I DO NOT OWN EMINENCE IN SHADOW, HOWEVER I DO OWN ANY OF THE ARTS SHOWN IN THESE FICTS.
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Chapter 3 : Difficulties of being a Mother
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Elizabeth was currently in a dilemma, a problem that even the mighty Blood Queen such as her was having trouble with.
Throughout her lifetime, she'd barely struggled in battles, she fought them all and came out victorious – excluding her unofficial husband(They haven't properly married yet), Shadow-san. – and yet, this one might prove to be the most difficult one she's ever encountered in her millennium vampiric life.
Being a Mother.
Don't get her wrong she absolutely loved her daughter, she'd straight up give anything in the world just for her if she wanted.
But alas, she was too inexperienced at being a mother.
"Mary! MARY! She won't stop crying! What should I do?!" Elizabeth called out for the Vampire Maid, she was currently fumbling around in her room trying to comfort her daughter in any way she can, to the point she was currently waving around toys while her daughter cried in her cradle.
"Oh dear! Oh dear! Please stop crying!" She was going frantic, all those books didn't even help her a single bit!
It had been 2 months since Remilya's birth, she was really ecstatic, almost sticking to her daughter's side all day. What mother wouldn't be, she supposed.
"Eeee..!" Remilya's crying began to louden, proving her efforts useless.
"This isn't working! Mary please! Where are you? " She threw the toys across the room and immediately grabbed a book on how to take care of newborn babies, skimming through the whole thing as fast as she could to find out how to calm her daughter down.
...
Mary was currently in another room peacefully cooking food for her Lady, spatula on the right hand, while on the left was another guide book on taking care of children. Babies obviously could not eat solid food, so she'll need to think up a few substitutes.
The best option was milk, breast milk to be specific, but uhh.. That option was kinda unknown to them.
Because like..
Does.. Do progenitor vampires even have breast milk..? Lady Elizabeth herself didn't know, and they really haven't gotten the chance because she would usually cook up food before Lady Elizabeth could try it.
The other option was feeding the young mistress soft mashed foods, which was the one they've been feeding her for two months.
Maybe they should try breast milk now..?
If Lady Elizabeth's wouldn't work, maybe hers..? She was rather decked in the chest area after all.
Heh, maybe she could even tease the Young Mistress with it in the future when she grows up.
...
Much to Elizabeth's misfortune, Mary could not hear her call for help because the apartment they were in had soundproof walls.
Elizabeth's eyes darted from left to right at a quick pace, reading the book she was holding.
"Aha!" She beamed, she tried everything and nearly every single one of them didn't work, but this one was one she hasn't tried yet.
"One of the best methods to calm your child down is to carry them while babying them softly, the reason they won't stop crying is due to the lack of body warmth from their parents, so skin contact is very important... Oh dear." That last part was.. Going to become a problem for her, vampires did not have natural body heat, much less a progenitor like her.
She could however, use magic to replicate the heat, but she wasn't sure if that would be healthy for the baby, she was afraid she might accidentally heighten the output and cause harm to her daughter.
She wanted to grip her hair in frustration, she didn't have knowledge about taking care of children! What was her thousands of years of living If she never even figured out this part of life!
Finally giving in, she placed the book down and walked towards her daughter's cradle, she and Mary had decided to momentarily stop traveling for the sake of her daughter, they'll just resume it until she's out like a year old.
She slowly picked up her crying daughter and cradled her, hugging her gently, making sure there was skin contact.
Remilya's crying didn't stop, it did however lessen when Elizabeth carried her.
"Hmm.." Elizabeth lightly bit her lip in frustration, seeing that it barely worked, the other option now was using magic..
Something she really didn't want to resort to, she's scared, afraid of accidentally hurting her newborn miracle of a daughter. She herself, the Blood Queen, was dangerous and could be considered a continental threat as she was able to destroy three kingdoms in her frenzy.
Knowing that, carrying her daughter would sometimes cause her to be afraid of hurting her, always being gentle as much as she could.
This one little miracle child of hers was one thing she didn't want to lose.
But, running away all the time wouldn't help.
She would eventually have to overcome that obstacle.
And this would be the first step.
She mentally prepared herself, willing magic to surge throughout her body as gently as possible, and raised her body temperature ever so slightly.
She bit her teeth nervously, carefully observing her daughter's reaction. She gradually increased it to the point of imitating an average human's body temperature.
...after a few torturous seconds of worrying, Remilya finally calmed down, her crying finally coming to a cease as she snuggled into her mother's chest.
"Phew..." Elizabeth released a breath she didn't know she was holding, it worked, she did it.
It really worked! She managed to do it without harming Remilya.. 'What an erratic fool I am.. Worrying over something like my magic going out of control .'
It was then that Mary decided to arrive at the right time, she had a plate and a small bowl, food for both her Lady and Young Mistress.
However, when she entered the room she didn't expect to see her Lady holding Remilya, without turning into a nervous mess, she knew that her Lady was afraid of accidentally hurting the young mistress, so she opted to put her in the cradle most of the time.
But it looks like she didn't have to worry, Mary smiled and called out to her Lady.
"Elizabeth-sama, the food is done." She walked towards her Lady, Elizabeth looked at Mary weakly, still focused on keeping her magic stable.
"Mary.. How nice of you to arrive just in time ." Elizabeth pouted.
"My apologies, the food took a while that I expected, but it seems you finally got over your worries, Elizabeth-sama.." She smiled.
Elizabeth returned the smile and took a look at her daughter, her smile becoming sweeter. "Indeed."
"Why don't you take a seat Elizabeth-sama? You seem tired, with the young mistress asleep, the food I made for her wouldn't be eaten until later." Mary gestured to the table seat across the room.
"And who's fault do you think it is?" Elizabeth sighed, there was no hostility in her voice as they exchanged banter.
Elizabeth took a seat while cradling Remilya, while Mary sat next to her. Elizabeth started to eat using her right hand, while her left held Remilya.
Mary allowed herself to relax a bit, she'd already had her breakfast this morning so she wouldn't have to eat later on.
It was another quite peaceful afternoon for them, with most of the curtains closed, they always made sure no sunlight would get past through the curtains as they weren't sure what it would do to Remilya.
... Well, there's that line of thought again.
Mary had been thinking about this for the last 11 months ever since she found out her Ladyship was pregnant. She never asked this question because she thought it would be rude but, maybe, just maybe.
She could ask now.
"Elizabeth-sama." Mary called out to her Lady.
Elizabeth paused eating and looked at Mary. "Yes?"
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but this question has been lingering around for months In my mind." Mary asked reluctantly.
Elizabeth blinked. "Ask away Mary, we're friends."
Mary smiled at that and nodded. "What I wanted to ask Elizabeth-sama is.. How was the young mistress conceived in the first place? I thought progenitor vampires were.."
For context, normal vampires are able to reproduce, either from procreation with a human or another vampire, the other was biting down on humans causing them to be either a ghoul or a vampire.
Progenitor Vampires on the other hand..
Well, there's a reason why you can count on how many Progenitor Vampires have appeared with both hands.
They were that scarce.
Elizabeth blinked again, before smiling and raising an index finger. "Well you see, when a man and a woman loves each other very much they-"
"Not what I meant!" Mary cut her off, seriously, her Lady had begun to start making jokes more often now after her pregnancy, it only got worse when the young mistress was born.
She loved her Ladyship but she was NOT used to this Elizabeth-sama, the one she was used to serving under was reserved.
She was elated that her Lady was obviously happier and more carefree enough to make jokes, but she was NOT used to this.
"Okay, okay fine. Well you see.. It's because of Shadow-san." To note, she only called him Cid-kun whenever they were alone, she calls him 'Shadow-san' around Mary since it appears she's not aware that Cid-kun and Shadow-san are the same person, given the fact she was connected to Claire Kagenou, she opted to call him in distinct names as Cid-kun seems to hide his persona of Shadow from Claire.
"My Lady, I'm quite literally aware that it takes a man and a woman to procreate-"
"That's not what I meant Mary, I meant that it was our good sire's workings." Elizabeth amended.
"it was his..? I don't understand Elizabeth-sama." Mary tilted her head, wondering what she meant.
"Well... I could tell you the story, since I don't really mind.. But it's quite blurry, I could piece them together." Elizabeth scratched her cheek.
Mary tilted her head again, what did her Lady mean by that.
Elizabeth continued on before Mary could ask. "Remember when I told you how I managed to have Remilya with him?"
Mary sweatdropped a little, that time had been a frustrating day for her back then.
"Yes..?"she nodded.
"Well.. There are some details I didn't tell you."
"Elizabeth-sama I do not wish to know in detail how you two went at it-"
"Stop cutting me off!" Elizabeth pouted.
"Right, sorry."
Elizabeth then proceeded to tell her of events she hadn't told her during the night she slept with Shadow.
...
"I'll... have to admit, this wine of yours.. Hits hard like a truck that clapped my ass here." Shadow uncharacteristically murmured, he was currently intoxicated to the point that he doesn't even realize what he's saying. "Gyat..."
"I'm.. Sorry..? I don't think I quite understand... Everything is rather.. Shaky." Elizabeth slurred, her head resting on her arms while she sat at the table area, Shadow was currently on the couch with a glass of 'Sleepful God'
Both were intoxicated after an hour of drinking, the wine was barely halfway gone as one glass was enough to get both powerful beings into this state, Shadow having two glasses already while Elizabeth had three.
The glasses were not that big mind you, they were of the standard ballroom glass.
"Hey, Elizabeth-san.." Cid called out to Elizabeth, this time with his normal voice.
He was currently out of it due to how intoxicated he was, even with his magic enhancing his every being, it still had limits.
Elizabeth weakly raised her head, "Yes.. Cid-kun..?"
"Do you actually like me?" Cid asked, while he did bullshit around most of the time like an idiot, he wasn't a psychopath, he still took notice and cared for those around him, even if he barely showed it.
Elizabeth confessing to him was a new thing for someone like him, having spent his entire life reaching for his dreams he made a point of what to care about and to ignore, while having a love life would get in the way of his being as an Eminence, he wasn't going to be an asshole and straight up reject someone who gathered enough confidence to confess to him.
Not to mention a fellow dreamer, someone who longed for a difficult impossible dream somewhat appealed to him, though a woman's beauty didn't really appeal to him anymore due to how much he was around his friends like Alpha and the others, so a touch of ugliness wasn't too bad. ¹
No, he wasn't calling her ugly, ugliness can come in any form, not just appearance.
Elizabeth's was all the blood within her hands, he could tell she's killed more than he ever did, granted, the ones he killed were all 'bad' guys, the ones on her hand includes both innocent and 'bad', despite how beautiful and innocent she looked, she's done more massacre than him.
And he didn't mind that.. But damn, this wine kinda hits different though.
Elizabeth looked at him dazed, her face was completely red from the intoxication of the wine, she pursed her lips and nodded.
"You are my savior, one who saved me from the chains that held me down to my fate until you came, someone who I genuinely have come to fall in love with." She said without stuttering, she was still drunk, but she willed herself to talk properly in Shadow's presence.
"So no bullshit? This isn't a prank? This isn't a roleplay or acting? Deadass?" Cis said some words that came from the Wisdom of Shadows itself. "You actually love me?"
Most of the words flew over Elizabeth's head, but she understood what they meant nevertheless.
"I do." She said sincerely.
Cid looked at her with uncertainty, his drunken state was making it hard for him to think properly, he was already breaking character.
Damn.
He drank every content of the glass he was holding, it continued to worsen his current state, while Elizabeth did the same.
Eventually Elizabeth fumbled to Cid's side, she had drunk more than Cid and was clearly feeling the effects, her thoughts itself were even cloudy, the entire bottle on her hand.
"You.. Know.. Hicc... I had another dream.. One.. That I wanted the most.." Elizabeth hiccuped the middle of her sentence, she however did not notice it
Cid who was half-asleep raised his head, as he was currently leaning on the couch, suddenly Elizabeth landed on his right side, by his arm.
"Y-Yeah..? Wazzat?" Cid slurred, his attention being grabbed by his fellow dream chaser.
"I wannnteed.. A daughter." She leaned on him, feeling him for herself.
"Kay' and..?" He asked, that didn't sound too hard to him, she was the Blood Queen, can't she adopt someone or something.
"I once.. Had this dream of a.. Adorable daughter, she would play by my side.. Stay by my side.. I even felt.. Genuine happiness in that.. Dream."
"Yuh, huh? "
"But then, I realized.. This is one dream that's.. Impossible.. " she continued
"Bullllsshitt.." Cid disagreed. "My fellow dreameeeeeer, no dream is.. Impossible I shit you not, I mean.. Look at me, just adopt someone or something.. Can't be that hard."
"That.. Is not what I meant.. My dear Shadow. " She rested her head on his chest. "It's that... Despite vampires being able to procreate, I cannot, as I am a progenitor vampire.."
"..Uh?"
"Do you know... why there's been only a few.. Progenitor vampires that have existed.. Even before me-?" "Nooot really no-" "it's because we cannot bear children nor have one.. And I'm afraid that if I ever did adopt one.. They will die before me.. I don't want that."
"..." Cid stayed quiet, he looked at the bottle in Elizabeth's hands and shrugged. He was too drunk to think clearly right now, but he did kinda like the taste of this one.
He took it without her noticing and drank everything inside it.
That one single action causes his entire mind to go on a road trip to Ohio.
His eyes landed on Elizabeth who was clinging onto him, his eyes nearly closed from the sleepiness.
Suddenly, like a neuron activation, some retarded thought came to Cid's barely functional and intoxicated mind. Said thought formed the idea of 'Doesn't a kid between a Power in the Shadows and a Vampire Queen sound badass?'
"Do you want one?" Cid- no, Shadow, as his voice became deeper again. Asked of Elizabeth who weakly raised her head to look at him.
"More than anything else, I don't want to be alone anymore, but even so.. I'm unable to.." She leaned her head back in his chest, a tear threatening to fall from her eye.
"If you wish to have one, I shall grant you one." Shadow said without stuttering, every single one of his fish-eyed brain cells working together to keep up with him.
Elizabeth immediately raised her head back up to look at Shadow, their faces barely a few inches away from each other.
"How..?" She tilted her head.
"Are we not lovers..? My dear Blood-sucking Queen, the option of impossibility is always erased within the presence such as the one who lurks in the Shadows, if you so wished it now, I shall bestow you my child." Shadow, with shaky-ass hands, picked up Elizabeth's chin causing them to be closer to each other.
Elizabeth's already reddened face began to warm up.
"It is..?"
"It is, what's your choice my Bloody Queen? We've only known each other for a month and a half after all."
Elizabeth's eyes threatened to close, both from the sleepiness and warmth that she was feeling inside her body.
"I.. do.."
"Very well."
Shadow began to pull out some magic of his, despite being someone who only did things for the sake of role playing his fantasies, he was still a genius and a hardworker when it came to it, all of his power came from his self-imposed understanding of Magic and non-stop training.
Doing the Impossible had always been a shtick of his.
He placed his violet-toned magic within Elizabeth's stomach, causing her to flinch a little. What he did just now was the equivalent of a 'Recovery Atomic' and a 'Atomic Radar' except, it was to 'fix' and 'find' something inside her.
His magic currently flowing throughout Elizabeth from the inside, he did notice a few differences from the anatomy of a human and a progenitor vampire, they had a few key differences but everything was still the same.
What he was trying to find was the cause of her inability to get 'pregnant', and alas, he never found an Issue.
Welp, time to bullshit his way out of this, he didn't know what else to do.
"Now you wouldn't have problems, from both the Shadows and the darkness of those who feed on blood, may the little one be born with both Might and Traits." He said despite his intoxication.
Elizabeth touched the spot where Shadow had spread his magic, she didn't feel anything else other than the pure warmth and feel of euphoria.
Finally losing it, she briefly stood up from where she was leaning, this man has done so much for her, she was both happy and guilty at the fact that she had been the one he chose, instead of the ones who already love him from his organization.
She couldn't bear this warm feeling anymore.. She needed.. She needed him.
Letting her instincts do the rest while her mind shut down from the powerful effects of the alcohol, ripped off her clothes with one toss.
Shadow, whose mind had equally already shut down from the alcohol, lost all of its power just to properly form his lines, looked at her with a blank look.
"I want your daughter." Elizabeth said with an extremely reddened face, struggling to stand up from the sleepiness and intoxication.
"Very well, I shall make you mine for the night and make it memorable. " Shadow said with the last few remaining brain cells he had, he mentioned something memorable when he did forget it.
He stood up, undoing his slime suit, bringing him back to his usual casual outfit as Cid.
He took off his shirt and grabbed her by the shoulders, the two of them then interlocked within the lips, they continued this for minutes until the slowly inched back to the couch and-
...
"Then after that I woke up earlier than he did, I found the both of us naked, with me still on top of him. I also found myself unable to move both of legs-"
"I didn't want to hear this Elizabeth-sama.-"
"And then I panicked as Shadow-san was waking up, I immediately pushed myself off of him while using magic and dressed the both of us, then I fell on his chest again after my numb legs gave up. I decided that it was too much of a pain to move so I went back to sleep instead.
Technically with that I can safely say no one took advantage of another with how unstable we were at the time, I simply just remember the details." Elizabeth recalled her time with Shadow, one hand on her chin with a smug satisfied look.
Mary looked at her with a blank expression, she suddenly stood up from her chair, startling Elizabeth.
She briefly excused herself and went outside the room before going to another, she closed the door.
"..." Why does Elizabeth hear a muffled frustrated scream coming from the next room?
Mary soon came back after half a minute, looking completely clean and wearing a bright smile that looked almost too real and happy.
Elizabeth almost distanced herself out of pure instinct when Mary sat back to her seat.
"M-Mary, are you fine..?"
"Absolutely fine my Lady!" Mary answered, almost too ecstatic.
"Y-You don't sound too fine-"
"Nonsense! I'm just quite happy you've found someone to love then my Lady."
"Y-Yeah."
Mary continued to smile almost too innocently, she looked at Elizabeth who was starting to get unsettled by Mary.
" Speaking of which, my Lady, it's quite a miracle that you remembered a good chunk of it. Even with our greater memory span, it was a surprise you managed to remember that much, that wine WAS incredibly powerful after all."
"U-Umu.." Elizabeth sweatdropped.
"But do explain to me why the couch? And why even hide the fact you're pregnant from him." She slowly inched forward with the same unsettling smile towards her Lady.
"I-It was a spur of the moment..? Wait why are you even mad about that-"
"MY LADY, I NAPPED THERE AFTER YOU HAD YOUR FAREWELL WITH HIM! I was wondering why I caught the scent of something strange..! I.. I need to shower." She ran her hand on her face with frustration, oh god, that was disgusting, after she arrived at their apartment that time she practically face planted on the couch with how exhausted she was, her lady was already on the bed during that time.
"I- Well that seems-" Elizabeth cut herself off when she sensed an extremely faint presence of someone outside their window, she was about to check it out when Mary continued on with her rant, causing her to forget about it.
"And how did he even do it?! Forgive me my Lady but I thought progenitors could not have children?" Mary silently slammed her hands on the table.
"He just did it somehow." Elizabeth shrugged, it was the reason why she occasionally called Remiya her 'miracle', it was apt because she technically IS a miracle between the two.
Eventually, Elizabeth finished her plate and had Mary take it away. They opted to put down a cover over the baby food so that when Remilya wakes up, she has something to eat.
Elizabeth slept in the afternoon again with her daughter in her arms, she dreamed of her dear beloved once more.
Ohhh, how excited she was to see him again in the future.
But unfortunately, she had forgotten about the presence she sensed a while ago.
++--------------------++
Cid couldn't tell why but, for some reason the girls have been clingier than usual, they would spend more time with him even if he's not going around as Shadow.
When he asked why, they all answered with 'unexplainable urge to keep red-heads away from him', maybe they're role playing again..?
He wasn't sure since Alpha at one point said it was a 'woman's intuition', he didn't really understand it, women can be difficult to understand sometimes.
Well, not that he minded it since they were his friends, but he wanted his privacy once in a while you know?
The past two months had been rather uneventful for him, maybe he should take that clown persona on and try it out later on?
Well, it wasn't exactly uneventful since it wasn't just Alpha and the others that had become clingier, Alexia would usually try to run into him most of the time prompting him to hide, even Claire too.
He even saw those two talk to each other and have an agreement, oh hell nah, he wasn't dealing with that.
Then after that he'll travel around the world!
Hehehe, imagine the possibilities.. All the gold and badass entrances he would make.
He'd probably make do with all of his plans in Midgar for the time being before he travels.
There was still school to worry about, bah.
Oh yeah, now that he remembered it.
Whatever happened to Elizabeth?
The girl had confessed to him before leaving, he wasn't exactly sure if they were a thing or not because he barely remembered that night.
What he could remember clearly was the gold.
She promised to give him loads of stacks of it, if that was her way of flirting with him then damn, she was good.
Maybe he should find her once he decides to Travel. There was this nagging feeling that told him he had to see her, was she doing something big or something.
Hmm.. Gold it was, probably.
Meh, he can think about it when he finishes cooking up his new 'Jack The Ripper' persona. ²
++--------------------++
It had been 10 months now after Remilya's birth, and Mary was starting to lose it.
She really loved her Lady Elizabeth, really, but oh my god!
She's insufferably stuck to the Young Mistress, everytime they would need to do something, she would simply just laze around and cradle the little one, not to mention she's become pickier and more needy, yeah it's her job as a subordinate but she was sure she wasn't going to make it out alive by the end of the year if her Lady was going to keep crying for her whenever she didn't know what to do with the Young Mistress.
One detail they had overlooked was, the guide books to taking care of children, never included Vampires or Dhampirs with how rare they were now, which was a problem, taking care of the Dhampir the same way you did with a human was clearly not working.
The worst part is, a few months ago she had gone outside to a little outing, trying to find more remaining Vampires.
She had come across some information, it turns out every vampire in the world had come to the Tower under Crimson's rule in the hopes of finding shelter or survival, and they were all dead, Juggernaut of the Black Tower had massacred all the vampires in the Tower.
With all of them dead, that left her, the young mistress and her Lady as the last few members of their race.
That meant The Haven is nearly an impossible thing in this Era, and with no other Vampires.
They had no idea on how to take care of the little mistress properly, young Remilya being born was the literal equivalent of a new species being found with little to no idea of how to take care of them.
She and her Lady were pretty much grasping at straws here as the little mistress had recently started to become less energetic, they were both worried she was getting weaker as they might be feeding her the wrong foods.
On the other hand, they've never tried feeding her blood yet... But that was something her Ladyship wanted to avoid if possible, if ever.
But with the young mistress getting weaker, they might have no choice.
Damn it.
She currently had the same usual food she made for both her Ladyship and the young mistress, a plate and small bowl in hand, both In a tray. They still haven't left the apartment they were currently staying at, she only recently learned too that the kingdom they were staying in was called "Oshiana Kingdom." it was kinda aptly named considering the kingdom was next to the sea.
She entered the room and nearly dropped everything in her hand when she saw her Lady silently and weakly crying herself next to the young Mistress's cradle.
She immediately put away the tray and dashed towards her Lady, from her point of view, she immediately started fearing the worst that they might have been too late.
"Elizabeth-sama!" She hurried to her Lady's side, taking a quick look at the young mistress inside her cradle.
She almost fell to her knees out of relief when she saw the young Mistress still alive judging by how she was breathing in her sleep.. But.. It was rather faint.
Elizabeth never moved from her spot, Mary was currently worried for her Lady, she knew it was probably because of the young Mistress's current state that put her into this crying mess.
She rested a hand on her Lady's back, drawing circles to at least comfort her. "Elizabeth-sama.."
Elizabeth flinched, she weakly raised her head and looked at Mary with a tearful expression, which was new to Mary. 'I've.. Never seen her so.. Defenseless and weak before.. '
"Mary.. I'm.. A rather terrible mother aren't I..?" Elizabeth asked, her voice was faint.
"I let my little miracle be slowly.. Weakened.."
"Elizabeth-sama..?" She looked at her Lady with a worried confused expression, Terrible Mother? She was literally far from that, her Lady literally spent almost everyday trying to take care of the young Mistress!
She's not a terrible mother!
"My Lady, please take that back, you are NOT a terrible mother!" Mary disagreed with her Lady.
"I don't believe so.. Look at Remilya, Mary, if I was not a terrible mother she wouldn't be like this.. Just when one of my dreams had been fulfilled.." She started to tear up even more.
Mary finally having enough, forcefully made Elizabeth face her, she put her hands on her shoulder and crouched down.
"My Lady, you are by no rights a terrible mother, it was simply a misjudgment from both of us, we didn't know how to take care of the young Mistress." She explained to her Ladyship.
Elizabeth weakly stared at her.
"You spent the last 10 months with your daughter nonstop, even going as far as to learn and ready every single page there is of countless books, you are NOT a terrible mother."
"But.. Mary, Remilya's magic is.."
"Her magic is..?" Mary looked away from her Queen, she stood up and took a closer look at the young mistress.
Carefully, she placed a hand on the baby and almost recoiled back, this was bad.
The young mistress was slowly dying, her magic was waning, that was the usual signs of someone dying.
"No.. Damn it, my Lady, surely there is something we can do?" She looked at her Lady who was sitting on the floor.
"I had thought of bringing her to her Father.. But by the time we get back to Midgar.. She would have already died, I only noticed it too late when her magic started to lessen." Elizabeth gripped at her dress furiously. "This is all my fault.. If we had only tried to feed her blood instead of trying to stray her away from her nature..." She bit her lip in regret.
"Elizabeth-sama." Mary looked at her Lady with a shocked expression.
"I'm scared Mary, scared that she would turn out like her monstrosity of a mother if she were to be exposed to the taste of blood.. A monster who would go on a frenzy and kill millions of innocents.. So I didn't want to give her that if possible, and now.. She's.."
Mary's gaze landed down on the floor, before closing them and taking a deep breath.
She slowly walked towards her Lady and crouched in front of her, and did the last thing she thought she'd ever do.
She slapped her.
Elizabeth was immediately startled by the sudden slap, her shocked gaze landed on Mary who had an furious expression.
For a moment, she thought Mary was angry because of her mistake.
Oh she did make a mistake, but not that.
"ELIZABETH-SAMA, you are NOT a monster you hear me?! You are the most benevolent progenitor to have ever existed, you dreamth of creating a Haven where Humans and Vampires can coexist PEACEFULLY, you even went against your own nature as a progenitor in favor of caring for others!" She yelled at Elizabeth.
"So repeat after me or I swear to the gods above I will slap you again, damned be the consequences. You are NOT a terrible mother or a monster."
"..." Elizabeth looked at her with an unsure expression before Mary shouted again.
"Repeat! AFTER ME!"
Elizabeth flinched at the volume of her scream, startled by Mary's sudden uncharacteristic actions.
"REPEAT! AFTER ME!" Mary screamed even louder than before.
"I-Im not a monster or a t-terrible mother.." She muttered.
"I CAN'T HEAR IT!"
"I-Im not a monster or a terrible mother!"
"LOUDER!"
"I'M NOT A MONSTER NOR A TERRIBLE MOTHER!"
Mary smiled brightly, seeing that she had manages to bring her Lady's spirit back up
"That's right! The young mistress is the daughter of the Blood Queen, not a weak mother who gives up, her father is a powerful mysterious man, even if she did lose herself, the two of you would have to be simply there to make sure she doesn't!
That's what being a parent is, my Lady.
Now let's attend to the young mistress shall we? There's still time to save her, there's perhaps a chance that if we feed her blood she'll get better."
Elizabeth kept looking at her with the same widened eyes, before she closed them and shook her head.
"When did you become such an inspiring speech giver.."
"Just now my Lady, now come on, there's no time to lose."
Mary then went on to the kitchen to grab a product known as a "feeding bottle" From Mitsugoshi, how were they coming up with these ideas, or how their company reaches all the way overseas she didn't know.
They were just damned good at their job from the looks of it.
She went back to the room Elizabeth was in and handed her the feeding bottle.
"Whose blood are we giving her?" Mary asked Elizabeth who was cleaning the feeding bottle.
Elizabeth turned to her and gave her a smile.
"It would be best if it came from her mother, I know my blood and body more than anyone else." That was true, considering her Lady made use of blood as means in combat, she previously used it to rain down a massacre of blood against the Shadow Garden and the two Towers of the lawless city back at the tower.
Elizabeth made a knife out of blood and sliced her wrist, pouring her blood into the feeding bottle after opening it.
She then closed it after it was full, she walked towards the cradle her daughter was sleeping in.
Her daughter promptly woke up after she was carried by her mother.
Remilya started to tear yo and cry again, but this time it was rather faint and weak, a testament to the fact she is slowly dying.
"Shh.. It's me little miracle, mommy has something for you."
Elizabeth soon then fed her daughter, after that Mary and Elizabeth waited a few grueling minutes observing Remilya's current state, the two were very nervous as they weren't exactly sure if it would work.
It was only then when they had taken a relieved breath when they sensed Remilya's magic finally stabilizing, magic was tied to the soul, so that meant the child was finally safe.
"It's.. Over, she's fine now." Elizabeth practically fell on the table seat, the stress that had been slowly killing her finally disappearing seeing her daughter in the safe zone now.
"I guess you were right Mary." She slightly tilted her head, giving Mary a grateful smile.
"Anything for my Lady and the young Mistress." Mary returned the smile.
Elizabeth leaned back on the chair, her consciousness slowly drifting towards sleepiness, she hasn't eaten either so maybe she'll do that after she wakes up.
' Being a mother is.. Difficult, but I'm glad to be one .'
Elizabeth sighed, thinking about her actions that led to her daughter's nearly inevitable demise. She'll have to remember this in the future, being overprotective and worried all the time won't help and could possibly do the opposite.
She was glad Mary was her to snap her back to reality, otherwise her daughter would have died and she would have spiraled down into her true nature.
Being alone is never good... Maybe she should visit her dear husband – unofficially, again, they're not properly married despite having a daughter – and introduce her daughter to him once she grows up.
Maybe.
But she'll be elated to see his reaction though.
Hehehe~~