It was a beautiful wedding. Leevana and Jason went to live in Maria’s second house in Noonvale just North of Rosewood’s capital city. Lee still couldn’t believe it sometimes. It had once seemed like an impossible dream. She, the ultimate outcast, had found love and happiness.

One morning she awoke to the sound of the bird chirping in the trees near the window. She smiled at the sight of Jason’s sleeping face on the pillow. He was so handsome it made her ache. Everything about him… his sculpted jaw with a slight growth of stubble, his wavy brown hair, his freckles and rosy, slightly sun-kissed cheeks. She gazed on his face for a while. His eyelids fluttered and his pretty eyes opened.

“Morning, sweet nightmare queen,” he murmured and then he sat up and they kissed with tongues and then she tenderly kissed his freckled nose. ‘Nightmare queen’ was a pet name he had coined after witnessing her defeat the dream demon that had prolonged the war veteran’s post-traumatic stress disorder. ‘Shadow queen’ was another. That sounded cuter.

“You’re glowing this morning, Lee,” said Jason peering closely at her. “There’s a real glow in your cheeks.”

Lee grinned. “Must be cos I’m happy you’re finally awake, hey?”

“Green and glowing – beautiful as ever,” said Jason. He was breathing harder and his eyes were glinting.

After they had made love, Lee took a long soak in her extra large tub. Elsie assisted her. Elsie the assistant cook had been upset when Lee was moving out of her old apartments and wanted to go to Noonvale to be her servant there. It was definitely for the best. Elsie seemed a lot happier for it. She helped lather the night-hag’s long red hair. “There now… keep your head back. Don’t get soap in your face…” she wiped some off Lee’s forehead with a little hand. After that she scrubbed her broad back. When Lee had finished bathing, she held out a king-sized towel.

“Thank you, Elsie,” said Lee smiling at her. Suddenly she felt queasy and all of a sudden, had to turn and vomit in a basin. A lot of vomit, as she was a big woman.

“Oh, Lee, are you alright?” squeaked Elsie.

“My dear… D-Don’t worry. I don’t know what happened.” Lee had to rinse her mouth. “I don’t think I’ve ever been sick before. Could I have eaten something funny? I’m getting weird cravings. I could eat a raw steak doused in red-eye tears. And then loads and loads of syrup.”

Elsie grinned, her eyes sparkling. “Ooh, Ma’am… I know what it is.” She curtseyed. “I get to be the first to congratulate you. You’re about to be a mother. And this time you’re giving birth.” She clapped her hands together. “It’s exciting.”

Lee’s eyes widened. “But someone like me… I can’t be pregnant… can I? The ichor in our veins is cold.”

“Yours isn’t. I’ve just been touching your skin, and you feel hot.”

“I-I thought… we can’t get pregnant like mortal women.”

“Who says you can’t? Anyway, when the shade of Isaac the Dreadful struck you with his magic staff trying to shock you to death, it actually made your heart beat quicker, didn’t it? And now you have warm blood – er – warm ichor.”

Now this was truly living the dream. Lee floated rather than walked downstairs.

Jason had a copy of the morning’s paper. “Great news! Steel’s dead. He was attempting one last purge of his henchmen and one of them finally had the guts to poison him. It’s not clear what’ll happen to Ostinia in the long term though. The PLATs are in turmoil. Hm. I wonder if the neighbouring states will move in and divide the troubled land up? Steel’s purges of the officers have apparently left their military in disarray for the time being. Anyway, Steel’s descended to that nether-world with Isaac the Dreadful. They’ll have a lot to talk about and notes to compare, way down there. Hope neither of them will come back as spooks any time soon. That would be a whole other story.”

It was a morning of great news indeed. Jason grinned back at seeing her wide grin. “You have a smile that lights up the whole room,” he observed.

“I-I…” She clasped her cheeks. “I – I think – I really hope – I – We…”

He laid the paper down. “What’s got you so excited?” he asked chuckling. “Should I guess?”

“I’m pregnant!” Immediately she had the thought – what if she wasn’t really pregnant and her morning sickness was something unrelated.

His light hazel eyes widened. “You’re serious, aren’t you?” He looked startled.

“Jason…” she reached out a long, green hand, but then he was on his feet and ran into her arms. She picked him up and kissed him.

00O00

Karl had come of age and stepped into the role of Grand Duke of Rosewood, but Lee was actually going to be a mother yet again! She took great pains to get her baby’s playroom exactly right. Since she didn’t know whether she was having a boy or girl, she had to hold off the painting. But she could get to work making baby toys. Since she had adopted Karl when he was already six, she hadn’t actually had a little baby or toddler of her own to make toys for.

Jason watched in fascination as he long green fingers worked quickly to sew together a huge parrot, made of coloured felts. “He should fly when he’s ready,” said Lee, looking up from her work to smile at him.

“You’ve put a lot of time into the toys,” said Jason. Did he sound a little sad? Lee beckoned him to sit by her and she wrapped an arm around him. He snuggled against her. “You have to take a break from your job tutoring kids. And you couldn’t come swimming this morning.”

“My belly’s getting really big, hey?” The hag laid her other hand on her pregnant belly. “But I can still swim if you really want.”

He grinned cheekily at her. “I need to see you in the water even more. My beautiful green hippo.”

She chucked and they pressed their noses together. Elsie came by at that moment and wanted to make it a group hug. She did need Lee to hug her from time to time. The hugs were important for keeping her happy.

“I think pregnancy is beautiful now,” said Elsie. “You look so serene and beautiful right here.”

The girl was so sweet. Always saying the kindest things.

00O00

When it was nearly time to give birth, Lee had to stay in bed. Her belly was even huger, and she was tired all the time. She was glad to have all her family around her, including Twiggy the broom. Even Ulva made the trip all the way from the Ostinian mountains, arriving in Noonvale late one evening. It warmed Lee’s heart to see her again.

Ulva hugged and kissed Karl and then glancing around, smiled nervously at Jason and Maria. She smiled and touched Lee’s shoulder. “If the child is a girl, she’ll be like us. I’m certain of it. You’ll need help tutoring her in the ways of a night-hag.”

“If you want to be a tutor, you could do what Lee does – get paid to tutor rich brats,” said Aila loudly.

Ulva gave her a withering glance.

Lee beckoned to Karl. His blue eyes were wide. “I’m going to have a new sister – or brother?”

“You are, dearest. But you will always be my first child. My Little Prince.” Mother and son embraced one another and kissed.

THE END