Hell Week (Part 1)

If March was the best month of my life, April was by far the worst. Even as my new kingdom was soaring to greater heights and the war effort was pushing forward, my personal life was spiraling down in flames. Because of my poor, impulsive choices, my relationship with Fruit Bat, Majestic and Greatness was in flux, and despite my best efforts, I still didn't know if things were any better between them all.

But what I didn't know was that within the span of one week, I'd come to believe that my life had well and truly come crashing down.

And yet it all started with what was the greatest moment in my life. On Monday morning, I had started my new routine by getting up, checking on Stonemover and Greatness down the hall as they started their days, and heading out to my workshop to start working on my latest projects. Just before I was about to step outside, Maggy appeared next to me, taking my arm and pulling me down the hall to her new quarters in the Palace.

"Xero!" She chirped, practically bouncing next to me, "Come on, there's something I've got to show you!"

"Wait, slow down, Maggy!" I protested, following her all the same, "What's going on?!"

"You've gotta see it!" She kept repeating, acting like she chewed up a whole bunch of coca leaves (a common, if rather nasty, habit among the Rainwing workers). "You've gotta see it! You've gotta see it, Xero!"

"Alright, alright, I'll see it, ugh!" I grunted, walking through the halls until we reached her room. Just as she opened the door, she extended her wing in front of me, displaying an illusion of the room as we walked in. I found this very weird, but said nothing as we went inside.

"My King," She asked, her scales now an excited yellow and nervous green, "You know I love you, right?"

Alarm bells went off in my head at the tone in her voice. "Of course, Majestic," I said, trying not to sound too nervous myself, "And I love you, too."

"I know," She replied, green bleeding away to rose-pink, "And that means more to me than I could ever tell you. These last three months have been the best in my entire life. You've done so much for me and my Tribe, and... And something happened last night. Last night, I received a gift, and it's a gift I want to share with you."

Before I could respond - before I could even consider what she implied - she pulled her wing away. There, resting atop a mound of blankets and pillows, was an egg. It was fairly large for a Rainwing egg (though about average or a little small by dragon standards), the color of desert sand with flecks of blue and green that gave an iridescent shine in the morning sunbeams.

"You... You have an egg?" I asked dumbly, pieces coming together in my head.

"I laid it last night!" She explained, her scales so bright yellow and gold it almost hurt to look at her. "It was surprising, but as soon as I figured out what was happening, it passed through sooo quick! It felt like a really intense workout followed by a muscle cramp more than anything!" Her tail gently stroked the eggs as she talked. She turned to face me, her eyes hopeful, yet nervous. She took my paw in hers, and as she breathed once more, She said, "Xero... It's yours."

"It's mine?" I repeated, like a dragonet confirming with his parents that the really big present on Solstice Day is really for him. She nodded happily, fighting back tears as she pulled me into a hug. I hugged back, cackling like a loon as we pranced together. "Oh Spirits, Maggy! I'm so happy for you! You're a mother, now!"

"And you're a father, Xero." She replied, her eyes filled with love and adoration.

You're a father, Xero. I froze, the realization of those words slamming into me like an avalanche. Like tumblers in a safe, things were aligning, and with it came a clarity that was unlocking a part of me I didn't know I had. I looked back down at the egg - this tiny little lifeform that I helped create. An entire world of possibilities all sat quietly within that thin layer of shell. So many thoughts ran through my mind as I stepped closer, contemplating it. Would it be a boy or girl? Would it look like a Sandwing, a Rainwing, some mix of the two? Would it have my intelligence and humor, Maggy's strength and empathy? But through all that, one thing remained clear, and that was this egg was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

"...I'm a father now." I said, all but confirming this new phase of my life.

"And you'll be a terrific one, My King." Maggy purred, nuzzling my neck affectionately. "If they're even half the dragon you are, they'll change the world."

Cautiously, like touching the most sensitive and fragile of compounds, I reached out and stroked the egg. It was hard, and smooth, and above all, warm.

"...My Greatest Creation." I murmured. "One of the few truly good things I'll ever make. This... This is..."

"I hope this doesn't complicate things between you and Batty and Greatness." She said apologetically, starting to turn blue. "If it comes down to it, we can keep this a secret. I won't let this jeopardize what we've been working for-"

"No." I turned to face her, taking her paws in mine. "If this egg is mine, then it's mine, pure and simple. They will be just as legitimate as any I might have with anyone else."

"You... would make them a Princess?" She asked, turning a hopeful mix of lavender and emerald.

"I want to raise them with you," I replied, pulling her paws against my chest, "I want to have a family and be a dad. I'm not going to have any bastards not know who their father is."

"But what about Batty and Greatness?"

I sighed, craning my neck around hers. "We'll figure something out. All that matters now is that our hatchling is cared for."

Maggy hugged me back, her body now one uniform shade of pink. "I love you, Xero."

"I love you, Maggy." And together we just sat there, gazing down at the new life we created, imagining the future in front of us...


Needless to say, I was on top of the world for the next day or so. I don't know why I was so surprised about the whole thing. If anything, I want to kick myself for being so careless and shortsighted. Here I was, the drake who provided Prince Smolder with moon tea, and yet not only did I not make any for my ladies, I never even thought to ask if the Rainwings had any of their own, or if they were using. Such a dumb, rookie mistake - it's no wonder Maggy had an egg, as often as we were going at it.

And of course, Maggy wasn't the only one sharing a bed with me.

Wednesday afternoon, I had called Flying Fox over to my workshop to have a private talk about... well, everything. I unloaded everything I felt about the war, about being a king, and about the ladies especially.

"...I fucked up, Fox," I said finally, "I fucked up and I don't know how to fix it."

"Hey, c'mon Xero," He chided me, using my tools to carve out a flute, "It's a simple misunderstanding, when you get down to it."

"I didn't-, I don't-" I growled, flaring my wings in frustration. "I mean, I don't understand it! How you guys do it! Everyone in this jungle has multiple lovers with no problems. Three moons, you have a girlfriend and a boyfriend!"

He smirked, no doubt thinking of pleasant memories with his mystery partners. I knew that in the weeks following the Battle of the Portal, he'd somehow managed to talk his secret girlfriend into joining him and his boyfriend in a throuple. Every morning, he'd come over to the palace, bow-legged and smiling as hard as I would after a long night of the horizontal mambo. I still didn't know who the lucky drake and dragoness were, but I figured Fox would tell me when he was ready.

"Well, yeah," He said, blowing some particles out of his flute, "But that's the thing: We're all Rainwings. I know you're an outsider, but you should know by now there's this kind of understanding we all have. We're all honest and respectful with each other. Lovers break up and come together all the time, but we don't really... Gosh, what's the word?" He snapped his talons, trying to remember the word. "...Oh, Cheat! We don't cheat on each other, and go outside a relationship when we're together. If dragons aren't happy being with each other, they say so, and if the others can't convince them to stay, they break up and start over with someone else. No fuss or muss."

"And people think Mudwings have strange practices," I murmured.

"Here's the deal, Xero," He explained, putting the flute away, "You may be our King, but you're still a Sandwing. A foreigner. There's a lot of things about our ways of romance that you still don't understand. Your courtship with Fruit Bat and Majestic, while genuine, was still very fast. Nothing wrong with that, I've had a few whirlwind romances myself. Batty is your First Mate, the one you love the most. Maggy is your Mentor, the most experienced lover who's teaching you what you need to know."

I nodded in understanding, as he continued, "Now, when Grandeur was Queen, she had the option of taking a King, even while having multiple partners. In that situation, her First Mate would be King, helping her run the kingdom and 'officially' raise the dragonets, even though all other partners would have an equal say when it comes to the relationship. Now, obviously, Grandeur didn't choose that option, instead keeping everything informal even as she raised her hatchlings."

"And we know how that turned out," I sighed.

"Yes," He conceded, "Maybe having a paternal figure around would've made them turn out better..." There was the briefest look of pain and sadness in Fox's eyes, but by the time I noticed, it'd already passed. "Such a setup might be a little harder for you, since the roles are reversed, but I'm sure you guys could make it work."

"But then you got yourself engaged to Princess Greatness," He continued, getting up and tapping my chest with his tail, "You made a commitment. You staked the fate of three kingdoms on some political wheeling and dealing. Maggy's Captain of the Guard, and she always has a place in the Court. But when you picked up Greatness, you tossed aside your First Mate for a foreign princess without even attempting to explain yourself. That's like one of the worst things you can do!"

"But I didn't want- I didn't mean-" I tried to explain.

"I know you didn't, dude!" He snapped, orange annoyance flaring in his frill, "But that's how it comes across! When a drake from another Tribe comes in, hooks up with two of our kin, gets one gravid, then goes and gets married to the first Princess he comes across without even talking to them about it, do you know how that comes across?"

"...Sleazy?" I offered.

Fox raised a finger, stopped, brought it down. "I was going to say 'pretty damn bad', but yeah, that too."

I sighed, leaning back against my anvil. "I've got to make this right," I told him, "I don't want to be a deadbeat father. That egg... our egg... it was the most beautiful thing in the world. I would do anything to give them the best life I can."

"So what're you going to do about, then?" He asked pointedly.

I rubbed my muzzle. "...I'll do whatever Fruit Bat and Majestic want me to do. If they still want Greatness to go, she's gone. I hate everything I've done to the poor girl - Spirits know I've done enough to ruin her life - but if that's what it takes to keep my family together, I'll do it. I'll hate myself for it, add it to the long list of horrible things I've done, but I'll do it."

Fox stepped over to me, placing a comforting wing on my back. "You've got a big heart, Xero," He said, "And a big brain. I know you'll figure something out. And between you and me, I think you'll make a great dad." That got a smile out of me, and I allowed him to pull into a bro-hug.

"One thing that concerns me," He added, "Is that Majestic just had an egg. If you three were going at it as often equally, why hasn't Fruit Bat laid yet?"

It's times like that that made me really believe in Spirits, and that they just love dramatic timing. For no sooner had he said that did we hear something in the distance. It had been going off and on in bursts while we were talking, but it was only when we stopped that we finally noticed it.

"What the hell is that?" He wondered aloud. I stepped to the door and opened, just as it came back loud and clear - a shrill, bloodcurdling scream of pain that struck me like a bucket of ice water. My heart flew to my throat, as I instantly knew what - and who - that was.

"BATTY!" I cried, hopping up and taking flight. I flew through low-hanging canopy branches, ignoring broken sticks scratching my sides and cutting my fin. I torched a tree that dared get in my way, snapping the burning log off and spilling embers onto the moist ground below. My heart raced a mile a minute, the fear in my gut as intense as the night with Queen Oasis.

"BATTY!" I shouted again, desperately scanning row after row of trees and bushes and flowers. The screaming had stopped, and even the sounds of the Village and the Rainforest couldn't be heard over the drumbeat in my ears. Finally, I came across a grove of starfruit, and what I saw made my blood turn cold.

At the base of a starfruit tree was a drying puddle of blood. It was large, about the diameter of a dinner plate, with tiny pink bits of matter scattered about. Flies were already to buzz about, and the smell...

I heard someone puking their guts out nearby. I ran over to a large blackberry bush, and to my surprise I found Greatness, doubled over and spitting out the last bits of her lunch. She looked up as I approached, her expression one of surprise and dread.

"Greatness?" I asked quickly, "What're you doing here? Where's Ba-"

I stopped, as I noticed what was right behind her. Resting in a pile of hastily gathered leaves were not one, but two eggs. Like Majestic's, they were a sandy brown with colorful blue-green flecks, but their beauty was marred by the red tint of blood. The Nightwing's paws were also bloody, as was the leaf she held and the small bowl of what used to be water.

"They're okay," Greatness explained, spitting to the side, "Fruit Bat laid over there. Grandeur and I were having lunch when we heard the screams. When we got here she... she-"

"Where is she?!" I demanded, the growing panic and fear making me louder and more forceful than I wanted.

She recoiled slightly, but answered, "Grandeur took her to the infirmary. She told me to stay here and clean up the eggs."

I started to move, but the eggs caught my eye again. I knew I could trust the Princess with my unhatched children, I also didn't want to leave any of them alone in the garden. Damn paternal instincts were kicking in hard and fast. Fortunately, it was just at that moment that Flying Fox came running up upon us, looking a confused green. He opened his mouth to say something witty, but as his eyes went to us, the eggs and the dried blood, he turned a horrified white.

"What the actual hell?!" He swore.

"Fox!" I barked, "I have to find Batty. Help Greatness with the eggs. When you're done, take them to the Palace and find Majestic. Do NOT let them out of your sight!"

His expression hardened with determination, emerald and green replacing white. "I will protect them with my life," He promised.

Looking back to Greatness and the eggs, I forced myself to pull away, and flew off to the infirmary.

By the time I got there, the place had been cleared out of the usual well-wishers and hypochondriacs. At the front door of the hut, three guards stood watch as Grandeur was stepping out. Her scales were tinged light-blue with worry as they settled back to their normal lavender. She saw me coming, and tensed.

"Xero," She warned, "Stop. We have her covered."

"Where is she?!" I demanded, "I need to see her!"

She blocked my path. I tried to step around her, but the older dragoness moved with me, stretching wings out either side.

"She's resting," She told me, her stern tone coming out in a quiet hiss, "We gave her poppy milk to put her under while our healers addressed her wounds. We've had rough layings like this before, Xero. She's going to be okay."

"Let me in, Grandeur," I insisted, trying to push past her, "I have medical experience. I can help her!"

"Xero, stop it," She commanded, pushing me back. She was using a Queenly tone, one that I heard all my life and finally got me to "slow my roll", as the kids say. She nodded to the guards, reminding me that we had an audience. "Walk with me." Against my instincts and roiling panic, I followed her to an empty walkway not too far away from the clinic.

"I hope you've enjoyed your little dalliances, My King," She said, "Considering the mess you've made of things. But, for what it's worth, I am happy for all of you. You have heirs now, and - personal choices aside - if they have even a fifth of your talent, they'll be far better princes and princesses than mine turned out. And more than that, I don't think I've ever seen Majestic this happy before, not since Gallant died."

I exhaled, nodding in agreement. Despite her assurances that she could still work, I'd given her the week off to take care of herself and the egg. I'd popped in a few times, and she'd already built a nest in the middle of her room out of leaves and blankets, making sure it was nice and warm at all times. The night before, we had servants bring us dinner, as we spent much of the night talking about what the future might hold for our First-laid.

"What happened back there?" I asked, feeling myself calm down.

"Fruit Bat went into labor out in the gardens," Grandeur explained, "Just as she was starting her rounds. Maggy was lucky: You two are almost equal in size, and we Rainwings tend to have very easy layings. But Batty's on the smaller end, and to have two eggs on top of that..." Her frill flashed a mortified dark-green and white. "It speaks well of her that she could even stand after that."

"Oof," I grunted, feeling sick again. Having two eggs together is rather rare among dragons, and often a sign of great fertility among the mothers. But at the same time, there were reasons beyond societal why intertribal breeding wasn't exactly common back then. A male from a smaller tribe (like mine) could pursue a female from a larger tribe (like a Skywing) with no trouble, but if the reverse happened, then you start having issues with laying. Combine those two factors...

"I was having lunch with Greatness," Grandeur explained, "When we heard the screaming. We both flew in and caught her in the nick of time." She paused, turning a distressed dark-green. She glanced around, making sure we were alone. "When we found her, the eggs were freshly laid and bloody, and she... She was about to step on them. I was only barely able to stop her in time."

I blinked, not quite getting what she meant. "...What, like she was about to fall on them?"

She flashed red and orange as she shot me a venomous glare. "No, you cactus-humping moron," She hissed, "She was about to crush her eggs."

My heart stopped. The shock of that reveal struck me harder than any slap or stinger, and I took a few steps back. No, Batty wouldn't do that. She couldn't be that heartless. She wasn't like Blister or Burn! She wouldn't do something so vile and evil! That would be crazy!

If she's gone crazy, A matter-of-fact voice of guilt reminded me, It's only because you made her so.

Any anger I might've had bled away at that realization, replaced with self-loathing. Before I could fall any further down that pit, Grandeur continued, "I left the eggs with Greatness before we came. Since you came and already knew about it all, I take it she did her job and is taking them over to Majestic for now. She won't mind watching them for a few days."

Her tailtip poked me in the chest. "But here's what's going to happen next, my king. I'm going to go back in that hut, and watch over our Queen while she rests. When she wakes, I'm going to do my best to convince her not to abandon her responsibilities to the kingdom or her eggs. YOU, meanwhile, are going to go out there and get her most favorite things in the Rainforest as a present. Whatever flowers or perfumes or trinkets she's told you about, you personally will go out and get and give to her in the morning. You're going to apologize for what happened, and you're going to do whatever it takes to un-fuck this situation. Am I understood, Your Highness?"

I blinked, and nodded. "Good," She said, turning a relieved yellow. She paused, and added, "My apologies for talking down to you. I do have respect for you, Xero, but you're the type of drake that's used to powerful 'nesses telling you what to do, and this is something I need you to get right. Our Kingdom needs you to get this right."

And so I did. Fortunately, I already had about a half-dozen experimental perfumes and scents I started working on in the past few weeks, things that either we started working together on or that I was going to surprise her with for her hatchingday. Going flower-hunting was a bit trickier, not because it was hard to find any, but because I was trying to find the right ones. I decided on making a bouquet that I thought represented her, and the first time we met - the red-green parrot lily for her scales, lilac and hibiscus for the scent she wore, and a large pineapple flower in the middle, as both me and as our little injoke.

Even after all that was done, it was a struggle to go to sleep that night. My thoughts kept circling around Fruit Bat and Majestic and our eggs, especially our eggs. What would they think of me, if they heard of this? What would they think of having a father and two mothers? Of a King who had everything and wasted it all? No; Whatever else, I had to make things right. For them.

That morning I was already waiting outside the medical hut before the sun had fully risen above the trees. As soon as the nurses opened the doors, I was in, with a large bouquet in my mouth and a tray of perfumes carefully balanced on one wing. I found Batty in bed near the farthest window, her scales a pale version of their usual sheen. She noticed me approach, gracing me with a ghost of a smile, her frill briefly turning yellow before fading into a deep blue.

"Good morning," I said, once I placed the presents on a nearby table, "How're you feeling, Batty?"

"...Sore," She responded, her voice just above a whisper, "Tired." She reached over and grabbed a perfume bottle, opening and taking a sniff. "I've never smelled this before. What is it?"

"Pine," I told her, "I had extracts and branches taken from the trees in the Ice Kingdom. It took me a while to get the scent just right. I was going to give it as a present for your hatchingday, before..." I trailed off.

"It's lovely," She said gently, "Thank you." We both sat there in silence for a time - me trying to get the courage to speak, Batty trying out the different scents, and the nurses and patients politely keeping their distance and minding their business.

"Batty," I began, taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry I betrayed your trust. I know I've said it dozens of times before, and I'll say it again and again, but it's true. You're not just a Queen or a colleague to me - your my best friend, and my... my lover. Our two months together were the best of my life, and there's not one thing I'd change about it."

I stepped closer, speaking softly so only she could hear me. "I know you're mad at me - maybe you even hate me, and you have every right to. But please, don't blame or take it out on our eggs. They had nothing to do with my actions. They are innocent of everything, save that their father is the biggest fool in Phyrria, for letting happiness slip through his talons."

She blinked rapidly, turning away to look at the bouquet. We just sat there quietly for another minute or so, a silence so deep and unbridgeable I felt like I'd failed. I started to turn away, when I felt a tail wrap around my foreleg. Batty kept staring at the flowers, her scales a mix of dark blues and grays and purples, and when she spoke, her voice was almost a whisper as she said, "...I'll keep them." I stepped closer, hope rising.

"I talked to Grandeur last night," She explained, "Our Kingdom needs heirs. And for what it's worth, I don't regret our time together, either. But you have to make a choice, Xerophilous. You need to figure out what you want, and what's most important to you." I was about to answer, but her tailtip came up and rested on my nose.

"Don't answer right now," She insisted, "You'll just tell me what you think I want to hear. I want you to go home and think about it. More than that, I want you to trust and respect us enough to know we'll accept whatever choice you make. If you pick me or Greatness, I want to know it was because you loved us, not because you pitied us. Can you do that for me?"

My heart ached to hear those words, but I nodded. "I will," I promised, taking her paw and kissing it. As I turned around and walked away, I wondered how my life had so suddenly spiraled out of control.

What I didn't know was that the worst was yet to come...