Her husband sighed deeply and looked down. �I�m worried about you,� he said in a soft voice. �You�re pregnant again and with what happened last time, I�� he trailed off, shaking his head.
�You�re afraid someone will try to hurt me?� Elayne guessed.
The smaller man nodded. �Yeah,� he replied in a soft voice, �and the babies. I�m at school quite often and I worry what might happen to you, what someone who� disagreed with how you run things might do.� Now that he was talking about how he felt, his voice became less shy and more confident.
Elayne frowned thoughtfully. In the past, the leader of the Council of Dark Mages lived in the Dark Castle, because that�s where business was conducted. However, no past leader had a good mage for a consort or had small children to be concerned about. After a few moments, she looked up and asked, �Where can we move that you�ll feel safe?�
Keenan smiled fondly and kissed her on the cheek. Stepping back, he said, �I�ll look over a few things and speak with Phillip. I want us to live together as a family and it�s not going to be easy to find someplace that will�� he trailed off, looking sheepish.
�Allow the leader of the Evil Mages to live among them?� Elayne finished, smiling warmly. �I know. Make sure Rusty watches over you when you speak to Phillip. We wouldn�t want anyone to get the wrong idea.�
�Yes, dear,� the wizard replied dutifully. He smiled brightly at her and then whirled around to stride back out the door he�d entered through.
**
�Do you honestly think they�ll go for it?� Keenan asked, somewhat incredulously.
Phillip snorted irritably. �Keenan, you�re their king! I honestly think they�d be beside themselves with joy if you told them you wanted to rule from the capitol instead of the Dark Castle!�
Keenan chuckled. �Yeah,� he mused. �I guess so, but do you think Elayne would be a problem for them?�
Phillip scowled slightly. �You�re her bound spouse, Keenan,� he said. �You�ve told them repeatedly that you�ll not change that. They may have some problems with the idea.�
�There is a reason I don�t want to be unbound from Elayne, Phillip,� he stated cautiously.
�Besides the fact that your part Loyalian and you know she wouldn�t like it?� Phillip guessed, sounding curious.
Meadows� eyes twinkled mischievously and he said, �Well, that�s most of it.� He knew Phillip was aware of the hedging nature of his answer. However, he also knew that the warlock wouldn�t press the matter any further.
�I�ll talk to the Shynian Council,� Phillip promised, returning to the reason for his call. �I�ll see if some arrangement can�t be made so that Elayne would be allowed to live at the�� he trailed off. Looking up curiously, he asked, �What do you call the Shynian royal palace?�
�North Lake Palace,� Keenan answered. Grinning impishly, he added, �It�s a really ingenious name, you know? �Cause it�s a palace and it�s in North Lake.�
Phillip glared and said, �We�ll discuss this later, Keenan. Goodbye.�
�Bye,� Keenan replied, as the warlock closed the connection. He glanced over the top of the teleson and said, �How do you think Elayne would feel about moving to Shynia?�
�One hell of a commute,� Rusty mused. He shrugged and pulled the small bush that was nestled in his lap into arms, so he could stand. �I think she�d move to Cygma if it made you happy,� he answered honestly.
�Me too,� Keenan replied with a warm smile.
**
Keenan regarded Alister Blackstone very seriously for a moment. �I�m already married,� he stated firmly, his voice taking a tone that was clearly meant as a warning.
�You are her bound spouse,� Alister persisted. �Do you have any concept of what that means, Your Majesty?�
Meadows goggled at the man for a moment and then scowled. �Let me think,� he began in a soft, dangerous voice. �We�ve been married for eight years now?� He locked eyes with the older man. �Yeah, I think I may have an idea or two!�
Alister frowned. �Yet you insist on remaining that way?� he asked. �Don�t you understand why this might worry the other members of the Council?�
Keenan sighed deeply and leaned in closer to the Director of Intelligence. �Let me put this in terms you�ll understand,� he said quietly. �For eight years now, I�ve been bound to Elayne, unable to do anything she tells me not to, but � somehow � I still managed to spy on her for the Good Mages.� He paused and smiled brightly. �Just why do you suppose that is?�
Alister blinked in surprise and a look of comprehension dawned in his eyes. �You play her!� he gasped.
�Elayne knows that I�m part Loyalian, that I�m bound by my loyalties to the Good Mages to tell Phillip whenever I learn of their plans,� he explained gently. �She also knows that I have a sensitive aura and putting me into conflict � making me choose one loyalty over another � could very well kill me.� He shook his head and stepped back. �What everyone fails to comprehend is that, if done correctly � with both parties willing � the binding works both ways! Just as I am physically unable to defy Elayne, she is physically unable to hurt me or allow me to be harmed.�
�It�s been a source of protection for you,� Alister whispered. �No matter what you do, Elayne has to protect you.�
He nodded, grinning brightly. �Not a protection from her, since I know Elayne would never hurt me herself. However, without the protection the binding provides, she might be forced � by circumstances � to allow me to be �punished� by people who work under her.�
�By remaining bound, you know she can�t allow that,� Alister agreed, smiling mischievously.
�There�s more,� Keenan pointed out. �The idea that you and Phillip had is a popular misconception, one shared by most of the evil mages.� He winked and added, �They think I can�t defy her, so I can�t influence her either. For the past seven years, I�ve been working on Elayne, getting her to shift her efforts from conquest by coup to more� accepted means?�
�You�ve been twisting the Council of Evil Mages into a legitimate political organization to rival the current status quo!?� Alister exclaimed.
Keenan shrugged. �I agree with the Council on most things,� he whispered, �but some of the rules regarding �proper use of magic� are archaic. Elayne�s ideas are more in keeping with my own, it was her methods I disagreed with.�
�But, because she�s as bound to you as you are to her, she�ll change her methods to make you happy?� Alister asked incredulously.
�Yup!� Keenan replied impishly.
The Director shook his head. �It�s a dangerous game you�re playing, Your Majesty,� he warned.
�I know,� Keenan agreed. �If the wrong person gets an idea what I�m doing, then they may strike at me or Elayne or even our children! That�s why I have to get them out of the Dark Castle!�
�I�ll speak to the council,� Alister promised, whirling on his heel and striding into the small chamber room, where the other members were deciding whether to grant the king�s request or not.
**
Keenan returned to the Dark Castle late in the afternoon, smiling brightly. �Hello,� he called, as he stepped into the chambers that served as his apartment.
�Da!� Perry replied, grabbing his leg and beckoning to be picked up.
Chuckling, Keenan lifted the six-year-old into his arms. �Hello, Perry,� he said gently, kissing the boy�s forehead.
�How did it go?� Elayne asked, looking up from the task of braiding Amy�s hair.
�Well,� he stated, settling into a chair with Perry in his lap. �My Council decided that it would be a wonderful thing to have me so close, in case of an emergency.�
�So we�re moving?� Amy asked, frowning.
Keenan smiled at the ten-year-old. �To a new palace, where you can go to school and be with children your own age,� he stated solemnly.
�And your father won�t have to worry so much about you when he�s at work,� Elayne added gently, as she tied off one braid.
Meadows smiled as he watched Elayne gently brush and tend to their daughter�s hair. In spite of her past, Elayne was truly a good and gentle person deep down inside. It was only the fact that she disagreed with the accepted laws that bound mages and saw a need to change those laws that had ever driven her to be evil in the first place.
Unlike the past leaders of the Council of Evil Mages, she had no desire for ultimate power, nor did she wish to sow death and destruction. She only wanted to make the lives of her children a little better than hers had been. After all, isn�t that what every parent wants? Keenan smiled briefly at the thought, then he remembered the other matter that he and Alister had discuss and frowned. Just how was he supposed to tell Elayne that bit of news?
End�