Chapter 94: From Level Zero
"It's okay, breathe, breathe love," Milan kept telling Fariya as she was moved into the operation theatre after the quick tests, apparently her body seems too weak to go through a normal delivery. Milan didn't know what to do for Fariya. Milan was asked to stay outside the doors. Her heart pounded loud again from the moment doctor informed her about the critical condition.
"What happened?" Milan suddenly her heard mother's voice. Milan turned around with tears in her eyes. "Maa," she cried. Queen Rivera and King Aenon had changed to humans clothing. Rivera was wearing a skirt and a blouse with cardigan on top while Aenon wore a pant and shirt with hoodie over the top. They both looked young.
"Paa, ma what took you so long? It been 14 months since I have been waiting here for you all," she said. "Do you know what all happened here?" She said. Tears streamed down her face.
"I know," Aenon sighed.
"We were held back by Tai, several last minute jobs to handle, made Aiden stay there for few more days, to spread the news about the us leaving the Realm to search for you," Rivera informed Milan.
"So that's what the rumour is going to be, I went in seclusion and escaped, ahh," she said thinking.
"We should seal our powers," Aenon said. "We can't afford to be found by anyone,"
"Hmm okay,"Milan said wiping her tears. Then she heard Fariya screaming inside. A nurse came out, asking for Milan.
"Come with us," Milan was taken inside the operation room. She could sense it. Fariya was struggled.
"Push, push," the doctor and nurse kept saying. "Stand with her," the doctor said once Milan put on the hospital gown. She held on to Fariya's arms.
"Don't worry, just push, am here," Milan consoled Fariya.
"I can't I just can't, " Fariya cried, screaming loud. Her pulse was going down. The oxygen mask put on her and as they did it, she started panicking. Then she gave her all to push the baby out. The machines connected to her started beeping with warning. And at the right moment there was a crying of the baby. The baby was taken out and hit by the doctor waking her up. Milan cried along. But Fariya started losing her grip over Milan. She was sweating all over and turned pink. They handed the baby to Milan who cried again holding the child in her hand, planting a kiss on the baby's forehead and cheek.
"My little angel, welcome to the world, mama loves you," she said. Milan stood watching her emotionally. As she started losing her balance she gave the baby back to one of the nurses and fell back on the bed.
Milan moved Fariya's hair from her face and patted on her cheeks. "Stay awake, stay awake," Milan said. Her pulse and blood pressure was going down. The doctors arranged for CPR and tried to save her improving her pulse. Fairya was also bleeding heavily. It did not stop. Milan kept talking to Fariya who fell unconscious slowly. Her vision faded and then turned white while the heart rate displayed in the equipment was no longer graph but a straight line. Fairya's arms dropped down from the bed and she stopped moving altogether. There were tears running down her eyes, her lip wounded. Milan looked at her and the doctors who stood sadly, helpless. Even they couldn't tell why the delivery was all of a sudden complicated. But Milan knew why. The Crystals are too powerful for anyone to carry around, and Fariya carrying them for 9 months, it drained all her strength and energy. The exhaustion led to her own death. Milan took the baby in her arms and cried.
"Fairya, wake up," she said and cried even though she was aware of the situation.
"Time of death, 11.24 p.m. Tuesday." Milan looked at the doctor who was wearing his mask. "We're sorry we couldn't save her,"
"We will finish the procedures and hand over the body soon," the male doctor told her and asked her to go out.
Milan held the newborn in her hands and walked out of the operation theatre. Aenon and Rivera were waiting for her.
"Fariya passed away," Milan broke down. Aenon and Rivera looked at their daughter in shock to see how she bonded with a mortal to cry like this. Milan has been seeing Fariya like Aqua and losing Fariya made Milan feel the pain again that she has been trying to forget the guilt all along.
Milan had a feeling that if she hadn't opened up to her sister about liking Aiden, Aqua could have gotten together with Aiden and never meet Huo who became a reason she sacrificed herself. But yet heart couldn't give up on Aiden, which made her feel double the amount of guilt.
"Pull yourself together and try not to take these to heart, fate cannot be reversed for the mortals," Aenon said patting his daughter's shoulder, looking away while she sobbed. Rivera was holding the baby in her hands, being emotional. Her child, Aqua reincarnated again as a mortal this time. The crystals I'm her blood sleeping.
"Fairya always wanted to name the baby as lily, after her favourite flower," Milan said and got up, wiping her face.
"Lily," Rivera whispered in the ear of the baby and smiled at her, planting a kiss on the cheek with tears in her eyes. The doctors came out with Fariya, covered in the white clothes.
"We will never forget you," Aenon said. They three bowed in front of Fariya and took her her body with them. The hospital arranged the ambulance for them and Milan took everyone back to the house she wa staying at with Fariya. Milan could not accept the fact that she will no longer be living with Fariya. Aenon offered Milan to bury Fariya along with Aizen where Aiden buried him. They did not hold a ceremony or anything and erased Fariya's existence forever from the earth.
Aiden joined them for a brief moment in the burial ground on top of a mountain away from the city. The meadow looked beautiful. Aiden looked at Milan whose face was red and puffy crying all the time. He could tell how her heart is broken with all the recent things that has been happening in her life beginning from losing Aqua. He stood next to her and took her hands in his, consoling her.
"Visit her here whenever you wish to, " Aiden said. Fairya was buried next to Aizen. At the least they got to be together after death.
Couple of hours later everyone left back to the city, to a new home. Milan asked her father permission to travel until her mind feels ok and left home instantly. Aiden stayed with the baby for sometime playing with her and took an oath.
"I will protect you forever, I will make sure you return back home and I get to tell everything in my heart," Aiden then returned back to Water Realm to help his parents keep the throne good and stable with right administration.
Days passed and Lily stayed growing up. It was not easy to look after a baby all over again for Rivera, especially the human kid. Toddler hears kept Aenon and Rivera busy. Lily was one naughty and boisterous baby who does things as she wishes. Walking around scattering things, crying when she turns moody, stubborn about getting her things done and very outgoing with any people she meet. Lily wasn't exactly like Aqua at all. But Rivera and Aenon tried bring her up properly but def did not cage her.
Lily was very talented in sport and in music from the very young age. But the age she turned 8, Aenon and Rivera let Lily pariticpat in almost any competition little girl wanted to try. And she won in half of them. It made the parents so proud. They had lovely neighbours around then and kids at the similar age of Lily. Her best friend was Sona, another little girl of her class and Allen, a boy a year older than her. Lily always followed around and played with him. Lily grew into a beautiful girl but looked notbing like Aqua. It made things easy of Rivera and Aenon to keep her safe.
Aiden visited them from time to time, but Milan had not come back at all. Aenon could not understand about his daughter's action and why the death of the mortals had huge impact on her. But they never forced her into anything nor scolded her, giving her enough freedom for making choices and decisions as a princess.
Lily turned ten and Aenon held a huge party for her to celebrate. "I want a playstation too like Allen, " little Lily requested her father for the gift. She was totally different child who did not just play with barbies but also with cars which made Allen spend more time with her.
Years ran just like that. And everybody lost the count enjoying their mortal life on earth. Aenon and Rivera had been able to put off the weight on their chest about Aqua and her torturing upbringing by giving Lily a better life.
Every year they never failed to take Lily to the graves of her earthly biological parents and give them flowers. It was the only day Milan would spend time with her family. She was still mourning and wandering around searching each and every corner of earth, learning about different lifestyles and cultures followed in earth by the humans.
"Life goes on pa..." she once told her father, as they sat around the table in house drinking tea, looking outside the window.