The Dying

13

"Aurora you're alright?" Marcus asks her with tears of relief falling down his face.

Aurora looks at him confused, "Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You were brought back here when you fell unconscious between one step and another. Dallas barely managed to catch you before you hit the floor. You've been unconscious for hours now. It will shortly be time to get ready for dinner."

"Marcus," Aurora manages to say his name before having to stop and absorb what he just told her.

A noise directs her attention to the other side of her bed. "Margaret." She manages a smile, and that alarms Margaret more than she'd been before. Although it seems to reassure Marcus even more.

Aurora turns her attention back to Marcus, "It seems that the throne wanted to introduce herself to me. We've been talking but it didn't seem to take hours."

Marcus stares at her astounded. "No one has had communication from the throne for centuries. It requires a female being pregnant with a female for her to communicate with us."

"Well I guess that means that I'm having at least one more daughter."

"Marcus, is it normal for the throne to cause the pregnant female to collapse like that?" Margaret asks still more than a little scared about what happened to her mother. She doesn't know what she would do with out her, she's her best friend as well as her mother.

Marcus is slow to respond as he thinks about what he's read in the histories. He speaks slowly as he gathers his thoughts and memories of what he's heard and read. "The last time a female was born to us, other than you, Margaret, was my grandfather's time. My grandmother was the last one to have the throne speak to us. She only steps in and speaks when there is need. 

"The child she was carrying was my mother. She was the last child born to the queen and my father loved her from her birth. I don't know what the words were that the throne spoke, but I do know that they were a warning."

Marcus stops and does his best to think of all the cases he's heard of the throne talking to someone. "There are two types or ways for the throne to talk to us. The first is taking over the body of a female that is pregnant with a female child. Then she speaks to whomever she needs to to give her message. 

"The second way is for her to talk directly to the person that is pregnant. That could cause her to pass out while they are talking. 

"When she does that, the news is for the one she is talking to and it is up to her whether she wishes to share the information or not.

"That's what happened isn't it?" Marcus says softly and in no little awe. This second form is far more rare. It's been recorded as having only happened a handful of times in their entire written history.

"Yes. She had news that she knew I wouldn't like and wanted to make sure that I understood how important it was."

Marcus gets a decidedly uneasy feeling when she says this. Aurora isn't looking at him by now and is focusing on the wall behind him.

"Aurora, will you tell me what she said?" Marcus asks doing his best to not panic. He can feel her slipping away from him and he doesn't know what to do.

Aurora focuses on him and gives him a bitter smile, "She said that there is a female on the incoming ship that you will have to take as a mistress, or even better as a wife. That she has been prepared like I and Margaret have and will be needed to help save your people." Her words act like a punch to his gut. He is absolutely sick at what she just said to him.

"No, I made a promise to you, Aurora, just you and Margaret, no others."

Aurora gives the most bitter laugh that he's ever heard. "You don't have a choice, Marcus. I don't have a choice. We are but pawns in her game. My mother is just moving me around however the hell she wants and doesn't give a fuck what it does to me."

"Mother?" Margaret asks since Marcus is too shocked to say or do anything.

"Yeah," Aurora says in bitter tones and mocking herself as she relays what she was told. "It seems that the throne had to help the scientists with their little science experiment or it would have failed. She gave the clone life and then had to extract Demetri's DNA from the body in order to cause me to be created. I was created by her to save her precious people. That was my entire reason for being. I, and Margaret was conceived that first time, because she too was necessary to save the precious people."

Marcus is staring at her in awe and a great deal of shock. "You are the literal daughter of the throne?"

"Yeah, and Margaret is the granddaughter." The bitterness in her words causes Marcus to flinch.

"I won't go back on my promise, Aurora. She may be your mother, but she can't force me to take another to wife or force me to take a mistress."

"If you don't your people will be destroyed and there won't be another chance." Aurora tells him. "I was named Aurora because I am to be the new dawn of your people. If you don't start listening to her will then she will destroy you and this time there won't be any chance of starting over like she gave you with using those from Earth to do."

"I made you a promise, Aurora, I won't break it. I'll abdicate the throne and Korban will take over. He will make a good king. I won't be forced to break my promise and I won't let you be hurt and used like that again."

"I made my own promise, Marcus. I promised I would marry you and be your queen. I will keep that promise. I'll just be one of many as I had feared." Marcus feels absolutely sick at her words. She means far more than that and he could kill the throne for making her feel that way. Unfortunately the throne is not a physical person.

Aurora moves to get up. "I think it would be better if you remain lying down. We can postpone the announcement until tomorrow." Marcus says putting his hands on her shoulders to keep her from getting up.

"NO." Aurora takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Marcus, you don't deserve this. I'm having a hard time with some of what I was told. None of it is your fault. There is no use putting off the announcement. The other females deserve to be recognized and it will help to keep problems down. There will be no arguing that the throne recognizes you as the rightful king once the announcements are made."

Marcus unwillingly concedes her point and steps back and even helps her to stand up. "I had dresses sent up earlier for tonight. I hope you both will like them. They will allow access to all those that doubt to try for themselves to disprove your pregnancies.

"We have about an hour before dinner. I will leave you both now to get ready. I'll be back to escort your down, please wait for me?"

"Yes, of course, Marcus." Aurora reassures him and gives him a pained smile.

Aurora takes her dress and moves to the bathing room to get ready.

Margaret stops Marcus before he can leave the room. "If you don't want to lose her then you will do your best to make sure that she feels loved and wanted and that she's not just one of many, Marcus. I don't know what the hell the throne did to her or said but I've never seen her so depressed before in my life. She will waste away like the females did before."

"She isn't just one of many."

"I know, if it was up to you she would be your only wife. She doesn't believe that. She needs to know that she is more important than all of us, including me. If you don't then she'll die after the children are born. She let you in and has trusted you. She doesn't let people in, ever. You are the only one other than me. She barely survived when she had me to focus on and love. I don't think I or the children will be enough this time."

With those words Margaret leaves him standing there troubled. He doesn't think that he could survive losing Aurora either. Losing his mother almost killed him. Not being able to protect Korban from his father almost destroyed him, only the need to help Korban heal from that made it possible for him to survive. He wanted to kill his father that night and almost started hunting him down when Korban started screaming. He had to go back to him, but he never forgave Demetri. 

Losing Aurora, he doesn't think he would be able to survive that. Not even his children, at least one of which is a female, would be able to change that.

Lost in his thoughts on how he can make sure Aurora knows that he sees her first and foremost he leaves the room.