"Our Queen has not been looking so well," said a hushed voice.
"No, she has not…"
Lunelis heard the women before he saw them. Though quiet, their voices echoed down the hall. Rounding the corner of one of the many secluded hallways in the palace, he saw two maids conversing. Their tones, however, reeked more of gossip than simple conversation.
His suspicion was confirmed when the second voice, which belonged to a curvaceous towheaded lass who glanced around to ensure no one would overhear, continued conspiratorially, "I have heard that she is with child! She is already four months along, and they have yet to announce it. Can you imagine? Clearly they are keeping it a secret… When the Queen finds out, she will be absolutely furious." The woman let out a giggle that grated on Lunelis's ears - the impudence. "In all likelihood, Queen Neririe is feigning ill to keep out of vi-EEK!"
The other maid had grabbed the woman's arm as soon as she had noticed the very furious king descending upon them.
Now he stood too close for their comfort, and the women could not help but cower away from him. As they had already been in an alcove, the women could not escape more than a few inches. Lunelis was in a rage, and his blue eyes froze like ice before them. After an uncomfortably drawn out silence, Lunelis said with a voice as cold as his eyes, "The two of you will be dealt with."
At that, their fearful eyes finally snapped up to meet his unforgiving gaze. "But..."
He did not care who said it, for it made no difference. Loyalty. Loyalty was what mattered, and these two had none. Seeing a guard down the hall, Lunelis beckoned him. Gesturing to the two women without a glance, his expression told the other man all he needed to know.
Lunelis left them to the guard and continued on.
He was still stewing over the incident as he walked into the solarium. As soon as his eyes fell on his love, all anger dissipated. She sat on a blanket beside the pond. Pillows were strewn about. In her hands a feather toy danced about trying to entice the tiny black kitten to play, without much success.
Lunelis approached her, and she turned her head to see who it was. A huge smile graced her tired face, "Luna," she said happily, weakly but happily. She was as beautiful as ever to him, but as the women had noted, she did not look entirely well. She was thinner and her lovely skin had a greenish hue about her cheeks.
Joining her on the blanket he caressed one of those cheeks gently in his hand, wondering as he had countless times over these last months why she had gone without him. Why she would do something that affected her so…
Surely there had been another way?
Noting the sad look in his eyes, Neririe sighed. His beautiful orbs held that look near constantly of late. Her hand released the toy and lifted to rest over Lunelis's, leaning her face even more into his caress. "It was the best way, Luna… We will not be able to defeat her. No legitimate Legends have risen - we are all just holding the position as proxy. Grumpy still has yet to respond."
Snowflake rose from her resting position to nudge Neririe's other hand. Looking down at the kitten, Neri rubbed her jaw causing the Snowflake's eyes to close in satisfaction. The thing was as small as it had been upon leaving Sheb's hut. Still kitten-soft, Snowflake was constantly being babied by the elven queen.
Neririe took the opportunity to lean against Luna's broad chest relishing the sensation of his warm hands moving along her back. She was just so tired.
They lost track of time sitting there, but it was not overly long before they heard a familiar voice.
"Well, now isn't this just the sweetest sight. Yes, it is simply too dear to pass up."
Glancing to the entryway, the couple saw a woman they both loved. Straight black hair hallowed a face with rounded cheeks, a dimple set deeply in each one. Dark brows arched over bright lime green eyes. A soft nose rested above ever-pink lips, the top of which was fuller than the bottom. The moon elf was pale, as they all were, and she seemed to glow. Who knew whether that glow came from her happy nature or lovely skin, but did it matter? She had the ability to carry joy to those around her, which the pair sitting on the blanket were in dire need of.
"Feefee," Neririe said to her cousin once removed.
Plopping down on one of the pillows, Erenfee pinched her queen's cheeks, "Oh Riri, you are not a child anymore, and I know you can say my name correctly now," though it was an admonition, the cousins knew it was all in jest. Though Neririe was over fifty years younger, the two were good friends.
"I have missed you Eren - you never come to see me anymore," Neri said this with a feigned sniffle.
"It has not been that long! Besides, I am married; you are married… We cannot very well go galavanting about as we used to. But, I am here now," Eren said firmly looking pointedly at one clearly pregnant belly, "so tell me: why is it, darling cousin, that I had to hear of your good fortune through one other than you?"
At that, Neririe bit her lip and glanced up at her husband. "Well," he said, "I will leave you ladies to talk. I will assume you will be staying for a while…?"
Nodding, Erenfee said, "Yes, two weeks at the least."
"Excellent," Lunelis said standing, "I will have your usual room prepared." Leaning down to kiss Neri's forehead before he left, Lunelis said, "See you soon, my love. Send for me if you need anything." He then took his exit.
"Bye, Lulu!" Erenfee shouted as he reached the large double doors. Turning around mid step, Luna bowed galiently to her then continued on. Sighing dreamily she said, "Well, he is as gorgeous as ever."
"Eren!"
"What?!" She looked at her cousin innocently, "It is simply a fact."
Neririe could not help but laugh, and Erenfee felt very content that her ploy had succeeded in bringing a smile to her cousin's face. She could see the exhaustion and sadness lurking there.
"Tell me…" she finally implored after the sweet laughter died out.
Neririe's head was bowed as she watched her thin fingers wring together. At last she glanced up with tears in her eyes, "You know why - I did not want her to find out."
Another sigh, "Dear, if I heard, then you know she did. Likely, she knew long before I; the woman has spies everywhere."
Erenfee shook her head a little bit.
"Fine, Eren! Then I wanted her not to know for as long as was possible. Is that so wrong?" Her irritation was clear. She was in pain and hormonal and had her nation to deal with without adding the fraudulent Legend of Charisma into the mix.
Erenfee's green eyes widened as she was slightly taken aback; then she reached to push Neririe's long silky braid back over her shoulder, "No. No, it is not wrong."
"It's just… it has felt like I lost this baby as soon as I found out it was here," her arms wrapped protectively around her stomach. "The Queen is coming for us - I can feel it - and yet nothing can be done. Her reach has extended too far. The other Houses are falling to her one by one. Even if I were to bend the knee, she would see through it."
Erenfee's eyes closed as she contemplated the words and what to say to them. Her hand came to rest above her chest, as if it were second nature to her. Feeling the object beneath the soft dress fabric, her eyes opened wide. Tilting her head to allow her hands better access, Erenfee unclasped her necklace and pulled the object out from its confines.
Out came a small iridescent cylinder. It was jagged on one end and clearly quite aged, but nonetheless beautiful. It came to rest on her lap where she subconsciously rubbed a thumb along its smooth surface.
"As you know, my father chose my husband for me. Tobiat and I do not hold the same love for one another as you and Lunelis, but we do care. It is not the same love, but it is love regardless." Holding the cylinder up so Neririe could see it, she continued, "I have not told you the story of this before, have I?"
Though the conversation seemed to have started out of nowhere, Neririe did not mind the distraction, "All you have said is that it belonged to someone dear to you."
Erenfee gave a sardonic chuckle, "Dear? Yes, he was very dear to me. This is all I have left to remember him by…
"He did not have a name when he came to us, but my father called him Larēen."
Neririe let out a small gasp, "Shackled night? Why would your father give him such a cruel name?"
"Because, he was a slave, and a drow at that. Drow, of course, are dark elves, with skin black as night and hair light as the moon. Larēen was no exception, and he was absolutely beautiful. He had many talents and accumulated one after another in hopes to entertain our guests, but he was illiterate… He was so young! I was so young," Erenfee was staring into the pond with a far off look in her eyes. "For some reason, I wanted to help him. He tried so hard at everything, just so that he could survive.
"Before I knew it, I had fallen for him; I fell for him before he fell for me. We would meet in secret most every night so I could teach him to read. And then, music lessons began. He had known how to play, just not how to put feeling into it. Ah, but he learned. And the man could sing like none other.
"Larēen was such a gentle soul…"
It was evident that she still had lingering feelings for him, but it had been over a hundred years and feelings tend to fade with time. Shaking her head clear, Eren smiled at Neririe, "He absolutely loved reading tales about Cyphii and how she along with the other Legends saved the world from the demons who sought to overrun it and closed the hellgates. He wanted to become like her - to become the true Legend of Intelligence.
"Anyway, my father found out about our infatuation, and he tried to put a stop to it. Eventually, he succeeded."
Referring again to the little tube, she continued, "This was a gift I gave him. It is a part of a magical flute. Larēen loved to play it whilst weaving tales, like any true bard. But, one day he went too far in his jokes, and Father's manservant overheard. He pulled me close, and we shared our first and only kiss before the guards grabbed him away," her fingers had moved to her lips as if she could still feel him there. "Needless to say, Larēen barely made it out of our house alive. He promised to return for me one day, but that day has yet to come, and I truly doubt that it will. We are both different people now, I am sure.
"I just hope that he is well…"
Erenfee paused a moment.
"Sometimes - sometimes we do not get to hold on to the things that we love, Neri," she said earnestly, finally meeting her cousin's purple gaze. "Sometimes they are forced away from us. But sometimes - sometimes it is for the best. If Larēen had stayed, I have no doubt that Father would have beaten him dead. When I watched him flee I thought, 'At least now he might be free' - I did not know that for a certainty of course, and it did not heal the pain of loss, but at least it gave me hope.
"This baby," she said reaching out to rest her hands gently on Neririe's curved stomach, "this baby is your hope. No one knows what is going to happen. That woman could tear down the door and arrest us all at this moment - but so what? You are the current heir of Cyphii, an actual Legend. Greatness runs in your veins.
"'Legend of Charisma' HAH! She is a mere imitation, and a pathetic one at that."
The tears which were in her eyes at the beginning of Erenfee's story had long since begun to trickle down her cheeks. She could imagine a young Eren so enraptured in innocent love with her polar opposite, in both station and appearance, and yet so beautiful together.
No, Eren was not the same as the girl she had once been, and Neririe imagined that the young drow in the story was not the same either. Life had separated them, and only time and fate would decide to what end.
Neri looked down to where her cousin's hands still rested. Though Eren did not know it, Neririe suspected that fate would separate her from the babe growing inside her. At least, it would have to if she were to keep her little one safe.
Suddenly, Neririe pulled the other woman into a consuming embrace. "Thank you, Feefee."
Returning the hug, she said with a chuckle, "Yup, that is why they keep me around."
Finally releasing her cousin, Neririe sat back and wiped the tears from her face, "I cannot tell you how glad it makes me to have you here… and that you did not bring that beast with you."
Letting out a guilty chuckle, her cousin looked to the side saying, "Oh! Well, actual-"
"ERENFEE!" shouted Lunelis from down the hall.
Neririe rose a brow expectantly at the woman in question, to which Eren was all dimples and innocence saying, "Well, you did not tell me about your surprise either…"