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Dear Gabriella,
I have heard rumors afoot that you have already named the baby and bought it clothes. Please do not waste your time or money on such a useless task, as the baby must be rid of almost immediately. The baby is a threat to the crown. An entire civil war could commence simply by its birth. Please understand that I am doing this out of necessity, not because I wish to.
Do not try to escape. No matter where you run, we will find you. I will give you one day to nurse and love your baby, no more.
The Fire King
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The Fire King finished penning his message. Frowning slightly, he tossed the letter to his head advisor, Julith, who read over it eagerly. Nodding, Julith sealed the letter in an envelope and passed it to a page boy, who scampered off immediately. The two half brothers were seated in the King's study, and while the blue eyed King drank down the wine, the dark eyed Julith glanced over a map studiously, waiting for his king- and half brother- to speak.
"I feel as if I am being too harsh with her," the Fire King murmured, looking into his now empty glass.
"Too harsh?" Julith exclaimed. "Your majesty, pardon me, but you are not being harsh at all. You could have had her hung, or thrown her out into the desert. And yet, you did not."
"No," the Fire King allowed. "Once the baby is gone, I'd like to keep her as a mistress."
"Ah," Julith said. He smiled politely and sat down beside the King, who had poured himself another glass of wine. "She must be quite the lady."
The Fire King said nothing.
"Forget about her, your Majesty," Julith said. "We have more important things to worry about, such as taking over the islands-"
"Julith, I do not wish to take over the Ocean Islands," The King snapped. "I simply wish to buy some food from them. The air is so dry here that nothing grows, not even the banana trees planted in the gardens of the castle. And we need water."
"Which can all be very simply obtained by invading and taking over the islands," Julith pointed out, still smiling.
"No," The King said impatiently. "Our soldiers cannot possibly make it across the desert, not without a huge supply of water."
The King stood up and wandered over to the map. He stabbed his finger right onto the main island, where a castle had been artfully drawn. "They are too strong for us to attack, even with our knights at full health. They have hundreds of ships, thousands of knights and sailors, and the king- they say he talks to the fish in the sea. The very ocean could come up and swallow our entire army in one fell swoop."
"But, your highness, you could-"
"No, Julith," The King thundered. "We will never attack the Ocean Islands. We must make peace with them, and exchange our rare plants, animals and medicines for food. That is the only way."
"Of course," Julith stood up hastily. "I will make arrangements for you to communicate with the king right away."
"Go!" the King hissed, glaring at the back of Julith's head. "And don't you dare do anything to jeopardize this alliance!"
Julith turned around, bowed, and left the room silently. As soon as he rounded the corner, he punched the wall as hard as he could. "That stupid blathering idiot!" he hissed to himself. "Brother or not- one day he'll pay for treating me this way!"
Panting, he glared out down the servant's hallway.
"I should be king," he murmured, lowly. He would never be able to speak those words aloud, not without being convicted of high treason and burned at stake.
He could never be king, no. He was a half-blood, his father a servant, his mother a queen. He was the oldest, and yet he would never be able to sit on that thrown, never be able to wear the ring that allowed the King to control fire. It was completely, and utterly unfair.
Up ahead, a maid was hurrying down the hallway. Setting his pace, he followed her, eager to have a distraction from his murderous thoughts.
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Up the winding alleyway, through the picturesque ballroom and up the grand staircase, there- in a room a little to the left- lay Gabriella, restless in her new life of luxury. Of course, it was nothing but a gilded cage; maids, who were entirely too faithful to the king, popped in and out, claiming to check up on her 'health'. Of course, they were just checking to see if she was in the room. If she had left the room, and they found out, they would call the guards. Gabriella should know, they had already done it to her once, when she had left the room in search of Reese.
Now Reese had to come to her, with special permission of course. A pregnant lady was not to be disturbed.
Gabriella resisted spitting on the floor. The taste of lies and hatred rang in her mouth, making life difficult to swallow day by day. In her hand, she clutched the letter sent to her just recently by the Fire King. Not for the first time, Gabriella wondered why she hadn't just gone into the great desert and taken her chances there. The outside world was probably better than life in the castle.
A soft knock came at the door, jumping Gabriella from her thoughts. She called out a greeting, her weak voice barely penetrating the door.
Not for the first time, Simone entered through the door. Simone visited her sometimes, which was a not so much a comfort as it should have been. Most of the time he kept silent, or simply checked up on the baby.
"Simone," Gabriella's voice cracked. She blinked away the tears. "Read this."
She handed the letter to him. When he was finished reading, he folded the letter and tucked it into one of her drawers.
"One day," Gabriella said, sounding hysterical. "One day! How cruel he is- let me love for one day, then take it all away!"
Simone's eyes looked sad. "You cannot disobey a King."
"The baby's coming soon, Simone! I can feel it. What am I going to do?"
Simone regarded her steadily. "Do you really want to keep this child?"
"Yes," Gabriella said. "I want my child. I need my child. I love him already!"
Simone surveyed her stomach. It was so large that Gabriella could not move from the bed.
"There's nothing you can do," Simone said, sitting down on the edge of her bed. "You're watched all the time. And you must stay in bed till the baby comes- you risk injury if you stand up."
"There must be someone who can help me," her tears were gone, but her voice was still hoarse. "What about a noble?"
"What could you offer them? Money? You have none."
Gabriella stuck her chin out, but said nothing. Her pride stung like the prick of a bee, but what Simone said was indeed correct.
"Simone, do you know anyone who could help me?"
Simone did not want to ruin her hope, and so, he chose to say nothing concrete for the moment. "We shall see."
"I-"
A louder knock came at the door, and without so much as a greeting, the King flung the door open wide. His blue eyes were slightly bloodshot, and unfocused as he stumbled into the room.
"Simone," he bawled, eyes narrowed. "Get out."
Simone bowed quickly, and with one nervous glance at Gabriella, turned around and left.
"Gabriella," he approached her bed. Even from across the room, Gabriella could smell the alcohol on his breath. "When is that baby going to be born?"
She said nothing.
"Soon, I hope," he smiled, stumbling a bit before sitting down on the bed. "Then we can get rid of it, and get on with bedding. How does that sound?"
Frankly, Gabriella could not think of anything more horrifying.
"I'm sorry, my lord, but that will not be happening."
"Oh yes it will," his goofy smile pulled into a sneer. "I am King. I command it, and you will obey."
"My lord, I'd rather burn at the stake."
He froze for a second, his eyes calculating. Then his hand thrashed out towards her face, quick as lightning. Gabriella flinched back, and the end of his nail grazed her cheek. If he had been sober, the fist would have made full contact with her jaw.
"You will do as I say!" he thundered. "I will have the prettiest women for my bed, and that is final!"
Gabriella said nothing, just clutched her cheek in vain. How cowardly, to punch a pregnant woman!
"Fiery Gabriella," he sighed, his mood swinging yet again. This time he seemed sad. "You are so lovely, and yet you hate me. Why is that?"
Gabriella felt like screaming, tearing her face off, something- anything to get her out of this nightmare. To add to her horror, the King lifted his hand and reached towards her cheek, only to run a finger lightly across the scratch he had given her.
"Ah well," the King suddenly stood up, his hand dropping to his side. "You will change your mind, after the baby is gone!"
And, stumbling out of the room, he left a furious- and confused- Gabriella in his wake.
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Author's note: Don't you just love moody drunks?
Thanks to: NovemberDreamer, Ihaconch, Usagi Miyuki, Tree Top Royalty, Porkypick, AzzieAna, and the Awesome.
Sorry I haven't updated in awhile- but the next few chapters are pretty epic, so I will update sooner! Anyways, let me know what you think of this chapter- and what you think Gabriella should do?
-Teardrop