Angel Monarch

After Sera's behaviour, Sabyr stayed hidden for nearly an entire month. It seemed the Wings of Despair terrified the Tree quite a bit.

The days went by normally. Sera went on a couple of bloodlusted hunts in the meantime. Sadly, she needed to go further away from the Village on each occasion.

The hunters and scouts eventually stopped collecting the meat and monster materials she left behind. Their pantries were maxed out already, and they still needed to eat a bunch of fresh meat before it went bad.

Sera spent most of her time sparring with guards or hunters, which was mostly training for them. However, at some point Faith decided to join, who, even without enhanced strength, beat everyone up.

Vicky and Henry also came to visit during that month. They brought updates on the map on Sera's and Faith's watches.

They also brought different seeds, which Mary made. Supposedly, the seeds can grow in darker environments and are carnivores, meaning the citizens can use meat to grow them.

She made a few different types of plants, like wheat, tomato, carrot, strawberry, grape. She even genetically engineered apples, pears and cherries so they can grow on bushes instead of trees.

However, even though these plants seemed amazing, Sera felt skeptical about them. Mostly because of Mary's warning: 'Don't handle them without gloves! They can be very mean and bite hard!'

Sera passed the seeds and the warning to Amayeta, so the council could figure out how they want to approach planting them.

First, Migsi, the lead scientist, wants to do some tests on the plants. This way, they can properly prepare and plant them to the best of their abilities, which would yield the highest amount of food.

They didn't need to hurry, since Sera took care of any food related problems. The meat they collected will easily last until next spring.

Sera also observed during the visit that Vicky looked much better than before. She didn't seem as exhausted and even felt a bit energetic.

She was eager to tell how Henry solved all her sleep issues by staying with her every night until she fell asleep. However, Vicky's words greatly embarrassed the young boy, who was also in the room, when she explained.

Her mother could barely hold a straight face upon glancing at Henry's heavy blush. The boy even dared to apologize when Vicky wasn't nearby.

Luckily, Sera just thanked his gentlemanly behaviour, and reassured him that he did nothing to be ashamed about.

Their visit quickly passed once more, and Sera was stuck in everyday boredom again. But nearly two months after she got the news, the Angel finally felt strange one morning.

As she opened her eyes, nausea took hold of her. Sera quickly ran to the room's corner, where a bucket was prepared for emergencies. She knelt down before the bucket and began throwing up inside.

Upon hearing the sound of vomiting, one of the doctors quickly rushed off. He notified Amayeta and Faith about the sounds, who in turn arrived at her door unannounced.

"I'm fine, just a bit nauseous. It happened a few times recently, although this was the first time I actually threw up."

Sera sat in a chair, while faith cleaned off the vomit from her golden hair. She took deep breaths as Amayeta held a stethoscope to hear chest. The doctor also checked her pulse and other vitals.

"Well, there seems to be nothing wrong with you physically. Do you use the washroom more frequently? Is everything alright in your stomach? You might've received food poisoning from all the raw meat you consume on your bloodlusted hunts!"

The Angel took a deep, shuddering breath, then bent forward, vomiting once more into the bucket. After a few minutes, she straightened up and answered Amayeta's questions.

"I don't need to use the bathroom more frequently, and my stomach is perfectly fine… Also, Evolved especially Transcended don't contract food poisoning or any regular disease… Do you have any other ideas?"

The doctor glanced at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind, and she couldn't help but glance at the area between Sera's legs.

"Uh… I actually have another idea… When did you have your last period?"

Sera opened her mouth to answer, but instead she bent forward to puke some more. Faith carefully held her hair, keeping it away from the bucket.

With her other hand, she gently brushed Sera's back in a circular motion. Since her Lady seemed indisposed, Faith decided to answer Amayeta's question.

"Evolved doesn't have periods, not in the usual sense anyway. Instead of monthly bleeding and hormonal change, we have emotional fluctuations for an entire month, but no bleeding."

Amayeta stared at the shadowy woman, clearly surprised by learning this new information. Eventually, she just sighed and shook her head while listening to Sera's vomiting.

"That's much better than what regular humans go through. However, it does make it harder to identify pregnancy… Sera, when was the last time you took part in intimacy?"

Behind Sera, Faith's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to change the subject, but it was already too late.

The Angel glanced at Amayeta, her golden-green eyes reflecting sadness and pain. With one hand, she gently touched her stomach and with a melancholic smile, she answered.

"It was about two months ago. The day before I left Europe… I also received a prophecy from Fate that I might be pregnant, but showed no signs of it before…"

While Sera excelled in many things, Evolved pregnancies weren't her expertise. She didn't know what was normal or what to pay special attention to. Actually, even her knowledge about regular pregnancies was lacking!

Amayeta just glanced between Faith and Sera a few times, then sighed sadly. She felt that asking about the baby's father would've been a mistake, so instead she stayed on topic.

"Well, I have no idea how trustworthy a prophecy is from Fate, but there's a high chance you're pregnant. The morning sickness arrived a bit too late, but there are many factors and Evolved might have different pregnancy timings…"

"What I don't understand is why are you living in ambiguity? I thought modern societies had pregnancy tests? At least that's what those Old World books said!"

The Angel and her Shadow glanced at each other, confusion and embarrassment evident on both their faces.

"Uh… Yeah, that's a great idea… It would've been especially amazing if I remembered to use one two months ago… Anyway, so this morning sickness is a conformation of my pregnancy?"

Amayeta couldn't help but chuckle and shake her head. Eventually, she glanced back at Sera, who once again bent forward and vomited.

"Well, I'm near hundred percent certain that this is morning sickness. But I still wouldn't rule out food poisoning… Seriously, why do you eat so much raw meat and drink monster blood while hunting? And how does it not upset your stomach?"

Sera laughed after throwing up her guts. Behind her, Faith began braiding the Angel's long hair, so it wouldn't get in the way.

"It's because of my superpower! You actually believed my physical strength or Evolved abilities are my greatest asset?… Nope, my most amazing and useful power is my iron gut, which can devour any food item!"

After saying those words, her face turned green, and she continued puking. There wasn't anything left in her stomach, so only some acid came up… It began burning through the wooden bucket…

The Angel quickly made another bucket from Angelic Metal, which she continued using. Neither Amayeta nor Faith escaped the irony of using such precious metal as a vomiting bowl.

However, as time went by, the doctor's face grew more concerned. No matter how much Sera puked, her nausea remained. When midday came rolling around, Amayeta already sent a nurse to grab a few medical items.

"It seems that while Evolved has easier time with periods, their pregnancies are much harsher. I will give you some medicine for nausea. I doubt it'll help much, but it's worth a try!"

Sera just nodded without saying a word. She continued hugging her bucket as she occasionally spat and vomited into it.

Faith sat by her side, providing silent support. She brought a bunch of books to Sera's room, which she had been reading out loud to her.

"Thank you, Mrs. Amayeta! Could you also bring some water and food, in case she stops throwing up?"

The doctor nodded with a kind smile and rolled away. Ten minutes later, a few nurses brought in lots of food and a few jugs of water.

Since the Village was up in a great tree, they didn't have easy access to water. There was a river flowing about a kilometer away, which they used for water. There was also lots of rain, especially during summer, so collecting it also helped.

Sera smelt the freshly cooked meat and her stomach immediately began growling angrily. However, the moment she thought about eating, the nausea returned.

She continued vomiting late into the afternoon. The medicines helped her a bit, but her Evolved immune system overpowered them quickly.

The next three days were pretty much the same. However, after the fourth, it actually became worse. She felt nauseous throughout the day and even at night.

Faith had to stay with her, so she wouldn't accidentally drown in vomit. It was technically impossible for Sera to drown, since as a Transcended she could hold her breath for days, but it still worried her Shadow.

After the fifth day of suffering, while Sera still felt awful, strangely enough Sabyr appeared before her.