Chapter 191 - 190 – Revelation

The group made their way back to the imperial palace, and fortunately, there were not too many people who caught sight of them. By the time they reached the imperial palace and went to their rooms, Pax had already prepared the press release and sent the draft to Ren to review and finalise.

It was a fairly credible story of surrogacy that explained Ray's appearance and age. Ray was presented as Ren's biological child.

Since they were now back in the imperial palace of the Dragon Nation, Ren and Fang were able to take better pictures – well, of a better dressed Ray, anyway. After all, it wouldn't look nice if it looked like Ray was swathed in Fang's jacket, would it? The Dragon Queen had already made arrangements for a couple of sets of proper baby clothes which matched what Sylvia wore in her human baby form and some appropriate baby food (for both human babies and dragon babies).

Ray woke up when Ren and Fang were dressing him up. He was a fairly even tempered baby, and he didn't fuss when they dressed him up and fed him. He also smiled obediently at the camera with his two fathers, looking utterly adorable.

Ren and Fang not only posed with Ray, but also with all the babies. Ray clung to Ren, so Sylvia was picked up by Fang, and the three furballs surrounded them. Some lovely family portraits were taken as well. Only poor Rudy, who still didn't have a corporeal body, felt left out – but he made sure that Ren's phone appeared in the photograph with a smiley face from him.

When the press release was issued, Pax was grateful that the main characters of this drama were out of the country and safely ensconced in the imperial palace of the Dragon Nation, where no one would dare to touch them. It was a good way to protect them from the immediate clamour, and they had the weekend to diffuse the flames to a good extent. Once Ren and Fang were back at home in Cosmopolis, they would arrange for another press release, or perhaps, a press conference.

Surrogacy was a much debated topic, after all.

Meanwhile, in the Dragon Nation, Princess Una nervously explained about magic to Zeus, her fiancé.

Zeus was initially stunned. He stared at Princess Una blankly for a long time, seemingly lost in a daze.

"Zeus…?" Princess Una called nervously.

Zeus blinked slowly. "Una – are you – are you saying that you have magic?" he asked in a soft, whispering voice.

Princess Una nodded. Anxiety pooled in her purple eyes.

Zeus continued to stare at her. "And you are Fang's biological older sister, not Uno's twin?" he asked. "You are the Dragon Queen's niece?"

Princess Una nodded again.

Zeus reached out and touched her face with gentle fingers. "And your eyes are actually purple? You use magic to change the colour of your eyes and in case anyone saw it, you pretended that you wore contact lenses to prevent the people of the Valley Kingdom from realising your identity, since purple eyes only run in the royal blood line of the Valley Kingdom?" he asked.

Princess Una nodded wordlessly once again.

"Are you hiding any more secrets from me?" Zeus asked, fixing his pretty eyes on hers.

Princess Una shook her head, but then nodded. "Not my secrets, though," she murmured. "But my nephews and nieces are all magical creatures."

Zeus blinked. "Magical creatures?" he asked curiously.

"Well, Sylvia has an animal form, and Ray, the new baby, who you just saw today, also has an animal form. The three little furballs will also have human forms some time later," she told him.

Zeus whistled. "That's pretty cool," he murmured. "Does Chairman Ren know that Prince Fang has magic?" he asked curiously.

Princess Una frowned. "Why are you still addressing them so formally?" she asked.

Zeus chuckled and amended his question immediately. "So – does Ren know that Fang has magic?" he asked, repeating his earlier question.

Princess Una smiled and laughed. "Ren was the one who awakened Fang's magic and taught him," she said. "Ren is the perhaps the most powerful magician in the world, and even Fang's magic is much greater than mine or Uno's – and I am reasonably sure that it is Ren's influence more than anything else."

"How did Ren get to be magical? Aren't his late parents normal people?" Zeus asked.

Princess Una pursed her lips. "Actually, about that…" she hesitated for a moment and then peered at the handsome face of her fiancé to try and gauge what was going on in his mind.

Zeus smiled suddenly and pulled Princess Una into his arms.

"Never mind," he said. "Ren's parents are his business, we shouldn't pry into it unless he asks us to."

Princess Una heaved a sigh of relief, both at his words and his actions. The Dragon Queen had gotten her people to do a thorough background search of Ren and report was suspiciously incomplete. There was clearly some sort of a mystery around Ren's biological parents, but Ren himself seemed to have no interest in investigating that, and the people who were searching on behalf of the Dragon Queen had not been able to find much. Princess Una wondered if the Dragon Queen would ever bring it up with Ren and Fang – actually, she may have intended to, but then, Ren had been in poor health recently and the young couple already had so much on their plate and they didn't want to add more trouble to their lives. If Ren was ever interested in looking up his biological parents and their mysterious circumstances, then, of course, the royals of the Dragon Nation would be happy to help him investigate and find out the truth.

"Yes," she murmured. "Thank you for acknowledging that, Zeus."

Zeus shook his head. "Why are you being so formal with me now?" he demanded. "Are you trying to distance yourself from me?"

Princess Una shook her head rapidly. "No, no, of course not," she said immediately.

"Then what are you worried about?" Zeus asked, taking her hand and rubbing his thumb across her knuckles in a gentle, teasing movement.

Princess Una didn't know what to say. She lowered her head and looked away. How could she bear to tell her beloved fiancé that she was afraid that he might reject her when he learnt the truth? And that if he rejected her, her overprotective brothers and new brother in law were ready with (magical) brick bats to come at Zeus and beat him up for breaking their sister's heart?

Zeus sighed. "My dear princess," he said softly. "Would you please look at me?"

Princess Una looked into his eyes, trying to hide away her anxiety.

"You look even prettier with purple eyes," he murmured in her ear, completely deviating from the previous topic. "You are so beautiful that my heart is about to jump out of my rib cage." He took her hand and pressed it against his silk shirt. "See, my dear? Can you feel how my heart is racing for you?" he asked in a whisper.

Princess Una could feel his rapid heart beat under her palm, and a blush crept up her fair cheeks.

"I won't have purple eyes when I go out in public, though," she murmured.

"Good," Zeus said. "I have a hard enough time beating away my competitors who are pursuing you as it is, so if you become even prettier, it is best that only I get to see it!" He thought for a moment. "Well, the family can see it, too," he added generously.

Princess Una smiled and leaned against him. "So – you are all right with this stuff?" she asked, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice.

Zeus chuckled. "My dear princess, why wouldn't I be? You just told me that you are even more awesome than I previously thought, so that's a good thing, right?" he asked with a smile, caressing her face with gentle fingers. "You are twice the princess I thought you were with the royal blood of two nations, you are magical – quite literally – which makes you more powerful than I thought you were, and you are even more beautiful than I thought you were – and you still somehow like me despite being the most amazing woman on earth. How idiotic would I have to be to complain? I may not be magical, and I may not be as great as you are – but this stupid man loves you very much and is very proud and grateful that you have chosen me!" he declared.

Princess Una heaved a sigh of relief and kissed her fiancé.

After some time, Zeus asked, "So – would our children have magic, too?"

Princess Una shrugged. "There is a chance, yes," she said.

"Magic is like a recessive gene, is it?" Zeus asked.

"I suppose you could say that," Princess Una replied.. "If both parents have magic, then the child usually does, too."