*Six Years Earlier*

The gardens were gorgeous after the morning rain, water droplets reflected off of the pearlescent Lillies. The ground beneath Mina's feet was soft with moister and caught the light from the sun in a prismatic ray of colors. The giant sunflowers the size of boulders stretched their petals towards the sun in a warming embrace. The aromatic smells of nectar delighted her senses. She twirled in bliss, soaking in the warmth of the sunbeams. This magical fae kingdom was her home, in all of its beauty and all of its dangers. While she ruled with her loving husband, the king of Darkness, by her side, she'd be content to have lived with him anywhere. As long as Teague was by her side, there was nothing they couldn't accomplish.

And now, they had a new blessing on the way to add to their family. Mina caressed her growing abdomen as tiny flutters pressed against her. "How I can't wait to meet you, little one. All of this world, well most of this world, will be your playground. All of this kingdom will be yours. And you, my son, will be more loved than you will ever know. No curse will haunt you, no omen will steal you away, you are the benevolent prince to a fae kingdom. And your father and I won't let anything hurt you, my prince." Mina spoke to her unborn child, always keeping a hand place against him, still having a difficult time believing this was all real. She felt ecstatic as she sashayed through the lavender and lilac bushes, which hummed with joy.

Teague appeared at her side, from out of thin air. The smile on his face lit his crisp white eyes as he pulled her into a loving embrace. His lips gently pressed against hers. Mina giggled against him. "There you are my love, I should have checked here first."

Mina wrapped her arms around her husband's neck, "I thought you were performing your reaping duties today? Is it not your time to lead souls home?" Teague was the reaper of souls, a career bestowed upon him when he killed the reaper before him. He had sacrificed himself to save Mina from the omen that hunted her, and in return, Teague became an even greater one. Although, he wasn't maleficent to those undeserving.

"Unexpected guests came bearing gifts for our unborn son. I thought it was only right to great them in a proper fashion, to show that we harbor no ill will towards the remainder of the gnomes." Annalora was a princess gnome who had attended the choosing ceremony with Mina. She had attempted to murder Mina and marry Teague so that she could have all the power of the ruling fates. However, she was not destined to be queen. "Annelora was cunning and manipulative, who caused great destruction. And the gnomes' concentration of pure hate almost destroyed me and this entire world. They are offering gifts of forgiveness and are willing to make stricter trade agreements that will benefit the kingdom. And, while Annalore's death was a befitting punishment, it's time to restore good faith between our kingdoms."

Teague gently stroked Mina's cheek with his thumb. She leaned into his touch, "I think you're an admirable king, highness. Our son is lucky to have you as his father. It's time we made amends with the gnomes, let's go greet our guests." Teague beamed as he placed a gentle kiss against her lips. He lovingly touched her pregnant bump. Hand in hand, they made their way to the palace.

The throne room was adorned in blue of all hues, with silver and gold accents. The decorations were the perfect welcoming for their son that would be here in three short months. Stacks of gifts were organized pleasingly on the wall adjacent to the thrones. They were lovely, some sparkled and gleamed, others had ruffles, and Mina could have sworn a couple made croaking noises. The packages spanned the gambit of fae colors, from the deepest blues to the palest greens.

Standing in the middle of the grand room stood three gnomes wearing elegant gowns made of fae materials, which were embellished with sleeveless robes, their gleaming golden hoods hung loosely around their faces.

The gnome in the middle gently pulled her hood down. An odd sense of familiarity formed around Mina as an uneasiness sensation encases her. Golden ringlets framed her face as hazel eyes reflected back at Mina. She gasped. No! She thought it couldn't be her. But the girl's smile was warming and welcoming, nothing like Annalora's. "Good morrow!" The gnome girl grinned as a swirl of honeysuckle embodied the air. In her arms, she held a woven basket enhanced with flaming feathers. Inside was iridescent elixirs in blown glass bottles. Some of them swirled with pastel colors, others glittered, some faintly glowed. "Please accept these gifts as a token of our alliance with our ruling fates. I am Lorelei, keeper of the gate key for the gnomes. We offer our sincerest apologies with our healing elixirs. Each of these tonics offers multiple healing properties. Each potion is safe to use in your condition, your highness." Lorelei bent in a long low curtsey before standing and handing Mina the fae basket.

The flickering flames of the feathers weren't even warm to the touch as Mina surprisingly took the basket from Lorelei's cream-colored gloved hands. "T-thank you." Mina stuttered as she attempted to hide her dismay.

Teague's eye quickly darted between Mina and Lorelei. He took Mina's hand in his, "We appreciate and accept the gifts and gnome elixirs. It was a long ride out to the castle if you would like, we can offer you quarters for the night and have two of our guards escort you safely back to the gnome village?"

The other two ladies' hood remained on, their hands held beautiful bouquets of flowers, they overflowed with greenery and ivy, with an accompaniment of astonishing hues. They both moved closer to Lorelei and lifted their heads. "These are my two guards, Tessa and Tavia. However, we would all be grateful for your hospitality. Thank you." All three gnomes curtsied in unison, without losing the balance of the flowers.

Teague nodded his head towards an adjacent ajar door. Three fae lights swirled into the room, they glowed and bounced brightly in their sphere form. "Our fae lights will take you to your rooms. I believe you will be more than comfortable in the suites, however, if you feel you are missing any of the normalities from home, we can be accommodating."

The gnomes curtsied one last time before bowing out of the room. Mina looks uneasy as she peers into the low flaming basket. "Teague, I know you want to make amends and keep the peace through the kingdom, but I don't feel comfortable accepting this gift. Or rather using it." Mina's voice was low as she spoke to her husband.

Teague's eyes followed the gnomes as their footsteps faded down the hall. "My love, let's take these elixirs someplace for safekeeping." Mina pursed her lips together, as Teague seemingly ignored her comment. He gently and calmly took her hand and pulled her through the corridors to the library.

"Of course we have to accept these gifts, we have to keep up appearances. But, Mina, you're absolutely right. I don't feel comfortable with you using these either." He took the basket from Mina and sat it down on the library table.

"We'll take a sample from each potion and have the godmother's guild test them." He slowly and carefully lifted each majestic glass bottle from the phoenix feather basket.

"If they're poisonous? If they've been contaminated, what do we do then?" Mina nervously rubbed her baby bump. Teague placed his hands on either side of Mina.

"My love, I won't let any harm come to you or our child. If they've tried once again to harm our family, the consequences will be dire." His voice was stern, his eyes were distant.

Mina touched her forehead and tightly closed her eyes. "I feel exhausted, I need to go lie down." Teague placed a small kiss on her forehead and snapped his fingers.

A brownie appeared quickly through the door. "Please escort the queen to our bedroom, I want to make sure she gets there safely. I am going to godmother's guild, I will be back shortly." The brownie was mute but nodded in recognition.

"Teague, really, I don't need an escort." Mina shuttered a bit, feeling a rush of cold around her.

"Humor me, please?" Teague wrapped his dark grey cloak around her. He gently lifted her chin and softly kissed her lips.

Mina rolled her eyes lovingly at her husband as she walked out of the door towards her room. Teague cast his hands over the elixirs as the potions, and himself disappeared from the library.

*Later that night*

Mina awoke later that night in a cold sweat, she felt dizzy, but not as exhausted. The brownie from earlier was back, this time she carried a bowl of soup with a delicious aroma. "My queen, I thought you might be hungry." She sat the bowl beside Mina on the wooden nightstand.

Mina smiled, "Thank you." She held the bowl and the spoon closer to her. The first sip was delicious, just as good as she had expected. "Is Teague back from the guild yet?"

"I have word that he will be back shortly. He informed us to serve you dinner, as his visit took longer than expected."

"I should wait for him to return, so we can eat together."

"Nonsense, your highness. That prince needs to you to eat, so you both can be strong."

Mina pounded in thought, "I suppose you're right." Mina took another gulp of soup. It wasn't as good as the first, but it didn't taste awful either. "What kind of soup is this?"

"Saffron and ginger root stew, with a hint of rosemary and lemon."

Mina took another gulp of the stew, trying to taste the ginger. Her throat clenched, she couldn't swallow, something had soured. The lemon was too intense, the ginger too bitter, and saffron tasted soiled. Mina started couching hard, liquid built up in her chest. She pushed the blankets off of her to dash for the bathroom. But in a coughing fit, she collapsed to the ground. "What else was in there?!"

The brownie gasped as she tried to get Mina back into bed."Nothing! I made that stew myself, I swear on my life. There wasn't anything else in there!" The brownie shook with nervousness and fear. The soup splashed on the floor as Mina slipped and knocked it off the nightstand. The ground boiled and hissed where the soup touched it.

Teague burst through the double doors, his eyes wide. The hole in the floor only momentarily held his gaze as he ran towards his wife.

Mina gasped in pain as Teague lift her up. Her scream echoed through the room. She clutched her lower abdomen as liquid pulled underneath her. Her body began to shake, never before had Mina been this terrified, not through all of the challenges of the curse, not when she had to kill Teague. Something was horribly wrong with her body, and with her child, and she didn't know how to fix it. Teague seized her body, fear displayed behind his eyes.

The liquid turned crimson as Mina's cries of desperation rang through the room.