Bedroom Diplomacy

Pazi stood straight and sure before his father. "Yes, while you negotiated with the adults, I tried my hand at diplomacy with men my own age."

"Thuc and Ehren?"

Thuc was the strong, muscular younger prince of the trolls while Ehren was the elf king's lithe, witty brother. Their people had been in a cold war for millennia.

"Yes."

"And?"

Pazi squeezed his hands together behind his back. "I am fairly certain Ehren is not carrying my child."

Pazi's father took in a deep breath. "Fairly certain?"

"Thuc tells me that elves can be got with children if they lose control in bed."

Pazi's father's diplomatic expression slipped for a second, exposing a grin. "Thuc's opinion?"

"Ehren didn't contradict him. But if such a child exists, it's equally likely to be Thuc's."

"It is? You will have to marry them both, you realize." Pazi's father shook his head. "What will your mothers think?"

His mothers would be proud that he'd enticed a toll and an elf unto a pixie polymarriage. By his father's expression, he must have been too. "You do understand how important they are to their homelands?"

"Yes, but Father, I know they are more important to me."