1.12 - A Realm Torn Asunder

As soon as they arrived at Shae's house, Drest's attention was captivated by all of the little toys. "Whoa! What is this?" he exclaimed, picking up a construction vehicle and guiding it through the air, as if it were flying.

Shae sighed. "Focus.You have some explaining to do. Put the toy down and let me know what you're doing here."

Drest grinned and looked up at her, "Well, my sweet. I've come to take you away. Back home, we go!"

Shae blushed at the endearment, but shook her head. "Come on. Stop playing around. You've put the entire Realm in danger by showing yourself around here. The vampires and werewolves are feared by the humans. They are safe here. But the wee folk? You're putting them all in terrible danger. They would by hunted, harvested for their powers. If the elders found out you were here..."

Drest leapt to his feet, still grinning. "Where did all the playful energy of your youth go?" he shook his head as he stepped closer. "No need to be so serious."

In an instant, he had her in his arms, his playful grin gone. He was all smouldering fire, desire burning in his eyes as he brought Shae in for a kiss. She knew she really shouldn't cave in so easily, not before knowing his motives. But he had been her childhood crush. How could she say no now that he was finally fulfilling her girlhood dreams?

When they finished their bedroom dance, Drest was the first to go back into the living area, where he was greeted by a shocked Illdrid. "What are you doing here?" she exclaimed, barely able to comprehend that there was a full-blooded fairy standing in their living room.

Drest showed his signature grin and announced, "Your sister and I just created a baby. I'm going to take them home and we will overthrow the elders and rule the Realm!"

"What?!" was the only word Illdrid could get out of her mouth. There were so many thoughts swimming around in her head, feelings of panic and betrayal, she couldn't even form a full sentence.

Drest sensed her confusion and sighed. "You and your sister have become awfully serious. Are you sure you're even half fae? I guess I have to start from the beginning. It was the day you were exiled and your parents executed. The Realm became divided into two factions - those who supported the Elders' decisions, and those who thought that banishing or executing our own was unacceptable, even if you were only halflings. The Elders got word of this dissenting faction and began exiling more of us to this world. I'm surprised you haven't seen them around. I guess you don't get out much. Anyway, this caused an uproar and now we're in a full blown war. I'm the leader! I used magic to make sure your sister conceived. Now I'm going to take her back home and when this fight is over, we will be the rulers of the Realm!"

Shae gasped. She had exited her room and had been standing quietly by the door, listening to Drest's explanation. He whipped around and smiled, but his smile quickly faltered when he saw the look on Shae's face. "How could you do this?" she asked, shaken and pale.

Drest wrinkled his brow, an expression that was entirely foreign to his playful nature. "I don't understand. I thought you would be happy. You were so sad that day, when you had to leave. And you look so sad right now. It just doesn't make any sense."

Shae mustered up a wry smile. "You know, I would have been happy if you had come just a few years sooner. I've wanted to return home since the day we got here. But I have a daughter now. Illdrid has two sons. I can't possibly leave them."

Drest clapped his hands in excitement as he looked around the room. "Oh what a great trick! I suppose that would explain all the fun toys. Well, we'll just have to bring them all! The kids AND the toys!"

Shae's heart melted a little bit, but she knew she couldn't say yes. "I'm sorry, Drest. It just won't be safe for them there. My daughter, Aoife is part werewolf. Dagon is mostly human. Evandrus has vampire blood, though he hasn't exhibited any of the powers that come with it. Our people would never accept them."

Drest nodded his head in understanding. "You're right. But they will accept them when I am ruler. I see that I've come too soon. I will be back, when the war is over, and you will be my queen!" Drest didn't waste any time. He turned into his sprite form and shot out of the house.

The sisters looked at each other in astonishment. Each felt like a tornado had just whirled through their lives and just as quickly, it had disappeared. But they didn't really have time to dwell. It was Aoife's birthday. Illdrid brought the baby and Shae brought the fanfare.

And in a flash of light, little Aoife became a very solemn looking child. But despite her appearance, she was actually quite good-natured. The smallest things amused and excited her. And the only thing she was afraid of were the monsters under her bed.

At breakfast the following morning, Shae was craving cake. She sat beside Illdrid, who was happily munching on pancakes. Shae cleared her throat, trying to figure out how to broach a delicate subject. "Hey, so...what if Drest wasn't joking about the whole baby thing?"

Illdrid almost spit out her breakfast, gripped with sheer panic at having to feed another mouth. "Are you...are you certain?"

"I'm feeling moody, irritable. I've got cravings. No, I'm not certain...but it certainly seems probable. Oh, Illdrid. What are we going to do?" Shae through up her hands in exasperation. She made another naive mistake. And now they'd be left to raise another kid without any help from its father.

Aoife met Dagon in the living room before her first day of school. She wasn't really worried about how it was going to go. But still, her cousin was older. It couldn't hurt to ask him for advice. "Anything you need to warn me about?" she asked.

Dagon stared blankly at her, still too tired to function. And then he thought about the cafeteria. "Don't eat the hot dogs. Too many chemicals. In fact, don't eat anything. It'll kill you some day."

Aoife just quirked an eyebrow at him, but didn't poke fun at his weird paranoia. He wasn't quite neurotic, but his Eco-friendliness was a bit obsessive.

When Shae returned from work, she took her frustrations out on the toilet. She'd felt nauseous all day. It had pretty much confirmed her fears that Drest really had impregnated her. And she wasn't looking forward to more kids. They could barely afford the ones they had. With pregnancy, brought maternity leave, so she wouldn't even be able to advance in her career.

In the kitchen, Illdrid read up on a recipe that she just knew would make her sister feel better. Dagon sat across from his mother, attempting to do his home work, despite the loud clanging coming from the bathroom. It was giving him a headache. And he certainly hoped his mother planned on using organic ingredients in whatever recipe the was planning to use.

Milk. Cheese. Pasta. Flour. Miscellaneous spices. Check, check and double check. Illdrid set about making the mac and cheese for dinner. She knew Shae would be thrilled. It was her favorite human meal. Plus, she'd heard her mumbling in the bathroom about her "stupid cravings." Illdrid secretly grinned to herself. She sure was glad she wasn't the pregnant one.

Meanwhile, Aoife had joined Dagon at the dinner table to do her own homework. She groaned as the looked at the math problems. "Ugh. This homework thing sucks!"

Dagon looked down at his almost complete page, not really wanting to spend another couple of hours helping his cousin. "Yeah," he replied. "But you'll the hang of it." He finished off his problem and vanished into his bedroom before Aoife could ask for his help.

When he emerged for dinner, Aoife was still immersed in the difficult math problem. He scarfed down his mac and cheese, thinking the adults would interject to help her. But they were both too immersed in the impending baby problem to notice how much Aoife was struggling. Hours passed, and she was still there. Her mood was plummeting as her stomach growled.

And then...

It happened. Fire consumed her as she felt hair sprouting from her skin, her nails stretching painfully from her flesh...growing longer and longer. Her jaw displaced, her brow collapsed forward. Aoife howled in agony. But when the transformation was over, she felt consumed with an invincible sense of power.

"Watch out, bed monsters! I'm coming for you!" Aoife growled, running into her bedroom and looking under her bed. Unfortunately, her new form wasn't enough to keep her from becoming terrified of the red glowing eyes she saw under there. She ran back into the living room, right into her mother. Shae tried not to panic, seeing her daughter fully transformed. She had never seen Derek in his wolf form and she wasn't quite certain how to handle her daughter.

But luckily, she was still the same sweet little girl. And all she wanted was a bedtime story to chase away the thoughts of scary monsters. Shae brought her into the bedroom she and her sister shared, knowing Illdrid wouldn't mind sleeping in Aoife's bed for the night. Shae read her daughter a story of a brave little girl who overcame her fear of the dark. But Aoife fell asleep before the message could sink in. And soon, Shae found herself yawning. She crawled into bed next to her daughter and was asleep within moments.

Shae rolled out of bed around 3am, feeling a strange sensation in her stomach. It expanded, ever so slightly and Shae sighed. She had just received all the confirmation she needed of her pregnancy. She seriously hoped that Drest was true to his word in making the Realm a safer place for hybrids.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

Alright! Baby number four is on the way. I'm desperately hoping for twins. I can't even imagine how I'd explain ANOTHER unplanned pregnancy. I really like how Aoife is turning out. She looks a lot like her father, features wise. She has Good Sense of Humor, Easily Impressed, and Brave traits. She is constantly looking under her bed and finding monsters. And then freaking out. Dagon hasn't even once checked.