Forever With You

Fifteen

By morning, the cyclone had gathered strength into a category three, and the winds were howling through the trees. Anyone in the castle town who hadn't moved to safety within the castle walls and the shelters designed for such weather, were hunkered down in their homes. Citizens on the other side of the island were protected by the mountains, but prepared their homes for the possibility of taking in temporary guests. As was typical and done with ease.

This was how Nekoma handled storms of this magnitude. Within the castle, guests and staff withdrew to a sub-level shelter of sorts which was designed with the utmost safety in mind. Because there were no exterior windows, special air vents brought in fresh air, and generators ensured that if the island lost power outside, they'd have enough to withstand the storm, if carefully used. Water storage tanks provided clean water, but it was limited so guests had a rationed amount per day. Nekoma also chose to keep its old landlines in service and working flawlessly for situations like these. They could only hope the wifi signal held up.

With Aiko in her sling, wrapped snuggly against her back, Hitoka devoted herself to helping everyone else first. With the help of her crew, they gathered the kids' things together so that they were ready for their parents when they arrived. The older children, bless them, did their best to help with the younger. All of them had experienced bad weather, but several had never experienced it away from home. Thank goodness it wasn't long before parents came to collect their children.

With little time to spare, she finally managed to get everything together for herself and her daughter. They were the last ones, from the nursery at least, to head down to the castle shelter. Unwrapping the sling, she placed Aiko in her pram, and grabbed the handle of the wagon. She was about to leave the smaller nursery when her baby started screaming. And it wasn't her usual happy baby screaming, either. She was red-faced and distressed, and Hitoka was at a loss.

She picked up her baby and tried to soothe her with little success. She checked her nappy (clean), and looked for anything that might have scratched or pinched her child, but came up empty. Unsure what had caused it, Hitoka was nearly in tears herself. It didn't help matters that until she figured out what was making her daughter scream and cry louder the further they moved away from the nursery, she was stuck. And it sounded like things were getting worse outside.

"Shhh, baby," she soothed gently, though her voice shook. "We need to go. We can come back as soon as the storm passes, okay? Shhh, baby, shhh..."

This was awful. She jostled Aiko gently, rubbed her back, and tried to at least hum the lullaby for her. Nothing worked. Little hands stretched out, back toward the nursery door. So, whatever it was Aiko wanted was in there. But... they had to go. Now that the cyclone was close, it was moving faster than she thought. The wind was howling almost as loud as her baby. Big, fat, raindrops pelted the windows. Small bits of debris joined the rain, and she could swear it sounded like hail fell, too. Lightning flashed, thunder boomed loudly overhead, scaring both herself and her baby.

The castle was built to withstand the strongest storms, and it had for generations. Long before Prince Kuroo's family became the rulers of Nekoma. Surely, they'd be okay while she tried to figure out why Aiko was inconsolable? Leaving the wagon where it was, she settled her hysterical child in the pram, and wheeled it back into the nursery.

~*~

Downstairs, it was a controlled sort of chaos as the nobility gathered in the common room, while Tetsu and Kei directed them to their temporary suites. Eita, not having much to do but watch, and having already moved into his suite, decided to help out. And he ordered his advisors and guards to do the same. It wasn't as quick as he thought it'd go, but when it was all over, everyone was ensconced in their rooms for the duration of the storm.