'Need to Know'

Warning: Some fluff

Dorian huffed and puffed in obvious effort as he finally reached the entrance to Blackpeak Mountain, the same one the Blackbeak Matron and a good three Blackbeak covens called their homes. As Dorian watched a few wyverns circle above his head before taking off, his horse whinnied. "I know you're tired," the King said as he cringed at the sores in his feet. "We're almost there."

As soon as they stepped onto a cobbled path, three witches approached, only one of which he recognized. "Hey Ghislaine," he greeted though his voice caught in his throat as he continued to catch his breath.

The dark-skinned witch sent the other two away before approaching. "The King of Adarlan. I wonder what brings you here." Her tone was all kinds of sarcastic, but he still thought it over. Blackpeak was close to Adarlan's capital, coincidence or not, which meant that he and Manon could see each other more often. If she had to go away on a mission she would always tell him and, even then, if he didn't see her for a day or two he didn't worry too much.

It had been a total of three days since he had seen her and she had sent no surmise nor a sentinel to let him know why. Dorian admitted that he was overreacting but he had grown used to having her around, so much that he left for the peak as soon as the third day rolled by. It was a ten-hour horse ride to the mountain and he hoped Manon would not send him away.

"Is she here?" He asked while a witch he didn't recognize took his horse.

Ghislaine began walking. "You should speak with Asterin."

That was not good news.

All kinds of things went through his mind. "Tell me she's not hurt."

Ghislaine sent him an unreadable look and Dorian was starting to panic. "She's not hurt."

"But…?"

"Talk to Asterin."

The young man groaned under his breath, his worry turning to another dark realization. What if she was tired of him? What if she wanted to break their ties? What if she finally realized they wouldn't-couldn't have a future together? What if she didn't want a future with him?

As the thoughts ate away his mind, Ghislaine led him to the wyvern stables where Asterin was tending to her female. Dorian's eyes immediately went to Abraxos, who opened his eyes as if sensing him. Even the little head bob in greeting that the wyvern gave him couldn't calm his nerves. Without waiting for Asterin to face him, Dorian pushed past Ghislaine. "Asterin."

The witch turned to him in surprise, but she didn't speak up until she finished whatever she was doing. "Dorian," was the only reply and she tilted her head a bit, looking to Ghislaine in a shared look.

Oh, no.

He was being dumped, wasn't he?

"What are you doing here?"

The question was so carefully crafted, so suspiciously asked, it made Dorian hesitate. What did she mean 'what was he doing here'? What kind of question was that? "Um…what?"

"What are you doing here," she repeated, but there was no intonation to it this time, nothing but a statement.

Dorian frowned. "Where is Manon?" And why was Ghislaine still there? The most cultured of the witches rarely paid any attention to him, except for the times when it involved testing his intellect or his wits.

There it was, another shared look that was slowly driving the King mad. "She is…undisposed at the moment."

Dorian turned accusing eyes at Ghislaine. "You told me she wasn't hurt."

The witch crossed her arms. "She's not."

Question marks arose in his head, the confusion so great he switched between the two witches. Dumbfounded, he met Asterin's eyes. "What is it then?"

"Look," the blonde began, but then she paused as if searching for words.

He didn't let her talk. "Where is she? In her room?"

Those gold-flecked eyes said it all and the King sprang toward the hall at the end of the coup, intent on getting to the bottom of this. But Asterin was tight on his heels and he had to remind himself of how fast and silent witches could be. "Hold up, lover boy."

He didn't stop, taking the stairs two at a time, glad that he had taken this route so many times he could follow it in the dark. Manon's Second cursed, muttering things he couldn't hear as they both broke out into the Thirteen's set of hallways. Kaya watched them pass her, and the expression on her face meant that she too knew what was going on.

Dorian didn't make it halfway down the hall when Asterin stepped in front of him, placing a hand on his chest. "Stop."

"What's going on?" He demanded.

Asterin shook her head, avoiding it, gaining time for…something. "Manon is…"

"Is what?"

The Second shrugged and Dorian found himself in a realm of utter befuddlement. "Is what, Asterin?" He repeated, his voice forced.

"She's…sick."

Dorian stopped. Sick? Witches got sick? "How long has she been sick? What does she have?"

The blonde cringed, no doubt going against Manon's orders to tell him about this. "It doesn't matter. Listen, she'll be fine in a couple of days. Just go back home."

"How do you know that?"

Asterin didn't say anything, instead signaling back toward the staircase. Nope, he wasn't going to leave. Not if Manon was sick and he was so close. Feigning giving up, Dorian nodded and let Asterin go in front of him. Tapping into his magic, it took him no time to make a wall of ice so thick between them it would take her a good hour to even dent it.

More than enough time for him to figure out what the heck was going on.

Asterin yelled something behind the wall, but Dorian paid no mind to it as he walked to Manon's door. He took a breath and straightened his hair, wishing he wasn't as dirty as he was after his trek up the mountain. Burying his thoughts, Dorian gave a few knocks on the door. When there was no sound, he wondered if she was in there in the first place. He had seen Abraxos though, she wouldn't leave without the wyvern, right?

He knocked again, but this time he spoke. "Manon? It's me, Dorian." No answer. "Um, you didn't send me a message or anything so I got w-worried." Why was he stuttering? Closing his hand in a fist, he calmed his voice. "Asterin told me you were sick? Are you alright?"

He stood there for an agonizingly long minute, twitching at the sounds of the witches as they tried to bring down the ice wall. He knocked for a third time, his voice a little more desperate. "Manon? Just tell me you're okay and I'll go."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the door opened and he finally took her in. Half asleep, wearing a long sleeved nightgown he had gifted her the month before, squinting and with wisps of her hair fluttering over her face and shoulders. She didn't need to speak to let him know that he woke her up.

Asterin was right. Whatever this was, Manon was sick. Even the glare she sent was weak and half-mustered. "What is it."

Where did he even begin? "Are you okay?" A stupid question and as she stared up at him, Dorian rubbed at his head. "I got worried, it's been three days. Asterin told me you were sick."

Manon observed him for a bit and then her eyes slid to the wall, taking in the shouts and the pounding of weapons on the ice. She slowly looked back at him. "Sick?" Her voice was so low, he had trouble hearing her.

"Yes, do you need something? A healer?" Weren't the twins healers? Why weren't they helping her?

"Dorian," his attention went straight back at her. "I'm not sick."

Her whole condition, the way she held herself, the fact that she had been sleeping in the middle of the day said otherwise. "I'm sorry, but I think you are-"

She breathed out as she rubbed at the spot between her eyes, like she had a headache. "Such a male," she muttered.

"If you're not sick then what are you?"

The Blackbeak opened her eyes again, but held them half-mast as if the light bothered her. "What do you think?"

A cold maybe, or perhaps an upset stomach? "I don't know. Did you eat something funny?"

Her shoulders sagged and he knew she didn't want to have this conversation with him. "I'm tired," she told him, "I'm going back to bed."

"But what's wrong? Does your stomach hurt?"

She paused mid-turn. "Like I ate glass shards." Manon looked back at him. "I'll be fine in the next four-five days. I'll find you then."

Why mention the days? Why that specific detail?

…

It took him a second to realize what was wrong, to put it all together.

"Are you bleeding?"

She left the door open as she sat on the edge of her bed, on top of the new expensive mattress he had also gifted her. "Go home, Dorian."

He was tempted to say that this felt like home. Instead he said, "but this is the first time you've been gone for so long."

"It is different for witches. Humans bleed every month or so, we do not." Slowly, she lay down and Dorian went inside without hesitating, closing the door so the brightness wouldn't bother her.

"How long then?"

"Every four or five months. For me it's every four."

Something sparked within Dorian, a logic that made him feel foolish. Of course witches bled. They were female, they could have children-wait. "Can I get you pregnant?" He asked, horrified that he had not thought about it before.

Manon raised an eyebrow and he watched as she got comfortable under the sheets. "I'm not a fool. There are a number of simply-made tonics a witch can take. You are not the one who comes out losing if something were to happen."

But Dorian wasn't thinking about what she was saying, he was imagining a dangerous thing.

A child…their child-

"What can I do?" Her eyes were closed, but she wasn't asleep. "To help you out."

She barely moved. "Nothing."

"But there are remedies, right?" He felt so out of touch with this Dorian was starting to get angry at himself. To think this hadn't even crossed his mind was appalling. "Teas and…stuff?" Those gold eyes let him know how much of his stupidity was seeping through.

"Dorian. Go home."

He nodded, but not because he agreed with her. "I'll be back."

…

This time around, not a single witch stopped him from making his way into the Thirteen's quarters. Instead, a good half-a-dozen of Manon's sentinels, including Asterin and Ghislaine watched as he struggled with the items in his hands. After requesting Asterin for a ride to the nearest town market, he bought a number of things, from home-made tonics to 'special trinkets' to plain old candy. Something in here would help Manon, he was sure of it.

"Kaya," Dorian called and the mentioned one raised an eyebrow. "Could you help me make this tea?" The old woman had assured him that it would dampen even the worst menstrual pain.

As Kaya took the ingredients off him, Dorian heard Ghislaine ask Asterin a 'do males typically do this?' that the blonde chuckled at. She said something back (*), but low enough that the King couldn't hear, not that he paid much attention to it, since he was already at Manon's door.

After Kaya gave him his tea the witches dispersed, letting him open the door to Manon's room in comfortable silence which was good, because Ghislaine told him Manon would most likely also have a headache. Since it was almost too dark to see, Dorian lit up a candle and sat on the little stool she had in a corner of her room. Manon didn't move from her spot on the bed, her back to him as he took out a few things, the tea Kaya prepared included.

"Hey, Manon," he called softly, taking the tea and walking over to her.

She shifted, but only because he touched her shoulder. "Go away."

Dorian gave a smile instead. "I got you some stuff, here." Her squint was cute, but he knew that Ghislaine spoke the truth.

"I don't want anything."

He observed her for a bit and in a quick motion, placed down the tea and everything else. "Let me try something," he told her and though her face was all kinds of murder and danger, Dorian carefully placed his fingers on each side of her head, letting his fingers freeze up.

The involuntary sigh that left her mouth was music to his ears and he stoked her temple with the same grin from before. "Better?"

She went for his wrists and he let himself be pried away. "Marginally," was her answer as she turned to the items he brought. "Is that tea?"

"Yes. The lady who sold it to me promised it would help with the pain."

"She was probably lying," Manon responded, but took the tea from him anyway.

Feeling like a happy fool, Dorian grabbed a bag and took out the most expensive item he got at the town, hoping she would like it. "I also got you this."

Manon's gold eyes focused on what he was holding. "Chocolate?" The way she said it was really cute, enough that he was tempted to ask her to say other words like 'strawberry' or 'puppy.'

Chuckling, Dorian nodded and handed over the large piece. "It is said to be a natural cure." She 'hm'ed a bit and after a drink, took a bite of the chocolate. "Is it okay?" He couldn't help but ask.

She nodded. "I don't eat many sweets," she admitted as she leaned back against the bed's headboard.

Dorian took that as a sign that he could stay while he sat back on the stool, sorting through the rest of his gifts. He told her quietly about all he got her, remedies, more candy, and even the odd trinket. The witch listened in while taking more sips of the tea and bites of the chocolate. "…and this is for tonight, so it helps you sleep-"

"Dorian." The King shut up immediately, freezing in the spot as he met her eyes.

"Y-yes?" Please don't kick me out, he thought.

Manon took her time before speaking. "Thank you."

His blush was quick and furious to appear, spreading up his neck and face as he sputtered out a 'you're welcome' she smiled at.

(*) Asterin said "only the ones truly in love" to Ghislaine if you're wondering.

I expect some nice reactions to this one-shot, let me know what you think.

As we are reaching the day of damnation (a.k.a EoS release date) I have decided to write up a schedule of updates before September 6th. They'll be added at the end of this author's note.

Crescentclaw – Manon/Chaol relationship definitely is an interesting dynamic. They are forced to tolerate each other because of Dorian. Though I can't really see Chaol 'warming up' to Manon, I can definitely see them trying to be 'nicer' to each other.

MarijaV – We will perhaps see more future interactions between Manon and Chaol. I kinda missed your review last time, glad to see you are still reading.

HighbornCrab – We'll get to see some :3

BHBH – I'm glad you think that haha

B – I'm really happy you like it. I don't think I will 'abandon' this series anytime soon, but the next book will surely influence my future updates. Fingers crossed!

Lady Elvira – Really liked your comment on what would happen if Manon/Chaol met before Dorian, it shows just how much influence the little princeling has over them. I have to say I really enjoyed writing their interactions and having Manon waking up Dorian was a treat. Good to read your response!

Lanoon – Your review makes me so happy!

As always a big thank you and a pleasure to read all these wonderful reviews!

The schedule is as follows: 27th of August, 31st of August, and 4th of September

After Empire of Storms comes out, depending on what happens in the book and how I assimilate to canon, expect an update within two-three weeks. No promises though. What I would suggest would be to follow me on tumblr, since I'm active there and can answer any questions you might have regarding my series or future one-shots. (My tumblr is listed on my profile)