A/N: I realized I'd left out a pretty big moment in this, so I decided to correct it. This chapter is set between chapters 4 and 5.

Announcement

By the soft light of candles, Chrom sat at his lonely desk. The words on the parchment blurred. His head throbbed as he tried to keep the words straight. Since sunset, he'd sat here, reading case upon endless case, and he rubbed dry, weary eyes.

"I wonder if I could give them each a sword and tell them to kill each other for it," he grumbled, as he pored over the document. "Why is it that every landowner, magistrate, and nobleman has to make me their arbiter over the smallest things? Gods, I could just..." finding the words would not come, Chrom settled for a low growl, which matched the periodic rumble from his belly. "At least this is the last one for today," the king remarked rubbing his brow. He stared and stared at the page before roughly pushing it off to the side. Chrom shook his head and sighed, finding he lacked the patience to deliver anything that resembled wisdom in even the smallest measurement.

"They can keep until morning," he declared finally. Standing, Chrom turned to see Sumia standing behind him, and he wondered how he could have failed to hear her as she entered. He also had a fair guess of why she had come. A smile formed on his face. "I'll be along in a moment; you go on to bed."

"Chrom," Sumia began. Her voice seemed anxious but not at all distressed. He thought the tone strange, as if she bore some wondrous news and could not contain it. "I need to talk to you."

"I promise I won't skip a meal next time," he replied with a dismissive wave, "and I promise I won't stay up so late. I just can't help it sometimes." He began to walk past his wife, but he didn't hear the sound of her footsteps as he expected. "Well, let's both get on to bed then."

"Chrom, I'm pregnant," she exclaimed.

"Oh, I see..." The king stopped mid-stride, unsure if he heard what he thought. Slowly, he turned back around, and he noticed the joyous gleam Sumia's eyes, tempered in some small degree by uncertainty. "What did you say?"

"I'm pregnant." Chrom felt his mouth drop at his wife's news as the news struck him like a battering ram.

"Are you sure?" he asked hastily, still unable to comprehend it. Sumia nodded as already curled lips spread wider.

"I haven't bled, and the other signs have already started." The king could only stand frozen as those two words repeated. He was going to be a father.

"Oh gods," he managed at last. He ran to Sumia, throwing his arms around her." Oh, this...this is...we're having..." To his surprise, he felt several sobs shake her.

"I tried to tell you so many times today," she said with a slight tremble in her voice and happy tears in her eyes. "Chrom, tell me you love me."

"Love you," he replied between heavy breaths. "Sumia, I love you so much." Looking her in the eyes, he could already see the telltale glow of a woman with child. "I'll do so much better than that. I promise I'm going to be the best husband and father I can be. Whatever you need, I'll give it to you." He tightened his embrace, as if he were protecting her from all that lurked in the darkness around them.

"We're having a baby," she whispered. Chrom nodded, finding his own eyes moist.

"We're having a baby."