Rifiuto: Non Mirena

April 1858

Jannicke Palace,

Arendelle

"It's too... soon..."

"Babes come when they deem themselves ready, Majestet.You know that; this babe has obviously deemed itself ready to enter the world." The local midwife had arrived at the palace not long after Anna left; she, Helena and Marta had quickly helped Elsa onto the birthing stool. The midwife quickly checked the queen's progress, surprised to find that the monarch was near fully dilated. "This babe is wanting to enter the world, you must let it enter."

The queen shook her head, even as her body betrayed her, her back arching slightly from the pain as she inadvertently bore down."No... it won't... survive..."

"Please, Majesty, you must push." Helena begged, as Elsa met her gaze; the monarch shook her head, even as she continued to birth. The hours passed on, as Elsa's two other ladies kept the other children occupied, as the midwife helped Elsa to birth. Eventually, Anna returned with the royal Midwife, who rushed past the rest of the household, slamming the door the queen's chambers behind her.

As Anna struggled to catch her breath, she went to see if Hans had returned with the Doctor Ibsen, to no avail. She instead went in search of someone, immediately requesting they fetch the undertaker, informing them quietly of what had happened in regards to the princess, and asking them to not say anything to the queen, giving the state she was in at the moment. The steward nodded, hurrying off to the village.

Once he was gone, Anna hurried back to her sister, slipping in quietly to find her sister still in the throes of childbirth. No one was sure of how many hours had passed since Anna had gone in search of the midwife, but once they'd returned, both the local midwife and royal midwife had worked on helping the queen. "How is she?"

The royal midwife turned to glance at the princess. "The babe is taking its time entering the world, but that is to be expected," She turned back to Elsa, gently pushing on her belly. "Push, Majesty."

"I can't... my baby..."

"You won't lose your baby, Majesty." Elsa shook her head, even as Helena reached up to brush strands of hair away from her mistress's eyes. "No, you won't. It's strong, like you are, Majesty-"

"Oh, Gods..."

"It's coming,Deres Majestet, that's it. Push!"

Elsa shook her head, even as her body betrayed her."... too... soon..." She let out a screech, kicking out weakly as she bore down, feeling the babe within her continue to make its way out of her and into the world. She could smell the copper of blood, feel and hear the bite of ice as it dashed about room, pulsing red due to her pain."Anna!"

The princess hurried to her sister, kneeling beside her, as Elsa met her gaze. "You're okay, Lise, Ipromise you, you're okay-"

"I can't... lose... "

"You won't, Lise, I promise you, you won't lose your baby-"

"One more push, Majestet!"

Finally, the babe burst forth in an explosion of blood and fluid, a strong cry filling the air. The maids glanced at each other before turning to their mistress, congratulating her softly. "You have a son,Majestet."

"You hear that, Lise? Hans has given you a son-" But the queen wasn't paying attention; a look crossed her face that no one could describe and she struggled to sit up. "Lise? Lise, what's wrong?" The queen didn't respond, only squeezed the maid's hands tighter. "Lise? Talk to me-"

But the only answer the princess received was a squeal, as the queen bore down again at the immense pressure she felt once more building up within her. The pain that normally stopped once the babe had been delivered had only increased tenfold, and she let out a groan, bearing down as hard as she could. Moments passed before she could catch her breath, and she greedily sucked in air, meeting her sister's gaze. "It feels... another..."

"Another?" Elsa nodded at her sister's confused look. "What do you mean another, Lise?"

But the Arendellian queen had returned to pushing, eyes shut tight and muscles as taut as corset strings. Before Anna could say anything else, she looked up at the sound of the doors slamming, and quickly stood. After a moment, the princess stood, hurrying to the door, realizing who had returned-

Without another word, she slipped out of the room, hurrying down the hall, meeting Hans and Doctor Ibsen on the way. "Your Highness, the princess-"

Anna glanced at her brother-in-law, trying to decide if she should inform the King of the death of his second-youngest daughter, but before she could speak, all of Jannicke seemed to pause as a scream- primal and high in pitch- cut through the late afternoon. Hans glanced at the doctor, Anna, Gerda and Kai, before taking off towards the family's chambers, the others on his heels. He slid to a stop, yanking the door to their bedchamber open-

The maids each held her legs back, helping to open her hips more, so that it was easier for her to birth, especially given the size of her belly. Another scream escaped her vocal chords, and Hans watched as she gave one last push, bearing down as hard as she could before collapsing back against the birthing chair. Another cry soon followed, drowning out his wife's, this one loud and strong, announcing their arrival to the world as it slid out of her. "It's a girl,Majestet." The Royal midwife announced, as Elsa let her head loll gently to the side, gaze moving to catch her husband's as he stood in the doorway.

"A girl?" He couldn't breathe; not for disgust, but for relief that she and the baby were okay. The midwife turned, not at all surprised to see the king in the doorway, surrounded by the others. A small smile graced her features and she nodded.

"Ja, Majestet, du har en datter-"

"Og en søn." The local midwife spoke up as they entered the room; she made her way towards him as she cradled the first baby, cleaned and swaddled in a blanket, which she held out to the king. The royal midwife quickly checked the second baby over before deeming her healthy and laying her against her mother's chest. The weight of the baby, roused his wife and she reached up, cradling the newborn with a soft cry.

"Twins." She breathed, glancing at the royal midwife before glancing at her husband, exhausted- but it made sense now. Everything she'd experienced with each of her other pregnancies had seemed to multiply tenfold this time around, from her mood swings to her appetites to the size of her belly. This pregnancy had seemed so much... stronger, in a way...

"Ja, Majestet, tvillingerne."

She turned to the king, who had accepted the first baby with awe in his green gaze. A moment passed, before he chuckled softly, meeting his wife's gaze. She smiled softly, glancing down at the baby girl against her chest.It should not have surprised her like it did; her husbanddid have siblings that were twins, even triplets, so she should have expected that at some point, shewould most likely end up birthing twins, however it hadn't even crossed her mind, let alone Hans'-

"I... I never even considered that... that you would... would birth two at once, my darling." He whispered, watching as the midwives cleaned up the placentas once they'd been delivered, and then helped her get cleaned up before moving her to the bed. Once she was settled, he joined her, settling beside her on the bed; eventually, the local midwife helped the queen to get used to cradling both babes as they nursed.

"I don't know that I'll ever get used to nursing two at once; this is entirely different to nursing one." She met his gaze, even as the midwife helped adjust her hold as she nursed.

"I know you don't want to, but perhaps this would be a good instance in which a wet nurse would be of help, my love." Blue eyes met green, and she snorted, with a shake of her head.

"No. They are my children, even if I did not realize I was carrying two. They are mine, and I will nurse them myself as long as I can." Silence settled within the room, before the queen turned to her sister. "Fetch the children, Annalei. They need to meet their new brother and sister." The princess nodded, quickly hurrying towards the door. "And Leisel-" She turned back to the queen. "She will be so excited to know she has two siblings instead of just one."

Oh Lise- The princess nodded, quickly slipping into the hall.

"The Princess is no longer suffering." Doctor Ibsen fell into step beside the princess as she made her way towards the nursery; Helena had gathered the children and taken them into their parents' room; with the other children occupied, Anna moved past the door to the room Liesel shared with Netta. Early on, Hans and Elsa had decided that the children would share bedrooms; however, instead of sharing as dance partners, as Hans called them, Elsa demanded that the girls share rooms and the boys share rooms. And when Hans had brought up that the children were old enough to have their own rooms, his wife had retorted back that his brothers had all shared rooms, and therefore, his children could do the same; that they would each receive their own room once they reached the appropriate age.

For all her progression in this modern age, Elsa was still very much old-fashioned when it came to certain things. Her children were no exception. Though she did not entirely believe that children 'should be seen and not heard', she did believe that there was an appropriate time and place for children to speak- and only once the child had made much consideration in regards to what they had to say."A child's words reflect back on their parent; the words they speak shape opinions not just on themselves, but on their father and I, and thereby extension, our reigns. I will not allow my children to inadvertently damage not just their image, but ours. Words cannot be taken back once said, which is why careful consideration must be made before one speaks."

Anna looked up as the doctor, wearing a pair of gloves, gently removed the blanket that had been laid over the princess. She watched him check her over, studying her skin and examining her, despite several hours having now passed since the young girl had succumbed to the illness. Her body had quickly been moved to a smaller room off the kitchen; one kept cool in order to preserve her body so that it could be transported back to Arendelle City for burial in the royal vault.How am I going to tell my sister and bother-in-law? What do I say? 'So, Hans, Elsa, just so you know, just before Elsa gave birth, Liesel passed away. I just thought you ought to know.' No, that will never do- "I'm sorry, Doctor, did you say something?"

He gave her a sad smile, gently returning the blanket to its place over the princess's head. "I believe the illness that struck not long ago weakened her system."

"But she was... a child. She... her siblings recovered-"

"Just because one recovers, does not mean the other will, Your Highness. The princess was young, but also sickly. She had suffered from a minor illness while in Britain for the wedding of the Princess Royal, yes?" Anna nodded. "Then I fear that minor illness weakened her, and the sickness only made it worse. Her brief recovery once you all arrived here was temporary. If I remember right, the King said that the princess had caught a minor chill not long after arriving. It is my... suspicion, that that minor chill weakened her system even more; the illness that had infected the household earlier had laid dormant within her body, resurging once she caught that chill-"

"And it weakened her enough that it killed her." He nodded; minutes passed, as Anna tried to figure out what to do. "What do I say to my sister? The King and Queen... they will be looking for her. The Queen has just given birth to twins, Doctor... she's in too fragile a state right now for me to inform her of the death of her daughter-"

Doctor Ibsen removed his gloves with a sigh. "I believe we don't have a choice, Your Highness. Their Majesties must be told. To prolong it would only cause more harm than good. They must be informed now, of the death of the Princess, so that they can make the appropriate arrangements for burial."

Anna nodded, knowing the good doctor was right. They had to be told. After a moment, she met his gaze, voice thick with tears. "Come with me, Doctor Ibsen. Please."