AARYN

When he reached the cave again and could still hear Elreth snoring, Aaryn decided there was no reason to wait for his other plan. He trotted back across the meadow to Reth and Elia's tree, praying that they weren't fighting again.

Thankfully, when he reached the door, there was no sound from within. He knocked, then pushed the door open. "Anybody home? Reth are you here?"

The massive former King was just trotting down the stair, his face flushed. But he didn't look angry. "Hey, Aaryn. What's going on?"

"I, uh, I was wondering if I could ask you a question. A favor, really."

Reth looked surprised, but then he smiled. "Sure, sure. Just… why don't we go for a walk? My mate is resting. Let's not disturb her."

Aaryn hoped that meant that the two had finally gotten past their anger, but the look on Reth's face was strange, so he didn't comment, just shrugged and waited next to the door for Reth to join him.

They stepped out of the house and towards the trail in step, but neither of them speaking. Reth seemed deep in thought—first frowning, then smiling, then looking as he'd thought of something that disturbed him. But when Aaryn cleared his throat, the older man blinked and turned to look at him.

"Sorry, son, I'm a little distracted. Why don't you tell me what's going on?"

They both naturally stepped onto the trail back towards the Tree City without thought.

Aaryn grimaced. "I don't know if Elia told you," he said carefully, "But I wanted to make some kind of gesture or gift, or something for Elreth that is connected with her human roots. I spoke with Elia about what humans do when they marry, and one of the things she said she'd by missed not getting married in the human world was that they took something called a honeymoon. Which is really just a trip away from home together, right after the ceremony. I was wondering what you thought about that, and if you thought it was a good idea, could you give me any advice on how to approach that with the elders… do I even need to ask them? Or can we just go?"

Reth walked comfortably alongside him, frowning at the dirt. "You say Elia suggested this… because she missed it?"

"She just said she thought it was something the humans had right, and she wished you two had gotten to do it. She wasn't sad about it. She was just coming up with ideas for me."

Reth nodded, scratching his stubbled jaw. "Right, right, fair enough. Um… well, I mean, as Queen, technically Elreth can do whatever she wants, and the elders will just have to deal with it. Seeing as it's right after the first mating, I don't think anyone would expect you two to be out and about all the time. Being gone from the Tree City though… I'm not so sure. I think it's important for the people to see you and know the mating bond took. How long are you thinking about being gone?"

"Just a couple nights. Maybe three at most."

"Well then, I'd say walk the Flames. Show up in the market the next day to greet the people and let them greet you. Then announce that you'll be gone and who is in charge… I mean, warn the elders, obviously. But they can't stop you. They may ask you not to go, though, if there is unrest."

"I know El wouldn't want to go if there was unrest. We can definitely stay for the following morning. But that does lead into my next question: Assuming it's safe for us to leave… do you have a place I could take her? I need somewhere private, preferably with a bathing pool or river close by. And a nice, quiet area—somewhere we aren't going to run into other people."

Reth thought a moment, then smiled. "Yes, I think I know the place that would suit. And it's only two hours walk from here."

"Perfect. Could you give me a map?"

"I can draw you one. You could scent it—or El could order one of the birds to scout for you, if you're worried about it."

"No, it would be so much better to stay alone and not have anyone else know where we are."

Reth grunted. "You won't be able to keep it from everyone. The elders will insist that the Captain knows where to find you in the event of an attack or… or anything."

"Attack from who?" Aaryn asked carefully.

"I don't know. I just know Behryn was forever braying on about security measures and preparing for every eventuality, blah, blah, blah…"

Aaryn shook his head. "You know, Reth, you're a terrible example of royal responsibility when it comes to stuff like this. Blah, blah, blah—about your daughter's security?"

"No, of course, not," Reth growled. I just meant, they want to say a lot of words to get a simple idea across. The truth is, the Guards need to be able to find you if there's any kind of threat."

"Sure, sure," Aaryn said. "Okay, we'll I guess I'll talk to Lhern, and—"

"Nope. Wrong. Anything like this, go to the females first."

"What? Why?"

"Because all that old male will see is practical issues and problems. He'll talk to you out of it. You talk to Huncer and the women's council, they'll see the value in it, and they'll tell the male elders what needs to be done, and why."

"I guess that's good advice. Thank you. I'll talk to Huncer."

"And make sure she tells the other females if they aren't there for your chat," Reth growled. "The more of them you have on board, the better it will go for you. And use the word romance more than once."

"What? Why?"

"Because the females lap that stuff up. If you tell them you're wanting to have the chance for alone time with your mate, that you want it to be romantic, and private, they won't just make the males agree to it, they'll tell you all the ways you can make it special for her that you'd never think of yourself. They'll do all your homework for you."

Aaryn grinned at Reth. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."

Reth gave a smug smile. "No, no. I already know all the tricks in the book. I'm just sharing my highlights with you, that's all."

*****

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