‘-And as these virgin maidens take up the offered Unicorn gifted onto them by a virgin male, the unseeable courts of the fey bless the newly established couple in holy matrimony and signify to the world that their marriage will become bountiful and filled with merriment.

-Intricacies of the Fey and Their Relationships with the Elves Vol. II’

An amused chuckle escaped from Iskra's smiling lips as she quietly read the passage to herself. While the blissful young girl wasn't sure as to how often it was that she had read that particular passage, the raven-haired teenager just knew that she would never get tired of reading it.

‘I really must thank that vile mother-in-law of mine, especially with how ignorant she raised her son when it came to his people's cultural beliefs.’ Iskra mused to herself as her thoughts immediately turned towards Mori'Anna, her husband’s blood mother. Ever since the teenaged couple had unknowingly gotten married, and subsequently found themselves as expectant parents, the pair of teenaged lovebirds had a falling out with both Velicion and Mori'Anna.

Yet despite letting their staunch disapproval towards the young couple's marriage be well known throughout the entirety of the Dark Elven royal family, as well as going so far as to force her father-in-law to step in and reign in the eye-rolling inducing schemes of his wives, Iskra cared little for the screeching of distant whores. ‘Now my dearest mother-in-law's are refusing to talk to my lovingly, dejected husband. He has no choice but to have me as his sole source of comfort and affection.'

"That doesn't mean that I'm done with them just yet," Whispered a yearning Iskra as she leaned back in her chair before placing a loving hand over her swollen stomach. A venomous glee grew over her beautiful features as the expectant mother caressed the growing belly that held the unborn life within her. "The further they go in upsetting my dearest Knight means the deeper he'll fall into the rabbit hole."

‘Though that doesn’t mean that it can’t get a little tiresome sometimes,’ The scheming mother-to-be's thoughts then turned towards the countless moments where an overzealous Aurelius had made the pregnant teenager feeling stifled beyond belief. 'It would be better if my handsome knight spent that energy on his education instead of exhausting himself just to focus on me.'

Just as her thoughts turned towards the young couple’s more intimate moments, the sound of hurried footsteps resounded throughout the other side of her study’s walls. “Speaking of Knights.” Iskra righted herself as the lyrical voice of her husband drew increasingly nearer, calling out to the pregnant teenager with a hurried voice.

“Iskra!” An overly excited Aurelius called out as he burst through the door, thick beads of sweat-stained the perfected features of his face as he dashed further inside his wife's study. With one hand planting itself over her desk, the golden-haired prince slammed a plate filled to the brim with food atop the expertly crafted table while its contents threatened to spill onto the stacks of papers scattered around the dark oak woodwork.

“Good morning, sweety.” A sultry-voiced Iskra greeted the exhausted form of her husband. A loving smile followed those words soon afterward, causing the ragged elven prince to beam brightly in inextinguishable happiness as the pair of teenagers looked upon each other in their usual individual manner.

Ignoring the absurd amount of food that had been placed before her, Iskra planted her arms over the desk as she leaned forward. Giving her loving husband an ample view of her breasts that spilled over the desk's top.

The girl chuckled to herself as she watched her husband's silver eyes strain themselves as they struggled to contain the lust that dwelled beneath their captivating surface.

As the door closed behind her husband with a hushed click, Iskra allowed herself to gaze upon her husband's figure. Iskra's emerald green eyes glinted with predatorial excitement as the young girl took every inch of exposed, sweat-glistening skin belonging to her husband that was being offered to her. The young girl silently wondered to herself if the sense of hungering that she felt deep within her was how a hunter felt after it had finally managed to ensnare its most favored prey after a long chase.

“I wasn’t sure if you’ve already eaten,” Aurelius excitedly proclaimed after some time had passed between the two as he slid the plate of food towards his pregnant wife. “So, I thought I’d grab a few things before coming here.”

The young prince was always faithful to the duties of fatherhood that he had unexpectedly found himself in, and it was something that Iskra had found to be exciting in its own right.

Compared to her former fiancée, whom Iskra felt went out of his way to avoid his future queen for reasons unknown to her, Aurelius was head over heels for the curvaceous teenager.

Iskra was quick to react and grab hold of the hastily flung plate, bringing it to a complete stop just in time before the tableware had fallen onto her lap, but not before its contents had already themselves over her pregnant body.

"Aurelius," The raven-haired girl hissed angrily towards her overly-excited husband, who could only offer up his apologies while simultaneously sliding around the table's edge as he moved to clean up the mess that he had made. With a frustrated sigh, Iskra pushed herself away from the greasy mess as she tried in vain to clean up the various documents that had the misfortune of sharing her misery.

This wasn’t the first time that such an event had happened, nor did Iskra suspect that it would be the last. Similar scenes had occurred with such a frequency ever since the teenagers had discovered that they would become parents that it had become the butt of many jokes that the expectant couple shared amongst themselves.

And despite how hard she had tried, Iskra had found it to be immensely difficult to break the newfound quirks and behaviors of her handsome husband. The young girl was in the beginnings in finding out as to just how bull-headed the elven people truly were at times.

“Aurelius,” Iskra looked down at her husband, who now knelt on the floor to scoop up the dirtied scraps of food and place them back onto the plate. Annoyed by the happenings around her, Iskra pinched at the bridge of her nose before letting out another sigh.

It didn't take long for the pregnant girl to bring another chair next to her own, forcing its legs to stand within sight of her husband's vision. “Why don’t you sit by your wife.”

As he glanced towards the offered seat, Aurelius could only look up and nod at the commanding presence that he felt coming from his wife. Despite his newfound sense of individuality, the young prince still found it troubling to deny the whims of the women around him.

And for raising her husband in such a possessive manner, Iskra could only offer up praises to her otherwise hated mother-in-law. Now however, the raven-haired girl would use that to her advantage as she continued to craft her husband into the divine entity that she envisioned him as.

Iskra smiled at her husband as he took up his wife's offer and sat upon its cushioned seat. As he made himself comfortable, Iskra leaned over to his side, gently placing one hand over his shoulder while the other traced its fingers along his chest's growing muscles. The young girl was finding it increasingly difficult to contain herself as she continued to grope and paw at her husband.

As the sensations of her breast brushing themselves against the muscles of his arm sent a shock coursing through her body, Iskra forced herself to close her eyes and take a deep breath. With a remorseful sigh, the young girl sat down next to her husband as the air around them turned humid with the growing sense of lust that enveloped their bodies.

“First you get me pregnant, but now you’re trying to starve the two of us.” Iskra teased as she slipped out of her boots before slowly running her toes along the length of her husband's legs.

The young girl grinned from ear to ear with a hungry smile plastered over her lovely face as she watched the elven prince look away with a flustered expression.

Iskra loved to tease her husband as she found it increasingly difficult to describe the excitement that she felt when watching the innocent expressions spill forth from his increasingly handsome figure.

“Y-You know that I'm not.” Aurelius forced himself to mumble those words as he found it increasingly difficult to focus on what he should say next. The elven prince never knew as to how to best respond to his wife's aggressive suggestions, but he was more than willing to reciprocate her desires whenever the two of them were alone together.

"Aurelius," Iskra let out in a sing-song voice while her toes continued to dance upon her husband's legs. "Where's my 'Hello Kiss'?"

The two smiled at one another at the mention of such a peculiar named kiss. It was but one of the many intricacies of their relationship where Iskra had made it so that her husband would embrace her for a passionate kiss for each moment that they first laid eyes upon one another. No matter how long they had been apart.

And so far, Iskra had found it to be an immense success.

"Sorry," Aurelius said with a smile washing over his face. His voice was far more confident than it had been just a brief moment ago, and Iskra smiled to herself as her chair was pulled closer towards her husband.

Iskra wrapped her arms around her husband's back, pulling and scratching at his shirt as their lips embraced one another in an explosive kiss. As their tongues wrestled with one another while swapping the other's spit into their lover's mouth, Iskra moved her arms down the side of her husband's body, taking mental notes of the progress that had been made by her husband's daily workout regimen that had so eagerly presented itself to her.

"You've gotten bigger since we've first met," Iskra spoke about her husband's arms as lust oozed from her saliva-coated lips. "And firmer as well."

Unsure of what he should say next, Aurelius offered up the first thing that came to mind. "And so have you."

With her mood soured by what had been said, but not at all shocked that he had even thought to say it, Iskra immediately broke the kiss and pushed the callously worded prince away from her.

"I believe that you have another of your lesson's in a little bit." The young girl stated matter-of-factly as she stood and pushed her husband back into his seat.

Iskra turned her back towards and turned her attention towards the mass of documents that had remained cluttered across her desk as the fidgeting prince squirmed in his seat.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Aurelius proclaimed as he shot out of his seat and embraced his wife.

Iskra shook her head as she gave her husband's words an amused laugh.

"Go on, explain yourself." Iskra could feel the tremendous wave of nervousness exude itself from the elven prince as he struggled to come up with even the tiniest amount of flattery.

The girl decided that she might as well have some fun with her struggling husband and pressed her ample backside against his already awakened groin.

"I meant that-" A groan escaped from deep within Aurelius as he cast a nervous glance towards his wife's bountiful bottom. He struggled to maintain his composure and dignity as his legs grew a mind of their own and swept themselves between his wife's pair of legs. Iskra was now forced to readjust herself and allow her husband to spread them further apart if she were to maintain her balance as his body began to lean into hers. "You're breasts having gotten bigger."

Sweat poured from the prince's face as he immediately realized the horrifying error that he had made.

"I have some work that I need to get done before my meeting with Zharatan," Iskra let out with a huff as she planted her chin over the palm of her hands. "I need to look at what to do about potential fish stocks, various infrastructure plans, mining quotas, and so forth."

Ruined Home's teenaged ruler twisted her body to get a good look at the expression that her husband was making, smiling devilishly to herself as her eyes gazed up into his while his hands absentmindedly wrapped themselves around her waist.

Iskra decided to take her teasing ways a step further by pressing her abundant-of-flesh and amply-shaped rear further against her husband's loins while simultaneously reaching back with one hand and grabbing hold of her tremendous bottom.

'He looks so delicious when he struggles with himself like that.' Iskra mused to herself with an amused, lustful smile as she watched her husband's emotions rapidly change from that of a regretful expression to that of a primordial beast that hungered for the meal that was in front of it.

"And since I'm going to be in such a busy state for a while, I won't be able to take care of your endless carnal needs."

Iskra allowed a manipulative grin to spread across her beautiful features as she watched her husband drown himself in self misery.

When the two of them had first met one another, a certain instructor that had annoyingly forced herself to become Iskra's private confidante had confidently claimed that the handsome prince suffered from an ancient curse that was said to be shared amongst his proud lineage. The disgusting woman had even gone so far as to claim that the curse was able to be traced back to her husband's namesake.

Iskra had rolled her eyes upon first hearing what the elven woman had once said, and was well aware of the many lies that came with such a proclamation, but she needed to play along with the glassy-eyed woman's attempt at deception if she was to finally rid herself of the hideous elf in a way that benefited the young couple.

"That's ok," Aurelius started to proclaim as he grew increasingly reluctant to let go of his wife. As he continued to speak, the young prince planted a hand next to his wife's head before forcing the two of them to lean over the desk. "I-I'm fine with not being able to do this sort of stuff from time to time."

Iskra offered the struggling prince a knowing smile as she brought her hand back from where it lay between their two bodies. As her hand drew closer to the front of their lustful embrace, Iskra's fingers wrapped their delicate forms around the collar of her husband's shirt before tugging at his neck to bring his face closer to hers.

'Such a good boy,' Iskra gave another smile to her husband as she decided that he had enough of her teasing. 'It's time for his reward.'

"Aurelius," Her honeyed words were laden with her people's powerful annotations. The two teenagers were well aware of what her accent-laden voice was capable of doing to the elven prince's desires when it came to their more intimate moments together. "If you're willing to let your instructors know that you'll be indisposed for the rest of the morning, I can free up-"

Before she knew it, Aurelius had bolted out of the room before she had the chance to finish what she had to say.

Shocked by the speed at which he had left her office, Iskra could only look around her in astonishment as she listened to the sound of her husband's increasingly distant voice as he called out for his instructors.

“My apologies for running behind, Zharatan.” Iskra greeted the dwarven warlock as she gently closed the door behind her before making her way back towards the couch that sat opposite of her dwarven compatriot.

Feeling refreshed from her late morning bath and smelling like mystical roses, Iskra sat down with a smile on her face as the two leaders nodded to one another.

“There’s no need for an apology,” The dwarven warlock stated as he turned his attention towards the young girl's desk, taking note of the various documents that were piled on either side. “With how things are right now, there’s no need to rush.”

The raven-haired teenager offered a pleasant smile at the warlock’s words as she leaned back into the cushioned sofa, sinking into its rich depths as she rolled her neck before allowing her head to rest upon the piece of furniture's headrest.

While Iskra was aware that the words that had been spoken on behalf of her pregnant state, the expectant mother couldn't help but wonder if there lay other hidden meanings behind her ally's words.

In particular, the mining operation that was well underway beneath Ruined Home's soft earth.

“With how things are, I’m probably already the richest girl in Ranislava.” Iskra stated as greed overcame her words, forcing a chuckle to form between her lips. “But I feel like that those things aren’t working as hard as they could be.”

She was, of course, referring to the horde of goblins that had been left behind by Dasher to help with Ruined Homes reconstruction. As well as to toil away in the diamond mines beneath her very feet.

A hideous grin broke her beautiful features as Iskra envisioned herself becoming lost in the limitless depths of her newfound wealth. Finding as to just how greedy she truly was, was something that had always managed to force a wicked smile on the vanity-stricken girl's lips.

Zharatan shared in the girl's glee with a hearty chuckle as the demon-worshipping dwarf's gold and gem-encrusted beard ornaments clinked together while his meaty fingers combed through his beard's white hairs.

“Well, slaves are hard to come by in this area,” The dwarf stated as an eager glint appeared in his eyes. “And the ones that we are able to gain can only be found after a hard-fought and victorious battle. Though I’m sure that both of our peoples aren’t ready to commit to such things just yet.”

Iskra was well aware of what the echoing-voiced dwarf had meant. Ever since the encampment had claimed victory over the orc-led siege that had befallen its denizens, a lot had changed.

Most of those that had been left crippled and maimed by the attack upon Ruined Home had returned south to Ranislava as an escort for the one-armed Captain Boris. The grey-haired officer had found it necessary to report in person as to what had occurred to the human expedition, and he had been unwilling to let those that had left with him to anguish in the miserable land that they had found themselves in.

After his departure, Iskra and Aurelius had inadvertently gotten married after the elven prince offered the young girl a black-maned and red-eyed Unicorn. This then led to the teenaged girl becoming pregnant shortly afterward, and the subsequent family-led drama that came out of that situation had turned everything upside down.

Now Ruined Home was nothing like it had been before. A detachment of elite dark elven soldiers had been ordered to defend the struggling encampment as it moved to prop itself back up. The various teenagers that had followed Aurelius to the Dark Lands had been given a choice as to whether or not they wished to stay. Most had decided that it was better to stay in a backwater region and strike out on their own than to return home and languish in a future where they would inherit nothing.

Now Iskra and Aurelius spent their days together as they went about their various schedules. Her husband would receive a proper education that was befitting of his status, and Iskra would be groomed into a proper leader of the newly established dark elven outpost.

This and a few other things had all been done by the explicit orders of her father-in-law, the dark elven Witch-King, who had finally had enough of his Arch-Mistress's possessive nature towards their son.

And despite having such a vast array of tools at her disposal, Iskra was unable to give even the simplest of commands to her own people as the surviving human soldiers had been conscripted into the dark elven legion that had made Ruined Home its newest base of operations.

Iskra was nothing more than a puppet that was to be controlled by the whims and desires of her awe-inspiring father-in-law. For now, at least.

“Speaking of slaves,” a frustrated Iskra said as she forced her mind to linger over something far more important to her immediate problems. “Were you able to find anything of use about what we had last discussed?”

This time, it was Iskra’s turn for a glint to appear in her lovely emerald eyes as the scheming pair of leaders shared in a sinister chuckle.

While Zharatan's might have had the hint of greed in his eyes whenever the two leaders were in discussion with one another. The dwarven warlock had always thought that the glimmer of light that danced just behind Iskra's gem-like eyes was something far different than just a simple vice or two.

He could never find the right word to describe what he had felt, but the villainous warlock was eager to see it come out into the spotlight each time the two would find themselves in each other's company.

"A little bit," Zharatan began as he produced a smoking pipe from one of his pockets. The warlock brought it to his lips before muttering an arcane incantation to light the substance held within it. "But I'll need at least a week or two to get everything ready."

Just then, the door crept open to reveal the metallic form of Iskra’s bodyguard, Argonok. With how accustomed the young girl had grown accustomed to the ominous-sounding footsteps of the Fire Guard, Iskra hadn't been all that surprised to find that her conversation with her dwarven counterpart had deafened the fleshless monstrosity's ongoings.

Iskra gave an annoyed click of her tongue as she quietly chastised herself for allowing such a thing to occur.

If she were to accomplish what she wished to do in the distant future, then Iskra needed to ensure that nothing would escape her sight. No matter how minor it may seem.

“Don’t stop because of me,” Argonok chuckled as he turned around to close the door behind him, revealing the abundance of food that lay atop the large plate held in his right hand. “I’m nothing more than a delivery boy these days.”

Seeing no point in allowing the disruption to continue, the two leaders moved forward with the conversation at hand.

“Getting back to the topic at hand,” Zharatan’s voice echoed through the room as Argonok's heavy footsteps resounded throughout the room as the duty-bound Fire Guard strode across the study. “ After I've received the needed supplies, we'll be able to begin your little foray into animal husbandry.”

"Good. Good." Iskra stated as she took the plate of food that had been placed in front of her by her trusted bodyguard. Allowing her expression to speak for her, the young girl looked towards the expressionless Argonok with a bewildered look across her face.

"Don't blame me," Argonok bemoaned to his mistress as his voice echoed within the suit of armor that served as his hellish prison. "Blame that pretty boy of yours. As soon as I got there, golden boy handed me this monstrosity and turned me right around before I had the chance to tell him off."

Iskra had no choice but to listen to her bodyguard's ranting as she gave up on finding a way around her husband's particular habits and resolved to eat the feast presented to her.

"If anything," The Fire Guard continued as Zharatan let out an amused chuckle to the food-driven misery that the young girl now found herself in. " You need to blame that pretty boy of yours that decided the best thing to cure his depression with was to get you knocked up. He’s the one that keeps fattening you up like some pig born for the slaughter.”

Iskra glared between the two dwarves at the mention of her becoming a disgusting farm animal. The hatred that burned within her while those around her found amusement in her being turned into a hideous beast was abundantly clear to those in her company, but even still, they found it humorous.

"I'll just have to lose the weight after the baby is born," Iskra growled as she took another bite of her food. She didn't dare to direct her ire towards Zharatan as she feared that doing so would result in her losing her one true ally in the volcanic region. So for now, she bit her tongue and remained quiet on the matter. "Afterall, what's the point in being born beautiful if I was to turn into some beastly sow before reaching the peak of my perfection?"

The two dwarves turned silent as they faced one another, the Fire Guard's blue and red checkered helmet shook itself as the dwarven warlock rolled his eyes at the teenager's vanity.

Since meeting the young girl, the pair of dwarves had been two of countless others that had learned to deal with outbursts such as these. Iskra’s vanity had grown unchecked once the elven sorceress, known to those within Ruined Home as Velicion, had been ordered by her kingly husband to leave the human encampment after reaching his final verdict upon visiting the Ranislavian outpost.

Velicion had been the only one willing to reign in the wayward teenager's view of the world.

Everyone else had either chosen to ignore what she had to say, for they cared little about her words.

“Give it a few more years."

"And a couple of more kids to boot.”

The two dwarves proclaimed, causing a thunderous roar of laughter to erupt from their demon-infused souls as Iskra expressed her hatred for their shared shenanigans.

"I'll make sure that the both of you eat those words one day," An infuriated Iskra huffed as she poked and prodded at her food with the fork held between her fingers. Various slabs of meat, cheeses, greens, and pieces of bread wobbled in unison as the young girl found herself unwilling to take another bite while the two dwarves swapped jokes about her proclamation.

As she continued to shuffle her food around the plate, trying in vain to ignore what her companions were up to, an absent-minded Iskra took notice of a faint clink that sounded similar to glass.

A wave of anger washed over her emerald green eyes as a pink, alluring glow greeted the young girl from beneath two slabs of meat. The vial of glass that was buried between the greasy slices of well-cooked beef was meant to serve as a sign between Iskra and her metallic bodyguard.

It was a message that would always manage to turn Iskra's ghostly pale skin into a burning inferno of rage.

In an attempt to calm the growing rage that burned within her, Iskra took a deep breath as she looked towards Argonok with a deep-seated hatred for the vacant-eyed elven woman that the vials belonged to.

Ever since she had seen the glorious light that was her husband, Iskra had learned to control her more violent emotions and morph them into plans of action. Full frontal rage was something that the young girl had vowed never to allow herself to be swayed by ever again.

“Is it that slave master again?” Zharatan questioned as he watched the pregnant teenager force herself to calm her fiery nerves.

Iskra nodded her head in silence at the dwarf's question, forcing Zharatan to let out a gruff grunt in reply as he righted himself upon his seat.

"Aemilia."