Rifiuto: Non Mirena

1908

The Garden of Linnea Castle

Arendelle

"But... the king and queen already had six children- and now they had aseventhon the way?"

He chuckled softly at Sasha's surprise. "They could not exactly control their appetites, the king and queen. They were very much addicted to each other, if you wish. But this pregnancy... it was different to the queen's others."

"How could it possibly be different, 'papa?" Amalie asked, her training kicking in.

"The queen was thirty-five at the time of her seventh pregnancy; by the time she went into labor, she was thirty-six. The older you are when you give birth, the easier it is to face complications, especially at that time. Medicine had advanced greatly in the years since Charlotte of Wales passed in childbirth, but it was not a perfect nor exact science. Many countries were turning against midwifery and natural ways for women to birth, and towards doctors and so called 'manufactured' medicines, such as chloroform. Arendelle and the Isles were not among them. They still believed in naturalistic ways, that a woman knew instinctively what to do while in the throes of childbirth, and that the risks far outweighed the benefits of medicines such as chloroform in the use of childbirth." He glanced at each of them, his gaze landing on Sofia and Thyra, who shared a glance.

"This was not the queen's first child; she knew what to do, and the royal physicians knew better than to go against the queen, especially in matters such as the birth of an heir. It was not necessarily the birth that was different- though it was, in a very specific way- but more than that, it was the symptoms the queen experienced over the course of her pregnancy."

"Symptoms?" Magda asked, confused.

"Shall we fetch the palace doctor, Elsa? Perhaps it's best if he looks at you, makes sure everything's okay-"

"No, Victoria, there's no need. I'm fine."

"Fine? Elsa, forgive me, but you have not kept a morsel of food down since breakfast this morning. I'm going to have Albert fetch the doctor-"

"No! It is just sickness, Victoria. You know it, you have dealt with it. I am just... it is just stronger than normal. I am not exactly the young girl I was when Camilla grew within my womb. This... is to be expected. It is nothing to worry about, and I refuse to see the doctor. Forgive me, but I do not exactly trust your... so-called modern medicine."

"Lise, you should rest. We are not doing anything today that requires you to go anywhere. Stay down, for at least a couple hours. Please."

"Very well, Anna, but only because you have asked."

"May I stay with you, Auntie?"

"Of course you can, Vicky."

"She was close with the queen, wasn't she? The Princess Royal?" Ludi asked, and he smiled at her.

"She was. Vicky was coddled by her father and dictated by her mother; she relished that the king and queen viewed her akin to one of their children- they spoke to her as they spoke to the Princess, as they spoke to their children. That's not to say that the king and queen viewed their children as adults; they were very strict in regards to their children, but the Princess Royal was different. She was older than the children, and she chafed under her parents' thumbs. It wasn't so much that they treated her like one of their children but more-"

"She was equal?" Ludi supplied, as the others shared glances.

"She was given respect; the king and queen treated the Princess Royal with a respect her parents didn't. There was a level of respect, but that respect was overshadowed by their parenting. With the Scandinavian Royals, the respect was there, but in a different way. They weren't her parents; they were her honorary aunt and uncle, and those positions afforded a good amount of respect from both the Princess Royal and the monarchs themselves. They were gentle with her, yet firm. They were honest and blunt, but not forceful. And perhaps most importantly- they listened to her. They listened to her as though they were listening to their own children, but afforded her a different level of respect than the respect they gave their children."

"She could go to them if she chose to, unlike the children who went to them because they had to."

"Exactly. And the other children noticed- both the king and queen's and Victoria and Albert's. And while the other Hanover children were happy to go their aunt and uncle, it was the Crown Princess who had an issue with her beloved cousins coming to her parents."

"Wait... Camilla was jealous?"

He chuckled softly, nodding. "They were her parents, and she did not exactly like others who weren't her siblings approaching her parents, no matter if they were considered her 'cousins'- and she made it known during their visit over Christmas that she wasn't happy Vicky and her siblings were going to her parents."

"Did she throw a tantrum like the queen?"

How did he explain what exactly happened that night, when the thirteen-year-old Crown Princess confronted the Princess Royal about approaching her parents? The argument that had broken out, and the tears that had been shed? How the Crown Princess had locked herself in her room, and refused to come out, and how it had been Victoria who'd had to calm the girl down and get her to see reason.

"They're my parents, Vicky, not yours!"

"Milla, I was simply-"

"You don't get to go to them like that! You have Auntie Victoria and Uncle Albert to speak to! You don't need to speak to Mama and Papa about things! How dare you! Mama's having another baby, you could have-"

"Could have what? Auntie was fine; she was calm. I was the one upset, she calmed me down. Milla, you aren't making sense-"

"Yes I am! I am, I am! You're stealing them away! You're stealing them away from us, and we rarely see Papa as is because he is always in the Isles! And now we're all together again and here you are, taking him away from us! Taking Mama away from us! It's not fair! It's not-"

"Good god, Milla, you're... you're jealous!"

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are! You're jealous that I can go to Auntie and Uncle and talk to them and you can't, because you're their daughter-"

"I'm not jealous, Vicky! I want you to stay away from Mama and Papa! You're ruining our family, taking Papa away from us and he's away so much! I hate you, I absolutely hate you-"

"Camilla!"

"Camilla Helene, get back here!"

"We'll go talk to her, Hans, Elsa."

"The king and queen knew their forced separation had caused a strain on their family, but they hadn't realized how much of a strain, especially on the children, especially as the children got older. They had not realized that as the children got older, they would not only observe more of the world, but question the world in which they lived, especially in regards to their family situation- and that anyone who encroached on their family- even if they were considered family like the Hanover royals- would be considered out attempting to take their place. But the Crown Princess was the only one willing to say it."

"She was quite outspoken, wasn't she? The Crown Princess?" Thyra asked, as he met her gaze.

"She was; and in that way, she was very much her mother's daughter. Always challenging authority, always challenging the men who questioned her and dared to try and undermine her. Camilla had learned early on that the world she was born into was one of intrigue and authority, and that whoever wore the crown had supreme say over all- and that you could be a benevolent ruler or a tyrant. She had grown up watching her mother wear the Crown of Arendelle, while her father wore the Crown of the Southern Isles; saw how they acted as political adversaries caught in a perpetual stalemate of treaties and trade agreements, but in reality were the unofficial rulers of each others' countries. They did not wear the crowns of the other, but they ran their countries the same way, as though they did wear each others' crowns. The Crown Princess had grown up hiding behind the closed doors of her mother's throne room, listening to the court; she'd watched through the keyhole as her father held court in the Isles when she and her siblings were staying with him and not their mother. They had never actually witnessed both of their parents in the same throne room in either country, unless they were visiting and "presenting" before the King of the Isles."

"And then they had to play their parts." Magda said softly. "It must have caused a great strain to all of them."

"The four oldest, yes, the younger children... not so much. They were too young to be involved in court, and the queen kept her oldest children from court as long as she could."

"But she'd have to let Camilla debut eventually-"

"And she did, once the girl turned fourteen. But we're not quite there yet; we have Christmas in Britain to get through, and the queen's seventh pregnancy as well, before we reach the Crown Princess's debut, not to mention the Princess Royal's wedding. And it was at the wedding that things between the Crown Princess and Prince Alfred hit a breaking point that neither saw coming."