Strange Magic: Six Flower Petals Chapter 2

The Bog King was worried and had every right to be as of this moment.  No one could really blame him for the way he was reacting to all this.  He was in the grand hall sitting in his massive bone throne, shoulders hunched and armor clanking every so often from his anxiety.  He was growing ever so restless, along with his subjects watching him quietly from the sidelines.  They also shared that very same concern, especially when they heard the loud bellowing coming from the royal chamber where her majesty, Queen Marianne was.

Bog’s thoughts were running rampant inside his head and thinking why now all of a sudden.  This shouldn’t even be happening, the timing was way off and wasn’t supposed to be as of right now.  

Everything had seemed perfectly fine from this morning with him waking up to Marianne in his arms, his hand resting over her stomach and feeling the fluttery movement that showed their child was stirring.  That was the usual greeting he got and never got tired of that feeling.

Then the day progressed with them working on simple tasks into the early afternoon as they enjoyed a nice quiet luncheon together.  Bog had seen to her needs and made sure that under no circumstance would she eat anything raw or undercooked which could harm either her or the seedling in her womb.  

Speaking of the wee one, it seemed like the child had been more lively than ever, judging from the many swift kicks the wee one seemed to be giving Marianne.  She guessed the child was a bit restless and couldn’t stay still for very long without moving about so.  Dawn, when she had last visited and felt it herself, had commented how little Boggy Woggy Junior must like to boogie in there.

Bog, despite the urge to correct her on that given name, couldn’t help agreeing with her on that one since the child seem so active and thought when it came time for it to show the child will be giving them a run for their gold.  Although he would have liked to have spent time with Marianne and their very hyper offspring, he unfortunately had duties to attend, one being going to a council meeting in her father’s kingdom.  He would have preferred to stay right there with her, but Marianne was insistent that he go.  

She reminded him it was part of their duty to attend these things, and since she couldn’t go due to her condition, that it wouldn’t do for him to miss out on anything that might be of importance to either kingdom.  She would be fine, she said, as she had his mother there to keep watch over her with him not around, and all the goblins would make sure nothing happened.  They still had a few weeks left, so it would be perfectly okay not to have him by her side for that short time.

He knew she was right and couldn’t argue with that fair logic.  So with great reluctance he had left, promising to come back as soon as the meeting was adjourned.  He thought two hours at most would be all there was to whatever this was about.  

Too bad it hadn’t been like that when he got in and sat down beside his in-laws, half-listening to what they were saying.  He found it went on longer than he would have liked and seem to drag on forever.  Everyone in the council had to have a say in today’s meeting and kept pushing to argue about this and that, back and forth, which nearly drove him crazy.  

He had to grit his teeth and bear it, knowing if he let his anger get the best of him, things would not go well and push things further.  There was only so much he could take without having to think what Marianne might be doing at this time and wishing these fools would just hurry up and shut their traps already.

It was fortunate that his father-in-law, the Fairy King, took pity on him and decided to call it to a close.  He may not have liked who his daughters had chosen as their consorts, but with Marianne having his first grandchild to both their kingdoms underway, he was needed elsewhere.

Not to mention he could see that the Bog King looked ready to take his frustration out on them if he didn’t put this meeting to a halt, thus giving Bog the chance to exit the room with his wings buzzing madly as he left the Palace in quick haste.  

He never wanted to go through that ever again.  Listening to those mindless imbeciles was worse than any torture he could ever consider for his subjects.  If he could he would send someone else to listen in for him.  Although then again that might not be a good idea, but still he was anxious to get home to his beautiful wife and see how she and the babe were faring for themselves.  

When he returned to the Dark Forest with the sun setting low in the background, he was in for a surprise when he saw what was happening inside his fortress when he got in.  

There were goblins all running amok in the room in a state of panic.  Some looked like they were on the verge of collapsing as he saw Brutus plowing through the crowd carrying a large tub full of water.  Most of it was splashing everywhere, and Brutus tripped over his own feet, having it slosh everywhere on the ground.

Some got drenched, and a few were slipping in the puddles that were there.  He saw no one taking heed of him there and slammed his staff while giving off a loud roar to grab their immediate attention.

“WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?!”

Thang and Stuff, seeing it was their king, rushed straight to him saying, “Sire, you’re back, thank goodness!  The queen, she’s—“ Bog’s eyes widened as he grabbed Thang and held him in front of his face snarling, “She’s what, what’s happening to my Marianne, tell me or I’ll—“

But he never got to finish as a loud, piercing scream cut through the entire hall, and Bog recognized it as Marianne’s.  

He reacted almost instantly as he dropped the goblin and pushed everyone out of the way, flying to where the screams were coming from.  He found himself in front of their royal bedchamber and could hear her yelling from behind those solid doors.  Something was very wrong here.  

“Marianne!”  He grabbed hold of the door and was ready to go inside, only to find his way being blocked by those colorful pixies zipping around and stopping him from going any further.  

“Let me through, you winged nuisances; get out of my way!”  

He swung his staff around, trying to swat them away just as his mother had gone to see what all the commotion was and found her son there.  

“Hey, you three get your colored behinds back in here.  I can’t do all this by myself, you know.”  

The pixies immediately stopped their assault on the king and headed back inside, just in time to hear Marianne cry out once more.  Bog was ready to rush right in, but his mother grabbed his arm and held him back.

“Oh no you don’t! You can’t go in there!  Now’s not a good time to—”

“Mother, what’s going on? Please don’t tell me it’s happening right now.  No, it’s too soon!”  

The healers and even Sugar Plum had said that the bairn wouldn’t show for at least another full moon, which was a month away.  

Griselda just gave her son a look while preventing him from getting past her, seeing how desperately he wanted to be in there, but she wasn’t going to let him.  

“Since when have you become the expert on when babies are ready to come or not?  Well this one isn’t for waiting any longer, so I suggest you go back to the hall with everyone else and stay put while you let us do the work.”  

Bog couldn’t believe that his own mother was keeping him out of his own chambers even as Brutus arrived with the large tub of water and told him to bring it in.  

“Look son, there’s really nothing you can do for her.  You have to let us take care of it.  The last thing you need is to be in there, hovering and making it harder than it is.  Trust me, it wasn’t easy popping you out of my womb, but at least Marianne didn’t have to deal with twenty-three months, thank goodness for small favors.  So scat now!”  

When Bog refused to budge, she turned to the larger goblin who had stepped out of the room and was about to make his hasty exit.  “You, take my son to the throne room this instant and under no circumstance let him leave there unless I say so, got it?!”

The goblin looked torn as he glanced between his ruler and Griselda, trying to decide on which of the two was scarier, but then, upon hearing the Queen’s ear-splitting shriek from behind the closed door, it wasn’t hard to make up his mind right there.  

He grabbed the Bog King, throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carrying him back to the hall.  What he saw in there would haunt him for the rest of his days and have such sleepless nights for the next few months.

So here he was, despite his earlier protests and thanks to his own mother forcing him to wait it out, along with the others there in the room.  Bog had spent the last few hours pacing and listening to those piercing screams that seemed to echo all around them.

They saw how jumpy His Highness was each time they heard those agonizing cries, and everyone was just as anxious and hoping for the sake of their majesty and his heir that it would be all right.  If anything were to happen to either the queen or the child, their king might lose it and take his wrath out on them.  Sure, he may have mellowed out some, but he still carried that temper, it only rousing if he felt like something was wrong or tried to hurt Marianne.

It was until the sky was littered with many stars that a new sound breached the hall.  It was that of a smaller kind wailing that seem to be heard loud and clear inside the fortress.  

Bog, realizing that it must be finally over, got up from his throne and headed straight for his chamber, wanting to check upon his wife and their child.

He saw his mother just coming down the hall and took notice of him barreling past her in that instant.  “You’re welcome, by the way, and don’t worry, both Marianne and the baby are fine.  Go on and say hello to your son, Daddy.”

He threw the door open and saw Marianne lying against the plush cotton and moss balls, her face all sweaty and cheeks all flustered.  She looked absolutely exhausted with her hair hanging wet over her brow, but never did she seem more beautiful as she cooed to the small bundle in her arms.  

He was relieved to see that they were both doing all right, letting go of the breath he had been holding in until he saw them.

He took to plopping down in the empty seat next to his queen and staring at them with a toothy grin.  

“So it seems the wee one decided to come early today, just when I wasn’t around.”  

Marianne lifted her gaze up to see Bog there and smiled at him.

“Yeah, he certainly was rather anxious to come out, right around the time you left.  You have no idea how he had been pressing to get out from down there.  I don’t think I have ever been through such hell before, but got to say it was worth it.”

“Indeed, it was.”

He had his gaze turn over to the swaddled infant, and Marianne decided now would be a good time for him to hold his son.  She watched as he took the swaddled bundle and saw he was trying to make sure his talons didn’t hurt the small child.  He had not been sure what to do, but thanks to Marianne’s instruction, he managed without dropping the child as he cradled his tiny one close to his chest.

“It’s a good thing we had the baby’s room already finished, although it was Plum’s suggesting that said it would be a boy.  I’m glad to see it was right on the mark.”

“Yes, too bad she was only half accurate with that.”  

She may be the expert when it came to matters on all things love, but when it came to babies, that was entirely different altogether.  He had his attention drawn back to their child and couldn’t help beaming with fatherly pride at what he saw.

The boy looked a lot like him, from his nose and chin to the tiny claws on his little fingers that stuck out from the blanket.  Since his carapace armor had yet to harden as it only did so when they grew older and had their first molt, his skin was soft like his mother.  

There were tufts of dark brown hair sticking out and pushed back from his forehead, showing the tiny chitin that was on his brow.  He was in awe by this wee one that they had managed to create together.

“So have you given any thought to what name you would like to give your son?”  

The Bog King lifted his head to see Marianne watching the both of them, seeing the love shining in his eyes at their child.  Our child, that had to be the most wonderful thing to be ever considered since he was a part of her and Bog and couldn’t help smiling at that.  Now they just needed to decide on what to call him.  They had talked a few times over what name to give, never really settling on which one they preferred.  Bog did have one suggestion, though, and wanted her to hear him out.

“Marianne, I was thinking we name him after both our fathers, yours and mine.  It should be fitting since we were from two different kingdoms and now he’s a part of both those great lands.”

He saw Marianne was all for it as she nodded and smiled down at their son.  “Oberon Titus, I like it.  What do you think little Obe?  You like the name your Daddy gave you?”  

The bairn stirred at hearing her voice, and Bog saw him blinking a couple times before staring at them with those same sky blue eyes like his.  

The family had been enjoying this peaceful moment, unaware that they were being watched and looking at the happy couple with the babe in Bog’s arm.

Stuff and Thang, seeing their new sire, had immediately rushed to the great hall to tell everyone.  It wouldn’t be long before the news was passed on, and everyone would be preparing the welcoming party for the birth of their future king.  

Griselda turned to Plum, who was floating right next to her. “See, told ya.  Isn’t he’s so adorable, looks just like his daddy.  Can’t wait to tell everyone about my little grandson.  He’s definitely going to be quite a looker when he gets older.  Just hope he doesn’t take as long as his father to snag a girl, but I’m sure I’ll help if I have to look under every rock just to find the right one.”

Plum couldn’t help chuckling as she didn’t doubt it but thought he would be able to on his own.  “Yes he’s definitely a cute little Boggy Woggy if I do say so myself.”   She could see the obvious love that the Bog King had for both his wife and now their child and knew he finally found what he had been longing for and didn’t really need her love potion at all.