A few weeks later, early in the morning, Xenia was getting ready for the day. She was standing in the bathroom in front of the mirror brushing her hair when she was suddenly overcome by a wave of nausea. She quickly leaned over the toilet. Just in time as she began to throw up.

It was the first time since she knew she was having a baby that she had felt so sick. So far she had only been a little dizzy. And she was more tired than she usually was. But it looked like there were other symptoms coming on top of that.

At that moment Xenia was glad that Roman had already left to go for a run. He always worried so much when he noticed that she was not well. And hearing her throw up would surely multiply his worry.

"Majesty? I mean Xenia? Is everything all right?" she heard Zela call from the doorway.

"Yes. Come in." She called back as she carefully rose and flushed the toilet before beginning to brush her teeth.

"That's not what it sounded like. Is the little royal highness not behaving?" asked Zela.

"I was wondering when you were going to say something. And no... at least not this morning." replied the queen with an exhausted smile.

"It's not really my place to say anything. But I am concerned for your well-being. Besides, I don't think you can keep it to yourselves much longer," Zela then explained.

"That's true. But enough of that. I need to get ready. The king will surely be back shortly, and then we'll have breakfast together before we meet with the economic delegation," she replied.

And that's exactly what she did. Half an hour later, Roman returned. With a grin on his face, he walked up to his wife and put an arm loosely around her waist. Then he gave her a kiss.

"I'll hurry, beloved. You must be very hungry already." he said as he looked at her very closely.

Roman sensed that both his wife and baby were craving food. But he also knew that Xenia, no matter what, wanted to wait for him with breakfast. He had told her several times that it was perfectly fine if she ate without him, but she didn't want to hear it. So he made sure that he kept them waiting for as short a time as possible.

During breakfast, the two talked with each other lively. Roman often made Xenia laugh so that she quickly forgot her nausea. In fact, it was enough for him to take her hand in his and to make her feel so much better.

An hour later they were sitting in a large meeting room with many old men, discussing everything that had happened in the last few weeks and making plans for future contracts and things they wanted to achieve. The whole thing was not very exciting, so the queen was quickly overcome by fatigue. She propped her elbow on the table so she could put her hand under her chin. With a deep sigh, she slowly but surely dozed off while her other hand rested on her growing belly.

"Xenia?" she suddenly heard her husband's voice say.

"Hmm?" she made without opening her eyes.

"Go to our suite and rest." he said his as his hand came to rest on her thigh.

"No, no. It's all right." she replied as she finally opened her eyes and looked around a little embarrassed.

All eyes were on her as she sat up straight again. She felt the warmth rising in her cheeks. Roman, of course, immediately felt how uncomfortable she was in this situation. It was time to explain to the people what was going on with the queen before rumors started.

"Excuse me, gentlemen. But I am a bit more exhausted than usual at the moment. The King and I are expecting our first child. Please be assured that it was in no way due to disinterest or boredom that I dozed off for a moment," Xenia explained as she placed her hand on Roman's under the table.

"Your Majesties. I speak on behalf of all of us when I congratulate you sincerely. This is terrific news. And a blessing for our community." said one of the gentlemen.

"Thank you gentlemen. We appreciate your well wishes. And I think it is in everyone's interest if the Queen rests. I don't think anyone will mind," Roman said.

"Absolutely not! I don't think we have much more to discuss and Her Majesty won't miss much. And if in doubt, we can talk about it another time." he replied.

"I'll see you out." Roman then said before helping Xenia stand up.

"Are you all right?" he asked as he closed the door and pulled his wife into his arms.

He looked closely at her, searching her emotions for any signs of discomfort. But all that was there was love and a tiny bit of tiredness.

"Don't worry, love. I'm fine and the baby is fine too. And we'll be even better when you come back to cuddle with us later." replied Xenia before standing on her tiptoes.

Roman gave her a tender kiss as his hand gently stroked her belly.

"I love you." he then said.

"We love you." she replied and then headed off to get some rest. 

Xenia knew that this was the only way Roman would be able to concentrate on the conversations. And the faster they were done with it, the faster he would be with her and their baby.

But then something happened that neither of them had expected. The queen was just outside her room when she was suddenly grabbed from behind. Immediately she tried to defend herself, but then a cloth was pressed on her face. The sweet smell immediately clouded her senses and she sank to the floor.

The person behind her laughed bitterly before he put a crystal around her neck. With it, he would prevent them from finding her too quickly. He had learned from his mistakes and now it was time for his revenge. There was so much more at stake now than what was rightfully his. Now he was going to get his revenge for the pain that had been inflicted on him. This time she would die and no one would be able to stop him. Especially not after he had taken care of the new king.