Embrace the Romance

by S. E. Smith

  It didn't take long for Warrior Oya to step forward. He exchanged his weapon, took up his position across from Tagma, and saluting him with the stinger he had chosen, waited for the command.

  "Begin!" Grim roared, and with a cheer from the crowd, the Festival began.

  Lisa blinked back the tears that wanted to fill her eyes as she sat down. She should have had more faith in the Warriors of Luda. Should have known they would understand and be willing to change. They truly were fit and worthy males.

  "My Lisa?" Grim asked quietly, concern-filled eyes looking down at her.

  "I'm fine," she reassured, giving him a watery smile. "It's just hormones."

  "Hormones?" He frowned at the word.

  "Chemicals that are naturally in our bodies," she explained. "They increase when a female conceives. It tends to make us just a little," Lisa lifted her hand so he could see that her thumb and index finger were just barely apart, "emotional."

  "I will find Hadar! He will fix this." Lisa's hand on his arm stopped him.

  "No, Grim. There’s nothing he can do about this. It's normal. Natural. It isn't harmful."

  "Truth?"

  "Truth. I was just touched that our Warriors would so readily accept this change." She had to take a deep breath to fight the new swell of tears. She knew if she didn't, Grim would be carrying her back inside Luanda.

  "Mommy?" Carly's little voice had her looking down to see the eyes of her oldest locked on the two Warriors in the arena.

  "Yes, baby?"

  "Why is that Warrior attacking Cook?"

  "Oya isn't attacking Tagma, Carly. We talked about this. Remember? They are just competing against one another."

  "But it looks like he is."

  "I know, but they aren't using real swords. See?" Lisa pointed to Tagma’s and Oya's swords that had just clashed and the flashes of light sparked from them. "They are using stingers."

  "But it still hurts," Carly argued when Tagma growled out as Oya's stinger connected with his arm.

  "It does, my Carly," Grim took over the conversation, not downplaying what she was seeing. "But it is a way for a Warrior to learn and improve his skills so that when it is real, he won't be harmed."

  "Oh." Carly was silent for a moment then her gaze went to Grim. "I still don't like it, Manno."

  Grim felt his heart stutter. It had been just that morning that Carly and Miki had asked if they could call him Manno instead of Grim, and he knew it would be a long time before hearing it didn't affect him.

  "That is good, my Carly. It shows the Warriors that you truly care for their well-being. Just as your mother does."

  Carly's little chest puffed up at her manno's praise. It reminded Grim that it was the little things he did that truly affected those he loved. A roar from the Warriors had both Grim’s and Carly's attention returning to the arena to find Tagma with three marks on his arms and Oya with only two; declaring the Captain of the Castle Guard the victor.

  "Can I go make sure that Cook is okay?" Carly asked, looking back to her manno.

  "Yes, Ion and Nairn will escort you." The two guards he named immediately moved to the steps.

  Oya grunted his thanks as he took the cloth Tagma held out, and wiped away the sweat and dirt from their battle.

  "It was a good match, old friend."

  "It was," Tagma agreed. "I will make sure I spend more time on the fields before we meet at the next Festival."

  "It will not change the result," Oya declared. "Your time in the kitchen has dulled your skills."

  "As if walking a wall has sharpened yours," Tagma fired back.

  "I am not the one out of the competition," Oya told him smugly. "If you wish great rewards, you must prove you are worthy."

  "Cook!" The young voice had both Warriors quickly spinning around to find Princess Carly rushing toward them, two of the Queen's Elite Guard closely following.

  "Princess Carly," Tagma frowned at Ion and Nairn, even as he went down on one knee, so he was closer to her level. "This is no place for you."

  "I had to make sure you were okay. Manno said you were, but..." She reached out a little hand but didn't touch the red slashes that marred his arm and chest, courtesy of Oya's stinger.

  "King... your manno," Tagma corrected himself, his eyes widening slightly at how she referred to Grim, "is right. These will be gone by tomorrow."

  "Truth?" Her amber gaze searched his.

  "Truth, little one. You will see that for yourself when you come help me with the cookies tomorrow."

  Carly was silent for a moment, and all the males surrounding them could see she was thinking.

  "Alright, but I want to make sure," she said, and before anyone knew what she was about, she leaned forward and pressed a little kiss to each red slash. "Whenever I get hurt, Mommy kisses my boo-boos, and it makes them feel better. Did I make yours feel better, Cook?"

  Tagma's breath caught for a moment, and he knew that even if he were in the most excruciating of pain, he would still tell her she'd made it better. "You did, little one," he told her gruffly. "Thank you."

  The smile she gifted him with shone brighter than the Tornian sun. "Good. I'll see you tomorrow then." And with that, and a little wave, she was gone.

  Slowly rising, Tagma looked to Oya. "I believe I just received a greater reward than you could ever receive in the arena."

  "Truth," Oya agreed quietly.

  Lisa moved from stall to stall talking to the vendors, perusing what they had to offer. There were small bits of things she couldn't identify. Handmade jewelry. Woven baskets. And of course, there were blades and swords in every shape and size. Seeing them made her conscious of the Raptor's Claw strapped to her arm. Grim had insisted she carry it. It didn't matter that she was surrounded by her Elite Guard. She carried his offspring, and he was taking no chances.

  She couldn't help but smile as she rubbed the pronounced baby bump she already sported. Grim's unborn daughter was making her presence known, making Lisa look more like she was five months pregnant, instead of the three that she was.

  She knew it concerned Grim. Her rapidly growing size. He worried that conceiving his offspring would harm her, but Lisa wasn't. Yes, Tornian offspring were larger than human ones at birth, or presentation as they referred to it. And yes, the length of the pregnancy was a month shorter, but Hadar and Rebecca were constantly monitoring her, and she was feeling fine.

  "Mommy, can we go see if Dagan wants to play in the garden?" Miki asked, looking up at her hopefully.

  Looking a little farther down the path, Lisa saw Padma with Gossamer and Dagan at her side. They had all left the arena together during the break between rounds but had gotten separated as they wandered through the stalls.

  "You don't want to watch more of the tournament?" When the girls just looked at each other, Lisa frowned. "Girls?"

  "We don't like seeing them fight, Mommy," Carly whispered looking up at her with regretful eyes. "I know Manno said they aren't really being hurt, but they still are being hurt."

  "I see."

  "Will Manno be mad?" Miki asked.

  "Mad about what?" Grim asked coming up behind them. He didn't like the way his girls jumped at his question or the guilty looks they gave him. He looked questioningly at Lisa. "My Lisa?"

  "The girls were just asking if they and Dagan could go play in the garden."

  Grim frowned at that, his mind going over the security issues involved. The Festival was being held on the grounds between the front entrance of House Luanda and the gate, making it easily defendable with guards stationed along the walls. The gardens his girls liked to play in were behind the House. While there were guards there, there weren’t as many.

  “Please, Manno?” Miki asked, and two sets of little eyes pleaded with his. Grim felt his heart melt. There was little he could deny them when his girls looked at him like that.

  “You will take Ion, Nairn, and Caius with you,” he finally agreed, and the guards named stepped forward.

  “
We will, Manno!” they squealed, jumping up and down.

  “And you will obey them,” he growled as he went down on a knee to give each of them a hug.

  “We will, Manno. Truth,” they promised, each kissing a cheek. With that, they went running toward Dagan, their guards running to keep up.

  “It seems you were right again, my Lisa,” Grim said, his gaze finally leaving the girls.

  “Only because I’ve been a parent longer than you. One day they are going to want to watch, and that’s when you aren’t going to want them to.”

  “Why would I not want them to?” Grim questioned, frowning at her.

  “Because that’s when they are going to be watching the Warriors as a female watches a male.”

  “No!” Grim’s denial was loud and had heads turning in their direction. “That will not happen. No male will ever be fit or worthy enough for our girls.”

  “I think that will be up to them to decide.” Lisa hid her smile at Grim’s reaction by linking her arm through his so they could walk. “But it will be a long time before you will need to worry about that.”

  “A very long time,” Grim agreed.

  Two

  “Come on, Dagan!” Miki shouted running passed where he had stopped on the garden path. "Carly is nearly to the rock."

  Miki was the youngest and smallest of the three. Because of that, she never got anywhere first, but she tried. Now she was gaining on Carly, but when she looked back to see how close Dagan was, she found he was still at the tree but on his knees now.

  Slowing, she turned then headed back to him. "Dagan? What's wrong?"

  "There is something in there," he said leaning forward to peer between the full, low-hanging branches that touched the ground.

  "There is?" she questioned as she dropped down beside him. "What?"

  "I do not know, but I heard it."

  "What are you looking at?" Carly asked, coming up behind them.

  "Dagan says there's something in our tree," Miki told her sister, her gaze never leaving the tree.

  "Really?" Carly dropped down beside them. "What?"

  "I do not know," Dagan repeated. "But..."

  Just then, a short, sharp screech came from beneath the tree causing all three of them to fall back on their butts.

  "There... there is something under there," Miki whispered and quickly flipping over onto her hands and knees crawled closer to the tree.

  "Miki, get back," Carly told her. "You don't know what it is."

  "Whatever it is, it is in pain. It’s afraid," Dagan said.

  "How can you tell?" Carly asked looking to Dagan.

  "I just can," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

  "Then we need to help it," Miki said, crawling under the branches.

  "Miki!" Carly tried to grab her sister's ankle, but Miki was too fast for her.

  "Come on, you two, it's awesome under here."

  Dagan and Carly looked at each other. Miki was always doing this. She would just take off and expect them to follow. It had gotten them all in trouble more than once.

  "We cannot let her be in there alone," Dagan told her.

  "I know," Carly sighed. Sometimes she hated being the older sister. "Let's go."

  Together they crawled beneath the bottom limbs and were shocked at what they discovered. The low branches outside actually attached to the tree several feet up, leaving a large, open area that was like a private world meant just for them.

  "Wow..." Carly whispered as she looked around.

  "I told you," Miki said smugly.

  "Look," Dagan said, and their gazes traveled to where he pointed at the dark form near the trunk of the tree.

  Suddenly, what had appeared to be a small, non-threatening mass, rose and grew until it was nearly as tall as Miki. It spread its wings, and it let out a screech that had them covering their ears and looking at it in shock.

  “It’s a raptor,” Carly whispered, her voice full of awe.

  “He is hurt.” Dagan pointed to how the tip of one of the raptor’s wings hung down.

  “But he can’t be hurt,” Miki cried out in distress. “He’s the Great Raptor. Who is going to protect us now?”

  The bird tipped its head to the side, its purple gaze staring at Miki as if it understood her words. Slowly, it folded its wings back into its sides.

  “He can’t be the Great Raptor, Miki,” Carly told her. “He’s not big enough. Manno said he was so big that he could block the sun.”

  “Truth,” Miki murmured, “but then maybe he’s the Great Raptor’s son.”

  “Manno never said that in any of his stories.”

  “Maybe he just hasn’t gotten to that story yet,” Miki stuck her chin out stubbornly at her sister. “He said he had thousands of stories still to tell us.”

  “Truth.” Carly had to agree with her sister.

  “How do we help him?” Miki looked to Dagan.

  “I do not know for sure,” Dagan said slowly, his head leaning to the side just like the raptor’s. “I have never cared for a raptor before.”

  “But you have cared for other animals, right?” Miki demanded. “You told us how you healed a kepie.”

  “Yes, but that is a much smaller bird.”

  “So healing a bigger one should be easier,” Miki told him.

  “All I did was keep it warm and make sure it had food and water. The rest it did itself.”

  “Oh,” Miki frowned at that. “Well then, that’s what we’ll do for Prince."

  "Prince?" Both Dagan and Carly asked.

  "Well that's what he is, isn't he, if he's the Great Raptor's son? The Great Raptor protects Luda just like Manno does, and Manno is a King. So the Great Raptor is a King. And his son is a Prince, just like we are Princesses."

  Dagan and Carly found themselves slowly nodding at Miki's three-year-old logic, and it seemed the raptor liked it too, as he gave a low caw and then settled back down onto the ground, its injured wing sticking out slightly. Its piercing eyes were just about to close when a call from Ion had them shooting back open.

  "Princess Miki! Princess Carly!" Ion shouted, his quick steps followed by Nairn’s and Caius'. "Where are you?"

  "We need to go, Miki," Carly whispered, peeking between the branches once their guards had passed.

  "But what about Prince?"

  "He will be fine here, Miki," Dagan told her. "It is why he chose this location."

  "But... he needs food and water, and look," she pointed, and they all saw a shiver go through his black body. "He's cold."

  "We'll come back with those, but we have to go, Miki. Otherwise, Ion will tell Manno we didn't obey him, and then we won't be able to come see Prince."

  "Oh, all right," Miki grumbled, obviously not happy but agreeing. But as they started to crawl back out, she stopped and looked at the shivering raptor. Slipping off her cape, she crawled toward the deadly creature. "Here, take this. Padma made me another one."

  Carefully she draped the cape over the bird, not noticing how close she was to its sharp, deadly beak. "I'll be back as soon as I can with food and water. You just rest and try to get better." With that, she crawled out from under the tree.

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  "Miki," Lisa waited until the gaze of her youngest rose from the dinner plate to her. Both girls had been unusually quiet during the meal. "Ion says you lost your cape today. How?"

  "I... umm..." Miki's gaze went to Carly before returning to her mother. She'd never lied to her mother before. Well, not really. She didn't count saying she'd only had two cookies when she'd actually had three. But this... "I took it off so I could explore one of the trees and forgot to put it back on."

  "But it was cold out," Grim said frowning at her.

  "It wasn't that bad, Manno."

  "I'm disappointed in you, Miki Renee," Lisa told her. "Padma worked very hard on creating that cape for you, and you just left it?"

  "I'm sorry, Mommy." Miki's little eyes filled with tears as she looked at her mother.<
br />
  "Tomorrow we will go into the garden and find your cape."

  "Yes, Mommy."

  "Now finish eating." She looked to Carly seeing she had hardly eaten anything either. "Both of you. Then go get ready for bed."

  "Yes, Mommy," they said together.

  They both quickly finished their meal, then as they rose, Miki paused beside Grim. "Will you tell us another story about the Great Raptor, Manno?"

  "I will, once you are in bed," Grim told her wondering why she was asking. He always told them a story, but before he could ask, they were gone.

  "They're up to something," Lisa said watching the girls hurry out of the room whispering to each other.

  "What could they be up to?" Grim asked frowning. "They had guards with them all day."

  "Then where were they when Miki took off her cape?"

  "I..." Grim realized she was right. That shouldn't have been possible. "You are right. I will find better Warriors to guard our girls."

  "Grim, no, that's not what I meant. Ion and Nairn are the perfect guards for the girls." She instantly defended the two Warriors. They had more than proven themselves in her eyes with how they sacrificed themselves so she and the girls could get away when Luuken had tried to take them. "They give them the space they need to play and explore, to be little girls, while still protecting them. What I was trying to say, and apparently not doing a very good job of it, is that our girls are smart and if they wanted to keep something from us they could."

  "You think that is what they are doing?"

  "Yes."

  "Then I will go get them to tell us what it is." Grim stood, meaning to go after his girls.

  "No, Grim."

  "No?" He turned to frown at her. "What do you mean? They shouldn't be keeping things from us. What if it is something that harms them?"

  "Are you telling me you never kept things from your manno growing up?"