King Eadric peaked over the blankets at the baby. The boy had midnight blue eyes and a speckling of dark hair. But the thing that had made ever nurse do a double take was the fact that the newborn had teeth. The weren’t the fangs of a vampire, but they showed a resemblance to a infant werewolf pups. They were normal looking, albeit slightly sharper than normal teeth on a newborn. Baby’s aren’t supposed to have teeth. By Hades, children aren’t supposed to have teeth like that. “That’s not my child,” Eadric told his wife.

“I just wonder how you know,” the queen grumbled with sarcasm. “Could have been that your only my husband in name?”

“Strange looking creature. Just who is his father?”

“You’re the only one in the kingdom who doesn’t know.”

“Who,” Eadric yelled, startling the children in screams.

“His name is Alic.”

“That… that Vampire! By the gods, woman, don’t you have any taste? The man was human!”

“So? And what’s wrong with humans? You started a war to keep my brother from slaughtering their kind.” Aelas took her child into her arms to quiet his tears.

Eadric turned to his wife. She looked good with children in her arms. The gods knew he wanted one with her. “I don’t like you being with another man.”

“Is that so? How’s Stasia, the mother of your illegitimate child?” The queen’s words were cold with fury.

“The child’s yours, you adopted her,” the king said lamely after being caught using a double standard on his wife.

“I can only expect you to do the same for Rio’se here.” The child, Rio’se was munching happily on the queen’s pinky finger.

“I will. As for Alic… well I banished Stasia, I can do no less to him.”

“You did what?” The queen was panicked. She didn’t know her husband had gained the power to do things behind her back. “You’ll do nothing of the sort.”

Just as if he’d been cued, Alic burst through the door. An unconscious growl left his lips at seeing Eadric so close to his lover and child. Alic hadn’t meant to growl at the king. He’d lived among wolves too long, and felt the need to protect his mate and pup… er, son. “A daylight child,” Alic mused. He closed his eyes, “I feel no connection to him. Definitely not a vampire. You sure he’s mine,” Alic joked. Catching the tone in the room, he backed off.

“How did you know our child was a boy? You just got up, and I haven’t said anything.”

“I, uh, well… he looks like a boy.” Alic accepted the quieted baby from his lover. “Hello, Rio’se. I’m your father.”

“Who told you his name,” Aelas asked. She’d taken to the assumption that the child and Alic did have a connection, just not one either could feel.

“I’m sure you did. Just a minute ago.” Alic grinned like a hyena at the sight of his son’s teeth. “Let me see those fangs, boy.” Rio’se obliged by opening his mouth wide. “Oh! Teeth like a bear.” He growled with a smile at the boy who happily growled back.

Eadric, who had sat idly by, could not take the sight of the new family anymore. “I’ve had enough of this nonsense! I have a half a mind to banish you and that… that…” Eadric couldn’t find the words to describe the rage he felt toward the child, “abomination to the human world!”

“No,” Aelas and Alic shrieked in unison.

“Guards! Arrest that man.”

The guards grabbed Alic. But it was a tense situation. The king only had power by marriage, and the true crown was ticked off. Queen Aelas took her child and calmly put him in the crib.

“Release him.” The guards did with only a brief look at the king. Aelas smiled a wicked grin, “arrest Eadric.”

The guards took a step before Eadric said, “don’t.”

“It seems, husband, that we are at a standoff.”

“So it would seem,” Eadric said coldly.

Alic backed himself into a corner. Which only dragged attention back to him. Aelas turned to her lover, “you should go home.”

Eadric fixed Alic with a glare that would have killed lesser men. Aelas smiled and that warmed Alic’s un-beating heart. Alic looked over the crib at Rio’se, “goodbye,” was all he could think to say. With a bow Alic left the room, then the palace.

IIIIIII

The soldiers came later that night as Alic had suspected. “Give me a moment,” Alic said calmly to the guards. He turned to his vampire brother, Rourkshar, “you’re elder now.”

“No, I cannot.” Rourkshar lifted a bag. He’d been expecting the soldiers too.

“Rourkshar you can’t go with me. I wouldn’t damn you to a life among humans again. Besides, the clan needs you. And I need you to keep an eye on Aelas and Rio’se.”

With a clan-full of tear-filled goodbyes Alic was taken into custody. Alic was marched like a martyr to the gates of the kingdom. He could see the eyes of vampires and werewolves within the trees watching his humiliation. “Doomed,” he whispered to himself.

Alic was boarded on The Queen’s Pride who was still captained by his friend, Kelsig. It was, beyond a doubt, a joke by the king himself. This was the ship where he’d met the woman of his dreams nearly 700 years prior.

“I can take you two places,” Captain Kelsig said, “Errol’s Kingdom where you might gain asylum,” Kelsig waited for the inevitable answer.

“I will not switch to the Bastard Flag,” Alic said simply.

Kelsig put a hand on Alic’s shoulder, like a father lecturing a son. “I’ve sailed under many flags. I was born under the flag of Viking nobles, I’ve hoisted the Jolly Rogers, and I’ve waved a dozen in between those. My friend, this one I have on my sails is the best I’ve sailed under in my life. But perhaps any Imoralan flag is better than a human one?” Kelsig dropped his hand from Alic’s shoulder after Alic shook his head in response. “Shall I take you to the human world now?” Alic nodded to Kelsig in resignation. “I don’t envy you, my friend.”

“In better times, we’ll meet again,” Alic promised, although he was no seer and had no clairvoyant abilities.

“For the king’s sake, I hope not.”

Alic was afraid of what the human world would be like. The Imoralan kingdoms were a land stuck in time, but as is the way of humans, change was inevitable. If humans had stayed true to for it would be the year of the human’s lord, 1982. Alic would have to return to living a life as a demon among humans.

As if the Valley Clan had heard Alic’s sorrow, they all howled in mourning as their elder sailed toward rougher times in smooth water. Alic left his lover, his true soul mate and Alic left his son, Prince Rio’se, aptly translated to mean Prince of Cloudy Waters. Neither parent had felt the sun stir when the child was named after a place in Shadow’s Revolution. Ra’ap didn’t care what would happen to Alic, his duty to her had been done after conceiving the vessel for her long-dead priest.