Connected to the King

A Big "F*ck You"

The war had finally died down. The remnants of our army were cleaning up the ashes of our unwanted guests. The both of us stayed on the upper floor as the maids shuffled around to assist the others, Mariam included.

As the sun set, it's orange and red hues coated the sky with a thin streak of purple as the light seeped through the broken window shutters and gaping holes in the walls.

All the adrenaline running through my veins had slowed down causing my knees to shake as I held onto Marcus for stability.

"How much damage was caused to the main structure?" Marcus asked Gavin and Maxwell, who stood beside us.

One of the two sighed loudly. "There is a chunk of the front wall missing as well as two of the towers. They are both down. The gate was smashed in and no longer closes properly. I mean the list goes on. Whoever that was that you killed used a huge amount of magic to break through our defenses.”

"It's leaving us wide open for another attack." Maxwell chimed in.

I glanced up at Marcus and tapped his chest, causing him to look down at me, "If you give me a moment to rest, I can see about fixing all of that. Maybe my father can help too."

He raised a brow at me, "How so?"

I smiled weakly at him, "Magic. But the question is, did you want the old stone walls again or would you like a surprise?"

"Aurora, you can't overexert yourself. Think about the baby." My father's deep voice sounded from behind causing me to turn around.

"My baby is fine. Matter of fact she's been kicking this entire time." I moved my hand down to my belly which I noticed was slightly bigger than a few days prior. "And she's growing quickly."

"Well go ahead and take a break. Your chamber is still intact so you can go wash up and lay down. When you're ready we can restore the castle." He replied before he turned on his heel and walked away.

"You know, he gives me the heebie jeebies. Anyway, I'll see you two later." Gavin shook his head and dismissed himself.

Marcus and I exchanged a look before shrugging our shoulders. "Guess that's our cue to leave too." I whispered.

Marcus bent down and scooped me into his arms and began heading back to our chamber, "You don't have to tell me twice." I rested my head against his chest and closed my eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.

~~

The low creaking of the door caused me to stir. I noticed the plush comforter tucked in around me and my gown had been removed. Did Marcus undress me? I thought as I slowly pushed myself up.

"You're awake." Marcus' voice was music to my ears.

I released a sleepy moan and stretched my arms to the ceiling. "Is it morning yet?" I squeaked.

Marcus discarded his brais and a rag that was in his hands and made his way over to the bed. "Not yet. We've got a few hours." He smirked, shuffling under the comforter beside me.

I fell back onto my pillow as Marcus wrapped his arms around me. I giggled as he ran his fingertips down my sides. "Hey, stop that, that tickles." I playfully whined.

He pulled my body flush against him and kissed my cheek, "Oh yeah? I know something else that won't tickle."

"I don't have the energy for that right now, dearest. I need to rest." I pouted my lip and turned to face him. "We have plenty of time to do that after we get the castle situated." I gave him a quick peck on the lips and tucked my head into his chest.

Marcus chuckled and kissed my forehead as we both laid there in a comfortable silence. His steady heartbeat lulled me into a very deep sleep.

"Mommy, mommy!" A little girl giggled as she ran sound me in circles. The sun shone bright in the sky as Marcus, and I sat in a field of wildflowers with our baby girl.

I smiled as I reached for her, "Yes little one what is it?" I asked.

She stopped running and plopped down into a flower bunch causing the butterflies to scatter into the air. "Mommy, look! The butterflies!"

"They are beautiful, aren't they?" I chuckled at her as she rolled around.

"Not as beautiful as my girls. Isn't that right, Arina?" Marcus chimed in.

Arina? That's my little girl… My little girl has a name. I thought as tears pooled at the corners of my eyes causing me to sniffle.

"Aurora? Wake up. My love you're crying, what happened? Was it a bad a dream?" Marcus' worried tone invaded my ears.

I could hear myself whimpering as I rolled onto my side, running my hand across my cheeks, wiping away my tears. "I… I saw her. Marcus you should have seen how beautiful she is going to be." I cried out in happiness as I pulled the comforter off me, completely forgetting that I was still naked.

"My baby girl… my baby Arina. Did you see her too?" I sniffled as I sat up. My hair draped over my shoulders and was long enough to cover my plumping breasts.

I glanced up at Marcus and watched as his honey-colored eyes darkened, they scanned me from head to toe before he bit his lower lip.

Gazing at him with innocent eyes I smiled. "What's on your mind?" I batted my eyelashes at him.

"Anything and everything on my mind is about you and our child." He jumped onto the bed causing me to squeak as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me down with him.

I nuzzled into his chest and let out a sigh of content, "Shouldn't we be getting ready for something?" I asked.

"Maybe… or we can sit here for a little while longer and I can—"

I glanced up at him and stuck my tongue out at him. "That's all you ever want to do these days. I'm achy and tired."

"Who said you had to do anything? You can just lay here and let me love you." A smirk crossed his lips as he rolled me onto my back. His arms on either side of me as he stared down at me in admiration.

"Dearest… you're staring…" I muttered, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Because I like… no, I love what I'm seeing." He leaned down and captured my lips with passion. My body responded in kind as the sweet scent of my arousal filled the room.

What a great way to start the day, isn't it?

~~

The afternoon sun filled the room as I stood before the mirror. My hands fiddled and twisted the red tresses as I spun it into a low bun, securing it with one of my new hair pins. My silver gown reflected the hue from my hair giving it a pinkish tint.

"Are you almost ready?" I asked Marcus before I turned around.

He clasped a black leather cloak over his shoulders and adjusted his belt. "I'm ready when you are."

My gaze traveled from his boots to his eyes. I haven't seen him dressed like this in his official clothing nor his crown since the night we met. I couldn't tell if I was feeling butterflies or little Arina kicking. Either way, I was in pure awe of this man.

Marcus walked over and grabbed his sheathed sword from its place on the wall before he finally noticed me staring at him. "What? Do I look bad or something?" He asked, latching his weapon to his belt.

I shook my head and shot him a toothy grin. "You look so handsome." I replied as I shuffled over to him. "Let's go do some magic."

A knock sounded at the door, pulling our attention from one another to whomever was on the other side. "Yes?" I sang.

"Aurora, are you ready to begin? We have everyone outside right now." My father stated.

Marcus grabbed my hand, pulled me to him, kissed my forehead and guided me toward the door, "Let's get this show started!" He shouted excitedly.

I chuckled at his antics as he opened the door for me, bowing dramatically, "After you, your highness."

I curtsied and waddled through the door and smiled at my father. "This is going to be a really big surprise."

So, did he decide? Or are we literally going to surprise him?

Let's go black and red smooth stone, like marble, maybe granite.

Sounds good to me. Just follow my lead.

Thank you…

For what?

Everything, father, you've done so much for me, and I had no idea. From protecting me from mom to staying by my side as Tige. You’ve watched over me since I can remember. Even when mother made that deal, you refused to give me up.

Don't thank me just yet. We aren't even done. We still have a lot to do, and I can’t really say I’ve loved your mother since she made that deal, and it wasn’t fair to you that she wanted your power and her pure evil intentions with the ancestors was not what I married her for. Sacrificing my own blood for power and control, it was extremely selfish, that’s not how family should be.

I gave my father a curt nod in agreement and bounced on my toes while I waited for Marcus to finish up. "We are gonna make this place look spectacular!"

"Your highness!" Mariam shouted from the end of the corridor. "Oh, I'm so glad to have found you. Everyone is waiting!"

"Mariam, that's not nice for you to not even acknowledge your brother-in-law." My father teased.

"Roluth it is a pleasure to see you as well. How are things?" She smiled.

"Mmhm, better since I've managed to get out of Plancier. That place is too… depressing with Minerva around causing a ruckus over everything that's been going on.

"Oh, that obnoxious woman will never let anything get in her way of what she wants, power and all that rubbish. You should know that Roluth." Mariam quirked her brow at him.

“What’s the use of all that power if the world is destroyed and there’s nothing else to live for? No family no friends, the lack of intimacy because I mean, three kids should tell you how she was. But the main issue I have with her right now is the fact that she’s turning all of us against one another, and I will not lose another child to her foolishness.” My father replied.

As the two continued their conversation Marcus appeared by my side, grabbing my hand we interlaced our fingers together and began walking toward the destroyed front gates.

"Where are you two going? This way is much faster." My father waved his hand and opened a small portal to the field just outside of the castle walls where everyone was gathered.

Marcus jutted his thumb toward the opening, "Well that's convenient." He chuckled as we walked through it and appeared before everyone. The halted chattering shifted the atmosphere into an eerie silence as my father and Mariam were the last to appear.

We all gazed around before Marcus cleared his throat. All eyes shifted to him.

"Thank you for joining me on this beautiful spring afternoon. I know things have been chaotic over the last few weeks and we are ready to resume normal functions…"

"How! This place is a mess. We have no protection and who's to say that witch won't attack one of ours again?" Agatha from the village shouted.

I remembered that woman. She was extremely upset when I had first arrived here and now she was causing a ruckus.

“Agatha, why are you so upset? King Marcus won that battle!” Mariam shouted at her

The crowd began shouting amongst one another. Talking over each other about the war and how the castle was now destroyed and many of their own were dead and buried.

I simply raised my hand stepped forward. "Silence! You will not disrespect your King for the loss of life. Every man who stood beside him during that battle knew the possibility of death. You have every Goddamned right to be mad at me but never will you ever… speak badly about your King. You saw what I did to that poor maiden. Don't think I won't do it again if I hear any more bickering about what had happened. We won, we won against them and you’re still unhappy, you are selfish to think that things like this would never happen to a man who use to seek out blood, glory and power. Now, if you'd let him finish what the hell he had to say to you miserable assholes we could get this done and over with!" I screamed.

Mariam tried her best to conceal her giggle as she grabbed my shoulders, "No one has ever done that. Well, no woman, I should say."

"Well thank everything sacred that I couldn't give less of a damn about any of that right now." I gave her a side eye and c****d my head at Marcus. "Dearest. You were saying?"

That was the sexiest thing I've ever seen.

Don't push it.

Already did. Plenty of times this morning I should add.

Will you hurry up so we can get go eat? I am starving.

Right.

"Now that I officially have your attention. What our guest and your future queen are giving you today is a gift, one all of you would appreciate. Granted yes, we've lost a lot of good men and a lot of you have worked hard. I know I haven't been the best King to you all, but I vow to keep you all safe. Those who have been with me through everything since day one, I give my sincerest thanks."

I grabbed my father’s hand as Marcus finished up his speech and pulled him to the very front of the crowd. "You ready?" I whispered.

My father glanced down at me and nodded. The two of us extended our hands toward the castle and began chanting.

"Rétora sevrator. Lá mecra'trové heliame portú.”

Our arms waved in a figure eight. We watched as a wall of sparkling light rose from the ground. The old, crumbled stone had transformed into solid walls of darkened granite with flecks of red interlaced throughout.

The two towers that had crumbled were anew, as was the surrounding walls and a solid steel gate. Once the light had reached the skies, giant balls of light energy shot into the atmosphere, bringing in a wonderful array of colors and shifting the afternoon skies into night with dancing streams of divergent hues. Lights that us witches called the Aurora borealis.

Once the reconstruction of the castle was complete both my father and I had turned to smile at one another as collective gasps rang through the crowd causing me to spin around.

I watched as Marcus stood with his jaw to the ground as Mariam stood beside him jumping in place.

"A-a… wha—... h-how?" Marcus stumbled over his words as he tried to form a series of questions.

I glanced back at the masterpiece, scanning the front balcony the darn thing seemed so… plain, "Oh its missing something." I tapped my chin for a moment before I had figured it out. "Aha!" I snapped my fingers.

A red and black tapestry unrolled from under the watchtowers, a howling wolf in its center. I dusted my hands off and turned back to Marcus and the crowd.

The group of gathered castle occupants broke out into a cheer, some cried tears of joy, others were gawking, utterly speechless.

"What do you think? Do you like it?" I asked anxiously.

Marcus couldn't control himself as he rushed up to me and scooped me into his arms, twirling me around like a princess before I had to stop him. My head began to spin as the bile in my stomach threatened to make an appearance.

"I love it. But not as much as I love you." He smiled as he set me back down on the ground.

"Why don't you guys go and check it out? I'll be right behind you." I pressed. "I made a few additions in regard to our chambers; I think you'll find them appropriate."

"Oh, no you don't. The last time you were behind me something happened. So, you're sticking by my side at all times." Marcus teased.

It was nice that he was able to make light of that situation but nonetheless I was still uncomfortable about the whole ordeal.

I reached for Marcus’ hand and interlaced our fingers. "Let's go then." I smiled at him before waddling toward our renewed home.

Marcus surprisingly kept pace with me and did not rush, honestly, he didn't seem to mind that I was a bit slower as my belly grew.

"Father, Mariam, you guys go on ahead we will meet you there. This is gonna take a little while." I chuckled.

My father threw his head back and laughed, "Not a chance in hell. I would rather take my time here than go with the crowd. You know how I feel about large gatherings."

The four of us broke into laughter. Oh, how that statement was the closest thing to the truth. We all hated crowds but at the end of the day, we made it work.

It took us a little over twenty minutes to get from the open field to the main dining hall. Passing through the foyer everyone had gazed in awe of the new chandelier as well as the layout of the new structure. I had tried my best to keep everything about the same but of course with different materials the structure needed a few adjustments.

“So, Aurora, would you have been able to do all of that without your father?” Marcus asked.

I gave Marcus an unamused look, “I could have done it alone, but I don’t have enough energy to do it all on my own at the moment.” I replied, scanning over the rebuilt interior.

The furnishings were a deep shade of red to match the couches that sat gathered around the massive fireplace. The window coverings and drapes were black and hung just above the steel shutters.

"This place is damn near unrecognizable." Marcus muttered as my trio of boys approached us.

"Aurora, this is amazing. You've really outdone yourself." Gavin shouted.

Maxwell smiled and nodded in agreement with Gavin’s statement as Emmret bowed his head.

My tummy let out a low grumble, causing my eyes to widen as my cheeks burned with embarrassment. "Why does this seem to be my theme?"

Everyone surrounding me broke out into another fit of laughter as multiple stomachs began growling. "Looks like we could all use some good ole fashioned cooking." Marcus chimed in.

"But we don't have any meat or any harvest pickings." Mariam replied.

"Go check the dining hall." My father smiled. "I'm sure you'll find something." He winked at her.

Marcus and I exchanged a look, a grin painted across my face.

"What did you do?" He whispered.

"How about we just go to the dining hall, and you'll see." I replied, pulling him along.

The group of us had entered the dining hall, it was much larger than before and held several large banquet style tables as well as serving tables that held the largest feast anyone had laid eyes on.

"How did you do all of this? For so many people?"

"You must have forgotten… we are witches, we can conjure up anything we have on our minds at this point. Also, I would like to mention. Mariam is my aunt.” I jutted my thumb in her direction.

Marcus' jaw dropped at the information. Everyone had stopped and turned their attention to us as I broke the news nonchalantly.

"You've had a witch living with you and serving you for the last decade." I snickered.

His eyes shifted to Mariam, "Is this true? You're related to Aurora?"

Mariam beamed a smile at him, "Indeed it is my king, you must have not heard what Roluth said earlier. He is my brother-in-law. I am Minerva's sister and so is Lily, but she stays in the village." She chuckled.

A few of the maidens had approached us with caution, Rose included causing me to quickly turn to face them. "Ladies. I owe you all an apology, especially you, Rose."

She waved her hand at me, "It's nothing you need to worry about your highness. It was an honest mistake but… I'm sure Marcus was able to fill you in?" She shifted her gaze to the floor.

"He has, and I know I should have listened before I jumped to conclusions. These damn hormones are no help either."

She reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, I have two little ones of my own, I know how that goes." She chuckled.

The night and festivities progressed into fun, laughter and pure enjoyment amongst themselves as the castle occupants indulged in the feast and adjustment to their new home while Marcus and I sat watching our people.

A kick from baby Arina caused me to wince, "Oh this little girl has a set of legs on her." I huffed, rubbing my tummy.

Marcus chuckled as he reached over and placed his hand on mine. Stroking my swollen belly with his thumb. "You gotta stop giving mommy such a hard time." He replied as he leaned down and placed a kiss right where she had kicked.

I arched my back and adjusted my hips as she wiggled around in my womb. "And we are barely over the halfway mark. Just think she's going to get bigger and I'm going to blow up like a mountain.” I sighed.

Marcus wrapped his arms around me, placing kisses all over my face and shoulders, "No. You are going to be glowing and beautiful and irresistible."

I giggled only to come to an abrupt halt as the dining hall doors swung open. The crowd's loud chatter died down to whispers as we all turned to face the intruder.

I turned to my father after seeing who this person was. Anger radiated from him as he rose to approach none other than Sebastian.

"Where the f**k have you been?" He grounded out through gritted teeth.

"It's nice to see you too, Roluth." Sebastian sneered as he entered the room with haste.

"Your father asked you a question." Marcus placed his elbows on the table.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. "Sebastian, where have you been? We've been worried sick and when-"

"When you left your sister to die you ran off like a coward. You didn't tell anyone where the hell you were, nor did you check in with me." My father shouted.

Sebastian had stopped in his tracks as the two stood staring at one another. Their brows furrowed.

"I had my reasons," he stated before shifting his gaze to me, "Aurora you knew what needed to be done."

All eyes shifted to me. "Except I didn't. You couldn't even give me that the last time we spoke. Don't try to push your irresponsible actions toward me."

My father grabbed Sebastian by his shirt, lifting him from the floor with ease, "You have ten seconds to explain what the f**k you were doing."

Sebastian showed no expression as he glared down at Roluth. "You know I'd rather do this without the entire kingdom staring at me." He coughed.