Chapter 19:

Several months had passed since the rebellion, and Eléonore was now in the Vallière state, it was time for Cattleya to give birth to her nephew and of course she wanted to be there, unfortunately, her sister weak constitution had made the past few months really dangerous for her, she had been bedridden since the seventh month and could barely move since the past week, to be honest most people had the horrible feeling she wouldn't make it, but despite all that she was still smiling as she always did.

Right now, the three sisters and their mother were gathered in Cattleya's room, there should still be a week left before the birth, but ever since she found out about her daughter pregnancy, Karin decided to play it safe an hired the best midwife in the country (Maria was her name) to assist Cattleya exclusively for the whole year, she also had to pay her extra for keeping her mouth shut, you see, in order to avoid scandals, they had to made it look as if Karin was the one pregnant (kind of funny when you considered her age and that lately… Err… never mind).

Both her an Cattleya had been hiding for the past months and only a few trusted servants knew about the situation (luckily Karin was just as good in getting people to keep quiet as she was at making them speak), the plan was simple, after she gave birth, Karin would register the child as her own and then give the custody to Cattleya, arguing that her daughter condition made having children too dangerous and she wanted her to know the wonders of motherhood.

Surprisingly it was Cattleya herself who proposed this plan, she said that she had already caused enough trouble for the family and she would be happy just by having her baby and being his mother despite what any piece of paper could say… she really was an angel.

"Mother… you think we're going to be fine?" Despite her smiles, you could see just how worried she was.

Karin tried to smile as she did, but unfortunately she wasn't good at faking "of course you will dear, forget about what the doctors said, those incompetents fools didn't thought you'd live past your teens, what do they know about anything?."

Cattleya wasn't really convinced by her mother's words, she lowered her head so that nobody could see her worried expression, seeing this, Louise moved closer to her sister so she could try to calm her.

"Chii neesama, I know you are worried… but look at the bright side, once he's born, you can finally have him in your arms, think about all the stuff you are going to do with him, the things you'll teach him, how much you'll spoil him, I know you can be the best mother for your baby as you were like a mother for me too… "

Cattleya smiled, but she still had some uneasiness on her face… oh well if her mother ramblings and Louise beautiful words didn't took her worries away then perhaps a joke would help her feel better.

"Yes Cattleya, you are going to be a great mother… at the very least that child will never be hungry" Eléonore poked one of her sister's breasts slightly "You have enough milk in these jugs to feed a dozen babies, but you are only getting one, he is going to grow fat if you're not careful." The joke seemed to work as Cattleya and everybody else in the room laughed out loud.

"'Chuckle' Sis… 'Chuckle'… don't make laugh… 'Laugh' it hurts…"

Suddenly Cattleya stopped laughing and got really serious as she turned to her mother.

"Mother… I think I just broke water… he's ready to come out…"

Everyone stopped laughing… before panic could break loose, Karin took control of the situation.

"Ok dear, it's finally here, your long awaited baby is finally here… Louise, go get Maria san, she should be resting in her room, also get some servants to bring you hot water, cold drinkable water and some towels" Louise said an 'ok' and ran as fast as she could. "Eléonore I want you to stay near your sister, hold her hands and try to keep her relaxed, awake and responding at all times, understood."

"Yes mother" Eléonore took her place at her sister side, grabbed her hands and tried to get her to relax (hard to do when she was almost panicking, but there was no way she could let her knew that).

Soon after, the contractions began, Cattleya was screaming at the top of her lungs, the pain was just too great, Eléonore was trying her best to keep her sister relaxed but that was almost impossible as the contractions were happening more often, she had lost some blood and the situation was looking worst as it went on.

Fortunately, it seemed she became completely dilated faster than normal and after a few hours she was finally ready to push… thank god it was almost over, Cattleya looked way too tired and weak… Eléonore whispered to her ear "You are almost done" As she gave her some cold water to drink before she started pushing.

As she pushed Cattleya looked like she was about to die… but despite all the pain, she was smiling, no doubt because she knew her baby would be born soon… after what seemed to be an eternity Maria finally declared 'it came out…' not precisely the words one would expect to hear in a moment like this, but who cares.

As Karin and Maria were bathing and preparing the baby, Cattleya grew weaker and Eléonore noticed in horror how the hands that had nearly broke hers a few moments ago were losing their strength rapidly, she looked like she had trouble staying awake and if Eléonore had to describe how her sister looked right now… she looked like… well let not get into that.

Karin moved fast, and brought the baby near his mother as quickly as she could. "Congratulations dear, you had a beautiful baby boy."

Cattleya looked at the baby confused, it seemed like she couldn't completely acknowledge the situation, she seemed to be losing consciousness as her eyes were slowly closing … but they were forced open when the silence in the room was suddenly broken by the cries of the new family member… it seemed he was calling for his mother.

As if they were responding that call, the arms that had lost all their strength suddenly moved again towards her baby, she looked at her mother in the eyes, Karin recognized what she wanted and gave her grandchild to her, Cattleya carried her baby in her arms for the first time, she played with him, talking to him and caressing his body, after a while she seemed to have regained most of her vitality.

"Mother…" Karin moved closer to her daughter so she wouldn't have to raise her voice. "When you found out I was pregnant, you told me I should present you my son in my own arms… well here he is… my little Henry…" Karin nodded while everybody else on the room breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Cattleya looked at Henry with such tenderness, the kind that only exists between a mother and her child "He looks just like his father, and I'm sure he'll be a great man just like he was…" Henry looked at her mother and laughed, as he did tears began gathering on Cattleya's eyes… the sad memories of the loss of her beloved, the fear she felt for the past months, the great joy of holding her son and being able to be there for him from now on… she just couldn't hold the tears back anymore and cried silently…

After a while Eléonore and Louise leaved the room, it seems they were a few things left to do, but Karin and Maria could take care of them and it was better if they just let Cattleya and the baby rest.

"I can't believe it, I nearly got a heart attack back there… I thought she wouldn't make it"

"Idiot, of course she was going to be fine, Cattleya is not that weak." Eléonore sighted. "I can't blame you thou, when I thought we were losing her, I really feared the worse…"

Louise smiled "I know, thankfully little Henry call for his mother brought her back… I'll never forget that moment as long as I live."

"Neither will I." both sisters looked at each other and chuckled.

"Both you girls look way too happy… I'll see if you're laughing when it's your turn in a few months." Karin was coming out of the room, despite her harsh words she was all smiles. "Seriously, all my daughters getting pregnant so close to each other… I'm going to waste all the family fortune buying presents and traveling around. "

Yep, Louise and Eléonore were both pregnant now, Louise only had a couple of months while Eléonore was already entering her sixth, needless to say both fathers were extremely happy about this development.

"Anyway, right now your sister and Henry chan are resting, and I suggest we all do the same, Maria san is with her and she will call us if anything happens"

Karin seated near her daughters, they began talking about what the future of Cattleya and Henry could hold, but despite all their doubts and fears, there was one thing they were sure, the worst part was already over, and the best was yet to come for them.