Family Matters

Life, Failure / Mishap

Natalya and Fenneck wake to find Fendir missing.

Natalya woke from her meditation and noticed Fenneck had already left their tower for the day. She knew he wanted to speak with Fendir about what had happened last night before he busied himself with work for the day. Natalya worried it would be more of a scolding than a talk, though. Fenneck had been quite embarrassed and upset last night. Natalya worried about them both before resting her hand on her stomach to greet her newest companion. The little elf inside her squirmed happily and Natalya sighed peacefully. She was surprised by how much she enjoyed being pregnant. She had been quite fearful of it before she bore Fendir. Once he came she was grateful for every private second they had spent together before he was born. He was so cheerful and curious about things. The little girl growing inside of Natalya was more reserved and emotional. Natalya saw Kotsik wake up from his bed and fly down to rest in Natalya's lap. He sniffed at her belly and greeted the baby as well. Like he had with Fendir, Kotsik was able to communicate with the new little elf inside of Natalya. Natalya hadn't told Fenneck about their newest family member yet. She was waiting for the perfect moment and recently Fenneck had been rather stressed about business and politics in the kingdom. After a few moments with her child and her pseudodragon Natalya stood and dressed for the day. She made her way down their tower stairs and opened the door to see Fenneck looking around angrily. "What's wrong?" She asked him. "Where's Fendir?" He asked her, "I have to get downstairs for a meeting but I can't find him." Natalya shrugged, "Did you check Sasha's room?" Fenneck rolled his eyes and walked over to the young half-elf's room. Natalya followed him and Fenneck knocked on the door. After a few moments and the sound of giggling the door opened to reveal Sasha in a robe she was still tying around her waist. Natalya noticed there were quite a few people in her room. Mostly halfling men and mostly naked. "Is my son here?" Fenneck asked harshly. Natalya rolled her eyes at his harsh tone. Sasha shook her head, "No, I didn't see him again after the fiasco that happened last night." Fenneck rolled his eyes and walked away from her door. "Sorry." Natalya told Sasha who shrugged understandingly before closing her door. Fenneck paced around and Natalya walked over to Kastella's room and knocked on the door. She waited a few moments before Killion opened the door excitedly and then immediately became disappointed when he saw her there. "You're not Kastella." Natalya said chuckling. "No I'm not." Killion replied. "I don't know where she is. I just came by to ask her something and she's not here." He said gesturing to her empty room. He seemed concerned but then again he always took the safety of his children very seriously. "Her things are missing Nat. Her sword and her backpack. Do you know where she might have gone?" He asked her, concerned, "Lenni just flew down to the woods to look for her." Natalya thought back on her conversation with her son the night before and turned to Fenneck who was impatiently pacing the halls. "Were Fendir's things missing? Like he was going somewhere?" She asked her husband who shrugged and walked back toward their son's room. "Fendir's missing too?" Killion asked. Natalya shrugged, "Supposedly." Natalya and Killion followed Fenneck down the hall to Fendir's room. They entered and noticed his things were also missing. It looked like he had packed in a hurry and Natalya felt a sinking feeling and wondered if he had heard her and Fenneck's conversation in the ballroom. "Where the hell is he?" Fenneck exclaimed angrily. "Surely if they left Lenni or the guards will catch them...right?" Killion asked, his voice growing worried. "Did you check on Niko this morning?" Natalya asked Killion. "Not yet. They don't exactly hang out though. You think they would have taken him with them?" Natalya turned out of her son's room to find Niko and was met with a worried Lenni in the hall. Seeing Lenni's look of concern caused Natalya's heart to drop. Killion being overly dramatic and protective was normal but Lenni sharing that concern made Natalya worried. "No luck, huh?" She asked him. He shook his head. "Fendir is missing too." She said and Lenni nodded understandingly. The two of them knew their children were fond of each other, if not quite stupid and over dramatic about it. Killion and Fenneck however tried not to see the affection the young elf and tiefling felt for each other. They worried it would only bring their lives heartbreak. "We should check on Niko." Lenni said and Natalya nodded as Lenni led the way back down the hall. Around the corner two more tieflings appeared. Syrion Badcock and his son, and they looked very frustrated. Syrion spoke upon seeing Natalya, Lenni, Killion and Fenneck, "Ah, finally some people who can hopefully tell us what's going on." His son joined him, "Yes, Kastella disappeared last night after completely ignoring my proposal." Natalya noticed everyone in the crowd grow confused. "You proposed to Kastella?!" Sasha asked, now fully dressed, walking out of her room and joining the confused posse. "Well, yes. I thought that was our agreement." He said turning toward Killion and Fenneck. Natalya raised her eyebrows at her husband and saw Lenni look at Killion with a look so fierce she could feel heat radiating from his anger. Killion looked confused and bewildered. "I agreed to no such thing!" He said defensively, "I said you could meet her and that you might get along but I never said you could just marry her! You barely know her!" Fenneck looked like he was about to blow his top from his confusion and anger at the situation. "Can someone please tell me where our children are?!" The Badcocks started arguing with the Damakos' while Sasha, clearly enjoying the chaos and drama of everything happening, casually asked Natalya, "Did they leave for their trip already?" Natalya looked down at Sasha in confusion, "What trip?" Sasha shrugged, "Yesterday Fen told me that he and Stella were going on an adventure or something. Something about a portal into another dimension that Niko had created." Natalya rolled her eyes at the men in front of her bickering over the right to control their children and started walking toward Niko's tower room. Sasha followed her and eventually the men noticed and followed behind them. Natalya went up to Niko's door and knocked loudly. She heard something fall over and Niko curse in Infernal before opening the door groggily. He was rubbing his head and looked like he was extremely hung over. He saw the group of people cluttered around his door and closed it quickly. Natalya heard the sound of Niko throwing up and she sighed deeply with disdain. Finally the door opened and Niko looked out at her, still looking confused and in pain. "Morning Nat. What...what's going on?" He said, concerned by the amount of people looking at him expectantly. "Where are Fendir and Kastella?" She asked him sternly. She saw him mouth her words back to himself as if he was trying to process them. After a few moments Natalya saw his eyes fill with fear. He looked up at Natalya and swallowed and tried to chuckle as if this was somehow a funny situation. A look from Fenneck and his fathers, however, told him it most definitely was not. "Well, they...they did come by last night." He said slowly. "And? What happened?!" Fenneck asked impatiently. "Well...they said to tell you...they were...going to Lenisily..." He looked like he was trying to remember what happened, "To...get married?" He looked confused and Natalya squinted her eyes at him. "What really happened Niko?" He frowned and looked down, "Well, I may have opened a portal for them to travel to another dimension so they could go on an adventure." He said quickly. "Another dimension?" Natalya asked him. Niko chuckled fearfully, "Well, yes. But don't worry! They have a way to get back! I think..." He said rubbing his pounding head. "YOU THINK?!" Fenneck exclaimed in rage. "Yes! Yes, I did! I remember now!" "Where did they go Niko? Can we go after them and get them back here?" Natalya asked firmly. Niko looked at Natalya and scrunched his face, "Well. No. I don't know where I sent them. That's kind of the thing about interdimensional travel. You can leave and come back but unless you have a particularly attuned item you can't choose where you go. So no. You can't follow them." Killion looked like he had died his face was so expressionless and Lenni was rubbing his own new headache. The Badcocks looked confused and Sasha seemed to be enjoying watching this take place. Fenneck, however, looked enraged. "Gods be damned!" He said angrily turning around. Natalya sighed and ran to him, "Fen, I'm sure they'll be fine! They have a way home-" He turned on her sharply, "And what if they don't?! What if they die there? They are just children Nat! They aren't supposed to be running off on adventures and getting themselves into danger!" Natalya fought the urge to cry and consider these things, "They're smart kids Fen. They're good on their feet. Kastella is one of the strongest fighters we know and Fendir-" "Fendir is a fucking child Nat! He's a baby compared to her! He's going to get them both killed!" Fenneck's green eyes were full of rage and she knew he was hurting and worried about his child. She felt tears start to sting her eyes as she, too, worried about her son, "They will take care of each other! I'm sure they'll be back within the day once they miss their comfy palace beds! They could use some time outside of Flottenheim anyway." "Not like this!" Fenneck yelled at her, his voice was cold, "This is all your fault! You never should have encouraged his stupid little crush! He's an elf Nat! He shouldn't be running off and falling in love with tieflings and half-elves!" He spun around and angrily walked down the hall away from the group. Natalya felt fear and embarrassment fill her and she slowly turned to see the others behind her. Lenni looked hurt and Killion still seemed to be steeping with rage. Sasha had tears in her eyes and the Badcocks had disdainful looks on their faces. Niko looked ashamed and had tears running down his cheeks. "I...I'm sorry." She said to them before shuffling after Fenneck. She made it downstairs and, not seeing her husband around, headed toward the lifts. She went down to the second level and walked past the bar. She knocked on a door in a rhythmic way to one of the homes and heard a gruff voice welcome her in. She opened the door and saw Dimitri sitting on his sofa near the fireplace, reading. She smiled and walked into the room, closing the door behind her. "Good morning Nat. How are you?" He smiled up at her as she walked over and curled up next to him on the couch. He gently wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead. As he did Natalya started sobbing. He held her for a while like that. Her face buried in his grey beard. Finally she looked up into his wrinkled face. Only his eyes remained the same steely blue they always were. And even over the years he had spent here in his old age they had grown happier and softer than they used to be. She felt a small hint of guilt for coming here instead of going after her husband but she needed to see Dimitri. To know that the love they had for each other was real and that it held just as much weight in her life as her love for Fenneck did. Fenneck's words had cut deep into her soul. She knew he meant well. He knew the pain that Natalya felt from Dimitri's coming demise. He didn't want that for their son. Natalya couldn't help but feel that Fenneck didn't understand the love and joy that Dimitri had brought to her life. The hope. Over the years, especially watching Fendir grow up, she had caught herself wondering what it would have been like if she and Dimitri would have had a child. If they would have had this life she now had with Fenneck. She was happy he was able to spend his last few years here. With them. He and Fenneck got along well enough. Fenneck visited him weekly for a game of dragonchess even. She still felt like Fenneck looked at her relationship with Dimitri as if it was a fluke because of their situation. She knew Fenneck didn't try to be a purist and knew that he didn't seem to judge others for their interracial marriages but he was always a bit confused and frustrated when it showed up in his own family. She knew he had some points about Fendir and Kastella but as Natalya curled up in Dimitri's now withered arms she knew that the pain and challenges that she and Dimitri had felt over their years had ultimately been worth it. She knew it would hurt when he left but she also knew the pain was a result of the love she felt for him. Love and pain went together in this world. That was why Fenneck's words had hurt her so much. No amount of meddling and pushing their children in different directions would change the way they felt about each other. "Fendir and Kastella ran away. Into another dimension or something. We can't go after them. Fenneck is angry." She told Dimitri, who hugged her tightly at these words. "Are they going to be okay?" He asked her gently but concerned. "I don't know." Natalya said as more tears spilled from her eyes. She loved her son more than anything in this world and couldn't bear to think about losing him. Dimitri held her close, "He's a smart kid. I'm sure they'll be fine. Especially if he's anything like his mom and dad. Honestly, Fenneck has no room to judge him." He chuckled. Natalya smiled and sighed at Dimitri's encouraging words. "Why do you think Fenneck is so angry?" She said sarcastically, "He sees so much of himself in Fendir. I think it worries him." Dimitri chuckled again, "Kastella's with him, huh? They'll be fine. They work well together. Always have. I always loved it when they would come over and show me their fighting skills and ask for tips when they were little." Natalya smiled at the memories. "Probably not my proudest parenting moment. Remember when you taught them the quickest way to bleed someone out properly?" Dimitri laughed, "They were what? Six? Kastella picked it up quickly. She's damn good with a blade that one." Natalya laughed and smiled, "Yeah, she gets that from her father." Dimitri chuckled, "Have you told Fenneck yet?" He asked, pointing to her stomach. "No, not yet. I really doubt today's the day for that." He chuckled again, "I don't know, you could tell him she's a replacement." Natalya elbowed Dimitri gently for his joke. "You should check on him Nat. He needs you." Dimitri said looking down at her sadly. "I know." She said quietly, feeling guilt rise up in her. She leaned up and kissed Dimitri on the cheek before leaving and going back up to the palace. She made it to their room and saw it was empty. She walked back down and as she passed Fendir's room she saw the door was left cracked open. She gently opened it and saw Fenneck sitting on their son's bed mat. He looked like he'd been crying. Natalya closed the door behind her and walked over to Fenneck and sat next to him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things." He said ashamedly. "You should apologize to Killion and Lenni...and Sasha." Natalya said as she leaned against him. "How's Dimitri?" He asked. Natalya lowered her head shamefully. "I'm not mad. I don't blame you. I was a jackass up there. I wouldn't have wanted to be around me either." Fenneck assured her. Natalya laid her head against her husband's shoulder. "I know Fendir is just a child Fen. But if he decides to fall in love with Kastella...that's his decision. I know he's a dumbass for doing this, that's obvious, but...you can't control his feelings. Yes, it will be painful but...trust me...sometimes the pain is worth the love." Fenneck leaned over and kissed her on the head. "I know. I'm sorry I'm so slow to learn that. I just don't want to see him - or her - in pain." Natalya found Fenneck's hand and squeezed it. "All we can do is trust them Fen. Hopefully they'll come home soon but...maybe they need this. Fendir's been restless. If nothing else this might help relieve some of that." "Or they'll never come back. If they die we...we wont know it Nat. Or if they decide to live their lives in this other world. We won't know. I don't know if I could live like that. With such a shadow living over me." He voiced the fear she didn't want to acknowledge. Fenneck wrapped Natalya up into his arms and squeezed her tightly around the waist. "Careful!" She said, instinctively fearing for the child. Fenneck loosened his embrace and rolled his eyes at her. "When were you planning on telling me?" Natalya sighed as Fenneck started caressed her. "I've known for weeks by the way. Your little dragon isn't as sneaky as you think he is. Besides, I knew the morning you realized because you started to glow the way you did when you were pregnant with Fendir." "I didn't glow!" Natalya said, confused. "Well not actually glowing but..." His voice grew soft as his hand found her cheek and caressed her face, "Your skin is warmer and you just seem to...glow." His eyes beamed with admiration for her and they briefly forgot about their missing son. "It's a girl." Natalya said, gently caressing her stomach. Fenneck smiled, "What's her name?" Natalya smiled and looked lovingly at her belly, "We haven't decided yet." Fenneck kissed Natalya and gently lowered her onto her back. "Fen. Seriously. Not our son's bed." She said laughing. Fenneck rolled his eyes, "It's the ultimate power move to get back at him for leaving." Natalya rolled her eyes and kissed her husband. He pulled back and sighed admiringly at her, "I have a meeting I should go attend." Natalya nodded and sat up. Fenneck stood and helped her to her feet. "I love you." Natalya said kissing him. "I love you too." They walked to the door and took a longing look back at their son's room. "He'll be back." Natalya said confidently. Fenneck kissed her forehead, "I hope you're right my love. I hope you're right."