Sadiq called for him one mild afternoon.
He was instructed to meet the other man in a ghostly room, towards the opposite end of Magnus' usual wing and outside of his familiarity. A spiral staircase took him up to the loft. Sun shone through tall windows, which Magnus used as his excuse for the sudden warmth that overcame him.
"It's a library, ya like it?"
The man's booming voice bounced off the walls and struck him. In his nervous haze, the prince spotted Sadiq, as well as Katyusha, seated on a wooden bench by the darker corner of the room.
"A...what?"
"A library! See the shelves lining these walls? They're books! Don't touch them, though, Kat says Ivan will crack his whip if you disturb the dust on their spines!"
"I didn't say that!"
"My first wife died in childbirth. I remarried, but she fell ill and soon passed, too."
"Oh, my! I know you've told the story before, but it sounds awful every time I hear it." Katyusha grabbed his hands. Her round face softened with worry.
"Don't make that face, Kat! Third time's the charm, as they say!" His laughter shook the room.
The married couple exchanged a quick kiss, much to Magnus' discomfort. He knew his sunburn couldn't hide the blood that flourished in his cheeks. Part of him felt a sort of painful yearning, watching them interact the way they did. When Katyusha pulled herself away from her husband, a snaggletooth exposed itself from her euphoric smile. The only time he came close enough to Natalya was when she laid her hands on him to push him out of her sight.
"I am surprised you are so keen on talking about land. When I was your age, all I wanted to do was expand my kingdom. Now I'm too tired. Thank God my son has offered to take control up here."
"You have a son?"
"His name is Heracles. He's around your age, I'm sure." Sadiq's cheeks glowed under his mask. "I used to bring him up here "But, if we're lucky, we'll hopefully have another one on the way."
The older man placed a hand on his wife's stomach and kissed her once more. The woman's porcelain skin suddenly flushed.
"I haven't told my sister yet. It isn't certain. I just...have my reason to speculate."
"How about you, Magnus? Are children on your mind?"
"They would be, if I was allowed to sleep in my bed."
The prince had grown accustomed to sleeping on the stone floor of his royal bedroom. Natalya insisted on keeping her bed pure, and he knew his chance of living to see the sun was higher if he was below her.
"I'm sorry about her." Katyusha gasped as if afraid of her own admittance. "I can't offer an explanation for why she acts the way she does. The only man she's ever been close to is our brother, oddly enough..."
Magnus held up a hand.
"No apology is needed, Lady Kat. There is nothing wrong with a strong-willed woman. A woman who knows what she wants and when she wants it is surely one who will keep me on my toes."
He thought he saw a hint of a smile grace her lips.
"You said you have a child?"
The Turkish man leaned forward and rested his elbows on his bare knees.
"He's named after one of the old Greek gods; Heracles. Heracles strangled snakes as a baby, and bedded with many women. The ancients used to write about him and his legacies."
"He sounds...powerful, intimidating even." Magnus smirked slightly. "Are you sure he is your's?"
Sadiq's expression mirrored his. "Oh, I am sure," he replied in a velvet tone.
"I'm not feeling well. Please, excuse me."
One of Katyusha's porcelain hands carried her abdomen, while the other clutched her mouth. Swiftly, she ghosted out of the library, shadowless in the hall.
Sadiq slapped his hands onto his knees. His face fell as he leaned forward. Veins popped from his broad hands.
"What are you planning?"
"Hmm? I don't know what you're talking about."
"When I was your age, all I wanted to do was rule the world. You are young, but choosing now to settle down? I'm surprised you didn't have one of your brothers married off to rule the northern half."
Magnus couldn't help but fidget with the wedding ring on his finger. The initials in the band engraved his skin and made it itch. It didn't fit comfortably, not like the Norse ring on his opposite hand.
"They're still young. Besides, I figured as the oldest, I'm the one who has to face the monster."
"I've lived long enough to know you're full of shit."
"My motives are not of your concern," the prince snapped.
"Do you know what's under my mask?"
Magnus didn't speak. The only movement that came from him was a twitching near the side of his lip. Sadiq lifted the half-moon shape and revealed a deep, sickly white river running from one side of his forehead to just underneath the opposite eye. Parts of it were reminiscent of mountains, with the way they raised away from his face.
"I threw a party for my son's coming of age. There was quite a bit of drinking; too much, in fact. I placed my trust in my enemies. When I returned to my bedchamber that night, I was awaken by a dagger hovering over my throat. The assassin got the Hell scared out of him, and in his confusion he missed and slid the blade across my face."
Magnus remained silent. The largeness of the other ruler suddenly made itself known. The Northman found himself eyeing the other's tanned muscles, his dark stubble, his curly hair that hung at his ears.
Sadiq continued. "I am an invincible man. God made me that way. I have survived similar attempts to end my life. Capture, torture, rumors, you name it."
The silence became a humming white noise, echoing from the high ceiling.
"You may have noticed I've sent my soldiers away."
Indeed he had. Not long after the wedding proceeded, the southern troops marched out of the courtyard, never to be seen again. Magnus didn't put much thought to it at first, assuming they would return as soon as they disappeared. The current affairs, as well as his mental anguish, had forced the incident to slip from his mind.
"I believe I can handle myself on my own. No one will want to invade this terrain."
'You believe many false things,' the Northman wanted to say. Instead, he sucked on his lower lip, breathed in, and said, "I trust your judgement."
Natalya's stomach churned. She groaned and twisted her body across her dull bed, but the cramps would not subside. When she chose to stop her contortionist dance, Katyusha gently rubbed her lower abdomen in solidarity.
The younger sister's painful moans subsided after a moment of massaging. It was in this instance, when the quiet of the room felt as if it could physically tear them away from each other, when her shaky voice broke through the silence.
"I might be with child."
Natalya's lips turned upwards. "Good. We'll have an heir. I take it I'll be doing the bleeding for both of us?"
"No, that's not what I'm saying! Nat…" She moved close to her sister and said, "We can't kill Sadiq!"
Natalya's hands twitched. Her dreamy grin dropped as quickly as it appeared. "Why the fuck not?"
"Sadiq is a nice man. I've had the chance to understand him, and he understands me! Things were rough at first, sure, but now - now I'm proud to be his wife! He's pious, he even lets me pray with him!"
The elder sister, in her ecstasy, grabbed hold of the other's hands.
"He wants to show me the south! I - I will meet his son, and we will have our own child!"
The younger, at first laying on her back, propped herself up on her elbows. She pulled herself out of the other's grip.
"How does his cock taste?" she questioned stoically.
"Natalya!"
"Katyusha."
"My child needs a father!" she gasped. Her brows furrowed, and she threw her shoulders back.
"I didn't have a father and I turned out fine."
Katyusha glared at her.
"I...no." The elder sister sighed and covered her face with her palms. "Natalya, please, spare Sadiq. I don't want Magnus to die either, but-"
"You don't want to keep the kingdom intact?"
When Natalya shifted her legs, she felt a warm rush of blood leave her thigh. She, bleeding, and Katyusha, pregnant. She, committed, and Katyusha, devoted. Why, Natalya wondered, were they fated to be so different?
"Get out."
"-What?"
"Leave my bedchamber. Now." Natalya's line of sight went first to her sister's identical, narrow eyes, then to the door behind her.
The other began to shake. Her fingers danced in the folds of her gown.
"I understand."
Katyusha rose to her feet and wordlessly turned to face the door. Before she could place one foot in front of the other, however, her sister's voice erupted.
"Send for Tolys," Natalya added. "Tell him I need to speak with him. Immediately."
With a slow, solemn nod, Katyusha started her trek towards the hall. Natalya could feel the season change as her sister left a haunting trail as she left the room. When her footsteps grew distant, the younger allowed her hot tears to fall.
A/N: Get the f*** out of my room I'm playing Minecraft!
Now that's out of the way, I'm sorry for the late reply/short chapter. School is almost out, and this fic is almost done yeehaw! We have 3 more chapters left baby! How are we feeling?