I sipped slowly at my orange juice as I scanned the newspaper headlines. They were all pretty politically correct for the most part. There were pictures of me with various members of my family plastered on the front, mostly just random pictures that reflected whatever they were saying about my family. The journalists expressed some excitement over my having an heir and one paper even went so far as to explain the advantages to me going into my reign with an heir already in place.

The tabloids were a whole other story. Dad and Gavril could pay the major newspapers exorbitant sums of money to keep them positive but they had no control over the low-lives who ran the gossip magazines. Some just lamented that I had let my partying get the best of me or that I was reckless and that this was bound to happen eventually. The worst one, Royal Dish, had a picture taken of me outside a club from the summer and claimed that I was a raging alcoholic and that I really didn't know who the father of this baby was.

Mom and I both announced the pregnancy in an extremely staged interview with Gavril during the last Report. The people loved Mom and Dad figured that it would soften the blow if she was with me when we made the announcement, recalling the excitement the people had each time they had tell the country that they were pregnant. I sighed and slumped down in my chair to make my bump a bit more pronounced, putting my hands on either side. "Would it make you feel better if I promised that I love you?" I asked it. As if the baby was actually answering I felt another headache coming on. "That's what I thought."

Someone knocked on my door and Kile poked his head in. "Knock, knock," he greeted.

"Who's there," I joked, sitting up straighter again. "I thought you were in Kent with your grandparents." Kile and I had been spending more time together since we agreed to become friends. I also think that he got lonely at times. All of his friends from medical school were together and here he was by himself. Yes, he was at the palace attending to the royal family for a rather handsome salary but he probably missed having people around that understood his job.

"Dad and I came back early. We both have jobs here at the palace now and can't afford to miss that much time," he explained as he sat down across from me. He picked up one of the magazines by the corner of it, holding it out from his body as if it would bite him. "I can't believe you're torturing yourself by reading this crap."

I shrugged. "They seem to forget that in a few short years I'll be queen and I could very easily take away their publishing rights. It's good ammo to keep in mind for when I can do that."

"Seems like an awful long time to hold a grudge against a bunch of lame people," he commented. I chose not to answer him. "How've you been feeling?"

"Restless," I snapped, giving him an accusatory look.

He laughed, seeming to find my annoyance amusing. "You're getting a party tonight though. That should be fun."

"Yeah, a party that I didn't get to help plan, that I have to share with my twin brother, and a party that I have to leave early because I apparently have a curfew now. A curfew, in my own home." I shook my head, my headache getting progressively worse. As stupid as it sounded, maybe a curfew was a good excuse for me to leave since I'd been feeling less than stellar lately. "Happy birthday to me," I grumbled.

"That reminds me!" Kile suddenly exclaimed, rising so he could pull something out of his back pocket. "I got something for you."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "A present?"

"Just something from Kent that I saw and thought you would like," he said, trying to downplay it. But I still knew that it was jewelry as soon as I saw the square shape of the box.

I carefully lifted the lid and found a silver bracelet inside with a crown charm. "A crown?" I asked.

"You seem rather fond of them."

"I'll wear it tonight. Thank you," I said fervently. Something about this gift felt significant. He was halfway across the country and saw something that reminded him of me. How deep were his feelings for me really? And why was he hiding them from me? I felt like I should do more to thank him, something that would really warrant getting a gift like this from someone who was supposedly just a friend. Maybe a chaste kiss on the cheek? No. This relationship had to be strictly platonic. I couldn't give him mixed signals. But something in me did long to kiss him again.

After a moment of awkward silence he sighed and stood up. "I should get going. I'm working all day and Dr. Ashlar hates it when I'm late."

"Yeah, I definitely wouldn't want to hold you up." I walked him to the door and stopped on the threshold. "Will I see you tonight at the party?"

"I don't think so," he said, a hint of regret in his voice. "A couple maids are expecting to have their own babies any day now. It's probably best that I'm readily available."

"Wow, yeah." His selflessness as a doctor always made me awestruck. As queen I could change the world as much as I wanted. I could save lives but only from a distance. I wondered what it was like to do it up close. To see the change you're making in someone's life right in front of you.

Kile finally smiled and waved awkwardly before sliding out the door. Once he was out of sight I walked down the hall to Dad's study. He was inside writing typing away on his computer, his headphones in so he wasn't distracted. I waved to him to grab his attention. "Hey. Aren't you supposed to be resting?" he asked me.

"I've been resting for the last two weeks. If I rest anymore I will lose my mind."

"Well I hate to break it to you but you've got a long road ahead of you." He smiled sadly. "Although, I think once you get to your third trimester you'll be more willing to lay around all day. Even your mother had to slow down at that point in her pregnancies and you know how stubborn she can be."

I smiled. He and Mom had been giving me a lot of helpful pointers over the last few weeks. Considering Dad's initial reaction, I was thankful to still be living in the palace. His support was more than I could have ever asked for. "Where is Mom?" I asked, noticing her absence.

"Taking care of last minute details for tonight. And I think she was trying to go into the city to get some more presents but I doubt Aspen cleared it." Dad checked his watch. "Shouldn't you be getting ready soon?"

"Probably," I sighed, putting a hand to my head in hopes of reducing the throbbing.

Dad noticed my discomfort and gave me a sympathetic look. "Amber, really, you should go lie down if you're not feeling well. I want you to be able to enjoy the party tonight."

"Mom shouldn't be doing all of the work. We didn't even celebrate her birthday," I said to him.

"We celebrated," he argued. "Well, your mother and I celebrated. Believe me, we're much happier to celebrate your birthdays. Ours aren't a big deal anymore."

"But you're turning forty this year!" I exclaimed. "That's pretty special."

He rolled his eyes and smiled. "Yes, I know I'm turning forty. I'm also going to be a grandfather. Just keep reminding me of how old I'm getting."

"Please," I snorted, and then winced at the sudden pulse of pain in my head. I imagined that this was what it felt like to have a nail driven through your temple. "I guess I'll go sleep." I stood up reluctantly and walked out, not missing my father's triumphant smile as he went back to work.

Parrah woke me up after a couple hours of sleeping. I didn't feel much better but I powered through it. This was my birthday night; I was going to try my best to enjoy it. She drew a bath for me to soak in while she painted my fingernails and toenails. She curled my long hair and pulled it to the side so that it was elegantly coiffed. With just a half hour until the party was supposed to start she put the finishing touches on my makeup and pulled my dress out of the garment bag. We had discussed the design of my dress at length. I wanted it to be comfortable but we also had to try to accommodate my rapidly changing body. The measurements she took two weeks ago for the dress were not the same ones I had today.

It was black chiffon with a high neck that had gold beading circling it, giving me the illusion of a necklace or choker. She had a black satin sash that tied around my waist and could be adjusted as needed. I still had a waistline but it wasn't as defined as before. I knew that it was a matter of days or weeks before it was gone altogether.

Shalom and Dad were out in the hallway already, taking care of the finishing touches for their outfits. Shay was wearing gray paints with a black button down. His black tie had gold threaded in it. "You both look dashing," I said, grabbing their attention as I approached.

"You look beautiful, sis," Shay complimented back to me as Dad helped him put on his cuff links. "Can't even tell you're pregnant."

I laughed and shook my head. "Thanks Shay."

Win came out then, tugging on the sleeves of her white lace dress uncomfortably. "This lace was not so scratchy when I picked it out," she complained.

Mom and Annie emerged from Annie's room, both of them dressed but Mom was arranging Annie's hair perfectly. "Wow. Are we all ready at the same time for once?" Mom asked, looking around at us. She looked tired and I immediately felt guilty. Sometimes it was so easy to forget that I wasn't her only responsibility. She had four other kids to look after and I left her with all of the party planning. I should have pushed her more to let me help. "You two look good together," she told Shay and me.

"You look stunning, my dear," Dad said to Mom. He leaned in to kiss her but she quickly dodged it.

"Lipstick. Sorry." She shrugged and he settled for kissing her cheek.

We started walking downstairs to the party. Win, Mom and I carried our heels in our hands, waiting to put them on at the last possible moment. Mom had a strict rule of no heels until we turned thirteen and Annie was getting more and more impatient for that everyday.

The headache that had followed me around all day was only serving to make me dizzy. I gripped the railing tightly as we descended to the first floor as a family unit, trying to act normally but Shay was not fooled at all. "If you don't feel well, you can come to the party later," he offered.

I shook my head. "It's my birthday party; I'll power through." He sighed and I could see that he didn't think it was a good idea but he also knew that he couldn't talk me out of this. I had made up my mind.

The party was in full swing when we entered the Great Room. Other royals were there as well as some of my old friends from school. Shay was immediately swallowed up by his dancer friends, Win following behind like a puppy that had just found itself in heaven. Although I guess for her spending the night with a bunch of professional dancers was a dream come true. I meandered through the room, wishing desperately that I could just have one glass of champagne. Nights like these always tested my decision to stop drinking. Not that it was really a decision but I could have kept drinking. It would just be at my baby's risk.

I danced with Dad and Shay danced with Mom for a couple dances but the entire time they were shooting each other glances, obviously wishing they could be dancing with each other. They seemed to have a thing for dancing together. I was still suffering from dizzy spells and when I was talking to my cousin Emma it was particularly bad.

"I heard the news by the way. Congratulations!" she squealed.

"Thanks," I said absently, looking for a quick exit.

Emma kept gushing. "I just can't believe it. You're the first of my cousins to become a mom. I know since you're one of the oldest it would make sense for that to happen but still…it's so soon!"

Luckily Mom approached me then. "Lipstick check?" she asked, obviously sensing my annoyance with Emma. I nodded gratefully and led the way to one of the side rooms used by the royal family during parties to take breaks and reapply makeup. Parrah and Mary were there, mascara and lipstick at the ready for touchups.

Mom and I looked into adjacent mirrors. She swiped her hand over some of the gray hairs that had been growing, a look of worry reflecting back at her. I put my hand over hers and squeezed it. "You're beautiful Mom."

She smiled and shook her head at me. "You kids are doing this to me, I hope you know that."

"Hey, it just means that you'll fit the part, grandma," I joked.

Her face fell serious. "That's not funny in the slightest, Amber Celeste."

"Really? I thought it was hilarious." At that moment I was struck with a rather intense head rush and swayed, pressing a hand to my forehead. I clutched the table in front of me and tried to stay steady and waited for it to pass.

"Amber, what's wrong?" Mom asked in an urgent voice. I waved a hand at her to signify that I was fine and to just leave me alone. Of course she knew I was lying. "You should sit down."

She put her hands on my shoulders and started leading me over to a chair but I shook my head. "I'm fine," I ground out between my teeth but I was fighting to stay conscious.

The door to the Great Room opened and Dad and Shay stepped through. "Thought we'd find you both in here," Dad said, smiling at Mom but his smile disappeared when he saw me. "Amber, you really don't look good."

Shay rushed to my side and put an arm around my waist to hold me upright. "I told you not to come."

"I'm fine," I insisted.

"Bullshit," he snapped. I opened my mouth to argue with him more but instead the room tilted and I felt Shalom's arms tighten around me. Then everything went dark.

When I came to I was looking up at the canopy of my bed. Someone had removed my dress and put my silk robe on over my slip. The cool fabric soothed my feverish skin. I put a hand on my stomach, marveling at how my bump seemed to disappear whenever I laid flat. "Why are you trying to kill me?" I whispered to it.

"Amber," someone near me whispered. I turned my head and saw Mom sitting on the edge of my bed, looking incredibly worried.

Then I realized what had happened. "Mom…the baby, did I…" I couldn't finish the question, fear clenching my heart painfully.

"The baby is fine. You gave us quite the scare though," she reproached. "You should've told us about your headache and dizzy spells. Dr. Ashlar could have helped. Or Kile," she added as a sort of afterthought.

Oh no. Kile. "Has anyone told Kile yet?"

Mom shook her head. "He and Dr. Ashlar are both tied up at the hospital. Dr. Ashlar could only spare twenty minutes to make sure that you and the baby were both healthy."

I relaxed significantly knowing that Kile hadn't been the one fussing over me while I was unconscious. Although I was still slightly freaked out by the fact that Dr. Ashlar probably performed a physical examination without me knowing. Or even that someone had handled me without my consent. "How'd I get up here?"

"Shay carried you. You passed out right in his arms," Mom explained, her voice quaking.

"I'm sorry."

Mom cracked a sad smile. "It's just one of the many joys of pregnancy, honey."

"Is the party over?" I asked. I couldn't imagine Shalom carrying me up here and then just leaving me here. With both of us missing, what happened at the party?

"He stayed with you until Dr. Ashlar left. Then he spelled your father so that he could come up. Although I think that was more so Dad could get some sleep." She nodded over to the chaise by the fireplace where Dad was sleeping. "All of your good friends stayed. They send their warm wishes. Maybe when people hear about this the press will give you a break."

I rolled my eyes, thinking back to those articles I had read in the morning. "I doubt it. They'll probably just say that I deserve it for not being more careful." But then I remembered Kile's visit. I brushed my arm against my duvet and felt the bracelet dig into my skin a bit.

Mom noticed. "Is that from him?" she asked, not even having to specify the guy.

"Yeah." She pursed her lips, obviously keeping her lips to herself. "It means nothing. It's a friendship bracelet."

"The first present your father ever gave to me was a bracelet," she reminded me.

"I know. You let me wear it for my wedding to Derrick, remember?"

She shrugged. "I'm just saying. Never underestimate the power behind a bracelet." She stood and kissed my forehead gently. "As ridiculous as it sounds, you should rest. You'll feel better after sleeping a bit."

"Thanks Mom. For everything." Being queen, a mother to five children and my go-to person for this pregnancy couldn't have been easy and she needed more recognition for it. I loved my mom. Sometimes the tabloids would get a little unruly with her and that's when I would normally act out, just to divert attention from her. She was the strongest woman I knew; she didn't deserve the bad things that were occasionally said about her. She woke Dad up and led him out of the room and to their own bedroom, him only half-awake and dragging his feet behind her. "I love you," I whispered. My hand was still resting on my stomach, I was still watching the doorway where Mom had just disappeared through, and Kile was still very much on my mind so I didn't really know who I was saying it to. I just knew it was true.

When I woke up again it was to a rumbling stomach. Mom warned me about having cravings and a strange appetite but I didn't expect it to happen so suddenly. I was never one for eating when it was past midnight so it was easy to conclude that this was because of the baby.

Parrah had worked hard enough during the day as it was so I decided to just not bother her and go down to the kitchens myself. I didn't really know what I wanted but I just knew that I needed something sweet. Maybe yogurt or pudding.

Cooks were still bustling around the kitchen despite the late hour. I guessed that cooking for the royal family never stopped. There was one other person in the kitchen though that clearly was not a cook. He sat at the counter, staring at a bowl of cheesy pasta blankly with his shoulders hunched over. He looked exhausted; something I wasn't used to seeing in him. He must have had a long night in the hospital of either doing nothing or taking care of people nonstop.

"Hey," I said quietly. The cooks were leaving him alone, carrying on with their duties around him. I was, however, drawing quite a bit of attention. "Long night?"

"I delivered two babies," Kile told me. I sat down on a stool across from him. "I just finished up my duties about a half hour ago and I'll have to go back in tomorrow morning to make sure the mothers and the babies are doing okay."

I smiled gently. "That's really kind of you."

He shrugged and lifted a bottle of beer to his lips. It was strange to see him drink. I was starting to realize that I was seeing a very different side to Kile Woodwork. The one that saved lives and delivered babies and had spent time in Africa watching people die from illnesses that he couldn't cure. "I like for my patients to have some sort of consistency."

"How are the mothers doing?" I asked. Listening to him talk about his work as a doctor was refreshing. It was nice to not have to worry about budgets or referendums or advisers for a few minutes and listen to his smooth voice explain things to me that I didn't know.

"They're both good. Very smooth births, which is always a relief. Both babies are boys."

"Sounds like the palace will be the place to come in twenty years for a man," I joked.

Kile cracked a smile at that, still staring blankly at his pasta. He spun a string of pasta around his spoon absently. "Glad I know what to do in the delivery room seeing as Dr. Ashlar had to leave in the middle of a birth. Something about the princess passing out?" He raised his eyebrows at me questioningly but he still looked a touch concerned.

"The baby was just trying to tell me that I needed to sleep more, I think," I hedged.

"I don't think it works like that." He eyed me from top to bottom and I started to grow uncomfortable with his examination when he asked, "Why are you down here anyway?"

I started at the sudden question. "Oh, I was hungry. Any idea where a pregnant girl can get some food?"

He laughed out loud. "Well I think you're in the right place. Here, take this and I'll go get some more."

The pasta wasn't what I originally had in mind for a midnight snack but as he passed it across the kitchen counter to me my mouth started watering. I didn't even feel bad about robbing him of his own food; I was just suddenly so hungry that I was about to eat my own hand. "Thanks," I said between mouthfuls of pasta as he sat down across from me with another bowl.

Kile nodded and ate his bowl of pasta, looking around the kitchen as he ate. He seemed comfortable here. "Do you spend a lot of time down here?" I asked. It wasn't like his family dined with mine too often but I didn't think that they ate in the kitchen. Not with as busy as it was during the day.

"Not until recently. I've just been keeping weird hours and after taking care of people all day, I like to do something for myself. Something that I want to do. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being a doctor. It just gets tiring sometimes when all you do is take care of other people."

"I understand. I'm about to a mom, remember? My body is currently giving most of its energy to grow another human."

He smiled and shook his head. "That's different though. You have unconditional love for that baby. My worst enemy could walk into that hospital and I would still have to give them the best care possible just because it's not only my moral obligation but my professional obligation." Kile looked at me sharply. "You understand that too though, right? Since you are going to be queen someday."

"Yeah, but being queen is just so different that I feel like no one really gets it. Even other queens. We all have different countries, different people, different economies, different things we need to be in charge of. Being queen is about doing the harder thing even though it will hurt or probably cost you more money that you don't have. It's about doing what is best for your country. I watch my parents stress and worry over things that could be easily handled but they still choose to do what's best for their people. Does that make sense?"

"As much sense as me explaining how an open heart surgery works to you," he joked. "You've given up so much for this country already Amber. Your entire life you've been making sacrifices for the sake of the crown. I think it's time you do something for yourself."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Like what?"

"Like…let your heart want what it wants." I ducked my head again. He saw right through me, not that I was surprised by that at all. He had known me my whole life. "I don't care what the press would say Amber. I love you and I think you feel similarly. Why keep torturing ourselves like this?"

"I can't do that to Derrick," I said to him, eyeing the cooks around us and wishing that they'd just go away. I didn't want them to have any more fodder for the palace rumor mill. "I want to Kile, I do but I made a promise to Derrick and I'm not ready to break it yet."

Kile nodded resolutely and stood up, taking his bowl of pasta to a nearby sink. I thought he was just going to leave it at that but Kile Woodwork always needed to have the last word. "You're not ready to break that promise or you're not ready to face your future?"