When she thought it over afterwards it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural
Sookie drifted through the fog of unconsciousness to the feeling of her stomach being stroked. It took her brain several minutes to turn on enough to register what was happening and by that point the hand and its stroking had moved lower. Sookie couldn't suppress the moan that escaped her lips and the sound only caused the hand to become relentless in its movements bringing her to a swift release. Only then had she woken enough to open her eyes, "Hi" she smiled down at her lover shyly. This wasn't the first time she had been woken in such a way but she quickly focused on the here and now, it wasn't right to dwell on the past when you were with another.
Connor smiled back and began to stroke the pink rune on her stomach once more, "This is unexpected but I am pleased," He placed a feather light kiss on the mark before resuming his gentle caress of her hot slick centre.
Sookie's eyes rolled back at the sensation but she quickly forced herself to focus "What does it mean." She asked him softly.
Connor let out a sign before sliding up the bed and pulling her into his arms. He brushed his fingers gently over the mark, "I forget sometimes how little you know of our ways."
She placed her hand over his stilling his movement, "Please, what does it mean?"
"It signifies life, a spark to be specific." His words confused her, what did he mean, my life, my spark? The thoughts raced through her head.
Finally she said, "I don't understand."
"We created a spark with our union; it is simply awaiting a vessel." He smiled and kissed her forehead.
It took her a few moments to try and understand what he meant, several questions jostled for importance in her mind before she finally managed to get out, "Explain!"
He rested his check on her hair and entwined his long fingers with hers, "How much do you know of Fae conception?" He asked softly.
"It's not the same as human?" She couldn't hide the slight panic that could be heard in her voice.
He laughed softly at her, "Oh it's still the same to create life, I mean how some are born with the essential spark and others not." She nodded her understanding and he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers before continuing, "It's fairly simple really, there are two parts to the fertile cycles for females, the first is when a spark can be formed the second is when the actual conception happens. Sometimes a spark is created but no vessel and sometimes a vessel is created but no spark is there to fill it."
Sookie pulled away from him slightly so she could look him in the eye, "So we made a spark? What does that mean for us now?"
"It doesn't have to mean anything right now, your obviously in the first half of your fertile cycle, we won't be able to create life until the second half, depending on how far into it you are it could be a week or two weeks till you're in the next phase. Like I said don't worry about it now we have just enough time to join once more before dawn." His hands began to wander down her body and he kissed the shell of her ear causing her to shudder at the sensation. Taking him at his word, she pushed aside her worries and let her own hands go wandering.
Several days later Sookie was wandering in the garden alone in the late afternoon sun. Connor had returned to his uncle that morning and she was feeling lost without him. There was an ache in her chest and an unsettled feeling in her stomach that no matter how much she tried to analyse the cause came up empty every time. She feared it was becoming more apparent that the relationship between them was far more serious than they had let on and the carefully crafted facade was beginning to crack with every hour that passed. It was so easy to keep up appearances when they had been together but now they were apart Sookie couldn't seem to keep it together which is why she sought solitude in the private gardens.
"Cousin?" Claudine's voice broke through her contemplation.
"Yes Claudine? What's the matter?" She answered.
"Grandfather wishes to speak to you. He's in his off…" Her words died in her throat as she looked at Sookie's face. "Oh Sookie, it must be very painful to be so far away from him." Claudine's thumb brushed across her cheek before holding it up for her to see. A fat iridescent tear sat proudly on the tip, Sookie hadn't even realised she had been crying.
"Why does it look like that?" She asked quietly.
Claudine gestured for her to sit. "We have some time before Grandfather gets impatient." They both sat on the warm grass and Claudine began her questioning. "Why didn't you tell me how serious your relationship with Lord Connor was?"
"We just thought it was best to keep it quiet." She shrugged.
Claudine sighed and tried again, "You have joined with him more than once yes?"
Sookie chocked out a sob and simply nodded unable at that moment to answer, her tears fell freely now as she was unable to stop them, where all this raw emotion came from she had no idea. Claudine simply wrapped her arms around her and rocked them both slowly whispering soothing words in her ear, trying hard to comfort her.
When the sobs finally receded, Sookie wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "I guess we need to have a talk at some point huh?" She tried to smile at her cousin but it came out more of a grimace.
Claudine smiled back and nodded, "We certainly do but for now you need to speak to grandfather, I'm not sure how much longer he will wait."
Taking a deep breath Sookie gathered her magic in her hands and wiped her face from top to bottom erasing any trace of her tearful outburst. "I still can't get over how convenient that is," She said with a chuckle.
"Now you know how we appear perfect and never ruffled." Claudine laughed back. "Come on, let's get you to Grandfather." Claudine got up but Sookie remained seated,
"Claudine, will he know?" She asked quietly.
"Perhaps, there is obviously something going on with you but if you hadn't starting crying I wouldn't of guessed the true reason." Taking Sookie's hand Claudine lead the way to the Princes office.
Luckily Niall had his head buried in paperwork by the time the girls arrived and asked them to come back later. So Claudine took Sookie back to her chambers to talk. She warded the room against eavesdropping guards and once they were situated comfortably on Sookie's bed the silence stretched between them, Sookie reluctant to spill her secrets and Claudine pondering the best way to get anything out of Sookie.
After a few moments Claudine began, "I know we had a brief discussion about fae courting but I didn't go into our mating rights. Did Lord Connor explain anything to you?"
"He explained about the two phases of fertility when this appeared." She pulled up the hem of her dress to show the mark, it had grown darker since it had first appeared but Connor never mentioned it again although he would often stroke it lovingly when he thought Sookie was sleeping. "But that's about it really." She finished, pulling down her dress again.
Claudine's eyes went wide at the sight of Sookie's mark and she rapidly tried to think of what to say to her. "Oh Sookie, I'm not exactly sure how to say this to you, that mark… it means…" Her eyes filled with tears and she looked at Sookie with fear, pity, envy? Sookie couldn't quite work out what that look conveyed she just wanted a straight answer!
"What Claudine? It means what?" Her words tumbled out quickly; she was desperate for answers now the suspense had been built.
"It means you're having a baby." She whispered her answer so softly Sookie had to strain to hear it.
"I'm what!" She shrieked leaping from the bed to pace all the while she rambled, "He said it wasn't possible until I was in the second phase, what am I supposed to do?" Her rant continued and she became increasingly agitated which caused her pacing to become frantic.
"It won't be any ordinary baby Sookie; you've been marked to carry the next heir to the throne. That's what that mark means." Claudine explained slowly trying to make Sookie listen to her.
It had not happened in her lifetime but everyone of royal decent knew the mark and to be vigilant for it when joining with their mate. How was she going to explain this to Grandfather? He probably had the same inkling that Sookie and Lord Connor had joined that she did but it was something entirely different to tell him the next heir had been conceived. And how had her mate left her knowing she carried such a precious burden with no knowledge of what was going to happen? It would have to be brought to the Princes attention immediately, protection and guidance must be put in place as soon as possible. Through the rambling and cursing the still pacing Sookie was spewing, Claudine was able to garner that she had in fact been suspicious of Lord Connor's dismissal of her concerns, he had lied to her and she had let herself be tricked once more by sweat words. Her angry tirade caused her hands to glow and spark leaving Claudine little choice but to intervene.
"I'm sorry about this Sookie, but it's for the best." Claudine said as she used her magic to put her into a deep sleep. Sookie crumpled to the floor as the magic took hold, leaving Claudine free to place her in the bed. Leaving her cousin in the safety of her chamber, she locked the door and swiftly navigated the corridors to the Prince's office. Waving away the footman that stood outside she knocked and walked straight in, shutting the door firmly behind her and throwing up a concealment ward for good measure.
"What's the meaning of this Claudine?" Niall asked briskly.
Giving a quick bow Claudine began to tell him everything she had found out.
"You were right to sedate her; any undue stress could do much harm to them both." Niall's mind was frantically checking every conceivable angle that could go wrong with this situation. The mark had appeared on Sookie of all women, they hadn't even begun to test the depth of the magic she contained and who was to say that her human side would be able to cope with the added magic of the future heir. Putting that thought aside for the moment he pondered Lord Connor's reaction as Sookie had described it to Claudine. It was most worrying; he had left her vulnerable and uninformed. Being of royal blood himself he would have known the significance of the mark. But why didn't he tell her and why hadn't he still not come to him about making an official offer for her hand? It was all very puzzling and hopefully it would come to light sooner rather than later. He hated being out played by anyone.
"Claudine, Susannah will need to be moved to a more secure location, the Summer Palace will work nicely and we need to get a physician to make sure all is well. I need not remind you discretion is paramount in this matter."
"Yes Grandfather, I shall see to it immediately." Bowing low she quickly lifted the ward and left the room, heading back to Sookie.
A/N: Don't kill be for the plot bomb in this one. Hopefully in the next chapter we will hear from Eric again but no promises the muses do strange things to my plans. Thanks again to all those who were kind enough to post a review, it's nice to know you still want me to continue with this one. If any of you have any questions or ideas on where I should go with this story don't hesitate to let me know, I'm open to imput.
On a side note if any of you have read my other story Broken, I have started to rewrite it so sometime soon it will be fixed at some point.