Private Tales Brothels and Broken Things

[Lexi Quinzell]

It took a lot to hide something from Alexandria Quinzell and even more to render her speechless, yet Cassian had achieved both. She stared wide-eyed at the candle-lit square, her head slowly panning to the musicians. Was that Dale? How had she not known Dale played the violin? And apparently had a band.

"You arranged all this? When?" She demanded, both annoyed at herself for not noticing such a plot beneath her very nose and impressed that he had pulled it off with such smooth efficiency. Her hands slid up his arms to loop lazily around the back of his neck, the round curve of her stomach now big enough to stop them from being able to press quite so entirely against one another.

 

[Cassian]

His eyes creased at the corners as he smiled at her surprise and he chuckled.. "It irritates you when you don't know everythin', doesn't it lass?.." he asked and bowed his head to hers. "Luckily, I like the way your face pinches when you're vexed." he winked, his thumbs kneading gently at her sides as his hands settled on her hips and he turned them..

"I thought we might need a little us time after the meal with your parents. So I had a little help in makin' sure we had the place to ourselves.." he laughed quietly.

"D'youu, like it?" he quirked a brow.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

"The way my face pinches?" Lexi echoed, trying to look stern whilst holding back the laughter. She certainly had never been told before that looking irritated or angry was an attractive look on her. Nobody probably had the balls. She sighed and looked around once more, shaking her head at what he had managed to achieve. Usually the square was bustling with life and Raven's going about their jobs. How had he managed it?

"Of course I like it, Cassian," her fingers found his stubbled cheek and she smiled. "That was very thoughtful of you. Thank you," she rocked onto the tips of her toes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

"But... it was Farah who helped, wasn't it?"

 

[Cassian]

Dimples appeared as he smiled.. "Mh-hm. How else could I have fallen for you? All you did was scowl at me.." he laughed quietly, and let a slow breath tumble free as she settled her hand on his cheek and kissed him.

He gave a sage bob of his head in answer to her question. "Farah was, as always, of great assistance." he rumbled. "But we don't have long.." he said, taking her hands and lifting his arm to twirl her under.

"So I should probably get to the point." she added, and instead of pulling her back in toward him, he kept her at arm's length and dropped to his knee.

"Don't freak out." he asked a little anxiously since she had already said no once before. This time however, he produced a ring with a pale blue stone, and tried not to let his hand tremble as he held it. He huffed a laugh at himself and took a breath.

"You've given me everythin' but this, and I know I have no fucken' right in askin' for more. My life hasn't always gone right, and I fuck things up but you are the best thing that's ever happened to me.. I am so, insanely in love with you, Alexandria Quinzell, and you've already made me happier than I thought I could ever be, whether I deserve you or not.. And whatever your answer is, I intend on spending the rest of my life showin' you just how grateful I am for everythin' you've given me... I'd just, really like to do that as your husband, so.. Will you marry me yet?" his brow rose, and he held his breath.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

For the second time within the span of ten minutes, Lexi was speechless. She could feel her jaw working to form words but there were none seeking to leap off her tongue. Not a tearful yes, not a gasp, not any other fairytale thing a woman was meant to say or do in this particular moment of her life. Her mind, bizzarely, went back to a moment when she couldn't have been much older than eight.

"I don't know why you're bothering," sneered Rupert as Lexi struggled to get to her feet. Her nose was bloody and her face hurt from where he'd driven his bare knuckles into her cheek. He was a good two years older than her and a head taller, but that hadn't stopped her choosing him to be her opponent "It's not a girls place to be on the battlefield. Nobody will want you to be their wife."
​

Lexi hadn't thought of that moment for years. Rupert had died in his arms under her command ten years later and had been someone she had called a friend in the end, but she had apparently harboured those words for years. Unresolved. Believing them.

Well, fuck Rupert.

"Yes," she said when the silence itself had grown anxious. "Yes, Cassian," a soft laugh. "Of course I will."

 

[Cassian]

There was only a brief moment of hesitation where he doubted that he'd heard her correctly. Yes, meant yes, and she was laughing not, raging. The seriousness in his expression switched to pure joy in a blink, and in an instant he was back on his feet and capturing her face in his hands, his head bowed to kiss her with every ounce of elation and emotion that he felt in that moment.

He smiled and laughed quietly against her lips as he kissed her again, and a third time with a rumbled 'I love you' before remembering the ring that currently circled the end of his pinky. He looked down to take her hand, slipping the encrusted silver band onto her ring finger and admiring the glistening aquamarine stone in its centre.

"The silversmith said it matched my eyes... And that if you said no, he'd like to offer me comfort.." he screwed his face up and laughed..

"Oh. Shit, sorry."

"She said yes!" he called out, followed by the sound of many cheers before the doors of the taverns and restaurants burst open. Her men were there, her friends, her parents and her brother, all throwing confetti though Kain looked a little displeased as it gathered in his hair.

Cassian grinned.. "I thought we might celebrate both things at once, so.." he cleared his throat. "AND SHE'S PREGNANT!"

The cheer was louder this time, and Cassian threw his arms into the air to flex like a fucking hero.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

"Mum? Dad? Damien?! But how-?"

"Cassian told your father when they were bonding," Tahlia laughed, pressing a kiss to her daughters cheek. Christopher was already making his way over to the table stacked with beer with shouts and waves for old drinking buddies.

"Cassian wrote to me, said there was big news and I should join you all this weekend," Damien explained next, dragging his sister into a big bear-like hug. "I had a feeling about the proposal but a baby?! Lex..." his grin threatened to break his face in two.

"I know, I know," she ran a hand through her hair. Saying it out loud each time made it more... real.

"Congrats bud - or I guess I should say brother," Damien grinned, clapping Cassian on the back.

 

[Cassian]

Cassian was hyper. Childlike, even, as he hugged his comrades whilst jumping up and down. Damien was gathered into a tight bear hug, Farah was lifted clean off of her feet and spun around, and Tahlia was almost picked up too, but given the look of warning he got, she had to settle for an exaggerated kiss on the cheek.

"Look. Look at it!" he pointed to Lexi's swollen belly. "I did that! Look!"

Wine was uncorked, ale was poured, and the band kicked up some music for everyone to dance to. Cass couldn't stop staring at her, his fiancée, and once again he was perplexed at how his life had arrived at this moment. He spared a thought for his mother, his brother and his sister, and for Peter, all of whom he felt the absence of, but the joy he felt far outweighed any sadness, and all he could do was beam at her with no small amount of pride as people fawned over her.

"Well, uncle Blue Balls. I hope you know how to change diapers.." he grinned as he nudged at Kain's side with an elbow.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

The words I did that caused more than a few arched brows from the women gathered but a small shake of the head from Lexi and they held their tongues, and left their swords sheathed. They were Ravens still at the end of the day. A whirlwind of people descended on the pair, offering congratulations, exclaiming, several women wanting to touch her belly and asking questions she felt far too sober to answer.

Kain chuckled and glanced at Cassian with a slight shake of his head.

"I have enough nieces and nephews already to know far better than you I would imagine," he snorted and puffed his chest out a little. "When you two fail miserably with the shit-nami... well you'll be on your own."

 

[Cassian]

He laughed off the jokes at his expense with a few playful, boyish shoves before making his way back to Lexi..

"Might I steal my betrothed for another dance, our last one was cut a little short.." he grinned, offering his hand with a wink.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Tryst, the towering half giant who proclaimed to anyone who would listen that Cassian was his best friend, was crouched down in front of Lexi with a giant ear pressed against her belly. Lexi gave Cass a bemused look over the others head.

"It's a girl!" he proclaimed loudly, standing up. A few who had been watching out of curiosity exchanged looks.

"How can you possibly tell?" Alec asked incredulously.

"Cause I cans, thats whys," the half giant muttered, grumpy that anyone would doubt him, before glancing to Cassian with a huge, face-splitting grin. He all but swept the other man off his feet into a hug. "Congratulations, Mighty Muscles!"

 

[Cassian]

Cassian's brow shot up at Tryst's claim, his gaze shifting about from face to face, as though to ask if he really could tell.

"A girl?" he looked back at Lexi, the grin that had spreading over that disbelief suddenly giving way to more surprise as he was grabbed into a powerful hug, his arms pinned to his sides..

"Oof-- Tryst.." he wheezed out in a laugh.. "Thanks buddy.." he choked, rolling his shoulders to the tune of a few cracks as he was let loose and whacked hard on the back. Cassian grimaced and stumbled toward Lexi to grin widely at her, his hands cupping her face as he studied it in pure awe and adoration..

"A girl." breathed and shook his head.. "We're gonna have to pick a new name..Maverick just isn't goin' to work." he laughed and bowed his head to kiss her like he gave no fucks who was watching.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi laughed against his lips and rested her forehead against his as they began to sway to the lively music.

"Don't get too excited, Tryst can't really hear the gender of the baby," right? Lexi actually wasn't too sure what a giants hearing was like, nor if they had some weird animalistic ability to... hear? Smell? the difference between a boy and a girl. She twirled when the music called for it and spun back into his arms with a smile. "As long as the baby's healthy, that's all that matters," and was her biggest fear.

"And as long as it isn't called Maverick... then it'll have a good life."

 

[Cassian]

"Can't he?" Cassian asked with a quirk of his brow.. "What makes you so sure.. He certainly seems sure." he chuckled.

"You're right.. On both counts.." he agreed with a grin, and growled a sultry sound low in his throat..

"I love it when you dance with me. But it makes me want to be inappropriate..." he huffed, kneading at her hip. "Distract me. Lets talk about wedding' flowers.. Or.. Cake.." he winked.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

The look Lexi gave him said don't be stupid but there was doubt in her one good eye. Just a flicker of it, but still there. Truthfully she had no idea what latent talents the half-giant had. He'd been a late bloomer in everything, perhaps this was simply another gift they had not know about.

Cassian drew her out of her thoughts on whether it might be good for the library to have a book written about how to care for a half-giant left on your doorstep and made her grimace.

"Wedding flowers?" she asked doubtfully. Shit, yes, that was a thing women tended to like at weddings. Her eyes skimmed to her mother and Farah. "I think we should leave those two to plan it, they could do it better than I could."

 

[Cassian]

Cassian gave a quiet, husky laugh as he stared at her, cupping her face.. "I know you told me you'd say yes.. But I still can't believe that you actually said it." Those laughter lines at the corners of his eyes creased as he smiled in sheer adoration.

"I fucken knew you couldn't resist me..." he winked. "Though you haven't done a very good job of distractin' me.." he growled mischievously.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

"How about this for a distraction?"

The babe had been wriggling for the last hour on and off, pressing on her bladder or kicking her ribs. It had gotten to the point such things were now second nature and as natural to feel as her chest rising and falling with each breath. Until now she had not mentioned it to him, her mind still full of fear that this miracle would be snatched away from them. But today, now, she allowed herself the tiny spark of hope that this was real.

So she took Cassian's hands and gently laid them over the part of her stomach she could feel their child's feet and watched his face as it kicked against his hands.

 

[Cassian]

His brows lifted as she took his hands, his crystalline eyes staring at her with a hint of trepidation before he felt what she meant him to feel. A kick, a strong kick, against his palm. His heart might have stopped, and he was certain he'd stopped breathing..

"Fuck." It really was real. Cassian's clearly had a little dust in his eyes as he cleared his throat and lowered himself back onto one knee, but this time his full attention was on Lexi's swollen belly as he kept his hands pressed to it.

"Hey there.." he spoke quietly, his brow shooting back up as he felt another nudge against his hand. He laughed and glanced up at Lexi in awe.

"She's gonna kick my arse in the pits.." he grinned.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

"SHE MOST CERTAINLY IS!" Boomed Tryst with a laugh and went as though to slap them both on the back before remembering there was now a delicate human in the mix. He settled for the tiniest of pats that made Lexi wonder if it had been the giants hand at all. "Like her mother," the giant grinned with a wink to Cassian.

Lexi tried very hard not to laugh as he ambled off to drink with Alec.

"I've been trying not to let myself believe it's real in case it all falls through but..." she took a breath and smiled down at Cassian. "I guess we're really having a baby... in a... few weeks," she paled then laughed nervously. "Oh Kress nothing is ready! How are we going to plan a wedding and deal with a baby Cass?!"

 

[Cassian]

"Like her mother.." Cassian agreed with a wink back at Tryst.

He was grinning boyishly up at her until she paled like that and there was a flicker of worry in his gaze then as he stood, his hands gently cupping her face to caress her cheeks with his thumbs. "Hey.. Don' do that. You don't need to worry about anythin', Lex. No stress, no panic. Alright?"

Cassian sighed, his gaze sweeping the candlelit square to the clusters of people who danced and drank in celebration.

"We .. could just do it tomorrow.." he shrugged. "Everyone's here, Farah could help.. Why should it need to take weeks of plannin' when all that matters is you becoming my wife?" he smirked.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi didn't realise she was crying until he cupped her cheeks and the concern in his gaze.

"Stupid hormones," she sniffed, irritably wiping at her eyes. As of late it seemed she would cry over anything, and she certainly felt as though she had cried in the last five days more than she had the last five years. His suggestion was so tempting. Neither of them needed anything so large or grand the likes of which her mother and Farah were no doubt already planning. But...

"But I can't even fit into my armour anymore," she sniffed again. "How can I marry you looking a whale?"

 

[Cassian]

Cassian's dimples reappeared along with his grin, but he'd refrain from mentioning how painfully adorable she was right now. He glanced down at her and slowly shook his head. "You are the most beautiful, stunning', damn right sexy whale I've ever laid eyes on. I'm sure Farah could find you something perfect to wear, but if you'd rather wear nothin' at all I'd enjoy that too.. Might cause a bit of scandal, though."

He dipped his head to press it to hers with a quiet sigh. "I love you." he rumbled. "We can wait. Whatever you want. Just dance with me." he smirked, his hands settling on her hips with a gentle squeeze.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

It was the first time in Lexi's life she wasn't sure what she wanted. So instead of giving an answer or worrying about it at all, she looped her arms around his neck and simply swayed to the music.

The night went on with dancing, drinking and celebrating even after Lexi and Cassian bid everyone a goodnight. They could hear the shouts, cheers and sounds of jubilation all the way back at their rooms which made her smile; such a sound hadn't been heard since before the fire had claimed 10 White Raven lives. As she clambered into bed and nestled in his arms she yawned.

"I think we should wait... let them throw the big party. And... maybe our little girl will just be with us to enjoy the day, too."

 

[Cassian]

Our little girl...

Cassian's chest swelled as he drew in a deep breath and let it tumble back out in a rumble of sheer contentment. His fingers combed into her hair as he held her there against him. Red hopped up onto the bed and squeezed herself in beside them to settle down with an instant purr.

Aside the absences of whom he regularly thought of, everything else felt right where it was supposed to be. "Alrigh'.." he smiled, his eyes closing despite his attempts to fight sleep. She had said yes, and he would wait as long as she wanted to. She had said yes, and he was hers. For once he felt no fear that she might one day realise that he didn't deserve her and that she could do so much better. They would be married, and they would be parents, and he would do everything within his power to be everything that they needed him to be.

He slept soundly, dreaming of he and Lexi amongst several others sitting around a gypsy campfire, watching their daughter twirl to the songs his mother used to play. Even the morning light crossing his face wasn't enough to drag him from such a restful sleep.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

The following days, weeks and months were almost consumed by talk of the wedding. Every Raven in Evora was excited about the upcoming nuptials and Lexi was pretty sure between her mother and Farah, that every single one of them had a job in the intricate scheme of things. The only thing that had become a nightmare was Lexi's 'dress' - not that she had agreed to wear a dress, she was still pretty set on wearing her full armour - with her ever growing bump. In the end they'd had to admit defeat and that it would have to wait until the babe came.

Which was any day now.

Lexi paced the training ground watching the a group of younglings who had not yet earned the Raven cloak fighting in the arena. One hand curved under her extremely pronounced stomach whilst the other knuckled at the pain in her lower back.

"Stop focusing on his face! This isn't a duel like in the books you read!" she shouted as one of the boys ended up narrowly avoiding a blow to the head.