"Was there anything specific you wanted to talk about or did you just want to escape your sister?" Bog questions as they walk toward the palace's inner courtyard.
"A bit of both, actually," Marianne admits. "Dawn's more worried about our wedding being perfect than she is about her own. I've had to remind her several times that we're already married and that this is just to acknowledge the Light Field custom, as well as letting the Light Field denizens show their approval."
"Sounds about as exhausting as me having to defend my kilt," he mutters.
"I, for one, highly approve of the kilt," she purrs, tugging on the tempting fabric.
Marianne laughs at the half-hearted glare she receives as Bog is forced to move the white stone-studded black leather belt back into place. She didn't know what it was about her husband's new formal wear but it gave him an added appeal.
The first time Bog put on the kilt after the tailor finished making it, several female goblins had giggled at her drooling expression and confessed that they did the same thing when their males gained the fatherhood symbol. It made no sense how putting even more layers on would make him more tantalizing but at least she wasn't alone in her appreciation. It only got worse when he added the sporran because the silver-colored iron chains supporting it and the light grey mouse fur on the front stood out among Bog's dark formal wear and drew her attention to precisely where the black leather pouch was positioned on her husband's body.
"So, what did you want to talk about that couldn't wait for later?" Bog asks.
"It's not that it can't wait for later but I had wanted to talk to you earlier and I forgot then, so I just don't want to forget again now that I remember," Marianne comments.
"To be fair, it's not like we had much time to talk between morning reports, finishing the Lughnasa festival arrangements, and you having to leave just after you females finished your purification baths," he murmurs.
"That's true," she hums. "Well, what I wanted to talk about is that I know you overheard what your mother and I were talking about this morning. I caught a glimpse of your wings leaving the archives when we went back into the main room."
"You weren't there when Puck woke up and when he couldn't find you in the washing chambers, he woke me up as well," Bog explains, nodding to their son walking on all fours ahead of them. "Nex had seen the two of you rushing toward the lower levels, saying something about nobody overhearing. I had a feeling that you were talking about something concerning Fen and the war but I couldn't fly fast enough to catch Puck until he was almost to the archive storage rooms. When I heard Mom talking about Mire, I knew my guess was right and kept Puck away."
"Why didn't you just come in?" Marianne questions.
"I know you needed to know but...it's just something everyone knows but doesn't talk about and I knew that if Mom knew I was there, she wouldn't talk about it either," he admits. "I also didn't want to see how you'd react when you realized that I'm a beast."
So she hadn't been imagining things this morning. Bog had seemed a bit upset but between Griselda's revelation of what happened to their kin and the buzz of activity for the day's events, she had just assumed it was from the painful memories being brought up. She was both right and wrong.
Time to get silly ideas out of his head.
Marianne grabs Bog's arm to turn him around to face her. She notices as Puck stops and turns back to them at their lack of movement but she keeps her eyes on Bog's startled expression.
"You are not a beast and I've never thought that of you!" Marianne states firmly before amending. "Well, except at first when I still believed that all goblins were the monsters of the old stories, but even then, you showed what a kind heart you have and I wasn't as upset over my supposed fate as I should have been."
"Mother told you about Dad and Fen's death, so you know what I've done. I've killed, Marianne!" Bog growls.
"That doesn't make you a beast," she soothes.
"I decapitated my own kin without mercy and you don't call that being a beast," he scoffs before noticing her confusion. "Right, Mother didn't tell you what all happened. We knew it was a trap, so we had the whole Dark Forest army waiting at the border of the two kingdoms as a threat and as a distraction. While the Placid Swamp was focused on the army, I tried to fly as fast and as undetected as I could toward where Mother said the Placid Swamp castle was but I arrived too late."
"That's not what your mother said," Marianne points out. "She said you saved her, so you weren't too late."
"Fen was dead, Dad was dying, and Mom just had her horns broken by the Titan King. I was too late!" Bog insists. "I couldn't stop the rage as I looked into the throne room and saw the Titan King approaching my injured mother. I smashed through the window without thinking and removed his head from him. I knew who he was but I felt no remorse at what I'd done. There was no way I was leaving Dad and Fen there, so I also had to kill all the others that tried to stop us from leaving. It took all of Dad's strength to fly back to the border and he had barely announced me as the new king before collapsing. My first act as king was to declare war and lead the charge after laying Fen next to Dad. Throughout all those months of war, we killed our opponents without mercy, never taking a prisoner alive. Don't you get it, Marianne, I've killed before and should the need arise, I will kill again. I am a beast!"
"And yet, you didn't kill me nine months ago...," she starts.
"That was differ...," he interrupts.
"...or Sunny when he was blocking your way to Dawn before I got there," Marianne continues, covering his lips with her fingers. "You didn't call your army to attack when the Light Field army invaded your kingdom with the intent of attacking and you didn't even try to kill Roland when he actually did attack you. You gave Cu-Sith, of all creatures, mercy six months ago, giving it the option to flee when you had the very weapon to kill it easily. When a mischievous imp used a love potion on your subjects to create enough chaos to start a war three months ago, not only did you not kill him or even harm him when you caught him, you adopted him and called him your son."
Marianne smiles warmly as Puck jumps up to burrow against Bog's neck and lets out a loud purr as he hugs the elder male. Her heart warms further as Bog lays a hand against Puck's back while the other hand strokes the black patch of fur on the little male imp's head. She loves it when Bog shows what a good father he is.
For spirit's sake, she swears that if she wasn't already carrying his infant, she'd hurry up and ensure that she would be!
She quickly shakes away the tempting plans that would probably make them either very late to their own wedding or miss it entirely. Definitely would not be a good idea, no matter how much of an enticing idea it is.
"What I'm trying to say, is that you don't have a killer's heart," Marianne murmurs, moving her hand to place over his strong heart. "You were only doing what you had to do to protect the ones you care about."
"Isn't that the same thing that Mom told you this morning?" Bog mutters dryly.
"Yes, and it applies to you as well," she argues. "It's kind of like we discussed before, if you had wanted to kill me, or anyone else for that matter, you would have."
"So, you're not mad at me for keeping information like this from you?" he questions quietly. "I mean, about the upcoming meeting and all."
"You weren't planning on not telling me about the meeting and going alone, were you?" Marianne asks instead.
"I hadn't planned anything actually," Bog admits sheepishly. "I knew you needed to know and I wasn't trying to keep it from you but I try to avoid even thinking about the Placid Swamp and everything connected with them unless I have to. Dad and Fen's death was hard on all of us, especially me and Mom."
"That's understandable. No, I'm not mad and I wasn't mad when Griselda mentioned that I hadn't been told. I also understand if you don't want me to come with but that's not to say that I will listen and obediently obey," she murmurs, grinning at his chuckling before taking one of his hands and continuing back down the corridor. "So, what does this meeting consist of?"
"Exactly what Mom said. The Dark Forest army shows up at the border between the kingdoms to remind them that we won't leave enough of them alive to feed a raven the next time we fight while I have a 'pleasant' talk with their present king, the Dyke King," he answers. "He's Mom's youngest half-brother, just a little older than me actually, and the only one to survive the war since he didn't participate in the plot to capture Fen."
"I thought your mom said that you didn't know what happened," Marianne mentions.
"Yes and no. I knew what Fen was doing during all those times he disappeared without explanation but we didn't tell Mom and Dad. You see, Fen had already fought against both the Light Field and the Placid Swamp in the usual border skirmishes and when I bested him in the trials, he asked me what I was planning on doing about increasing border security. I told him that I wanted to try and get peace with the other kingdoms. I figured that he thought that I was naive when I explained my ideas but he didn't," Bog explains. "We had it all planned. I would be king and he'd be my counselor and together we'd bring peace to our kingdoms."
"But neither of you thought to wait until you became king to get started, right?" she guesses.
"Mire, Fen, and I used to get into so much trouble just because we were so impetuous. If it seemed like a good idea, we did it," he chuckles fondly before sighing and smiling sadly. "Fen said that he was just going to test the Placid Swamp's receptiveness to the idea. He offered them peace talks on behalf of the future Bog King. He knew not to trust them and he knew not to cross the border but somehow they still managed to get him and all those that knew how that happened either died that day or during the war. I wanted my ruling reign to be of peace and life but instead, I got war and death."
"You do have peace with both the Light Field and the Placid Swamp, just like you wanted," Marianne points out, pausing briefly in her walk to lean up and kiss his cheek. "It's the same thing you told me two nights ago when you were reassuring me. Some creatures don't want peace and the only way to get peace with them is to make them afraid of angering you. You didn't cause that war or those deaths, the Placid Swamp did when they refused peace."
"It took me a long time but I realized that nine months ago, thanks to you," Bog admits, laughing slightly at her look of confusion. "You offered peace when war was approaching and truthfully, I was scared to accept it because of what happened before. I was sure something would go wrong but you stood firm in your decision and fought to prove it, willing to fight even your own people for what you believed in."
"Some things are worth fighting for," she comments. "It's a pity that your brother didn't think to start the peace talks with the Light Field first."
"Well, with the bad blood that's always been between the Dark Forest and the Light Field, we figured that we'd have a better chance with the Placid Swamp because up until Fen's murder, the only problem that we had with them is their habit of trying to expand their borders," Bog mentions.
"I am kind of surprised that you didn't just take control of the Placid Swamp when you won the war, though," Marianne murmurs. "Being King of the Placid Swamp is not only your birthright because of your mother but it would have been your right to put them under tribute because of their crime and subsequent loss."
"Too much a hassle! Gives me a headache just thinking about it," he groans, smirking at Puck's cackling. "Even though they were once part of the Dark Forest long ago before the great famine, those goblins aren't like those of the Dark Forest. They'd be exactly like what the old stories told about Dark Forest goblins during the time of the Zircon King's ruling bloodline if they weren't so lazy. Not only are they lazy but they're also treacherous, rapacious, and selfish, even to their own. They hoard things away just for themselves and only give to their kin because they believe that they belong to them as well. It would be a prosperous kingdom but every goblin is only looking out for themselves and what they can gain for themselves. It's why no one cared when the Titan King gave their last true royal-blood as a blood-gift to a rival king or why no one cared when his other offspring died mysteriously, females when they were still young and males whenever they tried to usurp their sire. They didn't even care when the Titan King revealed that Mom was the crown princess they thought was killed years earlier."
"They sound just as bad as the Reavers," she mutters as they walk into the decorated inner courtyard.
"The Reavers?" Bog repeats.
"You remember what I told you about the mess that caused my grandfather to imprison Plum?" Marianne questions.
"A male fairy named Jacknick used one of Plum's potions on your grandmother, which resulted in Queen Titania divorcing your grandfather and disowning her son so that she could marry him. You didn't explain exactly what happened afterward, though," he points out.
"Why didn't I...oh, that's right! Stuff and Thang interrupted to inform us about that stoat trying to get into the meat storage rooms at the hunting burrow. Despite how much I love our new winter blanket, I still say that taming one would be beneficial," she hints.
"And I still say that it's not worth the hassle," Bog argues. "Now quit trying to convince me that you need a stoat as a royal mount and get back to what we were discussing."
"Spoilsport," Marianne mutters, smirking at her husband and son's laughter. "Well, the Reavers were a large band of travelers that passed through the Light Field every year during the reign of the past three kings. They always caused some kind of trouble, scuffles and thefts, nothing too serious but enough to make some higher officials think of tying them up and offering them to the Dark Forest as presents."
"Considering what your people thought of us back then, that sounds like they were more than a nuisance," he comments.
"The Reavers usually only stayed for a few weeks in autumn before moving on, so they were tolerated since they never stayed long. Jacknick was their unofficial king. They didn't have a royal bloodline, just whoever managed to take control and keep it," she explains, pausing only a moment to look over the arriving guests. "As far as anyone can tell, Jacknick must have assumed that he would become King of the Light Field after marrying Grandmother because he was furious when he discovered that Grandpa was the royal-born and Grandmother was back to being a commoner. So, he abandoned her when the Reavers left the Light Field and threatened to kill her if she followed them."
"You're right, they do sound like the Placid Swamp goblins," Bog growls.
"No one knew that she had been love-dusted, so they assumed her actions were her own but even those that hated her for how she abandoned her husband and son couldn't help feeling sorrowful for her over how heartbroken she was. Grandpa loved her too much to let her suffer, so he made sure that she was taken care of and tried to comfort her like the friends they once were but she didn't live past two weeks," Marianne murmurs. "It wasn't until the next autumn when the Reavers returned that Grandpa found out what really happened. What's worse, they had come back that year with a plan of attacking the kingdom. Grandpa spared the innocent but there weren't that many of them left alive."
"And that's when King Elatha imprisoned Plum?" he asks.
"He hadn't planned to since she was only the maker of the potion but then he found out that she knew what Jacknick was planning to do and she hadn't cared. That Plum is far different than the Plum you know," she explains at Bog's shocked look. "Even Plum will say that she was evil then and while she won't talk about the things that she did, she will admit that she did terrible things with no remorse."
"It's kind of hard to imagine Plum as being anything but crazy and mildly annoying," Bog mutters
"Plum is like a second mother to me and practically the only mother Dawn can really remember, so I know what you mean," Marianne admits. "How can any creature that would willingly return to the place where they were imprisoned for twenty springs just to comfort their captor's grieving son have been evil? But Plum was. I had once gotten Grandpa to reveal that for weeks after her capture, everyone in the Light Field had nightmares of Plum destroying the kingdom and killing everyone in it. They had thought it was a coincidence until they had realized that it was Plum who was causing them and they stopped it by managing to block her magic from escaping the enchanted prison she was in."
"Plum can manipulate dreams?" he questions in shock.
"I told you that her magic is unique," she remarks. "She was the only one who could soothe Dawn's nightmares after Mom died, which made her sudden arrival very welcome to everyone in the palace after a few weeks of being woken up in the middle of the night by Dawn's screaming. It's why Grandpa didn't protest about her return to the kingdom and silenced those who tried to stop her involvement with us."
Marianne pauses in her walk as she notices one of the fairy councilmembers looking far too jovial. Not that there is a problem with being happy but this particular one is known for having a dark cloud hovering almost constantly over him, the cynical sourpuss. Besides, he's looking more smug than being truly happy.
She motions the on-duty Hadrian toward them and maneuvers them more out of sight.
"Just what has Councilor Wesley so happy?" Marianne asks quietly.
"He heard the news about the Sugar Plum Fairy not coming to the wedding," Hadrian murmurs.
"That would make him happy, the old son-of-a...," Marianne starts to growl before glaring at the owner of the long-clawed fingers covering her mouth.
"Don't worry. He's already been warned to wipe the smug grin off his face before the ceremony starts," Hadrian soothes, knowing better than to let his humor show around Marianne. "Sister is making sure that he remembers and she's threatened to kick him out of the palace if he mentions anything about his dislike of the Sugar Plum Fairy today, especially in front of Princess Dawn."
"Tell Sepphira that she has my full approval," Marianne remarks after removing Bog's fingers. "In fact, tell Councilor Wesley that if he can't let things alone, especially settled things, I will personally make sure that his outdated and stilted counsel doesn't darken another council meeting again. You can also tell anyone else who may need telling, that if anything goes wrong today and my little sister's happiness is ruined by anything, the instigator will have one very angry Dark Forest queen making it regret its life-choices."
"My vicious queen!" Bog purrs as a laughing Hadrian flies off to fulfill his mission.
"Thanks for the compliment," she chuckles. "Now, let's go check to make sure everything is perfect for my little sister's wedding."