SueAnne's view continued.

"Sue, Sue" I felt myself being shaken awake.

"Yes Garvan?" I replied sleepily, wondering at my continuing need for sleep. 

"Dinner is ready," he smiled at me as I turned over to face him, "Did you want to eat it here or at the table outside? It's such a beautiful evening, I would prefer outside."

"Then outside it is, if you would not mind carrying me, my feet still feel tender even though I know you healed them," I asked.

Garvan gave this heartwarmingly beautiful smile, "Sure." and with that he picked me up and carried me in his arms, my arms wrapped around his neck, he carefully set me down on the seat and moved to sit at the other. 

The food prepared looked divine, even if it had not looked so delicious the smell alone set my mouth to watering. 

"Dig in!" Garvan suggested.

I shook my head, "No, I want to thank the God of Gods for this food first. It is why I came here, to find myself, and part of me wants to reconnect to doing things like that." 

As Garvan gave no hint that he wanted me to pray, I bowed my head and thanked God in my head for the food and that he had sent Garvan to be with me. I opened my eyes to Garvan looking at me expectantly, "What?" I asked him.

"Are you going to say thanks or what?" 

"I did, silently," I answered, and seeing his disgruntled look I asked, "Why did you want to join in by me saying it aloud?"

He looked a bit sheepish, as he replied, "I did. I wanted to know a bit more about your God of Gods, he sounds different to Aine."

"Because he is," I said as I dug into the food Garvan had prepared, "Aine is about self gratification, I guess, but the God of Gods expects you to treat others how you want to be treated... He expects you to put him first in all things, others next and ourselves last. It's not easy. As a human, I have a tendency to put myself first before anyone God or man or fae. Aine seems to acknowledge that tendency which makes it easier to follow her, but as I said when we first met you - I do not want to follow Aine, so having all of you as my husbands is incredibly difficult. It clashes with my core beliefs no end."

"I see," Garvan said thoughtfully, "though I can't quite grasp it, why would a God ask you to deny yourself?"

"Honestly," Sue put down her chopsticks and leant back looking up into the now night sky, "I do not know, I don't understand the reasons or the whys at times, I just know that without him, I would not be alive. When I was a child lost in the snow storm, I called out to a God, any God, and he came to me and led me to where Kai was. He said this horse will keep me safe for all of my time alive, should I stay with him."

"And he has, hasn't he?" Garvan nodded looking at his food and pushing it around his plate before finally picking up a piece and putting it in his mouth to chew.

"So far," I agreed, following his example and eating the food prepared. The food was delicious, I sat enjoying the feel of the meat falling apart in my mouth. "This food is good, thanks Garvan."

"Hmm," he nodded with a smile, "Thanks." 

When we had finished eating he collected our dishes and went off to wash them, leaving me behind. This was the last memory I had as a strange fever overtook me. My vision blurred and I passed out onto the table.

When I awoke, I found Garvan waiting beside my bedside sitting asleep holding my hand his head on the bed. I looked down and gasped. I was no longer white, but a lilac - the color of a Drow. The same color as Garvan.

"What happened Garvan?" I said shaking him awake, "Why has my skin changed?"

Garvan's view

I went and cleaned up after ourselves only to come out and find SueAnne passed out her head resting on the table, with her lack of consciousness it was a miracle that she was still sitting there. I picked her up and carried her over to her bed. I did not cover her up as she was burning up. Instead I lay her on top of the now clean covers, got a bowl of the cool spring water and a folded up rag which I wet and place on her forehead. I then cleaned up the cave and sat beside her changing the rag as it got too hot. 

She was incoherently sick for about 3 weeks. I had no choice but to leave her at times to go and water the crops and hunt for food. I mostly fished as there was a good supply of fish at the moment. I was thankful for them and thanked the God of Gods and Aine for them. It was early on the third week of her sickness 3 men came and visited us. 

The men were not really visiting as such, its just I saw them and they went to go by, but I felt the urge to invite them for something to eat and drink while they were there. 

"No, we would not like to be a bother." the tall man with broad shoulders, black hair and a charming smile.

"It is no bother," I said to them, "I honestly could do with the company for awhile."

The average sized man with brown hair, hazel green eyes and a beard, nothing too outstanding about his looks, but he looked kind and considerate, "Well, if you are sure, we would love to visit. Do you mind me asking why you would like our company for awhile?"

"No, I do not mind," I said, "I will explain after I bring you some food and wine. Unless you would prefer water?"

"Wine will be fine," the men responded, sitting down under the tree where the ledge for sitting was. 

I nodded and hurried to get the food and wine. On my return I overheard one of the men talking, "What shall we do about the dragon and her mate?"

"Nothing, we are just to observe -  they are part of the Fathers plans remember?" said the average sized man.

"Can't we just kill them like we did with the Sodom and Gomorrahites?" the little man wearing a turban asked.

"No, they are to lead the world of men astray," the average man said, "It is not for us to interfere with that future."

I put the food and wine in front of them and sat down crosslegged in front of them, "Please forgive me Lords, but I could not help but overhear, but what dragon and mate were you talking about?"

"Jezebel and Tannin, are their names, you know them," he stated. I was not sure if the you know them was a question or a statement, so I nodded.

"Why?" I started, but I did not finish the question as I did not understand why they would want to kill such young kids. 

"Do not worry," the man continued, "We will not kill them, if anything we are to help the dragon get her final human form before they leave. Why are you worried about them anyway? They are not your children, but rather your fellow husbands."

I began to feel uncomfortable then before these men, as if I had chosen wrong, for some reason Caspian flitted through my mind.

The man seemed to know my thoughts as he said, "If it embarrasses you, do not continue to do it. Why do you do it anyway?"

 I thought about it and said, "I have always been attracted to him from when I was young, but now being married with him to SueAnne, the more I am with him, the less I want to be. I am at the point where I do not even want to share her anymore. But she would choose Kell every time, even if I left. 

"Its good you realise this," the man nodded, "Where is SueAnne now?""

"She is in the cave, sick," I responded.

"She will recover in 3 days and her drow blood will shine through then," the man said calmly, "At the end of that time,  you will need to make a final choice between Aine and the God of Gods. You cannot serve two masters - you will love one and hate the other. But should you choose the God of Gods, your life will effectively end in 7 days, I would like to give you more time, but you have already lived hundreds of years past that of the age humans are condemned to live for."

I nodded, "Are you sure SueAnne will recover in 3 days? She is getting weaker by the day. I thought she was going to die this morning. If I am being honest, it is why I wanted to have your company when I saw you, to distract me from worry."

"It is my proof to you that the God of Gods is real and he loves you, even though you are not his creation. It would comfort Coran to know you chose the God of Gods if you did."

"My father?" I asked suddenly tearing up, "What do you know of my father?"

"He is with the God of Gods now, he is happy with Susan, Kai and Leander, he is always worrying about you though," the man said smiling sadly.

"What about SueAnne?" I asked, "Does she follow him?"

The man nodded, "She is like Susan though, confused by the situation she finds herself in. Kai is struggling too. As yet neither Glorifrir nor Caspian acknowledge me, but it is their choice I will not force them to abandon their creator like I will not force you to abandon yours."

"Who are you?" I asked wondering why he was saying I, was he the God of Gods?

"Most people call me Gee," he grinned mischievously, "My father and I are one, in order to confuse you a bit more."

"Your father is the the God of Gods?" I guessed, to which he nodded, "I see, so why are you here?"

"To let you know of Jezebel and Tannin's fate, and to give you your choice," Gee said.

"What of their fate?" I asked.

"They are to be used by the God of Gods to fulfil his prophecy in the real world," Gee said with a serious look in his eye, "But the effects on the fae will be detrimental. The fae will die each time Tannin performs a miracle in the real world. You see Jezebel's magic comes with a price - death. She would not want humans to know this so the price will be paid by the fae. "

"If I choose to follow you," I ask him, "Will I see this?"

"No, the only proof you will have is your wife being changed back to her true form and if you go back in time, the change of Jezebel to a human to lay her replacement egg. Would this be enough for you though?" Gee tilted his head, "I know it is a lot to ask of you, who wants to know they will die in 7 days if they accept life eternal over life now?"

I sat thinking about it with him beside me, looking out over the valley. I asked one more question, "Will SueAnne be in life eternal? I am asking as she isn't exactly faithful with her beliefs because of us."

"She will be, this is just her journey," Gee said, "Have you not noticed that she and Kell are still aging despite being in the fae?"

I nodded, I had noticed, but I had hoped it was because they were still not of age where time froze on our looks and bodies.

"Gee, I will follow you if Sue is as you say in 3 days," I decided that I wanted an eternity with Sue not just this life.

Gee nodded, "Then I will see you again soon, Kell. I leave it up to you whether or not you tell anyone what I have told you."

I nodded, I decided I would tell my fellow husbands should Sue recover in 3 days. What else could I do? Since I would be going and the fae would be destroyed. 

I continued looking after Sue those 3 days. I honestly doubted Gee on day 2 as SueAnne nearly died. It was only that I picked her up and placed her into the cool spring water that she stopped fitting and started breathing regularly. I sat in there holding her as long as I could then, taking her out when we both had become like prunes. 

I fell asleep holding Sue's hand that night and I was woken by Sue shaking me awake, fully recovered and her skin the same color as mine, "What happened Garvan?" she asked me, "Why has my skin changed?"

I knew in that moment, everything that Gee had said was correct, and now I was his follower. I felt my first pain then. My age was going to be corrected. Sue had pulled her hand out of mine to put back her hair, so I captured it again to explain, "Sue," I said earnestly, "There's something I need to tell you."

"Hmm what is it?" she asked, thinking that it was some foolish notion of mine. Perhaps her assessment would have been true had I not met Gee, but I had met Gee and I was changed by the experience.

"Sue, I met Gee while you were sick," I said, looking down at my lap.

Her hand was snatched out of mine and she cupped my face forcing me to look at her. She was brimming with excitement, "You met Gee?? Here???"

I nodded, "Yes."

Sue squealed like a little kid, jumping out of bed and running around excitedly before coming to her senses, "Wait! So if you met him, why are you not excited?"

"I am excited Sue," I smiled at her, "But I need to tell you something."

Sensing it was serious she pulled herself together and sat backdown facing me, "What is it?"

"I am dying Sue," I said, "As I chose Gee, like my father did, I am aging, my age catching up to me. I will be dead in 4 days."

"WHAT!!! No, NO, No!!! You can't die! I only just got to love you for you!" Sue cried,

I held her to me, "It's ok Sue, we will see each other again." I comforted her as she sobbed.

"Is that all?" she said when she finally stopped crying.

"No, its not," I said.

"Tell me of your meeting then," Sue said seriously.

"I was worried about you when 3 men came 3 days ago. I invited them for a meal and chat as I was needing someone to talk to. One of the men called himself Gee," I recanted the story.

"Really?" Sue interrupted, "One was called Gee? Like the person our great-great-grandparents met?"

I nodded, "Yes, I am sure it was the same person."

Sue bounced up and down like a little kid, "What did he look like?"

I smiled at her curiousity, "He was pretty average height, brown hair and beard, with green eyes. To look at he was pretty unremarkable, but he had a warm friendly smile and his eyes were full of compassion. Can I go on now?"

Sue nodded.

"Gee was going to see Tannin and Jezebel, they are going to do something in the human world but whatever they do will kill the fae," it was then the ageing pain hit me again, this time it was worse than before, it was like I was catching up pain wise for the 3 days of twinges. "Oh," I groaned as I fell sideways onto the bed and blacked out.

"Garvan! Garvan!" Sue panicked and shook me trying to wake me, instead she only made the situation worse. I did not wake up from my unconscious state for a day and when I finally awoke Sue looked terrible, her eyes were all red from crying and snot was leaking from her nose.

"Sue, how are you going to cope when I go in 4 days?" I asked her wiping the snot away from her face.

"Garvan!" she threw herself on me and hugged me tightly, "You are finally awake! You have been unconscious for a day."

"A day?" I stilled, I had even less time with my dear wife than I imagined.

"Yes," she nodded, looking at me, her arms still around me as she squashed me with her hug, "You have aged Garvan, you look like a 40 year old man now."

"I see," I had expected this as Gee had said I would die in 7 days from my choice to follow him, "Can we just be together for 2 more days?" I asked her, stroking her head looking into her beautiful red eyes.

"Yes," she nodded, "Let's be together for these last days. Is there any messages you want to pass on?"

"Just call the others to come here the last day," I said, "Tell Caspian the night before though to go to where Kell and Glory are, or he will use too much magic up and he will be passed out instead of being able to say goodbye. I should say goodbye properly since I will be going before him."

"Ok," she said as she frantically touched my face and tried, what it felt like was she was trying to climb into me assuring herself I was still there. I let her do what she wanted, as a tiredness I had never felt before hung around, and to my disappointment, each hour the tiredness worsened along with my body's pain.

For those two days Sue looked after me, making love to distract me, as much as possible, I almost missed it, but on the second day a male child announced itself to me. "Hello dear little one," I said to him, "I am your Dad, but I am about to die. Please be good to your mother, and look after her - your the man of my house now. I will introduce you to the other men in your mothers life. They are incredible men, but if you could listen to Kell, he will guide you on the right path a man should take."

"Ok father," the little voice said, "Why are you about to die though?"

"I have lived past 120 year allowed to the followers of the God of Gods," I smiled, not at all bitter. I figured I had a great deal, I had lived for hundreds of years and I still had time with the one given to me by Aine, and Gee was not against me being with her either. Sure he was against what I had with Caspian, but that too was at an end. I doubted Caspian would choose Gee as he had taken too much from him. Not that he actually had, its just I knew Caspian would see it that way.

"Well, I will follow the God of Gods too then," my little child said and with that my connection to him was severed. I wondered why, but then I thought perhaps it was because of my Childs choice and he became an ordinary human. Ordinary humans do not communicate like the drow do, nor any fae. They live, they breath, they have their struggles and joys, ups and downs for up to 120 years and then they die. As he was a normal human child, I talked to him as a human baby in those two days. I am sure Sue thought I was crazy as she was yet unaware of the child. 

The two days sped by in the blink of an eye. I became more elderly and decrepite, but I made sure I was active so that with each hour I was not hit like I was the hour before. It seemed to work - exercising through the pain. My face became lined with smile wrinkles as I was smiling at Sue's antics. For the first time, I felt like it was to be treated like Kell, and I was thankful that at the end of my life I was being treated like a full husband.

The night before the day I died, Sue contacted Caspian, "Caspian, Can you please drop whatever it is you are doing for the next 3 days and firstly go to the Dwarven mound and get Glorifrir, Kell and AnnaLee ready to come to where we say tomorrow?"

"Sure, Love, but why the rush?" Caspian responded.

"You all need to say goodbye to someone," Sue said cryptically.

"Who?"

"I can't tell you that," Sue said, "But please trust me and get everyone together tomorrow. I will tell you everything in the morning."

"Alright, but where have you been? Everyone is looking for you?" Caspian wondered, but Sue did not respond, she shut off the drow communication so no-one could reach her again.

"You could have answered," I admonished her, as I could feel the worry seeping through her tattoos being the creator of them.

She ignored me and asked instead, "Will these work when you die?"

"I do not know," I admitted, "Everyone and their partners, I know is still alive who has them. I would not count on it though. Generally if something dies, everything dies unless you have another power source. Our baby could not even take over as he has chosen to be human and what that will entail."

"OK! You have been acting wierdly now since yesterday," Sue snapped at me, "What do you mean our child has chosen to be human? What child?"

"Sue," I took her hands in mine and looked at her seriously, "I have to tell you, as you will find out soon enough anyway, but you are pregnant with my child."