The travels aboard was more than anything Miakis could hope for.

Miakis and Al set sail

to Rolignia, a place that was rumored to have great magic. Miakis was awestruck that the
Crimson Tide didn’t shut this country down. The two stayed around the Capitol of Rolignia for
most of their visit because Miakis was accepted to study at a Bard’s College in Rolignia. The
two bought a small home near the college, as Miakis didn’t want to board in the college and live
away from Al. It was a quaint little cottage that was in need of repairs, but Al made it a project
for himself while Miakis attended her studies.
At the college, Miakis was able to keep up with the other bards. She kept her golden lute
hidden for the time being, not wanting to lose something so precious. Instead, Miakis used her
horn, darkwood lute, and voice to work on her performances in front of the college. The elf was
quickly loved by the majority of the students, and Miakis made many friends in her classes.
However, one student did not like Miakis. Yulista, a beautiful tiefling that danced with a fiery
passion, found Miakis to be pain in her side. The two did not get along, in class and in their free
time. The groups of students had tried to bring the two into being friends, but their differences
were too starked to get over. Eventually, Miakis had thought the tiefling stole her dragon
necklace and called her out in front of the entire student body, however Miakis had simply forgot
it at home that day. Yulista, who was scorned by her peers at the college for it, refused to
accept Miakis’s private apology.
Miakis would bring Al to the campus from time to time, taking him to her peers’ shows
and hanging out by the magical water fountains that sung a heavenly tune. She loved showing
Al all the places she learned at and introducing him to all her teachers. However, the peers and
teachers had a difficult time connecting with Al. The monk had a hard time picking up their
jokes, and often took their words the wrong way. Eventually, when Miakis would be invited to
events, her plus ones were always rescinded. Because of this, Miakis began to opt out of
attending those events and losing her friendships.
When the leaves started to change into bright orange and brown colors, Miakis fell ill.
The sickness had caused her to stay at the cottage with Al for several weeks until a doctor
determined Miakis was pregnant. Miakis was over the moon when she found out, forgetting her
terrible morning sickness the baby was causing, she was just happy her and Al’s family was
finally beginning. From the doctor’s estimate, the timing of the conception was about when Al
became an elf in the first place. Miakis joked that Al had too strong of swimmers, but the joke
went over his head and was utterly confused on who his strong swimmers were.
After Al found an herbal remedy that subsided Miakis’s nausea, Miakis attended her final
months at the Bard’s College. During the time that she was gone, Yulista had boasted that she
danced for one of the devils in the Nine Hells, obtaining the favor of the lord. Miakis, hormonal
from the pregnancy, denounced Yulista out of jealousy, claiming no extraplanar creature would
care for her silly dances. This caused Yulista to demand a contest between the two bards to
prove who was better once and for all. Miakis only smirked and accepted the challenge.
On the day of the event, Miakis unsheathed her golden lute and used it’s heavenly
abilities to sing a song that astonished her peers. Yulista tried following up with a dance that
juggled fire wands as well, but ended up setting the stage on fire. Al was able to get Miakis off
the stage, but couldn’t reach Yulista, who seemingly vanished into thin air. No one knew what
happened to Yulista after that. Miakis left the college afterwards, feeling guilty over the possible
demise of her rival. Al gifted the cottage to an elderly woman he befriended in Rolignia as a
parting gift.
The two set off to sail to Fengchun, a country to the east of them. During the ship ride
there, Miakis began to suffer from nightmares of fires and devils. At first, the dreams were
ultimately about Yulista, but then the nightmares shifted about a fire demon opening up her
stomach and stealing her child. Miakis would go into a panic frenzy during the night when she
had these dreams, but with Al comforting her, Miakis was able to start pushing through those
nights.
In Fengchun, Miakis and Al were blown away by culture.The two landed in a decent size
village that had a bustling town square. Performers and street vendors caused Miakis to squeal
with delight on their first night. She bought many knick knacks and food items, carrying them all
into their inn room. The bard almost went back to the shops to buy some of those eastern
dresses she saw the women wearing, but Al stopped her, explaining they would need a larger
room if she kept bringing back the whole shop with her.
Instead, Miakis took part in the local traditions, such as bathing in the magical hot
springs and learning the dance of lanterns. On one such night, Al had met an eastern monk who
offered to teach Al what he knew. Miakis encouraged Al to go with him to his monastery. Al was
hesitant at first, but the excitement he was trying to hide pushed Miakis to force Al to go. Miakis
promised Al she would stay safe, and would keep the shopping to a minimum. The monastery
was a three day journey away from the town, but Al promised to come back often to see her.
The first week that Al was gone, Miakis tried meeting people in the theaters around
town. At first she felt a bit lonely, watching shows without someone to dance with or to discuss
the plays made the bard feel blue. This caught another patron’s eye, a female kitsune who was
watching the shows. She sat with Miakis and introduced herself as Kazue, a noble in the region.
The two watched many shows before sharing an onsen together. Miakis struggled to talk to the
bath’s owner, but Kazue handled all the arrangements, and even paid for the two.
Kazue disrobed in front of Miakis, causing her to look away in discomfort. Kazue
chuckled at Miakis and said foreigners were so finicky with their bodies. The kitsune sat in the
onsen and eyed Miakis with a devilish smile. Miakis, feeling too late to turn around now after the
women paid for her, tried to undress very quickly. Unfortunately with her trying to cover as much
as possible and rushing, Miakis dropped her dress into the onsen. The elf blushed in
embarrassment, and bent down trying to pick up her clothes as best as she could.
After Kazue laughed and helped Miakis out, she realized Miakis was with child. Kazue
offered a hand and assisted Miakis in the waters. The hot steam tingled her skin. Miakis let out
a moan as the waters instantly worked on making her muscles feel looser. The noblewomen
told her she intially brought Miakis in here to make some steamy memories, but didn’t realized
she was expecting. Miakis, red in the face from the embarrassment and steam, exclaimed she
had a husband who was off studying at a monastery. Kazune lectured Miakis for being alone in
such a place, and offered a spare room in her manor. Miakis immediately accepted the offer,
believing Kazune to be of good intentions.
Kazune’s servants moved Miakis’s things into the manor and left a note for Al with the
innkeeper on how to get to the home. Kazune taught Miakis about their country’s tea
ceremonies and explained the upcoming festivals. Kazune took Miakis out to the high end
markets, where she helped Miakis order specific-made kimonos for her frame. Miakis was
astounded by the clothing. She even put up her hair up like Kazune’s, and painted her face with
her makeup for nights out. The two women gracefully maneuvered through the upper-class
outings.
In one of those nights, Kazune threw a party for all the high society nobles to come and
dance. Miakis played with her golden lute, amazing the crowd with a song that resonated
through the halls. Once done, Miakis was able to dance with the crowd after a band of
musicians took to the stage. Miakis whirled around the dance floor with a graceful rhythm until
Miakis crashed into a servant passing out drinks. The servant luckily broke Miakis’s fall, but the
noblemen laughed at her soaken kimono. Miakis was helped to her room and a doctor
examined her to make sure the baby was safe and sound. After getting the all clear, Miakis
stayed in her room, embarrassed that she fell.
Al arrived at the manor to visit Miakis at the end of the third week of him being gone. The
two walked in Kazune’s gardens while Al explained some of the lessons he was being taught
and the other students in the monastery. Miakis nodded along, trying to understand everything
he was saying, but some of the concepts went over her head. However Al seemed happy, and
that was all Miakis cared about. Al was at first a bit hesitant to leave Miakis with Kazune, but the
kitsune eased his worries and promised him that she just enjoyed having Miakis around. After
spending a couple of nights with Miakis in the manor, Al left to go back to the monastery,
promising to visit much sooner.
Miakis visited a nearby village that Kazune had mentioned was the best place to buy
dumplings. The baby caused Miakis to crave the savory snacks so bad that she bought all the
dumplings the street vendor was selling. As Miakis was looking for a place to sit down at, a
group of young locals walked past Miakis, bumping into her. Miakis hucked a dumpling at them,
causing the hooligans to run away, laughing as they dangle her coin purse in their hands. Miakis
tried to follow in pursuit, but was easily overwhelmed and exhausted. She stopped at an
alleyway, trying to catch her breath when a man suddenly grabbed her arm, shouting at her that
she was a thief. Miakis denied the accusations, stating a group of children had just robbed her,
but the shopkeeper was adamant that she came into his shop and was hiding his wares in her
robe to make her look pregnant.
The man lurched for her stomach, trying to prove his point. Miakis screamed for help and
flagged down a close by guard. The guard could tell just by looking that Miakis was actually
pregnant, and sent the shopkeeper on his way. Miakis thanked the guard, and tried to mention
the kids who took her purse. The guard shrugged and couldn’t help her much. He gave her
some coin to get a ride back home and left her there. Miakis went back home with only one
dumpling and empty pockets.
Miakis did not venture out to the other towns alone anymore, worried another incident
like that could happen. She stayed with Kazue until Al came back for a final time. The monk told
her that his teacher instructed Al to leave the monastery and to seek guidance from another
master in a larger city in Fengchun. Miakis didn’t pry into why the teacher made Al leave, she
simply gave him a hug and told them they could start heading there right now if he wished. With
that, Miakis bid farewell to Kazue and ventured to the new city.
The other villages and towns had nothing compared to the Eastern city. There were
people always bustling down the streets, and many languages that Miakis couldn’t understand
being spoken on the corners. Al and Miakis found an inn that spoke enough Common to get
them a room for the month. At this point in their travels, Miakis was beginning to experience
insomnia and back pains due to her pregnancy. This left Miakis spending a small amount of
time exploring the city, and most times in the baths and bed in their inn.
While Al was out and about, Miakis used this time to write songs for the little one. She
wanted to capture the baby’s heritage of Al’s side in song because Miakis wasn’t sure how to
explain to the baby of the fate of Al’s people and what being an Android meant. She could sing
tales of elves and their lineage until the end of her days, but didn’t know any songs of Androids.
On days Miakis was feeling comfortable, she would venture to the nearest library to find out
what she could. However, the language barrier proved to be too great for Miakis to get across
what she was looking for, and went back to the inn defeated. When Miakis got back, Al was
already there. His body was different, in the process of getting a tattoo that spread across him.
Al explained what it would look like when it is finished, and Miakis told him it sounded beautiful.
After another two months, Al was finished up with his training and tattoos. Miakis told Al
the baby would be arriving soon and that they needed to get home to prepare their house in
Falcon’s Hollow. Al booked passage back for the two of them while Miakis collected baby things
to take back home. She ordered a lot of furniture for the house to be shipped home with them,
taking up a lot of space on the ship.

**In Falcon’s Hollow**

Miakis let out a frustrated sigh as the baby did another flip inside her stomach. She
placed a hand over her swollen belly and began singing a soft tune to try getting the little one to
calm down. The baby was on a different sleep schedule than her own, often squirming at night
when she was trying to get some sleep. Miakis tried to singing, taking walks, and reading to the
baby bump, but usually nothing would work and Mia would be up all night. She closed her eyes
and sang a lullaby that her mother taught her. She found herself drifting off for a moment, but
the baby’s foot kicked her hard, jolting her up.
Al was across the room, putting fire logs into the bedroom fireplace to keep the room
from freezing during the winter. Miakis normally wouldn’t mind the cold room, but lately her body
has been shivering uncontrollably. Miakis’s jolt caught Al’s attention. He walked over to the bed
and sat down beside her, kissing her head lightly, “Baby not sleeping?”
“No, he won’t stop moving in there.” Miakis sighs. Al smiled at her and looked down at
her belly.
“So we’re back on it being a boy, hmm?” Al teased.
Miakis stuck her tongue out at Al, “It’s just a feeling I have. I really think it’ll be a boy.”
“You said last week you thought it would be a girl.” Al reminded Miakis. Miakis rolled her
eyes and scooted further in the bed so Al could lay beside her too. The monk wrapped an arm
around Mia and pulled her into him. He placed his other hand on her stomach, feeling the small
kicks from the baby.
“I think he’s going to take after you.” Miakis said with a smile creeping on her face, “He is
just so active. He’ll be jumping through the air just like you.”
“Or the baby will dance as beautiful as you.” Al stated, kissing the top of Miakis’s head
again, “One thing is for sure, they like to move.”
 The two laughed at that, with the baby flipping again in agreement. Miakis nuzzled her
head against Al’s neck, closing her eyes. She couldn’t have imagined any of this without Al. The
first two years of their marriage had been wonderful so far, and Miakis was sure Al would make
a great father as he did a husband. Miakis sighed with contempt, “I love you, Al.”
“And I love you, Mia.” Al murmured in her ear, kissing it gently. He hugged her tight. Al
ran his hands through her silver hair, trying to help soothe her to sleep.
“I had that dream the other night...” Miakis quietly spoke. Her voice was so soft that Al
barely heard her. He pulled Miakis back and cupped her chin so her eyes were looking at him.
“The dream about the baby being taken?” Al asked. Miakis nodded her head in
confirmation. The monk sighed, he wasn’t sure how to alleviate her stress around that dream.
“The baby will be fine, my love. You needn’t worry.”
“I can’t help it.” Miakis grumbled. She pulled out of Al’s arms and grabbed his marked
hand, “I worry about you and this thing, and I worry for our child. I know we have a lot of people
here with us, friends and family who would keep the baby safe if we have to go. It’s just this
nightmare keeps bringing these fears back.”
Al pulled Miakis’s hand to his lips and gave it a kiss, “I’ll always protect the two of you.
And I already told you, this mark won’t be a problem either.”
Miakis’s eyes began to water, she rubbed the edges of her eyes with her wrist, “But who
protects you?”
“Your love,” Al stated with a warm smile. He rubbed his thumb next to her eyes, wiping
away her tears. Miakis scoffed at his response. Al held her face firmly in his palm, and looked
her straight in the eye, “It helps me more than you realize.”
Al leaned in and gave Miakis a deep kiss. Miakis’s fears began to slowly die down as the
warmth from Al comforted her. She wrapped her hands around his neck, bringing him into her.
A sharp kick from the baby caused Miakis to gasp, pulling away from their kiss. She looked
down at her belly and shook her head, “Hey, mister, you better behave.” Miakis chastised the
baby, “I won’t have you being wildly like Lana’s three.”
Al snorted and rolled back onto his side. He placed a hand on her belly again, humming
a hymn for the baby. Miakis sighed and closed her eyes, intertwining her fingers with Al’s. After
a brief moment, the baby calmed down. Miakis smiled and relaxed against Al, finally falling
asleep.