The Fox’s Tale

“Say something, Alexander.”

My mouth worked to try and form words, but no sound came out.

“Alexander. Alexander!”

My brain kicked into gear. “I’m sorry, Ellery, I thought for a minute that you said that Jones is your father.”

“I did. He is.”

“But that would mean,” I did the math based on what I knew about Jones, “he was fifteen when you were born.”

“Hence why I am being raised by my biological grandparents.”

I couldn't even imagine growing up in her situation. “Oh my gods. How long have you known?”

“Always.” Ellery shrugged her shoulders. “Jojo couldn’t hide the truth from me.”

“So Ethan and all the others?”

“They’re technically my uncles. I do have two brothers, but they’re nine and two, and my two sisters are six and two. Like I said, my family is a bit of a mess.”

I mulled this over before asking. “What about your mom?”

Ellery took her time answering and when she did her voice was small. “Jones met her at a party when they were both fourteen. I say met, but really what happened was that Jones pulled a guy off of her who was….giving her unwanted affections.

“You really don’t want to see an enraged Fae, especially not a male Fae. They have the strength to rip the hearts out of literally every other being on earth. Had he done that that night Rowan would have had a better ending to her story. That was my mother’s name, Rowan. It’s my middle name.”

She sighed before continuing. “They became very good friends and then they became more than friends. Neither of them knew that Rowan had been marked by her attacker. The mark wasn’t visible anywhere, and Rowan had been fighting back at the time.

“But her attacker had marked her. They’d been dating for a few months when Jones got her pregnant. That’s when they realized what had happened that night. No one believed them when they said that Jones hadn’t been the one to do it.

“And it wasn’t until after….after I was born that they discovered where she’d been marked.” Ellery’s tone turned bitter. “Her family blamed Jones for all of it: marking her in a forbidden place, marking her before she was of age, and for marking someone who was not his Other.

“They refused to let him be present when I was born. Again, had they not been so small minded things would have been different. He would have been there to protect us both when her attacker returned. As it was, she was alone with me when he showed up again and even though she killed him, she didn’t survive his second assault.”

Her voice broke and I pulled her into my arms and let her cry. When her sobs turned to snuffles I asked, “was this asshole just obsessed with her? I can’t understand why he’d come back unless he was after more than just her.”

“He was. He was after both of us. Do you remember what I said about what happens when Fae mark their Others?”

“I do. When the female gets marked she becomes fertile and when she marks her Other….oh holy shit. He was trying to kill you that night and force her to mark him, wasn’t he? He was trying to steal all of her future children, wasn’t he?” She nodded. “Holy fucking shit. Why would someone do that? That’s appalling.”

“It’s because of who she was. Her last name was Thorn. The royal house of the Seelie is Sinclair, but the royal house of the Unseelie is Thorn. Rowan was the crown princess of House Thorn. As far as we can tell he was trying to infiltrate the family and usurp the throne for himself and his future progeny.”

“That is so disgusting, I can’t even….wait a minute. That means you’re descended from the heirs to both thrones?”

“Yes.”

“And one day you will unite both kingdoms under one ruler? Something that hasn’t been done since they split their courts back in, what was it…600 BCE?”

“Yes, but how did you know that?” she asked; confused.

Despite the seriousness of the conversation I couldn’t hide my exasperation. “Do I need to pinch your nipples to remind you that I have read that book?”

This brought a chuckle and a smile to her face. “No, but you can pinch them later.” Her expression turned serious again.

“Alexander, I’m terrified of that responsibility. The Seelie and Unseelie courts are so different from each other; I don’t know how it would be possible to ever make them both happy or satisfied being united.”

I stroked her cheek. “You won’t be facing it alone. You’ll have me.” She looked at me with such a forlorn expression that I decided that drastic action was called for. I reclined on the bed.

“So tell me, my future queen, does this mean I have to get a face tattoo?”

“What?” Ellery looked even more confused than before.

“Don’t male members of the Unseelie court have face tattoos? Around here?” I gestured to my left temple. A burble of laughter escaped her lips so I kept going.

“And don’t they have some sort of kinky element to their wedding ceremonies? Or is that the Seelie Court? I confess that I have trouble keeping some of the legends straight in my mind. Which one has the history of making people dance to death?

“I’d use you as a reference since I think you tried to do that to us with that bouncing exercise last month, but as you are equal parts of each I can’t tell.”

This brought forth another laugh which emboldened me further. “When the time comes do we need to get married twice, one for each court? Will we get twice the presents? Is it okay for me to accept gifts from the Fae?

“I realize that technically I have already accepted and enjoyed the greatest gift either Court could give me, which is you, so I don’t want to be considered greedy.”

Her laughter had grown steadier so I went in for my finale. “Do I get a fancy title? Prince Consort, Duke of Sex, Master of Her Majesty’s Bedchamber, Charmer of Panties and Giver of Orgasms?”

Tears were running down her face again, but this time from laughter. She clutched her stomach as she fell over hooting. When she finally calmed down she picked up my hand. “Thank you.”

I kissed her temple. “You’re welcome. I meant what I said before. You don’t have to face it alone. I will be there with you every step of the way. I just really hope I don’t have to get a face tattoo. I don’t think my mom would like it.”

She leaned in and kissed me, her shirt disappearing as she did. “I love you, Alexander Xavier Vos.”

“And I love you, Ellery Rowan Sinclair. Let me show you how much.”