Tir sat outside of Ebony’s pen; his long chestnut hair blowing softly in the light breeze. The wind tickled his skin and cooled his body, making him relax a bit. This was something that he needed to learn to do to help take his mind off of things. The weather in Terma was always nice in the evening when it started to cool down. He had come outside to get some fresh air and to think a little, something that he always seemed to do best whenever he was alone. Drake and Marek were too much of a distraction for him. The last he needed at the moment were more distractions. He already felt inadequate, like his mind wasn’t working properly.

So much had happened to him in the past week that he felt as if he had barely been given enough time to pause and enjoy himself. Not that there hadn’t been some very memorable and enjoyable moments because there had. Drake and Marek had made sure of that. And his lovers had also made certain that his adjustment to his new way of life had gone as smoothly as possible for him. But he still couldn’t help the overwhelming feeling that he was in over his head. And no matter how much the two had helped not every thing had gone great for him. Some of the events in the past week had caused him to constantly worry over what would happen next.

Maybe he was wrong, though, maybe he was worrying himself over the situation too much. It was in his nature to over think things. Tir supposed that he would make a good scholar; something that he was currently working on achieving. That was one aspect of his life that he was excited about. The thought of being able to read and study as much as he wanted gave him one more thing to look forward to. He couldn’t get enough of it and he made sure to spend as much time in the library as possible. It was the best part of his life in Terma. Well almost the best part, Drake and Marek, along with Ebony and Ferus, definitely were on the top of his list. Something that he would never think of giving up, he would rather die and lose his lovers and the dragons.

That thought led him back to what had been troubling him earlier in the day. Now that the dragon eggs had hatched and they knew that one of the hatch-lings was a female, Tir knew that both Drake and Marek would both be leaving Terma to negotiate with Keran. He still wasn’t sure if he was invited to go but the thought of being completely alone bothered him. He didn’t even have his own dragon to keep him company and the thought of socializing with the other nobles didn’t appeal to him even though he was now technically one of them. It still felt awkward and wrong somehow, like he was being given far more than what he deserved.

It wasn’t as if he felt like he fit in anyway. Tir wasn’t foolish enough to think for one second that he did. But that really didn’t matter to him as long as he could still be with Drake and Marek not much else did. As long as the nobles he did have to deal with ion occasion didn’t cause more trouble for him it wouldn’t be so bad. He doubted that many would directly disobey Logan but Tir also knew that even the king could not prevent all devious planning. It certainly hadn’t prevented him getting drugged and almost being raped the other night.

He was trying to not focus on that night. It seemed like it had happened so long ago even though it had not. It was weird, sometimes Tir felt like he had no sense of time. Either everything seemed to happen so quickly or not move fast enough for him. He supposed that it was caused by the constant changes in his life and yet his time spent in the harem had always gone by much too slow. Of course then he hadn’t been concerned with anything else other than meeting Ebony and now that he had met the beautiful dragon plus her mate time wasn’t slow enough. He couldn’t savor those moments before his attention would get distracted by something else. It always left him feeling a bit down.

Of course Tir also realized that he was being a bit dramatic considering he did spend most of his waking hours with the dragons or his two lovers. He let out a chuckle, he certainly was being dramatic; all things considered his life was pretty good. Maybe he just needed a break from all the commotion of the possible threat of war and his new position of ruling over the Highlands. A nice soak in the kings bathing chamber didn’t sound like a bad idea either but he didn’t want to move from his spot. He was comfortable and he knew that soon enough he would have to get up and go back inside the pen.

Even though Tir normally hated being alone he was actually enjoying it. He would have to do this more often to give himself a chance to collect his thoughts and maybe even reflect on his day. Just as he decided that it was a great idea, he heard the door to Ebony’s pen open and knew that Drake and Marek had followed him outside. He supposed that he had been stewing long enough. He turned around and glanced up to his two lovers and smiled. His eyes silently asking them what they wanted.

Drake looked down at Tir sitting outside by himself. Large violet eyes stared back at his own in question. "Hey, would you like to take a walk with Marek and I…there’s something that I want to show you that I think you’ll enjoy?" He knew that there were still plenty of places in Terma he had yet to explore.

"Yeah, sure, a walk sounds nice." Tir stood up and glanced over at Marek to see if he could get a clue as to where they were going to walk. "Where are we going…somewhere I haven’t been to yet?"

"Drake’s going to take you to the royal gardens." Marek watched as Tir’s eyes widened briefly. "It was a place that his mother created to go to be alone; no one really goes there anymore."

Tir gave Drake a questioning look, unsure of whether or not that was true. "Why doesn’t anyone go there?" He wanted to make sure that the king hadn’t forbidden anyone from visiting there. Even though Drake was the prince, Tir also wanted to respect Logan’s wishes.

He was also curious to know why because if the garden at the harem was grand then the royal gardens had to have been better. Of course that wasn’t what truly interested Tir. It was that fact that he was going to be able to go with both Drake and Marek and spend some precious alone time with them. He knew that the opportunity to do so might lessen in the future so he was willing to take what he could get. "I can imagine that it’s a beautiful place."

"No one uses it because I don’t allow anyone to go there." It was an uncomfortable subject for Drake but he would answer any questions that Tir had. He didn’t want there to be any secrets between them.

It would only complicate things between them. But he didn’t want to admit that up until now allowing anyone other than himself and his father to go there seemed disrespectful to his mother. He didn’t think that the nobles in the kingdom would fully appreciate the royal gardens. In fact he knew he was right. Most of the nobles where only concerned with matters that dealt with prestige, power, and maintaining their positions. It wasn’t that they weren’t hard working because they were but they only worked hard when it was beneficial to them.

But Tir on the other hand still held a bit of innocence to him even though he had been through so much. It was also one of the things that attracted Tir to Drake other than the undeniable fact that he though Tir was very sexy. There was something about the younger man that made Drake want to touch, tease, and lick every inch of him. He quickly realized that he couldn’t get enough and oddly enough Marek was starting to fit into that category as well. But he couldn’t say that he was disappointed with that. In fact it was making his life a hell of a lot easier now that he and Marek were getting along better. Sure they still had their moments but that only made things more interesting.

"Well we should get going before it gets too late." Drake grabbed a hold of Tir’s hand as he headed in the direction of the gardens. He glanced over his shoulder once to see if Marek was following. Sure enough the blond was walking slowly behind them.

Tir kicked a bit of dust off of the walkway as his thoughts took him back again to earlier this evening. Drake and Marek had been attentive to his needs as usual but he was still confused. Not so much by how Drake and Marek treated him but more with his own feelings towards them. It still puzzled him how he could have equally strong feeling for two people who were as different as night and day. He never realized that love could be so complicated and confusing. Wasn’t love supposed to be easy? Well that was what he had always thought but apparently he was learning that love could be very complicated.

He supposed that he probably shouldn’t spend too much time dwelling on it and just be grateful that he had been so fortunate to end up with the two of them. It could have gone much worse for him; he could still be in the harem. Or, even worse, he could have been dead by the hands of Esper. That in itself was enough to cause a shudder to course through his body. Tir looked up as a small smile spread across his face. He had two of the most eligible and beautiful men walking beside him, they had both chosen him over anyone else. It made him feel wanted and loved in ways he had never felt before. He was indeed a very lucky man.

Tir felt Drake entwine their hands as they all continued their walk. Drake had decided that a walk through the gardens would be a nice break for them and he couldn’t agree more. The past week had been taxing on all three of them with the constant threat of war on their minds. Even with the continuous support that they gave each other it was still hard and it worried Tir. He worried about what Marek’s fate would be if they couldn’t manage to come to some sort of agreement with Keran. He knew that he was being silly getting himself riled up. There was a possibility that the negotiations could end up going well but worrying was in his nature. But the thought of Marek going to war…no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t get it out of his head.

He really needed to work on that or else he knew that he would end up not only driving himself crazy but his lovers as well. It was a great idea in theory but in practice it was so much harder for him to do. Tir couldn’t help but shake his head at himself. As he tightened his grip on Drake’s hand he moved closer to Marek, seeking warmth and comfort from the other man. Marek was surprisingly becoming an important person for him to lean on when he needed comforted. The blond wasn’t as prickly as he seemed.

"So what is this garden like Drake? Is it has wonderful as the garden in the harem?" Tir already knew the answer to his question but he couldn’t help but ask. He wanted to hear Drake tell him more about it.

"It’s far better Tir." Drake looked down at him and smiled. "The enormity and beauty of the royal gardens in incomparable."

"It’s incomparable ii you like that sort of thing." Marek casually stated, he didn’t care for that sort of thing but he knew that Tir would enjoy it so he was willing to suffer through the walk. The idea of walking through a garden and staring at plants and flowers wasn’t near as good as staying in their bed for much more pleasurable activities. Of course the garden would be very secluded, at least that’s what Drake had told him and he had no reason to doubt the dark haired man’s words.

Seclusion meant that their night would most likely end with the three of them entangled in each other’s sweaty bodies and that did sound perfect to him. He had been waiting for a chance to relieve some tension that had build up after a long day of trying to make plans for the trip to Keran. He smirked when he noticed the scowl on Drake’s face. There was nothing that he enjoyed more than getting the prince riled up…well almost nothing. Spanking Tir was probably his favorite pastime but being buried deep inside of Drake ran a very close second.

"You know, most people find gardens soothing and relaxing…it would figure that you wouldn’t, Marek." Drake frowned at the blond’s lack of enthusiasm but he wasn’t surprised by it. He just hoped that Marek wouldn’t complain about it too much and ruin the moment. All three of them had been getting along fairly well today and he knew that made Tir very happy. "And besides at this time of night we’ll have the entire garden to ourselves."

Tir could feel his body stir at the thought of being alone in the gardens with Marek and Drake. He couldn’t help the wave of lust that coursed through his body. He had no self control when it came to his two lovers, they were everything to him. "That will be…interesting and very satisfying." He added quietly.

Even though he couldn’t see it, Tir could feel the perverted grin on Marek’s face. It only made his need for the two greater. He didn’t always understand how Marek brought out his more heady desires but he couldn’t deny that he enjoyed it. It still surprised him that he enjoyed being spanked and manhandled by another man. It had been a very intoxicating and disturbing experience for him. He still wasn’t even completely sure how Drake felt about it. He knew that deep down his dark haired lover had a hard time approving of the type of sex that he and Marek often engaged in.

He refused to think about that, he didn’t want to ruin his good mood with unnecessary worry. And when he worried it seemed to affect Drake and Marek as well…Sometimes the results were less than pleasant and the two would only argue more. Even though the two seemed to have reached an understanding and got along much better there were still times when Tir would have to step in and stop things from getting heated. He wanted things to get heated between the two just in a very different way. There was nothing more alluring and sexy to him than watching Drake and Marek devour each other. It happen enough in his opinion.

He could be content to watch them as long as he received a good amount of affection from the both of them after. He couldn’t help but bask in the attentiveness that was directed his way. How Drake and Marek always seemed more than willing to respond to his needs was nothing short of amazing to him. Tir knew and understood that he was the neediest of the three. His body constantly ached to be touched and owned. Every time he was taken by either of his lovers he felt whole, complete. It was something he had never felt before in his life. But now that he had a taste he couldn't seem to get enough.

Sure he had had people that he cared for before he had been sold by his step father but he had never had any sexual experiences. Women had always frightened him on a sexual level and he never really understood why, he only knew that he wasn’t attracted to them in that way. When he had been younger he had always remembered avoiding any possibility of being with a woman. And he had met many women who were decent and kind enough but that still didn’t stop the moments of panic that he would experience if one would come on to him. The worst part was, women always seemed to take an interest in him no matter how clear he made it that he did not return their feelings. He didn't understand why other people were so drawn to him.

And it wasn’t that his own mother had been cruel or unkind to turn him off to women. Tir supposed that he only enjoyed the company of another man and he enjoyed being taken by another even more. There was nothing like the feeling of a rock hard erection buried deep inside of him. Although, he recently had the pleasure of experiencing sex with another man in a totally different way when he had taken Marek for the first time the other night. His ass was still a little sore from the punishment he had received for it but it had been well worth it in his opinion. Being spanked was always highly enjoyable for him while he was engaging in sex but afterwards he had to sometimes question his sanity.

He often found himself grinning at the thought of Marek submitting to him but it wasn’t something that he would want all the time. Tir still liked to be the one submitting. He enjoyed having his body bent to another’s will. It gave him a thrill that he had never thought he would ever experience in his life until he had first been with that Captain on his trip across the sea to Terma. That had been an intriguing experience for Tir. It had left a lasting impression but more importantly it ultimately led him to Drake and Marek. And he was grateful for having the chance to have not just one but two lovers who cared for him.

He felt Drake stop and he looked up, his thoughts momentarily focusing on the massive gates that stood before him. There were two men standing guard so that no one could get in without permission. He was anxious to see the inside of the garden; Tir could only guess that the sight would be stunning and magnificent. He supposed the he would find out soon enough and for the first time today he could feel excitement bubble up in him. It was a nice change from the slight depression he had fallen into. He watched as Drake motioned to the two guards in front of the gates to let the three of them pass. He felt a tug on his hand as Drake pushed forward and stepped through the threshold.