She was pregnant. The news had spread quickly, and the celebration was planned immediately. Their princess was going to give the kingdom an heir. The royal line was going to continue at last.

The celebration lasted far into the night, and with the joyous news reigning over the people of the kingdom, it seemed as though not a single soul could be found not eating, drinking, or merry-making. Except for Ele’sear herself, that is.

She leaned heavily against the stony wall of the castle, her gaze focused out the window, on the distant skyline. From below, she could hear the cries of the merry-makers, as the brilliant explosions of the fireworks above filled the night with their rumbling thunder.

She let a brief smile slip across her face as she made to turn away, but a tiny flickering of light caught her eyes, and she stilled. As the small flickering lights approached the window she was perched at, her legs carried her stiffly backwards. In tandem, the lights met just above her head, and parted into a circular pillar of light that encompassed her. She reached a tentative hand outwards to push against the barrier that surrounded her, only to find it a solid, tangible thing beneath her touch, warm, and almost living.

Terror threaded its way through her body, and from the top of the pillar shot four small fragments of light, which landed in a circular pattern around her. The fragments began to grow, swelling, as the shapes of four individuals formed inside the pillars of light that stood where the fragments had once lingered.

To the south of her, stood a man garbed all in shades of red and brilliant orange. His hair fell around him in waves that were so brilliant, it seemed as if fire itself were manifest in him, his eyes glowing as if dim embers set into his pale skin.

To the east of her, there was a woman, who sparkled and shone like ice beneath the blazing sun, a rare glittering flash of color here and there amidst the pale blue that seemed to compose her body entirely. Her eyes were a haunting blue, and the ground beneath her was slicked with a layer of frost, a thin haze of tiny snowflakes swirled around her body.

To the north of her stood a towering giant of a man, his skin a dusky brown, and his green eyes glowing with an almost unrecognized light. Coiled around his waist, which was mostly bare except for a set of earthy brown toned breeches, was a serpent, its head raised upwards, just above his own. It was difficult to determine from first glance if it was coiled around him, or if it was a part of him. Beneath his feet, the ground trembled, a cloud of dust rose to the middle of his body, but never any higher.

To the west, was a young woman garbed entirely in shades of white and gold, the wind rose around her in a steady, almost cyclonic pattern. Her eyes were swirling shades of white, and nothing garbed her but the long white hair that swept across her skin, drawn over her body by the light winds that wrapped around her.

The woman lowered to her knees slowly, sinking of a will not her own, before the power of the four sacred gods.

“Your time here is almost finished,” the larger of the four figures spoke, his voice deep, and rumbling, like a deep well of the earth. The tone was comforting, and yet, not. “Why do you continue to defy us?”

Her head turned away, unable to stand the soothing comfort in his voice. She wanted to be angry with them, for laying such a burden upon her. Three years, was that what her service was worth?

“You swore an oath to serve us, if we gave you three years on this mortal world, Ele’sear,” his words were warm, and filled the room with an unspoken heat, before the room grew uneasily silent, the soft sound of her shifting on the floor to face him, a light scraping sound, before he spoke again. “You know you are bound by your word to serve us, woman, why do you fight against it?” this asked as her arms dropped forward to cradle her stomach protectively.

She was trembling inside the pillar of light, so warm, yet she felt chilled to her very soul. Behind her lay the scattered remains of failed rituals, booked sprawled across the floor that contained no answers, only more questions. She had been working for two years to discover a means of staying alive without depending on their costly blessings. For her efforts, she had no success thus far. Nothing at all to show she had made any effort, except the anger of the four gods before her.

“Would you want to give up your life?” quietly spoken through the curtain of red hair that framed her face, eyes, light with tears, focused on the floor before her as she spoke. “Would any of you want to become mortal?” her voice was steadily raising, as anger boiled to the surface inside her. “How can you expect me to not try to find a way to stay alive? Are you all fools? Do you really believe I won’t try to find a way to stay with my husband, and my child?”

Her trembling had changed now, from fear, into rage, a rage that shuddered along her skin, and raised the hair on the back of her neck, an anger so great that the pillar of light around her began to crumble, the own energy of her strange aura lashing out at the prison meant to hold her. “I’d give up eternity before I’d stop trying to remain with them!”

The hatred in her voice filled the room, and Byako and Suzaku stepped back as if they’d been struck, only the woman wrapped in ice remained strong, even as Genbu, the giant of a man knelt, his brows furrowing together as he stared at the floor. Seiryu walked slowly towards the angry, kneeling figure, and one hand slid through the barrier of light that held her inside the circle, dragging her out by her chin, her hand shifting as he lifted her, dangling her with her feet off the floor, as hands wrapped around her wrist, and Ele’sear glared at her defiantly.

“If you really wish to give up eternity that can be arranged.” the woman’s hateful glare threatened to freeze Ele’sear solid, and it was all she could do to fight the force of trying to stare a god down face to face. Though it was a struggle, she kept her eyes locked with the woman, until surprise flickered across her face as the woman tossed her, with a single hand, across the room. As Ele’sear slammed into the wooden post that acted as a support beam for the upper tower of the castle, she let out a sharp cry of pain, slumping to the floor, as the woman in blue stalked towards her.

Stepping forward, the man in red held out his hand, and gestured the blue-clad woman back, she obeyed, though it was with hesitation. Kneeling on the floor, blood trickled down her chin from her lip, and her body shaking, Ele’sear struggled upwards onto her hands and knees, blood running thickly from between her legs, to pool on the floor beneath her.

“You have broken your vow to us, Ele’sear. Because I can understand your longing, you will not be punished. But neither will we extend our mercy a second time. Your life is in your own hands. We will simply collect you when the time comes.” And one by one, the figures faded away, leaving behind their respective elements in their places. It was Suzaku who remained the longest, one hand brushing a strand of red hair from Ele’sear’s face, as he smiled down at her.

“You are strong. Your child will survive this. We will be waiting, Ele’sear. Enjoy your humanity, while it lasts.” and as the sound of heavy footfalls thudded up the stairs, the fiery god faded away into a mote of light that seemed to dart out the window, and into the night sky.

The figure that burst through the doorway a moment later was Noah, who rushed forward to grab her, as she collapsed to the floor, her world plunged into blackness.

----

The doctor stood in the hallway, wiping blood from his hands on a warm cloth, damp from the steaming water it had been in a few moments earlier. Noah stood a few paces away, and his head was bowed as the doctor spoke his piece.

“So you’re saying she‘s….” there was a thin hint of disbelief in his voice. She was far enough along that the baby had lived, but the child’s life had come at a terrible cost. Whatever had caused the bleeding was enough that she was hemorrhaging, and the doctor had no way to stop it. The doctor put a hand on Noah’s shoulder, as he strode past, into the bedroom, closing the door behind him softly.

“Ele?” his voice was soft, as he moved into the room. He gazed where she lay in the bed, a single candle near the open window providing the only light. She’d lost so much blood that her skin had turned a pale yellow color, her once vibrant red hair was strewn around her face, and in her arms was a small bundle, a tiny figure that squirmed. With a tuff of red hair crowning his face, the son she held in her arms was perfect.

“No..ah,” a heavy rattle sounded in her throat as she spoke, the child in her arms squirming as she clutched him to her chest. She looked weak, far weaker than she let on, and he knew then that the doctor had been telling the truth. He didn’t think the woman he had married wouldn’t last the rest of the night.

“What’s his name?” Noah reached to take his son tenderly, almost afraid he’d drop him, as he settled himself onto the side of the bed nearest her, forcing himself to keep the tears from his eyes. His son was beautiful, such a tiny, fragile thing, delicate, and dependant.

“Haven’t.. you.. so.. tired..” her eyelids grew heavy, as her eyes began to droop closed. He reached forward with one hand, smoothing a strand of hair back from her weary face, her eyes flashing open for a moment, she reached her hand to the side of the bed, grasping for a small envelope, which she pressed into his free hand, as she took back their son.

“Re..ad.”

The soft, single word command prompted him, as he watched her lay their son against her chest, where he lay, becoming still and quiet, falling asleep as her breathing grew steady beneath him. Puzzle flickered through Noah’s eyes, and he flicked the wax seal off the envelope, pulling the parchment from inside. As he began to read, his eyes focused on the paper, and nothing else, as she knew it would.

“Noah. My darling. We have not had the easiest of lives, have we? From death, to death, to rebirth, and exchange, we’ve struggled together. But, I have not been entirely true to you. I owe you that truth now.“

He glanced at her, that puzzled expression returning to his face, as he adjusted his glasses, and then continued to read, and her insistent gesture.

“When the ritual to return you to life went awry, I did die. It took my life, in exchange for yours. I passed, from this life into the next. Standing before the four gods in judgment, I offered them an exchange. A deal, of sorts. I would serve them for eternity, if they would in return grant me three years of life. A year for my brother. A year for you. And a year for our son. If you read this letter now, it means that my time is either coming to a finish, or has already done so.“

His fingers tightened on the edges of the papers held in his hand, and he felt his heart sinking in his chest, as he realized exactly what the missive he held was. Shaking his head softly, in disbelief, he turned back to the paper, again, at her urging.

“I want you to know that I do love. That I have loved you. That I will love you. Regardless of where my soul travels, or what happens while we are apart, I will love you for eternity. Until the day we are reborn.”

There was a brief pause in the writing, and he felt the scalding feeling of tears sliding down his face, beneath his glasses, as his vision slowly began to blur. She had sacrificed herself in such a way, to be with him. Was pledging her eternal love for him. But she lay on the bed dying. He realized that the instant he’d entered the room. Fingers tensed again, as he continued reading.

“I have three wishes for you, my love. I wish you happiness. I wish our son to grow strong, and to live well. And I wish you to go on living, even though I have gone. I know how easy it would be, to slip into despair, and allow it to consume you. Do not seek revenge. Do not seek a way to return me to life. Simply live, and I will be happy, knowing you will continue to go on.”

The tears that were falling clouded his vision, and he heard the raspy breathing in the room begin to fade, his heart hammering in his chest, as he reached for one of her hands, his fingers intertwining with hers. She lay a hand over the one holding the letter, pressing it to the bed, as he spoke.

“Ele’sear. My foolish, beautiful wife. I can’t imagine what life would have been like, never knowing you, and never loving you. I give you my oath. I will continue to live. I will take our son to visit your grave often. He will know what a wonderful woman his mother was. And how much you loved him. Were I a more selfish man, I would beg you to stay.. but I know you cannot. Rest well, my beloved Ele’sear. I will wait for you. As long as is necessary.”

Her hand squeezed his for a moment, as the rasping sound of her breath grew silent, that loving smile he had come to know so well on her motionless face. Lifting the letter, he read the last paragraph, his hand still clutching hers tightly.

“For three years, I devoted myself to trying to find a way to live without their blessing. But I am sorry Noah. I failed. I wasn’t able to find that thing that would permit me to live. I am sorry for the pain I have caused you. I’m sorry that I leave you alone to raise our son. Perhaps, in the next life, we will have a second chance at our love. I promise, my soul will always seek out yours. Some day, we will be together again.”

After several moments, his son stirred on his mother’s chest, the body of his mother laying still beneath him, the lads cry filling the air, as Noah lifted his son’s body from atop his mother, her hand, limp in his grasp, her gray eyes closed to the world, and her chest unmoving, all breath fled. With a pained expression, he pulled the body of his wife to him in his other arm, holding her close for a moment.

And in the dark of the room, as the candle that had provided the only light snuffed, and the sun set into the west, he pressed his lips to her own, and slowly lay her back down into the bed, his son clutched tight to him, the letter pressed into his pocket, he strode from the room. The bright and shining star that had lit the way in their lives was gone. And from this death, there would be no return.

----

The man in glasses stood beside the stone tennyou that marked the grave. In his hands were flower petals, which he sprinkled across the statues base, the young red-haired boy beside him, barely a year old, followed his movements.

The man kneeled after a moment, fingers running across the inscription that lay carved at the feet of the tennyou.

“Here lies the heavenly maiden, princess, mother, wife, beloved, mourned. May her spirit find peace.”

The young boy tugged softly at the mans robe, as he stood upwards, a soft, whispered voice filling the cemetery with its rich sound, the speaker unseen, but felt, a warmth that surrounded both father and son, as the man lifted the red-haired youth in his hands, and turned to move out of the graveyard, the hidden red-haired woman standing just behind the statue, her back pressed against the stone, eyes turned skyward, as they moved past her.

’I love you.’