Chapter Three

 

Surprisingly, Rafael said little to nothing about his mother’s condition until spring had arrived. It came without warning, perhaps because his silence about the matter had lulled all of the adults into a false sense of security, and it came one average spring afternoon as Lucia was preparing a bit of lunch for all three of the boys.

“When do we get to know why Momma’s belly is getting so big and she seems so sick all the time?” he asked, in his sweet and innocent little voice.

“What did you say, Rafael?” Lucia asked, stunned and standing stone-still on the other side of the little kitchen table from him.

“I said, when do we get to know why Momma’s belly is so big and she is sick all the time?” he repeated himself as he reached for the glass of milk Lucia had just poured for him.

Lucia stood there for a moment, not quite sure how to answer the boy in a way that would satisfy him without giving away the truth of the matter. She cleared her throat, moving to help little Ignacio up into his seat before she plucked baby Mateo from where he sat playing on the floor and got him into his high-chair.

“I think your Momma may have eaten a few too many sweets during the holidays, little one,” Lucia finally answered. “You know how much your belly aches when you have too much, yes?”

“Yeah…” he said and then took a drink of his milk.

It seemed that was that, as the rest of their conversation turned to what the boys were going to play after lunch and how their lessons were going. Lucia was thankful, but the worry still nagged at the back of her mind as she helped the boys finish up, cleaned them and sent them off to play.

Shortly after, as she was cleaning the kitchen and prepping for dinner later on, she decided it would be best to let the boys’ father know about the questions Rafael had asked her. Yes, she was sure that she had quelled the boy’s questions for now…but she knew Santiago would wish to be made aware of it. Shaking her head, she made her way upstairs towards her employer’s office and gave a gentle knock against the door.

“Senor DeLeon?” she asked, waiting outside of the closed door for the sound of his voice.

“Yes, Lucia? Come in,” he called to her.

When she came into the room she found him where he always seemed to be, which was right behind his desk with paperwork strewn about in front of him. He looked up, offered her a kind smile, and took off his glasses.

“What is it, Lucia?” he asked. “Are the boys and Gabriella alright?”

“Yes, sir. Everyone is fine,” she started, “though I am here about Rafael.”

“Oh?” he asked with a quirk of one eyebrow. “What of him? What has he done?”

“Nothing, sir. He is a fine and well-behaved boy,” she said with a slight smile, as it was true. “Though he did ask me a question I felt you should know about.”

“A question?” Santiago’s tone held a bit of concern as he sat forward in his chair.

“Yes, sir.” She nodded in confirmation of what she had said. “He asked about Senora DeLeon’s belly…and why she seemed to be sick lately.”

“I see…” he mused, trying to hide his smile. “And what did you tell him?”

“Oh, I explained that perhaps his Momma had eaten too many sweets during the holidays,” Lucia explained, her hands gesturing about as she spoke, as was a habit of hers. “I reminded him that his own tummy feels big and hurts when he eats too much…he seemed to believe me.”

Santiago sat there a moment, his own hands folding together atop the desk in front of him, thinking over what Lucia had just told him. He could tell by the look on Lucia’s face that his silence was starting to worry her, so he sat back with a smile and nodded a bit.

“Thank you, Lucia,” he said. “I appreciate it. You may go now.”

He gestured towards the door and picked up his glasses once more. She nodded, though she looked a bit confused, and left his office with a gentle click of his door. Santiago proceeded to sit there for a long moment, thinking over what Lucia had told him and how he wanted to handle that information.

Of course, he could simply leave things as they were, and let Rafael believe his mother was just ill from eating too much. As much as it would be the easy route for Santiago now, the more he thought about it the more he realized it would not be a long-holding solution. Rafael was a smart boy and he would put all of the pieces together with or without the truth from the adults around him.

In the end, Santiago made the choice to be honest with his eldest son and heir to his name and world. It would be an opportunity to show his eldest son that he trusted him, and to give Rafael the chance to prove himself to his father. He was growing old enough now and he would need to understand what would be expected of him as he became a man. This would be a good introduction into that for Rafael. At nearly 9 years old, he was growing fast.

Santiago called for Manuel to come to his office. Manuel Pereda had been with the DeLeon family since as long as Santiago could remember. Manuel was the son of their previous Butler, Josue, and had more or less been raised to take over for his father when he passed. Their families had become intertwined shortly after Santiago’s father first arrived here in Mexico and thus he and Manuel had practically grown up together. Only two years younger than himself, Santiago had always found Manuel to be his closest confidant outside of his wife.

When Manuel arrived, he was dressed as he always was, in a simple yet tailored butlers’ suit in a dark charcoal gray. Many often thought he and Santiago were brothers, considering their similar strong features… but Manuel had far softer eyes than his employer. Not to mention, Manuel was a good deal shorter than Santiago.

“You called, sir?” Manuel said, always formal despite how often Santiago told him it was unnecessary from him.

“Yes, Manuel. Could you fetch Rafael for me?” Santiago asked, still seated behind his desk. “I would like to talk with him about something rather important.”

“Of course, sir. I will bring him up the moment I find him,” Manuel said with a nod before leaving the office.

It took Manuel all of 10 minutes to find Rafael. With the weather warming now that spring had officially arrived, both of the older boys seemed to spend as much of their time as they could out in the gardens. Not such a bad thing, really, as children benefited from playing outdoors. When he found them, Rafael was teaching little Ignacio how to build the best mud house they could build with what they found in nature. The two boys had involved sticks, rocks and moss in their little architectural adventure and the result was rather impressive. But alas, the fun had to end as Manuel approached them.

“Rafael, sorry to interrupt your play time, but your father would like to speak with you,” Manuel said, crouching down beside where the boys played in the dirt. “Though I think we might need to get you cleaned up a bit first, if that is alright with you, of course, little sir.”

“Did I do something wrong?” Rafael asked, his amber eyes going wide. He had gotten stuck on the bit about his father wanting to speak with him.

“Not at all,” Manuel assured him with a smile. “Though your father did say it was important, whatever he wished to talk with you about. Come along now — you too, Ignacio.”

Manuel stood and held out his hand to Ignacio. The toddler gave a strong pouty face but he took Manuel’s hand and went along without much other protest. Manuel noticed the boy’s upset face, gave a gentle squeeze to the boy’s hand and shook his head.

“Don’t worry, Ignacio,” Manuel said with a smile. “I will make sure your mud house stays just the way it is.”

“It’s a Fairy house,” pouted little Ignacio.

“A Fairy house?” asked Manuel.

“Yes!” interrupted Rafael with a smile. “Lucia told us that the Fairies come back in the springtime and if we want some of them to live in our gardens, we should make them a few houses! So Ignacio and I decided to build as many as we can!”

“Ah, I see,” said Manuel, thoroughly amused. “Well you have done a fantastic job. Perhaps if you ask nicely, Lucia will give you a few tools to make your building easier. I am sure she has a bit of string or some extra bits of wood lying about. Come, let’s get you cleaned up and ask her, hm?”

He took the boys into the kitchen and got them both cleaned up and free of mud. Rafael was sent up to his father’s office while Ignacio was kept occupied with a snack in the kitchen and the promise of some string for his Fairy houses.

Rafael was a bit nervous at first, but then he remembered Manuel had said it was important, whatever his father wanted to talk about, and he relaxed some. Rafael started to feel a little excited as he made his way towards his father’s office, wondering what sort of important things his father wanted to talk to him about. It made him feel grown up instead of like such a little kid.

He knocked on his father’s office door when he got to it, holding his breath until he heard his father telling him to come in. He turned the knob and pushed open the heavy door with a little grunt, stepping inside and letting the door fall shut just behind him. He just stood there, looking towards his father sitting behind that huge desk of his.

“You…you wanted to see me, Poppa?” Rafael asked in a slightly squeaky and unsure little voice.

“I did, Rafael. Come and sit down,” Santiago said, gesturing to the big chair on the other side of his desk.

He watched as his nervous first-born son walked across the room and climbed up into the chair. Rafael was a bit small for an 8-year-old, but Santiago was sure he would hit a growth spurt sooner rather than later and would grow to be just as tall as his father. He smiled at his son, trying to dispel some of his nervousness before speaking.

“I hear you are worried about your mother,” Santiago said.

“Yes…” Rafael said, dropping his eyes to his lap. “Why does Momma seem to be sick all of the time?”

“She is not sick, Rafael,” Santiago told him. “I promise you that. You do not have to worry so much.”

“If she’s not sick…why is she staying in bed all of the time?” Rafael asked, looking up again. “And why does her belly look so strange?”

“Because your mother is pregnant, Rafael,” Santiago told him, his voice soft as he said it. “Your mother is going to have a baby…and you will have a new brother or sister.”

“A new baby? But why didn’t you or Momma tell us? Are we not allowed to know?” Rafael asked, looking confused. “Lucia said she just ate too much candy like I do sometimes and was feeling a tummy ache…”

Santiago laughed softly, shaking his head as he leaned forward against the desk in his chair. He was proud of his son for noticing so much about what the adults around him were doing and saying. It was always good to know what was going on around you, no matter your age.

“Because, Rafael, we do have to keep it a secret,” he said, letting his tone get a hint more serious.

“But why?” Rafael asked rather bluntly.

“There are many reasons, but all you need to understand right now is that it is a tradition to keep something like this a secret from everyone,” Santiago explained. “Even when your mother was pregnant with you, it was kept a secret until you had finally arrived.”

“So, I can’t tell anyone?” Rafael asked. “What about Ignacio? Can I tell him? He’s my brother.”

Santiago sighed, smiled, and closed his eyes. He had guessed Rafael would want to tell Ignacio about their new baby brother or sister…and though Ignacio was only 3 years old, it simply couldn’t be allowed. No matter how close Rafael and Ignacio were.

“No, Rafael. You cannot tell anyone…not even your brother Ignacio. This secret is far too important to share with everyone,” Santiago said.

“But why?” Rafael asked, a hint of a whine in his little voice.

“Because, Rafael,” Santiago said, holding up a hand to stop his sons whining. “You need to understand that this is very important. The tradition of keeping this a secret from everyone has been practiced for hundreds and hundreds of years. It is done to keep your mother and the new baby as safe and as comfortable as possible.”

Rafael was silent, listening and trying to understand. Santiago could tell his son was upset about all of this in some way, so he stood and rounded the desk to kneel beside the chair where Rafael sat. He looked into those amber eyes he had given to his son for a moment, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Your brother is far too little to understand any of this, Rafael, but you are growing up very fast,” Santiago said. “You are a very smart young man and I refuse the idea of lying to my eldest son and heir. However, that means you must follow our traditions and do what is expected. You must keep this secret to yourself. It is very important, and I am trusting you with a very big responsibility here, Rafael. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Poppa. I understand,” Rafael said, sounding as confident as an 8-year-old could, albeit a little bit on the sad side.

“Very good. I am proud of you, Rafael,” Santiago told his son. “I know it is hard for you to keep things from your brother. You and Ignacio are very close, I understand that. But this is very important, and you must not say a word to him about it. Can you promise me that?”

“I promise, Poppa,” Rafael said, though it did upset him that he would have to keep a secret from his brother.

Santiago gave a gentle squeeze to his son’s shoulder and stood up once more. He returned to his chair on the other side of the desk and sat down. He knew he was asking a great deal from his young son, but he also knew that life was going to demand far more of young Rafael in the near future. Santiago could only do his best in preparing his heir for what he would be handed.

“Go on and play now, Rafael,” Santiago said.

Rafael slid down from his chair and walked out of the room. Santiago could tell that the poor boy was feeling a strange mixture of emotions at the moment. Sadness over not being able to tell his brother Ignacio about the secret he knew…happiness that he was going to be a big brother for the third time…and relief that his mother was not sick in any way. But that was all quite a lot for a child of Rafael’s age to handle. In a way, Santiago felt terrible for leveling such a weight upon his son…but deep down he knew it was a necessary thing.

With a heavy sigh of parenthood, Santiago returned to his work for a time in order to clear his head. An hour or so later though, he grew tired of its monotony and decided to pay his wife a visit. She had been on bed rest for the past two days and he knew she tended to grow restless when she could not move about the way she wanted.

When he entered their bedroom, he found her propped up in their bed with nearly every pillow in the room behind her. Her belly was swollen to a noticeable point and overall, she looked like a goddess sitting there amongst the white and silver bedsheets and pillows, her chocolate hair left loose in a mass of curls around her shoulders. Santiago couldn’t help the smile that blossomed out across his face at the sight of her.

“You look more beautiful each and every time I see you, my love,” he told her as he crossed the room towards where she lay.

“Oh, stop with your pretty lies,” she teased him with a smile. “I look like a beached whale and you know it.”

“You look like no such thing!” Santiago protested as he settled himself down on the bed beside her, taking her hand in his. “You are a goddess, that is all I know.”      

She laughed at him with a bright smile as he planted a kiss against the back of her hand. She shook her head at him, but she did believe he felt that way about her. One thing Gabriella had always been certain of was her husband’s infatuation with her. In all their years of marriage, she had never once doubted in that.

“I’ve just had a talk with Rafael,” Santiago said to her as he kissed her hand again.

“Oh?” she questioned. “About what?”

“The fact that you are pregnant…” he said.

“What? I thought we had decided not to tell any of the children?” she questioned, sitting up a bit in her place.

“He was starting to figure it out on his own, my love,” he explained. “I thought about it after Lucia came to me this afternoon to tell me Rafael had asked her about your belly and why you seemed to be sick. I didn’t want to lie to him.”

“I see,” Gabriella said. “What did you end up telling him?”

“The truth,” Santiago answered with a slight shrug. “I told him that he would soon have a new baby brother or sister…but that he had to keep it a secret from everyone, even Ignacio, until the baby has arrived.”      

“Oh, he must have been upset about not being able to tell Ignacio,” she said with a little look of sadness. “Those two are thick as thieves.”

“Yes, he was,” agreed Santiago. “But he came to understand how important it is. He understands that and, as the oldest and heir to our name, that he will be expected to carry more responsibility like this in the future as well.”

“He is growing so fast,” she lamented.

“I am so proud of him, Gabriella,” Santiago suddenly gushed. “I am proud of all of our children. I could never have hoped for such fantastic children…let alone such an amazing wife to give me those children.”

Again, he kissed the back of her hand, but then leaned towards her to press his lips against hers in a proper, lingering kiss. She drew in a breath as she kissed her husband, letting the smell of his cologne wash over her as the warmth of his skin melted against her own.

“I love you, Gabriella,” he said in a whisper when he broke their kiss. “I cannot wait to meet our next child…”

He pressed his forehead against hers and a hand against her belly. She let her own eyes fall shut and the two of them hung there in that moment together for a while. When it was broken, it was by Santiago as he kissed her forehead lightly and moved to stand up once again.

“I still have some work to tend to…but I wanted to let you know about Rafael,” he told her, smiling as he gave one last squeeze to her hand before letting it go. “Do you think you will be well enough to join us all for dinner?”

“I’m not sure, dear,” she said honestly. “I am thinking of taking a nap…we’ll see how I feel after.”

He nodded, gave her a smile, and then took his leave of her so she could take that nap she had mentioned. When he was gone, Gabriella settled back against the mountain of pillows behind her and sighed a sigh of happiness.

Sometimes she wondered how she had gotten so lucky as to marry a man such as Santiago. Even after more than a dozen years of marriage, it felt as though they were still on their honeymoon. Even just looking at him got her going sometimes…and it seemed now was one of them.

She nestled herself back in the mountain of pillows and let her dark eyes fall shut. Her mind filled with thoughts of her husband, of the way he spoke to her…the way he looked at her. She thrilled at simple memories of walking behind him a pace or two and watching the way his shoulders moved. A heavy, stuttered sigh slipped out of her as she slipped into a daydream filled with her husband.

She remembered a crisp fall night not quite a year ago, the windows of their bedroom open to the cool air and the sheer white curtains billowing against the breeze. She remembered laying against the soft, white sheets of their bed… looking up at her husband as he leaned towards her for a kiss. She could remember every ounce of that moment. From the taste of her husband’s lips and the warmth of his skin, to the bright and full Harvest moon hanging in the sky just beyond his shoulder out the window. Its soothing silver light splashing across the bed and their bodies as they wrapped around one another.

The memory of her husband’s lips brushing against her neck washed over her in a wave of goosebumps. The way he had placed such soft and gentle kisses leading from the curve of her shoulder up to the slope of her jawline had left her gasping with desire. She had wrapped her arms about his shoulders, holding his warmth close while her own lips began to wander across the muscles of his chest and shoulder.

“I love you, Gabriella,” he had said, his voice floating through her memory with such resonance his words seemed to echo in her mind.

Her body had thrilled at his words, clinging ever tighter against him as her lips came to press against his own. Their tongues intertwined as their lips parted and worked against one another. Gabriella could still taste that kiss, even all these months later. As they had kissed, they shifted in their embrace so that Santiago found himself nestled between the warm and welcoming space between her strong, toned legs.

She felt the warmth of his strong hands as they slid down across her body, his fingers gently gripping at her flesh as if he couldn’t touch her enough. Their kiss became breathless, deep, and seemed to become the focus of their world for a moment. Santiago pulled her tightly against himself, breaking their kiss as he pressed his forehead against hers. His breath came heavy, washing across her with warm desire. By the way he gently rotated his hips, she knew his need for her was growing. She could feel him press harder and harder between her legs with each passing heartbeat.

Her husband’s arms enveloped her. One looped about behind her shoulders, holding her close against his chest as the other slid across her body to find and grip a firm handful of her ass. His touch alone set her body on fire and she felt herself grow wet and ache for him. Her arms slid around to his back, her hands gripping into the muscles of his shoulders as her legs slid up along his hips to wrap about him as well.

Without missing a beat, Santiago pressed himself into her. The feel of his hard, solid manhood sliding to the hilt within her sent a shudder through her body, a pulse of pleasure centered around his cock. She gripped him tighter, her own hips rolling up to greet his as he began a slow rhythm that pulled himself slowly from her before plunging back once again.

They held one another out of fierce love and passion as their hips rocked against one another. Soft, groaning moans of pleasure slipped from each of them as Santiago worked himself as deep within her as he could manage.

At one point, Gabriella let her head fall back from where it had been nestled against his neck. As her dark eyes fluttered open, she looked up to meet the fierce and lustful gaze of her husband. In her daydream…his eyes flashed a brilliant silver, as if the light of the moon had been caught within them, and she gasped. What breath she might have stolen from the air was taken just as swiftly from her, however, as the dream continued and Santiago made love to her the way only he could.

Gabriella let herself go to the memory completely, recalling the pleasure she had felt that night as she and Santiago fucked under the moonlight. She could almost feel that intense and nearly overwhelming sensation of both passion and, oddly, power, that filled her entire body as her husband plunged himself deep inside of her over and over again.

She cried out, both in her dream and in the reality of the moment, her pleasure reaching a peak moment. Santiago had taken this as his cue to ravage her all the more. He brought his lips down against her neck, kissing and nibbling gently as a low growl rumbled in his throat. The feel of his wife writhing beneath him caused his cock to pulse with lust even as it was buried within her.

As she cried out, so too did Santiago. They clung to one another as the pleasure of orgasm washed over the both of them. Gabriella held her husband close, feeling him throb with the pleasure of release as he was buried within her. She let loose a long, gasping moan as her own body gushed with pleasure, licking her lips with satisfaction and arousal at the beautiful sound of her husband climaxing within her.

In that moment, as her own ecstasy took hold of her, a flash of an image ran through her mind. Gabriella snapped out of her daydream, shocked and slightly confused at what had come into her mind. Had she, for some reason, imagined Santiago in his Dragon form in the moment of her own orgasm? No…no, that had not been her husband. She had only seen his Dragon form but a few times in their marriage together…yet she knew for sure. The image that had flashed before her seemed to be seared into her mind. Not quite the dusky Silver Dragon that was her husband. No, what she had seen had been pure white…as if carved of ice and snow. A dragon devoid of color, with brilliant silver eyes and a strong yet sleek body. This was a Dragon which Gabriella had never seen before.

She sat, nestled amongst the pillows on her bed, her heart beating both from her own imagined pleasure and the shock of what had just flashed into her mind. She did not know what to make of it…but could not shake the feeling it had left her with either. Her eyes slipped to the window, once again open to the crisp spring air, and scanned the stars…her hand coming to rest atop her swollen belly.