"I've very proud of you, Lady Morgan," Darrach said as they ascended on the moving platform.
"You are?" Lilly asked in confusion.
"Yes. Granted, this is not what I had in mind when I told you to be more diplomatic, but this is a huge step for you. What about Lord Morgan, though?"
"You let me worry about him. The man is the head of the family, but the woman is the neck and she can turn the head any way she wants."
The platform stopped and the doors opened. Darrach eyed Lilly with a smirk. "And where, exactly, did you hear that?"
As they walked through the open doors, Lilly shrugged. "I don't know, why?"
"Well, not only do I have access to music from the future, I also have access to motion pictures. And that phrase, Lady Morgan, is from a motion picture called, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"."
"Hmm. Interesting title," Lilly remarked as they walked along. "So do you see all of the future?"
"Not all of it, unfortunately. A lot of it is clouded."
"I see." Lilly sighed and scratched her arm. "Darrach, may I ask you somethin'?"
"Of course."
"I came to see you earlier, about why my soul looks like a diamond...tree...thing, and you never answered me."
"Oh, well...I suppose there's no use in hiding it anymore, is there?" he chuckled. "Here's the thing. The Morrigan was only a few months pregnant when you were...taken from her, and you were almost dead, so I did the only thing I could do. I created a womb for you to stay in to heal you and that created...unforeseen developments."
"Unforeseen developments?"
"You became part machine and part tree."
Lilly stopped walking and looked at Darrach with wide eyes. "I'm...part Atlantean machine and part tree?!"
Darrach stopped walking and faced her. "Yes."
"H-How?!"
"I had to give you what is called a blood transfusion. And in doing so, you were changed, right down to your DNA."
"DNA?"
"In every cell of a living creature, there lies chromosomes that hold genetic information. My blood, or rather my tree sap, caused, uh...I think Dr. Van Helsing would refer to it as a mutation."
Lilly shook her head, not quite able to keep up with the science jargon. "So...does this mean that my children are machine trees too?!"
"Yes, but we should keep this a secret, at least for now."
"Why?"
Darrach sighed. "From what Cernunnos tells me, Atlantean machines were frowned upon. People were afraid of them and of the power they possessed, seemingly able to rival the gods. And, well, you can imagine how the gods reacted to that."
Lilly nodded. "I see. So it's for my safety as well as my kids' safety."
"Correct."
"Does anyone else know?"
"Just your mother and stepfather."
"Can I tell Arthur, at least? I don't want to keep any more secrets from him."
"Yes, you can tell Lord Morgan."
Lilly started walking towards the house with Darrach. "Does this make you my third parent?"
"In a way. I did end up giving birth to you, after all. Not in the conventional way, obviously, but-"
"What kind of womb was it?"
"An acorn."
Lilly burst out laughing. "Yeah, that makes sense!"
"It was all I had, really. You almost didn't make it, but even then, you were a strong and stubborn little thing that refused to die." Darrach hummed suddenly. "I can only imagine Carman and Apate's frustration that you just won't stay dead."
A snort escaped Lilly as they got to the house. "Well, I suppose I better go have my first session with Healer Cécht," she remarked as she opened the back door, but then she stopped, turned to Darrach and grabbed his hand. "Thank you, Darrach. For everything."
Darrach smiled before kissing her cheek. "You're welcome, Tyikrdan." [Daughter.]
"What's that?"
"It's Atlantean for "daughter"."
"Oh. What's Atlantean for father, then?"
"Vydran." [Father.]
"Vydran," she said slowly. "Alright. Do you think you could talk to Adair about what Corvin said? About the kelpie?"
"I can do that while you go see Healer Cécht."
"Thank you."
The two walked into the house and down the hallway towards one of the party rooms that they were having a gambling night in. While Darrach went to find Adair, Lilly went in search of Dian Cécht. She found him drunk off his ass at one of the poker tables so she decided not to bother him. Instead, Lilly found her way over to Arthur, who was playing Texas Hold 'Em with Lugh, Sean, Dutch and Hosea.
"Hello, boys," Lilly said as she came up behind her husband.
"Hi, Lilly," they all said.
"Arthur, may I steal you for a moment?"
Arthur looked up at Lilly with a grin. "Sure, darlin'." He got up and looked at the men. "I'll be right back." Lilly guided Arthur through the loud, smoky room towards the door and walked out, then they went to his study and got in. Arthur went and sat on the edge of his desk with a happy smile. "What's goin' on?"
Lilly sighed heavily before going to him and hugging him tightly, making Arthur hold her close. "I found out somethin' and I need you to remain calm for my sake because I'm about to lose it," she whimpered.
Arthur chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "What it is?" he asked gently.
"Darrach is kind of...my second father," she murmured into his chest.
"...Sorry, what?"
Lilly frowned up at him. "I'm part Atlantean machine and part tree."
Arthur's brow furrowed, looking extremely confused. "What...how...how is that possible?"
"Well, somethin' happened while my mother was pregnant with me and Darrach had to save me by...creatin' a womb for me and healin' me. By doin' that, I...mutated."
"Mutated?!"
Lilly frowned more deeply. "Please, Arthur, the last thing I need right now is for you to get hysterical."
"I ain't gettin' hysterical!" he yipped.
Lilly arched a brow at him before giggling. "Oh really?"
With a sigh, he rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine, but...I-I don't understand any of this."
"Neither do I. Darrach was goin' on about...DNA and chromosomes and some science shit I didn't understand a lick of, but we can't tell anyone. Darrach, my mother, my stepfather, you and me are the only ones who know about it and we need to keep it that way."
"Why?"
"For my safety...and the kids' safety."
Arthur's face went pale. "So...so the kids-"
"Yep."
"Oh for Christ's sake," he groaned.
"I'm sorry, Arthur," Lilly said apologetically.
"It ain't your fault, sweetheart," he said, pecking her lips softly. "It's just a lot to take in, but we gotta tell the kids eventually."
"Yes, but I think we should wait until they're older."
"Agreed."
"Also, um...I found some stuff out from Corvin."
Arthur's eyes narrowed. "And what did that bastard have to say?" he asked with a growl.
"Hey, be nice," she chastised softly. "It's not like he asked to be infected with dark magic."
As Lilly's husband sighed, she snuggled closer into him. "I know, but I still hate the bastard. What did he say?"
"Apparently the kelpie that Adair killed to avenge Olena was not the kelpie that actually killed Olena. In fact, the kelpie that Adair killed was a sort of...pet that Apate had since it was a foal."
"...Oh."
"Yeah, so...I guess part of this is because of a horrible misunderstandin'."
Arthur stroked her back while breathing in her scent. "Okay, and?"
"And...I would like to try for diplomacy instead of war."
He stared down at her like she'd grown a second head. "...What the hell for?"
Lilly sighed and buried her face into his chest. "One, I don't want to do anythin' that will endanger Cahira or my mother. Two, accordin' to Corvin, Apate was not originally like this."
"So...it ain't even her magic?"
"No," Lilly replied with a huff, looking up at Arthur once more. "I have a theory that Pandora's Box is responsible for it. Unfortunately, the only one I can think of who can tell us about Pandora's Box is Zeus. And, well, we fuckin' burned that bridge."
Arthur hummed before looking up, a quizzical look on his face. "Yes, we did. However...maybe his wife knows somethin' about it?"
"Hera? Would she even talk to us?"
"She might. I can ask Ares or Hephaestus to speak with her."
Lilly arched a brow. "You know them personally?"
"Yes. Aphrodite introduced me to them."
"...And when was this?"
"About a year ago."
Lilly cleared her throat, looking a little agitated. "And how long have you known her?"
"A couple years or so. She's quite a lady." Arthur smirked down at his wife. "Are you gettin' jealous, woman?"
"No," Lilly said through gritted teeth.
Arthur chuckled softly. "Liar, liar, pants on fire."
"Shut up."
He grasped her face and kissed her softly. "Oh c'mon, Lillian. You know you're the only woman for me."
Lilly backed up and crossed her arms. "What about Rose and O'Callaghan?"
Arthur quirked his mouth and sighed. "Honestly, honey, I've been tryin' to wrap my head around the fact that there are three of you and it ain't exactly easy for me to..."
"For you to what? Have three wives?"
"Well...yeah. Just, you know," he frowned, twiddling with his fingers. "I don't even know 'em. They might be you, but they also ain't. And it seems like a lot of work."
"A lot of work," Lilly huffed. "Care tah explain that?"
"...Well...it's hard enough keepin' you happy."
Lilly clicked her tongue, giving Arthur an irritated expression. "I see. I'm too difficult tah handle and three of me is worse, is that what yer sayin'?"
Arthur growled a little before lifting off the desk edge, his body tensing. "Don't twist my words, woman. That ain't what I meant."
"And what's this business that ya dunna know them? They're me subconscious, ya feckin' eejit!"
He sneered at her before getting inside her personal space, staring her down. "Yeah? And why does part of your subconscious want to kill me, Lillian? Can you explain that to me?"
Lilly raised her chin defiantly, glaring up into his eyes with a fire in her own. "Gee, I dunna feckin' know, maybe it's because ya kicked me out of me own house?! Or because ya tried tah beat the shite outta me? Or because ya waited three feckin' years tah come after me?!" Lilly screeched in his face. "I spent three years thinkin' ya didna love me no more, Arthur! Thinkin' ya feckin' abandoned me! Then tah have ya show up, in disguise, and serve me divorce papers?! FER A PRANK?! DO YA NOT GET HOW INCREDIBLY CRUEL THAT WAS?!"
Arthur blinked. "Well, I-"
Lilly's eyes started to water as she pointed a finger at him. "Yer damn lucky me heart didna fall out and break that night! Or that I didna drink myself tah death! Now I get why ya did it, but I didna at the time, ya stupid blockhead! And even if ya had gone with the original plan and waited until the night of the tournament, I'd still be pissed at ya!"
As Lilly's breathing began to labor and her lower lip started trembling, her body shaking from the anger she felt, Arthur lowered his head in shame. "I-"
"And ya was gonna have me stay mad at ya fer a whole week?! YA GOD DAMN GOBSHITE BASTARD!"
Arthur leaned back on the desk, covering his face with one hand as he took in a shaky breath. "I'm sorry..." he whispered.
"You...you..." Lilly sniffled before putting her hand down. "Dammit, Arthur, I'm sorry..."
"It was stupid of me, I see that now. I'm so sorry," he said, looking at her with tears brimming in his eyes. "I just got so caught up tryin' to win you back and I knew you'd appreciate it at the end, but...dammit, I'm just a fool."
Lilly sighed and took a step forward. "What exactly changed your mind when I showed up that night?"
Arthur huffed before rubbing his eyes. "Well, I came to see you when you got knocked out. I saw it happen with the map in your study and..."
Lilly blinked at him in confusion. "With my world map? How?"
"It can show you where a person is and you can see what's goin' on through their eyes. And before you ask, we tried findin' The Morrigan with it but it couldn't find her. Anyway, I got to Vietnam and," he sighed, looking down at his hands, "I saw you and...it was the first time I'd seen ya in three years, honey, and what should've been a happy reunion was..." he sighed again. "I was so worried about you. We didn't know what happened to you, so when you showed up later at The Dragon Palace, when I saw you on the balcony, I got...I got carried away. I was just happy you were okay."
Lilly approached him slowly, entwining their fingers together. "You got impulsive."
"Yes."
As she pressed her forehead to his, she closed her eyes. "It really is a pain in the arse when that happens, ain't it?"
Arthur snickered a little. "Yeah. When it comes to you, I can never think straight. I think you put on a spell on me," he teased.
"Pfft," Lilly giggled. "No I didn't."
"Oh, I'll take whatever spells you wanna throw at me," he said, wrapping her up in his arms. "As long as it means I get to keep you." Arthur gazed into her eyes lovingly. "All three of you."
The Irish countess smirked before placing a tender kiss on his lips. "Oh? Now ya want all three of us, aye?"
"If only I could," he replied charmingly. "I...you know, I've been wonderin' about what it would be like to have all three of you at the same time. Is that...bad?"
"No." Lilly bit her lip and chuckled deeply. "Come with me, mo chuisle," she said, pulling him up from the desk.
"Why?" he asked suspiciously.
"You'll see," she replied, leading him to the door and opening it. She guided him down the hallways to the stairs, rushing up them quickly to their bedroom. They got in, locked the door and Lilly ushered Arthur to the bed with a mischievous grin. "Close your eyes, and no peekin'."
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Arthur did as he was told and he waited for a few minutes, hearing Lilly move around the room and closet. He cleared his throat as he tried to not open his eyes. He was curious about what Lilly had planned and different ideas ran through his head.
"Okay, you can open them now," she said.
Arthur opened his eyes and they bugged out, his jaw practically dropping to the floor at what he saw. It wasn't just Lilly standing before him in lingerie, it was also Rose and O'Callaghan...in lingerie. Lilly's was red and she had on a silky laced corset, red straps against her thighs that connected between her red stockings and the bottom part of her corset.
O'Callaghan was in all white, a similar patterned corset and with a sort of unbuttoned shirt made of lace. A white flowery ringlet adorned one of her thighs.
Rose was in an all black two piece set with a garter belt. The lingerie looked tight on her and he gulped loudly at seeing her perky breasts pushed up. She had a metallic chain around her neck and wrists.
"Hello, m'lord," all three of the girls said.
Arthur's erection was straining in his pants and he laughed breathlessly before covering his mouth with both hands. "Holy shit!" he laughed nervously, leaning his elbows on his knees as he took them in.