Chapter 38. Cries, smiles and surprises
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” Out!” The king commanded as he entered the large room in the infirmary. The smell of herbs was everywhere, Marilyn lay on the large soft bed still unconscious. She looked a little bit paler than he left her in the morning. His heart broke at the sight as his mind wondered what could have been wrong with her.
” But your majesty… ” The old woman in a physician uniform said with a frown. She had just read the Queen’s pulse but the King didn’t want to listen to a word from her. He silenced her with a glance, one of the most vulnerable ones he ever showed anyone. The old lady swallowed her words, bowed, and left the room. It was strange, the hornets could have reported the situation to him instead of the maid but he hadn’t seen any one of them. Even the ones that normally follow her were out of sight.
” Marilyn… I … Please wake up” He swallowed hard as he sat beside her bed, he held her pale slender fingers in his large ones. Her breathing was almost normal which means the physician might have saved her life but she was still unconscious. She looked very peaceful like she was sleeping and even through his fear, he couldn’t help but admire her beautiful face. He frowned as his eyes landed on flecks of washed blood under her fingers. Taking her other hand, she saw a raw pink bruise on her wrist.
Did someone hurt her? Or tried to hurt her? He hoped the blood wasn’t hers or he would cost the capital with the blood of whoever did that to her. There were flecks of blood on her beige dress too, not that obvious unless you look closely. He needed to know what happened. He knew he should have asked before sending everyone out but his state of mind overrode every smart thinking.
” Anna..”
” Chocolate snow rolls”
He tried to call Annalise but her soft voice stopped him. His gaze went back to her, her eyes were still closed and he wondered if he was hearing things for a while until her mouth moved again.
” Chocolate snow rolls” She moaned softly, her mouth making weird movements like she was eating in her dreams. He chuckled at the sight, who knew his queen could be such a child? But what exactly were the chocolate snow rolls?
” Give me my chocolate snow rolls Annalise” She grumbled before opening her eyes. Her green eyes blinked as she adjusted to the sudden light in the room.
” Should I get Annalise for you?” He cleared his throat and she flinched at the sudden sound. She turned her neck to the side facing Treven. ” Oh it’s Treven” She grinned at him like she had not just turned his entire mood upside down.
” What happened to you? How are you feeling? Why did you faint? Did anyone hurt you?” He bombarded her with a series of questions that made her blink in confusion. She only remembered closing her eyes after healing the fatally injured man. She didn’t expect to wake up in a room smelling of herbs with Treven staring at her like she would break any moment.
” Calm down! Can I get my snow rolls first? The cravings are driving me nuts” She mumbled, her words like icy Spears to his heart. He had rushed to the infirmary because he was losing his mind because of her but she wanted food first. He tried to hide the fact that he was sulking under his Stony cold expression. Marilyn blinked at the sudden change of expression but she said nothing.
” Annalise?” His cold voice called out and the head maid rushed in with a wide smile on her face. He wondered if any of the women in the room fell and hit their head in the morning because why would Annalise be smiling and the Queen would ask for food after such a nerve-wracking incident?
” Yes, your majesty” The maid curtsied not even hiding her excitement.
” Where are my chocolate snow rolls?” Marilyn cried out before he could say anything to the maid. Annalise gasped but quickly regained herself, she rushed outside and entered immediately with two young maids carrying a tray each, on the first tray were two plates of white snow-like pastry. And on the second tray was a kettle of chamomile tea.
The Queen sat up snatched a plate of pastry from the tray and dug in like a starved animal. She brought the snow-like pastry to her mouth and moaned when the chocolate burst into her taste buds. The sound stirred something inside him but he ignored the sensation. He needed to know what the hell was going on before getting aroused.
” Congratulations son” Annalise blurted out and the King raised his head, taking his sight off his weird Queen. Annalise hardly ever addressed him as such unless the situation was serious.
” Congratulations? What Happened?” The Queen said through mouthfuls of her beloved snacks. ” Easy your majesty,” Annalise said to the Queen. He had never seen her behave like that before but he remembered the first time he met her, she was like a psycho then also but he loved that part of her.
” Her Majesty is with child” The woman smiled wider as she broke the news to both of them. He felt the time stop around him suddenly as he processed what Annalise just said. He could swear he heard Marilyn choke on her pastry. She asked for a cup of tea and swallowed hard before laughing.
” Yes let’s prank the Barren woman with news of pregnancy shall we?” The Queen muttered with an eye roll while Annalise’s smile only got wider than ever. The king remained shell-shocked.
” I wouldn’t risk my head for such a jest Your Majesty. The royal physician can confirm my statement, should I call her?”
” But my monthly flows. I still .. oh oh I haven’t seen it in the last two months” The Queen said counting her fingers. She gulped as the reality crashed into her like hard bricks. The early morning nausea, the weird cravings, and then every time exhaustion. She is pregnant.
” I’m pregnant?” She asked not directing the question to anyone in the room but more like trying to ask herself.
” Congratulations your majesty,” Annalise said wiping a lone tear that escaped her eyes. The two maids knelt and bowed as they kept saying congratulations to the royal couple.
” You are with my child, our child” The king finally snapped out of his shock. He held Marilyn’s pale hands tenderly as his grey eyes pierced through her soul. His happiness knew no bounds as he kept looking at her still in shock at the news. He placed his hand on her still flat belly and she cried in happiness. He wiped her tears with the back of his palm. Not minding the plate of unfinished pastry he pulled her into his warm embrace. She cried more into his shoulder while he patted her back gently. Annalise cleared her throat and the maids disappeared, she followed them with the biggest smile on her face.
” Thank you so much for giving me this. I’m so grateful to Natalí for sending you to me” He said, his voice breaking as he tried to hold back his emotions.
” I’m grateful I listened to her calls also. Thank you for giving me proof that I can be a mother, I had given up but now I’m going to have my child?” She sobbed more into his shoulder and he rubbed her back.
” Why are you crying? You don’t need to cry” He sniffed, concealing his red face in her embrace. He was close to tears also, he knew Natalí wouldn’t be so cruel to give him a woman that wouldn’t continue his lineage.
” I’m not sad, I’m just too happy that I can’t stop crying”
” I know” He nodded placing a kiss on her forehead. She smiled, She wondered what could have happened if she didn’t believe Annalise or listened to Eria. She would still be at the Gattar mansion, rotting away at the mercy of the Lord without a piece of great news like this.
” You have crushed my snow wrolls with your giant body” She pouted picking up one of the crushed snow rolls from his lap. He laughed at how cute she looked crying at the snack.
” I’ll fill the entire palace with them” He Chuckles and she stares at him. “I…” He didn’t let her finish before covering her chocolate-flavored mouth with his. He bit down the three heavy words lingering on his tongue, he would just show her for now and tell her later.
Celebration broke out in the palace and the capital at the news of the new royal family member. The news traveled fast even down to the southern and western parts of Nayak extremely far away from the capital. They all rejoiced with their rulers and the news threw the entire Nayak into another countrywide celebration for the third time in three months.
” Not the perfume, Not the lipstick”
” What?! She is pregnant? How can she be pregnant?!” A ceramic cup hit the wall and her pained screams followed.
Guess who?