Acceptance

Chapter 75

Alice's POV

I woke up to the sound of someone throwing up in the bathroom. I saw that I was the only one in the bedroom so I got up to check on whichever of my mates was sick. It was Qin, who now stood at the sink, brushing his teeth. He looked pale and tired. I felt his forehead. He was running a mild fever. At least I prayed it was a mild fever and he wasn't using his magic to make his skin feel cooler. It was official, he finally worked himself till he became sick.

I noticed he was dressed and shook my head, "The only place you're going, is back to bed to get some rest." "I have a lot of paperwork to do," he argued. "As your future Queen, I can handle it," I told him. He went to say something but a cough tore through his chest. I refused to stand there and do nothing while he suffered so I made his clothes disappear before teleporting him into the bed. "Alice," he exclaimed before coughing again while I made my way to the closet to get dressed.

Qin has officially worked himself to the point he is sick. I'm gonna take over his work till he's better, can someone bring him something for his cough, I asked through the mind link. I finished dressing and found Drake glaring down at Qin who was glaring back. I was happy to see the medicine cup in his hand empty, meaning Qin took it, but seeing Qin still be stubborn about resting was annoying.

"Don't over work yourself Alice," Drake told me. I smiled, "I won't." I left the room and I hated leaving Qin, but since I'm pregnant and he's sick, I'm not really able to go near him. So the best thing I can do for him is to help with the paperwork so it doesn't bury him when he gets better.

When I stepped into his office Lemar, his advisor, was waiting by the desk a little impatiently. "Where is the King," Lemar asked me. "He is sick, I'm taking over for the day," I told him. Lemar sighed, "Of all the days it has to be today he gets sick?" Lemar looked me over, before sighing, "Let's get started shall we?"

To start off, Lemar took me to have tea with Lord Cresick. He is a plump man with a red nose. His grey handlebar mustache curled on the ends, reminding me of a cartoon villain with a badly written back story. "His majesty will not be joining us," Lord Cresick asked me as I sat across from him. I shook my head, "He is feeling ill and I decided to fill in for him today." "No offense your highness, but King Shelton, or one of the other Princes is much better suited for this discussion," He told me. I raised an eyebrow, "And why is that? You and Qin were scheduled to talk about the progress your farms have made after introducing the advance machines to assist with harvest and plowing, and you're wishing to extend your lands to put in a vineyard to be able to expand into the wine making business. I hardly see what difference it makes when it comes to whom you're discussing it with. After all, Qin is unable to give you approval without discussing it with the rest of us first." "But he is my king, I don't see why he needs to discuss it with anyone else," Lord Cresick said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Because we are a unified kingdom and the land isn't just his to give out," I explained to him. "Now I was going over the nutrient soil report on my way here, and you are unable to grow any wine. Even if you used a warlock who uses Earth magic to change the soil, it still wont work because nature wins everytime. Also the Junibees in that area would strip you of all of your grapes." "Junibees," he asked with a raised eyebrow. I nodded, "They're a type of Fae who only listen to other Fae and to someone who is mated to the Fae. They're no bigger than the size of my middle finger and live in very large colonies. They're also one of the few types of Fae who can't use magic however, they very vicious when it comes to acquiring something they want. They will strip you of your grapes the moment they're ripe enough to eat."

He glared, "Why does the Fae king allow such a thing to happen?" "Junibees can only steal to survive. As I said, they're the size of my finger, and unable to have farms of their own. For years the Junibees have been trying to get acknowledgment and have a say during Fae gatherings, but previous royals have seen them as nothing more than pests. Pyrus is currently working on trying to make living easier for them, but until what he plans is completed they will continue their ways." Unfortunately its had to take a back seat due to the war against the rebels and I know it really pisses Pyrus off.

The rest of our tea time was arguing back and forth over possible expansions his land was suitable for until we came to an agreement that didn't involve his land expanding. After that it was time to go have a meeting with the war generals to discuss the progress on gathering troops and training. It was a very long discussion that had me wanting to pull out my hair as the old fashioned idiots argued between each other until I was able to come up with a decision that made them all happy.

After that, I had papers that needed to be read and signed for either approval or denial. How does Qin do it? I had just finished the first stack when Cindy poked her head into the office. She smiled brightly, "Hey sweetie." I gave her a smile while Lemar seemed upset by the interruption. I gave him a dismissive wave of my hand, "Go take a break, get you something to eat or something." "But your highness," he pressed. I raised an eyebrow, cutting him off. "I don't know if you realize, but I have gone since breakfast without eating and I'm pregnant. So I'm gonna go get something to eat with my mate and I advise you take a break."

Cindy stood off to the side, lips pressed together as if she were suppressing a laugh. Lemar didn't know what to say, just stood their like a gaping fish. I rolled my eyes with a sigh and stood. Cindy linked her arm with mine and we left the office, leaving him standing there like an idiot. "So how is it so far playing the role of King," she asked me. "It makes me wonder how Qin hasn't gone grey with all of the idiots he has to deal with on a daily basis," I told her honestly.

"He would look sexy with grey hair," Cindy said thoughtfully. "They all would to be honest." I smiled and nodded in agreement with her. However with our immortality we get to keep our looks. I will forever be the only one with white hair and I was perfectly fine with that.

"So how is Qin doing," I asked her. She huffed, "He is stubborn and is sleeping on the couch. He wants to risk you not getting sick so he is distancing himself as much as we are tolerating. It's only because we don't want you to get sick either we're letting it slide. Nathaniel was laying on the couch with him when I last went in there. The doctor says he should be fine in a few days after some rest."

That made me happy to hear. "So the best thing happened today," Cindy told me excitedly. I raised an eyebrow, "What?" "Drake coughed up smoke," She replied with a little squeal. "And it made the twins laugh." When a dragon begins to cough up smoke, it means their body is changing to be able to breathe fire. Dragons are able to do it both in human form and in dragon form. They cough up smoke for about a month before they turn a hundred and can breathe fire.

Cindy then crossed her arms, "It sucks Qin went and got sick the week of his birthday." I rolled my eyes, "Its not like he planned it to be that way." She sighed, "I know." She then smiled again, "We're still gonna give him his presents though. I hope he loves them." I smiled, "Of course he will Cindy." Soon my lunch came to an end and I had to get back to the stacks of papers.

As I went through stack after stack of papers I lost track of time until Nathaniel came in. "It's late Alice, and you need to feed." I looked at the time and I was just dumbfounded. Where did the time go? I sighed and put my pen up. Lemar had long since left to run some errands so I didn't have to argue with him. I took his hand and got up. "How was filling in shoes today," he asked me. "How does he do it," I asked him honestly. "He pushes through it. He is strong that way. Just like Shelton, and soon the rest of us as well," he told me. "It gets easy once you get used to it. We just need to better monitor each other. Although immortal, Cindy and Qin have the weaker immune systems so we need to better monitor them and ensure they don't get sick. Or in Qin's case, don't get sick again."

When I saw the bedroom door I couldn't help the yawn that slipped out, causing Nathaniel to chuckle softly. After feeding from Nathaniel I took a relaxing shower before getting ready for bed. Qin was passed out on the couch, Shelton covering him with a blanket. Cindy sat on the bed with Mikell feeding from her breast. She smiled, "Come on sleepy head." She patted the spot next to her, telling me to lay down. I sighed and crawled into bed, and got comfortable. Sleep slammed into me almost instantly.