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Lord Morpheus. Dream of the Endless. The King of Dreams and Nightmares. As an immortal being who was centuries old and ruled the realm of the Dreaming, he went by many names by different people. His wispy hair, consisting of petrified ebony-black locks, and pale seashell pigmentation would make him seem a ghostly apparition, if nothing else. Oh, and who could forget about his icy blue eyes, that seemed to hold every star, planet, and galaxy in the known universe within them. As he always did, Morpheus was dressed in a long black trench coat, along with the same colored shirt, pants, and low boots. Some say it his favorite color to wear was because it reminded him of his mother, Night. Others, that he was simply not a fan of extravagant colors and fabrics, and merely opted to dress down and not draw any unnecessary attention to himself if he didn’t need to. He had gotten up early that morning to take care of some duties that needed tending to, such as accounting for any new volumes that appeared in Lucienne’s library, and ensuring the gardens were being maintained. Afterward, he quietly crawled back onto the bed he shared with the love of his life, Astrella, and fell back asleep.
After his eyes flickered open once more, he turned over in the grand canopy bed and smiled softly upon seeing Astrella, still fast asleep beside him. Her caramel skin seemed to glisten in the early morning sunlight, her head full of wavy cocoa curls cascading down to meet her shoulders. She was a woman of average height and a curvy woman who frequently felt insecure and ashamed of her past, having been insulted, abused, and shamed. However, Morpheus was always there to remind her how beautiful and sensual he believed her to be, and would always adorn her with the sweetest kisses and touches when she started scolding herself again. Yes, she was a mortal human whom he had met on one of his many ventures to the Waking World, but they had connected, fallen in love, and within a little more in a year had wed.
“Love?” She whispered to her partner groggily, slowly opening her chocolate-hued eyes and lifting her head gradually to smile adoringly at the man she had willingly given her whole heart.
“Mm, good morning, starry-eyes. How were your dreams? '' Morpheus cooed back to her, a sickly sweet smile spreading across his lips as he snaked his slender arm around her midsection, instinctively pulling her closer to him. The two lovers’ bodies were now pressed as close together, molding perfectly into one another as if the universe itself had created them that way.
“Wonderful as always, thanks to you,” Astrella replied with a warm crimson blush displayed on her cheeks, evidence of just how in love she indeed was with the being beside her. She adored it when he used those nicknames, that made her feel like she was the only thing in the universe that mattered. She paused, inhaling softly. “Although, there was something quite .. different about last night’s dream.”
This piqued Dreams’ curiosity immensely, as he raised a brow and tried to distinguish based on his lover’s tone of voice whether she was insinuating something good or not so good. It seems that Astrella quickly picked up on exactly what he might have been thinking because she placed a hand delicately to his face and gently shook her head in an act of attempted reassurance.
“Shh, nothing like that, I promise, it was a lovely one.” She told him, just as Morpheus sat up in bed and lifted Astrella onto his lap, her head nestled onto his shoulder, with one of her hands placed against his chest so she could feel it rise and fall.
“Oh, is that so? Will you tell me then, about this lovely dream of yours?” He purred, planting a kiss on her head and drawing a few giggles out of her. She nodded, while he wrapped his arm around both of her shoulders and pulled the blankets up to cover the both of them.
“It was .. so beautiful. A vast field of flowers, creatures, and a waterfall, all moving together and singing in harmony, a lot like Fiddler’s Green. Time just seemed to stand still there, the sun was at its highest peak in the sky .. and there were no clouds as far as the eye could see.” She explained in a voice so uplifting and soft, that it sounded to Morpheus like she was singing a ballad of love, just for him. This was just a small part of their morning routine, after they had woken up and peppered each other’s faces with kisses and cuddled up close to one another. Morpheus would ask Astrella about her dreams and have her describe them, even though he was quite literally the King of Dreams, and moved through hers every single night. Still, he loved hearing her tell him the stories of what she had seen, the vivid detail and the stirring emotions that she would cling to until morning.
“That sounds perfect, my dear. But, may I ask, what exactly made this dream different from the other ones you’ve had?” He quizzed with intrigue, his lips gently parting while Astrella hummed in contentment, feeling his hand trail gingerly up her lower back.
“Oh, well, towards the end of it, I stood up from the grass, and this figure cloaked in white was standing there and –” Her words ceased when she let out a sharp hiss and bit down on her tongue, leaving a sting on the fleshy pad as she jolted upright in bed. Morpheus sat up quickly as well, his brows creasing in distress as he watched his partner’s hand fly to her abdomen. “Dearest, are you quite alright?” He asked her with worry coating his words, but before he could reach out to touch her and pull her into his embrace for reassurance, she had thrown the ebony-colored silk sheets off of her, darting to the bedroom suite’s attached bathroom. “Love!” Morpheus called out, now even more fearful than he had been mere moments before, merely throwing on his long flowing morning robe and hurrying to the bathroom as well.
Halting quickly to a stop at the doorway, he appeared crestfallen at the sight of Astrella knelt over the porcelain toilet bowl, throwing up and dry heaving, small cascading beads of sweat racing down her forehead. “Motherfu –” She could barely get another word out before the contents of her stomach spilled from her mouth again, just as Morpheus knelt beside her and placed a hand on her back and strategically used the other to hold back her curls, lest she got them dirty.
“Have you fallen ill? If you’d like, I can call for one of the castle nurses.” The Dream Lord cooed to her gently, as Astrella reeled back from the bowl and took a few deep breaths to stabilize herself and her heartbeat that she hadn’t even noticed was pounding wildly against her chest. Shaking her head slowly, she wiped her mouth with her sleeve. it had slowly dawned on Astrella what was happening in her body, and she almost felt the urge to hurl once more at the very thought of how terrified she was at that moment.
“N-no, there’s no need for that.” She managed to speak out meekly, her eyes fixating on a tile of the marble bathroom floor, until Morpheus slowly took her chin in between his thumb and forefinger and gently guided her gaze to look up into his eyes.
“Are you sure? I understand you don’t prefer asking for help, but if you aren't feeling well then –”
“Dream, sweetheart – I’m pregnant.” Astrella interrupted him with the most serious and determined look the King of Dreams had ever seen on her face, in the time they’d known one another. Her lips quivered with the incredible anxiety she was feeling, her hands and fingers trembling as if a devastating quake was occurring right inside of her bones.
Pregnant? How? Morpheus and Astrella had made love an unthinkable amount of times since their first meeting with one another, but the two never bothered to worry about the use of protection since it was deemed impossible for a mortal to ever fall pregnant by and conceive a child with a member of the Endless. Unity Kincaid was one rare exception, but she had been asleep due to the sleepy sickness, and many deemed the incident to be a fluke that was sure to never repeat itself. Astrella had even assured him she regularly took a birth control pill every night, and many women were successful in staving off unwanted pregnancies by simply doing so. These were just a few of the thousands of questions and ponderings that flooded Morpheus’ mind, but he managed to swallow thickly and take Astrella’s face in both of his pale white hands.
“Are you positive about this..? How did... when would we have –” Astrella only managed a dry laugh despite still feeling quite nauseous, biting her bottom lip.
“Do you remember a little over a month ago, when you had returned from the Sunless Lands, and how excited I was to see you after two weeks?” She asked him with an innocent air to her voice.
“Of course, you nearly tripped and fell down the grand staircase when you heard the castle doors open.” He recalled with a tiny chuckle of his own. “But what would that have to do with –”
“No no, not that. It’s what happened after you had come home, settled back in, and we went to our chambers..?” Astrella was hoping she wouldn’t need to elaborate any further than that, hoping Dream would be wise enough to get the hint without all of the explicit details. “Since then, my mood has felt like it’s been off the walls, I keep craving foods I would never normally eat, and my body has changed a bit, in more ways than one. Oh, and before you ask, yes I took several tests.” His icy-blue hues suddenly widened and his lips parted in shock at that very second, was the sign she needed to know he knew what she was talking about now. Now it was him that felt like he was going to be sick, even though as an immortal being and an Endless he didn't suffer the same ailments and uncomfortable body mechanisms as humans did. However, it wasn’t the news of Astrella’s improbable pregnancy that made him worry, but what the other Endless would do if they were to find out.
“Dream? Are you gonna say something?” She asked him with a faint whimper after her words, grabbing a gentle hold of his wrists in her hands, hoping it would elicit a verbal reaction from him. Pulling a smile despite the fears stirring in his heart, Morpheus pressed his forehead tenderly against her own and hummed with contentment.
“You, my shining star, have just given me the single greatest gift that I have ever been fortunate enough to receive.” He whispered, his words making Astrella’s heart ache and swell even more with her love and undying adoration for this man who remained kneeling on the bathroom floor beside her. Not another word was exchanged between the two lovers before Morpheus pulled her in for a slow and passionate kiss, breaking the defenses of Astrella’s lips and sliding his tongue past to dance in a waltz with hers. Astrella smirked and slowly climbed onto her lover’s lap, deepening the sensual encounter as she wrapped her arms around his neck, and him with his hands on her back, clawing at the fabric of her nightgown. Though their eyes were closed, the two did not need vision to touch, caress, and fondle every inch of their partner they could get their hands on, up until Morpheus slowly broke the kiss and inhaled sharply, leaving Astrella with a slightly confused look on her face.
“As much as I would thoroughly enjoy continuing this here, you need some rest today. On top of that, it would be best for you to be checked out by a doctor in the waking world, to err on the side of caution.” He explained, a tender sweetness with each word as he slowly stood up and helped Astrella to her feet, swiftly catching her in his arms when she nearly fell over from her knees wobbling.
“Yeah, that would probably be best right now, wouldn’t it?” She quipped back with a small laugh, not even bothering to protest as Morpheus lifted her into his arms bridal-style and carried her back over to their bed, laying her down gingerly as if she was suddenly made of glass. Then, he lifted his hand slowly and carefully moved some of Astrella’s dark curls out of her face, placing his lips to her forehead and brushing the skin there with peppered kisses.
“Ah, that tickles, Dream!” She giggled, showing off the childlike manner she possessed when she was in a good enough mood, playfully swatting Dream’s hand away from her face. Snuggling up with her chartreuse-colored weighted blanket, she gently gripped it, one of the many personal items she had brought with her from the small Boston apartment she had lived in when she first met the King of Dreams. Morpheus responded in kind by moving to climb on top of her, but immediately retracting himself after one singular glance at her inconspicuous belly reminded him of why he’d brought her to bed in the first place. Sensing what was going through his mind, Astrella slowly sat herself up against the ridiculous amount of plush pillows nestled at the head of the bed, motioning for him to come closer to her.
“Dream.” She spat out in a stern voice, but the small smirk playing at her lips was a dead giveaway she was not cross with him. In response, he merely turned his head and looked at her with a wistful glance, drinking in her gaze and the way she stared at him as if she knew him better than he did himself.
“Are you afraid to be intimate with me? Now that you know I’m pregnant? Because I can assure you it is perfectly safe to –” She swallowed thickly and tried to shrug off the awkwardness of the topic, but that was unavoidable.
“No, that is not it at all. My sole hesitation comes from wanting you to get some actual rest while I arrange for a proper doctor’s appointment for you. After that…” Dream trailed off his words by placing a hand at the front of Astrella’s neck, gently holding her there as his lips moved to the side of her throat, sucking lovingly and kissing all the little spots he knew made her squirm. As he predicted, her eyes closed and she let out a soft but audible whimper at the pleasure surging through her body by that point, squeezing her legs together and reaching up to card her fingers through Dream’s raven hair.
“Mm, love.. Please..” Astrella whined with impatience, immediately becoming frustrated when he chuckled under his breath and pulled away from her with a gentle shake of his head.
“Later, starry-eyes. Now, try to sleep and I will return as soon as possible.” He whispered, running his thumb over her cheek and then sliding off of the bed, making his way towards the double doors to leave. “Oh, and before I forget –” He spun around on his heel to speak, but Astrella had somehow managed to fall right back asleep the second he’d turned his back. She was laid on her back, one arm clutching her blanket like it was a lifeline, the other laid out beside her, across the spot Morpheus usually lay. A mess of dark curls covered her face, while her mouth hung slightly open as small snores of content sleep escaped.
“Sleep well, my love,” He spoke barely above a hoarse whisper, not daring to risk waking Astrella back up again. “I swear on my existence and everything that I am, that I shall never let anything happen to you, or our child. It is my vow, that of all the entities throughout the Cosmos, none of them shall ever harm either of you.” Quietly sighing and steadfast in his resolve to ensure he kept his promise, the Dream Lord bowed his head, and crept out of the bedroom suite, closing the door softly behind him and disappearing down the hall.