A/N: I had planned to do this chapter from the beginning, but I got caught
up in other stories and schoolwork so I forgot about it. But due to a
seeming sudden interest in my story, I was spurred into finally posting
this. Thank you all tons and tons who reviewed. I appreciate it more than I
can say.
Disclaimer: Don't own in, never did. All belongs to the great and wonderful Anne Bishop except for Malayian.
Epilogue
Lucivar turned the corner so quickly he nearly knocked Karla over.
"Where are you in such a rush too?" she asked him as he grasped her elbows to keep her upright.
"Malayian. She said she was too sick to help me with practice this morning, so I'm going to check on her."
Karla raised and eyebrow. "Malayian? Too sick to go to practice. We are talking about the same Malayian here, right? Your wife? The one who knocked you down when the last time you tried to tell her to stay in bed?"
"Why do you think I'm rushing," Lucivar growled back.
"Hell's fire! Do you need a healer?"
"I don't know. Like I said, I'm going to check on her now, if you'll excuse me." Without waiting for a response, Lucivar slipped past Karla and continued to dash towards the rooms he shared with Malayian.
She had been awake when Lucivar had woken that morning, sweating and cursing. When he'd asked her what was wrong she'd only growled at him and told him that she was fine, and didn't he have practice to be at. She was feeling ill, and wouldn't go. Then she'd tried to smack him when he stared at her in disbelief. That had been enough, and Lucivar decided that it would be best to just go to the training field and work it out with her later. Now it was later, and Lucivar's mind had been given a good deal of time to wonder what could be wrong.
He approached the door and knocked gently. There was along pause, then a growled, "Go away!" He sighed in relief, she must be alright if she could yell at him, and opened the door.
Immediately he had to duck as a shoe flew over his head and into the corridor behind him.
"I said, 'Go away,'" she snarled at him. The other shoe slammed into the wall beside him with a thump so loud that Lucivar jumped.
"I came to see if you were alright," he told her, cautiously, waiting for another attack. He was not disappointed. A book followed the shoe, making a dent in the wall beside him.
"You bastard," she screamed. "Get out! I told you to go away! Get out of my room. NOW!" She grabbed a white porcelain bowl and flung it at him. Lucivar caught it just before it hit the floor and smashed.
"That's wrong, Malayian? What are you…ow!" This book hit its mark, cracking Lucivar over the head as he straightened from catching the bowl.
"I said get out you gutter son of a whoring bitch! GET OUT!" This time Lucivar decided that it would be a good idea to do as she said. He retreated out the door, shutting it quickly so that the glass she had thrown after him smashed against the door with a loud thump. For a moment Lucivar just stared at the door and blinked a couple of times trying to understand what had just occurred. Unable to find a satisfying explanation he turned shaking his head. He gave a start when he saw Karla leaning casually against the wall with an annoying grin on her face.
"Throwing a temper tantrum, is she?" Karla asked, still grinning. "Want me to talk to her?"
"I don't think she'll let anyone talk to her right now," muttered Lucivar.
"Oh, kiss kiss! She'll let me talk to her," Karla said without a second thought and flounced past him to knock on the door.
"I said GO AWAY!" Lucivar heard through the door.
"It's me, honey," called Karla. "Let me in."
There was a long pause then, "alright." Karla shot Lucivar an annoyingly superior look and went into the room.
The room was a mess. Everything that was independent of a fixed structure in the room had been thrown in one direction or the other. Malayian was sitting in the bed, her arms crossed over her chest, wearing a scowl that would scare the High Lord of Hell himself. She brightened only a little as Karla came in and settled herself comfortably at the end of the bed.
"So why are you chasing your dear love away, this morning Malayian. Looking to make the rest of us sweat to death at arms practice?"
Malayian glared at her. "I threw up this morning."
"Not fun, honey but no reason to throw Lucivar out the door. Unless you just wanted to see the expression on his face when you hit him with the book. That was priceless."
Malayian was not amused. "I haven't had my moon's blood in three months," she told Karla.
Karla's face brightened. "Malayian, you're going to have a baby, that's wonderful!"
Malayian scowled. "No, its horrible. And it's all that gutter son of a bitch's fault." She gestured angrily at the door. "I don't want this! Not now, not after everything I've worked for."
"Malayian, I know that you are aware that it takes two people to make a baby, so it can't be all that gutter son of a bitch's fault."
"I know," she responded, sounding dejected. "But he's not going to have to live through the consequences for the next nine months. I don't want this!" She accentuated her point by punching the pillow beside her hard enough to send feathers into the air.
Karla reached out and caught one. "Why not? I can't imagine a better place to have a child. You are surrounded by people who love you, and you have a husband who, though as thick as a brick, loves you and would do anything for you. You won't be alone or the next nine months by any means."
Malayian was silent for a moment. "I didn't plan for this…any of this. To fall in love, to get married, least of all to have a baby. What do I know about raising children? What if it turns out stupid like my mother? What if I mess something up?"
"Malayian, no one is ready to be a mother when it first happens. But you are not alone. You have Lucivar and me and Jaenelle, and don't think Saetan is going to let you raise his grandson alone." Malayian winced at that. "Who cares that you didn't plan it, its happened. Make the best of it. I have heard that a child is the greatest blessing a person can receive. It might be difficult, but it also might be worth it."
Malayian didn't say anything for a very long time. Then she said, "I used to play around with the idea. What would I do if I had a child, what would I teach them. It was all silly though, because I was on the run and there would have been no way to conceive, much less raise a baby." She looked down. "Maybe its not…such a bad thing."
"Not worth throwing your husband out for?"
Malayian allowed herself a small smile. "No."
"Excellent!" announced Karla in a loud voice. "Now we just have to tell Lucivar that you're pregnant!"
There was suddenly a very loud thump from outside the door. Karla and Malayian exchanged a quick look, the leapt off the bed and out the door.
Lucivar was sitting on the ground a few feet away from the door looking utterly bewildered.
"P…pregnant," he stammered. Karla grinned.
"I think I'd better leave you two to discuss. Kiss kiss." She gave them a backward way and left.
Malayian walked over to Lucivar and, giving him her hand, helped him to his feet. He was still looking so lost that he didn't think to refuse her help. Malayian couldn't resist a short laugh before she grew serious.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before," she said.
Lucivar shook himself. "Are you really pregnant?" he asked, shakily.
She nodded wordlessly. "I wasn't really expecting this. It sort of…caught me unawares." Lucivar nodded.
"I want you to know," she continued. "That I love you. I will try to do my best to raise this child."
"And I will do the same," Lucivar told her. He pulled her into a tight embrace and held her close.
A/N: And I couldn't think of a great ending line, so you'll have to live with that. If this made you squirm I'm sorry, but I had to put in him finding out and that requires a sappy moment. I think I've outdone myself for sickly sweet. But this is the end. The baby of course will be Daemonar and you can fill in the rest from Queen of the Darkness with only some minor changes where her history differs from Marian's. I hope you enjoyed this series. I may do some editing this summer, so keep your eyes open. Love to all my reviewers. ::Takes a dramatic bow as the lighting fades::
Disclaimer: Don't own in, never did. All belongs to the great and wonderful Anne Bishop except for Malayian.
Epilogue
Lucivar turned the corner so quickly he nearly knocked Karla over.
"Where are you in such a rush too?" she asked him as he grasped her elbows to keep her upright.
"Malayian. She said she was too sick to help me with practice this morning, so I'm going to check on her."
Karla raised and eyebrow. "Malayian? Too sick to go to practice. We are talking about the same Malayian here, right? Your wife? The one who knocked you down when the last time you tried to tell her to stay in bed?"
"Why do you think I'm rushing," Lucivar growled back.
"Hell's fire! Do you need a healer?"
"I don't know. Like I said, I'm going to check on her now, if you'll excuse me." Without waiting for a response, Lucivar slipped past Karla and continued to dash towards the rooms he shared with Malayian.
She had been awake when Lucivar had woken that morning, sweating and cursing. When he'd asked her what was wrong she'd only growled at him and told him that she was fine, and didn't he have practice to be at. She was feeling ill, and wouldn't go. Then she'd tried to smack him when he stared at her in disbelief. That had been enough, and Lucivar decided that it would be best to just go to the training field and work it out with her later. Now it was later, and Lucivar's mind had been given a good deal of time to wonder what could be wrong.
He approached the door and knocked gently. There was along pause, then a growled, "Go away!" He sighed in relief, she must be alright if she could yell at him, and opened the door.
Immediately he had to duck as a shoe flew over his head and into the corridor behind him.
"I said, 'Go away,'" she snarled at him. The other shoe slammed into the wall beside him with a thump so loud that Lucivar jumped.
"I came to see if you were alright," he told her, cautiously, waiting for another attack. He was not disappointed. A book followed the shoe, making a dent in the wall beside him.
"You bastard," she screamed. "Get out! I told you to go away! Get out of my room. NOW!" She grabbed a white porcelain bowl and flung it at him. Lucivar caught it just before it hit the floor and smashed.
"That's wrong, Malayian? What are you…ow!" This book hit its mark, cracking Lucivar over the head as he straightened from catching the bowl.
"I said get out you gutter son of a whoring bitch! GET OUT!" This time Lucivar decided that it would be a good idea to do as she said. He retreated out the door, shutting it quickly so that the glass she had thrown after him smashed against the door with a loud thump. For a moment Lucivar just stared at the door and blinked a couple of times trying to understand what had just occurred. Unable to find a satisfying explanation he turned shaking his head. He gave a start when he saw Karla leaning casually against the wall with an annoying grin on her face.
"Throwing a temper tantrum, is she?" Karla asked, still grinning. "Want me to talk to her?"
"I don't think she'll let anyone talk to her right now," muttered Lucivar.
"Oh, kiss kiss! She'll let me talk to her," Karla said without a second thought and flounced past him to knock on the door.
"I said GO AWAY!" Lucivar heard through the door.
"It's me, honey," called Karla. "Let me in."
There was a long pause then, "alright." Karla shot Lucivar an annoyingly superior look and went into the room.
The room was a mess. Everything that was independent of a fixed structure in the room had been thrown in one direction or the other. Malayian was sitting in the bed, her arms crossed over her chest, wearing a scowl that would scare the High Lord of Hell himself. She brightened only a little as Karla came in and settled herself comfortably at the end of the bed.
"So why are you chasing your dear love away, this morning Malayian. Looking to make the rest of us sweat to death at arms practice?"
Malayian glared at her. "I threw up this morning."
"Not fun, honey but no reason to throw Lucivar out the door. Unless you just wanted to see the expression on his face when you hit him with the book. That was priceless."
Malayian was not amused. "I haven't had my moon's blood in three months," she told Karla.
Karla's face brightened. "Malayian, you're going to have a baby, that's wonderful!"
Malayian scowled. "No, its horrible. And it's all that gutter son of a bitch's fault." She gestured angrily at the door. "I don't want this! Not now, not after everything I've worked for."
"Malayian, I know that you are aware that it takes two people to make a baby, so it can't be all that gutter son of a bitch's fault."
"I know," she responded, sounding dejected. "But he's not going to have to live through the consequences for the next nine months. I don't want this!" She accentuated her point by punching the pillow beside her hard enough to send feathers into the air.
Karla reached out and caught one. "Why not? I can't imagine a better place to have a child. You are surrounded by people who love you, and you have a husband who, though as thick as a brick, loves you and would do anything for you. You won't be alone or the next nine months by any means."
Malayian was silent for a moment. "I didn't plan for this…any of this. To fall in love, to get married, least of all to have a baby. What do I know about raising children? What if it turns out stupid like my mother? What if I mess something up?"
"Malayian, no one is ready to be a mother when it first happens. But you are not alone. You have Lucivar and me and Jaenelle, and don't think Saetan is going to let you raise his grandson alone." Malayian winced at that. "Who cares that you didn't plan it, its happened. Make the best of it. I have heard that a child is the greatest blessing a person can receive. It might be difficult, but it also might be worth it."
Malayian didn't say anything for a very long time. Then she said, "I used to play around with the idea. What would I do if I had a child, what would I teach them. It was all silly though, because I was on the run and there would have been no way to conceive, much less raise a baby." She looked down. "Maybe its not…such a bad thing."
"Not worth throwing your husband out for?"
Malayian allowed herself a small smile. "No."
"Excellent!" announced Karla in a loud voice. "Now we just have to tell Lucivar that you're pregnant!"
There was suddenly a very loud thump from outside the door. Karla and Malayian exchanged a quick look, the leapt off the bed and out the door.
Lucivar was sitting on the ground a few feet away from the door looking utterly bewildered.
"P…pregnant," he stammered. Karla grinned.
"I think I'd better leave you two to discuss. Kiss kiss." She gave them a backward way and left.
Malayian walked over to Lucivar and, giving him her hand, helped him to his feet. He was still looking so lost that he didn't think to refuse her help. Malayian couldn't resist a short laugh before she grew serious.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before," she said.
Lucivar shook himself. "Are you really pregnant?" he asked, shakily.
She nodded wordlessly. "I wasn't really expecting this. It sort of…caught me unawares." Lucivar nodded.
"I want you to know," she continued. "That I love you. I will try to do my best to raise this child."
"And I will do the same," Lucivar told her. He pulled her into a tight embrace and held her close.
A/N: And I couldn't think of a great ending line, so you'll have to live with that. If this made you squirm I'm sorry, but I had to put in him finding out and that requires a sappy moment. I think I've outdone myself for sickly sweet. But this is the end. The baby of course will be Daemonar and you can fill in the rest from Queen of the Darkness with only some minor changes where her history differs from Marian's. I hope you enjoyed this series. I may do some editing this summer, so keep your eyes open. Love to all my reviewers. ::Takes a dramatic bow as the lighting fades::