Across the castle, in a wing far removed from the gardens and the guest quarters, a man sat alone in a study.
The room was large but not extravagant.
Books lined the walls, actual paper books alongside data tablets and glowing screens.
A fire crackled in a hearth, casting warm light across the space.
Through the windows, the two moons of Primus hung in the darkening sky.
The man at the desk had white hair, long and untied, falling over his face as he stared at the floating screen in front of him.
His gold eyes moved slowly across the text, reading military reports from the northern territories.
Troop movements.
Supply lines.
The usual endless paperwork of command.
Three knocks sounded at the door.
The man didn't look up. "Enter."
The door opened, and a man stepped inside.
He was older, with greying fur and sharp fox ears that twitched as he moved.
His eyes were dark and clever, missing nothing.
He bowed slightly.
"Good evening, Prince Uriel. I trust your evening is going well."
Magus straightened and approached the desk. "I've come to relay some things about the woman and the child."
Uriel set down the data tablet he'd been holding. His shoulders tensed almost imperceptibly. "Go ahead."
Magus pulled out his own tablet and began reading.
"She woke this morning around seven. Ate a full breakfast, more meat than I've seen a human consume, actually. The physician checked her and the baby. Both healthy. She was given the traditional mother's attire and taken for a walk through the gardens."
Uriel's ear twitched. "And?"
"She adapted quickly. Asked questions about her surroundings. Observed everything. The maids report she's sharp, notices details, remembers faces."
Magus paused. "She also encountered your cousin this afternoon."
Uriel's eyes snapped up. "Varn!."
"Yes." Magus's voice remained neutral, but his tail flicked once. "He confronted her in the eastern courtyard. Made comments about her species. About her planet. About you and about the child."
Uriel's jaw tightened. "What happened?"
"She held her own." For the first time, something like amusement flickered across Magus's face. "From what the maids reported, she didn't back down an inch. Called him a playground bully. Told him he was acting primitive. When he postured, she reminded him that attacking a pregnant woman would not end well for him."
Uriel stared at him.
"She said that?"
"Word for word. The maids were impressed. Terrified during the encounter, but impressed afterward."
A long silence.
Then Uriel leaned back in his chair, one hand coming up to rub his forehead.
"That foolish woman," he muttered. But there was something else in his voice.
Something that might have been respect.
"They also mentioned.." Magus added carefully, "that he insulted the child. Called her a parasite. That seemed to be what set her off most of all."
Uriel's expression hardened. "Keep an eye on her. And keep an eye on my detestable cousin. He will definitely do something stupid."
"Already arranged, my prince."
Uriel nodded. Then, after a moment, "What about the child? How is it doing?"
Magus consulted his tablet again. "It's healthy and developing rapidly. Currently at three months equivalent. The physician estimates by tomorrow morning she'll reach four months. By tomorrow evening, six months. The day after, full term. Then birthed on the fourth day."
Uriel absorbed this information silently.
Being a father hadn't been in his checklist.
Hadn't even been a consideration.
He was a soldier...
A commander..
And soon to be King...
His life was duty, strategy and the endless political games of the court.
Now there was a human woman in his castle carrying his child.
He couldn't abandon them.
Whatever had happened that night,however it had happened..the result was real.
The child was real.
"Will you be marrying her after the child is born then?"
Uriel looked up.
Magus's expression was carefully neutral, but his eyes were curious.
"It's still shocking to find a human on Primus.." Magus continued. "We're several light years from Earth. Even if they had space travel advanced enough to reach us, she would have died of old age before she arrived. The distance is too great."
Uriel nodded slowly.
The question of how she'd appeared on Primus was still unanswered.
The system she'd mentioned during their encounter, he'd assumed it was heat-induced rambling.
But now he wasn't so sure.
"As for marriage." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "I will marry her if she lets me."
Magus's eyebrow rose slightly. "If she lets you?"
"From the look of things, she's no ordinary human." Uriel turned to look out the window at the moons. "Their pregnancies normally last nine months by Earth standards. But her body has been modified. Her reproduction cycle has been accelerated to match ours. She even went into heat and that's something only beastfolk can attain."
"You think someone modified her deliberately?"
"I think there's more to this than we understand." Uriel's gold eyes were troubled. "But right now, she's carrying my child. She's alone in a world she doesn't know, being insulted by my relatives. And she's handling it with more spine than most nobles in this court."
Magus was quiet for a moment. Then asked, "Do you like her?"
Uriel shot him a look. "I don't know her."
Then he sighed "But she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I couldn't resist her at all...Magus.."
Magus chuckled "I thought you would be a celibate your whole life and it took a woman from another world to move you. Now I worry this feisty woman may not want to marry you, so you must do your best to charm her.."
-_-
What kind of suggestion was what?
His eyes narrowed, then tapped the desk slightly.
"Prepare gifts that will be given to her upon the child's birth. A nice house in the Light district is not bad, remind my idiotic parents to also prepare gifts for her and Oriel should also be informed, the birth of my child is a valid reason for him to return home, if he doesn't I'll come to the frontlines and kill him myself."
-_-
Magus lips twitched before he nodded. "I'll get straight to it my Prince. Will that be all for today?"