Daddy Next Door

by Tina Lee

  “What if it turns out that you’re not the father?”

  “Nothing I can do, but congratulate you. You will be a fine mother.”

  Diana Lukas walked over to us, in a black dress with large feathers on the back, like a peacock. She smiled and stuck out her hand for me to shake. “I have heard great things about you,” she said to me.

  I blushed. Diana was really beautiful. So beautiful, that she was the definition of the word. It wasn’t just her blonde hair or blue eyes. It was her mannerism. She flaunted her luxurious lifestyle and bathed in all the glory, and yet, she was still grounded enough to be polite with everyone she met. She spoke clearly with crisp words. There wasn’t any hot air in that head of hers. She was intelligent, and that was one of her strengths. I loved seeing a woman of power. This society needed more. I stood and shook her hand. “As I about you.”

  “The North is lucky to have a woman like you. Who would have thought that a human would rise above all of our expectations. You have certainly changed my outlook on life. You have proved that the limitations we had set for you were wrong.” She smiled. “You, my dear, are an inspiration, for humans and shifters. You have shown me that, as a woman, I am capable of so much more.” She looked at Leo. “I dream of a day when a woman will rule the North.”

  I was speechless. Me? An inspiration for a woman like her? “Thank you for such kind words. It means a lot to me.”

  She patted Leo on the shoulders. “I’ll leave you two alone now. I’m tired. Goodnight, Elizabeth.”

  “Goodnight, Diana.”

  Leo waited until she was out of earshot then said, “Don’t be fooled. She’s planning something and I don’t know what it is. Until then, avoid talking to her if you can.”

  “But she seems nice.”

  “That’s exactly what she wants you to think. Be careful.”

  I nodded. I didn’t know what kind of a threat she posed, but I trust Leo, and would take his word for it.

  I told him about the South and how different it was there. He wasn’t interested in hearing about the holy village. He only wanted to know how Captain Qin Shi reacted to the letter. Was Leo planning some trip across the sea? I described for him the size of the ship and amount of crew members. He took a pen and paper and drew Captain Qin Shi based on my description. “He has a mouth full of gold. You can’t miss him.”

  There was something going on. Some plan that Leo was keeping from me. There were increased training going on. Ben told me that even the younger shifters, who have just earned their wolf name, were being vigorously trained. My, and everyone’s guess, was that we were preparing to attack the East. But so soon? We were in early spring, and in the coming weeks, the snow would leave us, and we would lose its protection. Leo knew that, and I think that was motivating his decision.

  There was a scream and the sound of plates smashing on the floor. Leo reacted before I did, and darted to the table. “What’s going on?” I asked, but he didn’t bother to reply. When I reached, there was a fat man on the floor with a fork in his hand. I ran to him but Leo pulled me back. “I have to help him.”

  “He’s dead, Elizabeth.”

  I wiggled myself out of his arms and knelt beside the man.

  “He has been poisoned,” Leo said.

  I turned and looked up at him. “How do you know that?”

  “There are several other cases all similar to this one.”

  I looked at the food then looked at Dante. “That means we all should be poisoned.”

  “It’s not the food. That’s what I first thought. No, the person responsible is selective of who to poison, or else we would all be dead.”

  Leo’s uncle pushed through the people that circled the dead man. He slammed his fist on the table. He clenched his jaw until veins throbbed in his neck. “Since we can’t find who is responsible, I say we kill all the cooks. Everyone of them.”

  “We would be killing innocent people,” Leo said.

  “A sacrifice we have to make. How many more will die, uh? It could be you next, Leo, unless you do the right thing. Which is worth more to you, Leo, the lives of those humans or us?” He walked off, without a care for an answer.

  Leo looked down at the dead man.

  “Who is he?” I asked.

  “Mr. Bruick. He owns acres of land further up north.”

  Cling. The fork fell from Mr. Bruick chubby fingers. I knew Leo had a lot in his hands. That was why I wanted to help. “Leo, send your guards for my assistants.”

  “What are you planning to do?”

  “I’ll have them look at him. See if they find anything.”

  “I already had a specialist from the West come inspect the bodies. He couldn’t find anything.”

  I smiled. “Let us try.”

  Leo whispered in my ear, “let your assistants look at it. Don’t go near that poisoned body.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine, Leo.”

  “Just remember, you’re sharing your body with someone else now.”

  I scoffed. I didn’t need him to remind me that there was a baby inside me. I thought about it every minute of the day. He only wanted to ensure that the baby inside me, that could be his, and I, were safe. “Okay. I’ll let them examine him,” I lied, to ease his mind, so he could focus on more important things.

  My first day back and things were already going wrong.

  Chapter Thirty Two

  Dante

  The little girl poured cup of water on the boy’s head and ran. The boy, who was faster, chased after her and pulled her by the blouse, and they both went tumbling down. The little girl cried and held her knee, while the boy tried to console her. A woman came along, probably their mother, and she immediately lifted the little girl and kissed her cheek, then she slapped the boy on the head. The girl stopped crying, and the boy sat on the side of the road, wiping water out his hair.

  I imagined myself, parting fighting children, disciplining them and teaching them wrong from right. Growing a boy to be a man, a man stronger than me, in hopes that he will teach his son to be stronger than him, and generation after generation, all the lands will know my bloodline for being the strongest. When they tell their tales of bravery, it is not blond hair and blue eyes that they will mention, but a man with hair dark as his soul, and flaming eyes.

  I was ready to be a father. I was eager. I prayed to the Gods to give me the chance. I was getting ahead of myself, daydreaming when I shouldn’t. I found myself watching kids on the street, trying to understand them. Preparing myself for what could happen.

  After my early morning exercise, I picked fruits of many kind. Fruits I thought Elizabeth would like. I left them on her window ledge for when she wakes, to let her know that I was thinking of her.

  I sat with the wolf pack in the afternoon. In the forest, cleaning our kill, joking and bonding. Our pack was much bigger now with the new recruits. We took the best fighters from the North and trained them. There were a few kids. They looked no older than eighteen. They were eager to fight for their people, like I was at their age. I was proud of them all.

  “The war. It is soon. Is it not?” one of the boys asked.

  “What’s your name?” I asked.

  “Tommy.”

  “Listen, Tommy. Don’t worry about when. It could be tomorrow. It could be next year. When the time comes, will you be ready to die for the North.”

  Tommy put his hand by his heart. “Yes. I would be glad to.”

  There was mud in his brown hair. He had green eyes that looked like it wanted to be blue but wasn’t close enough. “What name did the elders give you?” I asked.

  He looked at me proudly. “Blade.”

  “Blade.” I chuckled. “Are you as deadly as your name?”

  “One way to find out.”

  I laughed. It was boys like these that we needed more of. It was a boy like him I dreamed of having as my son.

  We cooked for ourselves. The news of people dying from poison in their food made everyo
ne cautious. I told tommy plenty tales of war and taught him a thing or two.

  “Is your father in the pack?” I asked.

  “My father doesn’t fight. He’s a librarian.”

  I chuckled. “Does he reads things to you?”

  “When I was smaller, he used to read to me every night.”

  “Do you love him?”

  “Of course. He’s my father. He’s a good man.”

  I nodded. “Keep that love close. You’ll need it for when you start to doubt the things you do.”

  I would never treat my son the way how my father treated me. I would never neglect him nor make him feel unworthy of my love. Two things my father taught me. First, he taught me that world wasn’t fair, and that was why people like me existed. My father then taught me how to be a bad father, because he was an expert at this.

  Now I knew what not to do to my own child. I could avoid all his mistakes.

  “My father can’t compare to your father, though,” Tommy said.

  “Don’t be so sure,” I told tommy.

  If only he knew.

  Chapter Thirty Three

  Leo

  Dear beautiful life.

  How precious is thee. I wait patiently for your arrival, with hope in my heart that you are mine. I’ve never met you, and I already love you. And if the day comes and I find out that you are not mine, I’ll love you still. Nothing will ever change that.

  There is a chance that you will share my eyes, hair, and even though it is only a chance, I cannot stop myself from loving you. You see, this world is full of unlikely occurrences that defeat the odds. Things so improbable that they can only be defined as miracles, but it isn’t.

  Like the moon revolving around the Earth, or the Earth revolving around the sun, I believe all things are like clockwork, moving with a purpose, defined by their fate.

  I am happy and my hopes are high, because I believe in a divine hand guiding our path. You are destined to be my child, and your mother; my Queen.

  There are so many things I want to tell you, show you and teach you, but for now, rest well, child.

  Waiting patiently,

  Leo

  I threw the letter into the fireplace.

  A high pitched whistle filled my ear. Elizabeth was calling me. I jumped off my balcony and ran to Elizabeth’s room, where the sound was coming from.

  Elizabeth sat on her bed, in her night gown and her hair tied in one. “Finally, you’re here,” she said. “Come, you have work to do.”

  When I sat beside her, she propped her pillow and leaned back, then placed her feet on my lap. “You called me here to massage your feet?” I asked.

  “There’s half chance that I’m carrying your child, so you have to do half the work,” she said with a grin, that turned into laugh.

  “You’re beautiful,” I said in the middle of her laugh. I must have said that a million times to her since we met, and I would say it a million times more, because it is the truth.

  She reached for her tea cup on her night stand and started sipping. “How was your day?” she asked.

  I started to massage her feet and I could tell she really was loving it. “I don’t want to bore you with my day. I had meetings and more meetings.”

  “What was that letter about? You plan on sailing soon?”

  I wanted to tell her about what was going on behind closed doors. About the plans to attack the East. About Kronus’s mission. I wanted to say it all.

  The night was rather lovely. Cool, spring night. The last of the snow. Moonlight shining through her window onto the books on her desk. Books that I gave her. She sipped more of her tea, licking her lips, wiggling her toes as I pressed my thumbs on the sole of her feet, laughing because it tickled her a little. I couldn’t bring up such a topic now. “Just business.”

  She didn’t believe me, and I would have been disappointed if she did, because I knew she was smarter than that. She didn’t question it any further, but she knew it wasn’t the full story.

  “What happens if this baby is yours?” she asked.

  The question took me by surprise. It was a good question, but it was one I didn’t figure out as yet. “You will become Queen of the North.”

  She pulled her feet from my grasp and sat beside me. Her finger tracing the edge of the cup. “I know that you have good intentions and you are a genuine man, but are you sure the North would accept such a thing?”

  “They won’t have a choice.” I took the tea cup from her and placed it on the night stand. I joined her fingers with mine, and looked her in the eye. “I love you, Elizabeth.”

  “Do you really?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you really?” she asked again.

  “Yes. More than my worldly words could every portray. I need you. No different than how a man needs air.”

  My reflection danced in the tear in her eye, waiting to crash down her cheeks. “I love you too, Leo,” she said, then the tears came rolling down.

  My heart eased as she said this. Elizabeth, with those simple but powerful words, had made all my problems disappear, even if only for a moment. I held her chin and brought it closer to mine. “You will be my Queen, Elizabeth.” I kissed her, and immediately we fell back onto the bed, in each others arms. I kissed her for all the long days that I was without her.

  I stayed with her until she fell asleep, then I kissed her forehead and left. There was something else I must do while it was still dark and quiet.

  I stepped into the narrow alleyway, walking further and further to where the moonlight couldn’t reach. I waited, wondering if he would show. Then I heard footsteps entering the alley. Dante’s figure became dimmer as he approached me, until he was engulfed in the darkness that engulfed me.

  “Why have you called me here, brother?” Dante said.

  “We need to talk, and i don’t trust the castle. Too many ears.”

  I couldn’t see his face but I knew he wasn’t too please to be here. We were never vocal about Elizabeth, but we knew were competing for the same woman. It was up for her to decide.

  “It’s about Diana.”

  He scoffed. “I don’t give a fuck about Diana,” he said.

  “No, but you do care about Elizabeth, don’t you?”

  “Of course, more than you.” There was anger in his voice.

  “You don’t know anything me.”

  “I grew up with you, remember? You’re just a King who gets anything he wants. How could you ever understand what it means to value anything, or anyone?”

  “We were both born into a wealthy family.”

  “Though, we were never treated the same. You see, my last name may be Lukas, but I was never treated like one. You don’t deserve her.”

  “Says the man who have slept with every prostitute in this city.”

  I could hear his low growl. I was ready to fight if he was. I was eager to give him a proper beating, to show him that he wasn’t the strongest man in all the lands. I calmed myself. We were straying from my reason for being here. “I didn’t come here to fight. I came here because Elizabeth could be in danger.”

  His growl stopped. “How so?”

  “Diana knows about my love for Elizabeth—”

  “Love?” He scoffed.

  “Yes. I love her, and Diana will never accept that. She will never accept a human as Queen. It’s either to get rid of me, or to get rid of Elizabeth. And she knows she can’t rid of me.”

  “She wouldn’t go that far. Not on her own.”

  “She has been meeting with our not-so-loving family, to rally everyone up and stop me from tarnishing the Lukas name.”

  “Do you think her plan will work?”

  “Well, I don’t want to wait to find out.”

  “What do you suppose we do?” Dante asked.

  “Get rid of her. For good.”

  There was a sudden silence. I had just asked my brother to help kill a fellow Lukas. I knew the gravity of what I was asking him to help me do.
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  “That is crazy,” he said.

  “If she succeeds in rallying them all up, do you really think they will stand by and let a Elizabeth become Queen?”

  “Who says she will become Queen? What if that baby is mine, and she wants to stay with me? Did you thought of that?”

  “Yes,” I said. “The baby could be yours, and she may not want to become Queen, but Diana doesn’t know that. Diana only knows about my affection for Elizabeth. And when she finds out Elizabeth is pregnant, she will assume that it’s mine.” I stepped closer to where I heard his breathing. “Mark my words, if we don’t get rid of her, she will kill Elizabeth.”

  He sighed at the thought of working with me. “Okay, I’m with you.”

  The sky was getting ready for dawn. I imagined Elizabeth all wrapped up under her sheets.

  “We meet here, two nights from now, same time,” I told him.

  “Okay, brother,” he replied.

  As he walked off, I asked, “Do you still believe in the Gods?”

  “Of course.”

  “The Gods will choose one of us to be the father of that child. When that time comes, we will accept who the Gods have selected, and move on with our lives.”

  The alleyway was more brighter now. I could see his shadowy face. He grinned. “May the Gods pick the right and better man,” he said.

  “I agree,” I said, but too softly for him to hear.

  It was the first time in a long while that we ever agreed on anything.

  Chapter Thirty Four

  Elizabeth

  We sat on buckets outside of the bakery. Ben was helping the owner carry carts inside and out. Sia squeezed me some fresh orange juice and Ben got me a warm bread that smelled delicious. So far, my morning was perfect.

  Spring was in full effect. The mornings were fresh, the sky clear and everyone busy again. No more thick coats. I could finally throw on my floral dress and comfortable slippers. There was color in everyone’s face. We were alive again.