“Yes, thank the gods,” Taegan laughed, pulling back the folds of fabric so he could see. Nahara’s face was pressed flush against him, her eyes firmly closed in a deep sleep. Even from this angle the tiny points of her ears poked through her soft black hair, but her ears seemed to be all she had inherited from Taegan as far as he could tell. Her dark hair, pale greenish-gray skin, and eyes that had steadily lightened to a honeyed yellow were all far more Zorvut in appearance.
The timing of her arrival had not exactly been ideal—she was just under a month old now. Their official coronation ceremony had been only three days ago and was the longest Taegan and Zorvut had been away from their daughter since she was born. Now, after the festival celebrations had died down, they would be sitting in the new throne room for the first time today to receive petitioners and welcome visiting nobles. But Taegan was loath to leave her, and so they had decided to keep her with them, at least for now.
Zorvut leaned down to carefully, gently press a feather-light kiss to the top of her head. Peering down at her for a moment, he shifted slightly, tilting his head up to then kiss Taegan, just missing his lips and instead kissing the corner of his mouth, eliciting a laugh from each of them.
“Hopefully she’ll keep sleeping,” Taegan said as Zorvut straightened, carefully pulling the fabric back over her face. “I’m glad my father decided to stay after the coronation ceremony. I’m sure he’d be happy to take her if she wakes.”
“Not like anyone can tell us not to have her here,” Zorvut mused, a grin still lingering on his face.
Taegan laughed, shaking his head. “No, I suppose not, and she is the princess, after all. Still, it would be best to make a good impression on our first official day on the job.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Zorvut nodded, taking a step back. “Really, I look alright?”
“Of course you do!” Taegan exclaimed. “Look at you. I love your hair at this length. The color suits you. And the crown…” He paused, a slight smile spreading across his face. “Well, it is intimidating, but in a good way.”
“Hmm,” Zorvut replied, smiling wryly in response. “I suppose I’ll have to trust your opinion. Here, why don’t you sit down? Are you tired?”
“Not at all,” he said, shaking his head, but he sat down anyway, knowing his husband would fuss and worry over him until he did.
Though Zorvut would be sitting on the throne today, there was a second chair just beside it that he settled into. It was not quite as ornate, but was a bit more comfortable, so it was a sacrifice he was more than happy to make. They had already decided they would alternate who sat in the main throne, but Taegan thought it fitting for Zorvut to be the first to be seen upon it.
From the opposite end of the hall, three sharp knocks rapped on the wooden door. Zorvut frowned, glancing over his shoulder as the sound of it unlatching echoed through the empty chamber.
“I thought it wasn’t supposed to be for another twenty minutes,” he muttered, turning around, but when the door opened the figure following the elven guard was not an orc, or another elf, but a human.
“Tom!” Zorvut exclaimed, all but leaping in surprise as the man’s familiar visage came into view, smiling broadly at them. “What are you doing here?”
“I made it in time!” Tomlin Whitmore exclaimed in response, the joy in his voice nearly palpable. His hair and beard were short-cropped and tidy still, but the clothes he wore were much more formal than the casual wear they had only ever seen him in before, dark and silky and austere. “I just got here yesterday, missed all but the last few hours of the festival. Just my luck, of course. But more than that I just wanted to see—to see you.” He paused, still beaming, but he pressed his lips together tightly as if holding back tears. “And Taegan, of course. And is that…?”
Taegan stood quickly though he had just sat down. “Yes, the little princess. Let me get her.” He had hoped she would sleep through most of the morning, but Tom was looking at the soft bundle of cloth so eagerly that he couldn’t deny him the chance to hold her now. Tom closed the distance between them, standing anxiously between Taegan and Zorvut as Taegan lifted down the layers of cloth and carefully retrieved their daughter from where she was pressed to his chest. Nahara stirred slightly as she was lifted from the cloth wrap, but luckily stayed asleep as he placed her into Tom’s waiting arms. He held her silently for a long moment, looking down at her sleeping features, before letting out a long, drawn-out sigh and hugging her gingerly to his chest.
“And to think it was hardly more than a year ago that I didn’t even know you existed,” he said softly, finally pulling his eyes away from his granddaughter to look up at Zorvut. “You’ve done… You’ve done extremely well for yourself, Zorvut.”
The half-orc let out a bark of a laugh, shaking his head. “I owe much of it to you. And Taegan. I couldn’t have done any of this without help.”
“I just want you to know I’m proud of you,” Tom said quickly. “I wanted to be here to see you, now that you’re truly king. So you would know you’d always have my support. And, well…” He glanced back down at Nahara, grinning. “I certainly wanted to meet the little one, too.”
Zorvut nodded, and though his expression remained steady, from the bond Taegan could feel his heart overflow with pride. “Thank you. That means a lot to me. I’m glad you were able to come meet her so soon, too.”
“You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like, of course,” Taegan said smoothly. “In fact, my father is in town as well. Perhaps the grandparents would like to meet?”
“Oh, gods, I don’t know if I can handle meetingthreekings in one day,” Tom said with a laugh, shaking his head. “Here, I’ll give her back to you. I know you’re going to be busy soon. I just wanted to see you both.”
“How long will you be in town?” Zorvut asked, though his eyes lingered on Nahara as Taegan took her back into his arms.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Tom said, shrugging. “I planned on a week, but I can stay longer. I’d love to spend as much time with you as you can spare, of course, but I know this is a busy time for you.”
“It’s no trouble at all,” Zorvut said with a firm nod. “I’ll have guest quarters prepared for you. Whatever room you paid for last night, I’ll cover it. You can stay as long as you’d like.” He glanced back over at the doors, which were closed once more. But the elven guard standing there, politely waiting for Tom, gave him a quick nod at the unspoken question. “But, unfortunately we are just about to expect our first guests…”
“Of course, of course. Don’t let me throw off your first day,” Tom said, taking a quick step back. “And thank you for your hospitality. I’ll be around, so call me up whenever.”
“Join us for dinner tonight,” Taegan said, and Tom nodded eagerly even as he was walking away.
“I’ll plan on it,” he said, and followed the elven guard back out the heavy double doors. Though the smile on his face was small and contained, Taegan could feel Zorvut was pleasantly surprised that Tom would be staying.
“Ready?” he asked as he turned back to Taegan. “Here, I’ll help.” Carefully they re-wrapped the baby against Taegan’s chest, and though she wriggled a bit in protest her eyes remained sleepily closed.
“I should be asking if you’re ready,” Taegan teased once she was settled back in place. “You’re the one who’s going to be doing most of the work today. I’m just here to look pretty.” Zorvut laughed, shaking his head.
