Riddick stalked out into the living area where it was deathly quiet. The women sat on the matching settees across from each other and the men in the room had circled. Butcher kicked back in a kitchen chair, Prowse, Kilo and Kestral all holding up walls with Vaako and Chode near the doors. Riddick circled around the younger of the two women getting Kilo and Vaako's dandruff up before coming to a stop behind Aereon.

She tilted her head and smirked at him. "Are you going to let me explain or will you just cut my throat?"

"I should just cut your throat, however, my wife and daughters are attached to you and the last thing I want is any of them upset."

"It better be a fucking good story, sister." he growled.

Aereon stood to face him. "Carolyn is an Elemental."

"The hell she is," Riddick shot back.

"Do you think I saved her just because she was your woman?" she asked with an ironic smile?

"You deceived me." Vaako spoke

"Of course I did." She scoffed at the man. "Getting Carolyn on this ship was my objective from the second I met her. Becoming attached to her and the children was an unexpected development."

"I bet it was." Riddick drawled. "Why don't you start from the beginning?"

"That's a very long tale."

"Then I suggest you give me the abbreviated version."

"Fine." Aereon began, "Many, many, years ago, it was prophesied that a Child of the Earth, lost to us before her birth, would become the Queen of Queens. The wife of a great warrior from a distant land; and that one day their child would return to Quintessa and lead our world back into its rightful place among the stars."

Diondra spoke up next. "It was around the time of my birth that a Necromonger sought out one of our Elementals and after being foretold about his destiny went on a killing spree on a planet far away from ours. I believe you know the rest of that particular foretelling."

Aereon continued, "I knew from the second that I met Carolyn in Imams home that she was an Elemental, just as I knew her child had Furyan blood. It was at that moment I realized that Carolyn was our lost Elemental. The woman destined to become the Queen of Queens. Mother to entirely new race of beings."

Riddick shook his head, "No. Carolyn is as far from an Elemental as she is from a Furyan. She's emotional and fragile and thinks with her heart, not with her head. You've said it yourself that yours is a logical race."

Carolyn who had been standing at the doorway to her room for quite sometime now sucked in a breath as she heard her husband speak so bluntly about her. Vaako who had slowly made his way to her side squeezed her elbow in a show of support as he saw a tear run down her cheek.

"But is she not your other half, your equal, a woman worthy of bearing your children?

'Aereon asked. "I have seen her stand up to the devil himself to protect your offspring. Doesn't she balance your inner beast; bring peace to your mind and body? Would you honestly take any other over her as your mate?"

"No," Riddick answered gruffly looking at the woman "And that's why you won't take her from me. I won't let you."

Carolyn looked up at Vaako jerking her head in Riddicks direction. "Please don't let him hurt her." Vaako looked at her with a question in his eyes but nodded and reached Riddick's side in time to hear Aereon's reply.

"You haven't been listening, Riddick. Its Aurora we want." And just like that all hell broke loose.

Riddick had Aereon on the ground with his hands around her neck while the other three women were scrambling to get out the way. Vaako and Butcher were attempting to pry his hands off of her neck when Carolyn grabbed the door frame yelling his name, before dropping to her knees, completely startling everyone in the room including Riddick who instantly let go of the older woman. Riddick stepped away breathing heavily as Butcher scooped up Aereon and Vaako ushered them all out the door. Hopefully on the way next door to have the old woman looked at, Carolyn prayed as she watched Riddick struggle to get his emotions under control. Finally raising his head to look at her, Carolyn gasped at the emotions she saw on his face. Hurt, betrayal, confusion but most of all pure fury. He got to his feet and slowly walked to the door locking it and throwing the crossbar into place across it.

"Oh boy," Carolyn breathed. A sure sign that it was going to be noisy and it could very well come down to the last murderous person standing. To bad in her condition she was like a gazelle on the savannah being hunted by a lion. Carolyn's nose flared as watched him slowly circle the room making his way closer and closer to her. He really was magnificent she thought to herself. From the top of his smooth head all the way down to his ridiculously large feet she worshipped every inch of him.

He finally came to a stop in front of her as she kneeled in the doorway to their bedroom. His voice was quiet and deadly.

"Get up."

"I can't."

"Get up."

"Riddick, I can't get up. If I could get up on my own do you not think I wouldn't have already knocked the shit out of you?"

At which point he turned picking up a small table next to him throwing it and its contents against the wall to shatter into a thousand pieces as he let go of his own angry war cry. Carolyn threw an arm up over her face to protect herself from the flying pieces of glass and wood not succeeding as she felt a sting on her cheek. She reached her fingers up to find a small bleeding cut. Riddick stomped back over reaching down under her arms to pull her to her feet.

"How could you?"

"How could I what, Richard?"

"How could you even think about letting them take her from us? From me!" He roared in her face causing her to slap him.

"I didn't!" she screamed back. "I never once thought about letting them take her. I refuse to let my baby be taken from me. How dare you even accuse me of something like that?" She spit out at him rocking back on her heels panting heavily.

Taking a hold of her shoulders he shook her. "Then tell me! You tell me right now what I'm supposed to believe!"

"I didn't even know," she spoke in an agonized voice, "I didn't know anything until after the attack and she decided that I had to know why all this was happening to me, to my family." She laughed, "Didn't you know Richard, where an Element goes Chaos is sure to follow?"

She was pacing now, dragging the black sheet that was still draped around her body. Riddick stood, arms over chest, watching and listening. "What was I supposed to do? Tell you over dinner? Oh by the way dear, you know how there was that little prophecy that caused the necromongers to attack your planet and that you would be one to save the known Universe from them? It turns out the same race that predicted that little turn of events also predicted that we were destined to breed and that our female offspring would eventually rule their planet. That would have been a great dinner topic don't you think?

Maybe in bed I could have told you how Aereon was just telling me about how a young woman from her world fell in love with a man from another world and against her family's wishes married him and left to live on his planet even though it is so rare for an Elemental to leave Quintessa as anything other than an envoy it is almost unspeakable. I could have told you how she got pregnant and how very happy they were until the woman died bringing her baby daughter into the world. When her husband contacted the woman's family, they wanted nothing to do with the girl, even though they're a matriarchal society. The daughter would still be punished for the mothers' sins. The husband heartbroken over the loss of his wife killed himself leaving his daughter to be found three days later by the authorities. The child was put into the system and never heard from again until the day she stepped in front of an elemental that was looking for the grown child's lover." Carolyn's voice was hoarse and raw, her eyes and nose red from where she refused to cry. How was I supposed to tell you that I'm related to those very people who were responsible for your fate? You tell me that!"

Riddick came to stand beside her but Carolyn pushed him away. "I'm not finished! You know as well as I do what it's like to not have a family. To never belong. I never knew what any of that felt like until we crashed on that planet. The next thing I knew my heart was near to bursting. I had an older brother in Imam, a daughter in Jackie and I had you. I knew who you were and what you were and it didn't matter. And then you left and Jackie left and I thought my heart was going to break." The tears were flowing freely now as she looked into his shined eyes. "Only to find that you had given to me the greatest gift of all. Aurora. I would gladly give my life for that child. I would go through hell for that child to keep her safe. The one thing I will not do though is give her away. To let her think that she's not good enough or not loved enough or was only brought into this world to benefit other people. That little girl was brought into this world for one reason and one purpose. And I will not let anyone interfere with that, especially a race of people that just threw me away!"

Riddick reached out and smoothed his hand over her shoulder. "Then why are four of them here?"

"Because the reason and purpose won't be affected by their presence, it will only be strengthened. And when the time comes she'll have the strength of her father to help her make the right choice and love of her mother to back it up."

He turned her to fully face him. "And what is the reason and purpose?"

"Aurora was brought into this world because two people loved each other and her only purpose is to be happy. She's our daughter, Richard. I would never let anyone take her from us," she finished on a ragged breath.

Riddick stood at arms length looking her over from the top of her head to the tops of her feet. "We are two thourghly fucked up individuals Carolyn."

She busted out a laugh. "You're just now figuring that out?" She sniffed using the back of her hand to wipe at her tears causing the dried blood on her cheek to smear.

He cupped her face in his hand, bending down to kiss her lips then pulling away to look at her. "You think I would have picked anyone less than the Queen of Queens to be by my side?"

She snorted. "Ego, Richard, Ego."

He smirked. "It's not Ego if it's the truth. You deserved nothing less than a Warrior King for a mate."

Carolyn sighed and laid her head upon his chest.

"You belong with me Carolyn, by my side, with our children. The five of us along with all the people that call this room home are family. You showed me that."

"What about Aereon and the others? She whispered.

"They'll stay for now and we'll figure it out when we get settled."

She squeezed his sides. "Thank you."

Damping a nearby cloth, he wiped the blood off of her cheek. Then he led her to bed showing her how Warrior Kings treated their Queens.