Beginning of the End

Six

Another five months passed, and things didn't really seem to get any better within the Royal household of the Moon Queendom. The King and Queen were a lil more understanding than they'd been before, now that they knew about their son-in-law's previous Life. In fact, they started turning a blind eye and deaf ear to his monthly disappearances, which they managed to explain away to their people.

        Given that he'd been a King in his own right at the Time of the Royal wedding, they reminded their people that Apollo'd his own Royal concernsta contend with. They honestly didn't know where his Kingdom was actually established–although, they highly doubted it was actually on their Star–but they said that when he disappeared, he was Returning to his Kingdom. He might be able to take care of certain things from afar, but there were undoubtedly others that needed a more hands-on approach to deal with.

        But the people–the Palace staff, in particular–weren't entirely stupid, and they noticed that his disappearances also coincided with something else. Serenity couldn't hide how her moods Changed roughly a Day or so before her husband would disappear. And that moodiness was a dead giveaway to her being highly fertile and ready to conceive for the month.

        Now sick of fending off all the varying public opinions–not to mention having reached her breaking point with her own desperation–she finally decided that she didn't care what Ended up happening. Even if they merely mated like Animals and never interacted again after the conception of an heir, she needed to do something about their situation. However, she wasn't expecting to enter the dining room, only to find that her husband wasn't there and wouldn't be joining herself and her parents for breakfast. If nothing else was, that was particularly odd since he always made a point of joining them, even if it was just to keep up appearances.

        "I wouldn't bother him today, daughter," Kuutar warned her Sagely when she said something about going to check on him after breakfast.

        "And just why not?" the Moon Princess demanded. "He's my husband, and I think I've a certain right due to that."

        "While I won't deny that, I think it's better to just give him his Space today," she told her.

        "You know something that I don't," Serenity said, her gaze narrowing suspiciously.

        "I won't deny that, and neither will your father," the Moon Queen agreed. "But it's not our newsta share, so we're not at liberty to."

        "He's with his mistress, isn't he?" She clenched her fists, only the cloth napkin she'd been holding stopping her nails from digging into her palms.

        "No, he's not–but you'd have no one to blame but yourself, if he was," Kuutar said.

        "No man can take a lack of Intimacy with his wife forever, daughter," her father agreed. "You think I'd have remained wed to your mother for nearly a Millennium, if she rebuffed my advances at every turn for that long?"

        The Moon Princess' face heated up at the Thought of her parents being more intimate than just holding hands, even though she knew they had to've been at least once since she wouldn't exist, otherwise.

        "Even though I can assure you that he's not with a mistress, I still say that you need to give him Space today," her mother reiterated.

        "I'ma find out what he's hiding, once and for all, even if it kills me," Serenity snapped, pushing herself up from her seat.

        "Or gets her killed," Kuu grumbled under his breath once she was outta earshot. "I guess it depends on what kinda drunk he is."

        Watching their daughter leave the informal dining room, he and the Moon Queen both hoped she managed to call on enough of the meaning of her name to settle down a bit. Other than the man in question, they were the only ones who knew that today was the anniversary of his previous wife's Death. That could be a Disaster in the making, if he'd imbibed enough alcohol and their daughter pushed enough of his buttons while he was intoxicated.