The Living Dead

Chapter 13

"Perdita. I was looking for you yesterday. Where were you? Barrett said-"

"I was with the soldiers. Solovet spent much time-" She bit her tongue then before looking up from the map. When she saw that it was only Gregor however, without Luxa, she only shook her head. "I spend too much time in here, I believe. It is time that I reinstate myself as the true leader of this military."

"Yeah," he said slowly as he came over to the table. "That's actually wanted I wanted to talk about."

"Oh?"

He came to a stop then, resting his hands on the edge of the table in front of him. When he did not immediately speak, Perdita looked up at him.

"What is it, Overlander?"

He only gazed into her eyes for a moment before shaking his head. "You know as well as I what I wish to talk about."

"I do not-"

"Have you taken care of Mareth yet?"

She looked back down at the map. "Yes."

"Good. I know it was hard to fire him, but-"

"I did not…fire him, Overlander."

"Then what-"

"I mean, I will," she assured him then before glancing up again. "Just not yet. I cannot yet."

"Perdita-"

"You are becoming the King in the coming days. I lose you as a general then. I cannot lose him as well. Not so quickly. I am still trying to find your replacement. I-"

"Can't you just move up the next ranking soldiers? Or-"

"I could, but Luxa would not approve of it. She does not like either of them. And I must have her approval of all things."

"Perdita-"

"It is too complex, Overlander, to just have an easy fix."

"He hit you," Gregor said slowly. "That's not-"

"And I have severed our…person relationship, but our professional one is not that easy. He will stay on until I find a general to replace him and you. It should only take a few weeks."

"Then he's going to the Fount?"

She paused before saying slowly, "I do not know. We are not longer friends. It is not my business what he chooses to do with his life. If he goes to the Fount, fine. Good for him. I-"

"You don't want him to go," Gregor said slowly. "Do you?"

"I-"

"He hit you, Perdita."

"I know. I-"

"No, Perdita. He struck you. That's not okay, alright? It was a dick thing to do. And I like Mareth, he's my friend, but maybe the two of you just need to-"

"You have no right, Overlander, to-"

"I'm trying to be nice to you. Trying to help you."

"I did not ask for-"

"It wasn't okay that he did that, Perdita. He shouldn't have slapped you. I-"

"Oh, but it was okay when you did it to me, Overlander?"

Gregor frowned then at the sound of Luxa coming into the war room. Ugh. She had taken Zander to be bathed after breakfast, but apparently she was finished with that. Great.

"You locked me in a dungeon with no medical assistance after you had your guards aggravate my head wound," Gregor complained as she came over to the table. "That was different than-"

"I do not see it that way."

Perdita, clearly just wishing to get off the subject, spoke then to Zander. Err, rather about him. She never did seem to speak directly to the toddler. She probably thought that it was a silly thing to do, considering how serious she typically was.

"I heard that he had quite the fall yesterday," the woman said slowly, more to Luxa than Gregor. The Queen only frowned.

"He did not fall," Luxa said as she dropped Zander in one of the chairs. "Another one of the kids hit him in the face because he would not give them his toy."

Perdita's eyes widened. "Oh. I just heard he got his teeth knocked out. I only assumed-"

"You should never make assumptions."

"Right. Of course."

Zander let out a slight whine then, but Luxa only gave him a look to shut him up. He set out to sucking on his little tiger toy, which allowed Perdita to see inside his mouth. She frowned at the sight of his missing teeth.

"It is not uncommon for people to lose teeth," she said slowly. "Children especially. He is lucky. They shall grow back, as adult teeth."

"I will still have the child's parent's head."

"Luxa-"

"Who did it?" Perdita asked, cutting Gregor off.

"I do not know. I sent Barrett to find out, as the Overlander is apparently too incompetent to follow my orders."

"That's a totally rude thing to say," Gregor grumbled, frowning at her. "I just don't see it as a big deal, Luxa. Kids hurt other kids. It won't happen again. Especially if you insist on never letting him go anywhere without you again. Is that the plan?"

"He is still hurting, Gregor. It was traumatic for him to-"

"You cannot be serious."

"Come, Gregor, let me knock your teeth out and then see-"

"I don't want Zander hurt either, Luxa, but-"

"You are useless to me. Be quiet."

Perdita frowned then before shaking her head. "In other news, the Reclaimer has been reported again and-"

"Barrett is going."

"…What?"

"I have decided that he in the only one that is viable for missions at the moment. Gregor is no longer going to be a general, you are injured, and Mareth is…Mareth cannot go. Barrett is going."

"I thought that I would go," she said slowly. "That-"

"Well, you thought wrong," she said with a frown. "You are injured. Not to mention you do not wish to miss the wedding, hmmm?"

"And Barrett does? Wish to miss the wedding, I mean?"

Luxa gave Perdita look for that, thinking that the older woman was making a slight towards her. Perdita only stared though, truly curious.

"I have a feeling that our wedding is the last place he wants to be," Gregor remarked before glancing over at Zander. "You okay, buddy?"

The little boy grinned at him then, giggling. He probably would have been fine with going back to the nursery that day, but Luxa insisted that he wanted to stay with her. That he needed to stay with her.

"Where is Kent anyhow?" Luxa asked, frowning slightly.

"I do not know. He never showed up." She only shook her head. "I have found my life to be easier when he is not assisting me anyways."

"You could always just tell him to leave you alone, that you do not need his help," Gregor suggested.

"He enjoys helping me," Perdita sighed. "I just have found that I do not enjoy him nearly as much. He is very annoying. Like having a child follow you around constantly."

Luxa looked down at Zander who only smiled back. "I know what that is like."

"If he was not Solovet's grandson, I do not think I would even entertain the idea of babysitting him."

Gregor only sighed. "So about the Reclaimer."

Perdita looked to him then. "Scouts report that the gnawers are excited, the ones in those caverns, about the reappearance of the Reclaimer. And word of the wedding has spread to them. I wish to get there immediately, to know what we are up against with the Reclaimer. The last place we want him to show up is the wedding, yes?"

"At least it would make it somewhat fun," Gregor mumbled. He usually would have gotten hit for that, but Luxa was too busy looking at the doorway. When Gregor glanced over there, he found Barrett coming into the room, a big smile on his face.

"Octavius."

"What?" Perdita frowned at him. "If this is your suggestion for Gregor's rank, no."

"That is not what he is talking about," Luxa sighed, glancing down at Zander again. "I forgot that Octavius had a son."

"A bastard," Barrett said with a shrug. "But some men rise to the occasion randomly."

"A bastard in the nursery. Unlikely, but no unheard of. What is the child's name?"

"J-"

"What are you guys going on about?" Gregor asked with a frown. "Luxa?"

"I told you, Overlander, that I was having him look into who struck Alexander."

"You lacked in that category, but I simply went and asked." Barrett shrugged as he came further into the room. "Now what, Luxa?"

"Now I am going to get that bastard out of that nursery."

"Luxa," Gregor groaned as Perdita only frowned. "Seriously?"

"He hit my baby, Gregor. He must be punished. Severely."

Her baby. That caused him to pause before just shaking his head.

"How old is the kid anyways?" he asked slowly. "And-"

"I do not know. Around seven or eight, I would guess." Barrett shrugged. "I do not know Octavius well. I-"

"Ugh." Perdita had a very physical reaction that time. When she realized what she had done, she simply said, "I loathe that man. And the worst is he is in consideration for your position, Gregor. Or at least he should be."

"I should behead him, the way he raises his child," Luxa remarked as she shook her head. "Zander is a little baby. He would never hurt anything. He-"

"Luxa, he's eating a marker."

Frowning, she looked down at the little boy, who had picked up one of the tiny chips used to mark places on the map. He wasn't chewing on it as much as he was rubbing it on his no doubt sore gums, where he had just lost two of his teeth.

"Zander." Luxa snatched it from him, causing the toddler to cry out. His gums hurt and Gregor knew that, but he couldn't irritate them more than they already were. He did have adult teeth under there after all, ready to poke though in a few years.

"You guys need, like, a dentist or something," Gregor grumbled slightly, not liking to see Zander hurting. "A tooth doctor."

"Or we could all focus on the Reclaimer," Perdita suggested then. "That is always something to think about."

Luxa gave her a look before nodding her head slightly. "Barrett? Have you decided on men to take?"

"Why must I take men? The Overlander got to go off on his own."

"The Overlander was going on a personal mission," Luxa told him. "You are not. And I also do not like you. Now tell me the men that you are taking with you."

"I do not know. I thought that Eos and I would be able to just-"

"You will not."

"Luxa-"

"If you keep arguing with me, I will have the wedding now and then just send the Overlander out to take care of it afterwards."

Gregor frowned. "Is that really an option?"

One look from Luxa let him know that it was not.

Barrett only sighed then before shaking his head slightly and beginning to give off a list of all his top fighters. It was a concise list, only five men, all of which Gregor would have felt comfortable himself with leading into battle. He could tell that Barrett was kind of disappointed, however, about not going alone. He had a sinking feeling that he had planned to sneak off and go find Ripred himself, to impress Luxa. Gregor wasn't sure why he was still playing the game, as Gregor clearly had won. Luxa wouldn't leave Gregor now, now that she was having his child and they were getting married.

…Unless Barrett didn't want her to? But then what was it all about?

"I should go warn those men then, I suppose," Barrett sighed. "That I need them. And Eos thought we were taking off today, so I should go speak with her as well."

"Then go," Luxa said, looking back to Perdita. "You will leave early in the morning. I probably will not see you. Have safe travels. We cannot afford to lose any more generals."

"Have a nice wedding, Luxa."

That made her glance back at him, but she only shook her head. "That is the plan."

"My mother and sisters are all coming. To the wedding."

"Oh, good, Gregor. I was so worried."

"Luxa-"

"Have you gone to the doctor today? To-"

"No," he said with a frown. "That's not a daily thing, I don't think."

"You think wrong."

"Luxa-"

"Did they send you a note through the grate?"

"Yeah." He came further into the room. She was sitting at the dinning table, eating dinner for once without being prompted. She must have been hungry. "I told them to come the night before. Is that okay?"

"I do not care." Luxa nodded at the seat to her right. She was at the head of the table, after all, Zander on her left. "Sit."

"You know, don't I get that spot soon?"

"Be quiet, Overlander."

Zander greeted Gregor with his normal gusto before going back to his food. Smiling, Gregor patted the boy on the head before going to take his seat. Then something occurred to him.

"You know, the last time my mother saw Zander, she asked me if there was something…wrong with him."

"There is something wrong with him," Luxa commented. "He eats too much."

"Luxa-"

"Gregor, what do you want me to say? I thought that he would be learning things faster too. He is not. What do you want? To send him off to the orphanage?"

"Of course not." He gave her a look. "I just meant…maybe there really is something wrong with him. Like, mentally."

"What do you want me to do, Gregor? If there is?"

"I don't want you to do anything, Luxa. I just want-"

"I've tried, Gregor, to teach him to speak. I hate it, but I try. I read to him, I speak with him, I repeat simple words back to him-"

"You're getting angry at me for no reason. I just-'

"He can learn to talk. He has learned. A few words at least."

"I know. I know."

"Then why would you say-"

"Never mind, Luxa. God. Everything's always a-"

"Zander has never done anything to your vicious mother, so I do not know why she would-"

"She wasn't trying to be rude, Luxa. She just doesn't want-"

"If you do not want Zander, Gregor-"

"God, now you're just putting fucking words in my mouth." He stood once more, before he could even get any food. "Never mind, Luxa. Just never mind."

Zander called out a goodbye to him as he left, but stayed with Luxa. The kid was smart. He knew who fed and bathed him.

Gregor knew he had some options then. He could have gone to get checked out at the doctor, but that was never going to happen. And he hadn't seen Hazard or Nerissa recently, but the idea of seeing either was rather headache inducing. It was during times like that when Gregor missed Vikus the most. He would have known exactly what to do about everything.

So instead of any of that, Gregor went to do what most of the married men in Regalia did when they had too much to do. He went to go get drunk.

Mareth was the first person that Gregor saw when he went into the mess hall. He was over at his usual table, watching all the younger, drunker men in the open center of the room, speaking to women and living their lives. Mareth was just drinking though, no one around him, clearly moping.

"Hey, buddy."

Mareth didn't look at him as Gregor sat down. He just kept drinking from his mug.

"Are you mad at me?"

"Am I mad at you?" Mareth mocked. "Am I?"

"Mareth-"

"You did not even defend me to her. And then, when I tried to go and speak with her again today, thinking that maybe she would have calmed down, she told me that you said that-"

"I'm her friend too, okay? And you shouldn't slapped or whatever. She's, like, your boss."

"Our life is very complex."

"Not that complex," Gregor told him with a frown. "You like taunting her. You know that you do. You like bringing her around and then leaving with other women. You like how jealous it makes her. That's not fair to her, Mareth, and you know it."

"What do you know, Overlander?"

"I know that you didn't want to be in Regalia anyways. So now you get to go to the Fount. Good for you."

"I do not want to go anymore. I want to be here."

"Why? What's changed?"

"My opinion. I want to just stay here, in Regalia. Perdita cannot-"

"She can, Mareth. She can send you away. If you were anyone else, she very well would have struck you back. You get that right?"

He just went back to his mug, not saying anything.

"Look, Mareth, even if all this didn't happen, something had to change," Gregor told him slowly. "I mean, you guys aren't young anymore."

"Thank you, Overlander. So much."

"That's not what I meant," Gregor told him with a frown. "I just mean…you're cool or whatever with just being with a bunch of younger women. And that's fine. That's actually…that's pretty cool"

Mareth just stared at him. "What are trying to-"

"Just that Perdita isn't…she's not like you, okay? And it's funny for awhile, watching her get upset and try to hide that it hurts that you're not…interested in her, but it's over, Mareth. It's tired and trite at this point. She likes you, won't admit it, and now it's over. It's not a game anymore."

Mareth only rolled his eyes. "She doesn't…want me, Overlander. She just does not wish for me to be with other women. She thinks that everyone ever should just immerse themselves in the work of the dead Solovet and never worry about anything else."

"Then go, Mareth. Why is that so hard? You wanted to go. However many months ago, you were going to go."

"She asked me to stay. She-"

"And now she's asking you to leave. She's telling you to leave." Gregor shrugged slightly. "And really, it's probably better for both of you."

"She can't take care of things on her own. She-"

"You thought she could before?"

"I wasn't thinking."

"And she has Kent now, so-"

"That damn kid." Mareth grunted as he finished his mug. "Damn Barrett for ever even suggesting she have anything to do with him."

"Don't blame Kent. You were the one who-"

"If it wasn't' for him, I would still be-"

"No one else made you hit her, Mareth."

"I didn't hit her," he said. "I would never hit her. You make it sound worse than it is. I slapped her. She was out of line. She-"

"She is not your wife. You're not…courting her. You can't-"

"She cannot be with that young boy, Gregor, and you know it."

"Mareth, honestly? I do not think that Perdita is even interested in him."

"But he-"

"Kent's just a kid. A really, really dumb kid that for some reason and God if I know why, is stuck up on Perdita for the moment." Gregor elbowed him gently. "Don't worry. At my wedding, there'll be tons of women around that are his age. I will introduce him to as many as I can find. He is bound to realize that he does not really want Perdita."

Mareth only hunched over slightly. "She hasn't dismissed me yet. She says that she is looking for someone to fill your position and then mine."

"That's right. So you will be here for the wedding." Gregor gave him a look. "So try to stay away from the younger women, huh? Save some for Kent."

Mareth didn't smile. "She clearly does not want me to really go. She is only waiting for me to prove myself. Right?"

"What? N-No, Mareth. Wrong. Definite wrong."

"She must want to see me abstain from women."

"What?"

"You say that I am wrong for teasing her, that that is the real reason she is upset, yes?"

"That is not what I said nor meant. I-"

"She wishes to see me shape up, yes? That will make her happy?"

"Mareth, no. Leave her alone."

He was drunk though and it made perfect sense to him that Perdita would only be testing him, punishing him. She didn't really want him to go, after all. They had been through too much together. She was only seeing how hard she could push him before he never came back.

"I will go to her then. And tell her."

"Mareth, sit."

He just got to his feet though, laughing slightly. "Thank you, Gregor."

He couldn't just let the other guy go though and jumped up to follow him. "Mareth, wait for me. This is a mistake."

He tried to grab the guy, but Mareth was not completely balanced just from the alcohol. The last thing Gregor wanted to do was to cause his prosthetic to mess up or something. He was just going to have to follow him to the war room.

Perdita was there, of course she was there, with Kent, once again going over some scrolls. Mareth seemed just happy to see her and went over immediately. When Perdita saw him and Gregor together though, she feared the worst.

"What is wrong?" she asked, rising from her chair almost immediately. "Is it Barrett? Or Luxa? Or is the Reclaimer? Henry? What?"

"None of that," Gregor assured her as Kent only glared at Mareth. "We were just-"

"Is it the child?"

"N-No, Mareth is just-"

"I missed you." Mareth had to lean against the table to stay steady. "Did you miss me?"

Perdita frowned at his tone, glancing at Gregor, but he only shrugged sheepishly.

"M-Mareth, I-"

"It's okay. You don't gotta say it." He was grinning at her, that goofy one that he thought was attractive. And it was, probably, to the younger women. At the very least it always got Mareth someone to go home with. Along with the voice he was using though, it only made Gregor feel extremely oogy. It was clearly his seduction one and not meant for Gregor or Kent's ears.

When Mareth sobered up, Gregor was most certainly going to use the whole scene as ammunition. Most certainly.

"I'm sorry, Perdita," Mareth was saying then, staring her in the eyes, the table between then. Kent was standing up too then, glowering at the older man very heavily. "I did bad. So bad. And you were right. So right. You're always right."

"Mareth," she said slowly, only staring at him. "I think that you have me confused with someone-"

"I might have accidentally told him in his twisted mind that he just needed to apologize to you," Gregor said, stepping up as well to lay a hand on Mareth's shoulder. "I was just trying to get him to leave you alone and go to the Fount, but-"

"She doesn't want me in the Fount." Mareth was still staring at Perdita. "Do you?"

"Yes, Mareth, I do."

That made him laugh, looking down at the table. He wasn't really listening. When he looked back up, he asked, "Do you want me, Perdita?"

That was all it took to pick up women in the Underland? And Gregor had spent all his time being good to Luxa, taking care of Luxa, dealing with Luxa, when all he had to do was ask other women if they wanted him? That was the great pickup line of Regalia?

"M-Mareth-"

"She doesn't want you here." Kent was bucking up then, clearly noticing that he had the upper hand. Mareth was intoxicated. Kent could finally take him. "And if you do not leave-"

"Mareth, go home," Perdita told him then, staring back into his eyes. "Okay? I do not…want you."

"'course you do."

"No, I do not." She glanced at Gregor who just shrugged again. "Mareth, I am not…interested in you, alright? Now leave."

"But-"

"If you go now, I will forget that this ever happened and never speak of it. Alright?"

"You do not…want me?"

"I want you to go home," she told him then. "I want you to realize that in the coming weeks, I will have found a replacement and you will not longer be here. I want you to know that we are no longer friends. So leave. Now. And come back in the morning ready to only focus on the Reclaimer and gnawers. Anything else is not of interest to me."

"Perdita, I said sorry. You can hit me back."

"No, Mareth, I-"

"Punch me. Right here." He poked his chest. "That's worse than what I did. Do you want to do that?"

"Mareth-"

"You want to do something worse? I will take it. Whatever you want, Perdita."

"I want you to leave."

"Will it make you happy?"

She frowned. "In this moment? Very."

"Can we…I don't…"

"I must work, Mareth. I am not like you or Barrett or Gregor. When you all go out to drink, I have to stay here to work. Because I am an adult. So go play with the young girls and have a wonderful night and then come back here in the morning." She looked back down at the table. "You should know how. You've been doing it for years."

"But I don't…you're angry," he said, glancing at Gregor for confirmation. "I don't want you to be angry at me. I thought we could…make up. We fought, I struck you, you tried to take my job away. Now we can kiss and make up."

"No, Mareth. We can't."

He nodded then, slowly before swallowing. "Okay."

"I'm sorry."

"I will…I will stay then. Until you find someone to replace me. And then I will leave. For the Fount. Will that make you happy?"

She gave him a dead stare. "The happiest."

"Okay." He straightened then, apparently content. "Okay."

Gregor went with Mareth back to his room in the palace, more to make sure that the man got there okay. Then he figured he had better go check in with Luxa. She had been rather disagreeable earlier, after all.

When he got to the royal wing, he found Luxa was in bed. He thought that she was waiting up for him, until he noticed that look her face and the way she was stroking her stomach.

"That bad?"

"I hate this. I hate being pregnant. I feel horrible."

He went to her bedside instead of getting in it, going down onto his knees so he was right next to her face.

"Is it really that bad?"

"Susannah told me that it was bad for her, when she had Stellovet. Howard was not bad, nor Chim. But that Kent and Hero were the worst."

Gregor made a face as he stared at her. Her grandmother and aunt both had had twins. The thought that she could possibly scared him horribly.

"What can I do to make you feel better?"

"Nothing," she told him with a sigh. "Nerissa, she wants to do some sort of…spell or something that she knows."

"Again, psycho."

"Gregor."

"She did some sort of voodoo on me too, once. That time when I was in the hospital after Vlad and them captured me the first time? I woke up to her doing some sort of chant."

"Witchcraft is outlawed and so is it's practices, but Nerissa spends much time in the scroll room. Like her mother. She knows many of the practices of old." She sighed then. "You smell like alcohol."

"I was with Mareth," he told her softly before reaching out to lay a hand on her stomach. She just laid there, above him, watching.

"Susannah's had a lot of kids," he told her then.

"And?"

"I'm just…worried, you know? About the actual, like, birth or whatever. I would trust it a lot more if you were up above, with real doctors."

His head got a thump. "Behave."

"You know what I mean."

"Susannah said the only birth she had a problem with was the twins," Luxa told him with a shrug. "Multiples are always hard. Hero almost didn't survive it."

"What about your mother and Hamnet?"

"Solovet did not like to talk a lot about the past, but Vikus never mentioned anything. He mostly spoke of how hard it was to raise two at the same time. And they had Susannah, I think, three years later." Luxa stroked the part of his head she had thumped. "They were not always so influential, Vikus and Solovet. They struggled much at first."

"What changed?"

"Solovet rose in ranks quickly, after Susannah was born. That is why she never wished for anymore children."

"What do you mean?"

"When she was pregnant with Hamnet and my mother, her rank had just been raised. Then that ruined everything. We do not allow women to fight pregnant for obvious reason."

"Yeah."

"So she did not have a job for those months. And Vikus was not…I'm not sure what he did, but it was not a good job, whatever it was. It might not even have been a job. I know he wrote."

"Wrote?"

"Poetry. I do not think he was successful at it."

"Who would ever buy poetry?"

"That is why he was not successful. They needed Solovet's job. And Miravet lived with them, I think. She always worked in the armory, I know that. But when Solovet got pregnant, she had no way to support them."

"What happened?"

"That is how Vikus got into politics. I know that. He has told me that story before. He was the assistant to a very high ranking man. He got the job through Solovet's connections in the military. Then somehow he wiggled his way into his own position. He always was a worm, Vikus was. A kind worm, a good worm, but still a worm."

Gregor smiled at her slightly. "You miss them."

"If Solovet was alive, she would have already figured a way to use our child to her advantage. And Vikus would have been most scandalized, until he was able to resolve that at least the child would be loved. And he always liked taking care of small children, he would tell me. It would be perfect."

Shaking his head slightly, Gregor said, "I never really got how they were ever together. They were so different. And she never seemed that interested in him."

"You saw them when they were old. Though I suppose Solovet was never loving. I could never see her that way, anyhow."

"It just doesn't make sense."

"What about us?" Luxa held up her hand and he easily laid his against hers. Together. "Most people would ask us the same question. We bring each other nothing. Especially when we are not at peace with other nations. Then you always find a sympathetic side with whoever is wronging us and you hate me."

"That is so slanted," he told her as he slide his hand against hers until his fingers fell between hers. Closing his hand around hers, he said, "And you know it."

She didn't grin, but closed her hand as well. "Hazard is going to be managing a brothel."

He widened his eyes. He had two options; act shocked or explain the situation. Then she spoke, ruining his chance to choose.

"I told him if that is the life he wishes for himself, fine."

"Really?" Gregor was as suspicious as Hazard probably had been.

"He won't live in my palace and he shall not speak with me nor recognize himself as my cousin any longer, but-"

"Luxa."

"I do not support that, Gregor. The only reason I do not outlaw it all together is because it lowers the crime rate in other ways."

"What other ways?"

"If disgusting men can pay a small fee for the woman to pretend to be raped, then it keeps them from actually raping."

"Not in most cases."

"In enough," she told him with a frown. "It is the same with gambling. If it gives down and out soldiers something to do other than causing trouble in the streets, fine. Do I condone it? No."

"You can't disown Hazard though, Luxa. He's like…our baby brother or something. We can't just cut him out of our lives."

"Why? He has cut us out of his. He wanted me to leave him alone and now I will. Now he can go and live however he wishes. He can go and do whatever he wishes." She wiggled her hand free of his. "I tried, Gregor, with Hazard. More than anyone. I am disappointed with the results and no longer wish to have contact with them."

Gregor only groaned before leaning forwards to stare into her eyes. "You love him. So much that it hurts. And it's okay sometimes, Luxa, for things not to go your way. You know that."

"It is an embarrassment."

"Sometimes family embarrasses you."

"Not in this way."

"It is not a wholly bad job. The women want to work there. And Hazard might even meet…a nice…girl there. Maybe. Err, it's possible."

Luxa only stared at him. "If he brings a woman from that…place into my palace, it will be the last time he steps foot in it."

"Understood."

She rolled onto her back then. "Get in bed, Gregor."

Standing, he quickly stripped down to only his pants before doing as she asked.

"Zander went to his own room okay?"

"He was tired."

When he was laying next to her, he quickly buried his head in her neck. Luxa tensed, but didn't push him away.

"I wasn't trying to be mean, Luxa, before."

"Greg-"

"No, listen, okay? I just want Zander to…be okay," he said slowly, not finding the words easily. "He's not good with the other kids. And then that one hit him the other day, I just…I want him to live a good life. If something happens to me and you, I want to know that he'll be fine without us."

"If this is your way of asking to go back to the Dead Lands, no."

"No, it's my way of telling you that I love our family and just want the best for all of us." He kissed her neck then. "I wanted Zander first, remember? I love him. He's mine too."

She only let out a slow breath as he laid a hand on her stomach. "Gregor."

"You want me to make you feel better? Huh?" He kissed her neck again. "I-"

"No. Seriously, no." She pushed his hand off then before shifting away from him. "I told you, I don't-"

"Please? I love you."

"That stopped working when we were seventeen. No."

"You're tricky," he grumbled before shifting on the bed so that his head was even with her stomach. He just kissed her side before pushing her shirt up slightly, enough so that her stomach was showing. "Fine then. You want me to rub your tummy? Huh?"

"Do not talk to me like Zander."

"You do want me to rub your tummy, don't you?" He grinned. "You just don't want me to know it. Is that it? Huh?"

"Gregor-"

"Poor Luxa." He smiled slightly. "Just don't puke on me and we'll be okay."

She flicked the back of his head again. "Do not tempt me."

They fell asleep like the eventually. Gregor had to curl his legs up so they didn't hang off the bed, but he was fine other than that. Luxa would randomly reach down and toy with his hair, but she fell asleep first. He just kept stroking her stomach though, just wanting her to feel better. He did really love her, after all.

They were able to sleep through the night too, Zander not bothering them once. That in itself was an accomplishment. Luxa was even so tired that they slept a little later than usual in the morning, neither waking up until they were forced awake by a loud commotion.

"Luxa! Luxa, are you still sleeping? Are you in here?"

"We have got to be a better royal guard together," she grumbled to Gregor who didn't move from his spot curled up next to her stomach. Kent just rushed into the room though, without waiting to be told to come in, a torch in his hand which made both Luxa and Gregor hide their eyes.

"Kent," Luxa hissed, holding a hand up. "What-"

"Ew, were you guys…ew. I have to vomit. I just-"

"What did you want?" Gregor forced himself to sit up finally with a groan. "Kent?"

"It's Barrett," Kent stammered before looking to Luxa, his mind finally back on track. "Perdita told me to come get you. I-"

"What is wrong? Have his men not left yet? I told him to leave-"

"They did leave though, Luxa, but then they were ambushed. Not an hour outside of Regalia. By gnawers."

"What? How is that-"

"Perdita told me to come get you both. She said it is urgent." Kent gave them both a solemn stare then. "She fears there is a traitor among the ranks."

Sorry this one took so long to get up. I started it, but then I wanted to put out some one-shots before I finished it. I think it's only been, like, five days though, so no biggie, right?