Chapter 1
Devanye’s seven domesticated cats were (very thoughtfully on Q’s part) waiting for her in her room in Rivendell. It was the master suite, the room that used to be Elrond’s when he lived, and it still bore his memory like a scent. There was a shelf of his books on healing magic and a scroll of incantations to invoke the Bruinen to protect Rivendell from intruders still open on the table.
There were a few drops of blood on the parchment and Devanye closed her eyes, touching it. Then she rolled up the scroll and replaced it in its bin on the shelf. She fed Judah and Layla and rocked them in their cradles for a while until Eleanor came through the big oak doors.
“You is needed in the feasting hall, Miss Devvie,” the house elf informed her. “The first wave of smallfolks is here, and the great wizard Gandalf is not starting the fireworks without you.”
“Thank you, Eleanor,” Devanye murmured, getting up reluctantly and crossing to the door. “You’ll let me know if they start crying? I’ve shielded the windows so the fireworks won’t disturb them.”
“Of course, miss,” Eleanor nodded. “Enjoy the feast.”
“Aren’t you missing out?” Devanye worried.
“I is already sampling the food, and Dobby is switching with me for the fireworks,” Eleanor told her brightly. “He is not liking loud noises after the war.”
“Oh,” Devanye smiled. “Well … I’ll see you in a bit, then.”
Taking a deep breath, Devanye stepped out the door, leaving her refuge behind. Severus and Carson were snogging in the corridor and she grinned at having caught them. Clearing her throat politely, she held out her hands. “Shall we?”
They blushed, still adorably bashful about being seen showing affection for each other, and took her hands in theirs, setting off down the corridor.
“How are y’all holding up?” she asked while they were still alone.
“Alright,” Severus said. “Worried about you.”
“Thank you for taking over, I needed to rest,” Devanye murmured, brushing her head against his shoulder.
“I’ve got Remus ― the one you rescued ― settled in nicely in the snowglobe Severus provided,” Carson told her. “Draco went with Radek and Rodney back to the Triple M Device to warn Rod and Charlie’s people about Cedric’s plans for Remus’ remains and they should be back in time for the feast. Minerva took care of the rest of our Remus’ remains.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “How are the children?”
“Fed, burped, changed, and sleeping,” Devanye told them. “They’ve had a very busy first day of their lives. Held by Maw Maw and Great Grandma as they traveled all over Rivendell. I need to make some baby bjorns for the rest of the festivities. And a diaper bag. Nice big one.” She conjured a couple rolls of periwinkle and green batik fabric which cut itself obligingly into the appropriate shapes. A roll of thick cotton batting sandwiched itself between the layers, and a needle and thread began sewing it all together as it floated behind the pair of them.
“Right now?” Severus asked dryly.
“It helps my nerves,” Devanye shrugged. “I get nervous in crowds.”
“You didn’t look nervous in the crowd of Elves on our honeymoon in Ithilien,” Carson frowned.
“Because the Elves know I get nervous in crowds and always begin working calming magic when they find out I’m coming,” Devanye shrugged. “It’s a different story with Men and Dwarves. Crafts help, they know this, they will be a lot less nervous if I bring something to work on. Hell, some of them might have brought crafts of their own to show me.”
“Why would your subjects be nervous around you?” Carson frowned, and Severus tilted his head.
“It was less necessary with the Free Peoples of Middle Earth, but peace and constitutional monarchy was hard-won in Westeros,” Devanye admitted quietly, fidgeting her thumbs in their hands. “I’m the champion of the smallfolk. You don’t get to be champion of the smallfolk without a good deal of ruthlessness. Ruthlessness in anybody, but especially in a witch and an Obscurial … it makes people nervous. It’s expected that I bring something to work on.”
“Can you give me an example?” Carson frowned while Severus paced silently in step with them. “Outside of the incident with the dragon, I’ve never known you to be ruthless.”
Devanye worried her bottom lip. “The dragon is Danaerys.” Severus stilled, bringing their proceeding to a halt.
“I know that,” Carson shook his head impatiently, “what I’m asking is ―”
“No, the dragon is Danaerys Targaryen, First of her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Breaker of Chains,” Devanye clarified. “And her followers are her sheep; the breeding stock that I keep far away from Danaerys’ territory. I turned Danaerys into a dragon egg when she led a coup against the constitutional double-monarchy with Robert I was trying to build with them and the small folk. She didn’t want to share power with the Usurper, and she didn’t like being constrained by a constitution and a bicameral legislature. So instead of banishing her to the Others outside the snowglobe like I did the war criminals of the War of the Five Kings … I turned her into a dragon egg and her followers into sheep to provide food for her when she hatched.”
She waited while Carson stared at her in disbelief. Severus put his hand on her shoulder. “I think it’s an elegant solution to a serious problem,” he put in helpfully. “And she has served you well with her second chance.”
“Thank you, Severus,” Devanye murmured, putting her hand on his.
“You turned people into animals?” Carson finally managed, horrified. “And you control Danaerys when you need to use her firepower to make a poi― You’ve got to turn them back!”
“They’ll be killed if I leave them to Robert and Westerosi justice,” Devanye denied. “And even if I put my foot down and decreed life imprisonment, it takes time to build a snowglobe big enough to sustainably house all of them, and the one I already spent time making is specially balanced in its ecology to house half a billion sheep. And a dragon. Suddenly taking those sheep away and introducing a quarter million humans instead would destroy the ecology of the place. They’d starve to death before I could finish sustainable lodgings for them. And while you as my consort have a say in any politics I do henceforth, having you retroactively reversing my actions from before we were married would ruin the rapport I have with my subjects. I did what I did and it got us here.”
“Well, it ends now,” Carson decided obstinately. “I won’t have you going around turning people into newts!”
“I delegated judicial duties years ago,” Devanye assured him, “to people who have no magical powers. Each courthouse has a small snowglobe that holds a hundred acres for criminals to homestead, producing food for the poor. They produce quite a bit of food, considering I introduced vertical gardening long ago, and the farms I create are largely automated. Outside of sowing annuals and harvesting the crops, there’s very little left to do. Shall we?” She gestured down the hall, her sewing still floating in the air behind her, needles and thread stitching away.
Severus offered his elbow and she took it, holding out her own for Carson, who accepted with a sheepish smile. “Sorry, luv. It’s a lot to take in. I get a say in your politics now?”
“Yep. You’re my consort. Anything we disagree on will be put to a vote and Severus will be the tie-breaker. Same thing for disagreements between Severus and I, or between you and Severus. That’s the beauty of there being three of us. It’s been years since I needed to step in, though, so the workload should be completely manageable. I have very effective kings and legislatures in place. It’s on the right. When you’re ready.”
Carson squared his shoulders with a bracing breath, then pressed a kiss to Devanye’s hair. “Ready.”