The week he was having was amazing. He would soon be married to Lilly, and Angelique came back. It had been a week since she had been there. They had spent much time together before the ball. He had taught her how to send a note just with the will of the mind, so she would be able to send Reaver a message. Having her have elemental powers just like him, only proved how much like him she was. Angelique had told him about how she never had powers before turning her soul off. That was when he revealed to her another secret. Under her mother's wishes, her powers were locked. He was able to have a mage friend of his perform a spell so that she could never use her powers. Angelique took the news rather well, she knew how they both wanted to keep her true identity secret from her mother’s husband.

Even though Angelique was there, he didn’t leave out time for his pregnant love. He spent time with her if she wasn’t at her council meetings. He was yet to go to one and hoped one day he would be able. Maybe after he was married to her. Breakfast in the Rose household was a bit odd, Nymph only stayed for a few moments before running off to see his nephew Alden. Clyde and once said to Lilly he approved of the match; they would balance each other out. Angelique would be the only one that really stayed and tried to make conversation with Lily and himself; all while holding a glass of blood. Clyde could tell his daughter really took a liking to Lily. He hoped that Lily could be the mother she always needed. In no way she would replace Margaret, but she sure would be a mother she needed now.

When the day of the ball came, he helped Angelique choose a dress then picked himself out a suit. When they returned home it was time to get ready, with a kiss to Lily he went to bath. After bathing, he trimmed his hair. The dark blonde strands had gotten long. After, he he put on his suit. The suit was dark grey, with a white shirt, light brown vest and tie and shiny black shoes. He wasn’t a stranger to wearing suits like some men were. The last of his attire, for the ball, was a simple gold mask over his eyes.

Stepping out of the room, he noticed Angelique had already left with Nikolaus. His friend for centuries. Waiting at the bottom of the stairs, he finally saw her emerge. A smile crossed his lips as he watched her descend the steps. Her belly was beautiful in the dress she picked out. When she reached the last step, he picked her up and swung her around for a moment before putting her to her feet. “You look beautiful, my love.” He said into her lips before kissing her.

With that, they left for the ball. When they arrived a crowd had already formed. His eyes looked around the faces, and saw some he recognized. “What would you like to do first? Would you like to eat before we dance?” He asked letting her take the lead. She was pregnant after all and didn’t want her to forget to eat or drink.

The courts were full of arguing. The time Angela was unavailable for the courts, her son Lucian filled in. He was a good young mind like Kirika. It served to show the other queens that they were old and set in their ways. They had good ideas. Lily almost wished they could keep Lucian on the council. Maybe she would have to speak with Angela about this once Angela was feeling well enough to deal with the wishes of the people. Though nothing kept her sister down for long, even apparently death.

Breakfast was a joy for her. She had seen her daughter happy and full of life since Alden came into her life. Though Nymphaea ran off the moment she thought she even smelt Alden. It made Lily laugh and she was also glad to have Angelique at her table. Their time was filled with laughs and stories. Lily’s list of stories never seemed to end thanks to having some interesting sisters and children.

When the day of the ball came Lily was busy making sure that she had a dress fit for a mother to be. It was long and cream colored. It was an off shoulder long sleeved dress. It cuffed at the wrists giving the sleeves a more ballooned look. The sleeves between the arm cuff but by the top of the bodice and the wrist were made of sheer lace. The dress at the waist, top of the sleeve, and the wrist were lined with gold. The dress’s waist had a golden ribbon looped around but sewn at the middle just under her bust. Her baby belly was quite large and looked as if she would pop at any moment now. The skirts were long and were varying degrees of sheer lace. The bottoms were in different cut outs when it came to the design of the lace giving the dress an elegant look.

Yiva was strong and it had been a good name they had picked out.  Putting her hand over where their very active daughter was Lily smiled up at Clyde at he came out of the room. She squealed as he picked her up and spun her. She kissed him while laughing breathlessly. “You don’t look shabby.” Her long blonde hair was pulled back on the side and twisted in with a white lily held on the backside of her head.

When they got to the Hanging Gardens Lily found herself admiring everything. “We could probably eat.” She mused as she pulled him through the halos of the garden. Once they reached the top she made her way to the food table and started to sample just about everything. “Yiva has made my appetite terrible.” She laughed a bit. “Angela would make fun of me if she was here. When she was pregnant with Rohan I gave her a lot of trouble over how much she ate.”

The ball was a beautiful sight to see, but nothing like the woman beside him. Seeing her pregnant belly and the glow she had made Lily even more beautiful. A smile came to his lips as he looked down at her belly after he asked what they should do. When he heard her voice, his eyes went up to meet hers. With a nod to her words, he was pulled by an eager Lily, or was it  the eager baby inside her. A small laugh left his lips as he walked beside her up the halos.

At her comment he couldn’t help but laugh, he had scene his sister pregnant three times and knew what it was like for a woman to be pregnant. He was happy they didn’t have any fights or her yelling at him. “My sister loved to eat when she was pregnant.” Leaning forward his hand laced with hers. “One thing you don’t have is the banshee side.” He said as he remembered how many fights Anastasia had with her husband. More on her side then on his.

A look appeared on Lily’s face and her eyes moved from his face which made Clyde sigh. His sister was behind him. “Hello dear brother. How I missed you.” Ana came up behind him with a smile on her lips. Leaning down, she hugged him tight. When she pulled away, Clyde saw the look in her eyes that made him gulp. She would get him later and he couldn’t do anything about it. She was pregnant after all. “Ana.” He smiled back at her as he stood up from his chair and pulled out hers. Taking a seat at the table, Ana set her plate of cake with chocolate covered strawberries in front of her. “You have to try these, Lily! They are amazing.” Ana placed a few of her strawberries onto Lilys plate.

Clyde looked at the women before him, both pregnant and both he loved. He held back a laugh, they both were sure hungry with the amount that was on their plates. His plate only had a few things on it. Nothing of it sweet. His eyes went to the floating lanterns above, making note to light one with his beloved. Taking a sip of his wine, he watched them for a moment. He was happy, he couldn’t believe how happy he was sometimes. For so long, he lived alone without anyone. Until Lily came along. “I see your daughter has taken a liking to my son, which I approve of and adore. Oh and your niece? Likes my boy, Daulton.” She paused taking a bite, she leaned forward towards Lily. “They would make a great match.” Ana smiled at Lily. “You scheming.” Clyde interrupted her and her evil glare turned to him. “Is it so bad a mother worries about her youngest son being out there all alone? This young lady could get him to stay.” Ana leaned back in her chair with a pretend frown. “He can take care of himself out there.” Clyde said taking another sip of wine. “Yes.. but I need him here.” There was an edge of sadness on her voice. She needed her family. Now more than ever. “What do you think Lily?” Ana asked turning to her.

Lily had the biggest grin on her face as Ana heard Clyde talking about her in such a distasteful way. She chuckled quite loudly as she moved her hand to her pregnant belly. “Oh, they do look rather lovely.” She picked up a strawberry and gently chewed on it. It made Yeva very happy, she could tell. “Yeva likes these.”

The queen nodded to Ana and chuckled more about the pairing. “I do love Nymphaea and Alden together. They made a good match.” A laugh left her lips as Clyde accused Ana of scheming. “Daulton will have to make it past Remedy first. Rem is very protective of Astrid…” There was a caution in Lily’s voice. “Daulton didn’t exactly make a good first impression on Rem. Pushing her sister and forcing a kiss does that. I know Daulton has learned but angels don’t forget easily. They can stew for ages. Remedy’s top skill is stewing until she blows up. She has an attitude just like Toya Clyde.” 

She sipped on some juice and thought about it. “Astrid is a very sweet girl, though. I do think she would make Daulton very happy. He would just need to kiss Remedy’s behind before he could get anywhere. The last thing Astrid would do is make Rem upset. Their parents died when they were young. Toya raised them because Costel was her son but it’s had a lasting effect on Rem. When Rem sees Astrid… she sees Estrella. Estrella died of a very broken heart from when Costel passed away. Astrid doesn’t remember it she was too young but Remedy does. She remembers her mother getting sick and passing away because of how much she missed Costel. She won’t want that to repeat for Astrid.”

There was infinite wisdom in Lily’s green eyes. “However, if he could appeal to Remedy he would have a free pass to Astrid. If he does anything else to make the situation worse… I’ll have to consult Toya on how to keep Remedy from going after him. Not that I think Daulton would make it worse. Toya is the only one who speaks fluent Remedy.”

Clyde smiled softly as he watch Lily as she spoke. There was a glow about her that always made him smile. Seeing her pregnant made him love her even more. This baby was such a blessing to the elemental who have been through so much. After she took a bite of the strawberry, he took one as well off his sister’s plate. Taking a bite, he loved the bitterness of the chocolate and the sweetness of the berry. “I understand why she does.” he commented to Lilly. They were good.

Hearing Lily comment about his nephew and soon to be daughter, he agreed. The two seemed to balance each other out perfectly. Also, Nymph had tone down her rebellious streak. Alden was the perfect man for her. Daulton on the other hand, was hard headed, outspoken, and always wanted everything his way. He was the youngest and always got everything he wanted. “Until now.” Clyde thought as he glanced at his sister’s belly then back over to Lily as she spoke.

When she said the name of the girl Daulton was with, he wondered who she was. He hadn’t met all of Lily’s family yet, so he couldn’t put a face to her. A small laugh came from Clyde’s lips. “Daulton doesn’t and wouldn’t kiss anyone’s ass. He is very stubborn and hardheaded.” He paused when he saw his sister look his way. “He is a good boy though, underneath all facade he puts on.” Clyde was sincere in his words and his sister knew it. With a nod, Ana looked back at Lily.

Hearing her warning he smiled. He was glad that her family looked out for eachother. “I think Daulton and Astrid would make a great couple. I haven’t met her yet, but I think Daulton needs someone to mellow him out. A sweet girl could do that.” He commented before taking a sip of wine. “After what he has been through. He deserves someone good in his life….especially after Lotus.” He wasn’t sure if he shoud add that part but he did.

Ana quickly turned to look at her brother. The name unknown to her. “Lotus?” She asked with questionable eyes. “Oh uh…. “ His hand came up to rub the back of his neck. He couldn’t think of a lie at the moment, he thought she knew. “Who is Lotus and what did she do to my son!?” Anger was etched into her voice as she locked eyes with him. “Nothing. Umm..” He glanced at Lily for help but his sister said his name. “Clyde.. Lotus?” A sigh left him and he sat up straight. “You see….He left because he got his heart broken. It happens, Anastasia. We have all gone through it.” He tried to clear the air with his words. His eyes looked to his soon to be wife for help. Ana was about to explode in a rage. “How did this happen? Why didn’t I know?!” Ana started then paused. “I want to meet this…Lotus.” Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything to a hormonal pregnant woman.

Lily tilted her head at both of them and shrugged a bit. “I don’t know how far he would get then. If he wanted to that is.” She tapped her finger against her chin for a long while. “Astrid is a good girl. She is the exact opposite of Toya. She has a heart of gold… her angelic blood stays true in her.”

She froze up when Lotus got brought up and glared over at Clyde. “We all warned him about falling in love with Lotus. He wouldn’t listen to us even Astrid warned him. She was so worried about it that she came and talked to me. Even after Daulton kissed her and practically pushed her to the ground.” Lily’s voice went grim. “Lotus isn’t capable of loving. At least I don’t think she is. Her mother is my sister. The one who has been trying to kill all of us. Her children are so broken that it is not funny. Lotus is one of the more saner ones but she won’t love because of what Cyprus has done.”

Lily physically shivered. “If you meet Lotus you have to understand that Lotus is too used to the life she lives. She’s part succubus. Cyprus gouged out one of her eyes, killed the boy she was crushing on, cut off her fingers… I don’t know how many times Angela has put her back together. Pity the girl. Hate what she has done but understand it’s not her fault. Lotus has a lifetime of running away from what her mother has done. Eleven of her siblings are dead because of Cyprus. Eleven.” 

She frowned a bit and the commotion coming from Alden and Nymphaea’s table caused Lily to stand up and watch. “Oh no.” Astrid was crying and now Nymphaea was getting into a fight with a very pissed off Remedy. “Well, the hell did Daulton do.” They had been together she had seen it herself. She chewed on her lip.

Toya had almost appeared out of nowhere and physically punished Remedy. There was a threat and Lily had looked at Ana. “You’ll need to talk to Daulton. This isn’t good at all. We’ll need to leave now. I can’t have this get out of hand. Toya will step in if Remedy and Daulton start a fight. I can’t have that.” She put her hand on her belly. “I can’t have Nymphaea or Alden get in the middle of it either.”

They made their way home, all three of them. They went to Ana’s house to find Daulton only to find his note. “He’s never going to learn,” Lily said it sadly as if she was disappointed. “He had made such progress.” He was still afraid. “I’ll speak with Toya to see if I can’t get the restriction lifted. Whatever he did he’ll have to apologize for it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Astrid that upset before.”