The Living Dead

Chapter 5

"It is rather shocking to me, now that I think of it," Gregor said as they walked down the streets of Regalia. "That I have never been to where Perdita lives."

"Well, you two have more of a work relationship than a friendship," Mareth said with a slight shrug.

"Still, you'd think that I'd at least know where she lives."

Mareth took a breath then before slowly saying, "She does not invite many people to her home."

"Oh," Gregor said slowly. "Well, she is a very private person, after all."

"Very much so."

"I mean-"

"I do not wish to talk of Perdita currently, Gregor."

"Oh."

"I think that we both know what we should be speaking of."

"Yeah, but-"

"Gregor, this…complication of yours just got far more complex. You do understand this, yes?"

"I'm not a kid, Mareth. Yeah, I get it. We're adults. Sometimes mistakes happen. It's not-"

"Maybe in the Overland, but not here. Not with a…" Mareth looked around, but the streets were empty. "Queen. It was bad, when the two of you began…complicating one another's lives, but now? Now?"

"Mareth, can we not-"

"Fine, Gregor," he conceded. "We will leave it as it is for now. But do not think that we are done here."

It was about six hours before Perdita and her men were to leave that morning. About forty minutes previous, Luxa had been awoken by a messenger who came bearing some sort of a message from a scout in the Dead Lands. Something that had to do with the Reclaimer no doubt. She had woken Gregor, who was sleeping in his own room that night, immediately after and told him to gather up the other generals.

He started with Barrett and Mareth, as they both lived in the palace. But when he went to get Perdita, he found out that she did not. Mareth readily opted to go with him to get her. Gregor knew, of course, that that would mean talking about his and Luxa's current predicament, but he also knew that he had to face the music eventually.

Now they were walking down the streets at the dead of night, after Andromeda dropped them outside of the palace. The further they walked though, the more Gregor wished that she had dropped them closer.

"Why does Perdita not live in palace?"

Mareth shook his head. "Not all enjoy living in the palace. It is not feasible for all either."

Feasible?

"I just thought it'd be nicer," Gregor said then. "I mean, most places outside of the palace are not as-"

"I told you, Gregor, that it is not feasible or possible for all."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I-"

"Oy! The warrior and a general out for a stroll so late?"

Both Gregor and Mareth turned, the latter raising his hand in acknowledgement to the man who was speaking to him. He was leaning up against a building, what looked like a fruit shop, grinning at them. Gregor did not know him, as he rarely knew anyone outside of those who worked in the palace or were soldiers, but Mareth seemed to.

"You come looking for women then, ah?"

"No," Mareth told him, almost blushing as he glanced at Gregor. "I am merely headed somewhere."

"If you are certain."

Gregor was staring hard at Mareth for the next few feet, though Mareth wouldn't look at him.

"So. You partake in-"

"I do not buy…whores or anything like that. I have a fine time getting my own women. But yes, Gregor, occasionally I do find myself depressed over the current state of affairs and need…company. It is really none of your-"

"And neither is my…complication."

Mareth only sighed then. "I have known you since you were a boy, Gregor. Luxa even longer. It just…troubles me to see her fall this way."

"Why does this have to be a bad thing?"

Mareth only frowned causing Gregor to shake his head.

"No, I know why it's a bad thing, but if we don't…you know, get married, then the child has no claim to the throne and everyone's happy, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"If Luxa's father, Lennox, right? If Lennox had a bastard that was older than Luxa, it wouldn't have had a chance to get the throne. It would still be Luxa's."

"Yes. That is correct."

"Why would it be different if Luxa has a child out of wedlock? I mean, yeah, I get it, it's indecent or whatever and you guys are all so old-fashioned or whatever. You know, until you guys wanna fuck somebody and then it's okay-"

"Overlander-"

"My point is that our…kid wouldn't be able to ascend the throne if we don't marry. So fine, Luxa looks bad, but they can't be too mad. That's the reason they didn't want me to become king, really, right? To avoid smearing the line of ascendants with more Overlanders, right? Halflanders? But if that doesn't happen, then everything's fine, right?"

Mareth though for a moment before just shake his head. Instead of answer, he merely said, "We are here."

The building was as many apartments in the Underland were. More or less just stone homes stacked on top of one another, a staircase off to the side leading up to each one. Some were three homes high, but most were only two. It reminded Gregor of those old adobe homes that he would see in school when they studied the past, just with stone instead of mud.

Perdita lived on the base level of the one they were standing in front of. As it was so late, Mareth did not wish to call out and disturb anyone in their own homes scattered about, so he merely pushed aside the curtain partition and went in. Gregor hesitated, as if Mareth had female company, he found it just as likely that Perdita might have someone over, but Mareth seemed so certain. They were friends, after all. He figured Mareth stopped in on her all the time. With a shake of his head, he followed.

The home was small, of course, with a very open layout. The doorway opened immediately into a living room like area that also clearly doubled as a kitchen. There was a single, beat up, couch in the center of the room, which was where Perdita was sleeping. Gregor almost felt wrong, seeing her asleep, but Mareth merely went over to her and gently shook her shoulder as Gregor looked around again.

There was a small alcove off to the side that hardly counted as a room, but was big enough to fit a bed. It reminded him of his 'room' back the apartment in New York that was really more of a closet. On that tiny bed, he could barely see someone sleeping in it, as the torch light was so weak given there was only one torch going in the home so late at night. He would have clicked, but that would only give him an outline. He knew there was someone there, after all.

"Wh- Mareth?"

"Shhh. You are fine. I merely came to get you."

"Get me?" Perdita sat up quickly and Gregor saw that she had fallen asleep in the same clothes she had worn earlier in the day. "For what? Have I overslept? Oh, no, I must-"

"No. Shhh. Take a breath." He patted her on the shoulder then. "Something has happened in the Dead Lands."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Luxa sent the Overlander to get us all," Mareth explained to her softly. "She received word from a scout about the status of the Reclaimer."

"And what was it?" She sounded more clear then, finally waking up.

"I do not-"

"Overlander?" Perdita looked passed Mareth and to Gregor, but he was still in shock to find that the head of the army lived in such a…dump. She lived like a merchant or maybe a farmer. She was the highest paid person in the military and she was living in the city? "What did the message say?"

He had a dumb moment then, he was rather tired himself, where he said the first thing that popped into his mind. "You sleep on a couch?"

She only frowned at him before moving to stand. Mareth sent him a dirty look causing Gregor to shake his head.

"I mean…sorry. Uh…Luxa didn't say," he finally got out. "About the message. She just told me to gather you and the generals."

Perdita took a moment before nodding her head. "Then let us-"

"Perdita?" a voice called from the back of the home then, from that alcove, sounding rather old, if not somewhat afraid. "Who's there? What's wrong?"

She made a visible face of displeasure then before taking a deep breath and saying, "Nothing. I merely-"

"It is I," Mareth spoke up then. "I have come to speak with her, is all."

"Mareth?"

"Aye. There is nothing to worry about."

"I cannot leave with you," Perdita told them both softly then. She was speaking more to Mareth though. "You know that I cannot leave her alone. And there is no one-"

"Perdita? Is it not late? What is wrong?"

"Nothing, Mother," she called over to her. "Mareth is-"

"Can I not come visit now and again?" Mareth moved passed Perdita then, heading to the back of the home. "I am sorry for calling so late. It takes forever for a invalid as myself to get around this city these days."

Perdita looked to Gregor then before shaking her head. "I cannot leave her alone. You must go back to Luxa and tell her that whatever it is, I shall deal with it when-"

"I shall stay," Mareth called softly back over to Perdita as he made it over to the bed, leaning down to hug the woman. "Go."

"Mareth-"

"I am certain if one of us must miss the meeting, Luxa would rather it me than you. Now go."

She paused then before going over to him to say a few things in a hushed tone. Gregor pretended to be interested in other things, but her mother would not let it be.

"Who else is here, Perdita?"

"Mother-"

"It is the Overlander," Mareth told her.

"Overlander?"

"Aye, the warrior," Perdita sighed. "I have told you before, he lives here, in Regalia. Remember? Gregor?"

Her mother only made a slight noise before falling silent again. Perdita said a few more things softly to Mareth before going over to Gregor.

"Let us go then," she sighed. "We had best hurry. I am sure that the Queen is impatient."

It was an awkward walk back to the palace, as neither of them had a bond. Gregor knew that Perdita's had died some years ago in some battle or something and she had never found another. He knew this mainly because Luxa complained frequently of it, that the army head had to enlist the help of friendly fliers to get around. Mareth usually got her off Perdita's back by mentioning the fact that if Aurora lost her light, she would not easily replace her. The thought alone was enough to cause Luxa hesitance.

"If we spot her, Andromeda will take us back to the palace," Perdita told him with a sigh as they walked along. "Either that or it shall be a long ride up."

"Hopefully Nike or Aurora or Dionysus or someone will see us," Gregor sighed.

"I have not seen any of them in a number of days."

"I saw Nike recently and Aurora, but I think Dionysus is staying more in the Fount now. And Aurora's probably asleep. No, our only hope is probably Nike."

Perdita merely shook her head. "Andromeda will be looking out for Mareth and stop. She is most helpful in that way."

They walked in silence for some time then. Gregor and Perdita rarely spent any time alone together and though she always was most kind to him and expressed her gratitude to him many times in the past, they were far from friends. She respected him highly for his skill in battle, but at times still saw him as a petulant child. Especially when he was around Luxa. He figured she was about Mareth's age, which was more or less fifteen or so years older than him, which really did make him a child to her for a good number of years. Not to mention she did see him fighting with Luxa quite frequently, which didn't help anything.

Still, he respected her greatly. She was very driven with her work and that was something to be admired. Not to mention, she normally managed Luxa and her meltdowns with ease. Though she was not someone he wished hangout with after work, she had still given him a chance to be a general and that meant something. That meant a lot.

Now though, he had seen a completely different side of her. He never considered her life outside of work. He knew that sometimes she would go to the mess hall with Barrett or Mareth, but that was mostly to comment on their immaturity and watch them get drunk or pickup women. He always just kind of assumed that she didn't exist outside of that, in that childish way that children assume their teachers only live to put up with their bull all day from 8:00-4:00 and don't live outside of that. This new perspective was something that he never really thought about and he knew for certain that she had not wished for him to find out about, less she would have mentioned it at some point.

He felt it his obligation then to at least broach overcoming their awkwardness in that moment, as he felt as if he had caused it. He could have just sent Mareth to get Perdita, but he had gone along to avoid spending time with Barrett. It was his fault that he now knew what he did and that meant it was his job to break the silence over it.

"So your mother lives with you?"

Perdita glanced at him then before nodding her head slightly. "Yes. She does."

Well, that didn't help anything. She was going to make it harder than necessary.

"I did not know that you did not live in the palace."

She glanced at him. "My mother cannot get around well. It is easier for her not to be in the palace, where there always seems to be some sort of problem. Stress is not good for her. And it is high stress there constantly."

"Oh." He paused again. "But you cannot…afford somewhere nicer?"

She blushed then before glancing at him. "My mother needs someone to stay with her during the day and evening, while I work. And when I am leaving now for a few days, she needs someone there the entire time. That takes up most of my-"

"I'm sorry for asking," he said then, looking off. God, he was coming off as nosey, not interested. "I was only trying to-"

"She is very sick. Her mind is very much gone. And my father has been dead for a number of years now. If I did not take care of her, she would surely die." She glanced at him. "You would do the same for your own mother, yes?"

Swallowing, he only nodded slightly, which must have pleased her, as she just looked ahead again, walking along silently next to him once more.

It turned out to be Andromeda who picked them up and took them back to the palace. Perdita explained to her the situation and she promised to take her back home right after the meeting.

When they got into the war room, Luxa was already there, pacing the room with Zander in her arms, who was still sleeping peacefully. Barrett was there as well, though he only stood off to the side, arms folded, not even looking up when they came in.

"Where is Mareth then?" Luxa snapped at Gregor who only gave her a look back, not appreciating the tone. "Overlander?"

"He had to stay behind and look after my mother," Perdita spoke up quickly. "It was either him or me. I had no one else to-"

"Fine." Luxa shook her head at that before halting her pacing. Zander was snoring softly and Gregor was glad for that, as Luxa did not have his little tiger anywhere in the room. They needed to keep him asleep as long as possible. "Let us begin."

She quickly passed Zander off to Gregor, who only went to go take his place standing by the table. Then Luxa went over to the table herself, though she only picked up a scroll from it before looking to Perdita.

"The Reclaimer has fled."

Even Barrett looked up at that. Perdita was the first to speak.

"Wh-What?"

"Read it yourself. The Reclaimer has left. He and another gnawer must have gotten into a fight or something. The rats cannot locate him. The scouts still have not gotten a glimpse at him. The gnawers that are gathered in that cavern are scattering. Sending you out would be a waste. I-"

"What? No." Perdita shook her head. "I should still go. I should-"

"Do not cut me off," Luxa warned her. "And what good would it do to send you? If the Reclaimer has disappeared? You are not a general or a soldier. You are the head of the army. You should not go searching for someone. You were going to go to get a good look at the Reclaimer and report back to me. Sending you out to go play scout is not advisable."

"Solovet would have-"

"You are not Solovet. And be thankful. Solovet is very much dead and you are very much alive." Luxa shook her head. "Barrett, do you still wish to leave the capital for a few days?"

"Most certainly," he said without hesitation. Then he glanced at Gregor. "Today, if you wish."

"Then you shall take the men that Perdita was going to take out and go look into what exactly is going on."

"Wait," Perdita started up again. "I can go, Luxa. I wish to go. Why would you send him? What good would he be?"

"I would be very good. Send me, L-"

"Step down, Barrett," Perdita hissed at him. "I am your commanding officer and you shall not defy me."

He snorted then. "See what I tell you, Luxa? Since her and her precious Mareth have declared me an enemy they are most horrible to me. They-"

"Enough." Luxa looked away from them both for a moment before landing her gaze on Gregor. He only stared back for a second before smiling.

"I get to go?" he asked, excited by the idea of getting out Regalia. He needed a few days to himself, honestly. And while he was in the Dead Lands, he would have poked around to find Ripred as well. It would be-

"Of course not."

"What do you mean of course not? I'm a general too."

"Yes, she will send the father of her child off to fight the Reclaimer." Barrett snorted, shaking his head. "With all that is going on, I above all deserve to get out of Regalia."

"You are about to be out of a job if you continue to try and undermine me," Perdita threatened, shaking her head at him.

"Go ahead. Luxa will reinstate me."

"Luxa would do no such thing."

"Luxa most certainly-"

"Luxa is about to get very mad at the fact you are all going to awake her sleeping child." Luxa was watching Zander then, to be sure that he did not stir. For a moment, they all held their breaths, but he did not make a sound. Sighing, Luxa shook her head.

"Perdita," she finally said. "If you wish to still go, you shall go. It is your place to decide, really. Do not be foolish though. It would be a shame, should you die doing something that you have no business doing in the first place."

Perdita nodded her head while Barrett only let out an annoyed grunt, looking off once more. Luxa narrowed her eyes at him before speaking.

"If you have something to say, Barrett, then say it. If not, then stop acting as if you are a toddler. I have enough going on in my life. I do not wish to add a disruptive general to that list."

Barrett only shook his head slightly, though he would not look at any of them. Gregor only sighed, shifting the sleeping boy in his arms.

"What else does the message say?" Gregor asked. "I feel as if we have gotten off base. What all did it tell you, Luxa?"

She shook her head, looking back at him then. "Not much. Merely that most of the gnawers have left that area as well, apparently to look for the Reclaimer. Or perhaps they even followed him. My scouts are not psychic after all. They merely give me the information that they see and what they hear. Codes and such. And they are all certain that the Reclaimer has fled his position."

"The Dead Lands are vast," Gregor sighed. "There's not telling where-"

"I shall find him," Perdita told them then, nodding her head slightly. "If he really is there, is alive, then I shall find him."

"You sound certain," Luxa remarked.

Perdita only nodded. "Of course I am. After all, what other option do we have?"

It was still rather early when the meeting was concluded, so Gregor just headed back to the royal wing with Luxa, Zander in his arms. They dropped the boy off in his own bedroom for once, making sure to get him his tiger before heading off to Luxa's bedchamber.

Gregor popped his shoulders as Luxa moved to get into bed, causing her to frown at him. He just shrugged though before pulling his shirt off. His back was tight. How was that his fault?

"I'm going to make you eat when we get up," he grumbled to her once he settled into bed with her. "You know that."

"Gregor-"

"You have to eat, Luxa. It was one thing when it was you, but now you have to think about…you know, the baby too." Then he glanced over at her. "Unless…is that your plan then?"

"Is what my plan?"

"To starve the baby?" He frowned at her. "Luxa-"

"Of course not, idiot." She gave him a look. "It is hard to eat, Gregor. Especially dinner. When I know that it shall only come back up."

"Like morning sickness? I didn't know that you were vomiting."

"It is horrible."

"You could have told me."

"Breakfast comes up at times as well. That is why I-"

"You just… Why don't you tell me anything?"

"Do not get upset, Overlander. You-"

"I mean, seriously, Luxa? And how far along are you anyways?"

"I think nearly three months."

He frowned, shaking his head at her. "You're really something, you know that?"

When she didn't say anything, he only shifted on the bed, laying on his stomach with his head next to her. Luxa turned onto her side, stroking the back of his head gently. That's how they laid for awhile, until he spoke again.

"What are we going to do, Luxa? Are we on the same page?"

"Yes."

"Good." He let out a slow breath. "When do you wish to get married then?"

That made her thump the back of his head. "We are not marrying."

"Luxa-"

"We are not."

He paused. "So then our kid couldn't ascend the throne."

"What talking about?"

"It'll be a bastard. So no royal-"

"No," she said clicking her tongue though he could tell she was thinking hard then. "That's not…No. That's not fair. I-"

"It's the truth."

That made her stop and think. Slowly, she began saying, "Then…perhaps we should."

"Should what?"

"Gregor-"

"Say it, Luxa. Say it or it doesn't count."

Giving him a look, she simply shook her head. "We must get married now. Quickly."

"When?" he asked, shutting his eyes. "And are you sure? That means that I will be-"

"I do not care. My child will not be overlooked for the throne. I-"

"Luxa, calm down."

"No, Gregor. I have done more than a normal queen would for this…stupid city and then they dare look over my-"

"Lux, the city doesn't even know about the kid yet. Chill. They're not looking down on it…yet."

"Our child is not an it."

Groaning, he ground out, "If this is what this pregnancy is going to be like, let's get married and then let me spend the rest of the time up in the Overland, away from you."

That got him thumped again. "That does remind me though."

"Remind you of what?"

"We have been treating the…pregnancy and the Reclaimer as separate issues."

"That's because they are."

"Tell me, Gregor, if the Reclaimer is real, when would be a better time for him to show his face?"

"Lux, no one knows that you're-"

"I meant at our wedding. If we were to marry, that would be a big day, yes? All of the Overland would know about it, no matter how quickly we attempt to have it done. The Reclaimer would make himself known then and completely ruin it." She was still stroking the back of his head, being rather gentle in comparison to how she usually was. "But we cannot delay it just from fear of retaliation. Then my child will be born a bastard. And I will not allow this city to refuse my child-"

"God, Lux, if you're going to be like this the entire time we're raising the kid, then I don't think I want to be a part of it."

Thump.

"Do you wish for our child to be overlooked then, Overlander?"

"I don't know. I don't…" He let out a long sigh. "Can we not? Please? I'm not… This is still new. I mean, I haven't even told my mom yet. I've only known for-"

"If we are going to marry, then it has to be in the coming week."

"What?"

"Gregor, it has to be quick. Fast."

"And that won't cause suspicious?"

"Not if we let it known that we think that the Reclaimer has shown up," she told him. "Then everyone will believe that I am marrying you to keep you here, so you will fight for me. See? Understand? And then you shall help the champion defeat the Reclaimer at which point we announce my pregnancy. Everyone is so happy from the win that they do not care much of a child. It is commonplace that married people have children."

He opened his eyes then, though it was just to blink. Slowly, he said, "For someone that was totally going to have the child without getting married, you sure have a game plan for what we're going to do when we get married."

"Oh, Gregor, we were always getting married," she said with a roll of her eyes. "I only like to pretend at times. It would have been nice, having the child without marrying you. Liberating, yes? I would have felt powerful."

"You are powerful."

She thumped him.

"What was that for? I complimented you."

"Finger slipped."

"Oh, whatever."

She kissed the top of his head that time, making him lift it slightly to look at her.

"We're going to have a baby, Luxa. Like a real baby."

"I know."

Shaking his head, he shifted on the bed slightly before laying his head down once more. "It's just scary, I guess. Have you ever…taken care of a real baby? Like, not Zander or a toddler, but a baby? A crying baby?"

"No," Luxa said slowly. "When Chim was young, I held her. Once. Maybe."

"Oh, you're gonna be in hell," he told her. "I used to have to take care of Boots. It's not fun, Lux. And you're already stressed out just by Zander. I mean, yeah, he's bad, but a baby's going to be worse. You know that, right?"

"Yes."

He only shook his head slightly. "I dunno. I just, you know, think that you're the type of person to, like, drown your kids or kill them or something."

That didn't just get him a thump. That got him a full on shove.

"Why would you say that?"

"I'm kidding," he told her as she shoved him again. "Luxa-"

"I would never-"

"It was a joke. Calm down. God." He shifted away from her. "You'll be fine as a parent. I guess. And if not then, well, you're a freaking queen. The freaking Queen. If you can't handle the baby or something, you have servants and shit waiting around for your orders. Not to mention, I'm here, you know? It's my baby too."

Slowly, they both relaxed once more, though Gregor did keep more distance between him and her, just in case she went on the attack again. She seemed fine once more though and for awhile, they just laid there, trying to find sleep.

"I didn't know that Perdita lived in the city," Gregor mentioned at some point to Luxa.

"Mmmhmm." Luxa had her eyes closed and was probably hardly listening to him. Gregor just kept speaking though.

"Have you ever been to her apartment before?"

"No," Luxa sighed. "Why?"

"It was just…not what I was expecting, if that makes sense," Gregor said slowly. "I mean, she's the head of the army and she's kind of sleeping on a couch."

"Mmm. I knew she lived with her mother."

"Yeah. I just-"

"Mareth does not live glamorously either, Gregor. Not to mention, she could live in the palace if she wished. She chooses to stay there. I cannot help it."

"I guess so."

"Perdita is very centered in on her work. Other than that, life holds little meaning to her. Living an expensive life would do little for her. Believe me. I think I know her a little better than you."

He only shook his head before cuddling into the bed. "Guess so."

"Why are you thinking of her anyways?"

"She's just, you know, leaving soon for the Dead Lands. I-"

"Foolishly, yes, she is." Luxa shook her head. "In mere hours the head of my army is going to go play scout to prove herself worthy to a dead woman. My dead grandmother."

He only smiled at her slightly. "Hey, Lux?"

"Mmmm?"

"You think that if, like, Solovet hadn't died that day that she would still be your army head? That Perdita would have never gotten a chance?"

"Solovet would have never stepped down, I do not think. Even when I came into power, if she was still alive, she would continue to try and control me. They say that she tried to control my mother as well." Luxa shook her head slightly. "But many things led up to Perdita coming into power other than Solovet's death. She was not next in line. There was-"

"I know. I was just talking."

"Then stop talking, Gregor, and sleep. We only have a short while before we must be up. And that's assuming Zander does not wake up sooner."

"I know," Gregor sighed, rolling onto his other side, so that his back was to her. "It just feels like there's so much going on all at once."

Luxa moved closer to him then, resting her head against the small of his back. "Why, Gregor, you almost sound as if you've never been here before. Everything always happens all at once."