"Well good news, you are pregnant and the baby is still alright." The healer says as she removes her hand from Enya's stomach. "Despite the stress and dangers you've been put under, it's a miracle the little one is alright."

"Oh good, I was very worried." Enya sighs in relief as she pulled her tunic back down and grabs her surcoat and belt to put them back on. "Especially considering how I got tossed into a pit from several feet."

"Oof I heard about that. But a good thing you and your wee one are fine. I do suggest taking it easy, and preparing yourself for the many problems that will come - especially after the birth."

"I'll try to." Enya says with a small smile before getting up to leave the medical hut.

Outside, her friends and husband were waiting for her. Soren was pacing, not even noticing she was outside and muttering to himself before Sigfrid grabs his arm to stop him and point.

"What did the medic say? Is everything alright?!" He asks frantically as he rushes over. "Is the baby fine? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, aside from the injuries I sustained earlier in the week." Enya assures him as she puts her surcoat back on and is trying to tie her belt. "As for the baby-"

Soren's eyes widened in panic. "Are they okay?! Should we be worried or-"

"Soren, the baby is fine, we're both fine." Enya says as she grabs his wrists to keep him from moving. "I promise."

Soren sighs in relief as he is released and hugs her tightly. "Oh good, th-that's good." He says.

"You're gonna have a baby, that's great!" Ezran exclaims as he hurries over. "Does that mean Callum and I are gonna be uncles? Ooh can I be the godfather?"

"Aren't you too young to be a godfather?" Enya laughs as she is released from the hug to ruffle his hair. "Maybe not for this one, but we'll see."

"Well now that we have that confirmed and we've all been healed up, we should be returning to Katolis to warn the council and figure out a new plan." Callum says as he and Rayla approach with Reyna and Kasef. "Since we couldn't get the map from Rex, and I don't think he's planning on ever helping us find it so soon."

"Good, we should discuss this with the council at least." Soren agrees before looking at their three new companions. "So are you guys gonna come or no?"

"I suppose we should, plus we can check up on Utu in the meantime, I believe Cici took him back to your kingdom where he'd be safe." Kasef says with a nod and looks to Reyna. "You okay with that love?"

"Of course! Plus I wanna see my baby too!" The elf exclaims. "What are we waiting for? The sooner the better!"

"Okay you two are coming with us." Enya says with a nod before turning to their newest friend. "Siggy, would you like to come to Katolis with us? I know Soren's mom sent you here out of safety, but I would be at ease knowing you're with us and not running into trouble with that...brute, especially if you stay in Earthblood elf territory."

"He's still glaring at us." Callum whispers, glancing over where Warlon was sitting and glaring at the group.

About a few yards away the towering Earthblood elf they had all had to deal with was leaning against a hut and glaring at the group, though Enya suspected his attention was more on her, Soren and Sigfrid. She hears Tart growl softly by her feet and feels the little dragon protectively wrap her tail around her leg.

"Ignore him. Sigfrid, was there a reason why you were sent here to Xadia?"

"Aunt Hildr said it was for my safety, which makes no sense and it was before...before the king was killed." Sigfrid explains and twists her hands nervously. "So...yeah I am here for my safety."

"Then it's best if we don't send you home, you can come live with us." Soren says, putting an arm around her protectively. "In fact, maybe Enya's dad can let you stay with him, he has a spare room you can use that my wife doesn't use anymore, save for storage. Is that okay A mhuirnín?"

"Of course! You can stay with us, we'll just let my mother-in-law know you're staying in Katolis and under our care." Enya assures her. "But if we're gonna be busy with this whole thing and you need to be kept safe, you'll need a bodyguard."

"And who is gonna guard her?" Rayla asks. "We have to figure out either how to locate Aaravos without the map from Rex, or...find a way to get rid of a Startouch elf."

The group looks at each other grimly. The idea of having to kill such a powerful being...if he could possess Callum from a prison leagues of miles away from the Spire, it was risky trying to take him on in person without a proper plan.

Enya knew each of her friends who could fight probably couldn't double as a bodyguard for Sigfrid, so...wait.

She looks over to where the elf was sulking and an idea came to mind. Perhaps this could work.

"I got an idea." Enya says loudly before breaking from the group, Tart at her side as she makes her way over to the grouchy elf. "Hey! Warlon was it?"

The elf stiffens when he realizes she's coming towards him but keeps the same usual grouchy face. But once she got close she noticed it looked more like he was trying not to panic. Geez, she really scared him that last time didn't she? Then again she nearly ended him with that chokehold so he had every right to be afraid.

"Listen, no hard feelings about what happened. It's all in the past and there's no need to be terrified, but I got a proposition for you." Enya says once she gets close.

"I ain't taking any propositions." Warlon responds gruffly.

"You will if you hear me out. How well of a fighter do you think you are?"

"Against the stupid blonde human, I could take him out without my weapons."

"First off, leave my husband out of this. Second, do you think you can do bodyguard stuff? Like protection, surveillance and all that?"

"Probably. Why?"

"Well you see my friends and I have such an important mission to do and we need someone, preferably a very muscled someone to guard my very tiny friend." Enya says, pointing at Sigfrid, who was kneeling on the ground and petting Zym as he tried to give her zappy kisses. "She needs some protecting, and I think if you behave yourself, you can be just the elf for the job."

"And if I say no?" Warlon asks with a frown. "Just because you got lucky in kicking my ass doesn't mean I am gonna do what you demand and tell-"

Tart growls loudly, bearing her sharp teeth as she gets between the elf and her human mother, still keeping her tail wrapped around one of her legs.

"I'm not demanding, I'm simply asking." Enya states calmly, making a clicking noise with her mouth that had the dragonet slink back to sit next to her. "Unless you wanna spend the rest of your days patrolling the same boring village on your dragon. I'll pay you myself if money is what you want."

Warlon seemed to be thinking, his eyes kept flitting to Sigrid as she now has her attention on one of the dragon mounts and is hugging its face and neck as it lifts her off the ground while Soren tries keeping the beast still. "Damn it, fine."

"Great! Welcome to the Draggang!" Enya says cheerfully, holding her hand out to him.

"The fuck is that supposed to be?" The elf asks, swatting her hand away.

"A handshake, what, do Earthblood elves not shake hands?"

"No, the "draggang" or whatever the fuck you call it."

"Oh that. Just a little something my husband came up with on our way to Xadia earlier in the week, could use some work but I like it so it'll stick eventually with everyone."

"Of course he came up with it." The elf mutters and Tart snorts before removing her tail from Enya's leg and slunk back to Soren and the others.

"Anyways, we'll be going back to Katolis, feel free to take your dragon with you in case we don't have room on the dragon queen." The tailoress says as she starts to walk back to the others. "Great news! Found the perfect bodyguard for our sweet Siggy!"

"Oh? Who- oh no no no we are not taking him!" Soren says when he sees Warlon looming behind his wife with an annoyed expression. "Any elf but him!"

"Too late, he's hired and coming with us."

"This is gonna be a disaster!"

"It'll be fine, I'll keep him in check and so will Tart. Right, my little pastry snatcher?"

Tart chirps happily in response as she lifts her head to bump it against her mother's outstretched hand.

"Well now that that's out of the way, let's get home." Callum says. "And let the council know what happened, and what we need to do."

---

It took most of the day to return to Katolis, ans by the time they reached the castle it was already getting quite dark. While they haven't had a chance to send a crow ahead of time to alert their friends, a small crowd had gathered outside the castle to welcome them back.

"You made it back!" Enya hears Cici squeal as they rush to hug their sister and Kasef once they dismounted from Zubeia. "You made us so worried!"

"How did they take the news?" Reyna asks as she hugs her sibling. "And how did babysitting my kid go?"

"Oh...well they were upset by it, can you blame them? Also they had offered to take care of Utu, but I declined and said I'd care for him. And he got to bond with his uncle Crowy too!"

Enya could see her godson seemed quite comfortable in the man's arms, his little head resting on his shoulder while one hand was grasping tightly his black robe. Would her child be like that with any of her friends and family? She hoped so.

"Aww there's my little dove!" Reyna gasps as she frees herself from Cici to rush over to her son, who perks up at her voice. "Mama and papa are here! Come here my sweet boy!"

Utu made an excited squeal as he reached for his mother until she scooped him into her arms, blowing raspberries on his cheek to make him giggle and laugh before he grabs her face to press his little forehead against his mother's. It made her smile as she watches Kasef scoop his son into his arms and pepper his little face with kisses as he giggles and squeals, now wondering if she and her husband would be like that with their own child.

"There you are!" Enya looks over to see Corvus and Ella hurrying over to them and Soren breaks into a grin.

"Hey!" He exclaims as the couple manages to reach them. "You would not believe the insane adventure we had!"

"Did you find any answers out there?" Corvus asks.

"Well...not really." Enya admits. "But...we found out some disturbing things we may need to discuss with the whole council present."

"That sounds serious. Oh and I see you have some new friends there." Corvus comments, pointing at Sigfrid as she is trying to dismount and almost falling off if Warlon hadn't caught her.

"Oh yeah, that's Sigfrid, we met her in Xadia. Turns out she's been living out there for the past two years after the king's assassination for her safety."

"And my new sister!" Soren adds happily. "My mom raised her for some years after she returned to Del Bar when her friend died, who was her best friend, so that technically makes her my sister!"

"It does not." Enya whispers. "But let him have it, some serious stuff happened involving Claudia."

"Ooh, well I won't pry." Corvus says with a nod. "Speaking of serious, we have some bad news."

"How bad?" Soren asks, his excited face morphing into a more concerned one. "Did something happen while we were away?"

"Sorta. It's about the wedding. We...we're canceling it." Corvus says. "But it's-"

"WHAAAT?!" Soren exclaims and grabs his friend by the shoulders. "WHY?! YOU AND ELLA HAVE BEEN PLANNING THIS FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS! YOU CAN'T JUST PUT IT ON HOLD NOW OF ALL TIMES!"

"H-hey Soren? I'm sure they have a good reason to, right?" Enya says, turning to her friend in worry. "Right Ella? A super good reason?"

"Well yes." Ella says with a nod. "And it's-"

"YOU TWO CAN'T HOLD BACK EVERYTHING WAS SUPPOSED TO BE PERFECT!" Soren continues to scream.

Corvus, now free of the grasp of the frantic captain, just watches him with an unamused face. He glances back at Enya, who gives him a helpless shrug before turning back to his friend. "SOREN!" He shouts.

Soren stops panicking and looks at him sheepishly. "S-sorry, I'm a bit high strung right now..." He says quietly.

"Are you calm now?" Corvus asks.

"I will be if you explain."

"I was just going to before you interrupted me. Look, we're gonna hold off on the wedding for maybe...nearly a year. We talked to our families and they agreed it'd be a good idea to wait since Ella probably won't be able to fit in her dress by the time our original wedding gate comes around."

"Oh? Why is that?" Enya asks, looking at her friend in surprise. "I could just readjust it if you think you've gained some weight."

"Mmm....I don't think I'll look too good in a wedding dress with a four or five month old belly." Ella says with a chuckle.

"Four month-" Soren's eyes widen in surprise. "Wait- you mean-"

"Yeah, we're waiting until after-"

"YOU GUYS ARE HAVING A KID!!" Soren screams excitedly, earning him confused looks from the other people walking past them. "ENYA THEY'RE HAVING A BABY TOO!!"

Now it was Corvus and Ella's turn to look surprised.

"You're pregnant too?!" Ella exclaims and Enya smiles.

"Yeah, though I may be a bit farther than you." The tailoress admits and Ella gives an excited squeal before hugging her.

"OH MY GOODNESS OUR KIDS ARE GONNA BE BORN SO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER!!" Her friend exclaims. "AH BEST DAY EVER!!"

"YEAH BEST DAY EVER!!" Soren yells as he pulls Corvus into a hug and practically lifts him off the floor. "MY BEST FRIEND AND I ARE GONNA BE DADS AT THE SAME TIME!!"

"What's this I hear about being a dad?" Enya perks up and turns to see her father approaching them, looking a bit tired but relieved and with Amaya at his side.

"Da!" She exclaims as she rushes over to him, getting enveloped in a hug. "Oooh I the best news for you!"

"Really? Well tell me, I'm eager to hear."

"Well...I'm pregnant!"

Damian's face lit up. "Pregnant? You're with child?"

"Yes! You're going to be a grandfather!"

"Oh my darling, I've waited for this day since you told me you've been married!" The tailor cried as he pulled his daughter into another hug. "Oh congratulations, congratulations! Soren, get over here! I need to give you a proper hug and congratulate you as well!"

Soren carefully dropped his friend and let his father-in-law hug him tightly. "Sir I promise that-"

"No need my boy, you're going to be an excellent father and I will give you help if you ever need it!" Damian said, releasing the captain from the hug and clapping his shoulder. "You just make sure my daughter is taken care of during this pregnancy, we want to make sure this child will be born with no complications, right?"

Oh boy if only he knew. Enya glances over to where Opeli is talking with Ezran and Callum, looking quite worried before motioning for her to come over. The tailoress nods and grabs her husband's hand and waving for Corvus and Ella to follow as they follow the others into the castle.

Once inside the meeting room and the council members were seated, Callum began to explain everything that happened once the arrived at the Spire; Ibis' death, the threat of Aaravos escaping, the earth archdragon and everything in between.

"So...we're in even more trouble now." Barius says once the young mage finished speaking. "A lot more than two years ago."

"Why am I not surprised that Viren is alive after all this time?" Opeli sighs and shakes her head. "So we have a limited amount of time to figure out what our next move is?"

"Less than thirty days to be exact." Rayla states. "And apparently the archdragon has no idea where this map he was given is. For all we know, Claudia somehow managed to get it while half of us were passed out."

"And the other half of us were either prisoners or being rescued." Soren adds. "Oh and we discovered some great news amongst all this bad stuff!"

"I know, Corvus and Ella are expecting." The councilwoman says. "Barius wouldn't stop talking my ear off about-"

"We are gonna be parents too!" Soren interrupts, hugging Enya to his side. "Isn't that great?"

"Oh! Well, congratulations, to the both of you. I suppose Enya and Ella won't be accompanying you all for this journey due to their conditions?"

"Oh no, I am not staying behind. Either I go with my husband or he doesn't go anywhere." Enya states firmly. "Aaravos threatened to hurt him if I did anything, I'm not letting him out of my sight."

"Uh...hey excuse us." Soren suddenly days, pulling Enya out of her seat and quickly dragged her out of the meeting room and down the hall until he opens up the door to their room and quickly pushes her inside. "Are you crazy?! You are with child and you're going to risk losing it when we barely found out and getting yourself hurt in the process?!"

"And if I don't come with you? What if something happens and I can't protect you?" Enya asks. "Soren, I can't lose you! You were my friend, you then became my first love and my husband, I am not going to let some powerful elf hurt you just to keep me from doing what needs to be done!"

"And I don't want to lose you or our child!" Her husband exclaims. "Why can't you just stay put for once and-"

"Gods damn it Soren I'm not staying!" Enya yells as she slammed her fist against the wall, causing her husband to flinch and step away. "Wait-"

"Enya, please, for the sake of our kid, can you just stay home and stay safe?" Soren asks quietly. "I had hoped when you ran from Claudia's boyfriend, you'd somehow get home and have the sense to stay there. I was very worried when we were running for our lives in Umber Tor and thought we would die at the hands of that archdragon, but we're alive and I want you to stay here and stay safe."

"Soren, A mhuirnín, I can't do that and you know why. Aaravos threatened you and I...I can't let him hurt you." Enya says as she walks around the table to stand next to her husband and hugs him, which he does in return. "I already lost two family members, and I don't want to lose another. I don't want our child to grow up without a father, and if there's any chance of us finding a way to kill this elf, I want to help find it. I don't want to stay here and feel useless while you and our friends are out there risking their lives to keep that peace we fought so hard to bring, please understand why I can't stay here."

"I do understand, but I would feel better knowing you're here safe and unharmed." Soren says as he pressed his forehead against hers. "For now, just stay here at home while I help our friends search for that prison. Please?"

Enya nods. "Fine, but the moment you find out where, I'm coming with you because I want to punch that no good star elf in the face. No one threatens you my husband and gets away with it."