Nice Summer Days

Etta had taken to the stables of the ranch, above ground. She loved it in there, with the horses before they were released into their pasture. The goblins assigned to shadow her in case she got in trouble were all chattering happily with her, telling her about their day yesterday. She had given them all the day off and spent the day in bed, taking a nice rest. They'd forced her onto a stool as she brushed her horse - a dotted grey mare named Silver - and sang to them between their tales.

The smell of hay and horse had started to cling to her, as she spent so much time here. Basi had been... busy, lately, not that it bothered her.

Well, not that it bothered her that much.

"I was thinking of names." She announced to the group of goblins present. This had them all a flitter in seconds, all of them chittering about different names. She continued to pat the mare's nose, smiling as Silver gently nudged the wide belly. The children responded with motion, shifting inside her. Her smile widened. They liked the ranch as much as she did.

Leaning on the doorway of the stables Basil watched his fiance interact with both the goblins and the horse. She was a natural when it came to her interactions with everything he had thrown at her. A rare find and she had willingly given herself to him. He was a lucky man indeed. The age difference didn't bother him and the way she looked so radiant from her pregnancy made her look 20 years younger.

Disappearing from the door and reappearing behind her silently he ran his fingers through Etta's hair, giving a soft whinny in greeting to Silver before leaning down and whispering in Etta's ear, "And what sort of names have you been thinking of, my love?"

Etta shivered, leaning into his touch as she closed her eyes in bliss. The constant yearning she'd felt calmed to a dull roar at his presence, and she barely noticed all the goblins go quiet in anticipation. "Nothing fancy." She murmured, moving her head to the side to press a kiss to his cheek. A small blush flit over her features and she closed her eyes, shaking her head. "Forget I said anything."

They had stirred at the sound of his voice, moving and shifting the moment he started talking, and stilling when his voice no longer reached her ears. "I..." Etta sighed, a grin tugging at her lips. "Pepper." She whispered. "Our daughter's name is Pepper."

After the kiss to his cheek Basil knelt down beside Etta and wrapped one arm around her back to rest on one side of her stomach. The stomach that his twins resided in.

Pressing a kiss to her enlarged belly the Goblin King smiled. "Pepper," he rumbled, testing the name on his tongue. "Pepper Skydancer, Princess of Goblins." His fingers rubbed small circles on the side of his fiance's belly. "I like it. I must admit I was stumped for a girl. I was thinking of Zareb or Theran for a boys name. I wasn't sure which would be better."

He nuzzled Etta's shoulder. "What do you think?"

Etta blushed slightly, looking down at the man and her stomach, closing her eyes against the feeling of the children moving toward his voice, pressing against the skin of her stomach in an attempt to get closer to him until he stopped talking again.

"I like Theran." She said softly, taking his hand. She placed it over the spot he'd kissed - she could still feel it tingling from his touch - and ran her hand through his hair. "Sing for me, Basi?" She grinned, placing her hand over his and intertwined their fingers. "Sing for us?They'll love it."

"Sing," Basil rumbled a bit apprehensively. "I'm not very good and I don't usually sing for an audience. I don't want you to think any less of me." He purred at the hand in his hair and squeezed her hand slightly. Feeling the twins move as if towards him the King gave a smile.

"I suppose I can think of something." He closed his eyes and thought for a few moments before a song came to his mind.

"Look into my eyes, you will see. What you mean to me," he sang encompassing all three of his darlings in the song. "Search your heart, search your soul. When you find me there you will search no more. Don't tell me it's not worth trying for, can't tell me it's not worth dying for. You know it's true. Everything I do. I do it for you." He hesitated and looked up at his love, his Queen, his sweet Etta, waiting for her opinion.

"There is absolutely nothing you can do that will make me think less of you, Basi." She said softly, the truth ringing in her voice. "I hold you in the highest regard. Such is love." She smiled. "If you should sing, I have heard it before, you are not bad, you need not worry." Her smile softened slightly, and she ran her fingers through his hair once more, closing her eyes as his voice caused their children to move. They squirmed in pleasure, moving toward his voice once more, kicking at their hands. It would seem that they loved their father as much as Etta did.

As he stopped, her eyes fluttered open, the movement in her womb slowing down to a stop. "Simply fantastic." She said happily, even as the goblins around them beamed. None smiled brighter than the woman-turned-Queen, however. Gently guiding him to her by his chin, she placed a soft kiss to his lips.