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Elowen nodded her head, saying small words of departure to the guests that were choosing to leave. Others were remaining at the castle for extended weeks, hoping to make alliances and treaties or obtain an audience with the King. Elowen grimaced at those and smiled at the ones who were choosing to set off now. Among them, she saw the dark suits of the Galexious guards. Involuntarily, Elowen felt her eyes go to Theros to see his reaction. The Galexious Kingdom had planned to stay longer, however, events seemed to be stacked against them. The news of their Queen expecting, her now acquired injury, and the revolts that were taking place with the royalties absence- all required them to return two weeks earlier than intended. Elowen did not know what she felt at this. It seemed the castle came alive with her presence. The unexpected occurred, and the guards wore a constant look of wary apprehension- even inside the palace walls. Elowen agreed with them. There was never a dull moment with the Galexious Queen. She watched them now. Queen Lumikki's shoulder was still bandaged. A red cloak had been draped over her shoulders, the breeze slightly tugging at the hem to show the black strapless dress underneath. Elowen felt like rolling her eyes at the sight of the dress but knew the choice must have been done due to the large bulk of bandages. In a way, she matched her husband. Both figures wore black as they approached the Winter King and Queen. Elowen felt a shiver run through her when she saw the claw marks that stood out on Queen Lumikki's dark skin. Theros reached out, his hand extending, and to Elowen's shock, he pinched the red material of the cloak she wore. "I gave you this."Elowen felt her eyes of panic go to the watching husband. But his features gave nothing away as he took in the interaction. Queen Lumikki only laughed and swatted at Theros' hand. "I thought so. Jodi said she had, but I questioned how she was able to find something as rare as this in the kitchen."Elowen's gaze flickered between the two. There was something different. Something lighter. She felt uneasy. Did something happen between them? They must have reconnected...it was the only thing she could think of, and the thought made her heart still in a frozen slumber. "Thank you for attending our wedding," Theros was still speaking. Elowen heard his voice vaguely now in the background. But his rare gesture of grouping the two of them together brought her senses back. The Galexious King nodded his head, "of course. I will maintain contact and arrange for a renewal of the treaty. In the meantime, hopefully, the situation along the border can be resolved....peacefully.""Yes..." Theros seemed to muse this word out loud before he let whatever else he wanted to say go. Elowen nodded her head, unsure of what else to say. She wanted the two of them gone so that she could forget how she felt in this moment. But they still were not moving. She looked up and saw that the Galexious King and Queen seemed to be having a silent battle as they both stared at one another. Finally, after a long minute, the King sighed and turned to look at a guard that was behind him. "Bring the damn thing," he said, shaking his head when he caught sight of his smiling Queen. Elowen looked at Theros, and for once they seemed to be in agreement as they both looked at each other in confusion. Before Elowen felt her heart stop for the second time. A Galexious guard had emerged from the doorway, struggling to carry the pelt of an animal that had been dragged over his shoulder. Elowen recognized the creature immediately and felt her gaze once again go to the claw markings that were visible on Queen Lumikki's neck. "Queen Elowen."She slowly turned at the sound of her name, pulling herself up and narrowing her eyes. She had stared down this same woman before, and she would do so again. "I wanted to present you a wedding gift from myself personally. Though I am not in the summer lands anymore, I think it is a beautiful tradition that can be displayed here- where females give the bride their own gift and words."Effortlessly, the Galexious Queen seemed to grab the fur of the snowcat. Her husband stepped forward, a concerned look on his face, but Queen Lumikki only shooed him away. Elowen watched as she stepped closer, holding out and presenting the offering. "I named it Kifo. In case you wanted to know."Slowly, Elowen reached, hesitantly touching the soft fur and feeling the texture of it. She could not envision the woman before her, who was a solid five inches shorter, taking on such a monster. Her hands shook at the bravery that had to have been displayed. She watched the muscles that were so clearly shown as the weight of the creature was held in her arms. The bandagings on the shoulder, and the rash but courageous thinking that had taken place to cause such an injury. "Thank you," Elowen whispered. She felt tears sting her eyes as she pulled the fur to her. She staggered under the weight, eyes widening when she realized Queen Lumikki had been holding this up with just one hand. Theros' hand reached out, taking the fur and helping her. She looked up to find that he had a small smile on his face. Not towards Queen Lumikki though. It was to her. To Elowen. Elowen blinked twice in surprise that such a look could be so openly shown to her. But Queen Lumikki's voice brought back her attention as she spoke, "it reminded me of you."Elowen did not think that was a good thing, seeing as how Queen Lumikki had, in the end, killed the beast. The Galexious Queen did not even seem to realize the double meaning in her words though as her wide eyed husband ran a frustrated hand down his face. Elowen, however much she hated it, knew that the meaning they all thought, was not the one the Galexious Queen meant. So she found herself asking, "how?"The woman smiled up at her. "It's fur. You both have the same white color. Like the snow. It's very beautiful."Elowen felt herself relaxing as a smile came across her face. There was a flash of horror in the Galexious King's eyes that did not have time to prepare Elowen for her next words however as Queen Lumikki laughed and touched the markings on her neck saying, "and you both are capable of putting up one hell of a fight."
* * *
A new normal was beginning to take place - with a future of what was and would be evolving. Lumi stared out the carriage, Josiah's watchful eyes taking her in, in case she suddenly declared that she needed the whole procession to stop. The sickness she felt made sense now, but that did not make it go away. Their journey would soon be ending. The trek across the border had been difficult. The guards had been wary, Josiah's warning for Lumi to stay put making her roll her eyes - but still, she listened. She was carrying the future ruler of this country and the seriousness to that was not lost on her. "How do you plan on handling the revolts?" She had asked him. Josiah's eyes seemed far away in the moment. He had only shaken his head. It had occurred to Lumi then, that he had no real plan, despite what he may have already told the Winter King. She saw the tension slowly ease away from his shoulders the closer they were to the castle. Lumi took in the sight of shadows against darkness. The castle looked somber on the outside, the night sky making the stones appear black. Lumi had never seen what the castled looked like when fully bathed in light. Despite living in the Galexious Kingdom for over half a year, she had yet to see the sun emerge in this shadowy land. Josiah breathed a heavy sigh as the gates closed behind them. "I feel safe also," she mused out loud. He looked at her, a smile coming over him. "Is that so?"She turned to him, meeting his gaze, "yes...I don't know why. Maybe it's just the fact that we are back home?"He leaned forward, kissing her lips for only a second before pulling back. Lumi smiled up at him. "I'm glad you think so," he whispered. The moment they were back in the castle, a flurry of activity occurred. Servants grabbed their items, putting it back in place. Josiah was called away by advisors who had been left to attend to matters in his absence. Lumi found herself standing in the front entrance alone. She turned to see that Ramus was still there, watching and guarding her. "Are you glad to be back, Ramus?"He let out a breath of air, similar to the one Josiah had when they were in the carriage. "Yes... I do not know..."He hesitated and Lumi smiled at him in encouragement. The male sighed again and continued, "I don't know how they are able to live like that. Exposed. With that thing...showing everything...""You mean the sun?""Yes," Ramus looked uneasy. Lumi tried to hold back her laughter. But then it occurred to her that Ramus, like Josiah- like the other guards who had gone with them- all were from the Galexious Kingdom. They only saw it for a handful of days a year at most. She wondered what it must have been like for them, seeing the fixture there for so long and having to take it all in. "You don't like it then?" She was genuinely curious. Being from the Summer Lands, Lumi found that the sun was something full of hope. She loved it. It created energy and peace. She loved the feeling of sweat against her skin, the warmth that was cast and felt on her body. But these were people who were used to darkness. Who lived and loved by the night. "I wouldn't say dislike...it is just something that I am unused to. My eyes are still seeing spots from how bright everything was.""I see..." Lumi turned and began to make her way to her room. No doubt, Josiah would be with his own council for the rest of the evening. She would have to wait until he was done before she could talk to him again. Wordlessly, Ramus followed her. Lumi thought of what she could do now. The idea came immediately to her. With a grin, she wondered how the Winter Queen would react when she received her letter.* * *
The weeks fell away. Lumi received a brief but polite reply in response to her letter that was sent to the Winter Queen. Her answering one was not as brief- but Lumi felt laughter whenever she envisioned Elowen's uncomfortable face. She wondered if Theros was keeping his promise. The letters to Elowen were partly to find out if he was doing as told. Josiah seemed miffed at the idea of the two Queens correspondence. "I would have thought you two of all people to hate each other.""But why?"He seemed uncomfortable as he spoke, "well...you and her...with the Winter King..."Lumi only laughed, "But that is in the past? I am your wife now and she is Theros' wife. Why should what happened before stop what could happen now?"Josiah laughed, "I should have known better."Two months after their exchange had started, Lumi received startling news. "Josiah! Josiah!" She had opened the doors to his study unannounced. The glow of the rock and sparking object that sat on his desk shocked him as he jolted out of whatever trance he had been in. "Damn it Lumi. It's called knocking, can't you-,""Elowen is pregnant."Josiah stilled, before a slow grin spread across his face, "I hope that man runs away from Theros because-,"Lumi abruptly hit Josiah on the back of the head. "Ow!""Of course Theros is the father!" "Well..." he rubbed the back of his head, quickly pushing against his desk to create distance between them when he saw her hand rise threateningly."This is wonderful!" Lumi looked at the paper, grinning. "How is this good news?" Josiah questioned, sighing as he took in the sight of her smiling face. "We'll both be pregnant together!""You're already almost five months," he looked down, taking in the obvious signs that showed how far she was along. "Elowen is just now figuring this out- you're ahead of her.""What I meant," Lumi said, a glare cast down on Josiah as her tone took on barely concealed annoyance, "was that our children will be close in age. Think of the future winter ruler and Galexious ruler becoming friends!"Josiah huffed, "my son will not be friends with winter-, ow! Stop that!""They will be friends!" Josiah and Lumi glared at one another, "you can't force a friendship on children who are not even born yet, Lumi," Josiah said, a level of patience in his voice. It was a tone he had learned to acquire when trying to talk his wife out of ideas that were best left alone. "I can and I will." She had difficulty crossing her arms, her shoulder still bandaged. The physician had told her only two more months left and Josiah and Lumi both had let out groans of frustration from the fact. Lumi because it prevented her from going out hunting, and Josiah because he and the guards were constantly on watch to stop her from trying to go out hunting. Josiah decided to let go of this idea. Afterall, there was still plenty of time between now and then before Lumi could create this master plan of friendship between two Kingdoms who seemed to always be at odds. "What will you write back?" He asked, curiosity in his voice. He had no idea what his wife was able to write to the Winter Queen about every two weeks when she received a letter. "I don't know...maybe I can write a list of name suggestions," Lumi mused this thought out loud while going to the other side of Josiah's desk. Absentmindedly, she grabbed paper and ink, the beginning of her thoughts about to be written out. "Speaking of names..." Josiah watched as her head looked up at his words, "We need to start discussing that.""Oh."He arched an eyebrow at her, "oh?""Well..." she suddenly looked uncomfortable. His eyes narrowed, "Whatever it is-,""It's so pretty!""Lumi. The last name you suggested was-," Josiah winced, "Jo is not the name I would want for a future King.""But it's the first two letters of your name.""And?"She didn't seem to have any other reason besides that. He looked at her before sighing. "Fine. What is it. Where did you hear it from?"Her eyes immediately lit up, "I was in the stables and the stablehand called one of the horses-,""Wait," Josiah held up a hand, "please don't tell me the name you are about to suggest is something one of my horses is called.""It's a good name!"Josiah sighed and waited patiently. Lumi's grin only widened as she paused for dramatic effect. Josiah couldn't help but smile. By all the thunder- who would have guessed the woman was horrible when it came to names? He snorted, recalling the snowcat she had killed in the winter kingdom. Kifo. It had seemed innocent enough until he looked up the word in a dictionary. She had literally named the cat death. "I heard the stable hand call the horse Kestrel."Josiah blinked. It wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. Some small part of his mind had been screaming please not spot. "Kestrel..." he fit the word to his mouth, "King Kestrel..." he thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "Rejected."A loud wail could be heard from her as she stood up and walked around the desk. "Josiah please!""What kind of name is that!? I'm not naming my son Kestrel!""Urgh!" Josiah felt his eyes widen in laughter as she literally stomped her foot on the ground. "Did you just-,""What can I do to convince you?" She was glaring down at him. Josiah shook his head, turning back to his papers. "For one, you could pick a better name.""But I like this one. I think it's the one.""I think we both have to agree, Lumi, before we decide that it's the one."She continued to glare at him. Josiah only raised his eyebrows, giving her a parting look of no, before going to the work he had been doing before she came in. He inhaled sharply when he felt her hand touch his knee. "What are you doing?""Convincing you..." He watched as she lowered herself to her knees, fitting between his own as she looked up. He tried to maintain his glare as he looked down at her, but he knew the bobbing of his throat gave away the sudden anticipation he felt. "Please Josiah," her hands reached for his belt, unbuckling before slowly pulling the object away. "Lumi..." his voice sounded strained even to his own ears, "it's not...don't...I mean..."She looked up, her grip upon his thigh tightening, "I think I can persuade you."He felt her hand come closer, the heat of her breath nearing. The shiver that traveled up him was not missed by her eyes as she rose steadily to kiss his lips before going back down. Josiah inhaled sharply at her touch. He closed his eyes. Damn it. His son was going to be named Kestrel.
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