by Unknown
“You force me to keep bringing it up,” he sighed.
“How so?” I pulled away from him and slid back on the blanket.
“By not making a decision,” his jaw clenched.
“You keep saying you're okay with waiting and then you turn around and bug me about it,” I accused.
“I am okay with waiting, as long as I know how long I'll have to wait,” he growled. “But you won't even give me an estimate. All you do is put me off. I want children, A Thaisce. The dragon in me needs this and so does the king. You're my wife, I hardly think asking you for a child is a hardship.”
“Arach, you act like us having a baby will save your entire race,” I sighed.
“Our race,” he set serious eyes on me.
“Whatever,” I rolled my eyes. “What difference is one more dragon going to make?” I huffed. “So we have a child, then what? That child will never have a mate that they can have their own children with. At least not full dragon-sidhe children. It accomplishes nothing.”
“I was hoping we'd have more than one child,” the scales at his temples were starting to spread down to his chin.
“Please tell me you don't expect them to marry each other?” I gasped. “This isn't Egypt... or the backwoods of West Virginia. Can you say Wrong Turn? No thank you. Our babies are already going to be inclined towards cannibalism without adding inbreeding to the mix.” I paused, my eyes widening in horror. “I can't believe I just said that.”
“They're not going to interbreed or become cannibals,” he lifted his eyes skyward for a moment. “You forget that we're immortal.”
“Long-lived,” I corrected. “We can die. And dragons don't have a problem eating human flesh.”
“Dragons aren't human,” he said patiently. “So that's not cannibalism.”
“I'm human.”
“What ever,” he threw back at me.
“So if you're not expecting them to intermarry, how will we continue the race? Do you want me to keep popping out babies until I repopulate the dragon race all by myself?” I lifted a brow at him.
“I'd like to have as many children as we can,” he said evasively.
“Oh hell no,” I gaped at him. “What do you think I am, Mormon?”
“I don't even know what that means,” he gave me a blank look.
“In the Mormon religion,” I watched as his eyes glazed over. “Oh, never mind, I hate having to explain my references to you when we're arguing,” I stood up in exasperation.
“Oh that's wonderful, Vervain,” he huffed. “Just walk away. Very mature.”
“I'm not walking away from you,” I snapped. “I'm getting up so we can go back to the castle and start trying to have babies.”
“What?” His jaw dropped open.
“Come on, Dragon King,” I held my arms out. “You want to do this or not?”
“Right now?” His voice went low. “Really? You're not missing with me, are you?”
“Messing with, and no,” I chuckled.
“You're really going to have my child?”
“Well, I'll need to do undo the spell preventing me from conceiving first,” I sighed. “I've already stopped taking birth control pills and just started-”
“You stopped taking the human pills which prevent conception?” Arach interrupted. “When?”
“Awhile ago,” I tried to go on. “So I don't-”
“So you have been intending to conceive?” Arach interrupted again.
“I knew I was going to give in sometime soon,” I shrugged, “and sometimes it takes a month for the pills to wear off. I wanted to be able to try immediately, should I decide I was ready.”
“I love you,” he whispered as he stood and wrapped his hands around my face. He gave me a sweet kiss.
“I know,” I laughed as I pulled away. “Can I finish what I was saying now?”
“By all means,” he said magnanimously.
“Thank you,” I rolled my eyes. “So, as I was saying, I don't have to worry about the pills anymore and I should be able to undo the sterility spell pretty quickly, though I've never tried to undo one before.”
“And then?” He took my hands.
“Then we can try,” I smiled at his elation.
“Thank you,” he whispered and pulled me into a kiss.
“Don't thank me yet,” I said when he pulled back. “Guess who's going to be on diaper duty? I'll give you a hint, it's not me.”
“A Thaisce,” he laughed. “We're faerie royalty. Neither of us will ever have to change a diaper.”
“Really?” I lifted a brow. “How about getting up in the middle of the night to feed the baby?”
“Our fey will line up to help with the royal children,” he smiled confidently. “You won't lose a wink of sleep.”
“Uh huh,” I smirked. “Until they get their first whiff of the royal poo, then it'll all be over.”
“I will happily care for our children if that is the case,” he smiled indulgently.
“Children?” I shook my head. “I agreed to one and now they're plural.”
“I'll be happy with one for now,” he picked me up and swung me around.
“Alright,” I laughed. “No need to make a scene.”
“The Queen has consented to bear my children!” He shouted and everyone cheered.
“Thanks so much for not making a scene,” I grimaced.
Chapter Eight
A week later, my stomach was still in knots over my impulsive decision. I knew I still wasn't ready for children but Arach wanted them so badly and I really wanted Arach to be happy. Plus there was that whole kingdom obligation thing. It all made me want to rebel and run away but I loved Arach and my fey too much for that. It was time to bite the bullet and procreate.
“Agh!” A frustrated male voice mirrored my thoughts.
I frowned and followed the voice into the library, where I found Guirmean standing at the ridiculously tall window, looking out into the Fire Kingdom. The forest was lush behind him, lit in places by the light of lava coming up through crevices that ran through my kingdom like arteries. Guirmean looked amazing set against that backdrop, his dark blue skin appeared to be almost indigo in the shadows and his hair shone against his leather jerkin like creamy jade. The straight line of his shoulders looked strong and capable but his hands, resting on the windowsill, were clenched tight with anxiety.
I went past the high bookshelves, all laid in rows to my right, through the sitting area strewn with intricately carved furniture, all upholstered in red velvet, and over to Guirmean's side.
The library was always my sanctuary... in all of my homes. I loved being surrounded by books, even the smell of them gave me comfort. Castle Aithinne's library was unlike any other, with three levels of fey literature and even some very old human books. The bookshelves I mentioned went all the way to the ceiling, which then became the floor of the next level. This repeated once more, with staircases crisscrossing the front of them so that this half of the library resembled a child's dollhouse, cut to reveal the rooms.
Fey lanterns hovered on each floor, gliding in and out of the levels so they also shed light into the sitting area before it, with its single and very high ceiling. You actually didn't even need to leave the sitting area to find a book. There was a lectern placed directly in front of the dollhouse of books and on its gilded and carved self lay a massive book. The book contained information on every piece of literature within our collection and all you had to do was tap your finger over the title of the book you wished to read and your chosen book was delivered to you magically. So much better than the Dewey Decimal System, don't you think?
Guirmean didn't seem to be interested in doing any reading though and I doubted that he even knew what the Dewey Decimal System was, much less wanted to discuss it. He was too busy raking his fingers through his hair violently and glaring at my beautiful kingdom like hit was the source of all his problems.
“King Guirmean?” I called to him when he didn't noti
ce me standing there.
“Queen Vervain,” he turned around abruptly. “How are you today?”
“I'm fine,” I lifted a brow. “But you're obviously not. What's up?” He glance upward with a confused frown and I clarified, “What has you so upset?”
“Oh, that,” he made a small huff of irritation. “Please don't tell anyone but I'm so bored,” he sighed and went to sit on one of the padded chairs.
“Bored?” I took a seat across from him on a couch.
“Before I was King, I was in charge of the Water army,” he explained.
“Yes, I remember,” I gave him a little smile. It was because of Guirmean that we'd been able to stop his evil queen.
“I was always busy training or taking care of the fey soldiers,” he shook his head. “Then I became King and all my time was spent trying to help my kingdom. My days have always been filled with activity.”
“And now you don't have anything to do?” I concluded.
“Yes,” he gave a grim laugh. “I wanted to be with Nora so badly, I didn't consider what living here would actually entail. Nora's got her duties with the phooka guards and even if she didn't, I can't expect her to keep me entertained all day. I need a purpose, Queen Vervain. I am not a fey who can simply float through his life.”
“It's good to have a purpose,” I agreed. “But you haven't stopped being King yet, right? Lorna won't be ruling until she gives birth and that's not for another week.”
“Under a week,” he sighed. “And then what? I'll be back to where I am now. I need to find something to do with my time.”
“Alright, there must be something for you here,” I chewed at my lips. “I'm sure we could use your expertise in the Fire army. Do you think you might like to train soldiers again?”
“I think I might,” he began to grin. “Do you think they'd be willing to allow a water-sidhe to train them?”
“I don't know,” I considered it. “They may give you a bit of a hard time at first but I think they'd warm up to you,” I chuckled, “literally.”
“Yes, well,” he cleared his throat. “We should probably run it by King Arach first.”
“Run what by King Arach first?” Arach came striding into the room with his usual impeccable timing.
“Guirmean needs something to do and since his experience lies within the army, I thought we could use him to train our fey.”
“I think that's a splendid idea,” Arach agreed. “I'd be interested in seeing what fighting techniques you can share. Even the underwater skills may come in handy some day, though I have no idea how we'd train for that,” he paused as he considered and then shrugged. “I'll take you around to meet the fighting units and you can take your pick of who you'd like to work with.”
“Wonderful!” Guirmean stood up.
“But we must hurry,” Arach said as he ushered Guirmean out the door. “I need to return to my wife as soon as possible. You know we're trying to have a child?”
“Yes, I heard,” Guirmean patted Arach's back vigorously. “Congratulations.”
I grimaced at the departing men and rolled my eyes. What had I gotten myself into?
Chapter Nine
My breath sawed in and out of my throat as I pressed back against the wall. I'd just seen Arach coming around a corner and had to sprint to make it to my hiding spot in a little alcove. I listened as his footsteps came closer and then turned right, heading into our bedroom. I remained where I was though. I knew as soon as he saw that the room was empty, he'd be back in the corridor again.
Sure enough, after just a few moments, I heard him tromping down the hallway in the direction he'd come from. I waited for the sound of his frustrated footsteps to fade away before I peeped out from my hiding spot to see that the coast was clear.
“What are you doing?” Roarke's sly voice startled me and I shrieked as I jumped “Are you hiding from your king and husband?”
“Maybe,” I grimaced at him and walked the few steps further down the hall to the nursery. “What are you doing?”
“Looking after my child,” he jerked his head back into the room, where Hunter was in his kitty form, clawing at the pole in the corner. The pole which my own little dragon baby would be using in just the same manner one day. When I looked back to Roarke, I found him smirking at me. “Care to hide with me? I mean join me?”
“Are you hiding too?” I walked into the room and claimed one of the chairs in the corner, by a little shelves of books and toys.
Laise, one of our leanan-sidhe, had created the nursery as a present for Arach and I. She'd done an amazing job, though the room was nothing like how I expected a faerie nursery to be. In fact, there were a few items whose purpose had to be explained to me... like the rope covered scratching post in the corner. There was also a tray of moss on the bottom shelf of the changing table which was used to line fey diapers and a panel set into the wall which opened on a chute for dirty moss disposal. The chute led straight down to a lava flow beneath the castle.
Even the cradle had to be explained to me. It had a red stone base which was carved to resemble flames and within those flames sat a diamond bowl. Yep, a bowl made from a gigantic diamond. I was informed that any baby dragon could melt metal when in the fits of a tantrum, so a metal or wood crib was out of the question. The bowl was faceted on the outside and when light hit it, it would send magnificent sparkles throughout the room. The inside of the bowl was smooth, with yet another diamond bowl set within it. This smoothness allowed the inner bowl to circle around and rock the baby or it could be locked in place with a little lever.
Above the trillion dollar baby cradle was an equally impressive mobile. It hung on a gold chain and featured several fey creatures carved from different jewels. These added another layer of sparkles to the room. Dragons love sparkles, even more than crows. The rest of the room was pretty standard for a nursery, with a glider rocking chair, a play area with a toy chest, and an armoire for clothes. The furniture was beautiful, made from a deep red wood which had been polished to a glassy sheen, but Roarke still preferred the floor.
“In a way,” he shrugged and sat on the thick carpet beside my chair. “I wanted to spend some alone time with Hunter. The Fire Cat Court is pissing me off.”
“Why?” I bent over and picked up a discarded toy that was torn to shreds.
“They're cats,” he sighed. “Words like caterwauling, catastrophe, catarrh all stem from us. Do I really need to explain further?”
“I guess not,” I laughed. “Wait... what's a catarrh?”
“It's when your nose and throat swells up and fills with mucus,” he made a disgusted face. “Which is how I feel sometimes as I listen to them going on and on.”
“Sounds like it could induce catatonia,” I giggled.
“Oh, good word,” he nodded. “And so spot on,” he rolled his fiery cat eyes. “So why are you hiding from our illustrious leader?” He smirked. “Does it have anything to do with the moans and shrieks of pleasure which keep emanating from your bedroom?”
“Is it really that loud?” My eyes went wide with horror.
“No, not really,” he chuckled. “The walls are thick stone after all but if you happen to be walking by the royal bedroom at the right time, you can get an earful. Though I guess you wouldn't be doing the walking since you're obviously inside doing the fu-”
“Okay! Thank you for that,” I growled as Roarke laughed.
“You've roused the dragon, eh?” He kept laughing. “Got his blood all a'boil? And flowing to the right parts, from the sounds of it.”
“He wants children so badly,” I sighed. “I told him it might take awhile for me to get pregnant, so his solution is to have sex as much as possible.”
“Sounds reasonable to me,” Roarke's expression went wicked. “Maybe I should tell Anna I need another heir. Heir and a spare, right? Isn't that the new expression?”
“It's hardly new,” I grumbled, “and having sex all the time is not reasonable.”
�
��Are you seriously complaining about your husband wanting to have sex with you?” He lifted his brows.
“I'm sore, Roarke!” I nearly screamed. “And I have some impressive healing abilities. Do you know how much sex you have to have to make a goddess sore?”
“No,” he asked with lascivious interest as he leaned closer. “How much?”
“A lot,” I grumbled.
“Just use your flame to heal yourself,” he said offhandedly as he shrugged. Then he saw my grimace. “What?”
“Think about how that would work and you may have an idea of why I don't enjoy doing it,” I said dryly.
“You mean you don't like blowing fire on your pussy all the time,” he asked gleefully. He just loved the word pussy, for obvious reasons.
“It's a little awkward,” I admitted and he erupted into fits of laughter.
“So you're avoiding King Arach because he's beating your pussy up and you feel awkward lighting it on fire to heal it?”
“Could you please stop saying pussy?” I rolled my eyes.
“He's leveling your lady garden, terrorizing your tunnel of love, grinding your girly parts, pulverizing your peach, crushing your cu-”
“Pussy is fine,” I cut him off.
“Well you can't hide forever,” he chuckled as he cocked his head at me. “You have to go to bed at some point.”
“Maybe I could sleep in here,” I looked over at the diamond bowl on its stone pedestal, our fire-proof crib.
“I'm pretty sure you won't fit, my Queen,” he laughed. “Even Hunter doesn't use it anymore.”
“We have plenty of other rooms,” I shot back. “With bigger beds.”
“And your husband will tear this place apart until he finds whatever bed you've chosen,” Roarke calmly pointed out. “And then he'll rip that bed to pieces just because you've chosen it over of his.”
“There is that,” I mumbled. “Maybe I should go back to the Human Realm and give my lady bits time to heal.”
“Lady bits?” He hooted. “Really? That's what you find more acceptable than pussy?”
“Shut up, Roarke,” I groaned.