🌾

⚠️⚠️

"The princess is pregnant, quite far along in fact. She won't be joining any of the events anymore but we'll continue the trip either way"

The royal trip was extended from three months to more than half a year with pretty short notice, requested by the crown prince to the king. Since the king still seemed in okay health, the crown prince did not see it necessary to return to the palace as early as possible, which was the original plan. With the reasoning of wanting to become more popular with the people, the king granted his son another six months, considering that they had already been two months on the road at that point. The crown prince added thirteen other major cities to his list, as well as fifteen important landmarks and places to visit. The people were, of course, overjoyed. The crown prince was seen as a prince of the people for changing his plans. But Adelio did it for entirely selfish reasons.

It is now the fourth month of their trip, a whole thirty days of extended time has passed from their original plan, and Margaret is pregnant with the crown prince's child. She is in fact nearly six months in, making it possible for her husband to state that she will no longer be joining any ceremonies. She will only be with them from behind the curtain from now on, as it is stressful to be in the limelight when pregnant, and that can not be good for baring sons. In reality it's because her stomach would show. Her very, very flat stomach, quite the opposite of what it should be. And perhaps because in the tent, or room, right next to hers and Adelio's, sleeps a healthy baby child, that will be claimed as her son within the next three full moons.

Maud is more than just nervous at this point.

She taps her leg against the marble floor, biting her lip until it bleeds. Outside the small waiting room she can hear her husband speak with more excitement and enthusiasm than he ever has before. But it's fake. She can recognise when he is being serious about something, and when he is not. Adelio sounds completely fake to her ears, as he boasts about his pregnant wife, but Maud knows for a fact that to everybody else he sounds completely genuine. Like very, very genuine. And the crowd outside erupt in loud cheers and congratulations for the crown prince, even lifting a glass in the child's honor. Adelio finishes his speech by saying, that whether or not it be a daughter or a son, the child will still be a treasure in his eyes. And that kind of brings her to tears, because in that moment he sounds the most genuine.

Maud is not going to act like she is miserable because of this. The child that is now asleep back at their current inn, is the greatest thing that has happened to her. She already loves him with all of her heart, and even though it is dangerous to be around him before he is announced to the world, as he is still supposedly in her stomach, Maud has spent a lot of time with him. Played around, fed him, changed him, held him when he cried, essentially helped his current nanny way more than she should've. And Adelio hasn't stopped her, for sometimes he too joins her, and the way that he looks at the child... no matter if it's all a scheme, all a lie, Maud knows that this boy is now their son. How could there ever be doubt about it, when they already love him so?

So for her son, and for her husband, she now sits in a waiting room behind a large ballroom in the Western province capital of Saltsea, covered in a veil and heavy clothing despite sweating so. It's autumn already, and the sun doesn't shine as intensely as it used to. However, her biggest cause of sweat and warmth recently has come from the nervousness that she feels about it all. That doesn't mean that she's going to back out, though. No way. Alaric is the future king of this country and also her son, there is no way she would give up that anymore, especially considering that he has no other family apart from them. If Adelio thinks all of this is necessary then so be it, Maud will trust her husband this once, as he has proven to be trustworthy. But the main reason she will see through this is because she knows that Alaric is now her son and she is responsible for his future. He was, after all, destined to rule the people of this kingdom.

The ball is hosted by the Red Lion Duke and Duchess, Adelio's uncle and aunt. They are brother and sister-in law to the king and therefore hold the second most important position in the country. Their castle by the Saltsea city, the second biggest city in Red Lion, is a magnificent building with six towers and four private gardens. Their land stretches from one side of the city to the other, and their influence reaches even further. Not only is the duke sponsored by the king, as his brother, but he also makes a tremendous amount of money in the ports and sea trade routes outside salt sea city, driving in many small unnecessary taxes. Maud has heard all about him through Adelio, who thinks he's just being casual by spilling all his family secrets to her every night before they fall asleep. It's sweet, really.

The duke and the duchess are hosting the ball in the child's honor, since Adelio already told them about her pregnancy when they arrived in the city two days ago. Originally the ball was simply in the honor of her, the crown prince's new wife. Or more specifically in the honor of Adelio for gaining a wife and getting married, Maud already knows that they couldn't care less about the princess from their biggest rival country. Thousands of people are invited, and now all of them are cheering for the new baby. Maud is thankful that Alaric is a boy. If she was actually pregnant right now, she would be shaking in her pants at the possibility of it being a girl. A queen's worth is decided by her ability of baring sons, and a child's worth is decided by his or hers sex. Thankfully it's a male. Both for the good of him and his life, and for the good of her.

"Your highness, may I come in?"

Maud startles at the sound of a servant's voice, coming through the large white door of the waiting room. The sounds coming from the nearby ballroom fade away into the back of her mind, as she snaps back to reality. Maud panics, adjusting her dress to hide her body as much as possible, and pulling out her red veil further to hide behind it. She is dressed beautifully tonight, in a red and pink gown with a red veil, pretty dusty pink heels and a pink golden tiara on her head. Behind her veil her makeup is done and her hair is made. And yet, despite all of this decoration and expensive beauty on her royal body, nobody will lay their eyes on her tonight. Nobody but whichever servant is standing behind the door.

After adjusting herself properly, she accepts his request.

"Let him in"

The two guards outside the waiting room door push the double doors open, and a whit dressed servant rushes inside. He stops in front of her and bows deeply, Maud simply nodding to acknowledge him. She sits on a deep green velvet sofa, her hands in her lap, and her head turned towards him. The lighting is poor, barely a few candles lit along the walls, all to make her figure look less noticeable than it already is. This is the first person that will truly see her after her pregnancy has been announced, this servant who she doesn't even know. Maud studies his expression from behind her reed veil, wanting to know how easily he can see through her. The servant has his eyes casted downwards.

"The capital and the king have been notified of your royal pregnancy, your highness. There are a few standard protocol questions that your highness should be notified of"

Maud nods as he speaks, letting him continue. It's always better for a princess to stay quiet.

"In the event of the child being an heir, he will also be the heir to the kingdom of Blue Knight. Should we send notice to your highnesses elder brother, the king Makai, and tell of your pregnancy? In such an event, it is also possible to send notice first when the child is born"

Maud doesn't even need to think about it. Send notice to her brother already? Absolutely not. She doesn't want to see him, let alone hear from him. Makai is her elder brother, and yet she cares as much about him as she cares about the shit the horses leave behind on the bumpy roads of Red Lion. After hearing what Adelio has had to say over the past few months, she can no longer excuse the things Makai has said and done. She used to think it was simply her female mind that couldn't understand his odd point of view, or the fact that all men were the same that excused his coldness and heartlessness. But in reality he's just an asshole, much like many other men in this world, and that excuses absolutely nothing.

Maud has nothing to fear. Her child can't be a daughter, she already knows that it's a son. Practically she could send a message to him now and tell him of the child. Alaric is the heir to the Blue Knight throne, as much as he is heir to the Red Lion one. As long as Makai doesn't have any children, of course. But still, despite having nothing to fear, and despite Alaric being so important to both kingdoms, it is out of pure spite that she chooses to say no.

"My brother can be officially notified once the child is born, let's not bother him with this just yet"

Another five months pass with ease.

"News, your excellency"

Although it may seem as if only a few months have passed, it really does feel like an eternity since Makai last saw his sister. And in a good way too.

The Blue Knight kingdom has done nothing but expand in the last ten months. Ever since the princess was married off, their riches grew and trading flourished beyond their expectations. That money has of course been put into war efforts along their eastern border, effectively taking out their two nearest neighbors and melting them into the Blue Knight territory. All those open trade routes through Red Lion seas have truly begun a new spring in the high north, despite it still being quite heavily into winter. Yes, the summer has passed and so has fall, the trees lay empty and the ground is covered in white. And yet Makai can not seem to fall into his usual seasonal depression in ordinance with the season, he is far too happy with how things have been going as of late. From expanding to making more money, he really is doing much better than his father did in his time at the throne. He truly is an amazing king.

His sister started it all. It is magnificent how it all worked out so perfectly despite the many odds that were against his genius plan. When she first arrived, that awful little thing called Margaret, her hair was dirty and her clothes were but mere rags. He managed to transform that illiterate, unknowledgeable woman into an eligible princess in six short weeks, making it impossible for the great crown prince Adelio to refuse the offer of marriage. Now Margaret is there, right there in Red Lion, never to return, soon-to-be queen of their rival kingdom. And he is here, right here in Blue Knight, leading his own kingdom that flourishes and keeps making him money. So really, he has himself to thank, for making sure that his genius plan worked so very well. And maybe her too, for being compliant to it all.

Makai would like to think that it just couldn't get better than this. He is, of course, wrong. For there is always one way a queen can secure her position, and elevate it at the same time. Only one way a queen can become even more useful to Makai. For he could care less about what happens to his sister after she has married the crown prince. But what he does care about, is gaining even more.

"It concerns your sister, crown princess Margaret of Red Lion, sire"

There are only two possible pieces of news that could interest him in this situation. Either, she is dead, which could quite literally not bother him less. Or, the more exciting option, she has...

"She has given the kingdom its heir. The crown princess is said to have birthed a healthy son, your excellency"

Makai slowly puts down his cup of tea on his wooden desk, a smile coming over his face. The servant bows as he has given his news, and leaves through the large golden and white doors of the king's study. Outside the window, snow falls heavily to the ground. It has snowed like this for the past seven days, most doors and windows covered in it to the brim. Maybe he should've guessed it. When he was born it snowed, when his brothers were born it snowed. Whenever a male heir is born, the snow falls heavily to the ground outside the Blue Knight capital palace. Makai realizes that he suddenly holds more cards in his hands than he did before. He realizes that Margaret really has proven to be quite useful to him, despite what he first thought. The poor, dumb girl that he brought from the farm that day, the girl that only shared his blood and nothing else, is now the upcoming queen and mother of Red Lion. And best of all, she is still very much his sister.

Makai smirks.

And that heir is also the heir to the Blue Knight throne, since there are no other male descendants on their side.

Perhaps he should pay his sister and nephew a surprise visit, after all.

🌾