Domestic Bliss, by lyradaemon

Chapter 4: Smug Warlord Princes

Disclaimer: Same as always, sadly.

Lucivar pinned on the last badge and grimly surveyed his handiwork. As long as no-one knew what to look for, it should all go to plan…

"So, you all remember what I told you?" The eight children nodded solemnly.

"Don't run into anyone, don't knock anything over, don't say anything," they repeated in unison.

Lucivar nodded, satisfied. "Exactly. I'll give the signal to Tassle when the first adults arrive. Then you lot make yourself scarce. Do you remember what Tassle's signal to you is?"

"Three barks."

"Right you are. No sweetheart, you're not supposed to take it off are you?" He said kindly to Giselle, the little daughter of Grezande and Elan, who was convinced she'd look better without her badge. "Now, go off and play or make yourself useful. And whatever you do, don't tell Lady Marian. Got it? Good, off you go."

Lucivar let out a contented sigh as he watched his plan disappear into Daemonar's room. He'd planned everything meticulously, right down to the signals he and Tassle, the kindred Warlord wolf, would use to communicate.

This was all going to work very nicely.

Whistling tunelessly he wandered off in search of his wife.

----------------------------

Almost two hours later the first knock sounded on the front door. Smiling to himself he opened the door to find the Queen of Scelt and her Warlord husband standing on the doorstep looking only slightly sheepish.

"Ah, Morghann darling, so good of you to finally come," he said sweetly with only a hint of venom. "Khardeen," he added, nodding to the only mildly ruffled man lingering a step behind his red-haired wife. Sensible man – let the mother take the blame. "Coffee?"

"That would be wonderful," they said in unison, shedding their coats as they stepped into the welcome warmth of the eyrie. "Was Selene alright last night?" Morghann asked out of politeness rather than any sense of concern: she knew that with Marian there, her little daughter would have been fine.

"Oh, she slept like a log," Lucivar replied dryly, amused by the sharp glance he received from Khardeen and the flash of understanding that went with it. "They were all so exhausted from yesterday."
"I'm sure they were," Khary muttered under his breath, gratefully taking the mug Lucivar offered. "So, where are they all?"

"I think they're outside with Tassle. Some sort of game, apparently. At least, that's what Daemonar said. I'm not sure our furry friend agrees with the meaning of 'game' but he's in no position to argue. Arianna can be as bossy as Jaenelle sometimes; don't know where she gets it from."

Morghann laughed. "Not from Kalush, that's for sure."

Khary choked on his coffee. "You've never seen her when she's leaving Aaron at home with Arianna, have you?" He asked, his voice oddly muffled. "Never seen a man look so harassed before. And that was after I'd seen Daemon cornered by Jaenelle. Poor man," he shook his head sadly. "He didn't stand a chance."

Lucivar chuckled. "Women seem to have that effect, don't they?"

Just then another knock sounded. Lucivar leapt off his chair with agile grace and all but ran to the door. Flinging it open he found Aaron and Kalush, the Queen of Nharkhava and her Warlord Prince husband. Kalush, in her usual way, smiled at Lucivar, kissed him on the cheek, then drifted into the Eyrie. Aaron hesitated before grinning apologetically. "Sorry about last night," he said, running a hand through his hair. "There was no chance of us getting here and back again. And Kalush somehow doubted you'd have the space to put us up for the night too, so…" he drifted off. "Anyway, any chance of a drink?" He asked hopefully. Obviously Kalush had been worrying a bit more than Morghann had.

Lucivar smiled reassuringly. "Coffee or brandy?"

Aaron didn't hesitate. "Brandy sounds perfect. Lead the way."

--------------------------------------

Over the course of the next hour and a half, the other parents arrived to take away their children. Except, as of yet, there were no children to take – but that little fact seemed to have eluded them so far. Daemon and Jaenelle still hadn't arrived, but Lucivar reckoned it wouldn't be long before they, too, came to get their charge.

Marian had emerged from wherever she had been hiding at the sound of the other female's voices, and had graciously procured cakes, biscuits and other little nibbles for them all, as well as make pots of coffee and tea. Lucivar, on the other hand, had provided generous amounts of brandy for the slightly frazzled looking males who had obviously had to put up with their wives fussing throughout the night and yesterday evening. In fact, had been so generous that Aaron's normally alert grey eyes were looking slightly glazed and even Chaosti, the usually stoic Dea al Mon Warlord Prince, was wobbling slightly.

Then the final knock came on the door. Grinning to himself, Lucivar made his way to the front door where we found his scowling brother and beaming sister. As he returned Jaenelle's rather too enthusiastic hug, he noticed the reason for Daemon's scowl.

He choked.

A hat. Which was bright red. And had a pom pom.

The offending hat was pulled down on his head so that only the ends of his black hair stuck out from beneath it.

Daemon's scowl deepened when he noticed Lucivar turning purple as he tried not to laugh. Then Lucivar noticed Jaenelle's bright smile and realized that she was the reason for the hat being stuffed on his brother's head. No wonder he hadn't taken if off yet.

When he was certain he could open his mouth without howling with laughter, Lucivar said, "Daemon, you look like a prick."

Jaenelle's smile wavered as she glanced from one brother to the other, before taking Daemon's gloved hand – Lucivar noticed absently that the gloves matched the hat, minus, of course, the pom pom – and more or less dragged him none too gently into the eyrie. The look Lucivar received as Daemon passed was enough to freeze even the hardest of hearts, but Lucivar merely smiled blandly back.

He lingered on the doorstep, unwilling to go back inside just yet – well, until the laughter from inside died down a bit anyway – and savoured the cold winter air. It wouldn't be long until the adults in there realized that they hadn't seen their children yet.

And then the fun would begin.