***
“Welcome back, sir,” Trox said, walking up to the carriage.
“I’ll want a full report,” Alric told him, and helped Kyrin out of the carriage. She was wrapped in a blanket, claiming to be cold, but he was sure it was to cover herself with.
“Oh good, you have Lady Kyrin,” Trox said, smiling. “We weren’t sure what Sithias did with her.”
Kyrin didn’t say anything but headed in to change immediately. It was getting harder to hide, but she still wanted to at least try not to look as pregnant as she really did. It frustrated her how fast she was growing, and she knew that all too soon it would be impossible to hide.
Alric watched her go and then turned to Trox. “What happened?”
Trox started with the fight over the nicker and ended when she disappeared from in front of them. Alric sat down on his throne, deep in thought.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Trox said, breaking Alric’s concentration.
Alric looked up at him.
“The Qualsax sent representatives.”
“For what?”
“They came for Kyrin, actually. They want to kill her in accordance with the evil banishment. Then when they realized she’s pregnant, they want the baby to make up for the prisoners she took.”
“That’s insane,” Alric said, and his heart dropped. He didn’t realize that Qualsax would make it a priority to kill Kyrin or to take his offspring.
“I agree. However, Kyrin lost her temper with them, and it turned into a bit of an insult and screaming match.”
“Why was Kyrin involved?”
“It’s tradition for her to handle problems when you are gone.”
“I need to re-write that law.”
“Anyway, I had them thrown into prison. They know she’s pregnant, although she denied it.”
“Yeah, she keeps trying to deny it, but it’s obvious.”
“I wasn’t sure what to do with them. If Qualsax is already after her, they don’t need to know she’s carrying noble Valharan blood, or it will get a hundred times worse.”
Alric sat back. “Bring them before me.”
Trox nodded and swept out of the room. A few minutes later, he returned with the four Qualsax.
The lead Qualsax glared at Alric, so he leaned forward. “Why are you here?”
“We’re here to invoke the pact that all evil will be destroyed.”
“It has been.”
“Not that wife of yours. She uses magic, which automatically makes her an evil.”
“What makes you think she can use magic? We’ve not seen magic in over 100 years.”
“She was seen escaping with two prisoners of ours through a solid wall! She used magic, and she must be killed.”
Alric smiled. “Been drinking again?”
“Don’t play that game with me. Genessa is convinced she’s an evil and her use of magic to free those prisoners proves it. Erianah will hear about this and about how that evil is carrying noble Valhara blood.”
“You still have Genessa? That seems odd.”
“She’s been most helpful.”
“I would imagine,” Alric said calmly. “Now, what to do with you now that you know Kyrin’s pregnant.”
“You have to let us go. Honor dictates it,” he said, grinning broadly.
“Honor’s a bit gray when it comes to trying to kill my wife though.”
His grin faded. “You have to let us go!”
“I don’t have to do anything. It poses a risk to the Valharan nobles if you live.”
Finn stepped up behind the Qualsax and put his hand on the shoulder of the leader.
The Qualsax looked back at Finn, who was a couple of inches taller than he, and started to panic. “Listen, we just do what we’re told! Let us go and we’ll tell Lord Qualsax that we don’t think she’s an evil.”
“Finn,” Alric said, and watched as his knights pulled the Qualsax from the room. He didn’t care how they died. As long as they posed a risk to the noble bloodline, he had free autonomy on what happened with them.
As soon as Finn assured him that the Qualsax were no longer a threat, Alric headed up to get ready for the ball that was being held to announce Kyrin’s pregnancy. He walked in and saw her staring at a white and gold dress that was hanging on the dressing gown.
“That would look much better on you than on the hanger,” Alric said, sitting beside her.
“I can’t hide anything in that.”
“That’s why it’s made that way.”
She looked at him, terrified. “Please, don’t make me do this.”
“I’m not…”
“You don’t understand. I can’t use magic. I can’t fight. You can’t do this.”
He kissed her softly and smiled. “You won’t need to defend yourself. Now get dressed and we’ll go down together, okay?”
She looked back over at the dress and just sat still. Alric stood up and changed quickly into his royal purple tunic with the golden sash and medals. When he turned, Kyrin was still sitting on the bed, watching the dress.
Laughing, Alric walked up and began to pull off her tunic. “Come on, we’ll be late.”
“I can’t go.”
“Yes, you can,” he said, and tossed her tunic to the side. He pushed her onto the bed, grabbed the legs of her pants, and began to pull them off.
“Alric, I can’t.”
“I’m not going to look like a fool in front of my kingdom all because of a special announcement that doesn’t get announced.”
Alric took the dress off of the hanger and pulled it into two pieces; the white under dress, and the decorative gold over dress. He forced Kyrin to sit up and slipped the white dress over her head, while she refused to help.
“Please,” she said when he exposed her head from under layers of soft, white fabric.
“Trust me, and help me, would you? I can’t get you dressed completely on my own.”
“I can’t go. I’ve seen pregnant women in public before, and I can’t take that right now,” she said, slipping her hands through the sleeves.
He kissed her softly and smiled. “Stand up.”
Kyrin laid back down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. “I’m not going.”
“Wow, when you lay flat, your tummy gets huge.” Alric started to laugh when Kyrin sat up suddenly and looked at him, shocked. “Get up.”
He pulled her to standing and then pulled on the gold over dress, which fit like a tight jacket over her chest and opened the rest of the way to the floor. When he buttoned the two buttons on it, he stood back and smiled.
“You look amazing in that,” he said, admiring her figure.
Kyrin turned to the mirror, and her eyes grew wide. “I can’t wear this!”
“Why not?”
She started to panic and her words came out barely a whisper, “They’ll… no… I can’t do this.”
Alric ignored her pleas and untied the end of her hair, and smoothed it out with his fingers. He then walked over to a glass case and pulled out their crowns. He seated his on his head and walked over and put the delicate gold crown on hers.
“Ready,” he said, and then took her hand.
Kyrin spun and ran into the wash room, locking the door behind her.
Alric shook his head and knocked. “I’ll meet you outside of the bedroom door in five minutes. If you don’t come out, I will come and get you.”
“Sir,” the two knights said, bowing when he walked out.
He smiled and then stood beside the door. “Just waiting for Kyrin.”
“Yes, sir,” they both said.
Trox and Finn walked up the stairs a short time later, surprised to find Alric standing outside of his door.
“Is everything okay?” Trox asked, glancing at the door.
Alric nodded. “Yes, she has 30 seconds, and I go get her.”
Just when he finished speaking, Kyrin appeared, pale and shaking. She walked out,
outwardly uncomfortable, and then tried to return to the room when she saw Finn and Trox.
“No,” Alric said, taking her hand. “It’s time to go.”
Kyrin looked over at Finn, and he could tell that she was waiting for him to attack. Instead, he smiled and started for the stairs.
“Wait,” Alric said, bending down. Kyrin gasped when he put his hands under her skirt and ran them up her legs, stopping at her flail.
Trox watched, wondering what the king was doing, until Alric stood up and handed her flail to one of the knights.
“You don’t need that,” he said, and then took her hand again.
Trox laughed and started down the stairs, followed by Alric, who was partially pulling Kyrin.
Kyrin was finding it difficult to breathe. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to hide her pregnant bulge in this dress. She knew why she was being forced to show the kingdom. It was punishment for taking off from Alric.
When the trumpets blared, announcing that the king was entering, Kyrin turned and started for the stairs but was pulled into the room by Alric. The murmur of voices stopped suddenly when she appeared in front of the throne. The silence was deafening, and she felt her heart pounding in her chest.
This is where the shouting started. She’d seen this before, and if the woman wasn’t stoned for being in public in her disgrace, then she was ostracized and tortured by the townsfolk. She instinctively tried to cover her belly but no amount could hide how big she’d gotten with the twins.
Alric squeezed her hand softly and stepped forward. “This ball is to announce that the noble bloodline is being continued. My wife, Lady Kyrin, is pregnant with twins.”
As tense as she was, she jerked when applause sounded, and she tried to push Finn out of the way of the door. He stood firm and grabbed her shoulders.
“They’re not mad, listen,” he said, and turned her around.
When she turned around, the angry screams her mind projected slowly turned to happy cheers from the kingdom. Many of the dignitaries had come up onto the throne platform and were congratulating the king.
Kyrin frowned slightly and looked across the gathered people. She saw that not one of them looked at her like they were disgusted and not one had drawn a weapon.
Azimeth joined her and smiled. “They’re all so excited that you’re having twins.”
Kyrin looked at her, but her words didn’t sink in. She was confused at the cheering, and the sounds around her started to distort.
Finn saw her begin to sway slightly, so he immediately pulled her out into the hallway. “Take a deep breath.”
She looked at him, and he could tell she was ready to fight.
“Stop it,” he said sternly. “Come on, deep breath.”
She did as she was told and then looked back at the door.
“Those are cheers. They’re happy for you.”
“But”
“No buts. It’s a joyous occasion when noble blood is carried on.”
She nodded slightly and touched her crown with shaking hands.
“Do you need anything?” Finn asked, looking over her.
“Just… just give me a second,” she whispered.
“Alone?”
Kyrin nodded.
“Okay, but if I don’t see you inside in five minutes, I’ll come drag you back in there. Trust me, it’ll be more graceful if you walk in there yourself,” Finn said, smiling. His eyebrows rose and then he disappeared into the throne room.
Kyrin looked around, unsure what to think or what to believe. No one had thrown anything at her. No one was screaming, and no one seemed mad. Before she knew it, she was in the kitchen and decided something to drink would calm her nerves. She hated crowds but more so when she expected that they could still turn on her at any moment.
She took a long drink of water and looked out into the night. She saw how close the orchard was and the apples were dangling, shiny in the moonlight. Suddenly, she knew what would calm her down, an apple. As quickly as she could, she ran out the kitchen door and toward the orchard, holding her dress up, so she could move faster.
Kyrin crawled over the fence and immediately picked the closest apple she came to. She took one bite and savored it before heading back to the fence. She didn’t really want Finn to drag her into the throne room, so she fully planned on facing the mob head on. If they attacked, she would just hope for some magic.
“I wouldn’t eat too much. You’ll get fat.” The voice scared Kyrin, and she spun suddenly toward it and came face to face with Erianah.
Kyrin took a step back and dropped the apple onto the ground.
Erianah floated a bit above the ground. “I’ve become tired of you in my dimension.”
Kyrin didn’t know how to respond, so she just stayed ready to fight.
The deity studied her before speaking. “I see that no-good Valharan has a child on the way. All the more reason it’s time to do away with you. It’s a pity that you can’t fight back. I did hope to see, once and for all, if you use magic.”
Kyrin took another step away from the god. “Stay back, Erianah.”
“Or what?” Erianah asked, faking a pout. Her red hair swayed in the still night air.
“I don’t use magic, so I’ll just have to fight you with my hands.”
“A pregnant girl?” With that, Erianah leaned her head back and laughed.
“I’m not afraid of you.”
Erianah stopped laughing and turned furious black eyes to Kyrin. “You will be.”
Out of nowhere, hundreds of angry black crows started to dive toward Kyrin. She dropped to her knees and began to swat them away as they pecked at her flesh, tearing off small chunks with each bite.
“Daemionis!” Kyrin screamed as she tried to fight off the crows. Even swatting them away, the crows were managing to bite at her, and her hands and face were becoming a mass of torn, bleeding flesh.
A loud growl sounded just before Daemionis appeared before Erianah. His hands were tightly fisted, and he was breathing heavily. Blood was dripping from his chin as he moved closer to Erianah.
“Leave her alone,” Daemionis roared.
Kyrin felt the ground shake, but the birds didn’t stop. The pain from their bites was relentless, and she could feel blood dripping down her face and arms.
“This isn’t your dimension, demon!” Erianah screamed. “She’s in my world, so she is mine!”
Alric was the first to jump the fence and land in the orchard, swinging his sword at the birds. Finn followed, along with a hundred of the knights. They let the gods fight while they tried to protect Kyrin from Erianah’s crows. The more crows they killed, the more seemed to drop out of the sky and head for Kyrin.
Sithias appeared in a ray of light and looked quickly around the orchard. He threw his hand toward Kyrin, and the birds all began to fall dead around her. He then walked up to stand beside Daemionis, blocking Erianah.
“You’ve joined a demon?! How precious,” Erianah said, seething.
“I have not,” Sithias said. “However, this girl is important to my people, and I won’t have you abuse her.”
When Daemionis spoke, blood dripped from his teeth. “I’m tired of you trying to kill one of my followers.”
“Your follower? She is in my dimension!” Erianah told him.
“You will not fight here,” Sithias said sternly. “Erianah, return to your kingdom and leave mine this instant.”
“The pact, Sithias! We made a pact to keep all evil out of our dimension. I invoke that! I will not be happy until her blood has spilled and she walks with her god.”
“She is not an evil.”
“She is! My followers saw her use magic.”
Sithias glanced at Kyrin, who was fighting off a new batch of crows. “If she had magic, would she have allowed your birds to attack her?”
“So she’s not that bright either. She’s an evil, and I want her dead!?
??
“No,” Daemionis said.
Sithias smiled. “I never thought I would agree with a demon, but no. You may not kill her.”
Erianah laughed. “She’s a magic user, an evil one. You cannot keep it secret for much longer. She’ll slip, and when she does, the oath says she is to be destroyed.”
With that, Erianah disappeared, along with her crows. Alric looked around, ready to kill another but saw no more birds. Finn stood finally and looked at Sithias, who was watching Kyrin.
Alric fell to his knees beside Kyrin and began to heal the bites that covered every inch of exposed skin. She was weakly trying to get up, but Finn helped hold her down.
Daemionis watched her for a moment and then disappeared in a crack of thunder.
Saith and Dewell ran up and tried to kneel beside her, but Alric pushed them away. “Don’t touch her.”
“King,” Saith whispered.
“I said don’t touch her!”
Saith nodded and then bowed to his god. Sithias smiled softly and floated over toward Alric. “King Alric.”
Alric was furiously trying to heal her wounds as she groaned and shook in pain.
“Alric,” Sithias said again, and touched him lightly. “Let them help.”
Trox and Finn both saw that Alric’s healing wasn’t keeping up with the blood loss, so they pulled him away to let the priests help her. Alric didn’t fight them but watched as his anger grew.
Once the bites were healed and Kyrin was resting peacefully on the orchard floor, Sithias spoke. “I will deal with Erianah. She’s not going to let this go.”
“I know,” Alric said angrily.
“Daemionis coming won’t help either. He is a known god of evils.”
“She’s not an evil,” Alric told him, and then knelt down and took Kyrin’s hand in his.
“I realize that,” Sithias said, and then smiled and disappeared.
“We can’t let the people know about this attack,” Trox said. “I suggest the priests take Kyrin to her room and watch over her. You tell the people she’s not feeling well.”
Alric looked over at him but didn’t speak.
Trox nodded. “It’s what’s best. We can’t have the people of Valhara afraid of Kyrin because Erianah is after her.”
“I can’t leave her,” Alric said, and picked her up gently.
Finn nodded. “I will tell the people to continue in to the feast. They will understand that you want to be with her while she’s sick.”
Trox nodded, and Finn disappeared. Alric walked up to his room with Dewell and Saith following. Within a few minutes, they had her back in a nightgown and tucked into bed. The bites on her skin were gone, but her hair had blood caked in it.
When everyone else left, Alric sat down beside her and watched her sleep. She was restless and jerked in her sleep, as if brushing away birds still. Any time she began to struggle, he would put a hand on her arm, and she would settle down.
As soon as the sounds of the feast died down, Alric curled up next to her and fell asleep.
Early the next morning, he woke up suddenly when Kyrin sat up in bed and began struggling with the covers, frantically fighting to get away from invisible attacks.
“It’s okay,” he said softly, and pulled her up against him.
She wrapped her arms around him and nodded.
“Sithias and Daemionis stopped Erianah’s attack.”
“I couldn’t cast,” she whispered against his chest.
“I know.”
“I didn’t have a weapon.”
“I know.”
She looked up at him. “Don’t take it again. I have to be able to defend myself.”
“I’m not sure how much good your flail would have done. It took a lot of us to keep the birds at bay.”
“Still...”
A knock on the door interrupted her, and Kyrin covered herself with the blankets while Alric dressed quickly to answer it.
He stepped out and shut the door behind him. “What?”
Finn bowed. “Sir, there’s a problem in the foyer.”
“Like what?”
“It seems Daemionis thought Kyrin needed more protection.”
Alric sighed. “Now what?”
“I’m not sure exactly. They’re short, burly, bearded men with swords.”
“I’ll go talk to them.” Finn and Alric headed down the stairs. Alric thought that Finn was just being mean but found their visitors were rather short and stocky, with long beards that came down to their belts. Their swords were shorter, made more for their size, and their armor seemed rudimentary and inadequate.
“What are you here for?” Alric asked, sizing them up.
The huskier of the two glared at him. “We’re here to protect what belongs to Daemionis.”
“She has protection already.”
“Apparently, not enough.”
“Well go back to Daemionis and tell him we have this covered.”
“No. We’re here to do a job, and you can’t stop us.”
“Want to bet?” Alric asked as six knights came into the foyer.
Both of Daemionis’ followers fell defensive and drew their swords.
“Alric?” Kyrin asked from the stairs. He turned and saw her in battle gear again with her flail at her side. He noticed she was back in the large, bulky tunic that helped hide her tummy.
“Daemionis sent protection,” Alric explained, and then turned back to the knights.
Kyrin walked down and looked over them. “Thank you for coming.”
They both bowed slightly and the bigger one spoke, “Daemionis said you’re having trouble with a local deity.”
“Yes”
“We can handle it,” Alric said, getting irritated.
“I’m surprised Daemionis sent dwarves. He’s serious,” Kyrin said.
“Yes, he is. We’re to stay with you at all times and even watch over you while you sleep,” the taller one said.
“Wait, no,” Alric interrupted. “There’s no way I’m going to allow two men to watch her sleep!”
Kyrin winced. “Alric, one of them is female.”
The closest of the dwarves glared at the king. “Watch it, human.”
Alric couldn’t help but look shocked. He glanced at Finn, who was studying the two dwarves, trying to decide which was female, as both had beards.
Kyrin broke the tension. “If Daemionis wants to send guards, I’ll let him. However, tell him that I sleep alone, not with an audience.”
“You tell him,” the taller one said. “Our orders were clear.”
“Just give me a second,” Kyrin said, and then took Alric’s hand and pulled him into an adjacent room.
“I’m not going to let Daemionis weasel his way into this,” Alric told her.
“He’s my god, and I do as he asks. It’s not uncommon for him to send dwarf protection.”
“What exactly is a dwarf?”
“You saw them. Those are dwarves. Now stop being insulting by referring to them both as males.”
“They both have beards! How do you tell them apart?”
Kyrin sighed. “The female has breasts.”
“Then they’re hidden behind her beard!”
“They’re liable to be here for a while. You might as well accept that and be nice to them.”
“Are they assassins?”
“No, they’re warriors. Daemionis has a few of the dwarven warriors he keeps to protect his palace. I’m actually honored that he sent two of them just to watch over me.”
“We don’t need their help.”
She smiled. “You’re lucky they aren’t trolls. Now be nice to them.”
“Daemionis hires trolls?!”
“Enslaves them more like. Be nice,” she said again, and stepped out into the foyer. The knights were still watching the two dwarves carefully, and they were scanning the castle looking for signs of a threat.
Alric nodded for Finn to back
his knights off, and the knights fell into positions around the front door.
“Sorry about that,” Kyrin said to the dwarves. “What are your names?”
“Look, human, we’re not here on a social call. We’ll do our jobs, and you just try to stay clear of this Eleanor.”
“Erianah”
“Whatever”
Kyrin nodded. “Very well, no names then.”
Alric watched as Kyrin headed off for breakfast, followed by the tense and angry looking dwarves.
Finn walked up to the king. “Interesting.”
“Did you know one of them was a female?”
“No, sir, I didn’t. They both look male to me.”
“Well, female or not, I don’t trust them.”
“Understood,” Finn said, and motioned for two of his knights to follow Kyrin.
Alric was still watching the hallway, even after the dwarves had disappeared. “So, the smaller one is the female?”
“How should I know? They both have beards,” Finn replied.
“Who did you assign to Kyrin?”
“Yevin and Wester.”
“They don’t have problems with her?”
“I don’t believe so.”
“Was it hard to find two?” Alric asked, finally looking at the captain. The more he saw his knights around Kyrin, the more he began to see that she was right about their dislike of her.
“Actually, yes, it was. I didn’t realize that Kyrin’s right. The knights don’t trust her, and they all feel as if she’ll turn on you one day, and they’ll have to defend you from her.”
“I don’t see that happening.”
“It’s just a concern. They’ve seen her fight too many times, and they know her temper. It makes them nervous that you sleep alone with her.”
“Well, unless Sithias can convince Daemionis otherwise, I may be sharing the room with dwarves.”
Finn couldn’t help but smile.