Not Part of the Quest

Chapter Two (Part One) - Little Talks

"Westley?"

The light from the main room flicked on as the front room door shut with a dull thud. His shadow preceded him as my husband entered our bedroom.

"Are you still up or did I wake you? If the later, then I'm sorry. I'm exhausted," my husband mumbled, running a hand through his hair in the near darkness before beginning to shed his clothing. A short laugh escaped from my lips.

"You did wake me, but I've been resting since this afternoon," I informed him. He nodded and rolled into bed with his eyes already closed. I kissed him on the cheek and snuggled against him. "How is everything?"

He propped himself up on one arm and sighed, staring deep into my eyes, "Do you really want to know?"

"That bad?" I asked, my mood falling as my brows furrowed together. Westley smiled a small, tight smile and stroked my hair with his free hand.

"If it was 'that bad' I would still be out there, Silly. No, everyone calmed down after I informed them of some of the things my parents had deemed them too inferior to comprehend."

"Again, why are your parents still on the throne?"

Westley sighed once more, "Because they haven't aged into retirement yet."

"There's an age at which you have to retire from being King and Queen? How old is that?" I inquired, my curiosity spiked.

"A pair of fae can no longer reign once they are three centuries old."

My eyes bugged out in disbelief. "And how old are they right now?"

"237."

"Wait a minute, then how old are you?" I asked, starting to get a little creeped out.

"Calm down, Nadia," Westley chuckled. "I've only been alive two years longer than you."

"So you're twenty? I can't believe I'm only eighteen... I'm too young to be having a baby."

"Not here. My parents only waited so long to have a child because if they didn't turn 300 before their firstborn turned 150, they would have had to surrender the throne when their child came of age."

"How long do fairies live anyways?" I questioned him, my eagerness to learn about my new species growing.

"700, if you're lucky."

"And changelings?"

"The same."

"Good grief," I huffed, a smile twitching on my lips, "I have to spend, like, 680 years with you?"

"How ever will you survive?" Westley chuckled, winking at me through the darkness.

"Whatever will I do?" I groaned jokingly.

"Hopefully a lot of this," Westley whispered, his voice husky as pulled me closer and pressed his lips against mine. I smiled against his lips and giggled as his whiskery jaw rubbed coarsely against my smooth skin.

Just then, I felt the baby kick. I gently pushed Westley back and brought his hand to my belly. A wide grin spread across his face as we felt our child squirming around inside of me.

"I love you so much, Nadia," Westley whispered in my ear.

"I love you too," I cooed back. We sat there in the silence of the night, enjoying the connection we shared. Eventually his breathing deepened as he fell asleep. I shut my eyes, trying not to think of anything except our happy little moment. Eventually sleep claimed me as well.

* * *

"Hold still, Nadia! I don't want to prick you!" demanded Laura, the royal seamstress, her now loose bun flopping up and down as she tried to keep up with my pacing.

"You do know that worrying about him will only make time seem to pass more slowly, right?" asked an amused Eliza, watching from the sidelines as Laura attempted to catch the fabric hanging from my back to pine together a seam.

"Ahhh!" Laura exclaimed as I suddenly stopped, causing her to bump into me. She quickly recovered and skewered the cloth, joining the fabric with the thin metal spear. Eliza snorted, clearly finding humor in the situation.

"How can I not worry, Eliza?" I asked, placing one hand on the small of my back and the other on my hip. Sass and stability in one pose. "For one thing, I'm pregnant, so my emotions are everywhere. On the other end of the spectrum, there's always the possibility that on this little expedition they could be turned into statues."

"He took a boatload of magicians and warriors along! They'll be fine," Eliza assured me, plumping her wild red hair and rolling her eyes at me. I sighed and walked back to the pedestal so that Laura could finish the dress.

"Eliza, do you know where my mother is?" I inquired, thinking that I'd ask her to go for a walk with me after this was done.

"I think she is meeting with Doctor Swiss," Eliza informed me.

"Is she not feeling well?" I asked, concern washing over me. Eliza laughed and shook her head.

"No, no no. Did she not tell you that she had a date with him? They're having lunch together," she clarified. Laura hummed happily at this announcement.

"Oh, interesting," I commented, not entirely surprised. Maybe I wouldn't be the only changeling in the fairy kingdom for much longer. Then again, I wasn't quite sure how all of that worked.

"Done!" exclaimed Laura as she removed the last pin from the finished seam and stuck it into her voodoo pincushion- a nearly exact likeness of Easton. I smiled and twirled for the two of them as Laura moved back to get a better look. The midnight blue dress gathered just below just below my bosom and and flowed in graceful folds all the way to the floor. The open back allowed me to let my wings spread wide. The deep v-line neck seemed a little deep for a soon-to-be mother, but the sleeves that went to my elbows made up for it. Besides, I didn't feel as though I needed to look matronly at eighteen.

"Thank you so much, Laura," I smiled. "I think this is one of the best dresses you've made for me thus far."

Laura blushed and mumbled that it was really no problem and that this dress was quite a simple pattern.

Eliza winked at me and tapped her fingers on her crossed arms, "Ready for an adventure?"

"To where?" I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

She snorted and cast me a saucy look, "I can't give away all of my secrets, now can I? It's a surprise! Laura! Ready the blindfold!"