Editing City Series:Volume5b Chapter18 (section)

===Rosetta’s Journal: Today’s First Entry===

It is currently 2 AM.

Something good happened today. (Or would that be yesterday?) I plan to slowly describe it all here. First of all Lady Beretta woke up.

It was at around 10 at night I think. Mother Rose and I were cleaning up in the kitchen when Lady Beretta suddenly walked in. She was in her pajamas and she still looked half asleep. The tape to hold the IV in was still on her elbow and she held a letter in her other hand while standing there.

Mother Rose looked up in surprise and called Lady Beretta’s name.

Lady Beretta only stared silently at me. Mother Rose clicked her tongue and stood up when Lady Beretta did not react.

But I stood up faster and slapped Lady Beretta on the cheek.

It made a nice sound because I used my open palm. But I had to do it because Mother Rose had clenched her fist. My slap does a lot less damage.

And I decided Lady Beretta needed a blow that would wake her up not knock out her front teeth.

Both of them stared at me like they did not understand what had happened.

But Lady Beretta’s expression soon changed. She collapsed onto the table like her strings had been cut and she shouted many things while looking on the verge of tears. It was all about Sir Phillip. I cannot write here what she said. Because it is too important for her. But I will write that the shouted word “why” is still ringing in my ears.

It was Mother Rose who grabbed Lady Beretta’s shoulders and pulled her back up. Then she tightly hugged Lady Beretta who weakly struggled without shedding any tears and she spoke to her.

“Calm down Beretta. You are a mother now.”

That was a surprise. It must have been for Lady Beretta as well because she stopped struggling.

“I would like to double check that finding. And I will heal the fear Formule within you.”

Lady Beretta replied with a weak nod. Then we supported her on the way to the examination room and removed her clothing. She trembled naked on top of the examination table. Mother Rose worked to calm her by placing her Instrument’s blade against her body while saying many things.

She talked about when she met Lady Beretta’s father. She talked about when she became pregnant with Lady Beretta. She talked about when Lady Beretta had been born. And she talked about when they parted ways.

“I’m not sure how exactly to say this to you but as a mother I want you to be in top form for what is to come. That way you will not run away no matter what might happen.”

During all this she stuck her Instrument’s blade into Lady Beretta’s body and neutralized the fear Formule. Then she confirmed that Lady Beretta was pregnant. I could tell she was doing something more complex than when she checked over my body. The blade did not leave any kind of mark but Lady Beretta gasped and twisted her body at the feeling of having the blade inside her. I held down her legs and back.

At some point Mother Rose had finished talking. By the time sweat had appeared on Lady Beretta’s skin the examination was complete. The Formules of fear and exhaustion had been removed from her body and the examination confirmed that there was a child in her belly.

While she curled up on the sheet with an improved complexion Mother Rose punched her once in the head.

“That’s for disobeying your mother and getting pregnant out of wedlock.”

I was not sure what all that meant so I asked Mother Rose about it. She explained a lot of things to me in rather blunt terms. And she used Lady Beretta as an example for the explanations.

Lady Beretta did not like that and tried to stop her but that only led Mother Rose to pin her down and use her body as an example. After hearing all of that explained I realized my cheeks were hot. I think it must have embarrassed me.

But I noticed Mother Rose giving Lady Beretta an incredibly kind look throughout the explanations. It was a gentle look like she had left something important in Lady Beretta’s care.

Lady Beretta and I were released from the examination room – Mother Rose stayed behind saying she was going to write her journal entry – and we climbed the stairs to the second floor. That was when Lady Beretta said something to me.

“I want to stay here Rosetta.”

I was not sure what she meant but I nodded anyway. She told me many things. She told me about when we first met and about the school festival. She told me about Mother Rose and about my master and about Lady Mallette. She talked on and on and seemed to be enjoying herself so much.

[[Image:City_v05b_209.jpg|thumb]]

I realized I was like a mirror to her so I said something to her.

“You cannot forget about Sir Phillip can you?”

She immediately hugged me and wept while pressing her face into my shoulder.

She wept loudly. I have never before seen her cry like that. She did not even cry that loudly on the train here. But it did not surprise me. I may have known that is what it sounds like when she truly cries. I like to think so anyway.

I lightly placed my arms around her back and head and gently stroked her. She needed some time to stop crying. And after crying her eyes out she finally sneezed into my chest.

“Gweh. Sorry. You need to change now.”

She looked up to show her usual smile.

<In the distance I hear the loud roar of a beast. It may be the black dragon.>

I had not heard that for a while so why now? The roar scared me in a way it had not before.

But a lot happened including the dragon. Not all of it was good but a lot of it was happy. In the examination room I saw Mother Rose and Lady Beretta speaking together for the first time – even if they were both extremely tired.

Those two fight a lot but I think they understand each other well too.

Lady Beretta is currently sleeping in the other bed. She looks neither exhausted nor grim while sleeping.

<nowiki><I</nowiki> see her sleeping wrapped in the blanket without anything in her hands.>

Is that because she was crying? Lady Rose said it can soothe people’s pain when they talk about that pain with someone. I hope I played that role for Lady Beretta.

I will go to sleep soon. I think we will return to Paris tomorrow.

<Again I hear a loud bestial roar. It does seem to be the black dragon.

As if answering that roar something bursts in the distance. A sound similar to gunfire continues for a while.>