Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Mama, Mama, the King and the Princess’s are coming into town!” I look behind me to my Mama and she looks tired, it’s the middle of the day and a farm doesn’t work itself. That’s what she always tells me anyways.

“Sweetie, I can’t take you into the city to go see the King and his daughters. I need to stay here and work. Your father needs to stay and work, your older brother needs to stay and work. You are starting to work next spring, you know that. Now, sit down and practice your name.” I sigh and sit back at the table and grab the quill from the table, I dip the end in the ink and start to write my name on the parchment. Nicole Haught, it comes out all messy and sideways. I furrow my brow and keep writing. I look up and no one is in the house. Papa, the alpha of the house never said I couldn’t go so I can go.

I walk out of our little house and onto the farm. I look to the wheat field and nobody’s there. Then to the barley field and nobody's there. I sprint down our road and towards the city. The walk into the city is about an hour on foot. I don’t mind. I look around me and the woods are getting thicker and thicker. I have only ever been to the city twice but I know the way home is through the very last gate with the big F on it. I keep looking behind me to see if anyone is following me.

They would send Jon to come and get me, Jon is twelve. He’s only six years older than me but he thinks he is so much better than me. He’s not. I know I’m only six but that doesn’t mean I’m dumb. Jon can’t even write his name and its three letters. I grumble to myself and keep walking. Jon is an alpha like Pa, that means once he’s fifteen he will be married and he will either stay on the farm or go and help his wife’s family. I want him to go, he’s mean to me and calls me a runt. I ain’t no runt. He’s a runt, Jon is nearly thirteen and he can just lift a hay bale over his head. I heard Pa saying that he better not get into no fight because he’ll lose.

I look up and I see the gates to the city. I run towards them and get in. The city always smells gross. Mama says they empty the chamber pots in the streets. That doesn’t sound very good to me. I weave my way through the people until I finally find the crowd. I smile wide and run towards it.

“Boy!” I keep running, a hand on my shoulder and I turn. A big man just spin me.

“Where is your Mama or Papa?” I get my shoulder out of his grip and run into the crowd. He’s screaming after me, “Boy”. I know I look like a boy, Mama said it’s easier to keep hair chin length. Pa said it’s cheaper to reuse Jon’s old clothes. I make my way to the front of the crowd, I look on and lines of soldiers are marching through the street. All in the gold and silver armor. The royal crest of a horse on their chest. That is the crest of house Earp. They are the rulers of all five kingdoms. We reside in the center. In the North is the House McCready, the West is the House Gibson, the East is House Holiday, then to the South is House Gardner. Each house is the warden of the land and each house has a crest. Earp is the horse, McCready is a tomato, Gibson is the bull, Gardner is the shovel, and Holiday has the pine tree.

The horses, after this line of horses the King and his daughters will walk by, well not walk, they’re on horseback but we get to see them! The horses go by and you can hear the people screaming and booing. Why are they booing? I look up and the youngest Princess looks sad, the middle one looks uncomfortable and the eldest is sitting tall and proud like her father on the horse. Lettuce and tomatoes are being thrown at them. One hits the youngest Princess in the face and she falls off her horse, the crowd goes silent. The march stops and none of the Kings Guard is helping her up. The horse is stomping and getting restless, getting closer to her. I duck under the line of knights keeping the crowd away from the royals and help the Princess up. I hear armor clamoring towards me. I help the Princess up and look into her eyes.

“Your Grace,”I look down and hold her hand. I grab the reins of the horse and pull it to a stop. I’m not looking up or around hoping they will just ignore me. I hand the reins over to Waverly and go down on one knee. I hold my hand out for her to step on an get back on her horse.

“It’s not your Grace, it’s my lady for a Princess and your Grace for the King and Queen. For you, it’s just Waverly.” I look up and she is looking down at me with a huge smile on her face. The princess is beautiful, hazel eyes, long brown hair. She steps on my hand and gets back on her horse. As soon as she’s back on the horse I duck through the knights trying to grab me and run through the crowd. The knights are following me but I don’t care, I run through alleys and small patches of grass, even through a house to get them off my tail. I find the gate with the big F and turn back, as I face forward I hit into a man. I fall on my back and look up, my Papa is staring over me. Anger written all over his face.

“Nicole! You have any idea how dangerous it is for a little girl to be out in the city?! You could have been taken and sold into slavery! You need to be more careful.” I stand up and wipe my hands on my pants. Jon can never look at Pa when he yells, I don’t care. Pa doesn’t scare me.

“It was fine, everything went okay. I saw the King and his daughters then left. I came right back here, even ran home so I could get home faster.” Pa squints at me and grunts. He turns and starts to head back home. I follow him, trailing behind. Keeping my eyes down on the road. Princess Waverly seemed sure nice and pretty. She even taught me a few things. I’m pretty sure she is a year younger than me. I sigh and look up, Pa is standing still holding his hand up to me to stop. We both listen and hear rustling coming from the woods. We both look to the left at the same time, just to see a bunny jump out. We both relax and keep walking. Pa took my hand though and is keeping me closer.

“Did you at least have fun in the city?” I look up at him and he has a slight smile on his face. I grin and look ahead.

“I love going to the city, Pa. I love seeing all of the people and the blacksmith. Can I get a sword, Pa? I would love to have a sword.” He let go of my hand and messes up my hair.

“I’ll get you one of them practice swords. They sell them in the city for cheap. I know a thing or two so I’ll teach you alright?” I look up at him and nod. He stops walking so I do too.

“A lot of people are gonna tell you a lot of different things in this world, Nicole. Don’t let them get to you. A lot of people are gonna tell you that girls belong in the house and you need to tell them no. You understand me?” I nod and agree. We keep walking and once we are close to home he speaks up again.

“At day break is when I’ll teach you how to fight and night fall. We don’t tell your mother okay?” I laugh and nod. If anyone is actually scared of anyone, Pa is scared of Mama when she is mad.

Once we get home Mama runs out of the house and checks all over me to make sure I’m okay. She treats me like a baby. Mama has always treated me like a baby. Pa doesn’t, I like that he doesn’t. I think Pa babies Jon more than he babies me and I like that. I think I can handle more than Jon can. We go inside and I help Mama make dinner. I hate that she makes me do the woman stuff. I don’t want to do any of that, I want to help Pa and Jon on the fields. I can be more help there than here. I was playing a game with Jon and I just got the hay bale off the ground. That’s only a little less than Jon. I should be helping them out. We eat dinner as a family then Jon and I get washed up and go to bed.

“Nicole, wake up.” I open my eyes and Pa is standing over my bed with a big stick from outside in his hand. I smile and sit up more.

“Get dressed. We are gonna practice till Mama and Jon wake up.” I nod and scramble out of bed. Pulling my pants on and getting a shirt from the pile in my room. I go outside and Pa is waiting for me near the big tree next to the barn. He throws me the stick and I catch it with ease. He has his feet shoulder width apart and his writing hand is holding another tree branch. I copy him and stand the same way.

“This is proper fighting stance, generally. When people are fighting it is usually life or death and all properness goes away. Always start out proper and then follow how the other fighter fights. If they fight proper then you fight proper. If they fight dirty, well, you fight dirty.” I nod and he takes a few steps. I follow his steps and we are going in a circle. He shows me how to step and what steps to take if someone is taking them. His right foot goes forward so I take my left foot and go back. He is teaching me the rules and not the fighting which is boring. Mama calls out for Pa so it must be breakfast. He takes the stick from me and hides it behind the barn. We both go back to the house and start to eat breakfast.

“I think Nicole is ready to start working on the farm. She isn’t gonna work in here with you she is gonna work out in the fields with Jon and I.” that makes Mama and Jon talk real loud. Jon is saying that I’m a girl and my place is inside with Mama. I won’t be able to help because I’m not strong enough. Mama is saying that I’m too young and that I should be helping her because Pa gets help from Jon. My head is spinning from all of the talking.

“Joan, she is clearly an alpha. She needs to be treated as such. Nothing about her screams omega or beta. The kid asked me to sword fight. Maybe she is the alpha and Jon is the beta. He’s twelve and can’t even lift a whole bale of hay for longer than a minute, Being a beta isn’t a bad thing. You still are getting married at fifteen.” Jon nods and looks down at his porridge. Pa nods at me once and then we all continue to eat breakfast.

Pa takes me to the barn and we each get a horse. He tells me we are going into the city for some stuff. We get there in a half hour and the first place we stop is at the sword shop. It’s just a store with a bunch of practice swords. Pa helps me pick out a one handed sword and a two handed sword. I get both of them in the saddle bags.

Next we get me some clothes for working. Things I can get dirty in. I don’t know where Pa got all of this money from because we don’t have much. Maybe this is an investment. That’s what he calls the ox we got. We head back home and the first thing he does is have me push hay. That’s it. I have to push the hay to the horses then bring the buckets of oats to the pigs. I don’t mind this work. It’s east and it’s fun.

Mama does all of the boring stuff, she washes laundry for the nearby farmers who have no wives. She takes care of the chickens, she cleans the house and keeps the fire going inside. The first thing Mama does every morning is get the fire going. She taught me how to make a fire when I was real little so I can take care of myself when I’m older. Mama also cooks all of our meals and she took care of Jon and I.

Instead of having only two shirts I have four like Jon. Two for work and two for after I bathe. I now have an extra pair of pants and actual undergarments. Pa said all alphas wear them but I just think he means men because Jon wears them too. I like living on a farm, most people don’t but I do. I think it’s nice to be able to work, eat, and sleep. Jon would much rather be a knight, or even a squire but I disagree.

Thirteen years later

I still love working on the farm. Jon got married and left just like he was supposed to when he was fifteen. I couldn’t get married off because no omega wants to marry an alpha woman. I get it, so I just spend my days working on the farm with Pa and Sam. Mama passed away giving birth to Sam. Sam is now ten years old and he does great working on the farm. Pa and I love having him around. It makes our life so much easier having another hand around. It just makes everything easier having him around. I had to take up some of the womanly duties like cooking and keeping the fire going but Pa isn’t as strong as he used to be so occasionally he’ll do those things and have me continue to work on the farm.

“To the people of Purgatory,” I walk out of the bean field and look over at this squire from the Earp Kingdom. “In three days time, Queen Waverly is having the trials. The trials are the tests that will find her mate, her king. Any alpha may join the trials seeing that Queen Waverly is an omega. The following will me needed, no more no less. A suit of armor, and a long sword. That is all. The Queen will provide the rest.” He finishes speaking and rides back off the way he came. He’ll probably stop at another farm on his way. I have a suit of armor, we were told about a draft coming in a fortnight so Pa and I decided to go and get one for me. I also have a long sword, a short sword and a dagger. I know the basics, enough to keep my head above water in a fight. I turn, Pa and Sam are looking at me. Both have wide smiles on their faces.

“We’ll talk at dinner about it, Nicole.” Pa walks back into the bean field with Sam on his tail. This month is the harvest. We need to harvest the beans and the rye. We have plenty of wheat for the rye to make bread and sell it in the city. A small portion of all of our crops goes to the Earp Kingdom. That’s how all of this works, we got our land by killing the owners and we aren’t vassals anymore.

House Gardner owned this land and we killed off the owner and pledged our allegiance to House Earp. Pa always said the King was rotten but he always made sure they weren’t in debt and they did it the right way. He had mercy on his subjects. The Gardner’s killed my grandfather for a stupid reason and had no mercy. I head back into the bean field and gather the crops with them. With the three of us we can almost get our two acre field done in a day. We will have a little to do tomorrow but it won’t create a loss.

Tomorrow I am to get the ox moving to till the fallow land. The land we don’t use until the next season. Pa and Sam head for the house and I continue to work on the field. I stay out there for two more hours, dusk turning into night before I get called in for dinner.

I walk to the house and when I enter we nearly have a feast of food on the table. So much food that it could feed us for a week.

“What is all this for?” We have roast chicken, some potatoes we traded for some oats a night ago, bread, ale, and some figs. Pa and Sam sit so I follow and sit with them.

“This is for you, you are leaving in three days time and we should celebrate. When you come back here you are gonna be a visitor, the King? The King of the four kingdoms not including Earp.” I chuckle and shake my head at how he said King, I’m a woman so I would technically be a Queen but no one actually sees me as a woman anymore. Not even the local farmers, they see me as a worker. But their daughters as I said see me as a woman. We dig into the food and we eat it quick, Mama taught me the proper way to eat food when I was younger.

Before her and Pa got married she worked for Lady Gus in the Gibson house. She was married off to Lord Curtis and Mama was out of a job. She came to Purgatory and met Pa. Lady Gus taught Mama how to read and write. She taught her how to be proper in a world that didn’t want her to be. Then she taught Jon and I. I taught Sam. Sam is very good with the hard work and the reading and writing. A very bright boy.

“To Nicole, the next ruler of our fine Kingdom.” Pa holds up his ale and so do I. Sam holds up the little ale he was given and we all slam the cups together while laughing. Ale going everywhere.

The last two days are very exhausting, I had to make sure the rye field was harvested before I left and the fallow field was still tilled and ready to go into fall. Pa is gonna have a lot of work on his hands. Hopefully him and Sam can handle it. Tomorrow is the day I will be leaving. At daybreak is when I will be going to get to the castle at midday. Many lords and knights will be there, all from across Purgatory. The chances of me winning with the minimal skill I have is slim. I also have never been with any other alphas than my father. On the pole of intimidation I could be at the bottom. I sigh and look around the farm. Everything looks to be in perfect condition. I walk to the barn and saddle up my horse. I get the armor in the saddle bags. I have my long sword on my waist. I get the horse ready and set off to the city to get my sword sharpened and my armor shined.

The trek into the city only takes a half hour on horse. I get there and the city is buzzing with talk on who they think the future King is. Many saying Lord Champ, they are also say Lord Perry. Maybe even one of the York brothers. I understand how no one thinks anyone but a Lord is gonna win. I don’t know how I’ll fair against these Lords who have years of training and I none but from my father. This could go very well or very poor. Only time will tell and the magnitude of the trials.

Once at the blacksmith shop I tell the man, Nedley what I want and he gives me a price. Four silver pieces. That’s low considering all of the men who are asking.

“So you are trying your hand for the Queen’s hand?” I laugh and nod. I pet the side of Spots nose as he talks, Spot is the horse.

“The squire said any alpha, this could be my only chance of marriage.” The blacksmith looks at me and squints.

“I told you time and time again my daughter Chrissy would be a fine wife.” I nod slowly and smile up at him.

“I’ve met your daughter and she is a fine woman. Sweet and kind, however, she has her eyes set on a Lord. I am not a Lord. I’m not even a lady. I’m a farmer. Your daughter is smart, kind, beautiful. She can do much better than a farmer.” The blacksmith shakes his head with a gruff smile on his face. I watch him sharpen the sword and what he is using. We don’t speak until he is done with the work I gave him.

“There is one problem with your logic, Nicole. You have more honor than many of the Lords I’ve seen today. All of them telling me to keep my bastard mouth shut. That my whore daughter will get what’s coming to her. You know the people and what they want from a King. Those Lords, they have no clue. You could win this whole thing and be the savior this Kingdom has been waiting for. Fight for her but also fight for the people. If we have a Lord like Champ as our King we will be doomed.” He clasps me on the shoulder and then goes right back into the shop. He leaves before I can even pay him.

I get on my horse and just walk through the city. Many of them complaining about the large tax. Many sitting on steps begging for money. I see a handful of people just looking for medical attention. This kingdom needs more work than I thought.

Today is the day I’m leaving, it is daybreak. I have my armor on and my sword on my waist. The only thing I don’t have is a helmet and a shield. I look around me again and breath in the fresh air. Yesterday in the city I bought some clothes that show higher wealth but it is only one outfit and it was of a dead man. I don’t need to be more of a target than I already am as a woman. I turn, Pa and Sam are in the doorway, looking happy for me.

“Today, is the first day of the rest of your life. How do you feel?” I smile at my father and shrug. I feel, nervous. I’ve never left the farm lands to go overnight. I left all of my extra money I earned with my Pa and Sam they are gonna need it more than me.

“I’m nervous, but who wouldn’t be nervous. I’m going to be fighting for the Queen’s hand of marriage. If I win, I will be King and Your Grace. It’s some big shoes to fill for a simple farmer.” My father puts both of his hands on my shoulders.

“Nicole, if you become King, this kingdom will become prosperous. We need that, people are dying in the city. We need someone who understands the people. You are the people, you can make a change. Fight your heart out, my child but don’t come back to me dead.” He smiles and hugs me tight. The armor clanks and I hug him back. I pull away and pick up Sam.

“You need to work hard, little one. You need to be there for Pa. You need to stay and take care of this farm. Okay?” Sam has this tough face on and is nodding. I kiss the side of his head and place him down. I get on Spot and look at my family. The Gods only know when I’ll see them again. I turn and start my way to the Castle.

Chapter Text

The ride to the castle on horse takes a little over a day. When the sun starts to set is when I will find an inn to stay in. I’m sure it will be packed with Lords who are trying for the Queen’s hand. I’m just entering the city, I look around and there are Lords in armor trading with their horses and squires by their sides. All of these men have the upper hand on me, education, strength, money. Money is the big one. I only brought enough with me to stay at an inn. I packed my own food the day before. I have half a loaf of bread and some dried apples, also some fresh water.

Walking through the city always saddened me, seeing people starving and begging for money and food. The worst part is seeing the children, seeing them beg. It’s not their fault that they are in these situations, it’s their parents fault. They are suffering the consequences. I also pity the old. The ones who can’t work anymore and pay the tax. We pay our tax through food. Once a month a man from the Kingdom comes down with a wagon and takes a certain amount of food then they go on their way.

Next week is the fair, Sam loves the fair. He loves seeing all the different vendors and the music. The music is his favorite. It makes me sad knowing I won’t be with him this year, possibly next. As I make my way through the city I stop at the blacksmith shop.

“Good morning, Sir Nedley.” he turns to me and he has a black eye. I saw him two days ago and he didn’t have that.

“Lady, uh Lord? Good morning, Nicole.” His eyes are down casted. I walk up to him and look at his face.

“What happened?” Nedley sighs and leans against his workbench.

“A Lord came by today and well, he wasn’t very happy with how his armor came out. He struck me in the face.” I can feel anger bubbling in me. I should find this Lord and give him a piece of my mind.

“What was his name?” Nedley moves away from the bench. He goes back to work on sharpening a sword.

“Have a nice day, Lord Nicole. Good luck with the trials.” This was a man he knows. I should make him tell me.

“You as well, Sir Nedley.” I turn Spot and keep heading towards the castle. I can’t believe some man just hit him. No matter your social status all men should be treated with respect.

I wonder if the Queen has those ideals. I wonder if she is respectful towards her servants, if she knows what this city is like. All of the starving children and the sick. One would think she does but who knows.

The day drags on and the sun is beating down on me. The armor is hot and the sword is feeling heavy on my waist. I’m not used to keeping the sword on me for so long. I’m used to spending my days training, the sword feels familiar in my hands but not my waist.

I get off my horse and pull him to the side of the thin road. We are surrounded by trees and bushes. There are a few other Lords on this road to the castle, many of them riding as fast as they can and tiring out their horses. I pull out some water and take a few sips. I give some to Spot and feed him the dried apples. I eat the bread and just stand, listening to the faded noises of the city and the forest.

After a short rest I get back on Spot and head to the castle. I keep my family in my thoughts the whole way up. I know they are gonna struggle without me there. They struggle with me there. I work overtime for them, maybe they can hire a farm hand while I’m gone. Win or lose these trials I am going to go and see my family as soon as I can.

About an hour after the rest I walk through a very lovely village. Everyone here seems to be happy and prosperous. Probably due to being so close to the castle. Trade must be amazing. As I walk through the village I see an orphanage, kids are outside begging. I sigh and look through my bag I don’t have much to give. Only the rest of my bread. I get off of Spot and walk over to one of the kids.

“I’m sorry this isn’t much but it’s all I can give.” I go on one knee and hand the little girl the bread. Her face lights up and she thanks me. She runs in the orphanage. I smile and look at the door to where she just walked in. I stand up and get back on Spot. I head to the closest inn after this.

The sunset is beautiful. I can see the castle from where I am on the road. Right ahead of me is an inn. This is the last one before I get to the castle and there are nearly twenty horses outside. As I said, everyone is gonna be stopped here before the trek tomorrow. We all are to arrive tomorrow after that we are placed in the Queen’s care. No one knows what the stay there is gonna be like.

I get Spot settled outside of the inn and pat his nose. I tell him that I promise to be back before bed. I need to make sure no one steals him, I’ve never traveled this far before and I don’t know how well people can be trusted.

I walk into the inn and it’s filled with Lords. I see some that I recognize from the city. Lord Champ and Lord Perry. They are laughing and drinking ale. Champ has a woman on his lap, his hand around her waist.

“To our last night of freedom! Who knows how long the trials will be. Lets fuck and drink as much as we want!” all of the men cheer and raise their ale. I go to the barkeep and he looks at me.

“What can I do for you?” I smile and speak to the man with respect.

“Sir, I was wondering if you have any rooms open?” He nods but he has disdain on his face.

“It’s in the basement and hasn’t been cleaned in years. It’s either that or the stables where I keep my horses.” I nod at him and tell him it’ll do.

“That’ll be two silver.” I hand him the coins and he points to where the basement is. I walk to the door and open it. I grab the torch next to the door and make my way down the stairs. The room is the basement and it seems to be a pretty large room. Very dark and dank however. I light up all the torches on the walls. There are cobwebs everywhere. The bed looks dusty but it is a place to sleep.

I bring the torch back up the stairs and the men are loud and rowdy. Laughing and throwing friendly punches. This is the environment I am gonna have to spend, well probably a year. These rowdy and horny men who have always had their needs met. There might be women around the castle but I doubt they are there for the men to sleep with.

A barmaid walks over to me and asks me if I would like anything to eat or drink. I ask for some ale and bread. She nods her head and walks to the bar. I find a seat and keep my hand on the hilt of my sword. I don’t trust these men.

The barmaid returns with my food and drink I pay her for the food and add and extra two copper pieces for her. She thanks me and leaves. I eat and watch these men, all of them already drunk and kissing the nearest thing with pretty legs. None of them are in their armor, all of them in some type of noble clothing. Tomorrow when I address the Queen I would like to be looking like a warrior, a contender. They will be looking like men of money and wealth. I won’t. There are probably plenty of men and potentially women in the same situation I’m in. Not having any money and essentially being a peasant.

I finish my bread and ale, I head outside to my horse and feed him the last of the dried apples and water. The last of the trek should take about an hour tomorrow so I don't feel bad feeding him the rest of the food instead of rationing it.

After making my way back into the inn all of the men have seemed to have gone to bed. Most of the barmaids are gone as well. I head down to the basement and take off my armor. That leaves me in my farming clothes. They are drenched from the ride here and the sun beating down on me. I change out of the clothes into my braies along with a loose shirt. I move the dust covered sheet and lay on the semi clean one. I flip the pillow over and fall asleep.

I wake up because of how cold it is. Out of laziness I didn’t light a fire last night and it’s freezing in here. I get out of bed and check my clothes from yesterday. They seem to be dry so I change out of the clothes I have now and into the ones from yesterday. I place my semi clean clothes in my bag and then get my armor on.

The first thing I did when I purchased the armor was figure out how to put it on and take it off without the help of a squire. I knew that would be important otherwise I would just be wearing it all the time.

I make my way up the stairs with all of my possessions. As I get to the top all I can smell is alpha spunk and beta come. My nose wrinkles in disgust. I walk up to the barkeep and by two apples with the last of my money. The men around me are in their best clothing while I am still in my armor. He hands me the two apples.

I walk outside and it’s a beautiful day. The farmers must be happy. We don’t want rain just yet. I eat my apple and feed the other one to Spot. After we both finish eating I get on him. All of the Lords are filing out and getting on their horses. I gallop ahead to beat the crowd.

The forest around the castle is beautiful. Full of life and greenery. As I approach the castle there are about twenty guards standing outside of the gate. I hop off my horse and approach with caution.

“Halt, are you here for the trials that Your Grace has started?” I nod and the guards search my stuff. I’m assuming they are looking for something fishy. This is a dangerous game she is playing by having people come in the castle. Assassins can make their way in.

They seem to think that I am not a threat and they let me in. A guard is leading me to an area in the castle. The castle is beautiful, ivy growing up the walls. The statues that are all around the castle grounds. After a few minutes of leading me around the castle he takes me to an arena. There are about a hundred men. I see no other women around here and all of them are in noble clothing. None in armor, I don’t even have a cape.

I get in line and wait. I go as far as I can from the group of men. All are still on their horses. I get on mine just so I don’t look even more of the odd one out.

The rest of the men from the inn show up and they line up as well. All of them form a large circle and start to talk. Laughing and talking about sexual conquests, how many men they have killed, how much ale they can drink. All men are the same. One of these men here hit the blacksmith yesterday. One of these men feel like they deserve this instead of having to earn it. These trials are a way for the Queen to find a mate and a King to rule at her side.

A bunch of guards all walk out and line up in front of the royal chair high above us. They create a line with shields and spears peaking through. This is it, the Queen is about to address us. No other Lords have made their way through the gates so they must have cut the rest of the suitors off.

All of the Lord's line up in a straight line. I make my way closer to the line but I am at the end. I don’t mind being last but I am gonna be the least memorable.

The line of succession worked out in a weird way. King Ward had three daughter. Princess Willa, Princess Wynonna and Princess Waverly. Queen Waverly is the youngest. After King Ward died Willa fell sick and died soon after. While Ward was King he married Wynonna off to the Lord of House Holiday. This forfeited her right as Queen leaving Waverly the Queen. The city was overjoyed when they found out the smart Princess was going to be Queen.

“I present to you, Queen Waverly Earp, first of her name, ruler of the five Kingdoms.” Queen Waverly trots out on a white horse. The crown snuggly placed on her head. A beautiful blue dress hugging her in all the right places. She is sitting up tall, pride and power written all over her posture and the way she holds herself. Her brown hair up in a beautiful and tight braid.

She is at the middle of line and she faces us. None of her features changing. She looks at all of us then begins to speak.

“I want to thank all of you for coming down on such short notice. As you heard, I am looking for a mate and a King. I need someone who I can trust and take advice from. These trials are to find out who will be that King for me, and mate. The healers of the castle say that I should have my first heat by next summer. These trials are going to take about a year. Before my heat is when I will marry the winner of the trials. Currently the hand of the Queen, Lord Xavier is figuring out what these trials will consist of. They will test your physical, mental, and moral state. They will also test your knowledge on the Kingdom and the houses around you. Who rule them, their next of kin, what their crest is. Information most should know. Today, I am just gonna meet you. Tell me your name and what noble family you are from.” the Queen makes her horse take a step forward and two guards are immediately at her side.

She goes to the beginning of the line. The first in line is Lord Champ. He doesn't get off of his horse.

“Lord Champ of house Hardy. It is lovely to meet you Your Grace.” He bows and she nods in acknowledgement. She moves down the line and all basically say the same thing. I am not from a house. All of them are noblemen of the kingdom. Brothers fighting against brothers. All of these men know each other so it’s friend versus friend. There are even some men from the different warden’s area here but not many due to the long trek.

She is one person away from me and I am very nervous due to the fact that I am not a noblemen. I am a farmer that lives on the outskirts of town.

The Queen is in front of me, she looks done and one might say upset. She has been out here for hours listening to these men’s names.

I hop down from my horse and go on one knee.

“Nicole Haught, Your Grace.” I look up and she is looking down at me brow furrowed. All of the men are talking to each other in murmurs.

“You do know this is a competition for alphas?” I stand up tall and nod.

“Yes, Your Grace. I am the only woman alpha I know of.” The Queen gets off of her horse and then straightens out her dress.

“You got off of your horse, why is that?” She is circling me. I don’t look behind me to look at her.

“Well, I was taught to bow in the presence of royalty, Your Grace.” She huffs out. She is now back in front of me.

“Why are you in armor? Not your noble clothing?” I look around and shrug, why not tell the truth.

“I’m not a nobleman, or noblewoman, I am not a Lord or a Lady. I am a farmer from the outskirts of the city.” A slight grin appears on her face.

“Nicole, I know you from somewhere. I have only ever seen this red firey hair once.” I smile and look down at my feet.

“We have met before, Your Grace. We both were children and you were knocked off of your horse. I helped you up.” I look up at her and she has a full smile on her face.

“Well, Nicole, I’m glad you are finally getting the titles right. I am Your Grace now, however, I’m pretty sure on that day I told you to call me Waverly. I still expect that from you. I will send a crow tomorrow to your house and tell them that you are now, Lord because you’re an alpha, Lord Nicole of House Haught.” She climbs back on her horse.

“Thank you, Your, Waverly.” I bow and get back on my horse as well. Waverly, she asked me to call her Waverly. Not my Queen, your majesty, my Lady, but her name. Waverly. What a beautiful name it is. What a beautiful woman she is. Up close you can really see her eyes, the beautiful hazel everyone talks about.

She goes back in the middle of the line, Lord Champ speaks up.

“So can all of us call you Waverly?” There are some gasps and some nods.

“I did not tell you that you could call me Waverly did I? I told Lord Nicole that she could. Only her. Now, all of you are to be staying together in the barracks.” The guards start to lead all of the men to the barracks, I can only assume this is the area we have roam of. I read in book that the barracks are connected to the arena.

“Lord Nicole, come here.” I trot over with Spot. I am a few feet away from her.

“I have read in a book that woman alphas have the normal women parts most of the month. That could prove dangerous for you in a room full of men. We can get you separate quarters. We don’t want anyone in danger here.” I look down at my horse and then back up at her. I can feel heat rushing to my cheeks.

“With all due respect, your book is wrong. I have the normal male bits all of the time. It just seems that during a rut they get bigger which I guess isn’t normal. I should not be telling Your Grace this I apologize.” My eyes are wide and Waverly is covering her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing.

“It is quite alright. I have heard worse things come from people. I have read much about alphas and you’re right that is not normal. I wonder if it’s because you are a woman and those aren’t the correct parts. Maybe one day we can have the healer look at you and we can take down notes. Get the information correct. Also, I won’t say it again. Call me Waverly.” I smile wide at her. She is beautiful.

“Then you must call me Nicole and not Lord Nicole. It is only fair.” Waverly nods and then takes a few steps back.

“I will see you around, Nicole.” Waverly trots off back to where she came from. I catch up to the tail end of the line going into the barracks. I get off of my horse and go to the stables, they are right next to the barracks. All of the squires that men brought are getting the horses ready there. I get Spot settled then make my way in the barracks. All of the men are laughing at a big table in the middle. There are beds all along the walls. In Between each bed is torch that is lighting up the room. I find a bed and place my things down on it. All of the men are quiet. I look behind me and all of them are staring at me. Champ gets up.

“You don’t have a chance to actually win. We are REAL alphas and you are some woman. I bet you don’t even really have a cock do you?” All of the men laugh behind him. He has made himself known as THE alpha. As I said, there is a pole. You can still be an alpha and not intimidate people. I have never tried, never had the need to.

“If I were you Lord Champ I would get out of my face.” He stands up taller and gets closer to me.

“I will do whatever the hell I want!” His face is getting red, a vein popping out of his neck.

“Lord Champ, if I was to punch you in the face right now you would fall to the ground crying holding your face because I have a metal glove on and you don’t. If I were you, I would get out of my face.” I place my hand on my sword and he looks down at it. He starts to growl to intimidate me. I growl back and it’s louder than his, it echoes throughout the room. All of them flinch and then go back to what they were doing. Even Champ.

“Sleep with one eye open, Lord Nicole.” He says my name like it’s a joke. I can smell the fear on him though he won’t mess with me.

Chapter Text

It has been a fortnight since I have arrived at the castle. We haven’t gotten any news of the trials and how many there will be. The men are getting more and more rowdy as the days go on. I have been training everyday with the practice dummies outside. Every once in a while a guard will come out and train with me. He tells me that it was orders of the Queen to do so. That makes me think she has been watching me, No one else leaves the barracks for anything. The only time I have seen anyone leave is to find a “whore”. They come out smelling like alpha spunk and ale.

Some of the men are in ruts and all they do is jerk off in bed. None of them have any self control. Everyday I have to wash my sheets and clothes just so they don’t wreak.

Today is like all the other days since I’ve been here. I get up at dawn like how I do on the farm. Get dressed and go out and work. We have been getting three fine meals a day. Usually chicken with some bread and ale. Lately I have been drinking water seeing that ale is making me sluggish in the morning. I also don’t want to be too used to drinking ale considering we don’t know what any of these trials are.

I go outside and I practice with my long sword. I eat breakfast and then practice with my short sword. I eat lunch then I have my hand to hand combat with a mix of my dagger in. I wash up, eat dinner then wash my clothes and let them dry for the night. The routine I have made for myself is hard, almost as hard as farming. Farming is more physical and this is physical don’t get that wrong but this is also more speed and strategy.

Right now I am with the shorts word. A bunch of guards come out and line up against the wall like they did the first time I got here. Shields and spears. All of the men from the barracks come out and they all look filthy. Their beards haven’t been shaved, hair unkempt, the only other noblemen who looks put together is Lord Perry. He looks just as good as the day he got here. The only one to have treated me with respect when someone decided to jerk off in my bed. He helped me clean my sheets.

The Queen trots out first then behind her is a man with a beard and dark skin. This must be her hand, Lord Xavier. He is the one who came up with all of the trials.

“Everyone this is Lord Xavier,” I knew it. “He is the one who has figured out all of the trials. Tomorrow marks the first day of the trials. We have ten set out for the next year. Between each trial will be a week for healing. If someone is injured or dies during these trials they are to return home. When I say injured I mean they can’t go on and the healers say that they need to go home.” Waverly keeps looking back at me. I am on one knee and watching her talk, with all the respect that I can give considering how I look. Xavier starts to speak,

“Tomorrow is your first trial, one out of ten. This trial is going to take you thirty days. In thirty days you are to survive out in the woods. Bring back as many pelts as you can. That is your trial. Survive and come back with pelts. These trials have no winners. There are only losers. Who ever comes back with the least amount of pelts loses and is sent home. We will provide you all with rope, a bow and twenty arrows. Initially you will get one water-skin of water, dried meat and bread. That is it. Everything else you need to find on your own. Be up at dawn, you are to be hunting in the woods behind the castle. No hand to hand combat, no teaming up. If we find out you hunted and killed competitors you will be killed. You can take your armor, clothes, parchment, ink and a quill. No horses.” Lord Xavier takes a step back. All of the Lords around me are muttering about how to get a pelt. I stand up and face them.

“You need to know how to skin an animal and you keep the fur. That is how you get the pelt.” They all stay quiet as I speak.

“How many of you know how to skin and gut an animal for food?” About ten of them raise their hands. I turn to the Queen.

“They are going to die out there, I can give a lesson in the arena on how to but I will need a dead animal.” The Queen has a smile on her face.

“Very well, you do realize you are helping the competition and this could be the end of you.” I nod and look back at the fools behind me.

“I would rather lose than see a hundred men die in the forest of starvation.” I look back at her and she has a very wide smile on her face. She leans over to Xavier and he nods. He leaves and comes back about ten minutes later. He has four dead rabbits. I nod and take them from him.

“Alright, gather around. I will do this four times. Take notes if you must but I will do this four times and four times only.” They all leave and come back I pull out my dagger and sit on the ground. I look over and the Queen is watching. I nod to her and she nods back. Waverly trots out of the arena with Xavier and the rest of the guards.

“Skinning an animal is easy, all you do it pinch near the neck and make a cut. After that you cut the back legs off. From the stomach to the neck you make a cut. Now, when you are doing this you want to make sure that you don’t cut the stomach. All you want to do is cut the skin and fur off. With your index and middle finger you will use both hands to rip the rest of the skin off of the rabbit. Skinning a rabbit is the easiest, bigger animals have different rules. Now, once at the tail and head you can cut those off and slide the rest of the fur off. Their, you have your pelt.” I throw it on the ground, some of the men look disgusted with what’s happening.

“Next is removing the organs so you can eat the food. Listen to me and listen to me good. If you cut too deep you will make the meat go bad and you WILL die. Cut near the belly then cut all the way up to the neck. Split the rabbit open and then carefully remove all of the intestines. You can do this in one motion for rabbits but for bigger animals like deer you need to take them out carefully. Next is the diaphragm, make a cut and pull out the lungs and heart. The last thing you need to do is get all of the shit out. Cut into the pelvis and get the shit out. After all of this you clean the meat at the nearest stream. I’m assuming all of you know how to hunt because of your social rank. If you can’t well I’m not teaching you. These are the organs you can eat, the heart, lungs, liver and kidney. If the liver isn’t very red then don’t eat it. That is how to skin and gut a rabbit.” I do this three more times telling them how to do it. I tell them what will kill them. When I am on the fourth rabbit there are only a handful of men left.

The handful left are from houses but lesser houses, houses that won’t be houses anymore.

“Do you lot know how to hunt?” They all shake their heads no. “What about a simple trap?” They nod. I nod with them. This will work.

“Set up all the simple traps you can. Get as many squirrels and rabbits you can. You can eat those. Getting the pelts for squirrels are the same as rabbits.” I stand up and collect the rabbits. I start a fire in the area. I make a makeshift rotisserie. All of the men are eating lunch. I go to my stuff and take out the sewing kit my mother gave me years ago. I turn the fur Into socks. I have four pairs of socks and a couple of rabbits well cooked. I gave the innards to the pigs, they can eat anything.

I walk up to one of the guards.

“I would like an audience with the Queen.” The guards nod and leave. They come back and tell me to follow them. I have the food wrapped in clean cloth and the socks are free in the bag.

The castle is beautiful, it is open and full of light. Ivy grows everywhere on this castle. We get inside and it gets darker, torches lighting up the halls, tables and plants are decorating the halls. I am in front of two large wooden doors. They open and the Queen is sitting on her throne.

“What can I do for you Nicole?” I bend the knee and look up at her.

“I would like to go into the small village near by and give this food and socks to the children of the village. About two hours out of the castle is a small village, most of them seem to be doing well but I passed an orphanage and many of the children were begging for food or money. This will only take four hours, maybe five. I will be back before sunset if I take my horse.” The Queen has a large smile on her face.

“Stand up,” I do as she says and she is walking towards me. She has this confidence in her step that I do not possess in her presence.

“I think that is a wonderful idea Nicole, I will accompany you. I’ll bring bread and water.” My eyes widen, the Queen has never left the castle. Not since the accident with the horse. She calls over a guard and says something to him. He leaves and she takes my arm.

“Where did this generosity come from?” I scratch the back of my head with my free arm.

“Well, my mother worked for the Lady Gus of House Gibson. Your Aunt. Lady Gus taught her kindness and that someone will always have it worse no matter the situation. Growing up she would take my brother and I into the city. We are good farmers so usually we had a surplus even after the tax. We would hand the food out to the children. Once a year I would go hunting and hand the food out to the children.” I look down at her and she is looking straight ahead.

“I will meet you at the front gate, Nicole.” Her voice is soft and full of awe.

“As you wish, Waverly.” I walk back to the barracks and grab my long sword. I get it settled on my waist and walk to the stable. I climb on top of Spot and he neighs. I pat the side of his head and trot out of the arena. I go to the front gate and the Queen is waiting there with seven guards. I trot up so I am next to her. One of the guards has a wagon.

We head off to the village. We stay silent for most of it, purely for the fact that we don’t have much to talk about. We both are so different.

“What is farming life like?” I look over and her eyes are forward.

“It’s a lot of hard work and relying on the weather. We plant certain plants depending on the time of year. Keep one field fallow so it can soak up nutrients. Then when we harvest it takes about two days of non stop work. A lot of lifting and walking. The livestock is easy to take care of. The only hard part is putting down the animal you’ve known for years.” I look over and she is nodding at me.

“What about family, Nicole? Do you have any?” I smile wide and look around the forest.

“I have a father and two brothers. My mother passed away having my little brother.” Waverly has this sympathetic look on her face.

“Jon left when he was fifteen to get married, I couldn’t get married off because I was a woman. Sam is ten. He is a hard worker that one, very smart too. Can read and write better than me.” I look at her and she’s smiling.

“You love your family don’t you?” I nod and smile, I keep my eyes on the road.

“They are my life, they are so important to me. I left because I thought that this might be the only chance I’ll ever have of marriage. I also know the people,” I look at her and she’s looking at me. “I understand what they need, how they need help. I know them. I want to help them. I can this way.” Before she can say anything we arrive in the village.

We go to the orphanage and hand out all of the food and drink. I pick four lucky kids to get new socks. The villagers are surrounding the orphanage at the news of the Queen. All cheering and calling her name. Saying how much they love her. The kids are hugging us and thanking us. The women who work here are thanking us and telling them that this will get them through the next month.

We don’t stay long due to the fact that the Queen shouldn’t be travelling at night. We leave the village and head back to the castle. We have a faster trot going on the way back so we can get back in time for dinner. I never ate lunch but it’s not like that has never happened to me.

“How often do you see the Lady Wynonna?” Waverly looks at me and there is sadness all over her face.

“Not as often as sisters should see each other. She loves her land and her people. Being warden suits her seeing that she doesn’t really have to do any work. She drinks ale all day and night. Lord Holiday does all of the work.” I nod and smile.

“Your sister has a reputation.” Waverly scoffs and laughs.

“I beg your pardon?” I laugh and look over at her. Her jaw is dropped and she has this slight smile on her face.

“Before she got married the city would say she would sneak off to the brothels.” Waverly laughs and I laugh with her.

“That does sound like her doesn’t it?” We continue some small talk about family. Before I know it we are back at the castle.

“I will see you tomorrow, Waverly. Before I leave for the forest.” I get of of my horse and bow. “Have a lovely night.” I take the reigns and pull Spot back to the stable. I brush him and make sure he has enough hay. Especially after the journey he just had. I get fresh water then head into the barracks.

All of the men are eating with their hands like savages. You would think after years of being taught how to eat properly they would.

I get my plate and sit down to eat. I eat properly, napkin on my lap and with a fork and knife. I eat then give my plate to the maid. I thank her for taking it then go to my bed. I change out of my clothes and wash them. I hang them up and lay down in bed. I fall asleep almost instantly.

I wake up at dawn and put on my clean clothes. After that I set up my bag for the next thirty days. I have the ink and parchment. I have an idea on how to make a map so that is my plan not to get lost. My short sword is in my bag, I have my long sword and dagger on my waist. I walk out of the barracks, there is a long table spread out across the arena. At one end there are food rations and at the other end is the bows and arrows and rope. I have shot a bow only a couple times in my life. I know how to throw a spear to catch food however.

I grab my rations and then a bow with the arrows and rope. I line up and wait for the rest of the men to come out of the barracks.

It takes a whole twenty minutes for all of the men to get out of the barracks. The Queen was waiting for them.

“After all of you grab your rations then the guards will take you to the woods. Your squires are required to stay her for you are to do this on your own.” A lot of them start to grumble and complain. All of their squires take a step back. “They will take care of your horses. I’ve noticed a couple of you don’t have squires, I will assign one to each of you and they will take care of your horses.” all of the men start to move and make sure they have all of the rations. The Queen sends us luck then the guards and Xavier start to take us to the woods.

It only takes us five minutes to get to the woods. They stretch far out. The sun is behind us and it’s morning so that’s east. I make a quick drawing on the parchment and draw the castle wall and mark that as east. We need to survive in these woods. The best way of doing that is by knowing that the castle is east.

“Alright go in and come back with as many pelts as you can. Good luck.” Him and the rest of the guards head back to the castle. We all stand there for a minute. I start walking and head into the woods. We really don’t have much to work with. These food rations can last a week if you’re not greedy, the water will only last two days. The first thing that needs to be done is find a water source. I keep walking west through the woods. Making sure I don’t turn left or right to change my direction.

After an hour of walking straight and only bearing right a little I find a water source this is the perfect place to set up a camp. This is the only one within miles so many animals will come here. I look around at the ground and find plenty of trails. I bet this is where most of the game in this part of the forest comes for water. The water source is a long stream. If any of them have done more than hunting this is the first place anyone will come.

The day goes by and I set up a little camp. I make a small shelter with some branches and leaves. I learned how to make one of those when I was a kid. I decided to run away, I was doing great until my father found me in the woods. I wasn’t too far from home.

I make a little fire kind of close to my shelter just to keep it warm. As the fire roars I set up traps all around my shelter. By morning they should be filled with game. Many people have talked about bears in these woods. I would be better off cooking all my food at the other side of the stream and then bringing it back to my site. I don’t need bears coming over here and trying to kill me for food. The sun is setting to my right so I must have gone more north than I thought I have. I settle in my shelter and eat some of my rations. I drink some of my water. I lay down on my stomach and start to draw on the map. I draw the stream and how I got here with little dots. I yawn and get comfy on the ground. I fall asleep soon after.

I wake up a little after dawn and check all of my traps. Most of them are filled with squirrels, rabbits and raccoons. I have never eaten raccoon and I don’t plan on starting today. I have four squirrels and two rabbits. The raccoon I just decided to let go. I kill the other animals and I make my way through the stream and I sit and settle on the other side. I start to peel the pelts off of the animals and I gut them. It takes me about three hours to skin and gut all of the animals properly. With all of the innards I dig a hole a couple of feet away from the stream and I bury those in the ground. I set up a fire and I cook all of the game I just caught. I have about three days to eat this game before it goes bad. This is looking like a good start to my thirty days.

I’m about halfway through the thirty days and I have about eighty four small pelts and two deer pelts. I went hunting the past couple of days and I found a deer both times. I shot and killed the deer with a homemade spear. So far no bears have came around and if they have I haven’t seen them. Around day four Perry stayed at my camp with me. He had a bad leg injury and I helped him with that and gave him some food. I didn’t give him any pelts though. I have so much deer meat and I can’t even eat it all.

I feel like I’m wasting food. The trek to the castle is only an hour. I have been considering bringing the food back there and asking the queen to donate it but I feel as though I will be eliminated from the competition. I check my traps and all of them seem to be empty. Lately more and more traps have been having less game in them. I have to move my camp soon so I can get more pelts. Aside from Perry I haven’t seen anyone so I have to assume they have more than me and found a better water source.

I pack up my camp and all the pelts, I make my way up the stream so I am just going up further north. I walk in that direction for about an hour and I find another good looking spot with a lot of prints in the dirt. This must be far enough away from the other game, or they have been coming up here.

I set up another shelter and start a fire. If I could get a bear pelt that would look so good, I just don’t want to come across a bear. I set up more traps and then eat a little food and drink some water. I sit at the fire and watch the sunset.

I wonder what the Queen is doing? I bet she is eating dinner and talking to Xavier about some plans. How to make the people happy and how they are doing. The people would love to see her in the city more. When she gets married to whomever she is gonna have to go in the city. That’s tradition. I go in my shelter and lay down. Hopefully tomorrow will bring more game and more pelts. I don’t know what made them pick pelts but they picked pelts.

It is the last day and I can finally return to the castle. I decided to bring a little rabbit with me and more water for the trek. I am leaving the rest of the food that I have caught. I didn’t get many more pelts so I have around one hundred and fifty. I would like to say that’s a safe amount but everyone has been getting as much as they can. I relied mostly on traps and not much on hunting. That could have been my downfall. I pack up all the pelts in my bag. I put out the fire and then strip out of my armor. I take my clothes off and take my last bath in this stream. The water is cold but when I put my clothes on it feels so warm, then with the armor I feel very warm.

I do just that and put my armor back on. I throw the bag over my shoulder and keep the map in my hands. I head down the stream and listen to the noises of the forest. I won’t get much more of this until I get home or until there is another woods trial. I wouldn’t mind another woods trial.

The trek back takes longer than I thought. The sun is about mid sky and I just made it back to my old camp. I start to bare left and then go straight. This should bring me right where we were left. I look around and take in my surroundings, a lot of these trees seem familiar.

There is a man on the ground with an arrow in his back. I walk over to him and he is out cold but still alive. I drop my bag of pelts and take the arrow out of his back. Blood is gushing everywhere, getting all over my hands. I go in my bag and rip a piece of my shirt off. I wrap it around him and pray to the Gods that it will slow down the bleeding. I throw him over my shoulder and pick the bag up. This man must way nearly two hundred pounds and with the amount of pelts I have that ways one hundred at least. I walk as fast as I can back to the castle. This is slowing me down greatly. The sun is starting to set.

Finally, I emerge from the woods. The Queen is walking away from the woods so she must assume whoever is left is dead.

“Waverly! He has been shot! He needs help!” The Queen turns and her eyes widen. I get the man off of my shoulders and lay him on the ground. A bunch of guards run over and pick him up. It takes two guards to lift and carry him.

Waverly gets off of her horse and walks over to me. I am covered in blood.

“Are you okay?” I look up at her and nod. I should have left the pelts. I would have gotten here sooner if I just left the pelts.

“I’m fine, Your Grace.” I go stand up and throw the pelts over my shoulder.

“Do I bring these to the arena?” I look in her eyes and she looks torn.

“Yes Lord Nicole. Go there and wash up. I will be there before the night is over.” I bow and make my way to the arena. Someone shot him, someone hit Sir Nedley. These men are out of control. I get to the arena and I slam the pelts to the ground. I look up and they all are silent. Horror on some of their faces. Others are looking at me with disgust.

“Who shot him?” I look each of them in the eyes. No one answers.

“Who fucking shot him?!” my voice echoes again throughout the barracks. I walk around the table.

“When I find out who shot him, I will shoot you in the back and leave you to die. If it was an accident I will be merciful.” No one says anything. I nod and look at all of them.

“I promise you, I will kill you when I find out.” I go back to my pelts and pick them up. I go to my bed and slide them under. I grab fresh clothes and go to the baths. I get my armor off then get in one. I wash the blood off. I get out of the bath and pull on my dry clothes. I pick up my armor and take it to the arena. I fill a bucket up with water and clean my armor and dagger. I wash my long sword then go back in the barracks. All of them are still silent. I go to my bed and slide the armor underneath my bed. I hear the footsteps of guards so I grab my pelts and place them on the bed. I get my long sword on my waist then head out with my bag in hand. I go as far away from those men as I can.

The Queen rides out and anger is present on her face.

“We lost twenty four men in the woods, many of them must have starved or died for other reasons. It would have been twenty five if Lord Nicole didn’t save the man in the woods. His name is Lord Garret of House Green. He is alive, the healers say that he will survive but the healing will take weeks so he is out of the trials. When he wakes up, we will find out who shot him and there will be justice.” Some men looks fearful, others look stoic. I feel angry, someone just left that man to die.

“Now, we will be doing the counting.” Guards go to the first ten and count out their pelts. They write it down then do down ten more. I am the last one that has their pelts counted for. Waverly looks at the list then looks at me, a smirk present on her face.

“The Lord who has the most pelts is Lord Nicole. She has one hundred and fifty four pelts.” The Queen then goes on to say who the bottom five are. They had around fifty pelts. They are out of the trials. Once she is done speaking I go straight to the barracks.

I get in bed and go to sleep. These trials are gonna be more taxing on me than I thought.

Chapter Text

It’s been a week since the pelt trial. I have calmed down greatly. I was so mad and irrational because it was the start of my rut. I’m used to working instead of meeting my needs as an alpha. I have read some books that say it’s dangerous but when work needs to be done and no one around to sleep with, you just deal with it.

Now my rut has passed and I am feeling much lighter and happier. I was considering going to the orphanage again to read to the kids but it’s too close to the end of the week and another trial is to be coming up.

Even during my rut I kept up with my sword work. The Queen has requested that I fight guards from now on and not the dummies. They said this way I will learn and actually have to defend myself. No other men even have tried to come out here and train, they just stay in the barracks and drink, play games and talk about wanting to fuck.

Autumn is coming in, there is to be a harvest soon at the farm. The year before we planted apple seeds. This year the apples should come in, that means we will have extra money because we can sell them. I guess they at this point until I can go home.

The guard and I are walking in a circle, I swing my sword in a circle around my hand then make my move. I swing over to his shoulder and he blocks it. Then it just becomes us hitting each others sword while he takes steps backwards. He steps up his game and then I start to walk backwards. These guards fight proper. If I was to fight dirty I would have won already. Our swords are locked and he is pushing as hard as he can. I push and he goes flying off of my sword and he drops his. I pick up the sword from the ground and pick it up. I make and x like a pair of shears around his neck. I pull them away and hand the officer the sword.

“Where did you learn to fight like that?” I look up and the Queen is standing there, leaning over the rail.

“When I was six I asked my father to teach me how to sword fight. He knew how to fight. Once he taught me everything he knew I would go into the city around fair time and watch the knights of the realm sword fight. I would copy their steps and movements in my head then I would go home and practice on my father.” The Queen has a smile on her face.

“That is extraordinary. You don’t hear much of a simple farmer fighting like a knight. You don’t hear of a simple farmer being so generous. You never hear of a simple farmer being so smart. It’s interesting.” I nod once and she nods back. She disappears then shows up again in the arena. She walks right up to me. The Queen is awfully short. I know she is only eighteen like me but I don’t think she is gonna get much taller.

“You seem better than from last week, what changed?” I swallow hard and she is looking at me seriously. Worry etched in her features.

“Last week was my rut. It tends to make me more aggressive due to the fact that I don’t do what the other men do.” Waverly has this confused look now and she looks so adorable.

“What do they do?” I shake my head and look at my feet then back up at her.

“You wouldn’t want to know, Waverly.” she makes this oh face then disgust takes over.

“They do that in the same room as a hundred men?” I laugh and nod, she is horrified. She looks over at the barracks then back at me. A piece of her hair falls out and I just look at it.

I hesitantly move the piece of hair out of her face and back behind her ear. Waverly is looking up at me and I’m looking down at her.

“Your hands are rough. I’ve never met a woman with such rough hands.” She looks down and takes my hand. I smile and look at my hand too.

“These are farmers hands. Years of pulling cattle and pigs with ropes to make them move. Lifting up bales of hay. Tilling the ground.” Waverly looks at me and I just smile. She coughs and takes a step back. Dropping my hand in the process.

“I will see you after dinner to announce the next trial. As a farmer this will probably be very easy for you.” I bow and Waverly nods at me and makes her way back into the castle. I turn and bow to the guard. He bows back and leaves. I walk into the barracks and all of the men are laughing. As I approach my bed they quiet down. I smell, shit. I flip my sheets up and there is shit in my bed. I take my sword out and face them.

“Who took a shit in my bed?!” I look at each of them, they are trying not to laugh. Champ looks smug, too smug.

“Champ, was this you?!” I walk towards him, anger in every step. He stands up and the look hasn’t gone away.

“Yes it was.” I point my sword at his throat. His eyes feel with fear and he starts to wreak of it.

“Then I challenge you to a fight. If I win you all stop fucking with my stuff,” I look at all of them and then I look back at Champ. “If you win, you all can do whatever you want to my stuff. Shit, piss, come, steal, I don’t care. Only if you win.” I take the sword away from his throat. He is looking around at all of them. He has been challenged, his dominance has been challenged.

“Fine.” The men cheer and slam their mugs of ale of the table. I nod and turn on my heel and out of the barracks. I stand in the middle of the arena with my sword facing the ground and my hands on top of the handle.

After a few minutes Champ walks out in his armor. He is talking to all the men walking out behind him. They all have big smiles. Ready to watch a fight.

“Ready to lose to a real alpha, WHORE.” I nod and raise my sword. Champ has all of the armor that would be needed. A helmet, a shield, and a better sword than I. I hold my sword in fight ready position. Champ takes his out and runs at me, I take a step to the side and stick my foot out. Champ falls to the ground and I kick the shield and sword out of his hands. I point my sword to area between his chest plate and helmet.

“Do you yield?” Champ shakes his head no. I stomp on his chest as hard as I can. He groans.

“I said, DO YOU YIELD?!” Champ starts to whimper. He starts to nod and look away. I pull my sword away from his neck and take my foot off of his chest. I turn and start to walk to the barracks. I hear running behind me so I turn and see Champ running at me. With one hard swing of my sword I knock the sword from his hand. I take two big steps towards him. I rip the helmet off of his head and get close to his face.

“Champ Hardy, if you come at me one more time I won’t hesitate to slit your throat.” I turn on my heel and put my sword back on my waist. I go in the barracks and grab my sheets. I walk out of the barracks and Champ is talking to Waverly. Her eyes flicker to mine and I get called over.

“Lord Nicole, Lord Champ says that you threatened his life is that true?” I nod and have no shame.

“Why would you do that?” She seems confused. I understand.

“He shit on my bed. I challenged him to a fight, he lost and then came at me again after yielding. I told him if he ever comes at me again with his sword I will slit his throat. We handled it like how we should have and he attacked me with my back turned. These men don’t respect me, I’m hoping after this they will.” Waverly nods at me once and then looks at Champ.

“If I find out that you are messing with Lord Nicole ever again you will be kicked out and never to return. Do you hear me?” Champ nods. Eyes casted down.

“Yes, Your Grace.” He walks away from her and then she says something to one of the guards.

“He is having a maid get you new sheets.” I bow and smile at her.

“Thank you, Waverly.” She nods and then takes a couple of steps back.

“Alright, for your second trial you will be taming a wild horse and riding it. Our crest is the horse so you all should know how to tame a horse, ride a horse, and take care of a horse. This may seem like an easy trial but it is harder than you think.” She turns to Xavier and nods. He whistles and a bunch of horses are brought out. All of them having the crazy look in their eyes. Bucking against the reins.

“You have a fortnight.” She walks away, Xavier follows. There is one horse all the way to the left that is jumping and kicking. I look up and Waverly is at the viewing seat. I walk over to the horse and look at him. This is a beautiful horse. All black, even his eyes look black. I go over to the guard and take the reins.

“Are you sure my Lord?” I nod and he walks away.

“It’s okay big guy. I got you. My name is Nicole. I will be your friend from now on.” The horse is still bucking and jumping. I pull on the reins and walk to the open field that is near the woods in the back. There are fences around a large area of grass. I get the horse in there and I take the halter and reins off of his snout. He jumps up, tries to kick me. I say shhhh and he slowly stops. I walk over to the fence and just sit there. The horse is running around the pen. After an hour he stops and starts to graze.

The sun is setting and I don’t want to be all in his space all of the time. I tamed Spot he is our only horse. They are probably struggling with trade because they don’t have him. He just wandered on the farm so I tamed him. I wonder if the Queen will send Spot home and I’ll keep this horse.

I head back to the barracks and all of the men are in the arena with their horses. Some seem to be calm and others are still bucking. I go in the barracks and eat some food. This time we have rabbit, bread and water. I thank the maid and she nods at me. I sit down and eat, the other men are still outside. They need to find a place for their horses otherwise they will be out there all night. I change out of my armor and get on my sleep clothes. I wash them and hang up the clothes I wore under my armor. I get in bed with my fresh sheets. I fall asleep immediately.

It has been two days since I got my horse and he is slowly starting to trust me. I talked to the Queen and she sent Spot home. This just makes it so I really have to train and tame this horse.

Taming a horse is all about patience and trust. If you don’t give the horse time to trust you then there is no point in trying to tame it. The best way to get a horse to trust you is to first have it be comfortable with you. I sit on the fence and watch him run around and graze. Sometimes he looks at me and then goes back to eating. I’ve fed him a couple of apples and some hay. This is showing him that I can be trusted. I also just talk to him, I want him to be used to my voice. The other men aren’t doing too bad. They still are just staying in the arena though, they don’t take them out of there. The horses aren’t grazing, they are just getting hay. Hay isn’t bad but they aren’t used to that. They were free creatures, used to running around.

I don’t want to try and put the halter back on until he comes up to me. If he doesn’t come up to me then he doesn’t trust me enough to touch him.

Day seven, and it has been a whole week. I only have one week left to try and tame this horse. He has come up to me a few times. I pet his snout and he nods at me. I learned that means he wants an apple. I give him an apple and pet his snout. Today is the day I plan on trying to get the halter on him. He has been grazing closer to me. Yesterday I went up to him and he didn’t run away. This is going way faster than it did with Spot. Then again, I only have two weeks.

I approach him and he lets me get the halter on. I pet his snout and call him a good boy. I feed him an apple and I kiss the top of his nose.

A lot of the men are using whips to scare the horse into listening. I haven’t seen any marks on the horses so they seem to be okay in that sense.I have been just watching mine. Today I am gonna try and get the saddle on the horse. I want him to walk around for two days with the halter and saddle on. I walk over to the fence where the saddle is and I place it on his back. He starts to take some steps back and forth.

“Easy boy, it’s okay. I got you.” He huffs out and stops walking. I get the saddle on him and he starts to walk around. He is taking hesitant steps. After an hour he starts walking and running around like normal.

Day nine, I am going to take the reins and start to lead him around. I set the reins back on him and he’s very calm.

“Nicole, you seem to be doing very good with you horse.” I turn and Waverly is near the gate of the pen.

“This the Queen I was telling you about.” My horse neighs and I nod. “So you have to be good.” I walk over to the gate and open it up for her.

“I trained Spot when I was a child, this is very easy.” She nods and walks towards the horse. I take her hand and walk to my horse with her.

“Be good okay?” I pat his snout while he looks at me. I take her hand and put it on his nose. He looks at her and neighs.

“I also had to train a horse when I was as child. My father said that all Earps have to know how to train a horse. He gave me the same reason I gave all of you. The crest.” She looks at me and smiles. I smile back.

“Have you named him yet?” I scratch the back of my neck.

“I was thinking about names from the ancients, the only name that seems to fit is Orthrus.” Waverly looks at me and has a wild grin.

“The two headed dog?” I smile wide and pet my horse.

“That is the one. I remember thinking what a wild creature and when I first met him he was a wild creature.” Waverly pets his nose and smiles at him.

“Well now he’s not a wild creature.” I nod and look at him. I grab the reins and he starts to follow me without any fight. I smile at Waverly then at Orthrus.

“His name is Orthrus.” Waverly smiles then turns. She starts to walk to the fence. She hops up and sits on the fence. I lead Orthrus around and he is trotting and being such a good boy. I keep praising him. I finish after a half hour of leading. I walk over to Waverly and hand her an apple. She feeds the apple to Orthrus and I feed him the other.

“You do know, giving us a fortnight is a little unfair.” Waverly scoffs. She hits my shoulder and laughs.

“Are you questioning your Queen?” I laugh and nod.

“Yes I am, you trained a horse. It takes like half a year. I’ll be surprised if those horses don’t buck all of them off.” Waverly laughs and looks down at her hands.

“Lord Xavier thought this was fitting and I agreed. The horses are being used for the next trial as well so he figured we could make two out of one. These trials were hard to come up with you know.” I let go of Orthrus and he trots away. I sit on the fence with her.

“How come we have these trials and you just don’t marry one of the wardens kin?” She sighs and looks at Orthrus.

“The only option I had was Tucker Gardner. I wasn’t going to marry that man.” I laugh and watch Orthrus as well.

“Have you been talking to any of the other Lords?” Waverly laughs and I look at her. She has a beautiful laugh. Everything about her is beautiful.

“God's no. You are with them all of the time. They stay in the barracks and I am not going in there. It smells disgusting.” I nod and continue to look at her.

“There are a few that seem to be doing well. You, Champ, and Perry. You three seem to be the best options.” I scoff. She looks at me eyes wide and a slight smile.

“Champ is an ass.” Waverly nods and look back at Orthrus.

“Yes but he seems semi competent. Not all of them seem like that.” The guards call for her. I hop down and hold my hand out for her. She takes it and hops down.

“Don’t tell the other Lords about these talks. They will think it’s unfair. They aren’t wrong.” she walks away towards the guards. All I can do is watch her. She turns back to me and waves. Even if it kills me, I’m winning these trials.

Day twelve, I haven’t tried to ride Orthrus yet and I feel like with two days left it is time. I moved him to a smaller pen on the tenth day. He didn’t mind it so I think he will be able to handle a stall.

“Today is the day Orthrus. I plan on getting on that saddle and riding you around this pen. I want you to know so you don’t freak out.” I pat his nose and then walk over to the saddle.

“Three, two, one.” I get in the saddle and he starts to take a few steps back and forth just like with the saddle. I lean forward and pat the side of his face.

“Easy Orthrus. I got you. You’re okay.” he calms down and stands still. I take the reins and I throw them down. Orthrus starts to walk forward. I lean them to the right and he goes right. Then I lean him to the left and he goes left. I smile and praise him. I throw down the reins a little harder and he picks up to a trot. I smile and pet the side of his face. We trot around the pen for an hour.

“Okay, I’m gonna kick you but I still love you. You trust me and I trust you.” I kick his side and Orthrus starts to run. He jumps over the pen fence and runs fast towards the woods. I pull the reins to the right and we run along the edge of the woods. I pull back on the reins and Orthrus goes back to a trot.

“You are such a good boy, Orthrus. When we get back to the pen you are gonna get like four apples and a bunch of hay.” We trot back to the pen and I get off of him. I pet his face and take out apples. I start to feed him apples and he seems content. I pat his face and then I sit on the fence and eat an apple. He is such good boy. The first couple of days he was wild but he is definitely tamed now. I know he is good with me and with the Queen but I have no clue how he will be with other horses or other people.

I have two days left so might as well take Orthrus to the arena. He is gonna stay at the stable for the rest of the time I’m here so might as well. I head to the arena with Orthrus. I get there and all of them are cracking whips next to their heads. They seem to be listening. I pet his face as I walk to the stable. I get him in the stall Spot used to be in and I get him settled. I brush him and take the saddle and reins off. I keep the halter on and brush him. I get fresh water and hay. He seems to be okay and calm. I walk out of the stable and watch the men try to train them. It’s ridiculous. I look up at the viewing area and Waverly is watching them. She doesn’t look pleased.

Day fourteen, it has been a fortnight and all of the horses seem to be calmer. After breakfast we are showing the Queen what the horses can do. She mentioned taking care of the horse but I don’t think she is gonna look at that.

I sit at the table and eat my breakfast of porridge. All of the men are quiet. Maybe they aren’t too sure as to how their horses will do. Perry looks confident and so does Champ. The york brothers seem to be casual.

After finishing my porridge I got to the stable and brush Orthrus. I get his saddle on and the reins. I climb on top of him and he’s very calm. I walk out of the stable and line up. Soon everyone else does the same. The guards come out then the Queen. She is on her horse

“It has been a fortnight, I hope you have your horses trained and tamed. I also hope you all know how to take care of your horse. The first in line show me what you have.” The Lord comes forward and cracks the whip. The horse listens to him and they trot around. The horse is listening.

The rest of the line shows the Queen about ten men get bucked off. It’s my turn. I get Orthrus in a trot and he goes around the arena, I kick his side. Orthrus goes into a run and starts to run around the arena. I get him back into a trot. I go to my spot and Waverly is smiling.

“I have seen what you and your horses can do. Now is time to send some Lords home.” The Queen tells the ten men that got bucked off that they are going home. Once she finishes talking she goes right back into the castle.

The next trial has to do with the horses. I’m hoping it’s not a joust.

Chapter Text

In two days the Queen is going to be telling us what the next trial is. Yesterday I requested an audience with the Queen and I was told that the next day I would be able to speak with her. I really want to go to the orphanage and teach the kids how to read. Or at least read to them. I know how to teach reading, as I said I taught Sam how to read.

I practice with my long sword and a guard until I am told I may speak with the Queen.

“Lord Nicole, the Queen is ready for you.” The guard and I stop fighting, I bow to him and put the long sword on my waist and follow the other guard. I make my way through the castle again and then I am back in front of the large wooden doors. They open and the Queen is on her throne. I walk in and the doors shut behind me. I bend the knee and look up at her.

“Good morning, Waverly. I was wondering if I could go back to the orphanage?” The Queen gestures for me to stand up so I do as she says. The Queen walks over to me and dismisses all of the guards. My brow furrows and I watch all of the guards leave.

“Why do you want to go to the orphanage again?” She takes my hand and looks at it. I smile and watch her face.

“I want to teach the kids there how to read, they will have a leg up on others if they know how to read. After reading will be writing. I just want those kids to have some opportunities.” Waverly looks up at me and nods. I smile wide at her.

“I am coming again though. I never get to leave this place. Xavier worries for me, after he heard about people booing and throwing things he is worried for me even though he shouldn’t be.” I take her hand that is in mine and kiss the top. Her cheeks are turning red.

“As you wish, Waverly.” I let go of her hand and she looks away. She seems to be flustered.

“You umm, are sweaty.” I look at myself and nod then back up at her.

“That I am.” She looks back at me and she gets even more flustered. I chuckle and look at her.

“You smell good even though you are sweaty. It’s odd to me. I, you need to go and bathe. I will meet you at the front gate in an hour.” I bow and smile at her.

“I will see you in an hour, Waverly.” I turn and walk out of the throne room and back to the barracks. I grab my noble clothing that I bought and head down to the baths. I bathe and make sure all of the dirt is off of me. I get out and get dressed.

I have on a puffy white shirt, a black vest that goes over it, black pants that stop at the knee, socks that go up to my knee and black shoes. This was the cheapest outfit. I go back to the barracks and they all are staring at me.

“Did the Queen buy you that out of pity?” I look at Champ and sigh. I grab my long sword and put it on my waist. No one is sitting with him anymore.

“No, I had this the whole time I was here. I just haven’t had a need a for wearing it till now. Go back to getting drunk and then crying about how Lady Stephanie is so mean for breaking up with you.” His face is red. He stands up and I draw my sword.

“What did I say about attacking me?” he starts to smell like fear and then he sits back down, I walk out of the barracks and to Orthrus.

“Today we are gonna have a nice long ride. You ready for that?” He neighs and I pat his side. I get on the saddle and then make my way to the front gate.

I wait for a little then the Queen comes out. She has seven guards again. Another one has a wagon. The wagon must be filled with food and drink, maybe some books.

“You look, handsome Lord Nicole.” I grin and bow slightly.

“You look as beautiful as ever, Your Grace.” she rolls her eyes and starts to trot. I trot with her and the guards seems to be keeping a distance.

We ride the whole way to the orphanage in silence. Once we get there the kids run out and they start to form a huge group in front of the horses. I get off my horse and hold my hand out for Waverly. She takes it and gets down from her horse. We head into the orphanage and the women who run it light up.

“Hello, Your Grace. It is lovely to see you again. Lord Nicole.” She takes Waverly’s hand and then bows to me. I bow back and look around. The orphanage is a mess. They have around twenty kids here and only three women. I’m pretty sure two clean and one cooks. They don’t have a lot of money to go and buy food. The Queen does give the orphanages some money but not enough clearly.

The guards bring in the food and water. After the farms harvest the castle has all types of apples and pumpkins. Some more barley for ale. The guards start to bring in books and the women gasp.

“These are for the children?” Waverly nods and one of them starts to cry. I walk around the orphanage. There is a little baby in a crib crying his lungs out. I lean over and pick the baby up. I cradle his head and start to rock back and forth. With all of the kids screaming he must have gotten scared.

“It’s alright little one, I got you.” I look over and Waverly is looking at me, smile on her face. I smile back then look at the baby. I can hear one of the women talking to her.

“We heard about the trials, is this one of the contenders?” After a dreamy sigh Waverly says yes.

“That would be a smart match if I do say so myself. I have seen a lot of alphas in my day, none of them quiet as gentle as her. I have even seen women alphas and they aren’t that gentle. If you are looking for someone with compassion, that’s your mate, Your Grace.” I smile even wider down at the baby. He starts to giggle and look up at me. He touches my face. I place him back down in the crib then turn to the kids.

“Alright, who is ready to read some books?” The kids cheer and run over to me. They all have different books in their hands. I sit on the ground and they all do as well. I grab one of the books.

“The Queen’s wolf. This is a good book, what’s your name sweetie?” The little girl blushes.

“Jessica.” I smile at her then nod.

“This is a good book, Jessica.” I open the book and begin to read about one of the first Queens. As a child she would explore the forest and make forts. One day she ran into a wolf and it was interested in the Princess. The wolf never hurt her but it would always smell her and meet her at the fort. After weeks of doing this, a bear showed up. It tried to attack the Princess, the wolf came running out of the forest and attacked the bear. The wolf killed the bear and the Princess realized the wolf was hurt. She got the wolf to follow her to the castle and the healers fixed him. That is why the crest for the royal house used to be a wolf. All of the kids are fascinated by the story. I show them the pictures as I go along.

“Now little ones, who wants to learn how to read?” They cheer and stand up. The Queen is on a chair and watched me read to the kids.

“This will take a long time to learn, you will need to have patience. Can you all be patient?” Some of the kids nod and some look confused. I explain what patience means and then they all sit at tables. I hand out paper and quills. The Queen is also at a table. I grab some paper and write the alphabet on it. I hang it up on the wall with knives. I explain the alphabet to the children and they are looking at me eyes wide.

I explain A to them. How to write it and what it sounds like. They all write it down and I go around to see how they did. A couple of them did it right and others didn’t. Waverly and I spend another hour there explaining the letter A. A lot of the kids picked it up and a lot didn’t. It is to be night soon so we get ready to leave.

“I don’t know when I’m going to be back, but when I come back I want all of you to be able to write the letter A.” The kids agree. The women thank us, then we are off.

“How come more money doesn’t go to the orphanages?” I look over at Waverly and she sighs.

“A lot of the tax goes back into the city. We thought about raising the tax but then realized that the people would get mad. Yes, we have the castle and all of the servants, they get paid through the crown and not through the house. The Earp house money is vast but we don’t use it unless we have to.” I nod and look back at the road ahead. “The knights are what take all of the money. The knights get paid well because their lives are on the line. We had to up staff recently for the trials. We are also paying a lot for all the ale they drink.” I keep my eyes locked on the road.

“So this lack of funds is due to the trials?” I look back at her and she is nodding. I nod with her. We stay quiet for almost the whole way back. Once at the gates I hop off my horse and help Waverly off of her’s.

“How about you stop supplying ale to them and give that money to the orphanages around the kingdom? Or I can work for the castle while I’m not doing the trials and that money can go to the orphanage.” Waverly looks at the ground and shakes her head.

“You are too kind. If we stop giving them ale then they won’t have anything to do. I like the second option, Lord Nicole. I want you training to be a knight. You will be paid a knight’s salary and that will go to the orphanage. If you lose the trials you can stop working for the crown and go back to farming. If we need you for a fight we will send someone. How does that sound?” I smile wide and take her hand.

“Thank you for this honor, Waverly. I won’t let you down.” I kiss the top of her hand and when I look up she is blushing.

“Go back to the barracks, Lord Nicole. You will be getting your third trial soon.” She takes her hand away hesitantly, she walks through the gates. I take Orthrus and go to the arena. I get Orthrus in the stable and then to the barracks. All of the men are drunk and talking about fucking, again. Even Perry is drunk. That doesn’t happen often. I grab my other clothes and get changed. I put my noble clothes under the bed and I sit at the table with the other men.

“What about you, Nicole? How many women have you slept with?” I shake my head and stand up. I tried, I really did.

“Oh come on, we aren’t gonna pick on you. You’ll kill us.” I grin and sit back down.

“None. If you must know. I had to work all of my life. I didn’t have time. Working is all year around. I’m not saying you lot don’t work but you have easier work.” One of them scoffs. Champ.

“You don’t work any harder than any of us. Farming right? I went to a farm and all they do is make the ox do all of the work.” I nod and look at him.

“Alright, the ox tills the ground. Well, help tills the ground. That’s all it does. The farmers put the seeds in the ground, prepares the livestock. Then we have to harvest the crops, the ox can’t do that. That is back breaking work. Don’t forget the fact that we have to build our own barns, we have to build our own houses. How long does it take for you guys to make a fire?” All of them start to mutter, some scratch the back of their heads. “It takes me no more than five minutes. I have life skills. I taught myself how to fight. You all had the best of the best teaching you. Here, this is even playing. So Champ, yes, we have ox. But they don’t do all the work.” I get up and go to my bed. I grab my dagger and go to the arena. I need to work on my fighting. I can’t believe he is still trying to me look bad. He is the one who shamed himself in front of everyone.

Today Waverly is telling us the third trial. This trial also has to do with our horses. I really think it’s gonna be a joust. I have never been in a joust. This could kill me. Waverly and I are close but, if I lost I think she would let me go.

Waverly sent the man in charge of knight training. He asked me to put on my armor, I showed him and he told me I could skip being a squire but I will have to learn how to ride a horse and fight. That is very important to learn. After that I will learn strategy. Then fighting. I can do that. This kind of training takes years and he said that we need to get it done in a year. His name is Lord James.

The guards start stomping in and set their shields down. The Queen comes trotting out and then she gets off of her horse.

“Today will be the start of the third trial. We are going to be having a race with the horses you have just trained. A king should know how to ride his horse into battle. Ten men will race at one time. There will be about ten races today. Then there will be ten winners . Those winners will race tomorrow. The ten men who lose the first race will be going home tomorrow. This one is fun, treat it seriously but it is fun. Go get your horses ready. We will meet after lunch near the woods.” She looks at me, winks, then leaves. I smile wide then go get Orthrus. I have raced before but only with the other kids at the farm. These guys probably know how to really race. Lord James said that while riding you need to lean forward and go with the bumps. I will have to do that and trust Orthrus.

I go to the stable and get him all set up. I pat the side of his face and climb on the saddle. I go to the arena. All of the men are still standing there. I smile and trot around the arena. I head out back and get Orthrus ready to run.

“Okay, buddy. We are racing today. That means you are gonna have to run as fast as you can. I trust you.” I pat the side of his face and go into a walk. We do that and then I get off of his saddle. I sit on the fence and talk to him. I want him to really be used to my voice and me. I’ve only had him for three weeks so I am working on him being used to me still.

All of the other men come out. I get on Orthrus and trot over to them. All of the men are coming out of the arena on their horses. Champ is in the back and now Lord Brayden of house Milken. We all line up and face the castle. Waverly and some guards come out on horses. She gets off of her horse and sits on a throne that is outside. The guards take ten men and lead them to the race track.

“Begin!” The men get their horses running. There is a stack of hay that is a distance away. That is where they need to stop. They go and the horses aren’t listening that well. They aren’t running and they seem to be bucking a little. I find that interesting that the horses really aren’t listening.

One of them finally get to the end and no one claps. The next round goes and these horses are doing much better. Someone wins. The next group is the group I’m in.

I line up and Waverly screams begin again. I get Orthrus to run and he’s going. Orthrus is running fast. I lean forward, Orthrus starts to run faster. I noticed that Champ has a riding crop. I hear the slap of the crop and then he passes us. Orthrus stops and tries to buck me off. I hang on tight and lean forward. He goes back on all fours and I get off of him and rub the side of his face.

“It’s okay. Everything is okay.” I look over at Waverly and she has worry all over her features. I smile weakly at her. I lost. I lost this trial. She said whoever came in last in the races would be going home. I get back on Orthrus and line up. The men are laughing and snickering. I sigh and continue to watch the races.

Some of these men seem to be doing pretty good and others just didn’t train their horses well. The last race ends and Waverly stands up. She says nothing and then goes on her horse. I trot over to the edge of the woods and look for flowers. Now that I’m going home I want to at least try and give her something.

I find a rose bush and I cut it off of the bush and I take all of the thorns off. I trot back up to the Queen. She is just about to enter the castle on foot. I swing off of my horse and walk after her.

“Waverly,” She turn to me, I drop to my knee and look up at her. “If you think about it, I was trying to court you. So here is a rose, I wanted one as beautiful you are but none could compare.” Waverly is starting to blush. She walks forward and takes the rose.

“You’re too sweet. This is a beautiful rose.” She smells the rose and smiles at me. With one flick of the wrist the guards disappear.

“Thank you, Nicole. It really is beautiful.” I smile at her and nod once.

“I’m glad you like it, Waverly.” She starts to walk to one of the seats, she sits down and motions for me to sit too. I sit down next to her and she leans a little on me.

“You’re very good with kids. Why is that?” I grin and look down at my hands.

“I raised Sam, my little brother. My father was a very kind man so I learned from him. He’s an alpha, we both kinda raised Sam. Jon, he hates Sam. Blames him for his life being ruined. He should blame me. I am the alpha of the family, taking his right to the farm and all the money we have saved. But no, he hates Sam.” I look over at Waverly and she is looking at me fondly.

“Do you want pups?” My eyes widen and I look all around, we are in a hallway type thing. Orthrus is just outside standing and waiting.

“Umm, I’ve never really thought of it. Everyone saw me as a woman and never an alpha. I figured I was gonna either marry a woman who hates me or never get married. The blacksmith in town offered his daughter to me and I declined because when I talked to her about it she said she would much rather marry a noblemen.” I look over at Waverly and she is smiling. “So, long story short. Yes I would like to have kids now that I think of it. I just never saw it in my future.” She smiles even wider.

“I really want pups. Even before I became Queen I wanted to have pups. Two little Princes running around and making a mess of the castle. Or a little Prince and Princess. I would be a great mother. My pups would be loved, they would know their Mama and Papa love them.” She has this light in her eyes that I have never seen before. She really does want pups.

“So when you get married, does your last name change?” I look at her and her smile fades. She nods.

“Xavier said that it’s tradition. No matter what. So I have to change my last name. After I marry there will be no more Earp.” I half smile at her. I hesitantly take her free hand in mine.

“At least the crest will be the same.” Waverly rests her head fully on my shoulder.

“That is if the new King doesn’t change it. Once I marry, the King will have all the power and rights. This would have worked for both my sisters. They both were betas and I was the only omega.” I nod slowly. I squeeze her hand.

“Well the horse is a lovely crest. I’m sure whomever the new King is will keep it.” She moves her head and looks at me.

“Not very confident are you? Whomever the new King. Why wouldn’t you say when I am King?” I sigh and look at our hands.

“Well, I just lost. I came in last place in one of the races. That means I am going home. This was so much fun.” Waverly leans over and kisses my cheek. My whole face starts to heat up, probably becoming as red as my hair.

“I am talking to Lord Xavier today. I am going to change it. Some good men lost because they didn’t want to scare their horses. I am the Queen so I am deciding this.You lost because you were taking care of your horse not because you didn’t train your horse well.” She gets close to my ear and starts to whisper.

“You aren’t going home that easy.” She kisses my cheek one last time then leaves. I sit on the bench until the sunsets.

I go to the barracks and some of the men are talking to Champ again. I guess winning the race against me gave him some respect back. These men are disgusting, terrible men. I have my guesses as to who is going to win the Queen’s hand.

Lord Perry is a very smart and worthy competitor. He didn’t win his race but he didn’t have any whips or riding crops so he really did try to train his horse. He came in ninth in his race. Then there is Lord Richard. He is older but he is doing well so far. He is the oldest here, he is thirty one. Then there is me. I think after hearing her today I have a really good shot at winning. Yes. I should be going home after the problem with Orthrus but she saw how good I was with him and how I let him stop. Maybe my compassion will save me.

Everyone is required to watch the final race. Waverly made that clear this morning when no one showed up the first time. I didn’t even show up the first time. She had them come out after breakfast and only the racers went out. Then a few moments later she came in the arena and yelled at all of us. She was staring at me the whole time. Lord Xavier looked at us weird then wrote something down. So now we are all at the race.

All of the men are lined up. Waverly yells begin and they start to race. Champ uses the riding crop and he is at the head of the race. I shake my head and look away. I can’t believe he is gonna win this. I look back up and he crossed the finish line. I sigh and look at the Queen. She has disgust all over her face. The men from the race line up in front of her. She stands from her seat and begins to speak.

“After talking to Lord Xavier last night we have decided to put a twist on the race today. No one is going back. This trial we feel isn’t a good enough trial to say who is going home. There were many factors that needed to be played in and we didn’t do that. Because of that, this was just for fun and there are only nine trials.” Waverly looks at me when she is done speaking and smiles at me. I smile back. Xavier notices again.

Some of the men are cheering and others seem to be mad. Saying how all of this isn’t fair they won, that means all of this is gonna take longer.

We all head back to the barracks and I’m nearly knocked over. Brayden is in front of me.

“You got lucky this time. Don’t expect to be safe again.” He spits on my feet then turns away. He walks over to the table and sits. I look down at my feet then back up at him. I can feel my face getting red. He needs to go. I get a bad feeling from him.

Chapter Text

We are approaching on the fourth trial. I have no clue what this trial is gonna be. Waverly didn’t drop another hint as to what it might be. It will probably be another strength type of test. I have been training with Lord James. After seeing me at the race, before Orthrus freaked out, he said that my skill of riding is fine. For the past week we have been working on strategy. The past week has been us talking about fortifications.

The best ways to attack one and defend one. This castle is protected on all sides by two walls. We have eight archery towers and the walls are thick so archers can stand on the wall as well. The walls are also used for dropping rocks on heads of invaders. Many strategies have to do with formations. Formations are important to war. A tight formation can make or break a war. When it’s a siege the best thing to do is go out and fight. Some people disagree but if they can get a siege tower we could be screwed.

If we are on the attack then we need the numbers. For soldiers in the Earp Kingdom we have about twenty thousand available men. Most of the wardens have ten thousand. If anyone tried to attack the Earp Kingdom it would be two to one. We also can call on any house for aid in a war. If it’s a siege I wouldn’t trust bringing anyone in.

Training with Lord James is all morning. All morning he trains me in strategy, then after that I train outside with the guards. I am having a lot of fun training. I am getting paid for this too, of course all the money is going to the orphanages. In the afternoon Waverly watched us train for an hour and then she leaves. Before she leaves usually would wave or say something to me. After the last trial I noticed she has been more distant. That really makes me upset because I love talking to her. She is so smart, way smarter than me. She could have a real conversation with any of these men and it would be better than with me. I would say I am more educated than the average farmer but that is only because I worked hard for all the books I read. I had to buy them with the money I earned.

The guards stomp out and the Queen appears soon after. She is walking out this time and a new man is on her side. All of the men make their way out of the barracks. We all line up and wait for the trial.

“This is Healer Laurence. He is the one who healed Garret Green back to health. He is awake and has spoken to me. I will give the person who shot him one chance to come out with it and tell me. I will be merciful with my ruling.” she waits and no one speaks up. It is possible the man who shot him is already gone. Unless he already told her who did it. Waverly looks everyone in the eyes and then snaps her fingers. Garret walks out and his shoulder is wrapped. He has this stoic look on his face.

He looks much better. He doesn’t look as pale as when I found him and he looks strong. He really looks healed. Garret walks up to the line of people and points out Brayden Milken. He is the one that spit on me after the last trial.

Brayden looks, very upset. His face is turning red.

“I did no such thing. Why would I shoot a man in the back?” The Queen walks forward and stands next to Garret.

“Garret told me he heard footsteps behind him. When he turned around to look you were pointing your bow at him. He started to run away and then he was shot. When Garret was brought back he had nearly everything on him. He had his bow, rope, extra meat, water. What he didn’t have was his pelts. Now, when looking back at the number of pelts everyone had you had the second most.” Brayden looks over at me and his face is somehow getting even more red.

“SHE FOUND HIM, AND SHE HAD THE MOST PELTS! WHY ARE YOU BLAMING ME!?” I nod at his argument because it is certainly valid. He is forgetting the part where Garret is literally calling him out, and he has the second most.

“We know Lord Nicole didn’t do it. Garret didn’t identify her, he identified you. You didn’t come forward and you disobeyed my rules. If you confess now, I will be merciful.” Brayden looks at me, then at Garret.

“Fuck it, fine! I did it. I shot the twat because he had a lot of pelts and I had almost none. I would have shot her if I saw her and all the pelts.” The Queen nods and snaps her fingers. The guards come rushing around Brayden and they grab his arms.

“Brayden, you have a brother correct?” Brayden nods and he looks horrified. “Good, next week there will be a hunt. Whoever shoots Brayden in the shoulder and brings him back two hours later will win. An eye for an eye as the ancients said. If you die, well, at least your house will have a successor.” The Queen turns and Brayden starts to push and pull against the guards. Screaming that she is a bitch and that she will never find a better cock than his. As he screams all of this he is getting dragged away. The Queen faces all of us and she looks indifferent.

“Don’t break the rules I have laid out for the trials. There will be consequences.” She turns and leaves the arena. Garret walks up to me.

“Thank you for saving me. If it wasn’t for you I would be dead and rotting out there. I heard countless footsteps go by me before I passed out. Thank you.” Garret holds out his hand and I shake it. He smiles at me then lets go.

“If you are ever in need of aid, come to house Green. I owe you my life.” He bows and then heads into the barracks. I stand there in awe, Garret walks out with his things and then he goes to the stable. After that he’s gone.

I look around and all the men are back in the barracks. I go in there and change out of my armor and bathe. When I get out I see that all the men are lined up and the Queen is waiting. I run over and stand in line. She nods at me then starts.

“Tomorrow marks the fourth trial. This is a trial of smarts. The King of all five Kingdoms needs to know the five Kingdoms. They need to know who the wardens are, their crest, the next of kin. They need to know all the enemies of the Kingdom. They need to be aware of the politics around them. Tomorrow I will sit down with fifteen men separately and ask them questions. If you tell anyone the questions and I find out. You will be kicked out. There are about ninety men here so I need to kick out twenty of you from now on. I will be scoring you, that is how I will know who wins and who loses.” She looks at me and I can see slight worry on her face. I have this in the bag.

My mother worked for Lady Gus, Lady Gus would practice these things with my mother. I’ve known all of the crests, the wardens, the next of kin, all of that since I was six. The enemies I just learned recently because of Lord James. We have many things that hate humans, one of them being mainly the Goblins. King Gork and King Ward had a ten year war. We are at peace but the goblins are unpredictable. They are our main enemies. The centaurs also don’t agree with us, they see us as horny savages. That is fair however.

I smile and nod to her and she nods back. The Queen leaves and all of the men turn to me.

“Why did she nod at you so much? Are you cheating?” Champ is yelling at me. I sigh and rub my head.

“We are friends. We talk occasionally because we go to an orphanage together. We teach the kids how to read.” All of them start talking at once. Some yelling others just saying that it isn’t fair.

“I’m sure the Queen would be more than happy to go with you guys to the orphanage as well. All you have to do is leave the castle for a day and teach kids. There is no ale, there are no women. Just children and books.” They all quiet down and look away. “Oh, that doesn’t sound fun to you? Helping the needy?” They start to walk back in the barracks. Lord Perry is the only one out here with me.

“They are right, it isn’t fair. You already have the whole horse thing on your side from when you were children. You have a leg up on everyone.” Perry gets closer to me. “Can I be honest with you?” I nod and he sighs. He looks around and then begins to speak again.

“Some of the men are trying to figure out how to get rid of you. After the last trial they all think you are already sleeping with her. Watch your back.” He pats my shoulder and walks away. I look up and the Queen is watching. I smile up at her and she smiles down. Her smile fades and then she leaves. I wait a moment and she doesn’t come down to the arena. I sigh and go to the barracks and sit. They are all doing what they usually do, drink. I contemplate drinking but I just decide to go to bed instead. I lay down and fall asleep.

She is calling in the first person of the day. I continue my training with Lord James. He is telling me the best way to fortify something and I can only think about yesterday how Waverly didn’t talk to me. She could have been busy, had to leave in a rush. Maybe she is realizing a woman alpha isn’t something she would want.

“Nicole, did you hear what I said?” I go to say yes but I just shake my head no.

“Sorry, I’m a little distracted today.” Lord James sighs and sits down next to me.

“The trials have you worried?” I shake my head no and look at my hands that are on the table.

“Waverly and I have been very good at communicating. I am worried I did something wrong.” He sighs again and I look up at him. He has this slight smile on his face.

“The Queen was yelled at after the last trial by Lord Xavier. She kept smiling at you and showing favoritism. He said that she needed to stop talking to you. I’ve never seen her so mad in my life. I thought she was gonna throw a fit.” He looks at me and continues. “The Queen favors you, Nicole. She really wants to spend time with you. She is making you the last person she is talking to just so she can for as long as she pleases.” I grin and look back down at my hands. I go to say thank you but he just continues on with his lesson.

I continue with my morning routine and then my afternoon one. I train in the arena with Orthrus today. Lord James really wants me used to riding with my sword in my hand. I run around the arena cutting heads off of dummies. I have noticed since my stay here I have become much faster. I continue with my practicing and watch as men get returned and called back.

As the last man comes out Waverly stops and looks at me. She looks like she is about to say something then Lord Xavier calls her. She just sighs and walks away.

Thank god Lord James told me because I would have been very upset by this and would have said something stupid when it was my turn to take the quiz of sorts.

I finish up my riding and then go into the barracks. The smell is slowly getting more and more disgusting. They don’t take the time to wash their sheets and we have been here for about three months. Winter will be here soon. I didn’t account for winter so I didn’t bring any of my cloaks from home. I wonder if I ask the Queen to make a cloak out of the pelts if she will let me. There are so many, I bet we could make coats for the kids around the city. Especially since this winter seems to be starting early.

I bathe then eat dinner. I’ve noticed that I have been getting more muscle. When I first arrived here I was more skin and bones. Actually eating three meals a day has helped greatly with the amount of work I can do. I make sure to stick with rabbit, chicken and bread. I don’t go for much else. I finish up eating dinner then go to bed.

The last three days were all the same. Strategy, eat, fight, eat, go to bed. All of it has really stayed the same in my opinion. While fighting I would notice the men walk in, some looked confident and others looked stressed and pale. It is nearing mid day of the last day of questions so I am up next. After strategy lessons with Lord James I bathed and got in my noble clothes. I have been waiting out in the barracks to hear the Queen call for me.

I can honestly say as the days have gone by for this trial I have been getting more and more nervous. I know this will be fun and I don’t have anything to worry about. However, I still have no clue what she is gonna ask. It could be anything crazy.

“Lord Nicole.” I stand up and go into the arena, Waverly is standing there in a beautiful red dress. Her hair is high up in a ponytail. She turns on her heel and starts for the castle. I jog up next to her and we walk into the castle in silence.

We are going deep in the castle, the deeper you get the darker it is. There are almost no windows in the halls. In the outer halls there are windows but not in the inner halls. She turns and we got to a room. She walks in and I follow. As soon as I enter my jaw drops.

“Waverly, this place is huge.” I look all around me at the thousands of books. I look back at Waverly and she has this wide smile on her face.

“I’ve read all of them. When I was younger I would read. That was how I would escape Willa being rude to me and my father’s yelling. Wynonna would hang out with me occasionally in here. Whenever she was in here she would make a fort and have me read to her.” She sets herself down on a nearby couch. I sit down next to her. She grabs a list and gets serious.

“We are now starting the fourth trial, are you ready?” I look around and notice no guards in here with us.

“Waves, how come there are no guards in here?” When I look back at her she has this weird smile on her face.

“I, umm, I trust you so I told them to wait out by the door once we were in here. Also, Waves is new.” My cheeks start to heat up. I am so embarrassed.

“I like when you say it, Nicole. You can keep calling me that.” She drops her hand on top of mine then she takes it away.

“So, we are going with an easy one first. What are all of the crests?” I smile and sit up straight.

“Earp is the horse, Holiday is the pine tree, Gibson is the bull, McCready is the tomato, and Gardner is the shovel.” Waverly has this wide smile on her face. She writes something down then asks the next question.

“Next of kin for all of the houses?” I sit back and look at Waverly.

“This one is tricky, but I think I know. Currently, for House Holiday Lady Alice is the next of kin. House Gibson, Lord Michael. House McCready they have been training a boy to be the next warden, Lord Gavin. House Gardner has their sadistic son Lord Tucker. Then for House Earp currently would be Lord Xavier.” Waverly makes a face at the last one.

“We don’t have anything for House Earp, what made you say Lord Xavier?” I shrug and look at her.

“You must trust him, he is the hand of the Queen. I would say that it would be him, currently because you have no husband or no kids.” Waverly nods and looks down at the paper and writes something.

“Who are our allies? Who can we trust in time of war?” I look at her and she is beautiful. She is very serious right now, performing her Queenly duties.

“Umm, well we can send to any warden and ask for men and supplies. As for outside allies, thanks to you we have the elves, we have the mermaids, and we have the orcs. For enemies we have the goblins, currently at peace but that could change. The centaurs aren’t very fond of us and the fairies hate us but will never start a fight.” Waverly nods and continues with some random questions about old wars. Who started the last war, who ended it. Things like that. How did her bloodline stay on the throne for so long.

She finishes up with the questions and then we just sit there.

“I’m sorry for not talking to you as often. I was told not to favor you. It would be unfair.” I nod and smile at her.

“You have nothing to worry about. We both know it’s unfair, we just got caught even though we weren’t sneaking around. The guys noticed you nodding at me and they started to ask me questions. I told them if they wanted to go to the orphanage with you and drink no ale, only read books and teach kids how to read to go for it. They left and didn’t say a word.” Waverly leans back and puts her feet up. She rolls her eyes then starts to rant.

“These trials are ridiculous. I should have been able to pick the men. I would have gone to every single house and talked to them. If I liked them, they could participate. If they were awful I would tell them no. I’m worried the wrong alpha is gonna win and the Kingdom will be ruined.” she looks at me and there is this heartbreak in her eyes. I get it, if I knew I was marrying one of those men I would be stressed.

“You’re not bad and Perry is not bad. Perry just seems interested in becoming King though. That’s fine because he seems to be nice enough.” Waverly sighs and sits back up. I have my hand over my chest and fake offense all over my face.

“I am not bad? With all due respect I am the best option you have here.” Waverly laughs and takes my hand again.

“You aren’t wrong but you still have to win first. Someone is getting more confident while being here.” I grin and shrug.

“Being around you makes me feel confident and happy, Waves. You make me want to be a better person.” I kiss the top of her hand then kiss her cheek.

“I will see you at one point this week yes?” Waverly nods dumbly and I smile wide at her. “I will see you then.” I leave the library and walk into the hall. One of the guards shows me back to the arena. I left at mid day and now it is sunset. I go into the barracks and eat dinner with the rest of them.

The days are getting shorter and colder. I’m used to the cold but I don’t think these guys are. They haven’t started the fire in the barracks so the nights are cold. After dinner the guards stomp out. We all go in the arena and wait. The Queen stands before us.

“Here, I have a list of names.” She rattles off twenty names and the men are going to the barracks as their name is said. Now, there are seventy of us left. We have been here since August. We have been here for four months.

I can’t wait for the next trial. I made a promise and I plan on keeping it.

Chapter Text

Winter came in full force this past week. First snowfall was right after the last trial. It has been just getting colder and colder. I can deal with the cold but these idiots have been complaining all day long. I walk around just so I can stop listening to them.

Strategy training has been going well. I have stopped training outside, it’s too cold and I worry for the guards getting cold. I have started training in the barracks. The men get fed up with me and yell at me to stop. I don’t. No one here intimidates me, no one. Perry makes me uncomfortable when he’s mad but not enough to scare me. Champ has finally shut up, no one is talking to him again. He just sits in the corner and drinks. He has been getting drunk faster, by midday he is drunk. Yelling or crying.

I am just finishing up combat. I put my dagger away and go to my bed. This room already smells gross, what’s some sweat gonna do? I get my clothes from my bed and start to the bath house. I get outside and the cool air feels nice. The walk to the bath house is short. I get there and it is full of steam. I smile and get into one of the baths. I take my time washing up. This is the only place I know of that I can get good heat.

I get out of the bath and get dressed. I went into the village and traded labor for good warm pants. I really needed those to do this next trial, and they are just nice to have. I get out of the bath house and head back to the barracks. I feel a tap on my shoulder and I turn.

“The Queen asked me to hand this to you.” She hands me a piece of paper then walks away. I unroll the paper and see that it says ‘to meet me in the library. The guards know you have access.’ I smile and walk back to the barracks. I go in there and settle all of my stuff. I get my boots on and then go into the arena. I walk up to the guards and tell them I want to go to the library. They nod and take me to the library.

The castle has decorations for the winter, white and black banners are on the walls. Some snowflakes. It’s very nice. I get to the library and walk in.

There is a fire roaring in the fireplace. It is so warm, I walk over to it and warm up my hands.

“Cold?” I turn and Waverly is smiling at me with a book in her hands. I nod and smile.

“Those barracks get so cold. The door does nothing for keeping the cold out. I’m used to it but those men. They keep complaining and complaining.” Waverly giggles and gestures to the couch. We both walk over and sit down. I look over at her and smile.

“So what are we doing here?” Waverly sighs and looks down at her hands.

“I missed you and Xavier is on my back about not seeing you.” I furrow my brow.

“How come he can tell you what to do?” Waverly looks up at me and takes my hand.

“I am an omega, he is an alpha. He can tell me what to do. The traditions are old but we stick to them. That is why I have to get married, I can’t be an unmated omega for longer than a month after my heat. These traditions are old and wrong but I have to stick with them. I can’t change them, the people love them. The people love the fighting, they love being able to order an omega around. What real alpha would follow an omega? I can’t lead my people correctly as an omega. These trials are hopefully gonna find me a good King. A good leader who will take my advice.” She squeezes my hand tighter and tighter as she talks.

“If I am being quite honest I don’t know the traditions. I never learned them.” Waverly smiles at me and shakes her head.

“Umm, well the big one is being unmated. An omega can’t be unmated.” I nod and start to speak.

“I know the society ones, the unmated, how an alpha can choose any unmated omega that has reached heat. I know that brothels are normal and legal. I know all of that. I don’t understand why the Earp name has to die. I don’t understand why you can’t say fuck you to Xavier and do what you want.” Waverly smiles a me and shakes her head again. She just faces me more and begins.

“When it comes to royalty there are just rules. If I break these rules there will be an uprising. The people know that I am getting married and that is what’s keeping them at bay. The people know that an alpha will be in charge. When I made peace, I had to say it was the hand of the Queen’s idea. I had to do these things because if I don’t the people will be upset. It is ridiculous but men are already in charge no matter what. Alpha or beta, we need an alpha to rule our land otherwise things go crazy. When my father was in charge no one took him seriously so the rape in the city was at an all time high because he was a beta. The rape now is high, if we have an alpha who can yell at them and put them in their place the kingdom will be more prosperous. If I was a man and a beta, I would have some problems still. I need the alphas to listen.” I nod and look at her. I kiss her hand and nod.

“When I win, because I am going to, the Earp name will stay. It will be Haught-Earp. The name will stay. The crest will stay. You will be in charge and I will just say the rulings to the people. You were born for this, Waves. I was born to farm. When I win, I will be the face the people need to see and you will be the brain.” Waverly has tears in her eyes. She leans forward, her eyes starting to close. I lean forward too, there is a knock at the door. We both pull away. Waverly stands up.

“Come in.” A servant walks in with two trays of food. I get up and help her with them. Her arms are full. I take one and she nods to me. We both set them on the table.

“Thank you.” She nods to me and bows to Waverly. We both sit on the couch and lift the dome to the tray. There is chicken, bread, fig cookies, and carrots. My eyes widen. The servant comes back in with two pitchers. She sets down two glasses then leaves before I can even say thank you.

“Wow, this is a lot of food.” Waverly laughs and nods. I look in the pitchers and there is ale and wine. I pour Waverly wine and I some ale. We start to eat.

“Have you done anything with those pelts yet?” I look over at her and she is shaking her head no. She swallows her food then begins to speak.

“Do you have any ideas for them?” I nod and face towards her.

“There are more than enough to stitch together and make coats. I was thinking we could make coats out of them for the kids in the orphanage and the beggars in the city. Hundreds die in the winter.” Waverly smiles wide and nods. She looks so happy.

“I love that idea. I also am gonna make something for you too then. I’ve noticed you don’t have a cloak. I will have them make you a cloak before the trial.” I smile wide.

“That would be amazing, thank you.” Waverly nods and we both go back to eating. We finish eating and slowly get drunk.

“You’re telling me, you would go to other farms and scare the cows?” I nod and laugh. Waverly leans back and puts her hand on her chest. She is laughing so hard.

“Jon and I would do it. Whenever he wasn’t mad at me we would do the stupidest stuff together.” Waverly stops laughing and then lays her head on my lap.

“I miss my sister. You must miss your family.” I nod and start to play with her hair.

“This winter is gonna be rough, I’m not sure if they are gonna make it till the end of the year with what they have. We have a lot of jarred food but,” I sigh and don’t finish my sentence. Waverly looks up at me and I look down at her.

“Your family will be fine. I will send a guard down with some more food and some clothes. They aren’t gonna die. You are now a house. That makes your father and brother Lords. They will be fine.” I grin down at her and continue to play with her hair. “I have never met Alice.” My eyes widen and my hand stops.

“What do you mean? She is your niece.” Waverly nods and sits up. Tears are forming in her eyes.

“I have to stay here. I have to ‘take care’ of the Kingdom. They never came down here because they have a lot of problems in the North lately. Many are dying of sickness.” I nod and wrap my arms around her. She hugs me back and rests her head on my chest. We stay like that for awhile. She pulls back and wipes the tears from her eyes. She looks to the window then back at me.

“It’s getting late, we should umm, we should head to bed.” I nod then stand up. I offer her my hand and she takes it.

“Waves, are we gonna be sneaking around now?” Waverly smiles and shrugs. She kisses my cheek then leaves the library. I shake my head and look around. I wait a minute then leave as well.

I make my way back to the barracks. All of the men are sleeping and a small fire is burning in the middle. I walk over to it and add some wood. The fire gets larger, I get into bed and fall asleep.

It has been three days since I talked to the Queen. She hasn’t sent another servant to see me. Today is the day of the trial and I’m a little worried about freezing to death out there. I have never tracked something before. I have hunted, I see the tracks and then leave a trap around it. When I hunt a deer all I do is wait in an area where I have found tracks. I have never followed them.

I made a promise and I plan on keeping that promise. I won’t kill him because the Queen has laid out rules for the trial but I will be the one to shoot him.

As I walk back to the barracks from strategy training a servant stops me again. She hands me the paper then leaves. It says to meet the Queen where I trained Orthrus. I turn and go back to the back of the castle where the pen is. I see the Queen sitting on the fence and facing me. She has a cloak in her hands. I smile and walk over to her.

When I get up to her and she drops from the fence and hands the cloak to me. I grin and take it from her.

“Thank you so much.” I unfold it and look at it. The cloak is all black. The fur on the edges is black and dark brown. “It looks amazing, Waves. Thank you.” She waves me off and smiles at me.

“It is my pleasure Nicole. Here, let me help you with it.” Waverly takes the cloak then wraps it around me, she locks the front with the clip. Her hands are on my shoulders.

“You look very handsome. Black was a smart choice for you.” I grin and start to warm up. The cloak certainly is warm.

“Do you have an idea of how many coats can be made?” Waverly wraps her arm through mine and we start to walk towards the castle.

“We can make about one hundred coats for the kids.” I smile wide and look at her.

“That’s great, you should hand them out as soon as they’re done. This winter is very cold.” Waverly nods and looks ahead. Xavier is at the castle back door. Waverly stops in her tracks. He has his arms crossed. He walks over to us with anger in every step.

“I told you, you have to stop seeing her.” He looks at me and I stand taller and level his gaze.

“You should head back to the barracks with the rest of the Lords.” I look over at Waverly.

“Do you want me to go back to the barracks?” Waverly shakes her head no. “The Queen has spoken. I’ll see you later Lord Xavier.” I smile at him then start to walk around him.

“I am the hand of the Queen,” I turn and Waverly is behind me.

“Exactly, the hand of the Queen. You help the Queen, you advise her. You don’t tell her what to do because SHE is the Queen.” Xavier keeps eye contact with me. He looks at Waverly then me.

“You don’t tell me what to do,” Waverly takes a step in front of me and speaks.

“But I do. Now listen to Lord Nicole and leave.” Xavier looks between the two of us and just walks away. Waverly turns to me with a big smile on her face.

“That was amazing. Thank you so much for doing that.” I bow to her then look at her.

“Anything for you. I can’t believe you told him to leave it was great.” I kiss the top of her hand. Waverly laces our fingers together. We walk to the back door then stop. She turns to me and kisses my cheek.

“I will see you later when you leave for the trial. I will be in the arena in an hour.” She kisses the corner of my mouth then goes in the castle I smile wide. That was real close to my lips. I walk back to the barracks and all of the men are getting ready for the trial. I go to my bed and grab my long sword and dagger. I already have my thick pants on and the cloak.

We all hear the footsteps of the guards so we leave. After going outside we all line up and wait. The guards hand us bows and arrows and rations. The Queen comes out and we wait for her to give us the trial.

“Today, you are hunting Brayden Milken. He has disobeyed the crown and broke the rules. We believe in an eye for an eye. He shot and nearly killed Garret Green. You job is to hunt him and shoot him. Come back here as fast as you can, if he dies, then he dies. Do you understand this trial?” We all nod and she nods. “Yesterday he was let out in the woods. We gave him a small head start. Go, go find the man that has broken crown rules.” Someone screams yea and the rest join in. I roll my eyes and look at Waverly. She is looking at me and grinning. All of the Lords are gone. I walk over to Waverly and she starts to walk towards me.

“Here.” She hands me a bag and I look in it.There is a pair of gloves. I look up at her and she is smiling ear to ear. I take a step closer and kiss her cheek. I stay there for a moment then pull back. Waverly is a little red.

“I will see you when I get back. Don’t miss me too much.” I wink and head towards the woods.

When I get to the woods and look all around, there are boot tracks everywhere. All of them look fresh, really deep. I walk the edge of the woods and look for tracks that aren’t as deep. There was a light snowfall last night so the tracks should seem more shallow.

The sun is setting and I finally see more shallow tracks. This could be completely wrong but I don’t know how else to look. I start to follow the tracks. They seem to be very rushed. Snow in every direction. I don’t see any other tracks going this way so maybe I’m just following one of these lords.

It is well into the night, there is nothing around me to even kind of make a shelter. I can’t see the tracks anymore so I should stop and at least set up a fire. I look around for sticks and I make a terrible fire. It is so small. I also see a hollow log, I guess I could sleep there. This is gonna be a long hunt.

It has been three days since the hunt has started. The weather is showing signs that a blizzard is coming. I am gonna have to find a shelter, otherwise I won’t survive this trial. Hell, no one will at this rate. I keep following the tracks and they lead to a cave. I go in the cave and there is a man laying in the cave. His fingertips are blue and, it’s Brayden. He looks, dead. He’s not moving and his chest doesn’t seem to be rising or falling. I sigh and leave the cave. I go to a pine tree and cut down some branches. I go back to the cave and line them against the opening. I grab the extra sticks and make a fire in the cave.

I heard freezing to death is a good way to go. At first it sucks but then you fall asleep. The healers say that at least. I look over at him and he still isn’t moving. I get up and lean him against the cave wall. He just falls over. I sigh and sit back down next to the fire. I take some food out of my bag and eat. The gloves Waverly gave me are super warm, the cloak even warmer.

He grunts. I stand up and look at him. I should let him die here. If Garret died I would let him die in good conscious. I walk over and slap his face. His eyes fly open and he breathes deeply. I roll my eyes and sit down next to him.

“Cold?” He grunts again so I take my cloak off and throw it over him. There is some movement next to me. I look over and everything is blue. His black hair is sticking to his forehead, I think he is sick too. He needs to head back to the castle to get better.

“Here.” I hand him bread and he takes it. We sit in silence. The blizzard is starting outside. I lean against the cave wall and watch the fire.

“Why are you being nice?” I shrug. I keep staring at the fire.

“Because you were close to death before sundown.” I look at him and he is shaking.

“Tomorrow after the blizzard we are heading back to the castle. I might shoot you, might not. Who knows.” I throw my head back and look at the cave ceiling. He is shaking still. I sigh and move to the other side of the cave.

“You are so lucky I found you. You would be dead, never to see your family again. That’s what you did to Garret. You just shot him and left him to die. To not ever see his family again.” Brayden just looks at me and shrugs. The heartless ass.

“No one here wants to marry Waverly. No one here is for love. We, well, they, they are here to be King. To rule over the Kingdom, to make whatever rules they want. That is why they are here. You, I don’t know why you’re here. I can only assume for love. Finding love this way is a fools game. That is why no one respects you. They want you dead because they think you are cheating your way through. How the hell is a farmer getting so far in this? The Lords have trained all their lives in things you are just good at.” He shivers. I roll my eyes. I stand up and start to pace just so I can keep warm.

“I am good at these things because I trained. I hunted when I was a kid to find food. I trained to sword fight with my father. I have read books upon books to just kind of have an education. You were handed all of that. I had to fight for it.” He looks at me and shrugs again. He doesn’t speak though. I walk over to him and take his food that he has left. I heat it up over the fire then hand it to him. I take my cloak back and continue to pace.

“Can you sit down you are making me sick.” I sigh and continue to pace. A huge gust of wind knocks over the pine leaf door. The wind and snow comes in. He starts to shiver again and his teeth are chattering. I go to the door and look outside. It’s dark and there is a foot of snow already on the ground. By the time we get up tomorrow it is gonna be three feet.

I start packing snow against the the opening of the cave and just let that keep the wind out. I go back over and he is blue all over his nose, his fingers, and his ears. I don’t know how to keep the two of us warm. At night I was keeping warm by finding a log and then sleeping in it. It wasn’t much but it worked.

“Can, can you just make the fire bigger?”He sounds mad and cold. I want to throw the fire at his face. I add some sticks to the fire and then sit against the wall. I stare at him. He stares back. Brayden slowly starts to fall asleep. As much as I would love to sleep I can’t. I don’t trust him.

The night goes by and I get up. I feel dead. I knock down the snow wall and there are two whole feet of new snow. I groan and turn. He is awake and looks like he is on the brink of death. The walk here was three days. Maybe if we walk fast enough we can get it done in two.

I help Brayden up and we head out. He is limping and coughing. I groan and just make him walk behind me. I’m not sure if I’m gonna shoot him yet. He already seems like he is gonna die.

We make it through the day and he only fell three times. I find us somewhere to sleep and I need to sleep this day. I have to. I can’t keep going like this. I sit back against a tree while Brayden complains. I’m gonna kill him.

“If you don’t shut the fuck up I am gonna shoot you in the head right now!” His eyes get wide and he shuts his mouth. “If you try anything tonight I will kill you in the morning. You have been complaining all day. I have had to help you walk and then pick you up. I will kill you in a heartbeat if you try anything because I hate you.” I lean back and close my eyes. He grumbles something but I decide to ignore him. Sleeps takes over in seconds.

I wake up and he is leaning against a different tree. He looks even worse today than he did any other day. I can’t feel my nose. I think it is turning blue or it is blue. I stand up and help him up.

“We should be getting back today. We need to get going faster today otherwise we are gonna die. Okay?” He nods, he is very uneasy on his feet. I hook my arm under his shoulder and we make our way back to the castle. We ran out of food and water yesterday. I wasn’t accounting for him to be this shitty.

We are halfway through the day and I am basically carrying him. He can’t feel his feet or legs anymore. It started snowing an hour ago. I can’t feel my face anymore.

I can see the castle. I start walking faster. The only light guiding me is the torches next to the door. I finally get to the castle and I walk through the back door. The guards point their spears at me then I fall on the ground with Brayden.

“Get the Queen!” I roll on my back and look at the ceiling. Those fucking woods are gonna kill me. I hear fast footsteps. Waverly is above my face, on her knees. She takes my face in her hands. They are so warm.

“You’re okay. I thought you froze to death out there.” I see tears in her eyes. I smile wide. I take my glove off and wipe the tears from her eyes.

“You can’t get rid of me that easy.” Waverly laughs and I close my eyes.

“I am really tired, I think I should go to sleep. Oh and I found Brayden. He umm, he’s probably dead.” I am being picked up.

“Take her to Wynonna’s old room, get a fire going and a warm bath. She needs to warm up.” I start moving and then I knock out.

I wake up to whispering. I open my eyes and see a red ceiling.

“She is gonna be fine, Your Grace. She had some slight frost bite but she is all better now. You should be worrying about Brayden. His foot needs to be cut off for him to be okay.” She says something to him. I sit up and look at Waverly. She runs over to me and hugs me tight. I smile and wrap my arms around her.

“You’re gonna be okay.” I nod and she pulls back. She has tears in her eyes again.

“Why are you crying? I’m fine right? I can still be in the trials right?” Waverly nods. I grin and kiss her forehead.

“So, I want to talk to you,” I nod and Waverly starts. “You’re the only one who stayed out in the woods. They all came back when they saw signs of a blizzard. I wasn’t mad at them but I was very worried when I didn’t see you come back. Be careful. I don’t ever want to see anyone hurt. I thought you were hurt and I didn’t want to send that letter to your family.” I smile and rub her cheek with my thumb.

“Well, I’m fine. Everyone is fine. I don’t think Brayden is though. I hate him by the way. I don’t ever want to see him again. He is an ass and I was really gonna shoot him after one day.” Waverly laughs and looks at me warmly.

“I have to send you back to the barracks now that you are better.” I nod and get out of bed. I look down and I am in very expensive looking clothes. I have on a snow white wool shirt and black as night woolen pants. I look up at her and she is smiling.

“You can keep those if you want.” I nod and look at her. This room is huge. There is a dining table, a huge fireplace, a giant wardrobe and the bed is bigger than my whole kitchen. I shake my head.

“This place is huge, how many bedrooms are in here?” Waverly puffs her adorable cheeks out.

“About forty.” My eyes widen and she laughs. She stands up and walks over to me. She fixes my shirt then rubs my shoulders.

“Your clothes are in the wardrobe, I’ll see you around.” Waverly kiss my cheek and lingers for a little bit. She moves away and leaves the room.

I am in this for love and that’s what’s driving me through this. What is pushing forward and working hard. I love Waverly Earp and I will win this.

Chapter Text

“Nicole, Nicole!” I sit up from the couch in the library and look at Waverly. She has a handful of books in her hands. She walks over to me and drops them on the table.

“Here are some good books, The Art of War, The Canterbury Tales, and Dante’s Inferno.” I smile at her then yawn. We have been in this library all morning, it’s midday now. Lord James is sick so Waverly said that she would teach me. We talked then she went hunting for books. The only useful one she brought was The Art of War.

A servant walks in and bows. She walks over to Waverly and hands her two pieces of paper. Waverly unrolls the first one and read it out loud.

“The warden of the South is dead. Tucker is now the warden. This is gonna go over well. I bet he already put Lady Mercedes in prison.” I make an oh face and then she reads the second piece of paper. “The coats for the children are done. We can go and pick them up from the royal seamstress today.” Her face lights up and she walks over to me. She sits next to me and has this wide smile.

“If you’re gonna ask me to go with you, yes. Let’s go. This winter is so rough.” Waverly squeaks and then claps. She stands up and head for the door.

“Well come on, we gotta go get those coats. All of the people who work for the castle have the top floor.” She walks out and I run after her. We walk over to a staircase and walk up it. We go up nearly eight flights of stairs. It’s ridiculous. I get to the top and catch my breath. Waverly giggles and waits.

“Some kind of knight you’re gonna be.” I lightly push her, she laughs then starts to walk. I follow her to the end of the hall and she knocks on a door. The seamstress opens the door and bows.

“Good afternoon, Your Grace.” Waverly takes her arm and makes her stand up.

“None of that, you know how I feel about that.” The seamstress just nods her head.

“Who is this?” I take a step forward and bow.

“Nicole Haught, at your service.” I look up at her when I finish speaking. She looks at Waverly and smiles.

“I like this one, she bows.” I stand up and chuckle. The seamstress takes us into the room and there are coats everywhere. All over the place. Small little coats, blankets, gloves, and socks. I grin and listen as the seamstress starts to talk.

“There are one hundred and one coats, thirty blankets, forty gloves, and twenty pairs of socks. The coats are of all different sizes. If someone elderly needs a coat we have that size.” Waverly hugs her tight and then pulls back.

“You are truly the best Glenda. Thank you so much for doing this.” She smiles at Waverly and to me.

“You both are very welcome. Now, get these coats out of here.” We all laugh and Waverly gets some guards. I grab as many coats as I can. I head downstairs and put them in a wagon that a guard is watching. I go back up the stairs and get more. The guards got almost everything else. Waverly and Glenda are talking.

“Is that the one you had me make a cloak for?” Waverly says yes and then she continues. “Well she seems to be very kind. That would be a smart match if you picked her.” Waverly sighs and then she starts to talk.

“I only get to send people away for the next couple of trials. I am hoping in the end it will be Nicole and Perry. Those seem to be the only two nice ones. But if I’m being honest, I want Nicole to win. She would be a great King and mate. I know our pups would be loved.” I feel my cheeks heat up. I walk further in the room and grab some of the gloves and socks.

“This is the last of it, Waves. Meet you at the gate soon?” Waverly nods and I nod back. I bow to Glenda.

“It was lovely to meet you.” She walks over to me and looks all around me. She makes me stand up and keep circling. She writes something down then smiles at me.

“It was lovely to meet you too, Nicole. I will be seeing you soon.” She nods then goes back to talking to Waverly. I leave the room and go down to the wagon. I put the rest of the supplies in the wagon then go to the barracks. I get my cloak on and my warm pants. The shirt I have on is black. I go to Orthrus and pat his head. He neighs and I smile. He is such a good horse. I climb on his saddle and then ride to the front of the castle. The wagon is there and the guards are coming in. There are double the guards, some must be going to the city after we go to the village.

Waverly comes out in a huge cloak, the hood is over her head. She looks, beautiful. She trots next to me then we head out. On the way there we don’t talk much because we both are pretty cold.

We get to the orphanage, the kids come running out. There are only about half of them here. I furrow my brow and hop off the horse. I help Waverly down and we both greet the kids then go in the orphanage. The women look solemn.

“The winter has been awful. The kids, the younger ones couldn’t handle the cold.” My face falls. I walk over to the bassinet and the baby is in there. He has a lot of blankets wrapped around him.

“The city won’t take the bodies.” I look at Waverly and anger is written all over her face.

“I will have them taken care of. None of this should have happened. I am so sorry. There will be changes. I don’t know when but they will be done.” The women just look back down and nod. I go to the wagon and grab some coats. I walk back in and hand the coats out to the kids. They seem so excited and happy. They are smiling and putting the coats on. I go back out and grab some blankets and gloves. I hand them out to the kids and they seem very excited. I take one of the blankets and wrap it round the baby. I sigh and look around. These poor kids are probably worried. The walls are drafty and the cool air is coming in. The firepit is small and only one of them.

This place needs to be rebuilt. She needs to have this place fixed. These kids need a healthy environment. I look at Waverly and there is worry all over her face. I walk over to her and pull her to the side.

“We need to find out if the rest of the orphanages are like this.” Waverly nods and hugs me tight.

“I can’t go to each of these orphanages. There are four just in the city, there are five surrounding villages including this one. Overall there are eight orphanages that I haven’t seen, I can’t go and see all of them while the trials are going on.” I nod and sigh. I pull back and smile at her.

“Send Xavier. He is the hand of the Queen. You could say that this is very important.” Waverly furrows her brow and shakes her head no.

“There won’t be an alpha in charge while he is gone. It won’t work. There will be an uprise.” I sigh and lay my head down on her shoulder.

“I can’t go. I have to stay for the trials. I only have a week in between each, I also am training to be a knight. Waves, these kids can’t keep dying. We need to do something.” Waverly nods. She sighs and looks around. She starts to pace and her tongue sticks out a little. I sit with the kids and one of the kids sits on my lap. I smile and talk to the little girl. I think her name is Jessica. We talk about the cold and how there is no food. She seems very sad. I look over at Waverly and she is smiling at me. I smile back weakly.

“Nicky, come here.” Well that is new. I take Jessica with me and walk over to Waverly.

“We’ll just take them with us. These kids won’t survive this winter. I will have Lord James go to each and write a report. I will have the second in charge train you. When the winter is over I will send men to come and fix the orphanages that need fixing.” I smile wide and nod.

“Now that is a plan. I’ll go talk to the women.” Waverly kisses my cheek and then I head over to the women who run this orphanage.

“Hello ladies, The Queen has come up with a plan to keep the kids safe for the rest of the winter. She would like to take these kids in the castle. To keep them safe and warm, you three are aloud to come as well. They do need people to take care of them. When the spring arrives she will send men to come and fix up this orphanage.” The three women are covering their mouths.

“That would be wonderful. I’m sure the kids would love that. We already lost so many.” Sadness takes over her features. I place a hand on her shoulder.

“No more children will die.” The three of them hug me. Jessica squirms out of my arms and runs over to Waverly. The women go over and thank her. The castle has more than enough room to take in these kids. We can push some more beds in the big room and they all can stay in one room.

Waverly is announcing to kids that they will be going to the castle with us for the summer. They all cheer and runs around the Queen. I look over at her, she has the biggest smile on her face. The kids are going to their beds and packing whatever they have in some bags.

Two kids on each horse aside from Waverly’s. Seven guards are going back with us. I am taking the baby and Jessica. Then the rest of them are being split up between the guards.

We are heading back to the castle now and all of the kids are singing some kind of song. I have the baby against my chest and my cloak around him. He has four blankets wrapped around him.

We get to the castle and the sun has set. The trip took longer because we had to go slower for the kids. We go through the arena and all of the men come out. They grunt when they see the kids then go back inside of the barracks. Perry comes over and helps with the kids.

“Why are there kids?” He is smiling at one of them.

“Half of them died from the cold. The Queen decided to take them in for the winter.” Perry looks at her and he sighs. This weird feeling stirs in my stomach. Why is he looking at her like that? He shouldn’t be looking at her like that. He looks at me and kind of pulls back. All of the kids are looking at me like I am mad. Waverly is looking at me curiously.

“Are you okay? Why are you growling?” I shake my head and look at Waverly.

“I umm, I didn’t even know I was doing it. I’m sorry.” I get off of Orthrus and look down at the baby. He is looking up at me with big brown eyes. I grin then hand him over to one of the women. They nod and take him inside where the rest of the kids are being led. Perry went off back into the barracks. I feel a hand on my back and I jump.

“Are you okay?” Worry is etched in her features. She rubs my back. I lean into her touch, my eyes close and I sigh.

“Yea, I just um. I think my rut is coming soon and being around all of these alphas puts me on edge.” I open my eyes, she is smiling at me sympathetically. Waverly pats my shoulder then starts for the castle. She turns and speaks up.

“Tomorrow is the trial. It is a real easy one, Nicky.” She smiles then walks into the castle. I head into the barracks and change into my pajamas. I get in bed and fall asleep without dinner.

The guards are stomping out of the castle right now so the Queen must be announcing the trial. I walk out of the barracks and yawn. Today is the second day of my rut. For the first two days I get really tired then it gets to where I am aggressive and well, horny all day.

The Queen walks out and she is looking at all of the men with a smile on her face.

“Today is the sixth trial. We only have three more to go and then there will be a winner. This trial is a very simple but very important one. We will be sitting down and having a conversation. I know how silly is sounds but to me it is very important for me to like who I am going to marry. If I don’t like you after having our conversation then I will be sending you home. These trials are not just to find a King but to find my mate. The person who I will spend the rest of my life with. I have to like you.” She smiles and all of them now seem worried. Some of the grosser looking men run in the barracks then run out and head in the direction if the bath house.

Waverly calls a man and he steps up. They walk in the castle. I go in the barracks and lay down. With Lord James gone and checking out the other orphanages I have been training with Lord Maxwell and he is very boring when it comes to lessons. I have learned nothing from him. When Lord James comes back I will be taking a test of sorts. If I pass I will be moving on to fighting. That means jousting, hand to hand combat, fighting just on a horse, and then sword work. He has seen me fight but he says there are some things that I could improve upon. Then after that Waverly will knight me. This of course if I stay in the trials that long.

Waverly seems to be going through twelve guys a day, there are now fifty guys left after the last trial. Some guys come back faster than others. They seem very dejected when they come back. They probably didn’t do all that well. The longest conversation she has had so far is with Perry. He has been up there with her for four hours. The sun is setting, he is a good guy but I don’t want him winning this. I want to, Waverly sees him as a possible mate. Maybe after this she will decide to see him more than she sees me.

The barracks door opens and Perry walks in. He has this smug look on his face. I want to rip it off. The men surround him and ask how the talk went. Tomorrow Waverly has Champ and I left. She hasn’t asked him yet to come in and talk to her for some reason. I sigh and lay back in bed. Anger and jealousy is coursing through my veins. Tomorrow will be the fifth day of my rut so it will slowly be going back to being tired. I will still be agitated though. I know I won’t snap at Waverly. I’m not even the slightest worried about that.

Today Waverly is calling Champ and I up. I hear his name being called. He gets up and puffs his chest out. He walks out of the barracks and I just look back up at the ceiling.

Champ comes back five minutes later with sadness all over his face. I guess the conversation went bad very fast. My name is called. I get out of bed and walk out of the barracks. All of the men are whispering as I walk by. I get out of the barracks and roll my shoulders back. Waverly has this wide smile, all of the tension rolls off of me as I look at her. I walk over to her and offer my arm. Waverly takes it happily.

We walk through the castle and she takes me to the kitchen. I look around and the kitchen is huge. A hundred cooks, all working. I shake my head and look at her.

“Why are we here?” Waverly lets go of my arm and looks around.

“Can you cook?” I laugh and nod. She looks back at me as I nod.

“Great, I want to make cookies for the kids. We found this new thing and it tastes very good. One of the cooks is calling it chocolate and I want to put it in a cookie instead of figs.” I nod and roll my sleeves up.

“Well, let’s get started.” Waverly walks to a wooden table that has all the stuff we need. She starts to mix the ingredients. After a couple minutes of silence I speak up.

“So that talk with Champ was short.” Waverly groans and stops to look at me.

“He really is an ass. He was telling me about how terrible his armor is. It wasn’t shined the right way so he hit the blacksmith. He was bragging about hitting someone in less than five minutes. I told him he could leave right after that.” I turn to her and she gets serious.

“What’s wrong?” I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I open my eyes and she looks worried.

“When I left to come here I stopped by my blacksmith. We have known each other for years. He was the one who offered me his daughter. When I stopped by he had a black eye from someone hitting him. They were coming here. I should have known it was Champ. He is such an ass.” I lean back on the table and grab the edges. I grab them and the wood starts to crack.

“He will pay for what he did. I promise you, just calm down okay?” I nod and look at her, her eyes are very calming. I take another deep breath. We go back to making cookies. I should punch him in the face. I should duel him again and actually fight him. I am sick of him and his smug demeanor. I want him gone, now.

“All we have to do is put them in the oven. While they cook we should talk.” she has hope in her voice. I know talking to her will calm me down. We get them in the oven, we then sit in some chairs.

“Have you ever thought about doing anything other than farming?” She is very good with conversations I can tell you that.

“No, not really. I never thought I would ever get the opportunity. I dreamed about being a knight or being something where I could finally relax. After being here though I realized that I can’t relax. That sitting and doing nothing is boring. Training and fighting is fun to me. Gives me something to do.” Waverly smiles and takes my hand. I intwine our fingers. “What about you, what would you want to be if not a Queen?” Waverly smiles wide.

“I always thought teaching kids would be fun. None of the kingdoms have anything like that. I place where kids can go to learn grammar and arithmetic. Like what we did with the orphanage. Or maybe work in the city library. I would love to do things like that, things with education.” I smile wide at her and kiss the top of her hand.

“I bet we could make something like that anyways. We could start off in the village close by. A two floor orphanage. The second floor for the kids and the first for education. The kids from around the village could go.” Waverly has this wide smile.

“Well, we are already building the orphanage. That’s not a bad idea.” I’m about to say something when Lord Maxwell bursts through the kitchen doors.

“There is an army on its way to the South wall. It seems that Tucker Gardner is on his way to the wall. He has all of his army with him. The ten thousand.” Waverly stands up and nods. All of the cooks have stopped cooking. They are looking at Waverly.

“Go tell Lord Xavier. I want him to know about this. Send out word to our soldiers I want them ready for when the army arrives. You will represent me in this time of battle. Find out why he is here and what he wants.” Maxwell bows then runs out of the kitchen. Waverly turns to me. “I want you to stay with me. I need a personal guard and I want that to be you. Go to the barracks and get your armor on.” I bow and run to the barracks. As I run through the castle I see guards running towards the South wall. I get to the barracks, Lord Xavier is telling the men about the army. Some seem ready to fight and others look scared.

I get my armor on fast, getting my long sword and dagger on my waist. I get my cloak on and run backs to Waverly. I get to the kitchen and she is getting the cookies out. She tells one of the cooks something and then she starts to walk. I follow behind her. We are walking to the South wall.

We go up some old stairs and then we are on the wall. There is an army of about ten thousand in front of us. I see giants in the mix. They are a rare breed. Usually they keep to themselves but I see that Tucker has gotten them to listen to him. I look over at Waverly and she seems calm. I look back at the army and they are approaching fast. Twenty guards line the walls with bows in their hands, arrows on their backs. The gates open, our army pours out of the castle and towards their army.

The last soldier leaves and we have maybe five thousand men.

“Waverly, where is the rest of our army? We should have fifteen thousand more men.” Her brow is furrowed and she seems to be just as confused. Lord Xavier comes running up the stairs.

“The men saw the giants and the catapults, they aren’t gonna go and fight. They think it is a losing battle. I don’t know what to do.” Waverly stays silent and watches the army in front of us. She nods once and looks to me.

“Can you go and try to make the men go and stand for their Kingdom? If the time comes will you fight for me?” I drop to one knee and look up at her.

“Anything you need, Your Grace.” Waverly nods and motions for me to stand up.

“Go and fight for your Kingdom, go fight for me.” Waverly kisses my cheek softly. She cups my cheeks with her hands. I take my cloak off and wrap it around her shoulders.

“Keep it warm for me.” I smile and then head down to the gates of the South wall.

For the Kingdom, but mostly for her.

Chapter Text

I get to the bottom of the stairs and see all of the men standing or on horse. They are complaining about fighting. How they would just die. I roll my shoulders back and puff my chest out. It is time for me to be a leader. The alpha who will inspire these men and get them to go and fight. I walk in front of the crowd and stand on a barrel. Some of them look to me and others are still talking. I growl as deep and loud as I can to get their attention. The talking stops and I start talking.

“Knights of the Earp Kingdom, you were summoned here to fight for your Queen and your Kingdom. Instead of going out there and fighting you are in here letting your brethren die out there. You’re being cowards. You all trained to be a knight and instead of using your training for what it’s meant, you all are standing behind a wall like a bunch of cowards. Do you lot know what’s gonna happen when he gets behind this wall?” None of them talk, all seem to be paying attention to me.

“They are gonna slaughter you all. Then they are gonna raid the castle, take the Queen as hostage. More than likely rape her. After that will be the rest of the Kingdom. Your kids will be killed. Your wives raped and taken as slaves. If their own husbands won’t protect them who will? If you don’t want to fight for the Queen or for the Kingdom then fight for your families. Be the alphas you were born to be and fight for your family. It is time to fight for your families and for yourself. Now, who is gonna go out there and fight with me?” I take my sword from my waist and raise it to the sky. They scream yea and nearly all of them raise their swords.

I jump off of the barrel and find a horse without a rider. I ride to the front of the group then look at the people who are manning the gate.

“Open it.” They nod and the gate slowly opens. I raise my sword and head towards the rest of our men out on the battlefield. We get close to them and they all fall in lines. I make my way to the front of the group with Lord Maxwell.

“Have they spoken?” He shakes his head no. We watch the army before us until the sunsets. A man comes out and he looks familiar. This must be Tucker. He’s about ten feet away from us with two giants on his side. They have rough skin, skin that will take the sharpest arrows to pierce. I look closer and they soft spots right under their necks. Interesting.

“I am here to take my rightful place on the Throne. Queen Waverly was supposed to marry me and I was to be King.” With every word he gets angrier and angrier. “Either she can marry me and there will be no war, or she will deny my proposal and all of you will die.” A simple beta. Coming in here and acting like he can just rule the Kingdom. “Go tell her my proposal. At dawn I want my answer.” He turns and rides back into his army.

“Go tell the Queen. I will take the rest of the men inside the castle for rest.” I ride back to the castle as fast as I can. The gates open for me. I get in then hop off of the horse. I run up the tower stairs. The Queen is still waiting. She turns to me and she has the biggest smile.

“You did it. I knew you could do it.” She hugs me tight and I hug her back.

“We know why he is here.” Waverly pulls back and goes back to being a Queen.

“Go on.” I sigh and take her hands in mine.

“He wants to be King. He wants you to marry him and he’ll call off the war. If you say no then we have a war. At dawn we need to tell him our answer.” Waverly squeezes my hands then lets go of them. She looks to Xavier.

“Call the council. I want Lord Maxwell, Healer Laurence, you, Master of coin, and Lord Nicole. I also want you to send word to Lord Green. He is the closest wealthiest house near here that can speak for the people. Send a raven.” Xavier nods and leaves. Waverly walks towards the stairs and I follow her. She goes down a flight then we walk into the castle. We go through a bunch of halls and a few moments later we are in a room with a large table and a few chairs. Waverly goes to the head of the table and sits. I stand right next to her. I drop my hand to her shoulder and she covers my hand with hers.

People start walking in. I recognize everyone walking in. They sit and we all sit in silence until Lord Green gets here. A man in very nice clothing walks in, right on his side is Garret. Garret walks over to me and shakes my hand.

“It’s good to see you again.” I nod and he sits down next to his father. Waverly looks at everyone then speaks.

“I have called all of you here today because there is an issue that I can’t be the one who decides. All of you are men that the people respect so they will trust your judgement over mine. Tucker Gardner is at the South wall ready to wage war. If I marry him there will be no war. If I don’t there will be. What should we do?” There is silence for a few moments. Lord Green speaks up.

“He is a beta, the people won’t rally behind a beta. There will be an uprising on your hands. However we can’t afford to lose thousands of people just because you don’t want to marry him. That much is clear because otherwise you would have married him.” Waverly nods and doesn’t speak. Lord Maxwell speaks up.

“They have giants and I don’t know how to fight a giant, Your Grace. I say you marry him and we can find a way to get him killed.” Not a terrible idea. Healer Laurence looks solemn.

“Alright, I say we go for the war. He won’t be able to satisfy you and then you would need an alpha to sleep with you. The people won’t listen to him and we will be in worse shape than with Ward.” Xavier seems mad as he speak. Lord Green speaks up against him mentioning all the lives that will be lost. Healer Laurence joins in and Lord Maxwell. Waverly looks stressed.

“When was the last time anyone has been in the South?” All of them be quit as I speak. No one says anything for a response. “The last time I was there was when my grandmother passed away when I was ten. Gardner men used to own my farm, my father’s family lived there. Anyways, as we all know Tucker has been in charge of the South since he was five. His father was sick and his mother well. She ran off. Tucker was the unnamed Warden of the South.

When I was ten he was about fifteen. The South was chaos and anarchy. He didn’t tell them to do anything. He let them run wild, maybe that was because he is a simple beta and most don’t listen to betas. There was famine and disease in the streets. People having sex in the streets. It was awful. That is how our Kingdom will be with him in charge. He is a coward and a bitch. I’m not saying this because I am in the trials, I am saying this because my father fought for a better life. I don’t want to see that go to waist.

As for the giants, there skin is thick. An arrow won’t pierce that. However, right under their necks they have a soft spot. Have the archers aim for eyes and under the neck. There are maybe ten giants. Take them out first then the people.” All of them are looking at each other. Waverly speaks up.

“I will not see my Kingdom turn to ash because some entitled brat wants to be the King of people that he can’t even rule. We will fight.” All of them nod. Healer Laurence speaks up.

“Send all the healers here, I will get ready for the men who will come my way.” Waverly nods and stands. The rest of them stand.

“Thank you for your help. We will meet again after the war. Lord Maxwell talk strategy with me and Lord Nicole.” He sits back down and I sit down as well this time.

“I want the front infantry to have two thousand men in two blocks. Behind them will be another two thousand. There will be four blocks of them with an overall of eight thousand. The cavalry will have one thousand and they will come out on each side of the their army. They will flank them. That has us at ten thousand. We will have some men on stand by in the back. I want four thousand archers on the field. We need to take those giants out.” Waverly nods and looks at me.

“Does that seem like a good idea?” We will have six thousand men in reserves. That’s good. I think we need at least a thousand men with spear to get the giants.

“Yea, I like the plan. On the wall I want a five ballista catapults going. Aim for their catapults and the giants. I also want three onager catapults going on the ground. I want them aiming at the soldiers. The front of the infantry needs to have spears and shields. I want a wall formation with men jumping over them. I need the men who have shields to also have swords. They need another line of defense just in case.” Lord Maxwell nods.

“We will use all of that too.” I look over at Waverly and she seems a little stressed. She dismisses Maxwell leaving the two of us.

“You’ll be safe out there right?” I nod and take her hands.

“I won’t go and fight any giants, I won’t go and put myself in a super dangerous position. I will protect you. That is why I am going out there and fighting. For you, Waves.” I lean forward and kiss her cheek. I pull my hands away and stand up.

“I should go to sleep. Tomorrow is gonna be a long day.” Waverly nods and stands up too.

“I’ll get you a room in the castle. You should get a good night’s rest. Follow me.” Waverly starts to walk and I follow her. It seems like she is taking me back to Wynonna’s old room again. I get in and that is where I am. She calls a servant in and asks them a few things then leaves.

“Someone is going to come in here and start a fire. They are also bringing fresh clothes for you sleep in. After her someone will be coming in with food.” I bow and Waverly smiles at me then leaves. I start to get my armor off and I just sit at the table and wait. A few moments later someone walks in and places some clothes on the table in front of me and then starts the fire. She bows to me then leaves.

I change out of my gross clothes and get into pajamas. The clothes she gave me are so soft. I have no clue what the material is. I sit at the table and wait. I keep running tomorrow through my head. I don’t want to die. I also don’t want him getting through and getting to Waverly.

The same woman walks in with some food and ale. She pours it in my cup. I say thank you and she leaves. I lift up the lid and there is rabbit and figs on my plate. I dig into the food and look at the fire. I can’t wait to go to sleep. I drink some ale then get into bed. As soon as my head hits the pillow I fall asleep.

I wake up to the door creaking open. I lean over and grab my sword.

“Nicky?” I sit up and Waverly is standing in the middle of my room in just a night gown.

“Are you okay?” Waverly shakes her head no and walks over to me. I drop my sword, Waverly sits on my bed.

“I’m worried they are going to siege at night. I umm, can I sleep in here with you?” My eyes widen.

“Yes, of course. I’ll sleep on the floor.” I throw the covers off of me, Waverly places her hand on mine to stop me.

“The bed is big enough.” Blood rushes down south and I nod. I feel like my rut is starting all over again.

“Okay.” I throw the blanket back on me and scoot over. Waverly crawls in bed and she lays down. I stare up at the ceiling. The bed dips closer to me. I feel her head on my shoulder, so I wrap my arm around her and hug tight.

“Tomorrow is gonna be fine. I won’t let anything bad happen to you. I won’t let anything bad happen to the kids here either.” I kiss her forehead and they lay my head back down.

“You can’t promise that. You can’t promise that everything is gonna be fine. Just, don’t get hurt. I need you, Nicole. I need you to stay alive and win the trials. I need you, okay?” I close my eyes and nod. I open them back up and kiss her forehead one more time.

“I will do everything I can to come back to you.” Waverly says nothing and sleep takes over yet again.

The bed starts to dip closer to me. I feel a kiss on my cheek and I can’t help the smile that blossoms across my face. I open my eyes and see Waverly looming over me.

“Good morning.” she smiles and kisses my cheek again. I sit up and there is breakfast on the table. Bacon and eggs.

“Good morning, Waves.” I swing my legs over the edge of the bed. I get out of bed and walk over to the table. I turn and Waverly is smiling at me from bed.

“Are you gonna come and eat?” Waverly gets out of bed and she looks beautiful. The night gown looks very smooth. She walks over to the table, I pull the seat out for her and she smiles at me. I sit across from her and we both start to eat. I finish up my breakfast then walk over to my armor. I change out of pajamas and get my clothes from yesterday on then my armor.

“So you just change in front of anyone?” My eyes widen and I turn to Waverly. She has a devilish grin on her face.

“I am so sorry, I am so used to changing in front of men that I didn’t even think about changing.” She starts to laugh, she gets up and kisses my cheek.

“Dawn is approaching soon. We should get ready.” I nod and smile weakly.

“I’ll see you when everything is done.” I lean down to kiss her, my hands fall to her waist, I close my eyes and then the door opens.

“We need you when we tell, oh, Your Grace. I didn’t know you were in here.” we both jumped back when the door opened

“I am going actually.” Waverly smiles at me then leaves. I turn to Lord Maxwell and throw my arms up.

“Should you actually be kissing her?” I walk past him and to the Southern wall. I get there and almost all of the men stand straighter as I walk by. I go to the horse I had yesterday. Lord Maxwell rides up next to me.

“Today we are going into battle. We are fighting for freedom and our families. Archers, remember to shoot the giants under the neck. Now, let’s go!” Well lord Maxwell is pretty bad at inspiring. The gates open and we ride out. I can see Tucker waiting with the two giants. Lord Maxwell and I ride up to him.

“So, what is her answer?” Lord Maxwell takes a step forward.

“She said no.” Tuckers face twists in anger. He turns and rides back to the army. The two giants are still here. The one in front of me screams and swings a mace. I get out of the way just in time. I get my sword off of my waist and get right under the giant. I thrust it as hard as I can in his neck. The giant falls over with blood gushing out of his neck down his chest. Lord Maxwell is having trouble with the other giant. As I make my way over he kills the other giant.

The army is running at us full force. Our army is to run forward a few hundred feet then to make the wall. Maxwell and I fall back. We get to behind the wall, I get off of my horse and draw my sword. The Knights in the front are making the wall with the shields. A moment later knights are jumping over the wall and attacking Gardner’s army. They know the plan, we know the plan. This should work out. Thankfully they don’t have a siege tower.

I look back at the castle and I can the archers and the ballista getting ready. On the ground the onagers are being set up. Screams are coming from beyond the wall we’ve made. Men dying, death isn’t something I’ve seen aside from animals. I’ve never seen a man die. I roll my shoulders back, then run as fast as I can. I jump over the wall and land on my knee.

I look up and the army is fighting through our men faster than we thought. They still have eight giants out there. I stand up and turn to the wall. I run to the end and grab one of the shields. I’m gonna get close and personal with the giants so I can kill them. An arrow from the ballista goes flying over my head. I run into the other army.

It’s starting to snow. I am approaching the army and they are slaughtering our men. I run in and start to fight. I swing my sword and hit the others heel and they fall to the ground. Blood is pouring out and he stand on his other leg. Before he can get closer to me I slit his throat and try to move on. I watch the life drain from his eyes.

I shake it off and move on. I make my way through their army fast. I get to the first giant and I grab onto his shirt. I pull myself up and go to his back where he can’t reach. I climb my way up his body and then. Once near his neck I move around his body and grab the collar of his shirt. I am hanging off of the front of his shirt. I thrust my sword up and he is starting to fall forward. I crawl on his shirt and make my way to his back. He land with a thud, the ground shakes. I turn fast and see that they are getting closer and closer to the wall we have created. The signal for the cavalry goes up and then they come out and start to flank both sides. This seems to be working best.

I run to another one of the giants. I go to jump on them but one of the ballista arrows hits him in the chest and he goes to the ground. The snow is starting to come down faster and faster. I feel a hit on my shoulder. I turn, one of his soldiers just hit me. Our blades cross then I stab him in the leg and slit his throat with my dagger. Blood spurts on my face. I wipe it off to the best of my ability and then I fall back.

As I run by I try to get as many of them in the back as I can. Men start falling left and right. I get behind the wall with the rest of our army. Maxwell looks, worried.

“We need to send out the reserves. I don’t get how they are doing so well. I don’t know who taught them how to fight.” He doesn’t even have his sword in his hands. I can’t believe Lord James thought this guy was good enough to be his second.

“Go to the wall and come back to me with a guess as to how many men are there. I will have the archers work double time. I will have the wall fall back along with the cavalry. He nods and gets on his horse. He is heading towards the castle. I grab a bow and set two arrows on fire. That means fall back. I set them off towards the army and then the wall starts to move backward. I get on my horse and jump over the wall again. I run through the crowd and chop off as many heads as I can. Blood goes splattering everywhere. I turn and do the same on the way back through the crowd.

I get over the wall and head back to the gates. The day is going by fast and bodies are stacking up on the battlefield. Maxwell comes back out and he seems to be a little relieved.

“The Queen said to fall back. There seems to be about four thousand left. We can’t take them with what’s out here.” I nod. We can, we have to. For Waverly, for the Kingdom. For the kids in the castle. We need to win.

“There is only one giant left. We need him taken out. Then the wall is breaking up and we are having them go in. The archers haven’t been touched. Get them just shooting faster. I am gonna go up on the wall and man the ballista. Once the giant is out I will come back down and we will finish this war.” I get him off of his horse and I ride into the gate.

After getting through the gates I run up the stairs and towards the ballistas. Waverly says something to me but I don’t quite catch it. I man the ballista and aim for the giant. He is taking out ten of our knights at a time. I aim the ballista for his head and then I shoot. The arrow goes flying, it hits him right in the chest. He falls to the ground. I move away from the catapult and look over at Waverly. She looks worried still.

“We have about six thousand men left. We have the reserve still. A thousand in calvary, we still have most of the archers. Then on the front lines we have about two thousand left. Just, don’t worry. I have all of this under control. Maxwell is doing terrible out there.” She smiles. I turn and look at the battlefield. It is getting bad out there.

“I’ll be back.” I smile at her and then head back down to the battlefield. I get to the gate and get on my horse. I ride by the onagers and they go off. A large group of men get squished. I ride up to Lord Maxwell. He still seems stressed he hasn’t even gone out to fight.

“How many have we sent out?” He sighs and looks around.

“Almost all of them. I’m about to get the reserves and have them come in. We need more men.” I shake my head no and hand take his sword out for him.

“We need men who can fight right now. You’re one of them. Go out there and fight.” I grab the shield I left behind and run out into battle. We seem to have brought back there line. I run in and I start swinging. Slashing at anything I can with all the power I have. The bodies are piling up, instead of walking on ground I’m walking on bodies to get to them. This is getting out of hand.

I run through the crowd of men and dodge as many hits as I can. I feel warmth on my arms so I look down. There is blood gushing out of my arm where the space in my armor is, between my shoulder and the rest of my arm. I keep going. I turn and see the sign for the cavalry.

When I turn back. I’m surrounded by men all facing me, swords drawn. I hold mine up and look up at the castle. I am out here for Waverly. I am out here for the kids we are protecting inside. I need to fight and I need to win. The edges of my vision is turning black. I can feel my breathing speeding up. I look all around me and everything I can see has a red tinge to it. The blackness is closing in.

Black. Everything is black. I can make out muffled screams but I don’t know what is going on. I can’t shake myself out of whatever this is. Everything is still black. I need to get out of this, I need to fight. I need to, the black is getting lighter.

I blink and open my eyes. They start to adjust to the outside. Bodies, there are hundreds of bodies around me. I look down at my arms and they are covered in blood. I don’t feel hurt aside from my arm. I hear the Gardner army scream fall back. I look back at the castle and they all are cheering. I look at where the wall of Knights should be and they seem to be cheering too. The snow stops. I sigh and look around me, the men are falling back. Tucker is yelling something at them. I run towards Tucker. He is far away but that doesn’t stop me. Something inside of me broke, I feel angry and aggressive. I get over to him and he stays stoic. I rip him off of his horse.

“Tucker!” A woman hops off of her horse. She has brown hair so this must be Beth. I have Tucker by his shirt and I have a tight hold on Beth. A horse is approaching. It’s Maxwell. I hand him Beth and I keep my grip on Tucker.

“Get your hand off of me you filthy peasant.” I get on his horse and get him on it too. We head to the castle. We get to the gates and the Knights grab Tucker and beth. I hop off of the horse and I fall to the ground. The black is fading in and out again.

I see Waverly’s face. She is ordering some people around. My eyes close. I open my eyes again and we are in a hallway moving fast. I close my eyes and enjoy the black.

Chapter Text

I wake up and I’m in a different room. The ceiling is high, I sit up and hold my head. There are books all over the room. The dining table in here is huge, two wardrobes, two doors. One must got to a private bath house. I feel a sharp pain in my arm and look at it. My arm is wrapped in cloth. I get out of the bed and walk around the room. The door closest to the bed opens and Waverly walks out with a towel on her. I spin quick and look at the bed.

“You’re awake!” I nod and keep my eyes trained on the bed There is some rustling behind me. I hear some extra footsteps. “You can turn, Nicky.” I turn and Waverly is fully dressed. I plop back on the bed.

“How long have I been sleeping?” The dress she is wearing looks very royal. There is a box on the table that a servant is opening. She pulls out a crown.

“Only a day, today I am holding the Tucker trial. I sent word to the South of what happened. I am making Lady Mercedes the warden of the South.” She is the first woman warden. Maybe change will happen with Waverly as Queen.

“Okay. Is there any food? I am starving.” Waverly nods to one of the servants and she leaves.

“She will be back with something. How are you feeling?” Waverly sits next to me on the edge of the bed. There is worry written all over her face.

“My arm hurts a little but other than that I am fine.” Waverly smiles at me then she gets serious.

“What happened to not putting yourself in dangerous situations? I saw you climbing up the giant like he was a tree. Then you ran into battle three times. You could have gotten yourself killed. Then, you did that whole freak out that ended the war. Healer Laurence said it was due to you being in your rut. Then when I came to greet you, you passed out on me.” I feel my cheeks heat up. I lay down on the bed and stare at the ceiling.

“I couldn’t let thousands of men die while I watched. I had to do something. I had to fight.”I sit back up, Waverly has a weak smile on her face.

“Would you like to stand with me during the trial. I am having the Kingdom come and watch, my ruling is a beheading.” I shrug and look around.

“As long as it’s after breakfast I’ll go.” Waverly smiles and kisses my cheek.

“Great, you are gonna have to wear your armor. You are being Knighted as well.” My eyes widen and she smiles. “You did just fight in a war and live to tell the tale. You are being Knighted. Lord James is back and is willing to help do it. He also has all of the orphanage numbers.” I nod and stand up. I look back down at my arm and groan.

“Am I still eligible to be in the trials?” Waverly stands up and nods.

“You fought in a war, you got hurt defending your Kingdom. I should send the rest of them home just because they stayed and hid in the barracks. I should send them home just for not staying out in the woods.” There is disappointment all over her face. “However, I will be fair and not do such a thing. The next trial is something simple that will really help decide who will stay or go.” I nod and sit at the dining table. A few moments later the servant comes back with food and trailing behind her is a squire.

“This is Jeremy, he is going to be your squire from now on. I had the blacksmith make you new armor due to your’s being,” She is hesitating with words.

“Cheap?” Waverly sighs but nods.

“Yeah, cheap.” I laugh and stand up. I walk over to Jeremy and extend my hand.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Jeremy. My name is Nicole.” He takes my hand and shakes it. He looks at Waverly then back at me.

“It is very nice to meet you too, Lord Nicole. Everyone is talking about your fighting skills after the war. Many Knights want you to train them. They are calling you the giant slayer.” I scratch the back of my head then sit back down.

“I’m not even sure how I fought. Everything went black, when I came too all of the men were dead.” He deflates a little then puts my armor down. I start to eat my bacon and eggs. Waverly sits across from me with a book in her hands.

“What book is that?” Waverly places the book down and starts to explain how it’s about the ancients. Specifically their laws on alphas, betas, and omegas. She wants to try and place some opposite laws in than what the ancients had. She thinks it will help the omegas in the city have some rights. I love that she is so into her work. There is a knock at the door that interrupts her.

“Come in.” Xavier walks in and I sit up taller.

“Your, Grace.” He bows then he looks to me. “Lord Nicole. I’m glad to see you up and around.” I nod back to him. He looks back to Waverly and starts to speak again. “May we talk in private?” Waverly waves her hand and the servants and Jeremy walk out. I go to get up but she stops me.

“You can stay.” I nod and sit back in my chair, enjoying my food. Xavier sits and look between the two of us then he begins.

“I am very sorry for everything that I have done in the past. I should have been guiding you instead of ordering you around. I never should have started doing that. You are the Queen and you can do whatever you want. You have been able to do whatever you want all along. I am sorry for the way I acted. It will never happen again. I was trying to protect you. I never wanted this to get out of hand.” Waverly looks stoic. She looks him in the eyes and nods.

“I know somewhere deep down this was for the Kingdom so I forgive you. However, next time I won’t be so merciful. I will have you thrown out and I will find a new hand of the Queen. Do I make myself clear?” Xavier nods and stands up, his eyes are cast down.

“Very clear, Your Grace.” He bows then leaves the room. The servants come back in, they all go back to where they were standing. I finish up my breakfast and one of the servants takes the plate away. Jeremy grabs the armor and moves to the personal bath house.

“I’ll help you with your armor.” I walk into the bath house and there are way more things than just armor. He hands me a gambeson to wear under the chainmail. Then I have the armor to put on. It feels more heavy but not too bad. I could still run in this if I had to. I walk out of the bathroom and Waverly is waiting. She has a huge smile on her face.

“There is one last touch you need.” Waverly turns around and she has the cloak in her hands. I walk over to her and she wraps it around me and clips it.

“There. You look very handsome in your new armor. Are you ready to come with me to the trial?” I take the gloves off and nod. Those things are annoying.

“I am not wearing those if I don’t have to.” Waverly grins, she walks over to the table and places the crown on her head. She walks back over to me and links our arms. We walk out of the room and head to the arena. All of the people from surrounding towns are going to be there to watch the beheading.

We get to the arena, right before we walk out to the viewing platform Waverly lets go of my arm then walks out. The people begin to cheer and scream for the Queen. The people love her, I don’t understand why she thinks she won’t be able to rule them. I walk out a few seconds later. Lord James and Xavier are already out there with her. I stand behind them with my hand on my sword.

“Welcome people of the Kingdom. Today we are going to hold the trial for Tucker and Beth Gardner. They attacked our castle and the crown.” The people start to throw things at the Gardners. Tucker is yelling at them but they just keep throwing.

“Tucker and Beth Gardner, you are accused of trying to take siege of the castle and take the crown. If you seem like you have repented for what you have done I will be merciful. Do you have anything to say?” Tucker stands up and the people are quite for a moment.

“I am Tucker Gardner, I am the rightful King of this Kingdom. If you let me out of these shackles I will be merciful.” All of the people watching just laugh. Tucker looks around him, his hand form into fists and he starts to yell something at them. Beth is still on her knees facing the Queen looking stoic.

“Beth do you have anything to say?” The guards are forcing Tucker back on his knees. Beth just stays on the ground. “By royal decree of the temporary royal alpha, Lord Xavier Dolls, I hereby sentence you both to death by beheading.” The crowd of people go wild. All of them cheering and screaming yeah. Tucker just starts to scream even louder, Beth stays the same as the guards get her to stand up. They take her first to the chopping block.

A man in a black mask walks out with a giant sword in his hands. He whispers something to her and she says nothing back. They force her head down on the block and she is looking right at Tucker. The man swings the sword over his head and brings it down. Her head flies forward and rolls right in front of Tucker. Waverly took a step back and intertwined our fingers right before it happened.

Tucker is being dragged up now and he has stopped his screaming. He looks, blank. The man with the mask whispers something to him too. Tucker gets out of the guards grip and turns to Waverly.

“My people will come back and kill you for this. They love me and they loved Beth. They won’t stand for this.” His voice is calm. Waverly lets go of my hand and takes a step forward.

“The people already know of your death. Lady Mercedes, the warden of the South, has already told them. The raven I got back said they partied and drank in the streets. Don’t flatter yourself, Tucker.” Waverly nods to the guards and they force him on the block. The man in the black mask swings the sword over his head and then brings it down hard. Tuckers head goes rolling and it lands right next to Beth's. Blood is pouring out of his neck. I turn my head and wait until the bodies are taken away.

“Next order of business. Two nights ago I was sent word by one of the maids that works in the barracks that Lord Richard was planning on killing Lord Nicole.” My eyes widen and I look at Waverly. She didn’t mention that earlier. “The maid heard him saying that once Lord Nicole returned that night that he would stab her in her sleep. Now, I don’t tolerate murder. Bring out Lord Richard.” The guards bring him out and there is shame all over his face.

They set him down in the middle of the arena and the people start to whisper. Asking who this Lord Nicole is. Why is a woman competing. This and that.

“Lord Richard, will you repent for your actions?” Lord Richard looks up at Waverly and then his eyes move to me.

“No, I am not going to repent for what I have done. You are treating her like she is the only one courting you. You are treating her like these trials don’t even matter. You favor her, it’s obvious to all of us that she is gonna win. Some of us don’t even see the point in competing anymore.” Waverly looks around. I just watch her to gage the situation. She stays stoic.

“Lord Nicole is just doing well in the trials. She has shown bravery, intelligence, strength, and kindness through the trials. It is not her fault that you men are getting drunk at midday and sleeping with women in MY barracks. You are trying for my hand in marriage and half of you are sleeping with the maids that are there to help you. I am so sorry that she just has common decency. Now, I was going to be merciful with my ruling but I see no reason to. By royal decree of the temporary royal alpha, Lord Xavier Dolls, I hereby sentence you to be in the dungeon for thirty years.” He screams and says how it’s unfair. How I am up here with her right now. The people look up at me and the whispering begins again. Pointing and laughter.

“Next on the list is for me to send home the men from the last trial. That was postponed due to the war.” Waverly start to list off names. She looks at me quick then says, “Champ, come to the middle of the arena.” Champ starts to walk out from the crowd and he stands in the middle. His hands behind his back and looking up at the Queen.

“After the conversation we had, I had found out that you hitting a man was true. Something I thought you were just showing off actually was true. There are punishments for assault in our Kingdom did you know that?’ Champ shakes his head no. He seems to be worried.

“No, Your Grace.” Waverly nods and looks down at him like he is a worthless ant.

“For your punishment, I hereby sentence you to work as a blacksmith. Sir Nedley will train you. If you are out of line once he is aloud to hit you. If you mess up on any work he is aloud to hit you. If you do anything wrong he will hit you. If you object to this punishment then you shall spend ten years of your life in the dungeon.” Champ looks up at her and squints.

“You can’t sentence me to do anything. You’re not the royal alpha.” Waverly smiles and snaps her fingers. Guards run out and grab him by the arms.

“I am the Queen of this Kingdom. I will rule it and I will sentence rulings as I see fit. If anyone wants to questions my authority you can take it up with the giant slayer.” Waverly looks at me and I just nod. Waverly just said this in front of hundreds of people. All of them are whispering. A lot of men in the crowd stand up.

“I am not taking orders from an omega. I don’t care if you are Queen or not.” The crowd starts to agree. Husbands hit their wives until they say yeah as well. Waverly turns and looks to me with a pleading look. I shrug my shoulders. I have no power over these people. I walk in front of her and growl to assert my dominance over the people. They start to slowly sit down one at a time.

“I am the giant slayer. As the Queen said, if you have any problems with her rulings you can take them up with me.” The whispering stops. Waverly stands next to me. I look over at her and she is staring down at Champ.

“I accept your punishment. I will work with Nedley.” I speak up.

“It is Sir Nedley. Have some respect.” Champ looks away from my eyes and nods. The guards let go of him and he heads to the barracks. Waverly takes my arm and leads me down to the arena with Lord James trailing behind us. We get in the middle and she looks around to everyone.

“Lord Nicole is to become a Knight today. She has fought for her Kingdom well. In the time of war she kept a level head and lead our people to victory. She saved the lives of over ten thousand of our soldiers through strategy.” Waverly turns to me. I go on one knee, Lord James hands her a sword.

“By the royal decree of, of I Queen Waverly Earp, you are now a Knight for the Kingdom. May you always come to the aid of the people.” I smile wide when she says her name instead of Xavier. She is becoming the Queen this Kingdom needs her to be. She taps me on my shoulders with the sword and I stand up. I want to hug her so badly but I know it would be inappropriate. The crowd claps and I look to all of them. I guess they are happy to have someone nicknamed the giant slayer defending them.

Waverly walks into the castle and I follow her. The crowd is being ushered out by the guards. Once in the castle Waverly turns to me and hugs me tight.

“Waves, you said your name. You are the first ever omega to do that. I’m so proud of you.” Waverly pulls away and smiles up at me. She shrugs.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it if you weren’t there with me. Whenever I’m with you I feel powerful. I don’t feel like a submissive omega, I feel like a Queen.” I smile wide and hug her tight again. We both pull back and she loops her arm through mine. We head back up to the library. Jeremy is on the couch reading a book.

“I was told to meet you guys here. I guess you are eating dinner here.” I shrug and look to Waverly. She is nodding at him. Jeremy walks over to me and takes the cloak off. He pulls me more into the library and starts to help me with my armor. I take all of it off except the gambeson and my pants. Waverly is sitting on the couch with the crown on the table.

“Jeremy, you may leave. Take those items to the room we have set up for Nicole.” I turn to Waverly and she is looking at her crown.

“I know it isn’t very fair but they did try and kill you. It’s not safe for you to be staying in the barracks with those men.” Those men, maybe it isn’t fair how she is favoriting me but I don’t really care. The door opens and a woman comes in with food. She sets it down in front of us and we thank her. A moment later a boy comes in with cups and two pitchers. He sets them down and we thank him as well.

Waverly and I dig into out food in silence. I poured the both us some wine to drink. We finish eating. We sit back and watch the fire die down.

“I’m gonna put more firewood in.” Waverly nods. I get up and place the wood in the fire. Taking the fire poker and moving some of the ashy wood around. I then carefully place some firewood on top. I get back to the couch and lean back. I lay my arms across the back of it. I am finally starting to feel comfortable in the castle. Before I felt really weird and out of place.

Waverly curls into my side. We watch the fire slowly grow. Every once in awhile it will crackle or pop.

“Do you really want to be King?” Her hand goes to my chest and she looks up at me.

“Yeah, I want to help people. I think the best way I could help people is by being King. Alphas will take omegas off of the street and tell them the ancients wouldn’t want an omega to go through a heat without an alpha. It’s even dangerous for betas. Alphas are out of control, we still have some order thanks to the sheriffs around town but it’s still bad.” Waverly sits up and looks at me. She faces towards me and crosses her legs.

“What would be the first thing you would do as King?” I face her as well and smile.

“The first thing I would do as King would make small steps to make the proper heir of the throne the ruler of the Kingdom. So a first small step would be to make the King and Queen have equal power. That would be the first thing. The second thing would be stricter rules on rape. I would have any alpha caught raping an omega or a beta be castrated. That will stop them. Make it a public example. Next would be jobs for omegas. You mentioned teaching, well why not give omega’s something to do. They can teach and make a small amount of money for themselves.” Waverly has this wide smile on he face.

“I love it. That would be great. It would place them on an even playing field. It would be a very small step towards equality.” I nod then lean back against the couch. Waverly curls into my side again. We sit and stare at the fire yet again. I drape my arm over her shoulders.

“So what else is here that I haven’t seen?” Waverly sighs dreamily.

“There is a lot here to explore. There are secret passageways, we have another kitchen, many many terraces. My favorite though is the garden. The garden looks beautiful this time of year. The branches covered in snow, the bushes baren and the ground covered in snow. The statues just look amazing. The maids light torches all around the garden to be seen at night.” I smile and look down at her.

“Well why don’t we go take a walk through the garden?” Waverly looks up at me and her eyes are filled with light.

“Yes, let’s go right now. I’ll go fetch my cloak.” I wave her off and stand up. I grab my cloak and hand it to her.

“Just take mine. This gambeson is very warm.” Waverly takes the cloak and wraps it around herself. We walk out of the library and head to the garden. The garden is very close to the barracks.

After walking through the castle for a few moments we get into the garden. The torches are lit all around the garden. The light is reflecting off of the snow. It looks beautiful. The statues are covered in snow along with the ground and branches. The bushes that make up the border of the garden are barren but tall. I look over at Waverly and she is looking at the garden with awe. Like she has never seen the garden before in her life. The lighting is hitting her face just right. She looks like an angel. She looks to me and she seems very worried, she then looks back out into the garden

“Nicky, I really thought you were gonna die out there. I was so worried. I, I can’t lose you.” I keep looking at her and I can’t hold back anymore.

“Waves, is it okay if I umm, kiss you?” She looks up at me and the biggest smile I have ever seen blossoms on her face.

“Yes.” I cup her cheek and lean forward. My hands fall to her waist. Hers wrap around my neck. Her cold nose hits mine and then our lips connect. Lights flash behind my eyelids. She is so soft and surprisingly warm. I push forward and kiss her harder. Waverly whimpers and I pull back. She follows my lips until they can’t touch anymore.

“Are you okay?” Our foreheads touch, Waverly grabs my face and makes me look at her.

“I am perfect.”

Chapter Text

For the past week I have been staying in the castle and it is the oddest thing. Every morning a maid walks in and wakes me up. She has breakfast with her and she sets it on the table with water. Then she sets up a bath for me and I bathe after I eat. While I bathe she makes my bed and brings the dishes down to the kitchen.

I have been going to the library and reading to the kids. Waverly and I split them up in two groups. I read to them and then Waverly teaches them how to write. After that we have been taking them outside to play. They love the snow now that they have warm enough clothes.

That has been my days for the past week. Today Waverly is telling all of us what the next trial is going to be. I am guessing that this trial will be something simple due to the war. Waverly even mentioned that this one will be one that will help determine who stays and goes.

I am not too worried. All of the ones that she has said are like this have been pretty simple. The conversation trial is a perfect example of this. My arm has been healing nicely. Healer Laurence says that in a week it should be back to normal and I can go back to normal training.

The winter has been letting up a little which is shocking because it is only January. I think that by March it will stop snowing.

This morning instead of going to the library I am in my room reading a book on the ancients. I don’t know many of the laws that are in place. At this point in the competition I am a real contender. The other men here see me as a threat. So much of a threat that they tried to kill me. If I plan on being King I will need to know the laws that we have in place. Waverly starred the laws that are being used at this time. I can only assume it was her because not many others here read.

Gods, Waverly. She is something amazing. Ever since we kissed I can’t get her out of my head. I can’t wait until we kiss again. I don’t want to overstep and make it seem like I am pushing her into whatever we have. There is still a chance that she will marry another. My heart hurts just thinking of that. I can’t imagine her marry someone else. It just drives me to win these trials.

I look up to a knock at the door.

“Come in.” Jeremy walks in and sits across from at the table.

“The Queen wanted me to come and get you. You two are to have lunch then she is announcing the trial.” I nod and place the book down on the table.

“Thank you for coming and telling me. I really appreciate it.” Jeremy smiles wide at me and then we both stand up.

“I will take you to her room. She is waiting for you.” I nod and follow Jeremy out of the room. Once there I walk in the room and Waverly is sitting at her table with food in front of her. On the other side of the table there is another plate of food sitting there.

“I feel like we haven’t really talked since the night in the garden. I know we have seen each other almost everyday with the kids but it hasn’t been just the two of us.” I sit down across from with a smile on my face. “Oh my god I sound so desperate.” She throws her face into her hands. I laugh take one of her hands.

“You don’t sound desperate. I missed you too. I haven’t been able to get you off of my mind.” She smiles and takes her hand away. I pour her some wine, I pour me some ale. Then we start to eat.

“So I have been reading one of the ancient books. I want to review the laws. I didn’t know alphas could mark as many people as they want. I thought you got one and that was it.” Waverly shakes her head no then finishes what she is chewing.

“Omegas can only have one mate. Technically alphas can have as many wives or mates as they want. My great grandfather told them that the Gods don’t like it. They stopped soon after.” I nod and take a bite of my food. I finish my bite then continue to talk.

“So laws are in place?” Waverly leans back in her chair and wipes at her mouth with a napkin.

“Well, alphas can pull omegas off of the street as they see fit, off course if they don’t have a mate. Alphas can hit omegas. Every noble house needs to have an alpha in place. Your house has your father while you are away. Alphas get first pick at any brothel. If an omega is out of line an alpha can leave her and the children out on the street. That doesn’t happen often because then the alphas loses free sex and because they marry for love. After my great grandfather said the thing with the Gods alphas became more choosy. Hence why they can generally pick whoever they want.” I look at her horrified by the news of this. Waverly nods then continues to eat.

“A simple way to fix the taking of omegas off of the street is to ban it then allow more brothels per capita. So in the city there are roughly fifteen thousand citizens. Say that a little over a quarter are alphas. The average brothel has thirty women. I would say that one hundred and fifty would be enough. We can make a state tax on the brothel so that we get a small fee for every alphas that sleeps with a woman.” Waverly is looking at me with a slight grin on her face. She sits up straighter and nods.

“That isn’t a terrible idea. If the citizens want to open up their own then we don’t even have to build many. This could be profitable for whoever wants to open one up. It would be a win win. The omegas there are there by choice and being paid to be there. We can also get rid of the unmated omega law too.” She is so smart. I can’t believe the people don’t want to hear her rulings and laws. It amazes me how small minded the Kingdom is.

“So want to tell me what the trial is?” Waverly’s eyes widen and she covers her mouth with her hand.

“Nicky, I can’t tell you. That would be really unfair. You have to find out with the rest of them.” I smile and take her hand in mine again.

“I know. I wasn’t serious. Anyways the kids are really improving on their writing. I can’t believe how far Jessica has come on her writing. She can nearly write the whole alphabet.” Waverly nods and takes her hand away. She gets up and goes to her wardrobe. She comes back with a bunch of pictures from the kids I have never seen. She hovers over my shoulder as I look at them.

“When did you get these?” The pictures are a mix of me with the kids or Waverly with them. Some of them are just of me and Waverly. The last one she hands me is one of Waverly and I. We both have crowns on our heads.

“I think the kids want you to win.” I smile up at her and then I stand.

“Well, I can’t disappoint those kids now can I?” Waverly shakes her head no. I pull Waverly close to me by her hips. Her hand lands on my chest. She looks up at me through her eyelashes. I melt right there. I lean down and capture her lips with mine. I deepen the kiss and push Waverly back a few steps. She pulls back and I follow her lips. I look down at her and she has this sly grin on her face.

“I like when you do that. As your Queen I order you to do it more.” I laugh and cup her cheeks with my hand.

“As you wish, Your Grace.” Waverly rolls her eyes, she leans forward and kisses me lightly. My tongue swipes against her bottom lip. Waverly smiles into the kiss and grants me entrance. A knock echoes throughout the room. Waverly pulls away from me. She kisses my cheek then answers the door.

“Are you ready to announce the trial?” It’s Xavier. Waverly nods, she shuts the door then turns to me.

“I’ll see you in a few minutes.” I walk over to her and kiss her forehead.

“I’ll be waiting.” I walk out of the room and head towards the arena. I get outside and the cold air hits me like a carriage. I walk further into the arena. The men are already lined up. They all have their hair growing along with their beards. The only one who doesn’t look like a wreck is Perry. For some odd reason that bothers me. He and I are the only two who are really trying.

The Queen walks out and she is in a cloak.

“Today we are going through the seventh trial. This is a trial of morals. I will be giving all of you the same situation and however you rule will determine who stays and who leaves. I want to see how you react. If you say the situation to anyone you are automatically kicked out. I will be calling in two a day in. The next trial requires some warm weather so I will be taking my time. If I think you ruled the wrong way I will send you home immediately. No more waiting.. All of you are eating and drinking up crown money. Soon I will have you all working in the castle doing work. Earn your food and shelter I am providing.” I smile when all of them groan. Her hands turn into fists. “If you don’t like my rules then you can go and leave now! I am done tolerating all of you taking money from the crown. We are already in debt thanks to these trials.” She straightens out her cloak then walks back in the castle. Soon the guards follow behind her. The men turn to me and I stand up straighter.

They just glare at me. They walk back into the barracks and I just walk back into the castle. I head to my room. When I walk in I see Jeremy sitting at the table. He is just staring right in front of him.

“You okay?” Jeremy blinks a couple of times then looks at me.

“Yeah, I’m fine. What’s the trial?” I sit down across from him and pour the two of us water. “Hey, that’s my job.” I wave him off and look around the room then back at him.

“This trial is a trial of morals. She is giving all of us the same situation and then hearing what we have to say about it.” Jeremy smiles and stands up with his cup.

“You’re gonna do fine. You have a lot of morals. I can’t imagine you saying something that would be morally wrong.” I sigh and lean back in the chair.

“I don’t like Perry. He is a good guy but,” Jeremy cuts me off.

“But he has a chance at winning.” I look up at him and smile. He is right. He is the only person who can beat me.

“Jeremy, what am I gonna do? He is more educated than me, a better fighter than me and he is a good guy.” Jeremy sits across from me again. He has a wide smile on his face.

“Nicole, if he wins, the Queen will make something up. She likes you. I know she likes you. Everyone knows she likes you. The way she looks at you when you’re reading to the kids. The way she has the maids fix her before you go and see her. Nicole, she likes you. A lot. I wouldn’t worry about anything.” I nod and smile at jeremy.

“Thank you. I really needed that.” I lean forward so I am leaning on my forearms.”So, why are you a squire Jeremy? You want to be a Knight?” Jeremy shakes his head no.

“This is just a job for me. Waverly and I are friends. She is very sweet and treats me with a lot of respect. I wanted to be an alchemist. No one would let me be their apprentice.” I furrow my brow and he just waves me off. We sit at the table in silence for awhile. He seems to be thinking and I don’t want to interrupt that. I grab a new book and continue to read.

I have a couple books in my room. One is the Art of War, another one is a book on diplomacy. The next one I have is on etiquette. Basically how to eat the proper way. How to host a party. The best way to treat your guests. Things on how to have the appearance of a royal. I feel as though if I am to win I will need to be able to do these things. The last book and the one I am reading is on the the different creatures of the world.

We have many different things that live here. We have us the humans that descended from wolves. That is why we have our biology. Then there are the humans descended from apes. They can just mate with whoever they want. Then there are the centaurs, giants, fairies, mermaids, goblins, elves, orcs, and gnomes. All of them have strengths and weaknesses. The elves can live for a very long time. Hundreds of years. Their weakness is that they very trusting. All of them. Lie to them and they will believe you. The Queen has promised to never lie to them in exchange for loyalty. Then there are the goblins. They are very savvy with metal. They can make nearly anything. There skin is very weak, if you can get under their armor they are dead. The giants I already know. The tough skin is new. They used to be enslaved by the ape humans. They would crack whips on them to make them do their bidding. Twenty years ago the giants fought back and won. Now they are strong and they have tough skin. However they are very stupid and will listen to almost anyone.

The orcs are very tall with thick skin. They are warriors. They lack in technology. They just got swords and that was because of the alliance with the Queen. Centaurs are fast, they don’t have any armor though so shooting them in the chest just kills them. The fairies have magic, but they are the size of an orange. Many of them just can be taken and killed for their magic. You can extract the magic from a fairy. It’s very gross. We have very little information on gnomes. All we have on them is that they live underground or in trees. Aside from that we have nothing. The mermaids are very smart. Smarter than all of us. They have a whole city underwater. Waverly made a treaty with them years ago. If invader ships come our way they let us know. We also have a lovely trade with them. They get us fish and we give them fruit. Their weakness is that they are easy to catch in nets. We still have fish markets and they go fishing. They catch a lot of mermaids.

Those are all the conscious creatures. Then we have the dangerous animals. The dragons, trolls, phoenix’s, unicorns, pegasi and so much more. I want to stay educated on all of these creatures.

“Dinner is here.” I look up from my book and Jeremy has my food. He places it down in front of me and I feel bad.

“Jeremy, go get yourself some food, Tomorrow I will be getting my lunch and dinner from the kitchen. I understand that this is sort of part of your job but it’s demeaning in my opinion so we are stopping it from now on. We are friends. I want to treat you as such.” He smiles wide and nods. He turns and leaves the room. I go back to reading my book. I read until Jeremy comes back. The door opens and I place my book on the table. Jeremy sits across from me. I pour wine in our cups.

“Now, how was your day?” Jeremy lights up and starts to talk about the new hire for the kitchen. He is explaining how they are very good looking, sweet, smart.

“So what’s her name?” Jeremy hesitates. He starts to mess with his food.

“His name is Robin.” I smile wide at him.

“Well then you should go and try to court this, Robin.” Jeremy smiles at me and laughs.

“I can’t just start to court him. That’s not how it works. You of all people should know. It’s not even like I am an omega. I am just a beta. It would be, odd.” I sigh and place my fork down. I look Jeremy in the eyes and begin to speak.

“Jeremy, a new era is coming. If you think Robin likes you then court him. Go for it. The worst that will happen is that he will deny your advances and you can move on. Don’t ever live in fear for who you are.” Jeremy nods and places his fork down with passion.

“You’re right. Tomorrow I am gonna start to court Robin.” I nod at him and we both continue to eat.

“Nicole, Waverly cares for you very much. I care for Waverly, promise me you won’t break her heart.” I smile at Jeremy and nod once.

“I promise I will never break her heart. I don’t think I could hurt her even if I tried. She is just so sweet and kind. The people love her, they were happy when she became Queen but they don’t want her to actual make laws?” Jeremy sighs and sits back in his chair.

“They just don’t want an omega to be out of place. They have laws and traditions that must be followed. If she speaks out of turn she is technically disobeying those laws and breaking traditions. I know many of the people in the city wouldn’t care but the noblemen and the small villages care. They hold onto them.” I nod and start to think. Maybe we can start off the small villages with the new laws, then move into the city. It would be easier to make that transition.

Jeremy and I finish out dinner and we both bring them back to the kitchen. After that I head back to my room and I send Jeremy off to his. I get in my room and change into pajamas. I sit in bed and continue to read the book on creatures. I am in the ape humans portion now. Seeing their weaknesses and strengths.

After reading for an hour I yawn and look out the window. It is dark so I can go to sleep. I place the book down and get the fire going in my room. Once it is roaring I get in bed and fall asleep.

It has been about fifteen days since Waverly has announced the trial. Today she is asking the last two. Perry and I. I wish that she didn’t like Perry or even consider him. I hate that I am getting jealous. I know she doesn’t spend any extra time with him and I know that she likes me, a lot. I just can’t shake the feeling that she will pick him.

“Nicole, Waverly is ready for you.” I thank Jeremy and head to the throne room. I get to the room and knock on the door. The guards open the door and I head inside. Waverly is on her throne and there is a man kneeling in front of her throne.

“Come stand next to me.” I walk over then stand next to her. “This man has broken crown law. He has stolen food from the castle. What should we do with him?” I shake my head and look at her.

“May I ask him questions, Your Grace?” Waverly nods once and I walk over to the man. I squat down in front of him. He looks me in the eyes.

“Hello, my name is Nicole. What is your name?” He looks to the Queen then to me.

“My name is Derek.” I nod and continue to look him in the eyes.

“Derek, why did you steal food from the castle?” He sighs and leans back on his legs, still looking me in the eyes.

“My family, they, they are starving. The winter is cold this year and I can’t get work. We have no money for food. The crown is about to take our home. The money we do have goes into the house so we don’t freeze to death. Please, I don’t want to die.” tears are streaming down this mans face. He is an alpha and showing weakness in his time of need. Most wouldn’t do that. I place my hand on his shoulder.

“You are not going to die.” I stand up and walk over to the Queen. I look back at Derek and he is fully sobbing. How to tell when one is lying and telling the truth? His clothes are dirty and he smells like he doesn’t bathe often. He looked me in the eyes the whole time while talking and he never fidgeted. I don’t think this man is lying. I think he is telling the truth. Alphas don’t cry. He wouldn’t have cried unless it was serious.

“If I was ruling this case, I would sentence you to two nights in the dungeon for stealing. Then, send you home with food for your family. Not much but enough where you can figure out your affairs. I see no need in any serious punishment. You were stealing for your family and not for any type of personal or political gain.” He starts to thank me. He thanks me and he thanks Waverly. The guards take get him to his feet then escort him out of the room. I look at Waverly and she has a grin on her face.

“Not what I would have done but I like your thinking. You may stay and serve in the next trial.” How formal.

“What would you have done?” Waverly stands up and walks past me. She starts talking.

“I would have simply sent him home with nothing but a threat. I wouldn’t have given him a punishment and I wouldn’t have given him food. If I give him food for stealing why wouldn’t he go and tell people to get free food all you have to do is steal? There is much to learn, Nicole. You can’t trust everyone. You need to be stern even if you don’t want to be. In this case the best thing to do is tell them you will do nothing, but if more people come and steal then he will get a punishment. You see, he will tell people that he stole from the castle and the Queen did nothing. Then others will come and attempt. If you put a threat on it, well then he won’t tell anyone.” I grin and follow Waverly.

“How many people said put him to death?” Waverly sighs and throws her head down.

“Ten. Ten idiots said put him to death. They all have been sent home.” I straighten out and get serious. She looks up at me with a curious look.

“What did Perry say?” She grins and walks over to me. She has a knowing look on her face.

“Lord Nicole, are you jealous?” I feel my cheeks heat up. I shake my head no. Her arms go on my shoulders.

“No. I was just curious. Perry is my only real competition.” Waverly nods and smiles up at me.

“He said five years in the dungeon without hearing his side. Not many asked why he stole. They just heard that he stole.” I nod and let my hands fall on her waist.

“You look very beautiful in your red dress.” Waverly starts to blush. She rests her head on my chest. I move my arms up to her back and pull her into a hug.

“Thank you. You look very handsome in your pajamas.” I laugh and hold her close to me.

“I will have you know these are my normal clothes. The clothes I wore on the farm.” Waverly pulls back.

“That’s what that smell is.” I scoff and laugh, she just giggles. “Really though, you don’t have to be jealous. The only thing with Perry is that he will make it close to the end. Be prepared for a hard ninth trial. That trial is something I know you have never done before. Make sure to be your best proper self.” Why does that sound familiar? Why did she mention the the ninth trial when we are now on the eighth. Huh.

“I will see you later, Nicky. I have work.” She half smiles then leaves the throne room. I wait a minute then walk back to my room. Once in my room I go to my table. All of the books are there. I read the one on the ancients, on the creatures. I look at the rest. ‘How to be your best proper self’ I pick up the etiquette book and smile. The ninth trial is gonna be about etiquette. I can do that.

Chapter Text

Today is the eighth trial. She said that this trial needed warmer weather so I am assuming we are going out in the woods again. Last time it was the beginning of winter. We are nearing the middle of February. Seeing that the last time we were in the forest I almost died. With twenty of us left the trials are getting harder and harder. I can only imagine that this will be another type of hunt.

Right now I am on my way towards the kids room that we have set up. Overall they are taking up three rooms. One for the kids to sleep in, one for the women that take care of them, then one for teaching. That is when the women get a break. We teach the kds for five hours. Currently they are finishing up the alphabet. All of them are learning very fast. Since we have moved the kids here only three more kids have been sent. Twin boys that are five and a little girl that is two.

The twins are very fast learners. They got here about four weeks ago and they are speeding through the alphabet.

Next Waverly and I have decided to start on words and how to sound them out. No more reading, we are going into arithmetic. I actually enjoy that very much. I plan on using little wooden cubes to teach them I get in the room and the kid surround me.

“Nicole, Nicole!” I squat down and all if them tackle me. I laugh and they continue to stay there. I stand up and take three kids with me that are hanging on.

“Good morning, Nicky.” I smile at Waverly and walk over to her. She has the little baby boy in her arms.

“Good morning, Waves.” She hands him to me and she starts to place the kids into two groups. I make faces at him and he starts to giggle up at me. He is getting big. The ladies have been having him sit up. Soon he will be able to crawl then he will be a handful. These kids usually don’t get taken out of the orphanages. They usually stay and leave when they are sixteen. I don’t want to see this little guy grow up like that.

“Nicky, come and get your group.” I nod to her and place him in the crib that’s in this room. I have the two year old girl. With her we usually just let her play with the doll Glenda made. I get the kids and take them over to one of the tables that was put in this room.

“So today we are going to be learning arithmetic. This is something you guys haven’t learned yet.” I place down some of the wooden cubes down on the table. The kids all grab a handful and then start to play with them. I let them play for a few minutes then I get down to the teaching.

“So how high can you all count up to?” Jessica stands up and counts up to one hundred. I tell her that’s very good and the other kids look a little worried. “Today you all are going to learn how to count.” I thought more of them would know how to.

I tell them about numbers and what they are used for. I show them with the cubes how many three is and one. After explaining it a few more times I ask the kids to place three blocks on the table. Almost all of the kids can do it. I am really surprised that the women who have been taking care of them haven’t tried to teach them more. I guess they just didn’t have the time.

“You’re a Knight right?” I look at one of the kids. His name is Jaxon.

“I am a Knight. Why do you ask?” He smiles wide and gets this look in his eyes.

“Because I am gonna be a Knight when I get older. I am gonna be the very best Knight.” Now the kids start with a bunch of questions about the war and what happened. They haven’t asked anything yet so I guess it’s time.

“Well, if we are gonna do this might as well do it right.” I call the other group over and they all sit at the same table looking at me with wonder in their eyes. Waverly has a fond smile on her face.

“I was training to be a Knight for a while. When Tuckers army came to the South wall only five thousand of our men left the castle when we have twenty thousand. How many men didn’t go out of the castle?” Jessica and two other kids scream out fifteen. I high five them then go back to the story without all of the math. I run around the room , duck, pick kids up and use them as shields, roll around the floor. I am over exaggerating to give these kids a good story. I finish the story up in an hour and they all look amazed.

“You took out three whole giants?” I nod and all of them start asking more question like how did I do it right, what gave away the soft spots. This and that.

“Okay, okay. I think that is enough story telling for one day. Why don’t you kids go and get your coats on and we can go outside.” They jump out of their seats and head for their rooms with the clothes. I walk over to the crib to the little one and pick him up. He is so adorable.

“That was a very safe version to tell them.” I nod and smile at her.

“Well, they don’t need all of the gory details. The oldest is ten.” Waverly walks closer to me and looks at the baby too. We just stare down at him.

“I can’t wait to have one of my own.” I smile over at her and she is looking fondly at him. I look back down at him too and smile.

“Raising a baby while being Queen is going to be hard.” Waverly nods and doesn’t say much. The kids come back in and one of the women take the baby and smile at me.

“I guess it’s good that there will be a King too.” Waverly kisses my cheek then gets her cloak on.

“You love her something awful don’t ya?” I turn to the woman and nod.

“I love her more than life itself. I would do anything for her. I would leave right now if she told me too.” The woman rubs my shoulder.

“Remember that you are still the alpha. In front of the people you need to show your strength and not your weakness. She is your weakness. The people will not stand for an alpha who shows weakness.” I turn to her and smile. I can’t help it.

“She is not my weakness, but my strength. I want to be a better stronger alpha and overall person because of her.” The woman smiles and then Waverly calls me. I bow to her then run over to Waverly. I get my cloak on and we head outside with all of the kids.

“What were you two talking about?” I shrug and pick up one of the kids and put him on my shoulders.

“You mostly. How amazing you are.” Waverly starts to blush. The kid on my shoulder giggles. We get outside and the snow is melting a little. I place the kid down and he starts to run around. I look over at Waverly and she is shivering I take my cloak off and wrap it around her.

“Here. I’ll be fine. I’m gonna go and play.” Waverly rolls her eyes and pecks my lips. I can’t help but smile.

“Don’t go and get hurt.” I smile at her and wink.

“You know I will.” I run out to the kids and they all scream and run away from me. I pick one of them up and spin then place her on the ground.

“Let’s play Knights! I want Nicole on my team!” All of them start to argue and fight over who’s team I’m on. I walk over to Jaxon’s head and mess up his hair. He is the one who suggested it.

“How about all of you are the Knights and I’ll be the giant. You all will have to work together to try and take me down.” They all cheer and jump up and down. The war starts and they start throwing snowballs at me. I run and dodge everything they throw at me. They stay away for a while then they start to charge. I realize that they are actually going to attack me so I start to run away from them slowly. I feel little hands on my back. I get pushed to the ground. Jaxom stabs me under the chin with a stick.

“Ow, I mean, aaahhhh, I am dead.” All of the kids get off of me and laugh. As I get up I feel the ground shake. The kids stop laughing and I turn to the woods. There is a terrible screech that fills the air. The kids run behind me and I watch the forest. A few miles away I see trees just falling over. The screech sounds like a troll screech. That is what the book said they sound like when they are wounded. The forest behind the castle is deep. In the center of the forest is where many of the creatures live. This troll wandered out very far.

“Go to the castle.” The kids run to the castle and Waverly seems slightly worried.

“A troll has wandered. It seems to be approaching the castle. All of the blood must have gotten it’s attention. We need to send out some Knights to go and kill it.” Waverly shakes her head no.

“I’ll just make this the next trial.” She turns and heads for the castle. I jog up to her.

“You will kill most of them.” Waverly turns to me and there is a little bit of anger.

“These idiots have put the crown in debt. If they think fighting the troll is too much then they can leave. I can’t keep feeding them like this. I need them gone sooner rather than later.” I nod and follow her back into the castle. I will move heaven and earth to win these trials. If that means killing a troll then so be it. I head to my room and Jeremy is sitting and reading a book.

“Can you help me with my armor? There is a troll in the woods and Waverly is making it the next trial.” Jeremy nods and gets my armor ready. I look for the creature book. I go to the troll chapter and refresh my memory.

‘Trolls are one of the toughest creatures to kill. They are taller than giants and stronger. However they are slow and very stupid. They eat anything that is meat. If they smell blood then they will go to the source and feed. Fighting a troll is hard but doable.
First track the troll. Troll can move trees like how you can move a chess piece. Look for trees being torn apart and thrown. Their feet only have three toes. Look for huge footprints with three toes.
Next, distract the troll. Wave something bright and the troll will try and play with it. While that is happening have your other hunters attack the troll. There is a part in their spine that has acid in it. If you stab it then you are able to kill the troll in one shot. If you miss then you need to run as fast as you can. It is right in the middle if the back of the troll.
They like to throw trees, keep that in mind. They will throw trees at you. They also have a high pitched scream when they are wounded. Keep that in mind as well. It will hurt your ears.
Happy hunting.’

“Are you ready?” I turn to Jeremy and he has the armor setup. I walk over to him and he helps me with the armor. I get my sword on my waist then turn to Jeremy.

“I’ll see you when I get back. Whenever that may be.” I pat his shoulder then head out to the arena. I get out there and all of the men are in a line. I get in line and Waverly starts to speak.

“Today we found out there was a Troll in the forest. The blood caused from the war has drawn the beast over. Your eighth trial is to go and kill the troll. When you come back I will decide who stays and who leaves. You can back out of this trial seeing how dangerous it is. If you back out then you are out of the trials. I will provide you with horses, food, traveling shelter, drink, bows and arrows. You will be given enough water for a week. Same goes for food. Now, who wants to back out?” Three hands are raised. They go to the barracks and gather their things.

The guards come out with everything Waverly said. I pick a horse then get look to Waverly. The rest of the men leave and head towards the forest. I stay back and look at Waverly. She waves the guards away and they leave. Waverly runs over to me and hugs me tight.

“You know what you’re doing right? “ I nod and kiss the side of her head.

“I do. I have been reading a book on creatures and trolls were listed in it. I know how to kill it.” Waverly pulls back. She looks in my eyes then my lips. She presses her lips to mine softly and I lose myself for a minute. Forgetting where I am, what I am going to face in the coming days. All I can think about is how her lips are on mine. She pulls away and rests her forehead on mine.

“Be safe.” I nod and pull away from her. I get on my horse and ride towards the woods. This is gonna be hell.

I get in the woods and follow the sounds of trees being thrown. It’s loud thumps that shake the ground. I get closer and closer. Night is approaching fast. I decide to stop and get some rest. I set up the travelling shelter and then make a fire. It’s harder with the ground and sticks being wet but I manage to. I eat some food and drink some water then fall asleep.

I wake up the next morning to screams. It sounds like either someone found the troll, or it found him. I get my travelling shelter back in my bag and I get on the horse. I follow the sound of screams and I see a giant troll ripping someone apart and eating him. The troll is hideous. Large nose and teeth that stick out from its mouth. Black eyes and a smell that is burning my nose. I feel bile rise in my throat. I keep it down and get off of the horse. I need to think of an attack strategy. I can try to shoot it in the back with an arrow but if I miss then it will attack me. I could always make a spear and throw it. That has always seemed to work for me.

I get back on my horse and ride away from the troll. I need to be better prepared for the troll if I plan on getting out of here alive. I go far enough away so it won’t be able to hear me. I start on make spears out of sticks that I find around the ground. I didn’t get a good look at its back to see of the acid pocket is big enough that it sticks out.

I make ten spears but it is now midday. All of the other men are on the hunt for this beast. Waverly said nothing about not being able to team up so I bet most of them have. If they get this hunt wrong though they all are going to die. I don’t want to help them, but I need the help. I can’t do this all on my own. There is only one person I trust enough out here and I hate his guts. Perry.

I have spent the rest of the day looking for Perry. I need his help with this. In theory I could do this myself but it’s going to be really hard to do that.

After searching for hours, even in the dark I see smoke from a fire. I head towards it. I approach slowly. I get off of my horse and look and see who it is.

“Perry.” He turns to me and then looks back at the fire.

“I’m not teaming up. I am doing this on my own, before you. I need to prove myself.” I walk over and sit next to him.

“Do you know how to kill it?” I keep my eyes trained on the fire. I hear a deep sigh.

“No, but I know I can do this on my own. I don’t need help and I don’t want to help you either. None of us have a fighting chance because of you.” I grin and look at the fire.

“Perry, after this trial and the next. I am certain that it is going to be you and I. Waverly is fair and just. She won’t just pick me, even if she loves me. She will pick whoever wins.” I look over at him once I am done speaking.

“What do you think the last trial is gonna be?” I laugh and look around the woods.

“Something barbaric I’m sure. It needs to be a hard one. Maybe we will have to go and find a dragon.” Perry chuckles and starts to eat.

“Probably, or maybe it will be as simple as her just choosing.” I look back at him and he is looking at me.

“Maybe.” We both look back at the fire and stay silent for awhile. “I have a plan to kill this troll. All you have to do is stay in the dark and throw a rock at it. We can take the head to her together. Trolls have an acid pocket in their back. We hit that and it dies. If the troll is on his side then you don’t even have to wake him up. Sound like a plan?” Perry nods and we shakes hands.

It has been two weeks and we can’t find the troll. There is a chance that it’s dead but I doubt that. I think it’s satisfied for now. I am just waiting and hoping that it will come back to the surface again. Perry thinks that it’s dead but I know none of these men know how to kill a troll.

We keep heading East. It’s about sunset now. That was the last place we both saw it and every once in awhile we see a footstep. If we keep going deeper and deeper we are sure to find trouble. Hobbes lives on the outskirts of where the creatures stay and I don’t want to run into one of those guys. They are slowly becoming more and more aware. They have are starting to in groups they seem to be making small houses.

The ground starts to shake and I look to Perry. We turn and head North. We have the horses going as fast as they can towards the noise. That troll stench fills the air and we follow that. Moments go by and the smell is getting stronger and stronger. A tree goes flying past us and I nod to Perry. He goes left and I go right. I grab one of the spears out of my bag and I Perry lights a torch that we made. Trolls like bright things and a torch is pretty bright.

The troll comes into view and it is facing towards Perry. He is slowly walking towards Perry. I get off of the horse and try to aim the spear. I see a very very small bump sticking out of his back. I have one shot to get this right. I take a deep breath and aim. I throw the spear as hard as I can. The troll screeches and I look up at it. I missed the pocket. Not by much. Shit.

The troll turns to me and his eyes lock with mine. I grab another spear and hurl it at his face. The troll screeches out again. I look at it and I got the spear in, his, his right eye. I grab another spear and throw it again. I get him in his other eye. The troll screeches and turns towards Perry. There’s an arrow in his back. I have one spear left. I close my eyes and take another deep breath. I look at the pocket then throw the spear as hard as I can. I hear a loud screech. I look up and the troll is taking unsteady steps backwards. He’s gonna fall on his back. I run to my horse and swing myself onto it. I run as fast as I can out of the way. The troll is almost as tall as the trees and they are thirty feet tall. I keep riding, I go left and just make it out of the way of the troll.

The horse and I go flying from the ground shaking. I land in a bush and look at the sky. The sky is that weird dark blue right before it hits night. What a beautiful color.

“Nicole?! Are you okay?!” Perry gets in the way of the sky. I focus on his face and come to it.

“I’m fine, I think. I hit my head really hard. I should be fine though.” Perry grabs my arm and helps me up. I look around , my horse is up and moving around. I nod and take my sword off of my waist. I walk over to the troll and slam my sword right between his eyes.

“Now, let’s make camp.” I rip my sword out and walk towards my horse. I grab all the stuff I need and settle right next to the troll.

“Are you okay?” I look away from the fire and at Perry.

“I guess, I’ve seen enough death and caused enough where one would think I was used to it. I’m not. A life has just ended, because of me. I think about that often when I hunt for food. I think about it when I see Knights. I think about death more now, how I want to die and be remembered. The war, the war was intense.” I look back to the fire and just stare.

“What happened?” I keep staring at the fire. The memories consuming me. This happened with the kids too but I made it much different.

“In books where wars were talked about, they never mention the bodies. How they pile up. How eventually you aren’t even on ground anymore but fighting on the bodies of the men you just killed. Your heels dig into their heads, bones crack. Blood gets everywhere. I haven’t talked about it yet but the blood is the worse part. The smell sticks.” I get up and go in my travelling shelter. I lay my head down and go to sleep.

I wake up the next morning feeling better. I can’t wait to go home, yea, home and sleep. I miss Waverly, her laugh. I miss her laugh the most. I miss the kids too. I haven’t seen them in two weeks. It’s time to go home. I get out of the shelter and pack it up.

Perry is doing the same. He is covered in dirt and smells disgusting, I can only imagine that I smell the same. I look over and the troll is just laying there. Dead. I walk over and cut off two fingers. A head seemed nice but it’s as big as a boulder. I walk over to Perry and hand him one.

“Let’s head back.” We finish putting everything away then we head back to the castle. It takes a full week to get back to the castle. I started and finished my rut in that time. We make our way to the front of the castle. The guards let us in and we get into the arena. There are already some men there. Waverly is outside and she looks so happy. That damn smile, I think I missed that more than the laugh.

“You’re back. Is the troll gone?” Perry and I hop down and we each present her with a finger.

“Yes it is. We killed the troll as a team.” Waverly nods. The guards take the fingers and walk away.

“The York brothers are gone, they came back and just left. Five others haven’t returned so I can only assume they are dead. There are ten left. After the next trial two will stand.” Waverly turns and leaves. The guards grab the horses and I look to Perry.

“Good luck. If I lose, I hope it’s to you.” Perry nods and walks into the barracks I head into the castle. I get in and arms wrap around me.

“I was so worried about you. You were gone for so long. I thought you were dead again.” I laugh and wrap my arms around her.

“How many times do I have to tell you? You can’t get rid of me tha,” Waverly cuts me and kisses me hard. I push back and I get her against the wall. I grin into the kiss. I pull back with a wide smile on my face.

“Wash up and meet me for dinner. I want to hear all about getting the troll.” She kisses my cheek then walks off. I love that women.

Chapter Text

Tomorrow is the ninth trial. I have read the etiquette book three times and I feel ready to be in this trial. Most of it is manners, how to treat the servants. Greet guests. All week carriages have been coming in to the castle and staying. I can only assume the wardens and our allies are here. After this trial is the last then the wedding. They are probably going to be staying for the duration of the month.

Waverly has been busy the past week. She hasn’t scheduled any time for us to eat, for her to teach. Whatever she is doing it must be very important. I understand that she is being a Queen but I miss her so much. I haven’t heard how the progress on the orphanage is doing. They started to rebuild it while I was away. Waverly thinks that it should take less than a month to build.

The weather is letting up. Almost all of the snow is gone and it is only April. These are good signs for farming if you ask me. Most just don’t like the snow. I know I hate the snow even though this year I was in a warm castle. There is a knock at my door.

“Come in.” Jeremy walks in with two people behind him. Glenda and someone I have never seen before.

“Hello, we are here to prepare you for the ball tomorrow night.” Well, a ball makes sense. Hopefully they won’t make me dance because I have no clue how to do that.

“Umm, okay, thank you.” The woman I have never met before makes me sit in a chair. She takes shears out.

“Alright, what would you like for a haircut dear?” I feel my hair and it’s the longest it’s ever been.

“I would like it to be right under my ears please.” She doesn’t respond but she starts to cut. I am very happy to be having a haircut. It only takes her a few moments then she is done.

“There, all done. Glenda, come give her her clothes.” I turn and get out of my seat. Glenda has this wide smile on her face.

“I have been working on this for sometime now. You’re not shy are you?” I shake my head no and she smiles. “Good. Strip naked. I have some new braies fo you. I cut them real short so they are more on your thigh rather than your calf. They are real boxy though.” I feel my cheeks heat up and I start to get undressed. I am down to my under shirt and braies. I take the braies off first. She hands me the boxy looking underwear and I put those on.

“How do they feel?” I nod and move around.

“I feel like I can move around more. Thank you.” she smiles at me and then hands me pants. They are very nice looking black pants with a gold stitch design in them. I pull them on and tuck my underwear in place. I get the three buttons buttoned then look to her.

“They fit perfect. Now, I have a shirt that has no sleeves that I would like for you to wear under this nice one. It is going to feel tight but that is the point of it.” She hands me the shirt and I turn to take my other one off and put this one on. It’s black just like the pants. I turn back to her. She hands me a long black shirt that goes down to my upper thigh. It is made out of a thick materia and has long sleeves. Buttons are going up through the middle. Just like the pants there is a gold stitch design. I button it to the top button and the collar is up and around my neck but it isn’t tight.

“You look very handsome. All you need are black boots and it will be perfect. The leather worker is making them right now. They should be done by the end of the night. Either I will come back and bring them to you or he will bring them tomorrow morning.” I smile and look to the two of them.

“Thank you both, very much. I appreciate all of the work you have put in.” I bow to both of them.

“It is really no problem. We all want to see a good King come into this castle. A lot of the staff thinks that will be you. We are all working hard to help you out.” I bow to the both of them again then they leave. I look to Jeremy and he has a wide smile on his face.

“You look like a Prince.” I smile and look down at the clothes. On the table are more of the boxy underwear. Thank the Gods. These things are great.

“Thank you, I should change out of these though. I will hang them up in my wardrobe.” Jeremy nods and leaves the room. I get out of the nice clothes she gave me and the undershirt. I hang those up and then I get my regular clothes back on. I let Jeremy know he can come back in.

“The Queen wanted me to tell you that she would like to have dinner with you tonight. The guests are all here and settled.” I nod and look out the window. It is approaching sunset. Once the sun is gone I will make my way to her room.

I sit in my bed and start to read the etiquette book again. I don’t want to mess anything up tomorrow. I will need to talk to all of the guests and drink just the right amount, Make sure everyone is having a good time and interact with all of them. I don’t think this will be too much of a problem.

“Nicole, it’s dark out.” I look out the window and the sun has set. I get out of bed and smile at Jeremy.

“You know that you don’t have to remind me all of the time. You can leave whenever you want.” Jeremy nods and sighs.

“Yea, but if I leave then I will be alone. I don’t like being alone.” I walk over to Jeremy and pat his shoulder.

“Have you started to court Robin?” Jeremy looks away and shakes his head no. “And why not?” Jeremy sits down at the table and throws his head in his hands. I sit down across from him.

“I don’t know, I’m so worried that someone will kill me or try and kill him. I am just worried about people being attacking us.” I get serious and take his head out of his hands.

“Listen to me, if anyone hurts either of you tell them that the giant slayer will find them.” Jeremy laughs and nods. “Now, go and court your manly love. I want a full report on how it went tomorrow.” I get up and head to Waverly’s room. I knock on the door and she opens it with a wide smile.

“I missed you so much.” She pulls me in and then wraps her arms around me after shutting the door. “I have been so busy taking care of all the guests that I haven’t had time to see you.” She kisses me quick then takes my hand and leads me to the table.

“It’s fine, Waves. I understand. I have been reading a book on etiquette so I understand.” Waverly has a wide smile on her face.

“Well, I am glad you have read the book. The next trial will need that knowledge.” I grin and take her hand.

“The next trial is a ball. The seamstress made me an outfit for the occasion. Hence why I have a haircut too. They want me looking my best.” Waverly smiles even wider. She takes her hand away and picks up her fork.

“I will need to thank them tomorrow then. The staff is invited to the ball, not all of the wardens could make it this week. Next week it is required for all of them to attend the trial.” I grab my fork too and begin to eat. Waverly and I stay silent while we eat. We don’t need to talk all of the time. The silence is never uncomfortable, it’s actually quite nice because I feel so comfortable.

“After the last trial all of the kids are going to be heading back to the orphanage. It should be done by then. I wanted to let you know because we are going to be taking them back.” I take her hand in mine.

“That is if I win. If I don’t then I will have to head back to the farm and help my family.” Waverly’s face drops. She looks sad now.

“Right, of course. You promised though. You don’t seem like one to break promises.” I grin and nod. I take my hand away to continue eating.

“So how did you meet Jeremy? He said you guys are good friends.” Waverly starts to giggle.

“We met when he was trying to be an apprentice. My alchemist said no to him. I even tried to convince him but he was worried for his safety. He felt darkness in his past. I want Jeremy working with someone wholesome and good. My alchemist sensed that in you, watching you fight. He needs to work with you for a few years. He needs some light in his life so he won’t become bad. For awhile the two of us spent time together. Then the healers mentioned my heat and then I had to start the trials.” I nod and continue eating.

“Well Jeremy needs more confidence. He was going to start courting Robin. He works in the kitchens but then he never started. I gave him another pep talk today. I’m hoping he goes through with it and talks to him.” Waverly has this wide smile. She looks down at her plate and shakes her head.

“You are really sweet you know that?” I feel my cheeks heat up. Waverly looks up at me after she is done speaking. We continue to eat. Once we have finished we move to her couch and watch the fire.

“So who is here?” Waverly lights up.

“Queen Brina, because of her royal bloodline the mermaid Queen is here and walking. King Mec of the Orcs and his three sons. The elves, King Grildar and his wife Queen Winnie. Then for the wardens we have Lady Mercedes, Lord Curtis and Lady Gus, and Lord Michael.” I smile wide and drape my arm around her shoulders. I pull her close to me.

“I am also assuming noblemen are going to be there.” Waverly nods and looks up at me.

“Yes, Brayden will be there. His father is not happy with me. He does feel in debt to you and that is why he is coming.” I look at the fire and sigh.

“Okay. I guess I will talk to him tomorrow. How is the crown paying for all of this anyways? You said it was in debt.” Waverly nods, she wraps her arms around me and rests her head on my chest.

“I set crown money aside for the last of the trials. Each trial has set aside a certain amount of money. I should have just cut off the money to the Lords once we were nearing debt. I put my needs before the Kingdoms. I am trying to figure out ways to get is out of debt faster. If I go through with the brothel idea then we will be out of debt in a months time. I am also charging for the citizens to watch the last trial. That way the crown can get out of some debt.” I nod, my eyes are trained on the fire.

Waverly and I sit there like this for a long time. My eyes are starting to get heavy. Waverly is already asleep, the fire is dying down. I move and stand up. Waverly is looking up at me with tired eyes.

“Stay in here with me tonight?” I look around the room and then back at her.

“Yea, come on. Lets go to bed then.” Waverly gets up and goes to the private bathing house. While she is in there I take my pants off and my big shirt. Leaving me in an undershirt and the underwear. I fold the clothes and place them on her table. Waverly walks out and smiles at me.

“What are those?” She is pointing to the shorts.

“Glenda made them for me. They are like braies but shorter.” Waverly nods and then climbs into bed. I go to the other side of the bed and do the same. I stare up at the ceiling, Waverly starts to pull at my arm.

“Come over here.” I turn and Waverly is looking up too. I turn on my side and Waverly does the same. We both are facing the same way. I wrap my arm around her and pull her close. Her back is pressed into my front.

“Goodnight, Nicky.” I kiss behind her ear.

“Goodnight, Waves.” I close my eyes and let sleep consume me.

I wake up to the sun filling the room. I look all around me and see Waverly getting dressed. She is putting on a very expensive looking dress.

“Good morning.” I smile and lean on my arms to look at her. She turns fast and covers her chest.

“Umm, good morning. I thought you were still sleeping.” I sit up and stretch my arms over my head.

“I can see that. Otherwise you wouldn’t have gotten dressed like that. I can turn if you want.” Waverly nods. I turn and I hear rustling.

“You’re okay now.” I turn back around and Waverly is fully dressed. She is in a beautiful ball gown. It is light blue with a white trim on the bottom edges. Her face and neck are red though from embarrassment.

“Why are you getting dressed so early? I thought balls started at around sunset?” Waverly nods and sits at the table.

“Yes but right after breakfast I have to make sure the ballroom is set up accordingly. That is going to take a few hours. Then I have to announce the trial to everyone. They are going to need time to get ready. After that is checking all of the food and drinks to make sure everyone gets what they need. Orcs need rotting fish, Queen Brina wants oranges and apples. They aren’t around this time of year so I had them jarred to stay fresh. The elves like wine, a lot of wine so I need to,” Waverly keeps listing things she needs to do before the ball. You would think she would hire someone to do all of this but I am talking about Waverly after all. She is going to want everything perfect.

I walk over to her and cup her cheek. Waverly stops talking and just looks up at me. I lean down and kiss her softly.

“Now, you need to calm down. I can take care of some of the workload. I will make sure that there is enough wine. Four barrels at least. Then I will find out where the apples are and take care of that. Oranges are in season for certain places, you had them ordered in yes?” Waverly nods. I kiss her forehead. “I will take care of those things. Have Xavier tell the men the trial. Tonight should be fun and not full of stress.” Waverly nods and smiles at me.

“Thank you. Now get going before anyone finds out you slept in here with me.” She pecks my lips then sends me on my way. I turn to leave, I smell something different. She, she smells different. Like baked apples. She smells warm. I stop and just stare at the door. I shake my head and leave the room. I think she is starting her heat sooner than everyone thought.

I get to my room and Jeremy is sitting at my table.

“I talked to Robin. We are going to the ball together tonight. Can you believe that?” I laugh and nod.

“Of course I can. You are a great guy. Any man would be lucky to be seen with you.” Jeremy smiles at me and starts to blush. “Now, I need you to stay here while I settle some things in the kitchen. I need to make sure we have enough wine for the elves, enough apples and oranges for the mermaid, I am also going to make sure we have plenty of rotten fish. When the boots get here send someone for me. I shouldn’t take long. I’ll bring breakfast back with me. “ Jeremy nods and goes back to his book.

I head to the kitchen and speak to the head cook. She shows me all of the wine. There are ten barrels just for tonight. A couple barrels of ale and plenty of water. I guess the kids are attending as well. That should be fun. I ask about the fruit and she shows me two whole apples that haven’t gone bad. I don’t know how she has them but she does. As for the rotting fish I can smell it. I understand why she was stressed about this but it took me all of an hour to do all of this.

I get the food for Jeremy and I then I head back up to my room. On the way there the leather worker and I run into each other. We get to my room and I give Jeremy his breakfast. I sit down and try the boots on.

“They fit like a glove. Thank you so much for making the boots.” He nods to me and tells me it wasn’t a problem. He leaves and I finally sit back and relax.

“Maybe this was more stressful than I thought it was gonna be.” Jeremy nods and starts to eat his food. Jeremy and I sit and eat in silence. Once I finish eating I go to my bed and lay down. I stare at the ceiling. This bed isn’t as comfy as Waverly’s, that makes sense though.

“Nicole, are you worried about not doing well tonight?” I sit up and look at Jeremy.

“I am terrified. I don’t want to blow tonight at all. I want to impress Waverly and be the best one tonight. The chances of that are slim. These men have all had experience in balls and formal events. The most formal event I have been at was a funeral.” Jeremy makes an oh face. I nod and lay back down.

“You’ll do fine. You always seem to do well. I know the staff is going to try and mess with the other men. Like over serving them. It should be an interesting night.” I smile.

I have been just called down to the ballroom. One of the servants, her name is Lucinda, is taking me there now. Lucinda is the servant that has been bringing me my breakfast in the mornings. She is very sweet. I get in the ballroom and Waverly is standing in the middle. I line up and wait for the rest of the men to get here. Nine more men line up and we all wait for our trial.

“The ninth trial is a trial of etiquette. You all are invited to the ball that I am hosting tonight. There will be dinner and dancing. All of you get one dance with me. There are very important guests at this trial. If any of you mess up a guard is going to escort you out and then in the morning you are leaving. Eight of you are leaving today. All of you should be at your best. I want you all to look put together and clean. I want all of you to be on your best behavior. Now, go and get ready for the ball. Be here for sun down.” The men start to whisper to each other as they leave. The ballroom looks amazing. The decorations look great. She has banners all around, each of the different races. There are vines all around the ballroom, there are some tables set up and they look amazing.

“This looks great. All of the food is settled. So you can relax for the next,” I look out the window. “Hour.” Waverly sighs and walks over to me

“Thank you. You didn’t have to do that. You only have an hour to get ready so go.” Waverly pushes my chest towards the door. I peck her lips then head out the door. I make my way to my room and the Glenda is in here waiting for me.

“Go bathe, when you get out you are going to get dressed. I want to make sure you look perfect before you go. Then I will get dressed and meet you out there.” I smile and just hug her.

“Thank you so much. Without you I would look terrible.” I pull back and she has a wide smile too.

“Go. I want to go and get ready too.” I laugh and head towards the bath. I get in and wash up. I scrub and make sure everything is clean so I smell my best. I get out and dry off. I put on new underwear and the tight undershirt. I walk out and get dressed.

“You look great with the boots. It makes the whole outfit come together. Now, just comb out that hair of yours and you will be ready to go. I am going to get ready.” Glenda kisses my cheek then leaves the room. She reminds me so much of my mother. Jeremy says bye then leaves as well. I look out the window and the sky is turning orange and pink. I comb my hair then look in a mirror. I am gonna wait a few more minutes so it can dry more.

I look back outside and it’s more orange and red. I look back in the mirror and my hair is dry enough. I head out of my room and walk to the ballroom.

I walk in and there are few guests walking around and talking. King Mec and his three sons are around and mingling. I don’t see Queen Brina or the elves. Lady Mercedes is talking to one of the sons. I look around and see Waverly. She is talking to Perry. My vision is starting to turn red. She’s laughing, why is she laughing?

“Hey, I’m supposed to be the only redhead here.” I turn and a woman with short red hair is standing behind me, Lady Mercedes.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I can’t do anything about my hair though.” She smiles and extends her hand.

“I’m Mercedes Gardner. Who are you?” She looks me up and down then bites her lip. I feel my cheeks heat up.

“I’m Nicole Haught.” I take her hand and kiss the top. She laughs and takes her hand back.

“A charmer you are huh?” I shrug and smile at her. I glance back at Waverly and she is looking at Mercedes and I with an upset look.

“So what are you doing at this fancy ball? One of the Lords that live around here?” I look down and shake my head no. I look up at her and she has this curious look on her face.

“I am in the trials for the Queen’s hand. I am a farmer. I suppose now I am a Lord because I got Knighted and the Queen made my family a noble one.” Mercedes look past me and then back at me.

“I guess you are doing well in these trials. The Queen has a sour look on her face. She must like you. I’ll leave you so she doesn’t behead me like the rest of my family.” Mercedes takes a step closer to me and kisses my cheek softly. Mercedes walks away, I turn. Waverly is walking towards me with purpose.

“So I see you met Mercedes. Have a nice conversation?” I can feel the anger radiating off of her. I scoff.

“Well you must have had a great conversation with Perry. I saw you laughing over there with him.” Waverly’s jaw drops. She grabs my shoulder and pulls me to the side of the room.

“We both know that is different. I need to talk to Perry. You don’t need to talk to Mercedes Gardner. The woman who sleeps with any alpha in sight.” I laugh and look around the room.

“Waverly, I need to talk to everyone. I read that book. I need to interact and socialize with all the guests. If I am to be King I need to know our allies.”I look back at her and Waverly sighs. She looks around the room too. I drop my hands to her waist and make her look at me.

“I just get protective around you. I can’t help it. When I saw you with Perry I saw red. Then Mercedes came up to me. She flirted with me and I just talked back to her. I, love you. That is why I got so upset.” Waverly smiles up at me. She hugs me quick. The smell of baked apples surrounds me. Waverly pulls away.

“Promise me you won’t get jealous anymore?” I nod and kiss her cheek.

“I promise, now let’s go and have fun at this ball.” We both leave and head out in different directions. She didn’t say it back. I get my head out of the clouds, I make small talk with a lot of the staff that is attending and serving. Waverly seems to be talking to all of the more important guests.

“Nicole!” I turn and Jeremy is walking towards me, he has a man walking right behind him. He is tall with green eyes, brown hair, and a strong chin. They both look very nice. “This is Robin.” I extend my hand and he shakes it. Very strong hand shake.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Robin. Jeremy has told me a lot about you.” Jeremy gets this pleading look in his eyes.

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you too. The giant slayer.” I chuckle and look down at my feet then back up.

“Nicole will work just fine.” Robin nods, Robin and I make small talk about food and the best way to grow carrots. A man walks by with a tray full of wine and ale. I gab a mug of ale. Music starts up and everyone partners up.

I look around the room to see who Waverly is dancing with first, it’s Perry. I sigh and go to the edge of the room. I stand there and watch all of the people dance.

“Not very good at dancing either?” I look to my right and a gorgeous woman is looking at me and smiling. She has blonde hair and blue eyes that match the sea. This must be Queen Brina.

“Uhh, no. I’m terrible at dancing. Never had the opportunity to learn.” She leans against the wall and takes a sip of wine.

“Well, how about we dance together? That way we both can make fools of ourselves. I’m Queen Brina.” I bow and look up at her.

“Lord Nicole Haught.” I stand up and she places her wine on the ground so I place my ale on the ground. I walk out on the dance floor and hold my hand out to her. She walks over to me and takes my hand. I rest my left hand on her waist. I take her left hand in my right. Her hand goes to my shoulder.

“So why are you at this ball, Lord Nicole?” We start to dance in a messy box. She keeps stepping on my feet.

“I am here because I am in the trials Queen Waverly is hosting.” She smiles at me and we just keep dancing.

“How do they seem to be going?” I laugh and look around the room.

“Well, for this trial I have to know how to dance. So I would say not well.” She looks around the room then back at me.

“We are terrible at this aren’t we?” I laugh and try to spin her. She comes back in my arms and we both are laughing. The music stops so we all clap. Once the clapping ends she looks at me and takes both of my hands in hers.

“Thank you for dancing with me. You are quite fun. I would like to see her marry someone with a little bit of humor. Good luck, Lord Nicole.” I bow to her and she walks away towards her wine. I go and get my ale then start to walk around the room some more. The three orc boys seem to be having fun flirting with all of the women servants that are helping.

“Giant slayer? There is a giant slayer here. I need to meet him.” My eyes widen. King Mec is basically calling me over. I look to him. King Mec is a very large orc. Seven feet tall, wide, he is all muscle. He has a narrow nose and a black ponytail. I walk over to him and bow.

“Lord Nicole Haught, or as some call me, the giant slayer.” King Mec looks me up and down. He bursts out laughing.

“You’re telling me, this small woman is the giant slayer?” I stand up and nod.

‘Yes, Your Highness. I killed three giants on the field of battle. You can ask any Knight here and they will vouch for me.” King Mec looks around and then back at me.

“Interesting. I’ll take your word for it. Now tell me, how did you defeat a giant?” I grin and wave him over to a table. I get the two of us some ale then I tell him the story. Someone chimes in and mentions the troll.

“Ahh, yes. You all are the humans with wolf biology. You must be pretty strong then yes?” I shrug.

“I suppose so.” He nods and puts his elbow on the table with his palm open.

“We have this, this is an arm wrestle. Place your elbow on the table, clasp my hand and push. I want to see how strong you really are.” I laugh, he stays serious. I cough and look around the room. His sons are sitting at the table along with some Knights. I place my elbow on the table. My hand just reaches his. I clasp his hand. One of his sons speaks.

“When I get up to three, you push. One, two, three!” I start to push as hard as I can. Both of our arms seems to be staying in the same spot. Slowly my arm is making its way down. Right behind King Mec’s head I can see Waverly talking to Perry and laughing. I see red again. I hate them together. A burst of energy goes through my body. In one second I slam his hand down on the table. The table makes a cracking sound. The Knights stand up and throw their arms in the air. King Mec laughs.

“You are a tough one. I like you. I would love to have you next to me in battle.” I look at him and laugh too.

“I would be honored.” We continue to talk and laugh. He keeps drinking and I start to drink water. I’m sure if I talk to the elves I will have to drink wine with them.

“Nicole, Lady Gus would like to meet you.” I excuse myself and stand up. I look to Waverly and she is with Lady Gus.

“Well, as I live and breath. You really are Joan’s daughter aren’t you?” I laugh and nod. Lady Gus opens her arms and I hug her.

“How is your mother doing?” I pull away and scratch the back of my neck.

“She passed away a few years ago.” Her hand goes to her chest.

“I had no clue. I am so sorry.” I smile and wave her off.

“It’s fine. She told me a lot about you. Before we knew I was an alpha she would say Lady Gus would not be impressed with how you’re behaving. You taught my mother a lot. Thank you, she taught me what you taught her.” Lady Gus has a wide smile on her face.

“Darling, if you ever need anything let me know. Joan was a great woman. She was like family to me. That makes you family. I need to return to Curtis but I’ll see you soon I’m sure.” Lady Gus kisses my cheek, Waverly’s then leaves. Waverly is about to say something but dinner is being served.

“You can sit wherever you want.” She smiles at me and walks to the head of the big table. I find a middle seat and sit down. Jeremy sits down next to me and Glenda sits on the other side of me.

“Many people are talking about you. Queen Brina thinks you are very sweet, King Mec thinks you are tough. Mercedes thinks you’re cute. You seem to be doing good around here. They are finding you memorable.” I smile wide at Glenda once she stops talking.

“Thank you for telling me.” There is a giant crash behind me. Everyone turns to look, one of the contestants just crashed over a huge table. A few guards run over and pick him up then take him out. I look back at everyone around the table. It’s just Perry and I left. I don’t know what happened to the rest of them but they are gone.

“I want to thank everyone for coming here. I am getting married in a months time, I have attended all of your weddings that I could so thank you for coming to witness these last trials then my marriage. We have kept our alliances intact since I was crowned, lets keep them going for hundreds of years.” Waverly raises a glass then the rest of us do. Waverly sits down then starts to eat. The rest of us start to eat as well. Talking fills the air as conversations between strangers begin.

I eat properly as I was taught to. My mother always made sure that I knew how to eat properly. She never wanted us to go out and eat like savages. She always wanted potential mates to see us as respectful and courteous even if we are farmers.

Dinner goes by so fast. Before I knew it people were up and dancing again while the musicians play.

I look to my left and there is a woman trying to reach some wine glasses. She is about my height but the waiter is just turned. I guess she doesn’t want to be disrespectful. I walk over and grab her a full glass of wine.

“Here you go.” She looks at me and smiles.

“Ahh, thank you love. I didn’t want to bother him but I wanted my wine.” I grin and nod,

“It was no trouble. I’m Lord Nicole Haught.” I look at her ears and bow slightly. “It’s nice to meet you Queen Winnie.” I stand up and she slightly bows as well.

“It’s nice to meet the giant slayer. Most don’t live to tell the tale.” She hooks her arm through mine and we start walking.

“My husband has heard a lot of you over this ball. Queen Brina talking about your humor and kindness. King Mec speaking about your toughness and humility. He wants to see it for himself.” I nod and we walk over to King Grildar.

“Sweetie, this is Lord Nicole. The contestant we’ve heard so much about.” He smiles at me and I bow.

“It is wonderful meeting you, Your Highness.” I stand up and he has a grin on his face.

“Tell me, why is everyone talking about you?” I laugh and look around. I look back at him, I just shrug.

“I couldn’t tell you. I have only just become a real Lord and I still forget to call myself that sometimes. When I arrived here I was just a simple farmer. Now I am a Knight and a Lord. Soon I hope to be King.” King Grildar clasps my shoulder and makes me sit.

“I see the humility. You need to be more open and honest about how well you are doing. I know your biology well. I studied the alphas. You are, strong. Anyone can see that. You have the posture down, the smell, the look of a real alpha. I see only some confidence. Now tell me why you’re so popular? We both know you know how.” Wisdom from an elf. What more can anyone ask for?

“Well, when I got here no one saw me as a threat. I had to show dominance the first night I was here and I never had to do that before. The trials began and I didn’t want anyone to die over a stupid reason so I helped. While the trials weren’t going on I trained my ass off. Occasionally Queen Waverly and I would go to the orphanage. We would teach them how to read and write. I knew how to because my mother knew how to. Then as the trials progressed I guess I just got faster and stronger. I risked my life for a man who hates me. He’s here now, his father wants to thank me. I mean the war, that’s probably what you want to hear about. King Grildar, without being humble there are many reasons why people are talking about me. Saying they like me. I want to be King and Waverly’s mate. I love her and I am fighting my best fight so I can marry the love of my life.” He smiles wide and squeezes my shoulder.

“There it is. The confidence. When you get confident, you get confident. Never lose that. When the people look to you in time of need, have that confidence. Show that dominance. Always remember to be soft with your mate. Even in front of the people. They need to see that it isn’t weak to show your love.” He pats my shoulder then leans back in his chair. “I have taken up most of your time. Go, have fun.” I stand up and bow to him.

“Thank you for your advice.” I turn to Queen Winnie and bow to her too. I walk off and grab myself some ale.

“Nicole, Nicole!” I know that little voice. I turn and Jessica is running towards me. I squat down and place the ale on the floor. I open my arms and Jessica hugs me.

“Hey, you look very nice in your dress, like a Princess.” She pulls away and smiles at me.

“Glenda made all of us clothes to wear. We are going to bed soon now but I wanted to say hi to you before we left.” I smile at her then stand up. I pick her up and walk on the dance floor.

“We’ll dance first then you can go to bed okay?” Right now they are carol dancing. You stand in a circle and repeat certain moves. We dance along, I make silly faces that make her laugh. The dance lasts for a few moments then it ends. I place her down.

“There, now you can say you danced with a Lord. Go to bed now okay? I don’t know when I will be able to go and teach you again. I will be taking you back to the orphanage when the time comes, okay?” Jessica nods and hugs me one more time. She runs out of ballroom.

I get my ale then walk around the room. Nodding to different noble houses and making some small talk. I still need to dance with Waverly. I’m not as worried because we are already down to the last two.

“Excuse me, I’m Lord Delvin Milken.” I turn and a tall man that looks very wealthy is standing there.

“Hello, I’m Lord Nicole Haught.” we shake hands and he seems, aggravated.

“Yes, I know. I am here to thank you for saving my sons life. In his arrogance he never seemed to thank you for saving him. I apologize for that. I don’t know where his manners went.” Every word he is saying seems strained like he doesn’t want to be saying it.

“You don’t have to thank me if you don’t want to. Clearly it is taking a lot out of you. I understand why you are but I don’t need your thanks. I did what I did because I am a decent human being. Clearly you and your son both need to learn some manners because that was pathetic. Next time you want to thank someone, seem like you want to.” I turn on my heel and walk more into the ballroom. Brayden is an ass because his father is one. No wonder he is the way he is. I can’t fully blame him now.

“The last song is going to play and you need to dance with me.” I turn at Waverly’s voice. That voice can calm me when I am at my worst.

“You are right, I do need to dance with you.” I take her hand and walk out onto the dance floor. The music begins and she takes a step to the side with her hand out. I don’t know how to dance like this. I copy her and place my hand next to hers. She starts to walk in a circle so I walk in a circle too.

“You have no clue how to dance do you?” I drop my hand, I start to laugh a full belly laugh.

“I have no clue how to dance. I was dancing with Queen Brina, we looked like fools.” Waverly starts to giggle.

“Fine, we will dance how you know how to dance.” I place my left hand on her waist. I place her right hand on my shoulder and we clasp our free hands. We start to dance in a messy box.

“Dear Gods, I haven’t seen anyone dance this way in years. This is such an old style of dance.” I shrug. We continue our sloppy dance. It’s about midway through and we start to laugh.I can’t help it. I don’t think she can either. The music ends and we clap. Waverly rests her head on my shoulder and breaths.

“Wow, I’ve never noticed how you smell like oranges and honey. You smell, umm, really good.” I grin and take her hands in mine.

“I think your heat will be coming sooner than they thought. You are starting to get a smell and your senses seem to be heightened. I would talk to healer Laurence.” Waverly nods and kisses my cheek.

“I’ll do that tomorrow.” It comes out as a whisper. “Meet me in my chambers tonight? I slept really well with you there last night.” I grin and kiss her forehead.

“I’ll be there when the ball is over.” Waverly smiles up at me then walks off. I just smile as I watch her walk away.

“Wow, you got it bad for little miss angel.” It’s Mercedes. I can tell by the voice.

“You’re not wrong.” I turn to her and she seems drunk.

“Now, I didn’t know you were the one that caught my siblings.” I nod grimly and look down.

“That was me, yes.” I look back up and she looks indifferent.

“Listen, Tucker was a little shit that no one liked but Beth. Beth would have done anything for him. I never liked him. When I was sent word of his death, I wasn’t ecstatic but I was relieved that we could finally get some peace in the South. Set some real rules.” She smiles at me and just walks away.

I shake my head then look around the ballroom. People are leaving left and right. It seems like there are only a handful of people left. King Mec is drinking with his sons. The elves are gone along with Brina. Jeremy and Robin are talking to Waverly. Those are the only people left here. I decide to leave. I head to Waverly’s chambers and just sit at the table. The fire is roaring so I just watch it.

A few moments later Waverly walks in. She walks over to me and sits in my lap. I am taken aback by how brazen she is being.

“I never said it earlier, when you said it, but I, I love you too.” She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me in. Waverly kisses me softly, her lips are soft and warm. She smells a little of wine. I pull back and she has this beautiful smile on her face. “I also never got to say how handsome you look. That outfit suits you well.” I grin and cup her cheek with one of my hands. I pull her face to mine and kiss her with passion. After a few moments Waverly pulls back, her face is red.

“We umm, should go to bed. It’s late and I need to be a proper host tomorrow morning.” Waverly gets off of my lap and she goes into the private bath house. While she is in there I strip down to my undershirt and underwear. I crawl into bed and look to the door. Waverly comes out in a white nightgown. She puts out all of the candles then gets in bed.

“Goodnight, Nicky.” She curls into my side. I wrap my arm around her, then shut my eyes.

“Goodnight, Waves.”

Chapter Text

The last and final trial is tomorrow. Warden Holiday should be coming in today. Waverly has been talking all week about how Wynonna is coming back, she is bringing Alice. I have never seen her so excited in my life.

I have an inclining that this next trial is going to be a fight. Lord James has been waking me up before dawn to practice outside. It is slowly getting warmer out so practicing outside is fine. I actually enjoy the cool breeze in the morning. It wakes me up better than a bath. Today we are training outside. He wants me to wear full armor and bring my sword. I learned how to put on my armor without Jeremy. I find it nice having the freedom to wear my armor and practice without Jeremy helping me.

I head outside and yawn with my sword on my shoulder.

“Hey, wake up! You need to wake up and get ready. Tomorrow is going to be the biggest day of your life and you’re walking in here like its a joke.” I yawn again. He draws his sword and points it at me. I draw my sword and try to open my eyes wider.

“Nicole, if you don’t wake up and train Perry is going to marry Waverly. Do you want that?” Anger courses through my veins. I wake up more and lunge towards him. James blocks the blade, he gets a wild grin on his face.

“See that, that anger, that power. You need to use that to drive you. Perry is a strong fighter. He is expecting the worst from you.” I nod and swing my sword hard at him. James just manages to block it. I keep taking strong steps towards him. With each step towards him I hit his blade harder and harder. The sword falls out of his hand and he holds his hands up in surrender.

“I need you to fight like that tomorrow. Finish the fight before it can even start. Now, again.”

James and I train all the way to midday. I am tired. I feel exhausted. A nice bath would be great, also some very comfy clothes and a long nap. I need my rest for tomorrow because it is a fight. I head to my room and get undressed.

“How was training?” I turn fast, Jeremy is sitting at the table. I have my hand clutched over my chest. I am so tired I didn’t even smell him in here.

“You scared me. Training was hard. He had me training since before dawn. I feel ready for tomorrow though.” Jeremy gets up and pats my shoulder.

“Good, I’m glad to hear that. Waverly wants you up and ready for dinner. Wynonna is here and she wants you to meet her. No one knows of this dinner aside from the four of us. Dress your best. Wynonna is tough to impress and that is what Waverly wants you to do. Bathe, nap and I will come and get you when they are ready.” He pats my shoulder again and leaves. I sigh and throw my head back.

That isn’t a lot of pressure or anything. I can’t handle meeting Wynonna right now. She is Waverly’s favorite person. I feel like I would be intruding on their limited time. I get undressed and go into my bath house. The water is steaming. It looks amazing. I get in the bath and relax in the water. I lay my head back and close my eyes.

I stayed in the bath for a long time, the water was getting cold by the time I got out of the bath. I walk out and grab the towel nearby. After drying off I get dressed and lay down in my bed. As soon as my head hits the pillow I fall asleep.

“Nicole!” I sit up fast and look around. Jeremy has this worried look on his face. He throws his arms in the air.

“What are you wearing? They are expecting you now and you aren’t even close to being dressed.” Jeremy goes to my wardrobe and grabs some clothes he throws them at my face. “Get dressed.” I stand up and just change right in front of him. I don’t make him leave, I don’t have the energy for that. I get into my noblemen clothes I bought for the trials.

Jeremy takes me to her chambers he is walking really fast. I understand that this is a big deal but tomorrow is going to be very important and I need my rest. I’m sure they would understand.

“Listen, Wynonna is, honest. She says whatever is going through her mind. Nothing stops her. Don’t be offended by anything she says. She doesn’t mean it.” I nod and we stop right in front of Waverly’s chambers. “Be yourself.” He pats my shoulder then walks away. I roll my shoulders back, then knock on the door.

“Come in.” I walk in and there there is another woman at the table with Waverly. Wild black hair, blue blue eyes, a very structured face. She is beautiful. On her lap is a little girl who looks nearly the same. She has chubbier cheeks.

“Hello, you must be Wynonna.” She grunts and keeps staring at me. I walk over to Waverly and kiss her cheek. I squat down in front of Wynonna and look at Alice. She is hugging her mom. I grin and smile wide at her.

“And this beautiful little girl must be Alice. I have been dying to meet you.” She loosens her grip on Wynonna, she kinda turns towards me. I look up at Wynonna then begin to speak. “I am so sorry for being late. I was training from dawn to midday and I just needed some rest. I overslept.” I stand up then sit across from the three of them.

“I wasn’t gonna say anything but your hair is a mess.” I grin and look over at Waverly.

“My name is Nicole, I’m sure Waverly told you my name but I wanted to tell you.” Wynonna’s eyes light up like I just reminded her of something.

“Your last name is Haught.” I nod and she gets a devilish grin on her face. “I am gonna need to think of something different to call you with a last name like that.” I laugh.

“Okay. So what are we having for dinner? I haven’t eaten since last night.” Waverly leans forward and takes my hand.

“We are having chicken, sweet onion stew and bread. After we are having fig cookies.” I smile and the room stays silent for awhile this time it is awkward silence.

“So Wynonna, what is like in the North?” She shrugs and looks anywhere but me.

“Cold, only not cold in July and August.” She seems very uninterested in talking to me. I look at Waverly and she has this worried look on her face.

“Wanna see who can drink more?” Her eyes light up. She hands Alice to Waverly.

“Now we’re talking. Ale?” I nod. Wynonna waves over a servant. She pours the two of us some ale. I get a cup and Wynonna gets one. We both slam the cup down then we chug the contents of the cup. I slam the cup back down on the table. Wynonna does it a second later. The servant fills the cups again.

“Umm, is this wise? You barely had anything today and you need to be sharp for tomorrow.” I look at Waverly, she has a disapproving look on her face. I don’t drink the cup.

“Oh come on, red. You’re telling me you’re gonna stop drinking because Waverly told you to?” I smile and look at Wynonna.

“Yup. She’s right. I need to fight tomorrow. Perry is a very skilled fighter. I need to be my best tomorrow so I can win. Otherwise I will die or just, not win and both of those are unacceptable.” Wynonna leans back in her chair and squints at me. Her arms cross in front of her chest.

“So you love my sister, red?” My eyes flash to Waverly for a second then to Wynonna’s.

“Very much. Over the past few months I have gotten to know your sister very well. I love her. I want to spend the rest of my life with her.” Wynonna just keeps glaring at me. She leans forward so her elbows are resting on her knees.

“Nothing to do with being King?” I grin and continue looking her in the eyes.

“I would lying if I said at first it wasn’t so I could be King. I also would be lying if I said I didn’t come here for love. I am clearly a woman, many omegas don’t really want to marry a woman. Even if they are an alpha.” Wynonna nods then looks at Waverly. She has a questioning look on her face.

“Do you want to marry a woman alpha? Nicole is right, most omegas wouldn’t want that. Why would you be any different?” As the last word leaves her mouth the doors open and the food is served. Waverly is looking at Wynonna with anger in her eyes. Alice is happily asleep in her arms.

Wynonna takes Alice then we all begin to eat. The room is tense and Wynonna seems, fine. Like her questions didn’t make a difference on Waverly. Like everything is okay. I shouldn’t be offended so I’m not going to be.

“Wynonna, you clearly know nothing about me. You also probably don’t know much about your sister anymore. So why don’t we make this a conversation so we can learn more about each other.” Wynonna looks a little angry. I get it. “I’ll start. I grew up on a farm. My family still lives on the farm. I have two brothers and a father. My mother died while giving birth to my little brother Sam. My older brother hates me for being the eldest alpha of the kids. After reflecting on if I care or not, I don’t care what he thinks. I really don’t. You understand that though. Not caring what the world thinks of you. Aside from Lord Doc, Lady Alice and Waverly.” Wynonna smiles for a second. She is looking me in the eyes.

“So you don’t think you care what the world thinks of you. That is a brave mindset for someone who is fighting to be King. You should care what the people think of you, they would be the ones to overthrow you.” Wynonna smiles again then goes back to her food. She is, right. I can’t say she’s wrong.

“I’ve been thinking about that you know. Whether I would want the people to like me or not.” I look at Waverly and she seems confused. “The question, is it better to be feared or loved always comes up in my head. If I am loved, then they will think I am a pushover. That they can get away with whatever they want. If I am feared then there will be order. There will be no problems but how prosperous can a Kingdom be that lives in fear? I have decided to be loved and feared.” I look back at Wynonna and she looks indifferent.

“Well good luck with that. Waves and I have already caught up. I know my sister. I know my sister well. I don’t think she actually wants to marry you, no. I think she wants to marry Perry. Yeah, we talked about Perry. He did much better than you in the last trial. He was very courteous with all of the guests. Had very good table manners. You well, you did okay considering. That is what Waverly told me at least,” Waverly cuts her off.

“Wynonna, that is enough. I told you all of that in confidence.” I look at Waverly and I grin. It doesn’t feel happy but polite.

“If you want to marry Perry, I will leave right now and you two can get married. I don’t want to stand in the way of your happiness. As Wynonna said, why would you want to marry a woman alpha?” I place my napkin on the table and excuse myself from dinner. I get up and leave her chambers and head to mine.

“Nicky!” I stop in my tracks and just shut my eyes. Here it comes.

“I want to marry you. I want to have pups with you. I want to rule this Kingdom with you.” She spins me and makes me look at her. “Ever since I was a kid, it’s been you. I would dream about you coming to the Kingdom and saving me from my father. Or Willa. I, I dreamt about how strong you would be. How kind you would be. I have been thinking about you since I was five. Wynonna doesn’t want her little sister to grow up. She is scared, she is feeling emotional. Just, give her space. It wasn’t a good idea to have you two meet before the fight. Tomorrow, fight for me. Fight for us. Fight for our love.” Waverly hands me a piece of cloth. I grin down at it. I look at her and she has a smile on her face.

“I will fight for us tomorrow. I love you Waverly Earp.” I kiss her softly then turn and head back to my room. I need rest if I am going to win this fight tomorrow.

“Nicole! Come on, you need to get ready. The citizens are going to be arriving at midday. I let you sleep as long as I could.” I open my eyes and Jeremy is standing over me. He looks, worried.

“I’m up, Jer. I am gonna take a bath then I will get ready.” Jeremy nods and moves away from my bed. I throw my legs over the edge then look around my room. The windows are open so it must be decent outside. I get out of bed and out the window. The view from my room is amazing. I can see the forest. Life is slowly starting to come back after the snow. There is barely any snow left.

“Come on, a cold bath is ready. I need you up and alert for this fight.” I turn to Jeremy and grin. I walk over and place my hands on his shoulders.

“I am going to be fine. I am going to become King, then you are going to become an alchemist. I promise.” I pat his shoulder then walk into the bath house. I get in and take my bath. The water wakes me up right away. I take a quick bath then dry off. I get in the boxy underwear and an undershirt. I walk out and Jeremy has all of my armor ready. I walk over and I get the chain mail on. Then my plate armor. I get my sword on my waist along with my dagger.

“I have a shield for you and a helmet. I will give them to you after the people see your face. They want you out there in five minutes so we should head out now.” I nod and look around my room. I look at the table and grab the piece of cloth Waverly gave me. I tie it to my shoulder plate and then follow Jeremy out of my chambers.

The walk to the arena is stressful, there are many things that could happen during this fight. I could die, I could kill him, neither of us could win because we killed each other. What is my father and brother gonna do without me? Will the farm be able to continue on the way that it does? Will Sam forget me as he grows older? This fight, I could back out and go home. Everything I did would have been for not then. Almost dying, fighting in the war. I need to win this fight, even if it really does kill me.

I walk out into the arena, some start to cheer. Others boo. I wave to the hundreds of people in the stands. A few moments later Perry walks out. He has a stoic look on his face. He glances up and smiles. He winks then goes back to looking straight ahead. I look up to see where he was looking and it was at Waverly.

I shake my head and try to get back in the game. Get out of the clouds. Focus on Perry and what actions he is going to take. Xavier starts to speak.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the Kingdom, today we are here to witness the tenth trial. This is trial by combat. These two competitors are going to be fighting until one can not fight anymore. That means serious injury or death. These two have been the best at every trial that had been thrown at them. Today we all will witness two great alphas fighting to be King!” I look up and Xavier has his hands up in the air after speaking. I look at Waverly and she seems to be stoic. No emotion. Wynonna is looking at me. There is also no emotion in her eyes. I nod once and she nods back.

“We have two great Lords fighting. We have Perry Crofte,” Some start to cheer and others boo. Same thing that happened to me. “And we have Nicole Haught.” Same reaction. I look at Perry again and he is finally starting to look nervous. I roll my shoulders back and look around the crowd. I can see my father and brother in the crowd. They start to wave to me. I half wave back.

“Fighters, get ready.” I turn and walk to where I came from. Jeremy has my helmet and shield. I take the shield and leave the helmet. I fought a giant without a helmet, I can take on a man without one too.

“Good luck, Nicole. I know you’re gonna win.” I smile at Jeremy.

“I know if’s are bad but I need you to do something for me. If I die, tell Garret Green to keep my family alive. He owes me and will do it. Also, tell Waverly I am sorry that I didn’t fight hard enough for us.” Jeremy drops his hand to my shoulder.

“If’s are bad. You’re gonna do great. Don’t worry about anything.” He pats my shoulder then moves his hand. I turn and walk back out into the arena. I look across the arena, Perry is standing there. Sword already out and blade in the sand with his hand on the handle. I roll my shoulders back, I take my sword off of my waist and walk towards the middle of the arena.

“Before the fight begins, remember. No rules. Fight to win.” That changes everything. Perry is also walking towards the center of the arena. We are face to face.

“Are you ready?” Perry nods. I hold my hand out for a handshake. He shakes my hand then nods. I nod back and we both take ten steps back. He knows only how to fight properly.

“Fight!” I want him to make the first move. Whenever I practice I always let my opponent make the first move. He takes three steps towards me then swings his sword. I hit it away and he moves his head to the side. He is left handed and I am right. Huh.

I lunge forward and he steps to the side missing the blade. The crowd is screaming. I can’t concentrate with all of the noise. He lunges towards me and I block his attack with my sword. His other hand is behind his back. I duck and he swings right over my head with his dagger. I swing hard at his legs and he falls to the ground. I stand up and get the sword between his helmet and chest plate. My feet get kicked out from under me and I fall to the ground. I open my eyes and Perry is taking off his helmet.

“I’ll make it fair.” He throws it to the side then points his sword at my neck. I was in this situation with Lord James. I can’t kick his feet out from under him. His arm is locked. I can try and kick his arm at the elbow. I swing my legs up and kick at his arm as hard as I can. He moves out of the way. I stand up. We start to circle each other.

“Perry, are you here for love or are you here to be King?” he grins.

“Does it really matter. Either way I get the girl and the crown. Waverly is good looking but do I love her? Time will tell after I marry her.” He lunges at me and I block his blade. Our blades keep crossing. With each of his swings there is more and more power. With every swing I keep taking a step back. He gets a shot in and elbows my head. The arena is spinning. I shake my head and the two of him becomes ones again. He swings hard and hits my left shoulder. I didn’t have enough time to block with my shield.

My back is against the arena wall. The crowd is chanting ‘kill her, kill her’ Perry turns and starts to wave to the crowd, encourage them. I move away from the wall and slash at his left arm. The arm he needs to fight. I hit is arm and he nearly drops his sword.

Perry turns around and there is anger in his eyes. He move his sword from his left to his right then starts to swing at me hard. I can feel the wind from his blade moving through the air on my face. I fight back and stay on the defense. I can do whatever I have to to win this fight.

I look up into the crowd at my family. They look worried. Sam’s hair is long. He must have grown it out for the winter. My father, his hair is thinning. He is holding his hat in his hands with worry.

A sharp pain goes through my face. I fall to the ground and drop my sword. My eyes are open though. I look up and we are across from the balcony. Waverly is fighting through the people and guards with tears in her eyes. She is trying to stop Perry.

I look at him, the sword is coming to my chest in slow motion. I look back to Waverly and her hand is over her mouth to stop the sobs. I look back at Perry, his face face is twisted with concentration and power.

I look up at the sky. If I die, Waverly is going to marry him. Going to have pups with him. Will the Kingdom be doing well? Probably. I look at my shoulder and see the piece of cloth. Waverly gave that to me so I could fight for our love. Our love. I smell baked apples, something just so simply Waverly. I look over and she is sweating and leaning on Wynonna. My vision is turning red. I can feel my heartbeat increasing. My chest is heaving. Perry is close to my chest with that blade. All I can see it red.

I grab his sword fast with my right hand. I push up. Perry has fear in his eyes now. I stand up with the end of his sword still in my hands. I rip it out of his hands and throw it to the ground. I take my dagger out and grab him by the neck. I pick him up and hold him over me. I feel like a spectator. I’m not in my body but I am watching what I am doing. I bring the dagger close to his chest. His face is turning blue. I scream at myself. In seconds I go back in my body and look up at Perry. I drop him and he falls to the ground. The crowd is quiet. His chest isn’t moving.

No, no, no. I didn’t just kill him. He can’t be dead. No. I drop to my knees and start to push on his chest. He can’t be dead. After a few pumps Perry’s eyes open and he sits up fast. He holds his neck and breaths.

“You killed me.” I nod, the crowd is cheering.

“I didn’t mean to. I wasn’t myself.” Perry looks up at me and grins.

“The wolf. It’s a fight or flight reaction. Your eyes turned red, you canines got bigger and you growled louder than I have ever heard anyone growl.” Perry lays back down. “I’m done.” Guards runs out and pick him up. I look him in the eyes.

“If you want someone to marry, look for Chrissy Nedley. She is a beautiful girl with a kind heart. I think she would be good for you.” Perry pats my shoulder and smiles. The guards take him away. I look to the crowd and they all are on their feet cheering.

“Your new King, Nicole Haught!” I smile and turn to Waverly. She is running towards me. She wraps her arms around me, Waverly connects our lips. I grin into the kiss and place my hand on her cheek. Her lips feel soft. Everything about her is soft.

I open my eyes and they start to close again. I am falling. Waverly is calling for help. My head hits the ground and, red. Why is it red?

Chapter Text

I open my eyes and look around. I am in a dark room. I try to sit up but my head hurts badly. I just keep looking around the room.

“Ahh, you’re awake.” Healer Laurence stands over me and smiles. “You lost a lot of blood in your fight a few days ago. Your arm is healing nicely. I have it all wrapped up right now. Try not to move it too much. I put your nose back in place. Everything should be healed in a few days. You are a young healthy alpha so the healing process will be much faster. You will still need the sling for your wedding though. ” He turns and walks away. A few seconds later he hands me a vile. “Drink this and the pain should stop. Once you feel as though you can sit up I will send you to your chambers.” I nod and drink the vile quickly.

I gag, he just chuckles. I continue to stare at nothing. Time passes and my head doesn’t hurt as bad. I sit up and look around. There are books all over the room. Many of them half open. Vile's all around the room with weird things in them. I stand up.

“How come I saw red before I passed out?”

“So, the reason why you keep passing out is because your body isn’t used to all of the changes that go through you when you get angry. You saw red because that is one of the changes your body makes. It was returning to normal. Your body changes in many different ways when you get angry, your canines grow, eyes get red, muscles expand, and your nails grow.” I nod and look at him. No one has ever said this before.

“All alphas can do that?” He shakes his head no. He is sitting down now and looking up at me.

“Only certain alphas can do that. I don’t have much information on it. Jeremy is here to take you to your room.” The door opens and Jeremy runs in. He has the biggest smile on his face.

“See, you’re okay. If’s are bad.” He hugs me tight and I hug him back with my right arm. “Waverly is waiting for you in your room. All of your thing have been moved to her room.” I nod and we walk out of the healers room. We are walking down the hallway and to the staircase. “The wedding has been moved up. Waverly’s heat is nearing. By next week she will be in the middle of her heat so they want you married by the end of this week. So three days, so you have tomorrow which is your free day, the coronation, then the wedding.” I nod and we continue to walk to my chambers. We stay silent for the rest of the walk.

We are at the doors. Jeremy smiles wide then pats my shoulder. I walk in the room, Waverly is standing in front of the bed with worry all over her face.

“Nicole,” She runs at me and hugs me tight. I hear the door shut behind me. Waverly pulls back and just kisses me. The whole room smells like Waverly, like her heat. I groan into the kiss. Waverly pulls back out of breath.

“How are you feeling?” I grin and kiss her cheek.

“Much better now that I am here with you.” Waverly smiles and kisses my cheek. She leads me to our bed and I sit down.

“You scared me. I thought you died. Even healer Laurence thought you were gonna die. Jeremy told me what you said to him. The if’s. Why would you do that? That just leads to bad things happening. Nicole, I, I thought he was really going to kill you.” I take her hand in mine and look up at her.

“I wasn’t expecting him to be that strong if I’m being honest. I also didn’t want to go without making sure my family was safe. I knew Perry was a good fighter but I wasn’t expecting that.” Waverly starts to rub my back with her free hand.

“Well, it’s all done now. You won and we are getting married.” I can’t help the smile that is blossoming on my face.

“Tomorrow we should bring the kids back. Before the wedding. It’s not that I don’t want them there I just know that after the wedding we are going to be busy.” Waverly’s eyebrows raise.

“Busy?” I feel my cheeks heat up but I nod anyways.

“I was informed that this wedding is getting moved because your heat is starting early. Which is going to put me in an early rut.” Waverly grins and moves her hand to my chest. She starts to push me so I am laying down on the bed. My heart is beating fast in my chest.

“Uhh, what are you doing , Waves?” She throws her leg over my hips and settles on my lap. She shrugs then leans down and kisses me hard and full of passion. I kiss her back with just as much passion. I place my good hand on her waist. Waverly starts to move her hips then there is a knock at the door. Waverly pulls away and rests her head on mine.

“Who is it?” there is silence for a few seconds.

“It’s Wynonna.” Waverly sighs and moves off of my lap. She fixes her dress then walks to the door. I sit up and rub my bad arm. It hurts way more than I thought it would. The door opens and she walks in.

“Heyya, red. How are you doing?” I look over to her and shrug.

“Fine I suppose. My arm aches a little bit but I am feeling fine.” Wynonna nods and look at her feet.

“Waverly umm, I don’t think Waverly ever wanted to marry Perry. So uhh, don’t worry about it.” Wynonna gets up and leaves the room. I shake my head then look at Waverly. She has a slight smile on her face.

“That was her apologizing. She isn’t very good at saying sorry.” I stand up and walk over to her. Waverly has this wide smile on her face. I place my hand on her hip and she steps closer into my space. I lean down and peck her lips.

“I get it, Jon was never good at saying sorry either. Do you know where my father and brother are?” Waverly’s whole face lights up. She takes my hand and starts to walk to the door.

“I have them in guest bedrooms. They are very worried.” I nod and we walk out of the room and down the hall to all of the guest rooms. I can smell the orcs, then the elves, the mermaid, now my father. Waverly stops in front of the door and I knock. The door opens, my father looks up at me. He grabs me and pulls me into a hug.

“You’re okay.” I wrap my good arm around him and close my eyes. A few seconds later he pulls back and looks at me. “You look good, not as skinny. I missed you, Sam missed you.” A door behind me swings open.

“Nicole!” I turn and Sam has a wide smile on his face. He’s grown a few inches. He runs over and hugs me tight. I place my hand on his back.

“Hey, how are you doing?” He looks up at me and there are tears in his eyes.

“I’m fine, how are you? You look awful.” We all laugh and I nod.

“I am feeling a little sore but nothing rest and food won’t fix. How about we all eat some lunch and catch up?” My father and Sam nod. Waverly is just standing to the side.

“I’m sure you know but this is Waverly.” I smile at her and she waves to them.

“Yes we know, she has been very kind to us. We are staying for the wedding then we are going back to the farm. We hired a farm hand, he stays in your old room. He is a fine man.” I smile at him then just look around.

“Okay so at midday we’ll have lunch?’ Everyone nods. I smile and take Waverly’s hand. We walk back to our room. Once there I sit on the bed.

“How are you feeling?” I look up at her then take her hand.

“I am feeling fine, I smell gross though. I am going to take a bath then we can have lunch.” I grab clothes the go into the bath house. I take a bath and try to keep my bad arm dry. The water feels nice even though it’s ice cold. The soap smells like rosemary. I get out of the bath and get dressed in the shorts, an undershirt and a loose white shirt with strings across the chest to tighten.

I walk out of the bathroom and get some black pants on and black boots. Waverly is at the table with a book in her hands. I kiss her cheek, Waverly looks up at me then back at her book.

“Ready for lunch?” I say yes then we head to the guest rooms. We get to their rooms and we retrieve them. Waverly and Sam make small talk as we head to the dining room. My father seems to be very quiet. We get there and a feast is waiting. A pot of soup, chicken, beef, bread, ale, wine, fruit. So much food. We get to the table and they all look at me.

“After you.” I make a face and sit at a random chair.

“Nicky, you should sit at the head of the table.” I look around and all of them are still standing. I shake my head no and gesture for them to sit.

“From what I understand, I am not King until I have my coronation. I am not King so you all may sit where you please.” They all sit and now they are just sitting there. “I swear, you all better start getting food.” Sam laughs and starts to dig in. Everyone joins. I get some soup, bread, chicken, and ale. We eat and everyone seems silent.

“How is this farming going? All the crops seem to be starting to grow?” My father nods and finishes chewing.

“It’s going great, we seem to have more crops this year than last.” I nod and he keeps telling me about how much more money they can make and all of that. Sam is just stuffing his face with food. “I have some bad news though, Jon, he is trying to take the farm. Because you are King now he thinks he has a claim on the farm. I told him it goes to Sam but, he is trying for it.” I nod and look at Sam. “If he takes the farm, he will kick us out. We will have nowhere to go.” I look at the two of them and they seem worried.

“I’ll take claim of the farm before I become King, then I will give the farm to you in place of Sam. Once he is old enough he will take the farm and it will be his. I am marrying the Queen after all I am sure I can get a paper saying so.” I look to Waverly and she is nodding, she takes my hand that’s on the table.

“You guys have nothing to worry about. I will do that right after lunch.” They say their thank you’s then we continue to eat. It stays silent for awhile.

“So , Nicole, are you ready to be King?” I look at Sam. I grin and nod.

“I think I am. I have been reading many books. Some on former Kings, others just on the people and the land we live on. I think I am ready based on what I have read. I won’t repeat mistakes. I also have been looking at laws written by the other humans. Many of their laws are basic like ours. No murder, no stealing, Things of that nature, they also have laws on cheating and rape. I was thinking of talking to Waverly then maybe put those laws into place.” They all nod and we finish up eating.

“You two must be excited to get married. The talk of the castle is that you two have been very close all through the trials.” Waverly and I nod. A big goofy smile appears on my face.

“I know I am thrilled to get married. I have been fighting for nearly a year to get married.” Waverly takes my hand then begins to speak.

“I am also very excited to get married. I can’t wait to have a partner to help with all of the court intrigue and laws that need to be passed.” My father smiles and he seems happy. He looks genuinely happy.

“That is great to hear. I will let you two get back to whatever it is you need to do today. I’m sure you two are busy. I will see you later.” My father gets up and pats my shoulder. Sam is still at the table.

“Can I spend the day with you?” I grin and nod.

“Of course. I’m not sure I will be doing much today though.” I look at Waverly and she has a weak smile on her face.

“Glenda wants you to meet with her. You need to pick out fabrics for your new clothes. Then you need to get your boots shined, head to the blacksmith to have your head measured. After that you need to meet with Sir Marcus to speak about the coronation.” I throw my head back.

“I was basically dead a day ago and you want me to go and run around?” I look at her and she has a small smile on her face.

“I know, my poor baby.” She makes me look at her then she kisses me softly. “It must be so hard to become a King and become rich. I am so sorry.” I start to pout. Waverly giggles and kisses me quick again. “You’ll be done before dinner. We are having dinner together. Just me and you.” She stands up so I follow suit. Sam walks around the table.

“Fine, I’ll see you for dinner then.” We kiss one last time then she heads out of the dining room.

“Ready to go and do a bunch or boring stuff?” Sam nods and has this excited look in his eyes. I mess up his hair then head up to Glenda’s work shoop. Sam and I get up there and we both are winded. I don’t get how she does this all of the time. Her door is open so we both just walk in.

“Hello, Glenda.” She turns to me, a bright smile is on her face.

“Nicole, you’re okay. That is amazing.” She walks over and hugs me. I hug her back. We both pull away. “Who’s this?” I wrap my arm around his shoulders and pull him close by his head.

“This is my little brother Sam. He wanted to spend the day with me so we are running errands together.” Glenda smiles at us then turns back to the table.

“Come here, loves. I need you to pick out fabrics. You are to have five royal outfits for everyday life. Then you need to pick you your colors for the wedding outfit. I was thinking since you like black you could have an all plain black outfit. Golden buttons going up the middle of the the shirt and a red sash going across your chest. Obviously you will also have the crown. For the coronation you are wearing all of the same except the suit is white.” I stand next to her, all of the fabrics on the table are very, mute. Browns and tans with odd designs on them. I pick five random ones.

“Great, so I will make these look like the outfit I made for you last time. The other two suits will look more neat.” I nod to her and thank her. She kicks me out after hearing the rest of the people I have to meet with.

Sam and I go to my room and grab my boots. We head out to the leather maker and I drop off my boots to be shined. He shows me a pair of white boots for the coronation. I thank him then we head to the blacksmith. He is in the basement next to healer Laurence. Sam and I make our way down there.

“Why is Jon being a jerk?” I shrug and look at him.

“Jon has always been like that. He has always been rude to everyone. He hates who he is. He blames everyone but himself for his mistakes. Jon is just an angry man.” Sam looks away.

“I don’t want him to be an angry man. I want him to be my brother. I want to have a nice brother. He has two kids that we never met.” I stop in my tracks.

“I know, Sam. But there is nothing we can do. I want to meet his kids too, hell even his wife would be nice. He us just full of resentment. Maybe one day he will change his mind.” I mess up his hair and continue to walk to the blacksmith shop. I am slowly learning my way through the castle. I get to the shop. He is a big man. A huge beard and large arms.

“Hi, I’m here to be fitted for my crown?” He looks at me, the man walks towards me then drops to one knee.

“It is an honor to serve my new King.” I look at Sam, his eyes are wide.

“Sir, stand up. There is no need for that. I am not King yet.” He stands up and nods to me once.

“Yes, Your Grace.” I place my hand on his shoulder.

“Nicole will work just fine. What’s your name?” he turns and starts to walk further into the shop.

“My name is Reginald.” I follow him in. The shop is huge, there are swords hanging off of the walls, axes, hammers, and shields. The room is super hot, all of the fire for forging. “Sit here, all I have to do is measure your head then you may leave, Nicole.” I sit in the seat he is pointing at and he comes up to me with a metal ring. He wraps it around my head and then starts to adjust it.

“I didn’t see you at the ball, why was that?” He chuckles and keeps adjusting.

“I don’t do dancing and socializing. Not really my thing. I also had nothing to wear.” I grin, he finishes measuring. “There, I will have the crown ready for your coronation.” I stand up then shake his hand.

“Thank you for doing this. I will see you soon, Reginald.” I slightly bow to him then walk out of the shop with Sam.

“That seems like a fun job.” I look down at him and smile.

“If you want to do that then look into it. I’m sure you’ll be able to find an apprenticeship.” Sam doesn’t say anything. We head to the last place. Sir Marcus. He is going to be telling me what I have to recite the day of the coronation. I am worried that I am going to say something wrong and mess up in front of hundreds.

I go up the stairs and make my way to the tallest tower in the whole castle. This is where we worship the Gods. All of our places of worship all around the Kingdom. It’s so we can be closer to the Gods. We make our way to the top of the tower.

“Sam, have you ever been in a place of worship?” I look down at him, he is shaking his head no. I sigh.

“Neither have I, buddy.” I walk in and there are pews on the left and right. I look around and I don’t see Sir Marcus.

“Hello?” I walk further in. My family isn’t religious, when my mother died we just buried her on the farm. I keep walking in, Sam is trailing behind me. “Hello?” I hear fast footsteps.

“Hi, hello, sorry.” He walks up to me and shakes my hand. “So sorry, I was preparing for the coronation. There is much to be done. Now, sit. I am going to tell you what you need to recite.” I sit down next to him and he takes my hands. Sam starts to laugh. I elbow him in the side which makes him stop.

“These are the holy words that connect you with the Gods.” He smiles at me and I just grin back. “Now the oath that is to be said is very much revolved around promises. Being a great King and holding the laws of the Gods to the people.” He hands me a piece of paper. I thank him then leave the room with Sam.

“Well he seems weird.” I slap Sam’s shoulder.

“That is not very nice,” I wrap my arms around his shoulders and pull him to me. “But you’re right. He does seem weird.” We both laugh then head to my room. I get in and Waverly is sitting at the table reading a book. Sam walks around the room looking at everything.

“This is a nice room. Look at you living the good life now. Not having to wake up a dawn and start manual labor. Must be nice.” I scoff and walk over to him.

“I’ll have you know, I have the weight of the whole Kingdom on my shoulders. I’ll wake up and want to throw up from all of the responsibility.” Sam laughs, Waverly giggles. I look out the window and the sun is setting. “Okay, bud, you should head back to your room. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Sam hugs me quick then leaves the room. I sit down across from Waverly and groan.

“Are you okay?” I shrug and unroll the paper Sir Marcus gave me. I read the oath once then place the paper on the table.

“How is your arm?” I lean back in my chair and take my arm out of the sling.

“It’s fine. Still a little sore. Tomorrow is the free day. We can stay in bed till midday.” I smile sleepily and Waverly shakes her head no.

“Tomorrow we need to take the kids back to the orphanage, you are the one who suggested it. Then we can stay in bed for the rest of the night. Wynonna wants all of us to have dinner together but I told her we can’t it’s gonna be a long day.” I smile at her and say thank you. I get up and change into pajamas. “Don’t care what I see anymore?” I turn and grin.

“We are getting married in three days. I don’t care all that much. I’m sure there is some religious thing saying that we shouldn’t be in the same room. Saying that not being a prude is bad but I don’t care.” Waverly is grinning.

“You’re going to give the sacred oath without even knowing the Gods laws?” I nod and lay down in bed. I groan. This bed is so soft. Waverly laughs and lays in bed next to me. I pull her to me. Her head rests on my chest. “Dinner will be here soon so don’t fall asleep yet. I know you need your rest but just wait till after dinner.” A yawn escapes my mouth. Once I am done yawning Waverly kisses my fast. “Don’t sleep.” She gets up and sits back at the table. I stare at the ceiling and feel my eyes drift shut. There is a knock at the door. I sit up, Waverly gets the door. My dad is standing there.

“Nicole, can you come out here for a second?” I walk out of the room and shut the door behind me. He hands me a ring, my mothers ring. “After Sam was born, your mom was alive for ten minutes. You took Sam and cleaned him off, I was in the room with your mother. She told me that she wanted you to have her ring. For when you get married.” I hesitantly take the ring and look at it. I place the ring in my pocket then hug my father. He hugs me back. When I pull away he has tears in his eyes.

“She would be so proud of you.” I smile weakly and pat him on his shoulder.

“Thank you for giving me the ring. I really appreciate it.” He grins and pats my shoulder as well. He says goodbye then heads back to his room. I go back in and Waverly is looking at me with questioning eyes.

“Nothing, it’s a secret.” Waverly rolls her eyes then sits at the table. Lucinda walks in and starts to place food on the table. A little boy is with her, he has the wine and ale. Waverly and I thank the two of them then start to eat our dinner.

We eat dinner in mostly silence. I have sweet onion soup, Waverly has pheasant and bread, After eating I lay down in bed and try to fall asleep.

“Wait, I’m coming into bed.” Waverly goes to the corner of the room. She walks back over and my eyes nealy pop out of my head. Waverly is wearing here nightgown, she is wearing a pair of the shorts Glenda made me and one of my shirts. She crawls into bed and rests her head on my chest. The door opens and the plates are taken away. My eyes start to drift shut.

“Nicky, time to get up. We need to get ready to take the kids back to the orphanage.” My eyes open slowly. I look around the room, Waverly is dressed and ready to go. People need to start waking me up earlier. I always feel rushed. I get out of bed and get dressed in my farming clothes that I have. Waverly takes my arm and we head down to the kids rooms.

We get there, as soon as the door opens the kids try to tackle me to the ground. I laugh and pick one of them up with my good arm. All of the kids are cheering and saying King Haught. I can’t help but smile. The kids have bags packed and they seem to be ready to go.

The women help the kids bring the bags downstairs. The little baby is sitting up and doing great. He’s a very giggly baby. I grab him and an extra bag. We all go outside and line up next to all of the horses. I get on Orthrus, Waverly gets on her horse. I turn, the guards are helping the kids on their horses. Soon we are all ready and heading out back to their brand new home.

The ride up to the orphanage feels slow. The kids are singing some song, the guards are singing along with them. I look to Waverly and she has the biggest smile on her face. Jaxon is on the same horse as her. I have jessica behind me and the baby in front of me.

We finally get to the orphanage and it looks, amazing. Two floors like we said, I can see at least three chimneys. The kids are hoping off of the horses and they are running into the orphanage. I get off of my horse and then go inside.

On the first floor, there are rows of table, in the front of the room there is a board looking thing. On the big desk there are white sticks. Those must be used for writing on the board. I look around the room and it’s amazing. I see a door wide open. I go through the door and there is a staircase.

I walk up the staircase. At the top there is one giant room with two fireplaces. There are about fifteen kids beds and two bassinets. There are two doors on the other side of the room. Both are open. One is a bathhouse and the other looks like a room for the three women. The kids are running around the room placing their things in their trunks at the end of the bed. This whole place is amazing. I look to Waverly and she has the biggest smile on her face. I walk over, wrap my arm around her waist.

“This place looks amazing, Waves. You did a good job.” Waverly looks up at me and kisses the underside of my jaw,

“We did good.” Waverly and I only stay at the orphanage for a few hours. It was a hard goodbye but we promised them to come back soon. Jessica seemed to be very heartbroken. Waverly and I are on our way back. So far we have been silent the whole time.

“Have you, thought about, taking one of them in?” I look at her and nod. I look back at the road. “I was thinking after everything settles down we should talk about adopting the baby boy.” I smile and turn to Waverly.

“I would love to talk about this more, but definitely after everything has calmed down.” She smiles at me, I look back at the road.

We get back to the castle and Waverly is swept away leaving me alone. I walk back to my room and sit at the table. I grab the piece of paper Sir Marcus gave me and start to read it. Tomorrow is going to be so stressful.

Chapter Text

Today is the day of my coronation. I am so nervous. I haven’t slept all night, I have been just staring at the ceiling. The sun is slowly rising. The shadows on the walls are changing and moving along them. My arm is feeling better. I have decided to stop wearing the sling. I’m pretty sure healer Laurence will be upset but I’m not too worried.

There is a knock at the door. I peel Waverly off of me and get up. I open the door and Glenda has an armful of clothes. I let her in.

“Good morning, I have all of your clothes ready. I wanted to bring them here before the coronation.” She walks to the table and sets the clothes down. She hands me the suit for tonight.

“Go try that on. I want to make sure it fits alright. I don’t need our new King looking like a fool in front of our allies.” I smile and take the clothes. I try them on in the bathhouse. I walk out, Waverly is sitting at the table with a robe on. Glenda covers her mouth with her hands.

“You look great, it fits perfectly.” Glenda walks over and adjusts a few things on my shoulders. She takes out a few wrinkles and then places the sash over me. I look at Waverly and she is just smiling at me. She is sipping tea.

“You look very handsome in your suit.” She stands up and kisses me. “Now get out of it so you don’t get a stain on it.” I laugh and head back to the bathhouse. I get back in my pajamas and then walk out with the suit in my arms.

“I hanged up your other clothes, hang that suit up and you’ll be fine.” I hang it up and then thank Glenda for all of her hard work. She says it’s not a problem. Glenda leaves our room. I turn to Waverly, she has a wide smile.

“What are you wearing to the coronation?” Waverly sighs then stands up.

“I’m not sure. I was thinking my red dress. It looks really good with my tiara. Or maybe my blue dress.” She pats my chest then goes to her wardrobe.

A few minutes after Lucinda walks in with food. She has a wide smile on her face

“I brought you two breakfast. Your favorites for each.” She nods once then leaves the room. I sit down at the table and lift up the cover. My plate has eggs and bacon with bread. Waverly’s must be porridge and fruit. Waverly sits across from me. She lifts up the cover and it is porridge and fruit. I smile at her, we start to eat. I pop the eggs and dip the bread in the yolk.

“Are you nervous to be King? You can be honest with me.” I look up at Waverly. I swallow what I am chewing and nod.

“I don’t want to ruin this Kingdom. I don’t want to misjudge anyone and I don’t want to make any laws that will put the Kingdom on an up rise.” Waverly takes my hand from across the table.

“When I was getting ready for my coronation I was twelve. Was very worried that no one would respect me as a Queen. I was right. I was a kid and I am an omega. When I first became Queen I had an Adviser named Shorty. Gus was good friends with him. He helped me make the decision to make new allies. He died before it happened. Then Xavier took the credit because he had to. Anyways, I have been Queen for six years now. I will help you. I will be by your side every step of the way. We are in this together, You just have to trust me. I was scared to, trust me.” I grin and squeeze her hand. Knowing Waverly is going to be my side is very calming. Waverly is very calming. We bot finish up eating breakfast.

I lay back down in bed. I place my hands behind my head and watch Waverly move around the room. She still can’t decide on what she wants to wear. Laying on the bed are three dresses. A yellow one, a blue one, and a red one. She is looking at the dresses with her brow furrowed.

“Babe, you could always wear the red one. I have the red sash. We could match.” She looks up at me and grins.

“I like that idea. I would love to match with you.” She hops on the bed and curls into my side. I wrap my arm around her. Waverly looks up at me and I kiss her softly. Waverly starts to move so she is lying on top of me. I grin into the kiss. She starts to grind down on my lap. I groan into the kiss. Waverly slips her tongue in my mouth. She kisses me deeply and full of passion. The room is filling with the smell of baked apples.

I pull away and look up at her while I catch the my breath. Her pupils are blown. She’s still grinding down. I flip so Waverly is on her back and I’m hovering over her. She wraps her arms around my neck. She pulls me closer to her.

“We shouldn’t do anything the Gods might get mad about.” Waverly nods, she leans up and kisses me hard. Waverly pushes at my shoulders. I sit on my butt then lean against the bed frame. I look down at my shorts. My eyes widen. I rush across the bed and grab a pillow.

“What’s wrong?” I look up at Waverly and she has this confused look on her face. My rut is slowly starting.

“I think I am umm, starting my rut because of your heat.” Her eyes widen. She makes an oh face then looks down at the pillow. My face starts to heat up. She looks away from the pillow and up at me.

“I did that?” I look away and nod. I look back at her and she is smirking.

“Come on, you're my big alpha and you’re getting embarrassed?” My brow furrows. I squint at her.

“I am not embarrassed. I just don’t want to make you too uncomfortable.” Waverly scoffs then laughs.

“I straddled your hips, I am not uncomfortable.” I nod slowly and just sit there. She gets up and grabs the red dress.

“I am going to bathe. When I get out you need to go and bathe. We need to be ready before midday. I need to stop at the blacksmith to get your crown. I need to crown you, a sign of passing on power.” I smile weakly. She leans over the bed and kisses me quick. I kiss her back then she heads into the bathhouse. As soon as the door shuts I lay down and huff out. I am only a little embarrassed but she doesn’t need to know that.

A few minutes pass and it goes down, Waverly walks out of the bathroom. She has the dress on, the back is untied.

“Come here and tie this for me.” I get off of the bed and walk over to her slowly. My heart feels like it’s in my throat. She turns, I grab the strings and start to pull them through the holes.

“Where did you learn to do this?” I grin and keep lacing up the back.

“My mother loved her dresses. She would work in them. I used to do this all of the time.” I finish lacing her dress and knotting it. I turn her around then peck her lips. “There, you look beautiful.” She pushes her hair behind her ear. I kiss her cheek then grab my suit from the closet along with new underwear. I head into the bathhouse and take a very fast bath. I get out and dry off fast. I look around and sigh. This is it. This is the day that I become King. the day that a whole Kingdom rests on my shoulders. Until I pass my first law, making the King and Queen equals the whole Kingdom relies on me. I get dressed then walk out of bathhouse. My boots are on the table. They are beautiful white boots. I am going to wear the black ones though. I sit at the table then get my boots on.

I stand up and look at Waverly. She has the biggest smile on her face.

“You look very handsome. The sash really works on you.” I walk over and kiss her forehead. She wraps her arms around me and I do the same. I look out the window and it’s nearing midday. Waverly pulls away.

“I am going to get your crown now. I will meet you at the tower.” We kiss quick then she leaves. The door shuts, I immediately start to pace the room. I groan and throw my head back. When I walk out there I need to show confidence. No weakness. I need to show myself as the alpha the people need.

There is a knock at the door. I comb my hair out quick then get the door. It’s Glenda. She looks me up and down. Her hand goes over her chest.

“You look amazing, love. Now all you have to do it go to that tower and say the oath. That’s all.” She takes my arm then loops our arms together. I shut the door behind me then we walk to the tower.

“Everyone is waiting for you. As they should. Remember to exude strength and confidence. All of the important Lords and Ladies are here.” I nod once. She taps my hand. “Don’t worry. Just keep your eyes on Waverly as you walk up to Sir Marcus. She will keep you calm.” We stop in front of the doors. Glenda kisses my cheek then walks into the room. I roll my shoulders back. I open the doors and start to walk in. The people stand up. Waverly is standing next to Sir Marcus. I walk to them with confidence. Never showing an ounce of fear. Once I am there they all sit. Waverly has a wide smile on her face.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are here today to witness the coronation of Nicole Haught. She will be the next King of the Kingdom. After spending nearly a year fighting in the trials our Queen has set up, she came out victorious. She has proven herself as a worthy King. Now, are you ready to take the oath?” I swallow hard and nod. He has me kneel on one knee. I can feel my heart in my chest.

“I, Nicole Haught, promise to the Gods to protect the five Kingdoms. House Holiday, House McCready, House Gibson, House Gardner, and House Earp. I promise to keep law and be merciful towards the people. I promise to hold the Gods laws across the land. I promise to be a kind and loyal King. To keep my peoples needs over my own. To be an example for the people to follow. To be the alpha the Kingdom needs. To be it’s protector.” I said it all correctly. I smile quick. Waverly grins down at me.

“Do you solemnly swear to keep these promises?” I nod and start to speak.

“For the Gods as my witness, I promise.” He takes a step back. Waverly takes out the crown. There are eight points. The one in the front is the biggest. There is a big red gem right in the front. The rest of the gems around the sides are green, blue, and yellow. She places it on my head. Oh my gods, it’s like forty pounds. She takes a step back. Sir Marcus taps my shoulders with a scepter. He takes a step back then holds both of his hands in the air.

“All hail King Haught!” I stand up and turn to the crowd. They are standing up and looking at me. In unison they say,

“All hail King Haught!” They keep repeating it. Waverly takes my arm and leads me out of the tower. As soon as the door shuts behind us they stop saying it. Waverly pulls my face down, she kisses me hard. Waverly has her tiara on her head. She pulls away then stand next to me. The people start to file out one by one. All bowing as they leave. I slightly bow back to each. King Mec stands in front of me.

“You’re gonna be a good King. Remember, I am going to call on you in time of war. I need a giant slayer on my side.” He shakes my hand then walks away. The Queen Brina says something similar. The elves give me wisdom on ruling correctly. The last people to walk out are my father, brother, Gus, and Curtis.

“Look at you two. The kind benevolent rulers this Kingdom needs. The two who are going to make us a prosperous Kingdom. One that others will strive to be like.” This is Lord Curtis speaking. Gus pats my cheek and hugs Waverly.

“You two be good. I’m sure we won’t have much time to speak tomorrow after the wedding. We will see you on the tour.” Gus kisses both of our cheeks. The two of them walk away. My dad wraps me in a hug.

“You’re doing great kid. I couldn’t be more proud.” He pulls away then hugs Waverly. I look at Sam and he has tears in his eyes.

“I didn’t think you were really going to win. What am I going to do without you around. Who is going to teach me how to sword fight, or, or how to be a great farmer?” My father slaps the back of his head.

“I can do all of those things.” Sam looks up at him.

“Yea but you’re getting old. You’re not as good.” My father squints at Sam. I squat down and look up at Sam.

“Sam, you can come down to this castle whenever you want. Send a letter and a guard will come and pick you up. Okay? I’m still your sister, I plan on being the best sister I can. Waverly sent the papers to Pa’s room. The farm is yours. If you want to sell the farm and be a blacksmith then you can do that. Your future is yours and I will support you.” I pull him into a hug. He hugs me back. I pull back. “No more tears. I will see you two tomorrow.” I kiss his forehead then stand up. Waverly takes my arm. My father and brother walk away.

“You’re so good with kids. It’s crazy.” I laugh. We start to head back to our room. We get back to our room and I take the crown off of my head.

“That thing, is heavy.” Waverly laughs and takes her off. We place them on the table. I pick hers up and it’s barely heavy. I look at her with my eyes wide.

“Want to switch?” Waverly giggles and takes hers from my hands. She places it on my head. It is just a tad too small. She laughs at me and sits down at the table. I sit across from her then take it off.

“How does it feel? To be King?” I sit back and sigh.

“I am already stressed.” Waverly gets off of her chair and sits in my lap. She kisses my cheek, she places soft kisses on my cheek. They start to trail down to the side of my neck. I close my eyes, I place my hand on her lower back. She pulls back, we look each other in the eyes.

“After dinner, you need to go to a different room. I want my dress to be a surprise.” I grin. We both lean forward and connect our lips. She smells like baked apples and it’s driving me crazy. I press my hand harder on her lower back. Trying to draw her closer to me. Her body is pressed against mine. Her mouth is hot against mine. I trail kisses down to her neck. Waverly wraps her arms around my neck pulling me closer to her. Waverly moans into the room. A surge of lust and desire courses through my body. My teeth graze over her pulse point. Waverly tightens her grips around my neck.

I pull back to look at Waverly. Her face and neck are red. She’s breathing fast. Her chest rising and falling. Waverly grinds down hard on my lap. I surge forward and growl in her ear. Waverly starts to whimper.

“Waves,” She looks at me with wide eyes.

“Hmm?” She points her attention to my neck. She sucks and licks. My eyes start to drift shut. She is grinding slowly. I snap back to reality.

“Maybe I should go now. I don’t think we will be able to stay in the same room until dinner. Your heat is getting worse which is making my rut bad.” She smiles weakly at me. I lean forward, we connect our lips one last time.

"Someone has a lot of self control for being an alpha in a rut." She gets off of my lap. I go to my wardrobe and grab my suit, pajamas. Then I go to the table and grab my crown.

“Yea, I have had a lot of time practicing self control. I will see you tomorrow my love.” Waverly cups my cheeks and nods.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Nicky.” I pull away and walk out of the room. I walk down the hall to my brothers room. I knock on his door. Sam opens the door and smiles at me.

“What are you doing here?” I walk in and set my things down on his table.

“Waverly thought it would be a good idea for us to stay in separate rooms tonight.” The door shuts and I turn to him. The smile is still on his face. I walk over and mess up his hair.

“What’s the real reason?” I feel my cheeks heat up.

“Buddy, you know why I am getting married early. She is starting her heat. She is, handsy.” Sam grins. He sits at the table and looks at my crown.

“I’m really never going to see you. You’re going to be here being a King. I’ll be home. Working.” He looks up at me with tears in his eyes. I have to say, my father really raised us right. Sam and I both have emotions. That’s great for us to have. I feel as though most alphas show no emotion. I sit next to him and pull him to me.

“I promise you I will send for you twice a year. You will stay here for a month and we will spend time together. I will see you, you will see my kids and my wife. I am not Jon.” He wraps his arms around me. Sam and I sit there for what feels like hours. I pull away then mess up his hair.

“Lets go sneak to the kitchen and get some food.” Sam nods. We leave the room and head to the kitchen. We walk in and the cooks go silent.

“Well don’t stop talking on my account. I know how well you lot work. You can talk.” They look at each other then back at me.

“Yes, Your Grace.” I roll my eyes. We walk up to Robin.

“Hi, do you think we could get some chicken and bread?” Robin nods and leaves us for a few minutes. He comes back with two plate. I grab a pitcher of ale.

“Thank you, Robin.” He bows to me without saying a word. I shake my head then leave the kitchen. The staff knows me. I’m no different. We make our way back to his room. Once on there we sit and start on dinner. Sam and I sit in silence as we eat.

“How are your studies going? When I left you were reading on our history.” Sam doesn’t look me in the eyes. “If you aren’t studying I don’t care. I never studied.” Sam looks up at me with a slight grin.

“The farm has just been keeping me so busy. I can’t do much.” I smile weakly at him and continue to eat. Sam and I finish up dinner. Once we finish dinner we get changed into pajamas. Sam crawls into bed. I lay on the floor.

“I can’t believe you’re letting your King sleep on the floor.” Sam moves to the edge of the bed and looks down at me.

“In my mind, you’re my sister first and King second. So you can sleep with the horses for all I care.” I laugh, he giggles. Sam moves back onto his bed so he is laying proper.

“Well I own this castle now, so that’s my bed.” Sam moves back over the edge. He is shaking his head.

“You’ve gotten spoiled here. This is my bed. You’ll have to rip it from my cold dead hands before you can have it.” I roll my eyes then push his face. He laughs for a moment. I use my arm as a pillow then stare at the ceiling.

Tomorrow I am getting married. Waverly suggested the other day that we write our own vows. I have an idea of what I want to say. I hope it’s as good as whatever she says. She is so much smarter than me. She is just so much better than me in the first place. I grin as I think about her. My eyes start to drift shut with Waverly on my mind.

“All right, rise and shine.” I open my eyes then groan. I sit up, I rub my eyes. Glenda is standing in the doorway looking at me. “I don’t care if you’re King or not, you’re going to be on time for your wedding. Now up.” I stand up. My arms are up in the air for a stretch.

“Why do I need to be woken up?” Sam sits up out of bed with an angry look on his face. Glenda throws an outfit on the bed.

“Because you need to get ready too. You are apart of a noble family. That means you need to dress the part. Your father already has his now get up.” Sam sighs but gets out of bed. I mess up his hair.

“That’s how mom was if you were ever curious. Glenda reminds me a lot of mom.” Sam looks at me then to her. He smiles, grabs his outfit, then goes to the bathhouse. I shake my head as he disappears.

“He really had you sleeping on the ground?” I laugh and nod. She chuckles, she sits at the table. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Wynonna made Waverly sleep on the floor too in your room.” I laugh and sit across from her. Lucinda walks in with coffee. It’s a new drink that we got from the ape humans. I drink the coffee and lean back in the chair.

“Is everyone really going to be treating me differently?” Glenda nods. She takes the other cup and drinks it. She spits it back out into the cup then starts to speak.

“First, that is terrible. I have no clue how you are drinking that. Second, yes. You are going to be treated very differently. I don’t care how I treat you because I am the best seamstress in the Kingdom. Everyone else, well they can be replaced.” I nod. I take in what she just told me.

“What if I make a castle meeting? We all talk in the dining room. I let them know their jobs are safe.” Glenda shrugs.

“That could work but, who knows.” The bathhouse door opens. Sam walks out in his new clothes. He looks very handsome. I get up. He messes up his own hair for me. I grab my suit and walk into the bathroom. I change into the suit quick. I walk out and look at the two of them. Glenda has a wide smile.

“You look very handsome.” My cheeks heat up.

“Thank you.” there is a knock at the door. I answer it, it’s one of the servants.

“There are people heading into the throne room for the wedding. I think it would be wise for you to head down.” I slightly bow to the servant. I turn and grab my crown. Smiling to Sam and Glenda, I walk out of the room to the throne room. As I walk towards the throne room, my shoulders roll back and my chest puffs out. I walk into the throne room. There are about one hundred people already. Guards are holding them back.

The throne room is loud, everyone is either trying to talk to me or just trying to talk louder than one another. Sir Marcus is standing next to me. He is the one marrying the two of us.

“Are you ready to get married?” A smile spreads across my face.

“I am very ready to get married.” He nods once then looks straight ahead again. More and more people are pouring in. King Mec and his sons. The elves. I am starting to get nervous. I start to jump on my toes. Wynonna walks in with Lord Doc and Lady Alice. I smile to them and Wynonna just nods to me. My father walks in with Sam. My palms are getting sweaty.

After waiting for twenty minutes. Everyone starts to quiet down. The musicians start to play. My palms are sweaty. My eyes are focused on the doors. The doors open. Waverly walks in. I have to stay serious. I can’t show emotion, especially in front of the people. I smile though. She is so beautiful. Her sleeves are long and hanging at her sides. The front has laces that are crossing throughout the front. She has a white flower crown on her head.

Curtis is walking her down the aisle. My heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest. She gets up to me, Waverly has the widest smile on her face. Curtis hands me her hand. I take it carefully.

“You look beautiful.” It comes out as a whisper. She looks down then back up at me.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to witness a marriage. A marriage between two people who have found love. The Gods say that there is one soulmate made for each person. That to finding a soulmate takes one out of a hundred people. These two think they have found their soulmates. I was informed that they were to write their own vows along with the ones of the Gods. King Nicole,” He gestures to me. I bring my fist to my mouth and cough into it.

“Waverly, I promise to take you and only you as my own. To always work out our problems. To love you with all of my heart. To take care of you and our families. To treat you with respect. To make sure the world sees us as equals. I vow to spend the rest of my life trying to give you the world.” Waverly has tears in her eyes.

“Umm, I was not expecting that. Mine aren’t like that.” I squeeze her hand.

“It’s fine. Tell me what you have written down.” Waverly nods, her eyes close. When she opens them she starts to speak.

“Nicole, you have been my knight in shining armor since I was five. You saved me for my horse and the people laughing at me. Ever since then I have been waiting for my knight in shining armor to come back. The trials were created to draw out the boy who helped me when I was so young. Little did I know my knight is a women. That fact didn’t deter me. You were still kind, smart, handsome, you were and are still all I expected. Nicole, I promise to love you with all of my heart. To take care of you how I am expected. To be the wife you deserve.” A tear slips down my cheek. We squeeze each others hands.

“Now, for the vows of the gods. Repeat me. With this ring, I take you as mine. To love you in sickness and in health. Take care of you as the Gods want me to.” That’s it? I take the ring out of my pocket and place it on the beginning of her finger. I repeat what he told me to say then slide the ring on her finger. Waverly’s hands are shaking. Waverly has the ring just in her hand. She places it on the edge of my finger then recites the words. Once done she places the ring fully on my finger.

“With the power invested in me by the Gods, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your wife.” I smile at her, I pull Waverly to me by her waist. I tip her head up with my thumb then kiss her with passion. The crowd claps behind us, it is slowly drowning out. All that’s on my mind is Waverly and her lips. Waverly pulls back, the world comes back to me. I open my eyes and she is smiling at me.

Waverly and I walk down the aisle hand in hand. As we walk down the aisle, they throw rice at us. I pull Waverly to me and we jog out of the throne room. We need to go to the reception which is being held in the dining room.

“We’re married.” I pick her up and spin. Waverly giggles.

“We are married.” I cup her cheek and kiss her slowly. Waverly wraps her arms around my neck and pushes my head closer to hers. The throne room doors open and people start to file out. Waverly pulls away. We look at the first few to leave and then run off to the dining room. Once there we both just laugh. We go to the door and wait for them to arrive. I have to greet all of the guests as they walk in. Waverly gets to stay by my side and nod to the guests.

They start to walk in. One at a time. I shake all of the Lord’s hands, kiss the top of the Ladies. We get to the end of the crowd, my hand is starting to get sore from all of the shaking. Once everyone is in, Waverly and I sit at the head of the table. Side by side. This is the only occasion that we are allowed to, after the laws are passed that will change. There will be two thrones instead of the one. Waverly taps my leg. I look to her then the crowd.

“Right, I want to thank all of you for coming to our wedding. We really appreciate all of you who have traveled long distances to be here. We also want to thank all of you who have given us gifts. You have no idea how grateful we are. Your generosity won’t go unnoticed. Now, let’s begin eating.” They all clap. The servants come out with platters of food. They place them all throughout the different tables. King Mec and his sons are the only ones who are at a different table due to their food.

Everyone looks to me and waits for me to start eating. Waverly taps my leg again. I reach forward and start to fill my plate with food. The others join in once my plate is full. Out of respect I wait for everyone to finish filling up their plates. I grab a piece of bread and raise it. I take a bite then the rest join in eating. Small talk fills the dining room. Once we are all done eating we are to go to the ballroom for some dancing. Out of the corner of my eyes, Waverly is fanning herself with a napkin. I look at her.

“Sorry, it’s really warm in here.” I furrow my brow and shake my head no.

“The room is rather cool. The walls are stone, we have only two windows. It’s cool.” Waverly just shrugs and keeps fanning herself. All of a sudden a strong smell of heat and baked apples hit my nose. I think her heat it going to start tonight.

“Waves,” I lean over so I’m close to her ear. “I think your heat is going to start tonight.” Waverly looks at me with eyes wide.

“Really?” I nod and kiss the side of her head. Her legs are crossed very tightly. “I think you’re right.” I grin and just kiss her cheek again. I go back to my plate and try to eat. It’s kind of hard to knowing Waverly is going to be in a heat soon.

Waverly hardly eats. The rest of the guests seem to have eaten. I stand up, Waverly does as well.

“Whoever would care to join us in the ballroom, we are leaving now. If you wish to head home that is fine too. If you are leaving thank you for coming. Waverly and I really appreciate your presence.” I take Waverly’s hand, we head to the ballroom. Waverly feels extremely warm her hands are sweaty. We get to the ballroom, we sit at the head of the table here. We don’t have to dance. We can just sit here and watch the rest of them dance.

It is way past sundown. Waverly is getting more and more antsy as we sit here. She is nearly dripping sweat. She is basically on top of me at this point. All of the guests that are here are drunk. They wouldn’t even noticed if we slipped out of the room.

I stand up slowly then take her hand. She takes and we sneak around the room. No one is paying any attention to us. We get out of the ballroom. Waverly lets out a breath. She tightens her grip on my hand then pulls me to the staircase.

“My heat started. I need you now, Nicky.” My heart begins to quicken. Waverly drags me into our room. I shut the door behind me then turn to Waverly. Well this should be an interesting night.

Chapter Text

The door shuts behind me. I look to Waverly, her eyes are blown out. Pupils are nearly the size of saucers. I start to fiddle with my hands. Worry and nerves are starting to course through my body. I take steps towards her. Waverly meets me halfway. She entgales her fingers in my hair, she pulls me to her. Our lips connect, she is on fire. I place my hands on her waist. I can feel the heat coming off of her.

I pull away, Waverly follows my lips. She is whimpering with her eyes closed. I get out of her grip. Blood is rushing south, I can feel my control slowly slipping away. I wet a towel with some water in the bathhouse. I make my way back to Waverly. She is sitting on the bed with nearly all of her clothes off. I swallow hard and walk towards her. I press the towel to her forehead. She leans into the towel. Her eyes close.

“That feels really nice.” I nod, slowly I sit next to her still holding the towel to her forehead. I move it down to her neck. She moans at the contact. I squirm, My pants are feeling tight. I spread my legs more. Waverly places her hand on mine. We stare at each other, I can see the lust and need in her eyes. “Please,” I stand up and start to take my clothes off. I start with my crown, then my boots, that leads to my shirt and pants. I turn back to Waverly. She is on the bed, her head near the pillows. She is slowly starting to take off the last piece of clothing. It’s a nightgown type, thing.

I watch her slowly start to take off the piece of clothing. My eyes widen and my jaw drops. She takes it off and throws it to the side of the bed. She sit up slightly, all of her weight on her elbows. I slowly start to stalk over to her. I get over to the bed. I hover over her. I look down and admire her body. Her perfect breasts, nipples hard. My eyes drift farther down her body. A shiver runs down my body of lust and excitement. I look back up, into her eyes. I can’t help the wolfish grin that spreads across my face. I lean down and kiss Waverly hard. Full of passion and lust.

Waverly moves her face to the side, showing her neck. A sign of submission. I place rough kisses all along her throat and across her chest. Waverly is whimpering and squirming with every kiss. I sit up and take my shirt off, then my boxer shorts. Before Waverly has the chance to even look at me, I kiss her again. Her warm lips on mine, her tongue swiping against mine. All of the smells and touches are overwhelming.

Waverly’s muscles are starting to tense. I bring my right hand down and grab her leg at the hollow of the knee and wrap it around my waist. Waverly starts to whimper again. She pulls back and looks me in the eyes.

“Nicky, please, I can’t take it anymore.” I bring her lips back to mine. Her hand is snaked between our bodies. She pulls my cock and my hips buck into her hand. She is slowly leading it to her sex. The head grazes her sex and I can feel the heat radiating off of her center. Waverly gasps in between kisses. My other hand goes to her side. Feeling the dips and bumps of her ribs. She feels soft, warm, wet. Waverly grabs me by the shoulders and starts to pull me.

“More,” I groan against her lips, moving down to her neck, I slowly push more and more. Waverly’s nails are digging into my back. I look up at her, her mouth is agape. Her eyes are scrunched up. My attention gets drawn back to her neck. I start to place open mouth kisses all along the side of her neck. My hand slowly making its way to her breast. Her body arches up. My hand gets to her breast, I pull her nipple with my fingers. Waverly moans into the bedroom.

I am still pushing inside of her. My whole knot is nearly inside of there. Grazing my teeth over her neck. Waverly pushes her neck closer to my teeth. Begging for me to mark her. Claim her as my own. Waverly feels so tight. My control is slipping away faster and faster. My cock is getting harder and harder with every push. I pull my hips back so I am almost out of her. I slam back and she starts to quiver. Waverly moans loud into the room. Her silky walls are pulsating. I slam back into her again, Waverly wraps her arms tight around my neck. Pulling me in closer to her lips.

She connects our lips. I start to thrust into her at a slow pace. Both of my hands are on the bed trying to keep some of my weight off of her. My eyes slip shut, I relish the feeling of Waverly. Her arms around my neck, her sex that is engulfing me. All of it. I open my eyes. Waverly’s face is twisted with pleasure. I can feel the knot slowly forming at the base of my cock. My pace picks up, Waverly tightens her legs that are around me She is trying to pull me closer and closer.

Looking down at her neck, I decide to mark her tonight. The room is filling with a musky smell that is just very Waverly. My teeth graze over her pulse point again, after that little move I can feel her walls tightening against my cock. I growl into her ear, my eyes shut and I groan with pleasure. My attention gets focused back on her neck.

I lean down to her collarbone, I wrap my teeth around her shoulder muscle and bite. Waverly cries out. The metallic taste of blood is filling my mouth. I pull back and watch Waverly. Her moans are getting gradually louder. I thrust faster and faster into her. I look down at Waverly, she is coming undone beneath me. Her legs are shaking, breathing is erratic. Pressure is building at my knot. I thrust into her and close my eyes. Before I even know it I am locked into her. Leaning over her, exploding inside of her. Waverly is kissing lightly at my neck. Every couple of kisses she’ll suck or nibble. I slowly open my eyes. Waverly is smiling up at me. Her walls are tightening and releasing around me. A growl escapes, Waverly giggles at me.

“Calm down.” I nod then wrap my arms around her. I lay on my back. Waverly is resting on top of me. Her face is squished against mine. My eyes are starting to drift shut. I keep opening and closing them as I look at her. My knot is slowly starting to loosen. Waverly is pushing my hair out of my face.

“Go to sleep. It’s okay.” I nod drowsily then fall asleep.

I wake up to the smell of food. Eggs and bacon. My eyes open. I look around, Waverly is sitting at the table with my shirt from yesterday on. She is sitting and eating porridge. I get out of bed. The air is cold, I have no pants on. I look around the room. My underwear is on the ground, I pick it up then put it on. I go to my wardrobe and put on an undershirt.

“Morning, Nicky.” I turn to Waverly. She has a wide smile on her face. I make my way over to her then kiss her softly.

“Good morning, Waves. How did you sleep last night?” I sit down across from her. Then the lid to my food is taken off. I grin down at the food then I look uo at her.

“I slept amazingly, I fell asleep right after you. How did you sleep?” I finish chewing the bite I took.

“I slept really good. Like a rock.” Waverly smile then continues to eat. I think about last night. A smile forms on my face. Being with Waverly was one of the best experiences of my life. She’s so soft and calming. I feel like I can do or be anything when I am with her.

The two of us finish up breakfast. After breakfast we go back into bed. Waverly cuddles into my side. I run my fingers through her hair. We don’t say a word, we just lay there. Enjoying each others company.

“Nicky,” I look down to Waverly. Her cheeks are red. I kiss her forehead, she is warm again. After kissing her forehead, the smell of baked apples fills the room. My body reacts. Blood heading south.

“What, Waves?” She looks up at me and presses our lips together softly. This kiss doesn’t feel rushed, or filled with lust. It feels calm and natural. Waverly starts to push me on my back. I lay there and let Waverly crawl on top of me. As she does this, she never breaks the kiss.

Waverly is sitting on the lower part of my stomach. Before my pelvis. I grin into the kiss, Waverly does the same. We lay there, kissing and feeling each others bodies. Feeling all of the divots and perfect imperfections. Waverly pulls back, she looks into my eyes. I run my hands over the soft skin of her back. Enjoying the way her eyes close at the contact.

“I want to take this slow. I want, want to make love.” Waverly is shy all of a sudden. Not even looking me in the eyes. I tilt her head to look at me. I lean up and capture her lips with mine. I lay back down slowly, Waverly cups my cheeks with her hands.

My hands drop to her waist, Waverly pulls away then takes off her shirt. As soon as it’s off she starts to kiss me again light but still passionate. I pull her hips, she grinds down on my stomach. She moans between our kiss.

Waverly slightly gets up and she takes my underwear off then she grabs my cock in her hand. She looks at me, asking for permission. I nod, Waverly lines up her soaking center to my cock. She slowly eases herself onto me. A growl is rumbling in my chest. Waverly places her hands on my chest. Her head is thrown forward so I can’t see her face. As she eases herself, she moans louder and louder. I place my hands softly on her hips. Not pushing her down faster, just to rest them there.

I let her take her time adjusting to the size. She is getting closer and closer to where the knot is starting to form. She looks up at me, I fix her hair so I can see those gorgeous eyes. She nods to me and I nod back not knowing what she is about to do. Waverly slams herself the rest of the way. She leans forward and moans out. I can’t help but moan as well. We both just sit there and get used to the feeling.

Waverly pushes herself up and starts to suck on my neck. I move my head to the side showing my neck to her. I know this is a sign of submission but, if she is to mark me she needs access to my neck. Waverly starts to move her hips back and forth. Another growl starts to rumble through my chest. What she is doing feels amazing. She move down to my collarbone, she starts to suck and nibble there too.

I start to groan, it turns into a growl. She starts to move her hips back and forth faster and faster. My hands tighten on her waist. She bites down harder and harder each time. All I want to do is thrust into her but I am letting her be in charge, letting her keep the pace. She stops biting and grinding. I look up at her she is slowly climbing off of me. She lays down next to me then looks at me. I climb over her body I look down. I align everything then slowly start to push into her. She is leaning up and kissing my neck. I feel my knot enter then I start to thrust slowly. Waverly tightens her arms around my neck then pulls me closer. She is moaning quietly in my ear. All of the sensations are building up. Waverly starts to bite my neck hard again but not the way to leave a mark.

My thrusts are picking up as she bites into my neck. I close my eyes and enjoy the warm feeling that is spreading all over my body. I moan out into the bedroom. Waverly pulls away from my neck and breaths. Her breaths are quickening and she starts to moan out into the bedroom. I open my eyes to look at her. Her hair is sprawled out over the pillow, her face is scrunched with concentration and pleasure. Chest is heaving. Both her face and neck are beet red.

Waverly opens her eyes, we make eye contact. She pulls my face towards hers for a bruising kiss. All fire and lust, she starts to push back against me. I thrust into her harder. She moves back to my neck. I can feel the knot swelling up. Soon it’s going to lock. I close my eyes again. My thrusts are becoming erratic, the pace is wavering. The knot locks in, we both moan loudly. Waverly clamps her teeth onto my shoulder. My whole body starts to tingle. I can feel all of her emotions, happiness, desire, love. Her walls are pulsating against my cock, trying to milk every last drop.

We press our foreheads together, breathing the same air. I move to my side, still locked into Waverly. We both are on our side looking at each other. She pushes forward and kisses me quick. We lay there sharing kisses until my knot unlocks from her.

“I love you, Waverly.” She looks up at me the cups my cheek.

“I love you too, Nicole.”

~Three days later~

Waverly and I have been spending the past three days in our room making love. Her heats seem to be short, only four days. Being this intimate with Waverly has been amazing. I have never felt so close to anyone before in my life. It’s like we have this new connection after we bit each other. It’s amazing.

I roll onto my side and look at Waverly. She is still sleeping, facing away from me. The blankets are pulled all the way up to her neck. I scoot over to her then wrap my arm around her. Waverly starts to stir in her sleep. She turns over to me, she smiles at me with a sleepy grin. I move her hair out of her face.

“Morning, baby.” Waverly starts to caress my jaw after saying it. I grin and lean forward. Our lips connect quick and soft.

“Morning, Waves.” She wraps her arms around me, I go to my back. She lays her head on my chest. I start to rub her back.

“How are you feeling this morning?” I look down at her, she looks up at me waiting for an answer.

“I am feeling really, really hungry this morning. How about we get dressed and sneak off to the kitchen?” Waverly sits up and nods really fast.

“I am starving. Come on.” Waverly gets out of bed. I watch her walk around the room with a wide smile on my face. She looks at me then smiles. “Enjoying the show?” I laugh then get out of bed. All I have on are my boxer shorts. I pull Waverly flush against my body. She giggles, wraps her arms around my neck.

“I am very much enjoying the show.” Waverly presses our lips together then pulls away. She moves around the room looking for clothes. I pull on an old undershirt. Waverly has on my shorts and one of my shirts. We walk out of our room hand in hand.

Once we get to the kitchen the staff goes silent again. We are literally have the rest of today then that is it. Tomorrow we are heading out to all of the Kingdoms. The last stop is the farm. We are going to stay there for a few days then we are heading back here and starting to make laws.

The next few weeks are going to be hell. The both of us really don’t want to go around to all of the Kingdoms. It’s so the people can see their King and Queen. I take a step ahead of Waverly.

“Guys, I don’t want to be treated any differently than I have in the past. I am the same person I was four days ago. I just have a title. Please, treat me normally. I would prefer that over this whole silent thing.” The staff looks around at each other.

“We umm, are just going to need some time to get used to it. It took about a week for us to get used to Waverly. You, you’re an alpha. It may take some time but we will work on it.” The head cook is speaking. I nod once.

“I understand. Just please, know that you can be comfortable around me.” Waverly loops her arm through mine. One of the cooks hands the two of us a plater. We thank them then make our way back to our room. I can’t wrap my head around why they would want me to be King but then act strange in front of me. I just don’t get it.

“Baby, don’t worry about it. It will just take some time. They really do need to get used to you. I promise when we get back that they will be treating you like normal.” She pecks my lips then sits down at our table.

I sit across from her, we both start to eat breakfast. I know Waverly is right. I know they just need time but man, I hate making people feel like I am better than them. I finish up my bacon and eggs. Waverly is still eating her fruit. I get up and go to the bathhouse. I look at the bath and stare at it for awhile. I don’t know how they heat up and clean the water. The water in the bath is clear but it’s cold. I drop to my hands and knees. There looks like a little spot for where I can light a fire.

I light the fire under the bath. I leave the room then look at Waverly. She is looking at some of her clothes. I hug her from behind then rest my chin on her shoulder.

“I am going to take a bath, then we are going to go to the library to hang out and talk. This room needs to be aired out.” I grin then kiss the side of her neck. On her mark. Waverly shivers. I pull away then look for clothes in my wardrobe. I grab some of my older clothes and set them on the table. Waverly walks into the bathhouse. There is a knock at the door. I open it uo and Glenda walks in.

“Hi, I’m here for your sheets and your clothes.” She has a basket in her arms. She walks around the room grabbing clothes from the floor. I help her strip the bed. “So, have a fun past couple of days?” My cheeks heat up.

“Yea, uh I did.” She looks at me and grins.

“Well, the whole castle knows you two had a good couple of days.” I throw my head into my hands.

“Oh my gods, are you serious?” Glenda starts to laugh and nod. I sigh then look up at her.

“Oh yea. I’ll be back with you clothes and sheets before bed.” She turns then leaves the room. I sit at the table feeling mortified. Waverly walks out in a casual looking dress. I look up at her then explain the situation. She has a mortified look on her face too.

I get into the bath and take a quick one. I get out then get dressed. We head down to the library and sit on one of the couches.

“So umm, Nicky. Do you really want to adopt?” A smile blossoms on my face, I turn to her.

“I would really love to adopt. If we adopt maybe it could be one of the older kids though. Like Jessica or Jaxon.” Waverly nods slowly.

“Not the baby?” I sigh. I gather my thoughts then speak.

“We can have a baby you know? Those kids need, help and maybe getting one of the older kids would be better for them. Jessica and Jaxon already like us you know? Leaving them was heartbreaking for all of us.” Waverly curls into my side.

“I like that idea better. I like it a lot better.” I grin and kiss the top of her head. Waverly and I sit in silence. She has a book in her hands. I am just staring at the empty fireplace.

“Your dad mentioned while you were with healer Laurence that he would love for us to go done sometime. Maybe after we see all of the Kingdoms we could stay there for a few days.” She looks up at me after speaking. I can’t help the smile on my face.

“I would really love that, Waves.” She pushes up then kisses me quick. We spend the rest of the night in the living room. Just relaxing and enjoying each other’s company

Chapter Text

“Nicky, today is going to be easy. Stop worrying. Today we are going to the city, staying with a Lord then coming home right after we ride through. Tomorrow is an easy day. I would be more worried about the trip out to the other Kingdoms.” Waverly is rubbing her hands over my shoulders. Looking at me with soft, understanding eyes. I nod slowly, Waverly smiles at me.

“I’m just worried about getting robbed on the way over. The woods can be very dangerous. The way up to the North is four days. That’s four days travelling on the horse. Then from the North to the East is three days. Waverly, overall there are going to be twelve days of us just being in the woods this next month.” Waverly laughs and looks down at our feet then back up at me.

“We also are going to have twenty guards with us. Plus you, the giant slayer. It’s all going to be fine. I did this when I was just a child. You have nothing to worry about.” She goes on her toes then kisses my cheek. Waverly pats my chest then starts to help pack. I plop on the bed and stare at the ceiling. I am just worried that something bad will happen to Waverly or I on our way to the other Kingdoms. That is a reasonable worry to have. I groan then sit back up. Waverly is at her wardrobe packing for our day trip through the city.

I stand up and start to help Jeremy with my things. I pack two of the outfits that Glenda made me. Reginald came by earlier today with a much lighter and less formal crown to wear around this, tour. I know it’s not really a tour but it feels like one. I have never left the city aside from coming here to the castle for the trials and th one time to the South.

“Who else is coming with us beside the guards?” I turn to Waverly. She slowly turns to me with a dress against her body. She’s looking down at it.

“Umm, a few servants. Xavier is staying here for awhile. He said that while we are gone he would look after the Kingdom.” She looks up at me then continues. “Unless you have someone else in mind. It’s your choice now seeing you’re King.” I keep forgetting that. Waverly and I have this little bubble in our room. When it’s just the two of us I forget all about the world outside of here. Now, now I need to go out and let all of the people see me. Watch me as I ride through our city. Then ride through the Kingdoms. So they all can get a good look at their new King.

“Xavier is fine. He’s been doing this longer than me so I don’t see a problem with it.” Waverly looks back down at the dress then up at me.

“Well, what about this dress?” I grin and walk over to her. I look down at the dress. I glance over the dress then look at her face. My hands fall to her waist.

“Whatever you wear you look amazing in. “ Waverly sighs then throws the dress on the bed. She crosses her arms across her chest. She seems a little aggravated.

“Nicole, you’re going to have to give me real answers for this marriage to work. I know you think I look good in everything. I want to know if you think the dress, on its own merit, with me not in it, looks good?” Midway through all of that my eyes widened. I wasn’t expecting that. I look at the dress that is now on the bed. I walk over to it and pick it up. It’s gold and dark blue, the gold making a pattern over the dark blue. The sleeves are dark blue but lace. Seeing that it’s summer I see no problem with the dress. It is really beautiful. I turn to her and grin.

“Waves, the dress is beautiful. Pack it.” she smiles then takes the dress from my hands.

“See, was that so hard?” She shakes her head then hands the dress over to Lucinda. Jeremy is standing next to me.

“Everything you need is packed and ready to go. The last thing is your crown but you need to wear that when you leave.” I nod and look around the room. Gods am I going to miss my bed. Right now it’s about an hour after dawn. We have about twelve hours to get going to Lord Gibbs house. That should be more than enough time. Waverly says thank you to Lucinda then she leaves.

“Hey Jer, when I get back from the farm remind me to talk to the alchemist. I think it’s time you have your apprenticeship.” Jeremy wraps his arms around me in a tight hug.

“Thank you so much, Nicole. I really appreciate it.” He pulls away then wipes the tears from his eyes. I shake my head then pat his shoulder.

“No problem. Thank you for helping me pack. I appreciate it.” He waves me off then leaves the room with a goodbye to Waverly and I. Waverly and I both grab our crowns from the table. She loops her arm through mine. We head out of our room and down to the stable. I get Orthrus ready to go. I want to take him with me. I feel like I haven’t seen him in awhile. I get his saddle ready then lead him to the front gates. There are about twenty guards waiting there. One of them has a wagon with all of our stuff covered and neatly placed.

Waverly walks out with her horse. I walk over to her and offer my hand. She takes it, I give her a boost onto her horse. Waverly has her legs off to the side with the reins in her hands. I hop up on Orthrus with ease. The guards are looking to me and waiting for orders.

“Umm, lets go?” They wait a few seconds then a few of them trot ahead, the wagon goes, then we go. Behind us are some more guards. There are some more on each side of us. Waverly and I are pretty close.

“Nicky, you’re gonna need to start being more confident if you want them to respect you. You are the King of our Kingdom. You should say every choice like it’s the best one. Have faith in your abilities to make decisions. Every time you say umm that’ll be one less,” She seems puzzled like she is trying to figure out what she can take away from me. “One less kiss, yea. I won’t kiss you as much.” I give her a look that says ‘really?’. Waverly nods and turns back to the road.

I shake my head then look back at the road. We go through the little village with the orphanage. On the way back in a few weeks we plan to stop by.

The woods in the summer are gorgeous. The leaves are full and green. The moss is starting to grow more and more on the trees. Grass and weeds are starting to grow on the path we are taking. Waverly and I are silent. Just taking in the scenery.

We stop and eat some lunch. Some fruit and jerky. Waverly chooses to just eat the fruit. This is kind of nice. How simple all of this right now. There is no one around aside from us and the guards. They aren’t speaking so the quiet is beautiful. Just the noises of the woods.

-

I can see the city from here. All around the city are walls. Then there are five gates. One with a path to each Kingdom and the castle. Those are the only ways to get into the city. At each gate there are now twenty guards on watch. Ten near the top of the gate then ten at the bottom. Lord Gibbs house is right before the entrance of the city. He has a large manor. For the past hundred years the Kings and Queens of the past have been staying here with them. That’s what Waverly told me anyways.

We get to his manor and the sun is setting. It’s a beautiful orange and pink color. I sigh and then look at Waverly. She is looking at the sun with the same amount of awe I was. I smile at her, she is way more beautiful than any sunset. She looks at me with a curious look.

“What?” I shrug and smile wider.

“You’re just really beautiful. I can’t help but smile every time I look at you.” Waverly starts to blush. We head into the manor. There are three men waiting at the front door. All of them well dressed. Behind them are two omegas. One looks a little older, this must be the mother/wife. The other one looks younger. Could be a sister or maybe one of the sons wives. The guards move out of the way and I ride up nearly to the front door. I look each of the alphas in the eyes. I see red for a second then it just disappears. The alphas all seem to be uneasy now. I get down from my horse then help Waverly off of hers. I place my hands on her hips, she gently slides off of the horse.

I start to walk towards the alphas, Waverly is one step behind me. I roll my shoulders back, I turn to Waverly and she looks worried to say the least. I hold my arm out for her to take. She takes my arm hesitantly. We start to walk towards the alphas, as equals.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Grace.” All of them bow in unison. Even the omegas. I stay standing tall but beckon for them all to stand up straight. They do.

“Thank you for letting us stay in your manor. Queen Waverly and I really appreciate it. Don’t we?” Waverly looks at me then looks back at them.

“Yes, we really do. I’m guessing the place hasn’t changed much since last time?” The head of the house. Peter, doesn’t even look at Waverly. Doesn’t even acknowledge her. I raise my eyebrows at him.

“Your Queen is speaking to you. If you had any sort of manners you would be looking at her. Giving her all of your attention.” His face flushes red. He looks to Waverly now and then me. He bows slightly to Waverly.

“I am sorry, Lady Waverly. It will never happen again.” It should be Your Grace too. However when I became King, I got the title and now she is Lady Waverly. Very unfair, I look to Waverly and she has a smile on her face.

“It’s alright.” Silence and a sense of panic and nerves fills the air. I turn and the horses are gone along with the guards. No one is making a move.

“Alright, well, can we go in?” He looks back to me after I finish speaking. He perks up and nods.

“Yes, of course. How rude of me. This way please.” He turns then pushes the older looking omega out of the way. She nearly falls to the ground. Her hand is on her chest. Waverly lets go of my arm. I look to Waverly, both of her hands are covering her mouth. I walk over to the omega and place my hand on her back.

“Are you alright?” She looks at me and tries to pull away. As if me helping her will get her in trouble.

“Yes, nothing I’m not used too. He does that all the time. Did when we first got married and still does now. Nothing new.” She is trying to brush it off like it was nothing. I bet all of the omegas don’t think twice about it. I place my hand on her shoulder again. I am smiling at her.

“Come, I want you to be by my side. I want to keep my eye on him.” I extend my arm to her. She takes it and starts to blush. I turn to Waverly and wink. She shakes her head then smiles at me.

As we walk inside he doesn’t turn around once to look at me or Waverly. He’s just explaining the history in every picture. The way he acquired it and how much it’s worth. He is very arrogant. Full of greed.

“Now this, this is the best item in the whole manor. This is my prized possession.” He’s staring right above the fireplace in the sitting room. I stand next to him. The lady of the house let go of my arm as I walked to stand next to him.

It’s a golden sword. It’s big and chunky. Clearly just for decoration. There is no real use for this sword.

“Now, why of all things is this your prized possession?” He looks to me as if I just insulted his honor.

“What do you mean? Look at it! This is a golden sword. It’s beautiful, sleek, a true piece of art.” I am trying very hard to laugh in his face.

“Not very practical though now is it? If someone was to run in here with a sword. Killed all of the guards. Are you going to take that sword and kill that man? No, you would drop the damn thing then die. Swords are meant for fighting, not for art.” He mumbles something under his breath. Everyone knows I come from a farm. Everyone knows that I didn’t have money up until five days ago. He mumbled, well what do you know.

“I know a great deal about art. I know that art is something that enhances a room. A topic of conversation. How one aquarried that piece of art. How the art makes one feel. Tell me, how did you get that art? You made it. You used some gold that was saved because Lords like you have so much of it. Then you wasted it on something as impractical as a golden sword. How does that art make you feel? I’m sure I can guess. It makes you feel more wealthy than your peers. It makes you feel like more of an alpha than you really are. It makes you feel powerful. A sword that you will never be able to wield makes you feel powerful. That sword is nothing more than a symbol of your greed and selfishness.” I turn to Waverly, she takes my arm.

I turn back to him. His face is flushed with anger. He wants to say something back but can’t because he is in the presence of the King. I grin. Waverly tightens her grip on my arm. I look down at her and she is serious. Stoic. The room is quiet, all that can be heard are dishes rattling around the kitchen. It’s good to be King

-

Waverly and I are now in our room. It’s a lovely room. The biggest one they have. Right after my long speech the cook came in and said dinner was done. We ate chicken, bread, and carrots. Right after dinner, Waverly and I decided to retire to our room.

“You know, making your subjects feel little and stupid isn’t going to get you far as King.” I turn to Waverly. She is sitting on the edge of the bed, taking her earrings out. I take my crown off and set it down on the table. I sit next to her.

“Some men, need to learn how to treat women. Some alphas need to know how to treat omegas. The way I made him feel today is how he makes his wife feel everyday. Actually he probably makes her feel worse than how I made him feel today. I made him feel like a coward. I made him feel like his whole life means nothing. That his prized possession is worse than cow shit. He should know how it feels for once in his life.” I kiss Waverly quick then change into my pajamas. I crawl into bed. A few moments later Waverly crawls into bed with me.

“He really called that ugly thing sleek and beautiful.” I laugh at her comment. I pull her close to me.

“Yea, he really did.” Waverly’s breathing starts to even out after a few moments. I keep my eyes trained on the ceiling. My sword is on the wagon, not with me for once. I feel naked without it. Tomorrow I need to remember to grab it. My eyes start to drift shut. Sleep is starting to take over.

I wake up the next morning feeling refreshed. Waverly is on her side facing away from me. I pull her close to my body and snuggle up close. We lay like that for few moments. There is a knock at the door.

“It’s time to wake up, Your Graces.” I sit up then stretch my arms. Waverly rolls onto her back. Her eyes are still shut. I lean down and peck her lips. I get out of bed and into a hot bath that is waiting across the hall. I take a quick bath then walk back into our room dressed and ready for the day. Waverly is walking to the room across the hall right now. I am wearing a light brown and black outfit. The black is making a pattern all over the light brown. This is like almost all of the other outfits I have. The collar is loose around my neck. I look in the mirror and sigh. Today is the first day with me as King in front of the people.

I need to show them a strength in me that I haven’t ever used. I need to show a confidence that isn’t real. I need to look like a King when I am really just a farmer. I turn to the table and grab my crown. As I turn back to the mirror I place the crown on my head. It looks good, I look like a King. In the far left of the mirror Waverly is standing there smiling at me. She starts to make her way over to me. Waverly wraps her arms around me. We look at each other through the mirror.

“You look like a King.” She kisses the spot where she left her mark. I grin then spin in her arms so I am looking at her.

“And you look beautiful.” She pushes up, I lean down. Our lips connect and lights flash behind my eyes. Kissing her will never get old. There is another knock at the door so we pull back.

“Your Graces, it’s time to leave.” I shake my hands out, Waverly takes a step back and grabs them.

“You have nothing to worry about. All you have to do is ride around the city looking stoic. Nicky, it’s gonna be okay.” She smiles at me. My nerves melt away. She’s right. All I need to do is sit on Orthrus and look straight ahead.

Waverly takes my arm, we head out of the room to the front of the manor. We get out there and there are more things here than there was last night. There are knights in armor, hundreds of horses. This is just like when I was younger. I look around and see Lord Gibbs. I walk over to him. Waverly let go of my arm.

“I’m sorry if I made you upset at all last night. That wasn’t my intention. It was just amazing to me that someone could think that a piece of metal is their prized possession and not their family.” His face falls a little. He turns back for a second and looks at his family. “Where I grew up family was the only thing I had. The only thing that I could count on. Now that I have Waverly, the statement has never been more true. Love is something rare, Lord Gibbs. Changes are coming. I would value your wife and everything she does for you while you have the chance.” I pat his shoulder, take a step back. “Thank you again for letting Lady Waverly and I stay at your lovely home. It is truly beautiful.” I bow slightly to him and his wife. I turn back to Waverly. She has this huge grin on her face.

“Now that, that is how a King speaks.” I chuckle, Waverly just tightens her grip on my arm.

-

We are heading into the city right now. There are knights and horses marching in front of us. Waverly and I are just sitting on our horses following the rest of the march. As we get in there are hundreds of people on either side, watching. They must see us because they start to cheer for Waverly.

They know Waverly, they know that she can make change, that she has made change. I smile wide and look to Waverly. She is waving to the crowds, smiling and having a great time. My eyes go forward again. My eyes are trained on the horses ahead of us. This, just sitting here, isn’t me. I get off of my horse then pat his side. He keeps walking along side Waverly. I look to the crowds and start to wave. I smile at them with no teeth to try and show that I am not overly aggressive.

When I first jumped down the crowd quieted, now they are back to cheering for Waverly. I’m not hurt by this or even shocked. Waverly is amazing, I’m glad the people know that. Right before we left I made sure to grab my sword and put it on my waist. The last thing I need is to be under prepared.

As we walk through the city I notice that a lot of the buildings seem to be wearing down and falling apart. That should be something we get to change. Maybe if the brothel idea works out very well we will be able to lower taxes and some of the homeowners will be able to rebuild some of their buildings. Another thing I’m noticing is that the front of all the crowds are alphas, the ones cheering loudly are the omegas. The alphas seem to be looking me up and down. Seeing on how good of a King I am. How powerful I am.

It’s fair of them to do that. I am now their ruler. They do have the power to overthrow me if they really wanted too. Some of them look like they don’t think I will be good. Others look a little afraid. Off in the distance there is a scream. I stop in my tracks. A few seconds later the march stops. Another scream echoes throughout the city. I walk into the crowd with my hand on my sword. Waverly is telling me to stop but I don’t see a reason to.

The crowd is starting to get less and less thick with people. I look around, there is a woman clutching her face. In front of her is a man with his fist clenched. He looks ready to swing at her again. I jog over and look between the two.

“What seems to be the problem?” He drops his fist and looks me up and down.

“You, you’re the new King? Listen kid, I could kick your ass.” I chuckle, look down at my feet then back up at him. My vision is red.

“I don’t think so.” My voice dropped down an octave. My voice has never been this deep. Horror and confusion consumes him. The red slowly goes away. “Now, why is it that you’re hitting this poor woman?” He doesn’t look me in the eyes.

“Well umm, she is my wife. She didn’t finish her chores. I have been working all night. I was expecting a hot meal and umm, clean sheets.” I nod slowly. I turn to the woman and take a step forward. She covers her face while cowering.

“It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you. Let me see your face.” She lowers her hands, the right side of her face is swollen. I shake my head. “How bad does it hurt?” She shrugs. She starts to speak but her husband butts in.

“I didn’t hit her hard enough for,” I turn to him with my eyebrows raised.

“With all due respect, you hit her hard enough that she screamed. Also her face is swollen. Listen kid, an alpha isn’t measured by strength, how many omegas one has slept with. An alpha is measured by the things he doesn’t naturally have. Like patience, restraint, compassion. Next time you think about yelling or hitting remember it’s making you look weaker not stronger.” I pat his shoulder then turn to his wife. I hand her a piece of gold. “Go to the closest healer and get that checked out. If anything cost anymore tell them to send the bill to King Nicole Haught. I’ll now if they’re scamming me.” I grin then turn back to the crowd. All of them are silent. I make my way back through the crowd and to Waverly. She looks confused and worried. I climb on Orthrus then kick his side. He starts to walk.

The crowd that just witnessed everything I did and said are now cheering for both Waverly and I.

“What happened?” I shrug and look at her. She is very beautiful today.

“I told him that hitting and yelling didn’t make him a strong alpha. I said that being things you’re not naturally do. Like patience, restraint, compassion.” My attention gets drawn back to the march on front of me. I grin and start to wave back to the crowds. This whole being King thing, isn’t that hard.

Chapter Text

“Waves, we have one last night then it’s people on the same floor as us.” Waverly is raising her eyebrows. She is sitting on the edge of the bed.

“What are you saying, Nicky?” I shrug then sit next to her. I place my hand on her thigh. Waverly laughs. She takes my hand off of her leg. Waverly starts to straddle me. I grin.

“This is as much as we’re doing. We need our rest. Tomorrow we are leaving at dawn. We need to finish picking our clothes tonight. You also need to go and settle a few Kingly things before we leave.” Waverly pecks my lips then gets off of my lap. I lied, being King sucks.

I get off of the bed. I grab a quill and some ink.

“I guess I’ll see you soon?” Waverly shakes her head no. I groan then head out to the royal office. I walk down a few hallways, down a few sets of stairs. There is a line of people waiting at the door. I walk towards them. The first in line is Xavier. I wave him in as I walk into the office. The door shuts behind him.

He sits down and explains to me that while I am gone he will make many of the little decisions. I tell him that it’s fine. Send a raven if anything serious happens. He nods then leaves.

A man comes in with a long beard. He looks like a healer, right. From that woman. He sits down and tells me that I owe him four gold. I call him a liar. The price drops down to two gold. I hand it to him then he leaves. After him is just a bunch of servants asking what they should bring for the trip. I tell them that clothes for at least a week. Then to make sure one of them knows how to wash clothes. Aside from that I don’t know. They all nod then leave.

A few more random people walk in and talk to me about things that they should be able to solve on their own. I solve their problems then send them off. I get up from the desk. There is a knock at the door. Glenda walks in.

“Now, listen here. There are four new outfits in your room. I know you have more than enough for the trip but I would rather be safe than sorry. You better be safe out there. I don’t want to get raven saying the King and Queen are dead because the King was being stupid. You need to take care of you and Waverly while you’re out there. I can’t have Xavier becoming King. This place would be no fun. You understand me right?” I laugh and walk over to her at the same time. I hold her at arm's length by her shoulders.

“I will do everything in my power to keep Waverly and I safe. I am already worried about travelling so I will have my guard up the whole time.” This seems to make her relax a little. She points at her head.

“I’m getting more gray hairs because of you two. I’ve been stressing ever since you left the other day. I want you two to be safe.” Glenda pinches my cheek. I roll my eyes. She slaps my shoulder. “Don’t sass me, kid.” Glenda turns then walks out of the office. I chuckle to myself then head back to my room.

Once in there I look around, Waverly is in bed. She must be sleeping. I go around the room and pick out all of my clothes for the next two and a half weeks. It’s not really picking, it’s more or less just putting all of my clothes on the table so Jeremy can help me bring them down tomorrow. I also put my crown and a few books on the table.

I crawl into bed, Waverly immediately curls into my side. After wrapping my arm around her my eyes start to drift shut. Sleep taking over.

-

We just left the castle. We are now on our way down to the Northern Kingdom. Right now the weather up there is kind of chilly. More like fall than summer. That’s as warm as it gets. I can honestly say that I’m not as nervous since we got on the road. I feel way more safe having my sword on me. The twenty guards definitely help. Also having the knowledge that we can get into a caravan is helping a lot.

I’m very excited to see the scenery as we make our way up there. All of the different trees and animals. Before we left we were told that some hobbes are on the road to the Western Kingdom. They have been raiding caravans, no one seems to have a problem with this. No one from the Western or Southern Kingdom seem to think that this is a problem. After all of this is said and done, Waverly and I need to talk about the conditions of the Kingdom. Laws that we are going to want to enforce throughout the whole Kingdoms. Not just the city.

We make our way through the woods and the scenery does not disappoint. The trees look gorgeous, the flowers are in full bloom. Little animals are running around the woods, we can hear the crackle of leaves from their footsteps. The fresh air and the warm breeze. It’s really amazing outside.

Right now we are starting to make camp for the night. Waverly is walking around. Looking for a good spot to put the travelling shelter. We have three of them that we need to set up. One for Waverly and I, one for the servants, then one for the guards who are sleeping tonight. While she is doing that I am gathering wood to start a fire. All of the servants insist that I sit down and relax. Each time I wave them off and tell them to rest.

I start the fire, Waverly finally picked a spot for the shelter. The servants are setting those up. The guards are doing a search around the camp that is being made. They are looking for thieves and hobbes. Those seem to be our main problem on this trip.

The guards come back and then make a circle around the camp. The servants start to prepare food for us as we finish up the shelters. Waverly and I tell them that we can set up all of the beds in the shelters. They hesitantly agree.

“So this was your whole life? Telling people you can do things on your own?” Waverly finishes up the last bed then looks at me.

“Yes, but it could be worse. I could have been poor. I could have been a beggar on the street There were many different outcomes as to how my life could have been. Having to ask multiple times to do something on my own isn't that bad.” I nod as I walk over to her. I place my hands on her waist, she is right against my body. Waverly looks up at me through her eyelashes. A warm bubbly feeling starts in my stomach. I love this woman with all of my heart. We both move to kiss each other. She pushes up, I lean down. Our lips connect, we move together rhythmically. Her lips are soft and warm. Perfect in every way. I get lost in our kiss. Only focusing on her and her lips.

“Excuse me, dinner is done. We have plates out here for you.” Waverly pulls away fast when the voice begins. I grin and look down at her. Her face is red. The servant didn’t even come into the shelter. She was outside.

“Waves, you need to get more comfortable with the idea of people seeing us kiss. We are going to be with them for about two and a half weeks. You’re gonna need to get used to them seeing us be intimate.” Waverly sighs, her head goes to her hands. After a few moments she looks up at me.

“You’re right. I need to work on being more comfortable, and you need to work on being more, confident in front of the people.” I nod once and she nods once back. Waverly and I leave the shelter. The servants are sitting by the fire eating along with a few guards. They are talking, laughing, having a good time with each other. Waverly and I get a bowl of the stew and sit with them. As soon as we sit they stop talking and focus on their food.

“Guys, I haven’t changed. Waverly hasn’t changed. Speak like we aren’t here. Speak as if we are one of you. I was one of you less than a month ago. Please.” They all look at each other. One of the guards just shrugs.

“Okay, don’t go taking off heads if we joke with you though. We make jokes about each other. If you want us to treat you like us then you need to get used to it.” I nod, Waverly is nodding too.

“Sounds perfect.” They all start to speak again. All of them taking turns making fun of one another with stories. Making light of past events where someone fell or made a dumb joke. This is nice. This feels like I’m finally being treated normally. I hope they keep this up.

-

We have finally arrived to the Northern Kingdom. The Holidays are in charge of this Kingdom. Waverly is very excited to see her family again. She treasures every second she gets with Wynonna. Waverly really wants me to talk to her and Doc. We are staying the night tonight, going around the Northern city then heading out the next day. We are going to be here for a day and a half not including tonight. If the paths were faster to each Kingdom then we could spend more time with each Lord or Lady.

The gates open to the Holiday keep. As soon as they are passable Waverly rides up through the gates passed everyone. We all laugh as we watch her haul ass to her sister. I start to traught so I can keep up with her. Waverly gets off of her horse then runs up to Wynonna. Wynonna picks her up and spins. Lord Holiday is standing beside Wynonna with a stoic look on his face. He is looking at me. I get off of my horse. I walk up to him. He’s looking me in the eyes.

“Lord Holiday,” His mustache twitches. He wraps an arm around me and pats my back.

“Good seeing you, Nicole. We did not get to speak on your wedding night. If I recall you two snuck off.” My face gets a little red.

“That we did. Anyways, thank you for letting us stay here for our stay.” Lord holiday waves me off.

“If Wynonna found out you two where here and I let you go somewhere else she would kill me.” We both laugh after he finishes speaking. I look to Waverly and Wynonna. Wynonna is now holding Alice and looking at me.

“Sup, Haught-to-trot? How was the ride here?” Waverly starts laughing right away.

“What did you call me?” Wynonna squints at me.

“Haught-to-trot, I told you I would think of nicknames. That’s one of them. Come on,” Wynonna turns to Waverly. “You married a smart one didn’t you?” Waverly covers her mouth with her hand to try and hide her laugh.

“Wynonna, that’s not very nice. Nicky is very smart.” I sigh.

“Thanks, Waves. The ride was fine, Wynonna. Thank you for asking. The nickname, isn’t THAT bad.” Wynonna hands Alice to Waverly. She bows to me.

“Thank you for saying so, Your Grace.” Holiday and Waverly sigh. I chuckle. I tap her back, she stands up and smiles at me big. It doesn’t seem real. In a second it’s gone. “Alright, let’s go inside. I’m hungry.” I shake my head, we all follow Wynonna inside. The keep looks really nice. Paintings and banners on the walls. The windows are stained glass. It all looks very nice.

“So uhh, this isn’t as big as your CASTLE, but it should do.” Wynonna starts to walk backwards to look at all of us. “Your room is right next to mine so no funny business.” She looks at me and squints. “I’m talking about you Haught-shit.” I roll my eyes.

“Okay, there wasn’t going to be any funny business but thanks for the threat?” She nods then turns back around. She leads us to the dining room. The servants that work here are setting up the table and all of the food. Holiday goes to the head of the table and sits. Wynonna sits next to him on the left. Waverly places Alice in the seat next to her. I sit across from Alice. Waverly sits across from Wynonna. Holiday starts to dig into the food. Wynonna is next. She helps Alice set up her plate.

Waverly starts to grab food for herself. I wait for all of them to finish getting their own food then I start to get mine. Holiday starts to speak up.

“So, how is it being King so far?” I finish chewing then start to speak.

“It’s been going good. So far it’s really hard but good. I know it’s only gonna get harder. How’s this Kingdom been running, Lord Holiday?” He laughs, and places his hand up.

“Please, Doc will work just fine.” He sets his hand back down then continues. “The Kingdom has been running okay. Lately there seems to be an outbreak of some sort. The healers have been reporting that welts and sores are appearing on the skin. Soon later the patient dies. The outbreak only seems to be in the East of the Northern city. I think something died in the water. I sent guards out this morning to check it out.” I nod slowly. Hobbes can cause illness in humans if their piss and shit is introduced. Maybe the hobbes are expanding. They have been becoming smarter.

“I would have your guards look for hobbes. I read in a book that hobbes can make humans sick. Especially their waste. I would look out for those little buggers.” Doc nods to me then goes back to eating his food. Conversations start between Waverly and Wynonna. They are talking about how Shorty was always on their cases. Making sure they stayed out of trouble. Waverly brings up the library forts. I remember when she told me. That feels like ages ago.

Doc and I just watch the two sister reminisce in old memories. The dinner goes by quick. Alice starts to fall asleep right after we start to eat so Wynonna and Doc put her to sleep. One of their servants shows us to our room. As soon as we walk in Waverly just leans on me.

“I am so tired. These past couple of days have been so long.” She stuffs her face in my shirt. I start to rub her back.

“Well, we only have three more to go. Should be a piece of cake.” She pulls away from me then gives me a dirty look.

“I can’t keep sleeping on those stupid cots. They are so uncomfortable. I don’t remember them being so uncomfortable.” I kiss her forehead then pull away. I walk over to the wardrobes and start to look through them. I find my pajamas then put them on. Waverly does the same. I crawl into bed. Waverly soon follows. I curl into Waverly. Laying my head on her chest.

“What’s this? This is new.” She sets her arms on my shoulders. I shrug, my eyes start to drift shut. This is very comfortable. I fall asleep with Waverly’s sent engulfing me.

I wake up the next morning curled around Waverly. I guess the other way didn’t last too long. A knock echoes throughout the room. That must have woken me up. I get out of bed and get the door.

“It’s time to wake up, Your Grace. We are starting at dawn.” I nod then thank them. After rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and stretch I wake Waverly up.

“Baby, Waves, you need to wake up.” Waverly groans, she flips to her back. Her eyes open.

“No, I’m not going. I’m sick of sitting on a horse. I am sick of having to wave to people i don’t even know.” Waverly’s hair is covering her face. She seems, tired.

“I know, baby. We only have three more to go after this. Then you get to see the farm. Think about how much fun we are going to have.” Waverly sits up slowly.

“Fine, but you owe me, Haught. You owe me.” She gets out of bed then begrudgingly grabs a dress out of the wardrobe. Waverly leaves the room. She must be looking for the nearest bathhouse. I go to my wardrobe and grab a random outfit. I set it up on the edge of the bed.

Nearly an eternity passes before Waverly comes back to the room. She seems more happy and woken up now. I basically run out of the room and find the bathhouse. I take the fastest bath that I have in a long time. I get out and get dressed. I run back to the room.

Once in the room I get my crown on my head. Waverly is sitting at the table in the room reading a book. She looks up to me and grins.

“Ready?” I nod once. Waverly stands up then walks to the front of the keep. Wynonna, Doc, and Alice are all waiting with nice clothes on. In their front garden there are Knights and horses, in the back there are pine trees standing upright.

Waverly and I sit on our horses. Soon the others get on a wagon of sorts that’s in front of us. The march starts.

-

Going through the Northern city is interesting. The building styles are different. Their houses seem to be more accommodating for snow. The walls looks thick. Every house has at least two chimneys. They are really prepared for the snow. The people also don’t seem to be cheering for Doc or Wynonna. They are either cheering for Alice or Waverly. I wonder why they aren’t cheering for their leaders.

A big part of me thinks it’s because of all of the deaths. We aren’t even going to be going close to the eastern side. They have guards on watch to make sure no on leaves or goes in. That’s what Doc told me at least. They must think they aren’t doing anything. I mean, this was the reason that they couldn’t show up to the ball and that was ages ago.

I look to Waverly, she is smiling and waving. I wonder if she’ll be upset if I bring this up to her. This is her family. I mean, most of the other Kingdoms are somehow her family. Her mother came from Gibson, her aunt is now is McCready. Literally Holiday has her sister. The only one who isn’t related is Gardner. I don’t want this to be a fight.

The people keep cheering as we go through. Many of the alphas even seem to be cheering for Waverly. The North seems to be doing well aside from the people not liking Wynonna and Doc. I haven’t heard anything out of the ordinary. This seems, fine.

I wonder what laws they have in place to make all of this so, equal. It could be Wynonna and her skillful ways of persuasion. Aka, her threatening everyone. Or maybe the North has always just been more equal. Who knows.

Waverly has a real smile on her face as we approach the end. Everyone really loves her here. I love that they love her. I mean, who wouldn’t? The march is coming to an end. Everyone seems to be having a great time. Alice is standing up ahead of them. Waving to everyone.

We are approaching the keep. Waverly is starting to look normal. Doc and Wynonna are getting ready to get out of the carriage. I get off of my horse then walk him into the keep. Waverly gets off of her horse too. The gates shut behind us. Doc, Wynonna, and Alice all get out of the carriage. Wynonna has a sour look on her face.

“I hate going around the city. They hate us, all we did was raise the taxes and then boom! They hate us. If you guys saw, all of their house are new. All of the tax went into their stupid fucking houses. They don’t even appreciate it.” Guards come running to Doc.

“Lord Holiday, we checked the well that go to the eastern city. There was a dead horse in the well. Someone would have had to put it there. There is no way a horse just fell into the well.” The options for this could be a person. The chances of a person are way more likely than hobbes. Or even any other animal in the forest.

“Doc, can your guards take me down to the well where they found the horse?” Doc nods. I walk towards the guards, they hop onto horses. I get on a random one the follow them to the well. This is clearly because of the water and the people drinking it. This isn’t some new illness from air or animals.

We get to the well, the smell coming from it is, awful. Really gross. I place my hand over my mouth and nose. I get off of my horse then get to the well. I look around, the ground is more like mud and solid ground. The footsteps surrounding seem to be from the guards. I sigh then keep looking around. The woods are quite aways away. It could have been hobbes, it could also have been a person. There would need to be a reason, THERE! I run over to some weird indents in the ground. There are footsteps with four toes that have sharp ends. Clearly hobbes.

“Boys, over here. Follow these tracks. Hobbes eat horses. If they were getting water from the well and eating that would make sense. Hobbes have been going into more cities. Keep an eye out for them.” The guards solute me then head in the direction of the footprints.

I get on the horse then head back to the keep. As I ride through the city. The people seem to be looking at me funny. Some have skeptical looks, others just look nervous. I get off of my horse and grab the reins. I smile to the people, wave. Out of the corner of my eye I can see a group of alphas whispering. I stop in my tracks and turn to them.

“You have something to say to me?” The group stands up tall, they walk over to me.

“What is a woman doing as our King? How are you going to help when I bet you can’t even protect yourself?” I laugh.

“Now what makes you think I can’t protect myself?” The men laugh to each other. Looking back and forth. I take a step towards the one that was laughing at me. I grab his throat then raise him off of the ground. I start to see red. “If I were you, I wouldn’t doubt your new King.” I let go, he falls to the ground clutching his throat.

“Why would you do that?” A crowd is surrounding me. I swallow hard. The crowd is whispering.

“I can’t protect people who don’t respect me. I can’t fight for you if you don’t trust me. I am your King. Queen Waverly, the woman you all love so much, chose me to marry. If I wasn’t fit to be King do you think she would put the Kingdoms in jeopardy? No. She wouldn’t. If you don’t trust me fine. But trust Queen Waverly and her judgement, she has only ever done good things for you. As for me, you don’t know me but know that well but I will try my best to fight for you. ALL of you. All of your rights, all of your needs, all of your lives. All I need is your trust and respect.” They all stopped whispering and started listening. I look to all of them. “My name is Nicole Haught and I am your King. Your alpha. If you have a problem with it, you can take it up with me.” I smoothly get on the horse. All of them are looking at me .

I slowly start to trot by them. A handful of them start to clap and cheer others are stoic.

“All hail King Haught!” I turn to the voice, it’s a little girl. A few seconds go by then the more start to say it with her. As I trot away a whole group of them are cheering for me.

I make my way back to the keep. They all must be inside. I get off of the horse then go inside. Waverly and Wynonna are in the dining room with Alice. Doc is nowhere to be seen.

“How was the well?’ I sit down with them.

“Hobbes. We need to send out hunters for them all of the Kingdoms. They are going on an uprising and they need to go.” Waverly and Wynonna nod. Alice climbs into my lap. Waverly and Wynonna start talking again. I just sit and listen. I hope all of the other Kingdoms don’t have problems.

Chapter Text

It’s sad but Waverly and I are getting ready to leave the Northern Kingdom. For us to get to the East on time we need to leave before midday. I already said bye to all of them but Waverly is still saying bye to Wynonna and Alice. Doc is handling the hobbe situation. I am helping the servants get the all of our things into the caravan.

Waverly walks out of the keep with tears in her eyes. I wrap my arms around her in a tight hug. She hugs me back tight. She starts to cry on my shoulder.

“Come on, we need to go.” Waverly lets go of me and gets into the caravan. All of the servants look sympathetic. I nod to them then get into the caravan. Waverly has her head against the window. Tears are silently streaming down her face. She won’t see Wynonna for a long time and she knows it. I wrap my arm around her, she curls into my side and cries. The caravan starts to move. Waverly just cries into my shoulder. I keep rubbing her back.

Hours have passed, Waverly has stopped crying. Now she is just depressed.

“Waves, hey. You wanna talk about it?” Waverly pulls back, she looks up at me.

“I guess I’m okay. I just, I’m going to miss Wynonna. The last time I saw her it was when she left to get married. I don’t want to wait that long again. I know she has her own life, I have my own life now too. I just miss her.” I kiss her forehead.

“It’s all going to be okay. I miss Sam so I understand. I know it’s not the same but family is important to the two of us. Maybe we can set something up so you two can see each other more. Like an annual ball. We can make ways so you can see her more, baby.” Waverly smiles then nods. She keeps nodding.

“I really like that idea. We can invite both of our families. So we could make it late fall?” I nod once then kiss her head.

“Yes. That is what we will do.” Waverly curls into my side again, this time she has a smile on her face.

The caravan stops. The door opens. The servants are smiling at us. We get out of the caravan to help them set up. We setup the shelters while the other check the area and make the fire. Waverly is really good at setting these things up. She gets one one of them up way faster than me.

We start to set up the cots. Waverly has a sour look on her face the whole time she is setting one up.

“These things are so uncomfortable. Why can’t we sleep in the caravan?” I laugh, Waverly turns to me with a sad look on her face.

“Because I don’t want the servants to think we aren’t good enough for what they have to deal with. I’m sure they think they are uncomfortable too. We just need to suck it up for the next few days then we get bed. They still have to sleep in the shelters and on the cots.” Waverly nods slowly.

“Yea, you’re right. We can handle it.” I nod once then grin. Waverly kisses my cheek then walks out of the shelter. I follow her out. The servants still don’t have the fire going. One of them turns to me.

“Nicole,” Her eyes go wide. Horror fills her features. She starts to stutter on her words.

“It’s okay, Molly. You can call me Nicole. There is no one here who would get mad. While we are on this trip, call me Nicole. I would prefer that.” She nods then bows. I stop her. “You don’t have to do that. Now, why did you say my name?” She shakes her head then looks up at me

“Can you start the fire? I can’t get it.” I walk over to the pile of wood that is going to be the fire. I start to set up the wood in a different way. I start the fire in a few minutes. Molly thanks me then starts to make dinner.

I find Waverly in our shelter. She is setting up our cot with a ton of blankets. She plops on top of it then sighs.

“This is so much better. A much better idea.” I shake my head then sit on the edge of the cot. Waverly wraps her arms around my shoulders and leans on me. I keep thinking about yesterday. I just choked him, without a second thought. “What’s wrong, Nicky?” She places a soft kiss on my neck.

“Yesterday, when I was riding into town, these guys were making fun of me. Asking how a woman would protect herself forget about the Kingdoms. I choked him without a second thought. I saw red then started to choke him. What, Waverly what’s wrong with me?” I turn in her arms. Waverly hugs me tight. She doesn’t say anything for awhile.

“We should talk to healer laurence when we get back. There might be something he knows that will help you with control. You always seem fine with me.” She pulls my head back away from her.

“Well, you’re my wife. You make me calm and happy. You’re the best thing in my life, Waves.” She smiles warmly at me. She brings my head back to her chest then lays down. Waverly holds me for awhile.

“Excuse me, Nicole, Waverly? Dinner is done.” There is a silhouette of a woman at our shelter door. I sit up, Waverly does as well. Before I can stand up Waverly places her hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t worry too much about this. For now, try and talk to the people when we go into the cities. That would be best. Make nice conversation. After all, the East is in charge of farms and crops. You could speak to the farmers. Show them how kind and knowledgeable you are. I nod once, after I nod Waverly kisses my cheek. “Now let’s go get some food.” She scoots by me then stands up.

I get up too then follow her outside. On the fire chicken and carrots are roasting. Everyone is in a line waiting to get their food. I stand behind Waverly and wait our turn. A few moments pass then we finally get our food. We sit down around the fire. Everyone starts to speak about the ride up here. It slowly got warmer faster. I guess Stanley fell off of his horse and the rest of them are making fun of him. Waverly and I laugh along with them.

“So, King Nicole, all of us are dying to know why you wanted to be King. It isn’t exactly the easiest job.” I finish chewing then speak up.

“It’s kind of a long story. I heard the news about the trials, I decided within seconds that I was going. It wasn’t to be King but it was to be with Waverly. Then as the days passed and I saw the shape the city was in I realized I could make changes as King. I could make our city a safe place for everyone. Where everyone is equal. That’s the short version.” All of them nod silently. Some go back to eating, others keep looking at me. Molly speaks up.

“Well, that’s awfully sweet. We all know about how you helped Waverly when you two were kids. It’s nice to hear about two people who actually love each other.” She goes back to eating. Waverly takes my hand. I look up at her and she’s smiling. Molly is right, it’s nice to hear about it. But it’s even better to be apart of it.

-

The past two days have been pouring. Waverly and I have been staying in the caravan with the servants, but the guards, they all had to stay outside the past couple of days. I felt really bad. So did Waverly. Now though we are in the East Kingdom. Waverly is very excited to see her Aunt and Uncle again. Also very excited to see Gavin. Gus and Curtis have basically adopted the boy because they can’t have kids.

As we ride through the Kingdom we pass many farms. I would say over fifty. If I am correct each Kingdom trades with each other. The North is where we get all of our lumber, the East is where we get all of our crops, the South is where we get all of the ores such as gold, iron, stone, coal, etc, then lastly from the West we get all of our meats. Coming through here is much fun. Waverly is right, I am probably going to be able to speak with all of these people easily.

We start to approach the keep and it looks more like a large farm rather than a manor or a keep. In the North there were gates, stone walls, a stone home. This place, looks like my old house but twice the size and with better materials.

As we approach we can see Gus and Curtis standing near the door. Right in front of them is a five year old boy. That must be Gavin. The closer I get the more realize that they aren’t even wearing fancy clothes. They’re wearing farming clothes, Gavin is in a dirty white shirt and overalls. He has curly blond hair. That’s all I can tell from here. I stop then get off of my horse. Waverly does the same. We start to walk towards the two of them.

Gavin is starting to look shy, he is slowly inching behind Gus. I smile at him. We get over to them. Waverly wraps her arms around Gus.

“I missed you. I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.” Gus chuckles then pats her back.

“Darlin you saw me a little more than a week ago. Now you’re going to be here for a day and a half. We can spend all of the time together.” Waverly pulls back and nods. I shake hands with Curtis.

“Lord Mc,” He cuts me off before I can even finish saying anything.

“Here, in my home and my Kingdom it’s just Curtis. Here in my home, you’re just Nicole. We’re family now. Family don’t use Lord or Lady. We just use names.” He pulls my arm to get me closer to him. He’s pulling me into a hug. We pat each other's backs then pull away. Gus hugs me after him.

“It’s good seeing you, Nicole.” I nod to her.

“Likewise ma’am.” She gets this scowl on her face.

“Now, what did Curtis just tell you? Call me Gus or call me nothing at all.” I laugh then look down at my feet.

“Yes, Gus.” As I’m looking down Gavin is looking up at me with wide eyes. I squat down and extent my hand.

“Hi, you must be Gavin. My name is Nicole.” He looks away from me, he grabs on Gus’s pants and hides his face. Gus moves out of the way then pushes him forward.

“Gavin, this is your cousin Waverly and your cousin Nicole. You need to say hi to them.” He looks up at her the sighs.

“Yes, mama.” Gavin walks over to Waverly, he hugs her lightly then looks at me. He seems a little more scared. I am still in a squat, I’m eye level with him.

“Hi, N, Nicole.” I grin and take his hand.

“It’s very nice to meet you Gavin. I heard you’re a real good farmer.” I let go of his hand. He puffs out his chest and nods. He has green eyes, little freckles go over his nose. He is very tan.

“I am a real good farmer. I can grow any crop you give me.” I nod once.

“That’s really good. Do you know how to grow fruit?” He nods fast.

“Yes, Sir. I can grow blueberries, strawberries, watermelon, pineapple, cherries, you name it I can grow it.” I laugh then mess up his hair. After doing that I stand up.

“Well maybe later you can show me around the farm and all of your crops. I would love to see it.” He smiles wide and nods.

“I would love to.” I nod once then look up to Gus and Curtis. They have smiles on their faces. Curtis starts to speak up.

“Well, let’s show you two to your room. Gus has been cooking all day, she is making a lovely cabbage and kale stew for us. There is a little bit of chicken in it but not much. I think you all are really going to like it.” I nod, Curtis shows us to our room. We get inside of it and it looks really nice.

“So do you guys have any servants?” Curtis shakes his head no.

“Gus, Gavin and I can keep this place clean on our own. Gus cooks. Gavin and I farm, we clean, and we collect the tax from the other farms. We are working by dawn and eating after dark.” I smile. They live a very humble life here. I think that’s great. They have the title of warden and protector of the East but they live like normal people. They have no image to uphold. It’s great.

“I’ll let you two get settled. We will be eating early tonight. Be in the dining room by sunset.” He closes the door. I shake my head with disbelief.

“Waverly, they have it great here. I would love to live like this. I know we can’t but, man would it be amazing.” Waverly giggles then wraps her arms around my neck. My hands fall to her hips.

“It would be nice wouldn’t it? Having a farm, me you and a pup. That would be heaven.” I pull her body close to mine. I press our foreheads together.

“Instead we have the lives of thousands on our hands not including a pup.” Waverly pulls away then falls onto the bed.

“Gods, this is worse than the cot. I remember this being a lot better as a kid.” I chuckle then sit next to her.

“Waves, if we adopt will the kid be next in line for the crown?” Waverly sits up and sighs.

“If we have no other kids then yes, but if we have a pup then our pup will be the next in line.” I don’t nod. I just stare at the door. Waverly starts to rub my shoulder and kiss my neck. “What are you thinking?” I lean back into her.

“Would adopting be a wise idea then?” Waverly kisses my cheek.

“Yes, we would still giving a child a life. A family. We are giving them a good home. Just because they won’t be King or Queen doesn’t mean they won’t have a good life.” I stare up at her and nod.

“Yea, you’re right. We should talk about this more after the staying at my farm. Have a real conversation about it.” Waverly kisses my forehead.

“That sounds perfect.” She kisses my lips softly. I smile against her warm lips. Waverly places her hand on my jaw. I start to push Waverly down onto the bed. She wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me closer to her. I bring my hand down to her thigh, I grab her leg and guide her leg to my waist. She wraps her leg around me. She moves her head to the side, exposing her neck. I start to kiss and suck on her neck. Waverly lets out a breathy moan.

“Nicky, Nick, hey.” I pull away from her and look down at her. “Maybe, we should wait to do anything until we get home.” I kiss her cheek really quick. I move off of her, she sits up and fixes her top. I sit on the edge of the bed. Waverly kisses my cheek then gets up.

“Want me to show you around the farm?” I puff my cheeks up with air.

“I promised Gavin he would show me. Maybe we can ask him to show us before dinner.” Waverly gets off of the bed then starts to walk towards the door. I get up and follow her out the door. We find Gavin in the kitchen with Gus. She is talking to him about the South field of the farm. They need to keep an eye on it because bugs have been eating the crops.

“Hey Gavin, want to show us around the farm?” His eyes light up.

“I would love to!” Gavin runs over to Waverly and I. He takes her hand then starts to lead her, I follow close behind.

Once we are outside he starts to point and at fields and explain what is in them. There is nearly double the land than what I thought there was. They have at least twenty fields full of crops. All of the crops that I can see have different harvesting times but many of them also have the same. I don’t know how they do it.

As we walk around the farm I see Orcs harvesting. I knew we had orcs living in one of the Kingdoms but I never thought it would the East. I figured it would have been in the South. I figured they would be really good at mining however this makes sense too. They are very strong, you wouldn’t even need a bull.

We walk through fifteen fields of crops. The sun is starting to set. A round of whistles echoes throughout the fields. Waverly and Gavin look in the same direction. Gavin looks to me.

“Mama wants us back. Dinner must be ready.” He starts to run in the direction of the house. Waverly looks at me then starts to run. I have never seen her run. I laugh then follow her. She is kind of fast. I catch up to her then wrap my arms around her. She laughs, grabs onto my arms that are around her. I spin in a circle. She giggles out my name.

“Nicole,” I laugh then place her down. Waverly turns in my arms then pecks my lips. I turn around.

“Hop on,” Waverly places her hands on my shoulder then pushes down. Her legs wrap around me. I hold onto her legs then run in the direction of the house. As I run Waverly is holding on tight and giggling the whole time. We get to the house, I place her down. Waverly hugs me tight.

“I love you, Nicky.” I kiss the top of her head and smile after she says it.

“I love you too, Waves.” She looks up at me through her eyelashes. I tip her chin up then connect our lips. We stand there, it feels like the world is starting to vanish around us. I pull her close to me. Basking in our kiss. Waverly pulls away, I try to follow her lips. The world comes rushing back.

“Hey! Come on dinner is ready.” Gus i yelling from the window. Waverly takes my hand and leads me into the house. Once inside she let’s go of my hand. As I am about to sit down Gus hits me in the back of the head.

“Don’t make me wait for you. I wait for no one. Didn’t your mother tell you that?” I laugh then sit down.

“Gus, my mother told me a lot about you.” Gus chuckles then sits down next to Curtis. Curtis starts to put stew in his bowl. The Gavin does, they insist I go next. Last is Waverly and Gus. We eat and enjoy the silence. Gavin is getting stew drops everywhere. He is going to be a little heart breaker when he is older.

As we all start to finish dinner I start to speak more to Gus and Curtis. With Curtis I speak about farming. I ask about the Orc’s and how they came to work here. He told me they came to work here for a simple life. They are just learning how to farm then they are going to get their own farms when they have money. I guess half of the population of the East is Orc’s. They were sick of the fighting and wanted a simple life. Seeing that we are all allies they came down here and started to speak with Curtis. He agreed.

With Gus I start speaking to her about my mother. She tells me stories of how they would get in trouble. The two of them are the same age so when she was assigned to Gus they were the same age. Michelle I guess always hated my mother and never wanted to play along with the help. As she got older she got wiser and started to hate my mother less. Gus and my mother would run around the garden late at night and create havoc. They would mess up all of the nicely cut bushes. They would go in the forest and run around. They were really best friends.

We finish dinner, Curtis and Gavin go to the fields. Waverly goes and takes a bath. I decide to help Gus with all of the dishes. I walk into the kitchen and stand next to her. I push her lightly out of the way.

“Here, I got the dishes.” Gus starts to protest.

“You’re the King,” I turn to her and protest as well.

“But here I am family. I can wash some dishes. My mother taught me how to.” I smile then go back to the dishes. Gus pulls up a chair then sits.

“So, how are your brothers doing? Your mother would send word to me of her children, because she died I didn’t get notice of the last one.” I grin and look at her for a few seconds.

“Sam is very bright. He is very good at farming, Very good at writing, spelling, math. Very smart, smarter than I will ever be. However, he is the weakest alpha I have ever seen. I have been questioning if he is a beta. Jon, Jon is a jerk. He is terrible. I had to sign over the farm to Sam because he was trying to take it.” Gus sits back and just sighs.

“That boy always seemed angry from what your mother wrote. I can say that it’s not surprising. Your father always taught him how to be an alpha, then when he showed signs of being a beta and you showed signs of being an alpha at such a young age, he put all of his attention on you. Your mother told me all about you. Her daughter. How proud she was of you. Gods, if she saw you now. Being a King and still doing dishes.” we both laugh. I never noticed that my father started to pay more attention to me. Mother always seemed to favor the two of us. I guess after I was seen as alpha Jon did go to her more.

“My mother was always strict, still sweet though. I miss her a lot.” Gus pats my shoulder.

“I’m sure you do, darlin.” I finish up the last dish. I grab the bucket of water and take it outside. I pour the water out. I walk back in the kitchen the place it back in it’s spot. Gus isn’t in the kitchen anymore. I go to my room, Waverly is sitting in bed with a book in her hands. A book of poetry.

“How is the book my love?” I throw myself on the bed. She laughs and smiles down at me.

“The book is great.” I place my head on her chest again. Her free hand goes to my head. She starts to play with my hair. I start to read the book with her. She reads much faster than I so I never finish any of the poems.

Night is approaching quick. I get up and take a bath quick. When I get back in the room, Waverly is getting ready for bed. I open the window for a breeze to come through. I breathe in deeply, my lungs filling with the farm air. For a second I feel six again, getting ready to go to bed. My eyes open, a different view is before me. Fields as far as the eye can see.

“Sweetie?” Oh and there is the fact that I am married to Waverly. The most beautiful and smart woman I have ever seen. I turn to Waverly and smile at her.

“Yea?” She pats the bed.

“Come to bed. I’m tired and we have a very long day tomorrow.” I get in bed, Waverly goes to her side. I pull her close to me. I slowly drift to sleep.

-

I decide to wear my farm clothes around the Eastern farms. Waverly thinks it’s a very, interesting idea. I think that is her just saying that she doesn’t like the idea. Everyone knows that I used to be a farmer. This is my time to show the people I am just like them. I am no different. All of my old farming clothes were cleaned thoroughly by Glenda so they look nicer.

Waverly and I walk out of the house. The set up for the march is much less. A few horses, crops on wagons, then the McCready’s and us. All of us are to be on horse.

We head out, all of the farms are spaced out evenly. Here there is a small town square where all of the farmers trade. They trade with each other and then the other Kingdoms. It is a very lovely system they have here. We are approaching the town square.

“All hail the King! All hail the King!” I get off of my horse, as does Curtis and Gavin. We all walk towards the people. Curtis shakes hands. Gavin does the same. I turn to Waverly and Gus. The two of them are still on their horses. I walk over to Waverly and help her off of her horse. She takes my arm once she is off. We start to walk around and talk to the people.

Many of them thanking us for protecting the Kingdom. I wave them off then thank them for providing so much food for all of the Kingdoms. I make sure to shake all of their hands. I make sure to speak to everyone who is attending this little meeting? I’m not sure what to call this. Last night at dinner, Curtis explained that if we were to go to every house we would be here for a week. Instead he decided to ask everyone to come to the town square.

Waverly is walking around and having a lot of fun. Talking to a lot of people. I grin and keep talking.

“Hey,” I turn and an older man is extending his hand. I extend mine and shake it.

“Hi, what’s your name, Sir?” he takes his hand away and begins to speak.

“My name is Thomas Cannon. I have been a farmer here since I was a boy.” He looks a little uneasy on his feet so I lead him to a seat. We both sit. He starts speaking again. “I have heard stories about you. The alpha that won the Queen’s heart. The people in the East respect hard work. Winning those trials was hard work I’m sure. You also used to be a farmer. We all respect that as well.” He looks off to the people. All talking and having a good time. Waverly, Curtis, Gus, and Gavin all interacting with everyone. It’s very nice to see.

“We all also heard about how you won. The fight. I wouldn’t consider myself a superstitious man. My parents came from the West. They would tell me stories, legends. I remember a story about. Karotious, the King who started it all. The King who united the people and made the first Kingdom. That now is the Western Kingdom. The Gods say that he is was THE alpha.” I turn to him as he speaks. He’s still looking at the people.

“Legend goes that every thousand years a new one is born. This alpha can grow to twice their size, canines grow in length, nails turn to claws, eyes become red. This alpha is the protector of the people. It’s been going around the East that you are THE alpha.” He turns to me. My brow is furrowed. I have never heard of this story, this legend.

“Umm, is it kind of like a power that can be tapped into?” He shrugs and leans back.

“No one knows much about this legend. Many people say that the West has answers. If you go into the woods that border the keep there is a cave with answers.” I look back to the crowd. Waverly waves at me. Her eyes are crinkling in the corners. I smile back. “We have a saying around here. Behind every strong alpha is a stronger omega. In your case it seems to be very true.” I turn to him and smile.

“You are very wise.” He laughs then stands up.

“I’m just old. Old people make everything sound wise.” I laugh, he pats my shoulder then walks away. I shake my head then stand up. I need to keep that in mind when we are in the West.

-

We are back at the house. Waverly is already in bed. I sit in the edge and stare at the wall.

“Nicky, what’s wrong?” I feel her arms wrap around me. I sigh.

“While we were in the town square a man started to speak to me. Thomas. He was telling me about some legend. I never heard of it though. The legend was about Karotious, have you heard of it?” I look behind me and Waverly is nodding. Her eyes are wide.

“Of course I have heard of it. I am surprised you haven’t. Your mother grew up in the West. Why was he talking to you about it?” I shake my head.

“The East thinks that I am the next Karotious.” Waverly goes back on the heels of her feet. She shakes her head no.

“I doubt it, it’s just a legend. No legends have ever been true. That is a powerful legend.” I don’t nod. I lay down and look up at her, my head in her lap.

“What if it is true and I have some uncontrollable power?” Waverly is playing with my hair. She looks away from me at the wall.

“If I remember it correctly, there are tests that can be taken. Certain results will tell if you are the next ultimate alpha. We can do that when we have time. It’s going to be very busy when we get back.” I nod, she looks down at me then pecks my lips.

I stay there for awhile, thinking over everything she said.

“It’s getting late, Nicky, we should go to sleep.” I sit up and nod. She kisses my forehead then lays down. I follow and lay down. Moments pass and her breath evens out. I can’t fall asleep.

Chapter Text

Waverly is having a much better time leaving. I think it’s because she knows we will be holding the annual ball now. We will invite all four other Kingdoms and my family. It will be very small but very nice to have.

We are already on the road to the Southern Kingdom, the guards are being extra cautious. We heard about the hobbes and we really want to be careful with them. The ride to the South should take three days but we are going to end up taking four because we are going very slow.

I talked to the guards, much to their protest I am staying outside with them. Waverly and all of the servants are staying in the caravan. I want to make sure they are all safe seeing none of them know how to fight. Waverly thought it was very, unfair seeing that we both are women. I get her point but I do know how to fight. No matter how anyone looks at it I am more fit to staying out here in the danger.

If there was ever to be a war, I wouldn’t have to go out and fight but why would Knights, or anyone else rise up to fight if their King won’t? I would have to fight to rally the people, I wouldn’t mind fighting. Waverly would be worried though also depending on how long the fight would go would be how worried she is. I shake my head to get these thoughts away.

We are approaching on some dead grass and a lot of sand. The ground is slowly changing into sand and grass. The Southern Kingdom is very close to the water. Half of their Kingdom is on water, the rest is on ground near the mines. Their keep is on the water, that’s what Waverly told me at least.

This ride is seeming much longer, it is slowly getting warmer and warmer as we move on. The guards have taken off their armor. Most of them are in their long sleeve undershirts. I am in mine currently. Trying to fend off from the heat. Nothing seems to be working though. We douse ourselves in water and it still doesn’t help. The hot air just making everything worse.

Night is approaching, we all decide to stop and make camp. The guards are very tired, the heat seems to be getting to them. We only have so much water left. Once we all stop, the caravan door opens. Waverly gets out of the caravan. She is just in a undershirt, and a light skirt. She is sweating a lot.

“It’s like an oven in there. We can’t keep staying in there. We can’t. It is getting hotter every day.” I don’t nod. I get off of my horse.

“Waves, the hobbes,” She cuts me off. She points everywhere.

“Nicole, there are no woods for them to hide. We are approaching the beach. By midday tomorrow we will be in the keep. We’re going to die in there. Tomorrow we are riding horses, okay?” The servants all get out of the caravan, they seem to be in the same state as Waverly. I nod to her.

“Okay, tomorrow you all will be on horses. There will be a perimeter around you all though. I want everyone to be safe.” Waverly nods once to me then turns. She is walking towards the back of the caravan. That’s where all of the shelters are. She takes one out. I go over to her and take the other two out. We both start to setup the shelters. The servants are looking for water and food. The guards are to be checking the perimeter but we are in the middle of nowhere with nothing around us.

Waverly and I finish up the shelters, now we are working on the cots. Setting up the cots is the worst part. We need to put the stands together then we need to set the bed itself up which is just straw in a bag basically.

We finish up the beds then go outside. As the night approaches the night air is cooling down. I sit on the ground and watch the fire. Chicken and potatoes. Waverly sits on my lap and watches the fire. She rests her head back near mine. Waverly kisses my cheek then looks back to the fire. That is definitely progress.

Everyone here is laughing and drinking ale. One of the guards have pulled out a lute and is playing. Others are dancing around the fire. The food is being passed out. I thank Molly as she hands me the food. Waverly and I watch as the guards get drunk and have fun. They haven’t been having fun or doing anything since we started. They deserve this. A break.

-

We are approaching the city right now. I am very worried to be entering here. This place was hell the last time I was here. I am hoping that Mercedes is doing a good job at fixing this place up.

The gates open, before me is a sight I never thought I would see. The city looks prosperous, it looks clean. It looks amazing. As we ride through the city we see happy families, barely any beggars. I look to Waverly and she looks amazed too.

As we get near the docks, there are mermaids trading with sailors, with vendors. Slowly we are making our way to the keep. People start recognizing us.

“All hail the King! All hail the King!” I start to wave to the people, Waverly does the same. I smile to all of them. We are getting closer and closer to the keep. The gates open for us. We get in, a few moments later the doors shut behind us. There is no one here to greet us or anything of the sort. We get off of our horses then look all around us. Waverly and I walk towards the front doors. We open them ourselves. Waverly grabs my arm.

As we walk through the keep there are no sounds. The only thing we see is a door kind of open so we walk through it. The door creaks open. I look up, Mercedes is sitting on a throne, her legs crossed and a sly smile on her face.

“Sup, bitches.” I can’t help but chuckle. She gets up from the throne and walks over to us. Waverly grabs on to my arm tightly.

“Hello, Mercedes.” She pulls me into a hug. Making Waverly let go of my arm. I can hear a little growl come from her. I laugh then turn to Waverly.

“It’s just a hug. I’m sure she’s gonna hug you too.” Mercedes pats her head then smiles at me.

“Sorry for not being outside, I just really wanted to do that.” I shake my head. Waverly pulls my arm and me with it. She lays her head on my upper arm.

“Calm down, I know she’s yours. Anyways, I have food in the dining room waiting for us. I know Waves here likes fruit so there is plenty of that. I know you like meat so there is PLENTY of that in there for you.” Mercedes winks at me then walks past the two of us.

Waverly grabs my arm hard. I can feel her nails digging into my arm.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I shake my head and follow Mercedes into the dining room. Waverly seems very jealous of Mercedes. It’s funny to see this because it’s like she has no idea I am madly in love with her. It’s like she doesn’t even know.

We are now eating lunch. Waverly is close by my side as we eat the scrod. Mercedes is making little polite conversation. Asking about Wynonna, asking about my family. I stop the politeness and finally ask about the city.

“So, how did you get this place back on track?” Mercedes sits back in her chair, a sly smile on her face.

“It was simple. I made rape illegal then I taxed them an extra percent. We have thousands upon thousands living here. That one percent went back into the buildings, and it went to the poor. The beggars aren’t beggars anymore they are miners. They work for me until the money I gave them is paid off.” I smile at her. That is a good plan. Maybe we can take the bodied beggars in the city and train them. Men and women as long as they want to. We could increase our military greatly.

That is the one thing we provide, military. We provide a person that everyone can rely on. We deal with the wars, with the allies, we are the face for all of these Kingdoms. They are Kingdoms, but we technically rule over them making us King and Queen. Waverly had to explain that to me. They are the wardens. Not Kings or Queens. However, if Waverly and I were to die without an heir then one of these Kingdoms would take over as King or Queen.

“That is really smart actually. Where did you get this idea from?” Mercedes shrugs.

“Tucker put me in the dungeon for years. I had a lot of time to think.” She shrugs it off like it’s no big deal. I shake my head. Pity filling me. Mercedes lived a hard life here.

“Well, he’s gone now.” Waverly hasn’t spoken one word since we have started dinner. We finish up dinner with silence. Waverly haven’t even really touching her food. Mercedes trying to be as nice as she can be seeing Waverly so jealous. After we all finish dinner, a servant shows us to our room. It’s on the third floor of the keep. Once in there Waverly speaks up.

“I don’t hate Mercedes I don’t want you to think that. I just don’t like the way she speaks to you. I don’t like that she flirts.” I walk over to her, she wraps her arms around me. I wrap them back.

“Listen, she can flirt and say whatever she wants. I won’t ever flirt back. I won’t ever see her as more than a friend. I only have eyes for you, Waverly. It will only ever be you.” Waverly looks up at me, she has a weak smile on her face.

“I know, I just get kind of jealous.” I pull back from our hug and laugh.

“Kind of? Waves, I thought you were going to rip her head off back there.” Waverly hits my shoulder playfully.

“No. I was just trying to show her you are mine.” I lean forward and peck her lips.

“The whole world knows I’m yours. I have a mark to prove it.” I kiss her lips again then sit on the bed. Waverly is still standing in the same spot.

“Since we are at a beach, you think we can have a picnic by the water?” She turns to me with hope in her eyes. I smile wide at her.

“As you wish my love, as you wish.”

-

Waverly and I kept to ourselves for most of the day. We told Mercedes of our plans. She gagged when she heard of it. I laughed, Waverly put on a fake smile. I find it so funny that she is so jealous of Mercedes. I have never shown any interest in her ever. I love Waverly. I will only ever love Waverly.

Right now we are preparing for our picnic. I have the blanket and basket. Waverly is trying to think of a good spot where we won’t be spotted. In fairness, I am surprised that she even remembers the beach well enough to plan. She was so young the last time she was here.

We both get changed into simple clothes. I wear black pants with a white puffy shirt. The strings in the front are loose. Waverly is wearing a brown skirt and a white shirt as well. We both opted to not wear shoes for this.

We head out of the keep and make our way towards the beach. The guards were upset when they heard that we planned on leaving without them. Waverly explained that we just wanted some time together, just the two of us. They agreed reluctantly.

The walk to the beach is beautiful. When I was here I wasn’t aloud to go to the beach. I was told that we were here for a tragedy. We can’t have fun when there is tragedy.

I can hear the waves crashing against rocks and the shore. The sound of seagulls squawking. In the far distance the sounds of children playing. It’s very nice. We start to get close to the beach. The sand between my toes. I can finally see the water. It’s beautiful. The near clear blue, I can see fish and turtles swimming in the waves. I take Waverly’s hand and squeeze. I look over to her and she has a wide smile on her face. I look back to the beach, we both start to walk towards the water.

As we get closer and closer the sounds are getting louder along with the smells. The salty ocean air. Waverly and I find a nice spot to set up. We found a nice spot where the water is facing the West. I lay down the blanket and place rocks on every corner so it doesn’t blow away. Waverly sits down on the blanket and I do the same.

I open the basket and take out the food. I hand her a napkin with fruit in it. I pull out some cheese and bread using the basket as a shield from the wind. The last thing that’s pulled out is a bottle of wine and two cups. I pour the two of us some wine.

“This is really nice, Nicky.” I grin and look around.

“Yea, it is. It was your idea after all.” I look back to her and she’s smiling at me. I take her hand, I rub the top of it with my thumb.

“I am really happy that we decided to do this.” I nod once then let go of her hand. We both start to eat our food. We eat in silence most of the time. I stop eating and get closer to Waverly. She sits in between my legs then leans back. We both sigh. We are staring off at the ocean. The sun is starting to set. The pinks and oranges looking beautiful against the ocean. The colors are reflecting against it. I look down at Waverly, she looks really content. We just sit there and enjoy the view until it becomes dark.

The walk back to the keep is a lot worse than I thought it was going to be. Some people have settled, others are still working in the mine. I can hear the picks against the stone. It echoes throughout the night. We can’t see the little pebbles and it really hurts. We get back into the keep and it’s quiet. Like everyone went to bed. The sun just set so it’s odd to see a keep so quiet. Maybe Mercedes just has odd rules. Waverly and I make our way to our room. Once in there we light all of the candles. Waverly sits on the bed and sighs.

“I am not looking forward to riding around the city tomorrow. I want to skip the South and go straight to the West. Then we are at your farm spending time together. Just us and your family.” I grin then sit down next to her on the bed. Waverly rests her head on my shoulder.

“The farm won’t be all that fun. It will be first harvest when we get down there. We will need to help them out while we are there.” Waverly moves her head to look at me.

“It’ll still be fun. We won’t have any guards, or servants, it will really just be the two of us.” She kisses my cheek then gets up. She walks to the wardrobe and pulls pajamas out. She starts to get into them. I get up and get mine on as well. Waverly and I crawl into bed. We both pull out books and begin to read.

She is still reading her book on poetry. I am reading a book about past wars. How they were handled, how the Kings would get the conquered land to agree and listen to him.

Hours pass. The candles are starting to die. Waverly is already sleeping in bed. These past few days I have not been able to sleep. All I can think about is finding the cave once we get into the West. I’m curious to see what it says. If there actually is one. I want to hear what Lord Michael has to say about it. He is the youngest Gibson. Michelle and Gus are older than him.

I lay down and stare at Waverly. She looks so peaceful when she is sleeping. During the day I can always see her mind working. She is always thinking and planning. It’s nice to see her peaceful. I lay here till the sun comes up.

Waverly turns on her side that is facing me. Her eyes slowly open. I push the hair out from her face. She smiles sleepily at me.

“Morning my amazing wife.” I kiss her forehead then pull back. Waverly’s smile fades. She takes my face in her hands.

“Did you sleep last night?” I sigh. Waverly sits up in bed then hits me with her pillow. “You need to fall asleep. You have slept ten hours in the past five days. That’s not healthy.” I go on my back and stare at the ceiling.

“I know. I know. I just can’t sleep. My mind won’t stop moving. All I can do is think. I can’t help it.” Waverly puts her upper half of her body on my chest, her face is right in front of mine.

“Tonight, I am not going to sleep until you do. I want to make sure you sleep.” She kisses my lips quick then gets out of bed. I stay in bed and continue to stare at the ceiling. Waverly throws clothes on my face. “Get dressed, Haught” I sit up, I grab the clothes then start to get changed.

-

We are just starting the march through the city. The people are cheering for Mercedes and I. I guess I helped liberate them from Tucker. All of them seem to be very thankful for that. I can’t help but feel bad knowing I killed husbands, brothers, and sons.

All of the people are cheering so much. So far this is the Kingdom that seems to be the happiest to see us. The North wasn’t having it along with the city. Here though, they love us. I am just surprised how much Mercedes has done for the city.

“Hey! King shithead!” I hold my hand up to stop the march. The crowd has gone silent. I get off of my horse and turn to the voice. Mercedes is laughing.

“Whoever said that, come forward.” I can see people getting moved out of the way. Jon stands front and center. He looks terrible. His wife behind him, son in her arms. She looks scared.

“Jon?” He nods once, there is a bottle in his hand. His face looks dirty, clothes a mess. He looks disgusting.

“Look at you. On your horse, in those clothes. Acting like you’re better than me. Nicole, you’re nothing but a worthless farmer. You will only ever be a farmer, you are a sheep in wolves clothes.” He pushes my chest. I can feel anger rising in my chest. Red is filling my vision.

“Jon Frederick Haught, what do you think mother would say if she saw you now?” I push his chest hard. “Walking around here drunk, not talking to your family. Trying to take the farm. Jon, she would be so disappointed in you!” He sinks down a little. He goes to turn, before I can move out of the way Jon turns quick and punches me in the face. My face goes along with the punch. I look back to him. The red is dark, it’s never looked like this before. I walk up to him and grab his collar.

“If you ever touch me again your head will roll. I am sick of dealing with you and your shit, Jon. I will have guards watching you twenty four seven, if even a hair is out of line you will be sent to me to be dealt with. If I hear you hit your wife I will cut that dick off. Do you hear me?!” My voice is deeper than I have ever heard. Jon for the first time in his life has fear in his eyes looking at me. He nods fast. I throw him to the ground. I turn away from him and get back on my horse.

I lock my eyes forward I gesture for the march to move on. The march continues and the cheering starts again. I feel a hand on my shoulder, I look to Waverly and she has a smile on her face. I nod once then look back in front of me.

The rest of the city looks great. It’s all very clean. The mines seem to be doubling production. As we passed them Mercedes said that it looks really good. This city seems to be the most put together one so far and that’s truly shocking.

Since I met Mercedes I always thought of her much like Wynonna and she is much like Wynonna but I would never expect this from her though. This is a thriving city. Currently there are no beggars, everyone seems happy.

-

We just got back to the keep now. As we walk in Waverly takes my hand. Mercedes sighs and takes off her crown. She looks to Waverly and I.

“I am going to sleep. I hate looking nice in front of the people.” Mercedes stats to walk away, she stops then turns to us. “That was really bad ass how you handled your brother. He seems like a dick. Oh, and an idiot. I will send guards to watch him immediately. If you cut off his dick I want to be there.” She winks then leaves. I shake my head. Waverly places her hand on my shoulder.

“That was intense earlier. Are you okay? You threatened your brother in front of the whole Southern Kingdom.” I sigh then take my crown off. I flip it around in my hands and look at it.

“He’s right, I’m a nobody acting like a somebody.” I stare at my crown the whole time I was speaking. I feel like I am trying to be something I am not. I am faking my way through this tour. Giving wisdom and trying to act like I am a King. Waverly makes me look up at her.

“Hey,” She’s whispering. She has this soft look on her face. “You are doing great so far. I know you’re worried. I know you don’t feel super confident and that’s okay. You will get the swing of things soon. I promise. The fact that you’re so worried is very reassuring. A good King would worry, a bad King wouldn’t even try. You’re trying. You have me, you have Glenda, you have your family. We are all here supporting you.” She kisses me softly. Waverly pulls away and smiles. She brushes my cheek then kisses me again.

“Now come on, let’s go take a bath.” Waverly takes my hand then leads me up the stairs. We take out bath and have a great time. After our bath we got to bed and I finally fall asleep.

Chapter Text

Leaving the Southern Kingdom was easy. Waverly hates Mercedes and the family I have there isn’t even really family. As we head for the West I can’t get the legend of Karotious out of my head. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since I heard it to be honest. Now though, now is the time for answers.

I will find this cave and I will get answers. I want to know everything I can about this alpha. I want to see and read everything I can. This also brings up the question as to why my mother never told Jon or I the story. Seeing that this legend is one that parents tell to kids.

Waverly seems very quiet this ride up. We both are in the caravan. She is looking out the window. Staring at all of the scenery that goes by. Something off in her eyes. I place my hand on her leg.

“Waves, what’s wrong?” she turns to me then sighs. Her eyes move away from mine.

“What if you are the next Karotious? What will the people think? Will they submit? Will they all rally together and attack? What about how you are with me? Will that change? Nicky, I, I just have so many questions and no answers.” I turn my body so I am facing more towards her. I take both of her hands in mine.

“I don’t know how the people are going to react. The East is already starting to think I am apart of the legend. The South likes me. I’m sure the West believes like the East. As for you and me? Nothing will change. I am still me. I am still the alpha that wants equality. I am still the same kind and gentle alpha that you love. I promise you that won’t change.” I kiss her forehead then look in her eyes. Waverly has this look of relief on her face. She leans into me.

“I just don’t want for you to unlock some kind of power and then be different. I want my Nicole. I want the kind, smart, strong, sweet alpha I fell in love with. I want you to stay the same.” I grin and lean into her too.

“I won’t change like that. I will always be me.” Waverly nods once then curls into my side. I wrap my arm around her. We both stay silent for the rest of the ride today. Waverly doesn’t seem to be excited about the Western Kingdom. I guess her Uncle is very big on alphas being the head of the household. Omegas only speaking when spoken to. He is very old fashioned in that way.

When I meet him I plan on acting the same way. Always including Waverly, being very nice to the omegas in the house. I want to make sure that everyone feels included while we are there. I want to make sure that our servants that are omegas get treated with respect. The last thing I want is to leave and then find out he was rude to my staff. My other family.

We get out of the caravan. The guards are scouting the area surrounding us. Some of the servants are starting a fire, the others are looking for food. That leaves Waverly and I to get the shelters ready. Since I haven’t been able to sleep I have been considering going on guard duty. I can have some of the other guards sleep. I have been noticing that all of them seem tired. It’s not fair that half of the guards are up for a full twenty four hours.

Waverly and I setup the shelters and the cots in record time. As we finish up the last cots the smell of dinner starts to come in the shelter. As soon as I smell it my stomach starts to growl. I look up at the shelter doors.

“Ready to get some food?” I turn to Waverly and she has a half smile on her face. I nod to her. She finishes up her cot then walks over to me to take my hand. “Lets go get some food, hopefully it will help you fall asleep tonight.” I stop in my tracks. She goes in front of me then cocks her head to the side.

“I have decided to be on guard duty tonight. I haven’t been sleeping anyways. Some of the guards really need a break anyways. I figured it would be for the best.” Waverly sighs then looks down. She lets go of my hand then puts it on her forehead. As she looks up at me she starts to speak.

“Fine, only because the guards seem very tired. Just, be careful. If you do get tired go to sleep. I need you at your best.” I smile and nod.

“Of course. We still have tomorrow for travel. If I am still tired then I will sleep on the way to your Uncles Kingdom.” Waverly nods, we both head out to the fire outside.

-

The Western Kingdom is meat or as some would put it livestock. Waverly says that the fields for them were plowed years ago. Many trees surround each farm. This whole Kingdom is essentially in the forest. It’s beautiful.

As we near the keep Waverly seems to be getting more and more worried. That last time she saw her Uncle she was the Queen. Now she is walking in there as an omega. I can only try and understand the worry she is feeling. As an alpha I have no clue what she’s feeling.

Something odd is happening, as we pass certain farms there are farmers kneeling in the dirt towards the roads. After we go by they seem to be getting up. I have no clue why they are doing that.

Right before I know it we are right in front of the keep. This one is made of wood. It looks very much like a cabin. A huge cabin but a cabin nonetheless. Right in front of the gates there are three people. A man, He looks big and strong. Big thick black beard. Then a woman and a little girl. The girl has a very fake smile on her face. The woman has a much better fake smile on her face. All of them look very put together.

The caravan stops. I get out then hold my hand out for Waverly. She doesn’t take my hand right away. Through our marks I can feel how nervous and scared she is. She takes my hand then gets out of the caravan. We both turn and face towards him. He was at the wedding but we didn’t talk at all. He just stayed to himself.

We both walk towards him. He drops down to his knee. The two girls kneel as well. I stop right before him. The girls are farther back. By a good four feet, as if they are not as important as him.

“Lady Gibson, young Lady Gibson, please come forward.” The two of them stand then walk right next to Lord Gibson. I kiss both of their hands while he is still kneeling. I kneel before his daughter to kiss her hand. The two girls bow before Waverly. I back away and stand before Lord Gibson. “Rise.” He has a stoic face, the only thing giving away his anger is the red on his face. I shake hands with him. “It’s very nice to see you again Lord Gibson. You should have brought your beautiful family to the wedding. I’m sure Alice would have liked to see her cousin.” Lord Gibson nods once.

“I should have, Your Grace.” He looks to Waverly and does nothing. Doesn’t bow, doesn’t kiss her hand. Does nothing as a sign of respect.

“Are you going to acknowledge your Queen? Your niece?” He looks to Waverly again then turns around.

“Shall we go inside?” Anger is rising in my chest.

“Not until you you kneel to your Queen. MY wife, MY mate.” He turns to me, a look of challenge on his face. My breathing is growing faster. My skin feels tight. His eyes grow wide. That’s his only sign of some kind of fear.

“Yes, Your Grace. As you wish.” he goes up to Waverly, he kneels. The words he spoke sounded forced. He goes to stand up but I stop him.

“Stay, you get up when she says.” He stays kneeling for a full minute. Waverly tells him to rise. He rises, the same look of challenge on his face.

“Now, let’s all go inside. I would love to take a look around your home.” He turns and heads towards the keep. The two ladies don’t follow they just stare and wait. I summon them to walk with me. Waverly is at my side, our arms looped together. The two girls are walking next to us. They seem to be on edge.

As we walk through their home, he points and addresses pieces of art that are hundreds of years old. He speaks of the broken sword on the mantel that made Gibson head of the West. He goes over many things. Lastly we stop at the dining room. There is a full feast. Chicken, beef, pork, all of the odd parts. Gizzards, pig feet, liver, everything you can think of is on the table.

He bows then gestures for us to sit. I sit at the head of the table, Waverly is to my left. I take her hand as soon as she sits. Lord Gibson sit across from me at the other head of the table. His wife and daughter are sitting far away from him.

I start to grab food and eat. They all follow suit. As we eat this huge feast everyone is silent. I look to Waverly, her head is down and she is eating her food.

“Lady Gibson, later I would like to speak to you and your daughter. Privately. Queen Waverly will be with us during this talk so you have nothing to worry about.” Lord Gibson speaks up.

“No. I will be attending this. They are mine. I am allowed to be with them during any conversation with another alpha. Even the King.” I smile, shake my head no.

“You will not be with us while I speak to them. This is about something having to do with you. If you are there they will not answer honestly. I need them to. If you try and interrupt I will have my guards take you back to the Castle and put in the dungeon. Or I will just take care of you.” With every word I speak I grow louder and louder. A hint of a growl with every word. He looks away from me then nods. He doesn’t seem pleased.

“You have my permission.” I go back to my food. None of us speak for the rest of dinner. We all finish up. The servants come in and clear the table. I excuse Lord Gibson. He leaves with his head hanging.

“Lady Gibson,” My voice is soft. Nothing in it showing power, just kindness. “I was wondering how the omegas are treated in the Western Kingdom. I know your husband won’t be honest with me. If you speak ill towards your husband it won’t leave this room. I promise.” She looks away from my gaze. She speaks but still won’t look at me.

“Omegas are treated, okay.” Her daughter scoffs.

“King Haught, the omegas here are treated awfully. My father hits her whenever he wants to. He hits her when she says no to sex. He hits her when he has had a bad day. He hits her if he has a good day. The laws in the West are barbaric. Changes needs to be made. Alphas are aloud to trade their wives like cattle. Their children are treated the same way. The only reason why my father has some respect for me is because I am a beta. He hits the servants, sleeps with them by force. King Haught, we need change. Please help us. Please.” She has a pleading look in her eyes. Begging for help. Her mother won’t even look me in the eyes.

“I promise you, in a months time there will be change.” She thanks me. Anger is building in my chest. How can he be so archaic? We are in a new day and age. You would think the alphas of the world would at least start to give some rights to the omegas. “I never asked for your names, I’m sorry.” The little girl speaks.

“I am Melissa, my mother is Eleanor.” I nod once to each of them. I stand. I take Waverly’s hand. She rises. We walk away. As we walk out a servant is waiting for us. She takes us to our room. We thank her. Waverly turn to me. Horror in her eyes.

“I can’t believe he’s the same. I thought that with some time maybe he would have gotten better. He has only gotten worse.” She shakes her head then sits on the edge of the bed. I sit next to her. I take her hands in mine.

“The laws that are going to be enforced in the coming month will extent to all of the Kingdoms. All of them. We will make a law allowing omegas to leave abusive relationships. We will make neutral betas sheriffs. Baby, we will do whatever we have to make our home a safe place. For you, for our future child. For everyone.” Waverly looks up at me, she has a weak smile on her face. I lean down and peck her lips.

“Okay.” She gets out of bed and changes into pajamas. I get up and do the same. Waverly lays in bed. I open the window then lay down. I feel very calm here. Like I have been here before. Everything seems familiar. I fall asleep with ease.

*WHOOSH* I open my eyes and look around the room. The moonlight is coming through the window. Nothing seems to be out of order. The curtain is moving with the wind. I sigh and lay back down to fall asleep.

*WHOOSH* I open my eyes again. This time I walk around the room. My sword in hand. Nothing seems to out of sorts in the room. I go up to the window. There is a man standing at the edge of the woods. He has a cloak over his head. He is looking up at me, I can’t make out his features though. He waves me over. The wind blows again. It feels as though I have met him before. I walk away from the window and put some clothes on.

“Nicky, where are you going?” I turn to her.

“There is a man outside and he is going into the woods. I’m going to follow him. I feel like I know him.” I sit on the edge of the bed and lace my boots. I feel arms on my shoulders.

“I’m going with you then. I’m not letting you go alone.” She gets off of the bed and starts to dress herself. I sigh then look up at her.

“Waves, it could be dangerous. Just stay inside and sleep. I will be back before morning.” Waverly crosses her arms over her chest.

“Nicole Haught, if you think I am going to let you follow some strange man into the woods by yourself you’re crazy. I am going with you and you can’t stop me.” I stand up and just nod.

“Fine. If it seems dangerous at any time we are coming right back inside.” Waverly nods and continues to get dressed.

Waverly and I get out of the keep and find the man at the edge of the woods. He looks at the two of us carefully. He looks at Waverly longer then looks to me.

“Is she mate?” I take her hand with mine and nod. He turns then walks into the woods.

We follow him for what feels like hours. He knows his way through these woods. Like he has done this one hundred times. In front of all of us is a cave. It has two, human like figures on either side. They seem to be carved of stone.

I read about these, they are stone golems. They were seen years ago. We all thought they have been destroyed. We make our way in front of the cave. The man disappears.

There is writing above the cave. At first it wasn’t common but now it seems to be. I read the words aloud. Waverly’s hand in mine tightens.

“Nick, I can only understand some of you. What are you saying?” I repeat what I read out loud to her again.

“The one of all shall enter this place. To learn what they can do. To see their history.” Waverly nods slowly. The eyes of the golems open.

“The one of all shall enter.” The golem rips out of the side of the cave. Some moss and debris fall of of it. It takes my hand, pricks it then goes back into the wall. “This is the one of all. You shall enter.” The cave door opens slowly, dust and cobwebs are being ripped and moved.

Waverly and I start to walk in. The other golem pricks Waverly’s hand. This one looks more feminine.

“This one is the mate. She shall enter too.” We both walk in, the door shuts behind us right away. The torches on the walls all catch on fire at the same time. Waverly is holding onto my arm tight. I start to look at the drawings on the walls. It shows of strong alphas. Leading their people out of the dark. Into new land, new laws, new order.

The drawings seem to look newer and newer as we walk towards the main piece at the end of the cave.. Oldest one shows drawings that look much like the ones from the ancients. It looks very old. The first one shows of a man, he’s bigger than the rest. He seems to be the best alpha. It shows him saving his people from the orcs and goblins. That must have been when they were allies.

The next drawing shows an average looking man. Their people travel, they can’t stay in one spot. Nomads. The man has been pushed around all of his life. He stumbles on the cave, gets the power. It was perfectly one thousand years after the first one died.

As we look at all of the drawings there always seems to be one man who saves his people. The very last one has more writing than drawing. It explains why the West Kingdom was the first to be formed. They were the closest to the ape humans. They were starting an attack on us. Karotious emerged and fought the apes. He was the protector and the savior of the people. Without him they all would have died. After it though there seems to be something random. It’s a story but none of a man just of a war.

House Gibson waged war on the House that Karotious’s family was from. Stone golems were there to protect the family but, they all were killed and House Gibson rose to power. I wonder why this story was so relevant to the wall.

“In the book of Praesidium it says that he created the golems to protect the people of the wolf. I wonder if all of this has to do with him.” She looks at me with this confused look on her face.

At the very back of the cave there is this odd writing in blood. It’s very old, nearly gone Waverly and I walk over to it. It reads, ‘When the people are in near of trouble Praesidium, the God of protection, bestows the power of the wolf onto a pure, humble, and strong soul. The power will emerge fully once the soul has reached the cave.

The soul will rise to power and protect the people when the time comes. The soul has power from the God. The soul is an alpha among alphas, an alpha prime. Once the power is triggered God like strength, speed, wisdom, size, and vision will take over the soul creating a alpha among alphas. The soul can control the power.

The sword of the soul will shine and prove to all that they have the power of Praesidium for the sword is Praesidium's chosen weapon. All that is needed is the blood of the soul on the sword. The sword will change and look like the one Praesidium wielded. The people will bow and listen to the soul, for they are the alpha prime.’ I nearly drop to my knees. Waverly’s hand falls to my shoulder.

“Are you okay?” I don’t move. I just stare at the words before me. Reading them over and over again. If I am this alpha prime, why me? What have I ever done to prove myself worthy of this power? Is my father actually my father? Am I actually a Haught? I don’t know. I am not a faithful woman of the Gods. I never have been, why me? Is now the time to start? So many questions and so little time.

I turn to Waverly. She has a worried look on her face.

“I’m fine, let’s umm do this blood thing on the sword then leave.” Waverly doesn’t nod. She takes a step back. I cut my hand open with the sword. Nothing happens. I let blood pour out of my hand. I place my hand on the sword and wipe all over it. Again, nothing happens. I stare at the sword, waiting. Something must happen. All of a sudden the sword starts to absorb the blood. Right before my eyes the blade starts to grow, shine like new. The handle is next, it extents longer, not by too much. The hilt is turning to golds, red jewels are forming right before my eyes. It’s nothing like my sword. No this is the sword of a King, an alpha prime

“So, you’re a, alpha prime.” I turn to her and she has a slight smirk on here face. She takes my good hand. “Let’s get his bandaged. You have to address the people tomorrow.” I nod, Waverly pulls me to the mouth of the cave. The wall opens. We walk through. Before we walk out the torches go out. The stone golems are in front of us kneeling.

“We are at your service, when the time comes we shall be by your side. Just like the others.” They stand then form back into the side of the cave. Waverly grabs onto my arm.

“Do you remember how to get out of here?” I shake my head no. The wind starts to pick up. Leaves and sticks start to move around the two of us. My head is starting to pound, my eyes are burning. I drop to my knees. Everything is starting to ache and burn at the same time.

“Nicole!” I look at my hands they are glowing. A crack of thunder in the distance. I look up towards it. Nothing. All around me snow is starting to fall. I look up right above me and I see the man in the cloak.

“The full power is with you. The cave has unlocked it. Lead your people, show them the way. Be better than the rest of us, Nicole. This Kingdom needs change, you can create that change.” He taps my head.

Black. Everything is black. It always turns black. This feels like death, I know it’s not though. I’ve just passed out. Waverly is probably screaming for help. Light is slowly showing it’s way to me.

I sit up fast in bed. I breath and look around. Waverly is in bed with me sleeping. She looks peaceful. I look all around the room and it all looks, fine. No healers around me, Waverly isn’t looming over me with worry on her face. It all looks, normal. I get out of bed and head towards the window. The man is there, he nods once to me then is gone. With a blink of an eye he’s gone.

I shake my head then remember what I saw, or was that a dream? I recall all of the events in my dream. My sword!

I run across the room and check my sword. It’s not mine, it’s the one from my dream. Was it even a dream then? It couldn’t have been. Everything wrong with me makes sense. The vision, the strength, the size. All of it makes sense now. I turn to Waverly, still sleeping in bed. I place my sword down then get back in bed. I tap her shoulder. She doesn’t move. I start to shake her. Waverly rolls to her back. Her eyes open slowly.

“Nicky?” I nod. She smiles sleepily. “You’re an alpha prime, isn’t that crazy?” I laugh and nod. She pecks my lips fast. “You should sleep,” She yawns, “You need to tell the people you are the alpha prime tomorrow.” She pecks my lips again then lays down closes her eyes. I lay down, I pull her close to me then close my eyes. How am I going to do that?”

Chapter Text

“Nicky, come on. You need to wake up. The people are waiting in the town square for you.” I open my eyes, Waverly is standing over me dressed and ready to start. I sit up and look around. Everything looks clearer. I sniff the air and I can smell more. I get out of bed and change into my royal clothes. I put my sword on my waist.

Waverly takes my hand once I am done getting ready. She pulls me to the front of the keep. Right before we meet everyone she stops me.

“Listen here, I know you’re the alpha prime or whatever, but I am still your wife. This means I am always right, you will treat me with the most respect.” I grin, I pull her by her hips to me.

“Waves, that was never going to change. You’re my Queen. I will always treat you as such.” I kiss her cheek lightly. “Now, let’s get this done with so we can head to the farm.” Waverly nods then takes my hand. Lord Gibson is waiting for us.

“You’re late.” I look to him.

“I know, I’m sorry for that. I overslept.” He grumbles under his breath. I grab him by his shoulder and spin him. I look him in the eyes. “Even though I am late I am still your King. I will be treated with respect. You will never grumble under your breath towards me again.” He gets out a weak apology. I let go of him then walk away. Waverly grabs my hand. I let her get in the caravan first.

We head out towards the town square. It’s a longer ride than I thought it was going to be. I speak to Waverly.

“How come the news of me being an alpha prime doesn’t scare you?” Waverly takes my hand then looks at me.

“You promised me that you will always be my Nicole. That you will always be the same kind, smart, sweet, strong alpha that I fell in love with. Is it a little weird to think about? Yea, but I don’t find it shocking. You protect people, you inspire them. You spared Perry even when you weren’t you. Nicky, you have all the qualities of Praesidium.”She kisses my cheek softly. I feel my cheeks heat up.

“I’m glad you aren’t worried then. I’m sure the people will be, or at least will question it. I will have to use the power. Maybe grow, use the strength or speed.” Waverly smiles at me, that beautiful smile.

“That’s a great idea.” She picks my arm up and lays it over her shoulders. After a few short minutes we are at the town square. It looks like all of the Western Kingdom is here.The caravan stops. Lord Gibson and his family gets out of their caravan. They all are waving to the people. Fake smiles are gracing their faces. They say some things then they gesture to us. The door opens. I get out of the caravan then extend my hand to Waverly. She takes it. We both get out then walk to the elevated stage. The people are quiet as they watch us.

I examine the crowd. It seems that all of the alphas are in the front of the crowd and the omegas are watching from a distance. The alphas seem to be wearing nicer clothes than the omegas. They all look dirty and bruised. I wait a few seconds before speaking.

“Welcome, all of you. I am here to address the people. To see all of you, for all of you to see me. I am sure all of you have heard about the legend. I am sure some of you believe and some of you think it’s fake. It wasn’t the plan to address this and and speak to all of you at once but here we are. I can tell you all with confidence that I am of the same blood as Karotious.

The legend that you all have heard has been changed over the years. The God Praesidium bestows the power of the wolf onto a soul. He chooses. This soul is the protector of the people, I have been chosen. This person is called the alpha prime. The alpha among alphas. This power is bestowed on someone when danger is coming or has started.

Before all of you get nervous or worried, I am sure the danger is already here and has settled. The danger is what all of you are doing on a day to day basis. The abuse all of you inflict on your wives and children. The way they are treated. I can say with confidence that all of you are guilty of this. I can say that all of the Kingdoms are guilty of this crime.

With the power that has been bestowed on me I promise change will come. Don’t get comfortable with the way things are. Omegas will gain more rights. Equality will spread across all of the Kingdoms. Omegas, your time is coming. Just be patient.” The crowd erupts in angry screams and objections. Some questioning me and my power. Some angry with how I will bring equality. Lord Gibson grabs my arm. The crowd grows silent.

“Prove that you have the power of an alpha prime! I have been submitting since you got here out of respect! However, after this absurd claim I cannot keep quiet anymore! ” I rip myself away from him. Instead of the usual anger I would feel, I feel calm.

“I’m sure you have heard of the cave. The cave has all of the answers. I was shown to the cave, I saw the answers. I have read of the past, of Karotious. I have seen the stone golems that Praesidium has created for protection of the wolf. I have read of how you and your ancestors destroyed them for your place to rule. If you want to challenge me, fine. You have to challenge me, you have to face me. No one else.” Lord Gibson seems a little more weary but nods once.

“I challenge you to a duel. Fistacuffs. No swords, shields or armor. Just me and you. Show me and my people the power you were “bestowed”. If you win I shall submit and all of my people will. If I win we shall not follow you or your laws. We will be on our own.” I hold my hand out. He takes it with more force than needed.

“We fight now.” I take my crown off and hand it to one of my guards. I take my shirt off and stay in the undershirt. Lord Gibson takes off his shirt. He looks strong, wide chest, broad shoulders. He looks like a strong alpha. I jump off of the elevated stage. He follows suit. The alphas in the front back away. They make a circle around us.

Lord Gibson starts to circle around me. He is growling loud and strong. He is trying to show his dominance. I understand how all of this seems. How skeptical he is. Hell, even I am skeptical. I have been given power that elevates all of my sense. That makes me the alpha of alphas. I’m not sure the full extent of it. I don’t want to kill him.

He swings first, the fist that comes flying at me seems to be in slow motion. I move out of the way then grab his arm. I keep a tight hold of it. Time seems to go back to normal. He looks at me, rage present on his face. I grab his arm then twist it. He keeps a stoic look on his face. I know he’s in pain. I can smell it. I let go of his arm. He brings it close to his chest and holds it.

My plan for this fight is to wait for an opening. He uses his other hand to try and land a punch. I duck out of the way and punch him in the stomach. Lord Gibson groans out. He stumbles back a few feet. Both of his hands are holding his stomach I take the opportunity to uppercut him. After that I take his head and slam it down on my knee. The crowd is still silent around us. I look up to Waverly, she looks indifferent of the situation. Her eyes go wide. Before I have time to look I feel a punch to my stomach. A fist hits my face.

I fall to the ground. Everything around me is still clear, the pain I feel is minor. I look up at him, he has a smirk on his face. Everything goes slow once again. He is going in for another punch. I move out of the way. His fist is now aiming for the stone road. I watch as he punches the ground. His face turns to horror as he realizes I had the time to move out of his way. I kick him in the face while the time is still slow. I blink and then everything goes back to normal. He is a few feet away from me laying on the ground motionless.

I walk over to him. His eyes are open, his chest is still moving. I place my foot on his neck. He has this wild look in his eyes. The one you see when an animal is cornered.

“Lord Gibson, do you submit?” He looks me in the eyes. I level with his gaze. He nods. I move my foot from his neck. I offer him my hand as a sign of respect. He takes it. I help him off of the ground. He looks to his people.

“She has the power of the wolf. The alpha among alphas. All hail King Haught!” He looks to me then kneels. The rest of the alphas kneel towards me.

“All hail King Haught!” they say it in unison. Lord Gibson looks up at me then stands.

“I shall have all of the traders spread word of this discovery. Soon all of the five Kingdoms will hear of the Kings power. All will submit.” He bows then walks away from me towards all of his things. The guards come up to me and hand me all of the things I discarded for the fight. I place my shirt back on then my crown. Waverly looks at my face. She rubs her thumb over where he punched me in the face.

“Are you okay?” I nod and smile. I take her hands in mine then bring them to my chest. She smiles up at me. I lean down and kiss her softly. Behind me the crowd is whispering. I pull away from her then turn to them.

“Look out for a squire to come through and send word of the new laws that will be in place soon. New lawmen will be put in place to make sure all of the laws are being put in motion.” I nod to all of them. All of the alphas have horror on their faces. The omegas have relief on theirs. Waverly hugs my side, her hand on my chest. The two of us looking out to the crowd. The change we will be able to make.

-

Waverly and I are on our way to the farm. We have been waiting all of the Kingdoms to come to the farm. She is very interested to see how the farming world works. My father is so happy to have us coming down for awhile. He misses us and he really needs the help. It’s approaching second harvest. He needs help setting up the farm for the harvest.

I think Waverly feels as though this is going to be an easy week. If she does think this then she is in for a rude awakening. This week is going to be full of hard work. Working from dawn to dusk. Getting two meals if you’re lucky. This is the life that I miss right at the moment. The simplicity of it all. However after seeing the cave and all it had to offer I am guessing my life never would have been simple. I somehow would have rose to power to lead the people out of the darkness.

We’re really close to the farm. As soon as we got to the city the guards dropped us off at the Southern gate for us to walk to the farm. Waverly was excited by the idea of walking on our own, now she is seeming to regret it. We are about an hour away. Waverly has been dragging her feet for about two hours. The sun is starting to set. We should be there in time for dinner.

“Come on Waves, we gotta hurry if we are to make it by dinner.” Waverly stops walking and looks at me. She is drenched in sweat. Anger is all over her face.

“I’m sorry that not all of us have weird wolf strength and speed. You’re walking way faster than me.” I grin. I walk over to her and pick her up. She squeaks and wraps her arms around my neck. My right hand is on her back my left arm is cradling her legs.

“Since I have the weird wolf strength and speed I suppose I could carry you the rest of the way to the farm.” Waverly has a wide smile on her face.

The farm is in my line of vision. I place her down on the ground. She takes my hand. We start to walk towards the farm. The closer we get to the farm the more excited I get. I miss all of my family. I understand that Waverly is my family now but I really just miss my brother and father. Jon isn’t my brother anymore.

We get to the front door. I go to knock but the door swings open. Sam is standing at the door with a wide smile on his face.

“Nicole!” I let go of Waverly’s hand then wrap my arms around Sam. He hugs me back. I pick him up and squeeze. As I put him down I look up and see my father standing at the table. I walk in the house. He looks me up and down like I have changed. Tears well in his eyes, he wraps me in a big hug. I hug him back. He smells like wheat and dirt.

“It feels like like a lifetime since I have seen you.” It’s really only been a month and a half but we were really close and now, now I don’t see him. Same goes with Sam. I jumped from helping raise him to not seeing him anymore. It’s hard.

I let go of him and look at him. He’s still the big scruffy man, just a little more grey. I nod and laugh. I take a step to the side. Waverly walks over to my father and gives him a big hug. Sam taps my back.

“You just missed dinner, tough luck. Looks like you have to wait till tomorrow to eat.” I look at him confused. I slap the back of his head. He takes his hand off of my back to rub the back of his head. “Why would you do that?!” I shrug and grin.

“Because I am here and I can. Also, I’m your King you should show more respect.” Sam nods then stands in front of me. He bows and looks up at me at the same time.

“Your Grace, there is no more dinner for you and your lovely wife. You shall eat tomorrow night.” He stands back up. I give him an impressed look.

“That was much better. I really appreciated that you bowed the whole time, Made it feel real.” Sam smiles and nods.

“Thank you, I have been working on it actually. I’m glad you liked it.” I take a step forward and mess up his hair.

“I’m happy to see you. Also, I live here, I know where the food is kept. Bread is in the cabinet.” I walk further into the house. Waverly is still talking to my father. They seem to be getting along really well. From what Sam said he likes Waverly, or well, at least thinks she’s lovely.

I open the cabinet, there are three loaves of bread sitting there. I grab one of them, I split it down the middle. I bite one half and walk the other over to Waverly. She takes it with an easy smile and a thanks. I go to the table and sit down. The chair feels so nice and yet so awful. The familiarity of it is so nice, reminds me of simpler times. Of helping my mom in the kitchen, learning how to write. How to read. Changing Sam at the table late at night. Years later teaching him how to read and write.

Looking around the house all of the memories of my past, of my family flood me. I get a stupid grin on my face. My eyes fall on Waverly, it’s almost like I can see my future. Waverly and I, presiding over the court. The two of us raising a child. The two of us just being together. Lazy mornings that we will rarely ever have but always cherish. Waverly looks at me and smiles. That smile makes me melt every time I see it. Makes me feel weak in the knees. Makes me fall ever more in love with her. She looks back to my father, they continue to talk.

“Ya know, you don’t have to look at her like you can’t ever have her. You guys are married. Stop pinning.” I turn to Sam. He is sitting back on one of the chairs. Balancing on the two back legs with his feet on the table.

“Have you lost your manners since I’ve been gone? Since when has it been okay to put your feet on the table?” He slowly takes his feet off of the table. He looks a little shameful.

“You’re right, that one was poor manners. My bad.” I nod at him. I face the table and look at him. I feel like he’s grown since I have last seen him. He probably has but not as much as I feel he has.

“So, I guess I should tell the two of you the big news.” My father’s face goes pale. He grabs a chair.

“Is she pregnant already? The two of you just got married. You don’t even know how to run a Kingdom forget about raising a kid.” I laugh and shake my head no.

“No, not that. I am something called the alpha prime like,” My father cuts me off.

“Like Karotious. Many people have been whispering about it. Most don’t know the real story though. Your mother did. She loved that story. She learned everything she could about it when she was a child.” My father smiles and pats my shoulder. “I’m sure she would have loved to hear all about it, Nicole. I’m sad she can’t.” I shake my head and take in the information my father just told me.

“How come she never told us the legend then?” My father shrugs. It ends at that. He won’t know anymore about it. I try to recall other things that has happened on the trip.

“Guess who I saw when we were in the South?” Sam’s jaw drops.

“Jon! It had to have been Jon!” I nod once and then shake my head. “Wha, what happened?” I sigh then lean back in my chair.

“He confronted me. Called me a sheep in wolves clothes. He was drunk. Screaming in public. His family was behind him, they looked horrified. He hit me, I told him if he ever hit his family or something like that I would cut his dick off.” Sam bursts out laughing. He leans back in his chair and holds his stomach, he starts to balance on the back legs again. He tips back a little too much then falls on the ground. I start to burst out laughing.

“What the hell! Why would you threaten him like that? In public?” I turn to my father. He has a serious look on his face. “He may be a drunk, a loser, a beta that thinks more of himself but he is still your brother.” I shake my head at my father.

“That man is no brother of mine. He disrespected me in front of my people. I need to earn their respect, I need to make them submit to me. He challenged me in front of thousands. I had to stand up to him. I had to show him that I wasn’t playing around. That he can’t kick me around anymore. Did I mean what I said? No of course not. If he’s an asshole to the community that’s Mercedes problem. With the new laws that are going to be coming into play what I threatened him with isn’t too far off for punishments.” My father has this defeated look on his face.

“He is your brother, he shall always be your brother. I know he wasn’t very nice to you when you two were kids but, a man needs a chance for change. He needs to learn how to change. He has always been an angry kid, that angry kid has grown into an abusive man. He needs to change. I didn’t do my job as his father. Your mother stepped up and did more for him. You, you are so much like your mother. The kindness, humor, humility, the instinct to protect. He might respond well to you now. You need to be you,” He walks over to me and pokes my heart. “the kind and sweet you. Not the leader, the King. You need to be sweet and kind. “ He takes his hand away, before I can say anything he is out of the house.

Waverly has this look on her face. The stoic look she keeps on her face when she is thinking. I look to Sam and he looks confused.

“Where the hell did that come from?” I shrug my shoulders. Sam stands up and dusts himself off. It didn’t help much. “He has been grouchy lately, I know my birthday is in two weeks but, he never gets this bad.” I look towards the door, I get up and follow my father out of the house. I know where he is. He’s with her.

I go to the old oak tree that’s on the edge of the farm. The closer I get I can hear his voice better and better.

“Joan, I need you still. We have three kids, it feels like we only have two. Nicole and Sam. Jon, he’s so distant and angry, that’s my fault. Our kids don’t even see him as a brother anymore. What do I do? Do I force them all together? Do I make Nicole be the bigger person and talk to her brother? What do I do Joan? You were always the smarter one, the parent.” I walk out and make some noise, I want him to know I am here.

“You ever get an answer?” He doesn’t turn.

“I’m still waiting on one. I come here once a week and just talk. I just, I want our family back. I want Jon to be the son I know he can be, the father, husband, brother. I feel as though I ruined him.” He continues to stare at the wooden slab that’s sticking out of the ground. “She would know what to do. She always has.” My father stares for a few more seconds then turns away.

“You two haven’t been together in nearly a year. Maybe you should speak to her.” He walks up to me and pats my shoulder. He walks away.

I take a few steps towards her grave. I stare at the wooden slab. It has her name. I drop to my knees.

“H, hi mama. It’s been awhile since I last talked to you. Probably over a year. I’m King now. I’m sure father told you though. I got married,” A huge smile takes over my face. “Her name is Waverly. She is one of the princesses I ran off to go see so long ago. I’m glad I did that. She is the most amazing woman I have ever met, mama. She is kind, smart, funny, charming, the most beautiful woman to ever grace this planet. I wish you could meet her. I’m sure you would love her. I love her, with all of my heart.” I look around, trying to stop the tears from coming.

“Jon, mama, he’s bad. Father was right about that. How do I, how do I help him?” I look back at the wooden slab. “Mama, I have so many questions that need answers. How come you never told us of Karotious? How come I was chosen? I need answers mama,” Tears well in my eyes. “I need you mama. I need you.” I start to break down in tears. I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look up, Waverly is looking down at me. Tears in her eyes. She kneels down, I stuff my face in her chest and let the tears flow. Let all of the emotion I have built up since becoming King just flow.

Waverly and I have been sitting here for hours. I stopped crying some time ago. Waverly is wrapped around me. Holding my head to her chest.

“Nicole, you’re so smart. I’m sure you know your brother. I know you can figure it out. Just, give it time. Maybe talking to him is’t the best. Sometimes people change the best when they are left alone and given time to think. Send a letter and go from there.” I look up at Waverly. She has an optimistic look on her face. I nod with confidence.

“Yea, you’re right.” I move away from her then stand up. I help Waverly up from the ground.

“I’m gonna stay here for awhile. I’ll meet you inside.” I look at her weird. “It’s calming here. I just want to be here for a few more moments.” I kiss the side of her head then walk away. As I walk away I hear her talking. It makes me stop.

“Hello, Lady Haught. My name is Waverly Haught-Earp. I’m kinda married to your daughter. I just wanted to let you know that you did a wonderful job raising her. She is the most kind and sweet alpha this planet has ever seen. She is going to change the world some day, that’s all thanks to you. I promise to take care of her. I can’t promise to make sure she is safe and will never get hurt. You know how stubborn she is.” I grin at the last part. “But I swear to always be there for her. When she needs someone I swear to be there for her. By her side.” She stops talking, footsteps are getting closer. I start to walk to the house. I get inside and wait at the table for Waverly. The house is silent. Waverly walks in a few moments later.

I walk over to her and pull her in tight hug. She hugs me back. We stay like that for a few moments. She pulls away and kisses me quick.

“We should go to sleep. Your father said that there is bed set up in the barn. In the upper half. The farm hand has your room.” I nod. We head to the barn, we get upstairs and a bed is set up. We lay down in bed, we still have our clothes on from the day. As soon as I lay down I fall asleep.

-

We have been at the farm for about six days. Tomorrow we are leaving to head back to the castle. Over the past six days we have been farming. Sam and I have been teaching Waverly a lot of the techniques on how to farm. How to harvest crops, things like that. She seems really tired. I told my father last night that Waverly and I are going to be just hanging out. Just the two of us.

“Waves, baby.” her eyes open slowly. I kiss all over her face until she wakes up. “Come on, you need to wake up. We have a lot of plans for the day.” She closes her eyes.

“We have nothing to do today. We should sleep in. We should just stay in this terrible bed and sleep.” I laugh. I pick Waverly up out of the bed. She squeaks. “What are you doing? Put me back in bed, I don’t wanna.” She starts to laugh and giggle near the end of her complaining. “The sun isn’t even up. We aren’t working. Nickyyyy.” I place her on the ground.

“We are going to watch the sunrise by the river. It’s all open. It’s the most beautiful thing you will ever see.” She sighs. She looks around the barn then back at me.

“Fine but I get all of your warm clothes.” I nod and smile at her.

“That’s fine, I’ve been warmer since the whole cave thing anyways.” She starts to grab clothes from the bags we brought and gets dressed. I’m still in my undershirt and boxy short things. I grab an extra pair and an extra shirt.

Once Waverly is dressed and ready to go I grab a basket full of food then head to the river. As soon as we get outside I hand the basket to Waverly. She’s about to argue, before she can I pick her up. She giggles and kicks her feet as I carry her bridal style.

The walk to the river is about a half hour. It’s near the farest edge of the farm. Once we are there I place Waverly on the ground. I open the basket and place a blanket on the ground. I sit on the blanket, Waverly does the same. The sun is already starting to rise. Waverly rests her head on my shoulder. I rest my head on hers. We sit in silence as the sunrises. The yellow is showing first. It’s a beautiful bright color. The ground is still dark against the yellow. Enough of the sun hasn’t come up yet.

Above the yellow the blue from the sky is starting to show. The ground still dark. The next color to show is orange. Waverly sighs and places her hand on my chest.

“This was a good idea.” I look at the profile of her face and smile. She looks so gorgeous. I look back a the sun rise. The ground far out in the horizon is starting to light up a little. We can see some of the trees better. The clouds are becoming pink. Everything looks amazing.

As more of the sun rises more of the ground is starting to light up. The little bit of water in the distance looks grey. The lights and the shadows are changing around us, the world is coming to life with the sun. The clouds that looked pink are starting to have a golden shine on them. The orange is gone now that the sun is right above the horizon. The yellow is getting brighter and brighter. The ground has a yellow shine to it. The sky is becoming more and more blue with every passing moment. I go to the basket and pull out some water for the two of us. We have a little fruit so I pull that out to eat too. Waverly takes both.

The water is starting to reflect the sun. Everything around us is just perfect.

-

Waverly and I are still at the river. We went for a swim and changed. Ate some more food. Talked about our future together and how the Kingdoms will come into play. Kids. We have just been talking. Now we are staring at the clouds.

Pointing and telling each other what we see. It feels so right and comfortable. All of this. All of her. She’s my mate. My love. My everything.

She sits up and looks at me. She’s leaning over me. Her hands by either side of my head. She’s smiling at me. Looking at me like I hung the stars, placed the moon. Made the sunrise.

“I love you, Nicole Haught. Nothing in this world will ever change that.” She leans down and kisses me full of passion and lust. I flip her on her back, she giggles then wraps her arms around my neck. Now my hands are by either side of her head now.

“I love you, Waverly Haught-Earp. More than you will ever know.” I lean down and kiss her with passion and lust. She pulls me down closer to her with her arms.

The rest of the day is us stealing kisses, talking about the Kingdom. The laws we want to enforce. Most of all though, we keep talking about kids. Our future. Our legacy.

Chapter Text

Waverly and I are heading back to the castle. The guards came and picked us up at the farm. As we are riding in the caravan we are discussing the laws that we want to be put in place. We have a list of seven things that we want to get done. Today when we get back we are going to address the people in the arena.

As we head to the castle we pass the orphanage. This hits me hard. Waverly and I haven’t seen the kids since we left. I know she wants to go and see them as much as I do. We have agreed to try and adopt one of the kids. Jessica feels like the right fit for us. She may not have a claim to the throne but we will at least be giving a little girl a good home. After we put the laws in place and get the August festival settled we are going to go back to the orphanage to adopt Jessica.

Waverly takes my hand. I look at her. She smiles weakly at me.

“How do you think the people are going to respond to me being an equal to you?” I shrug then kiss the top of her hand.

“I don’t care what they think. They don’t have a say in what I rule. Then they won’t have a say in what we rule. If they don’t like our laws then they can leave. I don’t know where they will go but they can leave.” She smiles at me, this time it’s a real smile.

The caravan stops. The door opens. Waverly gets out first. I follow her out, a person slams into me. I look down, Glenda is hugging me.

“You can’t be gone for so long. You got me worried. The whole Kingdom is buzzing with news.” She looks up at me and scowls. “Why on this planet would you fight Lord Gibson? The man looks like a monster.” I grin and shrug.

“I needed to prove a point. I won didn’t I? I’m the alpha prime I’ll have you know.” Glenda and Waverly both hit me at the same time. Glenda hit me on the back of the head and Waverly hit me on the shoulder. Glenda points her finger at me.

“Don’t let that be getting to your head. Less than a year ago you were nothing but a farmer. Just because you found out you are some super alpha means nothin.” She glares more at me.

“Yes Ma’am.” She hits me again then turns. She’s grumbling under her breath.

“Damn kid, letting power go to her head.” she keeps grumbling. I wrap my arm around Waverly.

“I miss being home.” Waverly pecks my cheek, her arm drags against mine as she pulls away. Our hands meet and she takes it. She pulls me into the castle.

Waverly and I spend the rest of the time bathing and getting ready for the announcement. I need to write all of it down. After that I have a meeting with Dolls. He needs to tell me all of the things that happened while I was gone. Then I need to answer some of the staffs questions. After that Waverly and I need to announce all of the laws to all of the people. Today is a super busy day.

Right now I am heading to my office. I need to draft the laws for today. I need to have squires ready to travel and announce the new laws to the people across the five Kingdoms. I make it to my office. I have an hour to draft all the laws. As I sit down there is a knock at the door.

“Come in,” A random servant that I have never seen before walks in. She bows then begins to speak.

“Hello, Your Grace. My name is Sarah, I am your new servant. Lucinda has fallen sick since you have left. The healers are working very hard to make sure she gets better. Until then I will right outside the door if you need anything.” She bows again then turns away to leave.

“Thank you for letting me know. Send Lucinda my best wishes.” She turns to me and nods once. After that she is gone. I go back to drafting. I have no clue how to do this. I start writing in the most formal way I know how to. I am hoping that this will be enough.

The hour goes by, Lord Dolls should be on his way. I sit at my desk going over what I have written. There is a knock at the door.

“Come in.” The door opens, Dolls walks in. He has a stack of papers in his hands. Dear Gods, this is going to take up the rest of my day. He bows then sits down across from me.

“While you were gone not much has happened. All of this paper is just all of the disputes I have settled while you were gone. Many farmers angry of kids stealing their food. Blacksmiths that didn’t get paid the right amount for their work. Things of that sort. You can go through all of this is you would like. I promise you it is all up to standards.” I motion for him to hand me the papers. I take them and start to skim through them.

I get to one of them that seems out of place. It’s Orc paper. Nothing is written on it though. I turn it to the back and still nothing.

“What’s this? Why did the Orcs send a raven?” Dolls leans back in his chair.

“I honestly have no clue. It came in about two days ago but nothing is on it. Just a blank piece of paper.” he shrugs. This is odd. It could be a prank or an accident. Or something could be wrong. I place it to the side to show Waverly later. The paper smells of Orc. Really strong.

I continue to look through all of the papers and it all seem to be in order. It’s all exactly what he said it was.

I tell Dolls that he can go. He gets up, bows, then leaves. I grab the paper the Orcs sent, I look at it more and more.

“Sarah,” She walks in and bows. I shake my head. “You don’t need to bow every time you see me.” She nods once. “Get Waverly for me. I need her for something.” Sarah goes to bow but stops herself. She leaves. I sit back and stare at the paper. I need to know if this has ever happened before. If it has then I won’t be too worried. If it hasn’t, I’ll send one hundred men to aid them.

Waverly walks in. She has a worried look on here face.

“What’s wrong?” I hand her the paper. She looks it over back and front. “It’s Orc paper.” I nod. She looks confused.

“It was sent by a raven. It has nothing on it. Has this ever happened before?” Waverly nods. She sits down on my lap.

“They are very disorganized down there, This used to happen all of the time. I wouldn’t think much of it.”She kisses my cheek then gets up. “You have a line out there.” she blows a kiss to me then leaves. I sit back in my chair then call the first one in.

-

All of the staff had the same questions basically. Are their jobs safe. What will happen now that I am King. Will there be a lot of change. Many things like that. I gave them all the same answer. There jobs are fine, I don’t plan on hiring a new staff. Change is coming but it won’t affect the castle in the way they are thinking. I told them to wait until later to hear what will happen now that I am King.

Right now Waverly and I are heading to the arena. We have the laws in hand. I feel nervous to be addressing the people. To be telling them that their way of life is wrong and it needs to be changed. I’m not sure how Waverly feels aside from them not accepting her as an equal to me.

We are nearing the arena. The crowd is pretty noisy . I could hear them from our room. The closer we get the harder Waverly squeezes my hand. The doors opens, light floods over us. It takes a second for our eyes to adjust. As we walk out the crowd slowly goes silent.

I stand before them with my chest puffed out, confidence showing in my face and posture. It all feels like second nature now. It all feels, normal. Like I have done this one hundred times before.

“Welcome, I want to thank all of you for attending this announcement. This Kingdom has gone on too long with the way things are. With the abuse that is being inflicted on omegas and children. Today, it’s all coming to an end. Today I have drafted six new laws. Waverly and I have talked about them for a long time. Discussing what we think is right for our Kingdom and future generations.

The first and most important law has to do with your ruler. It will become rulers. The first law states that the King and Queen shall be equals when it comes to ruling the Kingdoms. It’s not fair that Waverly, the true Queen of the five Kingdoms, can’t rule her people just because she is an omega. That ends now. In the coming days Waverly is going to have her coronation. We will rule as equals.” The crowd starts to erupt in questions and objections. All of them screaming at me. I muster up the deepest and scariest voice I can.

“SILENCE!!” the crowd goes silent. All of them taken aback. I clear my throat and continue. “There is no arguing on any points that I make today. All of them are final and will be seen through. Now, the second law that we have decided on is the action of taking omegas off of the street and having sex with them as you please. That is rape.

If any alpha is accused and found guilty of rape there will be serious consequences. There will be no second chances. The alpha that is accused and found guilty will be castrated. For those of you that don’t know what this means, it means we will be either cutting off your testiacls or your penis.” The crowd erupts in just objections. All of them screaming at me.

I feel a growl starting in my chest. It slowly start to grow louder and louder. The louder it gets the less speak. I let the growl rip through the crowd. They all stop speaking.

“The third law is that all alphas and omegas will be treated as equals. This means that omegas can own property. They shall NOT be forced into marriage when their heat arrives. Omegas can work outside of the house. There will be equality all throughout the five Kingdoms. Jobs will be available to omegas. Places to teach children will be opened all around the city. Kids will be offered the chance to get an education. Read, write, do math.

There will be another job that will be opening up, it’s for both alphas and omegas. A brothel will be opening. There will be ones run by the crown and ones run by the people. For those of you that don’t know what a brothel is, it a place of exchange. Money for sex. It all will be legal, omegas and alphas alike can go to these places instead of rape. Something that the crown is coming up with is something called a contraceptive. Alphas will put his on before sex so that the omega won’t get pregnant. There are more details to this. Those details will be left up to those who want to open a business.” The crowd seems to be okay with the last part. I can hear whispers of those who don’t like equality.

“The fourth law that is to be enforced is one that greatly affects omegas and wives. If there is proof of abuse a wife is aloud to leave their husband. There will be a court hearing held that will determine if there is abuse. This doesn’t mean wives can start leaving husbands if they aren’t happy. Marriage is still something the Gods hold close. Abuse and abuse only needs to be proven. Alphas, if I were you I would start treating your wives better.

The fifth law that is being enforced is that omegas aren’t property. You can’t trade your daughters or wives like cattle. A wife can’t be used a currency neither can daughters. This one is just enforcement for the equality law.” All of the alphas have sour looks on their faces. The omegas and a few betas have happy looks on their faces. Some have tears in their eyes.

“The last law has to do with the sheriffs. Waverly and I will be electing new sheriffs for the city and the other Kingdoms. No more having alphas incharge and letting their friends get off on charges. We want there to be an unbiased law enforcer. One that will actually arrest alphas for rape, ones that will help omegas instead of leaving them in the streets.” The people are still whispering. Some still seem mad, others look defeated.

“Now, I will take questions pertaining to the laws that you all just heard about.” Everyone starts screaming questions out. I try to hone in on one question at a time.

“To open up your own brothel you will have to talk to Waverly or I about the rules. The crown will be taking a percentage of profits just like the other businesses.” I wait for more questions, I keep hearing ones about Karotious and the alpha prime. I hold my hand up to stop all of the questions. Surprisingly they listen.

“The rumors from the West are true. I am the alpha prime.” The crowd whispers, men leaning over to each other.

“Prove it.” A big man steps in front. He looks like he could be a blacksmith. He looks like a real tough alpha.

“What would you like me to prove? Would you like me to fight you? Do something? What, how can I prove this to you?” He smirks.

“You fought Lord Gibson, you can fight me.” The crowd cheers. I smirk as well.”

“Fine, I will.” Waverly grabs my arm.

“You can’t keep fighting alphas to prove yourself as the alpha prime. This isn’t how a King rules.” I turn to her and nod.

“I know, I know this isn’t how I should be doing things. I know I should use my words and not my fists. However with these types of situations I need to prove my dominance. I need to show everyone here that I am the alpha prime.” I kiss her softly. “I’m not even going to swing at him.” I hand her my crown then turn towards the arena. I hear the guards move out of the way so I can go down the stairs. I’m not getting to the arena that way.

Everything I do, needs to show strength, speed, confidence and dominance. I grab the railing then hop over the side so I fall into the arena. I land on one knee and one hand. I look up at the challenger. He looks serious, ready for a fight. I stand up tall and walk over to him with purpose.

I look him in the eyes and never flinch. He is staring back, the closer I get the louder I growl. His eyes are starting to shift away from mine. I can feel my back expanding, my hands elongating. I can see a patch of fur that is starting to grow on my cheek from the corner of my eye. The challenger looks at me and horror fills his eyes. He starts to wreak of fear.

The crowd has stopped cheering, now they are just silent. All of them, fear is filling the air. All of the alphas around me are scared.

“You wanted proof, here is your proof.” I hold my arms and turn to everyone. “I am the alpha prime. I promise to all of you, if you follow the laws you will never have to deal with the giant slayer, the alpha prime, your King.” I turn back to the challenger. “Tell your friends, tell everyone who questions me and my power what you have seen here today.” He nods fast, he starts to stutter but no words come out. I return to my normal form. Some tares in the back of my shirt but I am still covered. I place my hand on his shoulder.

“I may be your alpha prime but I am your King first. I will never harm anyone who is innocent. You my friend are innocent. You had every right to challenge me,” I turn to the crowd. “All of you have the right to challenge me. I just hope that this display is proof enough for all of you.” someone raises their hand in the crowd. I point to them.

“I, I’m not challenging you. I wa, was just wondering what happens t, to the other laws that are in place endorsing all of the old laws?” I smile to him and point.

“That my friend is a great question. Those laws will be abolished. They will not be in place anymore. I want you all to realize these laws aren’t being put in place to punish anyone, to ruin their lives. These laws are being put in place to become a more prosperous Kingdom. The Gods once said, if they all work together, there is nothing they can’t do.” One of the alphas in the front bows.

“All hail King Haught,” He looks up to Waverly. “And Queen Haught.” The challenger bows and says the same. Soon all of the alphas and omegas join in. I look up to Waverly, she has a wide smile on her face. It’s not Haught-Earp like she wanted but it’s a start.

-

Waverly and I are in the throne room. There are about twenty squires and thirty Knights. The squires are to go around the Kingdoms and tell them of the new laws. The Knights have a different purpose. The Knights are going to be trained to kill hobbes. It seems that everyone is having a serious problem with the hobbes. We want to make sure that our people are safe so we decided to intervene. This was Waverly’s idea.

Waverly is giving orders to the squires while I give orders to the Knights. The squires seem to be listening well to her. We were worried that they wouldn’t listen to her. She still hasn’t has her coronation. That is one thing that we really want to keep as tradition. The Gods must be involved somehow. Now that there is true proof that they exist.

“Men, your job is to rid of all the hobbes that are running around the KIngdoms. You all are to read up on hobbes. You may use our library. You have one week to gather as much information on them that you can. After that you will be sent out. You will go around to each Kingdom and kill as many as you can.

These creatures are pests to all of us. They are poisoning people, killing game and people. We want them gone now. Do you all understand your job?” They all nod once. I turn and face the thrones. “You are dismissed.” Waverly is still telling all the squires. The next group of people to be coming in is the potential sheriffs for the city. We are letting the wardens of each Kingdom decide on their sheriffs. The only one that we want to oversee is the West. We still don’t trust them.

The squires are dismissed. They each get one guard to go with them. Waverly turns to me and sighs.

“It was actually kind of nice to be able to just relax all day while you were doing all of the royal duties.” I smirk. She wraps her arms around my neck, my hands fall to her waist.

“Too bad I made a whole law saying we are equals. Then in a few years you will just be in charge. The next big royal law is going to be alpha or omega, man or woman the heir to the throne is the first born of the King and Queen. So if we have a little girl who’s an omega she can be Queen. Just her, when she marries her husband he will have no authority over the Kingdom.” Waverly smiles wide.

“You’re so smart and sweet. Already thinking about our future children.” She kisses me softly for a second then pulls away. I smile back.

“They’re our legacy. As you were your fathers and mothers. I am my fathers and mothers.” Waverly sighs. She turns to the throne.

“I don’t want to be his legacy. I don’t want people thinking that I was such a great Queen because of my father. I want them to think I am great because I made myself great.” She turns back to me.

“How do I do that? How do I get out of my parents shadows?” I grin and look up at the thrones like she did.

“You need to be better than them. You need to be wiser, kinder, smarter. You’re already all of those things,” I look back at her and cup her cheek. “You already broke out of their legacy. In this moment you are forging your own path. Tomorrow you and I are going to be the first ever equal rulers. Alphas all across the Kingdom will bow down to an omega.” Waverly leans up and kisses me softly. She lingers for awhile. One solid kiss for a few seconds. She pulls away,

“What about you? You’re carving your own path right now.” I nod and smile.

“I want to be known as the daughter of Leo and Joan. I want the whole world to know who my parents are. How they raised the first King to change the Kingdoms. They brought me up with respect and kindness. Without them I would be like everyone else.” Waverly grins. The doors open. Sarah begins to speak.

“Sorry. Your Graces, the betas are ready to be interviewed.” I turn to her as Waverly walks to her throne.

“Let them in.” I turn and walk to my throne. I sit down then turn towards the door. The betas walk in. Many of them I fought with in war when the South attacked.

This whole selection is to go as follows, they will state their case. They will tell us their credentials and all of that. Then in a week we will decide who we want and can trust to be the sheriff of the city. Once news spreads to the West we will have some of their candidates come down and we will hear their cases and such.

So far, everything is going pretty good. The people seem to be listening and agreeing. All is going right.

Chapter Text

Tomorrow is Waverly’s coronation. Not many people will be attending. Wynonna and her family will be coming, we convinced my family to come down for it. They are hiring some workers to hold down the fort while they’re gone. Curtis and Gus are going to be making their way here. Aside from them no one else is coming.

Waverly is fine with it though, she already had one big one that already happened. She didn’t like all of the attention and the praise and thanks.

After her coronation we are having betas from the West coming in. We need to interview them and see who the best fit will be for the new sheriff. Waverly is very excited to be hosting this interview and going through the motions of being a ruler again.

Right now the staff is setting up a separate office for her to work in. We both thought about having us share one but then we thought better of it. We both put things in different places. This also works better for her because she can set up her office however she wants.

By making us both equal rulers we have created a few more jobs. We need a scribe to make copies of all the paper that comes in. By much disagreement, Waverly us getting all of the original copies and I will be getting the others. She thinks that the King should have all of the original documents. I think that the true ruler of the five Kingdoms should. I won that argument.

Today we have the day off. I got all of my work done for today done yesterday. Waverly wants to have a day for just the two of us. I really want that as well. The plan for today is to go for a walk through the gardens. Then we are going to have a picnic at the edge of the woods. After that we are going to go to the library and read for the rest of the night. I can’t wait to read a book, my head in her lap, it’s going to be amazing.

Right now I’m up while Waverly is still sleeping in bed. She has been getting up later than me usually. I think it’s because she’s so happy to be back in her own bed. As she sleeps I try to think of other things we can improve on. So far not much comes to mind. I feel as though the laws we made are a good stepping stone. As time goes by we may have to change some things. For now it seems to be going well.

In the past three days four brothels have opened in the city. Two are by the crown, the other two are being run by omegas. Many of them are taking advantage of the new laws. Many have come up to us and asked us when the teaching jobs will be available. So far we only have one school opening. The goal is to have ten schools open in the city before winter. This means that we need to hire more workers. Waverly and I need to send out more squires to spread the word of the jobs that need to be done. Of course we could just make some of the builders build for us but that wouldn’t really be fair to take them out of their current work.

Waverly starts to stir next to me. I look over to her and she is flipping onto her side. She’s facing me, her eyes are still closed. Her hair is all over her face, drool is coming out of her mouth and she’s snoring. I have never seen her look more beautiful than she does right now. I watch her for a moment. I look back at the door and continue my train of thought.

-

After another hour of sleeping Waverly finally wakes up.

“Nicky? When is it?” I smile down at her.

“Well, it is way past sunrise.” She sits up and then lays back down with her head on my chest.

“So can I still sleep or it too late and I should get up?” I look down at her, her hair is all in my face.

“Waves, if you want to go back to sleep then go back to sleep. Today is our day off. We can do anything you want. “ Waverly looks up at me and grins. She slowly moves her body on top of mine.

“Anything I want?” I grin at her. She places both her hands on my shoulders, she slowly starts to sit up. Waverly is sitting on my lap, she looks down at me. I continue to look up at her. She slowly starts to press down into my lap. A wicked grin spreads across her face. She jerks her hips forwards. She leans down and starts to kiss me with passion and a ferocity that I wasn’t expecting. She continues to move her hips back and forth on my lap.

Her heat could be starting up again, the last time her heat came around was when we were in the Southern Kingdom a few weeks ago. So far it seems that all of her heats are very inconsistent and, ...she grinds her hips down hard.

“Baby,” I moan out, she pulls away and looks at me. Her cheeks are red, the redness is moving down to her neck. This heat threw me off, the last two times I could smell them. This one, it just through me for a loop. It must have started today and not last night. She’s about to ask me what, before she does I flip her to her back. She squeaks then starts to giggle. I giggle with her.

Waverly starts to play with the strings on my shirt. She is looking at them as her breath starts to pick up. I lean back and rest my weight on my legs. I remove her sleep shirt, revealing her stomach and breasts. Waverly smiles wide at me. I take my shirt off, she looks me up and down. She surges forward and pulls me close to her by the back of my neck. I pull behind her knee up so her leg wraps around my hip. She moans into the kiss and starts to grind against me. I start to move away from her mouth and start to kiss her cheek, travel down to her neck and then her collarbone. Waverly tightens the grip around my head.

She starts to grind faster and faster against me. I groan into her collarbone. Waverly is slowly getting warmer and warmer. I pull back and look her in the eyes. Her pupils are blown out from lust. Her heart is beating fast under my hands. I pull back away more and slowly start to pull off her underwear. As soon as her underwear are off the scent of her heat hits me hard. I glance down at her sex then back up at her. Everything around me starts to get a blue tint to it. That’s new, nothing like that has ever happened before. I look back down at Waverly and she looks beautiful. Her cheeks are tinted pink. Waverly sits up more, she pushes me onto my back then sits on my lap. She kisses across my chest. I close my eyes and just lean back into the pillows.

She slowly makes her way down my body. As she kisses my stomach she starts to take off my shorts. Waverly slides my shorts off then starts to kiss her way back up to my lips. I open my eyes, she is hovering over my lap. She is looking me in the eyes to ask for permission. I nod once. She slams down on me,we both groan out. She leans forward and rests her head on my chest. We both stay still for a few moments. Her chest is heaving. Everything still has a blue tint to it. Waverly slowly looks me in the eyes. Her brow furrows.

“Why are your eyes blue?” I shrug and adjust myself. She inhales sharply. Her eyes snap shut.

“Everything has a blue tint to it. I didn’t think it would effect the color of my eyes though.” She opens her eyes and nods fast. Waverly starts to move her hips back and forth. Her hands are on my shoulders for balance. I place my hands on her waist. She grins and starts to rock faster. I feel a growl starting in my chest. She looks me in the eyes, I flip her fast so she is on her back. Waverly moans out and moves her head to the side, exposing her neck. I nip and bite at her neck. Her walls squeeze against my dick as I bite at her mark. Waverly whines out.

“Faster, Nicky. I need you to go faster.” I bite my bottom lip and do as she says. I start to go faster, Waverly grabs the pillow that is behind her head and moans out into the room. Her back starts to arch up. I lean forward and kiss her neck, lick over her mark. Her hands go to my shoulders. She’s starting to dig her nails in. I grin against her neck. I go a little faster again, the blue is getting darker and darker. My pelvis starts to tighten, Waverly moans out into the room loud and full of ecstasy. I feel myself start to release. Waverly just tightens her grip on my shoulders, the grip she has on me with her nails is starting to drip blood. I lean forward and rest my weight on top of her.

“Wow.” She wraps her arms around me and hugs tight. We stay like that for a few minutes. I sit up and look at her. She’s smiling wide at me. I lean down and press a soft kiss to her lips.

“I think we should get some food, what do you think?” Waverly nods and pushes me more off of her. I get off of her and put some clothes on, Waverly does the same. We walk out of the room hand in hand and towards the kitchen. Once we get there, there is only one cook. She is just sitting at one of the counters reading a book. I’m not sure where the rest of the cooks are but I don’t really care all that much.

I cough, she looks up from her book. Horror is all over her face, her skin starts to turn pale. She stands up fast then bows. I grin. She stands back up and looks around.

“The others are well, they are,” She seems nervous and she keeps tripping over her words. I take a few steps forward with a kind smile on my face.

“No need to explain, I can very well cook on my own. I don’t need all the cooks here. Please, go back to your book.” She doesn’t seem to relax. She sits back down and just stares at me. “What’s your name?” she stutters out Regina. I nod once then start to look around for a pan.

“What, what are you looking for Your Grace?” I turn to her and wave her off.

“Nothing you need to worry about. Waverly and I are going to make some eggs, bacon, and a plate of fruit. That’s all. Please. Go back to your book.” Regina nods slowly then picks up the book. Waverly moves around me with ease and grabs all of the ingredients.

Waverly and I move together perfectly. Not getting in each others way once, just moving around each other with perfect grace. In no time we are done making breakfast and offering some to Regina. She seems taken back but that is expected. She declines the food. Waverly and I make our way to our room.

Once there we start to eat breakfast in relative silence. Minutes go by, Waverly speaks up.

“So you do want children, right?” I look up at her, eyes wide.

“Yes, of course. Isn’t that why we are talking about adoption?” Waverly nods and then looks around the room.

“It’s just that we haven’t been very careful and I’m sure sooner or later I will be pregnant. I just don’t want you to be upset if all of a sudden I’m pregnant.” I grin and take her hand from across the table.

“Waves, I wouldn’t be upset in any way if you got pregnant. Even if it is before we adopt.” She squeezes my hand and smiles at me. I feel my draw drop. “Are you pregnant?” She laughs and looks down at her plate.

“No, I’m not pregnant. Well not that I know of at least. As I said, we aren’t being very careful and now that we have those, condoms, we can be careful.” I smile and squeeze her hand like how she did with me.

“We can use them if you want to,” the alpha in me is screaming no, “we can do whatever you want to.” Waverly shakes her head no.

“I don’t really like the idea of using them. I just wanted to ask you is all.” I smile then take my hand away. We stare at each other for a second then we go back to eating our breakfast.

-

Waverly and I are making our way to the garden. We planned on walking through there for a little today. She loves the garden, not as much as the library though.

We get to the garden and she holds my hand. Waverly starts to go into detail about how her and Wynonna would run through the garden. They would laugh and play. Before Willa passed they would play there and Waverly would read. Sometimes hearing stories like this make me upset. I don’t understand how Willa and Wynonna could be so rude to her. Waverly is an angel.

“I want to hear stories about young Nicole. I know you have told me some but I want more. How did you come to be you?” We sit down at a stone bench and look at the nearby pond. I can hear the frogs croaking, the bees buzzing, the birds chirping.

“Hard work. I know that sounds cliche but it’s the truth. Working on the farm was hard work. It got me trained to work for the things I wanted. To respect everyone because no one goes into this world without working hard. On top of all that I was training to fight with my father after sun down. Then before sun up we were training. My mother made sure that no matter what I kept up with my writing and reading. She also wanted to make sure Jon and I had manners. So I suppose I am the way I am is because of my parents. As why you are you, your parents and the need to be better than them.” I look to her and she is staring at the pond. Her head drops to my shoulder.

“When we have kids, they are not to be handed everything. They will learn how to work and get the discipline that they need. Otherwise they could end up how Willa was. Entitled to everything this world has to offer. Even Wynonna is like that some of the time.” I place my hand on her leg then look at the pond with her.

We stay silent for a lot of the time, I soon realize that Waverly asked for stories about me.

“When I was younger, as in four or five, I would always scare my mom.” Waverly moves her head from my shoulder and looks at me. I can see her out of the corner of my eye. “I would hide wherever I could. Sometimes I was out in the fields, other times I would be waiting in the barn. I found it so funny. She would jump then yell at me. She would drop whatever she had then chase me around. Once she caught me she would tickle me until I cried.” I finally look at Waverly. She smiles at me.

“That’s sweet. What else did you and your mother do?” I grin then look back at the pond.

“Imagine Glenda as my mother. How I treat her was how I treated my mother. How she treats me is how my mother treated me. The way we bicker, the way we interact.” I look down at my feet to fight the tears away. “My mother and I had a girls only tradition. We would go into the city and buy treats. The first time we ever went out was to get cinnamon bread. I loved it, I couldn’t get enough of it. Once a month we would go out and get something.” I look at Waverly. She has a sad smile now.

“Well, maybe you should keep up with the traditions with our kids. You and them can go out and get bread. Just like you and your mom.” I lean over and kiss her lips softly. I place my free hand on her cheek. I pull away and look into her eyes.

“You’re so smart. I might just do that.” Waverly pecks my lips then looks back to the pond. I look back as well.

“Excuse me,” I turn and someone I don’t know is standing there. She looks like one of the workers here. “I am here to inform you that Lucinda should be better by next week. She is displaying signs of good health.” I nod and thank her. I stand up, I offer Waverly my hand. She takes it, we start to walk around the garden more.

Waverly lets go of my hand and runs away from me. She turns back and waves at me to follow. I jog after her. I turn the corner and she’s gone. I hear a giggle in the distance. I shake my head and try to follow her. This garden is like a maze. Another giggle is behind me, I slide to a stop and chase after the sound.

Minutes go by, Waverly is really fast. I finally break down and use her heat as a way to find her. Within minutes I sneak up behind her and scare her. She jumps then turns to me with her hand over her chest.

“You scared me.” I grin then peck her lips. I take her hand in mine then we head back into the castle. We head back to the kitchen. It’s now bustling and full of people. They all seem to be working very hard. Waverly asks Robin to make us a basket of food to bring on the picnic. He agrees then starts to order others around. We go to the back of the kitchen and watch all of them work around. Some of them are talking, not noticing we are here. Others are working to make, something.

“Waves, why do we have so much kitchen staff for only us?” Waverly laughs and grabs my arm to hug it.

“Well, it’s not just us. Glenda is upstairs, we have the blacksmith. Many of these workers live here with their families. We have a lot of mouths to feed.” I nod and look back at all of them. They all are hard workers, they seem to be making our food top priority. I don’t find that necessary. I get lost in thought. Robin walks up to us with the basket. Waverly takes it. We both thank him then leave.

We first head to our bedroom to grab a blanket. After that we head to the edge of the woods to set up our picnic. The air is perfect, not too cold, not too hot. Just right. The sun is setting. It’s starting to disappear behind the skyline. I set up the blanket for us to sit. Waverly sits and starts to take the food out of the basket.

Two glasses are set down on the blanket. Next the wine bottle then all of the food. Some fruit, some meat, cheese and bread. I grin and sit next to her. We start to make plates for ourselves. I pour us some wine. Waverly and I begin to eat, we stay in silence a lot of the time.

“What else could we do to improve upon the Kingdom?” I look at her mid chew with bread in my mouth. She looks at me and giggles. I shrug then finish chewing. Once I finish chewing she straddles my hips and looks at me.

“What did you want to see as a kid around the Kingdom?” Her arms wrap around my neck, I lean back on the palms of my hands.

“Well, Sam and I loved the festival. I felt as though it brought people together. He loved the music.” Waverly grins as she plays with the little hairs on the back of my neck.

“I was thinking that we could fund the arts once we had more money. We could have statues put up. Commission artists from all over the Kingdom to paint pictures, make sculptures of the Gods. It could start up so much for us creatively.” I grin and kiss her softly.

“As soon as we have the money that is the first thing we will do.” Waverly squeaks and then kisses me fast. She swings off of me then rest her head on my shoulder.

“I want us to build a Kingdom we can be proud of. One where people can live free and happy. One where people from all over will want to come to for refuge.” I stare ahead at the disappearing sun.

“I want that too, Waves.” Waverly curls into my side as we watch the sun set. After about an hour we both head back to the castle. The first thing we do when we get there is get into pajamas. Waverly has been stealing all of my old clothes to sleep in. I think she looks super cute.

After getting into our pajamas we head to the library. Once there we both pick a book and sit on the couch. I lay my head down in her lap, she aimlessly starts to play with my hair. I smile a little and continue to look up at her.

“I love you, Waverly Haught-Earp. More than you will ever know.” She looks away from her book and down at me. She caresses her thumb over my cheek.

“I love you too, Nicole. More than you will ever know.” We both move to kiss the other. It’s a short kiss but there is so much more in it. So much that can’t be said but shown. As we pull away we both smile. Waverly goes back to her book. I enjoy the view of my beautiful wife.

Chapter Text

Weeks have gone by since Waverly’s coronation. Today is the first ever court intrigue with both Waverly and I. I think she’s nervous for all of it. She isn’t sure how bystanders are going to react to her asking questions with the King right next to her. She knows that showing any weakness will lead to them respecting her even less.

Glenda has made us some new clothes in light of the new laws. She said that the new laws have given her hope for a brighter future. Glenda told us she was going to make new clothes anyways but I digress. The clothes she made us are red with gold stitching. The blacksmith has made smaller crowns for the two of us, ones we can wear on a daily basis without breaking our necks.

“How do I look, Nicky?” I turn to her and the dress is tight in all the right places. The crown sits beautifully on her head. Everything about her looks amazing.

“You umm, you look amazing, Waves.” She squints at me and makes a face. I continue to look her up and down.

“Why did you say umm?” My eyes snap up to hers. I start to scratch the back of my head.

“Because I forgot how to speak.” My cheeks redden and I look down at my feet. A few seconds later her feet are in front of mine. I look up and she’s in front of me.

“That’s awfully sweet of you.” She’s looking up at me through her eyelashes. It feels like there is a rock in my throat. Her hands move up my shoulders seductively. I swallow hard. “And you,” she straightens out my collar. “Look incredibly handsome.” I grin and lean down to kiss her. She meets me halfway and kisses me softly. We both pull away and smile sweetly at each other.

A knock at the door breaks us out of our bubble. I straighten out my shirt then get the door. Lucinda is smiling, she bows with her head then begins to speak.

“Good morning, Your Graces. The people are ready for you. Let me know when you two are ready. I’ll inform the guards.” I turn to Waverly and she nods once to me.

“I think we are ready, Lucinda. Thank you for letting us know.” She bows once again with her head then turns to leave. The door shuts. The nerves are starting up. My hands are shaking, I’m sweating. Waverly takes my hand, I look at her and she has that ever calming smile on her face. I take a deep breathe. She grounds me so much.

“Ready?” I nod. She squeezes my hand then lets go. We walk out of the room and make our way to the throne room.

What awaits us there is a room full of people, all standing behind guards. The people are aloud to watch court intrigue. Today we have a case of rape, a few of stealing. Some are just of property matters. Others are of just disputes that need settling.

Waverly and I are just outside the doors to the throne room. I turn to her and she turns to me. I lean down and kiss her quick. As I pull away the doors open. We face them and walk in sync to our thrones. Before we sit someone starts to announce us.

“Introducing, the King and Queen of the Kingdoms. King Nicole Haught and Queen Waverly Earp-Haught.” The people before us bow. I stand up taller, puffing my chest out. I place my hand on the handle of my sword. The people rise, some giving me odd looks, others giving Waverly odd looks. We both sit. The man who introduced us starts to read off all the names of the people and their problems that are going to be coming in. The first two who are coming in are Maxwell Dudman and Coldan Ehtman. They are having problems with their property. The two farmers walk in. Both have their hats in their hands. They bow then introduce themselves.

“Maxwell Dudson,” He bows again. He seems very put together. Still covered in dirt, his shirt seems to have been white at one point but now it looks like a light brown. You can see efforts of trying to clean it. Very young, maybe seventeen. He still has his hat off.

“Coldan Ehtman,” He doesn’t bow, he seems to be covered in dirt. It looks like he didn’t even put in any effort to be here. Now this man seems to be thirty, maybe forty. His hat is back on and he seems to agitated. I look both of them in the eyes, Maxwell looks away, Coldan stands his ground.

“How may we help you two gentlemen today?” Maxwell starts to speak but Coldan cuts him off.

“We are here today because this little bitch can’t settle problems on his own . He has to bring the law into this. That’s a bitches way out.” He looks at Maxwell then back at me. Maxwell is grabbing his hat, moving it in circles. He seems to be anxious.

“Your Grace, Graces, we are here today because Mr.Ehtman has destroyed my fence num, numera, many times and he won’t pay me for the damage.” I nod once and look to Ehtamn. Waverly speaks up.

“Mr.Ehtman, what do you have to say?” He rolls his eyes and looks at me.

“He keeps building part of his fence on my land, I have every right to take down the fence. If he wants the fence up so badly then he should be building it on his land.” I look back to Maxwell. He is looking down at his hat.

“It’s okay to speak freely here, Mr.Dudson. Speak your truth.” He looks up at me then to Waverly. He stays looking at Waverly.

“Well, the fence is on my land. I got the land from my grandfather, the paper I got after his death states that my land ends at the big oak tree. I have been building my fence behind the oak tree. My grandfather would allow Mr. Ehtman to farm on his land because he didn’t want to go through the hassle. Normally I would let it slide as well but I have put too much money into the fence to not be paid back for it.” The more he speaks the more confident he’s getting with his words. He starts to look me in the eyes more. I nod.

“Do you have the paper with you?” Maxwell nods. I get off of the throne and get the paper from him. I thank him then go back to the thrones. I hand the paper to Waverly. She looks at it then leans over to me.

“See this seal, this seal means that my great grandfather has approved the document. He’s right. Ehtman owes him the money. First I want to hear the other side. He must have a reason as to why he is farming on the land. Maybe a deal was struck.” I nod once. I take the paper back and hand it back to Maxwell. Waverly begins to speak.

“Mr.Ehtman, tell me, why do you think you can farm on his land?” He again looks to me and begins to speak. Before he gets two words out I cut him off.

“I am not the one talking to you, your Queen is.” My eyes flash red for a second. He starts to stutter on his words.

“Ye, yes, Your Grace, GRACES. S, sorry, Your Graces. What I was saying was that for years my family has been farming on that land. Never has anyone ever made a problem about it until he built the fence.” Waverly takes my hand. I look at her then back at the two men.

“According to the document Mr.Dudman has shown us it states that his land goes up to the big oak tree. Now, Mr.Dudson, how much damage has Mr.Ehtman done?” Maxwell pulls out a few papers. He hands them to one of the guards.

“I just want the money for the damage. This paper is a receipt, that’s what the man called it at least. It shows how much materials and how much I paid for it. If I did the math right he owes me sixty gold.” Ehtman starts to complain and shout. He’s saying how that’s too much money. How it would be taking a large portion of his money that will go into his farm. I raise my hand. The guard hands me the papers. I look over the prices and sixty is correct. I hand the papers to Waverly. She looks them over and nods once.

“Mr.Dudson your math is correct. Mr.Ehtman you do owe him the sixty gold. However, I understand how important money is this time of the year for farmers. There will be three installments of twenty gold pieces. One every four months. That gives you more than enough time to get the money and pay Mr.Dudson back. The local sheriff near you will be notified and he will be the one to ensure that you keep up on your payments.” I look to Waverly and she nods once. I look to them and nod.

“That works for me, Your Graces.” I nod to Maxwell. Coldan nods. Waverly starts to speak.

“You’re both dismissed. Next case.”

-

Right now we are on the last case of the day. After this we are to have a meeting with a few of the sheriffs. We asked them to come here so we could see how well the people are liking the new laws. After that we are going to talk to the treasurer of the Kingdom so we can find out how much debt we are in.

------

“The last man is Joshua Davis. An omega has accused him of rape. The sheriff of the city has come here to testify on her behalf.” At the word rape I stiffen up, I look to Waverly and she has as well. We knew this was coming we just forgot it was announced earlier. We also were shocked when we first heard of the case. They must not have thought we were serious.

“Bring him in.” The people have been whispering throughout all of the other court hearings, for this one though, they all are silent. He walks out. A smug look on his face. Like nothing he did was wrong. I take Waverly’s hand. She squeezes my hand. We keep them connected.

“Joshua Davis, you have been accused of rape, how do you plead?” He looks me in the eyes.

“Not guilty, Your Grace.” He bows after speaking. I nod once. I speak before Waverly gets the chance.

“I see that you have no legal representation. Why is that?” the smug look on his face is still there.

“I’m not guilty, why would I need representation?” I nod once. The sheriff walks in and stands next to him. He takes his hat off and bows to Waverly and I. He places his hat back on his head.

“I am sheriff William Miller. I am here on the behalf of Lucille Brown.” Waverly’s hand tightens in mine.

“First we will hear from Sheriff Miller.” He takes a step forward and takes his hat off again.

“Two nights ago Lucille Brown came to the office. She had tears in her eyes, dress was torn. She was distraught and could barely speak. After hours of making her feel safe and comfortable she finally felt like she could tell me that Joshua Davis had raped her.

At the office we don’t take these kinds of accusations lightly. We investigated, found out that Joshua was exactly where Lucille said the rape had occurred. Friends of his have told us that he was looking her over that night at the tavern. Lucille left then soon after Joshua followed according to the friends. After further research and questioning we found out that Joshua was and is in a rut. Instead of going to one of the brothels and paying for his, pleasure, he forced it off of someone else.” I look to Joshua and his face has fallen. That smug face has now turned solemn. I grin for a second then go back to looking serious.

“Now we will hear from Mr.Davis.” Sheriff Miller takes a step back and then Joshua takes one forward. He adjusts his collar then begins to speak.

“Two nights ago, I was not at a tavern. I was at, at my, brothers house. He and his wife cooked me dinner.” I hold my hand up to stop him.

“Don’t lie to me. There are eye witness accounts saying you were at the tavern. I’m sure the Sheriff has them waiting in the back ready to tell us what they saw. Now, lets try this again. Tell us your side.” He looks down at his feet. I can smell the fear on him. This is not a smart man, a man who’s friends didn’t lie for him. A man who denied legal representation when he was offered. This man is going to be castrated.

“I did it. I am pleading guilty now. That must count for something right? I am guilty. I raped her.” I close my eyes for a second. I feel no pity for this man. He must have done this many times before.

“Joshua Davis, you are found guilty. The punishment for rape is castration. Because you pleaded guilty after the fact I will grant you privacy for your castration. Your testicles will be cut off tomorrow afternoon in the dungeon. There will be a healer there in case of an emergency. Everyone is dismissed.” The guards take him away, other guards start to usher the people out of the throne room. After a few minutes the room is empty. We have gotten one break since starting all of this. That was for lunch. It is way after sun down. We still need to talk to a few Sheriffs and then the treasurer.

------

I lean back in the throne and sigh. Waverly is in front of me smiling.

“It’s a lot of work huh?” I nod once then smile at her.

“That last one took a lot out of me. I wasn’t expecting to get one of those so soon. Maybe in a month or two but not now.” There is a knock at the door. Waverly pulls on my arms and helps me up. I stand up and kiss her quick. She pulls away then calls for them to come in.

The Sheriffs all walk in. There are about three of them for the city. The wardens should have done this today. We are expecting reports in a few days from each of them on how the people feel on the laws.

Each Sheriff tells us how everyone seems to be reacting. It seems that omegas are thriving and becoming more and more independent. Alphas seem to be getting angry faster in public. It’s generally whenever an omegas is trying to tell them what to do. Betas all over the city are standing up for omegas and stopping alphas. It seems that the people are really reacting well to all of the laws.

This talk with all the Sheriffs goes on for at least two hours. They were asking us how to improve on certain things. How to best deescalate a situation. Waverly and I give them the best advice we can. All of them seem to take in the information and actually listen.

As soon as they go the treasurer comes in and he seems to be very happy. He has a wide smile on his face.

“I have great news for you two.” I grin then let my face drop again. It has been such a long day. All I want to do is curl up and lay down with Waverly in bed. I have no clue what this man’s name is. I lean over to Waverly.

“What’s his name?” Waverly looks at me with her eyes wide. She hits me on the shoulder.

“Nicole! How do you not know his name?” I shrug, she starts to rub her forehead with her hand. “George Moore, his name George Moore.” I nod once then whisper thank you to her. George is so caught up in organizing his documents that he isn’t even paying attention to us.

George drops a bunch of things. He looks shocked, he looks up at me and Waverly then back down to his documents.

“I am so sorry, I didn’t mean,” I raise my hand to get him to stop talking.

“You’re fine. I’ll help you pick them up and then you will tell us the good news.” He starts to stutter as I walk over. I am in awe of how so many people who work here aren’t used to kindness. I know Waverly was Queen for a few years but she wasn’t an alpha. I love her, so much, but she isn’t an alpha. So many people probably were fake to her face and she never even knew. It’s awful.

After a few minutes we get all of the documents in order. George is more of a mess than he was a few moments ago.

“Okay, so the good news. In just a few weeks we have gotten the crown out of debt. Brothels across the Kingdoms have opened up and we taxed all of them. Then the profits from the ones the city has opened has gotten a lot of foot traffic. Now, a big portion of money we are getting is from couples getting divorced. The Sheriff's department has been signing off on the abuse and then we tax all minor hearings.

At this moment we have enough money to start making the budget back up. What are some things that should be budgeted for?” I look to Waverly and she has this wide smile on her face.

“This is amazing, I can’t believe we are out of debt so fast. If the brothels keep up then we will be able to build new houses in the city. Fix the orphanages, make more schools.” I lean over and kiss her forehead. I speak up to George.

“Alright, so what we need for budget for is the orphanages, the schools, the arts, the castle, the knights and all of the Kingdom workers.” I look to Waverly and she is nodding.

“Yea, that sounds about right.” I nod once. George is looking down and writing.

“So basically we are keeping the old budget and adding the orphanages, schools, the arts?” I nod. He nods. “So you don’t want to add anything else, no help for omegas on their own?” I look to Waverly and she shakes her head yes.

“I didn’t even think of that. Thank you, when we get more money then we will find the arts. The well being of omegas are more important than the arts.” George nods and writes something down. After that he places his quill down.

“Alright, if you have any questions then send for me.” We both nod then he leaves. I look to Waverly and groan.

“Why did you look at me and groan?” She has a slight giggle.

“I’m tired. Today has been such a long day.” Waverly nods and then leans on me. I slide my arm under her legs then pick her up. She squeaks. I hold her tight then carry her to our room. Waverly has her hand on my chest. I get the door open then lay her down in bed. She sits up then points.

“Look, someone brought food.” I turn and there are turkey legs with asparagus and potatoes. Next to it is a bottle of wine. I walk over and pour both of us a glass of wine. A hand glides across my back. I turn, Waverly is next to me. I pull the chair out for her. As she sits she drags her hand across my jaw. I push the chair in then go across the table. I sit down, as soon as I sit her legs go on my lap. I smile at her.

“So this is the day of a King and Queen?” Waverly nods as she puts all of her food on her plate.

“Rough right? Not all sunshine and butterflies.” I grin. I start to put food on my plate.

“Should have made it seem more like that during the trials, maybe I wouldn’t have fought so hard.” She lifts and drops her foot, it hits me just right. “I fought a war for you, we both know I was kidding.” I look at her and her face is serious.

“Well don’t joke like that. I don’t like it.” I apologize then start to eat some food. We stay silent for a little while. Waverly moves her feet.

“What did you think of the last court hearing? Do you think it’s actually just?” I look up at her and finish chewing my food.

“Yes, I do think it’s just. I think that people need to realize there are consequences to their actions. Without that chaos will break out. It’s aggressive and the thought of someone doing that to me makes me sick to my stomach. I know when people heard it they must have thought it was a joke.” Waverly nods and looks down to her food.

“I agree.” She looks back up at me and I smile weakly. We finish our food then get into pajamas. I call Lucinda in and she starts to gather our dishes.

“Take tomorrow off. I can handle all of my affairs for a day. I want you to rest for a little longer.” She thanks me then leaves. Waverly and I crawl into bed. The candles are nearly out. Waverly lays her head on my chest and wraps her arm around my middle.

“Thankfully we didn’t have a death sentence today. Those ones get to me. When I first became Queen I had to rule in favor of death. I didn’t sleep for a week. Death is something that stays with you.” I kiss her forehead, I start to rub her back.

“I understand. After the war, I couldn’t sleep for awhile. I felt, weak and lonely. I killed so many innocent people. People who were just following orders from the person they trusted. You’re right it weighs on you.” Waverly looks up at me.

“You never said anything.” I look at the ceiling. I squeeze her for a second.

“I talked to Perry about it when we fought the troll. I made sure it was dead. I put the sword between it’s eyes and watched all of it go limp. During the war, I killed so many. I was fighting for my Kingdom,” I look down at Waverly. “My love. But the experience sticks with you. The feel of their heads under my feet. The smell of the blood. The week I came back sleeping was near impossible. Sometimes I have dreams. I wake up in a sweat those nights.” Waverly sits up and looks me in the eyes.

“You don’t have to live with that burden alone anymore. We are married, we share our problems and we fight them together. I love you. I am here for you every step of the way, Nicky.” She lays on her back, she takes my head and places it on her chest. “I’m always here for you. Just like how I know you are always here for me. I love you.” I look up at her and softly kiss her lips. I pull away and lay my head back down on her chest. I love her so much. She starts to run her fingers through my hair. I smile sleepily. I slowly start to drift off to sleep, feeling so safe and comfy.

Chapter Text

Currently it is the end of August. Waverly’s birthday is in about two weeks. She told me she didn’t want me to do anything big so I won’t. However, when she said big I think she meant Kingdom wide. So I’m not going to do anything Kingdom wide, but castle wide. I’m doing something. Everyone who works here loves Waverly and I know they all want to do something for her birthday. I have a few ideas brewing but for now we have more important matters to attend to.

First thing we need to do today is talk to the carpenters about building the schools. We are going to make ten schools in the city. Some of those are going to be half orphanages half schools. The plan is to rebuild the orphanages so they are safer and warmer for the kids in the winter. Now that we have the capital to do so, we want to get all of this done before the winter.

The next item is to interview some omegas so we can get all omega guilds started. We want all omega carpenters, blacksmiths, artisans. We want to help them get promised work and life long skills. The only problem that we are seriously facing is housing. We can’t promise housing due to the overpopulation the city is facing. We are considering to buy out some farms that are close to the city. It would be an hour walk to the city to get to work. That option is very expensive though. Waverly and I are still going back and forth about it.

Right now we are getting ready for the meeting with the carpenters. We aren’t going to be looking super formal for this. Waverly and I were up late last night discussing the housing matter.

“Nicky, wear the black outfit. We still need to look somewhat presentable.” I look at her and nod. I go to my wardrobe and pull out the outfit. We spend the remainder of the time in silence. There is the warning knock at the door. Waverly goes to walk out but I call after her.

“Waves,” She stops and turns to look at me. “Are we okay? I know we were talking last night about the housing and we aren’t seeing eye to eye.” I walk over to her and take her hands in mine. “I just want to make sure you aren’t mad at me.” I look her in the eyes and she sighs. She pushes forward and hugs me.

“I’m not mad at you really, I’m mad that you aren’t agreeing with me. I feel as though I am right on the matter. We can’t take work back here.” Waverly looks up at me and I nod.

“You’re right, once we get back into this room it’s just about us. The rest of the world is irrelevant once we are in here.” Waverly puckers her lips for a kiss. I lean down and kiss her. Her hands move up my shoulders to the back of my head. As she runs her fingers through my hair I pull her hips close to mine. She pulls back and smiles. She rubs my cheek with her thumb then pulls back.

“Come on, they’re waiting for us.” I nod, she takes my hand then leads me to the throne room. Once we get there, there are ten men waiting in the room for us. A table is set up in the middle of the room. They are talking and laughing with each other. We walk up to the table. I pull Waverly’s chair out for her. She sits then I sit next to her. The men all quiet down and introduce themselves. Waverly speaks first.

“We want to thank all of you for being here. We know that you all have jobs going on and we appreciate you all making this a top priority. The reason for you all being here is that we have a project for you all. We want to rebuild the orphanages. On top of that some are going to be made into schools that kids across the city will be able to attend. We also want some schools being built as well. Just plain schools.Four are just plain schools and six will be half orphanages half schools. We feel as though through this we will become a more prosperous Kingdom.” She stops speaking and they all stay silent. Some look to each other for answers. Others are looking at their hands. The biggest guy there stands up. He looks at Waverly, then me. He extends his hand.

“If you two think this will improve our Kingdom then I don’t see a problem with doing it. I will help you rebuild and build the orphanages and schools.” I shake his hand then Waverly does. Some of the other carpenters join in and shake our hands. Two others just say thank you, but no thank you. That means we have eight carpenters who have teams and are ready to start and help us with the buildings we need. I take a step out from behind the table.

“How many of you are willing to bring an omega on the job so they can see and learn the trade? You don’t have to if you don’t want to. It would just greatly help us out.” All of them but one say no. The one who agrees is the one who said yes in the first place.

“I have three daughters, all of them are omegas. When I heard that you two would be basically freeing omegas I knew we have some really great rulers. Plus how you made Queen Waverly back into power, that was awfully nice. I want my daughters to grow up in this world knowing they can do anything they want. So yes, I will train an omega to be a carpenter.” I grin and shake his hand. He pulls me into a hug and pats my back. I pull away, Waverly shakes his hand. He doesn’t pull her into a hug.

“Now, later tomorrow you all are going to be getting your assignments. We are having squires go out and bring you the letters. For now, you all are dismissed.” They all bow and then leave the throne room. I look to Waverly then out the window. That was quicker than I thought it was going to be. I feel a hand on my shoulder.

“That was smart of you to ask if they would take an omega on board with them. I didn’t even think to ask that.” I shrug and face her.

“That was the only trade we would have had trouble getting for the omegas. We have a blacksmith, he’ll do it. We have countless artisans working for us in the city. I’m sure if we pay them a little more one of them will take on an omega. All we need is one person, then they can train a bunch of omegas.” Waverly kisses me quick.

“Okay, we have about an hour until the omegas get here. I sent for George Moore. The only way we are going to be able to settle this housing situation is if he is here.” I nod once. Waverly calls for Lucinda. She is now on her way to go get him. I sit down at the table, Waverly sits across from me.

“It’s on, Earp.” She squints at me and smiles a little. The throne doors open. George walks in and then sits between Waverly and I. He takes out a few documents then looks to the two of us.

“What are the questions you two have?” Waverly starts.

“Well, Nicole and I have been thinking of ways to help women with their lives. What can we do to make their lives better? We came up with some ideas but now we differ in opinion due to capital. I want to buy out farms on the outskirts of the city and farms beyond the city so we can build houses and give omegas a place to live. Nicole thinks that would be too much money.” He looks to me and has his eyebrows scrunched.

“What would make it so expensive?” I lean back in my chair and gather my thoughts.

“I know these farmers that are outside of the city. I used to trade with them, they won’t get rid of their farms unless they are paid greatly. There are thirty one farmers including my families. I know each of them won’t take less than four thousand gold for their farms. That is the very least amount they will take. That is one hundred and twenty thousand gold. Plus we would need to build more homes on the land. On top of all that we wouldn’t be able to tax those farms and their products. We won’t be able to get fast crops for the Kingdom. I just think right now it is more damaging to the Kingdom than helping.” George looks at his documents then looks at the two of us.

“We wouldn’t be able to afford all of this at once. I’m not sure the deadline you both have for this but to buy out the farms, then to build the homes. That would take over a year. If we were to negotiate a piece of their land then that would be cheaper. A cheaper option would be to rent out a piece of their land. We would still be getting their crops fast we just wouldn’t be getting as much back in taxes through them.” He looks to the both of us. I look at Waverly. I then look to George.

“Give us a moment please?” He nods then gets up. After the throne doors are shut I stand up. “What do you think of what he proposed?” She looks at me calm.

“I think it’s the only compromise we would be able to come to. I think that’s the best option we have. We no matter what have one farm.” I stop in my tracks and look at her with my eyebrows raised.

“Whose farm is that?” She smiles at me and cocks her head like ‘how can you be so silly’.

“Your farm.” I start to laugh. Not to be rude but because my father would rather die than give up his farm. “Baby, my dad isn’t gonna give up his farm. He has put many years of his life into that farm. He isn’t going to just sell it. Also, where would they go? Where are these farmers going to go after their land is sold? There is no more room in the city. Unless we guarantee them a piece of the land for their own homes then we are going to need to find a way to support these farmers. Four thousand gold isn’t going to keep them afloat for long.” Waverly stands up and she starts to pace.

“Fine, we will ask to buy half their land.” She points to me. “Then we can still tax their half and get the crops if necessary. They will still have jobs, still have a home, and the omegas can be taken care of. We will also offer the option of rent. Sound fair?” I nod once. We call George back in. We explain to him our idea and he looks through the documents.

“It should work, we won’t know for sure until we actually find out how much each would sell or rent the land for. Then we need to talk to a carpenter that will give us a price for each house.” We nod and thank him. George gathers his things then leaves the throne room. I sit back in my chair and sigh.

“Do we have time for lunch or are the omegas gonna be here?” Waverly calls in Lucinda and she tells us that they are waiting for us. I groan and look to Waverly.

“Can we make them wait? We didn’t have breakfast this morning and I think my stomach is going to eat itself.” She raises her eyebrows and gets a ‘really?’ kind of look on her face. I look away a little ashamed. “Fine, send them in please, Lucinda.” She nods once then goes and gets the omegas.

They walk in and line up near the door. There are about twenty of them. We have a few people willing to train one at a time. Glenda, Reginald, Stan (the carpenter), Angelica (a baker), Damien (he makes pottery), my dad, then lastly, Lord James. He is going to train them to be knights. That means there are seven spots open.

“Welcome, we are going to talk to each of you one at a time. Nicole will get ten and I will get ten. All we are going to do is ask you a few questions. Remember, the point of this is to become proficient in what you are learning then teaching other omegas how to do the job. If you have a family then this is not the job for you. We need people who can dedicate a year to this. I know it sounds like a long time but alphas need to be apprentices for a few years and we are giving you a year. If your superiors think you are ready sooner than a group of omegas will be assigned to you. Let’s begin.” We split the group in two of ten. We each go to separate side of the room and take one at a time.

The first omega I get is a woman named Betsy. I start with a few basic questions. How old are you? Do you have any kids? Are you married? The usual. She is twenty four with three kids, she just got divorced from her husband. He was hitting her and the kids. I set my emotions aside and continue.

“What kind of trade would you be looking to be trained in?” She looks up to the ceiling. She has her hands in her lap. Her blonde hair has dirt splotches all over it. Her clothes look like they have been cleaned four hundred time. Worn and brown splotches.

“Well,” her voice is soft, almost as if she is scared of me. I place my hand on her shoulder. She jumps away. I take my hand back and apologize to her.

“I didn’t mean to scare you in any way.” She starts to apologize too. She is saying that she shouldn’t have reacted like that. “No, you’re fine. I shouldn’t have touched you. It will never happen again. Now, what kind of trade do you think would suit you best. We have sewing, blacksmith, pottery, farming, carpenter, baking, and then being a knight.” She sits back in her chair and then a smile blooms on her face.

“I always have been good a sewing. My mother taught me when I was young. She said that any good omega should know how to fix up a shirt.” I grin, I mark her name down under sewing.

“We have the finest seamstress in the whole Kingdom. She knows how to bound a book, make any clothes, fix up any hole. She is the best. Are those things you are interested in?” She nods and smiles even wider.

“I would love to have my own little clothing shop in the city. It would be wonderful to actually be able to provide for my kids. Right now we are with my father. He is okay with taking care of us but that’s only because he’s a beta. Anyways, thank you for taking the time to do this interview.” I nod once then she gets up and leaves.

Almost all of the interviews are like this. One omega is the perfect one to be trained with Lord James. She was confident, gave me a handshake when she sat down. She seemed to be tough. She seems like the perfect one to be a knight. All of them are lined up against the wall again. I speak this time.

“So, after carefully interviewing each one of you, Waverly and I are going to compare notes. You all will receive a letter telling you if you got the apprenticeship or not. If you don’t get an apprenticeship then you will be the first ones to be apart of the new classes that will be available. Until then good luck.” The throne doors open and they all are taken out of the room. Not even a minute later a few cooks come in with plates of food. My stomach starts to grumble. They have roasted pheasant with potatoes and carrots. We thank them then sit down at the table.

We stay in silence for most of the meal. Waverly takes my hand and then grab the papers with all of the names and information.

“So, I had a really good mix of people who wanted jobs. The only job people in my group didn’t want to be a knight.” I look at her and finish chewing my food.

“I had only one person who wanted to be a knight.” She smiles and then looks back at her papers.

“Almost everyone else wanted to be either the baker, seamstress, or work with pottery. The other four no one really wanted. I got one for the other three. How about your group?” I grab my papers then look at the names and all my notes.

“Umm, two for blacksmith, one for carpenter, one for knight, two for farmer, one seamstress and the rest bakers. No one wanted to work with pottery.” I look at her and she pushes her food aside and takes her hand back.

“So we have a knight, we need to work through the rest.” We spend another three hours working out who would be best for what. I convinced Waverly to agree to Betsy for the seamstress position. The rest went to some other omegas. Right now we are having some men getting ready to be sent out tomorrow with the letters.

Waverly and I head back to our room. We both get changed into pajamas. I lay down in bed and groan. Waverly leans over me, she is resting her weight on her elbow. Her hair is framing her face. I grin. She leans down and kisses me softly, as she pulls away I follow her lips.

“So, you promised Jeremy you would talk to the alchemist.” My eyes get wide. I look in her eyes. She starts to giggle. She places her free hand on my cheek.

“Don’t worry, he mentioned something the other day and I figured I should remind you. He knows you’re busy and he understands that you don’t have much free time. He’s just been waiting since we got back from the Western Kingdom.” She leans down again and pecks my lips. Waverly rests her head on my chest. Her arm wraps around my middle. I place my right hand on her lower back. I stare up at the ceiling. I really dropped the ball on that one. The candles around us are starting to go out. I have no idea what time it is, I don’t know how long ago the sun went down. My eyes start to drift shut.

-

This morning was really calm, we took our time getting dressed. We were idly talking about the festival that’s coming up. The musicians are already on their way here, Dolls sent a letter while we were gone. As for the other entertainment, we don’t have much. I was thinking we could host a joust in the city arena. Waverly thinks it’s too violent. I think it would be fun. The people like violence, they used to have the knights fight in the arena. I mean, they stopped that when I was about sixteen. I think the people would be happy to see that come back. She didn’t want to talk about it that early in the morning though.

Right now I am on my way to get Jeremy from the kitchen. The alchemist is near the dungeon in the tower. I am going to take him there and demand that he train Jeremy. I get to the kitchen, Jeremy is sitting on a counter talking to Robin. No one really notices my presence, I get up to them and then cough. Robin turns, looks at me, then leaves. I watch him walk away.

“What’s his problem?” Jeremy gets off of the counter and shrugs.

“He thinks you don’t like him or something. I really don’t know. What’s up?” He looks at me puzzled. I nod my head towards the doors.

“Come on, we have business to discuss.” His brow furrows but he walks with me. As soon as the doors shut behind us I begin to speak. “So, because I am an idiot, I forgot to talk to the alchemist. Right now we are going to go down there and talk to him. I am going to demand that he trains you. There is no reason for you not to be down there and not learning what you want to.” Jeremy starts to smile wide. He doesn’t say anything. We make our way to the tower in silence, before we go down the steps he stops.

“What’s wrong?” He takes a deep breath in then looks at me, his eyes are wide. Fear is coming off of him in waves. I shake my head no. “Don’t be scared, last time he said no, this time he doesn’t have a choice. Jeremy, you need to walk in there with confidence. Like it’s your God's given right to be in there. Okay? If you’re worried in yourself, why shouldn’t he be worried about you?” I place my hand on his shoulder. He takes a deep breath then closes his eyes. He opens them and there is a fire burning. He walks past me and goes down the steps. I look up to the sky and thank the Gods.

He walks right into the room then turns back to me. I nod once. He turns back to the alchemist and starts to speak.

“You are going to train me, the King has ordered it. You will train me to be an alchemist then I will take over when you no longer can. I have every right to be here and learn this trade.” The alchemist looks up at him. His beard his long, eyes have decades of stories to be told. His clothes are tattered, they look to be from burns. His face is dirty, the room smells of death. The alchemist looks at me then back at Jeremy. I stand next to Jeremy and place my hand on his shoulder. He looks between us a few more times.

“Fine, come in boy. Sit down and watch closely. I’m not going to show you twice.” He looks at me as Jeremy makes his way over to him. He cocks his head and takes a few steps forward. He looks me up and down.

“There’s age in your eyes, like you’ve lived hundreds of lives.” he starts to circle me. “Very interesting,” he stops in front of me and squints. “Something is coming, two things one amazing, one horrific.Both will shape your future and the Kingdoms.” He turns back to Jeremy and starts to speak and explain what he was doing. I leave the room and then head back to Waverly. I feel as though he just read my soul. I feel icky. I walk into her office.

“Why is the alchemist creepy? I feel like he read me.” Waverly laughs and puts her quill down.

“He did that to me and Jeremy before the trials. He said a brave knight would come along and sweep me off my feet. He was kind of wrong, you weren’t a knight.” I grin and take a few steps over to her. She is sitting at her desk. I sit in the chair across from her.

“We need to discuss the festival. I think we should have a joust and the knight fights. We will have many healers on site in case anything goes wrong. Also I think we should make games. Knife throwing, axe throwing, also some shooting. It will be a competition, I think the people would have fun with that. Maybe some dancers near sundown every night.” Waverly looks at me and leans forward.

“All of this is going to be expensive. How do you plan on paying for all of this? The crown doesn’t have enough money, I’m not using family money on this. So how?” I deflate a little. She sits back in her chair and smiles. “It was a great idea, the people would love it but. We don’t have the capital for it.” I look around the room and go to stand up. Then it hits me.

“Admission prices, it will be extremely cheap. Everyone comes down for the festival, two copper to come in. Think about it. We have people from all of the five Kingdoms come in. Your sister is going to be here with Alice, their people are coming. Then the Eastern, Southern, and Western Kingdoms wardens. The city is filled every year. We can afford it if we put a two copper admission on the festival.” She squints at me.

“Fine, however you have to get all of these people to come. You set up the joust and the knight fight. You find the dancers. All of this is on you. I will handle decorating the city and the booths for admission. Get to work, Haught. This is going to be a lot of work.” I smile, she smiles back at me. I get up and turn to leave. Before I do I turn to Waverly.

“Why don’t we go to the orphanage before the festival? We can announce it there.” She smiles wide at me and nods.

“I love it.” I smile wide at her. I walk over to her and kiss her hard. This festival is going to be amazing.

Chapter Text

Waverly and I have taken the next two days off so we can discuss adoption. Who we really want to adopt. I know she wants the baby boy and she knows I want Jessica. We have discussed it before but the other night Waverly mentioned the baby boy again so we really need to sit down and talk about.

“Waves, who do you really want to adopt?” she sits back in her chair, we are in our room. She looks around the room then gets up. She starts to pace.

“I know it would be right for us to adopt Jessica. I know it is, I’ve always wanted a son though. I grew up with sisters, I always wanted a boy in the family. I know you might want a daughter because you only had brothers. I don’t know, Nicky. This is such a hard decision and,” I stand up and rub her shoulders.

“Hey, it’s okay. We have today and tomorrow to talk about this. We have a lot of time. We don’t have to adopt right now. We can wait. We can take our time.” She looks up at, tears in her eyes.

“I want to start a family with you, I want to go through with this adoption. If we wait any longer than today and tomorrow I fear we won’t go through with it.” I pull her into my chest and nod.

“We will, I know we will. But if you want to take your time and really think through our options I’m so okay with that.” Waverly pulls away from me and sits down on the bed.

She sits there for awhile, I sit at the table giving her the room to breathe and think without me hovering over her. Waverly gets up and sits down across from me.

“Do you really think it would be better for us to adopt Jessica?” I take her hands that are resting on the table. They’re clammy.

“Waverly, I’m not one hundred percent sure. What I am sure about is that she already loves us. That she knows us. We know her, her personality. What she loves and hates. That little boy will find a home. Babies get adopted much faster than children I think it would be better for her and for us. I mean the room is already set up for a child. Not a baby.” Waverly squeezes my hands.

“Okay, we’ll adopt Jessica.” She stands up and looks round the room. She goes to her wardrobe and starts to take clothes out. “Lucinda!” Lucinda walks in calm and bows once.

“Yes?” Waverly looks at her, she has this smile on her face.

“Tell the men to get the horses ready. Nicole and I will be heading out.” She nods once again then leaves the room. Waverly looks at me and smiles. She genuinely seems excited. I walk over to her and place my hands on her shoulders.

“Waves, are you sure this is something you want to do?” She looks me in the eyes and nods.

“Nicole, we can change this little girl's life. We should do it. No questions. We can do this.” This is what the alchemist was talking about. Something amazing, however, something horrific will happen soon after. I lean forward and kiss her quickly.

I walk over to my wardrobe and get dressed in some of my old clothes so we won’t be recognized on the street. I look to Waverly and she is in her cheapest clothes she owns which still look really nice.

Waverly and I leave our room, I have my sword on my waste. We get on our horses then make our way to the orphanage Waverly keeps going on and on about how she is so excited to be a mother. How she will finally get to pass on the knowledge she has learned. I just ride along with her and listen to her beautiful voice.

We get to the orphanage and no kids great us, we always get greeted. Then again, we don’t have all of the guards with us and the town doesn’t know we’re here. I get off my horse then help Waverly off of hers. We walk into the orphanage, a class is going on.

“Excuse me, there was an announcement to the town what time class is and are not to be,” She squints at the two of us, her eyes get wide. “I am so sorry, Your Graces. I had no clue.” I smile and look around the room. I don’t see Jessica, actually, I don’t see any of the kids that came to the castle.

“We need to speak in private.” I look at her after speaking, she has a serious look on her face. Waverly takes my arm, we follow her to one of the back rooms that were built. The door shuts behind us. I sit in her seat. Waverly has her hand on my shoulder.

“Is Jessica here?” I look up at her and she has such a bright look on her face. Maybe she is upstairs, working.

“All the kids that you two taught were adopted. People from all over heard that they were taught by the Queen so they all got adopted very quickly even the little one got adopted.” Her hand tightens on my shoulder. I place my hand on top of hers. I look down towards the desk and close my eyes for a second. I open them then look back up.

“Are they all with good families at least?” The woman nods fast. Concern written all over her face.

“Yes, it was mainly the wealthy that came by to get these children. Jessica was adopted by some artisans, they make pottery. She was thrilled to be adopted. The little one was the first to go. A family just outside of the Southern city adopted him. They seemed incredibly sweet.” She cocks her head to the side and looks at the two of us. “Why did you want to talk about them? Did you want to see them?” Waverly takes her hand off of my shoulder.

“Waverly and I were planning on adopting Jessica. However, she is already adopted as you said. We umm, we will be on our way now. Thank you for your kind hospitality.” I stand from the seat then take Waverly’s free hand. We walk out of the orphanage, the door shuts behind us. A sob escape from Waverly. I wrap my arms around her, she hugs me tight. I rest my head on top of hers. I close my eyes, once I open them again everything has a grey tint to it. I pull away from Waverly and hold her face in my hands.

“We will be okay. We can get through this.” I kiss her forehead. I grab the reins to her horse then get on mine. I extend my hand. She grabs my hand and I pull her up onto my horse. She wraps her arms around my middle. Her face is on my back.

The ride back to the castle is somber. Waverly and I were silent the whole time. Silent tears stream down my face as we approach the castle. The guards surround us, Waverly gets off of Orthrus first, I do then the guards lead them to the stables. Waverly and I go into the castle.

The walk to our room feels long, this castle is too big. Lucinda is waiting outside of our room, she looks at us and an understanding look blooms on her face. Waverly just goes into the room. I go to say something to Lucinda but she just wraps me in a hug.

“You don’t always have to be the strong one. Your omega isn’t here, it’s okay to cry freely.” The tears stream down my face even faster. I wrap Lucinda in a tight hug. We stand there for a few minutes. Her just holding me while I cry silently. She pulls back and looks me in the eyes.

“It looks like you can’t hide your emotions anymore. There is sorrow in your eyes. Remember, be strong until your omega is okay, then it’s her turn to take care of you. Don’t suffer alone. You both went through a loss. Take care of each other then move on stronger than you were before.” I smile at Lucinda. I thank her. She takes a step back then nods once. She stands next to the door eyes forward. I take a deep breathe then walk into the room. Waverly is sitting on the edge of the bed, her hands over her face. I lean out of the room and whisper to Lucinda to send someone with warm buckets of water for a bath. She nods once then heads out. I shut the door then sit next to Waverly.

“I can’t believe they are gone. That we missed them. Why?” She looks up at me like I have answers for her. I wrap my arm around her and pull her close.

“The Gods work in weird ways, my love. Sometimes we have to accept that they have a different plan for us. That they always know what’s right.” Waverly cuddles in closer to me. I rest my head on top of hers. “That doesn’t mean this hurts any less. This is devastating but we can get through this. We have to. We have the festival in two days.” She pulls away from me, eyes wide.

“How are we going to be Kingly and Queenly if we don’t have our emotions in check?” I pull her back and rub her back.

“We can just sit there, we don’t have to interact. These next few days are going to be hard, we can do this. We have each other.” I kiss the top of her head. The connecting door to the bathroom opens, I can hear it. Water starts to be poured into the bath. We sit here, just listening to the water. Waverly looks up at me.

“Are you okay?” Tears well in my eyes. She pulls me into a hug and starts to rub my back. I close my eyes, all the ideas I had. All the hopes I had building. I know alphas my age who already have three kids.

“I just thought that we would be coming home with Jessica. We should have acted sooner.” Waverly pulls away from me and I open my eyes.

“I know, so did I. Maybe this is a sign. Maybe you’re right. Maybe the Gods do have a plan for us. Adoption isn’t in our future.” I nod once. Waverly smiles weakly at me. I take her hand in mine.

“Excuse me,” their voice is soft. “The bath is done.” I thank them then look to Waverly.

“I know you like baths when you’re upset. I’m going to go for a walk. Send Lucinda to come find me once your’re done.” Waverly squeezes my hand. We both get up. Waverly walks to the bathroom. I sigh as the door shuts. I look down at the ground then back up. I leave our room and let the wind take me.

I should have figured this wasn’t going to work. I should have seen this coming. I should never have even suggested the idea. I hurt myself, even worse I hurt Waverly.

More tears roll down my cheeks. The garden is coming up, I walk out there. The warm summer air feels nice. I take a deep breathe in then go to the stone benches. I sit down and look up at the sky. I start to pray to Rodzina, the goddess of family.

“I’ve never been a religious person, I’ve never been one to pray. I feel as though now may be a good time. I have hurt my family. I’m praying to you to ask for forgiveness. To ask for help, to ask for good fortune in the future. I don’t know what you have in mind for Waverly and I but I hope it’s a big family. One with many kids, one with love, trust, fun. One where we both can be happy. I am also praying to you to ask a favor of you, as I’m sure many have before me. Those kids, all those kids that got adopted, I want you to make sure their families good. As how you have made mine. I want their lives to be filled with love, trust, and fun. Amen.” I feel eyes on me, I turn and look at the doorway. Glenda is in the doorway. She has a sad smile on her face, she starts to walk over to me. I look at my hands. Glenda sits next to me.

“Lucinda told me. We all are gossips in this place.” She nudges me with her elbow. I keep staring at my hands. “I know this is hard, I know you had your hopes up. You and Waverly. Just think, Jessica is sleeping in a bed. Living a good life. She has a family. I’m sure she loves them and they love her. Just to be safe send a guard. They can check.” I look up at her and nod once then look back down at my hands.

“My husband and I lost a few children. One was in war, another was before they were born. It’s hard, takes a tole. This isn’t the same but the loss of a child is hard in any circumstance.” I look at Glenda. She is looking at the stars. A bright smile on her face. “They are with the Gods now.” I look up and smile. My mama is there with them I’m sure, smiling down at us.

“I didn’t know you lost your children or your husband.” She looks at me and shrugs.

“I got the job here when the three were just little things. They were kind of like my children. Willa was a terror but could be sweet, Wynonna, she was well, Wynonna. Waverly though. Waverly was the sweetest little thing. She would come to me with all her problems. She drifted away when she became Queen. Talking to Shorty for many problems. I didn’t mind though.” I look back at her, sadness all over her face.

“Well, I’m sure when we have little ones you will be there for them as you were there for Waverly.” She looks at me and grins. My face falls again thinking of Jessica.

“We are the King and Queen. Couldn’t we demand to have her?” Glenda sighs and looks down. Wiping the wrinkles out of her dress.

“I know it sounds like a good idea, something you can do. You might be doing more harm than good. Like I said, she could have a great new family. Treating her like how you two would, a princess. Send a guard, find out. If she is in a bad home then demand to take her. Don’t just barge in bows blazing.” She looks back up at me. I smile and nod.

“There’s a lot of loss in life. There is no getting away from that. There is also a lot of gaining in life. Friends, family, hope.” There is a cough behind us. We both turn, Lucinda bows her head.

“Waverly would like you.” I nod and thank her. She leaves us.
“Go take care of your omega, your wife. She needs you.” I hug Glenda tight. She rubs my back.

“Thank you for talking. I really needed to get out of my head. Needed some sense talked into me.” She pulls away and looks at me.

“Any time.” I hug her really quick again then head back to the room. I walk in and Waverly is in bed. Tears streaming silently down her face.
“Waves,” I change then get into bed. She cuddles right up to me and the tears start to flow. My heart is breaking in half, I take a deep breathe then start to comfort her. I rub her back, tell her what Glenda said. That makes her a little happier. Just a little. Just enough to get her to stop crying.

“Are we going to adopt at all?” She looks up at me and I sigh.

“No, there are plenty of people looking for kids. I know it doesn’t seem like that but, there are. We can have our own kids. We can raise a little pup.” A small smile blossoms on her face. She lays her head back on my chest. We can get through this. We’re strong.

-

Today is the day of the festival. We sent a guard, he came back the same day. He gave us a full report. Her family, they seem amazing. They are treating her right, she’s working hard but she is getting food, clothes, a bed. She’s doing good. That’s all Waverly and I want for her. Happiness. If that means with another family then so be it. It still hurts though.

“Waves, we gotta leave now if we are to make it to the festival in time. We gotta watch all the entertainment. It’s gonna be great.” I feel myself getting a little giddy. I used to love festival as a kid.

“I’m almost done.” She is putting earrings in. She finishes then smiles at me. “You’re excited aren’t you?” She walks over to me and fixes something on my shirt. We both are wearing white and gold clothes. Her’s is a beautiful white dress, mine is a suit.

“Maybe. Listen, when I was a kid this was the only thing we could do. I know we put the fee but it’s the cheapest. This is gonna be so much fun.” She rests her forearms on my shoulders, she starts to play with my hair.

“Sadly, we don’t get to partake in any of the events.” She makes a half sad half smile kind of face. I grin and kiss her really quick.

“Yea, but we get to watch which is almost as fun.” She shakes her head softly and just smiles up at me.

“Well, let’s get going.” She takes my hand, we walk out of the room then head tow the front of the castle. An open carriage is waiting for us. We get in then we head off towards the city. As we approach the roar of a crowd is getting louder and louder. I got some drinking games, some stalls with food to open. It’s going to be amazing. This is going to be the best festival in years. We get through and the crowd is huge. I look around and everything looks amazing. I got bands to go up with the royal crest. There are women going around with flowers and flower crowns. Kids are running around. Some are gawking up at us. I wave and smile. Waverly does the same.

“This looks really good Nicole.” I smile at her. I take her hand, we start waving. I scan the crowds and everyone looks happy. I look over and two kids are fighting with wood swords. I shake my head, that used to be me. Men and women are walking around in groups playing all sorts of instruments, lutes, harps, drums, flutes, and even gittern. The music is loud and lively. We get to the ‘arena’ and sit in our seats. This arena gets put up and taken down every year for festival.

People are all packed around, sitting in or standing in the bleachers. It all looks amazing, the banners, the greenery around us. We have nine events that we are watching today. We are starting light with the entertainment. Waverly and I compromised on having all of the dangerous stuff at the end of the night. I didn’t argue with her logic, most people, children included stay the whole time. Waverly takes my hand, she squeezes my hand as if to start speaking.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this years festival.” The crowd cheers, screams and claps roar all throughout the arena. There are four seats under our balcony. “I want to thanks all of you for coming, as you all can see the Queen and I have put a lot of time into this to make sure this is the best festival in years. I really hope you all enjoy.” A man walks into the middle of the arena, he announces Wynonna, Doc, Alice, Gus, Curtis, Gavin, Mercedes, then Michael and his family. Lastly they announce us once again. This time Waverly welcomes the wardens and I just stand next to her. Waverly looks to me, before I get to speak someone calls out and asks about the entry fee. The crowd joins in with ‘yeah’s’. I look into the crowd and just smile.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” They quiet down. “Queen Waverly and I have hired more entertainment this year, have asked many merchants to set up and sell to you all at a cheaper price. The entertainment is expensive, hence the cost to come in. Hopefully, there will be much made from this festival so next years will be even better. All around we have dancers and musicians. At the main arena we have nine types of entertainment. First there is a jester, then a juggler, some musicians, then will come the competitions. In the entrance of the arena people can sign up for the knife, ax, and shooting competitions. After the competitions will be some more music. Then comes the knight tournament and then the joust.” The crowd erupts in happy screams. Waverly and I sit down, she takes my hand again. Waverly calls for the games to start then the jester begins with his jokes.

-

So far this day is going very well. All of the competitions went by smoothly. No accidents happened, Waverly has had some wine and she is having a lot of fun. The music is playing, people are dancing around in the bleachers, some are clapping along. Wynonna has been trying to talk to me non stop since she’s gotten here. She keeps asking me why Waverly and I didn’t greet them yesterday. Gus asked once as well. We aren’t ready to speak about it yet, even to family.

Across the way in the crowd I see my father and brother. I nod to them and they wave back. Waverly stands up and starts to wave to them. I laugh and get her to sit back down.

“Later we will speak to them, my love.” She nods and then starts to clap to the music. I shake my head and look around. Everyone seems to be having a lot of fun here. I stand up and excuse myself from Waverly. She pecks my lips then goes back to clapping.

I leave the balcony, the guards ask me if I would like them to accompany me. I tell them no, that they should keep an eye on Waverly. They stay behind. I walk around the surrounding area of the arena. There are people selling flowers, many are selling food all around the arena. There are people eating bread and turkey legs. Everyone is laughing and having a good time. I sigh and place my hands behind my back. A small smile spreading on my face.

“King Nicole,” I turn and it’s a group of little kids. Boys and girls, they all have little wooden swords. “Can you teach us how to fight?” I squat down, now I am looking up at them. There is hope in their eyes. All of them have on dirty clothes, dirt smeared in their hair and on their face.

“I would be honored. So, show me how you fight.” The kids pair up and start fighting. They all are very cute. I walk around them, people have gathered around all of us. All of them are stumbling around, trying their best hit another one of the kids.

“Okay, all of you line up.” They all line up and puff their little chests out. I grin. “All of you need to be more confident with your swings and steps. Watch as I do it.” I take my sword out and show them just a few steps and skills I learned from when I was a kid. My dad steps in front of me. He has a wide smile on his face, his sword is drawn. I laugh, we go around in a circle as we show the kids the way I was taught. My dad throws in a lunge every once in while. We both stop and then look at the kids. “Now, taking what you saw from my father and I, fight each other.” They pair up once again and they start to fight each other. They still are doing it terribly but at least they are sure of their steps. My dad wraps me into a big hug.

“It’s nice to see you again.” I pull away and smile at him.

“Likewise.” Sam runs up to me and hugs me tight. I hug him back. He pulls away. I mess up his hair as I always do.

“Sam has been talking about a girl.” I look down at him and smile.

“Oh yeah, what’s her name?” His cheeks start to get red. He looks at the ground.

“Tabitha.” I smile and mess up his hair again.

“Come, we will talk about this later. You can sit with Waverly’s family for the rest of the festival. We are having a feast later then a meeting. If you need to go home tonight I will have some guards take you back home. If not, we have plenty of space for you two.” I lead them to the balcony that Wynonna and Doc are at.

“Wynonna, Doc, these two are my father and brother. I’m sure you remember them. They will be sitting with you for the rest of the festival. Treat them nicely.” Wynonna squints at me. “Yes, that was mainly for you Wynonna. Now I should be getting back to Waverly.” Before Wynonna can make a comment I run to my balcony. Waverly smiles at me and kisses me softly. I take her hand and watch the fight that unfolds before us.

-

The knight tournament and the joust went amazingly. Everyone loved it, they all thought that it was great that it was brought back. The night air feels colder than usual, a sign that fall is coming sooner than anyone would like. We are heading back to the castle right now. All of the wardens are in their own carriages. My family is in ours. Waverly has her head resting on my shoulder.

“You two seem, off. Is everything alright?” Waverly takes my hand. I look up at my dad and shrug.

“We are doing alright. Something came up a few days ago and we are still trying to adjust to the change. “ The world gets a little more gray.

“It’s okay to talk about problems with your family. They care, I know I do. That sister of yours kept asking me if I knew what was wrong. Talk to us.” He smiles sadly. Waverly squeezes my hand. She speaks.

“We will tell you after dinner and before the meeting.” My father and brother nod. It stays silent for a little. I kiss the top of her head then look up at the stars. It’s amazing what this world is, what it can do. How many people it can hold, all of it is just crazy. Waverly cuddles into my side closer. I wrap my arm tighter around her.

“You two make love look easy. Me and your mother didn’t even look that in love and we had three kids.” I make a face at him and he laughs. “I’m only jokin, but you two do look really happy. It is still that early marriage faze though.” I look down at Waverly and she looks up at me. I look at my dad.

“I don’t know how long we will be like this but I don’t think it’s a faze. I think we are gonna be like this for the rest of our lives.” My dad chuckles.

“A big fight hasn’t happened yet, just wait kid.” I shrug then smile down at Waverly. I look backup and Sam is making gagging noises. I shake my head with a small smile on my face. The castle is approaching. We get out of the carriage then my father and brother do. They both look really good. They seem to be eating. My father still has that small gut from all the ale he makes and drinks. Sam is growing fast, he is about up to my chest. He’s Waverly’s height. I mess up his hair again then move out of the way of his attack back. The wardens get out of their carriages. Waverly goes over to Wynonna.

“We need to talk tonight, after dinner.” Wynonna has a serious look on her face as she nods.

“Are you okay?” Waverly shrugs looks away from her, she takes my hand then looks back at Wynonna.

“We umm, just kind of went through a loss. That’s all. We’ll explain to you later.” Wynonna nods and then pulls her into a hug, Waverly letting go of my hand to hug her back. They hug for a few seconds then pull away. Curtis and Gus gather me up in a hug.

“How are you, darlin?” I look at Gus after she speaks. I nod and smile at her. They let go of me.

“I’m doin good. Could be better.” She smiles at me then pats my cheek. Gavin smiles up at me. “Hey, if you really want to talk about farming you can talk to my dad and brother.” I point over to them and Gavin runs to them. My dad instantly starts to seem interested in what he’s saying. Sam, not so much.

We get all of the greetings and talks out of the way then we all head inside. All of the food is being placed on the table. Waverly and I already discussed who would be sitting at the head of the table. She said that I should considering Michael sees me as the King and the alpha. It would just be easier. I sit at the head of the table and Waverly sits to my right. I take her hand as soon as we sit. I look down the table and everyone is talking and seeming to have a good time. Most are already feeling happy from all the wine that was being served. The last of the food gets placed down on the table, I grab my food then everyone digs in. I wait for everyone else to get all of their food. Waverly speaks up.

“I would like to thank all of you for coming down and spending this wonderful festival with us. I know for you all the trek down is long but I’m glad you all could make it. Please, enjoy all the food.” Everyone holds up glass then takes a sip. We dig into our food. My father and brother look very uncomfortable. I should talk to Glenda about having outfits here for them whenever they come. I don’t want them feeling out of place like this every time they come by.

The feast goes by pretty fast. Everyone enjoyed the food and the drinks. I’m wondering if we should still have the meeting considering they all have been drinking. This is the only time we all will be here together. We should have the meeting, even if it’s not as productive as I would like it to be.

“If Wynonna, Sam, Doc, and Jonathan, could join us that would be great. Nicole and I need to speak to you.” They all stand up. Wynonna gives Alice to Lucinda. I get up along with Waverly. We head to the throne room. The doors shut behind us. I squeeze Waverly’s hand before we get into the throne room. The big wooden doors open. I take a big deep breathe then walk in. The doors shut behind us and then I turn before Waverly. All of them have a worried look on their face.

“So,” Waverly turns around and hugs into my side as she speaks. “About three days ago Nicole and I went to an orphanage to adopt a little girl. Her name is Jessica. We have been wanting to adopt her since before we got married. When we got there, she was already adopted. It was heartbreaking. It feels like we lost a child. We got to know her when they lived here with us for a few months. It’s just, it’s hard. We didn’t really want to talk about it because, well, we thought it wasn’t valid enough for us to feel the way we do.” All of them are silent. Waverly looks to all of them then turns into my side. Her face hidden. Wynonna walks up to the two of us, she wraps both of us into a hug.

“It’s okay you feel the way you do. Any kind of loss deserves grief.” She pulls away from us and smiles, not in an evil kind of way but a love kind of way. It’s a little weird. My dad speaks up.

“She’s right, you two have every right to be upset. Don’t hide your emotions in front of your family. We all care. Now, do you two want to talk about anything?” I look to Waverly and she shakes her head no.

“We kind of have been talking our problems out with each other. We both talked to Glenda about our problems. We are slowly getting better but that’s why we seem off. We wanted to let you all know.” They all smile and thank us. I sigh, it feels like there is a small weight off my chest.

“Papa, Sam, Lucinda will show you two to your rooms if you want to stay.” They both nod. They leave the room, Mercedes, Michael, Gus and Curtis walk in. We all sit down at the table. It’s hard to pull away from my emotions after just speaking about them. I take a moment to let everyone settle then I start to speak.

“Okay, so we never have the opportunity to all talk and have a meeting. If there are any concerns speak now.” Everyone is silent. No one really wanting to speak out. Curtis speaks up.

“The Orcs that work on my farm are all in mourning. They have been since you left the farm. I don’t know what’s going on with them but it seems bad.” I nod ad furrow my brow. We got that blank letter and the Orcs on the farm are mourning. I wonder if those two things are connected in any way. I write that down then continue.

“Anyone else have something?” Mercedes stands up.

“Everything is working fine. Some more hobbe attacks but that’s it. Now, I’m drunk and am going to sleep.” She gets up and leaves the room.

“When are you two going to have an heir?” Lord Michael is looking at his hands as he speaks. That catches me off guard.

“Umm, whenever it happens. We aren’t trying but we aren’t not trying either.” He looks up and has this weird look on his face.

“Yes, but we need an heir. Until you guys have one we need a next in line in case anything happens. Which would be m,” I cut him off before he speaks.

“If anything was to happen to Waverly and I it would be Wynonna. She is the next of the royal bloodline. When Waverly became Queen again it would be her sister because she is the closest in blood. Now, who else is having hobbe problems?” Doc raises his hand.

“We are. They are getting worse and worse as the days go on.” I nod.

“We have sent out a hobbe squad. They left yesterday for the South then the North.” Doc nods then sits back in his seat.

“Now, if there are no more problems we are going to go to bed.” I stand up then Waverly follows suit. We leave the room, leaving the wardens. The walk to our room is silent. Once in there Waverly looks at me.

“He’s right ya know. That was one of the first things Dolls asked me as well. Even Gus when we were alone. We need to think about that. Anything can happen at any time. We need to be safe rather than sorry.” I look up at her and nod.

“That is important but, we need to talk about the Orcs.” Waverly cocks her head.

“What about the Orcs?” I sit on the edge of the bed and shake my head.

“Tomorrow we will talk about it. We are in our room so it’s just about me and you.” Waverly sits on my lap and smiles down at me.

“We could be trying harder to have kids, we do only really make love when we are in our heats or ruts. Maybe we should be having more sex.” She has a devilish grin on her face. Her hands move up my shoulders to the back of my neck. I grin and kiss her softly, as I pull away she follows my lips.

“Baby, we will when I know my father and your sister aren’t in the castle with us.” Waverly pulls back a little more.

“That didn’t stop you on the night of our wedding.” I smile and look at her neck.

“This time I can actually think. Come on, let’s go to sleep. We have a long few weeks ahead of us.” Waverly sighs and just falls on top of me. Pushing me onto the bed. I start to laugh. I tickle her sides and she starts to scramble off of me. Waverly stands up and glares at me with a smile on her face.

“Tickles are off limits.” I look at her and smile back.

“Fine, only for now though.” Waverly just smiles at me. I get up and place my hands on her hips. She places her hands on my shoulders. She takes a step forward, our bodies are touching. Waverly rests her head on my chest.

“We are okay. We have our family and everyone here.” I nod then kiss the top of her head.

“We are going to be fine, I swear.”
-

Today is Waverly’s birthday. The castle has been buzzing with excitement. Waverly insisted on working today and not taking a break. She was saying how we just took one for the festival. She’s right but that’s no fun. Today we are going over the progress that the carpenters are making and how well the omegas are doing in their trades.

The plan for today is to get Waverly to finish her work earlier so then we can go for a ride on our horses to the edge of the woods, there we will have a picnic. Then we will go back to the castle and go to the kitchen for some wine. The whole castle will surprise her with a cake. Last week I was talking with Reginald. I made a wooden pendant and he made a gold chain that I could put it on. The pendant is a small heart with N and W carved into the back. It’s not the best gift but it’s something my family used to do when we gave gifts.

Right now we are starting off with the carpenters. We are waiting for them in the throne room. Waverly is looking at some papers that she was given yesterday. She briefly told me about them. They have something to do with our alliance with the Elves. The throne room doors open. Waverly and I sit up tall, the carpenters walk in. An omega is trailing behind them. They stand in front of us in a row. Stan has the omega stand next to him. He is whispering to her the posture she must have when speaking. He seems to be doing a really good job at training her. Once he is done Waverly starts to speak.

“So, tell us how the schools and orphanages are coming along?” A few look down and others keep looking me in the eyes. Stan takes a step forward.

“We don’t have enough workers to get this done before winter. We need to tear down the orphanages one at a time because the kids need to stay with other orphanages. Unless we get more carpenters this is going to be a serious problem.” I nod and look at Waverly. She seems to be distracted by the papers in front of her. I speak while she continues with those papers.

“I will get you more carpenters by the end of the week. I want this done and I want this done correctly. Getting all of the materials is going okay right?” Stan takes a step back all of them agree. I nod once. This is going by much faster than I thought it would. Before I can ask anymore questions Waverly dismisses them. I wanted to talk to Stan about the apprenticeship and how it’s going.

“I’m not sure what to make of these papers. The elves want us to provide more wheat to them but I don’t remember giving them wheat in the first place.” She looks up at me and I just look back at her blankly.

“Maybe they meant barley. Generally barley is how beer is made and they seem to like to drink. Also we should send some wine so they know we are sorry. I need to go get Stan now. We need to talk to him to see how the omega is doing.” Waverly rolls her eyes.

“Her name is Ashley, stop calling them omegas.” I apologize then run out of the throne room. I catch up to the carpenters and stop Stan.

“Hi, I would like to ask you a few more questions, just the two of us.” He nods then tells Ashley to stay where she is. I take him back to the throne room. Waverly is still looking at the papers. I sigh then look at Stan. “How is everything going with Ashley?” He smiles then looks at me then to Waverly.

“She is doing amazing. She is a very quick learner. My portion of the work is going by faster with her. The only problem is that she ain’t strong. I have to do a lot of the heavy lifting. I’m sure if I make her do more she will be able to do all of it on her own. She just needs to build her strength.” I nod and thank him. Waverly is still silent.

“I will see you during the next update.” He bows to me then to Waverly then leaves. As soon as the doors shut I turn to Waverly. “Are you okay?” My eyes are wide. She angrily puts the papers down on her lap.

“Why didn’t you fight more for us to do something on my birthday?” My jaw drops.

“Waves, baby, you told me on many accounts that you didn’t want to do anything for your birthday.” She crosses her arms and gives me that look. It makes me feel like I’m in trouble.

“I was lying of course I wanted to do something on my birthday. Instead you scheduled things on my birthday. Now we need to talk to the other six here.” I look at the guards in the room. They shrug their shoulders then leave. I look all around the throne room.

“I don’t know what to tell you. We have work to do.” She rolls her eyes and keeps her arms crossed. I have things planned, I just don’t want her to think I do just yet.

“Lucinda,” Lucinda walks in and bows to the two of us. Waverly continues. “Send word that we want to speak to the other six now.” She bows slightly this time then leaves. We stay in silence until the throne doors open again. All of them bow except Glenda. I smile at her and she smiles back. Waverly speaks again.

“Now, starting with Reginald and working our way down I want to hear how all of the omegas are doing.” I look at her with my eyebrows raised but she doesn’t look back at me.

“She is doing fine, she gets hot easily so she is always complaining about the temperature. Aside from that she is doing really well. Right now we are working on sword forging she seems to be picking up on it fairly quickly.” I thank him then the rest of the line tells us all about their omegas. Glenda was saying how Betsy is doing very well. She can sew just as well as her.

Lord James was saying how his omega needs a lot of work but there is a lot of potential for her. After hearing from everyone we send them off. After they all leave Waverly leaves without saying bye to me. I sigh then lean back in my throne. I really thought she didn’t want anything for her birthday. Waverly comes back in pecks my lips then leaves again. A small smile blossoms on my face. She can’t be that mad.

As the day goes on I focus most of my attention on the orcs. I have sent countless letters to them. Just trying to confirm that they are okay but no one is responding. Waverly keeps telling me that it’s common for them. She reminded me of how unorganized they are. I agree with her but I still feel like something is off with them.

There is a tiny knock on my door. Waverly walks in and then sits on my lap.

“I’m sorry for getting angry earlier. I just really thought you would have done something for me and you haven’t.” I smile wide at her. I kiss the side of her head.

“Well, I did have something planned. For dinner we are having a picnic then we are coming back to get a bottle of wine. After that we are spending the rest of our night in bed.” Waverly smiles at me. She kisses me hard, full of passion and desire. She pulls away then cups my cheek.

“The sooner we get the picnic over with the sooner we get to stay in bed.” She kisses me again one more time then gets up. I get up then we head to the kitchen.

As soon as we get there Robin has the basket ready for us. Before Waverly can even thank him I get her out of the kitchen. I don’t want her getting a look at the cake. After that we head to the stables. I get her horse for her then help her onto her. I get Orthrus out and I climb on him. We head off to the edge of the woods in silence. Some of the trees are starting to lose their leaves but none of the leaves are changing color yet. It takes us twenty minutes to get to the blanket that I have set up last night. Once there Waverly looks at me and smiles. We got here later than I thought we would. The sun is setting. It looks amazing. The sun is right in front of us, the sky is different types of orange. Waverly stands in front of it, she looks back at me. I have never seen anything so beautiful in my whole life.

I get off of my horse, I walk towards her. She smiles even wider. I drop the basket then pick her up and spin. Waverly starts to giggle and laugh. I place her down then kiss her, her lips feel so soft and warm. She smells of baked apples. For a second I’m brought back to our first kiss. All of the sensations come flooding back. I pull away then rest my forehead to hers. I open my eyes, hers are still closed. I pull away, I sit on the blanket. Waverly does the same. We don’t start eating we just watch the sunset together. Her head is in my lap. I play with her hair. She turns so I look down. We both are looking at each other.

“Thank you.” I lean down, she moves up and our lips connect. Waverly moves around without breaking our kiss and straddles my lap. She pulls away and starts to pull at the ties of her corset. I place my hands on her hips.

“Are you sure you want to out here?” Waverly nods and keeps untying her corset. I look up to the sky and thank the Gods for such an amazing wife. I flip her onto her back then kiss down her neck and over her chest. She brings her hands up to the back of my head and holds it, playing with my hair or guiding me to where she wants me to go next. I take on the task of finishing up untying her corset. I take off her corset then she sits up so I can untie the back of her dress. I do that as fast as I can. As she is sitting up she kisses and nips at my neck. Everything is turning slightly blue. I lay her back down then slip the dress off of her top. I slide the rest of it off. Waverly smiles up at me, she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me down. I kiss her with passion and desire. Her lips are even warmer than they were before. I grin into the kiss. Waverly pulls away and looks up at me with a slight smile on her face.

“ What?’ I shake my head no then hover above her lips.

“Nothing my love. I love you.” She pecks my lips then pulls away, my lips are hovering over hers again.

“I love you too, Nicole.”

-

Waverly and I make our way back to the castle much later than I thought we would have. As we walk into the kitchen Waverly is holding onto my arm with a big smile on her face. As the doors shut behind us the staff moves out of the way of the cake.

“Happy Birthday, Queen Waverly!” She lets go of my arm then looks at the cake then back at me.

“Did you do this?” I shake my head no and nod to all of the staff.

“It was their idea.” Glenda walks up to her and puts frosting on her nose. Everyone laughs including Waverly and I. Someone gets the frosting off of her face then pieces of cake get handed out. I help with cutting the cake and passing out the pieces. Some of the staff who knows how to play instruments start to play. There is music, cake, wine. I think this is the kind of party Waverly wanted for today. One filled with friends and people we consider family.

We spend almost all night drinking, dancing, and laughing with the staff. Right now we are in bed waiting for the candles to go out. Waverly is cuddling into my side and looking up at me.

“Jeremy asked if we had sex before the party and I told him no. I was smiling the whole time, I don’t think he believed me.” I smile down at her and kiss her forehead. Then look back up at the ceiling. The fireplace is slowly dying out and the crackle and pops are filling the room. Waverly cuddles in closer to my side. I rest my head on top of hers. I look at the carving in the ceiling.

“Oh, I have a birthday gift for you.” I get out of bed and walk over to my wardrobe. I pull the necklace out of the bottom drawer. I turn and Waverly is sitting up in bed, the blankets pooling in her lap. I sit on the edge of the bed and smile at her.

“So, I know it isn’t much and I wouldn’t expect you to wear it out.” I hand the necklace over to her and she smiles down at the necklace. When she turns it over she covers her mouth. Waverly looks up at me and has tears in her eyes.

“Did you carve this yourself?’ I smile and nod. Waverly slides the necklace over her head then pulls her hair out. She looks down at the pendant then back at me. “I love it so much, Nicole.” Waverly jumps forward and hugs me tight. “No one has ever done anything this nice for me before.” She pulls away and kisses me quick. She lays back down and motions for me to follow. I lay down, Waverly pulls my head onto her chest. I wrap my arm around her middle and hold her close.

“Goodnight Waves, I love you.” I feel a kiss on the top of my head.

“I love you too, Nicky.”

Chapter Text

“King Nicole, we need you.” I sit up in bed and look around the dark room. Waverly sits up and looks at me. I rub some sleep from my eyes then get out of bed. I look to Waverly and she seems a little scared.

“I’ll take care of this. I’ll tell you when I get back.” Waverly nods and lays back down. Her eyes are still wide open. I walk out of our room and the guards are waiting for us. “It’s only me, now, what the hell is going on?” They lead me to my office. Before the door even opens I can smell a lot of blood. I open the door and follow the smell of blood. I go to my desk and there is a letter from the Orcs. I open the letter and it’s just covered in blood. I can’t even read the letter. I place it down on my desk and sit down. I look to the guards, they all look serious. I lean on my elbows and look each of them in the eyes.

“At daybreak I want everyone scouting the area. Then I want a group of knights to head out to Orc land. They’re more near the East so I want one of you to send word to Curtis and Gus. They need to know that something is happening over there and to look out for any wounded Orcs. Send Lord James to my office at daybreak.” They just keep looking at me. “GO!” They basically run out of my office, the door shuts. I lean back in my seat. I run my hands through my hair then get up.

I walk to the room and try to gather my thoughts. The paper is soaked in blood, no words can be read. Right now there is nothing I can do. I’m tired and Waverly is scared. I need to take care of that first then I can try and figure this Orc thing out. I open the doors and Waverly sits up in bed.

“Are we being attacked?” I shake my head no and light the fire place in our room. I sit on the couch and watch the fire.

“We are not being attacked, however, I think King Mec and his people are. At daybreak knights are being sent over to their land. I am sending word to Curtis and Gus. I want them looking out for wounded Orcs. Then I want us to have a meeting with Lord James. Whatever this is, it’s bad.” I feel hands on my back. I look over to Waverly and she looks confused.

“What makes you think this is so bad?” I lean back on the couch. Waverly starts to play with my hair, she’s trying to comfort me.

“After what the alchemist said, I just feel as though that this, whatever it may be, is the bad thing.” I look to her and she has a serious look on her face.

“Well, there is not much to do right now. We don’t know what’s going on and until we do we should get some sleep.” Waverly stops playing with my hair, she takes my hand then gets up. She pulls me up and leads me to bed. We both lay down, Waverly curls into my side. After a few minutes her breathe starts to even out, I can’t fall asleep. Thoughts and worries consume me.

We got that letter a month ago. What if they have been having troubles for a month and we just thought it was nothing. That would be terrible, we would be terrible. Now, we don’t even know what’s going on over there. The travel to there is six days on horse twelve by sea, a total of eighteen days. I’m hoping that by the time we get there that we can at least help. I’m considering going down there with the knights. Maybe they will feel more confident having their King with them. But on the same note, what if this is something bigger than just the Orcs? I can’t leave the Kingdom unprotected, I can’t leave Waverly unprotected. If I leave maybe the people will finally feel like they can rebel. It’ll just be Waverly. No, I can’t leave like that.

“Nicky,” I look down to Waverly. She is looking up at me with sleepy eyes. “You need to fall asleep, there is nothing we can right now. I can feel how stressed you are.” Waverly moves away from me then lays on her back. She opens her arms up, I scoot over and lay my head down on her chest. Waverly wraps her arms around me. “Now, go to sleep and stop thinking so much until daybreak.” She kisses my head, she lets out some calming pheromones and I relax into her chest. Waverly places on of her hands on my head. Her heartbeat slowly starts to lull me to sleep.

“Your Graces, it’s nearly daybreak.” I open my eyes and look around. In my sleep I moved off of Waverly and pulled her into a cuddle. I sit up and rub the sleep from my eyes. Waverly looks at me, she has worry in her eyes. I get out of bed and start to get dressed. I get into a tan suit with a gold design all over it. I got to the bed and pull my boots out from under my bed. After pulling those on I head to my office and wait for Waverly and Lord James.

I sit at my desk and grab the letter. I keep looking at it. I move it all around the room and still, it can’t be read. I feel like crinkling up the paper and throwing it into the fire. Instead of doing that I move to my couch. The light from the fire is making the paper a little see through. I can read what the words say.

‘THE APE HUMANS CAME, EVERYTHING IS ASH! HEL..” the p is crooked. All of it is messy. I lean back into the couch. The office doors open, Waverly and James walk in. Both of them have serious looks on their faces. I stand up and start to pace. They let me pace for a few minutes.

“Nicky, speak to us.” I look to them and sigh. I close my eyes and then open them once again.

“The Orcs were attacked. The ape humans attacked them.” I move to my desk and lift up some papers. A map of all the lands is there. I throw the papers and point to the land that the ape humans have. “They boarder them. They must have struck a month ago. Lord James,” I look to him and he stands tall. “Get knights ready, I want to wait however until we can find out if there is anyone on their way here.” I look past them and look at the door. “Lucinda.” The door opens and she bows once. “Send word to the mermaids, I want them to look out for ships. Ape human ships and orc ships. I need to know if they are going to come over to our half of the world.” She nods once and then the door shuts. I sit down in my seat and stare at the map.

There are two halves of the world. Our half has the elves, fairies, and goblins. The giants are mixed between the two halves. The other half has the orcs and the ape humans. The mermaids live in the water in between us. I look up, Lord James is gone. It’s just Waverly.

“We need to prepare.” She looks at me funny. Waverly sits in the chair across from me.

“Prepare for what? All we know is that they attacked the orcs. They might not be coming over here.” I shake my head and look back at the map. Something isn’t right. I can feel it in my stomach.

“I would rather be safe than sorry.” Waverly takes my hand, I look up at her. She has a look I’ve never seen before.

“Please, I don’t want to worry the people. I will write letters to each of the wardens and explain the situation.” I nod once.

“Curtis and Gus already know. Orc land is closer to them. I have them looking out for survivors that may have escaped.” Waverly smiles at me weakly.

“Okay, now. Relax. Take a break and stop stressing. This will be figured out.” I nod once again. I take my hand back and look down at the map. Something has to be going on with them. If they were having problems with the ape humans why didn’t they tell us? We would have sent aid. I get out of my chair and look at all the documents related to the Orcs.

-

I have spend all day reading and catching up on Orc history. From what this says they have never had a problem with the ape humans. They have lived together in harmony since the beginning of time. The doors open, Waverly walks in and she has a look of horror on her face.

“What? What’s wrong?” I stand up and walk over to her. She hands me the letter in her hands.

‘Dear Nicole and Waverly,
Last night we received your raven and we sent scouts out all along over our land. Near one of the rivers we found a boat with King Mec’s son in it. He was seriously injured. Our healers have cleaned and fixed all of his wounds. Now we are just waiting for him to wake up. In the boat, we found eight Orc children. A few of them are babies the others are children. Our people will take them in. We are sending Prince Chck your way through carriage. We will let you know of we find anything else.
-Curtis McCready’

I sit on the edge of my desk. I look up at Waverly and she still has that look on her face.

“Everything will be fine. I swear. We will set a room up here for him. Hopefully on the way here he will have woken up so we can talk to him. For now, we will wait.” Waverly nods. I pull her into a hug, she wraps her arms around me tight.

“Have you eaten today?” She pulls slightly back from me. I shake my head no. Waverly gets out of the hug and takes my hand. “I’m going to get you some bread. I’ll be back.” She kisses my cheek then leaves the room. She is amazing, always taking care of me.

We must have some documents on the ape humans. All along the walls are books upon books. A, ape humans. I take out the book with the ape humans on the spine and sit down at my desk. I read through the book. The office door opens. Bread gets placed on top of the book.

“Eat, and drink all of that water too.” I look up and Waverly has a serious look on her face. I start to eat the bread and drink some of the water. “Now, what book is this?” She takes the book away from me and reads the page I have open. “Ape humans? What are you trying to get from this? We have nearly nothing on them.” I shrug and continue to eat the bread.

“I was hoping to find a weakness. Maybe help Prince Chck strike back.” She places the book down and scowls at me.

“Why would you go and do a thing like that?” I raise my eyebrows at her.

“The fact that we are allies. Waverly, we don’t know what happened. Chck could have seen his father die, his brothers. He is going to want to strike back. Without his people, we are all he has left.” Waverly eases up a little.

“This is going to have to be a discussion with Dolls. He knows more about the rules of the Kingdom than me. We will ask him for advice IF Prince Chck asks about striking back. Don’t bring it up to him.” I nod and lean back in my chair taking another bite out of the bread. Waverly gets up and sits on my lap. “How come you haven’t eaten till now?” I sigh and rest my head against the chair.

“All of this feels like my fault, our fault. We ignored the letter that was sent. We should have sent a troop, a single scout, someone to go and see if they were okay. Now I feel like we need to help them. Even worse, we don’t know this lesser breeds intentions.” Waverly scoots down and nuzzles her face on my neck. I calm down, all I can smell is baked apples. She must have let out those pheromones again.

“I know you’re feeling upset but there is no way we could have known. As I said before, those letters used to come in all the time on accident. All I do know is that Prince Chck should be here in two days times. You need to sleep and eat. You can bring some of those books with you to bed tonight.” She looks up at me, her eyes are pleading with me again. I nod. Waverly kisses the little bit of my mark showing. She stands up and holds her hands out to me. I stuff the rest of the bread into my mouth and take her hands. Waverly pulls me to my feet and grabs the book. I look along the wall and take the remaining books on the ape humans. Waverly and I head to our room.

Once in our room we both change into pajamas. The sun is just setting now. I look to the table, the books are sitting there. Waverly places her hand on my face and slowly pulls my chin so I am looking at her. She took her hair out of the braid, her hair is cascading down her shoulders. A small smile blossoms on my face. She pulls my hand and leads me to the bed.

“Come on, you need a little break. Also,” She looks away from me for a second then back. “I want my alpha to hold me. It’s been a long scary day.” Waverly crawls into bed. I look back at the books for a second. The alpha in me is growling, telling me to get into that bed and hold your omega, make her feel safe. Make all of her worries melt away. The other half of me is telling me to sit down and read those books until my eyes cross. When I look back at Waverly, her eyes. They are so soft, for the first time I can see that she is scared and worried. I crawl into bed and hold her tight.

“Whatever is going on, we will handle it together. Never again will you have to sit around and make all of these decisions alone. I’m here to protect you, and protect this Kingdom.” I kiss the top of her head. Waverly squeezes my middle then starts to relax. Right now is such a stressful time. My rut is coming up soon, we haven’t synced yet so it’s hard to get work done when in the beginning of the month she has her heat then at the end of the month I have my rut. We seem to be doing alright for now but who knows what’s gonna happen if this gets more serious.

Thoughts just race through my mind about us, a family, Prince Chck and then King Mec. Who knows how he’s doing. This is a bad end to the year.

-

Prince Chck arrived last night while we were sleeping. He woke up along the ride and nearly killed the men taking him to us. Thankfully he is an ask questions first then kill kind of guy. They explained where he was, what was going on, that the healers did a lot to save him. Right now he is sleeping and I’m reading up on the ape humans, that’s all I have been doing for the past two days. All I have on them is that they are one of the longest ruling Kingdoms in all of the land. They have had seventy seven Kings before this one. We have nothing on him. All we have on them is that they were calm, they don’t seem to have anything on us than being smarter. Their civilization is slightly more advanced than us. Other than that there is nothing.

I was reading over the treaty that was signed about war between the apes and the orcs. It seems that the only way that a war or an attack could be made is if the other party starts it. It seems like, there is something more to it that I can’t figure out. I would need to see the apes treaty and not the copy that the orcs gave us or even just the original that is written in orc.

My office door burst open. Two guards are trying to hold back Chck. I wave them off.

“Can you get Waverly please?” They nod and leave them room. Chck looks, upset. There is sorrow in his eyes. I tell him to sit. Waverly walks in and stands behind me. He slightly bows to her.

“Now, please, tell us what happened.” He looks up, a single tear runs down his cheek.

“It was a normal day, me and my brothers were helping my father with a new mine that needs, needed to be put in. We didn’t even have a warning, they came in from all sides. The apes, they just came swarming in and killing everyone, everything. My father told someone to send for you and the elves. It seems that you guys didn’t receive anything. My father left the castle and started to kill everyone, he went out there and the other side had to retreat. We knew we would have to wait for reinforcements. We were trapped in our city. Nothing was coming in or out.

Months, we ran out of food, soldiers were dying of hunger. Kids were crying in the streets. All we could do was watch. My father felt that it was time to act, he sent out the rest of our troops. As soon as the city gates opened they flooded in on horses. Thousands of them. I gathered as many children as I could.” He looks away, and doesn’t finish his sentence for a few moments. Waverly and I sit, waiting for the rest. Her hand tightens on my shoulder. He looks back up at us.

“We had a secret exit in the castle, I ran. I’m a coward. My brothers and father fought for their lives, the lives of our people. I just ran after getting hit once. Then I passed out in the boat leaving the kids on their own.” I get up and squat in front of him.

“Listen, you did the best you could. You saved some lives and now they are alive and safe in the Eastern Kingdom. All thanks to you.” He nods once then looks away from my gaze. I stand and go back to my chair. I offer for Waverly to sit. She does. The room is silent. He start to growl out some words.
“They need to pay. As I was leaving I heard the leader. He was talking to father. He wants to control the whole world. He wants everyone to bend the knee to him. He’s coming for you.” He looks up and continues, “You told my father that you would fight by his side, fight for his people. I need you to honor this, I need the elves too. I need everyone we can get. We need to stop him.” He stands and looks me in the eyes. I hold my arm out. He grabs it.

“I promise you when the time comes we will strike back. For now, we need to sit back and plan. We need to prepare more men and women to fight. We need to think about this wisely.” He nods and lets go of my arm. I do the same. Waverly stands and nods to him, he nods back. He leaves the room. I look to Waverly and she sighs.

“Looks like we are going into war. We need to start a draft, we need to send word to the elves and the mermaids.” I nod then sit down in my chair. Waverly places her hand down on my shoulder. I have this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. This is going to dangerous, we are going to lose thousands.

“I want to send a scout, just someone to sneak around to see what’s going on over there. I want them to see if Mec is alive.” I look up at Waverly she nods once. “Lucinda.” She walks in and bows once. “Can you please send our best scout in here?” She nods then leaves.

-
The past few days have been filled with talking to the troops. Preparing the draft, preparing letters for our allies. The scout left the day that we gave him the mission. Now all we have to do is wait for answers. We sent out letters to all of the wardens. This is going to be an interesting time for us. All of us. We need to get ready. It’s the end of September. Winter will be here soon, we aren’t going to have as much food or supply. I have no idea when all of this is going to happen. When they will finally strike. A war is brewing.

Chapter Text

There has been no news from the scout we sent. I’m worried that he may have been killed or taken as a prisoner. Either way, we still have no news on the apes. The wardens have gotten back to us though. All of them have decided to make a trip down here to talk to us. They want to know what the plan is. How we are going to handle it. They all should be arriving by tomorrow. I’m worried about how Wynonna is going to react. I’m also worried about Waverly. She seems off lately. She smells a little different. I can’t explain it.

“King Nicole,” Lord James is standing before me. I called him here. I stand up and start to pace my office.

“We need to train nearly double the amount of soldiers we have. I want to start a draft. We can’t wait for people to decide they want to join. I’ve been apart of the people, they only volunteer when they feel it's either their last chance or things are getting bad. A draft will get rid of this problem.” I look up and Lord James has a serious look on his face.

“Your Grace, before we do this, let’s see how many the wardens can provide. I don’t want to start a draft and have thousands offer their lives if we will have enough men.” I nod once then sit on the edge of my desk.

“This is just, something I’m not prepared for. Waverly didn’t have us do any of this in the trials. Of course, of course this was bound to happen but I just wish we talked about it more. I know that she stopped the Goblin war, I was prepared for the draft. Everyone thought she was going to restart the fighting but instead she used her words. I don’t think it’s going to work like this. Also, how come she doesn’t know much about our allies? Why does Dolls know more?” Lord James sighs and sits down across from me.

“The laws are complicated. Omegas had nearly no rights, hell they still don’t have many. It’s just complicated for us. Omegas are second class citizens, Dolls knows about the allies because he had to deal with them. He had to deal with Lord Michael. Waverly didn’t have to talk to them. She talked to them when she was crowned, that was it. Read up on it. All the books and treaties are here in this room. Just grab a book and read.” Lord James gets up. “I need to continue to train the knights. I’ll meet with you again tomorrow.” He bows then leaves my office. I look at the bookcase and scan over all of the spines. I get up and move closer. I grab a book, I turn and the man in the cloak is in my office. I puff my chest out and start to growl. He smiles at me then nods once.

“I am of friend, not foe. The time is coming. The golems in the West are rising. Putting themselves back together. They will be marching East in two days times. Four hundred strong will be on your side. They will fight for you and only you.” There is a loud bang on my door. I look to the door, when I look back at the man, he’s gone.

“Come in.” The door opens and the scout walks in, Waverly is by his side. I pull a chair out for him. I thought he was dead! He sits down, he’s out of breathe. Waverly sits on the edge of my desk, I squat in front of him.

“They have nearly 100,000 men. They have enslaved the orcs. King Mec is in chains, his sons heads are on spikes along with thousands of other orcs. They nearly caught me. They know I was of wolfblood.” I place my hand on his shoulder.

“Anything else?” He nods quickly.

“They have A LOT of ships. They spotted me before I could count.” I nod once then get up from my squat.

“Lucinda, take him to one of our finest rooms. Make sure he is bathed and fed.” She bows and takes him out of the room. I look to Waverly. She has a worried look on her face.

“What are we going to do? I never thought that we would be going into war. With the goblins, it was just a matter of money. The crown was put into debt over that. Now though, he’s out for blood.” I sigh and look around the room. A book with a black cover is on my desk. I furrow my brow and grab the book. “What’s that?” I shrug and open the book. Waverly is looking over my arm to look at the book. “What language is that?” I look at her with my brows still furrowed.

“Waves, it’s common.” She shakes her head no.

“I don’t know what those words are. I can read elvish, orc, goblin, fairy, every single language I can at least recognize, that though.” She shrugs. “I have no clue.” I look back at the book and read.

“Well, it’s war strategy. It was written by,” I drop the book. My cheeks are burning up. Waverly grabs the book and looks at it then me. “It’s written by Krig.” Her eyes widen.

“There is no way this book is written by the Goddess of War. Nicky, that’s ridiculous.” I shrug and sit in one of the chairs.

“The man in the cloak was here. The one from,” She nods and cuts me off.

“I know the man, he was here though?” I nod then stare at the book.

“He must have dropped it off before he left.” I get up and grab the book. I open it back up and start to read the text. The words look just like common.

“What kind of strategies are written?” A small smile blossoms on my face.

“One that lacks morals, but will win the war.”

-

The Wardens have just arrived, all of them are settling in their rooms. We are to meet in the war room once they all are settled. We have ancient magic on our sides. The golems will be charging their way to the castle any day now. Once here we will equip them with the best weapons. Iron weapons instead of their stone.

Waverly and I are in the war room, waiting for the others to join. I decided to wear more relaxed clothes rather than what I usually wear. Tonight is going to be long. The doors open and Mercedes is the first to enter. Waverly and I exchange looks then look back to her.

“Don’t worry, I’m sober. My guards made sure of that.” She gives a dirty look to the two guards right behind her. She looks all around the room then back at us. “How, did the Gods manage to get me here first?” I chuckle and look at my feet then back at her.

“They blessed your guards with the strength to keep you sober.” She’s about to comment but Curtis and Gus walk in with Wynonna and Doc. They all walk over and exchange hugs. I take a step back and look around. They all smell nervous. Lord Michael walks in. He seems, fine. Chck walks in and has a mean look on his face. I gesture for them all to sit. The glasses are promptly filled with wine.

“As you all heard, the apes are attacking. They have about 100,000 strong. Some are orcs that have been enslaved and forced to fight for the apes. They have a lot of ships.” I start to pace back and forth as I speak. “They are smart, they managed to get through all of orc land being unnoticed. They are strong, they managed to get through one of the toughest places to attack. Brakath, the orc capital. I know how secure that place is. A fly doesn’t get through without someone knowing. We need to fight dirty. We need to fight smart.” I place the book on the table. Wynonna speaks up.

“And what is that?” I grin and look at all of them.

“Krig wrote this book.” Everyone bursts out laughing. I smile and look at my feet. The only one not laughing is Chck.

“There is no way you have a book written by the Goddess of War.”Chck speaks up. I look up and push the book forward. I point to the name and Krig is clearly written.

“The priest confirmed that it is in the same hand as the Gods. This is a holy book. We have been blessed by our Gods with this knowledge. We WILL use it to our advantage.” The laughter died down long ago. “I need to know how many soldiers each of you can supply.” Mercedes speaks up first.

“We don’t train knights or soldiers. For armed and trained men we have two thousand. They are the city guard. Without them we would have chaos. I can give one thousand.” She sips her wine and sits back. Curtis speaks up.

“We don’t have many men either darlin, we have three thousand to give.” I nod once to them then look to Doc and Michael.

“I can provide three thousand as well Your Graces.” Doc seems upset that he doesn’t have more. Michael looks at me and squints.

“Seven thousand, armed and ready. How about you?” I sigh and look around.

“A lot of good men died a year ago when Tucker attacked. We now have fifteen thousand men. That includes training all year. Overall we will have 29 thousand men. That’s basically four to one.” I start to pace the war room. I grab a map and slam it on the table. “We have to figure out where they would attack first. They are looking for world domination.” I stare at the map and they all are silent. Wynonna speaks up.

“We are the closest. We are right next to orc land. They would attack us first then go through to the elves and goblins.” I keep staring at the map.

“That is the logical answer. We are closest so we would be the first. However we have strong defenses. They would lose a lot of men, if they take men that fight for them then they will have a better chance at winning. I’m sure they forced some orcs to fight for them.” I sit in my chair and look at them. “That’s all for today from my end. What do you all think?” Everyone is silent. Chck speaks first.

“We need to train people. We need more soldiers. I want all the orcs that are here. They are my people.” Curtis speaks up.

“No. They left your land to get away from all of the fighting. They are farmers now.” Chck stands up. He has fire in his eyes.

“They are my people.” Curtis shakes his head no.

“Not anymore. They are my people now. I have had generations of orcs work for me and my land. They all came on their own accord.” Chck turns to leave but I stop him.

“CHCK! Get in here and sit! I’m settling this right now!” He turns to me and sits down. “Now, they are Curtis’s people and if I were you I would treat Lord Curtis with a little more respect. His healers saved you. His people took in those kids. What will happen is, you will go home with Curtis, you can try to rally the orcs. If they want to fight then they will go with you, if they want to stay and be farmers then they can do that.” Chck huffs out but agrees. He gets up and leaves. I told him earlier what the scout told us and he got really mad. He stormed out of the room and hit some things on his way out.

“Well, now that that’s over, aren’t they going to be coming into port when they come? I mean, the South is in danger. I don’t want all of my land to be attacked.” I nod.

“We will have to have the mermaids scout the water. If it seems like they are heading your way then the south will have to be evacuated. We can’t ask them nicely not to destroy your land and the homes of your people.” I look to all of them. “That includes if they show near your homes. The East has small ports.” I keep looking at the map. Suddenly parts of the map starts to glow. The section of woods between us and the South starts to glow. The elves glow and the fairies glow.

“They aren’t coming to get us first that’s ridiculous. We would kill them, Even with the odds we have now we would kill them. One of our men is three of his. We would be about the same strength wise. No, they are going to places of magic first. We don’t have the best grip on magic and how to control it. The elves do though. The fairies do, hell, even the goblins do. They are going to attack one of them first.” I look to everyone then to Waverly. She has worried look on her face. Wynonna speaks up.

“I want to hear from Waverly.” I look to Wynonna then back to Waverly. Waverly looks, unsure of what to say. “Not that I don’t believe in you Red, it’s just that Waverly has been doing it longer.” All of them nod, I sit down and let Waverly speak.

“I would like to try and talk to them, I know that won’t work though. In the past Dolls has said we don’t need to be stronger, we need to be smarter. We need an arrow proof plan. We need something that will throw their guard off.” She looks at me. “Nicole is the only one that can read that book. She is the only one that will be able to figure out how to best attack them. I say we listen to her so we can fight smarter than them.” She looks away from me and back to the wardens. I look at them too. They all nod once, even Wynonna. I stand next to Waverly.

“I think we are good for tonight, we will come back here tomorrow after breakfast.” They all stand and leave. I call Michael back. “The golems are rising in the West. They are going to be making their way here. Let them make their way here, I want all four hundred here ready to fight.” He squints at me again.

“And how do you know they’re rising?” I grin and let my eyes flash red.

“Call it intuition.” He takes a step back then turns away. As soon as the doors shut I sigh and look at Waverly. “This being King thing is hard.” Waverly laughs and wraps her arms around my neck.

“At least you have me.” I grin then lean down and kiss her softly. I pull away and rest my forehead to hers. She still smells off. Like she might be sick or something. I look at her.

“Are you feeling okay?” Waverly nods. She smiles at me.

“I feel fine, why?” I shake my head no.

“Just making sure. Let’s go to bed.” I take her hand in mine and smile. We head to our room in silence. Lucinda is waiting near the door. I tell her to go to sleep. She bows to me then leaves. We get in the room and there are candles lit all over the room. I look to Waverly and she has a smile on her face.

“I know how stressed you have been lately and I figured I could help you relax.” I nod dumbly. She takes my hand and leads me to the bed. Waverly turns and moves her hair out of the way. I start to untie her corset. Once it’s off of her I kiss her neck and press a little harder where her mark is. Waverly moans out just a little. I smile then continue up her neck. Waverly turns in my arms and presses her lips to mine. Waverly’s hands go to the hem of my shirt. She lifts it off of me. Waverly kisses my neck, she moves down to my collar bone. My hands tighten on her waist. I lightly push her on the bed, everything is turning slightly blue.

“Come here.” Waverly is smiling. I crawl onto the bed and lean over her. Her hair is spread out on the pillows. She wraps her arms around my neck. Waverly pushes up and connects our lips. I melt into her. Waverly wraps her legs around my waist. She’s grinding against me. I moan into the kiss. Waverly pulls away and starts to moan softly. I lean back and rip off the dress she’s wearing. The color is turning purple. I look back down at Waverly, taking in the shape of her body. All of her beautiful curves. I lean down and start to kiss her neck and chest. I take her left breast in my mouth, Waverly’s hand lands on the back of my head. Her body arches into me, she starts to moan out louder. Her hand tightens on the back of my head. I start to kiss down her body. I leave kisses over her stomach, then her pelvis, slowly making my way down to her sex. Right before I lick up her sex, she stops me.

“Come here, I want you up here with me.” I kiss my way back up her body. As soon as get back up to her lips she flips me onto my back. I start to growl. Waverly shakes her head no. She sits on my lap and starts to grind back and forth. “I told you, I want you to relax.” Waverly pulls away and pulls off my pants. She starts to kiss my pelvis, she’s never done this before. Waverly slowly pulls off my shorts. Waverly slowly kisses closer and closer, she stops then goes back to my lap. Waverly hovers right over me. She slowly eases her way down onto me. I moan out into the room. She waits a few second then starts to grind back and forth my hands stay on her hips as she grinds. I groan out, Waverly presses down hard and moves her hips fast. Waverly leans forward and rests her hands on my chest. I slowly start to move my hips back and forth with her. Once I start Waverly starts to moan louder. I move my hands to her back. I swiftly move her to her back. Waverly’s cheeks are red, her hair is all over the place. She looks incredibly sexy. I lean down and start to pump in and out of her as fast as I can. Waverly digs her nails in my back. I moan out and lean down to kiss her. I swallow all of her moans as we kiss. I pull back and admire her. Waverly is slowly getting louder and louder. Her nails are digging more and more into me I can feel the blood dripping down my back.

“Nicky! Don’t stop!” I kiss and suck on her mark, her walls squeeze against me. That’s enough to bring me over the edge. I moan out into the room with her. As soon as I finish I fall back on the bed. We both lay in bed out of breathe.

“That was,wow.” I sit up and look at her. She has a smile on her face. She goes on her elbows as well.

“I just figured that with everything going on, a little distraction would do you good,” Waverly flips around then starts to crawl towards me. The purple is starting to fade into blue then slowly back into normal color. Waverly settles and sits on my lower stomach I smile up at her.

“Well, you’re right. I did need that, all that pent up,” I make hand gestures. Waverly giggles and kisses me softly. I place my hands behind my head. Waverly slides off of me then rests her head on my chest.

“My heat hasn’t come yet, usually it’s here by now.” I nod then move my hand out from behind my head I start to scratch her back. Waverly curls more into my side.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it. It’ll be here sometime this week. I’m sure of it.” Waverly sighs and wraps her arm around my waist.

“It’s just so unpredictable. I wish that mine was more like yours. Yours is every month during the first week for a week.” I shrug then look down at her.

“Well, mine has been going off the rails since you started your heat. But yes, mine was pretty consistent.” I stare down at the top of her head. I wonder why her heat isn’t here yet? Usually we have some idea of when it’s going to be. Her’s is really off though so I’m not worried about it in the least.

Small snores start to leave her. I kiss the top of her head. I close my eyes and try to let sleep overcome me. I can’t let it though. There are so many thoughts racing through my head. What if some of those strategies are balls? What if we can’t win this fight and they take Waverly? They would kill me, and rape her. There are too many bad options. I roll Waverly off of me slowly. She doesn’t seem to wake up. I get out of bed and pull on some clothes. I grab a candle and head for the kitchen.

The castle is creepy at night. Like someone is always watching even though the halls are pitch black. I make it to the kitchen and a few people are working. I nod to many of them. I grab some ale and head to my office. I sit at my desk and take a long sip. I place the ale down and start to think.

What would be the best course of action for each place they could storm? Wherever they go they will be surrounded. We sent word to the mermaids to let us know where is seems the ships are heading. If they come to the Eastern port they will be surrounded, same with the Southern. The Southern port would actually be better. We would evacuate the city and we would use their houses as places for the archers to hide and wait. I take another sip of ale. As I set it down there is a knock at my door. I get up and open my door. Wynonna is looking at me with a bottle of wine in her hand. I open the door wider for her to come in.

“What are you doing up so late?” She sits down in my seat and tips the bottle towards me.

“What are YOU doing up so late?” I sit in one of the chairs and pull my ale towards me.

“I am thinking of how we could win this war.” Wynonna nods. She takes a sip of her wine then places it down on my desk.

“I’m worried we all are going to die.” I nod and just stare down at my desk. After a few silent minutes she starts to speak again. “What do you have so far for a plan?” I look up at her and shrug.

“I’m hoping they attack the South. That way we can hide archers in the houses and have them attack from different windows. Other than that, I have nothing.” She throws her head back.

“What about all that talk with the book?” I sigh and grab the book off of my shelf. I open it up.

“The first thing it says is to not be afraid to sacrifice soldiers. I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to willingly put people’s lives in danger.” Wynonna starts to laugh.

“What do you think is going to happen? All of us are going to survive and all of them will die? When people train, they know there is a chance of dying. They know that eventually the fight will take them. What if you use a few people as pawns?” I lean back in my chair and take another long sip.

“They have families. What if I sent Doc out as one of the people that I know would die. You and Alice would be missing a husband and father. We need to think about this more wisely than just sacrificing people like lambs to the slaughter.” Wynonna nods slowly.

“Well, what’s one of the plans from that book that you like?” I flip through and stop on a page.

“This one seemed alright. Divide the enemy. Create a gap in the middle and flank the sides. While doing this try to have a large group of soldiers attack from behind. The problem is the behind thing. We can’t have a random ship waiting in port. They would destroy it.” I take another long sip of ale.

“So you’re saying we need someone who could stay underwater and hide? Why not the mermaids?” I shake my head no.

“They don’t fight. It’s not their thing.” I look up at Wynonna and smile. “The golems! Fighting is their thing. They were made for fighting. I’ll order them to attack from the back. That way they won’t be able to retreat to their ships. While waiting for the signal they can put holes in the ships.” I smile at Wynonna. She grins back at me.

“I see why Waves trusts you so much with this.” I grab a piece of parchment and quill. I write down my idea and a note to ask Jeremy about new spells and magic. Then to ask the blacksmith to see if he has any ideas on technology that will advance us and give us the advantage as well. If they are going to attack magic land first then we should send word to the other Kingdoms. Even the ones we don’t agree with. They are going for everyone.

“Well there Red, I can see that you’re thinking. I’ll let you do that.” Wynonna gets up and walks past me drinking from the bottle of wine. I wave to her as she walks by. The rest of the night I spend in my office. Thinking and writing.

-

“Nicole?” I open my eyes to see Waverly looking at me with worry in her eyes.

“Hey, what time is it?” Waverly sits on the edge of my desk as I raise my head.

“It’s just after sunrise. Everyone is eating breakfast.” I nod and look around my office. I read through some of my notes then look to Waverly.

“I know you’ve read up on strategy. What do you think is best?” She looks away then gets off of my desk.

“There are many pieces of work depicting strategy and what the best forms of fighting are but,” She takes a deep breathe. “I don’t trust any of them. Many wars have been won and lost from the same strategy. I don’t know what works best and what doesn’t. The evidence never seems to be straight forward. Also magic based is different than non. I have no clue what we should do about all of this.” She looks at me and the fear is back in her eyes. She knows all of it, she just doesn’t know what would work best. I stand up and rub her arms.

“Hey, all of this is gonna work out. We are gonna think of a plan. We’re a team. What you’re not sure of you can run by me and then we can move forward together.” She hugs me tight then kisses my cheek. I look at my desk and explain all of my papers to her. The ideas I have for attack and defense. Once I give her the full explanation she gives some critiques based on what she knows.

We make our way to the war room. We walk in, everyone is talking. I look around and roll my shoulders back.

“Waverly and I have talked. We have a plan. My guess is they are going to go to the South. The reason I say this is because of the giants. They are going to want them and take them. We need to have guards there and let the mermaids know. Speaking of allies I want to send word to everyone not just allies. Everyone needs to know. Not just the people who share our ideals. In the South and the East we are going to start construction on walls. We don’t have nearly enough.

Now, for the part I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for. How we are going to win the war, we will need many skilled archers. The walls are going to be built for the archers, we are going o be building many catapults, we are going to be working smart not hard. After we get most of their fighters out of the way we are splitting them up. That means going down the center and separating the pack. After that we are going to flank each side. That means the back too. With the golems coming from the West we will have creatures that can be in the water. While we are firing arrows at them they will be attacking their ships from underwater. With their ships sinking and no place to retreat we will have them by the balls.” Gus and Curtis are smiling.

“What if they get the giants?” I turn to Michael.

“They won’t. What I need from you all is working overtime. Specifically the South and the North. I need all the materials I can get for making weapons. We need more weapons than soldiers.”

“Why don’t we just attack now?!” Michael stands up, he has anger in his eyes. Everything is turning red, my limbs are extending. My sleeves and pant legs are ripping.

“We aren’t attacking now! We are waiting and creating a good defense! It’s like you don’t fucking listen! They are at Brakath, the world’s tightest stronghold.” The more I talk the more I calm down. Waverly places her hand on my back.

“That was intense.” Mercedes is grinning. “Seeing all of that is much different than hearing about it.” I roll my eyes at her.

“I know you all are alphas, I know it’s hard to take orders rather than give them. This isn’t the time to question Waverly and I’s decisions. We are here to take care of you all. We are going to do our job. That’s all. Go home after lunch. I will send word to each of you with instructions within a weeks time.”

Chapter Text

“Your Graces, the Mermaids just sent word of ships heading towards the Elves!” Waverly looks at me, her eyes are wide. I nod once to him.

“Stay here,” I write a letter as fast as I can to the Elves. I tell them that they are about to be under attack by the ape humans. I write in a few more details then give the letter to the boy. “Run as fast as you can. Don’t stop until you get to the ravens.” He nods quickly then runs out of the room. I sit down in the chair across from Waverly’s desk. She still has that worried panicked look on her face.

“The Elves, they don’t fight much. They are going to lose.” I look around the room. There is nothing we can do.

“Waves, the best we can do is send five thousand men. Those men, they’ll be slaughtered. I,” She cuts me off.

“Ruling is about making sacrifices. Maybe those men will die, but the Elves would do it for us. We make decisions together. I understand that you don’t want men to die but even Krig had to accept that sacrifices need to be made in a time of danger.” I sigh and look around the room. I land on Waverly’s face. She’s right. I know she is. It’s just that the people understand that men were sent on things like this are just sacrifices. They know that these men are going to die. Hell, the men know they are going to die.

“Waves, I had a neighbor who was old enough to make it into the draft. He was fifteen. That’s the age that we start recruiting men. He, he was sent into war. This was when your father was ruling. He couldn’t fight, he couldn’t even look at blood. He was so bad that they made him a part of a special squad. He was the distraction. All of those men knew they were going to die. They sat and had one last meal with their families. They walked away from their houses knowing they would never see their loved ones again. We have a draft going. These men didn’t volunteer to be apart of our army. They are being forced. For us to send men that don’t even want to fight out into a month hike then fight nearly one hundred thousand men? We are nailing their coffins shut.” Waverly has sympathy in her eyes.

“We need to do it, Nicole. We can’t leave the Elves defenseless.” I nod once then get up. I walk to the door.

“I’ll go tell Lord James then.” I walk out of the room without looking at her. I can feel the sadness overwhelming me, everything goes grey. I get to Lord James and whisper the plan to him. He doesn’t nod he just starts to yell out orders. I look around the training field. After the draft, we have nearly forty thousand men. Plus the fourteen from the wardens we have fifty-four thousand men. We haven’t gotten word about how many of their men they have drafted. I shake my head then go back to my office. I sit and think for hours. I think about how that could have been me. How I could have just been drafted into this war and died with the rest of those men. The only reason why my father isn’t apart of the draft is because he is a provider for the Kingdoms. Without that, he would have been drafted. I bet Nedley is being drafted. My door opens. I turn to the door, Waverly is smiling at me sadly.

“Are you okay?” I don’t nod. I just stare at her. She walks over to me and sits in my lap.

“This is about protecting our allies. About keeping deals we have made”. She rubs my face with her thumb. I lean into her touch. My vision slowly goes back to normal.

“I know, I know that we have deals to keep. Allies to protect. It’s hard being from both sides of the coin. I know this is best for our Kingdom in the long run. I know that the Elves are one of our strongest allies. I know all of this. The poor farmer in me knows that all my friends could die. The people I’ve grown up with. My neighbors, my brother. So many people could die and I'm here, drinking wine and relaxing in the garden.” Waverly runs her hands through my hair. She starts to lightly scratch my head.

“I know this is hard on you. I know you feel like you haven’t been doing much. However, you’re doing so much. You’re thinking of war strategies, you’re thinking of ways to make sure our people are safe. That we are safe. Nicky, you are doing so much but it just doesn’t feel like anything because you are used to hard labor.” I nod slowly. I kiss the side of her head.

“You’re right. I’m going to go out and train for a little. If they come to us, I want to be ready.” Waverly gets off of my lap and kisses me softly.

“When the time comes, you’re going to have to be safe.” I smile at her.

“You make it seem like I’m never safe.” She gives me a look. I smile at her and leave my office.

-

It’s about the end of October now and we have gotten no news from the troop we’ve sent. The Mermaids haven’t seen anything and the Elves haven’t sent word back to us. We have gotten nothing. The only good news is that Chck got most of the Orcs to fight for him. The East now has an extra two thousand to give us. The South has an extra thousand. The West can give another six thousand. The North can give four. Now we have about sixty-two thousand men to send out when the time comes plus the stone golems that have been sitting in the training area gathering dust. I’ve been having one of them train with me though. They are fast and strong. I got hit by one of them two days ago and man did it hurt. I was thrown across the training area and hit a column. Waverly was super worried but I healed fast enough where it didn’t matter. I was just sore for an hour.

Waverly still hasn’t started her heat. Early November will be a full month and a half that she hasn’t had her heat. It’s not uncommon for that to happen to a young omega but these past two months it’s been once a month. I don’t know. If she doesn’t get it in another two weeks we’ll go see the healer.

Right now I am in my office reading over some of the news that was on my desk since I’ve been training in the morning. So far still no news from the Elves. Our troops should have arrived by now. They were traveling in wagons to make them get their sooner. I sigh and look around my office. All of the news is boring. Pretty much just what the wardens did for punishment and stuff like that. I open a letter with a carpenter seal on it. As I read the letter my eyes widen and a rush of excitement overtakes me. I run to Waverly’s office. I walk in and she is still going over all of the news.

“Did you read the news from the carpenter?” She shakes her head no. I sit down across from her and smile. “All of the schools and orphanages are done. Now work can be started on the houses for the omegas.” Waverly has a wide smile on her face. It slowly starts the fade.

“We don’t have enough carpenters to get it done by winter. What are we gonna do?” I look at my hands and then back up at her.

“I’ll be a King.” I stand up and call Lucinda in. She walks in and smiles at the two of us. “Send word to all of the carpenters in the City. I want all of them here by midday tomorrow.” Lucinda nods to me then walks out of the room.

“What are you going to say to them? Most of them already said no.” I shrug.

“They won’t have a choice in the matter. They will be forced to. Anyone who objects will be subjected to punishment. We need them to start taking me seriously. Taking us seriously.” Waverly nods. She gets up and wraps her arms around me.

“What would the punishment be?” I shrug.

“I’m hoping we don’t get that far, I’m hoping the threat of it will be good enough.” Waverly kisses my cheek then goes back to her letters. I watch her for a little then go back to my office. I’m hoping the threat of it works out.

-

“Waverly, Nicole.” I opened my eyes slowly and look around my darkroom. Lucinda is standing over our bed with a candle and a letter. Waverly stirs next to me. I sit up and take the letter from her.

“What’s this?” She gestures for me to open it. I flip the letter around and see the Elvish seal. I open it up and read as fast as I can.

‘King Nicole and Queen Waverly,
We got your letter just in time. The ape humans attacked a day after your letter. Thank you for the notice. We are holding our own for right now, thank you for sending your men. A scout spotted them. They are two days away from us. They must be moving pretty fast. In any case, it seems like they are the defensive right now. Picking us off one at a time. Their strategy is smart. We’ve lost many men while fighting. Nearly sixteen thousand. I fear that soon they will be on the offensive and we will all be slaughtered. I will inform you of any changes.
Best regards, King Grildar.’

Waverly has been reading over my shoulder. I thank Lucinda and send her to bed.

“They aren’t gonna last much longer. He doesn’t seem worried.” Waverly shrugs and takes the letter.

“For now all we can do is wait. The Elves are very calm people. I’m sure they are worried but they would never show it. For now, let’s go to sleep.” Waverly pulls me down with her so we both are laying down. She rests her head on my shoulder. I stare at the ceiling and just think. Would sending more men work out for us in the end? Would it be best for our Kingdom? I’m sure sooner rather than later they will be here, what if we give away too many men? Then where would we be?

I spent the rest of the night thinking and running through scenarios and strategies. I could think of nothing all night, and on top of it, I basically lied to Waverly. I told her that I went to sleep. This whole war thing is starting to get to me. I feel like I’m not even the same person. I questioned whether it would be good to send aid to the Elves. That’s not like me. So many decisions and so many lives on the line. With war on my mind, I fell asleep while Waverly is getting dressed.

Waverly kisses me awake. I just smile at her as my eyes slowly open. She is looking down at me, a wide smile on her face, eyes crinkling in the corners. She pecks my lips then starts to speak.
“You need to get up, we are talking to the carpenters today.” I groan and get out of bed. I get dressed quick. I place my crown on my head and walk to the throne room. The two of us walk in and the carpenters look, not very pleased to be here. I look at each of them in the eyes. I sit down, Waverly does as well.

“We have called you here today to discuss building the omegas homes in the farmland.” One of them starts to speak but I look over to him before he can even finish his word. “All of you will be building those homes. If you say no there will be a punishment. If I were you all, I would build the houses.” Before they can even speak I stand up. Waverly follows suit. Waverly speaks.

“We want that started as soon as possible. Get gathering materials.” We both walk out of the room and just stand in the hallway, listening to them. They seem quiet.

“I guess we better start working on those houses. I don’t think they are taking no for an answer.” the others grumble in agreeance. The doors open and shut. I smile at Waverly.

“See, all we have to do is be more assertive. That worked surprisingly well.” Waverly nods and starts to walk away.

“It’s cause they are scared of you. They don’t want to see the alpha angry.” I furrow my brow and follow her.

“Is that a bad thing though. I should be instilling a little bit of fear into them. Otherwise, they would be asses.” Waverly takes my hand and squeezes.

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing. If it was just me, I think there would have been an argument.” She stops walking, we are at our offices. She pecks my lips then goes into hers. I guess she’s right. They don’t fear Waverly. But they do love her so that must count for something. Right?

-

“Today, we are taking a break. You need a break. You need time to let your mind wander to other things. I was thinking we could spend our time in the library like we used to.” She has this hopeful smile on her face. I smile back at her. She’s right and I know it. I have been pushing myself hard. It’s been only a day since the carpenter thing and I feel drained.

“As you wish. I think this will be good for me. I think this will be good for us.” I take her hand in mine and smile at her wider. We both get out of bed. As we get up someone comes in with breakfast. We both sit down at the table and enjoy our food in silence.

Waverly and I get dressed and head down to the library. We told the staff that we are taking the day off. So far we haven’t gotten to enjoy that pleasure. Waverly hands me a book and starts to explain it.

“This one is a health book. I got it from the healer, it’s all the information we have on alpha primes. It’s not much but it’s something.” She hands me another one. “This is all the information and stories we have on Karotious. I know we saw all the cave stories but maybe in one of the many versions of the story it can explain better why you’re the alpha prime.” She has this sweet smile on her face. I smile sweetly back.

“Have you already read all of these?” Waverly nods.

“A few times. I wanted to understand as much as I could.” I grin and kiss her softly.

“Thank you for this, I appreciate it.” Waverly picks up a large book and leans into my side. I open the health book and dive right into it.

So far it seems that, I grow? In a sense that when I’m mad or when I think about it I can grow and become a shield. My skin grows tough like giants, hair patches grown on my skin, teeth grow large. I become, almost like a giant wolf. Mating in this form can be dangerous for an omega. Fighting in this form is ideal. Other than that, that’s all they have. After being like this for a few months though, they are missing some things. I heal incredibly fast, and my eyes change color.

I pick up one of the many children’s stories on Karotious. I get halfway through the book, a small woman walks in with plates of food. I get a small sniff of what it is. It’s chicken and, Waverly gets up and runs towards the window in the library. She throws up. I get up fast and run over to her, I start to rub her back and wait for her to stop leaning out of the window.

“Are you okay?” Waverly looks at me and shrugs.

“That smells disgusting.” She has this look of disgust on her face. The servant takes the food and walks out of the room.

“Do you feel sick?” I put my hand to her forehead and she feels fine. I look at her cheeks and they are pink so she isn’t pale. I furrow my brow and shrug. She shrugs too. “Well, if you keep getting sick then we will have to go to the healer.” Waverly nods and puts her hand on her stomach. I don’t even know what the food was.

I head down to the kitchen to get some water and bread. Lucinda is sitting down at one of the tables, she looks tired. I walk over to her and place my hand on her shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Lucinda sighs. She stands up and bows.

“I am fine, what can I get you?” I shake my head no and have her sit down.

“I can get it myself. You just rest. I’ll see you later.” I smile and go to walk away but she calls after me.

“Is Waverly okay?” I look at her and nod.

“I mean she threw up but that’s it.” she smiles slightly then turns back to the table. I look at her weird but shake it off. I grab the bread and water then head back to Waverly. I get to the library and she is sitting on the couch reading. I hand her the bread and water, she takes it thankfully. I kiss her cheek as I sit down. Waverly has this weird look on her face.

“Maybe we should go see the healer now. I’ve been reading this health book and I think we should go see him. This could be a dangerous disease.” I nod and furrow my brow. I hope she is okay. I can’t handle her getting sick on top of the upcoming war. That would devastate me and this whole Kingdom. We finally get to the healer. We walk in and his smile soon turns to worry.

“Visits to me are never good, what’s wrong?” Waverly explains her throwing up and what she read in the book. He has her lay down and starts to feel around her body. He takes a minute to feel around her stomach. Waverly takes off her corset and he continues. After that he nods and starts to look at her breasts, I feel a growl starting in my throat. Waverly looks to me and gives me a look. I stop but keep my eyes locked on the back of his head. The healer turns away and has this bright smile on his face.

“Well, the reason for your sickness is nothing to worry about. In fact, you two should be very happy.” My hands feel heavy, happy? The only reason for happy would be,

“Oh my Gods, am I pregnant?” He nods then looks to her.

“To my guess about six weeks.” My eyes widen, I look to Waverly. She has this wide smile on her face. She looks up to me and smiles. It hits me,

“Oh my Gods, you’re pregnant!” Waverly nods and starts to fix her shirt. I smile huge and run over to her. Before she can button the last button I hug her tight. I kiss the side of her head and just hug her as tight as I can. We are going to be parents.

This explains so much! Her heat not coming, the fact that she smells slightly different. I can’t believe it! All the signs were there and I just missed them. She missed them too. Whatever she thought this was, this is way better. I pull away with tears in my eyes. Waverly wipes at the tears with her thumb. She has a wide smile on her face.

The war. We are going to war. My smile disappears. Waverly’s smile slowly goes away too.

“What’s wrong?” I sit next to her and take her hand.

“The war.” I look up at her and there is worry on her face too.

“Shit.”

Chapter Text

“Shit.”

Waverly and I go back to our room. I sit down on the bed and look up at Waverly. She has this wide smile on her face.

“Nicky, we are gonna be having a pup!” She sits on my lap and kisses me hard. I melt into the kiss and let all of my other problems wash away. She pulls back and then presses her forehead to mine. “Isn’t this so exciting?! We can pick a room for their nursery, have a bassinet built. Oh, and we get to tell everyone!” She continues to ramble on, as her rambling gets faster and faster she gets off of my lap and starts to pace the room. I can’t help but smile at her. This beautiful, amazing, perfect woman is going to be the mother of my pup. Our pup. I stand up, Waverly stops talking and just stares at me.

“What?” I place my hand on her cheeks, I take a step forward so we are only centimeters apart. I capture her lips with mine and sigh into the kiss. My hand falls to her waist, her arms wrap around my neck. I pull away slowly, what does this all mean?

“Waves, what happens when an omega gets pregnant. My mother was a beta and I don’t exactly remember it since I was helping on the farm.” Waverly takes a step back.

“Okay, so when I learned about heats obviously pregnancies were involved. First thing, I become pregnant.” She smiles at me then continues, “Then, the first month is generally faster healing so the baby is safe. The second month consists of throwing up and cravings. The third month is when there are more bodily changes, my breasts get bigger and I start to feel more, excited.” She smirks and wraps her arms around my neck. “The fourth month is when the baby bump starts and little kicks. Also my need for nesting. Month five is when I become clingy towards you. Month six to eight is a mix of EVERYTHING. Then lastly, month nine is when the baby is born. Since it is November, the baby will be here sometime in June.” I nod and kiss her quickly. I do the math in my head and come up with eight, before I ask I realize that last month was the first month. I take a step back and kiss the side of her head.

“Lucinda,” she walks in and bows to the two of us. “Could you let the staff and Lord Dolls know that Waverly and I will be taking the next three days off to figure out how we will handle the pregnancy.” Lucinda nods then walks out of the room, leaving me and Waverly alone again.

“What do you mean handle the pregnancy?” I rub her arms and smile.

“How to announce to the Kingdoms of this news. Also maybe some time to cuddle in bed and spend some time together. I know that with this impending war I have had some real mental struggle. I also know that with you now carrying our pup, you are going to be focusing more on that rather than work. I need a few days to mentally prepare for me taking on more of the work. Also, my rut is starting.” I kiss the side of her head then walk over to the table to pour myself some ale. I turn to Waverly and she hasn’t moved. “Waves?” She turns to me and looks indifferent.

“I suppose this would be a good reason why omegas shouldn’t rule. Their brains change once they have a pup. Alphas, they don’t fixate on the pup. They don’t try to love and hold them. Make sure they are fed and happy. Alphas, they just want to have as many kids as possible to have heirs.” She is saying this with an odd amount of calmness.

“Are you worried?” I place my ale down and take her hands in mine. “That I am just going to be like all other alphas and not care for our pup? Waverly,” I tip her head up so she is looking into my eyes, “I will never be like that. My father was never like that. I remember him changing Sam's diapers, feeding him. I remember him being kind and patient with Jon and me. My father has set an amazing example for me to follow when it comes to raising our pup. I promise you Waverly Haught-Earp, that I will be there for our pup. Also, don’t forget that you are the rightful Queen to the Five Kingdoms. You have sworn to protect them. Just because you are adding a pup on the list doesn’t mean that you will just up and stop doing your duties completely.” She has tears welling in her eyes. I pull her into a hug and kiss the top of her head. “We are going to be doing this together. Raising a pup and running a kingdom.”

-

It is the last day of our time away from running the Kingdom. I have to say that we have come up with the best plan in regards to announcing the pregnancy, we aren’t going to. We have no idea if there are spies within our midst. There could be orcs in the East working for the ape humans. There could also be ape humans in the city, before I became full alpha prime the smells in the city would give me a headache and I couldn’t figure who was where. Now my nose is more refined and I can target smells and track them. People in the city wouldn’t even be able to identify an ape-human from one of us. We just want to keep Waverly and the pup safe.

“Nicole,” I turn towards Waverly’s voice, she is walking out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body. “Did you make a decision on breakfast?” I shake my head no and place my book back down onto the table. I have been reading lighter material rather than strategy books. I need to establish work and relax times. These past two nights I have had to best sleep in months. I think it is because I haven’t been thinking about work, just Waverly and the pup.

“I was thinking fruit.” Waverly nods and walks over to me, she sits on my lap and kisses me softly. She pulls away and looks at me.

“What is the plan for today?” I look up at the ceiling, trying to not think about Waverly essentially naked on my lap.

“Umm,” Waverly adjusts her positioning in my lap. I focus on the chandelier that isn’t lit, and not the blood rushing down. “We could ummm, go for a walk?” I look at Waverly, my cheeks are heating up. My rut is starting today, generally, I can wait till the end of the night. I focus all of my energy into my work that way Waverly doesn’t have to tend to all of my needs. Sometimes it's worse than others. Waverly smiles at me and I smile back awkwardly. She grinds down hard into my lap.

“Are you sure you want to go for a walk?” Her voice has this fake sweet tone to it. She grinds down again, a growl is starting in my throat. “We could always go riding?” She smiles at me again, the growl is deep. Waverly gets off of my lap, “Come on, we should get dressed.” She takes her towel off and walks over to her wardrobe. She looks over her shoulder at me and bends over. Everything becomes blue again. I stand up and follow Waverly, my growing member becoming ever more present. Waverly stands back up and turns towards me. I wrap my arms around her and pick her up. Waverly wraps her legs around my waist, I turn and walk towards the bed. As I walk towards it Waverly connects our lips softly. With her not being in her heat, I need to be more careful, she doesn’t want rough sex. She wants to make love. I try to think of other things rather than Waverly. She starts to kiss my neck softly, I moan out into the room. I lay Waverly onto the bed, she wraps her arms around my neck pulling me down with her.

Waverly’s hands make their way down my body to my underwear and she starts to pull off my shorts. I suck on her neck and just let Waverly take my shorts off. I kick them the rest of the way off. Waverly slides down the bed, her hand wraps around my cock and she leads me to her hot center. I pull away from her neck and look into her eyes, she grins up at me, I slowly slide into her. My head falls to her shoulder,

“Your Graces, hey! You can’t just,” the door bust opens.

“Oh my Gods! Gross!”

“Wynonna!” I pull out of Waverly and throw a blanket over the two of us.

“WHAT THE FUCK, WYNONNA!” I sit up as I scream and throw a pillow over my lap. My vision went from blue to red. She is turned to the side with her hands covering her eyes.

“I am never going to be able to unsee that!” Waverly starts to rub my back, she gets up and grabs one of my shirts and puts it on. She comes back into bed and continues to rub my back. “I am here because Dolls sent for me. He asked me to come here and discuss with you two about how to handle the elves. He felt that a drunk could understand drunks.” The red is slowly disappearing. “Can I look now?” I press the pillow harder into my lap.

“Yes.” Wynonna looks at us hesitantly.

“To think I was gonna bring Alice with me to say hi.” She shakes her head and walks further into the room. GET HER OUT AND TAKE YOUR OMEGA! My alpha is screaming at me to kick her out and continue with Waverly. I push down those feelings and just throw my head back. Waverly kisses the side of my head.

“Wynonna, why are you actually here?” I hear more movement coming from the room. My lower half is pulsating. It’s not going down, my rut has started and there is nothing I can do. “We should talk in the other room,” Waverly suggests to Wynonna. The door shuts and I get up from bed and head into the bathroom. What about bursting into our room seemed like a good idea? I shake my head and call for the servant who was going to announce Wynonna. I open the door a crack and ask for her to bring in some hot water for a bath.

I try to focus on anything other than my cock and Waverly. I walk out of the bathroom and back into my room. I lay down in bed and place the pillow back over my lap. I suppose I could finish the job myself. My alpha starts to growl, WHY? YOUR OMEGA IS RIGHT THERE! GO LOOK FO HER AND DEMAND, I cut that right there. I continue to stare but the nagging voice isn’t going away. THAT DUMB FUCKING BETA INTERRUPTED YOU WHILE YOU WERE TAKING YOUR OMEGA! I groan and try to fixate on work. The sound of water splashing against the tub fills the room. OR YOU COULD JUST TAKE THE SERVANT. WHY NOT? YOU ARE THE ALPHA, EVERY OMEGA IS YOURS. These thoughts come up during every rut, usually, it is a lot easier to push them away and focus on other things. Since Waverly has been helping me through my ruts, thoughts like these haven’t really had a chance to pop up. More water plops into the tub.

“Your Grace,” I look over to the woman standing in the doorway to the bathroom. YOU CAN SMELL THE WANT ON HER! SHE CAN SENSE YOUR RUT! JUST TAKE HER. I nod to her. “Your bath is ready.” her voice is soft, she isn’t looking me in the eyes.

“Thank you, I really appreciate it.” She bows then walks out of the room. After the door shuts I get out of bed and then into the bath. The warm water feels nice on my body. I sigh and lay my head back. The thoughts start to slowly go away. My mind wanders until the sun is in the middle of the sky. The bedroom door opens and Waverly walks in.

“Literally, her Doc got into a fight so she came all the way down here just to complain about him.” Waverly walks into the bathroom and shakes her head. “Ridiculous, am I right?” I nod and go further under the water. From my nose up is peaking out of the water. She walks further in and sits on the edge of the tub. “Are you okay?” I nod and slide slightly up so my whole head is out of the water.

“Why does she have such bad timing? My alpha has been going crazy.” Waverly takes the shirt off and smiles at me. She hops into the bath and straddles my lower stomach. My cock starts to throb, the pressure of her against the top of it making it twitch.

“I told her that you are starting your rut. She knows that she can stay here but she also knows that I will be busy for at least the rest of tonight.” She lifts up slightly and grabs my cock, she hovers herself over it then eases her way down. I place my hands on her waist. I don’t wait a single second. I raise my hips to meet hers. She groans out, her face twisted in pain. I slow down, Stop! Take her! FUCK HER! I ignore my alpha and slow down. Waverly eases her way down and my vision goes blue. She takes a few seconds then she starts to rock back and forth. I sigh and let Waverly move in whatever way she wants. Waverly is moaning quietly. My grip tightens on her waist. I start to pump in and out of her. She grips the sides of the tub and throws her head back. She starts to meet my hips half way. My movements become frantic as I feel my knot start to grow at the base of my cock. The blue is slowly turning to purple. Waverly taps my shoulder, her face is scrunched up in pain again. This time I can’t slow down.

“Nicky,” I move my hands away from her waist and grip the sides of the tub too. YES TAKE HER, SHES YOURS, PROVE TO HER THAT YOU’RE THE ALPHA. I focus on Waverly and not the alpha within me. The sides of the tub crack and I slow down, everything turning back to blue. I stop and catch my breath. The knot just growing.

“Are you okay?” She nods and leans forward so her head is resting on my shoulder.

“My body, I couldn’t take it anymore. You were going so fast,” She doesn’t finish her sentence. She looks up at me and smiles. She starts to rock back and forth again. I don’t move my hands. I leave them on the tub. Waverly starts to pick up her speed. One constant thought crossing my mind ‘she is carrying my pup, she is carrying my pup’ that way I keep my alpha in check and don’t hurt her. I let Waverly take care of me, my knot thickens locking her in place. Waverly comes undone on top of me. Her walls squeezing me tightly, it brings me over the edge. She leans forward and rests all of her weight onto me.

“What, what was that?” I look at her confused. “Why did your eyes turn purple?” I shrug, last time everything went purple, my control started to slip away, the same thing happening today.

“I’m not sure. I think so far blue is lust, red is anger, grey is sadness, purple is control?” She sits up slightly.

“What do you mean?” I sigh and stand up taking Waverly with me. We are gonna be like this for a few hours. I grab a towel and head to bed.

“The last time this happened I noticed that I was slowly losing control, the same thing tonight.” She wraps her arms around my neck as I lay us down in bed.

“But you were still in control right?” I nod and kiss the top of her head. My eyes feel heavy and I yawn.

“Of course, I just felt like my alpha was in a little more control than usual. This is normal for my rut though.” Waverly doesn’t say anything. I fall asleep with Waverly on top of me.

Chapter Text

It has been a month and a half since we found out from the healer of Waverly’s pregnancy, the winter is in full force. Waverly is about three and a half months pregnant. One thing she has definitely gotten right is her sex drive. It has been through the roof these past two weeks. She has even been coming into my office in the middle of the day. The healer says that this is normal and it seems as though the pup is growing at a healthy rate.

I became really worried that with me being the alpha prime that maybe the baby would grow quicker. Waverly feels fine and the healer is sure that the pup is normal size so I’m not too worried about that.

What I am worried about is the fact that we haven’t heard anything from the Elves or the Mermaids within the past month. The last letter we received was on November 17 and the Elves said that they are closing in on them. I have decided to send a thousand men over in hopes of getting as many refugees as possible. Other than that I have been strategizing with Lord James. The two of us spend most days just working through plans that would best defeat them and alternatives. Waverly has taken over all of the omega duties. She has been talking to the carpenters, meeting with the omegas to see how their training is going. We have decided that all of my attention should be going towards one or the other.

This new system that we have created has been working much better than either of us could have hoped for. I have been getting plenty of sleep. I have noticed that between the stress-reducing and Waverly being pregnant my alpha has become much more docile. Many of the instinctual thoughts are related to Waverly and her safety rather than me proving power. Our marks let me know when Waverly is overly stressed or if she has a super strong craving. The other night she woke up asking for pumpkin.

“Nicky?” Waverly’s voice takes me away from my thoughts. “Ready for lunch?” I look out the window then back at her, I furrow my brow.

“We just had breakfast. It isn’t even midday.” She throws her head back and leans against the doorway.

“I know.” She looks at me, pleading with me through her eyes. “How do you not have weird alpha hunger?” I shrug. She walks into the room and sits on the edge of my desk.

“Waves, if you wanna have lunch, I will have lunch with you.” She squeaks and stands up.

“I was thinking that we could have turkey legs, oh, and cookies!” She takes my arm and rambles all the way to the kitchen about the foods that she wants. We get in the kitchen, Robin is making what looks like a burnt cake.

“What uhh, what happened there?” he turns to us and smiles sheepishly.

“Well, Jeremy’s birthday is coming up,” his birthday is in April, “I just wanted to practice making a cake so his will come out perfect.” I smile at him and pat him on the shoulder.

“You have plenty of time.” He looks at the cake and sighs. This would be worrying considering he works in the kitchen but he is more a chef than a baker.

“Why not have one of the bakers teach you?” Waverly places her hand on her stomach as it growls after speaking. He sits down in one of the chairs and looks up at us.

“Well I asked one but she has been so busy teaching her apprentice that she doesn’t have time to show me.” I nod slowly and then look around the kitchen. Everyone is smiling and having fun. No one seems like they are put off by our presents.

“Just be patient, I’m sure they will have time sometime before April.” He nods and looks back at the cake, he puts his face in his hands. Waverly squeezes my hand, she starts to pull me further into the kitchen. There is a plate of chocolate cookies on the counter, Waverly takes three and continues to pull me through the kitchen. She asks one of the chefs for what sounds like a seven-course meal. My eyes widen at the amount of food she asks for. I look down at her and she has her eyebrows raised at me with a mouth full of cookie.

“I am carrying your pup, I am growing them. If I feel like I need a turkey leg, a loaf of bread, two apples, a few more cookies, carrots and potatoes, and some soup then that is what I need.” SHE’S RIGHT WE NEED TO GET HER MORE FOOD, AND SHE NEEDS TO LAY DOWN IN BED. Half of that was right.

“I’m sorry, Waves.” she nods and looks back at the chef. He looks at me then her, I shrug then he bows to the two of us and walks away.

“I don’t think I’m gonna have time to eat all of this food with you. Lord James and I have decided to start training some more knights in the dungeon. I have a few golems down there ready. I want these men and women to be able to at least slow one of them down.” Waverly looks at me and starts to pout.

“But I thought we were gonna cuddle in bed tonight. You told me that we could for as long as I want and when you fight you always go to sleep earlier.” I smile and kiss her softly.

“I promise I won’t fight too hard, that way I have plenty of energy to cuddle later.” She smiles wide at me then kisses me.

“Fantastic, I’ll have them bring the food to your office so we can eat together.” I nod once then watch her skip back to her office. I shake my head and follow behind with a large smile on my face.

-

“Alright, today we are fighting the golems. The King and I feel as though this group is ready to take these on. The golems do not hold back, they will kill you. I can’t count how many times one of these golems have thrown the King into a wall cracking it. Be careful and fight as a unit.” He takes a step to the side and allows the golem to light up. Its eyes start to glow blue. The unit is in a circle and discussing a plan of attack. Lord James stands next to me.

“How well do you think they are actually gonna do?” I look away from the group and back to him. He shrugs keeping his eyes locked on them.

“I can only hope that they don’t come up with a dumb strategy. The golem is only on defense mode. It won’t attack them.” I nod and look back at the unit. They all create a half-circle around the golem. Two people go in for the strike then the half-circle grows tighter. Another two people attack and then the half-circle becomes a full circle. The golem, sensing danger starts to swing at some of the men. The fighting continues. There are a few technical problems. Some of their footings is off, they just started to train with full armor on. The swords are made from a new material making them heavier. Overall, their fighting is clunky.

In the South, deep in the mines, they found this new metal that we are calling tungsten. Reginald the blacksmith has combined that with the steel that we have been using and even the golems can’t break it. The heating process takes a long time. I have commissioned Nedley in the city to also make these swords. We need as many as we can get as fast as we can get them.

They hit the golem in the right spot so it cracks and it powers down as the crack fills. I tell them to stop and adjust most of their footing. I show them some other ways to step. Lord James and I demonstrate and fight for about ten minutes. The others nod and start to practice the footwork.

“You all are going to start practicing all of the time with this new armor. It is heavier so it is slowing all of you down. We have come up with some things that you guys can do to start getting more acquainted with your armor. When I was a kid my father would make me run with sandbags on my shoulders. Your armor weighs about sixty pounds so you all will have two fifty-pound sandbags on each shoulder. You will run laps down here. All of the training swords will also be heavier so eight pounds instead of your six-pound swords. Any questions?” No one speaks up, I nod to them. “Good, you are dismissed.” They salute then leave the dungeon. Lord James pats me on the back.

“Good work, they should be up to par by the end of the month. We will start to train the others like this as well. Hopefully, by May all of our troops will be equal.” I nod once to him then my eyes widen.

“Shit, Waverly.” I head for the stairs and sprint up them. I run through the castle, my armor clanging. HOW COULD YOU FORGET ABOUT OUR MATE? My alpha is screaming at me with frustration. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SHUT ME OUT WHEN YOU STOP LISTENING TO ME! I HAVE BEEN TELLING YOU FOR HOURS... I open the doors to our bedroom. Waverly is sitting up in bed with just a single candle lit.

“Waves, I am so sorry. I just lost track of time and then the golem was getting heavier hand.” I ramble on as I take off my armor so I can get into bed. Waverly places the book down that she is reading. She looks at me and I almost feel ashamed between the look in her eyes and my alpha.

“Nicky,” I look up at her and she has this wide wolfish grin on her face. “You smell soooo good,” She starts to crawl her way over to me. “You smell so strong like you have been protecting me.” I swallow hard. She jumps out of bed and wraps her legs around my waist. Tonight is gonna be a long night.

-

The end of December has been rough. Between Waverly and her cravings of all kinds, I haven’t stopped. The knights need some more extensive training, more women have joined. We have a whole fifty person unit of just women. Waverly is thrilled about it. I have been training them instead of Lord James. We feel as though we have a handle on how to handle the ape-humans if they come. Today has been a long day of that. Just training.

“Nicole, are you excited?” I walk out of the bathroom, my towel hanging low on my hips.

“Excited for what?” Waverly places her book down and cocks her head to the side like ‘really’. I go to my wardrobe and pull out some clothes to sleep in.

“Nicky, it’s your birthday tomorrow.” I stop dead in my tracks and look at her.

“There is no way that tomorrow is my birthday.” I think back and count the days. Oh shit. “Oh my Gods, tomorrow is my birthday.” Waverly smiles and pats the spot next to her in bed.

“What do you want to do?” I throw on a shirt and some underwear. I sit next to her in bed and throw the covers on my lap.

“Well, I never really do anything on my birthday. I was thinking that maybe we could have a quiet day together. Maybe spend some time in the library. I want to read up on some fables about giants. Those creatures are fascinating.” Waverly kisses my cheek.

“Well, I invited your brother and Wynonna over. She is very excited to get you drunk off of ale. You two never did finish the drinking competition.” my eyes widen at the thought. I have never had enough ale to make me drunk. Buzzed sure, but drunk? Never. When I asked Wynonna that one time it was on the hope that she wouldn’t call my bluff. “Why are you nervous?” I slide down the bed so my head is on the pillow.

“I’m not, we just haven’t seen Wynonna since her barging in.” Waverly makes and oh face. She lays down on my chest, wrapping her arm around my middle.

“I’m sure that won’t be a problem. She won’t bring it up.” I smile softly. She totally is going to.

“If you say so, Waves.” She kisses the side of my head then blows out the candle. Waverly grabs my hand and pulls me over to cuddle her. She sighs happily. I stare at the darkness, I will be turning 21, yay. Slowly I fall asleep.

“Nicky!” I sit up out of bed and look around the room. Waverly is standing at the table, there is food on it. I rub the sleep from my eyes and smile sleepily at her. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” She runs over to me and kisses me hard. I pull back and smile at her.

“Mornin, baby.” She grabs my hands and pulls me out of bed towards the table. There is eggs, bacon, orange juice, bread, fruit, and pastry on the table.

“I had them bring everything that you like. Everything.” She has this wide adorable smile on her face that is just not leaving. The fire is roaring in front of the couch. The smell is almost overwhelming.

“Thank you, I really appreciate it.” She kisses my cheek then has me sit down at the table. I start to place food onto my plate. Is that, Wynonna? I sniff again and it smells like fire and her. I whip my head towards the door, watching it. She’ll take all my bacon! I start to eat the bacon quickly.

“Nicky, slow down. You have plenty of time to eat today. We have nothing planned.” I put another piece of bacon in my mouth and watch the door. Lucinda starts to speak.

“Your Graces, Lady Wynonna is here.” I chew the bacon faster, the door swings open and she makes eye contact with me. She runs over and quickly looks at the table then me. She whispers,

“You ate all the bacon didn’t you?” I nod firmly. She sighs and sits down in the chair next to me. She speaks in a normal tone. “Whatever, at least you aren’t banging Waverly again.” I look at Waverly with my eyes wide.

“See I told you!” A little bacon falls out of my mouth. Waverly looks at Wynonna and shakes her head. JUST GET RID OF THE BETA! WHY IS SHE HERE ANYWAYS IF SHE’S MEAN TO US?! I roll my eyes and start to chew at a normal rate. Waverly and Wynonna pick up on a conversation about Alice. Wynonna knows about the pregnancy but no one else does. My father, brother, and Gus don’t know. They start to talk about that. Wynonna goes to touch her stomach, DONT, I grab her hand. My eyes widen. I didn’t even mean to grab her hand like that. She slowly takes her hand back. Waverly hits my arm.

“She can touch my stomach!” I look at Wynonna and she seems indifferent.

“Doc did the same thing to people when they tried the same. It’s instinct. Don’t worry about it, Haughtshot.”I nod and apologize anyway. WHY ARE YOU SAYING SORRY?! SHE TOUCHED WAVERLY, OUR MATE! I consider reasoning with my alpha but decide to ignore it instead. STOP SHUTTING ME, before it can finish I tune back into their conversation.

“Yea. I ran into them on the way in.” Waverly lightly hits my arm.

“Your family is here.” I smile wide at the two of them. I stand up and go to my wardrobe. I grab an outfit and head into the bathroom.

“If you two would excuse me, I will be going to see my father and brother.” I get into the bathroom and change quickly. I walk out and kiss Waverly on my way out of the room. As I turn to walk out she winks at me. SHE WANTS TO HAVE SEX. I smile at her and then walk out of the room up to Lucinda. “Do you know where my father and brother are?” Lucinda shakes her head no.

“The present front guard would know. They usually escort guests.” I smile and thank her and then head to the front gate. I go up to the guard and ask him, he shows me to the kitchen. I walk in and the two of them are eating.

“Nicole!” I smile at Sam. His hair is super long now, about chin length. He hugs me and he is slightly taller than the last time that I saw him. My father gets up and hugs me tight.

“How have you been?” I shrug and look around.

“I’ve been okay. Work has been stressful but I can only imagine how you two have been holding up.” He shrugs then sits back down at the table.

“We had a huge surplus last harvest. We are doing fine. Running out of ale, but doing fine.” Sam sits back down at the table and I follow. Sam brings up the girl he likes again. I let him ramble about her. I guess this winter Sam has been helping out her family. Since father doesn’t need him around I guess that makes sense. WAVERLY. I stand up and look around the room. SHE IS GETTING SICK.

“Something is going on with Waves, I’ll be right back.” I rub my mark and run out of the kitchen. I get to the bedroom, I can hear Waverly throwing up in the bathroom. I run in, Wynonna is holding her hair back as she throws up. I walk quickly over to her and start to rub her back.

“Are you okay?” She stops throwing up, she leans against a wall. Wynonna drops her hair and I sit next to her.

“I’m fine, the bacon made my stomach feel weird.” I nod and kiss the side of her head. Wynonna rolls her eyes.

“Where is the Haught clan?” Wynonna asks with something in her voice, I can’t quite place it.

“The kitchen.” She smiles and walks out of the room. Waverly curls into my side as she walks out. I squint at the doorway that she just walked out of. Why is there something always with her? I sit with Waverly for a few minutes. She finally gets up and I follow her.

“Nicole, how did you know to come here?” I sit on the couch and look at the fire.

“Since you have gotten pregnant, my alpha has been more aware of your needs through our marks. It told me to come and help you.” Waverly sits next to me, I didn’t notice that she got changed into a loose dress.

“So your alpha directly speaks to you? Like a voice?” I nod and look back at the fire.

“Is that not normal?” I look back at her and she shakes her head no. I sit back and just stare at her. She looks confused. I raise my arm and she curls into my side and sighs happily.

“What does it sound like?” I keep staring at the top of her head.

“A deep low voice. Not my voice. I thought this was normal for everyone. I have been hearing my alpha since I hit puberty.” Waverly doesn’t say anything. I look back a the fire, we sit in comfortable silence for a while.

“What kind of things does it say?” the question is a whisper.

“Well, since the alpha prime cave thing, the voice has been louder and more demanding. I tune it out because most of the time it is unproductive. Before it wasn’t very productive either. Basically, just fuck this and fuck that. Make them feel weaker. Dumb primal stuff. I have been trying to pay attention more because I feel like it helps in regards to your needs since getting pregnant.” Waverly pulls away and looks at me.

“Does it tell you to fuck other omegas?” I feel my cheeks heating up. I look away from her and back at the fire. This time my answer is a whisper,

“Sometimes. During my rut, but other than that it doesn’t.” I look back at her and she looks indifferent. She leans forward and kisses me softly. She pulls away and rests her forehead to mine.

“Thank you for ignoring it.” My eyes widen. I get angry at my alpha. ‘See! She shouldn’t be thanking me for this! Imagine if I didn’t have you under control the way that I do! She would be heartbroken, because of you!’ WE ARE AN ALPHA, WE TAKE WHAT WE WANT WHEN WE WANT! SHE NEEDS TO BE A BETTER OMEGA AND UNDERSTAND THAT! Waverly pulls me out of my thoughts.

“We should go back to our family.” I nod and smile softly at her. She smiles back at me, it meets her eyes. Thank the Gods she’s so understanding.

-

Wynonna is drunk. My father is drunk. Doc is drunk. Sam is certainly drinking a lot more ale than he is used to. I am fine. Waverly decided to not drink anything since someone would need to watch Alice. Alice has been with me and Waverly while Wynonna and Doc drink with my family. I have only had a few pints of ale, not nearly as much as the rest of them.

“So what was raising Nicole like?” Waverly asks my father, he turns to her smiles.

“A fucking handful. This kid would run from home with Jon, those two little shits would tip cows! Then she wanted to learn how to fight, that took all my energy training her how to fight. She would wake up at dawn, fight till breakfast, cook breakfast after Joan past, keep the fire going in the house, work on the farm, cook dinner, more farm work, then finally bathe and go to sleep. I have no idea where all the energy came from. In between all of this she would teach Sam how to read and write. The kid was crazy.” I never realized how much work I did.

“Now she gets to live the high life and sit all day.” I scoff at Wynonna.

“I do not sit around all day. Me and Lord James are working hard all day at training plans for all of the new Knights and then we train them from mid-day till dusk. On Top of that Waverly will ask me for help from time to time on other matters. I do not sit around all day.” Waverly rubs my arm as I cross them. Wynonna starts to cackle. She leans back in her chair and nearly falls.

“That is nothing in comparison to what he just said!” I grumble and look at the floor. Waverly kisses my cheek. Alice crawls into my lap and looks at me. I smile down at her and she smiles back. At least one Holiday likes me. I look past Alice and to Sam. He has this confused look on his face.

“Nic, how come there are so many new Knights being recruited? Some of my friends have been.” I look at Waverly and back to Sam, as I am about to answer Wynonna speaks up.

“We are probably going to be attacked by the ape humans. That is why Waves and Haught-shot haven’t told anyone about the baby.” My eyes widen. My father drops his glass and looks at us. SHE JUST PUT OUR PUP IN DANGER!

“You guys are pregnant?” Sam speaks at the same time as him saying,

“There is gonna be a war?” I give Alice back to Waverly. I give Wynonna the scariest look I can muster. She looks away from me and looks to Doc.

“Come with me please,” I refer to my father and brother. They follow me out of the room and I explain everything to them in the library. The Orcs, the baby, the knights, all of it. WAVERLY IS MAD, VERY MAD. WE NEED TO CALM HER DOWN. ‘I’m sure she is yelling at Wynonna, calm down.’ GOOD, SHE NEEDS TO BE YELLED AT.

“When the time comes I am going to have the two of you stay here with us. We are expecting the ape humans to head to the South Shore. Since your farm is near that region you will be staying here.” My father nods. He gets up from where he is sitting and hugs me.

“Congrats on the pup. It’s gonna be one hell of an experience.” He smiles slightly then walks out of the room. Sam is still sitting on the couch.

“What if I wanted to help?” He looks up at me, hope in his eyes.

“You’re too young.” He sighs and looks back down at his hands. “I can make things, what if I help make swords and shields?” I smile at him and nod.

“I will talk to Nedley, maybe he can teach you.” He gets up from the couch and hugs me.

“Thank you.” He lets go and walks out of the room.

Chapter Text

I wake up to the smell of Waverly. I open my eyes slowly, I look next to me and she is sitting up in bed. I look towards the window, it’s still dark out. I look back at her and sit up a little.

“Are you okay?” I rub the sleep from my eyes and kiss the side of her cheek. She turns to me and smiles, the fire in the fireplace is casting a dim glow.

“I’m fine. I just can’t sleep. The baby has started to kick.” My eyes widen. I place my hand on her stomach.

“Where?!” She giggles and places my hand on her stomach. A week after my birthday I freaked out when I noticed the baby bump. It’s amazing that there is a little pup in there. I feel the little kick and I smile wide. I look up at Waverly and kiss her. She kisses me back softly.

“So what can I do to make you more comfortable?” She shrugs and scoots down in bed. She takes me with her, she guides my head to her chest so I am laying on her.

“Until Glenda finishes the pillows and blankets I don’t think I am gonna be comfortable.” I furrow my brow and pout a little. WHAT IF WE GOT SOME FROM OTHER ROOMS?! TAKE THEM FROM THE LOWER BEINGS?! I roll my eyes and look up at her.

“There are plenty of open rooms around, why don’t we take some tonight so you can sleep?” Waverly nods. I get out of bed and grab a candle. “I shouldn’t be long.” I head out of the room, in my underwear, in search of blankets and pillows. Hopefully, all the staff is sleeping so I don’t run into anyone. I go to all of the rooms that are to the left of ours. I have a huge pile of pillows stacked near our door and about sixteen blankets. I start to bring them into our room. Waverly jumps out of bed and starts to make our bed into a little nest. I sit on the couch and wait for her to be done

(4 hours later)

“Waves, baby, it’s now sunrise.” She looks out the window and back at me. HER ONLY JOB IS TO MAKE A NEST AND THAT EVEN TAKES HER, I cut my alpha off and focus on the nest.

“I’m sorry! I just want everything to be perfect and we still don’t have enough pillows or blankets. It’s February, I just want us to be warm.” She deflates a little. I get off the couch and walk over to her. I place my hands on her hips and pull her close to my chest.

“Baby, this nest looks absolutely amazing, you have nothing to worry about.” Waverly hugs me tight and kisses my neck softly.

“We still need more pillows,” I smile and kiss the top of her head.

“We can have as many pillows as you want. I will ask Glenda to get everyone making pillows today so we have more than enough for tonight.” Waverly looks up at me and smiles. She goes on her tiptoes and kisses me. Waverly takes a step back and goes to her wardrobe and she picks out a comfy outfit. “How about you make the nest today and relax. You didn’t sleep for very long.” Waverly turns to me and nods. She goes back to bed and starts to move more things. I go to my wardrobe and grab an outfit for today. I get dressed quickly and then make my way up the stairs to Glenda’s work area. I get to the top winded, maybe the knights should be doing these stairs for training. I walk into her room and start to speak

“Good morning, I was wondering how many pillows you have done?” Glenda turns to me, she has this crazed look in her eyes.

“Forty-three. I HAVE FORTY-THREE PILLOWS DONE!” I nod to her and widen my eyes. It doesn’t look like she slept all night. I walk over to her and take the pillow she is making out of her hands. I place it on the bench slowly that is right next to her.

“Glenda, hey, that should be more than enough. I’ll start to bring them down. How about you keep three and take a nap?” She nods to me, her eyes losing the crazy look. I grab three and set them aside. I help her into her room which is next door. I place the pillows on the bed and help her in. As soon as she lays down her eyes shut. She is one hell of a seamstress. I close her curtains and get the fire in her room a little higher. I leave her room and shut the door quietly.

I grab as many pillows as possible. I head down the stairs and ask the guards that I pass to go and grab some. I get to the room and drop the pillows off. Waverly’s eyes widen with excitement. She grabs them and starts to place them on the bed in a certain order. As more and more pillows are placed into the room, she puts them in certain spots. After twenty more pillows are brought in she stops. We have about fifteen extra pillows stacked on the couch.

“There, perfect.” She takes my hand and leads me into her newly built nest. I lay down and this is the most comfortable thing I have ever laid on. I don’t know how she did it but this is the best thing ever. She lays down next to me, she grabs my arm and wraps it around herself.

Only five minutes pass and she falls asleep, how adorable. I slowly make my way out of the nest, trying my best not to move any pillows that she has placed. I place two blankets on her and then tend to the fire. I make my way to my office. I walk in and Lord James is waiting for me, this is too early. I haven’t even had breakfast yet.

“The Knights have returned from the Elves. We have a lot of refugees. About ten thousand elves were saved. They had a secret tunnel where they all were hiding. That is why we haven’t heard from them. King Grildar and Queen Winnie are set up in a room within the castle. I have sent word to the Wardens to let them know that the ten thousand will be split up within their Kingdoms. The East and South could always use more workers, even in the winter so we will try to split it up keeping that in mind.” He walks over to me and pats me on the shoulder. “You need to talk to them. They have some interesting news regarding the ape-humans.” He walks out of the room. I stare out my window. My mind is blank. He covered all of it for me without a second thought. HE’S TRYING TO SHOW YOU THAT HE HAS MORE POWER AND CONTROL! I sit at my desk and actually think about what my alpha just said. He has enough authority to do things like this. ‘He was just trying to be helpful. Nothing more. It's not like he’s ever tried to overpower. He knows how things have been with Waverly and the pup. Just relax, if something else comes up then I will listen more.’ My alpha just growls out a fine.

I look over the paperwork on my desk. Waverly and I need to deal with some court hearings within the next week. Waverly leads them since she knows more and has been doing it longer. She just thinks that the two of us should be present. At the bottom of the stack is a paper from the South, Lady Mercedes.

‘So, Queen Brina just sent one of her guards to me and told me that it looks like the ape-humans have fully taken over the Elves land. It seems like they don’t have many captives. There is no sign of the King or Queen. It looks like they are packing up their ships. She said that is how it looks but not completely positive on it. She will let me know when it looks like they are leaving.’ I love how informal yet informative she is with her letters. I sigh and lean back in my chair. I need to tell Waverly but I am not waking her up for this. I get up from my desk and open my door.

“May you please let me know when King Grildar and Queen Winnie are ready to speak about their Kingdom?” The servant there nods to me once and then walks off. I leave my office and head to the kitchen. I ask Robin to prepare Waverly’s favorite breakfast and send it to the room within an hour. I also ask him to make me simple eggs and bacon. I sit at a table and sigh.

“Are you okay?” I nod as he cracks an egg into a pan.

“This war thing is just happening relatively quickly. I am thinking before summer we will be fighting the ape-humans. They’re quick and effective.” He nods and cracks another egg into the pan. There are a total of four eggs in the pan. He starts putting slices of bacon on an already hot pan.

“Well, Jeremy is picking up quickly with the alchemist. They might have a secret weapon that could help.” He smiles at me with hope in his eyes. I stand up and sigh again.

“Maybe. That sure would be nice if they had a secret potion or something.” He doesn’t say anything and just focuses on the food. “Send it to my office when it is done?” He nods as he watches the bacon. I head out of the kitchen and towards the library. I never got to read up on the Giants. I wonder if there is a society like villages. I can only assume that they have something along those lines. I walk in and grab three books. One is folk tales, one is on its biology, and the other is a study within a group of Giants. It was written about 300 hundred years ago so it’s a little out of date. I head back to my office, books in hand. I sit at my desk and open one up. I start to read, as I read my food gets dropped off. I eat my food and read more.

(3 hours later)

I look out the window and it is close to midday. I place the book down and stand up. I stretch and then head to my room. I walk in and Waverly is walking around the room, she has this proud look on her face as she looks at the nest she made.

“It’s a good nest right?” She looks at me with hope in her eyes.

“Baby, that is the best nest that I have ever seen.” Waverly smiles wide and skips over to me. She kisses me softly and looks up at me. I smile for a second and then realize I need to explain to her what Mercedes sent me. “You might want to sit down.” She furrows her brow and places her hand on her stomach. I lead her to the couch and we both sit.

“I received a letter, also King Grildar and Queen Winnie arrived last night. We have a lot of refugees Lord James is sending them to the surrounding cities and Kingdoms so they have some kind of home while here. Mercedes sent a letter saying that the mermaids have seen the ape-humans on Elvish land. It seems like they have taken over their whole Kingdom. I think they are going to head here next.” Waverly has tears welling in her eyes.

“What are we gonna do if they come here? You can’t fight, we have a pup on the way.” She takes my hand and places it on her stomach. I close my eyes for a few seconds and open them.

“Waves, I have to fight though. I need to lead our Knights into the battle. They need to have a leader with them. I don’t have a choice. The Knights are well trained and we have many. The armor and weapons are being produced at an amazing rate. Lord James and I have a wonderful plan in place that should take out the ape-humans. I am hoping the fighting will only last two weeks. That is how we have our offense and defense planned.” Waverly continues to cry. I pull her close to me and hug her tight. I let her cry on my shoulder for a little. She pulls back and kisses me.

“Are you sure that you will be fine?” I smile and kiss her forehead. I rest my chin on her head.

“I will be fine.” I pull away and kiss her cheek. “Now, do you want to attend the meeting between me and the King and Queen or would you like to sleep some more?” Waverly pulls back and stands up.

“I think that I should attend the meeting. They will respect that you are including me in the meeting.” I nod and look to the fire in the fireplace. Waverly gets dressed and we head to our offices. Waverly has been wearing super loose dresses, the corset makes her stomach hurt. A servant runs up to us, she is out of breath.

“King Grildar and Queen Winnie are waiting in the war room for you.” I thank her, I hook Waverly’s arm through mine and we walk to the war room. We enter, Grildar and Winnie are sitting with large smiles on their faces. They look up at us and they both stand.

“Thank you so much for letting us stay in your castle and our people with yours! We are so thankful for your graciousness during these trying times for our people.” Queen Winnie is speaking. I look to Waverly, it seems as though she is mainly speaking to her. YOU'RE THE ALPHA SHE SHOULD BE TALKING TO YOU! I smile at the two of them. Waverly responds.

“It is absolutely no problem at all! We are all allies and we of course would help you guys. The Orcs were already attacked, we didn’t want the same fate they had as you guys did. As soon as we found out we sent word.” King Grildar responds this time.

“We appreciate your swift hand in regards to letting us know. It was a little too late but we still appreciate it nonetheless.” I nod to the two of them. Waverly and I walk to the table. I refer to their seats for them to sit. I pull Waverly’s chair out for her and push it in as she sits. I sit next to her and take her hand on top of the table. I start to speak,

“I would like to thank you two for coming and speaking with us. I know the past few months have been hard. I was wondering if either of you remembers the nature in which they attacked. Their fighting, I am sure they have ways different than ours.” They both look to each other, the smiles fading and turning into somber looks. Grildar starts to speak,

‘The ape-humans were on the coasts, just sitting there. Waiting. Letters were being sent left and right to the ships. The Elves were relentless with their letters. Nothing ever came back. The ape-humans were just sitting in their ships for a total of three days. Finally, they got out. Tiny boats being sent out (tiny in comparison to the ships.) Ten people on each boat, each ship clearly had ten boats. There were twenty ships at the time. They came ashore and started to set up camp. They didn’t fight, no they needed to plan. They just sat on the beaches and planned. The Elves sent fighters, at the time a one thousand and five hundred. They thought they had a superior fighting style, they were wrong.
The ape-humans were slow but they were strong. Fast with their arrows. The ones that fought with swords and shields could take out five Elves with one swing. The Elves know their weak point is fighting and their strength is talking. The King and Queen decided to try and have a discussion with their leaders. ‘

“Bulshar,” I nearly laugh at the name. Waverly squeezes my hand. He continues,

‘ “My name is Bulshar. I am the leader of these troops.” The King and Queen bow to the man. He’s standing in a shadow, choosing not to be seen.
“I am King Grildar,” Bulshar cuts him off.
“I know of you and your Kingdom. I am here to take your land and your people. Centuries ago my family tried to take over the world. To keep everyone under the control of the best race across the land, the human race. By the human race, I mean us, not those wolf humans. We intend to do justice by our ancestors and do exactly that. If this meeting was to discuss peace instead of surrender then your efforts are fruitless.” The King and Queen stand in shock, just staring at the shadowy figure. “I see.” The man lifts his hand and snaps. Arrows go flying at the King and Queen. Their guards, trained to be swift, jump in the way of the arrows. The men died instantly. More guards come and take the King and Queen away.
The rest of the time was spent with the ape-humans attacking in full force. Their archers made it nearly impossible for any fighter to make a way out of the Kingdom grounds. Soon they brought battering rams and catapults taking down the Kingdom walls. The ape-humans rush in and start the massacre. Women, children dying in the streets at the hands of the ape-humans. Fighters dying left and right due to their lack of fighting skills.
Finally, the wolf-humans join the battle. They too are killed near instantly. Months pass by with no hope of the fighting ever stopping. The ape-humans slowly took out all of the cities and villages until making their way to castle walls. As the fighting was going on the King and Queen brought in as many people as possible. They all hid in the caves underneath the castle. No one knew of these caves other than the King and Queen. No one would ever be able to find them. Until someone did. Horror filled them as the sounds of steps got closer and closer. Finally, the intruder arrived, however, it was a wolf-human. They were there to get the remaining citizens of the Elf Kingdom away from the ape-humans. Their heightened sense of smell is what led them to the Elves.
It took a total of four months to get them back to the wolf-human Kingdom, but they did it. Finally safe and sound. As the Elves left, nearly a week after, the ape-humans found the caves. The Elves hid their tracks very well leading out of the labyrinth of a cave. The ape-humans realized they escaped. Anger flooded through Bulshar as he found out this news. A new fire is lit under him.’

I squeeze Waverly's hand. I look at her and she has fear in her eyes. She has her other hand on her stomach. I look back to King Grildar and Queen Winnie.

“Well, I’m glad that we got you two here and some of your people. I am truly sorry for the loss that your Kingdom has faced. We will do everything in our power to regain your Kingdom and the Orcs. Thank you for letting us know what you have learned about them.” I speak calmly and reassuringly. They nod to me and give me their thanks yet again. I wave them off. “I assure you this is no problem at all. Please make yourselves at home. Treat the castle as if it is your own. We have plenty of people working all around, they will be more than willing to help.” I stand and stretch my hand over to Waverly. She takes it and stands up too. We bow to the two of them and say our goodbyes. We make our way out of the war room and to our bedroom. We both just go straight to our bed and lay down. Waverly speaks,

“This is gonna be rough.”

-

Waverly and I have been silently laying in bed since the meeting. I can tell that she is stressed, that she needs to be in the nest where she feels safe with me. I have my arms wrapped around her stomach, holding her close to me. The baby kicks my hand and I smile.

“Ya know, we only have four and a half months until the baby is born. We could start thinking of names.” Waverly turns in my arms and has this wide smile on her face.

“I have already been thinking of names.” I sit up a little in bed and Waverly follows suit. I look up at the ceiling and think. “For a boy I want William.” I frown and look at her. Her smile falls a little. “I wanted to continue the Earp family W.” I nod slowly and continue to think.

“Okay, we will keep that one on the list.” She nods and kisses my cheek. I guess we could call him Will. That would work. “I think if we have a girl I want to name her after my mother. Joan.” I look to Waverly, she has a small smile on her face.

“I like it, maybe the middle name could be my moms? Joan Michelle?” I smile wide. I kiss the side of her head.

“Perfect, is the last name gonna be both of ours like your name?” OF COURSE THE PUPS ARE JUST GOING TO HAVE OUR LAST NAME! IT’S A NAME OF POWER! I smile slightly at her and she sighs.

“I would like for them to be Haught-Earp, but if you really want them to be just Haught I think that would,” I cut her off.

“It would make sense for them to have both our last name because you are the true ruler. I of course am their other parent so it would make sense that they carry the Earp name and mine.” Waverly has this wide smile on her face. I kiss the side of her head. I look across the room at the fire and think of more boy names. A girl will be Joan Michelle Haught-Earp. I like how it just rolls off the tongue. What about a boy though? I would like for them to have something tied to farming.

“Leland means fallow land. I like that for a middle name.” Waverly shrugs at that one the same way that I shrugged at William. William Leland Haught-Earp. Eh. It’s okay. OLIVER LIKE RULE OVER. The intention is wrong but the name isn’t bad. “How about Oliver?” Waverly turns to me with a smile.

“Oliver William Haught-Earp.” She says it out loud with a smile. I lean over and kiss her.

“So we have our two names. For a girl, Joan Michelle Haught-Earp. For a boy, Oliver William Haught-Earp.”

Chapter Text

“I’m sorry,” I usually don’t talk during court hearings, “You think that this man owes you four hundred gold because his dog ate your seven-year-old chicken?” The man nods with confidence. I run my hand over my face and sigh. “A chicken producing an egg every day will get you about 26 gold a year, and that's a young chicken. Since the oldest chicken I have ever heard of was about ten years old that means that you are at a loss of 78 gold for the next three years. That is assuming that your old chicken was producing an egg daily. The price that you would have gotten for that chicken is about ten gold. You are at a reasonable loss of 88 gold within the next three years and you have the audacity to ask him for four hundred gold?” I can see Waverly looking at me out of the corner of my eye. She has this ‘stop it’ kind of look in her eyes. Waverly starts to speak.

“How many chickens do you own?” The man is looking a bit more nervous now.

“I have about fifteen chickens.” Waverly is about to speak but I put my hand up to her to silence her.

“What other livestock do you have?” He swallows hard, I can smell the fear on him.

“Well, uh. I have umm, I have sixteen cows, two bulls, and fourteen pigs.” I nod and sit back in my chair.

“He owes you 88 gold. This matter is settled. Leave.” I can feel my alpha starting to get riled up. It isn’t saying anything but it’s pacing in my chest. The two men leave. As soon as the doors shut I stand up and,

“You do not silence me like that in front of our people!” I look up at Waverly, she looks so angry. I go to speak but she now puts her hand up to silence me. “We have been working so hard to get the people to respect me as much as they respect you! Those men are now going to walk around and talk about how the King doesn’t actually respect the Queen. The King silenced her in court! Gods, Nicole! How could you be so careless of our hard work?!” I swallow hard. SHE SHOULD NOT BE TALKING TO YOU LIKE THAT. YOU ARE THE ALPHA! NOT HER! SHE IS NOTHING BUT A DUMB, SMALL, WEAK, OMEGA! I close my eyes for a second and breathe. Between Waverly and my alpha I am overwhelmed with thoughts and feelings. I sit on the ground and cross my legs.

“I am sorry. I didn’t mean to be so careless with our hard work. We have just been dealing with ridiculous cases all day and this one I actually knew about and his argument was weak. The other man, clearly upset by being brought to court, made me upset.” I open my eyes and look up at Waverly. She sighs and sits back in her seat. WHY ARE YOU APOLOGIZING TO HER? SHE DOESN’T DESERVE IT! SHE DOESN’T EVEN THANK YOU FOR APOLOGIZING! I stand up and start to pace.

“Nicky?” I look up at her, she has this sympathetic look in her eyes. “I am sorry for getting so upset.” I wave her off and continue to pace keeping my eyes locked on the floor. SHOW HER YOU ARE THE ALPHA! PUT HER IN HER PLACE AND YELL BACK! BARE YOUR TEETH, AND MAKE HER SUBMIT TO YOU! These thoughts are becoming more and more frequent. I might be going into a rut, but since that last time when we first found out about her pregnancy I haven’t had one. I don’t feel overly excited lately and I haven’t even been tired. Stress? I don’t know what,

“What’s going on in your head?” I didn’t realize Waverly was right next to me until she placed her hand on my shoulder. I stare at her, suddenly my mind goes blank.

“My alpha, has been voicing its opinion more. I don’t know why it's been so loud lately. I don’t think I am going into a rut. My stress has been higher but I don’t think it would make my alpha more present.” I relax a little after saying it all out loud. Waverly takes a few steps toward me and wraps her arms around me. She releases some calming pheromones. I hug her back tight. I feel as though I can think clearly again.

“Why don’t I do this last case on my own? You can go to the nest and rest?” I nod and kiss the side of her head. I get out of the hug and turn to the guards.

“If anyone is rude to her you better take them out immediately and put them in the dungeon. I will not tolerate anyone disrespecting Waverly.” They nod and I look back to Waverly. I kiss her softly and then start to walk back to our room. I can still feel some tension in my shoulders. Lucinda is at our door,

“Is everything okay? You look, mad.” I shrug and then run my hand through my hair.

“These last few weeks have been very stressful. Waverly is pregnant and we are going to war by summer. I just have a lot on my plate.” Lucinda nods and agrees like she gets it.

“We have been real busy around here too. With us having more and more people to tend to we are pretty thin on staff. I have been training people and so has the kitchen. It's exhausting.” I nod to the door and start to walk towards it I grab the doorknob before Lucinda can and open the door for her.

“Sit, relax.” She hesitates but does as I say. She sits at the table and relaxes only a little. I open the bottle of wine on the table and pour each of us a glass.

“So we need more people on staff?” She nods and takes her glass. I sit across from her and take my crown off. “How many more are you thinking?” She sighs and starts to explain all of the logistics to me.

(one hour later)

“Currently, we cannot afford to hire that many people. I will however allow you to close off the part of the castle we are not using. You can also train as many people as we can afford. With the war coming up, our finances are tight.” She smiles at me and takes my hand.

“Thank you.” she taps my hand a few times then stands up slowly. As she goes to walk out, Waverly walks in. She smiles at Lucinda as she walks out of the room. The door shuts behind her and Waverly sighs.

“Sorry, it took so long. What was that about?” I sigh and throw my head back.

“I guess the workers feel overworked. With so many allies in the castle, they are working their asses off and getting almost no breaks. I told Lucinda to close off the part of the castle we are not using and hire as many people as the budget will allow for.” Waverly groans and sits on the bed. I stand and walk over to her, she rests her head against my stomach and hugs my waist. I unzip the back of her dress. She stays where she is for a few minutes, both of us just enjoying the silence. She unwraps her arms, I take a few steps back and take her hands in mine. I pull Waverly up she turns around and I help her with her dress. Waverly walks over to her dresser and grabs her nightgown. As she walks I look at her baby bump, I can’t help but smile. When she’s done getting dressed she turns to be,

“What?” I shake my head no and smile.

“Nothing important. Just thinking about how amazing you are. That fact that you are growing a whole baby while running a kingdom. It’s very impressive. With four months till the baby is born, I have been thinking maybe we should seriously get the nursery ready. I know we have the bassinet but maybe get toys for the room?” Waverly smiles wide and agrees, she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me in for a kiss. As our lips touch I place my hands on her hips.

-

“We have in total, between all five kingdoms, 60,000 ready men and women to fight.” I nod and keep my eyes locked on the war room table.

“I am going to be honest with all of you,” I look up the table and make sure to look at Wynonna, Curtis, Mercedes, and Lord Gibson, “the ape-humans are on their way here.” Wynonna leans back in her chair and yells fuck. “We knew this was gonna happen, just not so soon. So we need a plan. I want everyone to weigh in not just me. I already have some ideas as you know but seeing that we have King Grildar here we are going to need his insight.” I look at him and he has that passive smile on his face.

“They are stronger than we thought. We are going to need your strongest and smartest men. After speaking with your alchemist we have figured out that they are using fairy magic to make themselves stronger. We need to counteract that.” I nod and look around the room. Wynonna speaks up.

“How are they getting the fairy magic? Did they capture them or are they teamed up?” I shrug and Grildar speaks.

“From what we can gather, it seems they have captured them. The fairies have never been ones to team up with another species and I don’t know why they would start now.” I sigh and lean back.

“My plan is to take out their ships, all but one actually.” Doc and Curtis both lean forward. “I am going to use the stone golems. I have sent almost all of them to the Southern Ocean and they are going to sink nearly all of the ships then the mermaids will attack them underwater. I have convinced Queen Brina that they need to fight too. That should take out half of their army just about. Once we get a signal from the mermaids, then I will call the golems on land and they will attack from the rear. Calvary will flank left and right, then the majority of the army will be hiding in the Southern people's homes for a sneak attack. Now, should we not do the sneak attack and try to speak with them or just attack them?” Grildar speaks up,

“They did not really speak with us and when they did they demanded surrender so I would assume that they have the same intentions for you. I would just attack them as soon as possible.” They all nod, Wynonna speaks up,

“What if they do have that fancy fairy magic? What are we going to do with our land army? They all could be slaughtered.” I nod.

“We don’t have anything yet to counteract anything. Our alchemists are working as hard as they can to think of something but honestly, it is not looking good.” They all are quiet. I take Waverly’s hand. We both stare out at them. I turn to Lady Mercedes.

“I would evacuate your lands. Bring as many as you can to farms farther out and into the city. Keep your soldiers there to as look out but I would also recommend you come and stay at the castle with us.” She nods and doesn’t say anything. “If no one has any comments then you all can leave. Send your troops Southbound when I send word. I will be heading South whenever we get a notice from the mermaids.” I let go of Waverly’s hand and stand. I nod to all of them and then leave the room. I head to my office. I sit in my chair and run my hand over my face. Waverly walks in and sits on my lap, she starts to scratch at the back of my head in silence. We sit there for a while. Waverly kisses the side of my head.

“This is all going to be fine.” I nod at her and then kiss under her jaw. I rest my hand on her stomach and sigh.

“We just need something to scare them. Something that makes them want to turn back.” Waverly shakes her head no.

“With your plan, we need to kill all of them. None of their men will return home.” I stare at the bookshelf in my office. “Jeremy said they were close with some kind of strength potion of our own. Maybe we can test it in a few days?” I nod slowly and smile quickly at her.

“Maybe.” She kisses the side of my head and then leaves my office. I grab a piece of paper and write a letter out to my father. I explain everything that has happened and make him aware of the fact that we are going to war before summer. I want him and Sam to be here. “Lucinda,” she walks in. I hand her the letter and she nods and then walks out of the room. I look at the bookshelf and a book starts to glow. I grab the book and open it to a glowing page. I grin for a second. “That could work.”

-

“Nicky, I want the nursery to be yellow. It will be so bright in the spring and summer.” I nod and wrap my arm around her.

“I agree. I think that is the perfect color, Waves.” I kiss the side of her head. My hand falls to her stomach and I sigh. She gets out of my arms and continues to speak and point. I nod and agree with all of her room arrangements. We spend about 3 hours in the nursery while someone writes down all of her plans. A guard walks in,

“Your Graces, Lord Leo is here with Sam.” I smile for a second and look at Waverly. She looks happy. I take her hand and we follow the guard. We get to them and my Father looks, worried. I let go of Waves and hug him and then Sam. Sam has grown about four inches since I have last seen him. He looks, older. I shake my head no and make a weird face at him.

“Did uh, you uh,” He shakes his head no.

“He thinks soon though.” I nod and smile fast.

“Well, let's not stand in the hall. We have food prepared in the dining hall. We have a lot of guests here. There are multiple outfits set up in your rooms for you.” They both nod. A servant shows the two of them to their rooms. Waverly and I make our way to ours. Once in Waverly starts to speak,

“Sam looks just like you. I have never noticed before with his blonde hair.” I grin and grab my crown off the table.

“I know and he acts just like me. My Father must have his hands full. To be honest, he is a Prince.” Waverly looks at me weirdly.

“Well, no.” I nod.

“Just like how Wynonna is. Titles don’t just disappear like that. We just don’t use them. Once women realize he is a Prince, he is gonna be swarmed.” Waverly sits next to me.

“After the war, we should give them lands to control. Who knows how long all of the refugees are gonna be here? We may need to build a new village and it would make sense for your Father and brother to be in charge of it.” I nod and kiss the side of her head.

“We will talk to them later about it.” I smile wide at her and stand. I offer my hand and she takes it. We head to the dining room in silence. Once there everyone stands as we enter. Sam looks very uncomfortable. King Grildar and Queen Winnie are here, Chk, Wynonna, Alice, Lady Mercedes, and now my family. I gesture for them to sit and I sit with them. I grab some food and Sam begins to grab his food. The others join. We eat in silence for a while until Wynonna speaks,

“How are you two?” She gestures to my family. Sam speaks,

“Well, I have been working with Nedley and I must say, I am pretty good at making swords.” I grin and lean back in my chair.

“Well, you must continue here then. We have Reginald and I am sure he would be happy to have another pair of hands.” Sam grins and continues to speak about how to make a sword and how important it is that the metal is heated correctly. I grin and take Waverly’s hand. King Grildar interjects and Wynonna makes jokes. It is all very good fun once we all being to speak. As much as it may be annoying to have this many people here it is nice to have the company. It is a welcome distraction.

Chapter Text

I have to go on my own. It is the only choice that I have. Waverly would never let me go and I know that this is the only way we will win the war. I have decided, for the first time since becoming King, to make a decision without Waverly. The idea of coming home after this journey is terrifying. I write a quick letter for Waverly. I explain where I am going and what the plan is. I also explain why I had to do this the way that I am doing it.

“Lucinda?” I knock on her door. Within seconds the door is open. The older woman is looking at me worried.

“What?” I hand her the letter.

“You NEED to give this to Waverly tomorrow morning.” She looks at me confused but takes the letter.

“Why?” I sigh and straighten out my shoulders.

“I am going to talk to the giants.” Her eyes widden. She suddenly looks very awake.

“You? The GIANT SLAYER is going to talk with the giants and, what?” I sigh and rub my face.

“I am going to convince them to fight for us.” She shakes her head no.

“No, absolutely not. That is the worst,” I interrupt her,

“Yes, it is. I know that but I just have a feeling that they will fight WITH us. As equals. I plan on treating them like people for once in their lives.” She shakes her head no.

“I am telling her now.” I stand tall and growl out,

“You will do no such thing. As your King,” She stops me.

“Fine. But you need to know she is going to MURDER you when you get home.” She slams her door shut and I sigh. Yea, I know that.

-

I hear a branch crack behind me. I turn and see Sam. I walk up to him and grab his shoulders.

“What the FUCK are you doing here?!” He grins.

“Well, I saw you leave. I grabbed some food, some pants, and my sword and now I am here with you.” He smiles wide and I hit the back of his head. “I wrote Father a letter. I told him I am going with the King.” I groan and throw my head back.

“You don’t even know where I am going or what I am doing.” He shrugs and starts to walk.

“You’re gonna need the help. An extra pair of eyes to watch out for Hobbes won’t hurt either.” I throw my hands up and start to follow him. “So, what are we doing?” I sigh.

“I am recruiting the giants to help us fight the ape humans.” Sam laughs.

“Yea, good luck with that. We might as well turn around now.” I roll my eyes.

“I know it isn’t the best idea but I think it’ll work. The book was glowing and the page about the ape-humans enslaving the giants appeared. I think if I spin it in just the right way they might listen. They live between the Southern Kingdom and the city in a forest. On foot, it should take about four days.” He groans. I shrug, “You decided to join me.” We walk for another hour in silence. I stop and look around. “Here should be good for a camp.” I drop my bag and grab a sleeping mat. Sam groans.

“That’s what I forgot.” I roll my eyes and offer him the mat.

“We can trade every other night.” He smiles at me thankfully. I kneel and grab some sticks and make a tiny fire. It is cool seeing that it is late March but certainly not freezing. I handled worse temperatures during the trials. The fire grows a little and I sit. Sam looks at me.

“What?” He sighs.

“I think I am uhh, gonna get you know,” I cut him off.

“What? Your rut soon?” He nods. I look back at the fire.

“It is certainly a little weird at first but with time, some restraint, and patience it’ll be fine.” He nods and just stares at the fire.

“What else happens other than ya know, the obvious.” I blow out some air and look at him.

“You’ll get even taller. You’ll probably be my height. You get stronger and faster. You’ll notice that you can smell better. Especially others. You’ll feel like you have to challenge Father but know that he won’t do anything with his old age. You won’t need to worry about that too much.” Sam looks at me and he still looks worried.

“Will I have to marry?” I laugh.

“No. Seeing that I am well, the King, you uhh, you are going to get lands.” I look back at the fire and he groans.

“Noooo. I can’t do that.” I smile.

“Better you than some rich asshole. Once you are ready Waverly and I have decided that you and Father will rule over a small village. We figured it was time that you,” I glance over at him and he looks horrified, “A Prince, should be learning how to lead.” He stands up and starts to pace.

“No. No way. I am not a Prince!” I laugh.

“You are, just like how Wynonna is technically a Princess.” He stops and points at me.

“Do I inherit anything?” I shake my head no.

“Waves is pregnant. We have a baby on the way. All of our money goes to the baby and as long as Waverly AND Wynonna stay alive you will not have to rule anything.” He sighs out a breath of relief.

“Good.” He sits back down and we both stare at the fire. He yawns and then lies down. I lay down on the ground and stare at the stars. If I were Sam I would also freak out. I close my eyes and try to sleep.

—Four Days later—

It is the middle of the day and I can smell all of the giants. Sam is weary and has his sword out. I hear a loud roar and then a laugh. I head towards the noise and Sam is very close behind. I swallow hard and look around. There are little plots of land, some have crops, and others have animals in pens. I nod slowly.

“HEY! WHO ARE YOU?” I turn and there is giant standing before me. His voice is deep and booming. They have evolved much further than anyone has suspected. The ones Tucker had were nothing like this.

“I am King Nicole Haught. I rule the Wolfen Kingdom with Queen Waverly Haught-Earp.” He squats down and his odor gets stronger.

“Why are you here?” I nod.

“I was wondering if I could speak with your King?” He nods and picks me up with one hand and Sam with the other. He could crush us within seconds. Sam is pale and looks like he may pass out. He holds us for about twenty minutes. We get further and further into their lands. There are homes, bakers, and blacksmiths, there is a whole, huge village within these woods. We get to a large home that looks like a manor. He places us down and knocks on the door. He turns and walks away. A loud woman’s voice rings out,

“Come in.” I push the VERY large wooden door open with ease. Before me is a giant woman that looks more human than a giant. Her skin looks much smoother than what I have seen. She looks horrified.

“We do not involve ourselves with humans. LEAVE!” Her yell rings out and my ears start to ring. I drop to one knee and Sam follows suit.

“I am sorry but I cannot do that.” I look at her and she seems intrigued but still scared. “My name is King Nicole Haught I am,” She cuts me off.

“Yes, I know who you are. The Giant Slayer.” I shake my head no.

“That may be true but the Giants I fought were nothing like you and your people. They could not speak, they just followed orders.” She puts her hand up.

“Even so, we will not be speaking with you.” I stand and sigh.

“What is your name?” That seems to catch her off guard.

“They call me Queen Celeste.” I nod and take a step closer to her.

“Queen Celestte, I am not here for anything other than your time and maybe your help.” I look back to Sam who is still kneeling. “The ape-humans are going to attack our lands.” I turn back to her and she looks indifferent. “They are coming, soon. We don’t know exactly when but we know soon. I am guessing before summer. They are going to land in the Southern territories. This forest will certainly be searched and maybe even taken down for resources.” I shake my head no. “I know you want the best for you and your people. I want the best for me and my people.” Queen Celeste cuts me off.

“We can hold our own thank you, we do not need your help.” She stands but I keep talking.

“I know what they did to you and your people thousands of years ago. That is why you and your people have rougher skin. If you help me and my Kingdom I will promise you your own. Not under me but your own separate Kingdom. We will help you find your own land and we will leave you alone or you can stay here and not be bothered. We both know that if the ape-humans win you and your people will not be safe. The man, Bulshar, wants world domination. You will not be safe. I am asking you as your equal. We both have people that count on us. If you will just let me tell you my plan maybe we can work something out.” Queen Celeste sits back down and nods.

“Continue then.” I smile for a second.

“We have a large army of 60,000 men but they have 100,000 and fairy magic. We plan on taking out their ships and then attacking from a distance as they arrive on shore. From then we will flank them and take them out. Once their ships are gone we will attack from behind and kill them from all sides. My plan for you and your people is for an emergency. IF our plan does not work we need something that will kill them quickly. 100 of your men can kill thousands. Your men will swoop when we need to take out the remaining troops. I am hoping for little casualties.” I go back down to one knee and look down.
“Please think it over.” I look back up at her and stand. She nods slowly.

“Fine. I will give you fifty of my men. I can not offer 100. They will fight under my general that I will be sending with you. I am expecting over 80% of my men to come back. When you win, we will discuss further what the state of me and my people will be. I know that I live within Lady Mercedes's territory. They do not come near because they think us wild savages. Maybe having our own Kingdom would be better for all. Again, we will discuss once the war is over.” I nod. She stands and snaps. A man walks in, and she whispers to him. “My men will be ready tomorrow morning.” I nod.

“I will meet them at the farm that I wandered into.” She nods and walks out. I turn to Sam and he stands. I breathe out and shake my head no.

“That was fucking scary.” I shake my head no.

“Wait until we get home to Waverly.” He winces.

“Yea, she is gonna kill you.” I shiver a little at the thought of how angry she is gonna be.

-

Walking through the city with fifty giants as the Giant Slayer was a little weird. Many were shocked to see how normal they looked. They have their own armor and weapons and they were fully geared up. As we approach the castle I feel more connected to Waverly and she is a mix of worry and anger. As we approach the guards look up at the giants and not me.

“Show them to behind the castle. They are going to set up camp there.” He nods slowly. I turn to them and wave. “I will see you guys for training tomorrow.” They nod and follow the guard. I walk in with Sam and Waverly is standing in front of the doors with her arms crossed. Behind her is my Father, Lucinda, and Glenda all looking at Sam and me like we fucked up badly. I drop my bag and hold my hands up.

“Waverly, I am so sorry,” She starts yelling at me.

“What the FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! YOU COULD HAVE DIED, YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KIDNAPPED, YOU COULD HAVE LEFT ME AND THIS BABY WITHOUT ANOTHER PARENT!” I look down at my feet and then back at her.

“Waves, I know this was a bad idea but I had to try. I knew you would never let me go and I couldn’t risk it. Risking it could have meant that I die when the war starts. I needed to make sure that we had strong reserves.” I smile a little.

“Nicole, we are partners. We make decisions together and this was extremely dumb. If you had just trusted me and allowed me to hear you out I would have agreed.” I take a few steps toward her and she puts her hand up. “You need to think through what you have done. Once you are ready to seriously apologize for your BLATENT disrespect towards me and your child I will be in my office.” She turns and walks back into the castle. My Father speaks this time.

“What you two did was stupid, immature, and put the entire Kingdom at risk. I am very disappointed in the two of you.” He shakes his head and then also turns back into the castle. Both Lucinda and Glenda look disappointed and go back into the castle. Sam has tears running down his cheeks. I wrap my arm around him and follow all of them into the castle. I take a bath and get dressed in clean clothes. I walk to Waverly’s office and knock on the door. She tells me to go in. She is looking at some papers instead of me. I sit down across from her.

“Waverly, I am sorry for hurting you and not trusting you. I should have known better. We have been making so many decisions together and I should have known that you would have allowed me to go if I had explained. “ I lean forward and take her hand. “I promise to never do anything like that ever again. It was stupid, disrespectful but most of all I made you worry.” She looks up at me and there are tears in her eyes.

“You had no idea how they would have reacted to you. They could have murdered you, they could have kept you as a prisoner, they could have done anything. You are the King; we need you to be more responsible and take into account more than just this war. We have a baby on the way. Our baby, our pup.” She squeezes my hand. “I am happy that you are home and seemingly successful.” I stand up and walk over to Waverly. I hold my hand out to her. She takes it and I help her stand. I wrap my arms around her and I melt into the hug. Waverly seems to as well. She pulls back and kisses me softly. “If you ever do that to me again I will tell you to leave and never come back. Do you understand me?” I nod and nuzzle my face into her neck. I kiss her mark lightly.

“I promise that I will never do anything without your permission like that again.”

Chapter Text

I put the letter back down on my desk and sigh. I leave and walk over to Waverly’s office. I open the door and she is sitting in her chair, in one hand she is reading a letter and the other is rubbing her stomach. There is no hiding it anymore. She is clearly pregnant. I walk over to her and place my hand on hers that is on her stomach.

“Queen Brina thinks that they will be here in a fortnight with 100 ships.” She puts the letter down and looks at me worried.

“What does that mean?” I sigh and sit on the edge of her desk, not moving my hand.

“Well, we have had soldiers setting up catapults, onagers, and other traps all around the southern coast. We even have some at the eastern coast just in case. I am going to write a letter to the North, East, and West and let them know to send their troops South. I will head down in a week to make sure all of our preparations are up to my standard. Then, well, we fight.” She nods slowly, tears welling in her eyes.

“Are you going to come back home? Lord James can,” I cut her off.

“Lord James has been doing more than enough. I need to be there to lead our people into battle.” I move off her desk and squat down in front of her. “Whether we want to admit it or not, I have been blessed with powers meant for just this. Leading others into battle. I am a weapon. Who knows what will happen if I am not there? We need to take as many precautions as possible. Now,” I stand and move my hand away. “Is Jeremy any closer to getting those strength potions going?” Waverly shakes her head no. I nod then lean down and kiss her head. “I will write to the other Kingdoms. Queen Celeste as well.” I walk out of her office. My chest and stomach feel tight with anxiety. As soon as the door shuts I try to instill confidence within myself. I nod and walk into my office. I draft up some letters and then hand them out to Lucinda. I will address this later at dinner. I lean back in my chair and look out the window behind my desk. There is nothing left for us to do. We have trained for months, set up traps, and even have a damn good plan for when they arrive. The only thing we can do is wait and hope that everything has been enough until this point.

-Dinner later that night-

I place my fork down and sigh,

“I have an announcement.” I take Waverly’s hand and then continue, “It seems like the ape-humans will be here within a fortnight. They have about 100 ships. I have sent word to all the Wardens and they will be sending their troops as soon as they receive the letters.” Silence. “I have the utmost confidence in our preparations. We have done everything we could have with the time that we were given. I will be leaving here in a week's time with Lord James to prepare on the Southern border. While I am away Lord Dolls will be in charge of all my duties.” Again, silence. After a moment Wynonna speaks first,

“I know if’s are bad but, what if they beat you? What happens here?” I nod and squeeze Waverly’s hand.

“If they win we have 1,000 men here to man the walls. We have some of the best defenses in our Kingdom. King Grildar will assist with defense seeing he knows how they work. We have months worth of rations in the kitchen. I am sure a new plan will be hatched within that time. I can say with the utmost confidence that it will not happen.” I nod once and then stand.

“Waverly and I will retire early tonight. We will see you all in the morning.” She stands and then we walk out of the room. As soon as the door shuts behind me Waverly speaks,

“That was well said.” She stops and looks at me. “I know you have to go. I know that everything will be okay but it is hard to rationalize all of it knowing that they have taken out two Kingdoms before our own.” I nod and take both her hands in mine.

“Everything will be okay, my love. I will come home in one piece with his head on a spike.” I kiss her softly and then move away. We walk back to our room in silence. Once there we both get into pajamas and then lay in bed. I wrap my arm around her and kiss the top of her head. “What do you think our child is going to be?” She smiles up at me.

“A girl. It only makes sense.” I nod. “I want it to be a girl though.” I kiss the side of her head again and sigh.

“A girl would be much easier. Sam was a handful. Diaper changes need to be fast.” She giggles.

“Why?” I smile.

“If you’re not quick enough you’ll get pee all over you.” She shakes her head no.

“Well, then I especially want a girl.” I laugh and turn so I can look at her.

“I wouldn’t mind.” She kisses me quickly and turns in my arms away from me. We both lay there in silence. Her breath starts to even out but I can’t sleep. The idea of leaving her and the baby right now feels wrong but I know I need to do it for the Kingdom. A moment later there is a knock at the door. I get out of bed (which takes forever because of all the pillows and blankets) I open the door and Sam is standing there looking worried.

“Can we talk?” I nod and step out of my room. He turns and starts to walk down the hall. “So uhh, you could like die.” I nod, and his eyes are cast to the floor. “I figured, seeing that you could die and all, I would give you this now.” he stops and turns to me. He hands me a dagger. I smile and take it. “I figured you could put it in your boot or something. In case of an emergency. Look here,” he presses a button and a little hatch opens from the bottom. “Maybe you could keep some poison or whatever in there. Kill’em.” I close the hatch and look at the fantastically made dagger.

“Sam, this is amazing.” He smiles for a second and then looks away. “Thank you. I really appreciate it. I will feel safer having this on me.” I pull him into a hug. As I pull away I see a tear rolling down his cheek. I wipe it away and smile down at him. “I know everyone is worried. I am not worried. This will be easy. I have fought harder things than some ass who thinks he can take over the world.” Sam shakes his head no,

“You still haven’t fought a dragon. Or a group of trolls, or a group of unicorns running full speed at you or,” I cut him off.

“Alright, I get it. I am serious though, you have nothing to worry about.” I kiss the top of his head and then mess up his hair.

“Get to bed.” he nods and turns away from me. I get serious as I call back to him. “Sam,” he turns to look at me. “You will NOT sneak after me ever again do you hear me?” He nods and I raise my eyebrows at him the way Mom used to me.

“Yes. I understand.” I nod.

“Good. I will see you in the morning.” I get back into my room and Waverly is sitting up, she looks sleepy.

“What happened?” I wave the dagger and then look back down at it.

“Sam made me something for the fight. It is really well made.” Waverly looks at me knowingly and calls me back to bed. My confidence is wavering just a little. Gods, this all better work out because I am not ready to die. I place the dagger on the table and crawl back into bed. Once in Waverly wraps herself around me for a change. Her belly pressed into my back. I feel a little kick and smile. I have to win for them.

—1 week later—

I smile at my Father and then clasp his shoulder. He smiles sadly at me and then pulls me into a hug. My armor clangs against him. I pull away and nod to him. I look at Sam and he looks stoic. I mess up his hair.

“You have it right?” I pull the dagger off my waist and show him.

“Of course.” I kiss the top of his head and then look past him at Glenda and Lucinda. The two of them look very worried. I smile at them widely. “You have nothing to worry about. I will be back within the month without a scratch on me.” They don’t nod. I walk over to Waverly. Tears are streaming down her cheeks. “I will be home soon, my love. Don’t worry about me. Just focus on the baby.” I place my hand on her stomach. I squat down and kiss her tummy. “I will be back little one. Before you are even to see this world.” I stand up and place my hand on Waverly’s cheek I lean down and kiss her. A tear streams down my cheek as I pull away. She whispers to me,

“You need to be careful. Don’t do anything dangerous or dumb, or, or,” she cries harder. I nod and place my forehead against hers.

“I promised you that I would never do anything as dumb as I did those few weeks ago. I promised you then and I promise you now that I will be careful. I will come back to you whole.” I kiss her forehead. As I pull away she ties a piece of cloth to my chest plate, just like from the tournament. I smile down at it and then to her. “I love you with everything that I have.” Waverly nods and takes a step back. I turn to walk away and let another tear fall. Everything will be okay. A giant picks me up and places me on his shoulder. The troops are riding in on horses which is almost the same speed as giants walking. We should get to the South within four days seeing that we have nearly 30,000 men with us. I get to the front of the army and then yell for us to walk. The man’s shoulder that I am on is the Giant’s general. His name is Gorlack. I sit down and look at him. He has full head and chest armor. I look forward and close my eyes. I try and take in the fresh spring air. He speaks,

“Are you actually worried?” I sigh and open my eyes.

“Yes. Even though I know my plan is strong and my fighters are stronger. I can’t shake the feeling that we are missing something. I have three backup plans and yet that doesn’t feel like enough.” I look at him and he is nodding.

“I understand. Strategy can be hard and at the end of it all, we still don’t know if they have any tricks up their sleeves.” I nod and look forward again.

–4 days later-

I look around and see thousands upon thousands of men lined up before me. I get on Gorlack’s shoulder again and speak.

“Soon, there will be 100,000 men at our shores. Queen Brina has confirmed that all of their ships are a night away. We are here to defend not only our people but all the Kingdoms across the world. These men will kill every single last one of us if given the chance. They have already taken over two other Kingdoms. That ends here! That ends with us! We will take them out and nearly obliterate the ape-humans. We will kill every last one of those 100,000 men because we do not have a choice! We will destroy their ships, kill their men, and then we will take their leader's head home on a spike!” They cheer. I put my hand up to stop them. “They will be strong but we are stronger! They will be fast but we are faster! Tomorrow we fight for freedom and we fight for justice!” I raise my sword and the cheers start up again. “Now, get some rest we have a war to fight tomorrow.” I sheath my sword and then Gorlack puts me down. Lord James is waiting for me.

“Everything is in position. The golems have been covered with seaweed, we have archers sleeping in buildings, catapults are set up with rocks and the onagers are loaded. There are sand traps all over the beach and the Mermaids are hiding and waiting in position.” I nod and we walk towards our tent. It is a very large tent so Gorlack can fit. We enter and I sit down in my chair. I look back down at the map and nod.

“Good. We have men stationed left and right for the flank, They are hiding correct? No fires.” Lord James nods.

“Yes. They are aware of their orders. Everyone is sufficiently hidden except for us and our 25,000 men.” I look to Gorlack.

“All of my men are two miles away. I will meet them there tonight.”I nod and lean back.

“We are ready then.” I dismiss everyone in the tent and then look at the map. This plan will work. We will take them out and there will be nothing left of them. I get up and walk over to my bed I lay down in full armor. My thoughts wander back to Waverly. I am sure she is at home and worried beyond belief. Wynonna is there with her though and I am sure she is trying to comfort her the best that she can. I sigh and turn to look at the tiny fire in the tent. I stare into the flames and try to enjoy the sound of the ocean and the bugs. My eyes drift shut.

“WAKE UP! THEIR SHIPS ARE HERE!” I open my eyes and look around. It is just about sunrise. I stand and walk over to the scout. I thank him and then tell him to wake up Lord James and the rest of the troops. I breathe in and then out. We can do this.

Chapter Text

We are at the beach waiting for the rowboats to get closer. We have archers behind us ready to shoot. The signal is for Lord James to raise his hand and point to the sky. I keep my shoulders back and try to not look worried. The boat hits the shore and I see a man with a brimmed hat come onto shore with thick armor on. He takes a few steps and then yells.

“My name is King Bulshar. We are from the HUMAN kingdom from the East. We are here to take your Kingdom and run your lands. If you surrender now you will be offered a short death.” He gestures behind him, “As you can see we have nearly 100 boats filled with thousands of men. It will be hard for you to fight back. I think your best option is to give in now and save thousands of your men's lives.” I hop off my horse and his men take their swords out. I place my hand up,

“My name is King Nicole Haught,” he spits. “I rule over the Wolfen Kingdom. I was going to offer you the same. I will accept your surrender now and I will offer you the same of a quick death and allow your men to sail HOME. Not back to the Elfen land or the Orcs.” He smiles and shakes his head no. “Fine, well, I am not surrendering. I will see you in the field of battle unless you would like for the two of us to duel now.” His eyes widen for a moment. He laughs,

“Do you take me for a fool? If we fight right now then, of course, you would win! You and your kind have strength and speed. You also are blessed with youth. No. I will not take your offer. I will see you on the battlefield.” I turn to Lord James and nod. He points to the sky and the archers shoot. Bulshar’s men surround him and take all of the hits. He turns to me with fury in his eyes. This is improper war etiquette but when it comes to either his men or mine, I will choose mine. He hops in the boat and they start to row away fast. The archers shoot again but his men get shields up just in time to cover all sides of the boat. I shake my head no and watch as they row back to their ships. I get on my horse and return to our camp. I hop off the horse and look around. The camp is silent. I get into the tent and sit down. We have a scout on the beach. Once the men leave in their rowboats we will be notified with an arrow on fire that will light a tower. I can feel the adrenaline coursing through me. Reginald has designed an armor that expands with me as I grow. This way if I lose control I will still be protected. I fiddle with my hands and Lord James is just looking at me.

“The war is upon us. Thousands of lives hang in the balance. Are you ready to lead?” I don’t move. I just stare back at him.

“No. All of my decisions will be marked and watched closely later in my life. That cave in the West will retell my life and this exact moment like it has for others. Everyone is watching me and expecting greatness. Even the Gods.” I sigh and stand. “We should pray.” He nods and walks out of the tent. I lean against the table that holds the map and look up. I say a silent prayer asking for guidance, help, and even trust. I pray that Waverly and the baby are at home safe and sound. That not more than half my people will die and that all of theirs will.

-nightfall-

“THE TOWER IS LIT! IT IS TIME!” I stand up and close my eyes I command the golems to destroy every ship that is in the water. I feel an energy burst out of me and towards the beach. I open my eyes and then get out of the tent and all of the men are lining up in formation. When the second tower is lit the men hiding in the buildings know that it will be time for them to shoot. We plan on waiting until most of the remaining men are on the beach. I hop on a horse and ride to the front of our troops. We march close to the beach, just on the city's edge. We watch as ships are starting to sink slowly but surely. I am handed a looking glass. I extend it and look out to the rowboats. There are hundreds coming straight for the shore. I swallow hard keeping my eyes focused on the ships in the back. Men are evacuating them quickly. They have no camps set up here. All they have is their weapons. I suspect this fight will last long, probably until the morning. We have arranged for this to last no longer than a full 24 hours hoping their stamina and magic will run thin once a full day has passed.

Hundreds of men are hoping overboard and not into rowboats as the fleet of ships sinks. I look to the frontmost ship and smile. Bulshar hops into a rowboat. He looks angry. Furious even. Fairies are escaping and flying past us. Their magic is making the ground and water glow. You can see the golems under the water throwing spears at the ships that are the size of logs. I order half to take out the rowboats. Another burst of energy pulses out of me and towards the golems. Half turn and start walking. That is the signal for the mermaids to come out and kill the men in the water. Hundreds of mermaids come out of the shadows and start dragging men further underwater. Some are throwing tridents and spears at them.

The first men are arriving on shore they are lining up and creating a barricade with their shields against the coast. Others are lining up behind them and making the barricade larger. Others are setting up pieces of wood that look like they connect into catapults. I turn to the men manning our catapults and nod. They light the rocks on fire and then let loose. I turn back and watch as twenty flaming balls hit their barricade lines. More men line up to fill the gaps. I watch as thousands of men start to appear on the shore. They seem to be staying still and waiting for Bulshar’s boat to arrive. I order five golems to attack his ship. Another burst of energy. I open my eyes and watch as the men in Bulshar’s ship scramble as the golems start to throw rocks and spears at their boat. The boat rocks over and nearly tips. I shake my head no and watch as Bulshar grips the edges of the boat so as to not fall off. Within a second they are onshore and the barricade starts to advance farther onto the beach. From them to us is maybe, a full mile of sand. We are standing strong on the city’s edge. All of the remaining ships are either half sunken or on fire from all of the chaos we created. I order the golems to return to the formation and stand still. What feels like moments pass and the barricade is nearly halfway to us. We still haven’t made a move. There are men still building catapults and others look like they are building a shelter. I turn to the men manning the catapults again and nod. They let loose another round of flaming rocks. They land past the barricade taking out hundreds of men. I look to one of our archers in line and order him to light the other tower. He sends an arrow flying and the second tower is lit. Men from the surrounding buildings start to shoot fire arrows out into his camp. As they are shooting I order our men to create a row of shielded barricades.

I watch as hundred of Bulshar’s men run into the water on fire. As soon as they hit the water the mermaids grab them and drag them. I grin and watch Bulshar’s face closely. He seems very angry. Between the ships and the catapults, we have taken out probably 20,000 men. There are thousands of bodies lying in the water behind them. I am sure that they are going to wash up behind them. There are still fairies flying overhead. The beach starts to glow brighter like how the water had. Bulshar’s men start to run over the barricades on horseback toward us. Some are falling into the beach traps that we have laid ahead. Others are getting close. I take my sword out and point toward them. I kick the side of my horse and yell as I rush into battle. Men behind me join in and yell. I swing my sword hard and slice a man’s head clean off. I can hear the yells and screams of men all around me. The ape-humans look small but I know to not underestimate them. We clearly got some of the fairies gone but I am sure they are still very strong. An arrow lands into the side of my horse and I fall to the ground and barrel roll to my feet. I run forward and start to slice the legs of horses and into the chests of men. A large man gets in front of me and swings hard. He almost makes me lose grip on my sword. I tighten my grip and swing back hard. He blocks and we cross swords for what feels like hours. His foot slips and I take advantage of the opening and stab right through his chest. His blood spurted all over me. I rip my sword out and move forward. I look around and our men look to be getting slaughtered just by a large number of ape-human men. I raise turn and run back to the barricade.

“Light the left and right tower! Bring in the true calvary!” Two men light their arrows and shoot two more towers. Men come out from the forest behind us yelling. We just added another 24,000 men into the fray. I turn and grab another horse. I order the men at the catapults to continue firing. No more rests. The more men we can kill the better. I order the onagers to start as well. I look at the battlefield and thousands of men are being slaughtered every second both Wolfen and Ape. Hours have passed since the first tower was lit. It is probably the middle of the night but with the beach lit up the way that it is we can all see fine. Our soldiers clash into the left and the right of the group I send out another 5,000 men from my end and run in with them. We start beheading and running through Bulshar’s men. A horn goes off and his men start to retreat back. I get off my horse and jump down onto a mound of dead bodies. We chase them to about a quarter of a mile to their barricade. We slowly move backward. As we make it back to ours one of the catapults is ready. Flying balls of cloth come flying at us. Mid-air it opens and rocks start to fly. I grab a shield off of the ground and cover my head. We return back and the barricade grows and more men line up trying to protect us as well as themselves. Lord James returns and his arm is nearly sliced clean off. I grab a piece of cloth and wrap it around his arm. He smiles up at me.

“You’ve really grown as a soldier. You don’t have a scratch on ya.” he laughs and then coughs. I tie the cloth tighter against him.

“We are not gonna lose you.” He nods,

“You are. I’m fine with it. I have fought for decades for the Earp family. I died fighting for a true and respectable King. I am proud to think that I died for one of the largest wars our country has ever seen.” He coughs again. “Listen, we killed maybe half their men total but they took out nearly twenty thousand of our men and all we have left are the golems and the giants. The men in the buildings seem to have stopped shooting so they either ran out of arrows or are dead too.” He grins, “Have our men retrieve them. We may still have 5,000 good soldiers in there. We need the numbers.”I nod. I look up and yell for someone to take him back to the healers at camp. Two men pick him up and run towards our camp. I stand up and look around. I grab twenty men and tell them to spread the word that men from the buildings need to return back here for further orders. They nod and run off. I look through a crack in the barricade and watch their camp. They’re quiet. Probably regrouping. They have nowhere to go but forward. The men manning the catapults are scavenging for more ammo for the catapults. There is a lull. We need to wait for them to send most of their men out.

“Commanders to me!” About a hundred men surround me. “As soon as they attack again I am sending the golems out to run them into us. We need our barricade strong and a runner ready in case we need the giants. We will have a second barrier form behind us and then once they reach us we will disburse the barricade and attack almost like a sneak attack.” They all nod. “Tell your men this plan.” I turn away and look back through the crack. The water behind them seems to be glowing less so there is a limit to how long the beach will glow for. Hopefully, they plan their attack while the beach is glowing or at sunrise. Sunrise looks to be coming in about two hours but I cannot be sure.

Arrows start raining down around us. They are coming from behind the barricade. Fuck, they might hold out and just wait for us to all die. I turn and hundreds of men are falling. I shake my head no. We can’t wait for them to come forward. I close my eyes and order the golems to come forward and kill as many ape-humans as possible. A large burst of energy leaves me and I smile for a second. This should dwindle their numbers by the thousands. I can’t send my men out without getting destroyed by arrows. I sigh and look around.

“ARCHERS!” I get on my horse, “NOCK, SET,” I wait a moment I can hear screams coming from the golems attacking, “LOOSE!” Arrows go whizzing by I look through the hole and see the golems ripping through their camp. Parts of their barricade are coming undone. I turn and get on my horse. “Open the barricade!” a few men move out of the way and we run through. This is our best bet. The sun is rising to the left of us. It has been nearly 10 hours have passed since the first tower was lit. As we approach the barricade more arrows are flying at us. I can see that most of the golems seem to be holding up. The mermaids are throwing rocks, sticks, and anything they can get their hands on at the ape-humans. Half of their men are facing us and the other half is facing the ocean. There are stacks of bodies around them. I look around and spot Bulshar getting on a horse. He looks at me and gallops toward me. I behead a man and start to run towards him. As we get closer he grabs something off of his waist and throws it at my horse. A dagger flies into the head of my horse. I land on the ground, and everything around me turns red. I can feel my chest and arms expanding. I look up and Bulshar looks indifferent. I run and slide past him, I slice the legs off of his horse. I turn as I finish and watch him fall to the ground. He scrambles to his feet. I run at him and everything is starting to turn purple as well as slow. I go to swing at him but he is fast enough to block my sword. He must have Fairy magic in his system. He swings at me and I just miss his sword. I back off and try to think but my alpha is gaining more and more control. I know he’s reckless. I lunge at him and he moves out of the way and hits my shoulder. I fall hard to the ground and groan. I get up as fast as I can and but he is already on top of me swinging again. I block with my sword and stand. Past him, I can see the man in the cloak. Something takes over and my legs and hands are growing. I can hear the armor ripping around me.

Fur is appearing on my face. The purple is going away along with the red. My mind feels clear and my body feels strong. I grin and swing at him hard. He blocks and we enter the dance of sword fighting. All of the sounds around me are being drowned out but my heartbeat. He moves his sword a weird way and mist comes out from the end of his sword. It goes onto him and disappears. It must be more fairy magic. He moves quicker and matches my speed. He starts to speak.

“You have no honor! Before we even began you started to fight. There are rules,” I cut him off.

“Fuck you and your rules! What is the point when if we played by your rules I would have lost!” He swings hard again and my sword nearly falls out of my hands. I readjust my grip and he swings hard again.

“You didn’t even give us a chance to begin!” I swing hard back and then move to take his legs out but he moves out of the way in time.

“Exactly! We took you out at the knees! You had thousands of men at your disposal and if we allowed for the fight to last more than a day you would have won!” He yells and swings from the right to left and catches my shoulder again. I groan out and nearly drop my sword he moves fast and hits me hard again. I fall to the ground and he has a grin on his face. I swing hard at him and he hit my sword out of my hand. I look around and everything is in slow motion around me. The only thing moving at normal speed is Bulshar. He laughs and puts his sword down.

“Look at you! You are at your full strength and still, I bring you to your knees. You are no King! You are no ALPHA! You are nothing but a child acting like a warrior.” He looks around and as he starts his next sentence I grab my dagger and stab him in the leg, it goes right through his armor and hits his bone. He screams out in pain. He falls to his knees and we are at eye level now. I lunge and grab my sword that is a few feet away. I stand and look down at him out of breath. My body is starting to return to normal. He has his sword and he swings at me. I feel an arrow enter my shoulder he has been hitting. I yell out but keep my grip on the sword. Bulshar seems to be slowing down. It seems like the magic is wearing off.

“BULSHAR!” My voice echoes over the fighting. Golems are still fighting and throwing people around. “I King Nicole Haught, sentence you to death for your crimes against the Wolfen Kingdom. Your punishment is beheading!” He laughs, “What are your last words?” He shakes his head no. Behind me, the ground starts to rumble. Someone must have sent for the Giants. I turn and see the fifty men running. I look back down at him and he looks defeated. I swing my sword hard at his neck and his head goes rolling. I nearly drop my sword and another arrow flies into me. I drop to my knees and look around. There are tens of thousands of bodies all around me. I try to stand but the weight of my body is too heavy. The sounds of fighting starts to dwindle down. Golems are starting to reform and attack more ape-humans. Many of them are trying to run away but either my men get them or the golems do. I use my sword as a cane and stand. I get a better view of the battlefield. My men, maybe some ten thousand left are cheering. I grin and turn more. We still have about a thousand back at the camp holding the barrier. A horse runs by me and I grab the reigns. Before I pull myself on I grab Bulshar’s head. I climb onto the horse and then just yell out. My men join in. I turn the horse around and head back to the barricade. As soon as I get through I fall and everything is black.

Chapter Text

The ride home felt long because most of us were injured but man was it worth it. The giants went back home and the soldiers returned to their homeland. About five thousand soldiers rode back with me. As we rode through the city I had Bulshar’s head on a spike and the people went crazy for it. As we approach the castle gates the only thing that I feel is a relief. Months worth of stress and preparation worked and we won within the day of starting the war. The spring air feels fresher and sweeter. Everything feels right now. I can see the castle doors before me and I grin as they open to receive me and the men with me. Waverly is standing there with her hands on her belly smiling from ear to ear. Her hazel eyes are shining from the sunlight and her skin is glowing. I hop off the horse and the head falls over. I run to Waverly and she stops me before I wrap her into a hug.

“What happened?” She is looking at my bandaged shoulder. I wave her off.

“I fought and got a little hurt. I will be back to normal in no time.” I smile wide at her and she smiles back at me. I lean down and kiss her softly. My good arm and hand fall to her side. I break away from the kiss and squat down. I place my hand on her stomach and kiss it quickly. “I promised I would be back.” I stand and kiss Waverly again. I pull away and Sam throws himself at me. I wrap my arm around him and pat his back. “You saved my life.” he pulls away and he looks so happy.

“How? What happened? Tell me everything!” I laugh and mess up his hair.

“Yes, I will tell you all the gruesome details at dinner. Right now though, I need to get checked by healer Laurence and then bathe.” I wrap my arm around Waverly’s shoulders and she nuzzles her head against my arm. We walk into the castle and she finally asks,

“Where is Lord James?” I sigh and move my arm away from her.

“He died an honorable death. In his last moments, he cared more about winning the war than his own health. A statue will be built in his honor.” She nods slowly and then wraps her arm around my waist. We walk to healer Laurence’s office and walk in. He is standing at his table, seemingly waiting for us. He gestures to the table and I sit on the edge. He starts to unwarp the bandages around my shoulder. I wince as he pulls a little too hard as he reaches closer to the wounds.

“Ahhh, two arrows and a sword to the shoulder, yes?” I nod and he grabs something off another table and rubs it over the wounds. “This will keep infection out. Your accelerated healing will do the rest.” He rotates my shoulder and I wince again. “Nothing looks broken. Even if it was we might have to rebreak it so it heals properly.” He inspects my collarbone and nods. “Put this on after every bath and in the morning and at night.” He smiles and “Obviously don’t put it on before any bath.” I smile back at him. He wraps up my shoulder loosely, “Your Grace,” his eyes flicker over to Waverly, “make sure all the bandages are wrapped like this after her bath.” I look to Waverly and she nods. Her brow is furrowed as she concentrates on his movements. “Alright, you are set to go. Rest for the next week.” he pats my good shoulder and turns away.

“Thank you for all of your help. I appreciate you taking a look at my shoulder.” He waves us off. I stand and we walk out of the room and head to ours. We get into our room and there is chicken and bread on the table. I grin and walk over to the table I take a bite and then turn to Waverly. She has a small smile on her face, it slowly fades. She takes a few steps toward me and then wraps her arms around my neck.

“Are you okay?” I shrug.

“War, well it is hard to process. As always, there were so many dead bodies and we killed all of their men and they killed nearly 40,000 of our men. The golems are currently burying or bringing them into the water.” Waverly kisses my chin and sighs. She rests her head on my chest. My hand falls to her waist.

“At least you are home, in one piece.” I kiss the top of her head and then pull away. I pull at the bandages and get them all off. I then pull my shirt off. Waverly is watching me closely. I kick my boots off and then Waverly walks over. She starts to untie my pants for me. I kick those off and then turn to walk into the bathhouse. The water in the tub is steaming. I slowly get in and groan as the water hits my back and then my shoulder. I look at the doorway and Waverly is standing there naked. I grin and gesture for her to come into the bath with me. She climbs in and sits on my lap. She leans down and rests on me. “Tell me what happened.” It comes out as a whisper. I sigh.

“Well, everything went exactly as according to plan. The golems took out the ships. They fought us at full strength with Fairy magic. We fought from the front, then flanked them on either side. Once they retreated they started to shower us in arrows. That is when the golems attacked from behind to stop them. It ceased for a little and that is when we surrounded them and attacked from all sides. As soon as we broke through their defenses I looked for Bulshar and killed him.” I kiss the top of her head and then she looks up at me.

“How long?” I shrug and then wince.

“Maybe 12-14 hours of straight fighting.” She rests her head back down and then kisses my chest. She sits up and grabs the oils from the table near the tub. She pours them into the water and then stands.

“I am going to dry off. Clean yourself, we have to inform everyone.” I nod. She gets out of the bathroom and I relax in the water. I rub my arms, legs, and other areas, and with my good arm, I wash as much of my hair as possible. I stand and grab a towel. I dry my shoulder off first and then the rest of me. Waverly bandages me back up and then I pull on a shirt, pants, and new boots. As we are about to leave Waverly pulls me down and kisses me hard. I melt into the kiss and pull her against me. We stay like that for a few moments. I pull away and place my forehead against hers. Her hand falls to my chest. “I don’t want to leave this room.” I kiss her forehead and nod.

“We can wait until tomorrow?” She pulls away and shakes her head no.

“We should get it done and over with.” She pecks my lips and then we leave the room. As we walk into the dining room people gather around me. My Father looks happy but there is still worry in his eyes, Wynonna looks, well, a little angry to be honest, Mercedes has a slight smile, the King and Queen look happy, and Chk looks, also a little angry. They all start asking me questions and I put my hand up to stop them.

“Please, I will explain before dinner.” Most stop while others murmur. I sit at the head of the table and immediately take Waverly’s hand. As the rest sit I start to speak, “As you are all aware, the Wolfen Kingdom has beaten the ape-humans. We took out their ships and men.” I stop and gather my thoughts, “We lost about 40,000 men during this fight. Of those only a few have remained for each of your Kingdom’s. The East has retained the most seeing they had 2,000 men available in case their ports were raided along with the Orcs for a total of 5,000. The West has about 4,000 men left, the North and South about 1,000. As I rode along we dropped off men but back at the castle, we have 5,000 men. The Giants didn’t lose anyone. Our money and infantry are depleted and we lost our Master of War, Lord James.” I look around and everyone looks solemn. “Our next steps are to assign a new Master of War and then send him as well as Lord Dolls out with a troop to scout out the Orc Kingdom. Obviously, Chk and your people may join the party. After that, we will check the Elfen Kingdom. Our plan is to take back your lands from the ape-humans that are still holding them. They could not have left many men behind seeing how large their army was. I am hoping for a swift reclamation of land. Are there any questions?” I look around and no one is moving. I nod once and then gesture to the servants. “Let us eat then.” The food gets placed on the table and I grab my food. We all start to eat in silence. Sam breaks the silence.

“Did umm, did everything go to plan?” I move my head to the left and right,

“Not exactly as we had hoped but all of our larger plans were executed properly. Near the end, we had to make up some more due to the sheer number of men they had left when they started to shoot arrows at us.” Wynonna speaks now,

“Why does this feel so sad? We won the fucking war and all of our citizens are safe and alive! We should be celebrating!” I shake my head no.

“We won the war and the ape-humans are without a King but there is still plenty of work to be done. We need to,” She waves me off.

“Yeah, I get it. We still have plenty to do but we have made a large first step toward reclaiming our allies' lands. We beat the mother fucker! I say we all raise our glass to our King, and close friend, King Nicole Haught, and her badass fighting skills and strategy!” They all raise a glass and I smile at the gesture. I know that as soon as I get a good night's rest I will feel better. I raise my glass and then we all drink. Everyone starts up a conversation and I just watch all of them interact. Wynonna has a point. If I had not won they all would have either been killed or enslaved. I know Waverly certainly would have died. I take and squeeze her hand. I look at her and bring her hand to my lips. She smiles wide at me, her eyes crinkling in the corners and I sigh. We are all alive and well. This is a joyous occasion.

—---later that night—-

“So I fell to my knees. He started to speak about him and how I was nothing but a wannabe King. My sword was too far away to grab but what I did have on me was that dagger.” I look at Sam and he looks so enthralled in the story. “I took the dagger out and then plunged it into his leg as hard as I could! I felt the armor break under the blade and I even felt his bone break. Bulshar fell to his knees and I lunged for my sword. I stood with pride and asked him if he had any final words. He didn’t speak, I was shot in the shoulder. With that, I swung and cut his head clean off. Another arrow went into my shoulder. The Giants and golems cleaned up the rest of them as their Fairy magic wore off.” I smile and turn fully to Sam, “And that is why you saved my life.” I grin and mess up his hair. He looks a little embarrassed but I don’t care. Wynonna speaks,

“At least you fucking shot at him while he was right in front of you! I mean, how did that not kill him?” I shrug and then wince,

“His men were fast. I can only assume they already had some Fairy magic within them. When Bulshar and I fought it was like the world around us was in slow motion.” The fire is almost dead in the dining room. Wynonna, my Father, Sam, and Mercedes are here. Mercedes speaks,

“How ruined is my beach?” I make an ‘ooooh’ face.

“Well, we dug some traps. The golems are REALLY heavy and leave a lot of holes. There are thousands upon thousands of dead bodies being buried nearby and the catapults,” She stops me there,

“Is the crown willing to assist in rebuilding what has been destroyed?” I nod.

“Yes, we will figure a way out to help you as much as we can.” She nods and stands,

“Well, I appreciate you, ya know, winning and all but I need to go to bed.” I smile at her.

“I understand, I am about ready too.” I stand and Waverly joins me. We all say goodnight to each other and head our separate ways. Waverly and I get into our room and she speaks,

“After we just won a war she really asked if we can help her rebuild.” I laugh and sit on the edge of our bed.

“Waves, we destroyed hundreds of her people’s houses. Of course, she worried about rebuilding.” Waverly turns to me while messing with one of her earrings.

“Well, she could have been a little more subtle about it.” I laugh and then fall back onto the bed. I groan,

“This bed is so soft.” I kick my boots off and then wiggle my pants off as well. I make my way to our main pillows which takes a while considering how many pillows and blankets are still on the bed. As I move I get Wynonna’s scent. “How many nights did Wynonna stay in here with you?” I sit up to look at Waverly and she shrugs and makes a face,

“Every night since you left.” I nod and fall back down on the bed.

“I understand. She must make you feel comfortable while I am not here.” Waverly crawls into bed and turns on her side away from me. I lay down on my good shoulder and wrap my arm around her, my hand falling onto her stomach. I feel a little kick in my hand. I smile and kiss the back of her head. As soon as I close my eyes I fall asleep.

Chapter Text

It is now the end of April. A few weeks have passed since the war and everything seems to be going smoothly. Lord Dolls and our new omega knight are leading 5,000 men to Orc land to reclaim it in the name of Chk. We are thinking that it will take them a few months to return home. The elves have decided to head home on their own without our aid. They know the defenses well and know how to get the ape-humans out with the few men they have left. We have provided them with weapons and I am sending some golems with them for safety. Mercedes, Wynonna, and Alice returned home last week to get all of their affairs in order there. Currently, Waverly and I are taking a break from ruling. While Dolls is away we have Curtis here to act as the Hand of the King and Queen. He is handling all functions while we enjoy our break. Everyone agreed that I needed a break and Waverly needed one due to the stress everything has been causing her.

Waverly turns in my arms and smiles wide at me. I kiss her softly and she just sighs into the kiss. I pull away and hug her tight.

“What should we do today?” She looks up at me again and shrugs.

“Maybe we can walk around and enjoy the day. I know that most of the nursery stuff is ready to be moved into there and I want to watch them and make sure everything looks just right.” I nod and sit up. I crawl out of our bed and stretch as I stand. My shoulder is nearly fully healed. I just need to make sure to stretch it twice a day so nothing gets too tight. Waverly tries to get out but she is struggling with the number of blankets and pillows. I help her out with a wide smile.

“Ya know,” I get her to her feet. “We could take some of these off. I know you got it just right but with it warming up outside it might be about time.” She whines and I just smile.

“Yea but then we won’t be as cozy.” I kiss the top of her head.

“Fine. But when I wake up in a pool of sweat you are gonna hear it.” She shrugs and kisses my cheek. There is a knock at the door. “Come in.” Lucinda bows and then places food down on our table. I gesture to a chair and she takes it. “How are you?” She opens the lid and pours all of us tea and coffee.

“Fine. Since nearly everyone has left we have been working less which is nice. We can reopen the wing we closed off.” I nod and place some food on a plate. I can hear Waverly opening our windows behind us. A nice spring breeze hits us and I sigh.

“Well, we will keep all the extra staff we hired so you all still have some time for breaks. Is there anything we need to do today?” Waverly sits next to me and Lucinda nods. Both women put food on their plates.

“You promised your Father and brother that you would speak with them today about becoming official Lords.” I nod and lean back in my chair.

“Ahh, well we will discuss that at dinner later on. Waverly and I need to discuss the logistics.” Lucinda nods and takes a bite of her food. We all eat in comfortable silence. When the war ended Waverly and I decided that Lucinda should be working less seeing that she is getting into her late 70s. The last thing we want is for her to overwork herself. She now acts as our task organizer. She tells us when we need to do things and reminds us of meetings. She also assigns all work to our servants. She has her own office and sits most days. We discuss all plans over breakfast unless instructed otherwise. She stands bows to the two of us and then leaves with our dishes. I get up and walk over to my wardrobe. I grab a loose black shirt and dark green leather pants. Waverly is looking into hers. I sit at the table and pull on black boots. Waverly pulls on a loose green dress that matches my pants. I smile as I watch her get dressed.

We head out of our room and to the nursery. It is only a minute away from our room. There’s furniture all over the hall. I call a servant over.

“We would like to organize the furniture now. Could you get us some guards to help move the furniture?” She bows slightly and then walks away. I pick up the crib with ease.

“What are you doing? Your shoulder is still hurt!” I nod to the door.

“I am fine, can you get the door?” She opens the door frantically and I carry the crib in. I place is where Waverly directs.

“You’re a King, others can do this for us. Please, do not hurt yourself.” She has this worry in her voice so I agree.

“As you wish, my love.” I peck her lips quickly and then walk out of the room. Some guards are approaching. I point to the furniture and they are picking it up and placing it in the room where Waverly tells them.

It only takes an hour for everything to be put into place. Waverly opens up the windows and looks out them. I come up behind her and kiss her neck. She leans back into me. I place my hand on her stomach and look out the window. There is a perfect view of the forest from here.

“Do you think our child will like us?” I laugh and pull away. “Nicky, I am serious!”

“Of course, our child will like us. I think they might even love us.” Waverly turns to me and she looks worried. She has her hands on her stomach. “We are doing everything in our power to make sure our little one is in the best world possible.” Waverly looks up at me quickly,

“She. We are having a girl.” I nod and place my hands over hers.

“We are doing everything in our power to make sure our daughter is living in a good world. I promise she will love us.” Waverly nods and kisses me quickly.

“Now, we should go get something to eat. Directing is hungry work.” I chuckle and nod.

“Sure, we can grab some fruit from the kitchen.” She makes a face.

“I was more thinking of cookies or cakes.” I laugh.

—-

“Here.” I take the dagger out of Sam’s hands and smile.

“Thank you. I did leave the other one behind.” He points out the handle and there is a more intricate design on it.

“I added the Haught-Earp crest.” I smile at it.

“This is really good. You should consider selling these. I am sure Nedley would be willing to do it for you.” he grins.

“I have been thinking about taking it up as a job. It is still hard work but the hours are more controllable than farming.” I shrug.

“Well, you and Father are going to become official Lords. You two will be running the lands from the Southern City to the South Capital village. You two will handle farming disputes, monitor the people, and handle all tax collection.” he deflates a little. “But when the manor is built I will make sure the builders know to add a blacksmith section for you with furnaces, anvils, and everything you would need.” He smiles again. My Father speaks,

“When should the manor be finished?” I sigh and lean back into my chair. I place the dagger on the table and take Waverly’s hand.

“Well, I am guessing by the end of summer. You and Sam will head home and grab all of your personal effects and then our old house will be torn down. You and Sam will return back here.” He sighs.

“We can’t keep the old house?” I turn to Waverly and she speaks,
“It would take away a lot more of your farmland if we didn’t, it is up to you.” He shakes his head no.

“I built that house for Joan and the kids. That house isn’t going anywhere. Just build in front of it. We will use it as a shed or something.” I write that down and nod.

“Of course. It should take still till about the end of summer. Maybe mid-August instead of September.” he nods and smiles.

“I appreciate it.” Waverly speaks again.

“Now, Nicky and I have decided that you two will have access to the Haught-Earp money. Obviously, you two will need to keep up appearances which means expensive clothes, access to food all year around, attending balls, and weddings,” Sam’s face drops. “So, you two will need to play the part. You are a part of the royal family. It will be monitored by our treasurer but all you have to do is submit a letter to him and he will grant you more money if need be. To maintain your home with servants, cooks, guards, and servicemen it will cost 500 gold. With also food, clothes, and spending money, the total monthly allowance is 1,000 gold a month.” They look in shock. Sam speaks,

“How much money do you have?” Waverly grins.

“The Earp family is one of the first noble families. We gained control of the crown because of our economic status. You will never have to worry about money again.” He laughs.

“Nice! So I can do whatever I want?” I shake my head no,

“You can do almost whatever you want as long as it is appropriate and does not interfere with your Lordly duties.” he grins.

“Sweet.” The food is placed before us and my Father asks more logistical questions. My Father is to be at Curtis’s side while he rules in our stead so that he can observe the practices of a Lord. Sam will be at my side once I am better. For him, we have planned extensive education and training. He will be fit mentally and physically to protect the people that look to them for guidance. My Father is not a young man so Sam needs to be ready when the time comes for him to become Lord.

-

“No, but like, I look like this.” Waverly is naked in front of me trying to convince me she is not as beautiful because she is pregnant.

“Waves, you look just as beautiful and sexy as the first time I saw you. If anything you are more beautiful because you are carrying our little one.” Waverly corrects me,

“Little girl.” I roll my eyes with a smile. I walk up to her and place my hands on her bare sides.

“You are very beautiful and I am sorry if I made you feel any less than that.” I kiss her softly and Waverly deepens the kiss. A few moments later she pulls back and looks up at me.

“If you insist then I will believe you.” I laugh,

“Get in bed.” Waverly smiles and then walks over to our bed. I grab a book and crawl into bed with her. Since everything has happened with Bulshar I have felt calmer and more relaxed. Yes, there is still plenty that we need to solve. We are in deep debt, most of the homes in the capital are falling apart, and not all but a lot of alphas are still out of line. All of the wardens are struggling financially as well as those fucking Hobbes.

“Are you okay?” I turn to Waverly and nod.

“Just thinking. I have to return next week and I want to make sure I am up to date on our issues.” Waverly takes my hand and kisses the top.

“That is a problem for next week, my love. Right now it is just you and I.” I smile at her nod.

“You’re right.” I place the book down and speak more, “Sam seems a little excited at the prospect of being an acting Lord.” She nods,

“That probably has to do with how much he looks up to you.” I scoff.

“Waves, he doesn’t look up to me that much. He is very independent.” Waverly sits up a little more.

“What were your plans if the farm shut down?” I make an oh face and then she nods. “Exactly. He loves you, Nicky. Of course, he wants to be like you. Just don’t be too hard on him. He has had no training. He doesn’t even know how to fight and you are abnormally strong so be careful with him. He isn’t even fully grown yet.” I wrap my arm around her,

“I know that. I just know how smart he is. He is much smarter than me.” Waverly shakes her head no,

“You learned very quickly how to be King considering your upbringing. Throughout the trials, I was very impressed with your skills.” I grin,

“Can you believe that was only a year ago? Time flies.” She hums in agreement. “Have you heard from Wynonna?” She nods and starts to play with the strings on my shirt.

“She and Alice arrived home safely. I guess the Hobbe issue is not as bad over there but still a threat to their people.” I groan and throw my head back.

“We should put a bounty on them. Clearly, the Hobbe squad is not as efficient as they should have been. Make it a community-wide,” She kisses me, pulls away, and then slaps my chest,

“Stop. We are relaxing.” I grin and nod.

“Sorry.” She moves and sits on my lap. I smile and place my hands on her hips. She leans forwards and captures my lips with hers.

Chapter Text

“GLENDA THESE OUTFITS ARE SO CUTE!” Waverly is screaming at her with excitement. I grin as I watch the two women rave over the outfits. Glenda has been working on outfits for the baby. She has been doing this in secret for the past few months. She has both boy and girl outfits but most are neutral-looking outfits and blankets. “Ya know we are having a girl right?” Glenda looks at her confused and Waverly elaborates. “Well, both Nicky and I are girls so of course our pup will be one as well. I can also feel it.” She places her hand on her stomach and Glenda looks at me I just shrug.

“We are having a girl, I don’t know what to tell you.” She smiles at me knowingly.

“Well, there are more than enough outfits.” Waverly nods and pulls Glenda into a hug,

“We really appreciate you doing all of this for us.” She pulls away and Glenda places her hand on her stomach.

“There is a little Princess in there and I make all of the royal clothes so of course.” She takes her hand away. “I will have all the clothes brought to the nursery.” We thank her and then leave. Lucinda walks up to us with a large smile.

“Glenda finally showed you?” We nod and she shakes her head no,

“I wanted to be there too. Anyways, Queen Celeste is here to speak about the rest of the deal from the war. She is waiting in the throne room.” She bows and then walks away. We follow behind in silence. The Giants are still a sore spot for Waverly and me. Whenever the topic comes up she gets a little angry with me but I completely understand why. We get there and she is waiting patiently for us with three Giants behind her.

“Welcome Queen Celeste! I am glad that you received our invitation and were willing to journey here.” I sit on my throne and gesture to Waverly. “This is my wife and true ruler of the Wolfen Kingdom, Queen Waverly Haught-Earp.” Both bow to each other. Waverly sits and gestures to them.

“What can we do to repay you for your aid in the war?” Waverly asks in her queenly voice. Queen Celestte’s voice booms throughout the room,

“Thank you for your invitation. We appreciate you acknowledging us as equals and thinking of us in regard to the war. In exchange for our help, we ask just for aid and allyship. We were hoping to grow our small city. We would like to work closely with Lady Mercedes and aid in mining as well as farming. I do not expect to be considered a warden like Lady Mercedes. I would like to have autonomy over the forest that we live in.” I nod and look to Waverly. She speaks,

“Those lands do belong to the Southern Kingdom. While we appreciate your aid we also cannot guarantee you those lands. Your Kingdom would be right in the middle of ours. There is open land to the West past ours that is open. We would assist in your move and help establish your Kingdom. Finances will not be an issue.” Queen Celeste looks at me,

“Do you agree with Queen Waverly?” I nod,

“I agree with Queen Waverly. I understand that you would like to work closely with Lady Mercedes to make the transition easier but establishing your own Kingdom in your own land will be beneficial to all of your people as well as future generations. As Queen Waverly said we will supply you with financial and physical support. This does not have to happen immediately. This will take years seeing that you and your people will have to scout out lands. There is no rush.” I look at Waverly again and she is nodding. Queen Celeste looks a little frustrated.

“Fine. This will be an acceptable deal. I trust you will keep up your end of the bargain in the coming months and years.” She slightly bows to us and we stand and bow back.

“We cannot thank you enough for your support and we look forward to our future alliance.” She stands back up and smiles at both of us.

“Of course and us with you.” Queen Celeste turns and walks away. As the doors shut behind her Waverly starts going off.

“Why did she confirm with you? You even said that I was the true ruler and she still looked to you? I thought that as a fellow Queen and not taking part in our traditions, she would respect me but I guess.” I place my hands on her shoulders,

“Waves, baby, she probably confirmed with me because I struck the deal originally. After our last court hearing, I promised to never speak ill or interrupt you again.” Waverly takes my hands and drops them.

“So did you disagree with me?” I shake my head no.

“I agreed with you completely but clearly she did not like the terms you had set out. I figured I would just allow more time.” She nods slowly. She sighs and runs her hand over her face.

“I’m sorry. I know, I just have been feeling on edge lately.” Her hands fall to her stomach. I place mine on top of hers. “The baby will be here within two months and I just feel worried.” I nod and kiss the side of her head.

“I am too.” She scoffs,

“Nicky, you raised Sam. You know how to do all of the baby stuff AND you know you have a good style 'cause he is so nice.” She moves away from me and sits on her throne. “My Father was terrible. He abused me and Wynonna. What if I don’t know how to love a child properly.” I shake my head no and squat down in front of her.

“You have learned so much from Glenda and Lucinda. The two of them over the years have shown you how to be a wonderful mother. When the children were here you did amazing with them. The last thing you need to worry about is being a good mother because you are going to be a fantastic mother.” I take her hand in mine then kiss the top. She smiles warmly at me and places her other hand on my face.

“I love you.” I kiss her head again,

“I love you too.”

-

“Nicky! Wake up!” I open my eyes slowly and Waverly is looking down at me. “Happy anniversary.” I smile wide and sit up a little. I peck her lips.

“Happy one-year anniversary.” This also means I have been King for a whole year. It is crazy how time flies.

“I have plans for us. Your Father and Sam are going to take over today as practice while Curtis supervises so we have ALL today.” I kiss her quickly again.

“And what would those plans be?” She smiles wide,

“We are going to have breakfast outside, read in the library, walk through the garden, then spend the rest of the night here, naked.” I laugh at the last part and nod.

“Sounds like a perfect day.” We both get out of bed and get dressed in comfortable clothes. We walk outside in comfortable silence until we get to a blanket that is set up outside. I sit down and then offer Waverly my hand, she slowly makes her way down to the blanket. It is the beginning of May so Waverly is about seven and a half months pregnant. Healer Laurance says that she is healthy but the baby could come soon. We have been extra careful and I have been taking on the more stressful duties like court intrigue while she handles most of the omega apprenticeships. Those are ending this week though so she won’t have much to do soon. The rest will be good for her and the baby. She gets settled and I get food out of the basket. There are various fruits, some cheese, bread, and juice. I get Waverly’s plate settled and hand it to her then get mine settled. We start to eat and she speaks,

“What if we built a vacation home in the South? Right on the beach, oh, and a hunting lodge in the North?” I grin and nod,

“I wouldn’t be opposed. Once we have the little one we will certainly want more vacation time.” She nods and continues,

“Did you know that the Elves fully rely on their Hand? They make all the big decisions for them and they meet once a week to discuss them. We can do the same thing with Dolls more often then. I know he enjoys the work but he is also good at making small decisions. The only difference is that I would want for us to make all of the large decisions.” I nod,

“Yea, I think that would be a great idea. Maybe every two months we get a few days?” She agrees. A comfortable silence overtakes for a few moments. “I was also thinking of having Sam come here for a few months after they get settled into their manor. I know that he wants to work more with Reginald so it would be nice to have him around more especially once the baby is born. He has always been good with kids.” Waverly looks at me confused. “When he was 9 he was the oldest of all the kids around us and generally kept them busy while all the adults worked.” She sighs,

“I wish I had an experience like that. Ward ordered all of the servants' kids to be left in their quarters so I didn’t interact with anyone at all.” I take her hand and squeeze it,

“Well, none of that matters now because we have their little ones all around all of the time. Just the other day I ran into a cook's son. He asked me a bunch of questions.” I laugh a little and then take my hand away. Another blanket of comfortable silence. She breaks it this time,

“I guess Wynonna wants to have another pup soon. She thinks if she waits much longer Alice will be too old.” I shrug,

“It depends. Alice is now three so when the baby is born she would be either four or five. If they are like you and Wynonna they’ll have nothing to worry about.” She nods,

“And what if they are like you and Jon?” I sigh,

“Yea, that could be a problem.”

-

Today has been truly amazing. The breakfast was nice then we looked at a bunch of books that about babies and raising them. After that, we went for a long walk and now we are here in our chambers. Waverly crawled into bed and immediately fell asleep. I guess doing all of this walking tired her out more than she thought it would.

I sigh and crawl into bed next to her. I wrap my arms around her and pull her close to me. I nuzzle my face into her hair and sigh again at the scent of baked apples. I move slightly back and allow her scent to lull me to sleep

-

Waverly barges into my office with the most excited look on her face.

“They’re done! The apprenticeships! Those omegas will finally be able to work on their own and start their own businesses where they can train their own omegas!” I grin and stand. I take her hands in mine and smile down at her.

“So, we are making progress?” She nods happily at me and I smile wide at her.

“Gods, Nicky with everything that has happened in this past year I am so happy to say that we finally ARE making progress. The only issue that still needs addressing is the conditions of our main cities but other than that! Everything is going perfectly.” I lean down and capture her lips with mine. I pull away and Sam gags. I turn to him and he is scratching at his neck where his collar is. I shake my head,

“Wait until you have a mate and I start gagging.” He shrugs and stands.

“Doesn’t matter to me. I am a Prince ya know, those little petty things don’t bother me.” He smirks and walks out of my office. I shake my head and look back to Waverly.

“Both he and my Father are picking up on the work quickly. I know that their house won’t be ready until the end of August but I really think that both of them will be ready within the next month.” Waverly sighs and moves away from me. She sits down in a chair awkwardly with her hand on her belly. I sit across from her.

“Do you think the two of them will be ready to run our Kingdom within the next month?” I look at her weirdly and she looks down at her stomach. “I know it is going to be hard for me to rule with our little girl being here. I have read plenty of books saying that omegas gain attachment issues and what if I cannot do my job properly?” I sigh and shrug.

“Then so be it. This will not last forever, the book said 4-8 months. I will run things during that time and as soon as you are ready everything will be waiting for you.” I take her hand in mine and smile. “Also, we can have my Father and brother run the Kingdom for the first month with Dolls supervising. We can spend the first month together as a family and not worry about running anything for that time.” I kiss the top of her hand and she smiles sadly at me.

Chapter Text

Waverly is about to have this baby. Her stomach is huge and she having a hard time walking around. The only places she goes is to her office and back to our room. Every night I have been rubbing her feet and ankles due to the swelling. The other day I even had to carry her to her office. Healer Laurence told us that the baby could come any day and that we need to prepare ourselves.

We talked with both my Father and Sam, both seem to be fine with the idea of running the Kingdom for a month. We came to the agreement that both Dolls and I would supervise them and I would sign off on any big issues that arise. I have been considering asking them to start sooner than later with Waverly like this. Her moods have also been all over the place. We had a court hearing and she nearly ripped off some guy's head about taxes. We had to end the day early. Waverly groans out and I crawl into the nest with her. She has her hands on her stomach.

“IS THE BABY COMING?!” Waverly glares at me.

“No, you would know if the baby is coming. I just am so sore. My whole body hurts and aches and I am ready to meet our little girl.” I smile warmly at her and nod,

“I know, my love. We need to be patient. She will come when she is ready.” Lucinda barges in and I almost growl at her.

“Dolls and Lady Elsher are back! They have great news. They are heading to Nicole’s office now.” She bows and closes the door. Waverly tries to sit up but to no avail.

“I will go there now and report back to you of any news that they may have.” Waverly sighs and nods.

“That is probably for the best.” I take her hand and pull her up so she is sitting up. I get out of bed and then hand her some books. Between her pregnancy and the heat of summer approaching Waverly has been a little sweaty and has been only wearing my shirts. She looks to be comfortable enough so I leave and head to my office. I open the doors and Dolls is smiling.

“It was easy. They had barely enough men to man the walls and the Prince knew his way through the secret passages. Once inside we annihilated them. There are no ape-humans left in Orc territory.” He sits down and Lady Elsher continues,

“As soon as we killed them we went to the dungeons and found King Mec tied up and severely beaten. We nursed him back to health and he is now ruling over his Kingdom once again.” Dolls turns to the door,

“Come in now!” Eight servants come walking in with the biggest chest that I have ever seen. “As a thank you King Mec has given us all of the ape-human gold left there and even some of their own. This gold is more than enough to take us out of debt and even rebuild the capital if we had to!” I smile wide and open the chest, there are at least 30 gold bars and enough gold coins to drown in. I shake my head and smile at them. I shake my head no and then sit on the edge of my desk. I get serious,

“How many did we lose?” Dolls shrugs,

“Not even 500 men. The ape-humans were fighting an Orc rebellion since Bulshar left. They were weak and hungry. Without the Fairy magic, they were easy to kill. King Mec is planning an attack on the ape-human Kingdom while they are weak.” I furrow my brow and shake my head no.

“We all are weak right now. If he attacks and they have a strong reserve then he will lose his own Kingdom.” I shake my head no and get off my desk. I write up a letter and call Lucinda in. “Please send this to King Mec.” I smile and she smiles back. She bows and then exits the room. I ask the servants to place the gold down. They bow and then leave. With it now just being the three of us I sigh.

“Now that you two are home, there have been some developments. As you two know Lord James passed away and we will need a new master of war.” I look to Lady Elsher, “You trained with him much longer than I did so I know you have the battle knowledge and now experience to back it up. Obviously, I will assist on any matters that you deem necessary but that is with everyone on the council.” She looks shocked.

“I cannot accept. I still need more training, I need,” I cut her off.

“I would not have made this decision unless I thought you were ready.” I smile warmly at her and she looks stoic.

“Thank you for this honor, Your Grace.” I wave her off and lean back. I look at Dolls.

“You will remain Hand of the Queen. Waverly is going to have that baby any day now and we have decided to take the first month of its life off. My Father and brother will rule in our stead to gain experience. You will be their main supervisor and I will sign off on any huge decisions. Lord Curtis will be heading home this week.” They both nod. “I appreciate you taking care of the Orc business. Now, both of you relax I am sure it has been a tiring few weeks.” They both stand, bow, and then leave. I look down at my desk and there are a few quick matters that need to be solved so I write out letters and then get up. I look out the window and it is almost sunset. I sigh and stand then head back to our room. Once there Waverly is looking at me expectantly. I smile wide at her.

“Everything went very smoothly. King Mec is still alive and he is ruling as we speak.” she squeaks with happiness. I kick my boots off and crawl into bed. “We also were given ALL of the ape-human gold left there and some gold from King Mec as a thank you. This money should be enough to pull us out of debt AND rebuild the capital. Waverly takes my hand and smiles down.

“That much?” I nod with my eyebrows raised. “Maybe even lower taxes?” I nod and she looks so happy. “I am glad that the fruit of labor is FINALLY paying off.” I smile wide at her and she smiles back I move up and kiss her softly. Waverly moans into the kiss. I pull away and place my hand on her stomach and kiss there too. I pull away and fall to the side of Waverly. I look up at her and slowly rub circles on her tummy. I feel little kicks and grin.

“Are you ready?” Waverly smiles a little.

“Of course, I am excited to have our little girl but I would be lying if I didn’t say I was nervous. Pushing out a baby is a little scary and I am worried about so many things. What if the baby is hurt? What if I get hurt? What if we don’t do well?” I sit up and wrap my arm around her shoulders.

“Waves, everything will be fine. You will be fine and our little girl will be fine.” She sighs and rests her head against me.

“I hope so.”

—-one week later—----

“NICOLE HAUGHT, IF YOU DON’T WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!” I open my eyes and sit up fast.

“What?” I place my hand down and it is in something wet. My eyes widen. Her water broke! I scramble out of bed and yell for a servant. I walk over to Waverly and pull her out of bed. She is sweating and her legs are wet. I place her down at the table and then grab some towels from the bathroom. I hand her one and then open the door. Three servants come running. “Go tell Healer Laurence we are coming down and that Waverly is having the baby!” Their eyes widen and all three scramble away. I swallow hard and look at Waverly, she has her hand on her stomach and her face is scrunched in pain. I put my hand to my neck and hold it. I can almost feel the pain that she is in. I pick Waverly up with ease and start to walk to Healer Laurence.

“Nicole, I can walk.” I shake my head no and look at her. She seems to be fine now. We get to the basement and Healer Laurence is ready with about twenty omegas at his side. Glenda and Lucinda are in the group. Healer Laurence gestures to a bed that looks recently built just for this occasion. I place her down and then someone grabs my arm and tries to pull me out of the room.

“You are not going to want to see this.” My vision flashes red and I turn to the woman.

“I will stay in here with my wife!” She takes her hand away and looks at the other women. Lucinda takes my arm.

“Waverly is in good hands and it might make it easier for everyone if you are not here to distract us. Come with me.” She pulls me lightly and I look at Waverly I can see the fear in her eyes but she is nodding at me. I nod back and follow her out of the room. I sit on the floor across from the door and just stare. Lucinda sits next to me. “I am getting too old for this.” She groans as she sits on the stone floor with me. I put my hand up to my mark and try and connect with Waverly. She is filled with anxiety and pain. I close my eyes and breathe hoping that it will translate over to her. I feel no change. I move my hand away and sigh.

“AHHHHHHH!” I stand and try to open the door but it swings open and Glenda is looking at me sternly.

“No, we will come and get you when the baby is here.” Her eyes turn soft with understanding and the door shuts again. I sigh and start to pace.

“My husband wasn’t even home when I gave birth to our first child.” I furrow my brows and look at Lucinda. She has her eyes cast forward. “He was working the fields and when he came home we had a little girl.” She smiles fondly at the memory. “I was so mad that he wasn’t here. He didn’t even try to come home even though I knew he knew.” She puts her hand to her collarbone and sighs. She looks at me and smiles for a second. “Waverly knows you would kill to be in there and sometimes that is all the support a woman needs.” Another scream rips through the hall. I close my eyes and open them then sit next to Lucinda. She takes my hand and rubs her thumb over the top of it.

-2 hours later–

I can feel the anger building in my chest. Waverly has been screaming for two hours at this point and nothing is changing. Another one rips through and I stand again.

“No, I can’t keep sitting here like this.” I grab the door handle and Waverly screams again, as I twist I hear tiny screams. I smile a little and wait a moment. The door opens and Glenda is smiling at me. I walk past her and look at the bed. Waverly is laying there sweating with everyone around her looking exhausted too. She is looking down into her arms with a large smile on her face. I walk over to her and look down. There is a little baby in her arms crying. I place one of my hands on her head and the other on the little one's stomach. I look at her and she is smiling,

“We have a son.” I grin and look down at the little pup. I kiss the top of Waverly’s head and tears fill my eyes. One of the ladies grabs the baby and starts to wash him off. Healer Laurence speaks,

“Both the baby and Waverly seem to be fine. I would like for Waverly to stay here tonight. She can return to your room tomorrow.” I nod and squeeze Waverly’s hand. I look down at her and she looks tired but content. I kiss her forehead then look at her.

“You did so amazing, Waves. I am so proud of you.” I kiss her forehead again and then look at the women. The baby is fully clean. I smile warmly at him. Our son. I look over and Glenda and Lucinda are smiling ear to ear.

“What’s his name?” Waverly looks away from our son and to both women.

“We decided to go with Oliver William Haught-Earp.” I nod and smile at them. Both women place their hands up to their chests and nod.

“A handsome name.” I grin and kiss Waverly’s head again. Oliver is handed over to Waverly and she sighs. As soon as he is in her arms he cries a little less. Waverly takes him over to her breast and he latches on right away. Lucinda speaks,

“That is very good. Sometimes they have trouble at first.” Waverly is looking down at him and I can’t believe that he is finally here.

-The next afternoon-

Waverly is in our bed and Oliver is in her arms. She only lets me hold him when she has to go to the bathroom. I am content just watching the two of them for now. I crawl into bed next to them and look at her with a sly smile. She looks at me and squints,

“What?” I shrug,

“Nothing. I just ya know, thought it was funny that you were SO convinced we were having a girl and,” She slaps my shoulder lightly with a smile and I smile up at her.

“SHHH, it made sense at the time.” I smile and kiss her hand.

“I know. I’m just teasing you.” I scoot up a little and hold my hands out. Waverly hesitantly places him in my arms. I smile down at him and coo.

“Hi, my baby boy.” I kiss the top of his head and he starts to cry. Waverly tries to take him back but I rock up and down and he settles. “Yea, tell her I know what I am doing.” I glance at Waverly and she looks tired. “I can take care of him while you nap.” She nods and leans back with her eyes closed. Yesterday my Father sent word to all of the Wardens that he was born. June 17. I am sure that Wynonna is gonna come back down with Alice. I sigh and make my way out of bed. He slowly starts to fall asleep in my arms. I look down at him and walk around our room. He seems to be content right here. Waverly has been saying that the crib should be moved in here so she can be close to him. Some books say that it is okay while others say it helps for both to not become too dependent on each other. My mother said that Jon and I slept in the same room as them until we were four and once we knew that they were in the same house and we were safe that we slept in the loft. I don’t know what we will do but what I do know is that this baby is not leaving this room for a month. I think Waverly would freak out. I sit on the couch and lean back. I look at the empty fireplace and sigh. I have never been more content than right now.

Chapter Text

“Nicky, you take him.” I move over to Waverly and grab the little one from her. This August has been exceptionally hot and Waverly has been sore from all the breastfeeding and late nights. There isn’t much I can do on those nights other than sit up with her and try to make them both comfortable. I take little Ollie and sit on the floor with a blanket down I put him on his tummy and watch as he tries to move his little head around. He seems to be hitting most markers. He is about two months now and he likes to be on his tummy. He also opens and closes his hands a lot so he has been grabbing at Waverly’s hair while she breastfeeds. She has been keeping it up and it looks like a bun when she does it. Waverly sighs. She is frustrated with herself right now.

Over the past few weeks, she has been a little tired. I can’t blame her and I really wish I could do more but my Father and Sam are leaving tomorrow so I will be running the Kingdom by myself until Waverly feels ready. Both Lucinda and Glenda have been a lot of help but as soon as the baby is hungry he goes right back to Waverly.

“Nicky, I’m sorry.” I look up at her and she looks exhausted. I shake my head no and look back down at Oliver.

“Waves, you have nothing to be sorry about. How about you go and take a nice cold bath while we finish up tummy time? Then you can come back refreshed and maybe even take a nap?” I look up at her quick and she nods.

“Yea, that sounds good. My nipples hurt so much and I think a cool bath would be good.” I nod and smile at her. She gets out of bed and pecks my lips. Healer Laurence explained that Waverly would feel drained for some time seeing that she is a first-time mother. She will experience tiredness, irritability, and maybe even sadness. She loves Ollie but is certainly tired all of the time because of him and she feels a little weird not working on Kingdom issues or even thinking about them. She is just stressed. I flip him onto his back and smile down at him. I make silly faces at him he smiles up at me and reaches for my face. I move closer to him and he grabs my hair. I make a face and he just laughs more. I get my hair out of his hand and he kicks his legs and waves his arms. I hand him a toy that Sam made out of wood. He starts to shake it around. I pick him up and walk over to the table. I change him out of his cloth diaper and then head over to my Father and Sam. I knock on Sam’s door and he smiles as he opens it.

“Aw yes! You brought the little one!” Sam takes Ollie out of my hands and smiles down at him. Ollie hits him in the head with the toy and I laugh. Sam looks up at me like ‘Really’. Sam sits on his bed and coos to the baby.

“You ready to head home tomorrow?” Sam looks up at me and shrugs.

“I mean for the work, yes but we won’t be in our home. We are now rich Lords and have a fancy new house. I am still weirded out by the idea of it.” He shakes his head and then looks back down at Oliver. “I am going to miss you and him.” he touches his tummy and laughs. “I am nervous that Dad won’t adjust to the changes and he will stay in the old house.” He looks up at me again and I nod.

“I know he is gonna stay in the old house for a while. It makes sense. You are more than ready to rule on your own if it is too much for him.” Sam shrugs.

“Yea, but it might be weird for people to view me as Lord when Dad is.” I shrug.

“As long as you’re a Haught it doesn’t really matter. Jon could if it came down to it.” Sam makes a face and Oliver laughs. He smiles down at him and coos some more. There is a knock and we both turn my Father is in the doorway.

“You brought him over?” I nod. He walks in further and sits at the table and looks at Sam and Oliver.

“Are you nervous to head back?” He shrugs and opens his arms to Sam. He hands him over reluctantly. My Father smiles down at Oliver, he also gets hit in the head with the toy. Sam and I laugh. He grins wider.

“Yea. I wish I could just farm but honestly, at my age, this is a welcome change.” He shrugs and looks at me, “Just a little scary when all you really know is farming.” I nod and lean back in my chair.

“Yea, I know the feeling.” he nods and I can’t help but smile.

“How did you push through it?” I shrug,

“I leaned more into my alpha. I needed to be a leader and make real decisions that affected people. I would have more confidence and decide to be what the people need. You guys have it a little easier. You know most of these people and they already respect you. All you need to do is be kind and confident. I had people question me, you two have the social status and now money. Listen, when Sam is old enough, 18 or 19 just retire. By then you’ll be seventy and deserve a break.” He nods and I look at Sam who is shooting daggers at me. I shrug, “You’re coming back in like two months to finish your physical training. Then when you do have your rut you’re gonna come here and train more for a year. You will be ready by the time you are that age. Mentally you are ready now but just too young.” Sam nods and looks back at Father and Oliver. He starts to fuss a little and I sigh, “He is probably hungry.” my father grumbles something and hands the baby to me. I look at him weirdly and he sighs.

“Your mother would put cold cabbage on her breasts when they were sore. Just, tell Waverly to do it.” I nod slowly.

“I will make sure to mention it to her. Thank you.” I turn and head back to my room Waverly is in bed reading something. Oliver starts to cry more. Waverly takes him with a smile and starts to feed him. I sit on the edge of the bed and look at her.

“My Father mentioned cold cabbage to put on your breasts to reduce pain.” She looks up at me with a confused expression. “I didn’t say anything, he just knew.” She nods and looks down at Oliver. He goes to grab her hair but I move it. She smiles at me and then speaks,

“I’ll have to try it.” We sit in silence watching Oliver.

“How about we ask Glenda to watch him later and we can spend some time together? Two or three hours?” Waverly squints at me,

“For what?” I laugh.

“Time together. I miss you. It would be nice to have just a moment together.” Waverly nods and smiles.

“We could sleep!” I laugh and nod.

“If you want. We could read, go for a walk, talk, whatever you want.” Waverly smiles and then looks back at Oliver. I look around the bed and it has slowly been shrinking with the heat but also with the arrival of Oliver. Don’t get me wrong, there are still A LOT of pillows and blankets but it is much easier to move. I get into bed and watch the two of them. Waverly glances at me,

“I would like a moment alone with you.” I nod. She looks back down at him. “What if he gets fussy without us? One of us has always been with him.” I make a noise and Waverly whips her head toward me. “What?” I sigh,

“Well, last week my Father needed help with a decision and Ollie had just fallen asleep and you well, you have been so tired so I gave Ollie to Sam for an hour.” I smile sheepishly at her and she looks only a little upset. “So he has spent time without us?” She rolls her eyes and looks back down at him.

“Well, I guess I have nothing to worry about.” I don’t say anything.

“It was Sam, he is his Uncle.” Waverly nods but doesn’t say anything. I kiss her bare leg and then stand up.

“I am going to get Glenda so she can take him once you are done.” Waverly just nods again in silence. I leave the room and head up to Glenda’s tower. Once at the top, I hear her singing to herself. I knock on her door and she stops. A moment passes and she is in front of me with a wide smile on her face.

“What can I do for you?” I walk in and sit at the table in her workspace.

“I was just wondering if you would like to watch Oliver for a few hours today while Wavery and I nap.” She squints at me,

“Nap, huh?” My cheeks flush and I nod.

“Yes, a nap. I literally mean a nap. Waverly has been so tired and the little one gets up so often in the middle of the night. I lull him back to sleep or change him when he wakes up for random reasons but when he is hungry Waverly has to take him so she checks it's not that and then goes back to sleep. I just want to make sure she is well rested and we trust you with him.” She smiles brightly at me,

“All right, you don’t have to beg. I will watch him for ya.” She smiles more after and I nod.

“Fantastic. Waverly is feeding him now. She should be just about done. Walk with me?” Glenda nods and I offer her my arm. We head down the stairs and she speaks,

“How is being a parent?” I smile,

“It’s fantastic. I already had a practice run with Sam so it certainly feels easier with my own child but also with Waverly. With Sam I was the mother figure which felt odd at first especially as I got older. Now I have this strong feeling of protection over Oliver and Waverly. I really only trust my Father, Sam, you, and Lucinda with the baby. Even Wynonna I feel iffy with.” Glenda slaps my arm.

“Wynonna is a great mother. I have never seen someone so crass yet loving.” I laugh a little.

“Yea, but sometimes she doesn’t think as much as she should so I get nervous.” Glenda sighs,

“Wait till he is running around and runs into something and gets a cut. You’ll really see how nervous you can get.” I smile and we turn to the corner. We approach my room and I open the door. Waverly is changing Oliver and cooing to him.

“Good afternoon, Waverly.” She turns to us and smiles. She picks up Oliver and hands him over to Glenda. She takes the baby and smiles at him. “Oh, who is the most handsome little boy? You are! Oh yes, you are!” She looks up at us and smiles. “I have cloth diapers up in my room. I will be back in two hours?” I shrug and look to Waverly. She sighs.

“Just bring him back if he seems hungry. Normally I feed him again around sundown which will still be a while.” Glenda holds his head and slightly bows.

“I will see you two then.” She turns and walks out of the room. I shut the door behind her and I turn to Waverly. She looks a little stressed. I walk up to her and place my hands on her waist. I kiss her forehead and she relaxes a little. I pull away and take her hand and then lead her to our bed. We both get in and I wrap myself around her. She sighs in my arms.

“This is nice.” I nod and yawn.

“Yes, it is.”

The Next Day

“So you guys have everything?” I look to my Father and brother. Both are nodding. Sam is wearing full armor that was made for him and a sword. Only the two of them are traveling seeing that their guards are already at their manor. The ride is only a week with several breaks so they should be fine. “Well, we will see you guys soon. There is a Winter Ball that all of the royal houses need to attend.” Sam rolls his eyes.

“Thank you again for everything.” My Father smiles after he finishes speaking. Both Waverly and I wave him off.

“It was nothing. Go be a Lord.” Both of them turn on their horses and head toward home. I wrap my arm around Waverly and sigh. I look down at her and Oliver is fussing in her arms. I take him and walk towards the castle. I speak to him as I walk. “So, today is your Mama’s last full day with you. Then she needs to go and work.” He is looking up at me with a blank stare but the talking is calming him. “Yup, so today I get to spend ALL day with you. We are gonna sword fight, joust and shoot arrows,” Waverly starts to laugh. “Yes, and Mom will be here just watching cause she is lame.” Waverly interjects,

“Hey, don’t tell our son I am lame!” I laugh and kiss his head.

“See, lame.” Waverly hits my shoulder lightly. I turn and she takes him back.

“No, she is lame.” I laugh and kiss her quickly.

“I figured we could head to the library and read to him.” Waverly nods and we head toward the library. Once there I look for Waverly’s favorite book about fairytales. I get on the couch with the two of them and open the book and start reading.

Chapter Text

The Winter Ball is being held later this week so we are preparing the Castle for the hundreds of people that will be attending in total. Waverly and I thought it best that we invite all of our allies so we can have a general meeting about everything that happened last Spring. So much has happened and we need to make sure we are all on the same page. Much like during the trials, Waverly is very stressed. We have switched ruling positions so she could plan everything correctly. Since my Father and brother left I have been doing everything while Waverly watches Ollie. A few weeks ago we switched and Waverly seems stressed but happy. She does a lot of the preparations in the morning and I watch Oliver. In the afternoons I catch up with court hearings and meet with the council.

I think Waverly missed working and I missed Oliver. This seems to be working out best for all of us. Oliver isn’t breastfeeding as much as we start to give him squashed fruits and veggies so Waverly has a little more time to herself. I’m pretty sure this will be our schedule from now on. Wynonna, my Father, and my brother should all be arriving today. I know Wynonna wants some Aunt time with Oliver and Waverly wants Aunt time with Alice. I will be spending time with my Father and brother while they do that.

Oliver starts to cry so I pick him up from his crib and hold him to my shoulder while he cries. I read a book last week that said talking to him like an adult helps with speech. I stopped doing the baby voice around him and Waverly is having a hard time breaking it though. So it all of the people that watch him like Glenda and Lucinda. I don’t think Jeremy has even tried to stop. “It’s okay, buddy. Shhhh” I rock back and forth and he stops fussing. “See, I got you.” I turn and see Waverly standing in the doorway. Glenda is right behind her smiling. “What’s up?” They both walk in and Glenda places a few outfits on our bed which is no longer a nest.

“I was thinking this tan and black dress for Waverly and whichever she picks your suit will match?” I nod and keep rocking. I look at Waverly and she is staring at the dresses.

“I like this one.” She points to the tan and white dress. The dress is all tan and there is a floral pattern in white all over. Glenda nods and then looks at me.

“I’ll do the same but instead of floral ornamental?” Glenda nods.

“Sounds good to me.” She walks over to me and kisses the back of Oliver's head and then grabs the dresses and leaves. The door shuts behind her and Waverly looks at me.

“Ya know,” She takes Oliver and places him back in his crib. “It has been nearly,” She looks around the room, “seven months since we have,” She makes a hand gesture and I laugh.

“Yes, I know.” She walks over to me and wraps her arms around my neck. Waverly starts to play with the hair on my neck. I kiss her quickly and pull away. “We would need someone to watch Oliver for the night.” She nods and looks a little defeated.

“Did I do something?” I take her hands in mine and shake my head no.

“Waverly, I have been waiting. Right after you gave birth Healer Laurence said that for a while your body will be changing. Your heats will be less frequent and when they do happen until you stop breastfeeding they will be short and less intense. Your body prioritizes Oliver. I have been waiting for you to express interest.” She hugs me and sighs,

“Well, I am expressing interest now.” I smile and kiss the top of her head.

“When the Ball is done, everyone goes home we can spend the night together and we will do whatever you want.” She looks up at me and smiles.

“That sounds perfect.” She leans up and kisses me softly. Oliver starts to fuss again. Waverly pulls away but I keep her here.

“I think he is just tired. It is important for him to figure out how to calm himself.” Waverly sighs. “I know you want him to feel safe but we are here in the room with him. He’ll be fine.” I place a kiss on her mark and she shivers in my arms. She turns and kisses me hard and then pulls away. She heads towards the door,

“I need to make sure we have all the food for everyone.” She rolls her eyes and then winks at me. I smile at her and then turn back to Oliver. He is still fussing. I sit at the table and grab some papers that I need to figure out. A lot of the local sheriffs are reporting that there seem to be fewer issues since we rebuilt most of the homes in the capital and some local villages. One even said that omega-based crimes have been reduced by 45% and that the brothels seem to be helping the issue. Waverly and I decided to add a few more just to see if those are the actual reason for the lowering or if it is more because the standard of living has increased. We even instituted a government farm where the poor can go and work. Sam runs it himself while my Father handles larger issues. We lowered a lot of our food tax through this. I get lost in the paperwork, and Oliver’s cries take me out of it. I get up and go over to him and take him out. I check his diaper and it is full. I change him and then hold him to my chest as I read through a few more letters.

The Hobbe situation seems to be reducing. After we put rewards on dead Hobbes people went out hunting and it seems to be driving the population back into the King’s woods. There are other issues going on in there like trolls and someone even spoke of a dragon rising soon but for now, everything is fine. The door burst open and Sam and smiling. Oliver wakes up and starts to cry. Sam winces,

“Sorry. I didn’t even think.” I rub his back and get up. I hug Sam a little awkwardly seeing that I am holding Ollie. “How are you?” I shrug and sit back down. Sam sits across from me and he certainly seems more confident.

“I am good. A little stressed with the upcoming preparations but nothing we can’t handle. How are you?” He has this smug look on his face.

“I am doing great, thank you. The farm is running smoothly. With the fall just ending there isn’t much work but we have been hauling ass when it comes to canning and prepping food. We should have more than enough to last us well into spring.” I grin. Sam seems happy. “OH!” He walks out of the room and comes back in with the smallest little crown that I have ever seen. He hands it to me and all of it has very soft edges and is very light. “I know it won’t fit him for long but I made it for the Ball!” I grin and take the little crown. I smile up at him and he puts his hands out for Oliver. I hand him over and Oliver looks up at him and smiles. He reaches for his face. Oliver looks almost nothing like me. He has brown hair and hazel eyes like Waverly. His eye shape and nose look like mine though. Also, he is a very large baby. He weighs 25 pounds and is nearly 27 inches long. I think it might be because of the whole alpha prime thing and it might impact the baby's genetics but I cannot be sure. Sam certainly wasn’t this big so young. He is healthy though so we are not worried. “How is Waverly?” I shrug and stretch.

“About the same as me. She seems to be a little antsy to get this over with. Next year the Ball is only gonna be for our family. So you guys, Wynonna, Doc, Gus, and Curtis.” He nods and looks up at me.

“Sometimes, when I wake up in the morning I feel like all of this is fake.” I look up at him weirdly and he sighs. “Three years ago we never would have expected to live these lives. Father would have worked himself to death and you would still be at home farming probably married to a woman who needed security.” He shakes his head and looks around the room, “But you followed your heart and your dreams. You fought for your Kingdom but you mainly fought for her, Waverly. You fought for a future where you would be loved and accepted and look.” He glances down at Oliver. “I am an Uncle to the future King of our Kingdom. I am the brother of THE King and my children will be royalty and their children will be.” He looks up at me and he has the widest smile. “You changed our lives for the better so sometimes I wake up and wonder when the other hammer is gonna drop but it hasn’t and I don’t think it will.” I smile at him and he seems so content.

“I would be lying if I said I did all of this for you and Father. I did all of this for myself and my selfish desires. I could have come home dead or injured and then where would you guys have been? When I first got here I would think about you and Father but mainly I wanted to win for Waverly. I wanted to win for MY future. Here I am living it and I must admit, I also wake up some mornings with Waverly next to me and think when the hammer is gonna drop too.” I sigh and look at Oliver. “But then I snap out of it and realize that there is no hammer and THIS is my life now. I have to admit it is an added bonus that you and Father have risen to Lordship. That you two will never have to worry again as we did before. Now, we have rich people problems.” He laughs and I laugh with him. It stirs Ollie but he falls back asleep. There is silence and then the door opens. Wynonna walks in with Alice. Sam and I turn and she squints at him.

“I don’t know if you think you’re gonna be the favorite, but it’s gonna be me.” She whispers loudly at him and I laugh.

“Oliver is used to loud noise while he sleeps. I wanted to make sure little things wouldn’t wake him. Now, slamming doors though,” I look at Sam and his cheeks redden.

“I said I was sorry.” Wynonna takes Oliver as he speaks. I wave him off. Wynonna speaks.

“Waverly is gonna stop for today and I am going to take this one back with me to her.” I nod and she leaves the room with Alice holding her skirt.

The Day of the Ball

“Welcome! I am so glad that so many of our friends and family could make it to our First Annual Winter Ball! Queen Waverly and I have been wanting to host something for everyone for some time now. We have plenty of food and wine for everyone so please enjoy!” Oliver makes some babbling noises and I smile at him and Waverly. Chatter starts up and music plays in the back. I take Oliver and Waverly greets people as they come up to us. King Mec walks over to me and has a large toothy smile.

“King Nicole! Thank you for having us for this joyous celebration! I wanted to thank you personally for all of your help over this past year.” He offers his arm and I grab it. Oliver babbles some more. King Mec looks at Oliver and smiles. Oliver giggles and then shakes his toy around. “He is very cute! Congratulations.” I let go of his arm and he walks over to Waverly and they speak. Queen Brina smiles at me.

“How are you?” I nod,

“I am doing very well, how are you?” She shrugs and takes a sip of her wine.

“We are doing fine. Still dealing with some after-effects of the war but we are recovering.” I look at her confused. She waves me off. “We will discuss tomorrow during our meeting.” She smiles at Oliver and then looks at me. She pats my shoulder and then walks over to Waverly. This goes on for a few more guests and then we move around and mingle with others. Oliver gets passed between me and Waverly. At one point he starts to cry and Waverly excuses herself with him. I continue to mingle with some of the Wardens and our guests. Waverly comes back without Oliver. I look at her weirdly and she speaks,

“Lucinda is gonna watch him for the rest of the night. We still need to eat and then we need to do the opening dance.” I nod and take her hand. I kiss the top. I hear Wynonna and Sam gag behind us. I turn and look at both of them like ‘Really’ Sam takes a big sip from his cup.

“Are you drinking?” He turns and walks away fast. I look at Wynonna and she shrugs and follows after him. “I do not like that they hang out all of the time while they are here together.” Waverly laughs and places her hands on my shoulders and straightens out my shirt.

“Sam deserves some fun with his sister-in-law, no? He has been working very hard these past few months.” I nod and keep my eyes on him. She moves her hands away and hooks her arm through mine. My Father is sitting with Gus and Curtis laughing. We walk over to them. I greet all of them formally and then sit. Gus speaks,

“We were just talking about you as a child.” Waverly sits and looks at my Father,

“Tell me all about baby Nicky!” He laughs and hops into a story about how I would always argue about bathing. I lean back in the chair and sigh. Waverly takes my hand and nods along to the story.

We just finished eating and we are now preparing to dance. The music picks up and I slightly bow to Waverly she takes my hand and we walk onto the dance floor and start one of the many two-person dances. As we start other couples join. Waverly made me practice with her for hours last week. I am only a little better than I was before. I nearly trip and Waverly catches me with a laugh. I laugh with her and as the music starts to slow we stop and bow to each other. As we move away Wynonna snorts at me,

“Smooth moves, Haught. Try not to break your legs.” I shake my head with a grin.

“I don’t see you trying to dance.” She smirks,

“DOC!” The man comes up and kisses her cheek. “Would you dance with me?” He offers her his hand and they get on the dance floor. Waverly covers her mouth and watches as Wynonna dances. I look at her horrified, her limbs are flailing around. Doc is ducking out of the way. The song ends and she looks at me like she just proved a point.

“Wow, you’re right. I was so terrible. You really proved that you, Wynonna Earp-Holiday, can dance circles around me.” She nods and finishes her drink. As she walks away I turn to Waverly. “What the fuck was that?” Waverly breaks and laughs.

“We, we,” She can barely get the words out, “we have only ever told her she was great at dancing because if we told her she was bad then she would never do it again.” I pull her to me and kiss the top of her head.

“Thank you. Thank you for never telling her how bad she actually is.” Waverly kisses right under my jaw and I grin.

The night comes to an end and we return back to our room. Lucinda is sitting at our table knitting something as Oliver sleeps in his crib. She looks up at us and smiles.

“He just fell asleep.” Waverly walks over to Oliver and as she passes Lucinda she places her hand on Lucinda’s shoulder and whispers a thank you. Lucinda stands and nods to me as she passes me. Once the door shuts I walk to the crib and stand next to Waverly. I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her into my side. Oliver is on his back. We watch him for a few moments. Waverly turns in my arms and smiles at me. I kiss her softly, she pushes me back until I am against the bed. She pulls away and turns. She moves her hair out of the way and I start to undo her dress. Waverly speaks,

“How many children do you want? For certain?” I sigh and think for a moment,

“I think two or three would be nice. I liked having my siblings. I wish Sam was closer to my age.” As I finish untying the last string she turns and the dress falls off of her shoulders. She is in a corset and stockings. She wraps her arms around me and sighs, “How many do you want?” She smiles and moves closer to me.

“I was thinking the same, two or three. I also think that they need to be closer in age.” I swallow hard as Waverly turns in my arms again and pushes against me. I start to help her with her corset. It has been so long since Waverly and I have done anything. I knew she would come to me when she was ready but I don’t think I want to do anything while Oliver is in the room. I finish helping her and she walks towards the dresser and grabs a nightgown. She slips it on and slips the stockings off. I start to unbutton my shirt but Waverly stops me and finishes doing it for me. I place my hands on her hips and look down at her.

“I love you. I am sorry if I made you feel a certain way by not initiating anything. With Oliver and the Kingdom, I just wanted to make sure I didn’t rush anything. There is nobody else in this world for me but you. I want to have more children with you. I want to grow old with you and spend our days reading and watching our grandchildren. I never wanted you to feel unwanted or unsexy. There have been countless times when I wanted to start something but I worried that you were not ready.” Waverly pushes up and kisses me hard. I groan into the kiss and she pulls away. I put my forehead against hers and keep my eyes closed.

“I know you love me and I love you so much. I appreciate you trying to keep what I want in mind. Now that it has been a while and that Oliver is starting to get better about waking up so often at night we can resume like usual.” She kisses me quickly, “We both know if we ask anyone to watch him they will know what we are up to.” I grin and kiss her quickly.

“Who cares? We are the King and Queen!” I puff my chest out and Waverly slaps me. We both laugh for a moment and I smile down at her. “As I said, once everyone returns home we can do whatever you want.”

The Next Day

“I would like to thank all of you for joining us for breakfast. I know that it is early but some of you are leaving after this meal. The point of this meeting is I want to make sure that all of us are on the same page.” I turn to King Mec, “From my understanding you have spoken with the ape-humans, what happened?” I take Waverly’s hand.

“After I came back to power I made my way over to our border with them. When I got there we were met with their new leader. His name was Levi and he seems like a very nice man. He was kind of related to Bulshar. Once Bulshar died he was next in line. He made it clear that the remaining people in their Kingdom did not and will never support the actions of Bulshar. He seems nice enough but who knows what will happen later.” I nod and look at everyone else.

“Any thoughts?” Wynonna speaks,

“We can’t afford to do anything even if we wanted to. We are regrowing our population and I know that we cannot give up anyone. If the man seems nice enough then let us leave it be for now.” I nod, Lord Gibson speaks,

“I disagree. We left the ape-humans on their own for too long and now look? Two Kingdoms were nearly destroyed. We need to act.” I nod slowly. Waverly speaks,

“We could add them to the fold. Ask them to join an alliance with us and if they disagree then we will have issues? What do you think?” She looks at me and I speak,

“Well, if we are weak, they are weaker. I think we need to rely heavily on King Mec for this decision. If anything they would attack him first and he borders them and can monitor them. I would rather see peace than violence but if there seems like a chance of another war then yes I think we should attack.” King Mec shakes his head no.

“This man, Levi, he will not attack. When someone else comes to power then yes, maybe we should reconsider. I think he would sign a peace agreement if we asked. He knows that my alliance consists of a number of Kingdoms.” I nod and smile at King Mec,

“My friend, you need to add some infrastructure. I would be more than happy to help you.” He chuckles and nods.

“Yes, I agree.” I turn to the groups.

“Queen Brina, you mentioned some issues that are arising?” She nods and speaks very clearly.

“Yes, since the war there is debris all over the ocean floor and it is disrupting a lot of the sea life. I have been trying to get rid of it but there is so much. I am sure Lady Mercedes can attest to it.” Mercedes nods,

“We need ships out there to help gather debris. We can only haul so much to land to let dry out.” I nod and look to Lord Holiday.

“It seems like the crown will be requesting a lot of lumber for some ships.” his mustache twitches.

“That will be no problem for the North. We can send over whatever you need.” I nod and turn back to both Queen Brina and Mercedes.

“I returned the golems to the West but I will send them out to help drag debris to land.” They both nod. Mercedes speaks more,

“We also are having some issues with rebuilding the beaches. Could the golems aid with that too?” I nod and shrug,

“I don’t know but there is no harm in trying. We have them so we might as well use them.” She nods. Celeste speaks now,

“In the Spring, we will be looking for new land, yes?” I nod.

“Yes, we want to make it clear to everyone that the Giants are their own Kingdom. We are aiding them in their Kingdom's growth thanks to their aid in the war. We were thinking either to the North or West.” Celeste nods and mouths a thank you to me and I smile warmly at her. King Grildar speaks,

“We took our Kingdom back with much ease. They only left a few hundred men back at our Kingdom to guard it. We went through a secret entranceway and took our castle back.” Waverly speaks,

“How has rebuilding been?” Queen Winnie responds,

“It has been slow but we are making progress. The winter has made things a little harder but by this coming summer all should be fixed.” Waverly nods and that leaves us with little to no business. I wave and food is served to everyone. Small chatter starts and King Mec looks awestruck by Queen Celeste. I smile knowing that she barely thinks we are civilized so forget about them. I take Waverly’s hand and kiss the top. Everything is FINALLY calm and peace can be made.

Chapter Text

*2 years later*

Waverly and I decided to build that beach house in the South. I have been over there for the past few months helping the Giants move Westward this past Spring. Waverly said that this would be the perfect opportunity for her, Oliver, and Nicolas to come. Oliver just turned three and Nicolas is one and a half. Sam was training with me before I left to help the Giants. Waverly thinks that it would be fine for him to manage the Kingdom while we were away for the month.

The summer home that we built is right on the water. I have a boat and a large dock that leads into the ocean. I have been learning how to fish while I wait for the arrival of Waverly and some staff. She thought it best to bring our most trusted staff with us like Lucinda, Glenda, Jeremy, and Robin. We also have about twenty guards with them as well.

In the distance, I can hear clopping coming from horses. I stand and turn towards the noise. I see the carriage that has Waverly and the children. I grin and start to walk toward them. The carriage comes to a stop. As soon as the door opens Oliver comes running out.

“MAMA!” I squat down and open my arms. He runs into them and I kiss the top of his head as his little arms wrap around my neck. I stand with him in my arms. Waverly gets out with Nicolas in her arms. I walk over to her and kiss her softly. I pull away and place my forehead against hers.

“I missed you, my love.” I pull away a little and grab Nicolas out of her arms. He looks like me. He has red hair and brown eyes. I kiss the top of his head and kiss Waverly again before she can respond. She giggles out her response,

“I have missed you too!” She kisses my cheek and turns to the carriage. The rest of our party gets out and smiles widely at me. Glenda pats my cheek and then walks towards the beach house. It is very small in comparison to the castle but it is about the size of a manor. There is more than enough space for all of our guests. I say my hellos to the rest of our friends. We walk towards the home in silence. Once inside all of them are in awe of the place. It is very open so that we can catch the cool summer breeze. Jeremy and Robin go off and find a room.

When we invited everyone we let them know their roles while here which is as equals. We all will be putting in the effort to keep the place clean, the people fed, and the property protected. That last part was mainly my idea. I want to make sure all the guards also have a nice time seeing how hard they have been working over these past few years. I show Waverly to our room. It is small but there is a terrace facing the ocean. I place both the boys onto the bed and follow Waverly towards the view. I wrap my arms around her and she leans back into me.

“This place is beautiful.” I nod and kiss her neck softly. It has been nearly a month and a half since we have seen each other.

“The boy's room is connected to Glenda’s.” Waverly turns in my arms and smiles.

“So we will have a little more privacy?” I nod and kiss her softly. She groans into the kiss and pulls away with her eyes closed. Oliver speaks,

“Mama, are we gonna play later? Mom said we can go in the water!” I turn towards him and smile.

“Of course!” I walk over and pick him up. Nicolas is sitting up on the bed smiling and playing with a toy that he had earlier. I look up at Waverly and the sunset is hitting her just the right way, she looks like a Goddess. “We may have to wait though, it will be dark soon and it’s not safe to swim at night.” I look at him and he is pouting. “We will tomorrow though, okay?” He doesn’t look at me. I kiss the side of his head and place him back down on the bed with Nic. I look back to Waverly and she is walking towards us. She sits on my lap and takes Nic in her arms.

“They have not eaten too much today, we might want to get dinner ready.” I nod, Waverly gets off of my lap and then turns to Oliver. “Want to help Mama make dinner?” His pout goes away a little and he nods. I grab him as I stand. All four of us head to the kitchen. As we enter we see that all of our guests are already moving around the kitchen with ease. Robin seems to be making chicken while Glenda is preparing something with flour. Lucinda is sitting and talking with Jeremy while they peel some vegetables. I grin and walk over to Robin.

“Oliver was wondering if you could use some help?” Robin looks around the kitchen and then nods towards the counter where there are potatoes.

“I would appreciate it if you guys could peel those?” I nod and walk towards the potatoes. I sit Oliver on the counter and hand him a potato. Jeremy and Lucinda are talking about the ride. I turn to look for Waverly and she is breastfeeding Nic in the corner. Glenda starts to speak,

“How were the Giants with the move?” I sigh as I peel the potato,

“It was fine. It was hard to give them direction when they only listen to Queen Celeste. Once we were there though they started to listen to me.” I glance at Glenda and she is nodding.

“So they are officially moved out?” I nod.

“Yea, Celeste seems content with their location. The land we found had fewer trees and it was easy for us to make roads. Overall they just have more structure. I told Mercedes that she can make their old area into a new village but she isn’t too sure yet.” Waverly speaks up,

“I think that would fall under your Father’s discretion anyways.” I shrug and grab another potato.

“Yes, but he deals with Mercedes more than he does with us.” Waverly hums in agreement. The kitchen falls into a comfortable silence.

“Mama, can I get down?” I nod and place Oliver down. He runs over to Lucinda and sits in her lap. I smile at the image of them together. Both Glenda and Lucinda both lost and fell out of contact with their children so I know they appreciate how involved they are in our kids' lives. I finish the potatoes and put them in a pot to be boiled, Oliver will mash them later. Robin continues to lead all of us. Glenda places the flour mixture onto a sheet of metal. I think they are cookies. As Waverly walks by she kisses me quickly. I follow her lips and sigh as she walks further away. Glenda speaks again,

“I think I am on kid duty, huh?” I grin and nod. She chuckles and leans against the counter. “I get it, it has been a little and I know you two want one last little one, right?” I shrug then turn to Waverly she is making faces at Nic.

“I think she wants a daughter but I am not sure.” I look back at Glenda and she is nodding.

“I am sure you’ll have one more and maybe a fourth if no daughter.” My eyes go wide for a second.

“Maybe.” She laughs and places her hand on my shoulder.

“Probably.” She pats it and then walks towards the table. Dinner finishes quickly and we all eat together. As the sun sets and it becomes night everyone retires to their rooms slowly. Glenda and Lucinda take the two kids just leaving Waverly and me to do the dishes. I start to wash and she starts to dry.

“Glenda mentioned that you probably want a daughter?” I look at her quickly and she is grinning.

“Maybe, we have two beautiful sons but I would love to have a daughter.” I nod and go back to the dishes.

“Well, she could end up like me.” I hand her a dish and she shrugs,

“And if she did then we would have three strong brave children that would protect me.” I grin.

“Well, if you do want another baby then we should start putting all of our attention into that.” I finish the last plate and then hand it to her.

“ALL of our attention?” I nod and wrap my arms around her waist. She places the plate on the counter and wraps her arms around my neck. “If you insist.” She kisses me hard, full of lust and passion. We both moan into the kiss. My hands move further down her body to her thighs. I pick her up with ease and then place her on the counter. Her hand slips under my shirt and she starts to run her hands over my stomach. With her so close everything feels right. I start to kiss her neck. She softly moans into my ear. I pull her closer even though we cannot get physically closer. I start to unlace her dress. I hear a cough from behind me. I turn fast and Glenda is smiling a little awkwardly,

“Oliver wants his Mama to read him a story.” She is not looking at us. I kiss Waverly quickly and then move away.

“I will see you in a few minutes.” She nods. I move away and I walk with Glenda in awkward silence toward the kids' room. I get in and Oliver is holding a fairytale book in his hands. I sit on the edge of his bed, take the book and then begin reading.

-

It has been two weeks since Waverly and the kids arrived. The weather has been weird so we haven’t had a lot of time to go out and swim like Oliver wanted to. Today seems to be a hot summer's day though so the plan is to take him swimming. We all head down to the water and then sit in the sand. I helped Robin set up a tent for Waverly and Nic. Oliver keeps pulling at my hand,

“Mama, come on!” I laugh and then scoop him up. I place him down right on the edge of the tide. The water comes up to our feet and then retreats back towards the ocean. I take my shirt off and so does Oliver. The sun feels overbearing even with the cool ocean breeze. I pick him up again and we both head into the water. The water is cool but refreshing. I get to my hips and Oliver is gripping my neck tighter and tighter the further we go in. The water hits his feet and he nearly chokes me. I take a handful of water and put it on his back and then his head.

“Ollie, the ocean can be scary but it is a part of the world. As long as you are careful and safe then you have nothing to worry about.” I try to make him look at me but his eyes are locked on the beach behind us. Waverly yells out,

“He looks like he is gonna cry, bring him back.” I turn and we head back to the beach in silence. The water is now grazing my ankles and when a wave comes in it hits the highest mid-shin. I look back at Oliver and his grip has loosened.

“Would you like to stay here with me?” He nods and I place him down and hold his hand. He leans down and grabs something out of the water. He shows it to me and it is a piece of metal. I furrow my brow and grab it. It looks to be a piece of a ship. I smile and then toss it back into the ocean. I sit in the water and place Oliver in my lap. As the waves come up they brush up to his chest and he laughs in my arms. “See, the ocean isn’t scary.” Oliver stands next to me and keeps grabbing shells from the water. After a moment Waverly calls us both over. I grab him as I stand and I run us both to her. Nic is babbling and looking at all the seashells that Oliver grabbed. Nic starts to play with them and Oliver whines that they are his. Waverly calms him down. I sit down on the sand next to Waverly and watch the ocean’s tide come in and out. Nic crawls over to me and I place him in my lap. Waverly is feeding Oliver some fruits and water. Jeremy runs out from the right side of the beach and Robin is chasing him. I can hear Lucinda and Glenda laughing from behind us in the house.

I take in the sounds of the beach, my family, and my friends and smile. I lean back onto my palms and I have this overwhelming sense of relief and relaxation. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the man in the black cloak. I hand Nic over to Waverly and go towards the man. I walk towards him but I don’t seem to be getting any closer. I finally reach him and he is on the edge of a patch of tall grass near the beach. He moves back into it and I follow. Suddenly I am transported to the cave in the West with the cloaked man looking ahead. I walk up next to him and he speaks. His voice is deep but old,

“When we were trying to figure out who would lead our people towards prosperity there was a fight amongst the Gods.” I look at him and I still can’t really see his face, just darkness. “Some thought that a wealthy alpha was the way to go. Others thought an omega could lead to change. I thought that we would need both. We would need a strong alpha that cares for others. For a while, we thought maybe your Father.” The man turns to me and an old man with a thick gray beard is looking at me. He turns away with a chuckle, “Then you were born. A rare female alpha. We kept our eye on you and then stormed through the crowd and saved the youngest Princess we knew. You two were the way toward prosperity and safety for our people. After that, we did everything in our power to lead you in the right direction. No Squire was sent that far into the village but WE sent someone. We helped arrange the marriage between Wynonna and Doc. We made sure that Waverly was ready for love.” He stays silent. I look at the blank stone wall and a story appears. The story of me AND Waverly. Her life as well as mine. All the pictures in the cave light up around and I can see all of the stories from before vividly like I was there. I see the same iteration of Waverly and I fight for our people. It was always Waverly and me. Even when I was an omega and Waverly an alpha. Or when we both were alphas, neither of us was the same person but the same soul. Two people wanting a better life for their Kingdom and then falling in love, over and over again. As the story ends with Waverly and I the man resumes speaking.

“You see, at every point in Wolfen's history it always seemed like an alpha fighting for their Kingdom. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth because, in the end, they were always fighting for her, their love.” I am transported back to the beach and I can hear Waverly calling for me. She looks confused with Nic in her arms and Ollie holding her skirt. I run towards my family and I take Waverly and pull her and Nic into a tight hug. I pull away for a second and grab Oliver. I lean down and kiss Waverly softly. I pull away and place my forehead against hers.

“I love you and this family more than anything in my life or any other life I may have lived. You are my soulmate, Waverly Haught-Earp and in any life, I promise to always find you.” I lean down and kiss her again.