When they got to Bena again, it had been well into the night and Mahnu woke up as King Richard picked her up from the carriage.

"Richard?"

"Mahnu! You're awake..." The King sighed with relief. The only reason he had let her sleep was because Jaclyn had said that she was fine and didn't look worried...But he had been worried and felt better now that she had awoken.

Mahnu, widened her eyes and quickly said, "Wait...Let me down."

He quickly put her down and she vomited near the pathway, that led into where they were staying.

"Jaclyn!" The King yelled out.

Jaclyn came to Mahnu and examined her.

"Well!? What's wrong!?" King Richard said impatiently.

Mahnu didn't talk but sat there silently as Jaclyn said, "I'm not worried, Your Majesty. With the trip and her condition, I'm sure it's fine."

"...This is fine!?" He asked appallingly. For once he wished he had spent more time around the Queen when she had been pregnant.

If he thought this was normal, then he wouldn't be so scared!

 

"Richard!" Mahnu said weakly.

"Mahnu, are you okay?"

She nodded and he picked her up again, to take her inside, not wanting her to get a chill on top of everything else.

Mahnu didn't know why Richard was worrying so much! He was adorable and it made her feel special, but she couldn't let him continue on like this when she knew that Jaclyn was not worried, "Calm down, Richard, I trust her words."

She trusts me? Jaclyn was momentarily paralyzed.

...Even though I hadn't trusted her earlier, she still trusts me now?

"Yes, of course, you are the doctor." Mahnu said, looking at her from the bed that she had just been laid on.

"...Oh." Jaclyn forgot. Of course, the words of a doctor should be able to be trusted.

"Don't get upset Jaclyn, it's not just because you're a doctor. I already trusted you before we started to get followed."

Her words were clear and stating basic fact. As Mahnu knew many of the thoughts that Jaclyn had back then, they were still very innocent and if she was to put herself in Jaclyn's shoes, Mahnu thought that she might have even thought and acted similar to what she had...So, she couldn't blame her.

The reason why she trusted her wasn't just because of her innocent thoughts, but also because she had not thought of herself, putting her unborn child first. That...And if any one of them was a schemer, Jaclyn thought it to be Mahnu!

Thinking back to all the times that Jaclyn had put Mahnu down, it was still laughable, but good, because Jaclyn had not thought how to use Mahnu or how to even flirt with the King.

At first, Mahnu had not thought of this, but during their journey, it had come to pass because the ride had been boring and made her feel sick, so she just tried to think of something to try not to think about her circumstances at the time...And this was the decision Mahnu had made.

 

Jaclyn was silently happy and smiled back at her. "Thank you."

King Richard was sitting on the bed, playing with Mahnu's hands, when Marcus came in. "Sedric is gone. He disappeared yesterday."

Mahnu then spoke in a croaky voice, "He was asking those men to knock me out cold, yesterday at Sedric's house. He told them to take me to his hideout, as he was going to go there after."

"You can't get anything else?" Marcus asked hesitantly.

Jaclyn gave her water, not able to understand how Mahnu knows all this but, for some reason, believing the words to be true.

"I think..." Mahnu cleared her throat. "I think..."

She put her hand over her mouth and sat there unmoving. Jaclyn quickly got something to hold out in front of her.

For the life of her, Mahnu could not help but feel the unfamiliar need and want to vomit!

She really couldn’t believe that for centuries she had not done such a thing, to do it twice in just mere minutes!

 

Mahnu vomited again and Marcus could only grimace and ask if she was okay.

Giving Mahnu more water, Jaclyn said, "Vomiting is a symptom of pregnancy. A very normal symptom, but I will continue to watch her closely."

Marcus seemed glad and Jaclyn looked over to the King, to see him looking at Mahnu in worry.

"I think it would be a good idea to send people to the site of The Chest of the God's, to protect it." Mahnu’s words were croaked out, sounding very difficult.

"I agree." Marcus said, nodding as well.

"Marcus?" Mahnu was looking at something beyond the bed in front of her. "What news on the box? What has been done?" Her voice got crisp again and Jaclyn gave her more water.

What in the world are they talking about? What’s this ‘box’?

Jaclyn took the glass back away from Mahnu and sighed…Box’s could hold many things, how will I have any idea what would be inside it!?

 

"I'm sure it's hidden deep within our lands Mahnu. I ordered that we set traps to have it get stuck or go deeper into the ground if someone were to try and dig it up. Confirmation won't be for another week or two though, at the very least."

Mahnu looked relieved, smiling very gratefully at Marcus, "Thank you."

Marcus smiled swiftly at her, Jaclyn thought that he may have been a little troubled because of the look Mahnu had just given him.

Mahnu sunk in the bed further, closing her eyes. "I made The Chest of the God's very hard to get, hopefully it will all stop at Sedric."

She looked absolutely worn out!

King Richard kissed her on the forehead, let go of her hand and turned to Jaclyn, "I'll leave her to you...Take good care of her and our child."

Jaclyn nodded, then he and Marcus left. They would spend the next couple of hours dealing with Sedric. Not only were they going to look for him and hopefully apprehend him for his crimes, they also had to consider on who else was a part of his scheme, where the location was for his hideout was and what was to be done about governing Bena…

It was most likely going to be a long night for Marcus, the leader of the Royal Loyal Knights, and for the King of Kralaide…

 

On the other hand, Jaclyn didn't try to think about what she did not understand. Instead, she found herself admitting defeat to Mahnu.

Giving Mahnu a quick wipe over, she left not long afterwards, not wanting to wake the exhausted, unique lady up.

Having the helping hand of a maid, Jaclyn then made some soup, that would be easy to digest and keep down.

Letting the soup simmer, Jaclyn decided to have a quick nap while Mahnu was not in need of her at present.

With the kitchen not far from Mahnu’s quarters, where she was sleeping, Jaclyn rested close by and used her arm as her pillow.

No one had told her if she had a place to sleep, but at the same time, she was unsure if the King had wanted her to be too far away from Mahnu, so all she could do was lean against the wall and put her head on her arm, hoping to catch up on some sleep while she had the chance…

 

 

Awakening, a few hours later, the soup was ready but Mahnu was still asleep.

Jaclyn then felt that she had the time to think deeply about what she would do…

I feel that I will be able to do my job well enough. I know about pregnancy and what is and isn't best for Mahnu. I have also grown used to the people and feel welcomed. Mahnu trusts me…And I want to prove to her that I do trust her now too.

Overhearing the conversations about a ‘chest’ and a ‘box’ and ‘God's’, was a little worrisome, but, if the King already knew about it...

Obviously, they were in the middle of something and Mahnu's life was at risk for some reason. If her life is at risk, someone like me should be by her side and make sure that she will be alright…That the child should be alright…

What if the risk would involve me…Will I allow that to stop me from being Mahnu's doctor? How could I cower when she isn't, when the King himself isn't!

It wasn’t like she didn’t have courage! Why…Why should I be scared of a bit of risk? And well…

Having been sitting in between the kitchen and the bedroom, that Mahnu was sleeping in, Jaclyn looked at the bed.

Wasn’t she a doctor of Kralaide? Isn’t that what she wanted to be? If this ‘mission’ or ‘secret’ was very special, why wouldn’t she want to be a part of it!?

With the King, it was most likely something that had to do with protecting Kralaide or doing what’s best for the people, how could I not be a part of something like that!?

Jaclyn hardly believed herself when she now suddenly agreed that she was firm on staying beside Mahnu. She also admitted that she truly respected Mahnu, like everybody else around her, and genuinely wanted to help her…

 

Getting up, taking a deep breath in, Jaclyn then walked into the bedroom, with the soup, to find that Mahnu was awake already and smiling at her.

Being sure that Mahnu was sleeping just moments ago, Jaclyn was somewhat startled to seeing Mahnu like this! "You're awake, Mahnu!"

"Yes! I feel better and I am very hungry, smelling this food! I think it woke me up!"

Jaclyn laughed and put the soup upon a small table and lifted it, to put it on Mahnu’s lap, upon the bed.

"Thank you!" Mahnu said happily, startling Jaclyn.

As far as Jaclyn was aware, she hadn’t really seen her this happy before! And…Didn’t Mahnu have troubles eating before now?

Marcus had told her that a few days ago, that Mahnu has been known to faint due to forgetting to eat…

Even though Jaclyn knew that Mahnu was pregnant, she just never thought that she would be this happy to eat!

…Perhaps she was more similar to the rest of us females then I had originally thought…

Mahnu went quiet to Jaclyn’s thoughts, while she ate and as Jaclyn examined her.

In fact, now that Jaclyn had thought of that, Mahnu was startled as well…

For her to be this happy, just over food…What was going on!?

But…At the moment, she didn’t feel sick and was really impatient to get something into her stomach! She couldn’t deny her want to fulfill these new and strange urges, having made her change into someone else!

But…Wasn’t it a good thing? Wanting to eat, now that she was human, could only mean that she was somewhat getting used to it…It was just…It really had excited her so much…

So strange, she thought, that such small things can make me…Happy…

 

"Have you been pregnant before?" Jaclyn asked.

Mahnu started to cough, to the sudden question.

She put the food to the side and took some moments to reorganize herself, then answered, "No, I haven't. This, among a few other situations, is a first for me."

"May I ask how old you are?"

As a doctor, Jaclyn wanted to see what Mahnu might have been through, so to help with her condition. After all, it wasn’t like people didn’t know that age could pose a problem to pregnancy…And with the King stating years between their meetings…Jaclyn couldn’t help but be worried, even though Mahnu still looked like a girl in her early twenties…

Mahnu looked worried, so, Jaclyn continued, "Sometimes, depending on age, a pregnancy could be harder."

Understanding Jaclyn, Mahnu took a deep breath in and let it out.

It was time to tell Jaclyn whatever she wanted to know, as Mahnu knew that Jaclyn had joined her, "Well, I was a God for over a thousand years, then I turned mortal about two years ago."

Jaclyn gabbed, her mouth rudely wide opened in front of Mahnu, and time seemed to completely stop!