Chapter 41: Chapter 41

Torture is happiness. Torture is life. Life can’t do without it and-

“What are you doing?”

I pause and peel my eyes open to see Gwen staring at me in confusion. I stop my act, dropping my harmonized fingers down but my ankles still across each other.

“I’m mediating. What do you think I’m doing?” Suckling in a breath, I break out of my position. I mean that I stand up.

“Today is my turn to torture the nitwit and I still can’t decide what way I wanna do it. I barely had any rest yesterday because everyone wanted to talk to me. It was so annoying.”

“But you’re ready right, because it’s almost time.”

“I’ll be ready. Just go and leave me to my meditation and don’t let anyone come in here.”

She nods vigorously, “I promise not to do that- I mean to do that.”

She corrects herself when I give her an odd look, making her also laugh sheepishly.

“My bad.”

“Your bad indeed.”

I pull my legs back on the bed as I begin to mediate. I feel her linger in the room as I hum but she eventually leaves; and just when I think I am at the moment of peace, my sister rushes in.

“Minerva, do you think this dress is good enough?”

I ignore her as I breath out, containing myself.

I hear her footsteps come closer to my body and she smacks me hardly.

“Ow! What the hell was that for!”

I open my eyes to stare down at the one I call my sister.

She holds two different dresses in her hands, each having different colour and style.

“How did you get in here?”

She ignores my question.

Typical!

“Which one is suitable for the occasion. Blue or green.”

I tilt my head and whisper, “Blue… like the colour of your eyes. I think you should take the green dress. It’ll make Finn want to jump your bones, that is, if he acts like Sebastian and it looks hot.”

“Too revealing,” She looks down at it with her little nose wrinkling. “But I second it. I’m sure Finn’s going to drool.”

“I believe he is going to do more than drool.” I say and she giggles.

“I just need something that will give me the confidence to finally tell him I was so scared to do it last night.”

“Well, the green dress will give you the confidence you need.”

“I guess you’re right.” She nods at me with a genuine smile.

With a snap of her fingers her current clothing is exchanged for thr green dress and the clothes disappears.

She twirls in it and the free sides float in the air.

“How do I look?”

“Like all the words related to hot.”

“That’s fine by me.”

Her smile remains as she jumps out of my room and I go back to my meditation.

*Author Point Of View*

Her hurried footsteps echoes in the empty castle halls. Her breath is unable to pass out easily as she stops in front of the door to their room. She exhales heavily before she turns the knob and steps in, closing the door behind her.

Cyprus- or as she calls him- Finn stands shirtless in the room, his back to her as she walks closer.

He has his mind focused on the documents he sorts on the bed but that doesn’t stop him from sensing his mate behind him.

“What are you doing.” She asks while biting on her lip, her hands fiddling awkwardly by her side.

“Signing papers and sorting little stuffs from our kingdom out. Your lookalike- Davina made a spell on this castle and that affects my communications and Elliot and Easton, but no worries, we’ll find a way around it. Besides, they found a way to send me my paperwork.”

“Yes, they hate paperwork,” She laughs and Finn immediately tense up.

She begin to reprimand herself for letting her nervousness leak out. Her laughter sounded too forced.

“I mean, they don’t ever like doing the paperwork.” She begin to say as her eyes trail off him but when she looks back, he is now facing her with his eyes on her body.

“Is anything wrong?” He asks with deep concern as his feet takes him to her side. Her fiddling doesn’t stop at all. Finn has never known her to be the fiddling or shy type.

“Did someone hurt you?” His eyes darken at the thought of that and she shakes her head vigorously.

“No, no. No one touched me. I just- I-I wanted to talk to you.”

Finn controls himself from looking down at her body and he also controls himself from touching her, no matter how much his hands itch to do so.

“Something important?” He smiles when her eyes drift to his shirtless body, “Or does it just involve certain activities.”

“What certain activities?” She blinks as he steps closer and wraps his hands around her waist, leaning so close that he can graze his lips on her ear.

She shivers at his touch.

”What do you want to do?”

“To tell-” She gets lost in the bliss he brings, “…to seduce you.”

“Then seduce me, my little vixen.”

He grins at himself as she slowly roams her fingers around his bare chest. His body flexes under her touch and she groans. He moves his head away from the side of her face to press his lips on hers.

Her insides explodes immediately and she holds on to his shoulders as her body fills with emotions she can’t describe.

She feels like she is on fire when his hands moves on her skin, creating a pattern she can barely concentrate on. Something in her head immediately clicks in place and she pushes him back softly, only for him to move to somewhere other than her lips… her neck.

She automatically tilts her head to the side as he swifts her hair away and places a soft peck on her long neck.

“Finn… we shouldn’t be doing this.”

He doesn’t stop assaulting her neck with kisses, neither does he stop his roaming hands.

“You don’t have to worry about someone walking in here. I made sure of that.”

He whispers as he struggles with the zip at the back of her dress.

She shakes her head, trying to shoo away the distracting bliss she gets from his breath on her skin.

“We just can’t. I-I really have something to tell you.”

The emotions in her voice makes him stop and he steps backwards to look down at her face; her face filled with worry.

“What’s wrong?”

She closes eyes, willing herself to blurt it out. Just blurt it out.

“I’m pregnant.” She swallows. “We’re having a baby, Finn.”

The next thing that fills the room is silence and he staggers back, staring at her in disbelief.

“We’re- you’re carrying my baby?”

She nods , the words finally dawning on her. “Yes, I’m pregnant.”

She cries and giggles at the same time, waiting for him to say something but all he does is stare at her with wide eyes.

He immediately rushes out of the room, leaving her in a confused state.

He didn’t even put on a shirt...

Her body turns cold as she holds down her tears.

Maybe he doesn’t want it or he thinks it’s not his.

With all these thoughts rushing through her head, her legs take her out of the room. It just seems like her body went on autopilot. She doesn’t know when she sees herself in the greenhouse.

Minerva looks up from her book as she sense her come into the greenhouse and sit close to her.

“What’s wrong? You look… down.” She queries as she cuts her book and turns to her sister on the bench.

“Please don’t say what I’m thinking.”

Asteria’s shaking lips doesn’t escape Minerva’s eyes. Asteria looks down at her hands.

“I told him and he just walked away.”

Minerva drops the book situated on her laps on the side of the bench and she shifts closer to take her sister’s hand.

“Perhaps he was just acting out of shock. That is a very possible thing.”

Asteria nods at her sister’s words in agreement.

“Or maybe he doesn’t want a kid now. I mean, we’re too young for a kid. I’m too young for a kid.”

As Asteria starts to panic, Minerva tries to calm her down.

“I’m still going to stand for what I said. Finn is a good guy, he won’t just leave you because you are pregnant.”

Asteria turns to her sister with wide eyes, making Minerva murmur curses to herself. “I mean that he loves you and only you. He did marry you for a reason.”

The next thing Asteria does is to nod.

“Yeah, why would he-” Before she can finish talking, she bends forward and pours out the content of her stomach. When she is done, she exhales heavily with guilt as she turns to her sister.

“Sorry.”

Minerva looks down at her boot half covered in her sister’s vomit.

“I shouldn’t be irritated but I am, which is odd.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I did that.”

At her sister’s worried remark, Minerva says. “It’s alright. Apparently feys exhibit the same symptoms as humans in pregnancy. The only difference is that majority of those symptoms like vomiting and change of moods only evolves when the parent- you is aware. So that’s why you haven’t noticed anything before.”

“Well, that’s just great. How did you know about that?”

Minerva picks up the book she dropped at her side. “What anyone who doesn’t know a thing about pregnancy would do. I looked it up.”

A grin spreads on Asteria lips, a very tired grin. “I thought it was your torture book. Thank you, Miner-” She bends down to pour what’s left in her stomach. She barely know where it comes from.

“Wait a moment, let me hold your hair up. I don’t want you puking on it too.”

______________

“What are you so worried about? Your legs hasn’t stopped bouncing since you came in here.” Sebastian asks with his eyes on Finn’s legs.

When Finn notices this he stops and drops down the document in his hands. He keeps his arms on the oak desk in front of him and groans as he covers his eyes with his palm.

“Asteria’s pregnant.”

“Wow, that’s good news. Then why are you sulking in my office like a dying cat.” Sebastian says as he looks up from the paper he is scribbling on.

“I don’t think I am ready for a kid. How do you think a fey can raise a child, we are kids partially. I even wonder how my parent’s raised me.”

“Your mother was a fairy, not a fey. There’s a difference and if you’re having insecurities about this, you should discuss this with her,” Sebastian suggest. “Moreover, among the two of us, you’re the most responsible and serious one, so you can handle a kid. All feys who are parents do that everyday.”

“You’re completely right, but I messed up big time,” Finn places his head on the desk, “I walked out on her the minutes she told me.”

“From what I’ve picked up from my parents and a few couples, you do not walk out on a female when she drops a bomb like that. It gives enough space for odd insinuations to slip in. I bet she now thinks you don’t want her or the baby anymore.”

Finn raises his head to stare at him but his chin remains on the desk.

“When did you become such a relationship expert.”

“I’m sure my advice will be lost to you if you keep sitting here. More ideas are probably slipping into that little head of hers.”

Finn jumps to his feet and immediately summons a portal to wherever his wife is. When it opens completely, he steps in, leaving Sebastian alone in the warm room.

He sighs and looks straight at the portal with a new sharpened sense on something he sees.

Finn walks out of the portal and it closes behind him immediately. His heart skitters when he sights her sitting close to Minerva as they indulge to a conversation out of his hearing.

His legs walk up to them as quickly as possible.

“This is just like the first time we met. You on a bench, surrounded with beautiful flowers and plants. They all know the royalty my queen holds.”

The two females look up and Asteria stands on her feet while Minerva glares.

“So you finally put on a shirt. I would have wanted to watch you bleed without stop.”

He pauses and turns to Minerva who mouths, “It’s just the hormones talking.”

He takes a step forward. “I know you’re mad but I-”

He also takes a step back when a short blade appears in her hand and she presses it on his hard chest.

“I’m not mad, Finn. I’m livid but that’s okay because I can take care of this kid by myself.” She takes several steps forward, making him take a few back.

“I just have to kill you and take the throne. Remove you from the way of giving my kid the best life.”

“You mean our child.”

She scowls and presses the blade harder to his chest but not enough to make him bleed.

“You don’t want this child.”

“I never said that and I do want this child.” His eyes drifts to her stomach and she lays a protective arm on it.

“But you walked out on me, on us.”

“Yes, and I am sorry for that. I was in shock and at that time it was the only thing my mind could think of.”

He slowly takes the blade from her and discards it. He walks towards her until they are just an inch away and he places his palm on her face only for her to recoil back.

“Don’t touch me!”

His hands remains in the air as she shifts back. He walks closer, covering back the space.

“I know that’s not what you want, my queen.”

Her lips begins to quiver and he sighs, slowly placing his palms on her face again as tears forms in her eyes. “You know that I hate seeing you cry.”

He places his forehead on hers and wipes away the droplets of tears that leaves her eyes.

“My love, I promise you that I will take care if you and this baby for the rest of my days.”

“What about our future kids?” She hiccups.

“Even them too. I would never leave any of you.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.” He grantees.

“Cross your heart and hope to die?”

He chuckles, “Yes.”

“Say it!” She urges as she sniffs, “You cross your heart and hope to die.”

“I cross my heart and hope to die,” He repeats and once she is satisfied, he asks, “Can I kiss you now?”

Surprised by his question, she answers breathlessly, “Yes.”

Immediately, he holds her chin and brings her lips to his and they kiss.

“Wasn’t that so romantic?”

Minerva is not surprised when she feels Sebastian’s breath on her neck.

She moves back to stare at his intoxicating blue eyes as his deep voice rings in the air.

“I bet it will be as romantic as our date, that is if it’s still on.”

Sebastian’s grin slowly fades as he watches her recoil with a dull look but then her face bursts up in a grin, making his heart flutter.

“Oh, it’s still on, Sebastian and I’d like to see how romantic you can get.”

He chuckles.