Zemira listened to the pitter-patter the rain made as it hit her window. Wind blew and opened her draperies. She sighed and walked to the window then she closed them.
"Is my lady feeling a tad lonely?" came that voice she had missed for two weeks. She turned and saw Cassian smirking at her. She ran towards him and hugged him.
Cassian's eyes widened as her hands went around his waist. She was not wearing anything underneath her dark red robe. He could feel her soft and ample bossom pressed against his hard chest.
"I missed you" she whispered and looked up at him. He smiled and placed his hand on her head then he rubbed it a little, "I missed you a whole lot more" he said and kissed her forehead then she let go of him.
"Why are you here?" she asked and he cocked his head, "You are not happy to see me?" he furrowed his brows as he folded his arms. The veins on his forearms moved as he did that little movement and Zemira forced her eyes off his arms to his face.
"Far from it! I am ecstatic that you are here! I am just a bit confused as to why you are here. You are going into war tomorrow and you came to spend the night with me. Are you not supposed to spend it with your soldiers, swearing an oath of loyalty and to always support one another?"
"I had it adjusted to yesterday" he shrugged, "What?! But the oath of loyalty and trust is meant to be taken on the day before the war begins" she said. "I do not care...I just wanted to see you one last time before I go" he said and held her shoulders.
"You contradict yourself sometimes, Zemy" he smiled and she looked at him innocently, "How?" she asked and his hand fell to the black ribbon on her robe. "You shout at me for breaking tradition just to come and see you..." he drawled as he gently and slowly pulled the ribbon out of the knot, their eyes not leaving each other. "...but here you are..." he dragged the ribbon out completely and her robe fell open, her bare body before him. He smirked, "...ready for me".
Zemira's face burned bright red and she hastened to cover herself while Cassian just chuckled. She held her cheeks and tried to calm herself down but the way Cassian was looking at her made her flustered.
"T...Th...at...That was just a coin---" "A coincidence?" he smirked and loomed over her then he looked at her hand which was holding her robe tight and he slapped her hand away then he shifted the soft fabric from her body, exposing her more.
His eyes darkened when he saw her erect nipples. His fingers moved to her nipple and he flicked it, "A coincidence, huh?" he nodded and flicked her other nipple, a moan escaped her lips and she immediately slapped her hand over her mouth.
He chuckled and removed her hand from her mouth, "Do not stop yourself from making those lovely sounds" he said and she took a hold of his shoulder to keep her legs from giving way.
"Perhaps the nudity under the robe was a coincidence". Flick! "But your nipples responding to me..." he raised his eyes to meet hers. Flick! "...was definitely not a coincidence".
Zemira's nails pierced into Cassian's shoulder as she moaned. Due to her pregnancy, her breasts were more sensitive, especially since milk has been leaking out of her nipples.
Cassian pinched one and she almost fell but then he pushed her to a wall. "Zemy, if you did not want me, you could have worn something under that robe" Cassian whispered huskily in her ears then he replaced his fingers with his mouth on her nipple and Zemira's hand went to his hair at the base of his neck.
Zemira opened her mouth to say something but all that came out were moans. "I do want you" she finally said and he looked up at her. She smiled and held his face, "I want you, Cassian Monterey" she kissed him.
Cassian's hand went to the rope holding his cloak to his neck and he ripped it off and carried Zemira to their bed without breaking the kiss.
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Cassian wore his shirt and looked at his pregnant wife still sleeping. She looked so beautiful with her eyes closed and her hands clutching onto the sheets tightly. He brushed some of her dark curls away from her face and she snuggled closer to him.
He smiled and his eyes moved to her belly. Their child. The reason why they had gotten married. He wanted to be there when she gave birth, he wanted to be there when their child said his first word, he wanted to be a part of his baby's life...but he also had to go to war. He was fighting against Isander and there was no guarantee that he was going to come back.
"Cassian?" Zemira sat up and he looked at her. She gasped and held his face, "Why do you cry?" she asked. It was then he realized that he was crying.
"I...I... It's just that I miss you already...and I have not even gone to war" he said and she smiled and brushed his tears away then she kissed his eyes, "I also miss you already" she hugged him.
Cassian held her tightly in his arms like they were not going to see each other again. Who knows, perhaps they were going to be separated by death.
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"Have a safe trip, my lord and we wish you victory in your battle" the servants said and bowed then Cassian smiled and looked at Gertrude whose head was still down.
"Gertrude" he said and she looked up at him then he hugged her. The servant girls giggled as Gertrude tried to push Cassian away. "Oh, would you just stay still and enjoy the hug! Cassian's hugs are as rare as rain in Thinefield" Zelia said and Gertrude sighed and put her arms around Cassian.
"Please take good care of Zemira, I know you are not that cruel as to not take care of her, so please do not betray her too" he said and Gertrude's eyes widened and she let go of Cassian, "How did you---" he hugged her again, "You were like a mother to me...so why?" he whispered then he let go of her and smiled, "Take care of yourself and the manor".
Zelia opened her arms and Cassian stepped into her embrace, "Make sure you come back!" she patted his back then let go of him. "You do know that I will kill your other brother" Cassian said and she held her turquoise skirt, "He killed our parents. You are just returning the favour" "So you do not want to see and have a little chat with him?" "If that man ever stands before me, I will lose my cool and kill him. He lost his rights as my brother the day he burnt where we grew up" Zelia looked away.
Cassian knew Zelia was hurting. When they were children, she loved Isander so much. She looked up to him more than Cassian. To her, Isander was the one who would save her and Cassian if something ever happened...turns out that, he was the one who made bad things happen to them.
Cassian put his hand on her head then she looked at him, "Take care of yourself" he rubbed her head and she became flustered, "I am not a child anymore!" she swatted his hand down and he chuckled.
He turned to the steps and saw Zemira running towards him with her black curls flying behind her. He smiled, she was never going to stop running even if she was about to deliver. He was pretty sure she was going to run to the labour room when she was having contractions.
She reached out for his arms and he hugged her, "You are never going to stop running, are you?" he chuckled and she held his blue jacket and inhaled his scent. Cloves...as always.
He let go of her, "I would run any day as long as I would end up in your arms" she giggled and he smiled. Her words always gave him butterflies. His eyes travelled down to her belly and he held it, "If you are experiencing any contractions, call the doctor" he said and she nodded.
He turned and was walking away but then he stopped and turned back, "Do not miss me too much" he smirked. "Please we all know that you are the one that will miss me more" she smirked and he walked up to her and hugged her again, "Of course I will miss you more. You have entered my head and heart and I can never live without you".
The servants giggled and Zelia looked at them, "Shoo!" she smiled as they ran away giggling and whispering amongst themselves. Gertrude bowed and walked away. Zelia cleared her throat and they disengaged, "If you are done, can you please leave?" she looked at Cassian who kissed Zemira's hand, "Fine" he whined.
He was about leaving when he put his hand on his chest and felt a hard object in his breast pocket. How can I forget? he panicked and quickly turned, "Zemira!"
Zelia rolled her eyes and let go of Zemira's arm, "Go already! If you miss her so much, send letters everyday!" Zelia groaned and Zemira giggled and walked to Cassian, "Do you really miss me that much? Should I go with you to the palace then I will watch you go?" she asked truly concerned.
He shook his head and held her shoulders, "You are with my child. You should not be travelling often" he said and put his hand in his breast pocket as Zemira just watched him. He brought out a small pink snake-shaped ring which had a small ruby on its head.
Zemira's eyes widened in surprise. Zelia gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. The servants that were passing by squealed in delight. Gertrude was dumbfounded.
Cassian got on his left knee and held the ring in his right hand, then he took Zemira's left hand, "This is not a proposal, Lady Monterey" he chuckled when he saw that her face was really red.
She nodded, "I...I um...I..." he cringed. He had rehearsed his lines on the day he had purchased the ring and even before he met her last night, he had rehearsed. He wanted to do it last night but there was a little distraction.
He let go of her hand and held his head, "How can I forget?!" he held his hair and almost tore it out but Zemira held his hand, "Just go ahead. Be honest with what you are feeling" she smiled. He sighed and tried to control the surge of emotions in him. He just had to be honest.
"Do you remember that night I kissed you?" he asked and her face heated up. Zelia narrowed her eyes at the both of them, "Being sneaky behind my back?" she whispered.
"Your ring had fallen into the lake and you wanted to retrieve it but I did not allow you" he looked at Zemira who nodded, "I remember that night". "Well...I got you a new ring...and I know you do not want another ring because it does not have those promises I made to you on the altar we had gotten married" he looked at her for a split second then he looked away, "Well...I can make those promises now" he said and she gasped.
He took a deep breath and looked at her, "And this time, I mean every word I shall say" he said and she gave him a nod to urge him to continue.
"I will---" "Cassian Monterey!" a voice shouted and Cassian turned back and saw Soteria marching towards him. When he noticed what was going on, he put his hand on his mouth, "Oops!" he looked away.
Cassian sighed and looked back at Zemira who was giggling, "I love you too and I shall miss you too but you have to go!" she helped him up and he looked at the ring, "But what about the ring?" he asked and she held his hand which had the ring, "Keep it...now you have something to return to me when you come back" she smiled.
When I come back, huh? Cassian thought. Was that possible? Zemira pressed a kiss to his hand, "And if you do not come back, I will go to the field and fetch you myself!" she smiled. He nodded and held her face then he kissed her passionately.
Soteria pouted, "I should have not sent my queen to her mother's". Cassian ran to Soteria, "Congratulations!" he smirked and Cassian rolled his eyes, "It was not a proposal" "Whatever you say" Soteria said as they entered the carriage.
Zemira watched the carriage roll out of the compound and she sighed unhappily. "He will be back" Zelia rubbed her shoulder soothingly and Zemira looked at her, "Yeah, he will" she gave a fake smile and followed Zelia up the steps. Gertrude bowed as they passed her then she continued staring into space. How did Cassian find out?
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Cassian took his scabbard and hung it on his belt then Soteria handed him a helmet, "They are ready...general" he said and bowed.
Cassian took the helmet and nodded at Soteria then he walked out of the armory. There were a few hundreds of soldiers in the courtyard looking up to him. Azrael stood at the front of his soldiers while Soteria stood in front of his.
"Tonight, we march into war. Tonight, we march into a place where we do not know if we will come back. Tonight, may be the last time you will see your family; your wives, your children, your brothers, your sisters, your parents. But have no fear, for our deaths shall not be in vain, we shall go into war and even if only one man survives, he shall leave the battlefield with the head of Isander! Isander has taken many of our brother's lives, many of our son's lives, so we must return the favour!" Cassian yelled and the soldiers let out their battle cry.
"I shall lead you all to victory...even if it costs me my life. We will not be returning to Thurtian without Isander's head...so therefore, I ask for your help. Pledge your loyalty to me and I shall protect you! I shall give my life up for you!" "We shall give up our lives for you too, general" someone said and Cassian turned and saw Stern in armour.
"What are you---" Cassian was saying but Stern got on a knee and bowed, "We shall be by your side always, general. Our swords are yours...use them to your advantage!" he said and Cassian nodded, "Un cour!" he yelled as he raised his sword and the soldiers shouted as they raised their swords.
Cassian looked at Stern who was still on his knee, "Why the sudden change of heart?" he murmured and Stern looked up, "General?" he asked and Cassian clicked his tongue, "Welcome aboard!" he said and walked away.
Stern got up and smirked maliciously then for a split second, his green eyes flashed black.
A/N: Sorry about the war cry. Tried to find the perfect one🥲🥲