Olive had slept for most of the afternoon, reluctantly Phabel woke her for dinner. He didn't want to but he knew it was wise to keep her well fed. A shifter pregnancy was hard on the body, it was a short pregnancy where the child would grow rapidly. She would be pregnant for a few months more before their little bundle arrived. Wearily Olive sat up on the bed, watching as the maids entered the room, Phabel helped her to her feet and left her to dress for dinner.

'Have you had the discussion with Olive yet Phabel?'

He stopped by the door to his father's study, stepping into the room wishing that he didn't have to have this lecture again.

'Not as yet, she is still weary and I do not wish to press her like at such a time.'

'But it is the time.' Eris responded 'She will be showing soon and I do not wish for a scandal.'

Phabel frowned at his father, not that there was any point. His gaze was lowered to his paperwork, engrossed in it rather looking at his annoyed son.

'If you do not wish to have the conversation with her then bring her to me, I will discuss it with her. I am sure she will be more than compliant.'

'That isn't the issue father, she was abducted and attacked yesterday, she almost died. Could you not give it a couple of days?'

'Phabel, I saw her stomach, she is already showing. I doubt there is a gown on this planet that would accommodate your couple of days.'

'She is not showing already.' Phabel snapped 'It's just left over female stuff...' Phabel frowned as he flicked his hand.

'Bloating son?' Islana grinned as she entered the room.

'Yeah, that's it.'

He looked to his mother and mouthed help me to her. She winked at him and sauntered to the lounge that was closest to Eris.

'Darling, she needs to recover from the awful fright that she has had and lets be realistic, planning a wedding takes time. You can not expect the guests to drop everything to come to a wedding that is the next weekend. And besides, you plan a wedding that quick and someone is going to smell a rat.'

Eris finally lifted his head from the paperwork, looking from his son to his wife.

'Well then Islana, what would you suggest?'

'A month.'

Eris scoffed as he shook his head.

'Olive is designing her own dress, I will help her in its design to ensure that it will allow any swell to be hidden. When the child is born we will declare him or her as a premature baby, which isn't that hard, it's only a month.'

'Fine. One month exactly.'

Islana rose from the seat and took Phabel by the elbow, guiding him out of the room.

'You see darling, it's all about how you approach him. Dig your heels in and he will do the same. Point out the reality and offer him an alternative, success can be achieved.'

They stopped by the stairs as the maid helped Olive along the open corridor. Phabel could see that she was still uneasy on her feet. He climbed the stairs and lifted her into his arms. The maid was grateful, she fretted for Olive becoming unbalanced at the worst time. Phabel could feel the soft material of her dress under his fingertips, a soft pink dress that was pretty and demure. His mother had purchased some new items for her while she was here. Islana loved having another person to lavish her love upon, Seraphina was fiercely independent from a young age and insisted on purchasing her own clothes. Olive rested her head on his shoulder as he descended the stairs. Islana looked upon the poor thing and felt sorry for her, she was still stuck in the post turning phase that caused lethargy and weakness, she was clingy because of the abduction and then there was the pregnancy. Only a few days pregnant and already her body was in a mighty upheaval. Hormones were pumping, her body was gearing up for the changes and the child was draining her for the majority of the sustenance she took in.

Phabel took her into the sitting room, setting her onto the lounge beside him, Islana settled on the single seat nearest them. She looked to her son, waiting for him to start or to tell her to do it. Phabel rolled his eyes with a huff.

'Olive we need to talk about the wedding.'

'Ok.' she sleepily murmured.

'We will have to wed within the month, you will be showing soon.'

Olive lifted her head with a frown, looking from Phabel to his mother.

'A shifter pregnancy is about four months. You will start to show anywhere from two weeks. At a month you will have a swell.'

'About this big Olive.' Islana held her hand out from her stomach, Olive's eyes widened. 'It is why we think that there should be a wedding sooner rather than later.'

'Not after the birth?'

'Unacceptable for a royal.'

'I see.'

'There isn't much that you will have to worry about Olive, we will hold the function here, the staff will cater and serve, decorate the ball room.'

Olive nodded quietly as Islana rattled on about all of the invitations will be sent out by the office staff, the church will be notified in the morning. She continued on as Phabel looked to his love, seeing the worried look on her face.

'What's wrong?'

Islana stopped speaking and paid attention having not realised how close Olive was to tears.

'Who will walk me down the aisle?'

He said nothing, instead he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, looking at his mother. She offered him a sympathetic smile, unsure of who there was that could do the job. Olive's father was dead, any other male relatives would be human that is, if she had any other relatives. It was already assumed that Lucian would be the best man, so he wasn't an option.

'We will find a solution Olive, don't worry about it.' Islana smiled at her 'You need to concern yourself with the dress.'

Olive's eyes widened as she pulled away from Phabel's embrace.

'Jeepers, I haven't even finished your dress for the charity ball.'

Olive had started the dress in the days before becoming pregnant. The dress was easy for Olive to do, she had no issues with making it.

'My dear, do not fret. I can bring in a seamstress to help you if you need it.'

'It's fine.' she sighed 'I'll squeeze it in somewhere.'

***********************

Islana had many bolts of shifting fabric delivered to Lucian's castle in preparation for Olive's debut into the shifter world. She would have preferred that Olive and Phabel were staying at the palace but she understood Phabel's reasoning. At Lucian's castle, there was still the anonymity that he desired for Olive. The days of her being an unknown person were shrinking away and soon there would be no hiding at his castle nor in Elm'nyth for that matter. They returned to the castle after a few days, Olive already had a lot of catching up to do with her studies. Of a night time Olive worked on Islana's dress. She found the fabric to be an easy cloth to work with, making her life simple. Her world had been easy going until Islana commissioned the dress for the charity ball that she was going to. It was the aftermath that was what turned her world upside down. As Islana had suspected, everyone wanted to know where she had gotten her dress from. It was pretty common for the public to be interested in what the royals wore. Many fashion houses coveted them, begging them to wear their creations. One little question and answer created an upheaval. Who designed your dress, your highness? My future daughter-in-law.

Olive wasn't overly impressed but didn't really care, Phabel on the other hand was livid. He didn't know it at the time but his mother was up to her usual antics. Her reasoning was simple, they were two weeks away from the wedding so they were going to find out anyway, they were days away from making the official announcement. But still, she had created a storm in the fashion world, many were trying to find where this woman was to entice her into designing for them. The tabloids were in a frenzy searching for the unknown woman. There was a mysterious woman somewhere who had ensnared the prince and was about to marry him, something that none of them were aware of. The exterior of the university grounds were littered with paparazzi trying to get a glimpse of the prince's choice, watching every single movement Phabel made. There was never a woman seen in his company. After getting caught on campus grounds and were kicked out, the media started to bribe the students that were dark beings for any piece of information that they could find. But there was little that they could offer, Phabel and Olive always kept their distance at the university.

They scrutinised Phabel further, noting that he didn't spend much time at his own residence, instead they found that he frequented Castle Eliade. They had watched Castle Eliade, thinking that there might be a clue to this mystery woman. Again they found nothing but Lucian, Danika, their staff and Danika's unknown friend. It sent waves of frustration through the media, annoyed that there was someone out there that had caught the prince's attention yet they were keeping her a secret. Frustrated, they returned their interest to Phabel. His life was either at the university or at Castle Eliade. He hadn't been to his own world for a few weeks and as for his apartment, they all thought it would be gathering dust by now. It didn't make sense to them, they thought that the couple would be spending time together, after all, they were about to get married. Some of the media decided to keep an eye on the bridal shops, Eris and Islana were scrutinised intensely as well. They did offer insight, they were doing things. Someone had gotten wind of the invitations that were created by the approved printer and tried to approach them, with little luck they then tried those they thought would be invited. Again they had no luck, those that held the invitations were guarding them as a valued secret, as it was protocol to not be a blabbermouth.

But someone had figured it out, slowly slipping away from the ranks of flustered media outlets. A shrewd man wondered who this girl was that had suddenly appeared at the castle. He watched as she went to the university with Danika of a morning and returned with her of an evening. The man also noted that Phabel was at the castle of an evening as well. He wondered why no one else had figured it out, it was there in plain sight. Quietly he gathered his pictures and documented the pretty brunette. The morning paper released the day before the announcement had a picture of Olive and Danika outside the castle, naming Olive as the woman. One by one the other outlets sat up and paid attention, realising how easily things fell into place.

Once Olive had been located and identified, the fashion houses descended upon them, calling Castle Eliade, waiting at the gates in the hope that they would be given a moment to persuade her. Within the hour of the paper going to print, she had become an instant celebrity. Olive thought it was ridiculous, they didn't even have proper confirmation, they had assumed it was her based on the fact that she lived at the castle. By the next day the official announcement was made and Olive was confirmed as the woman. Islana had instructed her to be careful as to where she placed her hands, to not touch her stomach. She warned her that it was instinctive to do it, her body was already changing and she was being inundated with hormones. Danika suggested that she keep her books over her stomach, it was a common thing to do at the university and it wouldn't seem unreasonable for her to do it as well.

The first day had passed and already she was sick of the flashes going off in her face, the constant questions and then there was the new addition to her life, security. Like Danika she had two burly men that followed her everywhere. When they returned to the castle that evening, Theodore handed Olive a pile of messages. He said that the phone hadn't stopped ringing, the email had crashed at ten am and the guards had started doing regular rounds of the grounds after one fashion house employee managed to scale the wall and made it to the back door. Olive scoffed at the fools, she had made one dress and instantly it was like she was some veteran dressmaker with thousands of dresses to call her own. She knew that the people hanging around the gates at the castle and the university were an issue for Lucian's guards, he had to order more just to keep control of the situation. With much frustration, Olive decided that it might be for the best that they go to Loach Issralk to live and relieve the poor guards of the nightmare of her life. She knew that they would have to stay with Eris and Islana for a while, their guards were greater in numbers and would cope easily. Again, Phabel was annoyed. He figured it was his mothers intention to slowly pick away at Olive, knowing that eventually she would cave and suggest that returning would be ideal. He relented only because Olive was right about the situation, it wasn't fair on Lucian even if he didn't care. Phabel didn't mind leaving Elm'nyth for his home world now that he had Olive, he just wished that his mother didn't create havoc as she set about getting what she wanted.

**************************

Olive looked out upon the crowd, having never seen so many people in her entire life. This was her first official outing with Phabel. Before them was a sea of people that had come to see her. Phabel had told her that none of them were interested in him, he was old news. She was the flavour of the month and would be for quite some time too. Olive had spent the past week suffering a crash course in deportment, how to conduct herself, how to walk in ridiculous shoes, how to not touch her stomach, how to keep Phabel restrained and not let him slobber all over her. She had inwardly grinned at that one, Islana was mortified at the thought of her son misbehaving in public. Seraphina rolled her eyes and returned to her phone, something that Olive noted was permanently attached to her. Seraphina was like Islana, lustrous black hair, the same beautiful blue eyes and the same voluptuous frame.

'Just relax.' Phabel whispered as he pressed his hand to the small of her back.

The cameras were frantically clicking as she smiled, she hoped there wasn't a bit of lipstick on her teeth. She didn't want make up but her newly appointed lady in waiting had insisted on it. Just a bit of gloss your highness, it will be necessary for the cameras. Olive hated it, she wanted to wipe the muck of her face and submerge in a tub of warm soapy water. She also had to choose from a few pre approved dresses to wear, all of them had a matching clutch purse that she could conveniently hold in front of her stomach. Phabel frowned and Olive shrugged, it seemed to be a daily occurrence in their life. Hide the baby. Olive had selected the deep green shift dress that hid the tiny swell remarkably well. Of course the dress went to her knees unlike all the other shift dresses she had worn in her former life. She called that life the calm. The calm before the storm. That was her life now, a storm. She was watched from every angle, she had questions fired at her from everywhere, followed everywhere.

They walked along the metal barricade that kept the crowd at bay. People reached out and touched her like she was a rare commodity, as if she could heal their issues with the briefest of contact. Dozens of flowers were handed over, Olive smiled and said thank you but didn't know what to do with them. Minya her lady in waiting took them from her with a smile and continued to follow behind them. Halfway along, Olive looked down through the barricade at the young child that stared back up at her, large blue eyes watched from the grubby face. Olive's heart melted as she looked at the child, she could see things weren't right. The clothes were tattered and greyed, the hands that gripped the poles of the barricade were dirty, the face behind was sad. She stopped at the child and could see her own life, she could see her teen years in the face of a small child.

'Where are your parents?'

The little girl turned into the crowd, disappearing from Olive's view. Olive looked to Phabel who shrugged.

'Probably a street urchin.'

'Unacceptable.' she frowned. 'Are you not prepared to do something?'

'Where is she Olive, where in that crowd is the child?'

Olive narrowed her eyes at him and turned back to the barricade, pushing at it. A man standing by it helped her open it and parted the crowd for her.

'Your highness, the urchins frequent the back of the bakery in the hope that the baker will throw food away.' the man offered.

'Thank you.' she nodded.

Despite Phabel and the guards protests, Olive continued through the crowd. She found the bakery and the side alley as well. It looked empty but she wasn't fooled. Olive entered the bakery, she could smell the intoxicating aromas of freshly baked bread. Minya caught up with her, puffing as she entered the store.

'Your highness, are you hungry?'

'No. How much money do you have on you?'

'I have a corporate card, if you are hungry or thirsty I can purchase whatever you like.'

'Good.' she turned to the man behind the counter 'I'll take everything.'

The man's jaw dropped at her request, Olive stood firm as he began to fluster.

'No need to bother with bagging it up, put it on plates and deliver it to the children that are hiding in the alley. Don't forget the drinks too.'

Phabel looked upon the alley that was suddenly filled with grubby children eating cream buns, doughnuts, pies and biscuits. He didn't think that the soft drink was ideal but said nothing. Olive stood at the end of the alley looking rather smug, he wrapped his arms around her neck and kissed the top of her head.

'You are going to change the world aui leabu.'

Olive grinned as she wrapped her arms around his waist, hearing the annoying clicking of the cameras as they ruined her perfect moment. She looked up at him, ecstatic that he had agreed to her demands of a proper place for the children, for somewhere warm to live, better clothes and shoes and to be fed regular healthy meals.

'So long as you are by my side, then I am happy with that.'