Solovet's Secret

Chapter 1

"Open your mouth. Let Daddy take a look, huh?"

The toddler turned his head though, whining. Frowning, Gregor reached out to grab his face in his hand, holding it still.

"Open it for Daddy or else he's going to get upset. Do you want Daddy upset?"

Luxa finally rolled her eyes before bending over to stare down at the child as well. "Move, Overlander. You have once again proved useless."

"Rude," he remarked though he did stand up and take a step back. "You do it then."

"Open." When the baby started to whine, Luxa only added, "Now."

Whining, the two year old opened his mouth, allowing his mother to reach in and pull a plastic toy Gregor had brought him from the Overland out. They didn't want him to choke, after all.

"I told you not to bring him-"

"Maybe I misjudged the age appropriateness. Whatever. He's fine, isn't he?"

Luxa only patted the child on the head before standing up straight again. Then, looking to Gregor, she waited for him to hold out his palm before dropping the spit covered toy in it.

"Get rid of it."

"It's a little lion though."

"Gregor-"

"Understood," he sighed before looking down at their son. "Sorry, Luke."

He just took to sticking his fingers in his mouth, staring up at them. They were standing in the sitting room of the royal wing, the little boy overjoyed when his father returned from the Overland. Not just for the gift either. Being stuck with Luxa for a whole week was never something the little boy enjoyed.

"First five minutes of being home and I already want to go back."

"Gregor-"

"Kidding." Kind of. Going over to his son, he picked him up before going over to one of the couches and sitting down. "You've hardly even greeted me."

"Greeted you? As if I have had the chance? You nearly choked the baby before I had a chance to-"

"It was just in his mouth and you flipped out. He wasn't going to swallow it. You know that he's teething."

"Yes, and I have things that he can chew on. That, however, is not something that I am allowing him to put in his mouth."

Gregor just pocketed the toy before kissing his son's head, his brown hair slowly beginning to get too long again. Luxa never liked cutting his hair though and Gregor never forced it until it was completely necessary.

"Where's Hazard then? Or someone else? That will actually be glad I am home?"

Luxa only rolled her eyes before saying. "It is good that you are here anyhow. I have a meeting I must go to. So if you will excuse me-"

"Go," he said, bouncing their son in his lap. "I'd rather you not be around anyhow."

That in itself deserved another eye roll, but Luxa held off as she left the room. The week without Gregor hadn't been easy on her either. It never was. It meant the their son had to be in the nursery all day while she dealt with things. She never rather liked others tending to him. At all. She liked either her or Gregor to take care of him. Mostly Gregor. Because, honestly, children were disgusting. Even her own son. Luxa could do gore. But bodily functions? No thank you.

"You seem happy," was the first thing Luxa said when she got to the tactics room to find Perdita moving around markers on the map. "Or at least energetic."

"I got many messages, the past few days, regarding the positioning of-"

"Do not say gnawers."

"Hmmm? No." She shook her head, glancing over at her queen. "It is the main shiner colony. They-"

"Is it relevant to anything I deal with? At all?"

"Well-"

"Can I not just look at the map when you are finished?"

"You can, I suppose."

"Then let us leave it at that, yes?" Luxa came further into the room, hardly glancing down at the map of the Underland spread across the elevated table in the center of the room. "I am tired of plotting movements. Nothing has occurred of interest in months."

"Do not sound so upset about that," the older woman chided as Luxa collapsed into one of the chairs at the table. "That is a good thing. It keeps our soldiers safe and our enemies happy. Peace is always something to strive for."

Luxa only shook her head, continuing to stare at anything other than the map. "The Overland has arrived back in Regalia."

"Was he gone?"

Shaking her head slightly, Luxa said, "For a week."

"Hmmm. It is a shame that he must leave every few months. Of course, it is better than him dying." Perdita laughed then, apparently finding that funny. Luxa only rolled her eyes. Sobering, Perdita said, "Why do you not seemed pleased?"

"With Gregor? Because he is Gregor."

"Hmmm." Perdita only shook her head before going back to work on rearranging the markers. She found much more pleasure in work than with other people. "Did you read over that scroll your uncle sent you from the Fount?"

"Unfortunately," Luxa sighed. "It has offered nothing of interest, either. I am not going to allow him to extend the Fount's walls. I have said no before. Why he continues to ask-"

"Because the Fount continues to grow."

"So does Regalia, but I do not try and tear down a wall to build another. I gave him permission to build outside the walls, so long it is on our lands, but-"

"Who would want to live outside the walls?"

"The Fount is safe, Perdita. Besides, people do here."

"Farmers," Perdita corrected. "And we have enough scouts around to protect them. In the Fount-"

"The Fount is more protected than Regalia," Luxa argued with a frown. "I am not going to spend money on building a new wall when Regalia is still in a state of continuous dilapidation from all the wars we face. The Fount is fine. York is just bored and attempting to find another way to annoy me."

"He is the governor, Luxa. It is your duty to at least hear his case."

"I have." She sat up taller then. "Are you accusing me of otherwise?"

"No," Perdita said slowly, pausing for a moment, one of the map markers in her hand, poised over a spot. "I am only making conversation. Trying to be more personable."

"Well, cut it out."

"Understood."

So they sat there for awhile, Luxa mostly wasting hours until she had to go get ready for court that day. The main one was a pretty open and shut case as far as the facts went. Another robbery case. Sigh. Boring.

At least that night she did not have to worry about some big engagement or dinner. And with Gregor being back, he would probably want to spend some time together at some point, which wouldn't be wholly bad. Hopefully. It all really depended on her mood which admittedly wasn't all that great for the most part.

Eventually, around luncheon, she figured she had better check in with Gregor. She would need to begin getting ready for court that day anyhow.

When she got to her bedchamber, she found Gregor there, of course, napping, with their son snuggled up to him. Rolling her eyes was inevitable then as she went to flick his head.

"Mmmm?"

"Has he been feed?"

"Mmmm."

"Gregor-"

"Don't you have something else to do?" he asked, peeking an eye open to stare up at her. There was only a single torch in the room and it was still rather dark. "Other than control my life?"

Another thump. "So you haven't fed him."

"Are you going to do it if I say no?"

"No."

"Then what difference does it make? He'll eat after our nap." Gregor shut his eyes again, one arm laying on his chest, the other cradling the back of his head. "You wanna lay down?"

"I cannot. I do not have time. I must get ready for court."

He made sweeping gesture with the hand strewn over his chest. "Go ahead."

One last thump. "Behave."

"I'll try."

She was as quiet as she could be as she went around the room, preparing for court later. One of her servants came in at one point to help her with something, but Gregor just slept through it, along with their son. When she was prepped for court, Luxa thought about awakening Gregor and telling him that she wished for him to be in court with her, but then thought against it. If he was content with sleeping the entire day, then she figured she should leave him to sleep. It was for the better anyhow.

When Gregor opened his eyes again, he was not shocked to find Luxa gone. Only laid there for awhile, as if waiting to see if she would come back. Then he remembered she mentioned something about court and knew he wouldn't see her again until dinner.

Groaning, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, glancing down at his son while he was at it. The toddler was still sleeping away and part of Gregor thought to leave him, but then he knew they'd never manage to get him down that night and they just couldn't have that.

"Gotta get up, buddy," Gregor whispered to the toddler, brushing some of his hair out of his face. "You hungry? Huh? We gotta eat something or else Luxa'll yell at me. You don't want that. Do you?"

When the toddler opened his eyes, he just stared up at his father sleepily. Looking down into his son's purple irises, Gregor only smiled. That made the boy slowly smile back before reaching out for him, his pale hands opening and closing as he waited for Gregor to snatch him up.

Kissing his head when he did, Gregor said, "Or we could go see Luxa in court. If you wanna. Grab some bread or something on the way. Fruit. What do you say? Yes or no?"

"Yes."

"Silly." Gregor kissed the top of his head. "You can't even say no yet."

"Yes."

Gregor hadn't bathed since coming back to the Underland and also hadn't changed out of his Overland clothes. He figured it was best to get that all taken care of before going to the throne room. Didn't want to be more of an embarrassment to Luxa or whatever.

Plus he missed wearing his sword belt.

Judgment day was all but over by the time Gregor even got to the throne room. It was a rather slow day, as there were no major murder trials or such going on, so the room was not filled with patrons. He never rather liked being around when Luxa sentenced people, but it beat hanging around the royal wing doing nothing. Or training. Bleh.

"You gotta be quiet," Gregor reminded his son as he slid into a seat towards the back. "Huh?"

He was pretty good at behaving though, the little boy was. He spent a lot of time with Luxa, who was very intent on teaching him to behave. Besides, if he did start acting up, Gregor would just consider it a failed endeavor and take him out of the room.

"Didi."

"Yeah, I know. Just be quiet, huh?"

The little boy took to sucking on his thumb, which Gregor usually would reprimand him for, but so long as it kept him quiet, all was well. Leaning back in his own chair, Gregor figured he should at least tune in to what was going on up at the from of the huge, auditorium-esque room where there was a small stage as well as Luxa's throne. She looked rather regal as always seated upon it, her royal guard all around. He grinned at her, but figured she was far, far too away to notice.

It was when Luxa spoke, about ten minutes to them being in there, that Lucais (a compromise to an Underland name and an Overland one. Gregor and his family called him Luke, while Luxa and others called him by his real name) took his thumb out of his mouth and looked up.

"Luxa." That was one word that he had down pat. Clapping his hands together, Luke giggled. "Luxa."

"Shhh. Be quiet."

He only wiggled though. It was his mother up there, after all.

"-in accordance to my ruling, you must pay out twice the cost of the damage you have done to this man's cart," Luxa was saying as she stared down at some thief or something. Gregor didn't really get the whole gist of the case. Just that Luxa had ruled guilty.

There was another case after that, about some sort of crop dispute that Gregor could tell bored Luxa to no end. He only sat by, keeping Luke quiet while trying to pay attention. It was honestly boring him as well.

The main problem arose when all the cases were finished for the day and Luxa stood to leave. It was customary for her guards to lead her out and everyone in the crowd bow to her. Gregor always felt a little silly doing it and almost did it in a sarcastic way, but Luxa never said anything about it and he sure wasn't going to bring it up.

When Luxa passed Gregor's row though, there was nothing he could do to stop Luke from jumping out of his seat and running under Gregor's feet, after his mother. As they were at the end of his row, it was easy enough for him to get at her. When one of the guards made some sort of a movement to grab him, Luxa only gave him a look, coming to a stop before picking the child up. She didn't even spare Gregor a look, though he knew he'd get it later for the whole situation.

Luke just settled into her arms like it was nothing. And it wasn't anything to him. He didn't know that Luxa was working or busy. He just knew that she was his mommy and he would rather be with her in that moment than Gregor.

Everyone started filing out not soon after Luxa left, but Gregor hung around for awhile. Luxa would want to meet for dinner eventually, but he really wanted to avoid that now that he had, against all his attempts not to, managed to embarrass her. Possibly. Probably.

So Gregor figured it was best to find a few other things to do before seeking Luxa out. First stop on that train was to see Vikus, who was always up for a good talking session.

"What stories do you bring to me from the Overland then, hmmm?" was the only thing Vikus had to say to him when he entered his room. "Anything of interest?"

He had a few tales, as he had been gone a full seven days, but they would have been mostly boring to any other person. Vikus though just enjoyed company mostly and was usually rather deprived of it. And as they were currently at peace, Gregor had very few things to do with his day other than sit in with the old man. Besides, Vikus liked Luke well enough, considering he was his great-grandson, and never objected to him being brought around either.

"I feel as if it has been forever and a day since your mother came to visit, Gregor," Vikus told him at one point to which Gregor only nodded.

"She works a lot," he agreed. "And Dad's sick again, so he's out of work."

"Life is hard. I cannot imagine what mine would be without Luxa to take care of me."

"You'd be in the Fount with Susannah, I am sure."

Vikus considered that, sitting there in his bed before nodding his head. It was the truth, after all. Luxa had threatened with sending him out there enough anyhow.

Eventually though, Gregor had to go face the music and go eat dinner. Luxa would no doubt just grow more annoyed with his avoidance. She was in the dining hall when he got there, Hazard accompanying her as always while Luke was perched in her lap.

"And where have you been then, Gregor?"

"I'm guessing you won't take busy with very important things as an excuse?"

She only let out a loud, disappointed sigh before shaking her head. Luke looked up at the noise before patting her mouth with one hand, staring up at her. When Luxa glanced down at him, he only giggled before going back to his dinner.

"I did not know that you were returning today, Gregor," Hazard greeted when he came into the room.

"Luxa won't let me stay away for more than seven days. She's real clingy, you know."

"Didi." Lucais reached out for Gregor as he sat down next to Luxa. "Me."

"You." Taking him from Luxa, Gregor said, "You know that you got me in trouble today, buddy?"

"He did not get you in trouble," Luxa remarked as Hazard looked up at the words. "He was only doing as a child will. It was you that was in the wrong. You should have been holding on to him."

"What happened?" Hazard asked as a servant came to bring Gregor a plate. "Luxa?"

"Lucais just wanted me," she said going back to her dinner. "Gregor let him loose in the throne room and-"

"I did not." He rolled his eyes. "Luxa walked passed and he just wanted to go with her. What was I supposed to do? You know as well as I, Luxa, that if he started crying when you walked passed because he couldn't go, you would've just come get him. Would that have been better?"

She took to giving that disappointed sigh again, but Gregor just ignored her and spoke to Hazard instead. He knew that they would just have to make up later that night.

"Did any of you speak to Nerissa today?" Hazard asked towards the end of the meal.

"No," Luxa said while Gregor only shook his head. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"More than usual?" Gregor added on which got him a glare from Luxa.

"She was most excited," Hazard told them with a sight shrug. "When I asked her what was wrong, she merely told me that all of our lives were about to be changed. For the better."

"Great," Gregor remarked. "Another vision then?"

"Do not be disrespectful, Gregor." Luxa still shook her head. "I will speak with her on whatever it is she is so excited over."

Luke was wiggling then and was clearly finished eating. Gregor wasn't though and handed him off to Luxa as she stood. She usually bathed him after dinner before they put him to bed anyhow.

"So what all did Nerissa tell you?" Gregor asked after Luxa was gone. Hazard was not as naïve as Luxa and was rather skeptical about Nerissa's, err, powers. "Really?"

"Nothing really," he said with a slight shrug. "Just what I said. And when I asked her what she was talking about, she said that she saw it in a dream. That she saw Luxa…well…Luxa was…"

"What?"

Hazard looked around before leaning over the table and saying softly, "She said that she saw Luxa surrendering her crown."

"What?"

He nodded. "That's not all. She said that Luxa was happy about it too."

"But why-"

"I do not know," Hazard said with a shrug. "That is all that she told me. She said that whatever the reason, it must be a good one if Luxa was so overjoyed by the thought."

"That doesn't make any sense though," Gregor argued. Hazard only shrugged, looking back down at his plate of food.

"What does ever make sense anyhow?"

The halls were all quiet and empty as Luxa walked down them, Aurora flying over head. The only others up seemed to be guards, but that was not unusual for the hour. It was rather late, after all.

"The Overlander is going to be upset with you," Aurora remarked softly to Luxa who didn't even glance up at her. "It is so late."

"Why would he be upset? I was busy in the war room. Not to mention, I got the baby to bed before I went back to the war room. Did I not?"

"Did you?"

"I put him in his bed, at least. I do not know if he stayed there." Luxa only tossed her hair over her shoulder with a long sigh. "Besides, I had to go back to the war room. I got another scroll from the Fount. Apparently, York is not happy with my decision not to allow him to widen the walls of the Fount."

"When is York happy?"

"Hn."

When Luxa got to her bedchamber, she found Gregor there, shirtless, on top of the sheets. She only sighed when she saw this before getting ready for bed herself. She kept glancing at him though, as if expecting him to wake up. They had spent a week apart, after all. It was commonplace for them to spend some time together. Not that she was going to wake him up for it if he wasn't going to get up on his own. And the longer she waited, the more it looked like he wasn't moving in the slightest.

"Mmmm," she sighed as she got into bed, secretly hoping that woke or disturbed him. Nope. He just laid there in the center of her bed, arms stretched out on both sides. He was so annoying that it was almost cute.

"This is technically my bed," she reminded his sleeping form as she slowly moved to curl against his side. Nothing. He must have really been tired. She knew part of it too was that he was glad to be back. It was comforting, no doubt, to be able to come back home.

Home. It was kind of silly to call it that. For the longest time, they called him going up to the Overland him going home, but that pretty much changed when she got pregnant. He had been staying in the Underland full time at that point, as they were around twenty-three (she was soon to be twenty-four) and he had never actually been able to hold a job up there. It was much easier to live with Luxa in her royal wing and let her take care of him.

Not that the position came for free. Oh, no. Whenever the sounds of war arose, it was his job to defend Regalia to the fullest. Which he did for the most part, although there were times when he thought of the humans as the aggressors and refused to attack whoever it was that they were battling against. In those times Luxa was usually ready to try him for treason and behead him at every turn.

He was used to those sorts of responses to him opposing her though and never really took her seriously. After having started staying in the Underland permanently when he was a few months short of eighteen, mostly flunking high school at that point due to his poor attendance, he knew all Luxa's tricks. Not without his parents permission first though. When his mother caved to the idea, it was more out of exasperation and hopes that if they stopped resisting, he'd lose the desire. Forbidden fruit and all. He didn't though and eventually she forgot that she was supposed to be opposed to it.

Their relationship was much simpler for Luxa. Mainly because when he came to stay permanently, they were at war with the spinners. When it was made clear that the warrior's ghost was going nowhere fast, most everyone's aggression towards the human's died down.

It was very easy for Luxa to mold him into her reign then. For those few months anyhow. Everyone was most ecstatic to have him around. The warrior. And a rager at that. He'd saved them before and he would save them evermore.

Then the details of how the warrior wasn't exactly ever seen leaving the royal wing escaped. He was seeing entering it a lot, but as for his exits…

Which most could look over. They were young. And young people did things that…well, they got caught doing things that older people did, but were wise enough to hide better.

And slowly, it became more and more commonplace to just acknowledge the existence of their relationship. It didn't make it right and it did not stop it from being scandalous, but there was little anyone could do about it.

And she did not have a mother to tend to her, many said. And she only wanted someone to act as a father towards her, some whispered. And he was so violent, just like her grandmother. But oh, was it not good that she was at least safe at all times? With the warrior's phantom around? It would die out anyhow, right? Like most relationships?

But it didn't. Luxa took her relationship with Gregor very seriously. She met with no other suitors and any advancement seen by another male was immediately shot down, if not reprimanded. The Overlander eventually became the one to escort her to and from all events, as well as took the part of leading her into any other territories she went into, almost like a personal knight or guard.

For all the significance she gave their relationship, he took it just as seriously. Though their fights were, as always, rather loud if not downright passionate, he was always back. Always. Even when she banished him back to the Overland, he'd be back within that week, baring some sort of gift from above, ready to make up. The Underland was where he belonged, just like Luxa's side.

And the longer it went on, the more everyone just became accustom to it. Many kings kept whores or unmarried women around. And from what Luxa could gather, so did queens that served alone. It kept a man from assuming the throne and taking part of her power away, after all.

Though not all were in love with the men they kept, it was just as well to Luxa. Gregor was just as happy not being a king as she was being the only queen. It just worked itself out so well.

But as every remotely good thing in her life, it all had to come to an end eventually. And in usual Luxa fashion, it came crashing down around her.

She got pregnant.

There were actually a few options to go from there, or so they found out. They could, essentially, abort the baby (which they were both against, though Gregor was more concerned with how exactly you could do that in the Underland. He mentioned something about dropping stones on her stomach which made her more interested in what they did up above that would lead him to that conclusion), have it in secret and take it to the Overland and give it up for adoption there, or have Gregor take it to the Overland and raise it with his family.

Then Luxa threw down a hidden option.

It was not uncommon for kings to have bastards, usually with whores or lowborns that they never truly acknowledge. It was not common, however, for the queen to not only birth one, but also raise one.

Gregor offered to marry her, if it would make her feel better, but she denied that option and instead decided it was better for her to just have her child as if nothing was wrong and never act any different.

There was talk. More talk than there ever had been before. There were hushed whispers and harsh looks. Luxa dismissed them all though and anything said directly to her face was met with a snarky remark or rebuttal.

She was having her baby and no one was going to ruin it for her.

The certainty in her mind that Gregor would run off to the Overland and never look back was unlimited. Every time that he went up to spend some time, she had it made up in her mind that he wasn't coming back.

But he did. He always did. Every single time.

Even when things got bad, he never left. Because they did get bad, after the baby was born. Luxa was not prepared for the crying or the late night feedings that came along with having a child. And others tried to persuade her that it would be better to have a wet-nurse or nannies care for the child, but she would have none of it. She wanted to be a mother. A real mother. And when Luxa decided she wanted something, she got it.

Always.

It didn't help either that they were more or less at a stalemate with the gnawers when she gave birth. They were, as always, demanding more land and there was no way that normal Luxa was granting that wish. And pregnant Luxa or post-birth Luxa? No way. No freaking way. Gregor couldn't even get away with putting his feet up on the table in the sitting room and the gnawers thought they were getting some of Luxa's land?

Laughable.

But they made it through it, with about the same amount of luck that it took them to get through everything. And if anything, having a baby made Luxa a little softer. Just a skosh. Nothing anyone else would notice, but Hazard and Gregor benefited from it. Once she got over the constantly exhausted phase of taking care of a newborn, she was a lot nicer all-around. More lenient where she had not been before.

And that was always appreciated.

At the moment though, Luxa was not feeling up to being softer. At all. She had waited seven whole days to see Gregor and when he got back, not only did he accidentally let Lucais loose in the throne room, but he also fell asleep before she could come to bed. Honestly?

"Stupid Overlander," she grumbled as she snuggled up to him, annoyed that he was sleeping on top of the sheet so she could not even get under it herself. He was so selfish. "Why can you not just always stay above?"

Suddenly, the arm that was spread above her head curved slightly to wrap around her. He mumbled out something sleepily about if he stayed above, she'd be more miserable than she was when he was around. Then he was snoring again, probably never truly conscious.

Luxa only pressed her face harder against his side, refusing to let her smile be shown, not even to the sleeping man next to her. It was harder every day, though, to appear displeased when she usually was anything but.

She accomplished it though. Because, oh, was there nothing more that Luxa hated than having to admit that she was happy.

Maybe Ripred, but that was debatable.

Bleh. This is another take on how Luxa and Gregor's relationship would have to play out in the Underland. It's kinda was born after I wrote that last chapter for Death, Life, and Everything Else. 'cause the more I think about it, I'm pretty sure that Cleopatra is said to have a couple of kids with different people (or at least to have slept with them). Then again, she did sleep with her brother, so…

Anywho, this is not going to be one of my long, normal sized stories. At most ten chapters. Maybe five if I can get it all crammed in there, but probably ten. Just definitely not forty or thirty. Believe me.

And, yeah, the technical perspective in this one differs from the books, but that's more because this story is Luxa-centric more than it is about Gregor or their relationship. That will become abundantly clear in the coming chapters.