As I returned to my chambers late at night, all grumpy and eager to finally crawl into bed with Valleria, I froze. The room was dark and quiet.
"Does anyone know where she is?" I backed out of the door.
"Giving birth in the west wing." one of my guards spurted out without thinking.
I wanted to see her. I had to make sure she was alright.
"Of course she is," I murmured, well aware of the reason why she walked through the whole palace. She didn't want to disturb my sleep.
I was able to hear her labored whines through several doors.
As I stood outside the final closed doors, the sounds of Valleria's labor drilled into my ears. Whimpers of pain mixed with determined grunts echoed through the hallway, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of helplessness as the only thing left to do was to wait and listen.
Another hour went by and her cry got worse as I remained rooted in place, among the crowd that formed in front of the door, anxious for any updates from the maids who attended to her.
'Her Majesty is doing well. She is so brave. But she is getting tired.' They all said, but I heard something else. She was crying for help. Begging to be killed, to escape the gruesome pain.
It was a soul-crushing, nerve-wracking experience. I was blinded with fear. What if it kills her?
Late night became early morning and it dragged even longer, all the way until noon.
When her hoarse voice raised from muffled cries to one last scream that almost ripped my sanity into tiny pieces, a high-pitched cry pierced the air. A wave of relief washed over me. It took almost another hour until I was granted permission to enter the room, and as I walked in, my heart stopped.
Valleria's face was flushed and swollen a bit, but she looked like a warrior who had triumphed over a fierce battle. A mix of exhaustion and contrition danced in her eyes as she cradled our newborn in her arms, her touch so gentle yet protective. It was overwhelming.
As I stared down at our son wrapped in pearl-white silk, my heart nearly exploded with pride. He was still all red and crumpled, so tiny and fragile, but alive and healthy.
"I'm so sorry." Valleria apologized quietly when I leaned lower to kiss her cheek.
"Why, my love?" I couldn't understand at first when I finally realized why she was so sad.
It's a daughter.
I observed the little creature with this new information and I felt different than a moment ago. This baby won't need to learn how to kill a man. She won't need to bother with politics and state affairs. Reading only nice poems instead of heavy accountant books together with military scripts. She is free to grow up and enjoy her childhood like a boy never could.
My lips curled into a wider smile as the tiny hand wrapped around my pinky. I'll give her the whole world.
She was so small. My beautiful daughter, our first child…
"I wasn't able to give you a son. I failed you-" she sighed, unable to enjoy the moment.
"Valleria. You survived. The child is strong and healthy. If God wishes for me to have a son, we will have one, too. I'll be grateful for any child you will give me, as long as you won't pay with your life." I touched her hand and tried to make her mind at ease "I'm so proud of you. We can have many children, as many as you wish."
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Dear reader! Thank you so much if you came this far with me. As you could see, almost each chapter from the past week used quite a long timeskip as I hate to unnecessarily drag the story just to make "content". These few chapters were crucial for the whole story to be able to develop in the direction I needed, I promise.
Another 3 months long skip follows, finally accompanied by some cuddling.
We are stuck at #2 review, I'd be forever grateful if you could possibly leave a few words on the main page to lift my ego to the skies.
If you have any questions or would like to provide feedback in private, feel free to reach out to me on Discord. You will find me as darjarenen, thank you in advance!