"We've got another letter." Bel informs me practically buzzing with excitement as he enter our tent waving the letter around. Not wasting anymore time he sits himself down in my lap and opens the letter so that we can both see it, chances are he'll read it aloud anyway but it's comforting seeing Lilas's handwriting.
I'd hoped that since we'd stopped near a town so that we could send our latest report back to Hadlau that there'd be a letter waiting for us. We've steadily been writing a letter but won't send it until we've read this letter and added to our own. I close my eyes listening to Bel read the letter imagining Lilas and Emmy here with us telling us about their day. Then Bel stutters and goes silent.
"Bel?" I question opening my eyes trying to find out what's wrong with him. Nothing seems wrong so I start reading the letter maybe something's happened to Lilas or Emmy. Just like Bel did I freeze staring at the word that's changed everything.
"Pregnant. Emmy's pregnant." Bel breathes out just as shocked as I am. We've all thought about this happening but imagined it being many years into the future, not so soon after we've started having sex. And certainly not when we aren't even there and might not be for months maybe even a few years depending on how things turn out. "Gods, we won't be there."
The knowledge that we're not going to be there for the pregnancy weighs heavily on both me and Bel as we sit there absorbing the news. Biologically this baby could only be mine or Lilas, with the odds slightly more in my favour, but we'll all love the child equally and all be counted as parents. It will give me and Bel something more to fight for so that our baby can be born in a safe world.
"Fight. Win. Home, to Emmy, Lilas and the baby." I grunt out drawing Bel out of his own thoughts as he nods in agreement. Turning slightly Bel grins at me before leaning closer giving me a deep kiss which progress quickly after Bel pulls away briefly to re-arrange himself so that he can move closer to me. When we finally run out of breath and break apart we're both grinning and full of joy, this is the best news we've had in ages.
"We're going to be dads." Bel says amazed as though it's only just occurred to him. I nod in confirmation watching the happiness shining in his eyes which he can no doubt see in mine as well. Getting up we go and finish off our letter detailing our response to the news although it could be a few weeks before they get the letter so who knows what changes might have happened by the time they get it.
"Come on, time for bed." I tell Bel as we finish off the letter and seal it. In the morning one of us will ride back to the town to send it, a messenger will be going there with the latest report but we prefer to send it ourselves rather than trusting it to a messenger even though they're going to the same place.
Changing quickly we climb into bed holding each other close. In my arms Bel keeps talking quietly about the baby, will it be a boy or girl, who will they look like, what will they be like. On and on he poses endless possibilities as he drifts off to sleep. I follow soon after my own mind filled with the images Bel's painted of our future child. Personally I hope that the baby gets Emmy's hair colour although maybe not her hairs tendency to go everywhere and tangle in ways I didn't know were possible.
"- doing here?" I hear Bel ask as I find myself in a place that neither Lilas nor I have been in a few thousand years. "Actually where is here?"
"The Gods palace. Where they created the Stones." I inform him drawing their attention to me. This shouldn't be possible; I remember falling asleep with Bel and I have no idea how this is even happening. Dream-sharing is incredibly rare magic that I haven't experienced since the Gods left so how is this happening and why.
"Kor? Bel?" Kitten says just as confused as the rest of us but happy at the same time. Running over Bel pulls her into a hug glad to see her even if it is only in a dream.
"Emmy, I've missed you." He mutters burying his face in her hair. Walking over to them I wrap my arms around both of them not surprised when Lilas joins us, not knowing when we'll truly be together again we'll take what we can get.
"Well I'm glad to see that you're putting my gift to good use." A familiar voice says not far from where we're standing. It's a voice that even though I haven't heard it in over two thousand years I'll never forget it.
"Mother." I pull away from the hug and turn around coming face to face with my mother's dragon form. She's lying down watching us fondly although with her size she's still having to look down at us, being the Dragon Goddess she's the largest ever recorded dragon although myself and some of my siblings come close.
"My son." She replies shifting into her human form so that she's able to draw me into a short hug before pulling back holding my head between her hands, "It's good to see you. Now introduce me."
Nodding I take Emmy and Bel's hands pulling them forward slightly, mother has met Lilas before and was there when we received our Stones declaring us Soulmates. But I can introduce Emmy and Bel to her for the first time something that I never thought I'd get to do.
"Mother these are my mates Emilia and Belath. Kitten, Bel this is my mother Sadan the Dragon Goddess." They bow and curtsy in greeting but mother just waves them off in favour of hugging them.
"It is nice to meet you both properly." She says as she releases them from the hug. I don't know what she means by 'properly' though, she's never met them at all. Noticing our confused looks mother lets out a brief laugh. "Just because we left doesn't mean we haven't been watching."
"Sadan is right. We've been keeping an eye on you all over the years." Another familiar voice adds from not far away, "And we can only apologise for how long the two of you had to wait for your other two mates."
"Grandfather." Lilas breathes out rushing over and hugging him. "Emmy, Bel this is my grandfather Filarion the Elf God." I'm glad to see them both again but this isn't making any sense why they have decided to visit us now. Bel and Emmy are quiet and seem to be in shock, not that I can blame them after all by the time they were born the Gods were little more than stories and legends so meeting two Gods at the same time is something they couldn't have even imagined.
"Mother, forgive me but why now?" I ask needing answers. Sighing she nods walking to some nearby seats and sitting down indicating for us to do the same. Obeying we walk over taking our own seats although we stay close together wanting to be as close as possible for as long as we can.
"As Filarion said we're sorry that we made you wait so long to find your mates. We have seen how difficult it was for you all having to wait so long to be together and now to be separated so soon after finding each other. So with the agreement of the other Gods we gave you a blessing." Mother tells us looking pointedly at Emmy's stomach making it clear what their blessing is, the baby.
"With you being separated at the moment though we felt that you should have the chance to be together to celebrate. We did leave it until Emilia and Lilas's letter reached Ruikor and Belath so you have told them yourselves but now you get to enjoy it together." Filarion adds from where he's sat next to mother.
"Thank you." Emmy whispers smiling at mother and Filarion.
"We're family Emilia and personally we've also been awaiting the day that Kor and Lilas found all of their mates. That's why the two of us are here, for the chance to meet you and Belath rather than just watching you. After all we chose you both for Kor and Lilas." Mother continues letting us know the reason why the two of them are here.
Both mother and Filarion give us some space after that retreating to the other side of the hall. It leaves the four of us sat next to each other not sure exactly how long we have together after all it's not often that the Gods give gifts like this even to their own family. I've not heard of any of my siblings receiving visits after finding their mates so it just raises the question of what makes us different.
"I still can't believe that you're really pregnant." Bel mutters resting a hand on Emmy's stomach even though there's no bump yet. That'll likely be something that Bel and I will miss out on, seeing our child grow within Emmy.
"Well based on the number of mornings I wake up to be sick I'm definitely pregnant." She replies smiling and grabbing my hand to move it to join Bel's despite the absence of anything to feel. Lilas looks on indulgently at us letting us enjoy this time with her because he'll get the real thing.
"Has it been that bad?" I ask worried about all the throwing up. Emmy's not had the best health and has only recently been getting to a normal weight so the idea that she could be losing that needed weight while having to support a pregnancy is concerning.
"The healer says that it's normal and should stop further on the pregnancy although she didn't give a definite time period as it varies from person to person. We've been given a potion that helps which has been working." Lilas reassures me knowing what I'm truly worried about giving me a look that tells me that he's keeping a close eye on her and making sure that she eats enough.
"Are you happy?" Emmy asks watching me and Bel closely for our reaction. Sure we've talked about children but actually having one is a big step especially while we're away.
"Yes." I say firmly as Bel nods as well leaving no room for doubt. We want this baby although we'll miss the pregnancy and possibly a few months if not a year of the baby's life.
"Does anyone else know yet?" Bel asks slightly worried that we're the last ones to find out. Lilas immediately starts shaking his head guessing what both of us are thinking about.
"No, we wanted you to know before we tell everyone. Apart from us the only people who know are the Healer, Nuela and Tehlmar." He reassures us, "Now that you know though we'll have to tell the Council. Gods they'll probably want us to throw a party or something."
"But we're going to talk them out of it. The next big celebration should be your return home, as much as I love this baby it doesn't feel right celebrating like that without you two with us." Emmy adds.
"We'll be back as soon as possible." I tell her although we've said it many times before, "Are you safe, we've read about you spending more time in the city. Please don't go alone."
"Don't worry, I've chosen some guards to protect her whenever I'm not there. Versum, Larek, Khidell and Volethe are all still in the city and have agreed to be Emmy's guard." I let out a sigh of relief at Lilas's words. I've known all of the guards he's chosen for many years and have personally trained with them as well. Both Emmy and the baby will be safe under their watch.
We move onto lighter topics after that talking about the baby along the lines of what Bel had been muttering as we fell asleep, if it's a boy or girl, what they'll look like. It becomes almost a game as we come up with different variations of what our baby might be like. Occasionly names come up while we're talking but we've got plenty of time to decide on a name and we don't if the baby is a boy or girl. Plus most names relate back to the babies race so without knowing that then picking a name is difficult.
I don't know how long we talk for before mother and Filarion walk back over to us. Likely it's an indicator that we don't have long left together, dream sharing only lasts as long as we're asleep but it's impossible to tell how long we've been sat here talking. They sit back down across from us giving us apologetic smiles.
"I'm sorry but you don't have much longer. You'll be waking up soon." Filarion tells us.
"Before this comes to an end though we wanted to say how proud we are of you all." Mother adds, "We know that you didn't want to become the rulers of Rialria after we left and we understand why you put it off. But we've always known that the four of you are what the people of Rialria need so it's good to see you taking your rightful places."
"I still don't understand why us though." Lilas asks wanting a clearer answer.
"Because we know you. Ever since you and Ruikor were born we've been able to feel the power that you possess is greater than any of your siblings or other relatives. The other Gods felt it too and we knew then that once the two of you were grown that you'd be the ones to succeed us as the rulers of Rialria. So we moved forward with our plan to create the Stones when we felt you were ready, our combined powers though were so great that when we created the Stones that the original ones at least gained a life of their own. The pairings, or group in your case, that came from those we created were completely beyond our control so it surprised even us though that the two of you would be mates. Or that you would be missing two mates." Filarion answers him finally giving us the reason they named us the next rulers of Rialria.
"With what happened though we weren't surprised when you refused to take your places as rulers until you'd found all of your mates. It seems to have worked out for the best though." Mother finishes giving us a sly smile that transforms into a fond one as we smile at each other and I wrap my arms around all of my mates.
"Thank you Mother." I say grateful for the trust they've had in us as well as for this chance to spend time with all of my mates despite the physical distance between us. "For everything."
"Nonsense, I've been wanting the chance to meet my new son- and daughter-in-law. Personally at least after all we did select them for you both and have been watching." Not feeling any shame at all mother winks at us letting us know exactly what it is they've seen. Bel just grins while Emmy turns bright red as she realises what my mother is referring to, it doesn't bother the rest of us as we've been caught having sex multiple times by different people so this isn't any different for us.
Knowing that we don't have much time left we say goodbye to my mother and Filarion. I make sure to hug Mother tightly not knowing when, or if, I'll ever see her again and I don't ask not really wanting to know the answer in case she tells me that this is the last time I'll see her. Despite being several thousand years old there are still times I miss her and wish that she was around to talk to, sure I can pray to her but that doesn't get me any answers back. At least now she's met all my mates which is something that I'd hoped would happen.
With the goodbyes over they fade from our sight leaving the four of us alone. This'll be the last time we're this close together for an unknown length of time so I pull them to me in a group hug. None of us are really ready to say goodbye but just like when Bel and I left Hadlau we have no choice but to.
"I really wish this didn't have to end." Bel complains holding onto Emmy and Lilas tightly. We all nod in agreement but reluctantly separate anyway.
"We'll see each other again soon. And we'll send plenty of letters." Lilas mutters wrapping an arm around Emmy whose tearing up already with a few tears rolling down her face.
"Pictures too." I add wanting drawings of our child if we couldn't be there. They'll give us something to hold onto while we're away and extra motivation to return as quickly as possible.
"Yes pictures too." Lilas agrees sending me a smile.
"We'll make a whole book so you can see everything." Emmy says understanding my reason for wanting the pictures. "I'm really going to miss you both."
"Miss you too Kitten. And you Li." Next to me Bel tells them the same thing and with a final goodbye they disappear from sight as I wake up.
As usual Bel is wrapped up in my arms as we wake up in our cot in the tent. Sitting up suddenly Bel looks around wide eyed before turning to me.
"Was that real?" He asks sounding uncertain. I sit up rubbing a hand up and down his back comforting him.
"Yes. A very powerful old ability called dream-walking, it'd take several powerful elves to even achieve a short dream-walk so it's fallen out of use. I've only known the Gods to be able to do an all-night dream-walk like that."
"Well, I'm glad that they did." He grins lifting himself up to lie on top of me pushing me down against the bed, "Got to meet your mother. See Emmy and Lilas, talk about the baby. Now let's go win this war and get back to them." Giving me a brief kiss he gets off the bed and quickly dresses before leaving the tent. And leaving me with a hard problem I'd thought that he was planning something else when he pinned me to the bed, it's not like him to leave something like this unfinished. Sighing I undo my trousers just enough to take myself in hand. Gods I can't wait for this to be over.