Love Can Save {An Aphmau Fanfiction}

Nana

"Do you have everything?" I knew the kids were growing annoyed with me, but I couldn't help but hover anxiously. My tail swished back and forth rapidly, and I only stopped when Dmitri batted it away.

"Nana, can you just back up please?" I smiled apologetically at my stepson, taking a few steps backwards. Nekoette wrapped her arms around my waist, the tips of her ears brushing against the underside of my arms.

"We'll miss you, Mama." Her muffled words drifted up, and I hugged her even tighter. "Why can't we wait until Papa comes home?"

I sighed, extracting myself from my daughter's arms and finding a seat on the couch, right where I had stained the tea those weeks ago. "You know why you can't, sweetheart. It's way past time to go stay with Nicole, and... well it's dangerous now."

"But we've been training with Katelyn and Travis for months now!" Dmitri interrupted, turning to face me with fire in his eyes. Nekoette looked up at me with the same question.  I knew that trying to placate him wouldn't work, but I knew I had to try. I patted the couch next to me, and, very reluctantly, my two children sat on either side of me.

"You two are the bravest kids I know. Even at nine years old, you're both better people than I could ever be, and you will continue to grow into the best guards Phoenix Drop has ever seen." I draped an arm around both of them, pulling them in close to my side like I had done every time Neko had woken up with a nightmare. "But you do know what's going on, right?"

"Tula is moving," Neko began.

"And you need all the guards you can get!" Dmitri finished.

I sighed again, pulling them in even tighter. "Sweethearts, the two of you wouldn't end up making any difference against this vicious army, no matter what you think." I held up a hand to their protest, making sure they understood how serious this conversation was. "These soldiers won't hesitate to kill two kids, and I will not be responsible for your deaths." They finally looked subdued, and I pressed a kiss on the tops of their heads.

"But Mama, who will protect you if we're gone?" I smiled down at my precious little girl, kissing her once more between the ears.

"Believe it or not, I can take care of myself. And your father will be back shortly, and he won't let anything happen to me, or anyone else." Ruffling Dmitri's hair, I pushed myself up from the couch. "What I need the two of you to do is to protect Nicole, and help guard Scaleswind. They're smaller than Phoenix Drop, and they don't have any other villages nearby either."

Dmitri looked resigned to the fact that I was sending them away, but having a purpose to their departure seemed to cheer him up slightly. "Come now, let's make sure you have everything packed away."

By the end of the hour, Katelyn and Travis were assisting me in loading the kids and their belongings in the back of a wagon right outside the Phoenix Drop gate. The couple was to accompany my children up to Scaleswind, where they would return with any supplies the village would be willing to spare. Lady Aphmau wanted to prepare for any possibility, which unfortunately included a siege. Nicole would also be sending any guards she could spare; Scaleswind was a large village when not compared to Phoenix Drop or O'khasis, and they would likely be one of the last to be attacked. Which was yet another reason I was so determined to send the kids.

"You take care of them." I grabbed Travis's arm, looking him dead in the eyes. Looking more serious than I had ever seen, he took my hand in his own and squeezed it gently.

"Like they were my own," he promised. I offered him a quick smile before hugging Katelyn, asking the same of her. And then I was in front of my kids, both of whom had their swords strapped tightly against their waists.

I knelt down, hands resting on their shoulders. I must have spent a full minute just taking them in, committing every little detail to memory in case... in case this was the last time we saw each other. Subconsciously, I knew they were doing the same. Finally I pulled them close, never wanting to let go. Dmitri let down his tough guy facade and held onto me as tightly as Neko on the other side. This was my little family, the family that I would protect until my last breath. Nicole was part of this family, and Dante was the center pin it all depended on. So I held onto my children, my Neko and Dmitri, and didn't let go for several long moments.

"Nana..." Katelyn's quiet voice cut through the pounding of my heart, and reluctantly I let go. Surreptitiously wiping under my eye, I gave them the bravest smile I could muster.

"Stay safe, sweethearts. I expect to hear all about your adventures in Scaleswind when you return." Watching patiently and slightly unhappily, I remained outside the gates, waving and smiling as everyone loaded into the wagon and set off down the road. I stayed there long after they were gone, long enough that Kyle came down from the wall to check that everything was alright.

"I'm fine, thank you, Kyle," I assured him, picking up my skirts and turning back to the village. All I had now to do was to wait for my husband to return home after these two long months away. Until then, I would throw myself wholeheartedly into preparations for the approaching war, as long as it meant that I could keep the life I had made in this amazing village I had called home for so long.