Chapter Four
Aly walked, with trembling legs, out of the healer's wing. 'Two.' All she could think was, 'Two.'
She was in a daze. She made her way slowly through the palace, not even really looking or realizing where she was going. She was moving without really moving, like her body was moving without direction, of it's own will. Aly was disoriented; her eyes didn't focus on anything in front of her. She just walked through the wide halls as if she were walking through a soft, hazy, fog. Before she could really grasp on to reality and pull herself from her mind, Aly found herself out in the gardens.
She sat down on the cool, damp, grass, beside one of the small lakes and stared out at the calm water before her. She took a deep breath, held it for a second, then let it go. Looking down she placed her hand over the gentle swell of her stomach, watching it rise and fall as she breathed again, making it seem even bigger again and again. She lay back on the ground and closed her eyes, trying not to think about anything. She wanted to wait, for some reason, before she thought about it. She almost succeeded, but just as she let go of everything, losing herself to her dreams, she had one thought 'Two.'
Aly woke up to the familiar feeling of a large hand sliding under her back and lifting her off the ground. Aly opened her eyes and looked up to see Nawat gazing down at her, with a look of terrified relief. This brought Aly back to her senses. She realized why he looked so relieved to see her. She had promised him she would go and visit the healers today, which she did. She had, once again, promised that she would wait for him there so he could be with her if she really needed him, which she didn't do however.
"Nawat!" she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, I forgot to wait for you." Then, out of nowhere, Aly began crying. Nawat must have felt the tears through his light shirt, because he pulled her closer and sped up his pace to a light run, until he reached their rooms.
He kicked open the door and set the sobbing Aly down on their small sofa. Nawat ran back, slammed the door shut, and flew back to Aly's side. Aly could tell he was terrified that she was crying, but she just couldn't make it stop. She didn't even know why she was crying. Nawat seemed to sense that he couldn't really do anything, because he simply sat down, pulled her into his lap, and rocked her. He held her to him, as if letting go was not even possible. Aly felt as if he was trying to absorb, whatever was bothering her, into him. He wanted to feel what was wrong, to feel what she did. To take it all away for her.
They stayed that way for a long time, just sitting and rocking. Aly must have dozed off because, one minute she was sobbing, the next she was waking up as Nawat shifted to pull a blanket over her. Aly looked up into his dark face. He must have felt her gaze, because he looked down at her. She could see the worry in his eyes, though he was trying his best to hide it. Seeing him scared for her made her almost feel sick. She didn't want him to worry. She still didn't know why she had started crying, but she wanted him to know that it wasn't because she had bad news. She sat up and turned herself around to face him. She grasped his hands in hers and smiled at him. Nawat, ever in tune to her feelings, calmed down a little, seeing she was fine. Some of the worry left his face, but Aly could still see it in his eyes. "Aly," he said, his deep voice curious and concerned. "What is wrong? What did the healer say?"
"Two, Nawat. We are going to have two."