Personnage

“So…” Emet Selch said as he watched the heroes of the Source flee toward Il Mheg. He had studied the whole fight.
“The hero’s bearing a child?! Ahh, brings such sweet memories of my sweetest wife!”

A shadow figure appeared next at Emet’s side, Skan using one of his many shadow forms.

“Whatever you’re planning,” Skan warned.
“Do not hurt her and the baby! You hear me?!”

“Is this supposed to be a threat?” Emet-Selch asked. He sighed and shrugged with his shoulders.
“Fine. I’ll not lay a hand on her and the unborn babe!”

Skan then dissapeared, returning back to his friends. Emet-Selch rose up and stretched his arms. He started to ponder for himself.

“Perhaps… I can use her condition to avoid bloodshed?”

***

“Perhaps we should give them some… space?” Alisaie asked looking toward her brother, Krohman, Skan, Pockets and Minfilia. Thancred was busy kissing Cleo; no wonder really, having not seen her for five years in his case. Cleo was near to lose her breath as Thancred kissed her.

“Thancred,” Cleo whimpered.
“Please!”

“Ahem!” Krohman cleared his throat.

“Right. Sorry!” Thancred said letting go of Cleo blushing.
“It’s really good to see you again, my friends. It’s feels like years, five in my case!”

“You surely took your time, coming to the rescue,” Alisaie said crossing her arms.

“I was planning on rescuing Minfilia on my own, but I observed the activity from the Crystarium! Thus I consulted with the Exarch,” Thancred said.
“He told me to interfere if things were going to worse and bring you to Il Mheg with certain instructions!”

Minfilia looked down at the ground.

“I just…” she said before looking up at Cleo.
“I just felt her presence! I knew that I had go and meet her.”

Cleo smiled toward Minfilia with a warm look in her eyes. Krohman could see it clearly, that Cleo had gotten the maternal instinct for this young Minfilia. Cleo looked at Minfilia.

“Why didn’t you tell Thancred then?” Cleo asked.
“He would surely…”

“I was afraid that he wouldn’t let me,” Minfilia explained.

“And would I have been wrong?” Thancred said with a stern voice.
“Had I arrived a moment later, you would be back in your cell in Eulmore. And now we have Ran’jit snapping at our heels! You really have outdone yourself this time.”

“Thancred,” Cleo nearly cried. Minfilia looked down at the ground again.

“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Thank you for saving me.”

Skan started to chuckle at Thancred. He looked at Skan.

“What!?” Thancred barked toward Skan.

“Dadcred,” Skan chuckled.

“Shut up!” Thancred sighed annoyed.

Dad! Cleo thought. She almost panicked. How was she going to tell him? Was this the right time? Or maybe later?

“What of the instructions the Exarch told you?” Krohman asked.

“First, rendezvous with Urianger,” Thancred said. He then turned his head facing toward the foggy area of Il Mheg.
“And secound, eliminate the Lightwarden of this land!”

It had to come sooner or later. Cleo sighed for herself, holding herself.

“Cleo, are you all right?” Thancred asked worried. He was at her side the next moment placing his hand over her forhead.
“You’re shivering!”

“I-I’m fine,” Cleo said. She wasn’t all right. She was nervous; she had to tell him the news. Who knew when she would get the chance? Thancred was about to lead them toward where Urianger lived. She then blurted it out.
“Thancred, I’m pregnant!”

Thancred stopped and slowly turned around. His face was pale and shocked.

“What?” he said after a long while. Everyone was holding their breath, waiting for his reaction. He shook his head.
“No, no, no. This changes everything!”

Thancred started to walk back and forth in disbelif. He then looked at Cleo again, this time he was angry.

“You shouldn’t have come,” he yelled.
“You should have stayed home! I’m going to kill the Exarch for summoning you here!”

It felt like the world was nearly tearing apart, Cleo was close to burst out in tears.

“What a cold and heartless man, scolding her so,” a voice said in the air. Many more voices started to fill the air. They were laughing and giggling.

“Who said that?” Krohman cried looking around.

“Show yourself!” Alisaie demanded.

“Come now, put away that frown and have some fun with us!” another voice said. The voices continued to giggle.

“Shit,” Thancred suddenly said before turning to Minfilia.
“Where was the way to Urianger’s place again?”

“I… I can’t remember!” Minfilia said.

“We’re already been caught in ther spell!” Thancred growled.
“As it stands, we cannot hope to find the way to Urianger. For that, we must convince the pixies to lift the spell. From what I could make of the voices, the creatures want to play with us. If that is the case, they should permit us to find their village─Lydha Lran.”

And so, from what Thancred and Minfilia could remember, they followed a road that led to a village. It was empty, but they all had the feeling that lots of eyes were wathcing over them.

“Well, here we are. Yet the pixies are nowhere to be seen. Knowing them, their games have already begun. In which case...” Thancred said while thinking.

”Wasn’t there a plant wich might help us?” Minfilia asked carefully. Thancred nodded to her, smiling.

“Looking grass,” Thancred said. He and Minfilia started to search the area. The plant had a furled tip when Thancred finally found it.
“With this, we can spy the pixies. Just look.”

Thancred walked away from them and looked through the furled tip. He could see lots of blinking stars around the ground.

“I’ve found you. The game is over.” Thancred said in the fae language.

The next moment, the pixies popped out and soon the village was filled with pixies.

“Noooo, how did they find us?” a pixie complained.

“Wait,” another one said looking at Minfilia and Thancred.
“I recognize their souls. They’ve been here before!”

“Oh, look, look,” a third one said pointing at Alphinaud and Alisaie.
“Twins! How adorable!”

A few pixied studied Krohman, carefully poking his ears and tail. Skan tried to shoo the pixies away from him while Pockets stared in awe at the pixies. They then looked at Cleo and her stomach. Their faces lit up.

“Ooohhh, this one is bearing a child!” tey squeeled. Soon, all the pixies surrounded Cleo, swooning and cooing around her.

“The pixies seem to like Cleo,” Krohman said.
“Must be because she’s pregnant!”

Thancred sighed heavy.

“I shouldn’t have yelled at her like that,” he said. The pixies heard what he said and glared daggers at him.

“Meanie, meanie,” they shouted.
“Yelling at her. Shame, shame!”

Pockets ran over to Cleo and whispered something to her in her ear. Cleo nodded before clearing her throat.

“We’ve come to see Urianger,” Cleo said. The pixies started to laugh.

“Ohh yes,Urianger. The peculiar one!” the pixie SulUin said.
“In return for a place in Il Mheg, he agreed to a riddle contest with us! For seven days and seven nights! Without any sleep!”

How did he manage that? Krohman thought for himself while the pixies laughed.

“It was so fun. We must do it again!” Oul Sigun said.

“I’m sure that he would be delighted,” Thancred said.
“Now, if you’d be so kind and lift your spell…”

The pixies gathered around, discussing if they should lift the spell or not. They then turned around to the group.

“We’ve made up our mind,” Sul Uin cheered.
“We will lift our spell on one condition; that you first lend us a helping hand! Or two. Or three! Once you’ve helped solve all our troubles, we’ll let you see Urianger. Pixie’s honor!”

Thancred sighed.

“Pixie chores,” he said.
“I suggest we split up.”

The pixies gathered around Cleo.

“Not you, no, no,” the pixies said.
“You’ll rest and make a crown of flowers with us!”

The pixies led Cleo away to the garden where they made sure that Cleo was resting. Thancred stared in surprise.

“Should I be jealous of all the affection she’s getting here?” he asked.