Ian grinned and lay back down next to Iris on the bed, letting out a satisfied sigh; although he felt somewhat fearful of caring for a sithrian child, he couldn't help but be overjoyed that soon he would hold his son or daughter in his arms.
Ian slowly drifted to sleep, lost in his happy thoughts and bearly containing himself to wake up Iris and tell her about the baby.
Iris's suddenly woke up at the feel of something squirming in her belly; she pulled herself up, resting on her elbows, only to see Ian's hand that was resting on it.
" The baby is moving!" he uttered in a groggy voice with eyes still closed, still half asleep." Go back to sleep." he continued and moved his hand up and pushed Iris back on the bed, snuggling closer to her.
" Oh!" Iris murmured while turning to her side to face Ian.
" Was this the first time?" she curiously asked while looking at Ian, who didn't bother to open his eyes.
" No, he moved last night after you fell asleep!" he said in a raspy voice while taking a deep breath.
" Your scent is stronger than before!" he continued speaking while taking another deep breath in." You smell of sira!" he explained, burying his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent.
Iris smiled. " Do you like it?" she asked, amused at his cuddly behaviour.
"Mhm, I love sira, it's my favourite flower!" he replied while Iris giggled; she had never thought that Ian would have a favourite flower.
Ian took another deep breath and snuggled even closer, making Iris giggle again while Ian jokingly growled in the crook of her neck.
Seeing that Ian was refusing to wake up, Iris closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but she couldn't, as the baby was restless and kept moving and turning, keeping her awake.
" Ian, the baby, keeps moving and can't sleep!" she complained while letting out a forceful sigh.
Ian kept quiet and placed his hand on her belly, gently rubbing it, and the baby slowly settled down and stopped moving, making Iris giggle again.
" He likes you!" Iris softly said.
Ian hummed. " I told you I'm lovable! Now you believe me!" he replied in a groggy voice, taking another deep breath of her scent.
Iris let out a hearty chuckle and he lifted his head to look at her since he was dead serious about what he said.
Iris let out a sigh of contentment. " Yes, you are very lovable, my love!" she agreed, kissing his cheek.
Ian lay back down and pulled Iris closer to him, wrapping his arm around her and humming at her scent and kept breathing it in.
Iris settled down and finally went back to sleep, and so did Ian. Morning came, and the sleeping couple was woken up again by the restless baby.
Iris moaned, feeling more tired than she was when she went to bed; she pulled herself up to look at her swollen belly.
Her eyes widened when she saw that her belly had gotten bigger overnight, and the baby would come sooner than expected, a lot sooner.
Ian woke up, and his eyes fell on Iris, that was staring at something; he pulled himself to see what that was and when his eyes fell on her belly, he couldn't help himself and let out a hearty chuckle, thinking that this baby will be full of surprises.
Iris turned to look at him and glared at him for laughing; Ian cleared his throat. " Looks like it's more like the middle of the summer rather than the end!" he casually commented while gently caressing her back to soothe her since she looked rather displeased with his reaction.
Iris smiled." I want to see if you'll still laugh when the baby is born!" she retorted while getting off the bed and stomping her way to the bathroom, shutting the door with a thud.
Ian shrugged and did the only thing he could do and laid back on the bed and waited for a few moments before he went after her.
Iris felt angry for some reason; she knew that Ian didn't do anything wrong and he was just finding the situation amusing, but she felt irked to no end.
" Iris!" Ian's voice echoed in the bathroom, breaking Iris's internal battle with herself to be reasonable.
" Go away!" she curtly asked while pacing in the bathroom when her eyes fell on the mirror on the wall, and she could see how much her belly had grown overnight.
" I'm coming in!" he warned and opened the door without giving her a chance to retort.
" Tell me what I did wrong?" he softly asked while carefully approaching her; he knew that it wasn't her, and the sudden change must've shocked her and her body at the same time.
Iris pouted and crossed her arms on her chest. " I don't know!" she replied, sulking while glaring at Ian for unknown reasons, even to herself.
" What can I do to make you feel better?" he softly asked, treading carefully and not saying anything that would irk her.
" Nothing!" she replied in the same sulky tone.
Ian bit his lip to contain his smile; he had never had a chance to see Iris sulking, and he found her to be adorable even when sulking.
" You know, you look more beautiful when you're angry!" he praised while taking a few more minor steps, closing the distance between them.
Iris raised an eyebrow. " You're just saying that to make me feel better!" she deadpanned while holding her head up high.
Ian chuckled and finally stopped in front of her and turned her around to look at their reflection in the mirror.
Ian wore a warm smile while Iris was still sulking. " You look more beautiful than ever!" he lovingly exclaimed while kissing her cheek and placing his hands on her belly.
Iris took a deep breath. " I'm big!" she whined, pouting while looking at her reflection.
Ian smiled. " More to love!" he candidly stated while kissing the crown of her head.
Iris released an exasperated sigh, " Will you still want me?" she suddenly asked while looking back at him in the mirror.
Ian chuckled. " I find you more enticing than ever!" he seductively whispered while pulling her closer to him to feel his hardened manhood.
Iris's breath hitched, her lips curled up in a satisfied smile, and she turned around to kiss his lips. " Thank you!" she breathed out the words while resting her head on his chest, letting out a shaky sigh.
" I love you no matter what!" he firmly stated while caressing her back and resting his cheek on her head.
Iris took a deep breath and pulled away from the embrace to look at Ian; when her eyes met his, she could see the warmth and adoration he held for her in his heart.No matter how bad things were, Iris knew that Ian would always be there for her.
Ian kissed her forehead; he could already see the sparkle in her eyes, and he knew it would end with her in tears, and he would be there if that were what she needed.
Ian brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. " In my eyes, you are the most beautiful woman, and you shouldn't think otherwise!" he candidly confessed while Iris sniffled, and to no surprise, a downpour of tears followed, streaking down her cheeks.
She knew that he loved her, but now her emotions were a mess; every loving word from his lips hit her tenfold, and the turmoil in her heart increased its intensity with each passing moment.
Ian wrapped his arms around her shoulders and just waited for her to let everything out and work through her emotions and get the clarity that she needed.
She sobbed with her head buried in his chest, soaking his tunic with her tears; she cried until she felt she had no more tears to cry as they sat there in silence in the middle of the bathroom.
After spending most of the morning in their chamber, they finally made their way to the castle grounds and began training for the next element, earth.
Iris looked morose, and Ian felt tempted to give her a break for the day, but at this rate, he couldn't be sure that tomorrow would be a good day for them. Today is as good as any, he thought to himself.
Ian placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes; although she didn't seem in the mood, she reluctantly nodded and sat on the ground.
Ian sat in front of her, ensuring he was close enough to her just in case something happened.
" What you did yesterday, only focus on the earth element!" he softly suggested while placing his hands on the ground to show her that he was in this with her.
Iris nodded and followed his lead, placing her hands on the ground, feeling rather uncomfortable because of her belly, but she brushed it off and focused on the task.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath to clear her mind, and dug deep for the emotions she felt that day in the garden.
Ian carefully watched and waited for something to happen, but after seeing nothing happen, he leaned in and whispered something into her ear. The ground shook violently; small cracks appeared in the castle's grounds.
Ian kips curled up in a satisfied smile and leaned in again and whispered into her ear, and the ground stopped shaking.
Ian tilted his head. " Now grow something or make something!" he suggested in a calm voice, keeping an even tone while he spoke to her.
The ground beneath them lightly shook, and small cracks appeared between them, causing him to pull away from her; out of the crack, a small bud sprouted that slowly grew, branching out in front of his eyes, finally blooming with lilac flowers spreading their scent around them.
Ian's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he couldn't help but wonder why she chose his favourite flower to grow.
Iris smiled and looked at Ian and then at the sira plant. " It's my gift to you!" she said softly while clumsily trying to push herself off the ground but fell back down.
Ian pushed himself up and helped her stand in front of him. He took her hand and kissed the back "Thank you, my Queen!" he softly murmured while lifting his head to look into her beautiful, loving emerald eyes.
Iris smiled. The word Queen uttered by his lips sounded like music to her ear, and she couldn't contain her happiness whenever he spoke like that.
" Now, it's time to control the last element, water!" he informed me while pulling her along to walk back to their chamber.
Iris nodded. " But first, I need some food. I'm hungry!" she complained, halting her steps.
" We can stop on our way back to the kitchen and get some food." he agreed while looking at her, a little annoyed with himself for getting carried away with her training.
Iris nodded and made their into the castle and finally into the kitchen, where Rhya and Athan were busy cooking lunch for all of them.
" Aaah, good, you're here!" Athan exclaimed while grabbing some vegetables and turned around to look at them but froze when his eyes fell on Iris's swollen belly. It was much, much bigger than before.
Athan flapped his hand, trying to get Rhya's attention, who was busy washing the cooking utensils they were using, but he kept missing by an inch.
" Rhya!" he breathlessly called her while keeping his eyes on Iris, who couldn't help but smile.
" Hmm?" Rhya absently replied while continuing to wash the utensils.
" Look!" he replied while still staring at Iris.
Rhya let an exasperated sigh ' Look at w-....oooh what happened!? She questioned in disbelief while she rushed to Iris and placed her hands on her belly, doubtful that she saw right.