His Divine Queen

The Unburdening

The mat shifted beneath Arabella’s body as she crashed to the floor again, air whooshing out her lungs at the force of the throw. She groaned, pushing herself up using her arms that creaked under the strain. She hadn’t been able to train properly since she had been crowned Queen, and it was really showing. Lorcan was winning effortlessly.

She rose unsteadily, removing her features of any pain that may flicker across them as she turned to face her adversary: the Prince. Lorcan himself had barely broken a sweat, his muscles rippling deliciously in the thin, white tank top he was wearing as he pushed the black bandana further up his forehead to keep the curls out of his eyes.

“Again!” He barked.

He had been using every excuse to come down to these rooms, using his anger at his dead father and his tortured mind to attack anything he could get his hands on. He would return to their rooms at night, worn out with bloody knuckles, only to awaken minutes later to the demons that raged underneath his eyelids.

But, although his mind was ravaged by a war that no one could see, his body had been reaping the benefits. Arabella didn’t count herself as a shallow person, but she had to admit his late night sessions had done wonders to his physique. Compared to him, Arabella looked a mess. Taking a quick peek at the rumpled black shirt and shorts that clung to her thin frame, she concluded that she was extremely out of practise and unfit. And extremely attracted to the tall man in front of her, but that was a topic for another time, she told herself, focusing her mind onto his approaching form.

Arabella dodged his extended arm, swinging her body around to the side just as he shifted his weight to follow her. So far, their training had been near silent except for his instructions and her groans of pain, but at that moment Lorcan finally broke the silence. “Why have you been avoiding me?” He asked, aiming a sweeping leg towards Arabella’s ankles.

She jumped, simultaneously dodging a flying elbow as she stammered, “I- I’ve not been trying to avoid you-”

“Yes, you have,” he cut in, retreating suddenly to allow her time to breathe. Arabella did so gladly, sucking air into her burning lungs as her muscles ached from the exercise.

“Fine. I have.” She responded after a few breaths. She knew that she needed to tell him what had been bothering her, as he’d obviously noticed, but she found it difficult to get the words out. Insecurity still shrouded her mind, and whispered in her ear that he wouldn’t want anything to do with her after he found out. She sighed, continuing, “but only because I heard some upsetting news.”

Lorcan hesitated slightly, gesturing her forward as he got into his starting position, and then hounded, “what news?”

“It’s- nothing.” Arabella muttered, tensing her form before springing forward with a quick jab at his stomach. Just as he dodged, shifting himself to her undefended left side, she spat, “really, I’m just overreacting.”

Lorcan countered, catching Arabella off guard with a quick punch to her side. “Well then you can tell me.”

“I’m just- I’m scared that once it’s out, it will be real. That it’ll be giving it power over me.”

“Ari,” he paused, frowning down at her, “It’s only me, you can tell me what it is.”

She sighed, dropping her arms, “El, can we discuss it later, please? I just want to train.”

“Fine,” he agreed begrudgingly. They fell into a tense silence, crackling with unspoken words as the two tried to throw themselves into the training session. Only minutes went by, before Lorcan let out a groan of annoyance, pleading, “just tell me what it is, Ari, please.”

“No. Later.”

He growled slightly, shifting his weight to his back leg as he swept his knee into hers, swiping her completely off her feet for the 10th time that session. She fell to the floor with a huff, and squealed in shock as he dropped down to hover over her. His brown eyes shone mysteriously in the artificial light, a clear sign that his Were form was closer to the surface. She had irritated him.

“Now will you tell me?” He exasperated. 

Arabella sighed, dropping her gaze to his broad chest that lay gently on hers, “I’m infertile, El. I can’t have children, not ever. I’m broken.”

He hesitated, the silence in the room deafening to her ears. She felt her heart start to crumble, little by little at his hesitation, and steeled herself for his rejection as she felt his eyes inspect her face.

“Ari,” he finally replied, “is that it?”

“What?” She breathed, bringing her eyes back to his face in surprise, “what do you mean ‘is that it?’ – it’s a big thing, El! You told me you wanted children one day, you wanted to be a good father, one that loves and appreciates his kids in a way that you didn’t get. That was what you told me.”

Lorcan took a deep breath in, the movement pressing his chest further into Arabella’s. “And I do want that, and I want it with you. But that’s not the only way to have a child, Ari – we could adopt.”

The Queen nodded, feeling self-conscious as she felt his eyes scrutinize her saddened features.

“After everything we’ve been through together,” Lorcan started, his voice breaking slightly, “you really think I would leave you over something as small as that? I love you Ari. I won’t leave you; I promise.”

Her foolishness swept over her like a wave; she didn’t know what she had been thinking. It had just been her first thought, and one that had continued to fester inside her like a rotting disease until it was the only thing she could focus on. She knew it had been silly to think that way, to assume that of Lorcan, but she couldn’t help it. She was only mortal after all.

“Okay…” She mumbled in response, cheeks flushing red as he continued to look at her. The moment grew heavy, sizzling with electricity as the pair lay flush to each other’s bodies on the cushioned floor.

Lorcan slowly leaned down, connecting their lips in a sweet yet simple kiss, one that served as a reminder of his love for her. She reciprocated, answering his soft reassurance with one of her own. This was her home, forever and always, and she would fight with everything she had to keep it.

The Queen flipped over suddenly, pushing the large male’s body beneath her as she broke their kiss with a chuckle. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I had to win at least once.”

He stared up at her in shock, before raising his eyebrows at her antics, “yeah, because that’s the only way you could win.”

She mock gasped, her hand coming up to hit him lightly on the chest as she pushed herself up. “How dare you assume. I was holding back, that’s all.”

Her comment was rewarded with a shaking head, showing how little he believed her comment. Arabella opened her mouth to retort once more, but a sudden sound at the entrance of the room had the couple looking towards its source with curiosity.

The young General stood in the opened doorway, a smirk donning her face as she gazed upon the flustered couple before her. She pushed herself off the frame, striding into the room with her usual flair of arrogance. “Don’t let me stop you,” she teased, “I can stay for the show.”

A wide smile grew on Arabella’s face, her white teeth flashing in the iridescent room as she scrambled off Lorcan. “Kylia!” She cried, rushing forward to envelope her friend in a hug. It had been so long since she had last been in the Palace. After the disappearance of Alaric, Kylia had angrily thrown herself into her new work as the Army General. The self-loathing she had felt was too much to bear in the silence of the Palace, so she had disappeared for the dynamic lifestyle of the Moon Army, and had not returned since.

“My Queen,” Kylia retorted, patting Arabella gently on the back and pulling away, “I hope you’re well?”

Arabella hesitated, turning her face towards Lorcan who had silently manoeuvred himself behind her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. She eyed him for a moment, noticed that bright glimmer in his dark eyes which she knew held his love for her, and then uttered a simple reply with a simple smile. “Yes, we’re getting there.”

A squeeze at her waist signified that Lorcan had grasped her hidden meaning, and she steered the conversation to one that she knew hung over Kylia like a dark cloud. “Are you ready for tonight?”

The General sighed, rubbing at her face with a gloved hand, “As ready as I can ever be to say goodbye to him. But, I can’t complain. I won’t be the only one grieving.”

Arabella nodded. Kylia was right, there had been plenty of deaths during the civil war. It wasn’t just Killian, Charlie, Jeremy and her mother that they would be grieving. It was to be an evening for all those that died during the final battle, and for all those children that needlessly lost their lives during a deranged man’s reign.

Lorcan gently placed his chin upon his Queen’s head, ruffling her blonde hair as he breathed out heavily. His deep baritone rumbled his chest as he finally broke the silence, speaking the words that they had all been thinking, yet had been too pained to utter, “Well then, let’s give them the sending off that they deserve.”