the Beginning of Larger Things

the weeks passed with little variance in the nightly events that occurred between Mulanza and Gysu. it went this way for about three weeks before she started noticing a difference in herself. she was feeling sicker than usual in the mornings, and it wasn't from her lack of sleep this time, this time it appeared to be something different.
another thing she noticed was that her monthly bleedings had stopped, and that was not a good sign. for one, what did this mean for Queen Meili? She was but a 21-year-old extension of that woman, only blessed with obscene powers by an ageless spirit.
She seemed very anxious when she met up with Gysu at the tavern that night. She wasn't sure if she should confess, or just try to act natural. if she tried acting natural, however, she was failing miserably, what with her fidgeting.

"Hey, you seem a little...worried about something. What's wrong?" Gysu asked holding her up against him. He could smell her hair, it smelled like a field of strawberries topped with a hint of roses. He looked at her and saw that she was freaked out, her aura automatically showed it. He kissed he lightly on her forehead. "Come on, you can tell me anything."

"I..." she stammered for a moment, "I think I've conceived." she explained, and gave her reasoning. "I... well... I don't know what to do about it, but I don't want it to end our adventures together. it's not a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

"Come on, it doesn't have to mean the end of all of our adventures together. It could be the start of a whole new adventure. But there is one thing I am worried about." Gysu replied he still held her close to him. She was so nervous, her aura was acting so erratically.

"I know it's not going to end our adventures," she replied, "but... but what is the one thing that you're nervous about?"
she was intrigued and curious to know, herself.

"Your mother, I honestly think that she will kill me for impregnating you." Gysu smiled and laughed a little shakily, "I only met her once, and she might attack me at sight for that experience." He looked at her with a troubled look. "How about we go meet her, huh? I think that if you prepare her to see me she won't kill me."

"mothers," she giggled, "oh, if Meili's going to be a fusspot about it, she can go soak her head. besides, I don't want to travel clear across the continent. you know the song. "It's a long long way to Ba Sing Se." she nestled her head on his shoulder.
"besides, all the pretty things are in the swamps."

"I still think that it would be better to see her as soon as possible, rather than show up unannounced with a kid in your arms. And besides, we can sight see along the way there." Gysu looked at her, we can see the swamps when we return. And by then, you'll have missed them so much that you will rediscover them."

"but..." she argued, "but I..."
she sighed. "fine..."

"do we have to?" she groaned again.

"Would you rather face the wrath of a woman who doesn't know that she's going to be a grandmother whose daughter fornicated in the swamps with a commoner, or would you rather face the wrath of a woman who doesn't know that she is a grandmother whose daughter's child is the result of sex in the swamps with a lowly bounty hunter?"

Mulanza sighed. "fine..." she mumbled. "you're right again. let's... well, let's get going then?"

she didn't want to leave. she wasn't afraid of Meili, as in truth, she was but an extension of Meili herself. but, she had suddenly grown so attached to her life down here that she didn't want to leave it. alas, such were the ways of the world sometimes.

"Come on, let's go pack our things." Gysu left to go pack his things. All he packed with him were a change of undergarments and a small sack of meteorite. He then left his humble abode to meet Mulanza at the tavern.

Mulanza had a couple changes of finery back at her inn room, and that was mostly it. she soon met up with Gysu at the tavern.
"I'm ready if you are." she noted, leaning forward as if to meet his face.

Gysu leaned forward as she did and kissed her. "Come on, it'll be fun. We could just take a train you know. How's about it, wanna ride on a train?"

"I..." sure." she replied. "lead on, my good sir."
it seemed to boost her spirit; perhaps it was just curiosity. whatever it was, it was a good thing.

"Alright then. Let's get going." Gysu took her hand and lead her to the train station. Because of her royal status, they got free admission in the luxury compartments. Gysu sat down next to Mulanza and said, "So, think she'll kill me?"

"I won't let her," she replied, "if she wants a fight, I'll give her one."
she took a deep breath. "but let us not talk about such things." she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I just wish to... relax."

Gysu squeezed her hand, "I know, I'm just nervous. That's all." He looked at her lovingly when the train started moving. "Whoa. That was a bit of a jump huh?" Gysu asked after lurching backwards and into the seat behind him.

"I guess that makes sense," she confessed, "I mean, I'm not the one that Meili might kill. I'm sorry for being so inconsiderate."
she leaned back and closed her eyes. she was tired, and a bit uneasy still too.

Gysu decided that was going to take a nap, after all it was going to be a long trip. "Wake me up if something happens, okay?" Gysu asked, "I'm feeling tired. I hope we don't get attacked by bandits while riding this thing. Especially female ones. This may be a bad time to tell you, but I can't fight against women. It's sorta a weakness of mine. I'm not sexist or anything, but it's just that my mother taught me never to harm women. Then she was killed. But that's a long story, so I'll just sleep."

"alright." she nodded.
however, Mulanza was also tired, and a few hours of sleep sounded like a good idea to her as well. she soon closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep as well.

Gysu then drifted into a deep sleep...

Several hours later, Gysu awoke with a start. It was just a nightmare. He looked over and saw Mulanza sleeping soundly beside him, he leaned over and kissed the top of her head. He looked out the window of the train and saw a herd of buffalo-gators sleeping outside. He smiled and then just continued to look outside the window.

Mulanza was still peacefully asleep, though upon sensing movement, she snuggled closer to him, bringing up one of her legs as if to wrap herself around him, even though she couldn't. whatever the case, her right leg was now free of the dress, and Mulanza was still pleasantly asleep.

Gysu looked over at the sound of rustling. He moved over and leaned into her gently. He began to fix her dress, when he suddenly a wave of tiredness washed over him. He yawned and went back to sleep.

Mulanza cuddled closer. her morning sickness was starting to cut into her own sleep time, and so she was a bit more tired than usual. she remained fast asleep, comfortably so.