A gentle rocking motion on my shoulder pulled me back to consciousness. Opening my eyes slowly, I blinked up at Nana, who was leaning over me. I yawned and tried to stretch out the stiffness while she stepped back. "Morning, Nana," I mumbled around my yawn.
"Silly, it's late afternoon. You've been asleep for about two hours, so I figured I should drag you out of bed."
I smiled in thanks. "Yeah." I glanced around my room, raising a brow in question. "Where's Jack?"
Nana lifted a single shoulder in a half shrug. "He had some things to take care of, so he took off for a while. He promised to be back for dinner though, which gives him thirty minutes."
I pursed my lips in thought. "Oh?"
Nana smiled in a secret way, her grey eyes assuring me that her lips were sealed.
Muttering under my breath about how everyone was keeping secrets from me, I slowly rose out of bed.
Rolling her eyes at my childish mutterings, Nana defended herself. "This isn't a secret. I just feel that as the potential man in your life, Jack needs to tell you some things himself. In order to have a functional relationship, you two are going to need to communicate. Especially considering how everything has become so complicated now. Though, I'm sure the protective side of Jack hates the idea of letting you in on some of his secrets."
I scowled deeply. "If he wants this to work, his protective side can go to hell."
"You should tell *him* that," Nana sighed, shaking her head at me. "When you're ready, come down and help me set the table." Waving goodbye, Nana closed my bedroom door behind her.
Closing my eyes briefly, I placed my bare feet on the cool wood floor. I had so much to think about, this felt like some sort of horrible cosmic joke.
I could make light of things and try to act normal, based on my memories as a child, but nothing about me was calm.
An unhinged panic was barely being suppressed by my conscious mind.
Lifting a hand to press against my pounding heart, I spent a few needed minutes doing breathing exercises. Not until I felt at least forty percent calm did I manage to make my way downstairs. The whole way, my mind continued to spin around in endless circles.
'What am I supposed to do now?'
It sounded like whining, even to me.
As much as I hated to admit it, I truly didn't know what to do.
Once downstairs I began to help Nana on autopilot, stuck inside the tangled mess that was my mind. Nana, seeming to realize what was going on, kept quiet to give me time to think.
But, just as we were pulling the chairs back to sit down for dinner, a familiar voice called out from the front door. "I'm back!"
Jack came strolling into view a few moments later, pale blonde hair windblown and messy. His bright blue eyes lit up even more when he caught sight of me, a happy warmth filling them up to the brim.
"Our sleepy head's awake, I see." Before I could respond, he rushed to my side and plopped an innocent kiss on my forehead.
Blinking, I rubbed the spot in surprise as he took the seat to my left. "Oh my gosh, Nana, this smells *so good*!" Jack gushed in delight, nearly salivating as he gazed at the dinner table.
Nana had made a large pot of spaghetti, with her special homemade garlic breadsticks and lightly fried asparagus with melted mozzarella cheese covering the tops.
Grace rolled her eyes at Jack's hyper antics, but she couldn't hide a slight smile as she poured Jack a cup of tea.
Seeing the two of them interact like this was both jarring and adorable. Especially Jack. He had this bizarre ability to be equal parts frustrating, exhausting, and absolutely precious.
"...like a puppy," I mumbled under my breath.
Jack froze for a millisecond, before his head whipped toward me, confusion all over his face. "What about a puppy?"
I flinched, stiffening. "What? Nobody said anything about that, Jack," I lied smoothly, shaking my head at him.
He raised a slim, pale eyebrow, lips pursed in an obviously suspicious expression. But after only two tense seconds, he decided to drop it. "Well, alright. I must be hallucinating, what with this *amazing* food just waiting to be devoured right in front of me."
I nodded quickly, trying to save myself if only a little. The three of us dug in and I could feel my unease lessen, the comfort of Nana's cooking working miracles.
But, frustrating as it was, I needed answers to be able to come to a decision. So, taking a long sip of my tea to give myself a few moments to steel my nerves, I broke apart the relaxed atmosphere. "Nana, you mentioned before that you and Dad were in danger. Why was that?"
The smiles and laughter died away abruptly, Nana's grey eyes staring at me in shock. Jack looked tense himself, making me wonder if I was the only one in the dark.
Still, I waited, watching Nana closely for when she finally gathered her words.
Face pale, hands shaking, Nana slowly explained herself. "Y, your grandfather was a very important man in the Other Realm and our relationship was taboo. It was a long time ago and things were much more old-fashioned than nowadays," Nana coughed awkwardly.
I nodded slowly, frowning in thought. "But why was it taboo?"
Jack's expression stiffened, while Nana glanced at him, hesitant.
After half a second, he barely nodded his head and Nana's grey eyes grew sorrowful. "You see, Snowflake, the Other Realm is not a nice place for humans. I dare say they can't live there at all, normally. The Other Realm is, after all, the home of things beyond the understanding and acceptance of humanity as a whole."
Nodding slowly, I cleared my throat. "Okay. I'm following along for now, but I still don't understand why the two of you are tip-toeing around this whole thing."
Pained, Nana let out a long sigh. "Humanity is, well, seen as *lesser* by Others," Grace murmured quietly. "So the fact that your grandfather was in a relationship with me would have been the same as if a white man was in love with and trying to marry a black slave woman, centuries ago."
Jack grimaced, blue eyes filled with frustrated rage. "To be perfectly honest, Nisha, things haven't really changed. If you return to the Other Realm, you'll be faced with a lot of discrimination. They may or may not come right out and say it to your face, but you can be sure they'll gossip behind your back."
I settled back into my chair, trying to take in Nana and Jack's words. Very slowly, an idea came to me. I turned my attention to Nana, feeling tired. "They were trying to get rid of a stain on the family, weren't they?"
Grey eyes shook with unshed tears as Nana nodded silently, reaching for a tissue to blow her nose.
Twisting my mind into a confusing manner (how I imagined the nobility and high-class of times long past must have thought like), I glanced at Jack. "Your dad was hoping to use Dad and Nana as potential pawns against my grandfather's family, huh?"
Jack blinked, looking a little startled, but he nodded firmly. "Indeed," he confessed. "My father thought they might come in handy as tools of blackmail or leverage in a deal. But then I was born and Dad's plans changed dramatically."
Blinking in amazement, I had to let all my emotions settle in my heart. Anger, disbelief, disgust, and horror. All four rolled and rocked through me like a storm at sea, leaving me a little breathless in their wake.
When I felt comfortable with words again, I stared at Jack in confusion. "But...if that's true, how can our relationship work?"
Jack shrugged, unconcerned in the slightest. "With enough power, money, and influence you can get away with anything. Besides, our situation is very different from most. My family never liked the idea of a human being brought into the bloodline, but they didn't have too much choice."
I bit my lips, staring at him worriedly. "But things are different now. Won't they deny our relationship, now that I'm pregnant?"
A single pale brow rose in question as Jack stared at me in confusion. "Why would they?"
I blinked, thrown off by *his* confusion. "It's what any family would do, isn't it?"
Understanding flashed across Jack's face as he frowned deeply. "I suppose, normally, sure. Even as a fully grown adult, I would usually need the approval of my parents for something like marriage. But things are different in the Frost family, Nisha."
I frowned along with him, nodding at him to continue explaining.
"With the fact that being Duke of Winter requires our lifeforce, there are usually about three generations of Frosts living in the Winter Palace at a time. It was quickly discovered there were too many chiefs and not enough Indians," Jack muttered.
"As a result, a vow was made by the Frosts and it has applied to each generation born over the millennia. Even the family members that are married in, any that have the 'Frost' name or blood are held to that vow."
I pursed my lips, trying to wrap my mind around how something like that could be possible. Eventually, I decided that it would be better to just accept it and move on. "What was the vow?"
"Whoever is the current and active Duke of Winter has all control over matters involving the family," Jack replied quietly. "Which means, as the current duke, my word is the law where my family is concerned."
I gulped back another drink of tea, letting Jack's words echo in my head. "So...you're saying that your parents can't do anything about my pregnancy?"
Nodding his head, Jack smiled, his voice firm. "Yep. They can gripe and moan all they like, but as far as actually doing something to stop me, they are powerless."
Tilting my head to the side, I shook my head in disbelief. "That's a scary thought," I decided. "Okay...let's eat before dinner gets cold."
Slowly, conversation resumed in a less tense fashion and I even laughed a few times at some of Jack's jokes. Lifting my eyes up to his, I couldn't help but smile a little.
Seeing my smile, Jack's expression began to melt and I was a little worried I heard a few *hisses* coming from him — as if something was actually cooking.
Nana suddenly stood up from her seat and slapped Jack across the face soundly, causing my jaw to drop in shock. "N, Nana?!" I gasped in surprise.
"Silly boy," Nana muttered in mild disgust, shaking her head in annoyance.
Jack, for his part, jerked violently from the blow to his head, falling backward in his chair. He let out a loud cry of pain, before turning his attention to Nana. His mouth opened as if to shout, but his expression quickly settled into one of understanding.
After a few awkward seconds, Jack picked himself up off the floor, straightened his chair, and inhaled deeply. "Thanks for the save, Nana," he mumbled, a faint blush coloring his cheeks.
While I stared between the two, lost, Nana lifted a single shoulder in a half-shrug. "Truth be told, I've always wanted to slap you at least once."
Rubbing his sore, red cheek, Jack smiled tightly. "You certainly didn't hold back, but I can see how I deserve a slap or two."
Still lost, I watched as Jack bent down to pick up his dropped fork off the floor. He moved to the kitchen sink, plopping the fork down, before retrieving a new one from the silverware drawer.
Returning to his seat, he finally glanced up at me. "Sorry 'bout that, jhenmu. You were so pretty, you kind of became a danger to my existence for a second. I was, um, sort of melting from the inside out," Jack mumbled shyly, refusing to look me in the eye as I stared at him in shock.
Part of me wanted to demand how in the world Jack could just *melt*, but another part of me was scared to know. I simply nodded and returned to my meal.