A Payment in Love

Ara awoke with a start as the blade pierced her neck. She tried to scream but the poison had reached her vocal glands fast. Gasping for air, she stared up into the woman's green eyes with a mixture of anger and fear. She reached up, trying to summon her totems, trying to cure the poison, but her grasping hand only grabbed the blood elf's hair. Electricity sparked weakly through her fingers, severing several strande of the noticeable blond hair. Ara's hand dropped back to the mattress, the hair falling next to her on the bed.Opening her mouth, she vainly tried to cry out for help once more, managing only a weak "Railen..." Within a few more moments she was completely paralyzed, unable to move any part of her body.

The woman laughed softly at the weakened girls state and the door opened as two orcs, only a little smaller than Railen, entered the bedroom, one with sword and shield, and one with a massive axe. The one with the axe strapped the weapon onto his back and reached out to pick up the little draenai girl as he headed outside with her. They put her in the wagon they had brought and quickly headed out. It was a short trip to the town they were going to where an old mage sent them via a portal back to the barrens where Railen's tribe waited, as did Rosa. The orcs and Rosa's woman brought Ara into a hut with a large bed, the rogue having spent her time pricking the girl with her poison to keep her nice and still. She grinned as she moved to crawl over Ara, "Well my little slut...looks as if I have you now...and for all those hours that the dog fucked me, and for those...toys...your questioners had, you will pay," she hissed as Rosa walked in, kissing the woman and calming her down before sending her out. Rosa grinned and tied Ara down and forced a potion into the girls mouth. "That will block your magic for now girl," she said happily, "The Shamans here made it just for you," she said as she gave Ara the antidote to the poison, sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing the girls belly. "You will live for now, if you worry about that...my babies never lived long but...I will have Railen's babies even if you have to be the little cow to give them to me..."

Slowly, Ara was able to move again, and she weakly tried to swipe at Rosa, but she missed by quite a lot. She took in deep breaths and tried to sit up, but the remains of the poison still ran through her body and she sank weakly to the bed. Her eyes welled with tears and she looked up at Rosa "Please don't take my baby..." She whispered. "Just let me go, you know Railen will come to find me and he'll be furious... just let me go and I'll try to get him to leave you alone." She said softly as she tried reasoning with the woman, desperately trying any measure possible to get away. Experimentally, she tried to fire up her lightning shield, but nothing happened and she bit her bottom lip. Rosa hadn't been lying about the potion. She feebly tugged at the bonds that held her, but to no avail.

"Oh sweety..." she said sounding sad, "You poor thing...we are at Railen's home now...there are plenty of warriors here to match him," she said with a nod, "Railen's father though has asked for you, now that I told him I have you...he wants to see Railen's little whore," she said as she trailed a small dagger along Ara's chest, slicing the cloth open slowly, kissing where skin appeared, "To see her...to fuck her...to give her to the wargs just like Railen did to my love," she said with a snarl. "And when that has all been done you will be left for the barracks whore until you hvae my baby, and then I will fuck you with this!" She snarled angrily, practically ripping off the girls shirts remains. "I am going to enjoy that part...I will be sure to make it nice and slow...and then Lina can finish...she wants to thank you for the wolf and guards personally..."

Ara drew her wits together and glared up at the woman. " Listen you overgrown slut. If you really want my baby to survive, you can't let them fuck me. My priest was very clear that at this point I can't had anything in there. The baby is stretching me, and is lower down than a normal woman's, anything inside me larger than a few inches could potentially harm the baby." Okay, so she was lying a little bit, she had a good month left before intercourse became impossible, but she didn't want to risk any harm to the baby, or her. Ara dropped her head back down onto the bed, hoping to god Railen would find the hair she'd dropped, and figure out what happened. She also hoped he was smart enough to ask for help from her father, The Draenai would not take kindly to the Horde kidnapping one of their royal line, and would send an entire army to get her back if her father played his cards right.

"Oh, got a mouth on you do you? Well my little love," she said eyeing her some, the knife slicing the girls pants off with ease, she looked the large belly over. "Maybe you are right...they do make the cocks big down here," she said with a little hiss. "Well, your mouth and ass will serve," she said with a shrug, "but maybe I should give you to Lina first before the chief has his fun," she said, her fingers moving to the bells on the girls nipple, pulling on the bell of one of her nipples, tugging nice and hard on it, leaning down to bit at the other. "She deserves that at least," she said with a shake of her head. She ran the blade along the girls breast lightly drawing blood and licking it up, "I will like seeing you beg for your life, beg to be a little horde slut," she said with a little pleased growl.

Ara hissed in pain at the sting of the blade and glared angrily at the woman above her. "No matter what you do to me, these babies won't be yours. Even if you take them from me and kill me, they won't be yours. They are a product of Railen's love for me and everytime you look at them you will know that. You will know he shot his seed into MY belly to create them, not yours. They will hate you as they grow, because they will know simply from looking in the mirror that you are not their mother... you are just a cheap whore who is too broken to have healthy children." Ara knew she was playing a dangerous game but she was furious, and she could feel the strength returning to her limbs as she grew angrier. The adrenaline. Adrenaline was key, Adrenaline coursing through her veins would override the potion if she could keep herself angry. Experimentally, out of sight of Rosa, she pressed two fingers together and was rewarded with a tiny spark between her fingers, not noticeable. It wouldn't get her free, but it was a start.

Rosa gave a roar of rage and smacked the little girl that lay bound beneath her. "YOU FILTHY LITTLE FUCKING SOW! IF...if it weren't...for MY babies..." she said barely controlling her rage, "I would have you fucked...AH!!!" She screamed furiously, backhanding Ara once more, and then again. She stopped herself from more, but only just. Her dagger slashed quickly, undoing the girls bonds. "The chief can have your filthy little cow body," she said grabbing Ara by the tail and litterly dragged her out to a massive tent in the center of town, an orc just as large as Railen lounging as he looked up, a number of women laying about the room looking over to the pair that just entered. "And who is this? My sons slut?" He tilted his head some amusedly.

Ara raised her head, staring directly into the Orc above her's eyes. It almost broke her heart to see how much he looked like Railen, but she rallyed herself, trying to cover herself as best she could with her hands. "I am not your son's slut." She said evenly. "I am his love, and this child I carry in my belly is a symbol of just that. If you bear any sort of caring for him, you will free me, before his rage descends upon this place... along with the entire wrath of Exodar." Looking over at the surprise in Rosa's face at her words, Ara grinned slightly. "Oh you didn't know, did you? I am from the Exodar's royal line, and they will turn out their entire legions of armies to have me returned." Rosa looked taken aback, this was something she had not expected. Ara turned back to the older Orc, her eyes pleading. "Please. I embody your son's heart, for he has given it to me in its entirety. Do not do this to him." She said softly.

The large orc looked Ara over some, a small smile on his lips, as he looked to Rosa and frowned. "I thought your Lina gathered information on her? Forgot to mention about the royal blood?" He snorted some, motioning Ara forward as the orcs pushed the pregnant girl to him. He put a hand on her stomach and looked her over some and grinned a bit. "Why should I not take my sons wench? He is not one of us," he said looking her over lustily, his hand moving over her side a little. "He spurned us, he turned his back on his family, on his people, on the Horde. I accepted his going to mercenaries...he is a warrior...but you? Some small little girl meant for only a bed. That is all I see," he said with a snort, "You are no warrior, no magician. Rosa has her talents, he should be with her," he said giving a nod, "If I have to take away his toy, well then I will do so, and show him that you are nothing more than a bed slave," he said eyeing her still, "I have plenty as you can see," he motioned to a tall powerful looking orc woman, "And my wife, she could give Railen or I a run for our money in a fight," he said with a laugh, "That is a woman worth having heirs."

Ara's eyes sparked with fury and with a scream of rage she stood upright. The two orcs who had pushed her forward moved to restrain her but found themselves on the ground from the powerful volts of electricity running over her skin. Her rage was full blown now, she could tell this man cared nothing for her baby, and would tear it out the moment Rosa's back was turned. The potion running through her veins paled in comparison to her anger, and she felt a strange rush of power from her stomach region, restoring her gifts. It seemed the little one growing in her stomach had some magic abilities, and didn't mind sharing with Mommy. The ground crackled and shook, and her totems burst from the ground, showering dirt and small stones everywhere. The sky above them turned dark in an instant, a towering thundercloud raging over head, bolts of lightning hitting the ground at randomn around the area. Ara's eyes were not glowing any longer, they were sparking. She barely had this level of power normally, but the energy of the baby in her stomach fueled her rage. "Magician?" She said, her voice having changed a full two tones and becoming a deep, anger filled voice, with a note of thunder behind it. "You think your son should be with a strong woman, eh?" Her lightning filled eyes turned to focus on Rosa, whose mouth was hanging open. "You challenged me once, wench. I accept now." Ara extended one hand towards the rogue, beckoning her closer, fizzing and sparkling with bolts of electricity across it. She was a magnificent sight, bare naked, lightning racing over her skin like a lovers caress, thunder swirling overhead and wisps of her hair standing on end from the lightning surrounding her. She was no longer a mere Shaman, she was a very pregnant, very angry Shaman of the royal line of Exodar.... and not to be toyed with.

Railen's father, Trian, sat back in his seat some, not out of fear, but out of amusement and curiousity, plainly showing on his face. "Well...this little 'wench' is much stronger than you hinted at," he said lookign to Rosa who continued to look horrified, stepping back some. "Very well, it is decided. You had challanged her in the past, and now you she has accepted. Rosa, if you lose I will have you bound to await Railen's justice...if this girl loses she will be mine, and you may have the child of coarse, and it is settled. Either way I gain, either a daughter, or a little whore," he said smiling. Rosa's blades flashed into her hands in an instant, but she looked nervously at the girl. With just her regular power Ara would not stand a chance against Rosa, and Rosa knew that...but this was different, and the rogue didn't even strike out, keeping her distance, hoping the girl was drained of her power sooner than later.

Ara watched the woman with a feral grin, snarling her fury at her. Something had snapped inside the little girl, something that had been holding her back before. Before, she would have only retaliated when attacked but now... now she was a woman enraged. Laughing almost hysterically, she raised her hands to the heavens. Simultaneously, several things happened. Three giant lightning bolts hurled down from the sky towards Rosa, and the ground beneath her feet began to crack as lava bubbled up from the cracks. The thunderstorm raging above was not diminishing as it should normally... normally, it would shrink as the shaman lost power. Not this time. No, this time the thunderstorm was growing, almost doublling in size... it could probably be seen for miles. Ara waited to see what her attacks would do to the pretty woman. Behind her, Lina subtely attempted to throw one of her deadly knives towards Ara, who did not even flinch. Ara's protection totem flared to life, bringing the dagger down into the earth, and the totem beside it shot a fiery bolt at the blood elf, catching her square in the chest and sending her flying backwards. She got up after a moment, her chest armour singed, but sat down meekly, not intending to intrude on the fight again.

Rosa danced off as the earthquake rocked underneath her. She launched a number of daggers at Ara only to see them strike the earth, making her cry out in frustation. She grabbed her knives meant for close combat and rushed the girl, dodging about the broken earth only to be caught by one of the bolts of lightening, falling to the ground as another and then another bolt struck the woman. Lina wimpered from where she sat, rushing out to Rosa as the woman stopped moving, the blood elf girl moving to drag Rosa away, only half alive, before the guards stopped her. Trian motioned to a man nearby who apparently was quite a powerful shaman, over powering the magic in the area and dispersing it. "It is done," Trian said, "Tie Rosa up and put a guard on her and take her to her room. Her woman will await the same fate," he said as he motioned them away. He lookeed to Ara and smiled again, though not as lustful this time. "As for you little woman," he looked to his wife and nodded, "You are more than a bed slave I see," he said nodding again, "Then my sons marriage is done with Rosa," he said in a deep grumble of a voice eyeing Ara's belly, "And if I guessed correctly, your child will be quite the shaman..."

Ara glared at the chief. Her magics were not totally gone, as the lightning shield still coursed over her body. She was still trembling with rage, this man in front of her had told her her baby was worthless, had intended to use her as a common whore. She cared not that his opinion had been changed once she showed her powers, she wanted nothing more to do with him. Seeing him with Railen's features was too painful. "I am leaving." She said, her words coming out like knives. "I am leaving and you will not stop me. I remember an Alliance outpost not far from here, I will wait there until Railen comes to fetch me." She picked up a nearby blanket, wrapping it around herself into a makeshift robe. She moved slowly towards the way they had come through the pass, the few Orcs in her way moving aside quickly, after her display of power not many wanted to mess with her. The child in her kicked, and she put a hand on her swollen belly. "It's okay, Mommy's getting out of here." She said softly, rubbing her stomach reassuringly. A sound made her look up, the sound of many mounts approaching rather quickly.

Railen rode through the guards and up to the chiefs tent, blade in one hand and Fang moving quickly. He was already on his feet moving to go inside the tent as she came to the door. He blinked at her in surprise, "Ara," he said quietly, looking to her to make sure she wasn't hurt, noticing her just covered in a blanket and he examined her worriedly, her brothers and father behind him, as well as the Company and a number of draenai, all ready to destroy the town, surprised they did not have too. "Wh...what happened?" He asked her looking inside then back to her.

Ara simply stared up at him blankly. Her spirit was broken, her mind drained from her fight with Rosa. She stared up at Railen blankly, not really seeing him for a moment, before the baby kicking in her stomach startled her back to reality. "I'll tell you what happened." She said calmly. "Rosa's little whore kidnapped me from our bed, drugged me, and brought me all the way here to be a Horde slut. Rosa was going to take my baby away and raise it as her own. Your charming father was in on the whole thing, and was planning to bed me first before handing me over to the rest of the clan as their personal little plaything. I had to conjure up a fucking thunderstorm to shake some sense into everyone!" Her voice was rising to a shriek now. "I hope you weren't still holding onto any vestiges of caring for Rosa, because I fried her ass with some heavy lightning! But you got your divorce, by the way. If I had the power I would kill every last person in this entire godforsaken camp for threatening my baby!" Ara stopped, running out of breath, her entire body trembling with rage. For a moment she simply stared up at Railen, and then she crumbled against him, dissappating into hysterical sobs, her energy drained completely. Her father moved forward slowly, removing her from Railen's arms and nodding at him. "We will take care of her until you are done. My forces stand ready for your command." He backed away, taking his sobbing daughter with him.

He listened to Ara quietly, trying to sooth her gently as he handed her off to her father, "I will be back soon," he said quietly and headed into the tent. His father smiled as he saw his son, "Railen, you have come back, I suspected you might," he said with a nod, "I have met your woman, a pretty thing she is," he said with a grin. "You have upset your soon to be daughter in law quite a bit," Railen said dryly.

His father actually looked confused, "How so? She proved herself, even with child as she was, to be far more suitable than rosa. Rosa and her woman are awaiting your justice in their tents, if rosa is still alive that is. That Ara knows how to deal with competition," he said with a laugh. Railen shook his head a little amused, "Ara is not like a horde woman...she does not understand that what you did to her, what you would have done, is what is done in our lands. She is use to me, and I have changed very much from when I was with the tribe," he said quietly and his father nodded some. "I will talk to Ara though...I will be back," he said as he turned and left, headign to where Ara was being kept, looking at her worriedly.

Ara was sitting alone on a rock, wrapped in a robe her father had given her. She was silent, staring off into the distance of the barrens, her eyes unfocused. Her brothers were seated nearby, and her father was pacing worriedly in front of her. When Railen appeared, he almost ran to him. "Railen! Something is wrong. She has retreated into some part of herself that we cannot reach. She will not respond to us when we talk to her, she simply... stares. I fear her mind may be gone from everything. You must talk to her." Her father pleaded, sounding desperate. Ara raised one small hand to rub at her stomach reassuringly, then dropped it once more. Her eyes contained no life, just vacant orbs, shining very, very dimly.

Railen moved over to Ara and lifted her some so he could pull her into his lap, his hand moving under the cloak to rub at her bare belly. "Love come back to me," he said softly, nibbling her neck lightly. "Come on now...I want to hear my little pet tell me she is ok," he said softly trying to get her to come back to him, his hands moving against her lightly as he looked into her eyes worriedly.

For several long moments, she remained the same, but slowly, slowly her eyes brightened a bit and her head turned to look up at Railen. "They were going to rape me." She said softly. "Your... your father, was going to rape me." Her voice was hollow and cold, and she shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. "I cannot forgive him for what he has done." She said softly, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I cannot forgive him for the things he said... that our child was worthless, that I was not worth you. That all changed once I proved myself, but it makes no difference. He was ready to kill me, and kill the child without a second thought... the only reason he didn't was that Rosa wanted the baby." She trailed off, rubbing her stomach slightly, the faintest of smiles ghosting her lips. "The baby... the baby is quite a bit more powerful than I am, I would not have won that battle without his help."

"Her help," he said softly with a soft smile and kissed her nose. "I am sorry for what he was going to do to you love....but...that is how it is in these lands...I have told you...I was no different," he said sadly, cupping her cheek softly. "You are safe now and that is what matters...from now on I am making you sleep with Fang when I am not there," he said with a grin, "You get carried away quite too often," he said fondly, licking the girls neck a little.

Ara tried to muster a smile for him, but could not. "I'm sorry." She said softly. "Whether that is how things are done here or not, this will take me time to get over. I am... not used to it, and I do not want to be used to it." She sighed, something in her springing back to life at his worried eyes. "I am alright, love. Other than my anger and my shame at being showed off naked in front of your entire tribe, I will be fine. Give me time." She said softly. Leaning her head against his,she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I missed you so." She whispered, tears coming to her eyes. "I knew you would come for me." She said, swiping at her eyes with one hand. "And hey, at least you got your divorce." She said with a shaky laugh.

"I know you are not use to it little one," he said quietly still rubbing her belly gently and shook his head some. "I always come for you," he said licking away one of her tears playfully, "And I always will, you should know that," he said and then smoothed her hair back and shook his head. "No, I did not get my divorce," he said quietly as he kissed her for a few moments. "*You* got your marriage," Railen said with a little grin, his fingers moving down to her tail and gave an affectionate little tug as he smirked at her some.

The old Ara was slowly coming back and she grinned up at him mischeviously. "Yes, you always do come for me." She purred into his ear, grabbing his earlobe in her teeth and tugging. She seemed to process what he'd said last and she pulled away to stare up at him with a smile. "Railen, are you asking me to marry you?" She teased. She'd known he would marry her as soon as he got his divorce, but she wasn't going to make this entirely easy for him, she had to get in a little bit of teasing.

"I'm only asking if I am going to get a yes out of it," he said tugging her tail again as he bit at her neck some. "Why would I not want to marry my pretty little pregnant girl," he said teasingly back as he gave her belly a little squeeze and kissed her again. "Now you feeling better so we can get you in real clothes maybe? I will let you punish Rosa," Railen said laughing, stroking the girls hair a little more as he watched her quietly.

Ara sighed. "Yes, I would like some real clothes. And as far as Rosa.... I've already fried her to within an inch of her life. I'd like to keep leaving her alive but she'll just keep trying to kill me or steal the baby. Something must be done to ensure that she will not." Ara rose from Railen's lap, giving her father nearby a quick smile. Her brothers were waiting nearby, holding some robes for her. Ara took them thankfully, giving both of the twins a kiss on the cheek. The twins grinned at her and held up a rather large blanket, giving her something to change behind. Taking advantage of the impromptu changing room, she slipped into the purple robes and came back out, tucking her hair back up into a bun. Eyeing the campsite, she sighed at Railen. "I don't know if I'm ready to go back in there." She said softly, biting her lower lip.

"You don't have to," he promised quietly, kissing her lightly. "You will go back with your father and brother...I will be a day behind," he promised quietly. "Let me take care of things here, I will make sure Rosa and her slut never try to harm you and our babies again, and we can get married at Exodar or where ever you want." He slipped his arms around her lightly and rubbed the small of her back a little and kissed her forehead, "Sound good love?"

Ara shook her head violently. "NO. I'm sorry to be a pest but I'm not leaving you again, not after I just got you back. If I have to go inside the camp with you I will, but I'm not staying behind." Behind her, the twins mumbled something about not really wanting to leave either, and about Railen needing someone to watch his back in there. Ara sighed, wrapping her arms around Railen's neck. "I need you close right now and I don't care what I have do to make that happen." She whispered against his ear. "And for reference sake, I'd like to get married at home in the hold, and have it be as simple as possible."

He couldn't help but frown at her as he shook his head at the girl. "You always get what you want from me, don't you?" He narrowed his eyes some and then stood, a hand moving to rest at her back, "Come on then...Let's uh...go meet my father and mother then for real? Seeing as you have a real robe now," he said playfully, kissing her forehead between her horns, squeezing her to him and looked down at her, eyeing her slowly still. He was glad he got here when he did, but then again she seemed to have taken care of herself quite well this time, he couldn't help be a bit proud of her, ruffling her hair some just at the thought.

She sighed, composing herself somewhat. "If I have to." She grumbled, twining her arm through his. Heaving a sigh, she wondered how on earth she was supposed to face everyone in the camp, having been butt naked in front of them barely an hour before. Pushing her modesty aside, she refused to let herself cower against Railen's side like she wanted to, instead she held her head high, holding onto his arm with one hand, the other on her rounded belly.

He smiled at her and shook his head a bit and led her back into the camp, which was beginning to go back to its day to day routine, though a bunch of warriors were sitting around the edge of town keeping an eye on the small army outside of town, but largely ignored Railen and Ara as they moved through town. Railen stepped into the large tent in the center of town, his hand resting on Ara's shoulder lightly as his father looked over to Ara with a small smile then Railen, "I thought you had left again," he said standing some. "You missed your woman dealing with Rosa, that girl was better than some of my warrirors and your little draenai nearly killed her," he said laughing some.

Railen gave a small smile and shrugged a little, "Well...Ara was a little less than happy," he said, an understatement to be sure. Trian grinned, "Well, she did well," he said nodding to the girl, seeming to ignore the glares. "She will make a fine mother it seems if she is half that powerful when she isn't angry."

Ara refused to be angry or rude towards the man, although the hatred she bore for him now was undeniable. She stayed silent by Railen's side, not saying anything. She was beginning to understand a bit, in a harsh country like this one, the only culture that could develop was one of power hungry people. Women were chosen based on their ability to stay alive, having a weak mate would only lead to a dead wife and children. Still, as much as she could understand the culture, she could not justify what they had tried to do to her, or to Railen's child. Her hand on her stomach was protective, and although she stayed silent by Railen's side, her eyes darted about, assesing every threat she could, knowing in her heart Railen would never let her be harmed now.

Railen kept watching her quietly as he and his father talked with him for a little while, mostly about what had been going on in the tribe, as well as Railen possibly returning more in the future. From what Ara could tell Railen's clan had been growing in power for quite some time, with the help of an alliance with a number of troll clans. Railen finally ecused himself, muttering somethign to his father so Ara could not hear, before going to the girl to pull her away, heading back outside of town, "Come on, let us get back to your father so we can go to the portal," he said grimly, tugging her horn lovingly as he looked around the camp some sighing a little.

Ara stopped him, tugging on his arm. "Wait. What did you say to your father, and what are we going to do about Rosa and Lina? We can't leave them alive, they will only keep trying to hurt us." She wondered how alive Rosa really was, considering the woman had taken three lightning bolts to the chest. They weren't even the tiny lightning bolts Ara conjured from her hands, these had been full on storm heavy bolts of energy. Rosa might be beyond hurting anyone again, but Lina... Lina would surely try to take revenge for what Ara had done.

"I told my father to have them hung," he said shrugging a little, "I'm never sure what upsets you so I didn't want to go ordering deaths and upsetting you," he teased quietly, nipping her. "But of course, if you want to take care of her and her little friend yourself I am sure my father will have no problem," he said giving a little shrug. "What ever you want it is up to you," he said softly and kissed her again with a smile.

Ara gave a relieved sigh and shook her head. "No, I'm fine with that. As long as they won't be coming back to hurt us any more. And I thank you for being considerate about my feelings. Let's go home." She agreed, taking his arm once more. She was tired, and she put her other hand on her back once more with a small grin, wondering how big her stomach was planning to get. Her father was waiting near an Exodar mage, who had been keeping a portal to both Exodar and the hold open for the different soldiers going through one by one. The twins dived through the hold portal, shoving and trying to get in ahead of each other. Ara's father smiled at her. "Your mother wants you to come for a visit soon, but take your time. Rest, after your ordeal." He stepped through the portal to Exodar himself, and Ara smiled up at Railen, moving through the hold portal.

Railen followed after her, Fang coming behind him, as he wrapped his arms around the girl once they got there. "Mmm...back and you safe," he said softly, nibbling on her ear a little. "What do you think your mother wants?" He tilted his head a little curious, moving to lead her inside so she could get her off her feet. "And do you want me to get one of the girls to massage your back?" He had hired a few servants to take care of Ara when he couldn't, and just to take care of the house himself, and he had made sure they could keep her comfortable.

Ara smiled up at Railen. "I don't know what she wants, probably just to see my rather pregnant self. And no, no backrub, I'd really just love to snuggle up with you." She said softly, kissing his cheek. She slowly walked inside and sat down on their bed with an oof, practically falling over to take the weight off her back. She rubbed her stomach comfortingly. "Its okay baby, we're home." She said softly. "This little guy has had a long day. Your father is under the impression that he's going to be a shaman of some sort because of the power he obviously already contains."

"She very well could be a shaman," he said as he laid down next to her, slipping a hand in her robe to play with one of her bells as he nuzzled at her collar some "Just accept it is going to be a pretty little girl like you," Railen said kissing her neck a little. "And that she is going to be a powerful little shaman with your temper," he said laughing a little, pulling her into his lap as he rested back up against the pillows, stretching out under her quite comfortable.

Ara purred happily, snuggling back against him. "If it IS a little girl, like I said, she's going to have her daddy wrapped around her little finger." She said with a grin. "Just wait until we want something, if you think I'm bad, with her around you'll have TWO adorable girls looking at you with puppy eyes." She laughed to herself and reached down, running a hand over Railen's muscled chest. "Mmmm, how did I get so lucky to have such a handsome man?" She purred, nuzzling his neck gently.

He tilted his neck a little as she nuzzled. "I think I can handle two pretty girls, I mean I get to bed one of them," he said kissing Ara a little. "And besides, if she has that cute little tail that you have I can easily pick her up by that and she will be helpless," he said laughing some, tugging on Ara's tail as he nipped her neck a little. pulling at her collar some as he ran his fingers through her hair.

She squealed when he tugged on her tail and she laughed. "Well, knowing you you'll be teaching him or her to defend themself as soon as they can walk, so I'll enjoy watching them kick your ass when you try to pick them up by the tail." She snuggled against him, nipping at his neck when he pulled on her collar. "I still think it's a boy." She said stubbornly.

"Well I am glad you are wrong then," he teased as he tugged on her horn, "Because it is a girl. And I will be bigger and tougher than any little girl you spawn," he teased, licking Ara's neck a little as he pulled at her bell. "You should get some sleep little one, I will have stuff packed so you can go to your mama's soon so she can say how big you have gotten and coo over your belly," Railen said giving a laugh.

Ara groaned, snuggling down against Railen's side. She was quite tired from her ordeal and she yawned rather loudly. "Dun wanna." She said stubbornly, but sleep was winning out as her eyelids began to flutter closed. Within a few moments a delicate snore sounded from her and her hand fell from his chest to lie on the bed beside her. She was out completely cold this time.

---Another four months later---

Railen paced outside their home, making a rather deep indentation in the snow. He'd been inside for awhile, but Ara's screams had begun to get to him. Colline was with her, as was her friend Kaylen, and they were doing everything they could to make this easier on Ara. The baby inside her had rounded her stomach to astronomical porportions, so much that she'd been near to bedridden the last month or so, simply because getting up caused her to practically fall over from the weight. Even Colline was surprised, commenting often that it was an awfully hefty baby. The spasms had started this morning and Kaylen, already staying down at the fort, had come up as soon as Colline had gone to fetch her. Inside, the screaming stopped and for a moment Railen's heart stopped as well, until the faint sound of a babies cry sounded from the room. "Railen, get in here!" Colline's voice sounded, and Railen raced inside the house as fast as his heavy frame could carry him. Once inside, Colline turned towards him, holding a blanket wrapped bundle.

"Would you like to hold your daughter?" She asked with a grin, just as Kaylen turned with a smile as well. "And your son, don't forget about him." From the bed, Ara smiled weakly in Railen's direction, her hair sweaty and matted from exertion, but with good colour in her cheeks. "We were both right." She said softly. Colline handed Railen his daughter in one arm, and Kaylen set his son in the other. Both babies were adorble, of course. They both had a strange, greenish blue tint to their skin. The boy had small tusks, smaller than Railens, but still there, whereas the girl had two tiny litte curved horns. The girl stared up at Railen and sneezed, a spark of electricity flying from her nose to land on the ceiling above them. The boy was busy eyeing Railen's sword, hung on the wall across the room and reachign towards it with two chubby little hands. Both babies were healthy and big, and Colline grinned up at Railen. "Youve certainly got your hands full now."

Railen grinned widely at the news of a daughter, and then blinked in confusion at the news of a second child. "Tw...twins..." he said faintly blinking some in shock. "Well...well that certainly explains the belly," Railen said as he took the two kids, looking at both. Two children, well this certainly was unexpected but he couldn't help but grin as he rocked the two a little, sitting at the edge of the bed looking to Ara, leaning down to kiss her sweaty forehead lightly. "You did very well baby," he said, laughing softly at the little girl's sneeze, leaning down and kissing her nose, "Ya...she is going to have her tail wrapped nice and tight around me," he said with a little sigh, looking down to the boy, "And this one probably made up three forths of that belly of yours," he said laughing a little more.

Ara reached out, taking the boy from his arms and holding him close to her chest. "Hello little one." She said softly, nuzzling her nose into his chest. The baby boy stared up at his mother with a grin, grabbing a peice of her hair and tugging hard. "Ouch!" She said with a laugh, gently tugging her hair free. "Your son has quite a grip." She said with a grin, looking up at Railen. The baby girl, still in Railens arms, cooed up at him, several spit bubbles appearing in her mouth. Ara looked up at Railen. "Next time, lets try to have one at a time." She said dryly, reaching up with her free hand to stroke Railen's cheek. Colline had gone to get Ara's brothers, and they tumbled into the room suddenly. "Hey, why are there two babies?" "Ooo twins, just like us." "You know what this means..." "We need to make another crib!" The two raced outside again, on a mission to build a second crib, and Ara groaned, looking down at her babies helplessly. "Please don't be like them." She said with a wry smile. A knock sounded at the door, and one of Railen's men stood there, his leg being tugged on by Colline, who was muttering about leaving the happy parents alone. "Sir? I apologize profusely for coming at this time... congratulations, by the way... but there is someone here to see you, and she says that it is urgent."