Ultimate Queen of Cliffies: Well, you won't have to wait any longer. And there are two more chapters after this one.
The next afternoon, Elphaba went in search of Aya. She found her in the music room, polishing the piano. Taking a deep breath, the princess slowly walked into the room. "Aya?"
The maid jumped, almost dropping her polishing cloth, and stared at the princess. Even though she seemed calmer, Elphaba still saw a bit of fear in her eyes. Blinking, Aya curtsied and maintained a steady gaze on the floor, looking like she wanted to say something, but held her tongue.
"Aya, I want to apologize for snapping at you yesterday," Elphaba began gently, nervously shifting her swollen feet. "I didn't mean to make you upset."
"I'm sorry for making you upset, Yo- ma'am," Aya said softly.
Elphaba smiled softly. "It's okay. I'm not going to turn you into a toad."
Despite herself, Aya's lips twitched into a small smile.
"And I probably would have still gotten mad if you didn't ask me if I wanted anything," Elphaba said with a small chuckle.
Aya's lips twitched even more. Elphaba smiled and made to take a step closer to Aya, but stopped short, her hand flying to her stomach.
"Your Highness?" Aya asked, concerned.
Elphaba wavered and looked like she was about to fall over. Luckily, Aya hurried over to her and caught her before she did. Worried, she guided the princess over to a nearby armchair and helped her sit down.
"Aya," Elphaba breathed. "Please go get Fiyero."
"Right away, Your Highness!"
Elphaba tried to focus on her breathing as Aya ran off to find Fiyero. A few minutes later, she heard thundering footsteps and Fiyero appeared in the doorway, slightly breathless. He saw a small puddle of water on the floor and realized why Elphaba had called him.
"It's time?" he asked as he ran to her side.
Elphaba nodded. "It's time."
"How do you feel?"
"Relieved."
The prince chuckled softly and allowed Elphaba to squeeze his hand as a contraction hit her.
"Help me up?" Elphaba asked when the contraction ended.
The prince nodded and helped his wife to his feet and helped her out of the room. As they walked back to their room, Jo ran, full speed, down the hall and happily wrapped his arms around his father's leg. "Daddy!"
"Hey, bud," Fiyero said, ruffling Jo's hair.
"What's wrong?"
"Mama's getting ready to have the baby," Fiyero said gently.
Jo looked up at his mother, who was fighting a pained expression. "Really?"
Elphaba nodded. "Really."
Jo smiled and looked at her stomach. "It's about time, baby!"
Elphaba inhaled deeply and slumped gently against her husband. Liah came into view and, sensing the princess' distress, gently pulled Jo away.
"Liah, could you take Jo into town for a few hours?" Fiyero asked, knowing that Elphaba wouldn't want her son to hear her screams of pain.
The nanny smiled and nodded. "Of course, Your Highness."
"Thank you, Liah," Elphaba whispered, forcing a smile. She watched as Liah took Jo's hand and gently pulled him down the hallway and out of sight. She felt a bit bad that she was throwing her son into the care of someone else, but immediately pushed the thought away when she gasped in surprise at a tightening feeling in her abdomen that wasn't exactly a contraction. She and Fiyero walked back to her room and Fiyero helped her into bed before running to get his parents.
Amalie came in a few minutes later and told Elphaba that Raal had sent for the midwife.
"Finally," Elphaba huffed, rubbing her stomach.
"I assume you mean the baby," Amalie chuckled.
"Yeah," Elphaba whispered. "Definitely Fiyero's child."
Amalie chuckled and kissed the princess' forehead.
The midwife arrived and began to examine Elphaba. "I'm a bit worried about the baby's size," she admitted. "You were due to deliver two weeks ago, Your Highness, so there's no telling how big the baby is."
Elphaba moaned and Amalie wiped her forehead and gave her an ice cube to chew on. "Can we please drop the 'Your Highness' for the next… however long this takes?"
Amalie smiled sympathetically and looked at the midwife. "It's alright. I'm worried about what will happen if someone calls her 'Your Highness' while she's giving birth."
The midwife looked from the queen to the princess. "Of course… ma'am."
It was more of a question, and Elphaba slowly nodded. "Sure."
Her labor progressed at a steady pace, and by early evening, she was ready to push, and Fiyero was promptly banished. He walked off to the library, trying to get away from Elphaba's screams of pain, but found that her screams filled most of the castle.
"Ah, Your Highness," Cato bowed when he saw the prince. "What book are you looking for?"
"Anything to take my mind off of –" Fiyero was cut off by a scream and a curse word he was glad Jo wasn't around to hear, "that."
Cato smiled and pulled out a book from the mystery section. "I highly recommend this one."
Fiyero didn't even look at the book as he took it and thanked Cato before making his way over to one of the couches and sitting down, trying hard to block Elphaba's howls of pain. I'm sorry, Fae, he thought, opening to the first page, but only half-reading it.
After what seemed like an eternity, Amalie went looking for the prince. She didn't expect to find him in the library, but one of the servants told her that he had fled there. Thanking him, Amalie turned around and walked up the stairs to the large double doors. She found her son rather easily, since she was used to see him fast asleep, his mouth slightly open, and a bit of drool down his chin. "Fiyero."
The prince jumped up and looked around, wiping his mouth when he caught sight of his mother. "How is she? How's the baby? Did…"
"Fiyero, slow down," Amalie chided gently. "Elphaba's lost quite a bit of blood, but she's fine. Both she and the baby are fine."
"The baby…"
"You have a daughter," Amalie smiled. "She's beautiful, Fiyero. Six pounds, three ounces."
Fiyero laughed joyfully. A daughter. A little girl. He happily hugged his mother, who was more than happy to hug him back. "Can I see Fae?"
"The midwife just finished cleaning her, so yes. But be very gentle with her."
"I will," Fiyero said, kissing his mother's cheek and hurrying out of the library. When he got to the door, he quickly calmed himself and slowly opened the door.
Elphaba was propped up on pillows, half-asleep. She looked exhausted and weak, but still managed a small smile when she saw him. "Hi."
"Hey," Fiyero whispered back, gently sitting down on the edge of the bed. "How are you?"
"Tired," Elphaba said, gently leaning her head on Fiyero's shoulder. "We have a daughter, Yero."
"I heard."
"She's beautiful."
"And where is our beautiful new daughter?"
"Right here," the midwife said as she turned around, cradling a bundle in her arms. "Congratulations, Your Highnesses."
The prince gently took the newborn from the midwife's arms and looked at her. Her pink skin was glowing and she was peacefully asleep. He simply stared at her, taking in her soft features.
"She looks like Nessa when she was born," Elphaba commented softly, shifting against the pillows.
"She's beautiful," Fiyero smiled.
The baby slowly opened her eyes and looked up at her father. "Hi, princess," Fiyero whispered, kissing her forehead. "What should we name her?"
"Remember when I wrote to you back when you were in the Quadling country?" Elphaba asked.
The prince nodded. "Yes."
"Do you remember my top five girl names?"
"Dahlia, Ebaline, Izla, Alenna, and Roselle," Fiyero recited.
Elphaba smiled. "You remembered?"
"Of course I did, Fae."
Two hours later, Liah came back with Jo. Once she found out that Elphaba had given birth, she took Jo upstairs to see his parents and new sibling.
"Hi, Jo," Fiyero said when he opened the door.
Jo looked past his father and saw his mother sitting up against the pillows, holding his new sibling. Elphaba looked up and motioned for Jo to come in. The young prince immediately hurried over to his mother's side and allowed his father to lift him onto the bed.
"Say 'hello' to your new sister, Jo," Elphaba smiled, showing Jo his new baby sister.
"She's tiny," Jo observed.
Elphaba laughed. "Would you like to hold her?"
Jo nodded enthusiastically and sat up straight against the headboard as Elphaba gently placed his sister in his arms.
"Be careful, she's very fragile." Fiyero said as he corrected his son's arm position.
Jo looked down at her, taking in her features. "Was I this fragile, Mama?"
"Yes, Jo. You were. All newborns are fragile," Elphaba smiled, watching her son get to know the new baby.
"Congratulations, Your Highnesses," Liah smiled, taking a step into the room.
"Thank you, Liah. How was Jo?" Fiyero asked.
"He was very excited, he told everyone we encountered that the new royal addition was about to make an entrance."
Elphaba laughed softly.
"What's her name?" Jo asked, giving the baby back to Elphaba.
The couple waited until Amalie and Raal came back into the room before announcing the name. "Ebaline Dahlia Izla Tigulaar," Fiyero said proudly.
"That's a beautiful name," Raal smiled. "Congratulations."
"Thank you," Elphaba smiled as she looked down at her new daughter and rocked her into her arms. "We've waited a long time for you, sweetie," she whispered to her. "And even an extra two weeks."
"Can I call her 'Ebbie'?" Jo asked.
"Of course, Jo," Elphaba smiled, lightly ruffling her son's hair and kissing his cheek.
The adults chuckled and slowly filed out of the room, giving the new parents some time alone to get to know their new child.
"I'm proud of you," Fiyero said as he kissed his wife's forehead.
"Thank you," Elphaba smiled, leaning back against the pillows. "I'm proud of you, too."
"I didn't do anything. You did all the amazing work."
"You were just as strong as I was."
Fiyero smiled. "She's perfect, Fae."
"And Galinda will go crazy."
"And she'll say that we'd better use every single pink items she bought."
"Or else she'll turn both of our wardrobes pink," Elphaba chuckled.
Fiyero, however, shivered. "I don't want to take that chance."
"Neither do I. The things she bought are, dare I say it, cute."
"That's Galinda for you."
Elphaba laughed and looked at her daughter. "That it is."