9 months had passed since King and Queen first actively tried to repair their suddenly strained marriage ever since the suspicious knight reappeared out of nowhere and did things to them that even I (the writer) couldn't grasp the true form of.
Today, it was Saturday, and the hustle and bustle at Card Castle was slowly but surely increasing the more peers woke up.
King and Queen both needed some time alone to think. At least, that's what they both told one another.
Queen had returned to the bedroom that was all hers by now, since for some reason, King thought that he'd feel better if he slept on his throne alone every night for the past few months. She didn't really understand why he did that, but it did have the advantage of the fact that she could move the bed closer to the socket so that she could sleep more comfortably whenever she needed to charge for most of the nights.
The cyber monarch had started the bedroom computer up and after having scanned it for malware and viruses just for safety, she swiftly logged in to Spyke due to her wanting to talk to Tasque Manager and possibly Swatch, too.
What nobody at Card Castle, including King himself, knew was that Queen wanted to have a baby with him in an attempt to strengthen their marriage and hopefully get it back to the same values as their relationship before having gotten married. And this is what she wanted to talk about with some of the Darkners that she trusted herself.
"Please" Queen grumbled anxiously once she started broadcasting the call, "Please Pick Up." She frowned a little, tapped her fingers onto the surface of the desk, and fittingly enough, her visor showed the text 'pls' while she did.
Beep… was the only sound that was heard from the computer approximately every five seconds. Beep… ugh, so nerve-wrecking. How long would it take before this call would finally be answered?
"Hello?" the voice of Tasque Manager eventually sounded from the other end of the online 'line' before she appeared on her webcam screen.
"Hi Sweet Tasque Manager" Queen said, simultaneously sighing in relief. "How Are You Doing Today?"
"Hello, my Queen. I'm doing pretty good over here, can't complain. And my four Tasques are also doing amazing and still healthy as ever. What about you?"
"I Hate To Cut To: The Chase, But I'm Nervous And Confused."
"Oh dear, how come? You want me to whip those thoughts into shape?"
Queen and Tasque Manager both chuckled heartily at the little joke.
"Is it the elevators? They got installed recently, right?"
"No It's Not The Elevators. BTW For Those Seven Months Of Them Being Here They Work Just Perfectly So Nothing Is Wrong With Them."
"Ah, that's terrific to hear that there's a little more order at Card Castle now."
"I'm Not Even Sure If I Should Talk To You About It But It's Been On My Mind For So Long Now."
"You can talk to me about whatever is bothering you, my Queen. Whether it's your overall life, or your sex life… we've even talked about your marriage a lot lately, and even if I'm not a veteran on relationships, I still try to give good advice to help you on your way."
"Well The Thing I Want To Talk About Is Something I Want To Do In Order To Strengthen My Marriage With King."
"Oh? Couples therapy? A weekend away from Card Castle?"
"Oh No Way I'll Ever Do The Latter! I Have A Kingdom That I Should Keep On Ruling Along With My Husband Silly!"
"Oops, sorry… kind of slipped my mind back there since your mother often tended to overdo her free time, but by now, I perfectly know that you're a lot unlike her in that respect."
"It's Okay We All Make Our Mistakes."
"Thanks, thought I lost the order there." Tasque Manager suddenly got a little surprised when one of her Tasques jumped onto her lap and almost crushed her with his heavy weight. "Tasc! Why are you trying to crush me while I'm trying to have a serious conversation with our Queen? I know you can sense worry in this room and everything, but this is not a good timing, if I may be honest."
Tasc simply meowed and purred in response while rubbing his head over Tasque Manager's stomach area.
"You're just too cute to understand the world, huh? Yes, you are." The feline maid scritched behind the happy Tasque's ears and kissed his forehead for a few times. "I love you. You're so sweet…!"
"Okay So Basically" Queen said, "The Thing I Want To Do In Order To Get On Better Terms With King Is: Have A Baby With Him."
"You what?"
"I Want To Have A Baby With Him. It's Been Bugging Me For Weeks Now And I Don't Have The Courage To Say This To Him Yet."
"Oh dear, I'm not a veteran on babies either… last time it happened, it was Rolek and baby Swatch moving into the mansion for the sake of your mother over two decades ago, but back then, I wasn't even born myself yet!"
"You Happened Two Years Afterwards."
"Yeah, that's a good one, since my Dad was already in charge of the Tasques here ever since your mother married your birth father two months prior. But I wasn't directly born in the medical room of the mansion, silly, but at the central hospital of Cyber City…!" Tasque Manager couldn't help but laugh.
"Oops Forgot About That Lmao!" Queen also laughed, her visor showing the text 'LMAO' while she did.
"But you're saying you want a baby, but you're not ready to tell King yet?"
"Yes Exactly."
"Do the two of you eventually want a child who is the next one in the line of coronation?"
"Yes They Should Become The Next Prince Or Princess Or Whatever The Genderless Term For That Is."
"That's a very wise decision the two of you made. I mean, what would Card Castle even be without a crown heir?"
"Well We Have Clover Who Is The Princess Of Clubs But Is Not Striving To Become A Queen In The Future."
"She's indeed not incarcerated like her father. So if you and King have a child who will directly become the next one in the line of coronation, they won't have any other choice than agreeing on becoming a crown heir."
"Precisely!"
"But you shouldn't pressure them into becoming the next monarch, of course. If the child is still a baby, you should treat them as such, too. Same goes for if they're a toddler and such."
"Of Course Silly Tasque Manager! Did You Really Think I Was Planning On Treating The Child Like A Robot? They Deserve A Childhood Too You Know?" While Queen chuckled, her visor showed the text 'haha'.
"Now, are you sure you're even ready for a child?"
"Of Course I Am How So?"
"Well, if you have a child, they're a baby at first, logically enough. You'll have to feed them, change their nappies, bathe them, wash their overly dirty clothes, let them sleep as much as possible during the first few months, bond with them by cuddling and playing with them as much as possible, occasionally let them cry for no reason…"
"Ugh No I'm Not Planning On Letting A Baby Cry Non-Stop Since Kingy Wingy Will Probably Hate That For He Hates Infinite Loud Sounds Already."
"How are you possibly planning on letting the baby stop crying for no reason?"
"Simply Pop A Binky Into: Their Mouth, And You'll No Longer Hear Them. At Least That's What My Mother Did When I Was Still A Baby."
"Any chance she dunked your soother into battery acid beforehand?"
"Ha Ha Ha No Of Course Not! Battery Acid Isn't: Baby-Proof!"
For a while, Queen and Tasque Manager were both doing nothing but howling with laughter at one another's silly statements, and in Tasque Manager's case, Tasc had jumped off of her lap due to sensing too much belly movements with his 'manager's' laughter.
"Did Rolek do the same to Swatch when they were still a baby?"
"Ironically Enough Not For Swatch Never Had A Binky And Could Eventually Soothe Themself With Their Blanket Instead."
"Ah, never mind, then…!"
"But I Could Always Ask Some Of Those At Card Castle Who Have Offspring Themselves, Albeit: Grown Up."
"Ooh, that's a wonderful idea, to ask experience experts for such advice. Here at your mansion, we only have Rolek, yet he still has difficulty understanding Spyke despite the fact that we've been using it for years now. Oh, and not to mention my own Dad, too. Either way, it's never a bad idea to ask parents of even grown-up offspring for any type of advice, for their offspring have also been babies in the past."
"See I Told You."
"I wonder what King would possibly think when you tell this to him?"
"As Long As He Doesn't Get Angry I'll Be Okay I Guess."
Meanwhile, in the throne room, King was on his own, sorting his thoughts out on his big, trusty throne.
He felt fully ready to have a child who'd be the next one in the line of coronation. The next royal Darkner of the Card Kingdom who would hopefully not disappoint anyone in that future.
However, he didn't have the courage to tell Queen about this just yet. How would she react? What if she wasn't ready for a baby at all? In case of the latter, it would most likely only lead to a worse relationship…
King himself already somewhat knew how a baby had to be treated, for he had experienced Clover ever since she was born. She wasn't the easiest child to take care of according to the King of Clubs, but none of the clublings were that way as a baby, for they always had three different brains and mindsets per head. Somewhat like having triplets, albeit in some sort of unique Darkner way that nobody else would be able to understand.
The spadeling additionally wondered what species his future baby would possibly be? Would they be of Queen's computer-related species, or a spadeling like him? How would male computer-related species be, or how would little female spadelings be? Or what if they were non-binary or anything remotely similar instead? So many questions of which the answers didn't dare to show up just yet.
"Mine Kinge?" Rouxls asked as he showed up at the empty door frame of the throne room. "Thou lookst restless. Doth thou wanteth to talk to me?"
"Huh?" King said in slight shock. "Ah, Rouxls, it's just you… of course, of course, please come in and… well, have a seat in front of me."
With a brief nod, the young Duke of Puzzles entered the throne room and had a seat right in front of King and his throne, putting his two glass jars of fireflies next to him on his left side.
"I couldeth see from even a mereth distance that thou hast something on thy mind."
"Are you secretly psychic, if I may ask?"
"As a matterst of fact, no, I art not. I guesseth it art just mine sixth senseth somewhere."
"Well, in that case, you indeed sensed something lingering in my head. Something that I am ready for, but am not sure if Queen is ready for."
"I hast no clue or hint on this."
"I…" King took some deep breaths. "I… well… I'm…"
"Taketh thy time. No needeth to rush."
"I… I want to have a baby with Queen, and they should be the next in my line of coronation."
"A… a baby, thou sayeth? To followeth thou up whenst they art old enough?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm eventually aiming for."
"But that art wonderful! I meaneth, if Clover refuseth to becometh the Queene in the far future, there couldst always be a secondest option!"
"But the King of Clubs never even decided to put Clover next in this castle's line of coronation."
"He did naught? That art very peculiar…"
"I agree with that. But my own child shall be the next in my line of coronation for I'm the only king of this kingdom for months now."
"Thou hast logical thinking going on right thereth. But doth thou knoweth how to raiseth a baby, too?"
"I've experienced Clover ever since she was a baby, so I somewhat do. You feed them, you change their nappies, you bathe them, you wash their clothes that are regularly dirty, you let them sleep as much as possible for the first few months, you should play and cuddle with them as often as possible… and yet, they might cry aimlessly at times, which I hate."
"Ay, that art true. But what willst thou do when thy little worm cries?"
"Um…" King was dumbfounded for a while.
"Difficult questionnaire, eh?"
"I'll… h-hand them to someone else who can solve it?"
Rouxls burst out in hysterical laughter, almost accidentally tipping his two jars of fireflies over in the process.
"What? It's pretty easy to raise a child of that age, right? Do you really think the King of Clubs was never bothered by Clover's consistent cries?"
"Then, what did he doth when Clover cried?"
"He… um… he tried to comfort her himselves. But I possibly can't do that on my own, imagine if Queen is sick and I'm left to take care of the baby alone by then. I don't want to be cooped up with those earsplitting cries!"
"But mine Kinge, thou hast to deal with the cries when they art there. Look, I art not sayingeth that thou shalst let thy little worm cry by then! I, too, hast a humongouseth hatred of that very sound!"
"As if I'm planning to let them cry aimlessly."
"And what shalt thou do when thou hast to leave them alone for a whileth? Such as when thou hast to go when nature callst thou?"
"If Queen is sick, I'll just leave the baby in someone else's hands. You know that they can never be left alone at that age, right?"
"They couldeth be left alone perfectly, if thou giveth them a soother or theirst blanket. That way, they'll sleepeth like… well, a baby."
"Hmm… that doesn't really sound like a bad idea. You're correct about the fact that every baby has their comfort objects, and especially at that age."
"Did thou have thy comfort objects when thoust wereth young, too?"
"Of course, but my parents decided to take them away from me without my permission at some point. Isn't that just rude?"
"Well, somewhereth, it art indeed very rude, but doth thou really thinketh that thou needeth a soother to sleepeth with at thy current age?"
Now it was King's turn to burst out in laughter. He laughed so hard that he couldn't help but fall and thud off of his throne in the process.
Rouxls and his lightning reflexes made sure that he could catch his jars of fireflies just in time without those having to break.
"Of course not, Kaard…! Besides, I never even had one after turning one! My parents just straight-up stole and hid my pillows and favourite blanket instead, and who knows where they are as of today…!" The spadeling had to wipe some tears of laughter away from the corners of his not-directly-visible eyes.
"Well, what I wereth saying: at someth point, thou hast to slowly but surely taketh thy little worm's comfort objects away so they shalt not get too used to it."
"Slowly but surely sounds like good advice… better advice than all of a sudden, even. I shall become a better father than even my own father has ever been!"
"Ooh, I senseth a confidentst spirit there, and I loveth it! What art thou waiting for? Pop thy questionnaire to thy Queene!"
"Right now?"
"As long as it art today, and maketh sure to tell me once thou hast done thy deed." Rouxls held his hand out. "Doth we haveth a promise?"
"Hereby, we have an official promise that I shall tell Queen about my wish for a child that I've had for many weeks now." King grabbed Rouxls's hand and shook it.
"Very well. Now, getst off of the floor and make thy way to thy Queene."
Chuckling nervously, King clumsily got up from the floor and stretched himself well beforehand.
"Thank you kindly for taking your time to listen to my rants, Rouxls. You're one of the few to whom I can aimlessly rant without any issue."
"Well, thou art welcome, I guesseth. Haveth a nice day, alright?"
With a chuckle and a brief nod, the spadeling headed out of the throne room and headed his way towards what used to be his bedroom, where Queen only just happened to have finished her Spyke call with Tasque Manager and some of her mansion's other peers just now.
"Ranteth without issue…!" Rouxls silently chuckled to himself. "Doth he really thinketh that he can telleth me every single detail that regardst his personal life…? I musteth rant at mine own time, too…!"
Those chuckles and whispers fortunately fell on deaf ears, as King mainly focused on taking deep breaths before slowly entering his former bedroom and actually popping the question to Queen. Would it be a good timing? Fate only knew.
"Okay…" he whispered nervously. "Here goes nothing…"