by Maggie Walsh
“I asked him to come in and help me out with the monitors, in case we run into any unexpected issues,” Aracas stated quickly.
Norog rushed in. “Dain and his mates are coming in with Destrain. Pelt, you’re on.”
Pelt looked at Clove and then Aracas. “What’s he talking about?”
Aracas smiled wide. “I forgot, we need a decoy for Dolly.”
Pelt started backing up. “No way. There is no way I’m going to—”
Tobias looked at Pelt sighing, “I know Mom can be a bit much, Pelt, but she has taken a liking to you.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Pelt muttered.
Clove patted the king’s head guard on the shoulder. “All we need you to do, is get her in the entertainment room. Dain, Rune, and Kerrick will do the rest.”
“And how do you suggest I do that, Clove?” Pelt asked with a slight growl.
Shrugging, Clove replied, “I’m sure you can think of something. Dain and his mates are taking Destrain in there now.”
“Please, Pelt. I need my mate and mother to see how wonderful they both are. It’s hard having two people I love, fighting all the time.” Tobias said, with tears in his eyes.
Pelt dropped his head down and let out a deep breath. “Fine. I’ll do my best.”
Tobias rushed to the large warrior and threw his arms around him, giving Pelt a tight hug. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
Pelt looked at Clove in a panic, then seeing Clove just standing there smiling, brought his hand up, and awkwardly patted Tobias on the back.
Clove took mercy on the man, and gently detached his mate from Pelt. “Let Pelt go so we can get the ball rolling on this thing, Toby. Destrain isn’t going to stay in the ball—entertainment room much longer.”
Pelt asked, “Where is Dolly?”
“She went to her room to change. Norog told her we’re having a special dinner and she wanted to look her best,” Aracas replied.
Clove heard a door close, then Dolly yelling out, “Hello? Where the hell is everybody?”
Aracas tapped a button and the image of Dolly appeared on the screen. Snickers were heard, and Clove was one of the culprits. The woman was wearing a purple, tiger-print bodysuit, with black, knee-high, stiletto boots with gold buckles on the side. She wore a large, floppy, black and gold twist-hat on her head, and gold bracelets jangling on her arms.
“Go, Pelt. Just get her in the entertainment room and Dain, his mates, Twix and Rhys will do the rest,” Clove insisted, pushing the warrior towards the door.
“Look people, let’s get the bull in the pen here. I’m so hungry my belly thinks my throat’s cut!” Dolly yelled out.
Pelt walked into view, stammering, “Uh—I’m here to—to uh—take you to—”
Dolly quickly went to Pelt, and wrapped his arm around her own, smiled up at him, patting his chest. “Well hello there, my sexy friend. I was beginning to think I was abandoned by everyone.”
Pelt shook his head. “Oh, no ma’am. Your dinner guests are waiting for you in the entertainment room.”
“Well let’s get this pole dance started then,” Dolly said with a smile.
Clove watched with Tobias and the others as Pelt walked Dolly into the entertainment room. The screen switched and Destrain came into view with Dain, Rune, and Kerrick.
“Dain, all of this is nice, but I have things to do. I still need to meet with Norog about the schedule and—what in God’s name is all this?”
“Norog and I already went through this week’s schedule, Destrain, and this is a special dinner your mates planned for you. I just need you to taste the wine and tell me if it is the right vintage for the meeting with the pixie elders tomorrow,” Dain explained.
Destrain looked confused as he sipped the wine. He made a face saying, “It tastes slightly bitter. Maybe Welker should check the wine cellar temperatures.”
Dain nodded. “I’ll have him get right on it. Now, I hope that shepherd’s pie with steamed broccoli are alright for dinner.”
“It should be fine. But with two mates and myself, there should be three settings,” Destrain replied.
Clove watched as Dolly walked into the dining area they had set up and Destrain’s shoulders immediately went stiff and straight. “Hello, Dolly. Is there something I can do for you?”
Dolly snorted, “There is nothing you can do for me that I can’t do myself.”
Clove sighed as he watched Destrain’s face stiffen as much as his shoulders and spine. “I was only trying to help if you needed it.”
“Destrain, you are as about useful to me as you are a screen to a submarine,” Dolly hissed.
“What have I ever done to you for you to speak to me so hatefully?” Destrain asked.
Dolly looked him up and down, snapping, “You were born.”
Pelt, Dain, and his mates started backing out of the room. He could hear a low chant and saw Twix and Rhys standing at the door opening. The second Dain and the others got to them, Dain held his hands in the air and began to chant louder.
Destrain must have heard the words because he turned to the doorway shouting, “What are you doing?”
Dain, Twix, and Rhys didn’t stop their chanting as Rune said, “For your mates and your men, you must work out your differences with Dolly. When you have done this, we shall release the bindings.”
“Bindings? What the hell are you talking about?” Destrain shouted.
Lifting his arms, Destrain shouted, “Open!”
Nothing happened.
He opened his arms once more. “Open!”
Still nothing.
Twix, Rhys, and Dain stepped back, dropped their arms and stopped chanting. Dain turned to the camera saying, “It’s done.”
Clove pressed a button on the control panel and spoke into the mic, “Thank you, Dain.”
Destrain looked around, asking, “Clove, is that you? What’s going on? Where are you?”
Clove pressed the button once more and replied, “Des, you know that Toby and I love you, but this tension between you and Dolly must stop.”
“Clove! Clove, is that you? What in tarnation is going on? Why can’t I walk out the door?” Dolly yelled out.
“Dolly, like I said, your anger and arguing with our mate must stop. Toby and I want you to stay in our home permanently.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Destrain gasped.
Clove didn’t acknowledge Destrain’s outburst, saying, “We have bound Destrain’s powers and locked you both in this room. You are going to have a nice dinner and talk about whatever it is that’s bothering you. Once you two have come to an agreement and are able to be civil with each other, we would like to arrange for your furnishings and whatever else you may want, to be brought here.”
“I never asked to come and live in this monstrosity you call a home,” Dolly shouted out.
Clove sighed. “No, you didn’t, but you and I both know, your home is where your son is, and Toby’s home is with Desi and myself. You and Desi’s actions are hurting my mate. I cannot and will not, stand around and not do whatever I can to change that.”
“When my Tobias finds out what you are doing, he is going to be very upset,” Dolly stated with a firm nod.
Tobias made his way to the intercom where Clove was. He pressed the button, nervously saying, “Mama, I love you with all my heart, but Clover is right. You arguing with Dezzy, and me waking up not finding him in bed with Clover and me, just so he can avoid your barbs, is hurtful. I want my mother in my life, but I also want my mates. Please don’t make me choose. Please, Mom. I—I can’t do that.”
Clove wrapped his arms around Tobias as the man cried softly. He knew Destrain was hearing the pain in Tobias’s voice by the way the man’s shoulders drooped. He also knew Dolly was not unaffected by the passion and pleading in Tobias’s words. Dolly sighed and turned away from the camera, wiping the sides of her eyes.
Clove pressed the intercom once more. “We’re turning off the sound. Whatever
you two have to say to each other will remain between the two of you. We will, however, monitor the room to make sure nothing nefarious happens, and we will also check in once in a while to see how things are progressing.”
Clove released the button and held Tobias close. His little mate whispering, “Do you think this will work?”
Kissing the top of Tobias’s head, Clove whispered back, “It will work, Toby. Destrain may be stubborn, but not even he will allow that to stop him from making things right. He loves you as much as I do, and your happiness trumps all else.”
* * * *
Destrain turned from the door and made his way to the table, then sat down. Letting out a loud breath, he looked towards the ceiling, saying, “This is insane.”
“Well, kiss my go to hell,” Dolly stated as she plopped down in the chair in front of him.
Slowly, Destrain brought his head down until he was looking at the crazy lady in front of him. His eyes widened when he really looked at her. Good Gods, what is she wearing?
“Maybe if we just eat and smile, they’ll let us out?” Dolly muttered as she lifted the lid on her plate.
Shaking his head, Destrain replied, “Clove is a very smart man. He will not be fooled. Even if he was, Tobias deserves better than deceit.”
Dolly rolled her eyes. “Oh, now you’re going to tell me what my son deserves? Like I don’t know? I do, you know, I raised that boy. There is nothing about him I am ignorant about. Even this fantasy he has of being a fireman. He has done nothing but talk about that since our house burned down when he was a child.” Snorting she added, “The bitch is, he’s the one who started the fire to begin with. He was too young to remember, and I never told him. My son is not the most graceful of ferrets.”
“Tobias is a beautiful man and I wouldn’t change a thing about him,” Destrain stated firmly.
Snorting, Dolly replied, “You say that now, but what happens when he is racing around your living room and breaks one of those fancy-shmansy vases or thousand-dollar knick-knacks?”
Destrain waved his hand around. “I wouldn’t care one way or another. It’s all material.”
Dolly curled her lip. “Says the man who wants for nothing. Hell, just one of those golden eggs you have in that casing out there would feed ten families for a lifetime.”
Destrain could hear the disgust in the woman’s tone and felt his anger rise. “What is your problem with me, Dolly? A vase is replaceable. A knick-knack is replaceable. Your son is not. He is my mate and I wouldn’t care if he broke every damn thing in the palace. I love him unconditionally.”
“Oh please, like you know what that even means. Unconditional love is not dictated by feelings. No one can stay sweet and loving twenty-four hours a day. You will get angry with each other. You will fight. You will disagree. It’s what you do with that, which dictates if your love is unconditional. You won’t be able to wave your magic wand and just fix things. It’s something you are going to have to work through,” Dolly stated with feeling.
Destrain nodded. “True. Every person has something they bring to a relationship. We each have our own temperament, personalities, and gifts. It is learning how to weave them together, to make your relationship as strong as it can be.”
“And as a king, how much are you willing to compromise? How much are you willing to give up for my son? You’re so used to saying you want something and it appears, that the first time you are told no, you won’t know how to react, and I fear that for my son. I raised him to be a free thinker and I don’t want him losing that just to make you happy. No one should stop being who they are to make another happy,” Dolly replied.
Destrain could hear a sad undertone in Dolly’s voice, the way she held her posture, the haunted look in her eyes, and realized that must be what happened to her. “There is nothing I would change about Tobias. He is a good man. He’s sweet, honest, and caring to everyone he meets.”
“He’s also unfiltered, scatter-brained, and couldn’t jump a nickel to save a dime. Yet, no matter how little he may have, he will still give it to the man next to him if he thinks he needs it more. I love my son, King Almighty, but I also know his faults,” Dolly stated with a tilt of her chin.
“So, you dislike me because I’m a king, have too much money, and you think I am unwilling to compromise?” Destrain asked in confusion.
Dolly sat forward, pushing aside her uneaten meal, saying, “I dislike you because you think you're all that. Your hoity-toity talk, your impeccable clothing that is never out of place, and the way you look down on someone like me, because we don’t walk in the same circles. Tell me Destrain, what exactly do you think you have in common with my son? He wears torn-up jeans, has a failing career choice, and doesn’t have a pot to piss in. That boy has known what it’s like to be hungry. I did my best to raise him on my own. I worked three jobs sometimes just to keep a roof over his head, and there were times when all we had to eat were top ramen or mac and cheese. Can you say the same? You have no idea what it’s like to do without. You have no idea what it’s like to sleep on a cold hard floor as your stomach rumbles and begs for just a small morsel. Besides a bed partner, what does my son bring to this mating? Your stick is shoved so far up your ass, you would never approve of the man Tobias is meant to be.”
Destrain gasped at the anger and loathing. Then her words hit a spot that Destrain did his best to ignore. However, his own anger brought words out that Destrain rarely ever spoke. “You don’t know shit, lady! I have known every one of those things and then some. I have slept on hard, cold floors practically starving to death. I have also known what it was to get beat just for asking for a sip of water, or to watch those you love die off slowly from starvation and abuse!”
“Oh please, pixie school is not the same as real life,” Dolly said with a wave of her hand.
Destrain snapped, “Do not dismiss what I am saying to you, woman! I was a slave for hundreds of years! I know exactly what all of that is like and more. No control of what happened to myself or my people. Knowing that the pixies looked upon me and my family to help them and being powerless to do a damn thing.”
Dolly’s eyes widened. “I had no idea.”
Destrain looked harder at Dolly, saying, “As for what Tobias brings to our mating? Let me tell you something. He brings me a new lease on life. Tobias is a breath of fresh air. He and Clove are my beacons calling me home.”
Feeling his throat closing with emotion, Destrain fought to continue, “You and others think being a king is easy. Just click my fingers and everything is done as I wish. If it were only that way.” Turning back to Dolly, Destrain spoke past the lump in his throat, “I am on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty-five days a year. My phone always rings at the most inopportune moments with people wanting, or needing something only their king can provide. Sometimes it is reassurance they are safe. Sometimes it is help with funding a new business or a confusion about something going on in this realm. I am needed by so many, I am terrified my mates are going to bond and forget I’m even there, because of all the time I must dedicate to those around me. The threat of losing my mates is there for me at every turn. Then you show up, Tobias’s mother. You are a woman Tobias loves and respects, and you hate my guts. Now I have to fear my mate is going to want to leave me to make his mother happy.”
“And I fear my son is going to stop needing me, because he has a mate who can give him anything his heart desires. I don’t want to lose my son. He’s all I have in the world,” Dolly said, wiping at her eyes.
“Why in the world would you lose Tobias?” Destrain asked in confusion.
Dolly jumped from her seat, her arms open wide, and turning in a circle. “How do I compete with all of this? You’re the king who can give him anything, while I don’t have a pot to piss in. What the hell is left for me to offer him?”
Destrain stood up, softly saying, “You are his mother, Dolly. You have given him a mother’s love, which is something you have a
lready given him that neither Clove or I ever could.”
“What are you talking about?” Dolly asked in exasperation.
Destrain walked to Dolly, gently taking her hand. “Dolly, one of the reasons I’m so hurt you don’t like me is that to me, you are one of the most cherished and honored women in this town. You are the woman who gave life to my mate. Without you, my life would be incomplete. I don’t want to take your place. I want to join forces with you in making Tobias one of the happiest men alive. I want the honor of calling you mother. Clove and I have never known that term personally, and if you live here it would make Tobias happy, so I want that as well.”
Dolly sighed. “I don’t know if I can live in a place like this, Kingy. I’m so afraid I’m going to break something, I walk on shells just to take a piss.”
“Then change it,” Destrain replied with a toss of his hands. “None of this crap in here has a fond memory or cherished moment. It is a bunch of junk that our pixie decorators brought in and I didn’t have the heart to tell them it was ugly as sin. I’ve slowly tried to change things, but with all my other duties, I don’t always have the time. I already told Tobias and Clove to do as they will with the place and I’m telling you, whatever you don’t like in your quarters, change them. Send the bill to my accounting department.” Raising his hand before Dolly could say a word, Destrain went on, “And before you make a smart-ass comment, it is palace grounds you are decorating and therefore, it is palace money which will pay for it. Also, if you would like a job, I am looking for someone who can run the household and I would be more than willing to take you on.”
Shaking her head, Dolly replied, “Oh no. I already got a job at that new Twixie’s place today. I was gonna surprise Tobias with the news, but I haven’t had the chance yet.”
“Well, if you change your mind let me know. The job is real and I’m looking. It’s one of the reasons I went to see Illan and Justice. I want to lessen my load, so I have more time with my mates. There are going to be some big changes around here. After the discussion we just had, I am very willing to listen to any suggestions you might have,” Destrain stated sitting back down.
