It was past eight in the evening but Felix Tora Lee Tamein was not yet sleepy. Far from it. He was climbing up and down on the overstuffed chair by the fire that Mira was sitting on and making all sorts of half-baby, half-puppy sounds.
Mira had hoped he would be calm enough so that when Daran showed up, she could talk to the dwarf without Felix being too disruptive but no amount of gentle persuasion would get him to settle down.
Although Mira could simply call one of his nannies or even Nonna Pearla to take him back to his room, she wanted to spend just a little more time with him. Work had been piling up so much that she had precious little time to spend with him.
It didn't seem to affect Felix much though. He was always happy to see her in the evenings and babbled much of his day at her in his baby voice which sounded more and more human with each passing day.
"Meeeemaaa...meeemaaa" He warbled his attempts at her name.
Mira laughed. "Not Meemaa. Mommie. Say Mommie."
"You might as well give it up, Your Majesty," a laugh sounded from the doorway. "I think to him, 'mommie' and 'meemaa' are the same thing."
It was Daran, leaning against the door jamb looking into the room.
Mira shook her head ruefully. "'Meemaa' is just Felix trying to pronounce 'Mira'. I don't think he knows what a 'mommie' is quite yet."
Daran made his way towards the fireplace and took the chair beside Mira. "You're constantly busy so you don't really get a chance to see how he interacts with the nannies and Pearla, but I've seen it. The boy treats them like his caregivers. He treats you like his mother."
Just then, Felix clambered from the armrest onto Mira's shoulder and tucked his arms around her neck, hiding his head into her shoulder.
"You see that? He does that to nobody. Only you, My Queen."
Mira leaned back, patting Felix gently on the back.
"Daran. I called you here tonight because I just spoke with Carol earlier today."
"You heard the news, huh." He rubbed his bald head.
Mira clucked a tongue at him. "You of all people should know that Carol and I are humans from another world and not sterile hybrid offspring of dwarf and Ashryan."
"I knew, Your Majesty. I just...she's so beautiful and I couldn't help myself. I know I don't deserve her, but you can't fault a man for trying to reach a shining star way above him."
Mira sighed. "I'm not faulting you for reaching high Daran. I'm faulting you for hurting Carol when she needed you most."
"No Your Highness!" Daran protested. "I would never hurt her. I will always be there for her and our child."
"You will be married by mid-year." She reminded him.
"That was an arranged marriage that our families set up when I was not much older than this little tyke," he pointed to Felix. "I never really thought of myself as a married man, Your Majesty. I've been single all my life..."
"Nevertheless, we are looking at a baby that will be born in seven months. That would place its arrival…" Mira counted on her digits, "---right around the same time that you will be celebrating your wedding."
Daran nodded grimly.
"Aren't you the lucky one," Mira said drily. "You'll be getting a new bride as well as a new baby, at the exact same time."
Daran looked at her with miserable eyes. "I don't know what to do. Carol deserves better than this, but my fiancée is also not at fault. She has been preparing for this wedding day for most of her life."
Mira smiled. "There is a big difference between Carol and your fiancée. Carol is older, and pregnant with your first child. These are irreversible situations, Daran. Your fiancée on the other hand is still very young and still unwed. She can find another husband."
There was that unspoken thought of Carol never being able to find another husband because of her age, physical condition, along with the addition of a baby in tow. Mira didn't have to say this. Daran already knew.
"What about...flipping it around?" Mira suggested hesitantly.
"Beg your pardon, Your Majesty?"
"Flip it around. Have Carol be your Primary Wife and the other woman be the Ancillary Wife."
Daran stared into the fire, as if contemplating the possibility. But then he shook his head. "My parents would never allow that, but even if they did, Carol would never be satisfied to share me with another woman."
Mira chuckled lightly. "Well it looks like you're well and truly jacked. Carol told me she was going to return to Earth and have the baby so it would be a legal citizen of Earth. Whether she comes back to Ashrya with the child is still unclear."
Daran scowled. "She should be worried that the baby is not a legal citizen of Ashrya!"
"And pray tell, why would she have to concern herself with that?"
"Be--because the father of that child is a citizen of Ashrya!"
"And you are planning on writing that child's name to your Family Book of Registry? How will you document him?"
Daran pressed his lips together, unable to say anything.
Without a legal union, this child would forever be considered a bastard, secondary in importance to his future children with his legal wife.
Writing the child's name into the Family Book of Registry as a bastard would simply seal that fate forever. Carol's child would not even have the protection afforded to those born to Ancillary Wives because she had flatly refused to be one.
Ancillary children were at least legitimate children of the family. Although they would never hold first rights of inheritance, they would still be able to share in any inheritance he could afford to give them outside of the family fortune. They would also be able to carry the family name and pass them onto their children.
"Bastard children aren't treated well in Ashrya, Daran." Mira gently reminded him.
The truth was, bastard children weren't treated well in most places on Earth either, but she and Carol lived in California, where the tolerance level of most people was high for misfits and oddities.
"I could do an adoption, just like you did with Felix here…"
"You could, but that would mean Carol would have to agree to give up parental rights. Felix's parents are dead. Zander and I are his only parents now. Even his grandfather has agreed to the adoption. Do you think Carol would give up being the mother to her own child?"
Daran shook his head grimly.
As the fire crackled in front of them, the warmth seeped into the room like a soft comfortable goose down blanket. A log popped in the fireplace causing Felix to stir in his sleep.
Mira rubbed his back with gentle fingers. Comforted by her presence, he settled back down into her arms and began snoring lightly. His fists held tightly onto her shirt, not letting go.
"Perhaps there is a way for the two of you." Mira finally spoke up after what seemed like a long silence.
Daran looked up with a hopeful expression.
"You could join Carol on Earth, at least until the baby is born. That way, your child will have a legitimate father, as you would be entered into the records in my world as her husband and the legal father of her child." Mira waved a dismissive hand.
"There are a few minor issues about immigration, but I'm sure Carol could smooth things out. Her family is a prominent one in the country and has plenty of leverage."
Daran inhaled sharply. "That would be a permanent move."
"The portal still works every twilight…"
"But if I leave, I would not be able to come back. It would be as if I ceased to exist in this world. My family can never know that I abandoned them and my fiancée or they would be heartbroken."
"That is true. They cannot know of Earth's existence. It is a top level state secret."
"I know nothing of Azure and I have no possessions there," Daran mused, resorting to calling Earth by the name it was known to the Ashryans. "I don't even know your language or how to get around. I have no idea how to care for my family in your world."
I smiled. "Carol is a fairly wealthy woman in her own rights. She could easily take care of you and the baby."
"I am a man. I have my pride. I cannot let my wife support me in that manner."
"Then I guess you will have to ask yourself honestly this one simple question. Would you rather live with Carol on Earth, or would you rather live without her on Ashrya."
For a moment, there was silence. Daran's eyes glinted in the firelight. A man's unshed tears were still tears, nevertheless.
"I love her more than anyone or anything. I love her more than even the unborn child inside her body. To lose her would be an unrecoverable tragedy in this life." He swallowed, looking away.
"So the answer is…"
"The answer to your question is easy once you put it that way."
He turned to face Mira.
"I would rather live in her world, than to live without her in mine."