14

The king smiled, "Come with me. My wife has been waiting for both of you to return," he said before leading us down the hall.

We stopped as we entered the throne room and we were confronted with the queen, Prince Asher, Princess Shari, and general Gonen. They all watched in surprise as I led Kairi into the room.

"Look, my love, they have finally come as they promised."

The queen shot from her chair as tears filled her eyes, "Eva! Kairi! You're finally back!"

I smiled sadly towards the queen. "I now go by Queen Eva," I whispered as I looked to the floor.

"You married Kana?"

I felt my heart ache, "Yes, a few days after we left I became the princess of the world of Wielders. Then last year the king and queen passed on and I became queen."

"So Kairi is now a princess?"

Kairi nodded, "along with my brother who is the prince."

"Is that the boy who is injured?"

I looked to the king and nodded, "Yes, Akito is my son. He is only six years of age."

"So you became pregnant soon after leaving us?"

My gaze went to Shari, "Yes, but I must congratulate you, Princess Shari. It seems you are soon to have your first child."

"Thank you, I am due in a month and a half."

"So your child is going to be born soon after Mom's."

Everyone looked to Kairi and Gonen spoke, "You are pregnant?"

I nodded, but could not meet his gaze, "yes, I am due in a few days shy of a month."

"Then what are you doing in our city?" Asher asked and I looked to him to see my sadness reflecting back.

Kairi broke the silence, "we were given word that there are two fugitive Wielders, the men that killed the king and queen, hiding in this city. It is the perfect place to hide from other Wielders since my father set up laws against any Wielders entering or going near this city."

"So Kana kept to his side of the deal back then?"

I nodded towards the queen, "yes. Since he set up these rules only Kairi, Akito, and I are allowed to come into this city. So we were sent to find the two Wielders."

Kairi suddenly hugged my arm and I looked to her, "Mom, we are using up a lot of our energy by changing our appearances. Since we are in the royal home and everyone knows our true identity, we should revert back to normal to save our energy for later."

I kissed Kairi's head. "You are right," I whispered before allowing Kairi to take ahold of my earring and I grabbed hers. We assisted each other in taking off the earrings and everyone watched as we came back to our true forms.

My black hair, nearly black looking red eyes, and flawless white complexion returned as Kairi's long brown hair, red eyes, and tan skin appeared.

"We should check up on Akito."

The king moved towards us, "The doctor will come get us when he is finished, so please join us for lunch."

"Alright." I whispered before following the king to the dining room. Kairi and I waited for the others to sit before we left one seat next to Gonen open and sat in the next two seats. The queen, Asher, and Shari took up the other side of the table as the king sat at the head.

Everyone ate quietly until the queen sighed. "So, Kairi, how old are you now?"

Kairi looked to the queen, "I am eighteen."

"Then that would make Eva thirty."

The king let out a small laugh, "Well it is certainly amazing that you are thirty, Eva, but still look the same as you were when you left."

I looked to the king, "Wielders do not change much in appearance after they are fifteen."

"So you will look that young until the day you die?"

"Yes, it is not very common for a person's appearance to change as they age. The king and queen looked about eighteen when they were killed, even though they were nearly eighty."

The queen sighed, "if only we had that ability." She joked, but no one laughed.

Gonen slammed his fork down on the table and finally locked eyes with me. "How can all of you act like this is alright?!" He hissed, "there are two Wielders in the room yet you all act so calmly!"

Kairi started to stand to argue but stopped when I grabbed her arm. She looked to me and I shook my head, "do not fight him, Kairi," I whispered, "he is right."

"But mom, he is treating us like traitors!"

I smiled sadly towards Kairi, "he is just trying to keep his royal family safe. That is his job and duty in life."

Kairi sat but glared at Gonen, "so are we enemies now, Gonen?" She hissed angrily, "I can't believe you are acting like this when mom worries about you constantly!"

"Kairi…"

Kairi pushed away my hand and turned towards Gonen, "Mom came into your home, even though it is killing her to be here! She came here regardless so that she could check on you and fulfill her promise to the queen!"

I stood as I felt a chill go down my spine, "Kairi."

Kairi stood at the same time as me, "What is it?"

I looked to her with determination, "rhey are moving."

"The two Wielders?"

I nodded and went around my chair, "stay here and wait for Akito to be helped by the doctor."

Kairi stopped me as I started to walk away by grabbing my arm, "you plan to go after them alone?!"