The Living Dead
Chapter 17
Even though Howard had said that Gregor was all healed up, he still had a horrible migraine, but he always had those. Usually there was nothing that could make them go away, only things that could make them worse. And at the moment, everything was making them worse.
"You look tense, Overlander. My King. Lighten up, eh?" Mareth grinned at Gregor as he stood in front of him, reaching out with one hand to pat him on the shoulder. His other arm was wrapped around Perdita's shoulders, though she didn't look as ticked about it as usual. "The worst of it is over."
And it was. Gregor, though he stumbled, had managed through his vows before being shipped off to the throne room to make all sorts of wild promises that he was certain no king ever could live up to. Then he was rewarded with cheering and a crown, all because he had knocked up a queen. Huh.
Then there was the reception hall, which had been decorated lavishly, with enough food and music to keep everyone busy for days. There were servants and guards milling around, as well as musicians, but that did not outweigh the amount of guests. Whether or not they wanted Gregor as their king, he was and that meant that all the highborn politicians and military men had fought tooth and nail to get an invite to the party.
"It is a very nice party," Perdita offered to Gregor as Mareth leaned heavily against her. He had been drinking the entire day, the way Gregor wished he had been. He could tell to the way that Perdita was falling into Mareth's suggestive words he kept mumbling to her that she must have broken her vow of no alcohol and drank a little bit of something.
"Very nice." Mareth lulled his head down towards hers, mumbling something in her ear. Perdita only pushed him slightly, smiling.
They would hate each other by the end of the night. Gregor just knew it.
"Where is the Queen in all this then?" Mareth asked, looking around then. "I have not even congratulated her, so many people are around."
"Yes, where is Luxa?" Perdita asked. "She did not seem too happy at the coronation. Then, I would not be happy to split my power in half either."
"Luxa's around," Gregor said, reaching up to mess with his crown. It was the most aggravating thing in the world. The second he got out of the capital, he was taking it off, most certainly. "I guess. I kind of lost her on the way to the reception hall."
"It is a big party, of course," Mareth said though his eyes were drifting then. Some women over in the corner were calling for him. It was a completely different caliber of women at the party, considering it was a wedding and coronation reception. All of the women were highborn, but Mareth still could find someone to go home with if he was lucky. And Mareth was always lucky.
"Come on." Mareth took Perdita with him as he left Gregor, giving this really cheesy fake bow as before walking off, dragging his superior along with him. She had to know how the night would end. It's how it always ended.
Gregor took another look around the party, not feel all that well. Some musicians were playing that really crummy Underland music and there were far too many people. He kept getting congratulated and touched and had to shake hands, give hugs. His head was killing him.
The next person Gregor ran into was Howard, though he was busy talking in hushed tones to Hero about something. Gregor had seen her earlier, with some older men, and knew that Howard was not happy about it. Marrying Stellovet off was one thing. His baby sister though, Hero? Howard would never allow that.
"What's up?" Gregor asked as he came over to them. They were off in a corner, Howard lecturing her rather harshly. "It's a party, Howard. Don't-"
"You are horrible," Hero accused, looking off. "I-"
"You are not to be letting these men…sniff around you, Hero. They-"
"Hey, Howard, what if Hero hangs with me then?" Gregor grinned at the teen who only gave him a cold stare back. "I'm just walking around anyways."
Howard had to bite back words then before looking around the party. Gregor was his leader as of, oh, an hour ago. He couldn't snap at him any longer.
"I actually have to leave the party early," Howard said slowly then. "And I think that that would be a…great idea."
"You gotta go back to work?" Gregor frowned slightly. "You didn't even eat anything, did you? I mean-"
"The dying do not care about a new king, Gregor."
"Yeah, okay. Well…I'll see you tom-" He paused. "When I get back. From my trip. We can hangout or something."
"You're a king now. I do not think we will ever have time to…hangout any more."
That wasn't a total lost. It wasn't like they did a lot of that beforehand.
After Howard left them, Gregor only gave Hero a slight grin.
"You know that after I'm certain he's gone, I'm going to ditch you and pretend like we're not suddenly related."
"G-Gregor-"
"I'm just kidding. I have to just find someone to pawn you off on." He smiled at some people that walked passed them because, as Luxa told him, appearances were everything. Except, so far, he had not seen her anywhere. It would really tick him off if he found out she bailed on the party because if so, he would have loved to do the same.
Hero in tow, Gregor crossed the banquet hall over to where some tables and chairs were set up. That's where Zander had been the entire night, of course, since the food was right there.
"Hey, buddy. You still look pretty dapper."
He was sitting on the floor in front of Grace's chair, a plate of all sorts of food placed in front to him. His nice new clothes were ruined, but it wasn't like anyone was expecting anything less of him. Especially if food was present.
"'ork." Zander looked up and pointed over to the man, who wasn't seated very far away. He was spending the party drinking, as he always did. A good part of him staying loyal only to Susannah stemmed from the fact that he kept himself distant from most women. It helped curve the desire.
"That is York, isn't it?" Grace said back to the toddler as she absently looked around the party, no doubt searching for her daughters. Boots was around, Gregor had seen her a couple of times, with Hazard. Lizzie wasn't one for parties though and had gone back to the royal wing, Gregor was pretty sure. Which was fine. It was what he wanted to do, honestly.
Zander just went back to eating though, ignoring Gregor as he pressed the face of his tiger into the plate as well, sharing his food with the inanimate object. He did that from time to time.
"Oy. Overlander." York raised his hand then, beckoning him over. Gregor glanced at Hero before heading over to the man's table. Susannah wasn't around, which was really suspect.
"Hey, York. Having a good time?"
"No one will pay me any attention," he said with a frown. "My wife, she is busy mingling with other women or something. And the men, they are only interested in the women as well. What has happened to the capital?"
"I think it's always been that way."
He grunted. "Used to be a time everyone liked to talk about war."
Gregor sighed. "Did you want me to-"
"It's your wedding. I spent mine getting drunk. And I didn't have to leave the next day. So go. Get drunk. Forget your troubles. Wish that still worked for me."
Hero, who had come over with Gregor, only frowned. "Perhaps Mother thought that you would mingle with her, York?"
He grunted. "I do not like hearing her speak to other women. She gets that tone and that voice and those…opinions."
"How dare she," Gregor mumbled with an eye roll.
"My own fault, I suppose. Made her think that her thoughts were important. Now she thinks that she should just spout them off."
Making a face, Hero said, "Have you seen Kent, Father?"
"Aye. He is keeping tabs on Perdita, waiting for Mareth to leave her alone. Says tonight is the night."
"The night for what?" Gregor asked with a frown. York only shrugged.
"I could only assume."
"Oh God," Gregor groaned, turning to walk off then. Perdita's night was soon to get a lot worse.
He couldn't focus on that at the moment though. He still had to get rid of Hero, after all, and then find Luxa. If she was at the party, he figured they were supposed to be seen together. Unless she had skipped out to go be with Barrett, in which case Gregor was very pissed off.
That opportunity to ditch Hero presented itself quite nicely in the appearance of Matthias. He was clearly out of place with all the higher-ups around and the second he spotted his new king, he rushed over.
"Gregor, I-"
"Matthias," Gregor said with a grin. His immediate happiness over the younger male was simply having someone to hangout with. Then he thought of a better idea as Hero stood there awkwardly at his side, having followed him from York's table. There was no way she was being left alone with her drunk father, after all. "Here you are."
"Yes, I-"
"Have you met my new cousin?" Gregor laid a hand on Hero's shoulder then. "You have no doubt seen her before. She is York's daughter. His middle daughter. Of age daughter."
Hero frowned at Gregor that one, but it kept Matthias perked up, who immediately moved to shake Hero's hand, almost in an overly friendly manner.
"Hi," he said, grinning brightly. "I am Matthias. Gregor and I worked on the guard together, before…before all this."
"You are still dressed in your armor," she said slowly, looking him over. He still had his helmet on as well which about made Gregor roll his eyes and give up on the boy. "Are you on duty?"
"Oh, no," he said, shaking his head. "I was at the coronation, but I was outranked in who got to guard here. Gregor offered me an invitation to come though, just last night. Of course, the wedding was just announced last week, so-"
"Matthias, I highly doubt Hero wants to talk about something so…boring," Gregor said slowly, giving him a hard look. The guy had taken Gregor's freaking sister to the mess hall, but couldn't even be bothered to try and hit on Hero? Seriously? When Gregor needed him most? "You no doubt have many…non-war related things to talk about, huh?"
"Non-war?"
"Hero is a, well, are you a pacifist then?" Gregor grinned at her, but she was clearly suspicious of his motives.
"Well, not exactly, but-"
"Talk to Matthias, not me. He is the one that wants to know."
"Gregor-"
"Oh, wow," he said then, cutting Hero off. "Look, there's…someone I need to go see. You guys stay here and talk. I'll be back, huh?"
Yeah right. He had just successfully given Matthias his own little gift while also helping out Howard. There was no way Matthias would manage anything with Hero, but by the same token, at least it gave him some experience points.
Gregor set off with a purpose, as to fool Hero and Matthias into thinking he was heading somewhere important, but he only ended up further into the crowd of people in the center of the room with no destination and an even worse headache.
And still no Luxa. Gregor had resolved at that point to the realization that she had ditched out on the party. It wasn't a completely bad thing though. He knew that her stomach had been bothering her as of late and being around a lot of drunks at the party wouldn't have been too good for her.
More than his desire to find his wife or to rid himself of his headache was Gregor's need to get that damn crown off. It was not comfortable. At all. He thought that maybe it'd be like wearing a baseball cap or something, but it wasn't. It was annoying and it was aggravating the cut on the back of his head. He would have to talk to Luxa about it.
If he could ever find her.
He ran into Stellovet and Lycos at one point, though it was clear they were having problems. It was obvious to Gregor that though Lycos wanted a wife for many reasons, one of them no doubt getting in good with his queen, he also wasn't ready to give it other women. That was what they were fighting over. Gregor could just tell from the clipped way Stellovet spoke to him and her obvious distaste. Maybe the wedding would be called off. York did say he never wanted his children unhappy.
Susannah was next on Gregor's list of people he saw. She immediately called him over, even breaking from the conversation she was having with the women she was standing with. It was obvious that she was still not feeling well, but she was putting on a good show.
"Oh, Gregor, it is so good to finally be able to say you are in the family and mean it." Susannah kissed his cheeks when he was close enough and, since he had always liked her so much, he allowed it. "York was disappointed in me, when I cried at your coronation, but I could not help it. How could I?"
"York is actually getting drunk and upset right now," Gregor told her softly as he hugged her. He would never know Judith, but if she was the opposite of Susannah, he was actually kind of glad for that. One Solovet was more than enough for his taste.
"Over what?"
"He thinks he is being wronged because no one wishes to talk about-"
She kissed his cheek again. "I will go speak with him. He calls me emotional, but he is as well. Just in different ways."
That was true. That was very true.
After departing from Susannah, Gregor made his way back over to his mother, figuring she had tired of Zander by that point. If she had, she was not showing it. There were no other children at the party and he probably would have been better suited in the nursery, but Gregor didn't see it as mattering much. He didn't like other kids anyhow.
"Mom, let me take him, huh? He's a mess," was the first thing Gregor said to his mother. Zander had migrated to her lap, apparently full and satisfied as he stretched out in her lap, not even reaching for Gregor when he walked up. Zander wasn't stupid. He might not know who Grace was really, but he did know that she would give him practically whatever he asked for as well as protect him from Gregor when he had done wrong. That was the type of woman you kept around, after all.
"No, Gregor. I told you that he is fine."
"Mom-"
"Go do something else. We are fine." She looked down at Zander then who only grinned at her. "Except for his teeth. Honestly, Gregor, back home this would not-"
"Mom, he's fine. And kids hurt one another in the Overland too."
She only patted Zander's stomach who responded by hiccupping. "Go do something fun, Gregor. It's your…wedding, as much as I hate it, and that means that you should be enjoying yourself."
"I wish I could, but I can't find anyone that I want to be around."
"Then maybe you're not looking hard enough."
Though that wasn't really any help, it did give him the idea that perhaps he should go look for Luxa again. Just scan the party once more time before giving up. Besides, he had not been the most social man that night and it was really his job at the moment to make as many people as possible to like him. He would always be the underdog, always be the Overlander, but his one hope was that he got enough people on his side that the opposition wouldn't matter.
He had just finished talking to some women his age when a large hand clapped down on his shoulder. He did not have to turn to know who it was, but he glanced up at him anyhow.
"They were nice, eh?" York squeezed Gregor's shoulder then, just standing there watching as the women melded into the crowd. "But Luxa is nicer, huh?"
"York-"
"If I can change my ways, Overlander, surely you can keep yours." He leaned down then, as he was slightly taller than Gregor, and whispered, "Last night I was too happy that Susannah was with me to find the part of me that can instill fear. I found it."
"I won't-"
"If you ever lie with another, Overlander, it shall be the last you lie with." He squeezed Gregor's shoulder sharply then and Gregor wondered how York ever even got to his feet. He found out a moment later as Susannah appeared and York's grip relaxed.
"York, I said to come with me. Not stop and bother Gregor."
"I am following you, Suzy. Just at a much slower pace." He let Gregor go completely then before patting his no doubt bruising shoulder. "Just showing some love towards him. I have only one other nephew, after all."
"Do not let him bother you, Gregor." Susannah reached out to grab both her husband's hands, keeping her eyes centered in on his. "He is a thoroughly sour man when he sees me spend time with others."
"I am a very possessive man, Susannah. You know that as well as anyone. Better than anyone."
"Then possess me."
That excited York, who immediate wrangled his hands from hers before moving to cup her cheeks. Barf. As much as Gregor loved the fact that York and Susannah were so…in love, it also made him uncomfortable at times. Times like what was going on in that moment.
Gregor had had enough of the party at that point. More than enough.
He was glad that the party was being held in the banquet hall instead of the arena, if only because it was in the palace, which meant he didn't need anyone to take him back.
The walk to the royal wing was a rather awkward one. There were more guards posted than usual, as to keep the banquet hall secure, should anything happen. Word of Barrett's attack was being kept to a minimum, but the guards all knew to be on high alert. A wedding and a coronation just having happened, after all.
"Here you are," Gregor sighed as, before he made it to the royal wing, he ran into Luxa. She was coming out of the war room and seemed shocked to find him. "What are you-"
"Overlander, go back to the party. You-"
"It's your party too," he mumbled as he took a step closer to her. "Gonna tell me what's going on?"
"Nothing is going on, Gregor. I just did not feel like making nice with people."
"I think today is the one day that we overwhelmingly have to do just that."
She looked up at him as he fell into step with her. "I was busy with Nerissa and Barrett to begin with. Then I got a scroll and took it to the war room to read over."
"From?"
"That same scout that is trying to locate Ripred. The one that saved you."
He nodded slightly. "Any news?"
"None."
So they walked along all the way to the royal wing, none of the guards speaking to them, though a few had a knowing look in their eyes. It was their wedding day, after all.
The second they were in the royal wing and alone, Gregor forced Luxa up against one of the walls and leaned down, burying his head in her neck. She only laughed, reaching up to stroke his head.
"You look so…silly with that crown on."
"I feel silly," he mumbled. `It's annoying too. Do I have to wear it?"
"For now," she told him with a sigh. "Maybe in a few months we can discuss taking it off."
"In here though? With you? Can I?"
"If you want."
"I want you right now, actually."
"Greg-"
"Are you mad at me or something? It's been-"
"I am mad at you. Very mad at you."
"Luxa-"
"It is not as if it would be a real wedding night anyhow," she whispered to him then, even though he knew they were completely alone. "What has changed? You have vowed to stay by my side? You have to wear a gold band around your head, even though you hate it? What difference will it make, now that we are married?"
"I dunno," he mumbled before kissing her neck. Against it, he mumbled, "Wanna find out?"
Making a face, she pushed his head back to stare at him. For a moment, he thought that she was going to turn him down. Then, suddenly she reached for his hand before moving to go around him and drag him along behind her.
"Lets."
"What are you doing?"
"We cannot just lay here forever, Gregor."
He groaned. "Why not?"
"Because I have to finalize on-" She stopped herself then as she sat up next to him, having been curled against him only moments before. "We have to finalize all sorts of things for your leaving tomorrow. I gave you what you wanted now-"
"Oh, please. Like you didn't like that." He wiggled his feet. "Lay back down. We have time to do all that later."
"No, Greg, we don't."
Greg. She wasn't too annoyed.
"I'm cold now," he grumbled as she started to get out of bed. "Luxa-"
"The sooner we take care of all this, the sooner that we can return to our bed. Possibly for the last time."
He sat up then, watching as she ran her fingers through her hair, trying to smooth it out. He only grinned though.
"You're pretty, Luxa."
"Beautiful. I used to be that. Then I became…hot. Now I am just pretty?"
"You can't be everything? 'cause you are. Luxa." He laughed slightly then, running a hand over his face. It still didn't feel completely real. "I love you."
"Enough. Get dressed. And put your crown back on. I told you-"
"I will. You know you hate me in it as much as I hate myself in it."
"More than you know, Overlander."
"Luxa-"
"Come on. Now. I need you to go and get Perdita and Mareth."
"What? They're probably still at-"
"Probably. But we need them. Unless…well, we could plan alone, I suppose. Perdita wrote down her plans, anyhow, so I will just go over them. With you. There is a boat involved, if you do not know."
"To get us deep into the Dead Lands. Yeah, I know. That's where some of the scouts that she wants to find the most are located."
"Then you do know." Luxa watched as he slowly stretched, almost lazily. "Up, Overlander."
"You're so bossy. Is it too late for an annulment?"
"Gregor-"
"I have a headache," he told her then as he slowly got out of bed. "A really bad one."
"You probably are just tired." She paused then, staring at him. "You are leaving tomorrow, I suppose. So, maybe, you should just lie back down. I suppose."
"I'm just messing with you. I have a headache, yeah, but I'll go with you to the war room. I am the King now, after all."
"Stop saying it so much. I have tired of hearing it."
"Oh, Lux." He moved to wrap his arms around her, though she did not seem as receptive. "You just love me so much it hurts."
"If you do not stop-"
"Day one and you can't take it already, eh?"
"Day one? As if something has changed? Other than the fact that others must now respect you to your face while they continue to disrespect you behind your back, nothing has changed, Gregor. And do not think it has."
"Nothing then? You don't feel any different? Now that-"
"Do you?" She sounded truly doubtful. "So they threw us a party. So you stumbled through some vows. So you now hold power. What's different, Gregor? You always held power with me. You know that you did. I have only ever wanted you. Always. What has this changed then?"
"You don't love me any more?"
"How could I love you more than I already did? It makes no sense. Marriage is just a symbol to others. There opinions or views of us may change, but if we were to be changed by it, then that reflects poorly on us to begin with."
'Ugh. Stop talking." He let her go. "You're making my headache worse."
"Do you love me more now?"
"Who said I love you at all? That this all wasn't a ploy to becoming the King?"
"Careful, Overlander. You are still a foreigner."
"Mmmm." He looked around before stretching again. Then, through a tired voice, he said, "Dress me."
"What?"
"Why is it that you can undress me, but if I ask you to help me into my clothes, it's suddenly less erotic?"
She blinked. Then she went back to getting ready. "Do not annoy me anymore, Gregor."
There still were few people around the palace when they left the royal wing. Luxa just led him right to the war room, making no stops in between.
"Do I get to sit wherever I want now?"
"Behave."
He only went over to the table, frowning down at it. "Do you not ever get tired of this damn map?"
"Mmmm. We will be getting a new one soon enough."
"What do you mean?"
"The Underland has changed. You know this. Part of the Uncharted Lands is being excavated and charted. We will have more things to fill in. Less darkness." She smiled slightly then. "It would have fascinated Vikus. He would have wished to find some sort of peace with all the creatures we find there. Even the ones in the caves that nearly killed you and I. He is that sort of man…was that sort of man."
"Solovet would want to kill them all."
"Mmmm. All of them. And take the land for our own."
"Or drive the gnawers there."
"Only if she knew it meant certain death." Then she paused. "I think, though, that she would wish to examine the banished's city. See if it could benefit us. We are overrun here and the Fount, truly. I have wondered if perhaps…we could cultivate it. They found a life there. Could others not?"
"It would be hard to govern. You would need-"
"York is too old to go and govern it for me." Then she paused. "For us. But…but Mareth is not."
He looked up at that. "Neither is Barrett. He is even more suited for it."
"You love to torture me."
"I do." He pulled out a chair for her. "Sit."
"Gregor-"
"Sit."
Once she was, he moved to sit in his normal seat, sighing slightly as he hunched over, resting his head in his hands.
"Nike is going with you, yes?"
Gregor groaned. "I mentioned it to her, yeah."
"Have you-"
"Haven't really had time to talk to her, Lux."
"Then you want Aurora? Because I do not-"
"I don't know, alright? I'm sure if I go find Nike tonight, she'll say yes to whatever. And if she doesn't, Aurora certainly will, so it doesn't matter, does it?"
"If you were not feeling so badly, I would thump your head."
"Thanks for the consideration."
"Gregor, you are not a child anymore," she said, ignoring that. "You cannot just sit around and wait for others to make your plans for you. You are the King. You do not take orders any longer. You make them."
"Except with you," he mumbled. "I take orders from you."
"Well, yes, but that is just a given."
"It still doesn't seem…real. Like…remember when you fired me? From being a guard? And then I suddenly was a general? It feels like that. Like one of our games or something."
"This very much so is real, Gregor, and I feel the effects of it already."
Rolling his eyes, he said, "I'm just still, you know, antsy from this morning. I still feel nervous and just want this all to be over so we can go back to normal. Or to make a new normal."
She reached out to pick up one of the markers, turning it over in her hand before setting it back down. "I was nervous too. About everything. I thought…I thought something would happen. Something bad. I am slightly shocked to find it has not. It has only made me even more anxious for the coming days."
"What do you mean?"
"I have married the Overlander. That is going to make someone upset. Someone that can do something to us. And with you gone I just…I do not want Zander far."
"No one would want to hurt Zander, Luxa. Why would they? He's not…I love him, but he's not worth anything. Only to us."
"That's the point, Gregor. Everyone knows that he is my…child, I guess is what he is."
So the love about the loss of teeth was gone. Took long enough.
"They know that I would do anything to protect him," she went on. "He is just as Hazard would be, before he became a disappointment."
"Luxa," Gregor groaned. "Can we hold off on calling Hazard that for awhile? Please?"
"Why? He does disappoint me. He-"
"Name me a single person that doesn't disappoint you. Please."
She paused then before saying, "Ripred."
"Ripred," he said slowly. "Ripred does not disappoint you?"
She shook her head. "I had no standards of him, no expectations. Therefore he cannot disappoint me."
Sigh. So the Hazard ship had sailed. Huh.
"While you are gone, I am going to be without Barrett and Perdita. As well as you. It shall just be Mareth and I in this room." She let out a slight sigh. "You do realize that if you and Perdita are gone, there will be no one here to protect the capital, yes?"
"It is only because you decline every man she wishes to bring up."
"Life was easier when Solovet picked the men."
"Life was easier when Solovet and Vikus did everything."
"It was not better though."
"No, not better."
They both sighed then and looked off, as if one. Luxa finally glanced back at him though, watching his face for a moment before speaking.
"If we lived in your home, above, what would we be doing right now?"
"Right now? We'd still be at a reception, probably, for our wedding," he told her with a sigh. "And after that was over, we'd be headed out on our honeymoon." After taking her silence as a cue, he said, "That's when a married couple takes a few weeks off work and just hangout together somewhere nice. Like the mountains or a beach. Somewhere cool."
"What happens to their work while they are gone?"
Of course that was her main concern. Rolling his eyes, Gregor said, "Trust me. It's fine."
"Hmmm. It sounds…stressful."
"What?"
"Weeks? Days? Away from work? What if something happened while you were gone?" She shook her head slightly. "It sounds selfish. If I just went to the Fount for even three days, there is no telling what a general would do here without me overseeing them. What mess the soldiers would get into. And I would just ignore it? Because I was…married? Silly. Just silly."
"I'm going to teach you to relax one day," he told her with a sigh as he reached over to squeeze one of her shoulders softly. "You like that?"
She only rolled her shoulders slightly. "We're supposed to be discussing things, Gregor. Not sitting here as you-"
"Right. Sorry." He let her go. "Continue."
After giving him a hard look, she preceded to go into a long explanation of the path that they were going to be taking, making him trace it with his fingers a thousand times. It was annoying, yeah, but he could tell it was making her feel better. That was the only concern he had.
Eventually a guard called out for them, informing them that the Overlander's mother was requesting them in the royal wing. Zander was upset and unable to be consoled. Gregor had a feeling that the boy was really just tired and needed Luxa to put him to bed. He'd been up since early that morning, after all.
When they got to the royal wing, the first place they went was Zander's bedroom, where they could hear him crying. Grace was in there with him, trying to calm him down, but he was having none of it.
"What's wrong?" Gregor asked as Luxa rushed to go take him from the woman, giving his mother an evil look as if she had caused the toddler's discomfort. "Mom?"
"Nothing. I took him back from the party and he just got upset. I tried to calm him down, but-"
"His tiger." Luxa kissed Zander even when he batted at her. "Where is it?"
"Tiger?" Grace shook her head then. "I must have left it at the-"
"Gregor, go." Luxa gave him a look. "Hurry and find it. That is what he wants."
"All this for a toy?"
"It's not a toy to him, Mom. It's his safety blanket," Gregor sighed as he turned to walk away. "It's all he cares about."
So he left the royal wing, heading back to the banquet hall. It felt like a short trip, but a big hassle. He found the tiger almost immediately, as it was just sitting on the table his mother had been at. It was what he stumbled across that caused him issues.
Most the older men were gone by that point, off with whatever women they were going to take home. Gregor did not spot Mareth or Perdita, but that did not necessarily mean anything good. In fact, it probably meant she was seething somewhere, alone, and would be a horrible person to deal with the next morning while Mareth was getting very, very lucky back at his room in the palace.
Only the young were left, really. And he spotted almost immediately Lizzie and Hero with Matthias, alone, at a table, all drinking. Because that was just great. That was just perfect.
Gripping the stuffed tiger tightly in his hands, Gregor forgot about Zander for a moment and remembered his little sister. Luxa would figure out a way to calm the toddler down anyhow. She always did.
"Hey, guys," Gregor began as he approached the table. Matthias was seated in between both girls, trying to listen while Hero spoke, but also not completely ignoring Lizzie either, who was completely glaring at Hero. Ugh. Gregor's head hurt.
It was much easier just to pledge yourself to someone at twelve and be miserable for the rest of your life. Much.
"H-Hello, Gregor," Matthias greeted when he looked up to see him. "I thought that you had left."
Gregor only sat down on the opposite side of the table. "I had. But Zander left his little tiger here and I came back for it."
"Well, now you have it," Lizzie told him with a frown.
"Yeah, I do, Lizzie. I have it."
"What are you-"
"Lizzie, I think your brother wants you to, you know, go?" Hero laid a hand on Matthias' arm causing the man to smile slightly. "I think it's your bedtime or something."
Gregor groaned as Lizzie took to glaring at Hero. What happened to his little sister that was too afraid to even speak to a stranger? He used to wish that she was someone different, but he was slowly learning why people always said be careful with those.
"It is getting late, I suppose," Matthias said slowly before looking at Gregor. When he saw the other man's glare he only gave him a weak smile back. "For us all. I have duty in the morning, after all."
"After all," Gregor said slowly before looking to Lizzie. "Take this to Mom and Luxa in the royal wing, huh? I-"
"No, Gregor," she said though she did take the tiger when he handed it to her. "I'm-"
"You're going to go do as I said is what you're going to do, Lizzie."
They had a glaring match then, but at her heart, Lizzie was still who she always was and caved first. After she was gone, Gregor only continued to stare at Matthias, who was trying hard to look innocent. Gregor had told him before about being alone with his sister, after all.
"Do you not have somewhere to be, Greg-" Hero stopped herself before biting her tongue. "King?"
"What happened to your father and mother? And brother? And sister?"
"Look around. They are all gone. I am speaking to…to..." She looked to Matthias to help who readily said his name. She only smiled slightly, a very fake one, before saying, "Right. Matthias."
Gregor let out a slow breath before getting to his feet. "Don't let me catch you with my sister again, Matthias. But if you want to talk to Hero…I don't care. But if Howard asks, Hero-"
"I ditched you and you lost me in the crowd."
Then he looked back to Matthias. "She belongs back in her room, without you, before the night is through. I mean it."
So he left them then because really, neither of them were his problem. He liked Hero enough and yeah, she was sort of family at that point, but she was also an adult in the Underland. He didn't want anything to happen to her and he was certain that Matthias would make sure nothing did. Nothing she didn't want to happen anyways.
And he was better than any of the older men.
When Gregor finally got back to the royal wing, Zander was all settled down for the night and Luxa was in bed. He had made a stop off at his old room to take the rest of his things with him to Luxa's, which made him miss seeing his mother, as she was already out of the royal wing by the time he showed up.
"Mmm. So are we going to, like, screw again or is that just too much for you to handle?"
Luxa didn't even blink as he came into the room. "The thought of you sleeping next to me is enough to sate me for now. Believe me."
He just went and dropped his box of stuff on the floor before dropping his armor down in a corner with a clank.
"That is not where that is going to go," Luxa told him with a frown."
"Heck it ain't. This is my room now."
"Gregor-"
"Calm down. I'm sure we'll find a place for everything, alright? Just let me relax for the next few hours. Before I go."
"Before you go."
When he got into bed, she gave him her back, which wasn't a completely horrible thing. His head was hurting him and it wasn't like he thought that they were going to have sex again or something. He wasn't that stupid.
"Is this the part where we promise to be with one another forever and that this was the happiest day of our life? Or where I pledge to come back to you? Something?"
"This is the part where I sleep, Gregor," she told him with a sigh. "And forget that I am now stuck with you."
"Stuck is a harsh word." He laid on his back, stroking his own chest. "And hey, now maybe I'll have more scars for you to trace. You know, with your finger, your mouth, tongue. I'm not particular."
"Gregor, please, just be quiet and let me-"
"No, Luxa. Because if I'm quiet then…then you go to sleep and it's over. Our wedding is over. And then it's real. And then we're really married and then I'm the King and then…then…"
"You know how many would kill for your position?"
"More than I like to think about."
That made her roll over, though she only laid there, staring up at his face. "I am only worried about you, Gregor. Before, you had a bounty on your head merely to use as a pawn against me. Now you actually hold power. Real power, not just the power to influence me. You are a king now. You are the King now. It would do more to Regalia to see you killed than just torture me. Do remember that."
He glanced over at her before back up at the ceiling. "If you don't want me to go, now is your last chance. Say it now or forever hold your peace kinda stuff, eh?"
She only continued to watch him before saying slowly, "Go, Gregor. It's something that you are going to have to figure out for yourself, when to be here and when to leave. I cannot do it for you."
He let out a long yawn then before shutting his eyes. "When I get back from this, we can discuss it more, I guess. For future references and stuff."
Sighing, she said, "You speak as if you will come back with certainty."
"Of course I will. I've faced cave monsters, a giant rat, volcanoes, cutters. What could ever kill me, Luxa?"
"Far, far too much," she sighed as she moved to rest her head against his chest. "Far more than you know."