Epilogue
I lay with my head on Zale's chest, listening to his heartbeat.
His hand was on top of mine, on my heavily rounded belly. We lay there in the peaceful silence. All of the reports, decisions, and work that were our responsibility would wait for some time.
For right now, there was only the two of us.
Soon we would no longer be alone.
"If it's a girl, what about the name Zelda?" I asked. "It is the name for a powerful Princess who fights to save her kingdom and recruits a hero to fight alongside her. She makes good hiring decisions. It's pretty pop culture."
"That is a beautiful name," he rumbled. "Though I still don't understand why you wish to wait to find out what name to use."
"Sometimes it is nice to be surprised," I said. "There are so many decisions to make. It is nice to let fate play a part in one of them."
He lifted his hand to my chin, turning my head to him as he gently placed a kiss on my lips.
"Fewer now that you let the Council of Queens take over Earth," he rumbled.
"I did all the hard stuff," I said. "They're perfect to step in and be the benevolent counterpart to soften the blows."
I rotated in bed, pressing the length of my body against his.
He shifted to accommodate me, supporting my back with his hands.
"What about the name Zale for a boy?“ I asked. "Zale junior?"
I loved the idea of using the name he chose for himself rather than the one he was given to give our child their start.
His eyes searched mine.
"Our child will be faced with a lifetime of public judgment, of having to be strong and vicious in the face of opposition, of having to make hard choices that impact billions of people and be the sole person to blame if something goes wrong, along with being one of the first half breeds in power - and you wish to give him the name Zale?
" he asked softly. "It is a commoner's name. "
I reached up to gently stroke his cheek.
"I'm a commoner," I said. "Being born into power doesn't make you worthy - it just gives you different tools to start out with.
Our children will have to learn, grow, and adapt if they want to eventually rule.
They will have to learn how to figure out what they want and what they need to accomplish their goals.
Zale is the perfect name for a man who knows what he wants and goes and gets it.
Especially because our child isn't going to become a ruler for a long time, right? "
His tail twisted around my ankle, the soft fur sending shivers through me.
"We will not grow old for centuries," he said. "When we pass on power, it will be when our children are ready to take it, and when we are ready to retire."
"Is that a promise?" I asked, snuggling into his chest.
He brushed his lips over the top of my head.
"My promise is that I will do everything and anything to protect our family," he said. "My promise to myself was to find a mate who would do the same."
"You know that most human women are like that," I said. "We will do whatever it takes. We just often lack the physical power or firepower necessary to do so. A well-armed woman is a dangerous creature. However, we also have a tendency to forgive. I'm not anything special."
"In that, you are wrong," he sang. "You being special isn't a matter of what others can or would do. It is a matter of you. You don't have to be anything or do anything to be the one for me. You can just exist and let me exist next to you. You are magnificent, and you are mine.."
"Oh," I sighed, closing my eyes into the warmth of the cuddle. "That's good."