Chosen Bride of the Seven Dark Princes

"Wait! Leo! I'm your wife! Where are you going?" Olivia yelled out and began running after them.

"Take him and go. I'll stall her." Byron pushed Lucas and Leonardo towards the hangar.

Lucas grabbed onto Leonardo's arm and they both made their way with grim determination for the door, even as Byron turned back with his arms extended.

"Hello there Olivia." He called out.

"Byron. Please let me come along, wherever you guys are going!" Her eyes turned towards the disappearing forms of the two blond brothers.

"Sorry. You're not invited to this event." Byron intercepted her.

As she tried to run around Byron, he jumped in front of her and held her back.

"Olivia, just hang out here until Leo gets back. It's not as if he's going to disappear forever."

"Where—where's he going?" Olivia's large brown eyes began to fill with tears, her small full lips quivering.

"He just told you." Byron chuckled. "He's going to go see his wife."

"But I'm his wife!" She yelled.

"Olivia," Byron chided. "Olivia, Olivia, Olivia. Has no one ever told you that you can only be someone's wife if they want you as their wife?"

"But the Emperor has already sent the marriage decree to my parents!!!"

Byron slowly shook his head. "If Leo does not want you, it won't matter what the decree states. It won't happen."

"But—"

"No buts about it. Besides, I'm going to be one of the Emperors soon. I'll simply retract the decree. At that point, the only way that the two of you will remain married is if you go through normal channels."

"What—what does that mean?"

"That means you'll have to get married in the normal way everyone else gets married. Go register your marriage at the courts and get legal documents to show that both of you are of sound mind and of legal age to enter into the civil union."

"But my baby!!!"

"Are you sure that's Leo's child?" Byron narrowed his eyes.

"What??? How dare you insinuate otherwise!!!"

"I'm not insinuating anything. You're what—a little less than four weeks pregnant? We can't really do any testing until the baby is at least six months in vitro."

"What—what are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say that if you insist that Leo is the father, nobody is going to fight you on that, but understand that once the fetus is six months old, there will be a test performed to determine the paternity of the child."

"That—that is not done is polite society! It implies that I was sleeping around, and I will not allow it!"

Byron shrugged. "In that case, it's your word against his that the child is his. He's not just an Erenveil Prince. He's also a doctor. Who's going to believe you?"

Olivia gritted her teeth. "He will not reject his own child."

Byron nodded. "You're right. He won't reject his own child. If it's his child, he will take care of the kid, but that can be done whether you are his wife or just a concubine."

"How dare you! I am a Princess of La Roche Gardens! I am no concubine!"

"You are if you give birth to Leo's child and aren't married to him. In any case, it's a moot point until the test is done."

Byron smiled. "I'll be back with Leo and we'll see you in six months."

"No! Wait!" She pulled at Byron's arm. "Leo must return!"

"He's going to visit his wife and he's not coming back until it's clearly proven with a genetic test to determine whether he's the father or not."

Byron gave a little wave with his hand as he left her standing in the middle of the hallway, a tragic look on her face.

"I have to go now. I got places to go and people to see. I suggest you lay low until the fetus is six months old."

He turned away and began walking towards the hangar. As he walked away, he threw a few last parting words over his shoulder at Olivia Faraday.

"If you ever want to see Leo again, you'll need to show positive proof he's the daddy. Otherwise, hasta nunca, baby."

===========

Onboard the Raptor 556, Byron, Lucas, and Leonardo sat at the dining hall, trying to swallow a portion of warrior ration food and failing miserably.

"How do the men eat this stuff, holy moly." Lucas grimaced as he tried to swallow down a piece of what was supposed to be beef tripe drenched with some thick brown gravy sauce.

Leonardo sighed. "You and Byron live down in the land of plenty where the attendants bring you anything you wish. Me and Slate, we live almost permanently on these warships. We have to eat what's available in whatever world we happen to replenish our supplies from."

"Damn. You poor guys." Byron shook his head. "Don't tell me our wife had to eat this crap when she went to Avalia."

"Not a chance." Leonardo laughed. "Slate had a luxurious cruise ship built for Mother Gwen and Lyra. Candace and the twins went to deliver it to her so they got the best of the best of the best."

Lucas nodded. "Good. I was worried for a bit there."

"We don't have to worry about Candace when she's with one of our brothers. Not only can she take care of herself, she's also got our brothers taking good care of her."

"What we need to worry about at this moment is how to deal with Olivia's pregnancy." Byron grimaced.

Lucas rubbed his jaw. "Did you actually do a pregnancy test on her, Leo? Did you touch her with magic to see if she's really pregnant?"

Leo nodded. "She really is pregnant. I just don't remember doing anything with her to cause the pregnancy."

Byron shook his head. "All we can hope for is the paternal test to come back eliminating Leo as the father of the child."

He wrinkled his nose. "I told her Leo wouldn't come back until the paternal test results come back positive that he's the father."

Leonardo sighed. "I honestly don't think I'm the father, but if I am, what am I going to say to Candace?"

"You want me to give you an honest answer?" Lucas asked.

Leonardo nodded.

"I lived with Candace for a week." Lucas began. "During that entire week, we spent the entire time together with no one around but a few attendants to take care of basic necessities."

His eyes misted as he remembered the time he spent with her.

"One thing I know about Candace. She is very loving and accepting. She never thought less of me, even though I have so many faults that I could barely stand to look at myself in the mirror some mornings."

He put his fork down and swallowed a swig of beer.

"When you meet up with her, tell her the truth. Don't leave anything out. Let her understand how you feel about the entire thing. And then let her help you figure out what to do."

Byron nodded. "That woman is so smart, even if we have vague ideas about something, she can see through all the bullshit and come up with clear answers."

Leonardo nodded.

Candace's razor sharp intelligence was one of the most attractive things about her that had drawn him in the first time he met her.

After her intelligence, it was her compassion. If he told her how everything went down, maybe she would be compassionate enough so that she wouldn't be so mad at him.

Or at least, even if she did get mad, perhaps she would think about it for a bit and eventually feel sorry for him.

And maybe once she started feeling sorry for him, she would find a way to help him out of this mess he'd found himself entangled within.

"Thanks you guys." He took a deep breath. "I don't know what I would do without your help."

"Hey Man." Byron smiled and slapped him on the back.. "Never forget. We're brothers!"