We stayed in Griffon's nest for a while as this potion, which one of the boys mixed into my tea, lost its effect very late, and my sweetheart required an appropriate recovery time. Even though he insisted several times that he appreciated my desire for him and wanted to make the best of each second, it was finally a bit too tiring for him. So, he spent the journey to the gates of Luskan, primarily asleep on Ari's back.

When we reached Luskan at Tarsakh 19, we settled into a cozy tavern in the middle of town.
After a few days, Ykril heard a second heartbeat coming from me, which explained why I often felt so sick and had unusual reactions to food that was usually completely fine to me. I was pregnant and absolutely delighted about it. Even if I considered myself way too young for it at the age of 49. Although Ykril could not express his joy as any other becoming father would, there was no doubt that he was as excited about our child as I was. In situations like this, anyone who didn't know him would think he was utterly unemotional because he barely made an expression that would indicate an emotion.

While we were strolling through the town this morning, which was still asleep, a courier delivered a letter to him. Since it had his farm's seal, he started reading it on the spot and muttered angrily, »Dad« while he crumpled the letter and looked at me.
»We need to get to my parent's farm, and I'd like to have this done as soon as possible.« he pleaded.
»You do know how your family thinks about me, right?« I reminded him in a calm voice.
»I know, and I still don't care. It is essential to me that you accompany me. We might leave a message for Miara and the others through the tavern or Arishonna.«
So we wrote a message for the others and stowed it with Ari in the saddle.
»And how do you want to travel?« I asked, but he said nothing but lifted me, gently as usual, into his arms as he spread his wings, and before I buried my face in his neck and absorbed his scent, I grumbled a low, ›That much stress isn't good for our baby.‹

It took us only a few hours, and we arrived at the farm just before the sun was at its highest. His response to my question about why we had not traveled like this before was unexpected. I never thought that someone who got his wings in childhood would suffer from a fear of heights.
Before I could continue questioning him, his brother Zalen interrupted us.
»Why have you brought your concubine?« he immediately huffed.
»Because she's my spouse!« Ykril replied calmly and decisively.
»You really want to bury him, don't you?«
»No! I just like to make my own decisions!«
»Suit yourself. But don't expect it to be treated well!« he shrugged curtly and disappeared into the house.
As Ykril was about to move, I grabbed him by the arm.
»What is a concubine?« I asked him quietly.
»The term for a life mate in a relationship similar to marriage, but not regulated by marriage,« he explained and continued. »Basically, you could think of it as a compliment. Still, it's often used pejoratively to refer to a co-wife who's only meant for specific purposes, like cooking, cleaning, sex, and children.«
When he finished the second sentence, I raised my eyebrows briefly and followed, beside him, into the house where the others were already waiting. It was my first time seeing his parents because I had only dealt with Sunih and Zalen during my first visit.
I kept discreetly in the back of Ykril. Still, it wasn't long before his father spotted me, got up indignantly from the dining table, and started gesticulating wildly in Ykril's direction.
»Get that thing out of my house!« he demanded harshly to Ykril, but his response was rapid.
»No. Naldela stays!« he commanded gruffly, offering me a seat at the dining table and sat beside me.
I looked at the perplexed faces of those present and paused momentarily, gazing at this young woman who, to my knowledge, was not a family member. Is she the reason why Ykril got so angry?
»This creature has no legitimate reason to sit at my table or even enter my house!« Akim yelled, whose volume was remarkable for his age.
»I love her, and I'm part of this family, so she has earned any right!« Ykril replied, not quite as loudly, while his mother leaned in and put a plate of soup for each person on the table except for me. Ykril curtly grumbled but said nothing and passed his plate to me.
»I can't believe you are trying to lock down my luck like this!« he continued. This time, his mother didn't hesitate and placed her hands on the unknown's shoulder from behind.
»We never would. That's why Vero Shirsk came here.« she said with a grin while the woman remained silent.
»She will be a wonderful wife to you and will bear you delightful children.« she continued in a gentle voice.
Instantly I inspected this white-haired, young human woman, who hid her body entirely in dark green leather clothing. The dagger and the small, one-handed crossbow I saw on her earlier when we entered the room suggested that she was an assassin.
»You want to tell me who I have to love? I will not marry anyone else but Naldela! Why are you doing this? Is it because Naldela is a Drow?« Ykril interrupted my thoughts with his raving voice.
»Drow are monsters. They have no respect for feelings or other property. They don't even shy away from slavery; before you realize it, you'll be her slave!« his father growled again, and I clenched my fists under the table. But before I could even slam them down on the table, Ykril did.
»That's the last straw!« he shouted in a rage.
»You judge her as if you've known her for years, yet you don't even have the slightest idea of how lovely, magnificent, and kind-hearted this beautiful woman is. She is a breathtaking woman and will become a fantastic mother.«
He made his point more than clear in a strong voice, and after everyone was silent for a few seconds, Sunih dropped in a question that no one was expecting.
»She's pregnant?«
As if she had an intriguing intuition about it. Surprisingly, there was no hatred in her voice, which didn't fit at all with the general mood in the room.
»Honey, bring the bat. She's not going to have this baby!« Akim ordered in the direction of Kira, who immediately went for it.

»Shut the fuck up, all of you!« I roared and arose, giving a powerful gust of wind that cleared the entire table and flung away every unoccupied chair across the room without me even uttering the spell's words. Casting spells in silence was on Mother's teaching schedule but wasn't planned for another 10 years.
Instead of even one of those present giving rebuttal, silence ruled, and they all stared at me.
»What?« I asked Ykril in confusion, who was looking at me in amazement.
»Why does she have wings? Did you transfer your magic to her?« it came excitedly, but not hostilely, by Sunih while Zalen was in a rage.
»This is heresy! We have to burn her...« that's all I got from his performance of lacking self-control, but I gasped at the sight of the slightly transparent, shimmering wings that were clearly spreading out from me. I stumbled backward over a chair, but Ykril was able to catch me before I hit the floor.
Soon after, the wings lost their shape in a cloud of fine dust, and I interrupted in a loud voice the still ongoing, raucous monologue about heresy and witch-burning of Zalen.
»Shut your fucking mouth before you burn yourself, moron!« I replied sharply to Zalen, not realizing until I finished the sentence that my hand was resting on my dagger.
»I will give birth to the baby, which is Ykril's and mine! Only one of us will have the right to decide what will happen regarding this new life!« I lowered my voice slightly but quickly got louder when I had to mouth that one word.
»Ykril is neither my slave nor my lust-boy! I love and adore him and only him! So the only ones capable of changing that fact are he and I, and the way I feel about it, that's not going to change!«
I could see Ykril's embarrassed smirk out of the corner of my eye, whose face turned a cute blush, wordlessly confirming that he had as strong feelings for me as I had for him.
»I want to return home!« I quietly urged Ykril, who nodded curtly.
»We'll leave tomorrow at the crack of dawn.« he confirmed before I sat on the porch and looked at the moon.
»She's not going to sleep in this house!« Ykril's father started to rant, who had recovered from the shock more quickly than I expected.
»Fine, in the barn then. With me!« Ykril responded to him, to which Zalen didn't wait long to add a comment.
»Right with the pigs, where it belongs!«
I sighed loudly, feeling tears sliding down my cheeks.
»Do what you want, but I will marry her. Not by a ceremony of humans, but according to the teachings of her faith in Eilistraee.«
›Did I just understand that correctly? He wants to establish the Love-Binding according to the teachings of Eilistraee?‹ I was astonished but thrilled that he shared my religious faith. Especially since he sounded very determined. Moreover, I already knew for a long time that he wanted to propose to me, and I eagerly awaited it. Still, I expected to sew myself one of those fancy wedding garments, like those appropriate for human ceremonies.
Now I was craving even more for the day when he finally got the courage and the time to propose to me.

As I finished daydreaming about our wedding with a light, comforting sigh, I realized that Sunih was sitting next to me.
»That must have been a wonderful daydream!« she giggled at me.
I just looked sheepishly at the floor, hoping that the heat that was making drops of sweat run down my spine would settle down soon.
»With any other Drow, I would question that the child is Ykril's.« she continued very calmly.
»But I am excited for both of you and can't wait to see the little bundle of joy. Drow pregnancy lasts seven months, right?«
I nodded briefly before answering her.
»I'm surprised there's anyone in the family besides Ykril who doesn't hold a grudge against Drow.«
She began to laugh.
»Oh, dear. I do hate Drow. - But I do like you. Thanks to you, my brother finally seems to be happy again, and that's all I want for him! Besides, I already know you a little and know you're not like other Drow.«
I almost forgot what a soft and melodic voice Sunih had.
»Our parents are very old-fashioned, and they suffered more than others from the attacks from the Underdark. The marriage with Vero would guarantee us additional protection from the attacks, as Vero's parents operate a military outpost nearby. They know that Ykril is an Aasimar and want his divine blood in the children he would make with Vero. It would be a marriage of convenience.«
I sighed loudly
»I do not want to be the ignored woman who isn't allowed to establish the Love-Bond with the one she loves more than anything else!« I replied, disappointed.
»It's no different than it is with Drow. Only that with you, it is polyandry.« she tried to explain, but I immediately corrected her.
»I grew up with parents who were living in a monogamous relationship. I don't care how it is with other Drow. My upbringing was clearly tied to a single partner in life.«
»Aren't you angering your deity with this? Lolth?«
»I'm an Eilistraeen. The only thing I see in Lolth is that she is the mother of Eilistraee.«
»But doesn't your back carry the sign of Lolth?«
»It's a tattoo, that's all! It's an old tradition given to all the women in my family when they reach adolescence.«

Sunih and I talked for a long time about children, cooking, and many other things. But she seemed especially interested in the wedding ceremony and perked up when I told her it included being naked. It almost sounded as if she really wanted to be part of it. Even if it's just to see her brother fall to the ground in shame.

»If you do, I'll disown you!« the raucous uproar of Ykril's father snapped me out of the conversation, and I looked up at Ykril, who was suddenly standing before me, holding out a hand to help me up. He seemed to tune out everything around him by now and looked at me with a happy smile. While kneeling in front of me a moment later, he held the ring in the small box before him and began to speak softly while I looked at him in surprise yet overwhelmed with joy.
»Naldela, darling. You know I'm not very good at expressing feelings, so I'll try to keep it short.« he took one deep breath and continued in a slightly shaky voice.
»I felt incomplete for a very long time. Not myself, and most of the time, I didn't know what I was missing. When I saw you back then in the dungeon, chained, maltreated, and yet not broken, so incredibly beautiful, I knew at first sight and your first snarl against me that with you, I finally found the last piece that would complete my life. I am complete only with you by my side.« he cleared his throat briefly and held the ring a little higher.
»What you give to me, what I have and will have with you, is more than I had ever dared to dream. Do you want to get married to me?«
Just at the moment he had uttered the last word, a delighted squeal came from Sunih and Zalen, as well as his father responded simultaneously with a »Fuck.«
Touched, though irritated as to why he was proposing to me just now, I looked at him with tears of joy and reflexively replied with a croaky »Yes.« followed by a louder, joyful »Yes, I do.«
Empowered, he straightened up and gently slipped the ring over my left ring finger, and just as we were about to kiss, Zalen indignantly pushed us apart. Even though Ykril had the loss of his patience written all over his face, I made a fist and slammed it down on Zalen's nose. With his hands on his nose, he stumbled back, grumbling slightly, and I could see by Sunih's big smirk that she had tripped him up, causing him to land in the mud.
After a short but intense kiss, we turned toward Ykril's family. When he took me in his arms and gently pressed me against him, he immediately spoke calmly to them, resting his right hand on my belly.
»Dad, Zalen. I am sure Eilistraee will give her blessing to our love, and there is nothing you can do about it, as Naldela already said. Because our love is destined for each other! Sunih? I would be« he looked briefly at me, cleared his throat for a moment, and then continued speaking.
»We would be honored if you would participate in the Love-Binding ceremony before Eilistraee.«
Sunih immediately blushed, didn't seem to know what to say at first, and then, as usual, asked the right question.
»Am I allowed to, even though I don't deny Eilistraee, but my belief in her is not as solid as yours?«
»Yes. It only takes one of two witnesses to fully believe in Eilistraee.« I smiled softly back at her.
She sprinted towards us and took us in her arms, overjoyed.
»Of course, I want a part of it!« as she sobbed into the hug.

While I chatted more with Sunih, Ykril clarified a few matters with the others. Shortly after, the strange woman, sitting at the dining table the whole time, stormed out, grumbled a »fucking bitch« at me, and disappeared; Ykril came out of the house again.
»We're going back to Luskan!« he almost demanded.
»Are you sure? You look very exhausted, sweetheart.« I noted worriedly while gently stroking his cheek.
He didn't answer directly but said goodbye to Sunih with a hug and gently lifted me into his arms.
»Yes« he replied barely, spreading his beautiful wings and rose under the astonished and slightly envious gaze of Sunih.

We flew for a few minutes before he made a short flip and started to weaken.
»Go down! We will rest now!« I commanded him, but it was already too late, and we were in free fall. A moment where I was grateful for his fear of heights. I clung tightly to him and muttered »shit« into his chest as the branches of the trees below us barely broke our fall before hitting the ground hard.