A/N: Well, hey guys. It's been a while... A long while. I understand if a lot of my past readers and reviewers don't want to return to the story. It's been more than a year since I updated last, and worse still, I haven't been a good author at all. My computer still refuses to allow me to use Word at all, so there's basically no way for me to easily post chapters.
But the good side of this little writing break of mine has been the lessons I've learned when I haven't had this to worry me all the time. I've matured so much. You guys previously knew me as this annoying, over-excited middle schooler who was writing experiences judging by what she'd seen in movies or in books. But now I've had my fair share of life experiences and I'm a different person. I feel like now I'll be writing from my personal viewpoint and trying to act as the character themself in each situation instead of going by some unrealistic fantasy that young me had cooked up.
Long story short, I think you'll be enjoying Mostly the Magnificent a lot more now. Enjoy!
-Chapter 22-
It had been two weeks. Two long, unexplainably painful weeks. Avaline hadn't moved from her chair in front of the fireplace in that amount of time, other than to go to the bathroom and bathe (but we needn't get into that).
Susan brought food to her for every meal, but she never ate much of it. She nibbled on a slice of buttered toast every morning, but nothing more than that. Her full glasses of water sat on the end table beside the chair she occupied.
On Tuesday, she decided to see what would happen if she threw the water into the fire. The flame roared and grew in intensity. Avaline wondered if that was how love was supposed to be. Growing whenever something was thrown at it.
Nonsense. There was no way she and Edmund could grow from this. She looked down. And to think there is an unborn child involved... a few tears crept into her eyes. What she wouldn't do to have his arms around her in this very moment.
He probably has his arms around Morgana, a dark, unwelcome voice snickered in her mind. She barely had time to process this negativity before someone knocked on the door.
"Avaline?" The voice sounded like Peter's.
Avaline sat for a moment in confusion. Why would Peter be coming up with her dinner? That's been Susan's job.
"Avaline?" came the voice again. "May I come in?"
"It's unlocked," she called, not moving from where she sat.
Peter slowly opened the door and stepped in. Within seconds, he was sitting on the floor in front of her, his legs crossed.
"Didn't you bring me dinner?" Avaline asked.
"No," Peter replied. "I actually came to talk to you."
He took in her appearance. She was wearing a long, green robe that was tied tightly around the waist. Around her shoulders was a blanket she had drug over from the bed. Her stomach has certainly grown. Being seven months pregnant now, it was fully expected that she would be large. But this large?
Peter looked around to find trays of untouched food scattered in different places throughout the room. At least 11 glasses of water sat side by side on an end table a few feet away from Avaline's chair, and he could tell she hadn't even taken a sip from them.
"Avaline," Peter said, his voice soft and careful, "Susan told you that you need to be eating."
"I have." The queen glanced down at her stomach, then at the window that was covered by thick curtains. She had no idea what time it was, only that it was about time for the dinner that she wouldn't eat. She preferred it this way. It was easier to live when the bothersome sun wasn't there to intrude.
"Don't lie to me, Avaline, no you haven't. I'm looking around right now and at first glance I've counted six trays of food that haven't even been touched." He took her hand and attempted to look in her eyes, but she looked away. An annoyed noise escaped his mouth as he grabbed her chin with one hand, forcing her to look at him.
"Ava, I know you're upset. I get it. But you don't need to do this for you anymore. I get it if you're not hungry. But that baby is, and it needs you to help it out."
There were a few moments of silence in which Peter let his words sink in.
"Maybe you're right," she whispered.
He released her chin, but continued to look her in the eyes. "I know you don't want to hear this, but there's been news released throughout the country about you and Edmund."
Avaline's eyebrows rose, then furrowed. News about her and Edmund? They hadn't laid eyes on each other in two weeks. What could've developed that was important enough to be given press release?
Then she understood. Her eyes were locked with Peter's. She couldn't move. She couldn't feel anything. The news was out.
"He told them?" she whispered incredulously.
The High King didn't look so high and mighty anymore, or so she realized as she fully examined him for the first time since he entered the room. His blue eyes were almost a sad shade of gray, his blonde hair rumpled and messy. He was even wearing his "bad day" boots. The stress was clear from the wrinkles in his forehead that wouldn't go away no matter the way in which he held his brows.
"Peter," she said. "What's really happening?"
He looked down at his worn leather boots that Susan refused to let him wear outside the palace, running a hand through his hair. "There's an uproar. Somehow, word of your pregnancy reached Calormen. It looks as if we're going to have problems with them again."
"What does my state of being have to do with Calormenes?"
"Avaline, I don't think you understand - your courtship with Edmund was announced only a little while before you conceived. The Calormenes think something is going on with him and Morgana."
"I don't understand," she said.
"She returned to Calormen a week and a half ago, and Edmund went with her. It was for business matters that had to be settled. He was furious with her and begged one of us to go instead of him, but in the end, Lucy was stuck handling issues amongst the dwarves and hosting the charity, Susan was caring for you, Caspian was in Telmar, and Analiese and I had to stay here to watch over the country. He was the only free ruler to settle the problems overseas.
"When he arrived, he and Reepicheep (the poor, cocky thing decided to accompany him) were separated and put in different quarters. Edmund's were shared with Morgana. He was originally supposed to be staying in a guest room in the Tisroc's home, but somehow Morgana convinced them to allow him to stay with her."
"How?" Avaline asked.
"She informed the Tisroc of your pregnancy in exchange for this 'favor.' I suppose he told several people. Thankfully, only a few Narnians have heard of this rumor."
"How does this affect the way the Calormenes think of Edmund and Morgana?"
"Well," Peter continued, "as you know, this is a regular thing to occur between two people, however the male is usually stronger. But according to Ed, Morgana supposedly paid someone to drug Edmund, and when he woke, he realized he had been," Peter winced at the coming words, "raped."
Avaline gasped, her mouth falling open. "Is he okay?" she asked.
"Yes, he's back safe and sound. He's actually sleeping right now - he got back a few hours ago and wanted to sleep off the seas. But I haven't finished."
She nodded for him to continue.
"That woman had the nerve to plan a scenario in which her father would enter her bedroom in the morning to see their state of being. And being the gossip that any Calormene is, he told everyone in the house. Soon enough, the entire country was rambling about the fact that Morgana and King Edmund had been found in the same bed."
"I have to see him," Avaline announced, taking the blanket out from under her and tossing it on the floor. She leaned over and pulled on the shoes that were on the floor next to her. Just as she was halfway out of her chair, she fell back into it with a cry of pain.
"Avaline?"
She gripped her mid-section tightly, wrapping both arms around herself. "Peter," she said, "get the nurse. Something's wrong. Terribly wrong."
Peter didn't have to think twice. He ran out of the room, not bothering to shut the bedroom door as he dashed down the long hallway. It seemed like the short journey to the nurse's room was taking much longer today.
"Peter!" someone called out behind him. He spun around to find Analiese watching him from several feet down the hall. "Wherever are you going at such a fast pace?"
"I can't talk right now, I have to get to the-" he stopped, knowing he'd have to explain if he continued. "Just do me a favor and tell Susan to go see Avaline, quick!"
Analiese stood for a moment with a thousand confused thoughts passing through her brain before she went into action.
Once Peter finally reached the nurse, he was out of breath and could barely speak. "Avaline - get here - problem with - the baby," he gasped out.
The nurse, as well as her two assistants, immediately began running off in the direction of the Passionate Queen's bedroom.
00000000
Ten minutes passed.
Twenty minutes.
Half an hour had gone by since Peter had sent for the nurses. He was pacing in the hallway outside Avaline's bedroom while Susan and Analiese leaned against the wall, not speaking. All three were too nervous to think about anything other than their Telmarine-born friend.
"By Aslan, Peter, if you don't stop pacing I may have to smack you!" Susan said.
Peter paused for a moment in his pointless motion, then continued. "I'm sorry, Su, but I can't think straight."
"And walking is somehow helping you with that?"
"Somehow," he agreed.
Several more minutes passed.
"Do you think she's okay?" Analiese asked. "I mean, it's been a long time. We're getting towards an hour. Should we be worrying?"
"Isn't that what we're already doing?" Peter asked, silencing her.
The three royals had lost track of time now. Their worries continued to badger them.
"I'm considering blowing the horn for Caspian and Lucy," Susan suggested.
"Should we wake Edmund?" Analiese asked.
"I'm not sure if that's the best way to go right now," her husband answered.
What seemed like hours later, one of the nurses cracked the bedroom door and peeked her head out. "Your Majesties, you may enter if you wish. We believe we have figured the problem, however we're not sure how to solve it."
She slipped back inside the room, and the three rulers exchanged frightened looks. They followed the nurse inside, nonetheless. Peter, being the last one inside, decided to leave the door open this time in case he had to call for more help. Analiese was waiting for him and held out her hand. He gripped it tightly, and they went toward the gathering of nurses.
At first, he couldn't quite tell what was going on, as the nurses and Susan stood in his line of vision. But as he grew nearer, he looked past the backs of their heads and saw Avaline, lying in bed covered in blood.
(Now, I won't go into full detail here, or else you may become as sick as Analiese felt. But in short, Avaline was experiencing premature labor.)
One of the assistant nurses turned around to face the king and queens.
"Your Majesties, the Queen has started prematurely contracting." She saw the confused expressions on their faces. "This means the baby is coming."
"Is she going to be okay?" Analiese asked.
The nurse sighed. "I can't say too much yet, but I wouldn't hold my breath."
"What does that mean?" Peter shouted. The poor nurse jumped at the roaring of the High King's voice.
"It appears that the baby has an irregular heart rate. We took the child's pulse and it's stuttering quite a bit. This may be due to the baby being premature."
"How long ago was this?" Susan asked.
"Around twenty minutes ago."
"You mean to tell me that you haven't just pulled the thing out yet? What in Aslan's name have you fools been doing for the past hour?" Peter cried.
"Peter," Susan put a hand on his shoulder. "You can't pull a baby out."
"Actually, you can somewhat," the nurse answered. "But this child is very small and fragile, so we can't afford harming it."
As she spoke, a gut-wrenching noise of pain coming from the direction of the bed nearly deafened them.
"By Aslan, why am I here?" Peter groaned.
Four ear-piercing screams later, Peter was ready to leave. He couldn't stand the thought of birth, especially when his stupid thoughts reminded him that Analiese may be in Avaline's place some day.
"I'm leaving," he announced. Peter had just reached the door when he was startled by a strange noise. This sound was unlike anything he had every heard before. It was a weak, high-pitched squeal, with a thick sound to it. He turned, looking back at Avaline. But instead of Avaline, he saw the nurse standing in front of her with a small, squirming, bloody thing in her arms. She was doing something to it, squeezing its neck...
"Hey!" he shouted. His hand jerked toward the sword at his hip. "She is choking the princess! Stop her immediately!"
The remaining two nurses threw their eyes over to this young, obviously inexperienced nurse.
"Ziena!" one of them screeched, running as fast as she could toward her. This new nurse - whose name was Danee - snatched the baby from Ziena's arms.
"What was she doing?" Susan cried.
Nurse Danee's voice was strained as she pressed three of her fingers into the baby's neck. "It appears the child is choking on blood."
The third nurse came up behind this one. "What can I do?" she asked.
"Help me clear the airways," Danee said as she pushed the baby's chest.
After what seemed like an eternity of scared waiting, the baby's thick wails became normal cries. The third nurse wrapped the baby in light pink blankets. She then handed her to Danee, who finished cleaning the baby's bloody face.
When she was done, Danee leaned in toward Avaline and carefully handed the bundle of blankets to her. There was a heartwarming smile on the Queen's face as she held her baby for the first time.
"It's a princess," the nurse said, smiling.
"Adela," Avaline whispered. A tear fell down her cheek. The child had stopped crying and was now holding still, looking back at its mother with big, brown eyes.
Everyone in the room was enjoying this relieving moment when they heard the bedroom door open behind them. Peter, Susan, and Analiese turned their heads to find a groggy, yawning Edmund peering in.
"What's all the commotion about?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. "It woke me up."
When he finally opened his eyes, they widened until they were practically the size of ping pong balls as he looked at the sight before him.
"What in Aslan's name-?"
Edmund took several steps forward until he reached Avaline's bed, then dropped to his knees beside it. He didn't blink. He barely breathed. He was astonished by the sight of his child.
"Adela?" he asked.
Avaline looked over at him with nothing but happiness on her face. "Adela," she agreed.
To everyone's surprise, Edmund leaned over and first kissed the baby's head, then Avaline's.
"Should we leave?" Peter asked loudly, interrupting the moment.
Susan smacked his arm loudly, causing him to cry out. "Geez, Su!"
She rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's give them some privacy."
The door shut quietly behind them. As soon as the three were in the hallway, Susan practically exploded. "We have to send letters to Lucy and Caspian! They'll be so excited to hear the news! And what about the Narnians, surely they'd be angry if they found out before we formally announced it. And we can't forget-"
"Susan, one thing at a time," Analiese said, taking an unruly strand of her sister-in-law's hair and patting it down. "We can do all of that, but let's not overwhelm ourselves, okay?"
"Fine," Susan agreed, a smile spreading across her face. "I'm just so happy!"
A/N: So that was a pretty short chapter, I know, but I haven't updated in forever so how about you just enjoy what you've been given until next week? (Or whenever I decide to post another chapter.) Please review, it means the world to me that two years after I started a story and one year after I somewhat abandoned it, people are STILL reviewing! I'll see the review notices in my email and it brightens my day :) Thank you all SO much for the love and support, I couldn't do this without you. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please help me out here, I need ideas about what the next chapter should be about!