Love is reckless; not reason.
Reason seeks a profit.
Love comes on strong,
consuming herself, unabashed.
Yet, in the midst of suffering,
Love proceeds like a millstone,
hard surfaced and straightforward.
Having died of self-interest,
she risks everything and asks for nothing.
Love gambles away every gift God bestowed.
Without cause God gave us Being;
without cause, give it back again.
-Rumi
***
"Stay in bed. I'll get your sketch book for you."
Vidor got up and left our room momentarily before returning with my sketch book and the charcoal I left in his study room in hand. It had been 2 months since we found out about my pregnancy, and Vidor, being the most collected and calm person I knew, took his I-am-going-to-be-a-father role to another level. He never let me do anything at all by myself anymore. He would do everything, as in EVERYTHING for me, and if he wasn't around he would assign the maids to replace him. I found this to be really sweet although slowly it was beginning to drive me crazy because I practically couldn't even lift a book or going to the bathroom without any assistance. Going to the library was no option because Vidor was paranoid that I would accidentally stumble and fall down the stairs. The only place I could venture from my room was only Vidor's study room where I would be under his guard, and he would watch my every move -
he wouldn't even let me adjust the cushions and the throw without his administer!
He sat down on the armchair next to the bed and began to study his papers while I was only staring at the blank paper, thinking of what to sketch as my creativity began to slowly dim with this protect-the-pregnant-queen task that was too much. I learned from Lorant that pregnancy among Tenebrian women lasted only for 6 months, unlike the 9 month period that I knew of. But given the fact that my husband was a demon and I was a human, my pregnancy would last for 7 months. And only in 2 months a small bump was already visible. I idly doodled random stuff on the paper while my mind was preoccupied with the baby in my womb. Would he born as a human? As a demon? A hybrid? And what would he look like? What name should I pick for him? For God sake I didn't even know if the baby was a boy or a girl. Vidor got up from his seat, kissed me on my forehead and walked towards the windows and the double door to open them and let the fresh air in. I smiled at him gratefully, knowing that he knew it would make me feel better. It was only mid-morning but I felt the need to move around.
"Vidor,"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Can I take a stroll in the garden?"
"No."
Came his short answer. I had to change my tactic.
"Can WE take a stroll in the garden?"
He studied my face,
"Why?"
I sighed,
"I'm feeling like I'm being imprisoned here! I can't even lift a spoon to my mouth without anyone taking over to feed me! I'm only pregnant dammit, not handicapped! Now I want to take a stroll out there like a normal human being, WITH YOU!"
The corners of his mouth twitched as if he was suppressing his smile,
"Is it the hormonal talk?"
"No. Yes. Maybe. I don't know! Let's go outside my husband,
pleaaaaase?
"
He put all his papers aside and got up to scoop me in his arms,
"As you wish, sweetheart."
He softly kissed me on my lips before walking to the balcony and soon we were airborne. I rested my head on his shoulder while enjoying the breeze on my face. He flew us over the garden that I used to venture and took us to a place I had never been before. He landed and softly put me on my feet on the ground. I looked around and I immediately fell in love with this place. I spun around and tiptoed to kiss him on his lips with a deep appreciation,
"Thank you for bringing me here. This place is beautiful!"
We were in a natural pool with a waterfall on the far end. The pool was stony and there were sharp rocks and stones here and there, but there were some large stones that were altered for lying down, and the shallow part of the pool was perfect for a leisure dip. The water looked so inviting. I felt Vidor behind me and he sneaked his arms around my waist. Giving a light kiss on top of my head he whispered,
"Do you want to get in?"
I turned my head around to see him,
"I can do that?"
He planted a kiss on my temple,
"Of course. This place is mine. Ours,"
"That sounds good. But I don't have any bathing suit,"
"Who says anything about getting into the water with a bathing suit?"
I gawked at him,
"You mean..."
"Mm-hmm."
"Wow okay. Uhm... Alright, I guess."
I felt his hands working on the pearl button on the nape of my neck and the hidden zipper along my back. I stepped out of my dress of which he laid carefully down a large stone before he lifted my camisole along with my panties, practically undressing me only in a matter of minutes. When he finished I noticed that he was bare naked as I was. He scooped me again in his arms and walked into the water. Slowly lowering himself in the water, he sat down on the base with me on his lap. The water wasn't cold nor it was too warm. It was just perfect. I watched him idly caressing my belly and I smiled. I wanted so bad to tell him that I loved him but I didn't know how he would react or if he even understood the concept of love, because for all I knew there was no such thing as a deep emotion like love ever occurred among Tenebrians.
"Vidor, can I ask you something?"
"Anything, sweetheart."
I lifted my hand to brush my fingers through his head and he closed his eyes, enjoying it.
"How is it that your clothes disappear?"
He opened his eyes and looked at me quizzically.
"I mean... You don't need to literally put clothes on, they appear and disappear just like that! How does it work? Do you have some kind of fabrics or threads in your body system that you can just transform them as you wish? Or is it magic? It's gotta be magic, isn't it?"
At first he smiled at me, then it turned to a grin before he threw his head back and laughed out loud. That was the first time I saw him letting himself go with no reservation and I fell in love deeper with him.
"I'm sorry sweetheart, but that is the funniest thing you have ever said to me. No no it doesn't work like that. I'm a demon, you see. Technically there's no need for demons to wear clothes. But since we had to adapt to the world that kept and keeps changing, we had to come up with an ability to clothe ourselves without having to put it on literally, as you put it. Not to mention that it would be hard to dress up with these huge wings on our backs,"
