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"Your majesty!" Poppy whirled around at the shout, still not entirely accustomed to the title, but smiled warmly at the young wolven running towards her,
"What can I do for you, Laurie?" She asked, chuckling as he shifted to wolven form and back again, shaking his head to regain his bearings,
"Lord Contou asked me to find you,"
"Kieran? He'll laugh to hear you call him that," she chuckled,
"but he is, isn't he?"
"Technically, but I don't think he's ever used that official title, even since we made him advisor,"
"Oh, well, he said he needed your help with something, he didn't say what, but he's waiting at his parents' house."
"Thank you, Laurie, I'll head over there now, if you see him, let Cas know where I've gone." She held up a hand as Laurie made to run off again, "If you see him, don't go out of your way, he'll find us,"
"Yes, your majesty," he muttered, but smiled and waved at Poppy when he reached the edge of the garden, and Poppy resisted the urge to laugh as Laurie vanished. It wouldn't take long to get to Jasper and Kirha's house from here, but she did let out a sigh at the sight of the freshly-planted night-blooming roses, she'd come and check on them later this evening. There was something about Evaemon in the spring that had completely captured her heart, perhaps it was the way that the breeze ruffled through her hair, the scent of flowers floating all around her. Perhaps it was the way that her people smiled and waved when she passed them in the street, but perhaps it was simply the feeling of peace, of safety. She hardly noticed her feet moving, following the same path that she'd walked a thousand times now, at least until she found herself at the Contous' door.
She let herself in, calling Kieran's name, but froze at the sight before her,
"I need your help," Poppy struggled to hold in a laugh at the sight of him holding his baby sister at arms-length, covered in what she hoped was baby food, surrounded by discarded toys. She blinked a few times in surprise, but quietly closed the door, and took the child from Kieran's arms,
"Oh, sweetie, what's he done to you?" She crooned, gently rocking her from side to side,
"Me? Look at what she's done!"
"She's two, Kieran, you're what, two-hundred?"
"Something like that," he muttered, and Poppy snorted with laughter, carrying the child through to the kitchen, carefully cleaning her up, and tickling her when she squirmed, so that she squealed in delight. Kieran sheepishly followed her, still complaining that babies were impossible,
"Go clean up the living room," Poppy ordered, "I'll deal with her,"
"Thank you," she made a face when he kissed her cheek,
"You smell like baby vomit, go shower as well,"
"Not my fault," Kieran insisted, "I don't know babies, Netta was supposed to help, but she got delayed in Spessa's End,"
"Uh-huh," Poppy hummed, "Go clean up," she didn't wait to see if he obeyed before slipping out of the room, and disappearing up the stairs to find a change of clothes for the toddler now wriggling in her arms. "Shhh," she hushed, humming a tune quietly, trying to quieten her down, just long enough to get a clean set of clothes on before wriggling away and dodging Poppy's attempts to catch her. Poppy stopped chasing her, and cocked her head to the side, laughing as the little girl mimicked her, staring at her with those brilliant blue eyes, "Come here," Poppy held out her arms, laughing again when the child shook her head,
"Don't want to," she giggled,
"Come to Auntie Poppy," in that moment of hesitation Poppy lunged forwards and scooped her up, "Do you want to play in the garden?" In a heartbeat, she wasn't holding a child, but a wriggling wolven pup, and she set her down on the ground, laughing again as she raced round her feet, her tail wagging uncontrollably. Kieran was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, "We're going to play in the garden," Poppy explained, grinning at Kieran's shocked look,
"How did you catch her?" He whispered,
"Magic," Poppy chuckled, "You just need to learn to cope with children,"
"I can cope with children," he complained,
"Cas doesn't count," Poppy shot over her shoulder, following Kieran's sister into the garden.
"Hey!" She turned at her husband's voice, "I am not a child,"
"Go and prove it then, she's in the garden," Casteel and Kieran shared a look, but he finally shrugged and passed Poppy to reach the door to the garden. Her heart swelled at the way he immediately took to the task, letting the howling pup pounce on him, and bat at him with her paws. She leaned against the doorway, and ignored Kieran's knowing look,
"You want one," he teased,
"Shut up, we agreed to wait a while,"
"Tell him, if you want one now, just tell him, he's only waiting because you wanted a bit of time to learn to be Queen and to live peacefully first, if you've decided you're ready, just tell him."
"I don't know, maybe he wants time,"
"Maybe, but if you don't tell him you're ready, how can he decide if he is?" Poppy rolled her eyes,
"Now who's asking questions," but Kieran was right, she did want one, she really wanted one, and she knew that Casteel did too, but the thought of it, of their child still frightened her a bit, but in a good way she supposed. She turned her attention back to where joy and contentment was practically radiating off her husband where he was now playing peekaboo with a mortal toddler. Her screams and squeals of delight melted Poppy's heart, and she was so absorbed with watching that she didn't notice the door behind them opening,
"Kieran roped you two in then, did he?" Kirha nudged her son's shoulder as she spoke, "I should have known better than to think he'd actually cope on his own,"
"Mom! I can cope,"
"Then why are Poppy and Casteel here?" Jasper teased, "We can't even go out for lunch without you needing help," Kieran narrowed his eyes and Poppy chuckled again,
"Lunch? You mean all the mess I walked into was just from about an hour?" Kieran grunted, trying to dismiss her attention, but all he managed was to confirm her question.
"Mama!" Kirha grinned as her daughter practically leapt into her arms, "I've been playing with Auntie Poppy, and Uncle Cassy," Poppy snorted at the toddler attempt to pronounce Casteel's name, but politely refused Kirha's offer to stay for dinner, claiming that they'd promised to eat with Casteel's parents that evening, even if she was just trying to avoid adding any extra stress to her life.
*****
The night-blooming roses were absolutely beautiful, they'd taken perfectly, surrounding a pond that glowed silver in the moonlight. Poppy sighed to herself, running a hand through the cool water,
"C'mon, what's the matter?" She shrugged, still not quite sure how to explain her thoughts, "Poppy," Casteel gently turned her chin to face him, "You've been quiet all day, tell me what's on your mind,"
"I don't know," she muttered, "This is lovely," she gestured to the roses, to the rest of the gardens, "Our people are safe, happy,"
"And you're not?"
"No, I am, I just, it's like there's something else I want." She paused for a moment, trying to think about her next words, careful not to end up pushing Casteel into something he might not want yet, "Earlier, at the Contous' place, it just felt right, you know?"
"I do know," Casteel murmured, "You think you're ready?" Poppy nodded,
"I am ready, I want a family, with you, I never really had a chance to think about what I wanted, I assumed I'd never be able to have children, to choose my life, and now we're safe, we have time, I want to. I chose you, and now I want to choose our family." Casteel didn't speak, simply smiled, both dimples appearing, and leaned forward, until his and Poppy's noses were almost touching,
"I want to choose a family too," Poppy's heart leapt when Casteel closed the gap between them, pulling her in by her waist, a hand diving into her hair as he slanted his mouth over hers. Poppy blindly grasped at his shirt, clinging on as she met him move for move, and sighed when he finally pulled back and tucked her into his side, "We should probably get started then," he murmured, chuckling at the way Poppy squirmed slightly at the suggestion, but grinned, and practically dragged him back to their bedroom.