Chapter Thirteen
Nine months later
Christine pushed the nursery door open silently. Taking in the scene before her, she sighed quietly. Erik sat in his rocking chair, their little daughter cradled in his arms as he sang softly. Evie, short for Evieria, stared at his unmasked face in fascination, his white mask held between her chubby fingers. Evie had turned out to have a combination of both Erik and Christine's features as well as a few that weren't those of her parents. She hadn't inherited any of Erik's deformity. Her eyes were a gray green and her hair was jet black. She had Christine's nose and Erik's chin. Christine had only been in labor for three hours before Evieria Amelia Delose was born. Alice had been shocked that the birth had happened so fast. She told them that she had been in labor for the entire day and most of the night when Erik was born. When Erik and Christine first heard Evie's musical cries, they decided that the original name didn't fit, and fashioned a more musical name.
"Erik." Christine whispered. "Is she hungry?" She crossed the room to her husband.
He turned and looked at her. "I'm not sure."
Evie heard Christine's voice and started crying. "I think she is." Christine held out her arms for her daughter, then perched on Erik's lap. "I have good news."
"Oh? And what news is that?"
"In about two more weeks we will be able to try for another baby."
"Are you sure?" She nodded. "Did the doctor tell you?"
"Yes. He told me an hour ago. I went to town."
"Did you take–"
"Yes King Worrier. I took an armored guard with me." Christine rolled her eyes, standing when Evie released her hold on her and yawned. She carried her daughter to her crib and laid her on the mattress, covering her with the blanket made from rabbit's fur Alice had given to her when she was born.
Erik chuckled. "I only worry about you because of Evie."
"You worried about me before Evie was born. You worried about me before I even became pregnant with Evie." Christine huffed, turning and walking through the connecting door to their bedroom.
When Evie was born, Erik and Christine converted the room Christine had used when she first arrived at the palace into a nursery, finding it easiest to have their daughter within hearing distance should she wake up in the middle of the night and need anything. They didn't hire a nurse for Evie, deciding that they didn't want to miss any part of their daughter's baby and toddler years. Christine had also taken on the task of Evie's early life development. When Evie became of age to begin regular schooling, Erik would hire a tutor. Only then would the parents relinquish their hold on their daughter. She would still be kept under the watchful eyes of her mother, and would not be allowed to leave the castle grounds without an armored guard. And Christine would remain in charge of her schooling.
Erik knew Christine was becoming angry with him. He rather enjoyed their little spats. They were what made their marriage interesting. After all, he would have died of boredom if his wife had turned out to be docile. He also enjoyed their fights because that meant that his wife was still the wildcat he knew and loved with all his heart, mind, and spirit. He decided to play along, knowing that when he got her wound up, the only thing he would have to do was tell her he loved her and it would defuse her tirade. He followed her, replacing his mask and closing the door as quietly as possible.
Christine sat at her vanity, brushing her hair, a scowl on her face. "You shouldn't scowl My Queen. It's unbecoming." He stood behind her, his hands at his sides.
She whirled on him, flinging the brush at him. It flew past his ear and landed on the bed with a quiet thud. "Unbecoming? Unbecoming?!" Her face was turning red. "I was fat as a house for months and you told me I was the most beautiful woman in the world." She stood so fast that the stool tipped over. "I was unbecoming then. You have been married to me for over a year, and you're just now telling me that I'm unbecoming? Have you been lying to me this whole time? Do you even love me? Or were you lying about that too?" She was standing directly in front of him now, staring daggers straight through him.
" Christine." Erik tried to take her hand, but she shied away from his touch. She crossed to the wardrobe and pulled out all of her traveling dresses and a valise, bringing them to the bed. "Where are you going?"
"Away?" She shoved the dresses into the bag and closed it with a snap. "I can't stay here."
"Christine please." Erik pleaded. "I love you. Please don't leave me. What about our daughter? Who will take care of her?" He took hold of her shoulders, forcing her to stay where she was. "Please." Tears collected in his eyes. He had cried several times since marrying Christine. The most recent having been when Evie came into the world. Those had been tears of joy. Now, faced with the possibility that his queen would leave him, he let the tears of pain and sadness slide down his face to drip off his chin. "Please." He repeated.
Christine's face remained stony. "Evie will come with me." She spoke with an edge to her usually cheerful voice. "I will not allow you to keep her. She is my daughter. I carried her for nine months. I went through the pain of delivering her into this world. I did all the work. You. Did. Nothing." She jabbed him in the chest to punctuate each word.
She was taking his daughter from him as well? She was taking everything from him. "Christine please. What can I do to change your mind? I never lied to you. Please do not take my daughter away. Please don't leave me. Without you, I'm nothing."
"You can start by improving your attitude. I gave you everything I had. I left my country behind to marry a man I had never met. Who turned out to be nothing but a disfigured coward with a very bad temper. I took care of you when you were incapacitated with fever and you unleashed your temper on me. I almost got kidnapped because of you. I thought I knew the man I married. I even gave birth to your child!" She was screaming now. Suddenly, she drew back her hand and slapped him, knocking his mask off. It slid across the floor, coming to rest under the window.
Erik cupped his stinging cheek. "Christine. Listen to me please. I did not mean it. I was only trying to be humorous. I was not trying to insult you. I would never –"
"You're a rat! And I do not love you anymore. I'm taking my daughter and I'm leaving Britain on the first ship back to France." She turned and walked out of the room through the door to Evie's nursery, her back ramrod straight.
Erik fell to his knees, his hands cupping his face as he let the tears fall. He didn't even attempt to retrieve his mask. His wife had left him. And she was taking his daughter with her. He had nothing left in this world. His parents were away in Scotland visiting his mother's ailing sister. Now he had no one. In the other room he heard the door to the hallway close and his wife's footsteps retreating.
He wanted to go after her. Why didn't he? She was still his wife. And she was bound to him by law. She was also the Queen of Britain. What was the point either way? He had lost her.
But he loved her. Yes. He loved her. That had to mean something to her. He had to do something. He jumped up, ran to the window that overlooked the training yard where he knew there were knights. Opening the window he leaned out and ordered them to get every knight they could find to find the queen and keep her from leaving the castle gates by any means necessary and to bring her to the library. The men raced off in different directions to do as he ordered.
Erik picked up his mask. It was the one Christine had given to him one Christmas. Staring at it, he almost threw it against the wall. It had quite possibly ruined his life. With a sigh, he slipped it back on and smoothed his hair back into place.
A disturbance from the courtyard drew his attention. A woman's voice followed by a baby wailing. The knights had been successful in catching Christine before she left the castle grounds. She didn't sound too happy about it. He took a few seconds to compose himself before he left the room and walked as calmly as possible to the library. He was so frantic that he wanted to go racing through the halls of his castle to get to wherever his wife was. Even if at the moment she hated him.
He was standing by the fireplace staring into the flames when she was led into the room by the arm. Evie was in the basket they used when they took her with them on picnics in the gardens. "Take my daughter to the nursery and put her in her crib. Lock us in. I won't have my wife trying to leave this room before we've sorted this out." He ordered the men as he took hold of Christine's other arm.
The knights left, the one holding Evie's basket looking uncomfortable. "Find a maid and have her help you with Evie." Erik told the man as he walked out. The man nodded, closing the door. Seconds later they heard the slide of the key in the lock and Erik released Christine's arm.
Christine's face was beet red and she swung her hand, aiming at Erik's face.
He caught her wrist before her hand could make contact with his face and locked her arm against her side. "No no. you're going to be quiet and listen to me Christine." She raised her other arm to back hand him and he grabbed that hand and repeated the process. "Please. Just listen. I really hate having to restrain you. And don't talk."
Christine huffed. "Fine." She said through clenched teeth. "Talk. But make it quick so I can be done with you."
Erik sighed. "Christine. I love you. No. Don't talk." He said when she opened her mouth. "I never lied to you when I said you were the most beautiful woman in the world in my eyes. Because to me, every other woman in the world has warts and boils compared to you. If the women in the world were stars, you're the moon. You outshine every single one of them. You light up the night sky with your beauty. A man would have to be blind and dumb not to see how beautiful and special you are. When you walk into a room, I feel like all the air has disappeared. Because I'm so in love with you. And not just because you're beautiful on the outside. you're beautiful on the inside as well. you're smart, charming. Your stubbornness I adore. you're also a wildcat and a force to be reckoned with. I love everything about you my love. And you have given me the best thing I have ever received, our daughter. And I cannot imagine a life without you. I was only teasing when I told you that scowling was unbecoming. I was trying to be humorous. That was what I was trying to explain when you stormed off. I was not trying to insult you."
He felt his bravado slip away. "Please. Please don't leave me. I. I can't live without you." He felt more hot tears slide down his face and let go of Christine's wrists to cover the trails of moisture. "Please." He whispered. Sinking to the floor, he curled in on himself, as if he was bowing at her feet. He was too distraught care what it looked like. The king of Britain bowing to a woman. No one would know of course, they were behind a locked door. But what did it matter, he had lost her anyway.
Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, he heard sobbing.
Erik lifted his head. She stood in front of him, tears shining in her eyes with wet tracks down her cheeks. He slowly got to his feet, pulling his mask off and wiping the moisture off his face with the back of his hand. "Christine?"
"Erik-. Do you-. I mean-. I'm so sorry. I overreacted when you said what you said about scowling. I should have listened to you and let you explain. Can you forgive me?"
"Yes. If you can forgive me for being insensitive for what I said to you about scowling."
"I forgive you. Let's just forget all this ever happened. Deal?" She held out her arms.
"Deal." He hugged her, kissing the top of her head.
"Good. Then can you unlock the door now?"
"Oh, right." He pulled out the extra key and unlocked the door. "I think Evie is sleeping. I already skipped morning training. I need to go train the knights. Why don't you go take a nap." He picked up her bag and led her up the stairs to their bedroom, gave her a quick kiss, donned his chain-mail vest and sword, and left.
Christine was unbuttoning the front of her dress when the door burst open and he came rushing back into the room. She turned. "Erik what-"
He silenced her by grabbing her and crushing his lips against hers. She melted against him almost instantly. They stayed locked in each others arms for what felt like an eternity to them but could only have been a few minutes. When Erik finally let her go she swayed and he had to hold out his arms to keep her steady.
"What was that for?" She asked.
"Because I love you and because I had to reassure myself that I wasn't dreaming." He grinned.
"That you weren't dreaming about what?"
Erik picked her up and settled in one of the chairs with her on his lap. He draped one arm over her legs and rubbed her back with his other hand. "I had to reassure myself that you hadn't actually managed to get out of the castle walls."
"I'm actually glad you didn't let me leave."
"Really?" He looked surprised. "But you called me a rat and said you didn't love me anymore. And you slapped me."
"And I'm very sorry about all that I said and did."
"What made you think I was lying to you?"
"I think it was hormones. The doctor told me that my body went through a lot of changes while I was pregnant and that when Evie was born-." She stopped.
"And when Evie was born what?"
"I actually can't remember all of what he said." She blushed. "But he did use a lot of medical terms."
"Next time you see the doctor I'll go with you and we can ask him to repeat what he told you. Then we can both know what he said. Does that sound okay?" Erik smiled and kissed the tip of her nose.
"Yes it does." Christine squirmed. "Can I go check on Evie now?"
Erik sighed. "If you must. But be quick. Javert is in the kitchens and he is dying to have you sample a few of the French foods he has diligently prepared for you. He begged me to write to your parents for recipes for French foods so he could make them especially for you."
Christine leaped out of his arms, almost bashing him in the chin with her elbow. "Really!" She said in a high pitched voice. "I will be quick. You must come with me Erik. Oh please." She widened her eyes and stuck out her lip.
Erik groaned. "Christine. You know I can't resist that face." He knew full well that she was aware of that fact. "Fine. I will skip training. But this is the last time."
"Wonderful." Christine grabbed Erik's hand and dragged him through the door to the nursery where they checked in on Evie who was still sleeping. Then she literally pulled him down the stairs to the kitchens where the cook was just pulling a tray out of the stone oven.
"Good afternoon My Queen, My King." The cook set the tray on the table. "I take it you got my message about the food My Queen?" He bowed.
Christine smiled. "I did. And I'm glad Erik agreed to join me." She elbowed him when he scowled.
"Oomph." Erik held his middle, then said through clenched teeth. "Yes. I'm happy to assist."
The cook was occupied with the tray so he didn't notice the exchange between his king and queen. "I'm pleased you're here."
Christine inhaled the rich aromas wafting through the , Opera cakes, Norman tarts, and Kouign-amann. "I can tell by the smells that you have made several of the French desserts."
"I have my queen. I hope I made them correctly. Your family's chef sent me detailed instructions and I was determined to prepare each dish correctly." Javert began to slide a thin wooden spatula under one of the cakes on the tray and attempted to lift it. It began to crumble.
"Wait." Christine put her hand on his arm. "That particular dessert has to cool before it can be moved."
"Oh. I didn't know that."
"It's alright. The rest of the desserts are best eaten warm." Christine turned to the other plates. She motioned for Erik to stand next to her. "I will explain what they all are before we taste them."