The Garden

Life, Identity

Fenneck and Natalya realize how dangerous it is for her location to be revealed in Glitterfjell and they decide to try and be more careful as they travel through the city and to use her birthname as a deterrent for the rumors circulating about Fenneck and his beloved. Baegla also tells Fenneck to right up a proposal for an election system for Glitterfjell.

Fenneck opened his eyes as the sun's radiant light broke through the glass ceiling and the leaves and flowers above them. Fenneck smiled and looked down at Natalya who was pressed against him. She looked up and smiled sweetly as he leaned down and kissed her lips gently, savoring the beautiful moment as the flowers opened up around them to welcome the day. "Good morning," she told him in Elvish. "Good morning, my love." Fenneck took her hands in his own and looked into her beautiful green eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked her. She nodded slowly. "I am. I'm a little overwhelmed but..." She smiled and glanced over at the tree. "I'm okay. It's nice to know," she decided. Fenneck pulled her into his lap. "Please forgive me," he asked her softly. She shook her head at him. "It wasn't your fault, Fen. I know how powerful Pufuktin is. I know the things the KAV does. It's honestly a miracle you and Vyndius weren't killed for witnessing it." She gently caressed Fenneck's cheeks. "And Gwynsickle," he reminded her. She chuckled. "Right." They laughed a little before Natalya frowned. "What... what exactly happened? How did he do it?" she asked him. Fenneck rubbed her back lovingly to comfort her. "He stabbed your father a few times and he... he whispered something to your mother that killed her instantly. He used dark, evil magic. He did something to Vyndius too. He touched his head and caused him to... it seemed to damage his mind. His expression became blank and he looked confused. Erik-" Fenneck swallowed, upset for slipping up and tried to move passed it. "Luckily, we were able to heal him but it was very unsettling." He watched Natalya's face and saw a wide range of reactions. "He would do that to Dimitri," she explained sadly. "When he would... beat him or punish him. I'm not really sure and neither was he. Part of the effect was that he couldn't remember. He would come out of Pufuktin's office with giant black gashes and in searing pain." She swallowed painfully at the memory of it and Fenneck felt his heart break for her and Dimitri's horrible situation. Fenneck wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly into his chest. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry you had to be there. To experience such horrible things." He kissed her head and she nuzzled into him. He gently caressed the soft, flowy fabric of her gown, wishing their lives had been different. Natalya sat up and gave him a small smile. "It's okay. For some reason, I don't regret it. My life has sucked, yes, but... I can't imagine not being there for Dimitri all those years. Or the fact that I never would have killed Staladin. Or even defeated Arrallath," she said thoughtfully. "The training was pretty useful," she joked, half-heartedly. He heard the door to the pavilion open and Natalya's eyes widened in horror as she looked down at her scandalous night gown. Fenneck laughed at her and pulled her in for a kiss as a family of humans walked in with two small children. The mother gasped and quickly covered the eyes of the children as they walked around the corner and saw Fenneck and Natalya curled up in each others arms on the floor, Natalya's beautiful breasts clearly visible through the soft blue fabric. The husband blushed and awkwardly bowed. "Your highness," he stuttered. Fenneck suddenly remembered that he was indeed a prince and that people tended to recognize him. He waved the poor fellow off. "Please, don't bow," he awkward stood and pulled Natalya off the ground. "I despise that shit-sorry-thing. Don't curse kids. Unless your parents don't care then do whatever." Natalya giggled at his floundering. The wife looked like she was in shock. "Well," Fenneck declared, trying to escape the awkward situation. "We should be heading up to the palace. Have a wonderful day." Fenneck bowed to family and pulled Natalya toward the entrance. She giggled and Fenneck pulled her into his arms when they were out of the families sight and kissed her passionately. "I love you so much..." he suddenly frowned, unsure of what to call her. She sensed this and frowned as well. "Do... do you want to change your name?" he asked her. She shrugged and looked panicked at the notion. "I don't know," she said, giving Fenneck a worried look. He pondered this for a moment. "Well, you don't need to decide right now. I love Natalya, it would be quite hard not to call you that at this point but I understand if you feel the need to take your birthname. Kapelya is an exquisite name," he told her. She shrugged sadly. "I'll think about it. You can still call me Natalya though," she assured him. He pulled her in for another kiss and enjoyed the smell of the orchids blooming over their heads. "We should get you up to the palace to change," he told her, giving her a playful smile. She blushed. "It's not too vulgar is it?" she asked, looking down at her dress. Fenneck smiled. "Quite the contrary," he teased her lovingly. "I'm perfectly happy to show off my beautiful partner to the city, unless however, she finds it extremely uncomfortable to which I would tell her she probably should have considered that before running off into the night without even a pair of slippers on her feet." He kissed her nose affectionately and she gave him a shy smile. "Very well!" she declared as she pushed open the pavilion door and walked out into the street. It was snowing lightly and as her feet hit the fresh layer of cold powder on the ground she jumped in surprise. Fenneck laughed and scooped her up into his arms to carry her to the palace. She giggled as he squeezed her into his chest. He was grateful for her dainty, light frame as he carried his beloved up the giant mountain. Occasionally people would pass them by with an odd look but Fenneck was too happy to care. When they got to the palace doors the guards hurriedly opened them and he walked in and plopped her down in the throne room to catch his breath. In the throne room was Baegla, Jasna, Vyndius, Catherine and Gwynsickle who all looked up in surprise at Natalya and Fenneck who were laughing together in the entryway. Natalya tried to hide herself in Fenneck's arms, to no real success. Catherine gave Fenneck a joyous smile and Jasna was very clearly admiring Natalya's beautiful body through the fabric. Baegla looked confused and Vyndius, for once in his life, was at a loss for words. Fenneck cleared his throat. "We're going to go change and then we'll see you all when we head back up into the mountains in few minutes." He politely bowed and pushed Natalya to the stairwell, prompting them both to start giggling as they ran up to their tower. As the door closed Fenneck picked her up in his arms and spun her around the room. "I love you so much, Natalya." He started kissing her neck as he gently pushed her against the wall and pressed his body into her own. She gasped in excitement and tightened her legs that were wrapped around his waist. "I love you, Fen." She breathed as he kissed her breasts over her skimpy nightgown. She giggled and after a few moments. Fenneck lowered her back to the floor and stepped away from her to control his intense desire to make love to her. "We should get ready to go. We've spent too much time here as it is," he breathed, walking over to his wardrobe to change. Natalya nodded and removed her nightgown, letting Fenneck admire her beautiful naked body. "You're so sexy." He gave her a painfully longing look. "You're the one who wants to wait," she teased him as she started getting dressed. Fenneck smiled. "I do. Only because I love you so damn much though. I honestly love the build up," he said, admiring her. She smiled. "Me too, honestly. I didn't think I would be able to but... this is just different," she observed. Fenneck nodded. "It is. I also want us to be sure. I know everything seems crystal clear right now but I am cautious considering how these last few years have been." He wrapped his cloak around his shoulder and put his bow on his back. "Yeah," Natalya agreed. "I do love you though." She looked up at him and gave him a smile. Fenneck went to her and pulled her into his arms. "I love you too, Nat. I love you so much and I'm so excited for this next chapter in our lives." He kissed her and moved to his backpack to make sure they had everything they needed. When they were ready they headed back down into the throne room. Their friends gave them coy looks as they entered. "There's the happy couple!" Baegla announced, beckoning them over. "Fenneck darling, I would like a work with you in the conference room before you head out." She got up off of her seat and waved him to follow her. Fenneck gave Natalya a peck on the cheek and followed the little halfling. When he closed the door behind him Baegla motioned for him to sit down at the table which had a big stack of law books on it and some scrolls. "I don't want to keep you long," she started. "A couple things though. Is it true? Catherine and Vyndius told me about Natalya." Fenneck nodded. "Yes. It's her," he confirmed with a sad smile. Baegla gave him a comforting look. "I'm so sorry. I'm sure you both had a very emotional night then. I assume she went to the pavilion last night?" Fenneck nodded. "She's still a bit overwhelmed but she's happy I think. She wants to consider her name for a bit before she decides to change it or not. She wants everyone to refer to her as Natalya for the moment." Baegla rubbed her chin with her fingers. "Fenneck dear, as a prince it will be fairly difficult for us to keep your relationship with her secret for much longer. Supposedly quite a few people have started to notice her and rumors have begun to circulate." Fenneck squinted his eyes at her. "So?" he asked her, unaware of the problem. Baegla sighed. "Pufuktin will find out eventually dear. I just want to keep everyone safe. Perhaps, in the public eye, she starts using her birthname to defer the rumors. Just in case Pufuktin is looking for her." Fenneck sighed. He hadn't considered this. He nodded. "I suppose so. I never really considered that I would draw attention to her," he said sadly. Baegla nodded. "I know dear. I think everything is fine at the moment. I just want to defer what we can. Especially with the refugee system. We can't let word of it get back to Pufuktin and risk Dimitri losing his life for this." Fenneck nodded understandingly. "I also have a proposition for you," she announced. "And what would that be?" he asked her. She smiled and pushed the pile of books toward him. "I want you to write up a proposal for a democratic election process and how it could safely be incorporated into Glitterfjell." Fenneck lit up at this notion. "Really?!" he asked Baegla in shocked excitement. She nodded. "Really. However, I need it to be perfect. I want you to take these books and do some extensive reading and work while you're in the mountains. I also know you'll be heading to Sivania in few months for Alexei's wedding so while you're there, Rajyet has offered to sit you down with his court officials and they can lend their expertise to this endeavor. I want to have faith in such a system, Fenneck. I really do. I need to be confident though. I need you to take your time with this and any other suggestions and proposals you'd like to bring to my attention. I planned on pulling you aside last night after the party but you and Natalya had run off already. Consider this a birthday gift." Fenneck looked at Baegla as if she had just opened an infinite portal of puppies into the room. He got up and pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Baegla!" he told her excitedly. She giggled at his excitement. "Of course love. Tell Natalya she had better start coming into Flottenheim on her birthdays too, now that we know it," she told him. Fenneck pulled back in surprise. "Oh! I guess we do, don't we?" Baegla nodded. "I've already marked August twenty-seventh on my calendar for next year!" Fenneck chuckled. "She'll hate the attention but I'll try to make sure she's here," he promised. Baegla smiled. "Wonderful. I won't keep you any longer dear." They stood up and Fenneck collected his new books into a bag and they walked back out into the throne room. Natalya was speaking to the others and turned to smile at Fenneck and Baegla as they walked in. Baegla walked up to Natalya and took her hands in hers. "Welcome home, dear." She squeezed Natalya's hands lovingly and Natalya smiled. "Thank you," she told Baegla sweetly. Fenneck leaned over and kissed his beautiful partner. "Ready to head out?" he asked her. She nodded and they hugged their friends goodbye before heading home to the mountains. They made it to the cave as it was growing dark out and they smiled as they entered their perfect little home. They took off their things and Fenneck excitedly kissed Natalya and pushed her down into their little nest of blankets and pillows. "Are you not starving?" she asked him desperately as he kissed her. "I'm starved for your touch!" he teased her. She batted him away playfully. "You're a mess! I'm hungry!" She walked over to their stockpile of food and grabbed some bread to snack on. Fenneck sighed happily into their bed. "So tomorrow we'll head to the check point at the border and you can check the stones to see if Dimitri has said anything." Natalya nodded. "Yeah. I hope he's doing okay." She came back over and settled down in bed next to Fenneck. "Me too," he said sitting up next to her. "So did Baegla just ask you about me?" she asked him. Fenneck smiled excitedly. "Yes, she did ask about that but she also gave me my birthday present." Natalya raised her eyebrow curiously. "Well? What was it?!" she asked him, enjoying the excitement in his face. "She wants me to write out a proposal for an election system for Glitterfjell. She gave me all these law books and she wants me to focus on writing out any political propositions I might have for the city," he told her excitedly. Natalya smiled. "You're so adorable," she commented. "You feel good about it?" she asked him. He nodded. "I have a lot of reading to do for now, but I'm actually really excited to be more politically involved." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek blissfully. "How are you feeling?" he asked her. She shrugged. "I'm okay. Still processing everything," she commented. Fenneck nodded. "Baegla also brought up the matter of your safety... and Dimitri's," he said, changing the conversation to a more serious matter. "She suggested we use your birthname in public from now on. To try and hide your presence here," he told her. Natalya nodded. "It's probably a good idea, huh?" she asked. Fenneck sighed. "Since we do live in the palace and I am a prince it's a bit hard to hide our relationship. We are very careful not to let spies in but who's to say if something has slipped past us. We also have to consider the refugees and Dimitri," he said. "Yeah. Okay," Natalya agreed, sounding disheartened to have to think about such things. Fenneck kissed her on the cheek. "We're going to be okay, love. I promise. I'll keep you safe, no matter the cost. Maybe we should spend the winters here and maybe just visit for a few days at a time," he suggested. Natalya nodded. "What about the wedding?" she asked him. Fenneck shrugged. "I still want to go. Perhaps we can change your hair or something while we're there, just in case any spies have slipped into Thymryu," he suggested. "I want you to go with me. Alexei and Padma are dying to meet you and they'd never forgive me if I didn't bring you." He squeezed her tightly into his chest. She leaned against him and settled against him sadly. "Natalya, we're going to be okay. Dimitri is going to be okay. I'll do everything in my power to make that happen," he promised her. "I love you so much, Nat. We're going to figure this out." He hoped he was right. He wanted to run into Lenisily and hunt down Pufuktin himself but he knew it would be suicide. Lenisily was too powerful and it was rumored that Pufuktin had all but barricaded himself in the Krasnoye Fortress over Leniscow. He was virtually impossible to get to.