Wildfire

Sixty Seven

My in-laws had taken the time to sit with us well into the evening, they're fussing over us an expression of their care, and more than once it had moved me to tears that in any other circumstance I would never have allowed myself to shed... But somehow surrounded by their company I found myself safe enough to be vulnerable, even after my sweet Moon Beam found himself asleep tucked safely against my chest...

I hate that such an unfortunate shadow is cast over what should be one of the happiest nights of our lives... I hate that such pain has been visited upon my sweet shard of starlight when he did nothing to deserve the violence and anguish that has been rested upon his shoulders since the moment of his arrival... All he has ever wanted was to be accepted... To feel as though he belonged and had a spot at the same tables that the rest of us eat from... And instead this court had made him feel low and isolated... 

I hope that the apologies he is about to receive helps soothe some of the ache that has been building up inside of his person since he was old enough to understand what was going on when he was ordered to stay at home when all he wanted to do was to come with the rest of his family when they all found themselves summoned here... There are some that may end up feeling hollow and insincere, though I made it very clear to the now currently ex-advisors that while this is the very first condition to them being inducted into the new council of advisors I am forming for myself that none of them have to do it if they do not wish to... It just means that they will no longer have any kind of position here in the court of their new King. I am certain that some of them will try and force themselves to write their apologies... But I am also certain that Rayne will be able to discern the honesty from the dishonesty in the letters... His heart of the most gentle kind of nature, his soul the perfect balance to my own just as my beast knew he would be... It was the least I could do to arrange for this... Something so simple as asking for apologies on his behalf the very start of this palace paying reparations to my sweet wife and all of the different ways the court as a whole has hurt him... The rest of the long-winded apology geared towards him as we prepare for war with my father will be that the court itself will be better and do better, no one to ever be turned away due to the station of their birth ever again... 

...

Rayne

...

I find myself stirring... But not from fear of what might be lurking in the shadows I still find so very blurry, or a night terror with Xiang and Shen both sharing the same desire to cause not only harm to me... But also to the husband currently crooning to me as he holds me so tightly against him...

Emrys's song had been low and wordless, but it had been enough to draw me out of my slumber to find myself feeling safe and at home in his arms, tucked so carefully against his warm chest, my waking going unnoticed for a few moments longer until I cannot help but nuzzle my face into his shoulder over a gentle kiss being pressed into my forehead...

"I woke you?" Even now his voice is kept low and gentle as it greets my ears, the feel of him whispering his words into my hair a sensation that never ceases to give me the most pleasant of all shivers... Shivers that cause my husband to gather me closer to him to try and keep me warm. 

"Just slightly... But please don't stop..." I could listen to him croon to me for ages, and it never fails to bring my soul peace, even in this trying time when tomorrow we shall officially open the war rooms that have been shuttered for so long, no other kingdom having been troubled enough to try and pick a fight with Xiang, so that we might officially sign the documents branding Xiang just as much of a traitor to the throne as Shen and the only advisor that had truly been either faithful or fearful of him, Deshi... But no longer, my husband has both the courage and the cunning to defeat his father, he had just lacked the backing of his Queen, and now he finds me branded and by his side, ready to fight under his wing just as I should be. 

...

Emrys

...

I find no issue in indulging my sweet Moon Beam, my hand coming up to stroke his tenderly flushed cheek while he settles himself into me returning my affection with gentle kisses landing on my collarbone as I hum into his hair and imagine our life without all of this drama and violence... In my song that I am humming it is a tune of happiness, and what it will be like when we are finally allowed to enjoy the happiness that we have found in each other.

I had hoped to start our reign off with peace, and have that peace continue through not only our generation but that of our children's and grandchildren's... I had hoped to spur peace into motion and undo the damage Xiang has caused over the length of his rule without need for violence or in-fighting... But here we are, curled around each other offering comfort to one and other instead of sleeping while we try not to think of the duties we must attend to in the morning, the letter Xiang had left behind hanging over our heads with such animosity that the air within the palace walls feels awfully thickened, and has made moving about in what should be our happy first days as a married couple harder than it should be... 

All of the stress falls away though when I hear a quiet hum join my own, Rayne's voice blending so effortlessly with my own as we hold each other, the way he pauses for breath allowing him to press more and more gentle kisses into my flesh, his mouth moving upward until he is able to silence us both by sealing our lips together, the way he causes my heart to thunder something I shall never tire of.