The Raven's Source

Chapter 10 - Leaving the Nest

The day finally came where Twyn and Ilyana married, half of the village coming to celebrate. Their ceremony was kept small and elegant, flowers of every color lining the backs of chairs and tables. It was raining that day so they moved everything into a small church just up from their home.

Twyn's heart skipped as Ilyana stepped out from behind a wall and faced him. He regaled the night he asked Ily to marry him as he watched her walking toward him adorned in a beautiful white dress that faded into a soft blue at the bottom.

Twyn had told her to meet him under the bell tower at the toll of midnight to signify her Coming Of Age. He had arrived five minutes early but Ilyana was already there, Twyn having an impending sense of dread-filled déjà vu as a male stood just behind her in the shadows. He could sense many others around them too as he drew closely.

Ilyana stood in a beautiful blue dress, her blonde hair blowing gently in the fresh breeze, her eyes twinkling like the stars above.

"Good evening, Ily."

"You wanted to meet me here?"

"I did, I wanted to give you a gift as soon as the bell tolled." He swallowed hard, eyeing the man standing behind her as the shadow shifted.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the toll of midnight sounded. Ilyana gave a squeak of joy but Twyn froze, he started noticing more shadows around them. They weren't the only people here.

"Well? What is it? I'm so excited, Twyn, I can't wait anymore!"

Twyn walked up to her, stopping just a few steps shy. "W...why are there so many people here?" he whispered.

"To see your gift, silly," she whispered back. "Are you going to give it to me?"

Twyn could hear the smile in her voice, there wasn't any hint of danger. His heart raced and the fear in his gut started to ebb away. He cleared his throat.

"Ilyana Forsythia Collins, it would be a great honor to me if you would accept this gift, a gift that is the only one of its kind for a woman who also is truly one of a kind," he paused as he dug the box out of his pocket and kneeled, opening it in front of her. "Would you do me the honor of taking my hand in marriage? Will you marry me?" His eyes drifted to the shadows around him, especially the male behind Ily still.

"Yes!! Absolutely yes!!" she shrieked happily as she tackled Twyn, knocking him over and laughing. All the shadows, even the one Twyn worried most about, began clapping happily.

"Who the hell is the creepy shadow that was behind you by the way?" he whispered.

"You can't see that it's Erick?" she asked, looking Twyn in the eyes in surprise.

"Your brother? God, he looks so much more muscular in the dark. Scared the shit out of me."

She laughed, "You know he would never hurt you!"

"I'll explain the déjà vu I had later..."

The wedding had gone off without a hitch and Twyn and Ily spent their own honeymoon off at a cabin in the hills.

Ilyana had a lot of the same dreams as Leena—as many of the village Ladies—and within a few months of marrying, Twyn and Ily announced their first pregnancy in the middle of a picnic-style gathering.

"I guess it's finally time for us to leave Sundres," Shej said softly for only Leena to hear as many of their friends gathered around the expecting couple. "Do you still want to?"

"Absolutely. And I feel okay leaving him now that I know Ily can take care of him while we're away."

"Me too."

"I kind of want to stay and celebrate the birth, but they will need the bedroom for the baby. So I think the soonest we leave might be the best. Ily will definitely want to start nesting soon."

"Be truthful... You don't want to stick around because you don't want to see what I can't give you."

"I will never say or even think something like that, Shej," Leena said, a little bit of insult she felt floating on her voice.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. He realized he still had a lot of acceptance about himself to start actually accepting. He had never before felt as wanted as Leena made him feel, and he still fought the urge to hide behind his wall of secrecy, the wall he had to remind himself that he no longer possessed with her.

Leena looked up at him, "Shej, you told me everything that morning. Everything. I knew it all, I knew everything I was accepting. I don't regret that we can't get pregnant, so stop feeling sorry about it. And stop thinking that I regret marrying you because of...well, anything."

He flinched at her words because she was absolutely right.

Leena grinned and nudged him gently with her elbow. "Besides, it means we get to be as careless as we want. Whenever we want." She started to walk back towards the village as the picnic seemed to slowly start to wrap up.

"What about wherever?" he asked just as the path passed through a section of trees.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say wherever bu...Shej!" she exclaimed in surprise and laughed as he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into the wooded area, just out of sight of the pathway.

"Bet me," he playfully growled as he pinned her against the backside of a tree, kissing and biting at her neck, bunching up her maxi skirt in his fists until he had it hiked up to her hips. He ground himself against her teasingly.

"Fuck," she groaned at the sensation as she bit her lower lip.

"It would be my pleasure, m'lady."

With the car loaded only a few days later, Shej and Leena turned back to face Twyn and Ilyana. Ily stood rubbing her tiny bump as Twyn walked up to Leena. He was silent for a moment before he hugged her tightly.

"Be safe. I couldn't continue to live if something happened to my baby sister."

"You know I would never let anything happen to her." Shej lowered his voice and leaned in toward Twyn, "Plus, you've seen what she can do. Pretty sure she's going to be protecting me, not the other way around."

The twins both chuckled.

"We'll be back, Twynie. Whether it's because we're coming home, or because we found a home," she smiled lovingly at her brother as she spoke softly, rubbing her thumb across his cheek and wiping away a tear. "And you can send us pictures of baby when it arrives, okay?"