Blindsided

" Mhm! He meddled with the pregnancy, and I wouldn't be surprised if he put his dirty fingers on this too!" she casually explained while resting the baby on her knees, who cooed and smiled at her.

" I'm not surprised anymore! What did he have to say, other than that? he asked, a little taken aback that Seth had interfered with her pregnancy without considering that he might hurt her in the process.

" We would have to separate ourselves from our kethars; he wants to take the fight to the witch! He hasn't explained how but I'm guessing he relies on the element of surprise!" she reasoned while placing the baby in the middle of the bed.

Ian clicked his tongue" Will do that tomorrow! you need to rest!" he said while pushing Iris back on the bed.

Iris hummed and turned to face him and the baby, who cooed and played with his feet.

" He looks like you!" Iris murmured while tracing the baby's features with her finger.

" Adorable?" he jokingly replied while looking up at her.

Iris smiled and hummed while brushing a few strays of his golden hair off his face.

" Rest!" he softly said while placing his head on the pillow and caving into exhaustion.

Silence settled in the chamber; the only thing that could be heard was the soft coo of the baby that, unbeknownst to them, continued growing with the help of Seth, who carried on his plan.

Iris was the first one to wake up and sluggishly opened her eyes heavy with sleep, still feeling just as drained as the day before; she clumsily pushed herself off the bed, feeling every muscle in her body ache and her bones bearly holding her together.

Her eyes fell on the empty spot where she had placed the baby, only to jump from her spot when she saw that the baby wasn't there anymore.

" Ian!" her desperate cry made Ian jump out of bed like it was on fire.

" What is it ?" he asked, a little intrigued as to why Iris reacted the way she did.

" The baby is gone?" she mumbled, panicking and looking around the room, under the bed and everywhere she could think of.

Ian sighed, raking his hair; he walked out of the room, hoping that either Athan or Rhya had come while they were asleep and taken the baby since they had been awing over him the night before like it was the most precious thing they had laid eyes on.

Ian stopped in front of Athan's door and banged on its door, ready to tear it down if he would open the door that instant.

He didn't have to wait long, and Athan appeared at the door with a bright smile, looking gleeful.

" Have you been into your chamber during the night?" Ian questioned while looking over Athan's shoulder peeking into his room.

" No! But look what I found roaming through the corridors this morning!" he said while pulling a boy with bright blue eyes and platinum blond hair from behind him, that hand an apologetic look on his face.

Ian gaped, stunned at the sight of the boy in front of him, and no matter how much he had tried to find the words to speak to his child, his mouth refused to utter any words.

" Fie, Babba!" the boy said in an apologetic tone while curtly bowing his head to Ian.

Although the boy had spoken to him, he still found himself unable to muster anything to the boy; he wasn't ready for things to move that fast, and he sure as hell was not prepared to deal with a child that now could walk and talk without him having the opportunity to experience any of the joys of fatherhood.

" Seth!" he hissed through gritted teeth while the boy tilted his head, as if wondering if he was referring to him.

" Azra!" the boy shyly replied while looking up at Athan with questioning eyes.

Ian's eyebrows knitted together, a little confused with what the boy said, not understanding why his son was correcting him regarding Seth's name.

" Azra?" Ian echoed back, slowly coming to his senses and reality sinking in, and began sorting out his thoughts in regards to the boy in front of him.

The boy hid behind Athan's leg, seeing that Ian was a little annoyed at the mention of his name and tugged on Athan's sleeve, drawing his attention to him.

Athan nodded in agreement " It's his name! Azra, it's his name!" Athan clarified while pointing at the boy, " Now stop frowning before you scare the life out of him!" Athan scolded while pushing the boy to the front to go with him.

" I'm sure Iris is worried about our little Prince here, so you should return to her with Azra!" he said in an amused tone, having heard a door opening, and he could only assume that it was Iris looking for him.

Ian sighed and reached to Azra taking his hand and turning around, only to see Iris with a very displeased look.

Ian nervously chuckled " We were just coming to find you!" he mumbled while looking down at the boy who looked at her mesmerised.

" Fie, Onya!" the boy shyly said while clutching the oversized tunic with his tiny hand.

Iris smiled and picked him up in her arms " It's all right, little one!" she lovingly whispered while softly kissing his temple, gently running her hand on his back up and down.

Azra hugged her tight while Iris turned her attention to Ian and Athan, who looked at the scene in front of them with wide adoring eyes.

Iris reached for Ian's hand and walked back to their chamber, leaving Athan speechless and in a daze. The contrast between the two of them always puzzled him, she was sweet and kind nature, while on the other hand Ian was disaster waiting to happen.

Ian shut the door behind him with a thud and let out a shaky sigh; now he had to find out a way to speak to his son without scaring the life out of him, and since, by the looks of it, Seth doing made him skip quite a few crucial years of his son's life, now he had to learn fast how to be the father of what it looked to him a 4 year old boy.

" Azra, who gave you that name?" he curiously questioned, making his way to the bed where his son sat.

The boy blankly blinked " I did!" he innocently replied while glancing over to Iris.

Ian softly chuckled " How ?" he probed for more answers while Iris glared at him for treating his son like a war prisoner.

Azra shrugged and got off the bed with a thud and took Iris's hand in his, and led her out of the chamber without saying any more, leaving Ian stunned at the boldness of his son, at the same time proud that he could stand his ground at such young age.

Iris felt that whatever reason Seth had done this, it wasn't enough to justify it, the fact that he interfered with their son's growth, and she couldn't fantom the reason what purpose did he serve? How did their son play a role in his plan? She had so many questions, and she knew she wouldn't get any answer since Seth refused to reveal his plan.