She remained quiet and less engaged all the way back to Egon's home. She had to tell them. It was the only real option. They both saw her with the Oracle, and she'd been acting strangely for hours at that point. As they walked in, she hung back by the door, watching them interact with each other. Was Eisele right? Were they in love?
"We need to talk about the oracle." Her voice was grave. Both men stopped in their tracks and turned back to her.
"If you're ready to," Evander said gently. You could tell from Egon's face that he wasn't feeling as patient.
"I am. Can we sit in the sitting room?" She headed towards the door, not waiting for them to respond. She was relieved to hear the soft padding of their boots following her across the stone floor.
"Whenever you're ready," Egon stated. She couldn't read whether it was genuine or sarcastic.
"The oracle told me that I'm with child." She decided direct was the way to go. Egon lit up with obvious excitement, but Evander stayed neutral. Van knew what this could mean, and he was right to be wary. "It's a girl."
"That's amazing news." Egon erupted, taking her hands in his. "Is it not?"
"She'll die," Evander explained after a few moments of silence. "If she has a girl, the dagger gets passed on to her daughter, and she dies in childbirth."
"There has to be a way around it. What did the oracle say?" Egon's insistence was sweet.
"Just that if we leave for Sapphirus now, we only might win, but if we win, my daughter will live a long, happy life." She explained. She hadn't thought to ask how to survive it. She'd had priorities in the moment.
"We'll go back and talk to her." Egon stood up. She grabbed his hand.
"There's nothing she can do, she'll only answer three questions and doesn't give a lot of information with the answers," Mina explained.
"I'll make her tell you." Egon's voice was a little menacing.
"It doesn't work that way, Egon, and you know it." She snapped. "I need you here. I need you both here right now. I'm either going to die fighting for my kingdom or giving birth to my daughter. I don't want to be roaming the streets for answers that aren't going to come. I just want to be here with both of you. Please."
"Whatever you need, Mina," Evander spoke softly.
"I need you both to promise that you will make sure that my daughter has everything I didn't. That she's loved and happy."
"I promise," Evander said immediately. Egon sat back down and rubbed his face with both hands.
"I'm not going to act like you're not going to be here. We're going to find a way." Egon insisted.
"Just promise. Please. For me." She looked deep into his amber eyes.
"I promise," he conceded, "But I'm not letting go of this. We're going to figure this out, together."
"Okay. Let's get some practice in before we go to bed." She got up to lead them out to the courtyard, but Egon grabbed her hand.
"You can't practice in your condition. You'll–" She put her free hand over his mouth.
"No. I'm going to continue to practice. That's not negotiable." She explained. "I'm not broken, I'm pregnant, and only barely."
"If you say so, little queen." He stood to follow her, and Evander was close behind.
She felt better after sparring. It was always a place to let out some frustration. Egon was clearly annoyed throughout the whole thing. Evander avoided body shots, which annoyed her. Despite all that, it was a good, productive practice session.
"What?" She demanded. Egon had a look about him since the start of dinner. They had retired to his room for the night, and Egon was still being broody.
"I'm just thinking about things." He answered with a huff.
"I'm sure Evander is too, but he doesn't look like I kicked his puppy, so talk to me about it." She pleaded.
"I just want to protect you, and you won't let me." He explained harshly.
"What do you mean? I'm perfectly willing to allow you to protect me when it's needed." She explained.
"That's the thing. It's needed right now, and you're just doing what you want and not listening to anyone."
"Is this about sparring?" she asked incredulously.
"Yes, and not going back to the oracle to get information. Not even trying to get out of this." He paced the room.
"I've been trying to get out of this my whole life, Egon. Don't you think that if there were a way, I'd have found it? I have priestesses and libraries of knowledge when it comes to the dagger. It's not like I want to die, Egon." Her voice was firm.
"It seems like you don't care," he insisted.
"I care. You think I don't want more time with you and Evander? You think I don't want to even meet my daughter? You think this doesn't affect me? Why? Because I'm not having a little hissy fit about it for half a day?" She knew she hit below the belt with that one.
"That's not fair, Mina," Evander said gently. "You've had your whole life to adjust to this reality. Egon's had this afternoon. Give him some grace."
"I don't need any of this." She said suddenly, feeling the tears she'd been fighting coming on. She wanted to get away before they spilled over. She turned to leave the room and was grabbed from behind. It was Egon, enveloping her in his embrace.
"Don't leave." He begged. "If we only have months, I want to spend every minute with you. With both of you. Bad or good, it doesn't matter. I love you."
She broke down. They both were wrong. She hadn't adjusted. She hadn't come to terms with her own death. She was just used to having to hold it together and get on with life. There was no room in her life for her own feelings when she was tiptoeing around everyone else's. Tiptoeing around her father's anger that she even existed, Eldon's desire to keep their father placated, and even preserving Aurelius's happiness and love for life. It all fell to her, and there was never time to be angry or cry or any of it.
"We've got you." Evander's voice cut through her sobs as he and Egon hoisted her onto the bed and climbed in beside her.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Egon's voice was gentle as he wrapped himself around her again. She gave up trying to pull herself together. It wasn't going to happen until she let it all out. Twenty-one years of pent-up sadness and frustration. Twenty-one years of worrying about others before herself. Here she was, in a different land with none of the responsibilities, and instead of just being vulnerable with the people who love her, she made them think she didn't even care.
"I'm sorry." She said once her sobs had died down.