so why'd you have to rain on my parade?

       

I'm shaking my head. I'm locking the gates.

There was always something... intimidating... these days when it came to visiting Dorian, at least for the young fae woman. Gone were the days in which they alternated sharing the ripped, broken futon mattress in the otherwise barren apartment, and as such, gone were the days in which Samantha could see Dorian without an explicit appointment. Dorian was distinctly important now, both in Samantha's heart and to the entire world. And while that selfish side of Samantha would have rather not have to share Dorian with the entire country of Italy, she couldn't doubt how distinctly lucky that country was to have him. After all, Dorian was one of the most selfless, amazing people that Samantha had ever had the pleasure of knowing. And even though Samantha often failed at keeping in constant contact with Dorian - a fault with her wayward, traveling lifestyle - he remained the best friend she'd ever had. He was loyal and kind and everything Samantha herself wanted to be.

It was that line of thoughts that had forced Samantha's hand to call Dorian's staff, scheduling an appointment with the Italian King. Even though Samantha would have loved to just show up on Dorian's doorstep and demand entry to his home, she also knew that the elder fae loved those formalities and protocols, and for now, she was willing to play along. And in the days that Samantha waited for their appointment, she spent most of her time debating on whether or not it was a good idea to go at all. It wasn't that she didn't want to see Dorian, she wanted that desperately. Rather, it was that fear that he might not approve of her. Of the situation that she was in. It was that reason that she hadn't contacted Dorian yet, even though she had been in Sacrosanct for weeks now. But she could hide from him no longer, just as she could no longer hide from Andras or Kit or the child that existed within her womb. She could almost hear Dorian's disapproval, hear his (hopefully teasing) comments on having a child out of wedlock. And yet, even in that, Samantha found that she needed him to know. She needed to lean on her best friend in this situation.

Samantha dressed carefully as she prepared for the appointment, though she found that none of her clothes quite held the growing baby bump. She had certainly wanted to tell him herself, but her body would likely give away her secret before she ever opened her mouth. None of her clothes hid the bump, so Samantha chose the least offensive of them all: a flowy sundress that was probably not formal enough to meet with the King of Italy, and yet Samantha could only hope Dorian would overlook that fact in the face of the joyous news that she had to share with him. As the young girl travelled to the Northern district of the city, she found those nerves to be nearly out of control. Since discovering her pregnancy, she'd found her emotions to be so much sharper, so much harder to maintain. More than once the young girl had lost control of her powers - a fit of tears creating bubbles out of thin air often in the same manner that they had when she'd first experimented with her gifts. She'd tried, desperately, to keep her emotions in check if only because she was afraid of what they might do. The loss of control of her powers was enough to add to her anxiety about seeing her friend.

As Samantha approached the American home of the King of Italy, her hands were very visibly shaking. Somehow, Samantha was able to utter her name and the reason for her visit to the guards, which was enough to gain her access to the sprawling mansion. The former queen was escorted to the living room. However, the young woman didn't take her place on the couch as she waited for Dorian's arrival, instead she paced in front of the couch and found herself gnawing on her fingernails, that anxiety rising within the girl. God, what if Dorian hated her? What if Dorian found the pregnancy repulsive, or a huge mistake? What if... The girl was unaware that her line of thoughts was causing that surge in her power, nor the shadows that her anxiety created that seemed to creep around her like dark clouds. No, the girl was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she was entirely unaware of what her powers were capable of doing at the moment.

this is why we can't have nice things

       

Samantha Cassidy