Scarlett nearly passed out from shock when she saw the man who was to be her husband, and her eyes widened in horror. "Ishan?" she cried.
The forest elf had the good grace to look ashamed. "Scarlett," he greeted, looking like a man walking to his own gallows. "It's been a while."
"What the hell are you doing here?" Scarlett demanded, no longer caring for consequences as she took Ishan's hands in hers. Dimly, she sensed that Chika had, somewhere along the way, disenaged her mind, but any relief she might have felt wa eclipsed by growing horror at the realisation that Chika and Jaiden had her right where they wanted her.
Ishan looked more and more like a man wishing for death. "I'm to be your husband," he said. "The council have decreed that a child of yours and mine is to be wed to your firstborn son, Winter, as a means by which they can control his gifts. And before you ask, brother-sister relations among elves are not taboo, and any deformities that ordinarily would arise are not present in such unions."80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynZwZL8XZF
"I don't give a dusty fuck about taboo," Scarlett said angrily, rounding on her great-grandmother. "I know I promised not to complain," she said, "but I am furious that you'd even think of using my children in this manner!"
"It is your destiny," Chika reminded her coldly. "Need I sever your middle name and force you to go by your first, to remind you of where you stand in this world?"80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9U1T9z5QJ
Scarlett glared at her, but she knew herself to be beaten. "Good luck corralling my son," she said. "You know about the geas ensuring all children he sires will be full night-elves; you can breed me till my parts run dry, but so long as the night elves remain endangered, that geas will hold true until it senses the race it was created to protect is no longer in danger."
"I'm counting on that," Chika replied smoothly. "The more night elves we have, the easier it will be to breed them and learn all their ways. Then we will truly be a race to be feared! And you, Destiny, will have the honour of being the mother of that race - just so long as you can keep your mouth shut and do as you are told. Do I make myself clear? Or do I need to silence you again, watching as you drive yourself insane?"
The threat was clear, and Scarlett shivered. Ishan put himself between the women, glaring at Chika. "She is to be my wife," he said coldly. "You will leave her care to me, or I'll remind you why forest elves are almost as feared as night elves. We may not have their magic, but I can still kick your ass six ways to Sunday!"
Chika raised an eyebrow. "Feisty," she said. "If I were twenty years younger..." She left the thought unsaid, but Ishan looked revolted, and Scarlett felt little better. "Very well," the feline woman said. "You know what to do, Destiny. Keep your mouth shut, do as you're told, and I may allow you the privilege of nursing and raising your children. Cross me for any reason, and I'll remove your hearing permanently. And don't think madness will save you; I'll link you to the sun itself to keep you sane for the rest of your days."
Scarlett nodded sharply. "You don't need to beat it into my head," she said, her tone civil but firm. "I'll do as I'm told."
"See that you do," Chika said. "I trust Ishan enough to not make him link with me so I can report to Jaiden, but I have ears in the most unexpected places in this house. Don't think for a moment you'll be given reprieve; you will not have a moment to yourselves that I will not have unseen ears keeping tabs on you and your husband." So saying, she turned and left the room, leaving Ishan and Scarlett staring at each other in dismay.
"I hate her," Scarlett said, not caring if the "unseen ears" heard her. "And you can't make me say different."
Ishan gave her the crooked smile she'd loved in their childhood and adolesence. "Hear, hear," he said, kissing her on the cheek. It was the first time he'd done so since they were so precipitately parted several years ago, and while Scarlett no longer loved him as she once had, she still felt great affection for him, and she showed it as she kissed him back.
"Thank you for being the 'sacrificial lamb', as it were," she said, taking his hand and leading him to the couch. "I won't ask how you were cozened into it, but I'm glad it's you and no one else." Unspoken between them was the name of Scarlett's first husband and Winter's father; Ishan squeezed her hand. 80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDo00F6lc0
"I miss him too," he said. "I was raised in the beloved tradition of hating all night elves, but he showed himself to be a decent sort in the brief time I knew him. I just wish he was here to see his son."
"I'm sure he's smiling down on us," Scarlett said firmly. "And I think he's glad it's you who's got the job of taking care of me, rather than someone who'd probably treat me as an all-you-can-eat fuck buffet."
Ishan howled with laughter. "How apt," he said, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "I'm glad to see you haven't changed; the council are going to have their hands full with you, I can see!"
"They've given me enough hell," Scarlett said, smirking. "It's time to deliver some much needed payback."
"Agreed," Ishan said fervently.
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