Bad Dream

The earth is still, not even the breeze of the wind blowing against my skin, not even the slightest sound of birds chirping. My fingers brush across the door frame as I move back into the house, my eyes catching sign of Zion as he stands at the end of the hallway, hands buried in his pockets as he seems to be thinking. Only a few days ago did he propose to me again, the ring sitting heavy upon my finger, and he agreed that we would both be on the battlefield, though I doubt he will let me anywhere close to the fighting. Do I blame him? No, he is scared to lose me and he knows I am not experienced like the warriors who will be fighting in this war.

"Penelope will be here by the end of the hour with news of the men and women she has gathered," Zion informs, looking over to me as I nod.

Penelope will bring with her more conversations of war, which will only stress Zion out more. But we cannot just ignore what is taking place and is going to take place. It is like ignoring history, ignoring moments which have influenced countries, the lives of thousands and millions, and the way which the world functions. Sure, the werewolf kingdom is nothing on a scale to a world war, but it is our own battle to fight to try and save what we can of the kingdom. No matter the outcome, things will change in this kingdom. If Lily succeeds, the kingdom will be nothing but packs, and no doubt the war will turn from the palace to other packs. If we are able to win, the kingdom will survive - yes - but men and women will die, packs not in the war will learn of the treason Lily Maxwell's pack tried to commit, and the current Alpha King will never trust Alphas the way he has been ever again.

"Will you tell her we plan to be there?"

"I do not know," Zion mumbles, turning back to the darkness of the hallway as I stand in the warmth of the sunlight shining in from the outside. "She may be completely against it."

He's right, Penelope will try and debate us at first, but I know she will come to realize why and will accept that. "She will understand."

Zion scoffs, looking over to me as he shakes his head. "How are so different? How did it take your death for us to be like this, to think through things together, to become stronger together?"

"We were still strong together back then," I point out, "but it was wisdom which we were both lacking and it took my death for us to develop as individuals." Walking towards the fallen king, I place my hand gently upon his shoulder. "I was naive back then, just the shell of the women you needed as your Queen, for I was indecisive, running from what scared me, and afraid to truly speak my mind."

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Zion comments, turning his gaze towards mine. "You were not the shell of the woman I wanted you to be. You were exactly who I wanted to marry and no woman is born a great Queen, for she must learn how to become one. You had all this learning to do which was cut short due to Nixon."

He's right, for no one is born great, born ready to take on all these challenges with complete confidence unless they are a fool. Placing a hand upon my cheek, Zion places a kiss upon my forehead. "I was ignorant and had false confidence when I was first crowned, but I learned form my advisors and continued to learn from them as I became a good king."

I rest my head against his shoulder, intertwining my fingers with his as I can hear the pain in Zion's words. He misses his crown, the duty which was passed down to him from generations of family, and the chance he would of had to raise his child to become the next ruler of the kingdom and continue the legacy. "Laraxus is lost as king, for he does not know who to trust as an advisor and turns to Elijah and even Lily. He is weak and allows others to influence him to get their way."

"Do you want to take back the crown?" I never expected myself to ask the question, especially since I know that Zion cannot return to the palace to wear a crown with me beside him.

"I went against the ancient teachings," Zion explains, wrapping an arm around my waist as he pulls me closer, "and any king who goes against the ancient teachings is seen unfit to rule. I brought you back from the dead and the kingdom could never accept that. Besides, I would rather have you by my side than advisors."

His words are sweet, making me believe in a bright future with Zion. Turning me to face him, I bury my face in his neck, wrapping my arms around his shoulders as I hold him close, wanting to save the moments I have with him as the days continue. "After the battle is fought, no matter who wins, I have my private jet waiting by just a few hours away from the palace." Looking up to him, I raise an eyebrow. "We cannot stay here no matter who wins." I want to argue his point, for if we win, perhaps we could stay longer, but I know he is right. A risk we are taking of fighting is work getting out to predators of my existence. "Sybil?" I await his next words as I can sense the sadness in his voice. "If I am to fall in the fight, you are to run to the jet the moment it happens, running from the field and towards the airstrip."

"I-" I am lost in my words as I cannot imagine watching Zion perish and not being able to mourn him, but having to get out of there right away.

"Keva will be on the jet. The jet is to land close to her realm as that is where we will take shelter once more."

"I do not want to just abandon you if you die."

"I am not saying I will, I am just preparing you," Zion whispers, pressing his forehead against mine as I shake my head softly.

Pulling away from his embrace, I try and take in a few deep breaths. I know there is a chance of one or both of us perishing, but I did not expect for Zion to have a plan, but he is right for having one. "I cannot go on living in a world without you," I whisper, my voice breaking as I run a hand through my hair. "You are the only one I can be with, the only one who can keep me safe in this world. Keva's people will only let me stay so long, Penelope cannot allow me to stay within her pack...I-I do not want a world without you."

"I do not want a world without you either, but we both decided to fight in this war," Zion points out, grounding me back to reality as I know that we decided to do this, we have to know what the consequences could be. "Countless men and women will be on that battlefield unsure if they will return home to their loved ones too, Sybil. We will be taking those same risks."

The two of us head into the living room, facing the fireplace as the minutes seem to tick by so fast. "And if we both go with Keva," I pause, looking up to his golden eyes as I am nervous with what I am to say, "we have promised her kin a child to be raised by them after our child is so many years old. Could we really take a child with us around the world to protect? Moving constantly with this child as they never are able to make friend, have a home?" I know what I am getting at, for it hurts me to ask this and point it out, but I know I am right. I know that if we have our child and take it with us as we constantly have to move around, that our child will never really have that childhood.

"We do not have to think of that yet."

"We need to," I state, my voice stern as I straighten my posture and look Zion dead in the eye. "Our child would never develop social skills, never have friends, never really learn how to be a child if they currently have to move around...Keva's kin will take in our child when they have already developed into someone who never had a childhood."

"What are you suggesting we do?" Zion asks, the tension rising in the air as I take in a deep breath.

I know what I will say next will hurt him. "If we have a child, we should give it to Keva and her people once it is born."

"I am not going to just throw my child into the arms of the elves without knowing it or holding it," Zion snaps, rising to his feet as he is disgusted by my suggestion.

"No, I am not saying we abandon it once it is born," I defend. "We should make a deal with the elves. We make a deal in which Keva and her kin will take our child in from it's birth, but we are allowed to stay with the elves for more time than they would originally give us. We could stay there for at least a few years and watch our child grow before we have to leave for our safety and our child's."

"We would never see our child grow up."

"We would always be able to stop by every couple of years I bet," I point out, "The elves would not just close their doors to us, for they could offer us shelter for some periods of time while our child grows up." Zion is silent as I know what I am saying is only hurting him. "We could see our child grow up from afar, but still be there to watch the important moments. Still stop by to play with them..."

Zion walks away from the room, leaving me along to the warmth of the fireplace as I place my head in my hands, a silent sob escaping my mouth. I cover my mouth as my sobs become louder, tears streaming down my face. He acts as if I am not effected by the thought of giving our child to the elves. I know he has every right to be angry at the thought of not raising our child ourselves, but he has to realize we cannot protect our child and give it a happy childhood. It would be selfish to keep our child with us as we forever cover our footsteps.

My sobs fill the room, tears running down my face as I try to wipe them away, knowing Penelope will be here soon and I need to be collected. I have become vulnerable before Zion since we last saw Penelope, laying in his bed at night after we spent much of the night tangled up in the sheets. Gazing down to my engagement ring, I twirl the ring around my finger, trying to pull myself together as I take in deep breaths.

A knock at the front door pulls me away from the couch and wiping away the last stray tears as I know Penelope will be able to sense the tension between Zion and myself. She doesn't need to see my red and puffy eyes to understand we have been arguing, for she saw much of that in my past life.

"Sybil," Penelope greets as she enters into the house, her auburn hair shining like fire in the sunlight. Walking right into the kitchen, Penelope sits at the kitchen table as she waits for me to take a seat across from here. "Where is Zion?" I look over to the hallway, wondering if he will collect himself and come to join us. "I guess it was that bad of a fight."

I nod, pushing my hair back as I take in a deep breath.

"You know, angry sex is a great solution," Penelope points out, making my cheeks turn pink. "Anyway, I'll wait for your lover since both of you need this information. Now, tell me what happened that has made you two so tense."

I've always been able to trust Penelope, knowing that behind the fierce and feisty personality she displays first for people to meet her with, she is a sweet individual behind all of that. Being an Alpha hardened her up, not for worse, for it has made her a strong leader.

I explain the issue of what will happen to our child and how we intend to keep the promise we made to Keva all those years ago.

"Makes sense for him to be mad," Penelope comments, leaning back in her chair as she purses her lips together. "But what you have proposed is a decision which would better your child and offer them a real childhood."

I nod, knowing she is about to lay out some hard truth. "But you need to understand that just because you say you will try and see your child every couple of years for a month or so does not mean you will be there to experience important moments in their life. You will not witness their first steps or even word perhaps. You will not be there for their first girlfriend or boyfriend, for when they accomplish goals, for when they do things which they are proud of. You will not really be a parent to your child."

My eyes begin to water again as I know what she says is right, for only seeing my child for moments of their life will mean I will miss so much of their life. "But their life will be better off with the elves," Penelope finishes, looking over her shoulder as I follow her gaze to see Zion standing there at the entrance of the kitchen. He heard her words, for his eyes are red and puffy just like mine. "She is right, Zion," Penelope points out to Zion, "your child will never have a true life to enjoy if they are constantly worried for their safety like you and Sybil will. The future you two are to go to if you both make it out alive will be one of stress."

Zion enters into the room, taking a seat at the kitchen island as he pinches the bridge of his nose. "I do not want to miss the experiences which every parent gets with their child."

"But we are not every parent," I state, grabbing his attention. "You knew the moment you brought me back from the dead that we would not be the typical couple...you knew you were going against ancient teachings by bringing me back, that people could hunt me down if they heard of my rebirth. We have to take responsibility for those actions and cannot let our child suffer for those actions."

"I wanted to believe," Zion snaps, the anger in his voice present as it scares me in my seat. "I wanted to believe I would still be able to experience everything that a typical family could experience." He's still in pain, still mourning the loss of our unborn child, the loss of our happily ever after. We still have a chance at one though, it will just have taken us longer than most fairy tales would have ever told.

We have to take responsibility for what happened though. We are not caught in some bad dream, but we are living reality and we must face it - Zion has to wake up.

Slamming his fist upon the counter, the magnitude of his hit scaring me once more as I watch his eyes darken to an onyx black. "I wanted to believe," Zion whispers, voice cracking as he turns away from me, eyes watering as I witness just how broken he is. I remember how happy he was when he found out we were to expand our family, when he learned that we were to increase our happiness and continue our legacy, and that was taken from the two of us. To hear he will have to expect that once more, I can understand why that would make him angry again.

"It's what we have to do," I state, trying to keep my voice calm as I reach out my hand, placing it on my knee as Zion slowly turns his head back to me, those eyes barely meeting my soft gaze. "We have to carry on. We promised Keva a child and we have to keep our promise to her. We have to keep our promise no matter what...please understand it is what we have caused." I plead with Zion, facing him as I turn to the side in my chair, both my on his knee as I give it a soft squeeze.

Penelope makes her presence known in the conversation as she taps the table gently to pull the attention back to herself. "I have news of the men I have gathered." Zion and I offer her our full attention now. "I have collected several packs to unite under my pack, a good two hundred or so warriors ready to take to the field. I have sent out a few scouts to watch and see when Lily Maxwell's pack begins to leave for battle."

It all feels so real now, for Penelope has gathered men and women to fight under her name, scouts are watching Crimson Lock, and Zion and I are going to be part of that battle.

"Rumors circle around the men of their past king returning to fight alongside them."

"How?" Zion asks, confused as I know exactly how the rumors started.

"You started them," I point out, looking to Penelope as she offers a slight nod to agree. "To make them believe more in the cause they will be fighting for."

"But I am a declared enemy of the kingdom!"

"People still hold their allegiance to you," Penelope points out, "King Laraxus is not the most wise king and has annoyed many packs. They hear that King Zion - the King they knew was wise - is going to be fighting beside them, and they will fight harder to save this kingdom."

Was it foolish to tell her men? No, I do not believe so at all. Penelope is right, for giving these men something to believe in when they will be going up against Crimson Lock and witches will be something to not underestimate.

Taking in a deep breath, I look to the strong Alpha who will lead an army on the battlefield upon the fields which I used to roam. "Then we will meet on the battlefield the next time," I comment, a feeling stirring in my stomach. Penelope nods, looking over my shoulder to Zion as we wait to see if the past king as settled down.

"We will meet on the battlefield," Zion agrees, keeping himself calm as he suppresses the anger within him.

Penelope collects herself, getting up from the table as she informs us she needs to head out, for the pack she is headed to next is a few hours away. Giving her a polite farewell, we watch as she drives off and disappears beyond the treeline.

Looking back to Zion, I see the golden specs in his eyes swirling around, his emotions running around as he tries to calm himself down still. He is still lost about what to think of our child going to live with the elves, but he knows it is the right thing to do...but also the hardest.

"When I agreed to be your wife all those years ago, I knew it would not be a walk in the park to be the wife of an Alpha King," I comment, facing the broken king as those eyes begin to dull with color. "I knew we would face obstacles, tough decisions, but also moments of love and happiness with one another. I have agreed to marry you once more, acknowledging that I still believe we will face all of those same things. Giving our child to Keva is one of those tough decisions, but it is also a decision of love for our child. Sometimes the right decision is not the easiest."

Taking in a deep breath of air, Zion closes his eyes as the sunlight shines down onto him. Looking back to me, Zion nods his head, taking a step forward as he takes my hand in his. "I will be your sword and shield in this battle...and when we both are safe and sound, I promise we will take our vows." Placing a kiss upon my forehead, Zion holds me tight. "I dreamed for so long after you died that you were still beside me, still beside me in the bed, a phantom creeping beside me. I still am afraid you will disappear to the shadows."

Pulling away, Zion looking me right in the eye. "I will protect you with everything I have on that battlefield, Sybil, and we will both make it out of there alive. I promise."