The Fox’s Tale

So yeah, that was something that was happening. Turns out that Lucas had knocked Esmeralda up with twins the night they’d reunited. After Lucas had polished off Sir Aconite for her she’d walked back into the throne room and summoned the remaining members of the High Council to hear an announcement that tilted the worlds we lived in on their axes.

“Lucas Gyrfalcon is my Other. I have known this since I was fifteen when I asked him to claim me as his Chosen, which he did. He is the father of my only child, the late Princess Rowan, and grandfather to my heir, Crown Princess Ellery. Two hundred years ago I allowed my parents and your predecessors on this council to bully me into denying that bond. I will deny it no longer.

“Before you speak, know this: he has never once wavered in his loyalty to me, and the treasonous behavior of Alastair, Tarquin, and Sir Aconite would never have come to light without the assistance of not only him, but other members of his family. Choose your words carefully.”

Plumeria stood up first. “May I be the first to offer you congratulations on your union, your majesty?”

Esmeralda nodded in assent. The remaining council members quickly followed suit and then Esmeralda continued.

“As Lucas is also the High King of the Incorruptibles it means our kingdoms will be united as one. Therefore, any and all legislation that is currently in existence that unfairly persecutes or restricts them needs to be rewritten.

“Furthermore, I will be establishing a parliament of representatives from all of the supernatural communities who have sworn fealty to the Unseelie or the Incorruptibles.” She gulped but pressed on. “Even the Goblins.”

She held her clean hand out to Lucas who came to stand by her. “I will also be expanding the size of the council so that the needs of all of those that we will rule can be attended to. Now, my beloved and I will be retiring to my suite so that we may rest and freshen up.

“If you have any questions please direct them to Crown Princess Ellery, her Other, or the Meridian, who will be the new Head of Security.” She turned to walk away and then stopped. “One last thing. Quinn, open the portals and air the kingdom out. I abhor the stagnate nature of our air.”

Quinn’s eyebrows shot up to disappear behind his bangs. “How many?”

“All of them.”

“Well, shit,” he muttered as Lucas and Esmeralda walked away. “For how long?” he called after them. Esmeralda didn’t reply to his question, she simply burst into laughter as Lucas scooped her up to carry her to her chambers. Quinn sighed and then said “well, you heard her fellas, let’s get started.”

The month and a half that had followed was full of upheaval, but with Lucas by her side, and the full backing of her council, Esmeralda was able to make the changes that were so desperately needed. Alastair was sentenced to a stint in prison, which in his case was a suspended cage in the courtyard.

Despite his help with exposing Tarquin I couldn’t forgive him, and neither could Ellery or Esmeralda. Lucas was the only one who visited him. Annalise Briar died from grief when she learned that both her Other and her lover had been executed.

She had been the one behind the fake Ellery at the Twelfth Night Ball, and had been the fake Darcie. Lucas was the solitary guest at her funeral. He said he felt responsible for her pain since he did not kill his father sooner.

Opening the portals did wonders for not only the air quality, but the levels of magic in the Unseelie realm. Quinn was kept on his toes sending lost humans back home and training the UGR. Almost every type of supernatural being in the Unseelie realm had representation on the guard and all had a representative on the council.

The first meeting of the new council was scheduled for the first of May. Esmeralda and Lucas held a huge bonfire for the entire kingdom to attend when they demolished the palace three weeks after all of the shit went down. I heard it was the party of the century, and miraculously only one fight broke out.

Ellery and I did not attend. We stayed in our apartment, planning our future. I’ll admit that the planning quickly turned into a marathon love making session. Ellery decided that we needed to christen the other rooms in our home and I sure as hell wasn’t going to say no to that request.

However, the side effect to this was that now even seeing something as innocuous as the kitchen table or a chair was enough to turn me on from the memories. I had no idea how we’d ever have any visitors over.

All in all my senior year of high school had been one wild ride. Oh, in case you’re wondering, the basketball team managed to win regionals, but then lost in the opening round of the state championship. I think we were all so pumped from taking Tarquin down that adrenaline carried us through the regional final and then we just lost gas.

The fact that Scott and Lee had both found their mates in between the two games might have had something to do with it. Lee’s mate, Sarah, was a friend and classmate of Fitz’s who came to stay for spring break. Lee got this dopey smile on his face whenever she came into the room and it took all of my self control to not tease the ever loving shit out of him.

Mary’s comment about how men all went a bit bonkers when they found their mate or Other was spot on. In addition to looking like a lovesick fool Lee kept breaking things because he was so distracted by Sarah’s presence. Scott wasn’t much better when he was around Darcie for the first month.

He followed her around like a puppy and made her sit in his lap until she marked him. After that he was content to just sit beside her instead. Ellery thought it was adorable that he was so protective over her, while Lucas and I were amused. Darcie was an Incorruptible after all.

Sam and Andy found their mates after basketball season ended. Sam’s mate was actually Rose’s older sister, Posy. Andy’s mate, Meadow, was also a Summer Child, and a tiny, little blonde. She was only 5’4” which meant Andy was fifteen inches taller than her. They all met because Ellery threw a party in the Seelie realm and invited all of the team, save for the humans, to attend.

She wanted to give them a better impression of the Fae than the one they had after what happened in the Unseelie realm. Ryan, Mat,t and Nick weren’t old enough to have found their mates, but Grant latched himself onto Lark at the party and they’d been inseparable ever since. Rhiannon came to the party under protest and spent most of it drawing while sitting on the roof of the gazebo.