Chapter 30: Our Destiny, Our Dream

"Francis, quit picking on your baby sister." Allan thinks he must have lost his warrior's edge, because his son seems not to fear his words at all.

Emma and Allan now have two beautiful children of their own. Their first-born is a son, and Emma liked the name Francis, and since it is an old family name that is what they called him. At almost two years old, Allan can already see he is going to be a handful for the world to deal with. Their second child, their most beautiful daughter named Haley, is only six months old and is already the spitting image of her mother. Stephen says Haley is of magic. She will grow up and be a powerful witch.

Before their son was born, Allan, with the help of the community, managed to build them a much larger cabin, so they live in well enough comfort. Stephen and Krilly are pregnant again with their second child. Their daughter is named Megan, and is six months younger than Francis. Allan can already tell that between Stephen's children and his current four kids, they are going to cause no end of havoc upon his beloved and beautiful Scotland.

There is not a moment or a day that Allan can look over at Emma and not fall deeper in love. He does his best to keep his promise to show her each and every day that he loves her. To look at her still makes his heart skip a beat, but when they touch, the fire between them is obvious.

In the wintertime, Stephen takes Krilly and their children to the realm of the dragons, where the dragons have long ago allowed the magi to put their guilds. One such winter Emma, the kids and Allan go with them. Chasing the kids all over the castle gets Allan back into warrior shape. Thank goodness, because it was beginning to look like he was pregnant, which was a fact that Emma was not shy to point out to him again and again.

While they are there, Allan takes Emma and the kids to visit with the elves for a week, and of course they take Rax's kids to the minotaurs, and they spend two weeks there. A distant relative of Rax's offers to take the children.

Allan goes to the children, "Kids, we love you and want you to stay with us forever." Yeah right! And then he tells them, "Your second cousin has graciously offered to let you kids come live amongst your kind, if you want."

They think about it for a while, but the thought of leaving Emma and the children makes them cry. The oldest boy will be grown soon, anyway, but they do want to come back and visit again some time. Allan and Emma arrange for them to come and spend all of next winter here amongst their kind. Everybody is happy.

While Stephen, Allan and the families are visiting the Isle of Draco, Allan goes forward with one of his old promises. They all take their ship over to the Isles of Mystery to visit the mermaids, fairies, unicorns and the other magical creatures that flourish there. The old promise is to let Emma take a ride on a unicorn. It was a risky promise, because if the unicorn does not want to give somebody a ride they most definitely will not.

But it is not an issue, because the magical beings immediately fall in love with Emma and the children, and since Haley and Megan are witches also, the magical beings flock to them. Haley and Megan are in heaven, because they have fairies flying all around them playing with them. The girls, both human and fairy, are giggling and running around having the time of their lives. Haley is almost four years old and Megan is a year older than her.

After Emma, Krilly and the kids get to ride their unicorns, everybody goes to the coast where Krilly's mermaid family spend much of their time, and she gets to visit with them. After the four days of grace living amongst the most beautiful and graceful magical beings the world of Serene has to offer, everybody has smiles on their faces that will not fade for many weeks.

As the families are getting ready to leave the Realm of the Dragons, or the Isle of Draco as it is also known, Allan remembers a story Emma loved that he had told her about. On the way back home they make a detour to the Realm of Animals and go to the river city of Floodgate, so that Emma and the kids can see another one of the wonders their beautiful world has to offer.

On the third day after the kids and everybody had fun playing on and in the river, Allan takes Emma by herself for a gondola ride. It is romantic, and as they are making their way back to the city where Stephen and Krilly are watching the kids, the sun is starting to fall.

"My god, Allan, it is so beautiful. You were right, the colors from the sparkling waters are amazing. Thank you."

"I promised you the world, babygirl. This is just a part of that, and it is just the beginning of our adventure together." Emma cuddles back into Allan as they let the current carry them away for a moment longer.

"Emma." Allan is standing at the front door just having come from a meeting.

"Yeah, honey." Emma is sitting at the table sewing another dress for their now four and a half year old daughter Haley.

"Stephen has just learned that some of the highland clans are fighting with each other again." Emma's hands fall into her lap.

Allan had long ago told Emma about the history of Scotland, and at times in the past their worst enemies were their neighbors.

"And?" she finally says, looking up at him with those beautiful brown eyes.

"We cannot let the clan wars start up again. It could ignite all of Scotland into civil war again, and if that happens it wouldn't be long before England, Wales and Ireland start helping ancient allies and fighting old enemies. Stephen, me and a couple of the boys are going up there before it gets out of hand and spreads to us here in the lowlands." Allan is now knelt down at Emma's side, looking into those very eyes that hold him enthralled, and he places his hand on top of hers.

"If it must be done, it must be done."

"It must, my beloved. Hey, have I ever not come back to you." Allan thinks that will make her smile, but instead she gently cries.

"I knew who you were when I fell in love with you, and I have seen who you are after we were married. It's just ... It's just I don't want to live without you."

Allan has to fight back his own tears. "Emma, believe me when I say I know exactly how you feel. Fear not, my wife, they may be Highlanders, but they are still my kindred countrymen, and sometimes the winters get a little long that high and they get restless. I'm sure the presence of Stephen will squelch any thoughts of violence." And then a thought strikes Allan. "Unless you want to leave the children with Krilly and come along."

"Really!"

"Absolutely."

They journey high into the Highlands of Scotland and find that the trouble is indeed between two old rivals. The mountains are majestic in their beauty and harshness, and Emma thinks the Highlanders are wonderful.

As suspected, the presence of Stephen settles things down. Allan doesn't know if it is that fact, or the fact that he and thirty other Wayfarers are there, but it works out for the best. The one thing you can count on is Scots being Scots, so needless to say Stephen, Allan, with Emma sometimes, and the Wayfarers make similar journeys all across Scotland as the years pass.

As the years pass, Allan can feel his warrior-self starting to long for battle. Even though he knows it saddens and worries Emma greatly, he signs on for a few more adventures across the world before the possibility of all honor and valor leave him. Plus the realms of the Breen, the Unseen and the Shadow Realm, which was renamed the Isle of Serenity by the freed slaves, need looking in on from time to time.

It would have been many more occasions, but Emma has her own weapons that work on Allan marvelously. If the desire to go out and about the world for adventure or even just to go to the local pub and fight is building up in Allan, Emma will lean back into Allan and press her divine body and taught tush hard against him, and then she will grab his hand and bring it around her body and she will place his hand on her lower tummy, and hold it there until all thoughts of violence are gone, replaced with an ever growing desire and love.

After one short adventure in the height of Summer, Allan comes back, and as he walks up behind Emma, who is bent over working in the garden Allan's mouth falls open and then he says, "Wow, babygirl, what are those?"