Black Pearl

Chapter 68

For weeks, I lived in fear. I worried that this amazing blessing was going to pass and that I would find Leo in our bed one day. His body would be limp and his soul would be gone. But it never came. He woke up beside me each more, always pressed a soft kiss to some part of my face. Even when I checked on him while he was resting and recovering, he would crack an eye open and shoot me a smile or let out a theatrical yawn and stretch like a sleepy cat.

After a few days of sleep and good food, Archer suggested that we come forward and tell him the truth. Questions were rising from the men who had returned home, all of whom thought they were watching their king die.

Leo took it surprisingly well. We were sitting in the library, just the two of us when I decided to admit everything to him.

"So, you're telling me that rain poured down, flooded everything. I stayed on the ground like a shipwreck. Then the water tried to kill Archer?"

"Well, technically the water started to glow before that. And I think it probably got warmer too."

"I mean, there is a chance I wet myself—"

"Christ Leo," I snorted. Only my husband could joke at a time like this.

"You seem very nervous to tell me that you healed me with your abilities." He took a sip of his tea before setting it aside on the sturdy wooden table. "I'm honored, really."

I let out a sigh. "Because I didn't heal you. I was panicking. You were dead. My husband was dead. And there was this awful flash flood coming and I couldn't even saw a proper good bye. Besides, if it had been me, I wouldn't have attacked Archer. I had to convince the water to release him." I flinched a little at how it sounded. There was no way he could possibly think that I wasn't crazy.

But Leo was just sitting on his overstuffed chair, watching my every move with nothing but kindness and understanding in his eyes. "That must have been very frightening for you."

"It must have been frightening for you!" I sputtered. "Or it would have been if you were awake."

"But I wasn't, so it doesn't matter."

"Leo—"

"You saved me. You were a distraction on the battlefield. Do you even know how outnumbered we were? With you there, I could play dirty and take men out at the knees when they were distracted. There was no way I would have come out of that alive either way. And then, some god in the clouds above decided that I was worthy of staying with you, even if it meant bringing me back from the dead." I gave him a weak smile when he took both of my hands in his. "My goddess."

"What happened doesn't change the suspicion. People will still hate me. Maybe it is best if I return to the island now that you have healed."

My words were met with a dramatic eye roll. "It would be absurd to send you away then pick you up again for your coronation."

"You're crowning me?"

"You're my wife and now you are my savior. There is no one more worthy of being queen than you."

I was in that same church again only a few days after Leo told me his grand plans. This time the pews were not stuffed with people I would never know. and all other traditions were ignored. I stormed into that church in a blue gown – no longer afraid of what this color represented for me – and stood at the alter like a midnight storm. Jacob and a few palace members watched me receive the crown. Willow was barely containing her excitement beside a stoic Archer while the crown was placed upon my head. And this time it was not some simple ringlet. It was a masterpiece of gold coated sea shells, blue stones, and fat white pearls.

There was no doubt in my mind that there was resistance in the community. Leo's parents were the first to really make their rage be known. When he told them that I would still be sitting beside him on the throne, there was shouts, curses, and even a handful of tears. Summoning his general side, Leo told them they could either accept it or they could seek a new home in the land of the fairies. But their silence fell apart when he also announced that he would be abolishing the mourning ceremony.

"He's your brother!" his mother wailed, crumpling in her husband's arms before glaring at me. "This witch has put a spell on you, a hex!"

Leo squeezed my hand, offering me reassurance while he cut them down. "You are right. He was my brother. I did not choose him. However, I have chosen her."

"She killed him!"

"She had every right to. I will not have my wife be insulted by having a ceremony every year to honor a man who tried to take advantage of his own subjects."

There was more unrest in the people just the same. Mad rumors floated around that I had tried to kill my own husband and other such horrible things. But those were combatted by the men who had been there, the men who had seen the strike and watched Leo go down. Maybe they didn't believe that the rain had healed him, but they knew that their king had been dying and was somehow now okay. Leo assured me that concern and nasty untruths were not uncommon among the wealthy and that this would pass. The worst was behind us. We had come out victorious with an esteemed werewolf king by our side.

And on the day of my coronation, it seemed that even the sky agreed with my choice because when I stepped out of that church, rain came down in sheets that immediately ceased as soon as Leo and I were safely tucked into a carriage.

A small ship awaited us at the docks, all apart of the great announcement that I was queen and we were ruling together. Jacob, always the steady friend, accompanied us but no other protection was needed. Though I'm sure Leo wished he had brought an extra set of hands when I saw those gorgeous black dorsal fins slicing through the water and leapt overboard without a second thought, only taking care to remove my crown before plunging.

"Ember!" my husband complained, "you are going to kill me one of these days."

I gave him a cheek grin before diving below the surface, scarcely coming up for air until we reached the tiny island.  I had called this place home for so long.

It felt like a different life when I considered all the times I had sat on those rocks and stared into the sky, wishing for something to happen, but being too afraid to grasp my own fate. It seemed impossible that the girl who thought mending clothes was thrilling was the same woman who tossed men down cliffs with nothing but confidence. How I have believed that I could become this person that I was now?

The blackfish soon steered themselves away from the island, making way for the slow-moving vessel that anchored itself to shore. I emerged out of the water like a temptress of the deep, water dripping down my aqua gown, leaving a trail behind me, seaweed tangled in my dark hair.

"Ember," Amaya gasped, the first one to spot me while she tended to her clucking chickens.

Several heads turned at once.

"Queen Ember," I corrected.

And thump was heard as a ladder was tossed from the small ship. "I prefer Commander of the Sky, Warrior of the Water, Defender of the Deep," Leo rambled, disembarking. He looked every bit of the pirate that I had fallen in love with. "But I suppose Queen will do."

~~~Distraction Section~~~

Well that is the end friends :(

I hope you loved Ember and Leo as much as I did! 

Question of the Day: You are the lead in a book. What is your best strength and what is your biggest character flaw?

I think my biggest strength would be problem solving and my biggest character flaw would be naivety. I just want to trust everyone.