Their Princess

Chapter 57

Alerix pov

“ My sweet, sweet berry. Where have you been?” Ronan comes forward and cups my girl’s face to kiss her forehead and inhale her scent.

Groaning loudly. “ I needed this so bad.”

Although I'm kind of jealous that my girl allows him this near to herself, I can't be more grateful too. If there's any person besides Eli and Rey that I can ensure her safety with, it's Ronan. 

“ How was the meeting?” He asks the question of the year. But my princess speaks before me.

“ Rony bear, you said we'll go camping. You lied.” My girl pouts, crossing her arms.

“ Oh no. How can I forget my promise? A promise that I made to my berry?” He gasps loudly. I roll my eyes at his drama.

If any of his colleagues saw him acting this way, they would definitely tease him for the rest of his life. Although he is known to charm people with his looks, I still can't find a single thing appealing about him. 

You might ask why he is my close friend then? Well, I still don't know. Maybe because he is loyal or has been there for me when I needed him the most. I guess.

I let them continue while I finish my work quickly, rubbing my baby's arms in between to let her know that I'm aware of her presence.

A few days back, she complained, saying that I get so absorbed in my work that I forget what's happening around me. What she wanted to say exactly was that I wasn't paying her much attention. 

So now I make sure she knows that I'm here for and with her.

“ What happened in the meeting?” Ronan asks when my baby falls asleep in my arms. I immediately covered her in a blanket and let her rest against my chest. 

Sighing, I reply, I know he won't let it go until I answer him. “ He confessed he was physically and emotionally involved with Leya.”

“ And?”

“ And that he wanted to sail two boats at the same time. He wanted to stay with Leya and the princess too. I'm thinking….. about sending him to Father's castle. Father needs some help there, and Zed needs some training. It's a win-win situation.”

“ Do you think he will go?” 

“ He has to.” I know he will fight my decision but will eventually follow. “ I'm just worried about her.” I look down at the sleeping fairy in my arms. “ I don't know how she will react.”

“ Then you ask her.” I nod absently. “ Alerix, is it just me, or has she started to sleep a lot lately?” Ronan asks seriously. 

“ No. She is oversleeping these days. It's her way of dealing with stress and stimuli. And if I'm not wrong, she has entered her most fertile stage too. So all of these are taking a toll on her little frame.”

“ Yeah. Eli told me that she bleeds for four days. That's insane! No doubt she needs this much rest.”

I run my fingers through her hair, untangling the knots carefully. My baby doesn't like tangles in her hair. Each time she will have trouble with her hair, she will run to Eli, who so willingly combes them for her.

Eli. 

I sigh heavily thinking about what he told me last night. A bond mark appeared on his right wrist yesterday. It stayed for nearly two hours before disappearing again.

Just like me, he was devastated when it disappeared. It's a painful process when the mark appears, but it's even more devastating to see it vanish right in front of your eyes. We have discussed everything about bond mark details with Rey in case they appear on him.

The symptoms were pretty simple- constant need to be around my girl, urge to protect, feed, and keep her warm and, most importantly, keep her happy all the time.

Sometimes, I wonder if that experiment was never an accident. It was meant to happen so we could meet her and share our bond with her.

It's pretty common to have multiple partners in our culture, but I have never met a single soul who has dedicated their life to one partner, including my father, but he never had any children with them.

‘ They were weak women. Your mother was a warrior's daughter. It was expected from her to give me strong sons.’ His words. 

A knock brings me out of my thoughts. “ Sir, Dacotah Braska is here.”

I close my eyes in frustration. 

“ Why is he here again, Alerix?” Rey shouts, entering, cringing immediately when he sees our princess stirring awake.

“ Hey… it's okay. Go back to sleep. I'm here.” She whimpers for a few seconds but then settles.

“ Sorry. I didn't know she was here.”

“ Tell Dacotah to meet me at my office. I'm busy at the moment.” The helper leaves with a nod. 

“ What does he want?” Ronan asks, intrigued.

“ What everyone wants. Name and fame.” I say, pressing my lips on my baby's fingers.

Rey asks. “ And what exactly are they offering this time?” I shrug. I haven't been interested in hearing anything from him and his daughter. I just want them far, far away from my little bundle of sunshine. 

After putting my princess to her bed while Eli joined her, I decided to take a shower but was stopped in the hallway by Zed.

“ Don't do this, brother. Please don't send me away.” It pains me to see him this way.

I press my hand on his shoulder and lead him to the garden. Looks like we need to have a proper conversation. 

Sipping on my tea, I ask him. “ Zed, It's no longer about you redeeming yourself now. It's about the actions that you have been taking and your relationship with Leya. That woman doesn't like our princess, and she is trying her best to create more conflict.”

“ I'm not sending you away to punish you this time. I'm sending you away so that you can have a look at what you're doing and how your actions are impacting all of us.”

“ You say you want both Leya and princess. But have you considered the fact that none of them like each other? And let's not forget the games Leya has been playing to keep you on her side. You really need some time to analyze everything.”

I pat his shoulder encouragingly. 

“ I understand. I think you're right. Can I call Princess when I'm away? I don't want her to forget me.”

“ You can.” He smiles at this. I think we are getting somewhere. Now I'm left to do the most difficult task. I need to tell my princess that I'm sending Zed away.