Once upon a time, a long time ago it seemed, there was a – well, a beautiful princess (or so many men had told her.) She lived in a serene world of order and control, where her decisions were more or less her own, and she could conduct herself with absolute dignity and poise at all times.
And then a handsome prince (albeit a grubby, arrogant, petty thief-cum-prince) came along, and turned her life and her heart upside down.
Oh, she made him work for it; he didn't get her that easy. But, after much fighting, and harsh words, and heartbreak, and slow, gradual rapprochement, they finally brought their hearts and lives together. And she never missed her old life of dignified control.
Until Lucy Reynolds came along. She didn't come alone, though. Babies never do. Clearly some wicked witch cast a spell that contrived to make Lucy as demanding a baby as possible. "She could only be your child," her mother was often heard to growl tearfully at her weary father, as Lucy wailed for yet another feed, or another fresh diaper, or for reasons only she knew.
The ship would ring with her cries, causing the Big Bad Giant to emerge from his bunk on many occasions with a flask of rice wine, attempting to force it on the appalled parents – "Never did me any gorram harm as a young'un." The young physician was no better help, muttering that "all babies take time to settle down, it's perfectly natural, you just need to be strong and hang on in there" before scuttling away to his own princess and peace.
Days and nights became weeks, and the princess began to think that her old life was just some fantastic dream. Too often she caught her reflection in the mirror; grey-faced and hollow-eyed, hair mussed beyond easy rescue, clad in one of the prince's old shirts for ease of feeding the baby. Gone was the beautiful princess, in her place a harried mom. Not that the prince was faring much better. Sleepless nights and dodgy, sometimes dangerous, jobs were not an ideal combination. The Big Bad Giant and the prince's Merry Men (women, actually, and only two of them) had to take more of the work on their shoulders. Only the BBG complained about this, though, and only out of earshot. For such a large, brutal ogre, he had some strange mortal fear of the prince.
All struggled along, wondering how one little creature had so easily become the most powerful and most irksome part of the 'verse.
However, there were other moments. Moments when she did sleep, and the prince and princess would remind themselves and their bodies of life-before-baby. Moments when she seemed to smile, even at the Big Bad Giant, who would suddenly cough and complain about baby talc itching his eyes. Moments when the prince tenderly watched the princess feed their child, or crooned his daughter to sleep in his arms, or walked about his ship with Lucy in a sling, talking to her, his face soft with pride and love.
They were rare moments. But they were enough.
Enough for a happily ever after.