Rose tried not to show any pain as she walked into the castle with Dart and the others. No one seemed to notice her weak attempts at driving the pain off. She wanted to scream as each new wave of agony hit her. She felt as if her abdomen was being torn apart, and it was all that she could do to stay standing. 'At least we're in Ulara... They'll probably want to see the city... Which means I'll have until tonight to talk to Charle... And she can help me out...' Wordlessly, she watched as Dart and the others left to explore.

"Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong? I know you're hiding something Rosey." Charle smiled.

"I'm in pain..." She finally gave in just enough to show how much pain she was in, but not enough to scream.

As Charle rushed her into one of the rooms, she shouted at one of her servants. "Get the healer! Hurry!"

The wide-eyed servant didn't need to be told twice. Without hesitation, she dashed straight to the healer's room, fully ready to carry her if she had to.

"Lay down, Rosey. I think I know what's wrong... It happened to one of my servants recently, and I know it's more common for people of your breed."

Rose couldn't reply as another wave of sheer agony washed over her. As her instincts began to take over, she became less and less in touch with the real world, as if she was underwater and slowly sinking deeper.

"...your choker... affected... poor thing... relax..." The words that Rose could process sounded garbled. Tthe words she couldn't were lost. She found herself having difficulty keeping her thoughts straight.

"Push." A voice she rarely heard rang out through the distorted noise. She knew this voice. It was her instinct. The few times she had heard it were when she turned into the black monster or was in danger of dying, and this little fact scared her. Obeying the voice, she found herself coming back to reality a little bit at a time.

"...breech... hurry..." The healer's low voice confused Rose. 'What's breech? Why are we hurrying?'

Reality rushed forward as Rose heard a high-pitched crying noise. Nothing seemed as if she was underwater now as she looked from Charle to the healer... and froze. In the healer's arms was a tiny infant, with something that had made Rose freeze. The baby had pointed dog ears.

"I told you you'd get pregnant, but you didn't listen..." Charle giggled. "At least it's cute though."

"Da bebe's a she." The healer's low accented voice caught everyone's attention. "Little half-demon girl, she be. No 'it', Highness."

"Well, that explains why she looks so much like her mother. Rosey, would you like to hold your little girl? I can get her cleaned up..."

Rose waited patiently while the healer cleaned her baby. 'Zieg would probably be tripping over the healer just trying to hold her right about now...' She giggled at the thought of him trying to get ahold of the baby, then became sad as current events replayed in her mind. 'Too bad he's currently psycho...' A small bundle being pushed into her arms caught her attention.

"Da bebe be wantin' ya, Miss Rose."

The tiny infant, which looked like she had been screaming her head off not five seconds ago, was smiling and giggling at her. With one hand, Rose reached up and grabbed her headband and took it off, which also took off the metal caps she had been concealing her real ears with and made the illusion of human ears fade from the sides of her head. One thing still troubled her as she looked into the baby's silvery-blue eyes. "How could I not know I was pregnant?"

"Sometimes da bebe won't show. Won't make da mama sick or nothin'. Happens wit' ev'ry species, Miss Rose."

"I can tell she's Zieg's daughter, but... how could I have been pregnant that long?"

"Da choka, Miss Rose. Is no good to wear dat ting when pregnant."

Rose sighed, realizing that the healer, despite her thick accent, was right. "What time is it?"

"Da sun be settin', Miss Rose."

"Won't they all be so excited to see your little baby, Rosey? And you know they'll let you stay here instead of going to that-"

"No."

"...but Rosey! You have a daughter now! You can't go kill the God of Destruction! It'll destroy you!" Charle's voice was frantic.

"You know I was destined to do this. You remember the night before the battle... What the soothsayer told us. I am to fight the God of Destruction, to impede its progress. I know I won't live. I wasn't meant to. I was meant to stop it from destroying the world so that someone from my bloodline could-" Rose paused, blinking, before glancing at the baby. "It's her, isn't it?"

"I think so..."

Rose had to hold back her tears. "I didn't want her to be involved... I wanted to save the world for her, not for her to have to save it again..."

"But you are... Rosey, listen. I believe that she more than simply looks like you. I believe she has your strength too. If she does, that means that what we do now is important, and she'll be able to handle whatever challenges she may face. Just like you did. And, you don't have to go directly to the afterlife when you die. You can 'haunt' the girl and raise her yourself. May not exactly be easy, but still. I believe that this is not an ending, but a new beginning..." Charle smiled.

"First ya say 'don't go', now ya say go... poor girl can't make up her mind, Highness..."

"I'll go, but I have a few things I want to leave with her. They might not survive the battle..." Rose took off her choker and gave it to the tiny baby, then picked up her headband and gave it to her as well.

"Doesn't she need a name, though?"

Rose paused and thought carefully. No matter what name she thought of, it didn't fit.

"Name her fer what she is, Miss Rose. Dat's how I be named."

"Kaloha, please be quiet."

'Name her for what she is... no... I should name her for what she will be.' "Luna-ri."

Charle and Kaloha gasped as the name came from Rose's mouth. "Why would you name her for such a horrible thing?"

"I named her for what she will be. She is to control the moon child by becoming it. Therefore, 'Luna-ri', or just 'Lunari'. She could also go by 'Luna'."

"Dat child be havin' a cursed life, Miss Rose."

"We both are. Charle, I think you have some idea of what to do. And neither of you are to say anything to Dart and the others." She brandished her stiletto and pointed it at Kaloha. "Got it?"

"Yah, Miss Rose. Nobody be hearin' a peep from dis Kaloha."

"You know I wouldn't say anything, Rosey. I think the baby might, though..."

"Let her stay with you for a few months, until you thing everyone's settled in their homes again, then you can take her to Dart and Shana. They live in Seles. You can tell them everything then." Rose glanced down at the tiny baby in her arms, which had fallen asleep holding onto the choker and headband. "Goodbye, little Luna-ri. I'll see you again someday, I hope." Holding back her tears, she kissed the baby on her forehead and handed her to Charle. "We need to get back to the throne room before Dart and the others return..."

Charle handed the baby to the healer. "Take her to the opposite end of the castle and wait for me. If anything happens to her, you'll have more than just me and Rose to worry about."

"No problem, Highness. Just one infant." As the healer left the room, she muttered, "One cursed infant..."

Charle and Rose both left the room, leaving the servant girl to clean up the mess left behind. As they said goodnight, because Charle had allowed the group to spend the night in the castle, Charle pulled Rose to the side. "Are you sure you don't want to see her? I offered to let you all stay here so that you could..."

"If I see my baby again... you will not get me out of this castle. If I don't leave this castle, the world gets destroyed. If the world gets destroyed..." Rose did not need to say more. Her expression said it all. "I wish I could, though..."

"I'm sorry, Rose, I really am... but thanks for trusting me." Charle smiled weakly as Rose walked away. 'And with a silent swish, the blade of fate swings again... The swordsman that can't be hit. The story that never ends, but always begins... This is another beginning... Ok, I really need to stop reading ancient tablets all the time... this is getting ridiculous...'

Authoress: How was that for a first chapter? Hey, at least I explained some stuff... Now, since the last time I wrote one of these, I had a troller issue, I have one rule about reviewing. NO TROLLS! If you're trolling, you will be ignored. For the rest of you out there, please review. I appreciate hearing from you.

Troller chick from last time: Even me?

Authoress: *picks up flag pole and swings it around, smashes the troller chick's head in* That answer your question? Now, decent fanfictioners, you may review.