Heather glanced around. This palace was just so big. She'd already gotten lost twice today, and found it very awkward thanking the random Jovesons who came to her rescue. She felt so small roaming the empty halls, and whenever there wasn't some sort of meeting going on, she was resting. She needed a few moments where nothing was going on, but she figured it would be at the very least five years before she got that. At least the chambers she shared with Smalls were normal-sized. The entire top floor was reserved for the King and his family, and while right now it was just Smalls and Heather, it wouldn't be for much longer. She smiled, stood up from the bed, and crossed the hall into another bedroom. Directly across from the door was a blue crib, with a calico quilt folded up inside. The quilt had been a wedding gift from Weezie, and Picket had built the crib for them when he heard the news. Heather placed a hand on the swell of her belly, and hummed a quiet lullaby. A healthy baby girl, as the doctors had told her two months ago. She'd been briefly excused from any morning meetings or conferences during the early weeks she spent vomiting, and though the meetings hadn't decreased in number at all, she was relieved to be past that stage in her pregnancy.
Heather knelt, and passed a hand over the grasses and wildflowers Iantha Joveson had artfully painted onto the walls, along with depictions of trees, clouds, and meadowlarks, and a ceiling full of glow–in–the–dark stars. A mobile created by Jo's adopted sister Maya hung from the ceiling, tiny Picket Packslayers spinning around at the slightest nudge. There was a gift from almost everyone Heather held close to her heart in this room, and she had taken to joking that their child would be spoiled. She liked the thought of tiny baby hands grasping her fingers again, just as Jacks used to do. Tiny, wiggling toes, bright little eyes, waving little arms. The child couldn't come soon enough.
"Do you know she wants to come back and paint more?" Smalls was standing in the doorway, smiling at her.
"Does she really?" Heather laughed, standing up and leaning into him. "She's already done it twice, what does she want to do now?"
"She wants to turn this wall into wintertime, I think."
Iantha Joveson was only one year older than Smalls, and spent most of her time singing, painting, and losing her glasses, which somehow had a habit of turning up in the cupboard underneath the sink, or in other people's bags. Though some of the Jovesons still seemed slightly suspicious of Heather, Iantha had warmed up immediately, and they had become fast friends. Iantha was just going into her second year of college as an English major, and was planning to write a novel.
"I'm still not used to it," Heather broke the comfortable silence with a sigh. "It's so big."
"I know," Replied Smalls, wrapping an arm around her waist, and resting his cheek on top of her head. "I'm not either, to be honest. We can figure it out together, I guess."
Heather leaned her head on his shoulder. "Sounds like a plan to me," She whispered. "Don't we have a meeting in ten minutes?"
"Yes, but ten minutes is a long time, if you want it to be."
A little bit short on my part, but the fluff! I'm also going to start an O/C book, because I've wanted to for a while, and I've got a few O/Cs mentioned in this prompt book who deserve to be described a bit more. I've been having so much fun with this contest, thanks, Heyna!
