She lay quiet in the early morning hours, peering upward at the ring on her hand as she held it up in the magical lighting of the loft. Her borrowed dress had been laid across the chaise against the wall, making her feel a little less princess-y than she did earlier. Perhaps she should dress up more often. The jewelry set was still worn, but only because she was terrified to take it off. It belonged to her mother and would need to be returned first thing in the morning.

Cael slept quietly beside her, taking most of the down feathered comforter, his head buried under a pillow, as was the usual. She thought it adorable that he slept with such abandon, but didn't make a sound, not even a giggle" no matter if he looked like a drow or not, it was better to let sleeping dragons lie, right"

She turned her hand a bit, admiring the way that the stone winked green or red at her, angle dependant. It was quite like the fire found in black opals, she thought. It fit perfectly, no need for sizing, which was amazing, considering her small stature. She still couldn't believe that he'd approached this quite the way that he had " gently, romantically, with love. Of course, it was far better than some primitive manner, such as bashing her over the head and dragging her back to his cave, which she imagined some of his kind could resort to.

So, it was now official" she wore his ring, she carried his child. She'd have to work on having their new home built, certainly. There were considerations to be made and she was only halfway through the design phase. She would have to plan their wedding ceremony " he'd mentioned wanting a large, public wedding. Her musings on this subject lay elsewhere" to the fact that she would either have to make this quick, or be showing by the time that day arrived, or perhaps even wait until afterward. But afterward, she'd have a whole new responsibility, to a child"

Their child: one who would have powers that she did not and would need to be taught how to control such powers. One who could possibly carry her curse of wild magic, a dangerous gamble. Most realistically, though, there would likely be no time for planning a wedding if she's busy chasing a shadow walking, acid-spitting half-drow dragon baby around. Or a hatchling, since she had no idea in which form it would be born " she guessed her upcoming visits to the doctor would tell her that much. She really just didn't know what she was in for, only that the child now growing within her gave her a certain strange peace that she'd not known before. She had even caught herself mulling over names.

So, this was her life now. She was happy and nervous, excited and scared, didn't know what to expect or what choices she would have to make. But, looking from the ring on her finger which shined with such promise, to the form sleeping peacefully beside her, she knew that she had chosen well, at least once.