Exspectat

Latin

Expecting

-

what i cannot see is how,

from the green wave rising,

out of water, oh Aphrodite,

you bred a flame.

-

Edmund was feeding a very spick-and-span Jem that night at supper- for some unearthly reason, mashed cauliflower had gradually become one of his favourites this past year- when a very composed and seemingly healthier Sanya came into the dining hall, surprising all its occupants.

"Evening." She said pleasantly, sitting down next to Jem and pointedly taking no notice whatsoever of his food (it was something which made his mother puke even more), and pulling a bowl of chicken broth towards her.

"Sanya, you look- better." Lucy decided, analysing her- though something was off, definitely, but what?

"You went to Dr. Asherii then?" Susan asked, sipping her wine.

"Haan, and she recommended ginger and chamomile tea- whatever it is- for my stomach pains, and some long recipe paste for my headache." Sanya shrugged, before talking to Peter, "You were right, they didn't kill me."

He grinned at the confirmation of his rightness, "Told you. Anyway, what do you have?"

"Oh, some variation of the flu." She shrugged again. "Nothing serious or long term, thankfully, and it goes away soon with medicine."

"Good to know it's nothing major." Edmund smiled, and squeezed her hand with his free one. "Don't suppose you can feed Jem the rest, then?"

She shook her head and gave him an overly sweet smile, "Those cauliflowers made me nauseated long before I was- suffering from the flu, Ed, so no."

"Well, worth a try." He shrugged, making his siblings laugh, and he turned to the child again and sighed, "Open up, Jemmy."

Jem opened his mouth to show off the green smashed mess in it, and Sanya clamped a hand over her mouth, slid out of her seat and ran out- and retching sounds followed after.

"Tell me there's a bathroom out there." Susan said flatly, though she knew quite well there wasn't.

"No, but one of the broom cupboards for storing winter apparel is." Lucy answered.

"Guess the castle inhabitants will be freezing to death this winter then." Edmund shrugged, handing the spoon to his brother. "Feed him while I check on my wife, will you?"

"But- this stuff is disgusting-"

"This is one of the few things he likes to have, if he stops eating it, Pete, I'm going to kill you." The Just promised, before getting out of his seat.

But that was not necessary, for Sanya entered the very next moment, looking pale and a little queasy, wiping her mouth with something which looked suspiciously like a winter scarf.

"I don't think any of it landed on the clothes." She said quickly, raising her hands in surrender at Susan's questioning look. "If it has, I'm sorry, I'll replace them!"

"Calm down, Mo- Sanya." He couldn't really call her by the nickname he had given her in front of his siblings. It was something which was just theirs and private- and not to mention, he'd already got a lot of flak and teasing about their relationship. He wanted to call her Moonshine in front of everyone, but it would have to wait till they were more secure and closer. "No need to get so hyper about such a thing."

"Yes, it really is okay." Susan said reassuringly, handing Edmund a napkin so he could wipe Jem's mouth.

"And it is difficult to aim whilst throwing up, so it would not your fault." Peter added, putting some salt on his fish fillet.

Lucy turned to him, curious. "You've tried to aim whilst puking?"

He nodded, and opened his mouth to speak when his sister-in-law cut across him, "Can we please stop talking about vomiting? Please?"

"Probably not the best thing to talk about at a meal." Susan agreed, cutting her beef steak into smaller pieces.

"Probably." Edmund agreed sarcastically, taking a break from feeding his son and biting into his own dish of roast chicken.

"I don't see why we have to talk at all." Sanya mumbled, but no one heard her- which was probably good because she needed to think now and not engage in silly banter.

"What?" Sanya asked stupidly, though there was really no way that the healer could've been clearer.

"Your Majesty, you are expecting. A child grows in your womb." Dr. Asherii moved forward to tap her stomach, but Sanya was too surprised still to recoil. "Has been growing since May, is what I believe to be the case."

Sanya didn't say anything, her thoughts were running too fast and too haphazardly for her to pick one and convert that into verbal language.

Asherii didn't let her silence stop her, and she went on, "Your Majesty, if conception was in May, I'd say the babe will arrive sometime in January or February- it is fortunate I'm familiar with human pregnancies as well as animal ones, or this would've been difficult."

Despite the laughter which followed the statement, the young Queen couldn't find anything even remotely funny about the situation.

"You're absolutely sure?" She somehow managed to ask, but her voice did not sound like hers at all.

"Well, as sure as possible, I'd say." She shrugged. "No way to be completely certain, but you'll know if I'm right in about a month or two- when you have a baby bump as substantial proof."

Baby bump. Sanya wanted to cry, no matter if she was Queen or not. She loved children and babies- she had always wanted them- hell, she even had one- but now that she was actually pregnant, it just made her feel hollow. How would she deal with everything? All of the trials and tribulations of pregnancy- the emotional, physical and mental ups and downs- the very painful labour and childbirth- and then the actual raising and rearing of a child, right from day one. And- wait, was this pregnancy the reason why Moonlight had been so affectionate to her? She should have suspected...or asked Philip..

Oh, and Edmund! Was she going to tell him that she was going to have his very unplanned baby?

Oh. She was going to have his baby. They weren't even- they were doing a hell lot better than they were a few years ago, but they weren't even able to talk about children or any topic particularly deeply emotional or importantly pertaining to the future. And she was going to have his baby.

A trueborn, related by blood Princess or Prince. A real and completely fool-proof way to completely and utterly make sure that the alliance and bond between Narnia and Rihaaya would never break. She didn't even know what the effects of having a biological child would have on Jem being Crown Prince.

Oh, and Jemmy...just five, so content with being his parents' only baby, and now he was going to have a little sibling.

Sanya felt sick.

But- a voice whispered to her- you might not be pregnant. This might all be just a misconception. There might be no baby, no pregnancy- and your life can continue as well as it has been recently.

Sanya felt even sicker.

"You're not going to tell anyone." She told Asherii, the voice still foreign to her commanding and stern.

She walked out before the healer had time to do anything but nod.

"I'm glad you're not suffering from anything dire." Edmund said as he walked back to their room after dinner, Jem asleep in his arms- he really was too heavy now.

Oh, if only you knew.

"Yeah, me too." Sanya replied normally. "And it's nothing contagious, so I can spend time with Jem, without fear of spreading the disease to him."

Another few months, and Jem would have to start sharing her... Oh, she hoped her sweet son took it well.

"Just Jem?" Her husband raised his brow at her, smirking.

"Of course." She pretended to be oblivious, playing along. "Who else would I want to spend time with?"

"Oh, I don't know." He replied airily, acting like he was thinking hard. "Who do you think?"

"Ah, maybe Moonlight- but diseases are not communicable from human to horse, as I read."

"Or perhaps the man who you've pledged to renew your vows with in December?" He suggested.

Oh. Oh, goodness, she would be about eight months pregnant then. Oh, why?

"Is there such a man?" She asked, forcing a confused look onto her face as she pushed open the door to Jem's room. "I wasn't aware."

"You know, if you weren't sick, I would absolutely get you back for that comment." He retorted, putting the sleeping child on the bed and pulling his blanket over him. "If you know what I mean." He added with a wink.

Oh, she knew what he meant very well, that's why she was in this entire mess.

Placing Jem's dolphin plushie by his side, she replied with a careful smirk, "I'm not going to be ill for much longer."

What she would be for much longer is pregnant, but he didn't know that.

And it was astounding how, even in this moment that she was still reeling from tsunami-like news, she still wanted to have sex with Edmund. Very much.

Edmund smiled impishly, "Now that's the kind of news one should bring from a doctor."

She could hardly bring herself to smile at him, but somehow did.
Her husband always could make her smile.
"I hope he continues sleeping peacefully today too." She said, looking back at her sleeping son once, fighting the urge to place her hand on her stomach. She did not want anyone to find out, and in order to achieve that, she had to be less obvious. Much less obvious.

"I'm sure he will." Edmund put his arm around her waist, guiding her to their chambers. "Lucy's cordial is very potent."

"Should be, it did bring you back from the dead."

"I didn't actually die-"

"Sshh, saying you did makes it sound more fantastical." She cut him off, grinning and took off her robe. She was glad she hadn't changed out of her comfortable pyjamas, otherwise she would have to expend her energy by having to put them on right now. And she really didn't have it in her to do anything but cocoon herself in bed and overthink and overstress about the miserable situation in and of her life.

"I died and came back to life." He tested, and then nodded at her, "You're right, darling."

"Alright, I can't take it anymore, just tell me- why?"

He looked at her, confused. "Why what?"

"Why suddenly darling!?" She exploded, and could practically hear a voice similar to Asherii's- 'so your emotions have been swinging.' "It's been- you've been saying Moonshine for so long and then suddenly- darling?"

"I just like calling you darling." He shrugged- she was darling to him, not that he was about to admit so out loud. "If it bothers you, I don't mind just calling you Moonshine."

"No, it doesn't bother me, not at all!" Sanya wished it bothered her, but the only thing it did to her was make her want him- desire him even more.

"Then I'm afraid I fail to see the problem." Edmund raised an eyebrow at her, wondering if such outbursts were to suddenly become a norm for her.

"It's- there's no problem!" She shook her head, feeling more and more stupid by the second- why had she even brought it up? "Never mind!" She decided not to say anything else, and shifted on her side, facing away from him.

She was also using too many exclamatory sentences, far more than she usually did.
How was his saying ‘darling’ so affecting?
"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked her back, honestly concerned and rather freaked out.

"I'm alright." She answered quickly, though she still didn't turn towards him, thinking this was probably the most untruthful 'I'm alright' she had said during their marriage. "Good night, Edmund."

He obviously wasn't at all reassured by her words, but he wasn't about to press- he had no authority to force her to talk, after all.
"Okay, then. Good night, darling."

Drat him for making her smile- even just slightly- in her current mood.

-

'𝘈𝘮𝘮𝘢,

𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵. 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘮 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸.

𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴- 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸.

𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘈𝘴 𝘪𝘯, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺. 𝘌𝘥𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘥'𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘦- 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺.

𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮- 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘈𝘣𝘣𝘢- 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵, 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐'𝘮 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥- 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘮 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘈𝘮𝘮𝘢. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰- 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘮 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮- s̶o̶m̶e̶o̶n̶e̶ w̶h̶o̶ d̶o̶e̶s̶n̶'t̶ e̶v̶e̶n̶ l̶o̶v̶e̶ m̶e̶, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘐'𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸- 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥?

𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘐- 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘈𝘮𝘮𝘢. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘭- 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵'𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵- 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩- 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴, 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮. 𝘐𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘮𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩- 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺? 𝘖𝘩, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯- 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴?
H̶o̶n̶e̶s̶t̶l̶y̶, I̶ w̶a̶s̶ l̶e̶s̶s̶ p̶a̶n̶i̶c̶k̶e̶d̶ a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ h̶a̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ t̶o̶ m̶e̶l̶t̶ a̶ w̶h̶o̶l̶e̶ i̶c̶e̶ c̶a̶s̶t̶l̶e̶.
𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯- 𝘐’𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺-𝘰𝘯𝘦!

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴- 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺-
𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘱. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘑𝘦𝘮 𝘶𝘱. 𝘑𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘑𝘦𝘮- 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘐, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘣. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮- 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥.
𝘗𝘭𝘶𝘴, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘰, 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵- 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘐𝘵'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺- 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸- 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦!
𝘐 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘺- 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘣𝘣𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥- 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 a̶ ̶m̶i̶s̶t̶a̶k̶e̶  𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘕𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘳, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴...𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬.

𝘐'𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘮𝘱, 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺- 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘺, 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥.

𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 (𝘐'𝘮 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶- 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘪𝘧 𝘐'𝘮 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵).

𝘚𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘵- 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘔𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺? 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴? 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴?

𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘈𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦.

𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦,

𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘢'

"To the Palace at Azraq, Your Majesty?" A Raven, Poe, asked as Sanya tied the letter to his leg.

"Yes, as always." She gave a small laugh, dropping her eyes to her midsection- as she was wont to do every few seconds- before securing the letter again. "Try to tell them- my mother, actually- to reply as soon as possible, please?"

"Of course, my Queen." Poe bowed his dark feathered head to her. "And might I say, it is most good news to hear of your being well again and to see you so as well."

Her smile turned tight and forced, "Yes, thank you. It is nice to be healthy again."

Not for long, though. According to Dr. Asherii (she'd only gone to her one more time), the most difficult and worst parts of pregnancy were yet to come.

What joy, Sanya thought sarcastically as she waved the bird off.

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Short, and no, Sanya hasn't told Edmund yet, but she will soon!

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