#zerilliam

30 hours. That's how long his wife was in labor with their child.

William asked the doctor and the midwives if it was normal for it to be taking this long, they had answered that sometimes it did; however, due to Zera’s condition, they were very concerned.

However, they assured him that everything was going to be fine, that the best in the Kingdom was there, and that they were well prepared for whatever happened.

Taking them at their word, William pushed his fear and anxiety aside for the first few hours; but the longer it took, and the paler his wife got the more his anxiety and fear began to bubble to the surface again.

During her labor, Zera demanded he be in the room with her. The medical team tried to explain to her that the husband wasn’t normally allowed to be with his wife during childbirth; however, Zera was incredibly stubborn and demanded that he be in there with her or she would leave.

William couldn’t help but chuckle as the medical team looked at each other in shock before eventually agreeing with her demands.

As Zera’s labor hit the 24 hour mark, William’s anxiety and guilt reached a new peak; seeing Zera looking so weak, exhausted, and pale broke something inside him.

This was his fault, all of it…he had been the one to do this to her…

However, 6 hours later all that pain, anxiety, feeling of helplessness as Zera pushed and pushed finally became worth it as a loud cry echoed through the room.

When William looked over at her, and saw her bright smile full of complete and utter love and adoration for their newborn child, he felt all of his worries and fears melt away as a smile slowly appeared on his face.

“ It’s a boy!” The midwife announced, pulling the couple's attention towards her and the baby she held.

He watched as Zera's smile widened at the woman’s words, and admittedly his smile widened a bit as well even though he kept saying, and silently hoping, that their child would be a girl.

William watched as the midwife passed their son to Zera so she could hold him, and he watched with warm, loving eyes; this was his family…even though she looked so tired and weak at the moment, the smile she wore and the look in her eyes said something completely different:

Zera had to be the strongest person he knew; to go through so much and still be smiling afterwards? Not many people could do that, he most certainly couldn’t.

Suddenly, he frowned as concerned and hurried whispers from the midwives, who stood at the foot of the bed, floated towards him.

He turned to face them and saw looks of concern and confusion on their faces as they spoke to the doctor who was listening and nodding along as they spoke.

William could feel the anxiety and unease from earlier slowly creep back into his mind as he watched them.

Something was wrong…very wrong…

“ Captain Vangeance, may we speak in private?”

The look on the doctor's face, and the sadness in his eyes filled William with dread and his heart dropped into his stomach; however, he nodded. But before he left he kissed the top of Zera’s head and assured her that he would be right back before he stepped away to speak with the doctor.

However, when the other man began to speak, William’s brain couldn’t comprehend his words…and the more he spoke, the more distant his voice sounded, and the heavier the weight of his words became to William.

Zera…his wife, the most important person to him, the one who was supposed to be the death of him was dying….

“ Her uterus isn’t contracting like it should, and we’re using every spell we have; but, because of her condition…it’s extremely likely that she won’t make it through the night.”

William paled and felt unsteady on his feet. No...no he couldn’t be losing her, not now, not like this!

“ L-Let me use my healing spell! It saved members of my squad from the Spade Attack last year-!” He quickly offered.

“ It’s too late, Captain. She’s already lost too much blood, and she’s too far gone…” The doctor regretfully said.

William quickly tried to argue, pointing out how a lot of his Squad members were near death like Zera and his spell saved them. But the doctor shook his head again. No matter how many different arguments he made, the doctor would just shake his head sadly.

William looked over at his wife and saw she had grown paler in the last few minutes, so he slowly made his way over to her; his feet felt so heavy as he moved them, it was like he was wearing boots made of lead.

He sat down in the chair next to Zera’s bed and smiled sadly at her.

“ They told me.” She said weakly, she was holding their son as close to her chest as she could, as though she were afraid if she were to let him go he would simply fade away like a dream.

William blinked back the tears in his eyes.

“ I-I can heal you, just let me-.” He reached for his grimoire and she quickly grabbed his hand to stop him and held it.

“ You can’t,” She slowly shook her head. “ It’s too late.”

“ No! No it’s not-.”

“ Yes, Will, it is.” She said weakly as she moved her hand to cup his face gently and stroke his cheek with her thumb.

“ I’ve been sick for a while, we both knew this was a possibility.” She continued softly.

William felt tears well in his eyes before slowly slipping down his cheeks; during the entire pregnancy she had been sick and had slowly become weaker and weaker, and Owen had warned them that there was a chance she wouldn’t make it through childbirth…

William opened his mouth to argue but Zera quickly handed their son off to him, when he looked down at the child he couldn’t help but be in awe; he looked so much like himself when he was a child, but he also inherited many of Zera’s features.

Their son was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

The boy's ice blue eyes that were identical to his mother’s looked up at him curiously, as though he were trying to figure out this new person holding him. But then he smiled, and in that moment William knew; his son had his heart completely.

He would do anything to keep him safe, he would love him completely and unconditionally, he would do whatever he could to make his son happy. He looked back up at Zera with a smile on his face, but it dropped instantly when he saw her eyes were beginning to close. He instantly leaned forward and clutched her hand that rested against his face tightly.

“ No! Don’t close your eyes please! You can’t go, not yet, not now. Not when I need you most, not when he needs you most! I can’t do this without you, Zera!” He pleaded, his voice barely above a whisper.

If he dared speak any louder his voice would surely break…

“ You’re going to be ok, you both will be. I know it.” She inhaled softly before opening her eyes again to look at him, blue eyes meeting purple ones.

Her thumb gently stroked his cheek again.

“ You can do this William. I know you can. You’re not alone, you have so many wonderful people to help you when you need them, both inside and outside of the Golden Dawn,”

“ I’m so sorry I won’t be there to help you raise our son; to watch him grow up and be the amazing man I know he’ll be someday,”

“ William, I need you to promise me something.” William nodded, even though Zera’s smile was sad and weak, it was still the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

“ Promise me that he’ll be kind; that he’ll be loving, sweet, and gentle,” She began softly as tears welled up in her eyes.

“ That he’ll protect those he loves and cherishes most; that he’ll love to garden and plant flowers, that he’ll love birds as much as you do. That he won’t judge a person by their magic or status, that he’ll be as amazing a man as his father,”

“ Oh, and promise me that he won’t betray the Wizard King or the country.” She tried to joke with a small laugh.

William rolled his eyes but nodded in agreement before she continued.

“ That when he meets that special someone, that he’ll love them and cherish them as much as I love and cherish you; that he’ll treat them as they deserve to be treated, that he’ll be a complete gentleman.”

Tears began to stream down both of their faces as her voice gradually grew softer and weaker.

“ Promise me that he’ll be happy. That he won’t blame himself for this, ever. Please!” She cried, her voice cracking as she pleaded with her husband.

“ William, will you promise me these things?” She asked, her eyes growing heavier by the second and her hand growing colder and colder in his warm hand.

William stared at Zera for a moment before slowly nodding in agreement before turning his face to place a kiss in the palm of her hand.

“ I promise.”

Zera’s eyes slowly closed as she nodded her head.

“ Thank you, my Sweet William.”

———

And then just like that…Zera was gone.

William couldn’t stop the tears from flowing as the memory faded, she was gone, she was really gone.

And There was no bringing her back…

He held his son close to him, what was he going to do? How was he going to raise their son by himself? Zera…he needed Zera…

William’s head suddenly shot up when he felt a hand clap onto his shoulder.

“ Hey,” Yami Sukehiro greeted softly before sitting down next to his friend and fellow Captain.

William nodded in greeting.

“ I...I heard about Zera... Vangeance, I’m so sorry.”

William nodded again.

The two Captains sat in silence for a while, the only noise coming from the slightly squirming baby in Williams' arms and the annoying ticking of the clock that hung on the wall.

William was asked by the doctor and midwives to leave the room with the baby while they prepared her body to be taken by the undertaker, and at first he didn’t want to leave…he couldn’t leave her. However, when his son stirred in his arms he knew he had no choice but to do as they said…

Yami stared at his friend, not really sure what to say in this kind of situation; he could only imagine what William was going through right now as he sat silently beside him.

If it were Charlotte...Yami shook the thought out of his head quickly and closed his eyes tightly, he didn’t even want to think about that!

He slowly opened his eyes and glanced over at the white haired man next to him; William’s eyes still had unshed tears in them, and his face was as pale as a sheet.

As he inspected his face more he noticed dark circles were under his eyes as well, which made sense, since he had stayed up all night with Zera.

Yami smiled a bit, he would probably do the same with Charlotte when she went into labor...

“ Yami,” William started softly, looking up from his son for the first time since Yami showed up. “ I need you to do me a favor.”

“ Tell me what the favor is first,” Yami said his voice firm but with a bit of hesitance in it.

William nodded slowly before he looked back down at his son.

“ You need to help me make sure he doesn’t find out about this, ever.” William said with a small nod at his son.

Yami raised an eyebrow, but let him continue.

“ If…if he were to ever find out that his mother gave her life to bring him into this world… he would blame himself,”

“ I promised her…I promised her he would be happy and I intend to keep that promise.” He concluded seriously.

Yami looked away in thought; it didn’t really sit right with him, lying to the kid about how his mother died. He nearly scoffed, him? Not feeling right about lying? That was a first.

But, William was right; the kid would blame himself for it, even though it wasn’t his fault. Yami sighed before crossing his arms, there really wasn’t a good option with this...

“ How exactly are we going to keep him from finding out?”

“ First; we’ll tell the other Captains, Zera’s friends, and our squads what happened tonight before asking them to keep a lid on this,” William began softly.

“ And what about if we get new recruits?”

“ Well, if we get any new squad members they will be told the story that we’ll tell him, your child, and the other Captains’ children.” William explained softly.

Yami turned to look at him with a frown.

“ ‘My child?’ What does my kid, or the other Captain’s kids, have to do with this?” Yami asked.

“ I guess I assumed all of our children would know each other and maybe even be friends, since they’ll be so close in age.” William muttered softly as he recalled Zera’s dream of everyone's children all growing up together and becoming friends.

“ So you’re asking me, and the others, to lie to their kids before they’re even born?”

“ Only if it gets brought up. Please Yami,” William pleaded, he couldn’t let his son find out. He had to protect him no matter what, and if someday he did manage to find out the truth…then William would deal with it.

Yami sighed and contemplated it for a moment, he didn’t want to lie to his kid; he promised himself and Charlotte that he would always be up front and honest with them no matter what, which was also ironic; considering he still hadn’t told Charlotte, or his squad, about his real past…

But, the look in his old friend and rivals eyes that desperate, pleading, look… all William wanted was to keep a promise to his now deceased wife: to make sure their son would be happy.

And Yami couldn’t fault him for that, he would do the same if he were in Williams shoes.

Eventually, he shook his head and a soft sigh escaped him.

“ You owe me big time Vangeance. Big time.” Yami said before standing up.

This lie would be Yami’s last; this promise disguised as a favor. For his friend, who was grieving the loss of his wife; for his friend, who was only trying to protect his son…

“ Thank you, Yami.” William said softly as he cradled his son close again.

Yami turned to look at the two again, and he couldn’t help but smirk at the sight; would he look like that when he finally held his child, he wondered.

“ Did you name him yet?” Yami suddenly asked, his tone full of curiosity.

He watched his friend's eyes widen a bit and he quickly shook his head, which caused Yami to sigh for the third time.

“ Do you have any ideas for a name?”

William thought for a moment before slowly nodding.

“ Yes, there was one name she was particularly fond of.” William said with a small smile, the more he looked at his son, the more the name seemed to fit.

“ Well don’t keep me in suspense.” Yami joked, causing William to chuckle shortly for the first time in hours.

“ Alistar. She liked the name Alistar.”

“ Alistar, huh.” Yami muttered thoughtfully.

“ It’s a good name, a strong name. I think it fits the kid.” Yami muttered as he leaned down to actually look at the baby for the first time that evening.

William nodded in agreement.

“ I think so too,” William hummed.

“ Alistar Vangeace… It does have a ring to it.” He muttered softly, and he watched as his son smiled brightly at him, seeming to agree with the name choice.

Yami turned and walked away from the father and son.

“ Hey, Vangeance,” Yami began as he turned slightly.

“ If you ever need any help with the kid, you know where to find me and the others.” Yami added before walking down the hall and out of sight.

William watched as his friend disappeared, his smile still in place before he looked back down at his son.

—————

One week later, Zera’s Funeral

The sky over the Golden Dawn base was dark, cloudy, and grey…very much matching the mood of everyone that stood in the graveyard, surrounding a wooden casket covered in various beautiful flowers that the woman they were laying to rest had loved.

The officiant at the head of the casket was reciting meaningful and touching passages that accurately described Zera, her life, her love, her passions…

But William didn’t hear, or retain, a single word of it.

There was something akin to a loud ringing noise in his ears that seemed to drown out everything the funeral officiant was saying; however, all the sniffled and deep breaths that the attendees made as he spoke echoed loudly in his ears.

William’s gaze slowly shifted up from the casket and towards the attendees across from him.

Standing there was Fuegoleon Vermillion, and his pregnant wife Solara, with solemn faces and tears in their eyes as they tried to remain composed but were clearly struggling to do so. Fuegoleon’s arm was wrapped tightly around his wife’s waist as she rested her head against his shoulder.

To their right was Nacht Faust and Josele Canty; Josele, William’s friend and former squad mate, had tears in her eyes and was gripping Nachts arm tightly as he reached around to rub her shoulder comfortingly.

On the left of Fuegoleon and Solara were Briar Rose and Nozel Silva, Briar had tears slowly streaming down her face as she silently cried at the loss of her friend. Nozel on the other hand, held a calm almost statuesque look on his face; but as William’s gaze shift down, he saw Nozel’s hand holding Briar’s, and his thumb drawing comforting circles on the back of it.

William’s gaze slowly drifted around to the other attendees; Helena Drazel, Rosette Vitrail, and Solid Silva were standing beside Nozel.

Jack the Ripper and his wife, Kathline, were standing a little further down beside the other Captain’s and their partners that were attending.

Standing at the end of the row of Captains was Yami Sukehiro and Charlotte Roselei, who was holding their newborn daughter, Hikari, tightly in her arms.

If William had been more himself, he would have been shocked to see Charlotte show up to Zera’s funeral one day after giving birth to her and Yami’s child; however, it was Charlotte Roselei, Captain of the Blue Rose Knights they were talking about.

And finally, as his gaze shifted to his side where Yuno, Neva, Langris, and the rest of the Golden Dawn stood to, not only support their Captain and his son, but to also say goodbye to their friend and self-proclaimed ‘mother’.

As William gazed around at the sad and defeated faces of those around him, he couldn’t help but think:

This wasn’t right…this was supposed to be a time of joy and celebration; not a time of despair and mourning.

Everyone should be happy and joyful at the two new lives that entered the world only days ago, while exciting anticipating the new lives that were to be born in a few months.

But instead; everyone was sad, miserable, and grieving for their friend who had brought so much light, fun, and chaos into their lives in such a short amount of time…

William slowly blinked as he watched the officiant move aside to allow others to speak, and one by one their friends said a few words; however, their voices were drowned out by the loud ringing in his ears.

Why wouldn’t the ringing in his ears go away?

As he slowly blinked his eyes he noticed everyones’ eyes on him; their looks were sympathetic, but some were also…expectant? What were they-?

Oh…they were expecting him to speak…

William opened his mouth, closed it, opened it, and closed it again…nothing, not a single sound wanted to leave his throat…no matter how much he tried to will it too.

There wasn’t a word or phrase or paragraph long enough to describe what Zera meant to him and how much he loved her…how much light she radiated in one of the darkest moments of his life…how she made him want to be a better Captain to his squad and be a great husband and father to her and their son.

And how much he would miss her smile, her laugh, her anger at him nearly drowning her plants…

Just… her.

William felt tears prick at his eyes and he quickly closed them and shook his head…not now, not here in front of everyone-.

Suddenly, Alistar began to squirm and wail loudly in his fathers arms, drawing everyones attention away from William and to him instead.

“ I think we should head inside now,” Yuno told everyone, his voice quiet but firm.

Everyone quietly agreed and followed him inside.

“ Neva,” William began softly, causing the platinum haired girl to turn around and look at him.

“ Will you take Alistar inside for me please? I’ll be right behind you.” He added as he handed his still crying son off to her.

“ Okay, just don’t stay out here too long, please?” Neva quietly asked, and it was only when he nodded that she turned back around and began to follow the others inside.

Once everyone was gone, and William was alone, did he finally collapse to his knees and fall apart beside Zera’s casket.

He wanted to be angry, wanted to scream and yell at her and the gods and ask them why her…why did they have to take her? Why did the gods finally give him something good in his life only to take it away just as quickly? Why did they have to snuff out such a warm and brilliant light like Zera?

Why…why did they make him the death of her, instead of the other way around like she promised?

Why didn’t the gods allow her to keep that promise?!

But instead of screaming and shouting, he cried…he cried harder than he had all week…

She was gone…she was really gone…he would have to live in a world without her, just like he feared.

He would be alone again.

“ But, you’re not alone, my Sweet William,”

William’s head shot up and he quickly jumped to his feet; that voice…

“ Zera?! Zera, are you here?” He shouted as a gust of cold, bitter wind swept through the graveyard.

However, as he expected, he received no reply; instead, another gust of cold air that cut him right to the bone greeted him.

Of course it was just his grief-stricken mind playing tricks on him, there was no way that was her voice…she was dead, which meant she could no longer speak.

But still; that sentence sounded so much like her, and as it rolled around in his mind, he found that it was true…he wasn’t alone anymore.

He had his squad, his friends, his son…

And in a way, he still had her with him as well.

“ It’ll be alright, maybe not now, or anytime soon…but eventually…everything would be fine.”

—————

Hiya guys! I apologize this chapter took a while, I had finals and a bunch of IRL things going on that kept me from being able to update this. But here is the reception chapter, originally it was going to have smut in it but…the muses took it into a completely different direction and now it’s completely SFW! I hope you all enjoy~!

Word Count: 6, 326

Solara belongs to @thoughtfullyrainynightmare , Josele belongs to @loosesodamarble , Briar belongs to @koneko-pi , Acylla belongs to @faewraithsworld , Helena belongs to @kalolasfantasyworld , Rosette belongs to @vilandel

Warnings: Mentions of Breeding kink (for comedic purposes), Hurt-Comfort, Slight Suggestive themes (but not much).

As afternoon turned to evening, all the wedding guests moved from the ceremony outside to the reception inside the Golden Dawn base.

The guests talked and mingled with one another as Zera’s friends from town, the Black Market, and in a few noble and royal social circles got to know William’s squad members, his noble and royal friends. It was quite the sight.

When Zera and William walked into the room, it went silent for a moment before cheers and applause echoed around them; making William blush in slight embarrassment as Zera giggled and soaked in the attention.

The newly married couple walked into the center of the dance floor, and Zera turned to face William. He took her hand in his before placing his other hand on her waist as she placed her free hand on top of his shoulder.

The moment the music started, the couple slowly began to dance. Their feet gliding across the floor as they moved perfectly with the music.

William’s step mother and father had made sure he took dance lessons when he was younger, since that was considered a ‘requirement’ for a nobleman in Clover, as his step mother put it. While Zera, on the other hand, had never taken a dance lesson in her life!

It took the couple a bit to ‘find their footing’, so to speak, but they eventually did…even if it cost William a bruised toe or two.

“ Careful darling,” Zera began softly, her voice pulling him out of his thoughts. “ Don’t want you to accidentally step on my toes.”

He blinked for a moment before he chuckled.

“ Shouldn’t I be the one telling you that?” He asked softly, his brow raising slightly.

As soon as Zera opened her mouth to reply, William felt her foot step right on his toes.

The two paused briefly and looked down at their feet, where they could clearly see her foot resting on top of his.

As they slowly looked back up at each other, Zera smiled sheepishly at her husband and her cheeks turned slightly red.

“ Oops, sorry about that, I guess I still have two left feet.” She told him with a sheepish laugh as her hand reached up to rub the back of her head.

William chuckled and shook his head at her; usually he would feel a throbbing pain in his foot, but not now, right now all he felt was love and amusement for his wife and her poor dancing skills.

“ It’s alright, it doesn’t even hurt.” He told her as he began to lead the dance again, watching as his wife’s eyes narrowed.

“ Liar,” She muttered under her breath as her gaze shifted away from him.

William chuckled again before he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead, trying to comfort and reassure her that it was all okay.

After a few more spins, glides, and toes getting stepped on the couple finally stood in the center of the dance floor as the song came to an end and other couples began to walk onto the floor as a different song started to play.

William took Zera’s hand in his and led her off the floor and towards the refreshment table, which was filled with various foods, desserts, and drinks.

“ For you, my beautiful wife,” He said warmly as he grabbed a beautiful flute full of a light gold champagne and handed it to her.

Zera smirked as she took it gently from his hand, the tips of her fingers lightly, and flirtatiously, brushed against the back of his hand; sending an electric tingle up and down Williams spine.

“ Thank you, my handsome husband,” She replied before bringing the champagne flute up to her lips and taking a sip.

William watched her drink from the champagne flute as though it were the hottest, most sensual thing in the world.

The way her lips gently pressed against the edge of the glass before slightly parting to allow the golden liquid to slip into her mouth before disappearing down her throat. He watched as a drop of the champagne slipped from around the glass and began to slide down the corner of her mouth, down her throat, before stopping right at her chest.

When she pulled the glass away with slightly flushed cheeks, her fingers reaching up to wipe away some of the excess champagne that sat on her lips, and William couldn’t help but swallow the lump in his throat.

He never thought he would be so jealous of a glass of champagne.

“ What’s wrong, dear? Dirty thoughts running through your mind?” Zera suddenly asked, her ice blue eyes giving him a playful look as her smirk returned to her face.

William’s face turned bright red as his eyes shifted away.

“ Not at all,” He clearly lied, making Zera giggle as she could tell she hit the nail on the head.

“ Don’t worry, I’ve been having dirty thoughts about you too,” She told him as she turned away to face the ballroom, another giggle escaping her as she nearly caused William to spit out his drink.

Zera’s scanned the room as her husband cleared his throat behind her, all of her friends and family were there; she could see Rika and her brothers standing in one corner having what appeared to be a serious discussion, her friends from the Black Market were talking with each other while simultaneously trying to talk the nobles and royals into coming to visit their shops, her fellow Wives were all seated at a table together, happily chatting away while their spouses and significant others stood a few feet away from them.

Everyone she had met over her lifetime, were all in this one room, together, and it made her so very happy.

“ Hello, Lord Vangeance, Ms. Cassia,” A slightly older woman in her late 40’s-early 50’s began as she walked up to the couple.

Zera’s eyes narrowed slightly in thought as she tried to think about who this lady was, she looked vaguely familiar…but she just couldn’t place her.

“ Ah, Lady Stark, we’re glad you could make it,” William said politely as he took the woman’s hand in his and gave it a small shake.

“ Ah, that’s right, she’s a really high up noblewoman,” Zera thought as she watched the woman and William exchange pleasantries.

“ You know I wouldn’t miss this for the world, especially since your father and I were friends for the longest time,” She replied with a smile as she slowly pulled her hand back.

Zera watched as her husband’s brow twitched slightly in irritation at the mention of his father, but he still forced a smile onto his face to try to seem polite.

He didn’t want to cause a scene…

“ Is it Ms. Cassia, or Mrs. Vangeance?” Lady Stark suddenly asked, her gaze shifting from William to Zera, who blinked in surprise.

“ Oh, um, I haven’t quite decided on it yet,” Zera replied with a sheepish laugh.

The woman's eyes narrowed, her gaze turning somewhat stern.

“ Usually that’s one of the first things a woman decides on before she gets married.” The woman responded, her tone turning serious.

Zera glanced over at William, who glanced back at her, both having a feeling they knew where this conversation was headed.

“ Sorry, but I was a bit busy dealing with all of the other urgent things that we needed for the wedding.” Zera said, her voice sounding sugary sweet, but William could hear the sharp undertones in it.

“ Oh yes, of course, of course,” Lady Stark said with a calm smile, William wasn’t sure whether she heard his wife’s sharpness or if she just elected to ignore it.

“ As a Captain’s wife there’ll be many urgent matters you’ll have to attend to, which makes me curious; have you made a decision on whether you’ll sell your flower shop, or will you continue to work there?”

William once again glanced over at his wife, he swore he saw her eyebrow twitch in annoyance at Lady Stark’s question.

“ I plan on still working at the flower shop even as a Captain’s wife,” Zera replied, her teeth gritted slightly, and her voice growing a little more sharp despite how sweet it sounded.

“ Ah, I see,” Lady Stark said as she placed a hand under her chin. “ But won’t you be stretched pretty thin between running your shop and your duties as a Captain’s wife? Especially after you and William have children?”

“ Oh, speaking of children; now that the two of you are married, when do you think you’ll start having children?”

William took a deep, calming breath; Lady Stark was going too far with her questions and nosiness now. When he and Zera decided to have, or not to have, children wasn’t any of her business.

“ Um, well, we haven’t really discussed it-.” William began, trying to come up with some sort of excuse as his mind scrambled to find a way out of this conversation.

But he was cut off from continuing his sentence by his very irritated wife.

“ Hm, well, if I’m not pregnant already then it’ll probably sooner than you’d expect since I have a breeding kink.” Zera told the woman bluntly, a sweet and playful smile on her face as she stared at the older woman.

The area around them went so silent at Zera’s sentence one could hear a pin drop.

“ ZERA!!” William exclaimed in shock, his face pale and purple eyes wide as he stared at her.

He shouldn’t be surprised by this, he really shouldn’t, and yet her openly admitting that she had a breeding kink and that there was a chance she could already be pregnant took him completely by surprise and almost made him speechless.

Apparently, it also took Lady Stark by surprise as well, since her face turned bright red and her eyes began to shift around nervously.

“ O-Oh I see,” She stammered uncomfortably, quickly clearing her throat. “ Well if you’ll excuse me, it was lovely to see you again Lord Vangeance, and it was a…pleasure to meet you Ms. Cassia.”

And then she shuffled away and disappeared into the crowd, leaving a triumphant Zera and a shocked William standing there.

“ That’ll teach her not to ask questions like that again,” Zera said with a triumphant grin, and William took a long and deep breath as his hand reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“ What? It’s not like you weren’t just thinking about planting some seedlings in me a moment ago.” Zera told him before taking another small sip of her champagne.

William took another deep, calming breath, his mind wondering why on earth he had decided to fall in love with a crazy woman like her.

“ You okay there Goldie Guts?” Yami Sukehiro asked as he walked up to the food table to grab a drink. “ You sound like you’re having a heart attack or hyperventilating.”

“ He’s fine!” Zera exclaimed cheerfully. “ I was just telling him how I couldn’t wait for him to plant some seedlings in my garden tonight.” She added, causing William’s head to snap in her direction and for his eyes to widen even more.

Did she just really tell Yami that?!

“ Oh my go-.” He began, but Yami cut him off.

“ Ah, well good luck tonight Goldie Guts,” Yami began nonchalantly as he picked up a glass of wine. “ I have a feeling she ain’t going to let you go until you complete your mission.” He added before taking a sip.

“ Indeed.” Zera agreed with a peaceful smile on her face.

Meanwhile, William just stood there speechless, his eyes darting back and forth between the two.

Yami turned towards him with a raised brow.

“ What? It's not like all the married men here haven’t been on that mission during their wedding night? You might've ringed it, but a real fisherman knows that luring the fish into the boat isn't enough.” He explained, making William frown a bit.

“ Oooh that’s true!” Zera said with a small clap of her hands. “ And tonight, we’ll get to see if he’s a real fisherman or not.”

Yami burst into laughter as he clapped Zera on the shoulder, and William couldn’t help but feel like the two were bullying him again, just as they had the day he and Zera met.

“ Well, I think I’ll leave you boys to it! I’m going to go and mingle with the other ladies.” She suddenly announced before giving her husband a kiss on the cheek before walking away.

As she walked towards the table where the other wives sat, she stopped to talk to her newest friends Helena Drazel and Rosette Vitrail.

Helena was wearing a long red gown with beautiful white and gold accents, and Rosette was wearing a simple yet elegant grey gown with light pink ribbons and accents.

Zera greeted them warmly, making sure they were having fun and were having a good time before bidding them a small goodbye, promising that they would all catch up soon.

She smiled fondly as she saw her friends Solara Equinox, Josele Canty, Briar Rose, and Acylla Rhine.

Solara was wearing a beautiful cocktail dress that was blue but slowly transitioned to gold as it went down. It had slightly thin straps, and was slightly low cut with a thigh length slit on the left leg. It was a sexy yet very classy dress that suited her perfectly!

Josele, who was sitting between her and Acylla, wore a beautiful, knee length tulle cobalt blue dress with a black corset around the waist. The straps were made of black ribbon and she finished off the look with a beautiful lace black choker. It was really the perfect dress for her!

Briar, who sat on the other side of Solara, wore a beautiful, calf length half silver-half white, billowy wrap-gown that floated behind her as she walked. The neckline was low like Solara’s, but the sleeves were longer than any of the others, and she wore a beautiful silver-white accessory around her ears. It was a very lovely dress that suited her perfectly!

Acylla, who sat between Josele and Briar, wore a beautiful, yet simple, light blue high-low dress that complimented her hair and eyes perfectly. It had a high neckline and halter-like sleeves, her blonde hair was in loose yet classy waves that perfectly framed her lovely face. The dress may’ve been more simple then some of the others, but it looked stunning on her!

Zera could hear them all chatting and giggling away amongst themselves, and her smile widened. It made her heart fill with warmth seeing her friends, whom she almost considered as sisters, all talking together and having a good time.

It…was really nice.

She walked over to them and leaned over Josele and Solara’s shoulders.

“ What are we talking about?” She half whispered as though they were having some sort of secret meeting.

The other women’s gazes looked from each other to Zera as soon as the question left her lips.

“ Well if it isn’t the woman of the hour,” Acylla said with a grin as she and Briar pulled out the chair between them for Zera to sit down in.

“ We were just discussing your breeding kink announcement,” Solara said with an amused smile as she lifted her drink to take a sip.

“ I think I saw William’s soul leave his body for a moment when you said you could already be pregnant,” Josele chimed in with a small laugh.

“ Well, it wasn’t a lie, there is a chance I could be,” Zera said with a knowing smirk, making the others laugh and shake their heads at her.

“ We were also talking about Neva,” Briar said softly as the laughter around the table began to quiet down. “ She and Yuno have been standing there quietly for nearly five minutes.”

Zera, as well as the others, all turned their attention towards the two young Golden Dawn members that were standing together on the far side of the room.

While to some the pair looked awkward and uncomfortable, to the ladies sitting at the table they looked nervous, and like they were trying their best to hide it.

Zera let out an exasperated sigh.

“ I told her she should be more forward tonight,” She groaned as she rested her head on the table. “ So why isn’t she asking him to dance?”

“ Because, despite how Neva projects herself to others, she’s actually quite shy.” Solara said knowingly as she glanced at the others before looking back towards Yuno and Neva.

“ Yuno isn’t much different from what I’ve heard,” Josele said as she looked at the women. “ He’s pretty shy too, but I’ve also heard that he can be pretty oblivious to things like romance and crushes.”

The other ladies nodded, all of them knowing all too well about men being oblivious to women and their romantic feelings towards them.

“ Should we go over there and give them a hand? Maybe try and encourage them to dance together?” Briar asked as she looked at the others.

“ I don’t know if that would help,” Acylla said, making the others frown a bit. “ They’re both already kind of shy around each other, so if we step in now, we could just make things worse.”

The ladies all looked at each other; she had a point, if they pushed Yuno and Neva too far too quickly, then they could easily make things awkward between them, then the two would never get together!

“ Please Neva, just ask him to dance! Gather all of that bravery and just ask him!” The women all pleaded softly to whatever deity was listening at the moment.

And just as the ladies were about to give up hope, they watched as Neva turned to Yuno, said something they couldn’t quite make out, and took his hand in hers before leading him towards the dance floor.

“ Are they-?” Zera began, her eyes wide and voice sounding hopeful.

“ I think they are,” Solara agreed, her eyes just as wide and voice just as hopeful as Zera’s.

“ She took charge and actually asked him to dance, this is exciting!” Briar said softly as she clasped her hands together.

“ 5,000 yul says he steps on her toes at least once,” Acylla said as she leaned back in her seat.

The other ladies all turned to look at her with slightly bewildered eyes.

“ What?”

“ Are you really suggesting that we bet on how Yuno and Neva’s dance is going to go?” Josele asked with a slightly raised brow.

Acylla shrugged.

“ Jack and Yami do it all the time, so why can’t we?” She asked, and Josele opened her mouth to argue before quickly closing it again.

She had a point, Jack and Yami did tend to bet on all their love lives at one point or another…

Before Josele could reply, Solara quickly cleared her throat in order to get their attention, and they all began to watch as the two finally made it to the center of the dance floor.

They watched as Neva and Yuno spoke before she placed his hand on her waist and held his other hand in hers.

At first they took slow steps in time with the music, and the ladies couldn’t help but giggle slightly as Yuno’s normally stoic face held a bit of an apprehension in it. It was pretty clear to them, and possibly to everyone else as well, that he had absolutely no idea how to dance.

But luckily for him, it appeared that Neva knew how to dance…at least a bit.

“ I didn’t know Neva knew how to dance,” Briar said softly, and Zera hummed before nodding.

“ William probably taught her at some point,” She explained simply, her gaze not leaving the dance floor as the others nodded in agreement.

The group of women gasped and cringed a bit as Yuno’s feet became tangled with Neva’s, causing him to stumble forward and almost knock her over.

“ This isn’t going well,” Acylla groaned as she closed her eyes briefly.

“ Just give them time, they’ll get better I’m sure.” Solara said as she glanced at the others for a moment.

They could hear laughter and snickering emit from the dance floor as people noticed Yuno’s small mistake. Words like ‘what did you expect from a mere peasant?’ and ‘oh my, I guess he isn’t as special as we thought’ echoed around quietly, and it made Zera grit her teeth in annoyance.

No one talked badly about her children.

Just as she was about to stand up and say something, she watched as Yuno and Neva glared icily at the people openly mocking them, before they looked back at each other and appeared to have a silent conversation.

The ladies watched as Neva held out a hand towards him, and he took it firmly. The two then began to dance again with her taking the lead, and him following.

It started out a little rough and awkward, but the longer they danced, the better the two got. They were already in sync with one another on the battlefield and in their everyday lives, so why would dancing together be any different?

As the song ended and the pair stood together in the middle of the dance floor, their bodies pressed firmly against one other as they held each other close, Zera and the others watched and waited with bated breath as the pair stared into each other's eyes.

“ C’mon, kiss already! You know you both want to, so go ahead and do it already!” They all thought, hoping the same deity that answered their pleas before would do so again.

But sadly, their hopes fell on deaf ears this time, as the two seemed to come to their senses and slowly moved away from each other.

“ Dammit!” Zera cried as she forcefully rested her head against the table, making the items on it tremble and clink together.

“ They were so close!” Briar exclaimed sadly as she patted Zera’s back.

“ Well, that was anticlimactic,” Acylla muttered with a slow shake of her head.

“ How long do they plan on making us wait for them to get together?” Josele groaned as she also shook her head sadly.

“ Well, they do say it’s best not to rush these sorts of things,” Solara began as she also held a look of disappointment on her face. “ and it’s not like we can exactly force them to date when they aren’t ready.”

The ladies looked at each other and sighed in resignation. It was true, they couldn’t force the two to date even though they clearly had feelings for each other…so all they could do was wait until the pair were ready to be together.

As Zera pouted in her seat she suddenly felt large, but gentle hands land on her shoulders. She looked up and saw the warm, smiling face of Rika looking down at her.

“ Ladies, are you all having a good time?” He asked politely as the other womens’ gazes turned towards him.

“ Oh, hi Rika,” Zera said, her disappointment disappearing and being replaced with a warm happiness. “ We were just watching a few friends dance while chatting away.”

“ Ah, I see,” Rika said, giving his daughter a look. “ So you were gossiping?”

“ No,” She tried to lie before a giggle escaped her. “ Okay, maybe a bit.”

Rika sighed and shook his head as an amused, unsurprised smile appeared on his face.

“ I figured,” He chuckled before he looked at the other ladies at the table. “ Do you all mind if I borrow my daughter for a dance?”

The others smiled and quickly shook their heads, biding Zera goodbye as she stood up and walked with her father towards the dance floor.

She and Rika weaved through the group of people until they found a free spot on the dance floor, and the two stood there for a moment before they began to sway side to side, since neither of them could dance very well.

As they moved, Zera could just feel something was wrong with her adopted father. He was acting warm and cheerful like normal, but there was something in his eyes that told her everything was not normal. She had sensed it back in the dressing room when he hugged her, but now she was feeling it even more.

“ Rika? What’s going on?” She asked softly, and Rika, being pulled out of his thoughts, blinked in surprise before looking down at her.

“ Hm? Oh, nothing’s wrong,” He told her softly, but she wasn’t convinced.

“ Liar,” She muttered as her eyes narrowed. “ You’re acting weird, and have been since earlier.”

“ So tell me; what’s going on?” Rika’s red eyes searched her ice blue ones for a moment before a soft sigh escaped him.

“ I’ll tell you when the reception’s over,” He told her softly, but she shook her head.

“ No, I want you to tell me now!” She stated firmly, her eyes narrowing more and her bottom lip sticking out in a slight pout.

Rika sighed again and closed his eyes for a moment, and that made her heart race anxiously. Whenever he closed his eyes and took a deep breath that meant that she wasn’t going to like what he had to say.

“ Zera, your brothers and I are leaving.”

She blinked for a moment before confusion took over and she tilted her head; that was what he wanted to tell her when the party was over?

“ Really? That’s all?” She scoffed with a small laugh. “ You guys leave all the time, that’s nothing new.”

“ So, when are you guys coming back?”

As soon as the question left her lips Zera could tell that wasn’t what he meant when he said he and her brothers were leaving…

“ Zera,” He began softly, his hands moving to rest gently on her upper arms. “ Your brothers and I aren’t coming back.”

Everything seemed to stop at that moment. The music, the voices, the people dancing around them, even her breath and heartbeat seemed to stop.

They…weren’t coming back? What was he talking about? They couldn’t…they couldn’t just leave…

Zera gripped his shirt tightly, and firmly shook her head as his words sank in and tears began to prick at the corners of her eyes.

“ No, no, you can’t…you can’t leave!” She cried softly, her feet no longer moving on the dance floor.

“ Zera,” Rika sighed softly, but she cut him off.

“ You told me that we would be a family forever! So why…why are you saying goodbye?!”

“ Zera-,” But before he could answer she firmly shook her head again.

“ No, no I won’t let this happen! I won’t let you leave like this…we’re family; and family sticks together no matter what!”

When one got married, you were supposed to gain a new family while keeping your old one…you weren’t supposed to gain one and lose the other!

“ I won’t allow this, I refuse to accept this!”

Rika placed his hands on either side of her face, and gently began to wipe away the tears that were pouring down her cheeks.

“ Zera, it’s okay,” He whispered, his loving, fatherly smile appearing on his face as he bent forward a bit to become more eye level with her.

“ How? How is any of this okay?” She cried, her body beginning to tremble with her sobs. “ You’re telling me that tonight will be the last time I ever see you and my brothers again, how is that okay?!”

“ It’s okay, Zera,” He repeated softly. “ You have a new family now-.”

Her grip on his shirt tightened and she shook her head vigorously.

“ I don’t want a new family! I want you, Meino, Jin, Shiro, Felix, and Casper; I want to keep our family!” Rika nodded slowly.

“ I know, and I want that too, but we can’t anymore,” Rika said softly as he continued to wipe her tears away. “ You… are a glorious, shining Chrysanthemum that thrives in the sunlight. While your brothers and I are a group of Moonflowers that bask in the soft moonlight.”

“ We live in two opposite worlds now, Zera, and you can’t be anywhere near ours,” He told her seriously. “ If your brothers and I were to get caught by the Magic Parliament for the things we do, and they find out we’re still in contact, they’ll drag you and your husband and any of your future children into it…and it’ll completely destroy your life.”

“ I will not allow that to happen, not after everything you and William have gone through to be together,” He said firmly. “ So…this is all I can do to protect you both…I have to let you go.”

Zera’s body trembled as more and more sobs left her, this wasn’t right…this wasn’t fair! Why couldn’t she just have both, why could she only choose one or the other?!

She felt Rika’s arms wrap around her in a tight, comforting hug just like he would when she was a child. His hand moving up and down her back in a soothing motion as he tried to calm her down.

“ Please…please don’t go dad,” She softly pleaded against his chest, and Rika felt his heart shatter into a million pieces in his chest.

He always hated making her cry.

“ Hey, what’s going on?” Meino asked as he and Zera’s other brothers walked up to them.

And when they saw Zera’s tear stained face they all knew exactly what was going on; Rika had told her…

The boys all walked up to their father and sister, wrapped them up in their arms, and hugged them tightly.

William and Yami watched the scene in slight confusion, and a hint of worry.

“ I wonder what’s going on over there,” Yami muttered with a frown.

“ I’m curious too,” Nozel Silva said as he and Fuegoleon Vermillion walked up to the pair.

“ Normally, I would like to believe it’s a touching, family moment. But something tells me that this isn’t the case.” Fuegoleon said as he stood beside the others.

William nodded in agreement, he wanted to believe the Cassia family was doing nothing more than talking about different things would be now that she was married and how happy and proud of her they were. But his gut told him that this was a much, much sadder family moment.

As the party wound down and the guests all began to leave, Zera and William also made their way to their living quarters.

The walk was quiet except for the sound of their shoes clicking against the stone floor. Ever since she danced with Rika he had noticed a shift in her mood; instead of being her bright, bubbly self she had grown more subdued and her brightness dimmed significantly.

And yet, when he asked her about it, she quickly said everything was fine and began trying to act like her normal self.

But he could clearly see that she was pretending.

When they walked into the room, they saw various candles lit, and a bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket on the coffee table by the fireplace.

His squad members and their friends must’ve prepared this for them.

William watched as she let go of his hand and walked towards the champagne, her hips swaying sensually as she moved.

“ Would you like a glass?” She asked as she turned around to face him with the bottle and a glass in each of her hands.

He looked at her for a moment before shaking his head.

“ Actually, I would like to know what happened tonight between you and Rika at the reception,” William said, and he watched the smile on her face falter for a moment before it moved back into place.

“ Nothing, everything’s fine.” Zera told him as she opened the bottle and began to pour it into the glasses.

“ Now you’re the one who’s lying,” He responded as he walked up to her. He watched as she stopped pouring champagne into the glasses to look up at him.

“ Tell me; what happened between you and your family, please.” He pleaded softly as he stood beside her, his hand moving to the small of her back.

He watched as her eyes darted back and forth in thought before she set down the glasses and bottle onto the coffee table and walked away.

“ Zera?” He muttered softly as he turned to watch her walk towards their bed, where she sat down on the edge of the mattress, her hands clasped firmly in her lap as her eyes stared at the ground.

After the room was silent for a minute or so, Zera finally took a deep breath and spoke.

“ They…left.”

William frowned in confusion, they left? What did that mean? He walked over to her, kneeled down in front of her, and watched as she bit her bottom lip as tears welled up in her eyes.

“ They said that I can’t see them anymore because I’m a Captain’s wife now,” She said softly, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. “ They’re scared that if they get caught by the Magic Parliament that we could get caught up in it too…so they’re letting me go…”

“ Rika even used a flower analogy to get his point across,” She laughed humorlessly as more tears slid down her cheeks. “ He said that I was a ‘glorious, shining Chrysanthemum that thrives in the sunlight. While he and my brothers are a group of Moonflowers that bask in the soft moonlight’.”

As William listened to her repeat Rika’s analogy, he was suddenly reminded of what he had told him when he had taken William to the rooftop when they had first met.

“ I…want you to keep Zera from coming back to the Black Market.”

“ Zera is too good for that place, you’ve seen her shop, she worked herself to the bone in order to get that place. She doesn’t belong in the Black Market Captain Vangeance, and I think you know that just as much as I do.”

“ Besides, when you two get married, how do you think it’s going to look if people see a Captain’s wife going in and out of there?”

“ So, this was what he meant…” William thought sadly as he reached out to hold her hands and gently rubbed the back of them with his thumbs.

He and Rika both knew there was no way that they could keep Zera from going to the Black Market as long as he and her brothers were there; so, to stop her from going there, they must’ve decided to remove themselves from the area completely.

“ I’m sorry dear, I’m so sorry,” He apologized softly as he stood up, sat down on the bed beside her, and pulled her into a comforting embrace.

He held her gently as cried against his chest, muttering how this wasn’t fair, that she hadn’t asked for this to happen, and William couldn’t help but empathize and sympathize with her.

Many years ago, when William’s father had come to collect him in the Forsaken realm after his other son, the original heir to House Vangeance, had died he had asked the universe the exact same questions.

Going from peasant or commoner to a noble nearly overnight wasn’t as easy as one may think…

As Zera’s sobs slowly turned into quiet sniffles he continued to cradle her against him gently, slowly rubbing soothing circles on her back until she calmed down and pulled away from him slightly.

“ Aah, I’m sorry, this wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go,” She sniffled as she began to wipe her tears away. “ Tonight was supposed to be a lot sexier than this.”

William chuckled and shook his head as he reached a hand up and began to wipe her tears away as well.

“ It’s alright, there will be plenty of other nights where we can be sexy,” He told her before cringing slightly as the words left his lips, why did it sound so cute and sexy when she said things like that, but awkward and cheesy when he did?

However, to his surprise, Zera began to giggle, and a genuine smile finally appeared on her face.

“ But not every night will be our wedding night,” She pouted slightly as her giggles subsided. “ And, because this was a special occasion, I even picked out a new lingerie set.”

William’s throat suddenly went dry as his mind went straight into the gutter as the image of her wearing lingerie popped into his mind. But he quickly shook the thought away.

“ Well, why don’t you wear it on our honeymoon? That way it won’t ‘go to waste’.” He suggested, and he watched her eyes light up as he mentioned their honeymoon.

“ That’s right, we still have our honeymoon in Raque,” She said with a small, excited clap of her hands. “ I had nearly forgotten about that!”

William chuckled and shook his head; at first it concerned him how quickly Zera could go from one emotion to another, however now he was no longer concerned, but instead was amazed by it. It showed him just how resilient she was…just like a wildflower.

“ So, tonight, instead of doing anything ‘fun’ or ‘sexy’ we just…lie in bed together and relax. Maybe have a drink or two as well?” He suggested as he gently placed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

“ And tomorrow, when we go on our honeymoon, we can have all the sexy fun we want?” She asked with a look in her eye that almost made William blush.

“ Yes, when we go on our honeymoon tomorrow, we can do whatever you want.” He told her with a soft and amused smile.

However, when he saw the wicked smirk on Zera’s face, he couldn’t help but feel like he might regret those words.

Two weeks after finding out about Zera’s pregnancy the two finally decided to tell their friends and squad members.

And both received surprised, yet very warm, responses.

With the Golden Dawn, William received a round of surprised gasps that quickly turned into excited cheers and congratulations as they hugged and patted their Captain on the shoulder.

“ Yuno,” William had said as he turned to his Vice-Captain and patted his shoulder. “ That means I’ll be relying on you a lot more in the coming months, do you think you’ll be able to handle it?”

Yuno quickly nodded.

“ Yes, Captain!”

Meanwhile, when Zera had told her friends, they all warmly hugged and congratulated her, while also making a couple of small jokes at her expense.

“ It’s about time, the way you two have been going at it like a pair of rabbits.” Josele had said with a grin.

“ I’m honestly surprised it didn’t happen sooner with your ‘breeding kink’.” Solara had said with a soft chuckle.

“ Laugh it up, when you all start getting pregnant, then I’ll get to be the one making jokes!” Zera had said with a pout, making her friends laugh.

“ How about we go buy some things for the baby?” Briar had suggested, causing the other Wives to agree and spend the day shopping.

And finally, William had decided to tell Yami; but the reaction he got from the other man wasn’t one he had expected…

“ Well ain’t that a coincidence,” Yami had begun as he took a quick drag from his cigarette.

“ Because I came here to tell you that Charlotte’s pregnant too.”

To say he was shocked by the news was an understatement.

“ When? How long-?” William asked in surprise, and Yami shrugged.

“ The Prickly Princess found out yesterday, and she’s about 9 weeks from what Owen told her.” He explained as he took another drag of his cigarette.

He slowly nodded as Yami’s news sank in.

“ So, it seems that you and I will be father’s around the same time.” He pointed out with a small smile.

Yami looked at him for a moment before he slowly nodded.

“ It seems that way,” Suddenly he smirked at his fellow Captain.

“ And something tells me a lot of the others will be joining us in this celebration too.”

William gave him a confused frown, which only made his friend howl in laughter without further elaborating.

——————

Month 4

As Zera entered her 4th month of pregnancy, she and William began to notice…concerning symptoms. Besides having what Owen called ‘typical’ pregnancy symptoms, Zera began to complain of having frequent headaches that were so painful there were days that she couldn’t go to the shop.

Some days she would be sensitive to light, and her hands and ankles would swell, but every time William would bring up her symptoms Zera would quickly wave them away and tell him that she was fine; that these symptoms were textbook, or that she just was having a bad day.

And William had let them slide, until one day when Alecdora and David rushed into the Golden Dawn with an unconscious Zera resting on Alecdora’s back.

“ We found her passed out in the garden, Lord Vangeance!” Alecdora had said as he handed her off to him.

With a quick thank you, he hurriedly transported Zera to Owen’s office where he ran a few tests.

“ It seems like you have a condition that’s known as the ‘disease of theories’,” Owen said as he stood in front of the couple.

“ What is that?” Zera had asked with a frown.

Owen rubbed the back of his neck.

“ It’s a relatively new condition, which means there isn’t much information available to us,” He explained. “ However; from what I’ve been able to find, it explains a lot of your new symptoms.”

William quickly reached out and held his wife’s hand.

“ Is it serious?” He asked as his wife gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

Owen looked at the two before slowly nodding.

“ From what I’ve been able to find, it’s very serious,” He began softly. “ It can cause you to have seizures, a stroke, or you could even fall into a coma and die.”

That sentence seemed to knock all the air out of William’s lungs…this condition could kill her? No…no, no, no-!

Before he could spiral too far down into ‘what if’s’, he felt his wife squeeze his hand gently to get his attention back on her.

“ But there is a treatment for it, right?” Zera asked, her voice full of hope.

Owen nodded slightly.

“ There is a treatment, but you won’t like it,” He began. “ The treatment is bed rest for the rest of your pregnancy.”

Zera’s jaw dropped to the floor.

“ Bed rest? I can’t be on bed rest!” She exclaimed. “ I have my shop, my garden, and I still have the nursery to design!”

William quickly wrapped an arm around Zera’s shoulders.

“ You can still design the nursery and work in your garden, just not as much as you normally would,” He told her, his eyes glancing toward Owen.

“ I want you to stay mostly in bed and off your feet, but going out into your garden or out on your balcony for a few minutes should be fine.” Owen agreed.

“ As for your shop…well, we can have someone else run it for a while, just until you get better.” William told her softly.

Zera looked at him and Owen for a moment before reluctantly agreeing, saying that she would rest only until she got better.

However, Zera didn’t get better…

——————

Month 5 & 6

Even though Zera was put on bed rest, she didn’t improve like Owen and William had hoped; instead, she seemed to only get weaker and weaker.

More tests were done on her, much to their dismay. However, most of the results came back inconclusive; there was no rhyme or reason as to why she continued to get weak and sick.

William, deciding that it was more important to be there with Zera, decided to take a step back from going out on missions and stayed mostly at the Golden Dawn base unless there was a mission that really needed his attention.

During these months, Zera and William had found out that Fuegoleon Vermillion and his wife, Solara, were also expecting a baby, and when he saw the look on Zera’s face when she heard the news he couldn’t help but think: ‘This was the happiest he had seen her in a while’.

William, having taken a step back from missions, made sure to go by Zera’s flower shop and make sure it was running smoothly, and he would then go by her garden and water her flowers.

While he thought he was doing Zera a favor, he quickly found out he was mistaken when he heard her horrified shriek from their bedroom window.

“ William Vangeance put that watering can down now!” She shrieked as she hung her head out the window.

“ Why? I’m just watering your flowers for you.” He yelled back in a confused tone.

“ You’re overwatering them!” She shouted back, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

“ Is that bad?”

“ Yes?!”

As soon as the words had left her lips William dropped the watering can immediately, and he could hear her sigh float down towards him.

“ Will, as much as I love you and appreciate that you’re trying to help; please do me a favor? Stop!”

“ Yes ma’am.”

—————

Month 7 & 8

As Zera got closer and closer to her due date, she began to notice William growing more and more anxious.

He had taken a complete step back from his work, deciding to not even attend the Captain’s meetings in fear that she would need him.

As much as she loved having him around, she also began to feel suffocated by his constant, hovering presence…

“ Look, why don’t you go and attend the Captain’s meeting today? The other wives will be here with me for the baby shower, and should anything happen I’m sure they’ll contact you right away.” Zera had told him, and a small pout formed on her lips when William still looked reluctant.

“ Are you sure..?” He asked softly, and he watched as his wife nodded before she reached out and gently cupped his face.

“ I’m sure, now go! They’ll be here any minute!” She told him quickly as she climbed out of bed and began to get dressed.

William reluctantly agreed and left for the Captains meeting for the day.

However, he couldn’t help but feel distracted and anxious during the meeting; silently worrying that he would suddenly get a call from one of the other Captain’s Wives telling him that Zera had collapsed again or worse…

“ William,” Fuegoleon’s calm voice suddenly boomed loudly in William’s ears even though he was speaking at a normal volume. “ Zera is fine.”

“ I agree. If she wasn’t, I’m sure Briar or one of the others would have called by now.” Nozel agreed as he crossed his arms.

“ And if anything were to go wrong that doctor lady’s with them, right?” Yami pointed out, referring to Helena Drazel.

Yami placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

“ She’ll be fine, Goldie Guts.”

William couldn’t help but hope that they were right.

As the meeting ended and he returned to the Golden Dawn, he had to admit that he felt a little better after not hearing from Zera or the other wives all day…that meant that everything was fine, right?

As William walked inside the base, he saw the other ladies; Solara, Josele, Briar, Helena, Kathline, and Rosette walking out.

“ Good evening ladies, did you all have fun?” He asked politely.

A small chorus of ‘yes’s’ and ‘we had a great time!’ rang out from them, which made him smile happily.

“ That’s good to hear, how was Zera? Did she seem any better today?”

He watched as the women all gave each other a look.

“ She did seem a lot better today,” Josele said as she stepped forward. “ You could tell she was having a good day by the way she was complaining about how you nearly drowned her ‘babies’.” She added with a teasing tone in her voice.

“ And she asked us to be the god family to your child,” Solara told him.

William frowned in confusion.

“ The god family?”

“ She said, if anything happened, she wanted your child to be raised by a village instead of by just one person.” Briar explained.

“ Is that going to be a problem?” Helena asked.

William blinked for a moment as he stared at all of the serious expressions on the women's faces.

But eventually he smiled and shook his head.

“ Of course not; in fact, I would be honored if you and your husbands were our child’s god family.” He told them genuinely.

After William and the other ladies all bid goodbye to each other and he returned to his and Zera’s living quarters, he couldn’t but think that his wife was right; that this was just what they both needed.

And when he saw how much happier and brighter Zera was when he walked into their living quarters, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was right.

————

Month 9

William slowly opened his eyes as he suddenly felt a cool breeze against his chest when there should have been warmth from Zera’s body being pressed against him.

As his vision and mind gradually became clearer he noticed that his wife wasn’t in his arms like she was supposed to be.

“ Zera?” He called tiredly as he sat up in bed, but as he looked around, he noticed she didn’t appear to be in sight.

“ Zera, are you here?” He called again as he climbed out of bed and walked into the living room area.

She wasn’t there, nor was she in the kitchenette that was attached to it…

And that’s when William’s panic began to set in.

He ran around the home calling Zera’s name, opening doors and looking inside the rooms to see if she may’ve passed out again; but she was nowhere to be seen.

William’s heart pounded in his ears louder and louder, and his chest began to tighten more and more the longer he couldn’t find her.

Where was she? Did she go outside? Or out with one of her friends? If so, why didn’t she say anything?! His mind screamed as he went back to their bedroom.

When he re-entered their bedroom, he felt a cool breeze brush against his skin; he turned to his right and saw that their balcony doors were open.

William quickly rushed towards the balcony and stepped outside, completely ignoring the bitter cold of the January air, and when he turned to the right again he felt relief fill his entire body.

Standing there, watering her flowers as she normally did, was Zera.

“ Zera, oh thank the gods!” He exclaimed in relief.

“ Oh, William, you’re awake,” She replied as she slowly turned around to face her husband.

As the adrenaline began to wear off he suddenly reached out and grabbed the ice cold stone railing of their balcony to steady himself due to his legs shaking so bad.

“ William! Oh dear, are you alright? What’s wrong?” She asked as she rushed up to him and placed her hands on his shoulders.

Without hesitating for even a moment, he wrapped his arms around his wife, pulled her to him, and enveloped her in a warm and tight embrace.

“ William, what’s the matter dear?” Zera asked him softly as her arms reached around and gently rested against his back.

William quickly closed his eyes as he felt tears stinging at the edges; whether from the cold wind, or from the immense relief he felt at seeing that she was alright, he wasn’t sure, nor did he care.

“ I thought I had lost you,” He admitted softly into her shoulder, his voice cracking ever so slightly as he tried to keep his tears at bay.

He thought she was gone; that she had suddenly disappeared from his life overnight, or that maybe she wasn’t even in it to begin with…

“ But William, you did lose me.”

William felt his heart stop dead in his chest before confusion and panic suddenly entered his mind at her words.

Before he could ask what she meant, she suddenly pulled away from him and stepped back a few feet, and what he saw made his eyes widen:

Zera white dress, which had been pristine a moment ago, was now stained red with blood from the waist down. Her skin, which had been bright and glowing, was now gray and dull like that of a corpse…

“ Don’t you remember William? You should; after all, you’re the one who killed me…”

~~~~~~

“ Will…Will…WILLIAM!”

A loud gasp escaped William as his eyes snapped open and he suddenly sat up; his eyes immediately looking around the room.

He wasn’t outside anymore; instead, he seemed to be on the couch in their living room.

Was that…a dream? No, no that wasn’t a dream; that was a nightmare!

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and it nearly made him jump out of his skin!

William quickly spun around and saw that Zera was staring at him; her ice blue eyes wide in worry and her hand hovering in mid air.

His eyes quickly looked her over, she looked the same as she had for the last few months; pale but still managing to glow warmly, her ash-blonde hair was still as messy as it always was. As his eyes traveled further down he released a breath he hadn’t realized that he had been holding.

Zera’s white dress was pristine; there were no blood stains to be seen on it or on her round stomach or dripping down her legs…

She was okay…or, as okay as she had been for the last couple of weeks…

“ Will, are you okay?” Zera asked softly as she reached out and rested her hand against the side of his face. “ You’re sweating and shaking!”

William slowly closed his eyes and leaned into her touch.

“ It’s nothing, it was just a nightmare.” He told her softly as he moved his face to kiss her palm.

Zera’s eyes narrowed at him.

“ It’s not ‘nothing’ if you’re this jumpy after having a nightmare!” She pointed out as he placed another kiss in the palm of her hand.

“ It’s fine, Zera, it’s all alright now.” He muttered against her hand.

But she still wasn’t convinced.

“ Was the nightmare about me and the baby?” She suddenly asked, and that made William’s eyes snap open and look at her instantly.

“ How-?” He asked, his voice laced in disbelief that she had managed to guess his nightmare so accurately.

“ As your wife, I noticed you tend to have 4 nightmares: Your childhood memories, the elf invasion and what you did during it, what happened to the Golden Dawn, or more recently….about me and the baby.” She explained as she reached up and placed her other hand against his face.

William blinked in surprise; he hadn’t realized she had caught onto the occasional nightmares he had about those events. On the one hand he felt a little embarrassed that she noticed, but on the other hand he felt something akin to relief that she noticed as well.

“ Do…you want to tell me what happened?” She asked softly as she reached up and gently ran her fingers through his hair comfortingly.

But William quickly shook his head; as much as he wanted to talk about it, he couldn’t, not with her. She was getting close to her due date, and he noticed the closer she got the more anxious she became. So the last thing he wanted to do was to make her even more anxious by telling her about his nightmare.

“ It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” He told her softly as he leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss.

“ What are you working on?” He asked, quickly changing the subject as he noticed a leather book in her lap.

“ Oh, I’m just working on my flower book,” Zera said as she grabbed her book and held it up to her husband.

“ ‘The Language of the Flowers’?” He read the title out loud with a frown on his face.

“ Yep! I thought it would be a good idea to make a book about all the different flowers in the Suit Kingdoms and the other kingdoms I’ve gotten flowers and plants from for our son!” She explained excitedly as she opened the book and delicately turned the pages.

“ ‘Son’? Don’t you mean our daughter?” He asked with a small frown, and he did his best to suppress a chuckle when Zera glared at him.

“ It’s a boy, I’m sure of it.” She stated firmly before her gaze moved back to her book.

“ And I’m certain it’ll be a girl,” William said with the slightest of grins.

“ Anyway,” Zera said loudly and in an annoyed tone that made her husband chuckle in amusement. “ I’m making this book to show them when they get older!”

William slowly nodded as his eyes looked at the various flowers and plants on the pages; some he recognized, and some he didn’t.

“ I think it’s a great idea that you want to make this for our child, but,” He suddenly glanced at her. “ May I ask why you suddenly decided to do this?”

He watched as Zera bit her bottom lip and her eyes shifted away as she wrung her hands together.

“ Just…in case something were to ever happen to me and I wasn’t able to tell them all these things in person…” She muttered softly.

William stared at her silently for a moment as his mind slowly began to process what she said.

“ What are you talking about? Of course you’ll be here to tell them all of this!” He said seriously as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

“ I know, I know,” She began with a sigh. “ I have every intention of being here for our child,”

“ But just in case I’m not, I want them to have this…”

He nodded slowly in understanding; he would be lying if he said that he didn’t have something similar for their baby and Zera just in case something were to happen to him on a mission…

“ Oh, should I show you my favorite page?” Zera suddenly said, and before William could reply she was already flipping through the pages.

“ Here, this is my favorite page!”

William blinked for a moment before a small laugh and a soft chuckle escaped him as he looked at the page:

Dandelions. Her favorite page was the one about Dandelions; he should have known.

As his eyes scanned the page, he noticed it was a little more detailed than the others; there were various fun facts about them, illustrations, tips on how to grow them, and various illustrations.

But what really caught William’s attention was the words she put underneath the name ‘Dandelions’.

“ Love’s Oracle.”

A small, fond smile worked its way onto his face as he remembered the day he and Zera met for the first time, how it started off so well before Yami interrupted them and kicked her off on a ten minute rant about how much she disliked him and his squad…

And how the two probably would have never seen each other again if he hadn’t taken that ridiculous joke so seriously…

William had never been so happy and thankful for his naivety before in his life.

“ I wonder if Alistar will like Dandelions too,” Zera suddenly mused, pulling him out of his memories.

“ Alistar?” He repeated with a confused frown.

“ Yeah, Alistar, our son.” She explained as though it were obvious.

“ Did…you just decide our child's name if it’s a boy?” He asked with a slightly raised brow, and his brow raised higher when she nodded.

“ I did,” She confirmed with a nod. “ Since I think it’s going to be a boy, I thought it made the most sense for me to choose his name.”

“ Do I get to offer a suggestion?” He asked as he tilted his head.

Zera hummed.

“ Sure, but make it a good one!”

William placed a hand under his chin in thought.

“ What about Theodore for a name?” He suggested after a moment, and he watched his wife tilt her head slightly as she considered the name.

“ Not bad,” She concluded with a nod. “ But I like my choice better!”

He quietly sighed before shaking his head; she really liked the name Alistar it seemed…

“ Okay, since you think it’s going to be a girl, do you have a name in mind for her?” She asked with a playful smirk, catching him off guard slightly.

It was his turn to hum in thought.

“ Daisy, I like the name Daisy.” He told her after thinking for a moment.

“ Ooh, a flower name for our daughter?” William nodded.

“ Wait, did you just pick that name because you saw it in my book?!” Zera suddenly asked as her eyes narrowed sharply.

William’s face immediately went red.

“ O-Of course not!” He stammered as his gaze shifted away from his wife’s face.

“ Uh-huh.”

“ A-Anyway,” William began as he cleared his throat. “ What about you? Do you have a name for our daughter?”

Zera bit her bottom lip and gently tapped her index finger against her chin.

“ What about Aurora?” She suggested after a moment.

William hummed in thought and slowly nodded.

“ I like it,” He agreed before suddenly he frowned.

“ Wait, are you suggesting we name our daughter after my squad?” William suddenly asked, and he watched as his wife’s face turned red and she began to rub the back of her head nervously.

“ Maybe?”

He raised a suspicious brow, which made Zera sigh in defeat.

“ Look, it’s really hard to come up with names okay!” She cried as she dramatically threw herself onto her husband’s chest, which made him chuckle before he wrapped his arms around her.

“ It is, isn’t it?” He agreed with a chuckle before placing a kiss on top of his wife’s head.

For the rest of the morning the two talked about baby names, argued about whether it would be a boy or a girl, and expressed their hope for their child and its future.

But William’s nightmare, the vision of a pale and bloodied Zera, and the words she said continued to sit in the back of his mind. Even though she was fine, their baby was fine, and everything was okay, he couldn’t help but wonder why he still felt so uneasy…

And it wasn’t until Zera went into labor later that afternoon, and blood began to trickle down her legs, that he realized why…

————