Twelve Realms Ch. 16-17

They woke together at dawn. Fiona stirred in the warmth of Jacob's body and looked around her. She noticed there was frost on the ground surrounding them, but they lay in an oasis of warmth. Jacob sat up and gathered up Fiona's clothes and then his own, but before they could get dressed a glowing figure appeared and walked towards them.

Jacob and Fiona watched in awe as the figure coalesced into a woman radiating power. The woman knelt in the grass next to them, smiling beautifically.

"You have done well, my children," the woman's voice sounds like a flute, like wind through trees.

"Thank you, Lady Citadel," Fiona responded, bowing her head towards the Goddess.

The Goddess smiled at the princess with real warmth in here eyes, then she looked towards Jacob and gave him a playful grin.

"You performed your duty to Citadel and the Twelve Realms quite thoroughly last night, Your Grace," the Goddess said to him, a hearty laugh on her curved lips. "Your consort again carries your child."

Jacob's ears burned with embarrassment as Lady Citadel's laughter rang across the lake.

Fiona's hand fell to her stomach, her eyes met Jacob's and became luminous with unshed tears. He gathered her into his arms and kissed her hard, holding her tightly in his arms.

"Daughter of Terra, Mother of Citadel... your Aelfir magic demands the child you carry. But as your mother no doubt explained, you are in danger. Birthing the child will be difficult, but not impossible. You must remain on Citadel until the child is born."

Fiona just nodded, unable to speak, her emotions blocking her throat.

"Arise and get dressed. You must speak to Edward right away. You have much news to share with each other.

"Come to the Wilds again when you are able, Princess. We must prepare you for what is to come." With that, the Goddess winked out like she'd never been there.

Epilogue

Fiona worked her way through her morning stretches on the wide eastern battlement of the Citadel Kype, only slightly encumbered by her belly, heavy with her pregnancy. She enjoyed watching the city and the rest of the Kype wake around her. By the time she was sitting, cross-legged, meditating, rebuilding activities had begun in the city and in the kype as they had done every day since Albinus had been defeated. Jacob still hoped the Kype would be completely restored before the birth of their child, but the structural damage to the ancient stone foundations had been extensive and the restoration slow and methodical.

She was disturbed from her reverie by the sound of a ship landing, falling from the atmosphere, its engines straining as it reversed thrust to land gently in the field between the Wilds and the Kype. She struggled to her feet, puzzled to have visitors. Jacob hadn't mentioned anyone coming to see them. And these visitors were definitely for the kype; other interplanetary traffic used the commercial spaceport on the far side of the city.

By the time Fiona made it to the transport, Jacob had also arrived with Elias in tow and the hatch was opening to reveal their guests. The first person to be revealed was Queen Maeve. She spotted her daughter and rushed to her, gathering her into a tight hug.

"Mama!" Fiona greeted her, joy clear on her face. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"Edward wanted to surprise you," her mother responded.

"Edward?"

As she watched, Edward and Melissa carrying baby Simon disembarked, followed by David and Lisabet of Academy, James and Sophia of Sabbatical, and various other courtiers.

"You look spectacular, Baby Girl," Edward said, his face split with a wide smile. "Pregnancy really suits you, I see." Fiona fell into his arms and hugged him tight, tears in her eyes.

"Jake!" Edward shouted, his mouth in a hard disapproving line, but his eyes twinkling with amusement as he caught Jake's eye over Fiona's shoulder. "You know I have evidence now of you fucking my baby sister," he said, his hand splayed protectively over Fiona's belly. "I told you that Crown Law prohibits the Princess Royale from engaging in pre-marital fucking. You can be tried for treason for this, you know?"

"Seriously Ed?" Jacob said, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, seriously. It's why I dragged the entire gang here. Although I was hoping to sneak in while Fi was still asleep."

"I told him that he would have to arrive in the middle of the night to be sure of that, but he insisted dawn was early enough," David said, grinning at the princess. "He doesn't know how you like to arise with the birds and salute the sun and meditate."

"Not to mention that my Lord Sparta likes to kick my bladder in the wee hours of the morning these days," Fiona said, returning David's smile while she rubbed her belly. "I'm not getting much sleep at night at all."

"So Jake, show me the progress you're making with rebuilding," Edward said, putting his arm around Jacob's shoulders and steering him toward the kype. Fiona made a move to follow, but was caught by her mother.

"Fiona, darling, can you show us where we will be staying while we are here? I spoke with the Dowager Duchess before we left Terra and she was making sure we would have comfortable quarters."

"Oh! Of course, mama. The Duchess didn't tell me... she didn't tell us you were coming... so I don't know her plans. But I'm sure we can find her in my solar. She usually breakfasts there with me after my meditation time."

Fiona led the queen with the baby, her mother, and the two duchesses into the kype and climbed the winding steps toward the Duke's apartments and the sunny courtyard where Duchess Anna was already waiting with breakfast laid out for all their visitors.

Anna stood and curtsied gracefully to the two queens and then turned to Fiona who dropped a light kiss on her cheek.

"Good morning, my dear," I do apologize for keeping this visit secret, but it was by command of the king himself!"

"It's all right," Fiona said, smiling at Jacob's mother. "Edward knows how to get his way. I've known that since I was a little girl."

"Please ladies, eat," the dowager duchess gestured to the table and the women sat. "The men should be here shortly."

The ladies ate, chatting as families and friends do. All of them were anxious to know what name Jacob and Fiona had picked for their son, but Fiona refused to give any clues other than to admit to a 'family name', which was not any clue at all considering the names of the Dukes of Citadel were invariably the names of past Kings of the Twelve Realms.

"So bets are on William or Edward?"

"Or Benjamin?"

Fiona just smiled and gave no indication that the guesses for good or not.

"The sons of Albinus..." they heard Edward say to his Dukes as they joined their ladies.

"Aeneas and Augustus," Jacob supplied their names.

"Yes. Those two. They've been fighting each other and other remnants of the Imperial Navy since Fiona took out Albinus and most of their Army here on Citadel. Malcolm destroyed more than 60% of their Navy and their Army is in ruins. We won't have to worry about the Empire for a generation, maybe more.

"I think this calls for a celebration," Edward said, shifting his eyes to his sister where she sat at the breakfast table. "Which is why we came here to Citadel. We can't very well celebrate the Empire's defeat without the woman who destroyed the Emperor single-handedly."

"Hear, hear!" shouted David, much to Fiona's embarrassment.

"Duchess Anna has planned a banquet for this evening and then tomorrow I have a surprise for you, Baby Girl."

"What are you talking about, Ed?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise. Just relax. I need to make sure that Jacob understands the consequences of breaking Crown Law."

"For the record, that Crown Law is an abomination. And I won't let you do anything to Jake because of it!"

"Don't worry," Edward laughed. "Trust me."

***

The next morning Fiona awoke in her bed in the Lady's Chamber. She and Jacob were not married and could never be, but Citadel herself considered Fiona to be Jacob's Consort. Not even Crown Law could supercede the wish of the deity that personified the Realm. So Fiona now made her home in the rooms reserved for the wife of the Duke and no one dared to refuse her the right.

Jacob normally slept with her there in the enormous bed as he had the previous night. They had retired early from the banquet because in her seventh month of pregnancy, Fiona was not physically capable of dancing the night away. When she awoke before dawn due to the discomfort of their baby kicking against her ribs, she had snuggled into Jacob, kissing and stroking him softly until he awoke, groaning at the early hour. He didn't complain too much though. Especially not when Fiona's hand reached around his quickly stiffening cock, jerking him to hardness.

Fiona slid her hands up Jake's abdomen to his chest, leaning into him for balance as she threw her leg over his hips. She expertly slid onto his cock, pushing herself off of his chest until she perched above him. She caught his eyes and smiled playfully.

"I can't imagine ever getting tired of this," Jacob growled before quickly thrusting his hips up, causing Fiona to gasp. He admired her form as she rode him. The roundness of her belly caused his blood to surge with pride. The soft swell of her breasts, larger and fuller than they had been, caused his blood to surge with lust. His hands slid up her legs, over her belly, and up to her breasts, pinching and rolling her nipples between his callused fingers.

Fiona threw her head back, her hips rocked against him harder and faster, rubbing her clit against his pelvis with each roll.

Jake held her by her hips and thrust up into her to her rhythm, both of them grunted and groaned their pleasure wordlessly until Fiona cried out.

"Oh Gods! YES!" Her body bucked on his driving cock.

"Aaaahhhh," Jacob responded with his own climax.

Fiona fell onto Jacob's broad chest and then slid to the side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her close while she played with the hair on his chest and sighed heavily.

"What is it, Fi?" Jacob murmured.

"Oh, it's Ed and his 'surprise'. I'm worried..."

"I don't think you need to worry. Ed's looking out for you."

"I know that. But what if his way of looking out for me is to forbid us to be together? He could do that and neither one of us could change it. Once our baby is born, you will have your heir and I will be unnecessary to you. He could make me marry Tam to strengthen our ties to the Aelfir. He could..."

"Fiona!" Jake barked, trying to stop her catastrophizing. "Edward loves you. You are his baby sister. He's not going to take you away from me."

"Prince Edward wouldn't. But we don't know if King Edward won't!

"Papa loved me and he separated us," Fiona started to sob suddenly.

"Oh, Fi..." Jacob gathered her up and held her tight. "Lady Citadel herself called you my Consort. Edward isn't going to contradict that.

"You know that this is your pregnancy hormones talking, right?"

"What if it's not?" Fiona asked, her face buried in his chest.

"Trust me, beloved.

"You should try to get some more sleep. I need to go get some exercise before the day gets started."

Fiona nodded and was soon back to sleep.

***

After she awoke a second time, she called down to the kitchen to have them bring her breakfast and coffee. She performed her morning ablutions and was in her dressing gown looking in her wardrobe for something to wear when a maid came in with her breakfast closely followed by Lisabet, Duchess of Academy; Sophia, Duchess of Sabbatical; and the queen consort leading a group of her ladies, who were carrying a beautifully embroidered gown.

"What's this?" she asked, suspicious.

"Edward had it made specially for you," Melissa explained. "It's part of your surprise. You are going to wear it today. We have a seamstress on her way to make alterations if necessary."

Fiona looked at them each in turn and just found sincere smiles from the queen and duchesses.

"Eat, Your Highness," Lisabet suggested. "I suspect it's going to be a long day."

Fiona ate some fruit and oatmeal and drank a cup of coffee. She stood wearing only her shift, self-conscious about showing the obvious swelling of her belly from her pregnancy. Once she finished breaking her fast, they helped her into the gown. It was sumptuous white silk charmeuse, embroidered with diamond griffins, the symbol of the House Royale. The seamstress made some adjustments at the waist and hips and draped it to hide her pregnancy. The other ladies placed a platinum tiara covered in diamonds and sapphires on her head and elaborately styled her hair.

"This is my grandmother's tiara isn't it? It's been in our family for a thousand generations," she said. "I thought Edward gave it to you, Your Majesty."

"It is, and he did. You're borrowing it today."

Once the ladies were all satisfied, they lead her from the room and to Edward in the apartments reserved for the king when he visited Citadel.

"We are going to change and will meet you in the Great Hall," Melissa kissed Edward and led the other ladies out of the room.

"Ed? What is going on?"

"It will be clear soon enough, Baby Girl.

"We are having a small party, just my queen, your mother, the dowager duchess, the dukes, their duchesses, and you."

A herald entered the chamber and approached Edward, leaning in to whisper into his ear.

"All right, lead the way," Edward told the herald while offering his arm to Fiona.

The herald lead them to the Great Hall and opened the doors for them, closing the doors behind them. She could see both David of Academy and James of Sabbatical standing with both their duchesses. As she was guided down into the room, she noticed Elias standing stiffly next to his mother. Only then did she spot her beloved Jacob dressed in the formal attire of the Premier Duke of Citadel: a kilt of the Citadel tartan, crisp white shirt under a black waistcoat and jacket with silver buttons. She gasped and gripped Edwards arm with her fingernails when she finally saw him.

"Ed!" she whispered urgently. "What is this about?"

"You're getting married, sweetie. I'm forcing Jacob to make an honest woman of you."

"What about the Crown Law... ."

"I am the king. I think this lies within my authority.

"I won't make you pledge yourself to him if you don't want him. But I think you do. I know he wants this."

"I think you are the best big brother ever."

Edward walked up to Jacob and passed Fiona's hand from his arm to Jacob's. Jacob covered her fingers with his other hand and leaned towards her. She tilted her chin up and they kissed as lovers do.

"All right, my Lords and Ladies," Edward said with a short clap of his hands. "We are going to have a traditional Hantvestinge to join these two. My lawyers have assured me that it does not technically break Crown Law, but will make the fruits of their union legitimate. It does not give my dear sister the rights of title and style of Duchess; she will be 'Honored Wife' and remain Princess Royale. I think we can agree that this is a reasonable solution at the moment.

"Do you agree, Jake?"

"Ah...?"

"Speak up, Jake!

"Do you agree to take my sister as your wife? To love her and protect her with your life?"

"Yes, may the Old Gods and New favor us."

"Excellent."

"Fiona, do you agree to join your life with this humorless oaf? He seems to like you."

"Edward! What a thing to say!"

"Yes, yes. Just answer the question. Do you pledge your life to Jake? To honor him as your husband? To bring him joy and support him in sorrow?"

"Of course I do. May the Old Gods and New favor us."

"Wonderful.

"David, do you have those rings I had made?"

The Duke of Academy handed the king two rings, a huge grin on his face. Edward handed the smaller to Jacob and the larger to Fiona.

"Okay, kids. I don't know who is supposed to go first, and since this entire thing is ad hoc, it doesn't matter anyway.

"Fi, put the ring on Jake and tell him you love him."

Fiona slid the ring onto Jacobs finger and blushed as she looked into his eyes.

"I love you Jake!" she said firmly.

"Jake, put the ring on Fi and tell her you love her."

Jacob's hand shook as he put Fiona's ring on her finger.

"I love you, Fiona," his voice trembled with emotion. "I pledge you my life."

"Right," Edward said. "As king I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Jacob and Fiona stared at him, eyes wide.

"Well, kiss already."

They kissed and the Dukes, Duchesses, Dowagers, and the King and Queen applauded, the men hooting like they were witness to a sporting event. Jacob's fingers slid from Fiona's waist to her hip and the palm of his hand brushed against the swell of her belly. He broke the kiss and they smiled, happy to finally be able to call each other their own.

The End