December 10, 628

  “Welcome to my humble abode. Please, take your seats.”

  “In what universe is this humble?”

  There were mutters as everyone moved into the ballroom of my estate, glancing around at the architecture and marble constructions.

  Gone was the brutalist structure of the rest of my estate. The Ballroom was the one place where all sense of foritifcation or practicality disappeared. Designed solely for hosting the highest of society and all manner of occasions, the ballroom was no less lavish than what could be found even in the King’s Royal Palace.

  Marble surfaces inlaid with gold, sculpted pillars, bright magical lights, vast structural designs, and artistic renditions across the walls.

  Butlers were moving about to all the tables, serving food and drink to every seat that would soon host a guest. Others were greeting everyone who walked in, recognizing their faces and guiding them to their tables.

  Once everyone was seated, I went up to a stage at the front of the ballroom with Umara. We stared out, chatter dying down as I prepared to give my speech. Behind us, a flowing wall of magic blocked the view of what was behind.

  I cleared my throat, the room going silent.

  “I welcome you all to the Cooper Estate, and thank you for taking part in this celebration of our marriage. Ladies and gentlemen, the evening ahead of us is long but not without excitement. Two meals with eight courses each and enough alcohol to drown every knight in this room ought to be enough to get us started. So please, sit back, unwind, and allow us the honor of serving you this experience.”

  Umara raised her hands as I finished, a few moments of silence lasting before she suddenly clapped them together, the sound wave snapping through the entire room.

  The magical barrier behind us flashed and vanished, revealing the band behind us that kick started the atmosphere with the thrill of a loud trumpet.

  Then the doors all around the room burst open, letting out lines of servers that flew across the floor on skates of mana. They shot between the tables, hands carrying plated food delivering their payloads to every guest.

  Umara and I stepped down from the stage, walking to our own table in the center of the ballroom. We watched everyone around us as we moved, seeing their smiles and expressions of joy. Even Maxwell was smirking with impression, sitting with the Tavera Patriarch.

  After the food came the drinks, the servers moving around every which way as if they had no direction. They flew past each other in what looked like chaotic paths, a performance in itself and only able to be carried out by this particular group of servers. Thus the reason I hired them.

  They were skilled, and I was willing to bet that they wouldn’t let me down.

  The food was delivered and there was little delay before everyone forked it down. Done so in a classy manner, of course. Few in attendance didn’t come from high society.

  The band electrified the mood, and it wasn’t long before the pregaming alcohol started getting served. It was lighter, but merely meant to saturate. The heavy stuff, aka the stuff augmented with Vigor and capable of getting knights drunk off their ass, was going to come later.

  I had carefully planned each phase of consumption, along with each swing of the mood of the band in accordance with what was being eaten and drunk.

  Umara and I didn’t intend to follow along. We wouldn’t actually be at this reception all night like the others. Our honeymoon was going to start tonight on a plane, because there would be no true privacy for us unless it was 70 thousand feet in the sky.

  Was I hesitant about leaving my estate in another’s hands? Of course. But at this point, our honeymoon was worth the entire estate being destroyed. If I had to tear it down to the foundation and rebuild it out of paranoia that magical bugs had been planted by a Sovereign, then I’d do it.

  We would have our honeymoon, and the number of events that could pull me away from it could be counted on one hand.

  In all of those events, very bad things would happen very quickly as a consequence of interruption.

  Umara and I wanted to enjoy our night in a more sober manner, so we didn’t intend to get drunk, not like most of the guests would be after sunset. We preferred to sit back and observe, occasionally sinking into our own little world at our table.

  We got up when it came time for certain events, though. Bringing in and cutting the massive cake, a conventional white cake with two little figures of us on the top.

  Then there was the first dance during sunset, Umara and I taking the floor and slow dancing to the jazzy song that was played. It was one of her favorites.

  Then Umara had a dance with her father, while I had a dance with her mother. After that the floor was opened up and everyone started pairing up. All nobles knew how to dance, so the floor was filled before long.

  It was at that time that Umara and I sat back down, the atmosphere starting to escape us.

  We watched all the pairs, smiling and giving our little comments on each of them as they went. Vetsmon and Tana looked happy together. They had been apart for another long while, and I had managed to get Vetsmon back for the wedding with some help from Anderson, so they were enjoying every moment together.

  Blackblood and Jaya were rather hilarious. Blackblood looked barely sure of what to do, and Jaya seemed to be in enough of a mood to humor and guide him. For being as abrasive as he could be, the man was rather indecisive. Jaya seemed to have no issue handling him, though.

  We saw Ponteck and Katta moving together. After a bit of alcohol, both of them started opening up more, though it had taken Ponteck some time to finally ask Katta to the floor.

  We even saw Anderson and Luna dance. The large man was difficult to miss, and Luna looked particularly radiant in her silver dress.

  Finally, there was Feiden and Faey.

  The two were adorable together, and when I finally saw Feiden move to ask Faey for a dance, I had nearly pumped my fist in excitement.

  Umara just stared at them, smiling wryly.

  “I’m not sure how I feel about your interference.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Uh huh. My mother would kill you if she found out.”

  “I’m not sure what she would find out, but even if she did, I doubt it. All she’s gotta do is think about the alternatives.”

  “Hmm.”

  Umara hummed, the two of us watching them. Faey was flushed since Talexia had been boring holes in them after Feiden asked, but it seemed both of them were toughing it out, Faey more than Feiden. She was getting more bold with going after what she wanted and there was no way Talexia was going to tell her no at a time like this.

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  After some time though, the music shifted and swung into a higher gear. More alcohol started to flow, and finally, the ‘heavy stuff’ was fielded.

  I should’ve known that would be the beginning of the end. I knew everyone would be primed, but I suppose I had underestimated tolerances. It wasn’t like everyone was used to drinking frequently, and the alcohol was charged with Vigor. While everyone was given drinks according to their Authority, that just meant that everyone’s ass was kicked proportionally.

  I knew it as soon as I saw Vetsmon going around laughing and hugging everybody.

  Things were going downhill fast, and my plans had worked a bit too well.

  ……

  “Well this is certainly something.”

  Umara muttered as we watched the dance floor. Flashing with hundreds of lights like an underground rave and the band pushing music into the crowd like it was a drug, over half the guests were dancing and few of them were cohesive about it.

  I had a wide smile on my face. I wasn’t drunk enough to join them but it was still hilarious seeing everyone flailing about.

  I glanced to the side, seeing a large pair of open doors leading to another room. Inside was an indoor pool and recreation area, which people had started jumping into an hour ago, regardless of suit or dress.

  One of those people was Anderson. He stood on top of the tallest diving board next to the pool, still in dress slacks but wearing no shirt.

  I watched him put his arms in the air, looking fierce for a long moment before jumping.

  He flipped seven times in the air before straightening out just before he hit the water. His hands pierced the surface, then his arms, the water sliding past him until it reached his shoulders.

  That’s when his bulk hit the water, and it caved like a crater. A wave was sent through the pool as he went under and then the water recoiled, sending a pillar straight into the air.

  I cackled a bit, seeing Vetsmon climbing up the ladder to follow, Tana clinging to his back and biting his shoulder.

  I glanced out a nearby window, seeing the dark night and then taking a look at the time. It was a bit early, but everyone had long been in their own world.

  I sent a message before looking down at Umara, her head on my shoulder as she watched the ongoings of the ballroom.

  “Hey.”

  “Hm?”

  “How about we get out of here.”

  She started to smile, nodding quickly as I got a response.

  I wrapped the two of us with an illusion, disappearing from our table and running out of the ballroom.

  We went through the estate, bypassing oblivious servants and leaving through the back door.

  There waiting for us was a car, which we took and used to drive across the airfield to our helicopter.

  Erhan was waiting there, bowing to us when we approached.

  “Enjoy your honeymoon, sir. I will handle everything here.”

  “Appreciated, Erhan.”

  I shook his hand before boarding with Umara. Since there was no pilot, I jumped into the seat myself.

  With one last wave to Erhan, we took off, flying away from the estate and into the wider territory outside of the Whetted City.

  It was a bit over an hour of flying. We passed by multiple cities and towns before finally coming upon some wilderness. It was then, in the middle of seemingly nowhere, that I activated a device on the helicopter.

  The image of the trees and flora below us started flickering, brief moments of resolution eventually revealing a clearing. There, in the middle of a massive illusion and camouflaging formation, was a little house.

  I took us down next to it, entering the illusion. Once landed, I shut down the helicopter and helped Umara step out.

  She looked around. All around us weren’t the normal plants of the tamed wilds, but the enchanted life of a magical forest.Tall trees, dense Magika, and a few animals in sight whose bodies flickered with runes.

  “What is this place?”

  “This, my dear, is a safehouse. Just one of several I’ve built over the past several months. It’s quite difficult, making sure that even the builders are unaware of the location. But not impossible. Currently, I’m the only one who knows about this location.”

  “A safehouse, huh. We have both the estate and the Hotel. Not to mention any number of people we could stay with.”

  “Yes, but I figured it’d be better to have something for when we wanted to run away from the world. We’re deep in beastly territory, protected by these illusory formations and many miles away from any form of civilization. Nobody can find us here, because the perimeter for 80 miles around us is lined with another formation that masks all vehicles equipped with the right enchanted coatings.”

  I knocked on the helicopter frame, Umara humming in response as she continued looking around, her eyes eventually falling on the house.

  It was a simple wooden house that fit the ‘cabin in the woods’ aesthetic. Nevertheless, it was equipped with all the luxuries we could ever want. We wouldn’t be uncomfortable here, with years of food stocked in storage, not to mention the huntable supply all around us.

  A few stories tall, plenty of rooms, all of them furnished and comfortable. We’d have to take care of it ourselves but that was a small price to pay for absolute secrecy.

  Umara linked with my arm, the two of us entering the cabin. In contrast to the cold, snowy night around us, we were hit with a wave of warmth created by the temperature control.

  I flicked on lights as we moved through the living space. I didn’t bother giving her a tour, instead scooping her up into a princess carry and moving up the stairs.

  She laughed as I kicked open the door, her hand reaching to flick on the lights. With a bit of Psyka I subsequently dimmed them before taking her to the bed.

  She landed on it, glancing to the side at the bed’s frame.

  “Hm, it looks sturdy.”

  “It’s built into the structure. Of course it’s sturdy.”

  “But what if you ever wanted to move it? Maybe it's out of place right here.”

  “Let’s spend some time rearranging it then.”

  I took off my coat, dropping it on the floor next to me and stared at Umara.

  (you found the smut)

  There was silence between us for a second before she jumped off the bed, latching onto me and sealing our mouths together.

  There were several seconds of kissing before she groaned.

  “Get this fucking dress off of me.”

  We separated, both of our hands moving across her dress and undoing the clasps. The instant it went loose, she ripped it off and chucked it to the side.

  In white lace lingerie she came back for a bit more kissing before starting to help me take off my own clothes. The vest fell, then the shirt, and then the pants disappeared. She jumped back on me as soon as they were gone, with enough force and timing to push us back against the wall.

  Legs locked around my waist, we made out a bit more before I stepped forward and put her against the wall. We remained there until she suddenly pulled back, hot breath tickling my nose.

  “Be…”

  “What?”

  “The bed. Put us on the bed and give me a fucking baby, John.”

  We looked into each other's eyes, my brain taking a full second to comprehend what she said before instinct kicked in.

  All my life I had wondered how people could want more than four or five kids. Now, in this moment, I wanted no less than thirty.

  Knowing that there was absolutely nothing in our way anymore gave me such a high feeling of euphoria that I felt like blacking out. I quickly decided to take that energy, rip off her lingerie, and quite literally put it straight into her.

  I took us to the bed, and at that moment I felt like melting. It was an incomprehensible high that made me nearly go numb. Both of us turned to butter together, and yet our bodies moved on their own.

  Barely a minute or so passed. Stuff was already coming out, Umara was already shivering and jerking, and I couldn’t think straight to save my life. I didn’t even feel her nails digging into my back, only noticing the blood when it started streaming down.

  Yet despite the absolute overstimulation, we kept moving. Both of our bodies started literally steaming with heat, the Vigor within our flesh roiling. It added to the drunken high.

  I was barely able to process visual stimuli, seeing her underneath me with unfocused eyes and a face contorting with sensations we were both barely capable of enduring. It almost felt like it should hurt, how good it felt.

  It took time, and slightly adapting to the high for me to finally realize what was probably happening.

  Inception, the very thing that had prevented us from crossing this barrier for years. Out of fear that other people would realize what we had done and doom us politically, we had waited for years until we finally got married, waited and resisted despite every temptation to no longer give a damn, staving it off with nearly every possible workaround we could think of. Anything not to activate this mysterious power of reproduction exclusive to Magi.

  Both of us had wondered if it would be worth it. Worth the time, worth the effort and strain, worth the delays and resistance.

  Now it was no question.

  It was worth every damn millisecond.

  And it was the last thought I had as I finally gave and sunk into the experience, so many happy chemicals flooding my system until I couldn’t think about anything else except her.