A/N: Right, so this chapter is a lot shorter than my others have been but... it's happy days!

the ancient mystic: Sorry, I've been really busy as of late and I don't think I can write another love scene any time soon. I'm barely handling two updates each weekend. Maybe later?

Katlin Dragoon: Yeah, what do you think he'll do?

Moosensquirrel67: THANKS!

Evangella Akriti: You mean that maybe he knows and he let them get away with it?

Roxy: Thanks!

"Mother, did you hear? Lady Baliton is expecting yet another child!" a woman gossiped as she shopped at the market. Her mother looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Lady Baliton?"

"Sorry, I meant to say Lady Shayla Baliton," the woman elaborated, unable to believe that her mother mixed the two up.

"Sir Merrick's wife," the old woman said, nodding her head in realisation. "Ahh, did she not just give birth to two girls a few days ago?"

"Six months ago, yes," her daughter replied. "You know how taken Sir Merrick is with his wife. It is no wonder that she is withchild yet again..."

The older woman stared at her daughter as she giggled. "Your husband is no better. I have too many grandchildren!"

"Mother!"

Nearby, two young women stopped eavesdropping and smiled discreetly at each other.

"It looks like Merrick and the Princess are doing quite well," the blonde one commented, holding her hood with one hand to ensure it didn't fall off.

"Yes," the petite brunette replied, thinking about her friends. "We should go and tell Ken. She will be delighted."

"That is all good and well. But Alyssa, how long do you think it will be before the King finds out?"

"I do not know, Taylor. I honestly do not know."

"Anwell, come inside!" Brenna called, looking out of the window to see if her grandson would stop playing. She huffed when the green-eyed boy seemed to blatantly ignore her and carry on playing.

"Mother, it is fine," Shayla spoke, walking into the drawing room and sitting down next to her. "I do not see why you bother. He is almost two years old. Let him enjoy life."

"My dear, you are expecting your fourth child," Brenna reminded her daughter in law, turning to face her. "The last thing I want is for Anwell to get ill and for you to become distressed by it."

"You worry too much, Mother," Shayla reprimanded, rubbing her moderately swollen belly. "It is June. It is not even cold! And besides, I do not want Anwell's childhood to be like mine; shut up in the corner of a room for the whole day, every day. He is lucky."

"Very well," Brenna gave in, looking outside to see Anwell behaving excitedly at the prospect of his father playing with him.

Merrick walked into the backyard, thinking about the inevitable drama that was to come. He and Shayla only had four months left together until they had to return to the palace. It was a huge problem because they hadn't expected more children after having the girls; they were relying on the breastfeeding contraception method. After all, it had worked before; the girls were conceived only after Anwell turned six months old. However, this time things were a little different; Shayla stopped bleeding only a month after the birth and despite breastfeeding continually, she fell pregnant again. The new baby was due in October, the same month Shayla was expected to return to the palace.

While Merrick had complete faith that his mother and her maids would be able to look after his two princesses, they were still too young to live away from their mother. And what of the new babe? Even if Shayla was lucky enough to give birth before she had to leave, how would she bear being away from him/her?

He began to chuckle when Anwell clapped his hands excitedly at his appearance. The twenty-two-month-old toddler wasted no time in racing over to his father.

"Dada!" he yelled, grabbing onto Merrick's leg. "Mama giving me a brother..."

"I know," Merrick replied, picking the boy up and smiling at him. "Are you excited?"

Anwell nodded and clapped his hands. "Now I have sisters and a brother."

The twenty-five-year-old man tickled the boy, not bothering to tell him that the new baby might not be a boy. Anwell adored his sisters but Merrick didn't think that he wanted another one.

"Ba!"

Merrick turned around to see his wife and mother walking towards him, each of them holding a little girl in their arms. Shayla was holding Rhiannon (meaning goddess) who had really dark hair, tanned skin and chocolate brown eyes. Brenna was holding Gisele (meaning oath) who had chestnut brown hair, pale skin and hazel-green eyes. In short, the two sisters were almost complete opposites.

Merrick didn't like to admit it but Gisele was his favourite. He had no idea why. It was love at first sight when he saw her, despite her being covered in a thick coat of blood. Of course, he loved Rhiannon too but he knew that he and Gisele had a very special bond. She was an incredibly quiet baby and Merrick thought her to be shy. Really, the only time she became loud and excited was when she saw him. Like now.

"Gisele!" he exclaimed, his heart swelling when she reached out and poked his nose.

Brenna laughed, thinking that had it not been for Gisele's hair colour, she would've been a female version of her father. Still, the one who was most like Merrick was Anwell. His tanned skin was all that he had from his mother, everything else was from his father.

"Now, now, Merrick. Do not neglect Rhia," Shayla admonished him, bringing Rhiannon to him.

"I was not going to," he answered, ruffling Rhiannon's black curls and pressing a kiss onto her forehead. "How is my little Princess Rhia?"

Shayla giggled at the display, hoping desperately that her father wouldn't cause any problems. Two years with her whole family was not enough. She wanted to be with her husband, her children and mother-in-law for as long as she could. She was afraid that her father wouldn't let them be. Another source of her worry was Anwell's uncanny resemblance to Merrick. As he got older, her firstborn continued to look more and more like his father. Her father may have not been able to figure it out before but once he saw Anwell again, especially if Merrick was in the same room as him, he'd uncover her secret straight away.

No. She wanted to remain as Lady Shayla Baliton. That was what the people in the area knew her as and as of yet, it seemed like no one had put two and two together and realised that Lady Shayla Baliton and Crown Princess Shayla of Animaria were one and the same. Their situation was incredibly risky too since the neighbours knew that Merrick was Princess Shayla's protector and although there was no official announcement/ceremony for this, she was sure that some of the neighbours had seen her at the banquet where Cole was chosen to be her protector. She honestly didn't know if people did know the truth and were hiding it or if they genuinely didn't know.

The baby inside her kicked, making her jump. A sense of dread filled her as she remembered that Anwell used to do that sometimes when something bad was happening. Was it a sign? Or was she just overreacting?

"What is wrong, my love?" Merrick's voice questioned, breaking Shayla's train of thoughts. She looked up to see her husband looking at her in concern.

"Nothing," she replied, smiling weakly. "I will tell you later."

Merrick nodded; Shayla didn't want their son to hear. And he had a pretty good idea of what was bothering her too.

Shayla stood in her bedchamber, stripping down to her shift/night clothes. Merrick walked in, after having said goodnight to each of the kids and his mother. Without having to be asked, Merrick stepped forward and unclasped Shayla's necklace for her. She smiled thankfully, setting the necklace down on the dresser before walking towards the bed.

"I hope Rhia and Gisele do not wake up in the middle of the night again," Shayla told her husband as she carefully climbed into bed. "I really need some sleep tonight."

"Sleep will not keep the nightmares at bay," Merrick told her, joining her in bed.

"What do you mean?" she asked, a little alarmed.

"I was talking about myself," he reassured her, caressing her swollen belly. The bump was still moderate in size but Merrick could feel the kicks. "You do not need to hide your worries though. You are worried about the King, are you not?"

"Yes, this baby is due to be born in October," Shayla reminded him, putting her hand on top of his. "That is when he expects us to return. How am I going to hide this? Everything?"

"I do not know," Merrick confessed, trying not to look worried for her sake. "But worrying is bad for our baby."

"I know," Shayla told him with a sigh. "But I cannot help it. I have grown used to living with you, with Mother, with the kids. I do not think I can sacrifice it all for my kingdom." What came first? Her duty to Animaria, as its future queen? Or her duty to herself, as a mother, a wife, and a daughter in law?

"I think you already made that decision when you married me," Merrick pointed out, smiling gracefully. "But know this: if for some reason, you cannot stay with me, I will not hold you back."

Shayla looked at him in disbelief, her chin wobbling. Damn, she was getting emotional and she didn't think it had anything to do with pregnancy. Merrick understood her conflict and he wanted to make it easy for her. Demanding that she choose him would only stress her further and would make him as bad as the King. However painful it may be, he was willing to put her feelings above his own.

"Do not say that," she scolded him, pulling his head onto her stomach. "I will breathe my last with you. That is a promise." She felt Merrick nod and tried to get some sleep. King Animus XIII would not tear her family apart. She wouldn't let him.

A/N: Aww, family. I wish mine was like this minus the annoying, overbearing, selfish father.