There undeniably was tension in the air as the royal family settled at the breakfast table the following morning.
The stunt the previous queen had pulled on Emily was still very much present in her mind. And the obvious anger rolling off the new queen in waves made the atmosphere almost suffocating.
“Can I have some more jam please?” Emily asked after a while, addressing one of the servants that lurked in the shadows, unseen but there.
“You have eaten plenty already, Emily dear,” Theodore’s mother threw at her carelessly. “Aren’t you afraid to become a whale and have my son become disgusted by you?”
Emily’s face flushed in embarrassment and her eyes stung with unshed tears.
One of the servants put another jam container next to Emily who all but threw it aside. Theodore, however, caught it easily thanks to his great reflexes.
“Eat, dorogaya,” he instructed. “I would never even tire of you, never mind getting disgusted.”
At that sweet confession of his, there was an audible dreamy-slash-envious sigh – no doubt from Tatiana.
“That is what dreams are made of, sweetheart,” she said, seemingly in a slightly better mood than yesterday. “Eating your fill, knowing your lover wouldn’t throw you aside at the first chance they got.”
Emily agreed with a nod and smiled awkwardly. Theodore grabbed her hand briefly and squeezed it gently.
“Your scent as a werewolf isn’t less potent today than it was yesterday,” queen Alexia then said pensively, addressing queen Tatiana no doubt.
Theodore tensed slightly from where he sat next to Emily.
“Mother, you have no say in the matter now that Tatiana and I have been crowned queen and king of the dragons,” Liam spoke up.
“I beg your pardon?” She all but squeaked angrily. “You are still my son. I wish for nothing more than seeing you happy.” All three siblings either snorted or sported a dubious look at that. “Why must you act like this?” She then demanded to know. “I am still your mother.”
“Only because we cannot choose our parents, mother,” Theodore let out icily, uncaring of any feelings she might have.
“Theodore!” She exclaimed in outrage. “I still haven’t gotten over the fact that you would threaten your own mother!”
“And I over the fact that you held a dagger to my mate’s neck,” was his retort. “Hell, I still have half a mind to kill you for that.”
She let out a gasp in outrage. Whereas Tatiana’s gasp was that of disbelief.
“And here I thought our court was messed up,” no doubt everybody could hear her mutter under her breath.
Emily smiled, finding it endearing, and admittedly brave of her, to speak up, considering the palpable tension in the air. Liam and Serena both sported smirks at that. Whereas Theodore’s face remained impassable and closed off.
Their mother soon enough humphed, and was ready to leave the table abruptly when Tatiana spoke up again, “Wow! You must be one special kind of nut-case to want to cross Theos. But it’s good that I now know. I wouldn’t want to be in the same room as you alone.” It seemed as if she was soliloquizing and yet, she was speaking out loud. “You would do well to remember your place now, Alexia dear. You are the king’s mother, and nothing else.”
“You!” The previous queen spat at her. “How dare you speak to me this way?”
“Because I am now the queen, and what I say is law, isn’t it Liam?” She sought confirmation from her mate for some reason – almost as if she needed his support – and he merely nodded at her.
“Ridiculous!”
“And to that end, I would love it if you and the last king would relocate somewhere else,” Tatiana went on.
“You cannot throw me out!” Theodore’s mother cried out in outrage and anger both. “You have no right…”
“I am not throwing you out, Alexia dear. I would never,” Tatiana rolled her eyes at that and dismissed the very thought with a wave of her hand. “I am merely giving you a month – one month – to get your act together, unless you want to be deprived of the right to see your sons and daughter for all eternity.”
It was almost obvious that Tatiana wasn’t acting out of a selfless desire to protect the royal siblings, but rather out of an instinctive desire to protect herself. Nevertheless, Emily admired her for having a solid opinion and standing her ground.
Breakfast ended soon afterward.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
“Theo,” Emily called for his attention once they were back in their bed chambers.
He made a noncommittal sound in acknowledgment, and then his gaze became trained on her, as if urging her to speak. He was busy with work on his laptop and thus could only give her so much attention.
“Do you think I have gained weight?” She asked softly, her insecurities making an ugly appearance as she looked at herself in the mirror sideways.
“Is this a trick question?” He retorted, an eyebrow scrunched up in a frown.
“What? So, I have put on weight!” She exclaimed, almost ready to burst into tears.
He sighed and then beckoned her over, “Come here, dorogaya.”
She did as she was told even though her legs were basically made of lead. “What is it?” She sniffled.
“Don’t let my mother’s words get to you,” he told her as he poked her forehead softly.
“But you won’t even reassure me,” she all but whined.
“Think, dorogaya,” he told her with a mischievous smile.
She was sure she now sported a perplexed frown.
“What do you mean?” She asked after a few moments.
He took his phone and told her to do the same using gestures.
What was all this secrecy about?
What was he about to tell her?
It’s been nearly a month and half since we started making love. And not once did we stop.
She frowned slightly before gasping. “Are you saying…”
He put his finger on her lips to silence her. And he nodded at her, a bright smile adorning his face.
She didn’t know how it came to be, seeing as he always put a condom on, or didn’t spill within her if he was going without. He had been truly mindful and careful… and yet, after seeing his beaming face, she realized that he had only done so to please her. He was obviously thrilled to become a dad.
She couldn’t help but mirror his smile at that and then went to hug him, relief flooding her – pregnancy could explain her mood swings and also her gradually increasing appetite.
She still believed she was too young to become a mother but she wasn’t about to complain… It was a gift from the heavens – a gift she shall cherish for as long as she lived.