Author's Preface
Butterflies stirred in her stomach as Solana laid back on the cushioned exam bed. Were it not for the Merkra’s much larger hand encompassing hers on her belly, it would have been so much worse. His joy steadied her. Rationally, she knew this was just a checkup. There were no complications thus far, so there was likely nothing to worry about. Rationality was something she’d been struggling with these days.
“Mrs. Sarfiel, Mr. Grommash,” Dr. Flinkz, a thin, emerald-scaled Saurien, slipped through the door and approached. “It’s great to see you two again. We’re getting close. How are you feeling, Mom?”
“Like a dragon turtle.” She joked, drawing a chortle from the doctor.
“Well, that’s to be expected. Any headaches or nausea?”
Solana shook her head. “Nothing out of the ordinary. We spend a lot of time staring at books and screens, so the occasional headache is inevitable.”
“Good.” Dr. Flinkz said and moved to remove a rigid sheet of crystal from a felt bag hung from the side of her bed. She drew a faint rune on it with the tip of a long-nailed finger, and it lit up. “Shall we take a look?” She asked as she moved the crystal to hover over her belly. “There she is.”
The screen at Solana’s side flickered on, projecting what the crystal revealed. Tears filled her eyes as numbers popped up along the sides: heart rate, blood pressure, height, weight, and the general development of organs. In the center of the screen, the main attraction curled into a ball with a thumb in her mouth. Merkra squeezed her hand. She glanced up at him long enough to see misty eyes before looking back at the screen.
“She looks perfect. Now that we’re getting close to the big show, we should start talking about a birth plan.” Dr. Flinkz left the crystal hovering over her as they spoke for another twenty minutes. They set dates to induce, plans for painkillers, and how many people she’d want in the room. It was hard to pay attention, but her husband would ensure they followed any plan to the letter.
Merkra guided her by the hand out of the hospital and to the teleportation circle a few minutes later. “You going to meet up with my sister or head home?”
Solana fidgeted with the end of her hair and lifted up on her toes to kiss him. “Skaeva. She wants to go baby clothes shopping, not that we need anymore at this point.”
Merkra chuckled and shook his head. “She’s excited. I’ve got the meeting with Dragon’s Hoard, then I’ll meet you at home.” He leaned down and kissed her again. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Solana stepped into the circle and designated her destination. Baisee Shopping Center. Being from a magical family, she’d grown used to the disorienting effects of some magic. The world spinning sensation of stepping through the teleportation circle lasted mere moments. She made her way across the plaza toward Moonlight Nursery, where she was set to meet Skaeva. Her phone buzzed moments later as if on cue.
Hey, do you mind if my girlfriend joins us?
No, of course not. I didn’t know you were dating someone else. What happened to Phelos?
Long story short? Having sex with a centaur is hard. We’ll be there shortly.
Sounds good.
That girl was a riot. She chuckled as she stuck her phone back in her purse and started browsing the clothes. A few minutes later, Skaeva approached with a red-headed Halfling that sent shivers down her spine. The resemblance was uncanny. From the descriptions she’d read, minus the hallmark eyes of the Gifted, she was nearly a perfect match. Scaeva moved up and swept her up in a powerful hug that eased the tension that had spiked through her.
“Solana, this is Trixie.” Scaeva introduced them.
“Its wonderful to meet you.” Trixie held her hand out.
Solana shook it, examining the wide eyes and uncanny grin. The texts made it seem larger than life, but this one… it was just a wide smile. A little offputting maybe, but otherwise normal.
“You as well.” Solana took her hand back and nervously picked at the end of her hair.
“So, tell me everything. How is my perfect little niece doing?” Scaeva crouched down, speaking directly to her stomach. “You’re just a powerful little thing already, aren’t you? Gonna help me kick your daddy’s ass.”
They spent a couple hours going to various shops and buying way too many outfits. Most of that time, Solana kept a cautious distance from Trixie. She was certainly quirky, but not malicious as far as she could tell. Her Father’s magical senses were far more refined than hers, but if she was some sort of ancient magical being it would be hard to conceal.
They split again at the teleportation circle, promising Scaeva she would meet her for lunch sometime. Solana arrived a few blocks from her home and set out on the walk deep in thought. The suspicion and subsequent fear was obviously nonsense. The only beings that were known to live that long were dragons, and they’d all been wiped out for centuries. Someone as manic and powerful as Penelope could not have remained hidden for so long.
A thumping beat sounded from the kitchen, and the scent of sauteed greens and grilled meat made her mouth water. She ditched her purse and the bags of clothes in the front hall and followed her nose. Merkra still wore the slacks she’d bought him for important meetings, but had otherwise stripped down to all but nothing. The hard lines of back muscles interrupted briefly by the pink waist ties from an apron. He finally turned to start carving into meat that had been resting and grinned up at her.
“You look ridiculous in that thing, you know.” She moved over and lifted on her toes, meeting him halfway for a kiss.
“Scaeva bought it for me.” He gestured to the message on the apron that was two sizes too small. Girl dads are the best chefs.
“Speaking of your sister,” she said as she grabbed a glass to get herself some water. “Have you met her new girlfriend?”
“Trixie? Just the once at the cafe. Why?”
“Did she raise any red flags for you?” She asked, picking at the greens he’d tossed into a bowl.
“Little quirky, I guess.” Merkra shrugged a little. “I haven’t spent any meaningful amount of time with her though. Something happen?”
“I’m sure it’s just pregnancy brain.” Solana said, twisting a bit of her silver hair between her fingers. “When I saw her, I almost freaked out. She looks like the descriptions of Penelope.”
Merkra pursed his lips and nodded. “Yeah. A little, I guess. That’s not possible though, right? She’d be like two thousand years old?”
“Yes, I know. It’s probably nothing.” Even as she said it, though, that same feeling of danger and dread coursed through her.
Merkra, vigilant as ever, clocked her reaction and gave her a reassuring smile. “You want me to have her looked into? I can call up Scratch.”
“Oh, no.” Solana waved a hand. “Scaeva would never forgive me if she thought we were invading her privacy.”
“You underestimate my sister’s love for you.” He said, pointing at her with a spatula. “Besides, if she’s dating an ancient maniac, I’m sure she’d prefer to know.”
She sipped at her water, contemplating that a moment. It couldn’t do any harm, right? “What are the chances he gets caught?”
“Scratch?” Merkra laughed, pushing a full plate across to her. “He’s got a lot of issues, but discretion is the only language he really understands.”
“I’ll think about it.” Solana said, stabbing a fork into the grilled riverbison. “I doubt there is anything to it. Just a strange feeling.” Even as the words left her mouth, she knew they didn’t taste right, and apparently so did her husband.
“I’ll trust a strange feeling from you any day. You say the word and I’ll give him a call.” He leaned over the counter and kissed her cheek. “You go relax and eat.”
She collected her plate and walked into their den, plopping herself onto the couch. There was a point not long ago that she’d been graceful and precise in her movements. Now she felt more like cattle. She was carrying around a baby that would outgrow her before she was even a teen. She rested a hand on her belly and smiled wide.
“You’re already exhausting,” she whispered. “Good thing I love you so much.”
Solana dug in, reaching over to scoop up Reggius’ journal to read a little as she ate. She flipped to the page she’d tagged. His last entry—the pain of giving up the baby and now the bits she’d learned that happened after. The memory erasure. It must have been such a weight off, and yet…
She flipped the page and immediately noted the different handwriting. The writing was still legible, but long, chaotic loops and slanted scrawling replaced the previous elegant hand. She recognized it immediately from other journals they’d unearthed. A tiny foot pressed against her hand on her belly. “Yeah? You recognize Fletcher’s handwriting too, Aurellia?”
25th of March
Year 437
I’m not sure that anyone will ever read this. Should you get this far, I feel the need to apologize. The previous author was full of deep insights, and I admired him to a point that even I could not put into words. Now you’re stuck with me. My hope is I’ve not destroyed the world with the shitstorm I’ve kicked up. I’m not sure what I’m going to write in this, but hopefully it will provide some context for events to come. Or I’ll be dead, and it won’t matter either way.