Pendragon - 1996
Hospital
Rebecca Du Britannia(Rebecca Donnelly as she used to be called 7 months previously) groaned in pain as she was rushed into emergency room, her guards following not too far behind. She dealt with a lot of things before, none of them ever caused stupor in her thinking, not even when she "convinced" good old Charles to give her a child.
But right now, she was definitely scared.
"Your highness, we're going to need to do an emergency C-section." A surgeon told her calmly.
"No! It's too early!" Rebecca said angrily to hide her fear.
"Your highness, if we don't do this now, both you and your child could die." The surgeon said in a stern tone.
The guards were ready to reprimand the surgeon for his tone but Rebecca held her hand up to signal in stopping them, knowing this is what she needed to hear.
"Do we have your consent?" The surgeon asked, less stern and more gentle tone, knowing how important a situation like this was for a mother.
"...Yes...please, save my son." Rebecca said with a pleading tone, now dropping the anger as she rubbed her stomach.
...
Rebecca stared at her son in worry, sadness, confusion and every other word of emotion she could conjure up in her head as she watched his tiny chest go up and down. An air tube was around his mouth, helping him breath, and his tiny eyes were squinted close. He looked so helpless and all she could do was look at him through layered glass with holes in it, as if she was forbidden to touch him.
"My little Joe..." Rebecca said in her head, a tear escaping her eye.
Charles didn't come or send any type of word, not surprising, probably too busy having a stick up his ass.
"Would you like to hear some music, honey?" She asked her tiny angel quietly as she brought out her walkman and played "Love Will Never Do".
It was hard to tell, but the way he moved his arms up and down seem to give off an impression that his little mind liked it.
"Yep, you're definitely my son." Rebecca commented with a smile.
She barely registered the doctor come in.
"Um, your highness, if could turn off the music, that would be good. We have employees here who can't be distracted." The doctor told her in an indifferent type of tone. The kind of tone that made Rebecca want to smack the guy across the room.
But, she complied and pushed the stop button on her walkman.
"Sorry, do you have any news about my son?" Rebecca asked calmly.
"Well, we ran the tests and it doesn't seem your son's lungs will be healing anytime soon. I would say he has at least, give or take, three weeks left." The doctor said in a very not sorry tone.
This pissed off Rebecca to no end.
"Is this bedside manner part of your personality, or do you get paid extra for it?" Rebecca asked sarcastically.
"Your highness, my job is to display the facts as is. I apologize if they upset you, but I can't change them. Besides, this is probably for the best." The doctor told her bluntly.
She was reaching her limit with him.
"How so?" Rebecca asked in an outward calm, but inward furious, manner.
"Well think about it, you know how the world of Royalty and Nobility works, if your son were to survive, he would most likely have to deal with the blunt of it. Honestly, this early death of his is probably a blessing in dis-"
*WHACK!*
The doctor's face was met with an oxygen tank, swung by Rebecca. He clutched his broken nose, groaning in pain, only for the oxygen tank to meet his groin this time.
"I would probably have that checked out, and make sure to get a doctor like you, I'm sure you guys would get along great." Rebecca said in a sweet tone, before pushing her son and the ventilator he was in, out of the room. "Come on, son. Let's go find a second opinion for you." She said in a motherly tone, making the child wave his arms in happiness, from her perspective anyway.
...
2 weeks later
Pendragon - Ball Room
Rebecca was the main topic of gossip when they heard they took her son out of the hospital to go on some manhunt for a cure of her son's condition. Some called her courageous, but the majority called her outright crazy. Saying it was a waste of money and travel, especially for a lost cause.
"It's been a couple of weeks now, think the kid's dead?" A noble asked.
"If not, he certainly will be soon. I always thought that Rebecca was a mad woman, always acting like a mad dog without a leash. Maybe her son dying will finally shut her up." A noble woman commented with a sneer.
"Hm, indeed." The man chuckled.
Nearby, a six years old Cornelia wanted to get away from said nobles before she threw food at them in disgust.
"Why are adults such jerks!?" Cornelia thought to herself in annoyance.
"Feeling troubled, dear sister?" An eight year old Schneizel asked approaching her.
"I hate parties." Cornelia said quietly. Schneizel couldn't help but chuckle.
"I admit, you do often get the savoriest type of people here." Schneizel commented.
"...Schneizel, do you think they're right? That what Aunt Rebecca is trying to do for her son is just a lost cause?" Cornelia asked with sadness and a bit of fear.
She cared for Aunt Rebecca and didn't want her new brother to die, but from what everyone has been saying, it really didn't seem like he was going to get better. Schneizel looked at her with sympathetic eyes.
"Well, as much as I care for Lady Rebecca and her son, I think we have to brace for a funeral soon." Schneizel told her sadly.
Cornelia looked down in sadness, hating the fact she had to lose a sibling like this.
But then she heard a faint sound coming from behind the doors.
"Is that music?" Cornelia asked.
*BAM!*
The doors were suddenly kicked wide open, shocking the nobles and the royal children there.
The one to kick them was none other than Rebecca Du Britannia, in what appeared to be a hiker's outfit, with her walkman playing at high volume. In her hand was an oxygen tank and on her chest was a baby carrier that was holding a healthy looking baby, who was giggling with joy.
To say everyone was shocked was an understatement.
Baby I've been thinking 'bout
Running away from you
After all you said in town,
Don't wanna stay with you
She whistled to the beat as she swung the canister around in a circle. She gave an occasion wave and hello to the nobles she walked past by, all with their mouths agape at what they were witnessing. She eventually came to a stop by a cake on one of the tables, she turned down her music.
"Would little Joe like some cake?" She asked her son in a playful manner, to which he replied with a happy wave of arms and giggling. "I knew you would." Rebecca said with a cute tone.
She threw the canister behind her, not realizing it hit the noble woman who was talking about her son on the head. Effectively knocking her out.
She was soon approached by a flabbergasted Cornelia and an intrigued Schneizel.
"Aunt Rebecca?" Cornelia asked in shock.
"Oh hey! Good to see you Cornelia. You as well Schneizel." Rebecca said as she ruffled their hair, then she kneeled down to get to their level.
"I want you to officially meet your new little brother, Joseph Du Britannia." She said gently as she took him out of the carrier and into her arms. "Joe, this is your older brother and sister. Cornelia and Schneizel." She extended him towards them.
Cornelia was a bit trepidatious, fearing that if she were to touch him, the illusion of this healthy baby would be broken. Rebecca just chuckled.
"It's okay, he already survived through hell and back. What you do won't make it any worse." Rebecca said with gentle reassurance.
Cornelia nodded and slowly extended her hand towards Joseph, who gleefully grabbed her finger with his little hand, giggling an innocent giggle while doing so.
Cornelia's heart couldn't help but melt at her new little brother's action. She now knew for sure this was real, and that he was ok.
"Hi, Joseph. I'm your big sister, we're going to have a lot of fun together." Cornelia said gleefully.
"I must say this surprising to say the least, Lady Rebecca. How on Earth did you do it?" Schneizel asked with curiosity. Rebecca just smirked.
"Now, now. If I were to tell you, it would ruin the mystery, wouldn't it?" Rebecca said with a knowing tone.
This confused Schneizel, but he decided not to push.
"Amazing! He looks healthy as a horse." A noble whispered.
"How on Earth did she do it? New medicine?" Another asked.
"Could be she was so desperate to have a healthy child, she grabbed a new one." Another suggested.
"Shhh! Don't say such things!" Another told.
"Whatever the case, it's certainly a miracle." Another concluded.
...
Couple of days later
Hospital
Rebecca held a happy Joseph in her lap as she moved his arms up and down while singing a tune to him.
I'm pickin' up good vibrations
She's giving me excitations (Oom bop bop)
He laughed all the way through.
Soon enough a doctor came in, amused by the mother/son action.
"How's the little guy doing?" The doctor asked.
"He's a little ray of sunshine. Yes you are, Oh yes you are." Rebecca said in a playful tone as she snuggled Joseph against her chest, who giggled in delight.
The doctor chuckled.
"Well, I'll start with the good news. Tests have shown that your son is perfectly healthy, lungs are clear and is in good physical shape for his age." The doctor started off happily.
Rebecca was glad to hear this, and not to get a doctor who had an ego the size of the universe. However...
"I'm guessing there's bad news too." Rebecca commented with concern.
The doctor turned more serious, he took out a transparent image from a folder he was holding and put it on a board. It looked to be a picture of a brain, with all sections covered in white.
"You see this? This is an MRI scan of a healthy baby brain, all sections are functioning perfectly." The doctor told her professionally.
He then took out another MRI scan of a brain, this time, only half the sections of the brain were light up.
"This is an MRI scan we did of your son's brain. As you can see, because of the time off the ventilator..." The doctor started off with.
"Half of his brain is dead." Rebecca finished for him with a sad tone in his voice. "I guess it wasn't able to fix everything..."
"His development section is still intact but everything in the verbal section is unfortunately not active at all. If he is able to speak, it most likely won't be until a long period of time, and it's a good chance he'll have trouble speaking in complete sentences." The doctor told her sympathetically.
Rebecca thought about what he said.
"Your highness, when I heard that you took your son out of the hospital to find a way to cure his lungs, I was one of the many naysayers who didn't believe you were going to find anything. But I was proven wrong, and now here your son is, looking better than ever. There will be some bumps on the road ahead, but I'm sure if anyone can pull him through it, it's you. And no matter what people say, don't ever regret saving your son's life." The doctor told her in reassurance.
"...Well of course, sir. I wouldn't have it any other way." Rebecca told him with a knowing smile.
...
If two words could describe Joseph in his first years of youth...
It would be Happy and Curious.
He never cried, not when he was hungry, not when he needed to burp, not even if he fell down by accident. He would always have the same dopey smile and giggle, never being a bother to anyone. Some would try to tear them down, but Rebecca always came back 10 times harder. Including a time when she sent Guinevere's mother on a fast, roaring river while she was still in bed after she made a remark about "comparing retards to brain dead mules." Somewhere along the way, most people knew they just needed to keep their mouths shut.
Joseph always looked at things with wonder and amazement too, everything was a new experience for him, and he enjoyed every moment of it. His mother would often wake him up early enough where they would watch the sun rise together, and then she would teach him his alphabet, go through words in the dictionary, sounded them out to him, and what explained they meant. She knew he wasn't able to speak it yet, but she wanted to make sure he would retain it for future use, but she wasn't going to push him to try talking either, he was still just a baby after all, he would start talking when he felt he was ready. Instead, she taught him hand gestures, such as a thumbs up to show that you're okay or you did a good job, and a wave to show that it means hi and goodbye, and of course, the middle finger to show that you don't like a person.
Cornelia was helpful too, coming over whenever she could to either babysit or just play with her little brother, help tie his shoes, and stand up straight. But often he would drive her crazy with his babyish antics, always making her chase him around the house, getting into food fights with her, and pulling her hair whenever she gave him a piggyback ride, but at the end of the day they were just happy to have fun.
...
Pendragon - 1999
Ball Room
Marianne walked around the ball room, analyzing her surroundings and hearing the whispers of the nobles around her.
"Commoner whore."
"Not worthy to be here."
"What does the emperor see in her?"
She heard it all before and she couldn't care less. It all eventually wouldn't matter anyway, not what Charles and his brother had cooking up.
"Mary!" She heard someone yell out her name.
She turned and saw it was Rebecca Du Britannia walking towards her, carrying her son in tow.
Marianne couldn't help but smile at the woman, as she actually held some respect for her. Like herself, she was often chastised by other for her personality and choices, especially when it came to the condition for son. While Marianne thought she was a bit unhinged, Joseph was a harmless little guy who grew up in a rotten place, but Rebecca made sure it didn't deter their happiness, and that was something to admire.
"Becky! It's been awhile." Marianne said the two women shared a kiss on the cheek. "And how are you wittle Joe!" She asked in a baby voice as she shook his tiny hand.
He waved happily, and then pointed at Rebecca and said "Mom!"
Rebecca and Marianne giggled at that.
"Still on that one word, huh?" Marianne asked with a smirk.
"It's the one word that counts!" Rebecca said gleefully with a huge smile.
"Of course!" Marianne agreed happily, sharing another giggle.
"So, how's the pig-infested slums of Britannia treating you?" Rebecca asked in a casual manner.
"Oh you know, an insult here, an accusation there. Same old, same old." Marianne said casually.
"Indeed. But man, are they fun to mess with." Rebecca said with an evil smirk.
This got Marianne's attention, as she put on her own evil smirk.
"What did you do?" Marianne asked in a knowing tone.
"YOU!" A female voice shouted, capturing everyone's attention.
The voice it belonged to was one of the Emperor's consorts, Gabriella La Britannia. She was currently dealing with a lost of hair, some still on her scalp, but a lot of it missing. It also appeared to be multi-colored.
"Oh wow." Marianne said as she started to laugh.
"Gabby. How are you?" Rebecca asked casually, her son also laughing at Gabriella's appearance.
"YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW I AM FEELING YOU DIABOLICAL BITCH!" Gabriella exclaimed, shocking everyone besides Rebecca, Joseph, and Marianne. Gabriella never yelled or used such foul language before, so a line was definitely crossed this time.
"Why Gabby, I have no idea what you mean." Rebecca said playfully.
"You switched my shampoos and conditioners with Nair mixed with food coloring, THAT'S WHAT I MEAN!" Gabriella said angrily.
"Gab, if you mix up your hair care products, I don't see how that's my fault. And for all we know, anybody here could have done it, anybody who has a problem with people saying to others that 'brain dead kids aren't even worth being furniture." Rebecca said, her tone becoming more serious.
"You listen to me, you smug c***! I don't care if you're a consort, I will make you pay for this. (She then points at Joseph) You and that-" Gabriella didn't get to finish her threat, as her mouth was suddenly grabbed by Rebecca in a painfully tight grip, tight enough that her nails started to dig into Gabriella's cheeks.
"Joe, honey, how about you go stand next to your Aunt Mary, huh?" Rebecca said in a motherly tone as she put Joseph down, who in return, gave her smile and thumbs up.
"Here what's going to happen, Gabby. In the next 20 seconds, I'm going to let go of your cheeks. Within that time, you need to think about what you're going to say. Because your next sentence, will determine whether or not you die a painful death by night's on end. And trust me. Every. Single. Molecule, in your body will endure agony." Rebecca said in a calm tone with a demented look on her face.
Everyone was nerve-wracked to say the least, most of them only heard of Rebecca's demented stature, but actually seeing it was a whole different level of fear. Even Marianne was a bit unnerved by it, now really glad she was friends with her. Rebecca let go of the traumatized Gabriella.
"So, what is it you wanted to say Gabby?" Rebecca asked in a casual tone.
Gabriella on her end, she stood there for a moment, completely frozen in fear, until she found the tiniest courage to say:
"Nothing...nothing at all...please carry on with your night." Was Gabriella could say as she quickly walked away.
"Of course, have a good night." Rebecca said with a smile and wave, Joseph waved goodbye too.
"I think you made her shit herself." Marianne said with a chuckle.
"Heh, hopefully she can return that dress of hers." Rebecca added. "So, how's Charles? Still grunting around in his throne room?" Rebecca asked jokingly.
"Well you know how he is, all grump and no giddy. I do have news though, he finally put one in me." Marianne said happily as she rubbed her belly.
"(Gasps) Oh, Mary! Congratulations!" Rebecca exclaimed happily as she gave Marianne a big hug, Joseph joined in by hugging her leg. "Hear that, Joe? You're going to have a little sibling!" Rebecca exclaimed gleefully as she lifted Joseph in the air, who laughed joyfully.
And that was only the beginning of his adventures.
To Be Continued...
So this one came out a lot faster than I thought it would, not that I'm complaining Here, I finally got to show a lot more of Rebecca's personality, who is basically a yandere, as well as how she influenced Joseph later in his life, and the friendship she had with Marianne. There should be two more parts before I go back to present day. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, comment and let me know what you think.