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“Hey there. We reserved a seat here, so do you mind showing us the way?”
“Name please?”
“Tantal.”
“Ah. Well, Your Highness, it is an honor to have both you and Her Majesty visiting our little restaurant tonight. Please, right this way.”
Mòrag followed her husband and the waiter to a private room, away from public ears. She was dressed all nicely, wearing a black jacket over a dark blue, knee-high dress. Her hair was untied, something she hasn’t been able to do for a while due to her duty as both Special Inquisitor and Queen. Around her neck was a sapphire-colored necklace. Zeke on the other hand wore a nice suit for once, with a white button-up shirt and a navy tie around his neck. For tonight, he didn’t wear his eyepatch or contacts, in an attempt to go incognito. Doing so allowed Mòrag to truly grasp his true eye color for the first time in a while. His hair was properly groomed and much less spiky.
When the two of them sat down at their table and handed their menus, Mòrag commented on Zeke’s looks, ”You look charming, dear. It’s not often I get to see you dressed all nicely.”
“Thanks. You look absolutely stunning yourself. Did Brighid help you out?”
Mòrag smiled. “She did, thank you. I wasn’t entirely sure what outfit I wanted to wear tonight, so I asked her to help me out. Especially after seeing that you already had your suit hanging outside the closet. Made things a little easier for me.”
“Well, I’m glad I helped in some way. Although, do you think Brighid and Pandy should have come along too?” Zeke asked. “We could have asked someone on the palace staff to watch the kids.”
“Brighid was pretty adamant on us just going out and enjoying ourselves for once. Besides, it’s our special day today.”
“Right. Fifteen years since the day we got married. Crazy to think just how much has changed within that time. Gormott received independence; Nia ends up becoming the leader of said republic and turned it into a superpower; the establishment of the alliance between the ‘Four Horns of Alrest’; our little family grew; we learned that there was a whole other world made by Klaus that almost collided with us if it weren’t for the Origin project; now Niall’s going to get married in a few months.”
“You make it sound like all of this happened at once,” Mòrag chuckled. The waiter returns asking for what sort of wine they would like to have. Once Zeke placed an order, he leaves and Mòrag resumes. “But you’re correct. A lot has changed and for the better. Although, I’m still trying to come to terms with Niall’s marriage. Their relationship happened so fast.”
“I’m pretty sure him and Sorcha have been dating for what, five years now? Doesn’t seem that fast to me, honestly.”
“You say that as someone that’s been after my heart since they were seventeen. Can you believe it’s been thirty years since we first met?”
“It really has been that long, huh? But my point is, you’re the one that confessed first within a week of us meeting again,” Zeke said, as the wine bottle was placed on the table.
“And yet, whose idea was it to set the stage again for the two of us to express our love for one another,” Mòrag said as she poured some wine into both of their glasses.
“Touché. Guess I’m the one that got outwitted this time,” he responds holding up his glass. “Happy Anniversary, Mòrag."
Mòrag has a smile on her face. "And a Happy Anniversary to you too, Zeke." They clink glasses together before taking their first drink.
"Still, I don’t know what I couldn’t have done without you or the girls. You, Brighid, and Pandy are always there to lend a hand or talk some sense into someone.”
“Wouldn’t that someone be you a lot of the time?” Mòrag teases.
“Hey now, you already got one win tonight. Let me have one victory tonight,” Zeke remarks.
“But you already did by getting me out of the office. Isn’t that victory enough? You and Brighid both tell me that I need to spend less time working on papers or going out into the field. And so here I am, enjoying myself with my silly husband.”
“I’m silly now am I?”
“The kids think you’re silly sometimes. But I think that’s part of what makes you a wonderful father.”
“Awww, thanks. Although, I do think just being the fun parent isn’t enough for the kids, so I’m glad you’re around to reel things back in.”
“Thankfully not all of our children take after you, personality-wise that is. I’m not sure the world could take a second Bringer of Chaos…” she said half-jokingly.
Zeke gave a hearty laugh. “Probably not. Even I have my limits for chaoticness. Although, I do feel like I’m losing my edge. Being king is good and all, but I don’t know. I kind of miss the thrill of adventure, you know?” Zeke then turned his attention to the menu to pick out what he wanted.
Missing the thrill of adventure, hmm...? Mòrag thought.
As they were having dinner, Mòrag caught Zeke's attention. "Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah sure, go ahead," Zeke said.
“Earlier you said you missed going on adventures. So I have a proposition to make."
"And that would be?"
"Do you want to swap jobs for a day? You do some fieldwork in Mor Ardain and I can handle our duties back home,” Mòrag suggests.
“You think the Ardainian government would be ok with that?”
“I can say I have to call in sick or something along the lines of that, and then I can send a message saying I’m sending you in my stead. Brighid and I can give you the details on whatever assignment we have going on, and then you and Pandoria can go and do what needs to be done. Does that sound alright?”
“I’ll probably take you up on your offer. Maybe not now, but it does sound promising. Hey, maybe when the kids are older, maybe we can do some training with them.”
“That depends. We don’t know who’s compatible with a Blade or not. And even with that, we don’t know if Alexandria or Sena have Blade abilities themselves, given their partial nature.”
“I guess only one way to find out. Sena’s only just turned thirteen, so I guess I can see if she’s got an interest in training. Out of any of them, she’s the one that liked playing outdoors the most. Sena has seen me lift heavy stuff around the palace and expressed how much she wants to get as strong as me, so maybe we can ask if she wants to get training lessons or not.”
“While she looks the most like Brighid, she certainly has taken a lot of inspiration from you."
"I don't know, she can be pretty shy like you sometimes, especially around strangers. Remember when she first met Mio for the first time since they were infants?"
"Yes, I do remember. Poor Sena hid behind Brighid just because Mio surprised her when we came to visit Rex, Nia, Pyra, and Mythra. But, after that day, the two of them became fast friends. And I can't help but notice that the two of them have gotten closer ever since Origin was successful," Mòrag said as she cuts her steak into smaller pieces.
"Maybe it has something to do with those dreams she mentioned a while back?"
"Perhaps. Although that was four years ago. Do you know if she still has them?"
"No, not really. I can ask Brighid to see if she knows," Zeke said, as his fork picked up a piece of his salad.
"I think it's fine whether she does or doesn't. I was merely curious and if she doesn't want to talk about them, that's alright with me. If there are things she doesn't want us privy to, then we should respect her decision."
"As long as it's nothing that's breaking the law, I think it's alright with me. Not that she would do something like that."
Mòrag laughed. "I really don't think she's capable of breaking the law even if she wanted to. Or any of the kids, to be honest."
"You said it. I think I feel pretty confident about any of them leading the kingdom after we retire," Zeke said.
Mòrag sighed then chuckled a little. "Already thinking about retirement now? Are we going back to how much you want to go adventuring again?"
"Ha, maybe I am. I guess maybe I'm the one that needs to get out of the palace every once in a while," Zeke said with a grin. "Maybe that'll be the refresher I need, especially after all those board meetings."
"Then I guess we will arrange something with Niall. Remind me when we get home."
"So what did you think? Pretty nice restaurant or what?" Zeke asked.
"Even outside the private room, it had a welcoming atmosphere. The staff looked like they were well organized and the food was sublime. You've got a good eye when it comes to date spots," Mòrag replied.
"Thanks, I try my best. You ready to head home?"
"It's been a long day, so yes. It's been fun tonight." Mòrag enjoyed her time with Zeke that night. She felt happy, spending time with her favorite man. Mòrag was content with her life. The world was safe at last, she now has a wonderful family, and the tensions between nations have resided. On top of that, there was still plenty to discover about their world. And she would like to see the rest of this new world with her loved ones.