Desmond wasn’t the sort to have much patience for anything in particular, aside from dealing with his wife. But even she was testing his limits and it got worse when that damn bastard Nemesis and his second wife or whatever had not one, not two, but three babies. Occasionally she would have a stroke of baby fever whenever she had seen others but it seemed to be kicked into overdrive after the trio came about. He grew tired of having to explain why she couldn’t bear children and he especially loathed when she would dress up their dragon. The poor girl would even have a pitiful face after Saffron got done with her and a part of him did feel bad. Personally, he couldn’t care less for children, much less having them but with Saffon the way she is, something was about to break.

And just as usual, it had to be him.

Trying to figure some sort of way to solve this dilemma, he took to the library to see if there was some way to bestow her with a child. As it turned out, the situation was more delicate and difficult than he’d like. Combing through all those useless books, Desmond wrapped his head around it, thinking if he missed something, anything.

Wait, that Angela woman…ain’t she a great healer and all that crap?

The look on his face when he realized it was utterly sour. He didn’t want to deal with Nemesis again, and what was worse was that she wasn’t at the manor at all times. Someplace she would travel to and back that he had no idea on how to get to. It didn’t even appear on a damn map.

“How the hell am I suppose to know how to get there?”, he muttered to himself. “Elysia or whatever it’s called…” He pouted and glanced down from his seat before noticing a string wrapped around his finger. At first, he tried to shake it off him, but it wouldn’t budge. It irked him so he tried to rip the thing off, but to no prevail. His golden eyes followed it down, hoping to see where the other end was, and saw that it seemed to go on beyond his sight. The hell?

He got up and immediately followed the string throughout the library and when he saw that it ended at a wall, he went to tug it again only to end up before pulled himself through it.

“What the fuck!” He felt like he was leaving his body as he descended through the abyss; the only light being that of strange auroras traveling about in a stream. What did he get himself into this time? That question went unanswered as his stay there was very brief and he was tossed into a more colorful world and landed face-first onto the ground. This place was grossly painted with all sorts of pretty plants and the scenery of a jungle. It would have made Desmond gag as he got up to his hands and knees, but he felt the sun beating down upon him.

…The sun!?

His skin felt as though it was lit on fire and only when he managed to pull his cloak up some more and threw on his hood did the pain give way. His hands were slightly burnt but he could live through it. The string that had been on him was finally gone, but now he was unsure of where he was or why. He thought of Saffon and this whole baby business and guessed that it might have something to do with this. Either way, he moved forward through the dense thicket. This jungle seemed unnatural in its appearance yet it didn’t feel out of place for some reason. If anything, he felt that he was. It felt like hours before he was able to find a pathway, which meant that there were people here or had been. He started to follow it when he heard the galloping coming his way. As it got closer, he was able to make out the shape coming towards him- a carriage. A sigh of relief came out of him as the horses stopped and he got on, not even paying attention to the fact that they were driverless. Like the rest of his surroundings, the stained glass wasn’t his favorite but it would suffice as the carriage carried him the rest of the way.

In the end, he got out and saw a swanky little palace fit for rulers of the world. Whoever owned this place was filthy rich for certain. Perhaps they would be so kind to tell him where he was? Desmond moved closer and that’s even he noticed more of the stained glass, only they held images of various things. Among them was that depicting a redhead woman that looked strikingly familiar. A few more minutes of thought brought out a scowl from his lips. “Goddamn it, Angela!” He should have known, he should have bloody known! No one else would have decorated this whole place like this! But again, he would bear it for Saffron’s sake, as well as his own.

The vampire marched into the palace, yelling for her with every fiber of his being. He didn’t know what kind of healer she was, but if she was that damn good, then his request wouldn’t be so difficult for her.

“Ohhhh?” Angela lifted her head up from her desk as she looked up seemingly at nothing.

“What is it, my lady?” Raine tilted her head.

“A child has wandered into my garden,” the goddess smirked a bit as she looked back down. “A very rude unruly child.”

“You know them?” Raine was cleaning the dust up from the bookshelf nearest her goddess.

“You know them too,” Angela commented before both went back to what they were doing. Someone would bring Desmond to her. If he could make it through her enchanted lands.

The clergy pointed Desmond in the direction Angela could be found in. They backed up against the wall to give him space. It wasn’t often that they would get such a rude guest so it was a bit of a special show.

The door to her laboratory opened up in front of Desmond as soon as he got close to it. “In here,” Angela sang out to him. “Close the doors behind you please.”

“Oh! It’s Desmond! I see what you meant now,” Raine popped her head to the side of the stack of books she was carrying. “How do you want these arranged?”

“If you can arrange them alphabetically that would be wonderful.”

“All of them?”

“If you could.”

“I’m going to be in here all day,” Raine whined as she shuffled and put the pile down so she could clear the next shelf and clean it.

“Now,” She spun in her seat. Her hair was wild but pulled back in a long ponytail. She had on a lab coat over a comfortable dress. Gold thin-framed glasses were on her face as she pushed them up the bridge of her nose. “What brings Desmond Blackwood to my home?”

Desmond huffed as he went throughout the house, his eyes held forward aside from spotting a few of the clergy members pointing him the correct way and leaving him be otherwise. Smart, at least they knew not to mess with him, not after the hell he had to go through only moments ago. Whatever Angela was, whoever she was, she was much more than just a wife to that bastard and much more than what he was led to believe. A great healer…right. Nonetheless, his path would lead to the door that opened itself for him and he slipped on right in, an irked face held once he heard her voice.

For a moment, he considered not shutting the damn door, but it didn’t last long. He needed to play nice enough to get her to help him, no matter how stomach-churning it was for the vampire to admit. He closed it as instructed and glared at Raine. “The bloody hell? You knew that I was here already?” What kind of game were they playing? Were they just screwing with him at this point?

Perhaps Nemesis wasn’t the fiendish devil of their family after all.

His arms crossed against his chest, his eyes moved back to Angela in some getup he hadn’t seen before. A dumbfounded look came over him. “Who…what the hell are you? You ain’t just no healer! You practically have some sort of screwy world at your beck and call!”

His foot tapped in quick pacing as he brought his hands onto his face as a means to quell himself. “Whatever, I ca…I came…I came…” Gods, this was unsettling for him but he managed eventually to blurt it out.

“I want Saffron to be able to have children. The woman is absolutely heartbroken that she can’t have what you and the others can and have. Especially in recent times. I came here solely because I thought you would know what could be done. After all, aren’t you some sort of miracle healer or something?”

“All who come into my domain are known from the moment their lifeforce enters,” Angela spoke gently. “But all those who visit must find their way to this place by themselves. Very few individuals will be sought out and brought here… Very special circumstances. These are the rules Desmond,” there was a glint of satisfaction in her eyes. “Not nearly as troublesome as others tend to be though I promise.”

Angela thought about the best way to answer him and she turned around and began to tinker again, “I’ve gone by many names over the centuries of my life. Titles, spheres of influence, whatever it may be… I just prefer to remain that simple healer and scientist but fate always has something else up its sleeve. Right now these people here refer to me as the Mother. A god of this domain I’ve named Elysia.” She knew how he would react and she merely ignored whatever he said.

The Mother stopped what she was doing and looked over at Desmond, “So you do think about Saffron~ I don’t tend to look into that mind of yours to see just how you feel.” She pushed herself back after she put the vial down. “There are many ways to make a vampire conceive like a living being but… they are dangerous. However, with improved healing plants and abilities I can minimize it… However, there will be a chance she could lose the child she carries… A greater chance than that of a living being. It means I would have to oversee her.”

She rummaged on a shelf full of bottles. “Ahhh~ Here they are.” There were two big bottles full of herbal pills. “These are what you’ll need. You take this one.” Angela wrote Desmond’s name on the label. “And Saffron takes this one.” She wrote Saffron’s name on her bottle. “You’ll do it every day until the child is born. It’s once in the morning, every morning, preferably with a meal of some sort.” She held out the bottles to him. “That’s if you are up to the challenge. My powers aren’t fully able to just happen in Parvpora or I would just make her womb alive… so this is the best I can do. Celeste is a special case as I just made her body grow and stabilized it. Saffron’s a more delicate situation.”

She went back to tinkering at her desk, “As for payment… I’ll think about what it is I require of you at a later date. My price is always fair and I almost always lose out on equality with my deals so you are getting a fair bargain.”

There was a moment of silence before she gasped as the vial in front of her released a puff of smoke, “Also, should she lose the child you might lose ‘her’ forever. She is already very touched in the head as it would be… A normal woman wouldn’t be able to handle losing their child… Saffron is strong but mentally she is very fragile. Just keep her stress levels down and she should be fine.”

She spoke in what he perceived as riddles, but he managed to keep his trap shut enough to see where she was going with this. And the direction she had gone made him wonder if she was moonstruck. Gods didn’t exist, at least not anymore from what he knew, but then again, Parpova didn’t believe in the current beings that called themselves such. It would have explained much of what he experienced here and how she knew the things she did. Still, it felt laughable to believe that her husband was able to make such a lucky catch. What was so special about that man anyhow?

Angela got to the point and he rolled his eyes. “Of course I do. Just because I’m not all lovely dovely in public like some of y’all…look it doesn’t matter. She’s hurting and I’m trying to do what a husband does and fix it for her.” He started to second guess this decision when she told him it could prove dangerous and the child could possibly not make it to term. Those words weren’t exactly what he wanted to hear and it was etched onto his face. Nor was the fact that Saffron would have to be regularly seen by Angela, but he could get past that part.

“Any particular reason why I’m taking some of this?”, he asked, holding the bottle with his name up to inspect it. Heavens knew that he couldn’t recall a time when he has actually taken medication, so this would be a doozy. What was more important on his mind was what he was going to give to Saffron. “So what do I tell her? Or should I tell her about any of this?” He did look up to acknowledge the Celeste part; which would explain how that midget changed and was able to get pregnant. That aside, he took the bottles into his pocket and patted them down to make certain he wouldn’t lose them.

“How am I not surprised?”, he spoke dryly. He knew that it would cost something- that was what these Volkovs all had in common. Not that he wasn’t prepared for it- he would have given them as much money as needed, but something told him that it would do her no good. Probably because of the palace, the realm, and whatever powers she had. “You sound like Nemesis.”

He took offense when she called Saffron touched, but he couldn’t deny that she was a little eccentric. “She might be, but that’s what makes her Saffron.” He looked slightly away from the goddess; he wasn’t the sort to speak in such a matter as he was to other people. “She’s anything but normal, but I’m fine with it and she is too. So screw the rest of the world if they have a problem with it.” He calmed down once more and return his gaze back to her. “That said, I don’t want to lose her at all. And before I say the reason why, you already know, don’t you?”

“Both of you are undead so this will help with procreation. You might not completely need it but it will help ease the troubles and any unforeseen things. Basically, it’s covering our bases.” Angela gave a smile. “Tell her about it but tell her the risks. That way she isn’t blindsided and maybe if something does happen that will help. Mostly you’ll be there for her as emotional support. Pregnancy is rough.”

Angela thought about what he said and she tinkered a bit more, “I used to prefer miracles for free a long time ago but people took advantage of it… So I had to stop.” Her eyes turned to him and they glimmered a bit. “My faith in mortals isn’t very high. They are an overall greedy bunch so I must ask for a price.”

Angela nodded once more and gave a smirk, “You are a good man Desmond even if you can be a bit rough to deal with. A man who will lay down for his wife will always have my support.”

“MINE TOO!” Raine got excited. “They are good marriages! We only approve good marriages!”

“That’s right,” Angela nodded. “I don’t participate in weddings of the arranged variety and only those sanctified in love are allowed to be held in my churches. After all… I am the Goddess of Love and Life. The bonds of all things matter to me and I consider most nobility a farce. I do not help those who cannot help themselves… For the most part. Those who would take advantage of my kindness are often met with silence… So I am glad that you came here instead of silently pray. I wouldn’t have heard you where you are.”

She got up and pat his head, “Nemesis is a god too you know. We’ve known each other a lot longer than that though. Another life maybe even.” Her eyes sparkled and she chuckled. “He hated me once but we work together very well. Communication is key Desmond… Always make sure to communicate with Saffron so you always know what she needs.”

“This isn’t going to taste horrid, is it?”, he said, still unsure of what to make of the pills. “Fine, I’ll tell her.” He knew next to nothing on the matters of pregnancy, aside from Saffron possibly looking like a house. Then again, he could only imagine how bad her moods would be, which was a few bits that he had heard occurred during that time.

Desmond rolled his eyes; he was doing this to make Saffron happy. He himself didn’t exactly picture himself as a father, but most people were idiots and they were able to have children and raise them. One had to figure that if they could do it, then so could he, with time and practice of course.

All this god-talk was pretty much over his head; it hadn’t been too long ago that he was led to believe that Angela was just an expert healer. Now, not only did he have to learn her true occupation, but he learned that Nemesis, that pompous ass, was also one too? What the devil did he get himself involved with when he accepted that man’s deal? But, as if in an unconscious way to remember, he felt his fingers wrapping around the end of the bottle. He would set aside his confusion for now. What was to be done was get Saffron to take these pills and go from there.

“Communication…we don’t have a problem there. No sugar coating or anything like that. Especially from her end- she’s brutally honest. Anyway, just let me know when the payment’s due.” He turned around and threw her a hand as he walked away. Desmond only got a few steps in before stopping and sighing. “Dammit, where’s the bloody exit?” He waited and took whatever route, path, gate, whatever was told and he started to trek back home…

——–

“Saffron, you there?”, he called out as soon as he got through the door. “Saffron, I have news. That lady Angela gave me something that could help you be with child. Well gave each of us something.” He took out the pills and showed them to her. “There are some risks and if not careful, the child…could be lost. But she also said that she would take you on regular checkups and all that stuff to make sure they are healthy.”

He then grew a bit quiet. “There’s no better way, but we have to be careful otherwise we could lose more than just the possible baby. She was afraid of what might happen to you as well, mentally.”