Hello, everyone. Sorry for the lack of updates. I have been under a lot of stress in my life right now concerning my father's health. He has been in the Hospital in a total of 4 times this and last month. That included father's day. I like to thank my readers on my author's facebook who gave me support through that. Thank you
I would like to take time to remind you that I have an author only facebook account called, Paige Earthfae, that is completely separate from my personal on. It is mainly used for updates and previews of future chapters. I will except any and all friend requests. There is a link to it in my profile
Now onto the story.
Kianda's reaction to hearing that she was pregnant was probably the most excited she had seen the stoic warrior woman. However, that didn't mean too much. She was smiling, but kept her composer. Before Gabrielle said anything about canceling their secessions Kianda was already on it, but to her relief the warrior woman said she could do other exercises like walking and swimming.
So her pattern for the next weeks was set in stone. She fought off sickness every morning and then made her way to court and carried on as usual. She still made her charity visits, but much less frequently as she had been. On Sundays she went on walks or swims with Kianda and she also wrote many letters to her stepsisters that were coming in much more frequently know.
As time passed, her stomach grew and Gabrielle had talked about wearing baggier dresses to her husband, but he wouldn't hear of it. He said the court would find out soon enough already and that she should be proud. She didn't argue with Adrian, but inside she was wary of the looks that would come her way once her stomach grew enough and sure enough they came.
Gabrielle noticed far more looks coming her way as the next few months passed. Whenever she walked the halls she would notice servants stop and stare at her. That in itself wasn't too unusual, especially with newer servants. But now the looks seemed more longer and their faces more curious and excited it seemed like. It also seemed like she would always leave whispers in her wake whenever she passed a decently sized group of maids. She blocked out everything they said and tried her best to ignore it. It wasn't just the servants.
It was the court and the commoners too. She noticed more looks from the commoners when she went to charity events and festivals. She remembered one embarrassingly moment when a child was sitting on her lap and immediately began to feel up her stomach. The queen turned red and his mother quickly removed him and gave her deepest apologies. The nobles at court were always asking how she was feeling.
It was so obvious that her sisters wrote to inform her that rumors of her pregnancy had even spread back to her old village. Then one night her king finally said it,
"I think it is time to announce your pregnancy. You are along safely enough now." He told her. Gabrielle looked up to Adrian.
"I think the better word is 'conformation' not announcement since I am sure the whole kingdom knows I'm having a baby." At this the king gave a chuckle.
"That is likely more accurate. But we will wait till Monday to see won't we?" Tonight was a Saturday night and court was not in secession tomorrow. She smiled and nodded at her husband. That Sunday morning she had woken up feeling sick and it did not go away as usual. She decided much to her disappointment to cancel her swim with Kianda and relax for the day. Adrian on a hunt with some of her council leaving her free reign of the royal suite.
She was sitting there; reading a book, about a girl cursed to turn into a swan, when the window of the suite flew open and a gust so powerful swooped in that it made the pages of her book fly widely. She got up, fighting against the wind to try to make it to the window to shut the latch.
Was there a storm coming?
The sky was blue with only a few wispy white clouds and no sounds of thunder. But that wind...
Gabrielle had to cover her eyes as she made her way to the window and using all her strength (and probably more) forced it shut and quickly latched it. The whole experince made her out of breath.
"Well, well...now I finally meet you, the Swan Queen." Gabrielle froze at this. That voice it was smooth and feminine, but it's diction...was inhumane. She slowly turned around and gasped at what she saw. She has never seen a woman, or anyone dressed the way this woman was dressed.
Her skin was brown, but not as dark as Kianda's and too dark to be just be a tan. Her hair was black and pulled back in a braid. In the center of her forehead was a jeweled bead. However, the most noticeable thing about her was the way she was dressed. She was wearing a skirt that was clearly not from this part of the world. (from what she could see) it fit over her figure, but around it was a large piece of cloth that hung over her shoulder.
Gabrielle moved away and the strange woman only smirked.
"W-who are you?" The queen stuttered out, not sure what to do.
"Oh, swan queen I am hurt that you don't recognize me. After all I am the reason you are queen." At this Gabrielle let out a terrified gasp and backed away.
"Asura." She whispered. The blonde's back was now to the wall. The fae only grinned and nodded in confirmation. Gabrielle's heart almost stopped beating at the sight of the infamous fae. She backed away until he back was against the wall. She covered her stomach as though in an attempt to someone protect her unborn babies from the power of a fae. Much to her fear, the fae stepped forward. The smirk on her face meant it was clear she was getting a sick pleasure out of the queen's fear.
"Yes, that is me, Swan Queen. It is I the one who made you the queen of this mortal land." She raised her hands as if almost in praise. In praise of what? Gabrielle didn't think she wanted to know.
"My lady-" Gabrielle was not sure if she was suppose to address a fae as 'lady', but she decided the best course of this was to be polite as possible to the unwelcomed visitor. Even Isodara would have known better than to be disrespectful to a fae. Especially one who was known to hate humans. "-what do you wish of me."
At this the dark skinned fae titled to hair to the side and tapped a finger to her lips as though wondering. It was so clear that she was mocking Gabrielle and taking absolute pleasure in her terror of her.
"Umm...what do I want? That is a good question. A very good one, indeed." She took another step closer which made Gabrielle suck her stomach in to make as much space between then as she could. "Perhaps...I just came to check on you? After all you are my prize project." Gabrielle blinked her green eyes at this as she felt her throat tightened. It was hard to get her next words out, but she somehow managed.
"Your prize project?" Asura continued her grin and nodded.
"I was curious...very curious indeed. Human rulers are often cruel and stupid and put their own selfish interest above the well being of their people. Seeing them as only taxpayers or potential soldiers. Something to use and rarely help. Something to keep them feed while they get fat and the peasants become bones." She shook her head, "Humans are selfish creatures to the bone...so an idea came to me." At this Asura stopped talking and looked directly into Gabrielle's bright green eyes. The queen realized that the fae wanted her to speak.
"What did you want to find out?" She questioned.
"What would happen if two extremes ran the kingdom. One with no heart and one with a pure heart. Cursed hearts in charge of a might kingdom. Would it bring ruin, or prosperity?" The fae tapped her lips again, "So far it looks like the latter. So far it is. Adrian is a ruthless man, but he doesn't give in to favors or flattery. He has made his kingdom and people strong, but at the expense of countless citizens of other nations. Of course, he doesn't care." She gave a chuckle at that as though she was amused.
Then to Gabrielle's horror she moved forward and finally closed the space between them. Their breasts were almost touching. She didn't move a muscle as Asura took a strand of her golden hair and began to play with it. Her eyes were clouded over with something. Something Asura recognized...lust. Was this fae a woman lover?
"I gave you the gift of beauty." She said softly, "But you have surpassed by expectations. Perhaps I should have kept you for myself instead of giving you into the hands of the king of war?" Then to Gabrielle's horror Asura moved her face closer to her's. Now their breasts were touching. She closed her eyes before she felt the lightest kiss on her lips. Gabrielle felt her heart stopped. What if this woman decided to take her away from her husband? A wave of terror filled through her entire body at the thought of never seeing Adrian again. Then with all her strength. She pushed the fae back, breaking the kiss.
The fae stumbled back and the queen was now filled with renewed horror at what she just did. She had just offended a great and powerful fae. Asura finally caught her balance and then started laughing. The blonde had no idea what to make of this and really didn't want to stay to find out. She looked at the door and then as quickly as she could she made a run for it.
She heard the fae's laugh only grow greater when she suddenly felt her limbs freeze and grow limp. Asura walked over to face her. Her dark brown eyes gleamed with amusement.
"My looks like you are velvet covering steel. This pleases me greatly." At this Gabrielle felt herself regain control of her limbs. However, this time she knew better than to run.
"Please...just tell me what you want?"
"Why, my dear. I just wanted to check up on you in person this time." Gabrielle looked at her in confusion.
"What do you mean...this time?"
"Miss Goose isn't the only fae that has been watching you." She laughed, "The queen was a fool to think she could hide you from me." The girl paused at this.
"Are you satisfied with what you see?" She asked, hoping this would be the end of it.
"No, not quite, yet." Then as quick as a viper, Asura placed her hand over her lower stomach and Gabrielle felt a warmth go through there. In panic she jumped back away from her hand. The blonde remembered that was the same thing that Miss Goose had done to see if she was pregnant.
"Oh, how wonderful." The fae clapped her hands together in obvious glee. "A little boy and girl. How sweet!"
"A boy and girl?" Gabrielle questioned and Asura nodded eagerly. Miss Goose had told her that she was only carrying twins, not the genders. Did this mean that Asura was simply that more powerful in magic.
"Oh, and the girl looks very interesting." There was now a mischievous gleam in the fae's eyes.
"What do you mean?" Gabrielle asked with a shaky voice. Was there something wrong with her baby girl. "Is something wrong with my daughter?" The fae simply shook her head.
"No, my dear nothing is wrong...in fact quite the opposite." Gabrielle was about to ask another questioned, but a breeze flew over her, and she was suddenly knocked back and she covered her eyes. She gave a loud cry, then when she opened them the fae was gone. The blonde froze and looked around. She was breathing so heavy and she could feel her heart pounding in her ears. She didn't know what to do. She just went on instinct.
She screamed and started crying. At this she heard the rushing of feet and the door open and servants and guards alike came in to see the hysterical queen. Her ladies in waiting gathered around her in an attempt to smooth her and ask what was wrong, but she couldn't find her voice because she was in such a panic.
"Please, your majesty, calm down." Came one,
"What is wrong?" Asked another. At this point the young queen was in full tears. The guards stood in the background, unsure of what to do with a hysterical woman, but they did survey the room for anything that could have physically harmed her. Finally, her breaths began to reside.
"I need my husband!" She cried,
"He is on a hunt, your majesty." Usually, Gabrielle would not have wanted to disturb Adrian when he was having one of his moments of pleasure, but right now she needed him.
"Please, I beg you, I need him." The tears had not stopped coming down her face.
"I'll send a message to the king, right away." Came the voice of a male guard. Gabrielle thanked him, before he left. The blonde uneasily sat down on the window seat and stared out into window. She felt so unsafe even surrounded by these guards. What could they do against a powerful fae?
Nothing.
That was the answer. Not even her great and powerful husband could do anything. But she still needed him, she needed even the illusion of comfort and protection. She was no longer responding to her ladies questions. She could hear the sounds, but the words didn't reach and form in her mind. She was too caught in a world wind of emotions and fears to speak, or hear. Eventually, her ladies stopped asking questions. The queen was too lost in her own thoughts of Asura and what horrible plans she could have for her children.
She barely registered the doctor entering until he was kneeling in front of her and examining her. It looks like she had worried them enough to call a doctor. Finally, she forced herself to listen to the doctor's words and answered his questions to the best of her abilities, but refused to talk about what had happened.
"I can only tell that to his majesty." She kept repeating against the doctor's persistence. Eventually, the doctor gave up and examined her and found no evidence any harm had been done to her, or the children. (The doctor was one of the few people to know for sure that she was pregnant) to which she thanked every God for. In the end the doctor told the ladies to help her to bed and for the guards to guard her door. He said that she should be left alone to rest.
Gabrielle had no idea how could rest with her nerves shoot as they were. But somehow...she eventually feel asleep. She awoke to the sound of the door opening.
"Gabrielle." Came Adrian's voice. She slowly sat up and relief swelled in her heart.
"My lord." She cried out and he came to her side and the queen wrapped her arms around her king and began to sob into his chest. She was so thankful when he wrapped his arms around her. It was the first time since Asura's arrival that she felt safe. Even if the safety was only a mere illusion.
"What's wrong, my queen?" He whispered, his voice had an unusual tenderness to it. He knew Gabrielle well enough that she was not the type of woman to call her husband off a hunt for petty reasons. Gabrielle hesitated as she swallowed before looking up to him.
"Asura." She whispered, below her breath. At this she felt her husband freeze. His ice blue eyes clouded over.
"What?" His voice, raising, and she could feel anger overtake him. Usually, Gabrielle would be in fear of her lord's anger. Afraid that he could hurt someone, or something in his wake. But now she wanted his anger to protect her and their helpless unborn children. She feels his hands run through her golden hair, as though he is making sure she is real and not some trick from that fae's sick mind.
"She visited me." She finally answers and lifts up from Adrian's chest and looks up at him. Her green eyes are bloodshot from all her weeping. He ran a hand down her pale soft skin and kissed her.
"What happened?" He speaks more softly, though the anger is still there. He probably doesn't want to frighten her more than she already has been. She tells him everything to the best that her still shocked mind can. When she kiss part she thinks of leaving it out, but can't. When she finally mentions it a look of disgust passes over her husband's face and she feels his grip on her tighten. Eventually, she gets to the part of the story she dreads.
The part where she tells him about what she said about her daughter.
"But she said nothing was wrong...she said it was quite the opposite and I don't know what that means." She was very confused looking back. Adrian turned to the door way and called out an order to the guard.
"Call the seamstress, Miss Goose!" Gabrielle gaped, did he know?
"Why are you calling for her?" Adrian looked back at her.
"You think I don't know a fae that's right under my nose?"
"Did she tell you?"
"No, I figured it out quite easily on my own and when I confronted her about it and, she didn't hesitate to admit it." He continued to stroke his wife's golden hair, pulling her close to him. It was though he was afraid if she was out of his grasp that he would never see her again. She rested against him for the longest time until the door opened, revealing Miss Goose.
"You wanted to see me, your majesty?" At this, Adrian tightened his grip on his queen, but turned to face the fae.
"Yes, I did." His voice barely contained his rage, causing Gabrielle to look up in concern as her husband went on a tirade of everything that had happened.
"You were suppose to set out charms to prevent anything like this happening!" He yelled at her. Charms? What did he mean? Did he have Miss Goose do magic spells in an attempt to protect her from the fae?
"I did all in my power, but Asura is so strong."
"I don't want to hear excuses. If you felt that your power was no match for Asura's you should have admitted it, so I could have found a stronger fae." At this Gabrielle decided it was time to try to calm her husband down.
"My lord." She spoke softly, "Please, she did all she could. Miss Goose has watched over me since I was a child. She would not have put me in danger on purpose. This is no one's fault." She tried to reason with him. This didn't seem to do much for him because she could feel the tension in him.
"My lord," Miss Goose began, "I did what I could in my power...but perhaps I can beseech the help of the fae council to protect your queen and your children. However, it is not an easy task sense the Fae Council do not like to interfere with human affairs.
"Tell them that I will be willing to give them any treasure or lands they want. I own plenty of forests and grooves that would please the fae. I will send reports of my wealth and lands to them." Miss Goose nodded and bowed.
"I will be on it, My lord." With that Adrian dismissed Miss Goose. He gave out a loud sigh and rubbed his forehead.
"Adrian..." Gabrielle whispered, and kissed him and he returned it." He leaned her back to the bed and laid down beside her. His arms still wrapped tightly around her. The next morning both of them were quiet. Gabrielle wondered if he would still announce her pregnancy to the court. If he announced it while obviously in a foul mood it might make people think he was displeased which would only spread rumors.
But of course, rumors were already spreading. Her cries had have been heard throughout the castle and she could just imagine the servants and guards going home and to the towns spreading news about her cries. She hoped perhaps this would just be passed on as hysteria from her pregnancy. Finally, it is time for them to leave on court business.
In court she notices more looks to her, eyes full of curiosity. She wonders if it is from her obvious pregnancy, or about her screams last night. Perhaps a mix of both? Finally, her king bangs the scepter to the ground, signaling court is in secession. Then he stands.
"I have an announcement to make. Queen Gabrielle now carries my child." A mutter of excitement fills the air and some applauds are given, but Adrian holds up his hands to signal them to calm down, "And according to our best doctors it is likely twins." At this the court gets loud with excitement. Gabrielle knows from her readings that there has not been a royal twin birth in about five hundred years and that was to one of the greatest kings. So superstition will likely favor this pregnancy.
The court is paused as excitement is given through the air along with congratulations. The ladies of the court crowd around the queen at a volume that is far too much for what just only happened last night. They coo over the possibility of the baby princess and offer advice which the queen graciously accepts.
A similar crowd of men surrounds the king, already trying to get favors and some mentioning their own young children as potential playmates. Though not even Gabrielle is naïve enough to not realize that these men seek to gain favor through their children. The blonde frowns at the thought of her children only having playmates that are only playing with them to gain influence in the future. Then an idea comes to her. Why not have servant and peasant children come and play with them? She holds the idea in her head and decides to tell her husband about it later.
Finally, Adrian bangs the scepter again to announce that court has to get back to business. Gabrielle is so relieved at the end of the day when court is finally out of session. She had to wear a mask today and now she had permission to finally slip it off.
"There is something I want to show you, Gabrielle, something I need to show you." He tells her. Gabrielle looks at him curiously and he holds out a hand to her. She takes it and he leads her to an empty room that is across the hall from their's.
"This will be our nursery for the twins." He tells her. It is a bare, white, but spacious room. It even has a window seat. Gabrielle looked around the room, imaging bookshelves, cribs, toys, and all sorts of things.
"It also has a secret." And at this Gabrielle looks up at him in curiosity at what he could possibly mean by secret. The room seems so simple and plan. Before she can ask her husband anymore questions he walks up to the wall that is left of the window seat and began to pull on it. The queen stares in wonder as it moves out of place to reveal a secret passage. Gabrielle let out a gasped and Adrian turned back to her.
"This is an emergency escape route that only the royal family knows about. Everyone who ever worked on it is now dead." He told her, and stepped up to her and took her hands into his.
"There is only one route so there is no chance of getting lost. It leads out to a cave in the forest. I don't want you to ever have to use it, but you should know...in case." She tightened her grip on his hands and nodded.
"I am thankful for you showing this to me, my lord. I need to know such things." Her thoughts turned back to Asura, but could such a thing help her against the fae? As though reading her thoughts, Adrian pulled her into his arms and buried his head in her golden blonde hair and whispered.
"I will use every power that on earth, Olympus, and Hades, that I can get my hands on to keep you and our children safe." Gabrielle looked up at him with a frightful expression.
"You mustn't swear such thing! It is dangerous! A sin against the Gods! It's hubris." Her pleas had no effect on her stubborn husband. He simply kissed her forehead.
"I will do whatever is in my power and beyond it." That was the end of that conversation. The next months passed with word spreading all across the country and beyond the borders. Baby gifts came in from around the country, and the world. Celebrations were held at the thought of heirs and such. However, the queen at the center of this mostly stayed indoors. Adrian was growing impatient at the lack of news from the Fae Council on his petition for protection from Asura. He would call Miss Goose to their chambers every night to see if she heard any news, but she only informed him that she had none.
Until one night...
"What do you mean that they won't do anything!" He screamed, causing both the queen and fae to flinch.
"I am sorry, your majesty, I did all I could. I swear I did." Adrian took a vase of flowers and smashed it against the wall in frustration. Gabrielle rushed to his side and silently dismissed Miss Goose. She held her husband...she swore if Adrian had a heart he would have been weeping now. She just held him for the longest time.
The next day at court he made a proclamation of a series of great sacrifices for the Gods at a rate unheard of. He said it was to gain favor for his offspring, but Gabrielle knew that it was in truth a desperate plea for the Gods' protection. She felt so bad for her husband. He was in a place he wasn't familiar with. A state of helplessness. He was use to feeling powerful and on top of things, but now he had an enemy of one of the most powerful fae in the world. What power did a mere mortal king have against that?
Gabrielle tried her best to remain cheerful and kept up her daily prayers for her children, husband, and people. The months passed and finally...the day of the birth came.
Miss Goose had given her magic to help lesson the pain, but it didn't stop the pain completely and she was failing and crying throughout the labor. She was in labor for half a day. Finally, the two infants passed. First the girl, Atropos, and the boy, Helios. She laid there in much needed rest as the babies were cleaned, as she heard their cries.
Finally, the twins were placed in her hands. They were so tiny, but her heart was instantly filled with love and happiness for a newborn. She never realized how quickly you could love someone so quickly. She examined their children and noticed something unusual about her daughter.
While her brother was bald as a newborn should be her daughter had a tuff...of white hair. Adrian's color, but wasn't that a sign of a curse? But she couldn't be cursed. That was impossible. What on earth did it mean? Was it just an accident of genetics? A break of her wondering came when she heard the door opening and she looked up to see her husband and smiled. He walked over to her and kissed her.
"How do you feel?" At this Gabrielle gave a blank stare.
"You are never touching me again." She said curtly. At though Adrian gave a chuckle the first one he had given in months and Gabrielle smiled, glad to see it.
"Well see about that." He said before looking at his children and he seemed to notice Atropos' white hair himself.
"I will get Miss Goose to look at this." Gabrielle nodded in agreement.
"Until then get some rest, my queen." He gave her one last kiss.
Thank you all for reading this. Remember reviews are always appreciated.
And the next chapter is a timeskip of five years later.