Kunimitsu was sitting on his desk at his chambers, reading some documents, when Syuusuke knocked before entering. He had a smile on and a small scroll on his hand. They had a system with courier falcons to exchange messages with the other representatives.

"They arrived in Lubjica safely." Coming close, he showed him the scroll. "Shuichirou-san just sent this."

"Good."

"Ryuu-san will be happy as seeing Sakuno-sama, since he was not able to come to the wedding."

"Probably." He returned to his reading, but Syuusuke playfully pulled the papers from him.

"Did you know Amaya-san is pregnant?"

The dark eyes looked at him surprised for a brief moment, but soon he pulled the papers back and restarted to read them.

"Is that so?"

"I noticed she was not drinking in the ceremony. Knowing her, something was definitely odd. I talked to her later and she made me promise I would not tell anyone. She did not want the queen to worry."

"It makes sense. Ryuu-san is going to be a good parent. Amaya too"

"How can you be so neutral about the man who stole your future wife? It is boring, you know."

"I am sorry if I am not giving in on your teasing. I have nothing against Ryuu-san."

"Can I ask you something?"

"It is not like you will not make the question if I tell you otherwise."

"Don't you ever miss Amaya-san? You act like nothing happened between you two every time you are around her."

"Of course I do." He looked at his friend seriously and Syuusuke was surprised at his words. The counselor was a very reserved person and he had never talked about such private subjects before. "But, what good could that bring? She chose Ryuu-san and I have absolute certainty he can make her happy like I was never able to. As she always says, I am married to my work. We are very different people and we were in different times of our lives. It was better that way."

"As you say, my friend." Syuusuke took a deep breath, tired of his stubbornness. "I am going to take a look around the city, want come with me?"

"I still have a report do finish. You can go."

"I will see you at dinner time."

##########

Ryoma continued to be frozen on his place, as seeing Sakuno playing with the huge dragon like he was a pet.

"Is that really safe?"

"Of course." Ryuu came to his side. "He is Sakuno-sama's guardian."

"His egg was a gift to Sayuri-sama on her wedding. He hatched on the capital and he and Sakuno grown up together." Shuichirou said. "But, when he started to grown up more, he had to be sent here."

"Why is that?"

"All the dragons were banned to Lubjica's mountains after The Great War. They were used to dizimate many human cities, so, they were also put on the peace act." Amaya smiled at the boy. "My family has been the dragon's keeper for all those years."

"How many are they?"

"Rae is the youngest of them. My family's dragon died a decade ago. There are five of them now, but only two stay close to the castle."

"The black one I saw outside?"

"That is Ciar. He is my family's guardian. He is the oldest dragon alive in our country." The general said. "He is not so friendly as Rae, so it is better you do not encounter him."

"Copy that." Ryoma had already no intentions of getting near those animals whatsoever.

#######

"There is something we would like to tell you, Sakuno-sama." The female elf smiled extremely happy. They were sitting on the dinner table, having a meal.

"What is it?" Ryuu touched his wife's hand and looked amorously to her.

"We are expecting. There is a new life growing inside Amaya."

"Really?" Sakuno was trilled. "Congratulations! When did you found out?"

"Three months ago."

"All this time?" the queen was surprised. "But, you did not say anything!"

"So many things happened lately. The end of the tournenship, your wedding, I did not want to become a preoccupation for you, My Queen."

"We were hoping you could come to the birth, Sakuno-sama, when the time comes."

"Of course, I will be delighted, Ryuu-san."

"Do you think you could be expecting already?" Amaya asked. "It would be lovely if our children could be close in age. So they could play together."

"It sure would be. But, let's see if Ragna will give me good news tomorrow."

"I thought we were going there tonight." Ryoma asked, before eating.

"There is no way I am going to see her during nighttime." The queen responded, a little nervous and Shuichirou smiled at her.

They continued to talk for a couple of hours more. Ryoma could notice there was a deep and genuine love between the couple. They told him more about the purple country and the dragons. The dinner ended when Sakuno excused herself to her chambers, wishing all good night. In a little while, Shuichirou also excused himself and the couple showed Ryoma his room before also called the night.

###########

"What do you think of Ryoma-kun?" Amaya was brushing her husband dark hair. She was sitting behind him on bed, wearing analmost transparent white nightgown. Letting his wife undo his braids and take care of his hair was a little ritual of them.

"He seems like a good boy. I hope Ragna can be able to help him and tell Sakuno-sama any good omen about her child. Fulfilling her duty with her husband is going to give her one less thing to worry about."

She stopped the brushing and hugged her husband's shoulders.

"Ryuu…"

"What is it?" touching one her hands, he smiled.

"Why you do not make love to me since I became pregnant?" her voice had a hint of sadness and he turned around, looking at her. "Is my body not beautiful anymore?"

"What are you saying?" touching her face, the blue eyes were filled with love. "There is no one more beautiful than you, Amaya."

"So?"

"We waited for so long; I thought it was not possible." Touching her belly, his voice was serious. "I was just… afraid of doing something and harm our child somehow."

"Nothing bad will happen. How could it be? Making love to you only brings me absolute happiness. If the mother is happy, the baby will be happy, too."

"Are you sure?" his thumb touched her red lips slowly. "I really miss you."

"Love me with all you got." Standing on her knees, she embraced her husband's neck and kissed him deeply, giving him the certainty he needed.

#########

Ryoma's room was beside the couple's chambers. He had a light sleep, so, as soon as Amaya's lustful moans reached his ears, he woke up, surprised.

"What is this?" it took him a while to identify the noise and his felt his entire face burning. Ryuu looked like such a gentle and calm person, was he really able to make his wife sound like that?!

He tried putting some pillows on his head, but the sensual sounds pierced his ears. Getting up from the bed, he left the room, trying to find some quiet place.

Since he was sure the dragons would not appear at night, Ryoma felt safe to talk a walk on the garden. There were violets all around and he thought it was beautiful the way they shone under the waning moon. His bare foot touched the soft grass and he looked up to the stars. Taking a deep breath, he could still not believe he was in the middle of all of that. The elf queen, ridiculously powerful beings, dragons, an ancient oracle. It all seemed like a wild dream. His head did not hurt for a while now and he wondered if his mind was healing. Sitting down on a stone bench, he wished the white elf could give him some answers and put his heart at ease.

He didn't even feel the hours passing by. An owl could be heard at distance and the soft wind moving the trees.

"I am sorry for the noise." Ryuu appeared on the gardens, also barefoot and shirtless, using only a light pair of pants. He smiled without any embarrassment about his wife's enthusiasm. "My lovely wife was feeling very passionate, she wore me out. I needed to get some air."

"No problem at all." Ryoma responded with a deep blush, averting his eyes.

"It is a beautiful night." His hair moved freely and it was even longer as completely loose. The human looked at him, interested on his skin tone and Ryuu smiled at seeing him so curious.

"Do not gaze at me with such intensity, Ryoma-kun." He smiled. "Amaya is jealous."

"Ah, I am sorry! I didn't mean to stare." he looked down, even more embarrassed and the older elf laughed at him.

"I am only joking." The dark elf sat by his side. ""No problem, I am sure there are not many dark elves around the capital."

"Ryuu-san, are you really an elf like the others?"

"I am a half breed, like Sakuno-sama, but dark elves come from human mothers and elf fathers. Because of The Great War, those kind of unions are not well seen in some parts of the state. My parents used to live in peace, but they were killed by humans. I ended up alone on the streets until Amaya's father took me in and raised me like his own. We were inseparable since our childhood days."

"Oh, so you got married for a long time, right?"

"Not at all. Before her father passed, she was appointed to be a representative and was betrothed to Kunimitsu-san. It was just the perfect set, two powerful elves with a long and strong lineage. A dark elf like me did not have a chance."

He looked to the violet flowers swaying by the wind for a moment. "But, Amaya ran out of patience after a long time of waiting and broke the engagement off. I just know her side of the story, but, she told me that he did not want to get married and have children before Sakuno-sama secured an heir. He could not think about himself first."

"That sounds like Kunimitsu-san."

"When she returned home, she said that, if I wanted her, that was my last chance. She has been braver than I since we were little. We have been married for five years now. I wanted children with her for a long time, but since my blood is weak, it was difficult. I was about to give up, my wife, on the other hand, was always hopeful." he smiled at his memories. "I cried like a boy when she found out. Sometimes I wonder if it is really all right to be that happy." Looking at him, the blue eyes were gentle.

"It seems nice. To have someone to be hopeful with." Ryuu noticed a hint of sadness on his voice.

"Are you anxious about meeting Ragna tomorrow?"

"I am afraid." Putting a hand in front of his face, he took a deep breath. "I wonder what kind of things she is going to say about me. What kind of life do I had so far. More importantly, what I am going to do from now on. Up until today, I had no idea of my future, but, now… it is even a more blank space in front of me. I truly don't know what to do."

"Do not worry, Ryoma-kun. You are in good hands."

"Hm?"

"You got Sakuno-sama by your side. It is not difficult to see she harbors a great deal of care and preoccupation towards you."

"Ryuu-san…"

"I know how it is to feel you have nothing but an empty path ahead, feeling like an outsider on your own skin. But, you can be sure that, no matter what the oracle tells you, Sakuno-sama will not let you feel alone. Our queen will protect you."