The Chaotic Kingdom - Chapter 10

<-Chapter 9

"I want to have a baby."

Logan promptly choked on his coffee. Astonished, he stared across the breakfast table at his wife. It wasn't that he had anything against the idea—far from it—but they had never really made any effort to try for a child. They had both thought 'when it happens, it happens.' Raine, smiling serenely, now seemed to have other plans. "Thank you, my love," he said dryly as he put his coffee down, "for that wonderfully timed statement."

"I figured the timing appropriate." She grinned and propped her chin on her hands as she watched her husband. It was so much fun to surprise Logan; he always had the best reactions. "Aren't going to ask me why?"

"If you want to tell me, you will. No amount of asking would change that. You're stubborn as a mule." He leaned back in his chair and tucked his hands behind his neck with a smile. They had been married four years and had been together for almost ten. He still never got tired of studying her face or watching her dark eyes reflect her emotions. She and Storm shared their ash brown hair and eye color as well as a richly tanned skin tone no matter the time of year, but Raine had a way of reflecting her moods in her eyes that Logan loved.

Her entire body warmed at the expression on his face. She never had to doubt whether he loved her or wanted her; he had never been able to hide any emotions from his face. It was the one thing he and his soul-sister, Tasia, did not have in common. They otherwise looked and acted like twins ninety-nine percent of the time, despite being only distantly related by blood. "Well, it just struck me that I'm surrounded by kids. Two nieces and two nephews and a baby brother, and I've been volunteering time with those kids from the neighborhood. About the point I realized I really wanted to bring one home with me, I realized that I apparently am ready to be a mother. Aunt Julianna had actually mentioned that that might happen, that the urge to procreate would get pretty powerful. Ruler Cultivators are, by nature of their role, sort of given the drive to be parents. Helps protect their world, right?" She smiled. "I suppose I didn't expect it to just suddenly come out of what feels like nowhere." She scooted off her chair and around the table to slide onto his lap facing him. "What do you say? Once this battle is done, let's try."

He skimmed his hand slowly up her body and then tangled his fingers in her hair. "Work before pleasure?" It was a question, but not one that needed an answer. Tasia had been pregnant with Daelan during the last war, and it had taken a toll on them both. Sayena, an accomplished doctor in addition to being a healer, had immediately laid down a new law after: the moment a war started, anyone at risk of getting pregnant or getting someone else pregnant—basically, all Cultivators and their Caretakers—went on anti-fertility medication. Almost as soon as Starlight had arrived, the entire Resurrection team had started treatment, even Emily and Ryan despite still being single at that time. They had known the reunion would be coming, so better safe than sorry. "Alright," Logan said. He nuzzled Raine's neck on a smile and felt her pulse speed up. "As soon as the war ends. It'll certainly be fun trying.

A sound somewhere between a laugh and a moan caught in her throat as he teased her skin. "I think so. And stop that, you fiend! Not yet." On a happy laugh, she threw her arms around him and nearly knocked the chair over to dump them on the floor. He caught the edge of the table to stop them and then laughed and held her just as tightly. "I love you, Logan," she said as she gave him a quick kiss.

"I love you too, Rainy." He kissed her just as quickly and then went back for another kiss that he contentedly drew out. When she suddenly got up and slipped off his lap, he sighed. "You're a tease." He got to his feet and reached for her, only to watch in frustration as she neatly stepped out of reach. "Come back here."

"Nuh-uh. I'm late for work. Want to come with me?" she offered. "You love kids." She smiled. "Speaking of things you and Tasi have in common!"

"I could tag along, sure." He leaned on the counter to watch her as she put their dishes in the sink. Since he had alternating shifts with Terry at the combat school—he and Terry were two of Tasia's instructors—today was his day off. It couldn't hurt to go with Raine. Other than the obvious reason that he loved spending time with her, his own Sight told him he needed to be near her today. Being descended of Liena Vanguard meant he had the very rare gift of Sight—Present in his case—and while nowhere near on par with many others around him, it gave him more than enough information to know if he needed to be somewhere.

He smiled as Raine grabbed his hand and dragged him along behind her. He didn't mind a little danger when it meant he could be with a woman he had loved his entire life. "Okay," he laughed. "You don't need to drag me!" He found himself wishing for child just like his or her mom, and he went weak-kneed with a combination of terror and delight. Odds really did lay in their favor for such a thing, given the way Blossom Field worked. He couldn't wait.

 

* * * * *

 

The call came for her to meet her parents in the throne room at the ninth hour on the nose. LeAnn couldn't help but grin to herself as she braided her hair and pinned it up on top of her head. She had been expecting a call at right after dawn, but perhaps her mother had decided to let Chance stew. Her mom was wonderful that way.

Since it was a formal appearance, she donned her Ruler gown again. She left off the extra skirts this time, though. She applied makeup and then started the tedious process of adding pink ribbons to her hair that would accent her coronet. A royal version of armor and war paint, she decided. At the sound of a knock, she called, "Enter."

Tasia sauntered in, and she looked lethally beautiful in her own Ruler gown of Iris. The purples and yellow-golds had always very flattered her coloring. The fact that it also entirely revealed her bare arms and their powerful strength really just helped overall. She walked over to LeAnn and batted her hands away to take over finishing her hair. "I got called down for this little 'meeting'," she said cheerfully as she put the last ribbon into place. "Since I am your twin and personal guardian, of course." She added more blandly, "How did you like your tea?"

"I knew it!" LeAnn exclaimed on a laugh as she turned toward her best friend. "I knew you'd done it!" She threw her arms around Tasia and hugged her tightly. "I owe you for this one, Tasi! He's good and caught now!"

"Yes, he is, but he deserves to squirm a bit more. Please do bear with me as I pretend to be the outraged guardian whose princess was driven to such drastic measures. I think my acting skills are still up to par."

She was a consummate actress, in fact, and servants watched with wide eyes as the two princesses headed down to the throne room. The Lead Defender looked downright pissed, and they were all glad they weren't her target!

LeAnn bit back a giggle. And because she was also something of an actress herself, she summoned a nervous smile as she cautiously walked into the throne room. Her parents also wore their full Ruler outfits as well as the elaborate crowns that marked them as High Queen and King. Usually they wore only one or the other since both together could be fairly intimidating. They also happened to be actually sitting on their thrones, and the cushioned seats next to never got used. Chance stood across from them in full uniform as Captain, and he looked both uncomfortable and embarrassed. Red had tinged his dark cheeks visibly.

"Leslie Ann." Shanae's tone sounded cool. "Some rather interesting rumors fly around the castle this morning. Your father and I were handed them before we sat down for breakfast." She felt the lightest of brushes from Tasia's mind and let her own mind fill with humor. Leave it to Robert's child to go right to the biggest weapon in her arsenal.

LeAnn gave a little formal bow as she stopped beside Chance, and Tasia leveled a dangerous look at his back that made more red color climb his neck. LeAnn cleared her throat and then asked gingerly, "What rumors would those be?"

Her father drummed his fingers on the arm of his throne. "Rumors of a certain Captain being found in your bedroom, with you in his arms, and both of you clearly undressed as if for bed. The maid who found you was quite vehement it did not look just friendly."

Imagine that, LeAnn thought drolly.

Down, girl, came Tasia's wry retort.

Unaware of the byplay, Robert lifted a brow. "Chance has of course denied powerfully that anything happened and that it was merely a misunderstanding, and we want your side of the story before we determine the course to be taken. If nothing of a sexual nature happened, then everything is fine and we can all have a good laugh—and you both will know to be more careful. That law is not to be taken lightly."

LeAnn squared her shoulders. "I am afraid that the maid was right. I seduced Rubeo."

"Leslie Ann!" Chance said sharply. He shot a fierce look at her, horrified that she would lie blatantly. Or, at the least, heavily exaggerate. He had been a churning mix of emotions all morning, and he had not slept a minute the night before. His hunger for her had tormented him, and the knowledge she had been leading him on the last few days had taunted him; so much for thinking he knew her better than anyone else. The early morning summons had just made him feel even worse. He had put the royal family into an uncomfortable position, and that stung.

She looked at him with eyes that seemed overly bright as if to warn of tears. "I love you. I've been trying to get you to be mine in any way I could. I pushed too hard at the wrong time, and you couldn't help but take advantage. It was bad timing, Rubeo. I'm sorry."

"LeAnn." The name was almost a groan as he covered his face with a hand. "You're going to get me killed."

"Actually," Robert retorted, "she just got you engaged. The laws are clear, and I warned you about them weeks ago. You knew damned well what you were doing when you broke the law. The consequences are yours to pay." He wanted to laugh his ass off. Every time it happened that a Cultivator was forced to use the law to his or her own advantage, it was never not pure entertainment. He had almost used it on Shanae himself, but it had not actually reached that point. Kacey had been another like Robert who had almost used the law, but not been required to in the end. Asheria and Veronica, on the other hand, had used it quite adeptly on their husbands.

Really, it was an oddity when the law got activated. Most Caretakers spent much effort seducing their Cultivator as soon as both were past twenty-one and hormones started coming strongly into play. Twenty-five was when the full force and fury could be felt for lover soul mates, but plenty of pairs figured it out early. In all of history, in fact, the only Caretaker-Cultivator pair to ever make it to their wedding night before being lovers was, in fact, Tasia and Rodi. He blamed extenuating circumstances. She blamed him being an idiot; she had tried her best to seduce him, after all.

Any anger displayed at the invocation of The Law was not over the couple in question being lovers, but that a Cultivator would be pushed to take drastic measures. In this case, especially, for everyone felt it patently clear Chance was LeAnn's soul mate, and he had resisted her so hard that he had likely done real damage to her soul.

LeAnn, however, straightened her back as if shouldering a weight. "Mother, don't force Rubeo to marry me. I would rather be alone than bound to a man who does not want me."

Under his breath, Chance said, "I thought you set out to marry me. Isn't this the outcome you wanted?"

Her temper had always been more of the Light than the Dark, and therefore it was both volatile and easy to provoke. She whirled on him as real tears welled in her eyes. "Do you think I want to spend my life with a man who hates himself because he wants me? With a man who is so terrified of his own emotions that I have to beg for his attention? I'd rather be alone!" She shook her head hard. "I've tried so hard to make you love me, but I will not trap you! Don't give me bullshit excuses on why we don't work! If you don't want to marry me, then just friggin' say so and be done with it!"

Panic coated his voice as he saw the tears running down her cheeks. "No tears! Foul play, Leslie Ann! Stop it now!" He grabbed her shoulders and grunted when her fist connected hard with his stomach. "I do want to marry you!" he almost shouted. "That's the entire problem!"

The words were out before he could stop them. Silence fell as everyone stared at him. All he could manage then was a tired curse. He had well and truly trapped himself. She had trapped him, but with nothing more than her desperate need to be loved the way he wanted to love her. He could not hurt her anymore. She was breaking his heart. "Damn you," he said so softly only she heard. He looked at his king and queen and felt somehow unsurprised to see them both smiling. "Alright! I'll marry her! Maybe then she'll stop looking for trouble!"

She suddenly smiled up at him, and her tears sparkled like jewels against her dark lashes. "I wasn't looking for trouble, Rubeo. I was looking for you. And now you're mine. You won't escape me now!" She threw her arms around his neck on a surge of wild emotion and kissed him deeply without care for who was present. He shortly didn't care either, and his arms went around her waist tightly.

"Make it a short engagement," was all Shanae said dryly to Tasia and Robert. "Let's not let him weasel out of this one. We'll set the double-wedding for the two High Princesses to be roughly four months after whenever this battle ends." She scowled. "No wedding planning in the middle of combat. Did it once. Never doing it again!"

Tasia laughed. "Aye. At least you're getting what you wanted, though."

"I often do, kid."

Chance caught the comment and released LeAnn. He held her hands firmly at her sides so she couldn't undermine his control again. She was too damned good at it. "Shanae," he said to his future mother-in-law in aggravation, "why the hell didn't you help me out? I thought you didn't like me that much!"

"Actually, I like you a great deal. You have always been like family to me and Robert, and I think if you look back, you might be surprised to discover that maybe, perhaps, we have been like . . . parents to you? Either way, I didn't help because I had already warned you I wouldn't do anything." Her pink eyes danced at him. "I told you all the way back in the Rebirth Era that I knew someday a woman would love you and pursue you, and I said I wouldn't do anything to help you. Even then, Chance, I knew that it would be my daughter that loved you." She grinned wickedly. "I think you can imagine why I didn't help you. I always keep my word, Rubeo Chance. Consider this your just desserts for your antics ten thousand years ago!"

Chance sighed and then fumbled as LeAnn wrapped her arms around his waist and cuddled against him. He hesitated, then, stiffly, his arms went around her and he held her closer. It didn't feel like a punishment. It felt a gift, or reward, or something he didn't deserve. Yet as he stood there holding LeAnn, he realized that he would never let her go. He couldn't let her go. She had brought him the sun.

 

* * * * *

 

The neighborhood kids that Raine worked with were the kids belonging to a daycare run by an elderly couple. She had the dayshift which meant that she took care of the kids from tenth hour to fifteenth hour. It was her job to take them to the local playground as well as to feed them lunch. She loved it if only because the kids were such fun to be around.

They all called her by her name, and only called her 'Princess Raine' when they wanted to get a rise out of her; she never disappointed them. The kids had met Logan before, and adored him, so when they saw she had brought him with her, he found himself suddenly holding three kids and three others clinging to his legs as they chattered a mile a minute. "Help," he told Raine.

She just laughed at him as she got together the kids' bags. "Okay, guys, let loose! I'm the only one who can pounce on him. You have to pay me a toll every time you do." She passed out jackets and shoes as the kids let go of Logan with giggles. When everyone was ready, they headed out of the large house and toward the middle of the residential area they were in.

Logan was good with kids, Raine thought as she watched him as push one of the little girls on the swing. He would be such a wonderful father. She smiled and rested her chin on her hands and studied his face. He was as beautiful inside as out, and the good deeds he had done with majik had only served to make him just look more beautiful to the eye despite his physical appearance not changing. All of the witches in their extended circle had the same thing in varying degrees, with Tasia and Rodi being the most extreme. Tasia almost glowed, actually. Hazard of her being literally incapable of doing harm to anyone. Logan, however, ran a not so far third to his sister and brother-in-law.

Raine actually could pinpoint the exact moment she had realized she wanted children. It had happened a week before when she had realized her period was significantly late and she might have gotten pregnant before starting her medication; extremely rare but still possible. It had turned out to just be a fluctuation because of stress, and she had started the day after. The disappointment had crushed her. She wanted a child with Logan. A huge family of their own. She wanted to make Olivia and Tosh grandparents again. She wanted to give Kacey and Talon grandchildren. Continue this wonderful new thing where Cultivators did get to see their grandkids; until this Era, none ever had. Something had always happened that only two generations ever lived at one time. No more than three Defender generations could exist, but that was not usually hereditary anyway. Rulers could have as many as needed. Yet . . . it always happened that an entire generation would fall before they ever saw their children's children. Claret and Sabin had been the first to get that gift, followed by Yvette and Dane. It seemed a promise for the rest of them to receive the same, and Raine looked forward to helping.

"That's a curious smile," Logan murmured. He knelt in front of where she was sitting. When she blinked at him, he smiled and reached up to thread his fingers through her hair. "Beautiful, beautiful Raine," he said softly. "Going to kiss me?"

"Maybe." She framed his face with her hands and lightly touched his lips with hers. She then laughed as she heard all the kids giggling and cheering. She released Logan and got to her feet where she tugged him up as well. "So who wants to play a game?" she called, and was answered with an onslaught of fresh cheers.

It was almost the sixteenth hour of the day by the time they were able to part ways with the kids, and the afternoon sun slowly turned into evening. The light gilded everything, and the city felt calm and peaceful as the lull between day life and night life arrived. In just two hours, everything would pick up again with renewed fervor as Protea City's wonderful nighttime took hold. The city nearly never slept, really, and the few hour pocket between night and day and day and night was what people affectionately called 'breathing time.'

The playground glowed in gold and red as Raine and Logan passed it again, and she could not resist running over to hop onto one of the swings. Logan leaned against the bars near her and watched with a smile. "What don't you do?" he teased her gently. "Crown Princess Raine Daffodil of the Daffodil Kingdom, she who is also a Daffodil Defender Cultivator and the twin soul mate/personal guardian to High Princess Reagan Delphinium of the Delphinium Kingdom."

Raine crinkled her nose. "That title is terribly long and intimidating." She let out a little sigh and tilted her head back to look at the sky. She did not need to see Delphinium to sense her twin's disgruntlement at range; Reagan had etiquette classes that day, which she loathed because of her propensity toward clumsiness. She would have no doubt just finished them and be coming to see Raine very soon to make herself feel better. "I don't fly," she finally decided. She looked at Logan with a grin. "Maybe I should ask Haeth for lessons."

He started to say more when he suddenly felt the unmistakable burn through his blood that meant danger approached, and the sharp stab in his soul that meant it came right for his Cultivator. All Caretakers could sense danger approaching their Cultivator—regardless of what magic or majik they had—and it could go the other way if the Cultivator was a Defender; Rulers did not get that sense. Logan started moving, but too late. Raine went flying out of the swing on a cry of pain, and he nearly tripped as he tried to rush to her side. He checked her swiftly for injury and found an ugly and bloody wound on the back of her neck and head.

His fury spiked as he looked around for the source. A toy ball sat next to him with blood on it, and he scooped it up. He immediately dropped it again on a curse as spikes shot out of the body and almost stabbed him. He kicked it away and then lifted Raine into his arms. He had to fight to hold onto her as she struggled to get away. "Stay still!" he ordered sharply in a soft voice. An oak wand tipped with emerald appeared in his hand, just in case. "Just be still."

Pain radiated through her entire body from the wound on the back of her head. She was only vaguely aware of what he had said; her first and last instincts would forever be to fight and protect the ones she loved. She knew the attack was from an enemy. She did not want Logan involved. "I have to fight," she whispered, and she tried again to get up.

Like hell she would fight in that condition! He shifted his grip and pressed his fingers against the wound on her head. She sucked in a sharp breath and sent him a dangerous glare. "Bastard," she hissed. The pain blacked over her and she fell unconscious.

He murmured wordless apologies in her ear as he held her closer. He hated hurting her more, but it was assuredly better if she did not fight. He knew other Defenders had to be on their way; timing alone would have Reagan showing up because she had already been on her way, and Tasia would have felt Logan in danger. Like Shanae/Evan and Robert/Sayena, Tasia and Logan could sense each other not just injured but in danger. It was still something of an oddity to everyone, that the three pairs of siblings had elements of both types of soul mate bonds, but more than one person with Sight had begun to sense answers would come soon enough.

He was about to stand and move them both to a safer spot when he sensed a presence behind him. He hastily wrapped Raine in his arms and rolled them across the sand to somewhere several feet away. He came up in a crouched position as his enhanced uniform appeared on his body, called from where he kept it majikally stored. "Who are you?" he demanded. He found himself looking at a handsome, fair-haired young man wearing, of all things, a minstrel's hat on his head. As neither his wife nor his sister kept secrets from him, he knew well who he looked at. "It's not sporting to attack someone when they're unprepared," he said neutrally, but mentally he gathered all the majik he could.

Minstrel seemed to consider his words and then he grinned cherubically. "Yes, yes it is. I rather enjoyed it too. I wanted to see her bleed," he said conversationally. "I was wondering if it would be dark like her core." He bent and picked up the weapon he had used and studied the very dark red blood there. "Looks like it is. Wonder how it tastes."

Logan's wand glowed suddenly and fired off a bolt of pure silver majik. Any witch of strong enough strength could release their majik as a concentrated blast, and Logan again ranked third behind Tasia and Rodi. The attack slammed into Minstrel's chest to send him flying back across the ground. He skidded to a stop against a pair of white and gold armored boots and blinked at them. He slowly looked upward to see the deadly furious face of Reagan. Even her Mask could not hide her rage.

Her foot slammed into the back of his head hard enough he went tumbling across the ground again. "Whoa." He sat up and watched in fascination as stars and birds circled his head. He suddenly began to laugh and applauded her as he got back up to his feet. "What a great hit!" He swiped a hand over his mouth and discovered that his lip was split and bleeding. "I'm impressed!"

She gave a low snarl and would have leapt for him with her hands only if her lover hadn't caught her around the waist and held her tight. She fought him wildly. "Let me go!" she shouted. "He hurt Raine! I'll tear him apart!"

Pallas cursed under his breath as he fought to hold onto her. He was barely taller, and while surprisingly strong for his slim frame, he was not strong enough to hold a fully armored and infuriated Defender acting on blind instinct to help her twin soul. She luckily calmed a bit, and he risked releasing her. "Logan!" he shouted, but Logan was already moving. He ducked back out of the way with Raine clutched in his arms, and Pallas moved to join them where he could put a magical shield around them all.

Minstrel watched them curiously. "It never fails to amuse me to see grown adults running," he commented. Tauntingly, he said to Reagan, "She's so cute, isn't she? Especially covered in blood."

He began to circle her as she stood with her hands clenched into fists at her sides, her face pale and her eyes blazing white. "I love making people bleed," he told her. "Especially when they have dark blood." He lifted a hand stained with Raine's blood and lightly licked his pinky. "It's rather tart, like good candy. Chocolaty even."

He danced away laughing maniacally as she lunged for him. But this time, before she could get near him, a gloved hand closed over her wrist and held her in place. Her head jerked around to see Tasia in Mask and armor standing next to her. The Lead’s eyes burned gray. "Tasi . . . You heard him! How can you stop me!?" she shouted.

"Stand down." Tasia's voice sounded icy cold. "Stand down, princess. You'll only get hurt yourself." She wasn't surprised when Reagan took a swing at her; she was a scared twin soul, and those with hot-tempers would act without thinking. She calmly caught her fist with her free hand and kept her trapped. She looked over her head and met Minstrel's eyes. "It might be fun to torment people, to feed on their anger and fear," she said calmly, "but it's hardly a challenge to provoke someone of the Light. Messing with a twin could break anyone."

Minstrel looked at her with a dangerous little smile dancing around his mouth, his eyes glittering with unnatural light. "Even you?" He walked closer and lifted a hand to touch her cheek in an obscenely tender caress. "I want to break you," he said softly. "I want to see you bleed from the soul out."

She merely smiled. "No one breaks me except me." She let go of Reagan just as the princess jerked backwards, and she slammed into Minstrel unintentionally. He went reeling and had to whirl on his feet to catch himself. Doing so brought him face-to-face with Logan. "By the way," Tasia murmured, "meet my brother. We share the same lineage."

The new majikal blast would have struck Minstrel if he hadn't leapt into the air in the nick of time. He landed on the top of the swing set and began to laugh merrily. "Truly, this will be fun!" he chortled. "All these beautiful hearts to break, all these pure souls to render! I can't wait for the true games to begin! Don't look now," he said in a singsong voice, "but I'm gonna getcha when you least expect it!" And still laughing, he turned and disappeared.

"What was that?" Logan asked Tasia quietly as she and Reagan knelt beside where he had gently set Raine down. "He attacked without warning. Not even a clue. No attempt to soften us up with a monster first." He thought about Minstrel's near floating through the air and the fact that he could move through dimensions without some sort of aid like the scapolite orb. "And more than most, he's using unnatural power."

"It was a test." Tasia held a hand over Raine's face and focused her healing power. It flowed from her like a swirl of shadows to settle gently over her sister. "To see how strong we are. He feeds on fear and hate. He wants us to hate him so he needs to provoke us. He won't try to kill us, not yet."

"I want him to hurt!" Reagan said fiercely, but her fingers were tender as she brushed Raine's bangs out of her face. "For what he did to her and wants to do to all of us! I want to destroy him!"

"He'll be destroyed." Pallas pressed his lips to her hair comfortingly. His eyes met Tasia's and they both acknowledged what they both understood. "His own insanity will devour him. Or, if he's lucky, Raven will kill him first. We can't let our guard down. Ever." It stung, more than a little. His duties to the Immortal Fields meant he could not act as a Caretaker to Reagan when she entered battle, except, as in this case, in the case of extreme danger only he could aid with. With Raine down, he had needed to be there to support Reagan.

Logan took a long breath and then looked at Tasia with a crooked smile. "I think I need to up my own gifts. Like Terry, I don't have any magic as a Caretaker because I have so much majik, but I want to push my majik to its next level. I'm not at my max capacity yet, and I need to be if I want to better support Raine and you alike. I think all of us need to consider this. You've given Kari and Kimber time to get used to the idea, but they need to awaken their own majik as well. I'll talk to them."

"Wait, what?" Reagan blurted. "Kari and Kimber are witches, too?"

Tasia nodded. "Extremely locked down, but yes. I sensed it meeting them. Anything that may have spilled over could be dismissed because they knew they had some magic; Kari can of course summon and banish storm clouds—irony at best—and Kim can make anything inflammable, which given her hot-tempered hubby is not a bad thing. So anything else that . . . came around the edges they just shrugged off until not long ago. I left it as their decision as to what they would do."

Reagan shook her head. "Logan's right. Everyone needs to be at their best."

"I agree, but my role is to guide those who come to me. Logan will have to do the convincing." Of which she had no doubt he would be successful. Kari and Kimber had already been agitated about being not as good of Caretakers as usually found, and the incident with Kari being injured had made that clear to more than just Shanae. They all needed to be strong, and Tasia intended to do her part to help. That was, of course, what a High Priestess did.

 

©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.

Chapter 11->

The Chaotic Kingdom - Chapter 9

<-Chapter 8

By the time they returned to the castle, Shanae and Robert had indeed added Raven's name to LeAnn's new list of suitors. Chance was pacing like a caged animal, and anyone who went near him damned near got their heads bitten off. Talon sported a pretty black eye until his daughter took pity on him. He liked to play with corrosives in forest fires and provoking Chance was a favored pastime. They rarely put him back together after; he had literally been asking for it.

LeAnn couldn't have been more pleased. She even cheerfully told Starlight to kiss Raven as thanks for her since she didn't want to trespass on private property. Starlight blushed, Raven laughed, and LeAnn decided it was time to move faster than she had originally intended. She really did not have enough time to waste drawing things out. She was entering into a war that held a higher risk of death than any other, and she would be damned if she died without ever knowing true happiness. Even knowing her time couldn't be up until she bore a child did not take away the fact that something terrible could happen and evil win over all of them.

With Anira on one shoulder and Haeth on the other, she wandered out into the gardens before dinner and sat down on a bench underneath her favorite tree. The baby dragon was with her because she seemed to have taken a fancy to the amethyst earrings Tasia had gifted her and was now cheerfully gnawing on one. Tasia had laughingly said she couldn't think of anyone else who would teethe on such a powerful stone.

LeAnn dropped her chin onto her knees and said musingly, "This is trickier than I thought, you know."

"How so?" Haeth cocked her head slightly. She had tagged along with her child on the possibility LeAnn might need someone to talk to, and now she felt glad she had.

"It's a fine line to walk." LeAnn gestured lightly with one hand. "I need to be sure to hold him just far enough away that he gets worried, but not so far that he thinks he's lost his opportunity entirely. And it's hard too," she complained. "I mean, I like Raven and all, but not in that way. The only one I've ever wanted is Rubeo, so it's hard to pretend an interest in Raven. It hurts," she added softly. "It hurts so much. What if I don't succeed, Haeth? What if I lose everything? It'd destroy me."

"It's a risk worth making, I think," the Elder dragon said gently. "You can't get everything without risking everything."

"Sounds like something Mom would say."

"It's something she has said. I think that's Chance's problem, too. He doesn't want a risk. He doesn't want romance because he thinks it is messy. He's been hurt by someone he loved, and he doesn't want to be hurt again."

"Yeah." LeAnn could understand that. She even knew the reason why Chance felt wary of sharing his heart. He had been betrayed by the one person he had loved more than anything: his own brother. Robert had gently told her the entire story when she turned twenty-five and realized for sure Chance was her soul mate.

Vermillion and Rubeo Chance had been dissimilar brothers in personality since one was hot-tempered and the other was coolly controlled, but there had been no one Chance loved more, no one he had idolized more. Vermillion had been a Commander sworn to protect Robert, in the spot now held by Diego. Vermillion, out of hate and jealousy, had betrayed the Delphinium Kingdom and Robert alike, had betrayed the Protea Kingdom as well, and had played a direct role in the fall of the Era as well as an unintentional role in getting Chance stuck in limbo for five thousand years. His actions had utterly crushed Chance.

Oh, he hid it well behind the explanation that he knew his brother had gotten what he deserved and that Diego should have always been a Commander—which was true enough, but his attitude that it did not bother him was nothing but a lie. Vermillion had been his hero, and he had not only fallen off his pedestal, the marble stand had crashed down and taken many others with it. It seemed no wonder Chance felt wary of letting people close.

That alone would have been frustrating enough, but Chance also had a strange lack of faith in his own worth. He did not think he was good enough for her. She suspected it was not his status as Captain that got to him—the only rank higher was Commander, and all eight of those had married Lower princesses—but rather his origins and place of birth. Unlike Vermillion and Diego who had worked their way up through ranks to become Commanders—the former in the Royal Knights and the latter as a companion-at-arms to Robert—Chance had been promoted to Captain of the Royal Knights by Sayena without any preparation or warning. He did not think he had earned the rank, and therefore he did not deserve to court a High Princess.

It frustrated her to no end that he could be unintentionally hypocritical. Kari, Kimber, Terry, and Logan didn't have any titles or ranks, and they were more than accepted as the future queens or kings of Gladiolus, Aster, Carnation, and Daffodil. LeAnn could accept that perhaps he saw a difference between a Lower and a High Ruler, but that did not make it any less ridiculous a split hair. Besides. As the name implied, to be Captain of the Knights was to be, well, knighted. They really ought to just start calling him Ker Chance and get him over it. Using the appropriate title for a knight might push the point faster than merely Captain.

"Heavy thoughts?" came Beth's teasing voice behind her. When LeAnn looked over with a smile, Beth walked over and sat down across from her on the bench. She had been sensing the distress from miles away and had decided it was time she spoke up. She had also been enjoying the fireworks from a distance, but she hated seeing one of her friends upset. "So what did he do now, or not do?" she asked.

"Told me to marry someone else and then turned around and got jealous when I proclaimed an interest in Raven," LeAnn told her promptly.

"Dumbass." Beth sighed. "Is he at least getting a clue of any sort or is he one hundred percent blind?"

"He knows he's in love with me, though he still won't accept it as the soul mate love it is," she admitted. "He's running scared." She frowned at her friend. "Am I doing the right thing? Shaking him up like this?"

"Well, left to his own devices, Chance might, might, get around to figuring out he loved you by your hundredth birthday." Beth's voice was warm. "And there's nothing wrong with plotting and planning like this when there's love involved. It's not like he's the only one hurting." She reached out and gently brushed LeAnn's hair out of her eyes. "You're hurting too, honey. Hell, you've been hurting longer than he has."

"It's a two-way street," LeAnn said wryly.  "I make him madder than anyone can, and he can make me cry unlike anyone else. One of these days I'm going to just break down over all this. I'm kind of hoping I'm in his arms at the time."

"It makes it much better," Beth agreed. She got to her feet and smiled when Haeth flew over to her shoulder instead. "Is Raven enjoying himself at the least?"

"Immensely," she laughed. "When Starlight complained that she never got any of these fancy words, he turned around and complimented her enough to make me blush. He's definitely got a way with words. I suppose that's part of why he's the perfect choice for this part of the plan. He's a real threat. He's cultured, educated, and he's a prince. He's also a warrior himself, someone strong enough to match me, and has no problems that I'm a Defender Cultivator. He's a real, viable threat to Rubeo."

"And Chance knows that," Beth mused as she looked for the redhead in question. She wanted to see the frustration firsthand rather than sense it across town. That man had quite a radar for someone who tried to pretend he had no emotions. "What's next? Anything I can help with?"

"Actually, yes. Tonight after dinner, have a conversation with somewhere where Rubeo can hear you and make mention of how romantic it is that Raven is taking me for a nighttime walk." When Beth grinned and held up a hand, she grinned in return and slapped it lightly with her own in a high five. She loved her friends so much.

Dinner was lively and fun since all the Cultivators of both generations were present along with their according Caretakers. It was Friday evening, and that meant the following night would be the weekly get together for everyone. Sunday would be spent having fun, provided there were no attacks. Next Saturday they would all be at the Delphinium Castle. The weekend gatherings also helped keep everyone sane, and on Saturday nights, all staff of the according castle got the night off, too, with pay. It seemed little wonder the galaxy as a whole loved the royal families. They truly were like everyone else in the most important ways.

Starlight had become accustomed to the weekend antics, but Phoenix and Raven were both amused by the fact that Telekinesis and Telepathy got used to communicate across the massive table so that dishes passed promptly. Seeing Melina riding on Anira's back carrying a saltshaker nearly had Phoenix falling out of his chair with laughter.

As dinner was ending, Raven leaned over to murmur in LeAnn's ear since she was conveniently sitting next to him. Chance sat only a few seats away across the table, and though he wasn't looking at them directly, his eyes narrowed fractionally. Raven and LeAnn left the table together, and Beth turned to where her mother sat beside her. In a voice that carried, she said blithely, "Talk about romantic! A nighttime walk in the Protea gardens! He couldn't be more charming if he tried."

"I agree." Veronica half winced as Chance got up and nearly knocked his chair over in his haste to leave. Her stomach quivered with laughter as she realized the game. "Bethany, could you be more my child? You can't handle not meddling."

"Me? Never! I'm just helping LeAnn finish what she started." She cheerfully dug into the cheesecake that had been provided for dessert. "A little nudge never hurt anyone."

Veronica leaned back slightly and looked down the table at Starlight. She was laughing over something that Logan had said, and there was complete relaxation in her expression. If Veronica hadn't been so certain that Starlight and Raven were soul mates, she would have bought the act too. Starlight knew it was a game and enjoyed herself by playing along. Veronica almost felt sorry for Chance with the entire world against him, but she could think of no one more deserving of a soul-deep happiness.

LeAnn had sensed the moment Chance started following them, and she deliberately leaned against Raven's arm with her head on his shoulder. Not empathic as a rule, she had always been sharply attuned to her two soul mates, and therefore she could feel the waves of Chance's anger. "Raven?" she asked curiously. "Would your kingdom mind if you remained here with me?"

Raven could at the least feel the glare on his neck. He kept his voice just as casual. "Of course they would not. Aluria is much like your galaxy where the one of lower rank moves to where the one of higher rank lives or rules from. It's rare to have an exception to that." None of that was a lie, but it also avoided mentioning his disownment; Chance did not need to know about that just yet.

She stopped walking and turned to face him. "If you are sincere in your suit, then I am sincere in accepting it. I will notify my parents in the morning of my choice." She smiled, and it was visible since they stood perfectly in a patch of light from some hanging lanterns. "We seem to suit each other nicely."

"Agreed." Raven already knew the plan, and he framed her face with his hands as he leaned down. The angle made it look as if he had kissed her, but their noses only just touched and both fought a laugh. A low snarl vibrated on the air and then Chance's presence disappeared. Raven immediately released LeAnn. "That ought to do it." He smiled and kissed her forehead. "You're one hell of a woman, Leslie Ann. If I could be given a second choice of a Cultivator to be a mate for other than Star, I would pick you."

"I'll take that as the compliment it is! Chance will likely bang on my door first thing tomorrow morning, so no worries about the betrothal. He's rather predictable." She gave him a quick hug. "Thanks for everything, Raven. You've been wonderful. Go . . ." she gestured vaguely, "snuggle Starlight or something. You two didn't get a real reunion because of me. Go enjoy it now."

She headed off back toward the castle, and Raven just sighed as he sat down on the bench. He hated the fact that he was still weak and not fully back to his natural strength. Sayena and Kacey had promised to check him on Sunday to see if there was anything they could do, and Julianna and Storm had already started feeding him extra nutrient rich meals, but he resented that five years still hadn't been long enough. Damn it, that was five years too much to endure without Starlight.

He didn't even remember when he had first fallen in love with her. Was it when they were children? Or when he had seen her in a moonlit garden and realized he wanted her? That memory had to be his favorite. Neither of them had known how to kiss, and they had clunked their noses together. Wonderful practice had made perfect.

He heard a sound and turned to see Starlight approaching. He smiled and held out a hand. When she took it, he drew her onto his lap and wrapped her within his arms. Sometimes the only reassurance he had that he was alive came from holding her. "Hey you," he said softly. "What're you doing out here?"

"I passed LeAnn and she told me that you needed me." She linked her hands behind his neck and cuddled against him. It was a thrill all over again to be able to be held by him again. Nothing had changed during their lost years. She still loved him, still wanted him. "She was right."

"I can't help it, Star." He nuzzled her ear with his lips and then eased her enough back that he could look into her eyes. "I lost you once, and I'm afraid of losing you again. It was always my biggest regret that I might have died before we ever got to truly be lovers." A lesser regret for the sake of Aluria had been there as well, but diminished in knowing Sunlight or Moonlight could still have a child. He wanted so badly to have no regrets at all.

"It was your idea to wait," she retorted. "You had that silly bet with Sunlight that you and I could survive waiting until being married without going insane, and nothing I did changed your mind." She eyed him owlishly. "Are you going take that risk again, Raven? That we die without being lovers?"

"Not a chance in hell," he said instantly. He smiled and framed her face with his hands. "I love you, Starlight. Stay with me, always."

"Just try stopping me," she said on a happy sigh as she lifted her face for his kiss.

The wind carried the whispers of lovers up around the castle and then through the open balcony doors to LeAnn's suite. She smiled as she brushed her hair in front of her mirror. If she was wrong and this plan did not work, she would not try to use Raven again. He and Starlight had more than earned their time together. She would just move on to Plan D instead.

She hummed a three-note tune to herself and twirled in a small circle to let the gold silk of her nightgown flare around her legs. The gown was little more than a strapless slip made of embroidered fabric that only reached her knees. It had a matching robe that she let hang around her elbows. It was not a set to be worn around others, to be sure; she considered it her guilty pleasure to be worn when she needed an emotional pick-me-up because it just made her feel good.

The feel of shadows seemed to flutter along her soul. Her eyes slowly widened as she recognized the power and presence. Her head turned swiftly, and she saw Chance standing on her balcony. He was watching her with a complex mix of emotions on his face and in his eyes. "Rubeo." She shook her head a bit in confusion. She had not expected him to move that fast. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know." And he didn't. He didn't even remember making the decision to come to her room. He had simply found himself standing on the balcony and watching her brush her hair. He had only ever seen her in the plain pajamas she wore to the sleepovers, and even then from a distance since he did not attend those parts of the family get-togethers. He had tormented himself this night as he watched the gold silk flowing over her body. Fighting a losing battle to keep his hands to himself, he stuck them in his pockets. "Damn it, LeAnn, are you fickle?"

Her calm returned and she resumed brushing her hair. He was acting as she had expected, just sooner than she had thought. "Fickle? Interesting accusation. Is it because I finally got tired of being pushed away? Tired of being told I didn't know what I want? What I was doing?"

No effort to remain calm could keep the pain out of her expressive voice. He flinched as he heard an echo of his own feelings. The sight of her in Raven's arms had cut him all the way to the soul. It was as if he had let something precious slip out of his hands before he knew he held it. Too late. He was always too late. "You said you loved me."

"You are my soul mate." The words were simple. "I will love you until the end of time." She put down the brush and turned to face him. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders and the ends teased the pendant she wore even then. It made his heart clench oddly to see the pendant resting right over her Flower Mark as a Ruler. "However, I will settle for a love only in my heart if I cannot have one through my soul. Raven is a good man and I think I can grow to love him."

He crossed the room in two strides and gripped her bare shoulders. He pulled her onto her toes against him, and her robe fell down her arms as she clutched at him for balance. His gaze lowered, and he saw the pulse beating wildly in her throat. He could feel it beating inside him. It was as if their hearts had one beat between them. "Do you want him?" The words were rough.

"He's handsome." She touched her lip with the tip of her tongue as she tried not to smile. "And he's a good kisser." She took it as fact since Starlight had said so.

His face darkened. "Does make your pulse race and your body hot?" He dragged her ever closer so that their bodies pressed together. The light from the lamp gave them one shadow entwined. "Does he take your breath and make you ache?" Does he make you feel like I do? The words were unspoken, but they both heard them anyway.

"No, he does not." She slid her hands over to curl around the edges of his open black shirt. What a scene they no doubt made. He looked half-undressed as if for bed, and her gown was low enough in the back that she likely looked naked except for her robe. Such a risky scene, in fact. He had assuredly not thought things through before coming to see her. Finally, he had begun to just feel. "Rubeo, no one has ever—or will ever—make me feel the way you do. However, you have made it very clear that you do not want me and I am not a masochist."

"Damn you, Leslie Ann!" The words came out as a near growl. "Why can't you understand that I'm not good enough for you?"

"Why?"

"I'm a farm boy!"

"So is Uncle Diego. Next?" A royal brow lifted and hinted at the queen she would be. "Don't dare to mention anything else about where you were born or not feeling you earned this role. You have proven thousands of times across thousands of years that you deserve to be Captain. The last Captain of the Protean Royal Knights married a High Priestess, and you well know it."

Frustration boiled up inside him and burst out on the words, "My brother tried to kill your mother!"

"Finally," she said in satisfaction, "we're at the heart of the problem." She held his eyes without flinching even when his hands tightened. "You are not Vermillion, Rubeo. There is no weakness in you that there was in him. You would never betray the ones you love. Or are you concerned that I am so shallow I would hold the sins of brothers against you?"

"No!" He drew a quick breath. "That's not it, Les." He realized how hard he was holding her and gently ran his hands over her arms, almost unconsciously smoothing one hand down the Defender Flower Mark on her left arm. He would sooner die than hurt her. "I am not suited to be a king, and your kingdom comes with you."

"Does it?" She lifted her chin. "If you asked me to, I would abdicate and walk away without a second look. If you would wish me to run away with you, my parents would buy me the transport ticket themselves." She gave him a little shake. "All you're getting is me, Rubeo. I'll give up everything but you. All I've ever wanted is you. The rest can go to hell."

"Don't you have any pride?" he managed to ask shakily.

Something sad filled her eyes. "There is no place for pride when it comes to fighting for love."

He could only stare at her in shock as his head reeled. He could count on one hand the people he had ever cared enough for to give up everything, and the one person at the top of the list, higher than even his queen and king, was this impossibly loving woman with deep protea pink eyes. He could not wholly fathom that she might just love him that much in return. "Leslie Ann . . ."

He thought of a child who had delighted in following him around everywhere. He thought of an adolescent who had clung to his back and chattered in his ear a mile a minute. He thought of a young woman who had returned from a journey of discovery looking as if she had faced the depths of hell. And he thought of a woman who set his blood on fire and touched parts of his soul and heart he had never known he had.

When had he fallen in love with her? When had she become more vital to him than air or water? And what in the name of the gods was he to do now? He couldn't let her go, and yet it still terrified him to think of letting anyone, even her, have that sort of power over him.

"I love you, Rubeo." Her eyes never wavered from his. "I always have. I always will. You are not alone inside your shadows. When you're tired, I'll share the dark with you, and when you want to run, I will bring you the sun."

A shudder rippled through his body as he pulled her close once more. His threadbare control was on the edge of collapse. His head lowered and his lips had just touched hers . . . and the door swung open as a maid entered with a cheerful, "Here is the tea you wanted, princess!" She stopped in utter shock at the sight of LeAnn intimately held in Chance's arms, and the tray slipped out of her hands to crash on the floor. "Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry!" She whirled and dashed back out the door as if her life depended on it.

Chance released LeAnn and jerked away as if his hands had been burned. "Shit!" Only too late did it occur to him just how compromising the situation looked, especially after her announced pursuit! He should have put on a damn shirt, and her nightgown hid next to nothing. "Where did you get that?" he demanded.

"Aunt Ashe designed it for me as a gift for my twenty-fifth birthday." She tugged her robe up onto her shoulders and tried not to smile. "Well. This makes things a bit more complicated than I expected." She had honestly not intended to play this card except as a last ditch effort. It had come in as a plot twist she hadn't foreseen, but she had a pretty good idea who had set it up. She didn't even drink tea.

"With luck, your parents won't push the subject," he muttered as he yanked the door open and stalked into the hall. "Damn it, LeAnn, what will Raven think of all this?"

"I imagine he'll laugh and kiss Starlight." She smiled serenely as he stared at her in shock. "They're engaged, Rubeo. He was just pretending to be my suitor to make you jealous." She shut the door in his face and grinned when he cursed softly. Things couldn't have worked out better if she had planned them! Wait, she had planned them. You're mine, Rubeo, she thought triumphantly. All mine.

 

©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.

Chapter 10->