A Decision for the Future

"It would give him an advantage." The Chieftain of the Ellos clan agreed, nodding his head at Prince Taemor's delivered statement. "At the palace, he would learn everything he'd need to know about leading people and the art of war. It's the perfect place for him."

"And it's not like you wouldn't pass for one of his concubines." Wylen's father thought aloud.

"Dad!" Wylen balked in his seat at the table, disliking the way his father's thoughts ran.

"Well, it is true!" The Aldor Chieftain insisted, looking to a wide-eyed Jaelan. "His features are very graceful. If he's dressed in the appropriate attire, no one will suspect a thing."

"I am a man," Jaelan stated, feeling fury build up inside of him. "I do not intend to dress like a woman, nor do I plan on doing so."

Heekam frowned, knowing how delicate the subject was. He had spent enough time with Jaelan and Wylen to know that. "Jaelan…" He started, treading delicately. "…No one is saying you are anything but a man…however, you must think of your son's future."

"Heek—"

"Once the King dies," Heekam looked to the Crown Prince, speaking volumes with his eyes alone. "All ruling will fall into Prince's hands. He can give the child everything he needs to learn how to govern and create an empire. By disguising you as one of his top-ranking concubines, you'd have free reign of the palace, not to mention your son would be considered a Prince of Dorl. No one need know that he isn't, in fact, the Crown Prince's son. If Prince Taemor says he is, no one will question the credibility."

"But he should be raised among his people!" Jaelan professed, motioning to the outside where their joined tribesmen walked amongst the settlement. "He needs to know the history of his people! Where we come from, who we are!"

"And he will!" Prince Taemor stated and put his palm to his chest. "I have no intention to take that from him. I will build you a pavilion of your own, where you and your son will reside. Wylen will be able to stay there as well," He nodded his head at his friend. "To the public, he'd be your brother. No one needs to know of your private affairs. I shall give him a new name, one no one will be able to trace. We shall create a life for him…I'll make him a general! A leader of men!"

"So we will be able to live in the palace without any sort of interference from the court?" Wylen doubted this could happen. "Surely the Crown Princess would object to this."

"She has no say in the matter." Prince Taemor cleared his throat, gaze focused on Jaelan and Wylen. "If I say the child is mine, she cannot counter it. And once I give Jaelan the position of Royal Noble Consort of the first rank, no one would be able to do anything to him. He'd be almost untouchable."

Silence.

"You could take up Lady Senisari's name," Prince Taemor said, eyes kind as he looked to Jaelan. "That way…she could live on—if only just in name."

Jaelan's heart clenched, guilt trickling in like droplets of acid. He didn't want to uproot and go to a place he'd never ventured to before. To disguise himself as something he was not. That wasn't the kind of life he wanted for himself, Wylen, or his soon to arrive son. And yet…Lady Senisari—No, he shook his head. No, he couldn't let himself be swayed.

Sadly, he turned his head to look at Wylen.

The warrior was in deep thought. Brows wrinkled and eyes locked on the floor—he didn't even register the touch of his hand by the half-god.

"Can you give us time to think about it?" Jaelan mumbled, eyes resting on the table between them after looking away from Wylen, heavy-hearted.

"Mhm." Prince Taemor nodded, the gold in his headband catching the candlelight and twinkling. "I can't enact any of this until the King dies anyway. It could be in a month or a year from now. But a quick decision would be beneficial to both of us."

"Out of curiosity," Wylen spoke finally, coming out from his thoughtful stupor and rubbing his chin as he looked upon the Crown Prince's face. "What name would you give me?"

Eyes locked with Wylen's, Prince Taemor smiled and gave his head a respective slight nod before uttering, "Haemul."

:::

Covered from head to toe in furs, Jaelan rubbed his arms while the heavily pregnant Lady Senisari waddled over to take a seat at the dining table. Behind her, making sure she didn't fall, was Wylen, hands on both sides of the struggling woman to ensure her safety.

When all three of them were seated, it was Wylen who brought up the discussion they needed to have. Flaring his nostrils, he folded his hands atop the table and looked to Jaelan, who was silently gazing at the glowing lanterns, their light soft and warm.

"Jaelan…" Wylen called to get the other's attention. When Jaelan's eyes turned to look at him, the Aldor warrior felt his stomach twist into knots. It still amazed him how after such a long time, one directed gaze at him from the half-god's big round eyes, and he was done. His skin broke out into a fine layer of shivers even though he was bundled in an array of wolf and fox skins.

Clearing his throat to dispel his distracting thoughts, Wylen blinked and continued. "Prince Taemor's proposi—"

"I do not like it." Jaelan cut his lover off, brows creasing. "I understand that he's trying to help, but we can raise our son here."

"What is this about?" Lady Senisari asked quietly, her voice soft and barely above a whisper, sapphire gaze drifting from between the two men sitting on both her sides.

"Crown Prince Taemor," Wylen started with an exhaled breath, mouth twisting into a frown, "Has propositioned that upon the death of his father, the King of Dorl, Jaelan enters the palace under the pretense of his concubine, using our son as the catalyst. He wants to claim our child as his own, thereby gaining us status in Dorl and thus assuring our son attains all the knowledge he'll need to rally a nation and build an empire."

Lady Senisari's eyes went wide, and her lips parted as she sharply turned her head to look at Jaelan. His brows were creased upon his pale brow, and his usually cheery lips were turned down into a frown.

"They have many things in the palace that here we do not." Wylen continued solemnly. "I hate to agree, but…if we enter the palace, we'll be giving our son the advantage he'll need."

Blinking her eyes, Lady Senisari put a weak hand onto her stomach, feeling the child within her kick at the sound of his father's voice.

"He'll garner the attention he doesn't need." Jaelan countered gruffly. "Palace intrigues and politics will only distract him. What he needs is the support of his people. To be around his kin and learn from them."

"Heekam and the other palace scholars will educate him far better than we can," Wylen responded after a short lapse. "You can't deny that."

Jaelan's frown deepened. No, he could not say anything about that.

However, something in his gut told him that going to the palace would be a mistake. He felt it in the depths of his bones.

He didn't know why he had such an aversion to the plan—in theory. The whole idea was perfect. His unborn child could only flourish from such an arrangement. And yet—something just didn't sit right with him.

"Wylen's right, Jaelan." Lady Senisari broke the silence that had befallen them after Wylen's last words. She lifted her hand from her bulging belly and gently took Jaelan's hand and gave it a light squeeze, a smile adorning her haggard yet still feminine face. "Although my sight has left me…I think you were destined to enter the palace. Recall the vision I told you about?"

Jaelan froze, eyes flashing with recognition. His ebony orbs darted to stare at Lady Senisari, lips parting in silent surprise.

Only but a few months ago, the Priestess had shared her last vision with him, describing how she'd seen him standing in front of a mammoth palace, adorned in expensive silks and a headpiece made of gold resting on his crown.

"I entered the palace…didn't I?" Jaelan whispered, lip trembling slightly as the glow from the lanterns cast shadows upon his face. "I became a woman…didn't I?"

"It seems so."

Dismayed, Jaelan tore his gaze away and stared at the floor. His hands turned to fists by his sides as he stood from his seat and stepped out the door, wanting to be alone.

Wylen was about to go after him, but with Lady Senisari's hand on his sleeve, he hesitated. Looking at the pale and quiet woman, he felt his shoulders fall.

"Give him some space, Wylen." She mumbled, eyes downcast.

Wanting nothing more than to run after his lover, Wylen, however, acquiesced and reclaimed his seat, eyes clouded.