Lauren stared across the table. She had come down wearing a pair of her maternity jeans that were already falling off of her and a loose gray tshirt of Bo's. Her wife didn't change into fancier dinner party attire, either, dressed in tight jeans and a black tanktop. Kenzi even wore her usual skinny pants and eclectic top.
This is what made Lauren feel awkward and out of place when she saw Trick and Gram wearing royal regalia and crowns. She didn't even know why their grandparents would be dressed so nicely, but she knew that she wanted to know why. Dinner had been the normal country meal, so none of them had expected the dinner to be so formal. Lauren wasn't even aware that Gram had a crown; she had always thought the royal fae bloodline she mentioned was just for show. She had never really considered the idea that her grandmother was actual royalty in the fae world.
The easy part of the dinner, aside from eating the pot roast and colcannon Gram had spent the day making, was about Bo and her getting married. All they had to do was sign the documents; picking up a simple ink pen and signing their names seemed so easy after the two weeks of preparation for this evening. They didn't even have to move or stand from the table, though Gram and Kenzi had gotten rid of the dinner plates before they pulled out the official business documents. As soon as Lauren signed her name after Bo, she thought she would feel different immediately, but all she sensed was how happy Bo really was at that particular moment.
Their grandparents did all the work after that. All they could do was observe now, though they did occasionally cast loving glances and longing sighs towards the other. The two elders stamped seals into the wax that was poured on the document. Two below Bo's name, and two below hers. Lauren recognized Samael's crest and the seal on Trick's ring, but she didn't recognize the other two under her name. They were vaguely familiar, but she couldn't really place them.
Gram had discussed combining the four royal families, but Lauren had been too occupied with healing and caring for Briann and Bo that she never really sought out any additional information. That was odd for her, considering she normally would have immediately gone into research mode. Perhaps it was the lack of information in the files on the topic. Lauren should have known better than to trust what a file said about someone. After all, Trick's file didn't really identify him directly as the Blood King. Some of his documented actions were those of the Blood King's, so if somebody was really pay attention, they could easily deduce the truth, but the file never directly identified his royal lineage or importance to the fae world. To the file, he was just a lowly barkeep who had done some remarkable things in the distant past.
Trick pricked his finger to press blood onto the document before squeezing blood into the small bowl in front of him. Gram did the same. Lauren had seen fae marriage certificates before, and the blood showcased approval of the family members. The seals, though, were something new.
Lauren looked at Bo and Kenzi, sensing and seeing a similar look of confusion and concern as her own. Gram had mentioned they needed to complete a ritual, which Lauren figured had to do with the royal aspects, but she didn't expect the large dining room to mimic the one similar to what Gram did in the birthing chamber when Briann was born.
Gram unrolled a scroll that was in the center of the table. It was in that old fae language, but the document was written on an old, leather parchment. The words were clear, but Lauren wasn't familiar enough with the language to just translate it on point. She could make out words and phrases, but there could be all sorts of meanings.
Next, Gram opened a decorative box to reveal a sharp, antique pen. Lauren couldn't help but be in awe of being surrounded by ancient fae relics and rituals. While she had heard the old Ash talk about them, she had never been allowed to actually study them or observe them. Now, she had a front row seat to the festivities.
"I invoke the black spirit of the north air. We offer this marriage as the one true power. What say you, Blood King?" Gram handed Trick the antique pen, and he dipped it into the bowl with his blood.
"Aye." As soon as Trick said that, he signed the bottom of the scroll and his name seemed to light up on the page before converting to a solid ink. "I invoke the white spirit of the south earth. We offer this marriage as the one true power. What say you, Nature King?"
Lauren watched Bo stand in alert when the lights flickered off and the room became breezy. The clichéd horror film scene would have only been complete with an astral projection of the Nature King himself. The air in the room seemed to whisper "aye," but it was so faint that Lauren was sure she imagined it. It was her turn to go on alert, too. She placed her hand on Bo's arm to bring her back to the seat, but she wasn't too proud to admit she appreciated when Bo and Kenzi both scooted their chairs closer to her.
She understood why Briann wasn't allowed in this room during the ceremony now, despite her and Bo's protest that they wanted their daughter there with them when they became officially fae married. Gram hadn't explained why, and Bo was reluctant to give up their daughter to Hale because she had not let Gram win the argument that Kenzi couldn't be there, either. The only three people Bo had ever let hold Briann were in this room with them now. Hale was the next logical choice as babysitter.
This was the strangest marriage ceremony Lauren had ever witnessed, and she had been part of Roger and Kat's weird wedding.
Looking down at the scroll, a name appeared to light up again on the parchment. When the name finished writing, Lauren opened her mouth and felt her entire body start to shake.
Harold White.
Grumps.
Lauren couldn't speak, and Bo went to grab for her hand for the first time this evening. Kenzi came to stand behind them, hands on both of their shoulders for comfort.
Her grandfather was the Nature King. Lauren was supposed to be smart; why had she never put that together? That could only mean one thing; if they were combining four blood lines, then Gram was also the Oracle Queen.
Lauren felt herself want to pass out from the shock. She could sense that even Bo was surprised, but Bo seemed more concerned with following Lauren's reactions than reacting on her own.
"I invoke the red spirit of the east fire. We offer this marriage as the one true power. What say you, Samael?" Gram spoke again, and the horror film resumed as another "aye" whispered in the room before Samael's name appeared on the document.
"I invoke the gray spirit of the west water. We offer this marriage as the one true power. What say you, Oracle Queen?" Trick handed the pen back to Gram, who accepted it with a smile.
"Aye." She finally made eye contact with Lauren, her smile one of pride and utter joy, before she dipped the pen tip into her own blood bowl and signed her name to the document.
"So mote it be." Trick and Gram said in unison.
Gram stood and clapped her hands as though the creepiest thing hadn't just happened. Lauren looked to see that the three of them huddled together had no words and shocked expressions.
"Who wants pie? I made butterscotch and chocolate. Lauren's and Bo's favorites, since they wouldn't let me back them a wedding cake." Gram moved to roll the scroll back together before handing it to Trick. He nodded and moved to place it in his satchel he had brought with him.
Lauren wanted that scroll. She had to know what it said.
"Okay, so what the hell just happened?" Kenzi went to sit back in her chair but not before making a request for a small slice of both pies. "That was some freaky Poltergeist shit."
"Trick?" Bo turned the question onto her grandfather. He was the only one in the room right now that could give them answers. "I have to go with Kenzi on this one. What the hell just happened?"
"Are they even married? I couldn't tell with all the razzle dazzle haunted house mojo." Kenzi and Bo would have to do the talking because Lauren was still processing.
She didn't know why, but she wanted to cry. Lauren remembered back to all of her research on the royal bloodlines, her grandparents, hybrids, and politics. Everything finally clicked together in her suddenly supercharged brain. All of those years of not feeling like she belonged anywhere, yet her grandparents were the only two who ever made her feel loved and welcome in any world. Lauren couldn't help but feel manipulated; like her entire life was a lie. It was one thing to learn you were more than human; it was another to learn you really were bred for something bigger.
"Yes, you are married." Trick smiled warmly at Bo before sitting back down across from them. Lauren now realized he was sitting in the north corner of the table. She had so many questions, but her brain was overworking right now and she couldn't decide where to even begin. "You just combined all four Celtic royal bloodlines; it required us to all four accept your marriage in binding to allow for the one true royal line to exist. It's not unsimilar to what Maggie did when Briann was born."
"And the bad B movie horror film?" Kenzi stayed on point and focused, since Bo seemed to have lost her voice now, too.
"The fae are complicated; you surely know that by now. Their spirits exist still and have not yet moved on to crown the next Nature King or Testament King. We have waited a long time for this to happen." Trick had that familiar cryptic look on his face. Lauren felt sick. She should have known marrying Bo in every sense would only cause them more potential trouble. Of course it would; it was them. Each line had their own enemies, so to combine all four, no wonder they attracted so much trouble. No wonder Lilith had come out of hiding once Samael's heir made herself known. No wonder the old Ash had been so frightened of the super-charged Bo. No wonder the fae had made sure to enslave her.
"Pie to celebrate the nuptials." Gram walked in with a tray of plates piled high with pie. Lauren normally wouldn't be able to resist Gram's butterscotch pie, but her stomach had dropped so much that her appetite went with it. "Girls, I know you have tons of questions."
"Just one." Lauren cleared her throat, feeling her anger start to surface. Bo squeezed her hand and pulsed her to calm her down. She closed her eyes to collect her thoughts before opening them to reveal Gram staring at her knowingly. "You and Grumps."
"Harold was the Nature King. I am the Oracle Queen, yes." Gram walked over to place plates in front of them. Kenzi was the only one who picked up her fork. "We have to hide from our enemies. Without the other two airts, Fitpatrick and I are vulnerable until the one power is established. We honestly didn't think you would marry and have children so soon."
"We've been waiting a long time; we expected to wait longer." Trick was looking mostly at Bo, probably trying to read his granddaughter's reaction. Lauren could read it, though. Bo was starting to get upset, too. When they did research, they thought they had uncovered all of the big family secrets. It was frustrating to discover they nowhere near touched the depth of their family's skeletons. With this new information and marriage only came more unknowns.
"So, these two are like some…prophecy or something? They were destined to be all nauseatingly in love?" Kenzi pulled Bo's pie plate in front of her without asking, but Bo didn't seem to care. Lauren pushed hers down that way, too, and Kenzi greedily accepted the offering.
"Prophecy, no." Gram turned to Trick, and they both chuckled. "I only had a vision that a great power would come that would combine all four bloodlines. Long ago, when I was the midwife of a succubus mistress of Samael's, I was given the vision. We always knew a foundling would one day be born, but we did not know the details. I never knew how the bloodlines would ever combine. When I fell in love with Harold, I had no way of knowing that it would be my own grandchild. We thought it would be Angela, honestly, but then she insisted on marrying William Lewis, who I myself had read his importance to the fae world only years before. When Lauren was born, I was given another vision; that's when I knew how important she was going to be. We never could have predicted this happening, though. Lauren is human, so we never even thought it a possibility."
"When I discovered Bo was alive, I used my powers to help her find guidance. We had no way of knowing the new ruler would actually be Bo. We just knew that it would somehow run in her bloodline." Trick was still watching Bo carefully. Lauren was glad that at least Bo felt more exhausted than upset now.
"Until we saw how you two were together." Gram smiled at them, and Lauren felt herself smile slightly in return. It was somehow nice to know that she and Bo would have found each other eventually. Since she couldn't picture a life without Bo anymore, Lauren was happy for that at least. "We just had to let you discover things on your own and wait to see what happened. When you unknowingly bonded, that's when we knew."
"That's why you were at the Dal to bring us back here after I killed the Ash." Bo had relaxed, too, and had probably sensed Lauren's heady mixture of confusion, frustration, and relief.
"It has taken several millennia to get to this day." Gram leaned back in her chair, tenting her fingers and pursing her lips against them as she carefully watched them.
"You have proven yourself worthy already, so the four airts approved despite Lauren being a hybrid." Trick cleared his throat before smiling at them. It was supposed to be a joyous occasion, but none them felt or looked like they wanted to celebrate except the two elders. "Like I said, we expected a long courtship."
"Or for Briann to be the one to grow up and rule. We already did the ceremony for her, but you will need to travel to Scotland when Briann turns one to complete the ritual. She will need to be anointed as the heir to the throne." Gram mentioning Briann made Lauren stand. She felt a sudden need to hold their daughter tight and protect her. When Bo stood next to her, Lauren sensed the same thing from her wife. "When Lauren kept refusing to marry, we thought we might have been wrong."
"So, I guess the lesson we all learned was to never underestimate the power of Bo's persuasion over Lauren." Kenzi had devoured three slices of pie, and Lauren had to wonder how that much pie could go into one tiny human being. Actually, she knew the scientific reason, but she didn't need a geeked out distraction in her mind right now.
"This had to be of their own free will." Gram walked around the table to pick up the plates, which left Kenzi and Trick as the only two still sitting. "Hybrids cannot be enthralled completely. It's why the fae keep them in line using other means, like slavery."
"When people said I would change the whole of faedom, I didn't think that meant I'd become the great and powerful Oz."
"Well…" Lauren remembered back to what Bo had said when she was under the influence of her power when it first surfaced during her battle with the old Ash. "Remember what happened when the old Ash tried to kill me? Your dormant powers seemed to believe it."
"So, I'm what…Queen of the Fae now? What's that even mean?" Bo moved her body into Lauren's more. There was a strong need to connect physically. If this were a side effect, maybe they should have waited until she was given the go ahead for sex. They still had at least two weeks before they could consummate the marriage. Lauren was feeling the sexy and happy vibes from being married, which were overpowering the rest of her thoughts and emotions.
"It means that you now have the power and authority to eradicate the clans, if and when you are ready to do so." Trick finally stood to join them.
"What about the Ash and the Morrigan? What happens to them?" Kenzi completed the pattern by being the last person to stand.
"They'll remain in power until Bo is ready to take control. She has the power and authority to change the world, but it won't happen overnight. This is a heavy burden to place on anyone." Trick moved to grab his satchel, the scroll edge peeking out of it slightly. Lauren really needed to get a hold of that somehow. "It is getting late, and I need to get back to the Dal. Dinner was lovely, Maggie. Congratulations, girls."
"Thanks, Trick." Bo smiled at her grandfather, and Lauren found she smiled in reaction. She could sense that Bo was extremely tense now, but her wife's anger had finally dissipated. Bo was definitely feeling the sexy, "We still have a lot of questions."
"As to be expected." He came to pull them both into a quick hug. It didn't happen often, so Bo was clinging longer than he had intended for the hug to last. Lauren smiled at her wife and accepted the quick affection he offered. "Give it time, Bo. For tonight, just enjoy being married."
"I will." Bo really did smile big now. Lauren couldn't help but roll her eyes in amusement. Of course Bo would be thinking sex, and even though she didn't get the clear yet, she could still take care of her wife's needs. Naturally, they didn't do much to help quell her own, but she could suffer a little bit longer. She wasn't so sure about Bo, though. The succubus was getting antsy.
"Girls, Kenzi and I will clean up. Why don't you two go enjoy this time together?" Gram finished putting the dishes back onto the tray. Kenzi didn't even bother protesting.
"Hey, at least we know they can't tear the house down from the all the bed rocking." Kenzi smirked at them, and Lauren honestly felt herself flush. She wouldn't lie and say she didn't find the idea appealing. "Once she gets that go ahead from you, I have no doubt this house is coming down."
"Kenz, geez. We do have some self control." Bo was definitely feeling antsy. Once they tucked Briann in for the night, Lauren had a feeling she was going to be taking care of that. Just because she couldn't didn't mean that Bo couldn't. Lauren didn't feel any different, but the thought of being 100% Bo's and Bo being 100% hers made her happy. That euphoria was translating itself into the pattern their relationship had set for them. "Thank for you doing this, Gram. I wish you had told us about all of the extra surprises, though. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I mean…you just pretty much crowned me the big fae leader without telling me first. I should be reacting more."
"You're worried about Briann and Lauren. You'll react when you fully consummate the marriage; you're still in shock right now. There's a reason this was done when you would be on your high from the nuptials." They all followed Gram back into the kitchen. Bo and Lauren never let their hands part once. "Go check on that beautiful little girl and be together. This is your time."
"Thanks, Gram." Lauren smiled at her grandmother and rolled her eyes at the thumbs up Kenzi was giving them. When she acted like the young girl she was, it was hard to imagine she had a 15 month old child of her own.
