Period 4: Art

Theme 4: Brush

Words: 392

Author: Lillie Bell

She sat in the darkness, clutching her large belly, trying desperately to calm down so as not to cause herself to hemorrhage.

But it was hard when she was alone and it was thundering outside. Serenity was certain it was some level of typhoon that had overtaken the castle. Quite possibly from an alien invasion. After all, the Dead Moon Circus had snuck in during an eclipse. And an eclipse was a lot less noisy than the booming and crashing that rocked the foundation of the almost complete Crystal Palace.

She cringed as the child within her began to kick, rouse from its own sleep by its mother's panic. She rubbed her belly, trying to soothe it through her touch, hoping that some form of channeling was calming it.

It wasn't working for her, that was for sure.

Endymion-Mamoru-was off on an emergency meeting in Norway. Only an emergency would take him away from her when she was so close to giving birth to the child they had each waited so long to bring into the world.

And if she didn't start to relax, might be brought into this world entirely too early.

Another peal of thunder made her break out in a sweat from restraining her body. A small whimper escaped her trembling lips as tears dripped from her chin. She had been without him before-more often now that they were monarchs than ever before-but there were always moments like this that reminded her how much she needed him. How much her soul needed his. She shuddered as another slice of light filled the room. She waited for the deafening sound that would follow.

But she never heard it. A thin sliver of wind pressed against her. Her closed eyes missed the golden glow that surrounded her, but she did not miss the warmth filling her soul. She could feel him, the ghost of his arms wrapping around her shoulders, the trace of his hands pressing into the bottom hemisphere of her belly, and it made her smile. His lips brushed her chin, her cheek, her eyes, kissing her tears away.

She smiled as the thunder roared, his arms tight around her though he was miles away. He felt his mouth against her ear and heard his whisper on the wind.

"I love you too," she answered.