Title: Camille

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for a character who will soon make her presence known. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: Okay, there's some gross parts ahead, that's all I'm saying. Kinda graphic, depending on how squeamish you are, but read at your own caution...

Chapter Four: Genesis
(August, 1862)

Mongkut was reclined comfortably against the trunk of a sturdy tree and seated with his legs tucked under him upon an enormous rock. He stared blankly at the waves, the black shimmering water out in the distance, and he took comfort in the loud hum of the nighttime insects. It was still warm, though not scorching like it was during the day, thankfully.

He was about to stand up and head back to the palace, when he was startled by a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye.

It was Anna Leonowens, and never had he felt so much desire rush through him in a hot flash before. Her hair, usually styled in an intricate chignon, flowed loosely down her back and shoulders. She looked mischievous, exhilaration displayed on her face. She must have believed that no one was outside but herself, thus accounting for her confidence.

He could only watch, awestruck, half covered by the shadows cast by the tree, as she dipped her bare foot into the water and smiled. She then set down her lantern on the sand and glanced around cautiously once more. His eyes followed every inch of uncovered skin as she removed her white dressing gown. She threw that, in turn, next to the lantern and stepped into the ocean. He licked his lips unconciously, appreciating her smooth porcelain skin, her lithe body and slim legs. Somehow, the sight of her nudity was gloriously reassuring, after all this time he wondered what she truly looked like under her cumbersome skirts and gowns.

When she was fully submerged, he looked on in concern. As liberating as this must have been for her, he was afraid that she would be swept out by the high tide. If he came out and warned her, however, she would immediately know that he had seen her, and he was not quite ready for another emotionally charged spat. He had just got himself back into her good graces after the other night when he had first encountered her in this exact spot.

Mongkut decided that he would remain hidden, but if she showed any signs of being carried away by the tide, he would go after her.

In the meantime, he was content to watch her splash and frolick in the water, as if she were weightless. She was so happy, laughing at the moon and throwing her arms up over her head. She dunked her head under the water a few times and surfaced quickly, her hair now flat and pressed against her head. He thought she looked very alluring that way. Before he knew it, she was swimming farther and farther out, while his unease grew.

Soon, he heard her cry out and he saw her flail her arms around helplessly. As he predicted, she was having difficulty fighting the undercurrents. He dashed out onto the sand and hurriedly removed his shirt. He sprinted into the water, using all of his strength to reach her before she drowned.

He swam to her in no time, but she screamed when he roughly grabbed her by the waist, spluttering and straining in his grip.

"Your Majesty!" Anna gasped.

"The tides are very dangerous, Ma'am," He scolded, and neither said anymore as he pulled her back to shore. It was rather difficult for him to swim back as well, with the additional weight in his arms. When they were able to plant their feet on the ground, he supported her as she walked. She kept her arms wrapped around him though, even when she collapsed onto the sand. As a result, he tumbled down with her, landing firmly on top of her.

His body heated up with arousal, he could feel every bit of her beneath him. He realized that she was still naked, her skin slick with ocean water, and her lips beckoned to be kissed.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for saving my life. I was so caught up in the feeling of swimming that I overestimated myself." Her voice was low, he could feel her chest heaving with the effort to breathe.

"You are welcome." He could not think of a more articulate reply at the moment. He was too distracted by her hands on his bare back, and his own planted on either side of her head. She was blushing now, there was no way she could not have noticed his heated gaze.

"I do not think this is very wise, Your Majesty." She uttered. He knew she was right, it would not be good if someone saw the both of them sprawled out on the shoreline together. However, he was past the point of caring. She made no move to escape either, so he took advantage of the opportunity and leaned down to cover her lips with his own.

His tongue caressed hers softly at first, and as their desire grew, the passion in their kisses did as well. Anna ran her sensible length finger nails over his bare back, her abandon apparent. He moved lower down her body, he nibbled gently at her neck, biting and kissing gently.

He moved back up to kiss her lips, but he made no further move. He could not disrespect her by taking her on the sand, it was much too barbaric to even think of, no matter how much he wanted to make love to her.

"We cannot do this here, Anna, I am sorry." He pushed himself up into a sitting position. He got up painfully and retrieved her dressing gown and lantern for her. She took them, looking decidedly disappointed. Mongkut helped her up and get dressed. Before she could leave, he pulled her to him once more.

"Your Majesty-" Anna laughed. His expression was adorable. He looked like a little boy who was tempted to eat the last piece of cake even he knew he shouldn't.

"I want to spend time with you, tomorrow perhaps, if you would like." He said tenderly.

"Oh, I would like that so very much, Your Majesty." They had not been alone together since before they settled into the summer palace. Mongkut had been too busy to set aside time for her. She understood, she became accustomed to the irregularity of his visits to her.

He put his hand on her cheek and kissed her once more. She pulled back to see him hastily calm his breathing. She couldn't resist giggling.

"You know, I thought I would have been so embarrassed that you saw me without my clothes on, but..." She sighed happily and continued, "...You make me feel so beautiful, Your Majesty."

He looked down at her smooth cheeks, fair skin and bright blue eyes, then at her damp golden-red hair that hung over her right shoulder. Her dressing gown clung to her hips and thighs, leaving nothing about her figure to his imagination.

"I did not make you beautiful, Anna, you are beautiful. Has no one ever told you?"

She smiled at him again but somehow found the self discipline to escape from his grasp.

"Until tomorrow, Your Majesty." She curtseyed slightly and walked back to the palace. He felt another pang of want as he noticed that her hips swayed a little more sensually as she walked away.

(November 1867)

After reading Anna's most recent letter, Mongkut did not know whether to be happy for his lover's courage, or to rip the letter to a million shreds in rage. Her news had shot him down as abruptly as a well aimed bullet to his chest.

He sat on his cushion, staring blankly, clutching his spectacles in one hand and the meager piece of paper in the other.

Lady Thiang found him like this when she came in to announce that it was time for dinner.

"Your Majesty? The food is prepared in the dining hall. Will you come now?" She asked tentatively in Siamese.

He jumped at her words, the first time she had actually seen him look flustered. She walked towards him until she stood at his side, then she lowered herself so that her head was no longer higher than his.

Finally, he turned to his head wife, with tears in his eyes.

Wordlessly, he handed her the letter, ignoring her questioning gaze. She was educated enough to understand all the English words. With growing comprehension, she suddenly began to understand what was wrong with Mongkut.

"Oh, Your Majesty..." Was all she was able to say. Seeing him so dejected was utterly heartbreaking, as well as frightening. Her entire country depended upon him, if he was rendered unable to function, the Chakri dynasty might end up falling apart after all.

He was shaking now, not unlike how he did when their daughter Fa-Ying died. She knew him the best among all the other wives, so she did not hesitate in pulling him to her chest for consolation.

She felt rather than heard him as he wept, he sobbed silently as his hands clutched blindly at her silk dress. Lady Thiang could feel all of the sorrow in him, much too much for a man like him to bear. As she stroked his hair and hugged him tightly, she found that her eyes had moistened as well.

Oh Ma'am Anna, if you could only see him now! Lady Thiang thought angrily as she held her despondent, hysterical husband.

(January, 1868)

Some women blossomed into impending motherhood. They expanded their mindsets and learned to love the feeling of sustaining another life within them. They took advantage of the time they had while they were bed ridden and worked on their embroidery, or took to reading light literature.

Anna Ormonde was not one of these women.

The only thing that expanded besides her waistline was her already flaming temper as the months passed. Obviously, the news had been broken to her new husband, who had not been as upset as she imagined he'd be.

He loved her too much for his anger to get in the way. In the end, he agreed to let her keep the baby and even to raise it as if it were his own child as well. The result was an unbelievably happy newlywed couple who looked like they were expecting their first child together. Avis and Louis were adjusting quite well to their new father, the three of them got along very well.

William was kind enough to purchase the children their own ponies, the family would go out to the countryside and spend weekends at the cottage he inherited from his father. Anna had learned to laugh and breathe again, much to Beebe's delight. The older woman was worried her mistress would not recover from the heartbreak she was suffering from, but now she was convinced that she was wrong.

As pleasant and relaxed as Anna appeared, she still harbored her love for the Siamese monarch, it had not faded but it had mellowed and molded to become a part of her. She very rarely burned for him as she once did, and if that sort of unrelenting desire for him ever plagued her, she now had a husband who saw to that need.

Mongkut did write to her eventually, but it was nearly two months after she sent him the letter that announced her engagement. Anna believed he probably spent all that time sulking and brooding, she knew his character and the way he dealt with unpleasant news too well.

If only he knew that I am carrying one of his children. She mused to herself, absently rubbing her belly. It was now too big to be concealed, she no longer wore a corset and all of her gowns had to be redone in order to accomodate it. She walked with a waddle and suffered from all of the usual problems pregnant women faced; cramps in her feet and lower back, sudden hunger, and excessive crankiness.

The explanation of this child's conception was rather difficult to explain to Avis, who had remained eerily clear headed the entire time. Louis was too young to understand, so he was left with the impression that the child was by his stepfather.

Anna explained everything from start to finish, as objectively as she could, and obviously editing out the more passionate of their encounters. Those remained between herself and Mongkut, as it should have been. When she faltered, Beebe supported her by supplying the little that she knew of Anna's relationship with Mongkut.

"I can tell that you really, really loved him, Mother. And while the situation was socially unacceptable, I do not blame you for your actions. You're still my mother, and I'll always love you." Avis said with a watery smile.

"Besides, I've always wanted another sibling. This family was always too quiet. It will be fun, having a baby to look after," She decided. Beebe laughed and began talking about all of the misadventues Avis had herself when she was a wee toddler.

Feeling more emotionally liberated than ever, Anna sank back upon the cushions of the sofa, marveling at the turn her life had taken.

She was completely unprepared for the oddly uncomfortable twisting inside her womb. She put both hands over her stomach, startled by the unexpected movement of her baby.

Beebe had began to fuss over her, but Anna stopped her with an impatient wave of her hand.

When the older woman quieted, Avis asked timidly, "What is it?"

Anna looked up at them, thunderstruck amazement written all over her face.

"It quickened. I felt it right now, my baby quickened inside me," She was smiling like an idiot now, delighted at the movement of the child. She was glad that it was developed enough to perform such action, now it was certain that the baby was healthy.

"Only two more months, and we'll know if you'll have a sister or a brother..." Anna said.

February slowly rolled in, Anna's eighth month, and that was when things took another twist in a completely different direction.

William had received a letter from the British military, which stated that he was due back in Burma to serve. He was granted time off for their honeymoon and more time to settle down, however, now it seemed that time was up and as an incentive, he was being promoted from a Major to a Lieutenant Colonel. The army appealed to her husband in a way that even she could not talk him out of it, this caused them to row and argue like they never had before. Anna did not want to pack everything up again and leave England, to settle in Burma, a province in a country which she just managed to forget.

She got him to postpone going back, by using her imminent delivery as an excuse to keep her husband in London, but he grew more and more restless each day.

When he could not take it any longer, he composed a telegram to send to his commanding officer that had his immediate consent. As William left their London apartment to deliver the message, Anna had chased him all the way out, moving far faster than a woman who was eight months pregnant should. He did not think she would do what she had done, clearly he understimated her stubborness. She paid the price for it though, as she flew down the front steps of their house. She missed the last one and fell, landing on painfully on the concrete. He rushed to her and helped her up, but she was blindsided by the pain in her belly. The abrupt impact of her fall had severely affected the child, in less than two hours, Anna had begun to experience labor pains.

A doctor and some midwives were immediately sent for. Their bedroom was turned into a birthing chamber, locked to everyone but Beebe and Avis. Beebe actually assisted the midwives while Avis just sat at her mother's bedside, fearfully grasping her hand.

William sat right outside, fervently praying for his wife's health. He also prayed for the child, who he'd come to think of as his own in a way. He felt horribly guilty for being the cause of Anna's distress. Her shrill screams were plainly audible through the heavy wooden doors, each time they grew in ferocity he cringed in apprehension.

Inside the chamber, all hell was breaking loose. The doctor announced that the baby was in a difficult position, the feet were positioned first and if it were to be born that way, it would definitely die before it could take its first breath. The midwives knew that the only way to sort out this mess was to gently manipulate the baby by pushing on Anna's stomach in order to get it to be headfirst, as all babies should be. The apparent problem was the utter agony this would cause Anna. Avis tried to explain but her mother could not focus on anything except the stabbing she felt in her lower body.

"I don't care what you do, just get the baby out of me!" She yelled with all the strength she could muster. The doctor took this as a positive reply, so he gave the midwives permission to start pushing. It was either this procedure, or certain death for the mother as well as the baby.

Never in her life had Anna experienced such misery. Her vision swam in and out of focus, she was unable to think about anything. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, she was convinced she was going to die.

"Oh GOD! Make it stop, PLEASE! Make it STOP!" She was beyond hysterical now, and her contractions began to come in shorter and shorter intervals. They had been at it for about nine hours straight now, and everyone was disheveled but nevertheless determined.

"Believe me Mrs. Ormonde, everything is going just fine. You'll have a lusty baby in no time," The shortest midwife said, patting her hand. Anna looked at her with a feral gleam in her eye, but then she was gripped by another contraction, more intense than ever before. The midwives gave one more hard push on her stomach, and Anna thought she would lose her mind.

The doctor, whose once pristine white clothes were soaked in blood, had felt a touch of hope for the first time in hours.

"Alright, the baby is positioned. D'you here that Mrs. Ormonde? You're going to have to give me one enormous push, and it will all be over, I swear to you-"

That was all it took. Anna could not do anything but push at this point, she was desperate to end the terrible ripping she felt down between her legs. She gritted her teeth and then released the most frightening shriek yet, throwing her head back against the pillows.

Avis, who was weeping very loudly, sobbed almost louder than her mother at the sight of the spurt of blood that hit Doctor Lategan's coat. She too was convinced her mother was going to die.

"Mother, go to Jesus as fast as you can, just fly to heaven, you'll be alright-" She said shakily through her mother's haggard breathing. By now, Beebe was weeping too and she could only sit on Anna's left side, also clutching her hand.

Doctor Ormonde glared at them reproachingly and cried, "Calm down, you two, no one is going to Jesus just yet, not if I can help it," He placed his hands on Anna's pale thighs and once more urgently commanded her to push. With a super human effort, the woman wailed and bared down as hard as she had ever done in her life, more ripping between her legs until the pain was so bad she felt like passing out-

And she felt the baby slip from her body at last, and the torture was now over.

She vaguely heard Doctor Lategan as he triumphantly shouted, "It's a girl!"

She could make out Avis' and Beebe's cries of joy as well as the baby's gurgling shouts, proclaiming her displeasure with the world. Feeling more exhausted than ever, Anna could only say, "Camille. Her name is Camille..." before she passed out into a deep slumber.

TBC...
A/N: Hope the birth wasn't too gross for y'all. Anyway, R and R please!!