• Butterflies of Daria • [Complete]

• Chapter 6 •

It had been roughly four months since Julian had explain the situation to all their friends and five months since Reign had become a female and conceived a child. Since then, things had been a little chaotic. Asra was secretly riddled with guilt, constantly thinking that a big portion of everything was his fault. all their friends were worried and Reign was slowly getting sicker and sicker. Asra refuses to use any magic for the sickness, he had become slightly paranoid that he would hurt Reign even more. They had ended their search for a way to change Reign back until after everything was over. Asra had insisted that Reign cut back on working in the shop and just try to relax. Julian would do regular check ups, Asra's parents would come and help if the shop if needed, Portia and Nadia did their best to escape from palace duties and Muriel wasn't seen that often. Nothing different though.

It was a quiet day in the shop. Reign was upstairs resting upon Asra's command while he was down in the shop, mainly left to his own devices despite the occasional customer. Faust switched between Asra and Reign every hour to keep herself busy. Every once in a while, Asra would find himself flicking through spell books. He would look for fun types of spells. Spells to grow horns, spells to breath underwater, spells to turn fruit into chocolate. That one peaked his interest so he wrote it down on some paper. As he flicked further into the book, a small creak came from the door to their house.

'Hey Asra' Reign smiled tiredly

'Hey!' Asra's heart jumped strangely 'Are you alright?'

'I'm fine. I'm just going to go to the market to get some Pumpkin Bread' Reign pulled a white shawl over his shoulders. His hair was neatly pulled back into a loose ponytail and colour had returned to his cheeks.

'Oh, alright, do you want me to come?' His noice shook a bit and he looked down. He almost smacked himself when his heart melted at the sight of the baby bump that was very visible now even under Reign's white oversized shirt.

'No, that's alright' Reign headed towards the door 'I'll just get some bread and be straight back' He assures so Asra wouldn't worry.

'Alright' He tried to sound sturdy 'Be safe' Reign smiled and waved as he left the shop. Asra had to hold himself back from following Reign. He just trust led the fact that nothing would happen. Besides, he could pass the time by turning fruit into chocolate.

•~•~•

Reign felt relatively ok today. He managed to at least stand without feeling nauseous. The market was busy like usual, owners calling out deals, children laughing and screaming, elderly being rather slow but sweet. Reign carefully squeezed through the crowd until he smelt the familiar smell of Pumpkin Bread and Selasi yelling out over the crowd.

Reign waited for a while before it was his turn.

'Hi Selasi, just two pumpkin loaves please' Reign handed him some coins which just sat in Selasi's hand for a moment as he inspected the 'girl' in front of him.

'Sorry Miss, where do I know you from?' He furrowed his brow as he handed two steaming hot loaves to Reign.

'Hold that thought for a few months' Reign laughed at himself, taking the bread and leaving again. Man they smelt good. The walk back to the shop was fairly short, the whole walk only took about twenty minutes. Reign was about twenty meters from the shop front when he began to feel dizzy. And by 'feel' I mean it hit him like a truck. He stopped dead in his tracks, leaning against the stone wall for support. His hand cramped up around the bag as he slid to the floor, his good hand covered his face from the sunlight. Luckily a middle aged woman saw Reign's sudden fit and was quick to help, especially since she saw that Reign was pregnant.

'Where do you live, sweetie?' She wrapped an arm around his waist and lifted him up.

'The magic shop' was all Reign could say before the woman practically dragged him to it. She took the bag from him and looped her arm through it.

'Magician Asra!' She cried as she leaped through the door. Asra was startled at the sudden noise but once he saw what was going on, his heart dropped, along with the multiple heavy books he was carrying. The woman struggled at the final moments until Asra ran over and picked Reign up bridal style, quickly thanking the woman before she left, and ran Reign upstairs. Faust closed up the shop for him before heading up herself.

Asra sat beside Reign who was lying in bed. His head always hot and he was shaking. Asra got him a glass of water which helped. Reign's chest slowly heaved up and down and Asra clutched his hand tightly. He was so focused that he hadn't even realised that he had cold tears trickling down his face, which he made a pitiful attempt to hide. It didn't work. If anything, Asra started to hyperventilate and choke on tears.

'Asra!' Reign painfully short up from where he lay, trying to get Asra to show his face, but he stubbornly refused. 'Asra, please look at me' Reign quickly grabbed Asra's hand and placed it over his heart.
'Asra, listen to my heart...I'm alright' This helped Asra's breathing to calm right down. He wiped away his tears and finally looked up into Reign's bright hazel eyes.

'I'm sorry...I'm so fucking sorry' He cursed as he pulled Reign into a tight hug that lasted an eternity. Reign didn't mind though. He gently traced lines on Asra's back and Asra did the same to him. At some point, the two must've fallen asleep because almost four fours later, Reign's tired eyes opened to find Asra sound asleep next to him. Reign's chest tightened at first but he simply reminded himself that it was Asra and no one else. Reign smiled softly carefully dragging his thumb over Asra's pink cheeks. He smiled as Asra sleepily grabbed his hand and kissed his wrists.

'Go back to sleep' Reign quietly hummed. Asra didn't object. In seconds he was breathing evenly and he was still again. Reign could see how much of a toll all of this was having on Asra, there is just no way Asra would ever admit it. Reign slowly got up from the bed and began making himself a tea. He rubbed his eyes as he waited. That's when he felt it. There was a small movement. Not a kick, but a small movement from his belly. Reign smiled a smile that hadn't been seen in months. It was such a strange sensation. Like the baby was trying to make him happy. Well it was working.

Reign sipped his tea as he looked between sleeping Asra, his stomach and out the window at the lights of Vesuvia. The tea made him feel so much better, even though it was only very temporary, it helped.

Reign started to think. Really think. About how HE truely felt about everything. Reign decided in that moment that he would keep the baby.

He almost brought himself to tears of joy. Unfortunately after he stopped sipping the tea, he began to feel dizzy again. He hated being sick like this. He hated having to rely on Asra for everything. It wasn't fair for him, although he'd beg to differ. He also had severe pangs of guilt due to all the worry he had their friends under. Reign made another decision at this point. One that could possibly shape his future.

He was going to leave Vesuvia. Alone.