November, 1853
Jannicke Castle,
Arendelle
By ten weeks, she already had a noticeable swell to her belly. Now at twenty-five weeks, though still easy for her to hide with her skirts, it was also exceedingly evident that she was once again pregnant, her belly seemingly having popped overnight.
It should not have surprised her, this was her sixth child, after all. She sighed, turning to face the side as she studied herself in the mirror, a frown puckering her pretty features. "With each subsequent pregnancy, a woman shows sooner and sooner." The queen turned as the midwife entered the room, her apprentice softly shutting the door behind her. With a quick curtsy, she made her way towards the young ruler. "Shall we see how the babe is growing, Majestet?"
After a moment, Elsa slowly untied the dressing down, shrugging out of it and letting it pool at her feet, leaving her in only her shift. She returned to the bed, sitting upon the side and meeting the midwife's gaze before shifting to lie down and lifting her legs. She said nothing as the older woman worked, running her hands over the queen's belly, pressing gently on the sides and then moving to examine her cervix.
Silence settled during the exam, and Elsa turned her gaze to the window. She wasn't sure what she should be feeling, knowing that another child grew within her womb. Hans had been quiet when she'd informed him a month ago while they were at Halsten, as though he couldn't exactly express what he was feeling either. After what seemed like hours, but was mere minutes, he'd simply kissed her, before pulling her into his arms and holding her close. It seemed to be the only thing he could think to do at the moment. But as the days stretched on, and her belly grew, he seemed to accept it more. She had accepted it not long after being informed by the midwife, but she worried that perhaps he would grow tired of her and go in search of a younger woman, as so many men had done before him.
She was not exactly the twenty-two-year-old she'd been; she would turn thirty-two the following year- marking ten years between Milla's birth and this new babe's. Would she still catch his eye when heavy with this child? Or would he have moved on by the time the babe dropped into the birthing position?
"You're strong."
She turned back, pulled from her thoughts to the midwife. "I'm sorry?"
The older woman finished her examination and washed her hands in the basin. "You're strong. Your body is strong enough to endure this growing babe and the labor and birth that will follow. And as for the king, do not be so quick to think he will let his gaze wander from you."
She sat up. "I wasn't-"
"Majestet, I know the look of a woman who fears her changing body will drive her husband away. And for many men, it does, but not for the king. He looks at no other woman but you in that way, and the only females he lets his gaze linger on are the little princesses that were born of your womb. The king is a rare man; he does not allow the wiles of other women to turn his head, only yours. If the months in which the Crown Princess grew within your womb did not turn him into the arms of another woman, neither will this babe. Have a touch of faith, Majestet, in the king. You have never doubted him before."
The midwife barely reacted as she opened the door to reveal Hans with one hand on either side of the door jam, auburn curls falling into his eyes. The older woman chuckled softly, as she bid Elsa goodbye. "The queen is strong, as is the babe within her. It will arrive a little after the spring equinox, Majestet." And with a quick curtsy to both monarchs, she and her apprentice were gone.
Once they'd left, he hurried into the room, joining her on the bed, his hand immediately moving to caress her belly. She met his gaze, the midwife's words wringing in her ears. His smile was beautiful and radiant, and only for her- as it had been from the moment they met. "I love you, Eliza."
She whispered it softly back to him, accepting the soft kiss he gave, her thoughts elsewhere. "Fetch Liesel for me, dearest, please. I need to nurse." She asked softly; the baby girl had turned a year on the nineteenth of July, and was still nursing. The family was spending the month of November at Jannicke; a small celebration was planned for Milla's ninth birthday- cake and gifts, including a couple very special gifts from Victoria and Albert, who were unable to come to Arendelle to celebrate, due to the fact that Britain was entangled in a conflict with Russia, of which,
'Great Russia believes they need to police all of Europe, of which they must be stopped. I have aligned myself with the French, the kingdom of Sardinia, as well as the Ottoman Empire you so greatly speak of, Elsa, in the hopes to stop that dastardly Tsar Nicholas from what he hopes will be domination of Europe and thereby the world. I believe Hans was right to refuse a meeting and therefore an alliance with the Russian pompadour. Should either of you ever need support against Tsar Nicholas, please, do not hesitate to write; I would greatly send you the ships and men you need to stand against the arrogant little Tsar who believes himself to be the next Napoleon'.
The letter had concluded that they were to 'kiss and hug your darling Milla tight, and tell her that those hugs and kisses are from her dearest Uncle Albert and Auntie Victoria, unable to cross the seas to be there to celebrate her birthday, but that we will have a special celebration in honor of her birthday when next you are able to visit England'- something which would no doubt excite the child greatly upon hearing it, despite the tears they knew would be in her eyes at the realization that her beloved aunt and uncle would not be there to celebrate. After a quick kiss, her husband did as requested, slipping out of the room to fetch Liesel from the nursery.
The queen sighed, sitting up before settling back against the pillows, her thoughts turning to the last few months. She had again kept it secret from her council; all except Lord Bismarck, who had merely wished her his congratulations. Hans' suggested little experimental courtship between Anna and Lord Bismarck had been going on for a year now, and while the pair were happy, it did not exactly find favor with the queen. She could not worry about a dalliance between her sister and one of her councilmembers, she had bigger things to focus her attention on- such as the treasury, and trade routes, various bills to be written into law, as well as military inspections.
A sigh escaped her, and she lay her head back against the pillows of her bed;
The first months of her pregnancy had passed quickly, as they had with each subsequent pregnancy after Milla; her sister had told her at one point that she didn't look pregnant from behind, and perhaps it was the way she carried, but seeing as Elsa always thought she carried the same with each, well, she wasn't sure. A woman didn't necessarily carry the same with each babe, she knew that much.
She looked up as Hans returned, the year-old little girl in his arms. Quickly, Elsa shrugged out of the bodice of her shift, exposing her breast; she hissed softly as the chill in the air danced across the sensitive skin, hardening the nipple. Once on the bed, the toddler crawled towards her mother, being careful of her mother's growing tummy, and settled into her side. The other children were just finishing lessons, and would join their parents and sister soon. She looked up as Hans stood, saying something about checking on the children, and she nodded; of her four oldest, her firstborn was the daydreamer, and often spent lessons staring out the window or doodling in her notebooks, anything to keep from actually learning- even going so far as to climb one of the trees to avoid her lessons. Despite her lack of interest in learning, Milla was quite intelligent, and quite well-read, as well as fluent in seven languages by age eight. It was becoming very evident that while she loved to learn, she just didn't love to learn in a classroom setting.
Once her husband was gone, Elsa turned back to Liesel. The little girl looked up at her with her father's big green eyes as she settled down to nurse, and after a moment, Elsa gently brushed a white curl from the baby's forehead. "In four months, you won't be my youngest baby anymore." She brushed a kiss to the white curls as a soft knock sounded, and she bid the person entry, not bothering to look up as Helena entered with tea, which she set upon the nightstand by the bed. "Thank you, Helena." A moment passed, before the young queen looked up, to find the young maiden watching her nervously. "Helena, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, Majesty." But the queen bid the young girl sit, and after a moment, the teenager perched on the bed across from the queen. "I just... I look at you, and... and I see my sister, rest her soul. She... she looked a lot like you, with the same gentle kindness in her heart." She fell silent, glancing at Liesel, who glanced at the young maid. "Sometimes I... I wonder if... if perhaps you and her... if you shared the same spirit." Gently, Elsa stroked a hand through her daughter's hair, feeling the bed shift as Helena stood, excusing herself. "Helena?" The maid turned back.
"Yes, Majesty?"
Elsa worried her lip, before finally asking, "Am I... wrong?"
The girl's brow furrowed, before she returned to the queen's bedside. "Wrong? About what, Majesty?"
The queen took a deep breath, glancing down at her belly as she resumed stroking it. "I... I know that you... you come from a big family," The girl nodded. "And, my husband," She stopped.
"The... king has several brothers, yes, Majesty?"
Elsa nodded. "The king was the youngest of thirteen sons." She clarified, and Helena nodded, unfazed, for she was the middle child of fifteen, nine of whom had survived past infancy. "The princess and I were the only children of the former King and Queen of Arendelle." Helena nodded, listening intently. She had been a babe of only a few years when the former royals had sat upon the throne; they were more myth and legend than flesh and blood to her. "I've... I've always wanted..." She stopped, considering her words carefully. "I... I quite... I quite like... pregnancy." She lifted her gaze to the maid's, and the younger woman recognized the raw honesty reflected in her deep blue gaze- it was the same honesty she used with everything in her life, from her court to her servants, to her people and her allies. It was one of the things Helena found enduring about working for the queen, she would always be honest, sometimes too honest.
"Okay."
"I know that... that most women probably don't like being pregnant. I know for a fact that Her Majesty Queen Victoria of Britain hates it, but I... I find it enjoyable; dare I say that I even love it at times." She chuckled softly with a roll of her eyes, even as the babe shifted inside her, and she pressed a hand to her side lovingly. "I love feeling the baby grow and move within me; knowing that... that it's growing inside me because His Majesty and I made it... that this... this little life is relying on me to nurture it and protect it and love it, and that I am solely responsible for bringing it into the world... I don't know, I can't fully explain it, I just..." She stopped, as Helena reached out and took her hand. "I love being pregnant. If I could have a hundred children, I would have them in a heartbeat." She met the girl's gaze as the teenager reached up and brushed a tear off the young queen's cheek- something completely against royal protocol, but Elsa had come to look at Helena as a younger sister over the years...
"Oh, Majesty."
"I never thought I would want a big family, like the one His Majesty grew up in, but I find myself... quite content." She glanced down at her youngest. -"I find that I quite love the sound of their little feet running through the castle, knowing that they're causing mischief and wreaking havoc, and that they can be good as gold when they need to be, and that my sister is here to help the king and I and the household raise my brood, because she loves children just like I do." Silence fell again, and Elsa sighed. "His Majesty loves them, too, you know. He absolutely adores our girls and our boys, and he's been so attentive to me and my needs during each pregnancy, despite our limited time together; he's a truly wonderful father. I couldn't have asked for a better man to have babies with."
Helena giggled softly as Elsa joined in, before licking her lips in thought. "My mother has always said that... that children are the greatest gift the gods can reward us with, and that a woman who is able to bear many children is blessed in more ways than one." She glanced at the little princess nursing at her mother's breast. "As long as you are happy, Your Majesty, that is all any of us truly wish for you; that you are healthy and content, and happy with the life you live once the crown leaves your head and returns to the pillow. I am sure that that is all Your Majesties hoped for you, for both you and the princess before they passed into the next world. And if children truly make you happy, if motherhood truly makes you happy at the end of the day, then I wish you the best of luck in convincing His Majesty 1to give you the children your heart so desires. Perhaps you will have better luck than my mother did; it took her near forty years to convince my papa to have fifteen children with her- and even now he still doesn't understand why she wanted so many."
Elsa giggled softly at the girl's comment, wincing as Liesel suckled a little to hard. "Liesel, gentle."
"You must be gentle with your mother, little princess," Helena spoke up, as the girl turned her gaze towards her. "your Mama needs to be able to nurse your baby brother or sister when it's born, for it will drink her milk, too." The girl's eyes widened, and Helena nodded in mock surprise. Eventually, the girl stood. "May I get you anything else, Majesty?"
"No thank you, Helena. The tea will do for now." The girl nodded, dipping into a quick curtsy before heading for the door. "Helena?" The teen turned back. "I know it does not mean much, especially all these years later, but I am truly sorry for the loss of your sister and her child."
A sad smile tugged at the girl's lips. "Thank you, Majesty. It means a lot, it really does." Then, with a soft nod, she was gone.