Mature: Desert Moon

[Emora Deen]

Atul tugged Tenele tighter to him. "Not being able to have sex with her doesn't make you not her husband, Vlad. You love her, you cherish her, protect her, and that is all that matters for now. Sex isn't the most important thing to Tenele. She enjoys it because you enjoy it with her, but its not the reason she loves you. Its also not the reason I love you. Everything will get worked out eventually..."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad didn't speak. He just tightened his arm around the king's stomach, his fingers grazing his chest. Another cool-lipped kiss on his shoulderblade, and the vampire lay still, unyielding in his grip.

[Emora Deen]

"What about me?" Atul asked softly, pressing a kiss to Tenele's head. "Is it impossible for you to make love to me? Does the thought of me affect you the same as Tenele's body?"

[Soran Nightblade]

"No. It is only Tenele. I think she was incapable of hurting you, even in my mind."

[Emora Deen]

"So you could make love to me, but you can't with her?" Atul asked softly. It seemed, no matter what happened in progress with moving their relationship towards marriage, something always seemed to be keeping it from functioning properly. "I can't forgive her for what she did to you, Vlad. I can try to love her, but I can't forgive her."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad huffed softly against his skin. "I am fiercely attracted to you, lover," he murmured, "as I always am." The line of questioning filled his thoughts with memories of Atul's body inside his. "I doubt she wants to be forgiven. The other thing is more important," he said absently, his fingers tracing the man's nipples without even thinking about it.

[Emora Deen]

Atul closed his eyes, relishing the feel of the vampire's firm hands. His body curled, wishing those hands to run lower. "I am glad you are not hurt by the thought of me," he sighed, pressing his cheek against Tenele's warm hair.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad made a low sigh under his breath and carefully stilled his hand. He couldn't exactly seduce the man in front of Tenele, when he'd just failed her. Plus, what his body wanted right now wan't just sex....it was punishment. He didn't want gentle love. What he wanted, by any normal standards, was abuse. He couldn't use Atul for that. He wouldn't do that to him. "Goodnight, my king," he said, love flooding his voice.

[Emora Deen]

Atul smiled softly, closing his eyes. "Good night," he whispered back tenderly.

It took them another day before they reached home and when they arrived to a great welcoming fanfare, Tenara greeted them with excited cheers. She couldn't figure out who to hug first, or for how long. So she just jumped from one to the other, finally settling in Vlad's arms last, snuggling into his neck. "Daddy, daddy, daddy," she gushed. "I missed you. I missed you! Uncle Talon is boring."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad pulled her into a bear hug and spun her around the way most fathers would only sling around their young boys. "If you think he's boring now, you should have met him when he was alive," he smirked. "Missed you too, Snack." His spirits raised the moment he saw her in the crowd, and he ignored his splintering eyeballs as he pulled his hood back after three days on the bright sands.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara giggled at her father's joke. That was silly, Uncle Talon was alive. "Please don't go away again for a long time," she told him firmly.

"We will stay as long as we can, but always come back to you as fast as possible," Tenele told her beautiful daughter, stroking fingers through her hair.

That day Atul made a public announcement about the marriage to a delighted crowd. They loved that he had chosen the Goddess as his wife, and her husband as his Second. It was a warmer welcome than he had anticipated, which spoke volumes about how much the two had won over his people.

"Now, all we have left is to tell Sinead, and start making wedding plans. My advisers should be able to handle a majority of it," Atul explained to them as he closed the balcony doors behind him. "So... when do you want to brave the Queen of Ighten's wrath?"

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad waved the idea off over-casually. "I can handle Queeny."

"Can you really? Handle me how?" a familiar voice dripped sweetly from the corner of the room. Vlad jerked around and stared at the woman whose presence was no longer cloaked in the corner of the room.

"Sinead?" Vlad greeted slowly. His lips rose in a wild smirk. "What brings you all this way without any notice?" He trapped a laugh deep in his throat and stared at her as seriously as was possible when he was on the brink of falling into hysterics.

"I heard some interesting news from my eyes and ears. Impossible, but interesting. I thought I would explore it at its source." The woman's blue eyes were full of warning.

Vlad's were bright with amusement. "This I'd like to hear. So little is impossible to you, my Queen," he scoffed. "What news brought you all the way here?"

"Watch your tone, Vladimir. You know I'm not joking."

"That's why I'm not laughing. Out loud," Vlad jabbed back, walking up to her. The two extremely powerful beings sized each other up.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele braced Tenara's weight on her hip, swallowing her anxiety at seeing the stern look on Sinead's features. It seemed that even Tenara could feel the prickle of uneasiness in the air. The child usually called out for Sinead and wanted to hug her immediately. Instead, Tenara held tight to Tenele and watched them both appraisingly. Maybe, she being a child of power, could sense something that Tenele couldn't.

Atul was just as surprised as the rest of them for seeing Sinead. "Queen Sinead," he greeted pleasantly, stepping up to offer his hand to her. "What a pleasure that you've graced the shores of Hajara with your presence. I'm sorry, we were just returning from regaining Tenele's memories. Had a been aware of your arrival I would have prepared a better welcoming. Do you plan to visit long?"

[Soran Nightblade]

"I think you know I'm not here to visit, King Hajaris," she replied curtly. "Surely, you can't possibly think you could break off your much-anticipated engagement without my hearing of it. I came to be sure my servant was not the cause," she flicked her eyes to Vlad's proud figure before her. She offered her hand to Atul's waiting arm elegantly. "Surely, you would not presume to make claims on my servants without consulting me, much less announce it to your people?"

"That's enough, Queeny. I proposed."

"And he was not at liberty to accept. He knows this. Even as a young king, he is not a stranger to the politics of hosting ambassadors. They are to be used for the common political purpose, not charmed away and kept as toys without my permission," Sinead returned sternly.

[Emora Deen]

Atul placed a kiss at the top of Sinead's hand, but paused at her words. He drew away slowly, standing straight and smiling at her. "It would please me, your highness, if you did not speak of me as if were not here," he replied, clasping his hands behind his back. "And you refer to two people you care for greatly as if they were just pawns to be used at you whim and disposed of at your leisure. I know they mean more to you than that, so I would hope that you would consider their happiness. I am not charming your ambassadors away, nor do I keep them as toys. They are free to come and go as they please, and as you wish. If anything, Queen Sinead, they have charmed me. By accepting a proposal from them it is not my wish to take from you two very loyal members of your court, or to take away your most powerful soldier, but instead provide an alliance with our kingdoms that is unfaltering and ever faithful. If you do not deem this an effective alliance, I would be happy to entertain your marriage proposal..."