(Every character depicted in the story below is a consenting legal adult over the age of 18)

A/N: Sevvi Time!

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“You’re pregnant.”

Sevvi’s icy deadpan tone causes the Dark Elf opposite of her to flinch, her long knife-like ears pulling back along her skull and her eyes darting downwards. After a beat though… she confirms it.

“… Yes First Princess.”

The Dark Elf in front of Sevvi is one of her sister’s old commanders. A three hundred year old warrior who served Synestra with distinction for at least half that time. She hasn’t been a problem since Sevvi killed her older sister and usurped her position, however. The thought of causing issues hadn’t even so much as crossed the Dark Elf Commander’s mind, as far as Sevvi could tell.

One might say that for someone of three hundred years of age, a mere half a decade was nothing but a drop in the bucket. Certainly, five years shouldn’t have been enough time to completely change a woman… right? Except Sevvi knew better.

Spending time with the humans had a way of effecting a Dark Elf that even now, five years into their stay in human lands, none of them could fully put into words. Not even Sevvi herself. Still…

“How did this happen? What were the circumstances of this… breeding?”

The Dark Elf Commander doesn’t flinch this time, but she does blush a bit at the word ‘breeding’. Sevvi resists the urge to roll her eyes or huff, even as she keeps her gaze fixed on the other woman.

“He was… he is one of Last Hope’s woodworkers. I was impressed by… his ability to utilize the Darkwoods’ resources.”

Translation; she was impressed by his muscles, more than likely.

“He was in turn impressed by my skill with a blade. A pair of ruffians tried to rob him, but I stepped in and stopped them.”

Sevvi’s eyes narrow.

“Do they still live?”

The other Dark Elf quickly nods.

“Y-Yes! I followed the laws, First Princess. I apprehended them with minimal injury and turned them over to Last Hope’s authorities for processing, as we are required to do! Neither of them were very strong… it was easy.”

Of course it was. The sort of desperate, dimwitted thugs who would try to mug someone on the streets of Last Hope weren’t the kind of people who could take down one of Sevvi’s people. They weren’t even the kind who might be able to take down one of Last Hope’s city guard, really.

“And what happened afterwards? Did you demand anything of this man who has impregnated you?”

The Dark Elf Commander rapidly shakes her head.

“No! I would not… I mean… I know how things were back home, but your edicts are clear, First Princess. I follow them unquestioningly and have done everything in my power to stay true to your commands.”

Sevvi slowly nods and waves a hand for the other woman to continue. After all, if she were lying then Sevvi would probably have already heard of it. In point of fact, Sevvi already had heard all about this. She’d known the moment that the Commander lay with the Woodworker. But it was important to pretend like she didn’t.

Swallowing hard and licking her lips, the Dark Elf finishes her explanation.

“We shared a meal and drink together that night… and then a bed. And we’ve kept sharing a bed in the weeks and months since. I didn’t think…”

Sevvi hums.

“No, you weren’t thinking were you? You were enjoying yourself too much for that.”

Flinching, the other woman bites her lower lip again before looking down. But not to avert her gaze… no, this time she’s looking down at herself, specifically at her abdomen.

“… I wish to keep it, First Princess.”

Head coming up, the Dark Elf Commander affixes Sevvi with a plaintive, hopeful gaze.

“Please… I beg of you, let me keep it. I will do anything you ask of me!”

Sevvi scoffs, arms firmly crossed over her chest for a moment longer before she gestures again.

“Keep it. I will not say you can’t.”

The look of enthusiasm and excitement on her fellow Dark Elf’s place makes Sevvi feel a certain sort of way. She continues on though, not done quite yet with what she’s saying.

“However, you will not be allowed to keep the child from its father. Nor will you raise it in our ways if it is male.”

Blinking, the Commander slowly nods.

“I… yes, I understand First Princess. Actually, I was hoping I might be able to request permanent assignment to Last Hope… so that I might pursue a human-style relationship with the man who has impregnated me.”

Sevvi pauses at that, pretending to consider the request for a long moment before finally nodding.

“Request granted.”

The Commander departs shortly afterwards, a significant skip in her step as she goes. One would think she was an untouched maiden experiencing her first love, rather than a battle-hardened warrior of three centuries. Then again… why could it not be both? Certainly the army that Sevvi had found herself saddled with five years ago were not ‘untouched’ or ‘maidens’ by any stretch of the imagination.

However, love was not a concept that Dark Elves as a whole had much experience or practice with. Despite the sheer number of years they had on their human counterparts, their emotional ages were usually far lower, as Thomas had always put it.

Speaking of Thomas… Sevvi keeps her face stoney and unreadable for a moment longer before turning on her heel and stepping into the deepest, darkest shadow in her office. She steps out in another place a moment later and when her eyes fall upon her Master, the King of these lands, a wide, excited grin spreads across Sevvi’s face.

“Master, a moment of your time?”

Thomas looks up from what he’s doing and smiles warmly upon seeing Sevvi. Setting everything aside, he rises to his feet and makes his way to her.

“Of course Sevvi. You know I always have time for you. What is it?”

Barely able to contain her excitement, practically vibrating in place, Sevvi swallows hard.

“Its… its finally happened.”

Thomas furrows his brow for a moment… and then his eyes widen as he catches on to what she’s saying. His own face splits into a broad grin as well.

“Really? That’s excellent news! And everything checks out?”

Sevvi nods enthusiastically… only to squeak when Thomas steps forward and gathers her up in his arms a moment later. She blushes but doesn’t fight back as he lifts her off the ground and spins her in a circle, hugging her close. Instead she returns the embrace, relishing in his warmth.

When he finally puts her down, he’s still grinning.

“It’s taken quite a while… though I suppose for your people this was just a blink of the eye.”

Sevvi hums, shaking her head.

“In some ways, yes. In others… no. Living among the humans has definitely changed how my people see time. It’s changed how I see time as well. I’m not surprised they’ve changed so fast.”

Indeed, five years… five years of watching her people adapt to their change in circumstances. Admittedly, back then when Sevvi found herself saddled with her sister’s army… she hadn’t wanted it. Not in the slightest. Especially when it had resulted in her being away from Thomas more often than not early on.

She’d done it anyways though… because her Master needed it of her. As the damned First Princess, Sevvi was the only option for running herd on eight thousand Dark Elf soldiers. She’d had to step out of her maid uniform and into the role of a leader… and she’d frankly hated every second of it.

It wasn’t all bad though. Thomas had noticed her discontent and unhappiness early on and while she’d tried to assure him that she would continue on regardless and he shouldn’t worry about her… he’d still gone out of his way to help her.

There had been all the visits, all the moments stolen away with one another. And of course, her Master had also made use of her in another way… by making her his and Anna’s unofficial Spymistress.

Officially, the position had remained empty since Spymaster Qyvern’s death, a sort of way of honoring him and his memory. But unofficially, the ambitious malcontents and treacherous nobles who sought to act against Thomas and Anna would say that it felt like their eyes were even more open since the Spymaster’s demise, rather than further closed.

That was because of Sevvi’s efforts, of course. She’d created a network that spanned the entire length of the Human Kingdom, including the reclaimed territory once known as the Rotlands.

Many lawless sorts had tried to move into that territory ahead of the resettlement efforts, thinking that they could get away with claiming ‘unclaimed land’ and making nuisances of themselves. But between Sevvi and Thomas’ efforts none of their plans survived long term. Suffice to say, she took her role as Spymaster very seriously.

That said, she’d also spied on her own people just as much. She’d watched them all carefully, making sure they did not fall into bad habits or give any of the humans reason to hate them more than they already did. It was a tireless, thankless job… but the light at the end of the tunnel had finally come.

The Commander that Sevvi had just got done speaking to today was not the first Dark Elf in the past five years to be impregnated by a human, to be clear. There had been dozens over the years… it was always going to happen, really.

However, most of the others hadn’t been… good enough for Sevvi and Thomas’ purposes. They needed a ‘poster child’ as Thomas referred to it, whatever that meant. They needed the exact right combination to really sell what was a monumental change. Half Dark Elf, half human… it would be quite the thing for both humans and elves to wrap their heads around.

Which was why, as frustrating as it was, Sevvi could not be that ‘poster child’. Her roles as both First Princess and Thomas’ Spymistress were simply too important to risk. It was one thing for her to owe a life debt to Thomas, that was well within her people’s understanding of how the world worked. But for her to become pregnant with a human man’s progeny would have caused too much unrest if it was not an already accepted process.

But now… well, now things were different. They’d reached the tipping point, where one of Sevvi’s commanders had come to her and been honest with her about what had happened. And better than that, it sounded like the commander was in love with this woodworker. All of Sevvi’s snooping made it clear she was, at least.

What this meant was simple, at least in Sevvi’s eyes. And so as Thomas sets her down, she looks up at him with a hesitant, hopeful expression on her face.

“Have I… made you proud, Master?”

Thomas’ grin softens into an affectionate smile. He reaches up and places a hand on Sevvi’s head, patting it down and then running his fingers through her hair.

“Always, Sevvi. But if you mean have you earned what I promised you all that time ago… then yes. Yes, you have.”

Sevvi shudders, both from his touch and his words. To be fair, she might have been able to content herself with never bearing Thomas’ child, probably. The children he’d had with Anna and Eloise were cute as could be and Sevvi already enjoyed spending time with them as ‘their Aunt’.

However, whereas someone like Camille had turned out to be perfectly happy being childless, Sevvi had come to realize she was not. She’d never thought she would yearn for motherhood, never thought she would want a daughter or a son of her own, especially given her relationship with her own mother.

But she had to admit… if the father was Thomas, then she wanted it. If he was going to be the one to give her a child, she would cherish that child with all her heart.

As they come together then, kissing deeply and beginning the process of making said baby, Sevvi has never been more content… more satisfied. In that moment, she knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that she’s going to be by Thomas’ side for a long, long time.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Tomorrow we’ll see everyone together one last time~

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