He leaps back as a pillar suddenly crashes down on the doomed young woman. He then screams as the Silver Queen activates her crystal, binding him in the Dark Kingdom in a dreamless slumber.
Chapter
XI
Life Between Worlds
Index