My Demon, My Love...: Changes of Heart

As the group reached the edge of the palace grounds, a small discussion started about the direction that they were headed. Reve, Kane, and Dalair had planned to lead them back to the Vivek estate. However, this caused Azlyn to hesitate. Gedeon knew that they were with Dalair, as well as, Kane had been living with the Viveks since he and Umay had left the castle. There was a good chance that the Vivek estate would be one of the first places that Gedeon went to seek them out. It was not safe to take refuge there. Not to mention, it was not fair to the Viveks or their servants to further implicate them in a battle that was not theirs to fight.

“I do not think that the Vivek’s estate is the best place for us. It will be a danger to everyone involved.”

“I have considered this. It is why we do not intend to stay there long.” Reve explained.

“Where will we go after then?” Azlyn questioned.

Reve thought about this for a moment but was uncertain of the answer. Gedeon would most likely block any access to the portals before they could arrive at them as well. They needed someplace that they could not be found and were able to remain there long-term, should it prove necessary. Unfortunately, in his mind, there was not currently any better option.

“I have a suggestion.” Azlyn offered, sensing Reve was at a loss.

“What do you think that we should do?”

“We should go to the Mystics.”

“The Mystics?!” Reve was quite surprised by this recommendation.

“Yes, the Mystics.” Azlyn confirmed. “They promised that they would help us and swore their allegiances to us years ago. I guarantee that they would help us now. Not to mention, no one would know where to find us; much less, how to find us.”

Reve considered what Azlyn was saying. She had made some excellent points. It was hard for Reve to argue against. Though there were two issues with this plan that immediately came to mind.

“I do like this idea of yours. However, I have not had any interaction with the Mystics since we saw them more than two years ago. I do not how kindly they would take to us showing up on their doorstep without any warning.”

“I do not think that the Mystics require much warning, as they are all seeing and all knowing.” Azlyn argued.

“This is true, I suppose.” Reve reasoned. “The only other problem with this plan is that the only portal that we know of to the Mystics hideaway is quite far from here. This would be several days travel and I worry about the risk.”

“I know of a portal which is much closer.” Azlyn admitted.

“What? How do you know of another portal?”

“How do you think that I got back to the castle without being noticed?”

“I guess that I had not thought it about it that much.” Reve admitted.

“Eistein met me when I came through the portal back into this realm. He took me back to the Mystics’ cavern and then led me through a portal nearer to the palace, so that I could get to you quickly and safely.” Azlyn clarified.

Reve thought about all that he had just heard. If there really was a portal nearby that could get them to the Forest of Perpetual Darkness, this would clearly be the best option for them. Should the Mystics be willing to provide them with sanctuary then this would prove to be exceedingly valuable.

“Do you think that you could find that portal again?”

“Absolutely.” Azlyn confirmed. “It is hidden through a storage room here in the city, just a few blocks away.”

“A storage room in a shop? That seems a little precarious.”

“I thought so too. But it is an odd, occult shop with very little traffic in it.”

“An occult shop, nearby?” Reve questioned, thoughtfully.

“Yes. The demon who runs the place is actually a Mystic who is charged with protecting the portal, so that only those who are meant to pass are able to.”

“I know exactly the shop that you speak of. The locals have even requested that the place be closed down on several occasions. As you know, much of demonkind is not comfortable with the idea of such things. Magic, alchemy, and that which is associated with it has been shunned by most in the realm.”

“How has it managed to remain open?”

“I had never really considered it before, but I would suppose that it is likely due to the influence of the Mystics.”

“Interesting.” Azlyn thought, wondering how much sway the Mystics actually held within the realm from inside the shadows.

Reve quickly changed direction and turned towards the city; heading for the shop that Azlyn had described. The rest of the group questioned the sudden diversion but decided that it was best to keep quiet and follow suit. Reve and Azlyn led the others to the nearby portal; jumping off the horses and heading into the store. The demon behind the counter was startled by the intrusion, especially once they pulled the horses into the doorway behind them.

“Sorry, sir. We could not leave them behind.” Azlyn apologized.

“Just don’t let them break anything.” The clerk grumbled, regaining his composure and settling back into his reading.

“May we have access to the portal?” Azlyn inquired, sheepishly.

“No one’s stopping you.” He responded with a shrug, not bothering to look up from his book.

Azlyn bid the others to follow her to the storage room. Opening the door to reveal the portal that would take them directly to the cave of the Mystics, deep within the Forest of Perpetual Darkness. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before heading in. She knew that they would be safe there. Gedeon would never be able to track their location and Eistein had assured her during her brief visit several months before that the Mystics would be waiting to assist them by whatever means necessary. But after all of the missteps that she had made over the last few months and the fact that she was pregnant with one child, while Dalair held onto the other; she could not help but hesitate for a moment.

Not to mention, Azlyn could not help but be the slightest bit concerned that the Mystics would not be fully prepared for their arrival; horses and all. Despite all of this, something inside of her told her that she was making the right decision. Her hesitation was putting them more at risk than anything that they were facing on the other side. If anyone had seen them entering the store, they could be alerting Gedeon to their location. They had to go, and they had to do it now.

Azlyn and Reve’s fears that the Mystics may not be prepared for everything that they were bringing their way were immediately quieted as they arrived through the portal and met several Mystics who were ready to handle and care for the horses. Other Mystics began to tend to the group; cleaning the blood off of them, checking them for wounds, offering sustenance, relieving the burden of their weapons and supplies.

“Your highnesses!” Eistein called out to Azlyn and Reve as he moved towards them with a bow. “We are delighted to see that you have returned to us in one piece. I have been informed that the rest of your party appears to be in good health as well.”

“Well, not everyone…” Azlyn choked out as thoughts of Zareb began to flood her memory.

Azlyn had been in a haze ever since the rescue had ended. Once she knew that Hunter was safe, and they had escaped the castle; she had begun to sink within herself. She could barely focus on anything happening around her. Zareb was dead, he had died for her and her children; this was all her fault. If she had only protected Hunter better, then none of this would have ever happened.

“Mommy!”

Azlyn heard the little voice call out to her through the commotion. Suddenly, her mind started to clear, and the fog began to lift as reality crashed down on her again. As much as she did not want Hunter to see her in this state, especially covered in the blood of another; she could not deny her daughter any longer. She rushed over to Dalair with her arms open wide, prepared for Hunter to leap into them. Hunter squeezed onto Azlyn so tightly that Azlyn was forced to gently remind her to watch her strength; something that she had found herself having to do more often as Hunter grew.

Azlyn took in a full breath and released it slowly as she held Hunter close; subtly checking her daughter for any signs of injury or harm. It felt like the first time that she had been able to really relax in months. She finally felt whole again. She fought the tears as they, slowly, began to stream down her cheeks. She did not want Hunter to think that she was upset; she could not imagine how terrifying this experience must have been for her and Azlyn wanted to remain strong.

“I am so sorry, Hunter. Mommy will never let anything like this happen to you again.” Azlyn managed, weakly, tears of joy and regret beginning to spill from her eyes.

“I okay, mommy.” Hunter assured her. “I knew you come. I felt it here.” Hunter continued, pointing towards her heart.

Azlyn looked at Hunter, somewhat startled by how much her child had grown in the short time that they had been separated.

“Demons mature more quickly that human children.” Reve offered as he approached, noticing Azlyn’s confusion. “A couple of months for her could equal up to a year for a normal child’s development. Before we were civilized, we were feral creatures and the only way to survive as a youngling would have been to develop quickly.”

“Daddy?” A tiny voice called up to Reve; causing his parental instincts to immediately snap into gear.

Reve looked down at the little demoness in Azlyn’s arms and stared into her eyes. He was overwhelmed with a sense of love and responsibility for this small, defenseless creature. Moments later, without warning, Hunter leapt into his arms, clinging tightly to his neck. It was then that he realized that this demoness may not be so defenseless after all; she had certainly inherited his strength and had not yet figured out how to get it under control. This made him proud; very proud indeed.

Reve held Hunter tightly; happy to finally have his daughter in his arms. Overwhelmed by the emotions that he felt now that the reality of fatherhood was truly beginning to settle in on him. He reached out with his other arm and used it to pull Azlyn in close to him; relishing in the fact that, for the moment, at least, they were safe. He had his family with him, they were together, and they were all in one piece.

However, Reve knew that this would have to be a temporary elation. There was too much at risk to stop now. The wheels had been set in motion and Reve had committed terrible acts to ensure that his family was safe. Now they would have to finish what he had started. But that would wait until morning. Tonight, everyone would rest; they would tend their wounds and they would mourn their loss. Tomorrow they would have to face the consequences.

“I apologize for the interruption, your majesties.” Eistein interjected.

“You are not interrupting anything, Eistein. We are grateful for the assistance that you and the other Mystics are providing.” Azlyn assured him. “And please call me Azlyn. You do not need to be so formal with me.”

“I apologize, Princess, but I am uncomfortable informalities. I would much prefer to refer to you by your titles, at least, for the time being.” Eistein explained with a bow.

Azlyn rolled her eyes, knowing that there was no use in arguing with him. The Mystics were very well schooled in ritual and they did not sway from this very often. She doubted that she would be able to ever convince him otherwise.

“I need you, the Prince, and the young Princess to come with me. We would like to take you to your chambers now. Princess Hunter needs to rest. You and Prince Reve need to get cleaned up. Then we ask that you allow us to check on the health of yourself and the youngling inside of you. We want to ensure that everything with the pregnancy is running smoothly, given your current state.”

“Of course. Lead the way.” Reve answered, eager to have Azlyn checked over.

They were led to a rather large chamber with a small sitting room just off to the side where a small bed had already been set up for Hunter to sleep in. The entrance to an attached bathroom sat next to opening of the sitting room. A sizable bed sat in the center of the chamber and Azlyn could immediately feel the heaviness of her body; as she stared at the inviting bedding. But she knew that she could not rest yet. First, she had to get Hunter cleaned up and then settled into bed. Then she would have to tend to herself before the Mystics returned to check her health.

An hour and a half later, there was a light knock coming from the other side of the stone where their door would be located. Eistein and the other Mystic who accompanied him, were careful to remain quiet, knowing that Hunter would be resting.

“Your majesties, if you do not mind…we are very anxious to tend to Princess Azlyn’s health. We need to be certain that she and the child are healthy.” Eistein explained.

“Yes, of course.” Azlyn responded.

“Please sit down on the bed.” The other Mystic bid of Azlyn.

Azlyn did as was requested of her. The Mystic approached and closed his eyes; holding his hands just an inch above Azlyn, moving them back and forth, as if scanning her for information.

“Princess Azlyn, this is our healer, Bilant. Currently, he is examining you and the child for injury or illness.” Eistein said.

“I understand.” Azlyn breathed, doing her best to remain calm and not allow her nerves to get the best of her. It was not that she did not trust the Mystics; they had proven to her that they were trustworthy. Her anxiety was more the result of concern for their unborn child. She knew that her health had not been in the best state during much of this pregnancy and she prayed that it had not harmed the baby.

“Princess…” Bilant began, disrupting Azlyn’s thoughts. “If you do not mind my asking. How long did Princess Hunter gestate before her birth?”

“I carried Hunter for six and a half months.”

“Really?” Bilant responded in surprise.

“Yes…” Azlyn answered, hesitantly. “Why? Is that bad?”

“No. Not at all. I am just surprised by the shortness of her gestation length.” Bilant explained. “As you know, the normal gestation period for a human is nine months. The normal gestation for a full-blooded demon is six months. On the rare occasion that one is born, we have found that the average gestation for a half-breed is around seven and half months. This means that Hunter was born a full month earlier than most other mixed bloods.”

“What do you believe that means?”

“I think that it means that the demon-side of Hunter is strong.”

“Of course, it is.” Reve interjected, boastfully. “She is MY daughter, after all.”

Azlyn chuckled at Reve as he beamed with pride over their daughter’s demonic nature.

“Well, while this child will be no less demonic than Hunter, I am afraid that it will gestate quite a bit longer. It is still quite small as Azlyn’s health was so poor until recently. I would suspect that this child will gestate, at least, the average amount for a mixed blood, if not longer.”

“Is the baby alright? Is it healthy?!” Azlyn asked, earnestly.

“Oh, yes, the baby appears to be in excellent health. It is just developing at a slightly slower rate than would be expected based off of what we know from your pregnancy with Hunter. However, this is not a cause for concern.”

Azlyn took in a deep breath and let it out, slowly. She was overcome with relief knowing that the child she carried had not come to any harm during her imprisonment.

“Would you like to know if it’s male or female?”

“You can tell us that?!” Azlyn responded in amazement.

“Yes, I can. Would you like me to?”

“I’m not sure. What do you think, Reve? Should we find out the sex of the baby?”

Reve thought about this for a moment. While he understood the excitement of the surprise; he was feeling nervous about having this baby. He had not been around for the first couple of years of Hunter’s life; this new baby was, essentially, going to be his first baby. There was a part of him that wanted to know what to expect ahead of time and knowing the sex gave him a feeling of being in more control of this situation.

“Personally…” Reve spoke up, hesitantly, after a few moments of contemplation. “I would like to know if we are having a little demon or another little demoness.”

Azlyn would have preferred to keep the baby’s gender a surprise. She thought there was fun in the mystery of it. However, Reve had not been there to be involved in her pregnancy with Hunter and he had not been able to help her make any of the decisions. Because of this, she wanted him to have as much say as possible in this pregnancy.

“If Reve would like to know. Then I think that we should know.” Azlyn agreed.

“Are you sure, Az? If you don’t want to then we don’t have to.”

“I am certain.” Azlyn confirmed. “I want you to be involved in this pregnancy as much as possible. If you want to know the gender, then I think that we should find out.”

“If you are absolutely sure…”

“I am.”

“Then please, Bilant, if you can tell us the gender. I would very much like to know.”

Bilant took in a deep breath, holding his hands an inch above Azlyn’s abdomen. He closed his eyes, concentrating on his task. He wanted to be certain that he was correct on his information before providing it to the Prince and Princess. He would find it a great disgrace if he were to provide them with the wrong answers. After a few moments of silent mediation, Bilant finally spoke…

“I am pleased to inform you that you are having a male. You are carrying the next Prince of our realm.”

“We’re having a demon?!” Reve asked, excitedly.

“That is correct, your highness.” Bilant clarified with a nod.

A wide smile spread across Reve’s face, unable to contain his excitement. If he had been the type to do so, he would have jumped for joy as this revelation.

“I cannot believe it! I am going to have a son!” Reve exclaimed. “Can you believe it, Az?!”

“This is great news!” Azlyn agreed.

While Azlyn was truly enthusiastic about the prospect of their second child. She could not help but feel a slight foreboding at the prospect of it being a male. Reve had just begun to fully accept Hunter as his despite her being a demoness. He had always expected to have all male heirs, as had been the tradition in his family. He had never anticipated nor desired to have a demoness. While, Azlyn was certain that Reve loved Hunter. She could not help but worry that Reve would, unknowingly, favor the male child over Hunter.

Azlyn took in a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. She would give Reve the benefit of the doubt for the time being. If this did become an issue in the future, then she would have to address it then. For now, she would just enjoy the fact that her family was finally together.

“We will allow you to celebrate in private. We will go tend to your friend, Nissa, as she is also with child.”

“Wait!” Azlyn responded in astonishment. “Nissa is pregnant?!”

“Yes.”

With that Eistein and Bilant turned to exit the room. Leaving Azlyn to process the information that she had just received. Nissa was pregnant? How and when had that happened? All Azlyn could do was pray that Nissa had conceived this child willingly. She knew that she had been safe at the Vivek estate, but she had spent the last few months on the castle grounds and there was no guarantee that she had remained safe there.

“I cannot believe that Nissa is pregnant…” Azlyn reflected. She took a deep breath before continuing. “Who do you think the father could be?”

“My guess is that it is Blaz.” Reve shrugged, without much thought, still focusing on the fact that he was going to have a son.

“Blaz?!” Azlyn was taken aback by this. “What makes you think that it is Blaz?”

“They have had a thing going on for a while. They thought that they were hiding it, but they were not doing a very good job.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“I don’t know. It happened sometime after you left.”

“How is that possible? Nissa has been working at the Vivek estate since I left.”

“Yes…” Reve nodded. “But she had been making regular visits to the palace with Umay. This afforded her plenty of opportunity to spend time with Blaz.”

“Wow! I can hardly believe that they ended up together. What a surprise!”

“I am not that surprised. It was clear to me that Blaz was always interested in the both of you. Since you were not a possibility, it only makes sense that he ended up with Nissa.”

“Blaz was not interested in me.” Azlyn argued, surprised by Reve’s accusation.

“You are so naïve sometimes, Az.” Reve said with a chuckle.

Azlyn considered this for a moment. She would admit that she had noticed Blaz being slightly flirtatious at times. However, she had assumed this to be innocent and that he meant it in more of a joking fashion than anything else. Especially after she had gotten together with Reve. She figured that he would never dare flirt with the mate of a demon. Oh well, even if Blaz was serious, Azlyn had never thought of him that way. Plus, that behavior had stopped, so there was no use dwelling on it now.

“Let’s forget all of this. We have had a hard day. There are more important things for us to worry about now.” Reve reminded Azlyn, bidding her to sit next to him on the bed. “You need to get some rest. Starting tomorrow, we have a lot of work to do to ensure that our daughter and son will be safe.”

“You are right.” Azlyn agreed. “Hunter and our son are our top priority. Not to mention, the safety of Barin and Asha, as well as, ensuring that Nissa’s unborn child will not end up in slavery.”

“Yes, there is a heavy weight on our shoulders. But I want you to try your best not to worry too much. You have been through enough. Right now, your responsibility is to rest for the sake of our son.” Reve reasoned as he placed his hand on Azlyn’s stomach.

Azlyn took a deep breath, she knew that Reve was right. Her responsibility was to keep their child healthy. She had already been through so much physically and she was emotionally drained. As hard as it may be to sleep after the day that they had, she owed it to her unborn child to try. Bilant had made it clear that the only reason their son had survived her imprisonment was because of his demon-blood. She needed to take extra precautions to ensure that this child was born, happy and healthy. After all, that was what Zareb had died for, was it not?

The reminder of Zareb’s death struck her like a brick. She had been so preoccupied by their escape and arrival at the Mystics’ lair, that she had been distracted from thinking about Zareb. A sharp pain shot through her chest as she was consumed with guilt. How could she have possibly forgotten his sacrifice, even just for a moment?!

“Poor Zareb…” Azlyn muttered as the tears began to fall from her eyes.

Reve quickly wrapped his arms around Azlyn, pulling her close. She melted into his arms and cried onto his chest. He carefully laid them both back onto the bed, holding her tightly against him. He smoothed her hair and attempted his best to calm her.

“We will find a way to honor, Zareb. Something meaningful, something that lives up to the sacrifice that he made. His life will not have been lost in vain, I promise.”

Azlyn trusted Reve’s words, she knew that he would not let her down. She laid on his chest and sobbed softly as he held her tight. As upset and worried as she was, she eventually managed to drift off to sleep, exhausted from all that had transpired. As bad as the last few months had been, she never felt safer than she did wrapped up in Reve’s arms.

Before she fell asleep, Reve had assured Azlyn that he would rest as well, but he had no intentions of doing so. He had been busy playing new father and doting husband all night long, ensuring that his family had been tended to first and foremost. Now, that they were relaxing; his mind had begun churning out his plan. Doing one of the things that he enjoyed the most…preparing for battle.