Okay, I know this is way late but…Enjoy!

Long Live

"You're Majesty, are you ready?" Fiona asked me. I turned away from the mirror to the front door and smiled at her. I nodded my head, and quickly pushed my hair out of my face.

"Yes, I am" I told her. She smiled at me , walked over to me, and smoothed my dress down.

"Eli—err, King Eli—is already downstairs with the others" she told me smiling sheepishly. I giggled and let her lead me down the hall to the monthly Court Meeting. I walked into the room, scanning the scene. In the middle of the large room, was a long rounded table, with black chairs, and in those chairs people sat. The people were formal looking, in expensive clothes and tight expression on their faces, their heads buried in the multiple papers scattered across the table. I sighed and took my seat next to Eli and he smiled at me, taking my hand and interlacing our fingers. I blushed slightly and instantly felt better.

"Alright," Eli spoke clearly. "Let's get started, shall we?" he asked, looking at me. I smiled at him and nodded.

"What have we been called here for?" I turned to the suited people and one raised her hand, asking for permission to speak. Her hair was curly and black, framing her soft round face. Her eyes shined a chocolate brown and her hands were deathly white as she organized her papers.

"As my research goes, some citizens are angry with the City Hall" she began, her voice strained. She slid two papers stabled together towards us and I picked them up and read, Eli reading over my shoulder. "They are complaints about what should be changed and what needs to be changed" she explained. Eli and I read through the list and the complaints seemed simple, and fixable. "Most of them are about the way it runs and how long it takes to get a reply back" she stopped organizing her papers and looked up at us, her facial expression slightly terrified. I smiled at her and put the paper down.

"The complaints are reasonable and hopefully can be easily fixed" I spoke, my eyes scanning over the complaints. "We'll have to come up with a way to get response back quicker…how many people are working at there?"

"Right now, only two" a blonde male spoke. Eli scoffed.

"Only two?" he repeated.

"Yes. To have a job at City Hall, you have to have certain requirements that a lot of our citizens don't have. Most of the requirements have to do with having some knowledge on law and being able to communicate with people" Another woman spoke, her hands shaking. I nodded slowly, thinking of a quick solution.

"Clare?" Eli spoke to me, knowing I had a possible solution.

"I'm thinking we could provide classes, or a seminar, some knowledge of the law and classes on people interaction and public speaking" I announced. "And if we have more people on hand, the faster City Hall could send back information and replies"

"Kill two birds with one stone" Eli added, smiling. I nudged him and he laughed.

"Okay, moving on…"

A long, boring meeting later, Eli and I were outside in the garden, eating lunch enjoying the nice August day.

"Eli, I have something I've been keeping from you" I said, after a long silence. I stared at my plate as Eli's gaze locked on mine.

"Okay…what's going on babe?" he asked, his voice shaky. I laughed then, knowing exactly what Eli was thinking.

"No! It's not bad…at least I hope it won't be for you…" I trailed off. Eli chuckled.

"Honey, would you just tell me? I'm dying over here!" he laughed. I smiled and placed a hand over my stomach.

"I'm with child" I whispered, peering up at him through my eyelashes. His eyes widened and he dropped his fork.

"What?" he gasped. I laughed nervously and rubbed my belly.

"I'm pregnant" I told him. "I think. I've been waking up early recently, throwing up, and I'm weeks late, I'm lightheaded and—"I was cut off by Eli's arm wrapping around my waist. He picked me up, crushing me to his chest, laughing. I wrapped my arms around his neck and smiled, so glad he was happy about it.

"Oh gosh…" he laughed again and set me down, his hands placed on my belly. He laughed and rubbed my belly. "Have you gone to the doctor yet?" he asked his face serious.

"No. I wanted to tell you first. I wanted us to go together" I said, smiling at him. He hugged me then, and his lips pressed into my hair. I pressed kisses to his neck, smiling.

"Oh God…I can't believe it. We're gonna be parents" he whispered. I smiled.

"Maybe!" I reminded him. "I'm hoping"

"We're hoping" he revised. We smiled at each other and sat back down, finishing our lunch.

"What do you think Dr. Elizabeth?" I asked her, my hopes high. She smiled at me.

"Well, you have all the signs of being pregnant and I myself—after having two kids of my own—am very convinced that you are pregnant indeed" she smiled at us and Eli's face broke out into a huge grin. He closed his eyes, tears slowly falling down his face.

"We're gonna be parents" I whispered to him. He laughed and leaned down to press a kiss to my forehead.

"Thank you so much" Eli told Dr. Elizabeth and she nodded, leaving us to our room. Soon, my parents, Holly J, Fiona, Ali and Drew walked in excited, overhearing the news.

"Eep! Congratulations!" Ali screamed at me, embracing me in a hug. I hugged her back, and was greeted by my parents.

"We must set a baby shower at once!" My Dad announced his face excited. I smiled and hugged both him and my Mom. I hugged everyone else, and we all went downstairs to the kitchen, to chat and talk about baby shower plans.

"I'll send out a public announcement first thing tomorrow morning" Father said.

"Dad, calm down. It's not a sure fact, that I'm pregnant yet. Let's wait a couple months and see what happens. Calm down" I told him smiling. He stared at me and smiled back, the creases in his forehead disappearing. Eli's arm wrapped around my waist gently and I smiled at him. He smiled back, placing feather-light kisses across my neck.

"Are you feeling okay?" Eli asked me as we made our way up to our bedroom for the night. I smiled at him lovingly.

"Yes, babe. I'm fine, just a little tired, that's all" I told him for the millionth time. He smiled at me, and bent down, swooping me up in his arms.

"Eli!" I squealed. He smirked at me and carried me the rest of the way to our bedroom. He kicked open our door with his foot, and set me gently down on the bed and crawled in with me. I giggled and he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer.

"That was unnecessary" I playfully scolded him. He laughed and squeezed my waist.

"Maybe" he whispered. I smiled at his bluntness and snuggled closer to him. It was silent then. The wind howled outside, and the night birds quietly chirped. The house was quiet, and the only noise that was heard was the humming of our desk lamp.

"Are you scared for the future?" I asked him, my voice shaky. He shifted in the bed, the dim light illuminating his defined jaw line.

"What do you mean?" he asked. I sighed.

"Are you scared for the paths were headed for right now? With us being pregnant, and still trying to rule a whole Kingdom and…" I trailed off, my breathing hitched. He was quiet, slowly rubbing circles on my waist.

"Of course I'm scared—honestly I'm terrified, but I have you by my side. And that's all that matters. I don't care where we are and what situation I'm in…if I'm with you, I'm okay" he whispered slowly. I smiled as each one of his words engraved themselves into my heart. "And I promise you that were gonna be okay. We all are gonna be okay"

"You're amazing" I told him. He laughed.

"I know" I rolled my eyes at him and he kissed me, his lips moving softly against mine. "I love you my Queen" he whispered. I smiled and snuggled closer to him.

"Long live, my King. Long Live"

I apologize. I promised this story weeks ago. Forgive me?