CHAPTER 12 (Part two)

Keeping a secret wasn"t a simple matter. Marcus and William who could venture their minds into guarding found it a little easier but...His Majesty looked really happy, while he went through a couple of memorials...They were sure, that if anyone would uncover the secret to Mahnu....It would be the King himself!

Mahnu, luckily, didn"t wake till late afternoon and Marcus found himself on eggsh.e.l.ls again.

"I"ll be going to the arrested doctor, I"ll return later." He said to William, who nodded.

It was stupid, he thought, while walking away.

The doctor they arrested had been taken an hour ago to a close by abandoned residence and roped up. Marcus had waited to see him until Mahnu had awakened, to drag out the time and to make sure that he wouldn"t be the one to go against His Majesty"s orders...Even by accident.

"Are you a true doctor?"

The doctor looked at him, scared, and he stammered through his words, declaring that he was a doctor.

Marcus sad down and said to untie him. "Good, now tell me what"s wrong with me."

The doctor looked happy and slowly examined him. You"ve fallen into my trap so easily old man. It was lucky that the doctor hadn"t seen me before now. Now, I can take advantage of that fact with an easy way to find evidence against you!

The doctor was arrested again when he had tried to diagnose Marcus with something that costs a lot in medicine and he whimpered, saying, "This is all I know and they told me I pa.s.sed! It"s not my fault!"

Marcus laughed and thought that he shouldn"t rush back. Taking his time, he tortured the doctor to find that the lady doctor had been telling the truth.

***

Mahnu found that after she woke up, the atmosphere was strange. Richard acted busy, he tried so hard that he was busy that Mahnu laughed.

"What?" He asked.

His thoughts were worried, wondering if she had found out.

Mahnu stopped laughing and asked, "What is going on?"

"Nothing!" His response was adorable and Mahnu walked to him and smiled.

He looked uncertain.  Should I hug her or do my work?

Mahnu laughed again.

"What?" He asked again.

Taking him into her arms, she hugged him. "You are an idiot."

King Richard smiled and responded the same. "Yes, yes, I"m an idiot!"

Looking up at her, he kissed her. Just as she started to kiss him back, he pulled away suddenly and thought, work!...Work! I have to Work!

"Okay, I"ll let you work!"

As Mahnu walked towards the door, she heard his thoughts of regret and wanting to kiss her again.

Laughing, Mahnu walked outside and saw William. "Good afternoon." She said.

He replied and stared at her.

Mahnu turned to him again and asked, "What?" She was sure that something mysterious was going on.

William thought of their last conversation at Governor Sedric"s home and asked, "Mahnu...Will you tell me some more?"

"It"s not a fun thing...learning about the bad things of your own race."

William squinted his eyes at her, "Does that mean you still think yourself as a G.o.d or that you"ve accepted that you are a human?"

"No, I"m not a G.o.d now...But I was not born like a human. I was created."

"But you aren"t putting yourself like us...?"

Mahnu looked at him, then away, "Living thousands of years would not make anyone feel human, William."

"But if you are hurt, you don"t heal straight away. So now, you are human..."

"You cla.s.sify somebody that can read minds a human?"

William breathed in angrily. "Till this day from the first day I met you. You were human!"

Mahnu was taken a back from his words. She regained herself and responded. "I was a G.o.d the first time I met you!"

"No! G.o.d"s make slaves and make human"s call them their master"s...You are human! Always have been!"

"Humans don"t live for over a thousand years!"

"But they feel things Mahnu! You were the odd one out! Because of what you felt! Maybe you are half human all this time and you didn"t even know it!"

Mahnu put her hands into fists, "It"s not how it works William! I wasn"t born from either a G.o.d or human. I was created! When you saw me the first time...that was me on the first day of my creation!" Why does he keep questioning me!?

William took a step closer to her. "We, humans, accept you, just as you are. You are a little evolved, but you can think you"re one of us now."

Why was William so daring? Why is he thinking about her like this? "Stop it, Stop it!" She loudly said, putting her hands to her ears.

William took her hands away by force, reminding Mahnu of her puny womanly, human strength.

"Don"t be mad." Looking up at him, she saw him smile. "I would be honoured to think you were human. I would think of you as my sister."

...Mahnu was so surprised she let out a breath and looked down. Her arms feel down by her side and William put his hands on her shoulders.

"I"ve decided." He said. Mahnu looked up at him. "It...doesn"t matter."

Mahnu put her hand to her mouth and tried not to cry.

William hugged her and said quietly, "I"d prefer little sister but I think big sister would be more appropriate."

Mahnu let out a whimper. William was the second person that totally accepted who she was. Trying to keep calm, she said, "Thank you."

Not knowing how to react she just stood there trying not to cry.

The King didn"t like the look of their embrace...He wanted to s.n.a.t.c.h her away from William and declare Mahnu his! Knowing their subject and conversation, and that William only saw her as a sibling, prevented King Richard from moving. He clenched his fists in irritation but stayed silent and hoped that Mahnu would stop the tears that were showing up on her face...In future, though, he had already decided that he will have a talk to William, to make sure he kept his distance from Mahnu!

William continued to speak to Mahnu, not knowing of the King"s thoughts, "I have to admit I am a little...fascinated...in you as well. I want to know what you"ve been through in the history of Kralaide. I want to learn from you...So that humans might be able to learn something. To be honest, I have always been interested in the history of Kralaide. As you see though...I was born in Havlish and becoming a knight is what most of the men from there do."

Mahnu wiped her eyes and smiled at him, "Then as your older sister, I will tell you my stories."

He looked so happy that Mahnu laughed and the King sighed.

"Oh! Please would you? Really?"

Mahnu nodded again and William started to chatter on about needing lots of ink and parchment to write it all down.

***

"Do we have enough time now for a story?"

Mahnu knew they were leaving tomorrow but they had some free time, now that they had finished eating dinner.

She watched the King try to look busy but she knew he wanted to hear her talk as well. "Okay, but where do I start?"

William sat down like a child and said, "Something happy!"

Mahnu stared at him silently.

"What"s wrong?"

She sighed, then said, "I don"t have many happy memories."

She heard the King silently say her name in sadness. Again, she sighed, wanting to cheer him up, "I do recall helping a little girl grow up and get married though."

They stayed quiet but were confused, trying to picture it.

Mahnu laughed, "It"s not like that! I wouldn"t force it on them!"

As she told them the story of Princess, they both interrupted, asking why she didn"t talk and why Mahnu had felt different to Princess. They turned silent at her answers, as they were sad, and she continued on so they wouldn"t pity her.

They laughed when she told them about how teaching Princess on how to clean, sew, fish and play an instrument without speaking, was troublesome. They were laughing again on her silent method of introducing Princess to her future husband.

When she had finished talking about Princess, they were quiet, William thinking that if that was a happy story then how sad would a sad story be?

The King was staring at her, he smiled when he thought that they will make some beautiful, happy stories.

Mahnu smiled at him but looked away, daring not to get her hopes up.

Talking about her past had made her a little emotional and tired and as she looked out over the quietness of the town, she was sure it was really late into the night.

"I think that"s enough for today, William."

William got up nodding and went to his post, his childlike behaviour gone.

The King took Mahnu into his arms and quietly said, "You look tired, my dear."

She rested against him, "I suppose I am."

He picked her up and put her on the bed. "Rest"

The words in his head came to her, Don"t let her strain herself.

The King leaned over her and kissed her on the forehead.

"Did another doctor come see me while I slept?"

Then the doctors visit flashed into her mind.

The King sighed and looked at her, waiting for her reaction.

Mahnu blinked...What?...

King Richard laid down next to her, pulling her into him. They were silent as she digested the news and she put her head deeper into his chest.

I didn"t want to pressure you, Mahnu. The King was thinking. But as you can see it"s really happening, we are going to be a happy family.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

The King pulled back to look at her, "Yes, I was already so happy to be with you. But now, that my very own seed is growing inside of you that makes me even happier!"

"You already have children."

The King hurriedly said, "Yes and I love them dearly. I won"t ignore them Mahnu. I will teach everything I know to the Crowned Prince and watch the Princess grow to become a beautiful woman. But I won"t stay a King forever and when I step down...I will live the rest of my life, away from the palace, with you and our children. That is why I haven"t rushed to name you officially as my consort. I"ve been trying to work out what I want and what you want. But you may need to wait for a while...Will you wait for me?"

Mahnu nodded slowly, the news he said just now and the previous news of her pregnancy had silenced her.

The King moved down and kissed her tummy. He looked back up at her sternly, "You will let me be happy about this, won"t you?"

Mahnu sighed and shock her head in astonishment, "Do I have a choice?

He smiled, "No!"

She stared at him, then put her head down in defeat. How could I not let him be happy? Truly, since I have met this man, he has always done whatever he pleased!

Putting her hand over her tummy, she wondered if she was happy. I"m carrying a child, something I"ve never done before in over a thousand years. It was yet, another thing that Richard has done for me. New experiences, new feelings and most of the time, I wasn"t getting pulled along, I would step into these experiences willingly. What is it to be a family? Do I want to find out?

"Mahnu?"

She pulled him towards her, while leaning towards him and kissed him lightly. They fell back onto the bed and she continued to take the next kiss deeper. He put his arms around her and Mahnu decided that what mattered was that she loved this man, so deeply, and was determined to stay beside him.

She pulled away and looked at him and he stared back at her.

"I love you."

He was so surprised, that he didn"t move or speak. She smiled at his shocked eyes and she went to kiss him again. As he responded to her, he held her closer, saying her name.

Being with him was different this time. He was so gentle and treated her as a treasure. He slowly made love to her and Mahnu felt like she had become one with him. That nothing else seem to have mattered at that moment. There was no one else, they had no worries and their minds only thought of the other person.

Being with Richard, like this, made Mahnu wonder if she had found some kind of paradise. Never in her existence had she felt so...Complete, so fulfilled in pa.s.sion and happiness that she never wanted it to end...And what made her even happier was that Richard felt exactly the same way...

There was nothing more important...Then being with the other person in their arms.

***