The Sorcerer's Bride

Technically, his friends did care about him but because he was an adult they didn"t really worry about him. Which was normal and didn"t bug Kaldrek at all. But because she was his wife, Zylvia could freely worry about him without it being strange. And he felt warmth when she did.

He hated the fact that she had been beating herself up over what her adopted mother had done. He also perfectly understood why she hadn"t said anything before, probably better than their other friends could. Celia had taken her in when she had no one. Much like Jayesh"s father had done for him, after his own father had died (Kaldrek couldn"t remember his mother).

He squeezed his wife"s waist. At least she looked better than she had. A bit of color had come back into her face and she was even smiling now. Though her eyes were still a little upset, but at least she seemed to have gotten over the worst of it.

Kaldrek was a firm believer in actions speaking louder than words. Besides he sometimes had trouble saying how he truly felt anyway. Which is why he let Zylvia be clingy and even encouraged it. She needed reaffirmation of how much she meant to him, which he was more than willing to give. She was the only family he had after all, at least for now. Someday, he found himself hoping that would change. Kaldrek knew that he wasn"t the best father material, but Zylvia would make a pretty good mother. Which was the beautiful thing about parenthood - it was meant to be done together.

He released his wife"s waist as he opened the door for her. The room was empty as they entered. He had his wife sit down and ruffled her hair. Her locks were so soft against his hand.

He made sure to get her plenty of food. Zylvia used up a lot of energy in a day. His wife was a bit on the hyperactive side. A fact he adored about her, though honestly he adored everything about his lovely wife...she was just so cute.

As he placed her food down for her, she rewarded him with a brilliant smile. "Thank you, Kaldrek."

He nodded, he loved seeing her smile. If she ever cried, he would do anything to get her to smile instead. This was what love did to someone, after all. Kaldrek had researched all about love when he had realized that he had fallen for this woman.

He ate absentmindedly, watching his wife instead of paying attention to his own food. The way she ate was just too cute! He hid his smile, Zylvia always got defensive about her eating habits. And he always had a difficult time explaining what he was actually thinking about it.

When they were about halfway through their meal, their monarchs joined them. Jayesh looked tired, and Fayre was emotionally drained. The atmosphere was a bit gloomy. For a few minutes everyone was quiet.

Finally Jayesh broke the silence, "How is the progress for mending the stone?"

"Well, I think I know what I am doing." Kaldrek gave his best friend a wry smile. "I should be able to fix it before my temporary shield wears completely off."

Zylvia was staring at her plate. Kaldrek didn"t really dabble in mind reading but he figured that she was starting to beat herself up again. He placed his hand on her leg and gave it a compa.s.sionate squeeze.

"I think we caught it quickly enough." He continued as he rubbed his thumb gently on his lady"s thigh. She placed her hand on top of his, stopping him, though she didn"t remove her hand afterwards.

Jayesh nodded, "It could have been worse."

Kaldrek noticed the worried look that Fayre was giving Zylvia. He was glad that he wasn"t the only one considering what effect this would have on Zylvia.

Fayre smoothly changed the conversation, "I wonder where Hazel is?"

No-one answered for a while, as none of them had seen her for hours. Zylvia though finally looked up, "Maybe she decided to go to bed early?"

"I suppose," Fayre nodded slightly, "I hope that her conversation went well."

Kaldrek wasn"t sure what was meant. And he didn"t really care. He was trying to think of ways to make Zylvia feel better.

After they finished eating, Jayesh suddenly looked at Zylvia apologetically, "Zylvia, I am sorry but I had to have Celia arrested."

Zylvia nodded, "Of course. She deserved it at this point."

Even though she said this, Kaldrek could read some pain behind her eyes. He had a feeling that it wasn"t so much Celia being arrested than that Zylvia felt betrayed by her.

Fayre tugged on his arm, "Kaldrek, a moment."

"Yes?"

"I know you are busy right now with what is going on, but..." Fayre paused as if unsure how to say what she wanted. "Zylvia..."

"Needs me to be there for her." Kaldrek sighed, "I know. And I will be. I do care about her, you know."

"Good." Fayre looked relieved, "Zylv always looked up to Celia and this has to be eating at her."

Kaldrek nodded, "It kills me to see her this way."

The queen"s eyes widened a bit and she gave him an incredulous look. For a moment Kaldrek didn"t understand why, but then it dawned on him. What he had just said was basically admitting that Zylvia was special to him. It was the closest he had ever gotten to saying that he was in love with his wife.

Zylvia was waiting for him by the door. He started heading back with her to their room. He still had some work he should do.

After they arrived at their room, he helped her change. He was enjoying the way she blushed about this. It was amusing that she was embarra.s.sed, after all she was the one who had started their relationship shift.

He carried her to their bed and laid her down in it, tucking her in. Before he could completely do so, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a fierce needy kiss.

He barely managed to pull himself away. "Zylv, I really need to do this work." He let himself sound as reluctant as he was. "You should get some sleep."

She let him go, though she frowned, "Don"t overdo it."

"I won"t." As he went to straighten himself, he noticed the way Zylvia"s body stiffened. He couldn"t bring himself to leave her feeling like this.

Stroking her hair he waited for her to fall asleep. It wasn"t until she did that he finally started working.

By the time he let himself stop, he was completely exhausted. He fell into bed and was out by the time his head hit the pillow.