Otherworld 3: Tala
Chapter 20 - ... and Beginnings
In the months that followed the end of the Tala males, Otherworld once again found peace. Shilo found comfort in the Princess' arms and although he would always be a quiet, withdrawn young man, he could at least live without pain.
In Suzaku, Boushin was crowned Emperor and ruled alongside of Vara. Jurkis pledged his allegiance to the Emperor and the Queen, and peace reigned in that world again.
Souten missed his friend and companion, Toyna, more than he could ever imagine and begged his Queen to bind another young male to her. With Toyna's death, Vara had only Souten and Tekken as her males. Kyo was her lover, but more often than not, he was gone from the palace. Finally, at a suggestion from Tekken, she bound Suzuki to her as her mother had bound Bakura and soon Suzuki and Souten traveled the lands, searching for herbs and plants. Tekken was very happy to have his Queen to himself again.
Tala and Kamui remained in the Castle, taking over the wing that Yukina and Toya had once used as their own. Kamui paired often with Hiten and became a valuable Protector, and Tala began an apprenticeship under Kaiba to become a healer.
Kome and Ayala now were free from suspicion and when their daughter Kayla grew up, she would apprentice with Jaal, who was a fire sorceress. But for now she was just a wonderful little girl -- who happened to be able to start fires.
Under the cloudy skies of the Southern Lands, Breal stood alone at the grave of his younger brother. The Tala's were dead, but that fact did nothing to ease the pain of losing Chaal to them. It had been a cruel and unnecessary death, caused only to bring pain to Shilo. The Prince's pain had stopped with his binding to Aara, but nothing could ease Breal's pain of losing a younger brother that he had helped raise. He heard the crunch of gravel and turned to see Shido towards him.
"The guards told me you were out here," Shido said, "You have visitors."
"Visitors? Who?"
"You'll see. They are waiting in my office." Shido said cryptically and the men started back to the Fortress. Shido glanced at Breal and quietly commented, "So you can keep secrets, can't you?"
Breal looked at Shido. What was he talking about? He never kept secrets from his partner.
When they got to his office, Shido opened the door and pushed Breal inside, then followed. Standing by the windows was Kurama with a young very pregnant woman and man. With a start, Breal recognized her as the girl from the waterfall. It had been nearly four years since that event. He looked at Shido and blanched. How much did his partner know?
The young woman addressed Breal, "I asked the Princess for help. I didn't know how else to reach you. You do remember me, don't you?"
Breal blushed deep red and nodded. "Yes, I remember you."
"This is Kama, my mate. We mated almost four years ago, as I said I was going to. And I gave birth to what I thought was our son eight months later. I thought I was premature until I saw the baby. He was obviously yours and not Kama's."
Breal stared at her in shock. He had a son?
"Kama, my beloved Kama, agreed to raise him as his own son. And everything was going fine until I got pregnant. My son -- your son -- won't stop nursing and we can't get him to eat anything else. Kama and I went to the Castle for help and found out that Blood Demons nurse until they reach puberty at 13. And then he will eat only blood."
Breal nodded slowly, but couldn't think of a thing to say.
"I love my son, but I need my milk for my new baby. And he refuses to drink cow's milk. I have no choice but to give him to you. Will you raise him?"
Kama bent down and pulled a little boy of three from behind his mother's skirts. He was a tiny replica of Breal. Breal thought his heart would burst when he saw his son for the first time. All the pain and heartache of losing Chaal transferred itself instantly into love for his son. He knelt down and took his son in his arms, tears already forming.
"What is his name?" Breal asked, his voice choked with emotion.
"I named him Kal."
Breal nodded and stood with the boy still in his arms. "I will take care of him. I promise that our son will have a good home, and that I will give him all the love possible. You can visit anytime you want, and when he is older, I will bring him to you for visits."
She kissed her son goodbye, tears running down her face. "Thank you. I know you will be good to him." And then they turned to leave through the portal in the closet.
"Excuse me, before you leave," Breal stopped them, "What is your name?"
The woman smiled, "My name is Mari." And then the trio walked through the portal.
Breal looked at Shido, "I'm sorry. I promised her that I would not tell anyone. It was only one day…"
"I know. She told us everything." Shido said, then laughed, "You can imagine my surprise when they opened the closet door and came into my office. I nearly jumped out of my skin! Kurama gave me a hard time for putting the portal in a closet. I guess I will have to build a larger room around it if we are going to be having visitors."
"I have a son." Breal said softly, and the little boy stared into his eyes, and then smiled at his father.
"Yes, you do. Now, let's get him a wet nurse." Shido said, smiling at his partner and his new son. He could not think of a better way to heal Breal's heart than this unexpected gift.
Construction workers from both Suzaku and Otherworld had converged at the junction of the three worlds and begun work on the tower. The placement of the Tower was most important and Jaal laid out the plans very carefully. The Tower would stand at the exact junction of Otherworld, the Demon World and Suzaku, the only border of the three physical worlds. The other two worlds, the Human World and the Spirit World, were actually in their own dimensions or planes of reality and the entries into those worlds were sealed and protected. Although on the map, those worlds looked like they were physically attached to Otherworld, they were not. Centuries ago there had been way through Otherworld into the Human World and Spirit World, but that way had been sealed and warded by the Ruler of the Spirit World working with many powerful mages, long since dead. Now only a few portals traversed the ethereal planes of existence between the worlds.
White marble stones were brought from the quarries in Genbu for the tower and the parapets were gilded. Soon the tower rose, pure white and gold, and became known as the White Tower. In less than a month's time the tower was complete and Jaal moved the furniture she had commissioned into it.
The tower was not large, only six stores tall, tapering as it rose in height. The first level was the entry way which was a great circular room with winding stairs in the center going into the ceiling. The next level was the main hall and dining and kitchen areas. The next level was the library and Jaal used the traveling mirror and brought the books and parchments from the Black Tower to this room. Her bedroom room and bathing area was on the fourth level, and Otherworld plumbers had run water pipes up the side of the tower so that she would have indoor plumbing like the Castle had. The fifth level was Jaal's work area, filled with potions and containers, very similar to Bakura's tower. The last was a small circular room at the very top of the tower. Here she could look out on the three worlds surrounding her tower and it would soon become her favorite place.
Two months after they moved in, Jaal started to weave her spell over Bya as she had every night since he had been awakened. He stopped her hands and held them in his own.
"Please don't spell me again. The spell works on my physical desire of you, but it cannot affect my true feelings. And what I feel for you is real. Jaal, I have fallen in love with you. And that feeling, no spell can force. Please trust me."
Jaal looked into his blue eyes, wanting desperately to believe him and yet afraid to. If he was deceiving her, she would die or become enslaved to him. But if he were saying the truth of his heart, it would match what she felt. Could he possibly feel the same?
She could see no deceit in his eyes; it seemed that he looked at her with love. And she brought her hands down and stopped the spell. "I will trust you with my life, Bya, for I love you too."
He smiled at her, a smile of pure joy, and picked her up in his strong arms. "Thank you, Jaal. My beautiful Lady Jaal!" And then he carried her to their bed where for the first time since their meeting, they made love freely without spell or magic.