[IC] The Making of a New Queen

[tsubasa]

Anastasia shook her head when he said that they could wait until she was comfortable, till she wasn't scared, "I don't think we can," She whispered before Alex walked in.

She quickly wiped her eyes and sat up in the bed as Samsul brought the food over to her, placing it on the bed. She smiled at the boy, "Thank you, Alex."

She then looked up at Samsul, she wasn't sure if he had heard what she had said. She assumed he hadn't, since he didn't seem to be any different from moments before when he was trying to comfort her. She lifted her spoon and stirred the soup that had been brought up. She wasn't all to hungry. She had planned on just sitting with Samsul while he ate but she should eat... Even if it was just going to come up later. She rose the spoon her mouth and slowly sipped it off as she looked at Samsul.

[pyroman]

Samsul had barely heard Anastasia as she whispered, but it was just loud enough for him to hear her, especially since he had better hearing than most. He didn't know what to say or do about it, so he simply kept as calm as he could.

Alex left with the other chef soon after Anastasia had thanked her, leaving the king and queen to their own devices.

Samsul turned to Anastasia as she did to him, looking at her with a calm and relaxed expression. He didn't know what to say to her at the moment, so he simply kept quiet as he ate his food slowly. He glanced over at Anastasia every few moments, wondering how she was doing since she was sick. It was good to see her eating, even thought it was most likely going to come back up later on in the day.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia looked back down at her soup when Samsul looked at her. She didn't know how to bring it up again... She wasn't even sure if she was and she didn't want to worry him, even though he seemed more than okay with having children now. She sipped her soup quietly and slowly, not wanting to upset her stomach further. She had been feeling nauseous for a sometime now but she had been able to work through it till today, where it seemed she couldn't hold anything down. She took a deep breath and didn't look up from her soup as she stared at it. She rose a shaky spoon to her mouth and said in a less than hushed voice, "I think... I might be pregnant."

She put the spoon in her mouth quickly and swallowed the soup, "I don't know.... though...." she said quickly after, "I just... think I might be....."

Moments ago, she hadn't wanted to worry him and now she was blurting it out. Maybe because she didn't want to worry alone. Maybe because she wanted him to hold her and comfort her like he always managed to do. Even if she wasn't sure, there were signs, the sickness being a major one, the fact that she was late being another. She put her spoon down and rose a hand to her mouth, feeling ill again. She closed her eyes as it passed before she finally met Samsul's.

[pyroman]

As soon as she had actually said that she was pregnant, the calm facade that Samsul had on was quickly breaking away. Even if it was just a possibility, he was elated to hear that he was to be a father. He had tried to keep it up for as long as he could, but he couldn't help but to smile greatly at the thought. His slow pace of eating food had slowed down even more, until the point that he wasn't eating at all. He could only look at her with his smile until she opened her eyes again, and he slowly hugged her tightly. "We're going to be parents!" He said happily before letting go of his wife. He wanted to jump up and down in excitement, but he knew better than to do that.

[tsubasa]

As Anastasia's eyes met Samsul's she saw his smile and the pure happiness in them. A moment later, he pulled her into a hug. She could practically feel the energy radiating off of him. She laughed a little when he started that they were going to be parents. She felt a small ball of glee form in her stomach just seeing how happy Samsul was to know that they were going to be parents. Seeing how happy he was, how carefree, how little he seemed to worry about the future. It calmed her. After, Samsul was a wise man, he always seemed to be able to think ahead. Of course, he would hide any worries he had from her but looking at him as happy as he was, she could tell he had none. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, "We are... But I don't want to tell anyone not until we're certain and I want your parents to be the first to know, with them being so close... then we'll send a letter to my parents and invite them to come when the baby is born... So that they can see their grandchild..."

She moved out from under her blankets and curled up next to Samsul, "And you have the job of making sure I don't worry too much... because I will."

[pyroman]

Although he didn't really want for his parents to be the first to know, Samsul nodded and thought about how his parents would react to the announcement. His mother would probably be just as elated as he was, but he was worried about his father. Even though he didn't way much, the old man had a lot on his mind, and obviously wasn't all too happy wit hearing that the two of them were married, instead of Samsul and Kala. Until just now, he had completely forgotten about Elana, but now, he was wondering how she was doing. It had been quite some time since her death, and she hasn't spoken to anyone at all as far as he knew.

He smiled at Anastasia as she curled up next to him, and smiled a little more as he was informed that she would worry too much about the whole situation, and he was tasked with keeping her calm. "I'll do what I can to keep you from doing so, but there might be some times when I worry with you." He smiled as he pushed aside his thoughts to Elana and replaced them with thoughts about his child to be.

Little did he know that Elana was trying desperately to contact him ever since she left, but had been stopped one way or another.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia laughed when he told her that would take the job of keeping her from worrying as best he could, as long as he wasn't worrying either. She smiled at him, "As long as it isn't just me worrying."

She sat up when she heard a knock on the door, "Come in," she called. Moments later and woman in at least her fifties walked in. She smiled at the two of them, "Your majesties. You asked for me."

Anastasia blushed a little and moved away from her King to sit closer to the end on the bed, "I've been sick all morning and I haven't been feeling well the last few days..."

"Morning sickness?" the nurse said, taking a stab in the dark. Anastasia blushed more, "I think so..."

The woman grinned, "Oh how exciting, a baby for the castle, lie back," Anastasia did as told and took Samsul's hand, not wanting him to leave. The woman grabbed a chair and sat next to the bed, "This castle hasn't had a baby to raise since your mother," She said quietly, "I think everyone will be very happy," she started to carefully feel at her stomach. She did a few other tests then looked at Anastasia, "Why didn't you tell anyone dear?"

Anastasia looked down at her hands, "I was... scared."

The nurse smiled at her and placed her hand on top of her's, "Don't be. You have some of the best people here at your disposal. If you struggle with anything... They'll want to help. People talk much about the two of you," She looked to Samsul, "And I haven't heard one bad thing."

She looked back to Anastasia, "Morning sickness states you are already in your second month of pregnancy, the hardness of your stomach of your right side suggests you're almost on your third."

Anastasia mouth dropped, she knew she was late but had she really be three months pregnant, "I didn't know... I was... that late."

The nurse laughed a little, "Don't worry. We get a little forgetful when we are living for two. Good thing is, the sickness should start to fade and it is a good sign, your highness. We'll keep an eye on you, if you start to start to show slightly in the next couple weeks, then we'll know that you are already in your third month. Then it is just six more to go."

She looked between the two of them and smiled, "I'll leave you to."

She got up and grabbed her things before leaving. Anastasia placed a hand on her stomach and looked at Samsul, eyes wide, "Three months?"

[pyroman]

Samsul sat quietly as the nurse checked on Anastasia. He was surprised to hear that she was three months in. He felt like he should have known that she was that far in to pregnancy, but she wasn't sure either so he didn't really dwell on that any more. That only told him that he only had to wait six months instead of the regular nine. He could only smile more at that thought. "We'll only have to wait six months." He said in a happy voice as he kissed her lightly. He could barely contain his happiness about the news and was prepared to hug the life out of his loving wife.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia looked at Samsul and how happy he was and all that fear that lapsed through her brain about only having six months to prepare herself and the castle for the baby disappeared. She smiled as he kissed her, truly happy about the news. She placed her hand on the back of his neck, "Seems we are going to have to tell our parents sooner than I thought," She laughed a little, "When I'm feeling better. The nurse said herself that it shouldn't last much longer."

She kissed him and shook her head, "I thought those bloody corsets were getting tighter... I just thought it was because I wasn't feeling well," She placed her hand on her abdomen again and felt it. She'd have to stop wear corsets all together and the dresses she got from the seamstress probably would fit her, "We'll have to tell you parents soon because I need to get new dresses and I'm sure Millie will be yelling it from the rooftops the moment she finds out," She gave him another kiss and smiled, "Don't you have work to be doing?" she asked coyly.

[pyroman]

Samsul sighed with a small smile on his face. He was so happy to hear that he would be a father, but he knew that his parents would probably want to know how he had not known sooner that Anastasia was pregnant. He couldn't help but smiled at at his wife as she talked about the corsets and how they were getting tighter, but nodded with a calm and almost blank face his his parents were mentioned again.

His blank face returned to a smile when she coyly asked about his work, and he slowly shook his head at her. "Right now, the most important thing for me is watching over you until you get better. I've finished most of the papers anyways, and the reconstruction is almost done. It wasn't costly, and everything should be done by the end of the month"

[tsubasa]

Anastasia smiled and kissed him as he shook his head, stating that it was more important to be with her than to be signing the papers. She laughed a little and cupped his face in her hands, "I'm not even sick," She teased. She pursed her lips, "Well, I am but it isn't because of a flu or illness."

She kissed him again, smiling, "But I don't mind you staying here with me... It seems like when we go to the ocean, we'll be bringing a wee one with us," she grinned at the thought of going to the ocean with Samsul with their baby in her arms. Samsul would probably want to put his feet in the water, kick it around as she held their child on their blanket. A little girl entered her fantasy, joining Samsul in the water. He'd lift her up and spin her around before carrying her happily over to Anastasia. Then the four of them would enjoy eating. She giggled a little and looked at Samsul, she was already thinking of having more and she had barely started with the first. She smiled at Samsul softly, "I'm happy... scared... but very happy."

[pyroman]

Samsul nodded at the thought of bringing a little one with them when they went to the beach. He had his own thoughts about the visit to the beach, and although the were similar to the thoughts that Anastasia had, his were a bit different. Samsul hadn't thought of a second child yet, and was only focused on the one that was chasing him around with what had appeared to be a wooden sword. Samsul would fight his daughter for a little before allowing himself to be hit in the side, causing him to 'fall over in defeat.' Once his daughter noticed this and stood over him, he surprised her by reaching his arms our to her and grabbing her by the sides and tickling her all while Anastasia watched the two. He would then get up from the ground and let go of his daughter before hugging her tightly and giving her a small kiss on the forehead.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Anastasia, and nodded at her with the same soft smile that she gave him. "I agree with you. I'm not sure I can wait six months, though." He said with a small laugh.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia laughed and shook her head, "Oh, I can," She gave him another kiss before sitting up. She climbed out of the bed and smiled at him, "If it is just morning sickness... Then I should be good to walk around. It should be fine even. She grinned at him and grabbed herself a cloak. She tied it around her neck and covered up her night gown. She held out her hand to him, "Come... I want to walk around the gardens together."

At the word 'walk' Melor's ears perked up. He ran out of his little bed that sat in the sun light and ran over to Anastasia, barking wildly. She thought of Melor playing with the little girl at the wedding, he would be good with their child. She opened the door to Millie's surprise, "Your highness, I was just coming to clear your plates," She looked around her at Samsul, "I thought we agreed that it was best for her to stay in bed."

Anastasia laughed, "The nurse just came in and cleared me... It'll just be a short walk then I'll be right back in bed... I just need to stretch my legs a little," She said trying her best not to give away the secret to the woman. Millie walked passed her and over to the bed, gathering their empty bowls, "Whatever you say, Anastasia."

[pyroman]

Samsul smiled at Melor as he perked up at the mentioning of a walk. It had been a while from their last Walk, and he was sure that Melor was excited to get out and stretch his legs out. The Elf then turned to Millie as she spoke up, and instantly smiled at her. It was the kind of smile that said "I know something that you'd kill to know" as he knew that she would want to be the first person to know that he and Anastasia were having a child. He never said one word to her though, and simply kept that smile on his face as he got up from the bed and walked over to the door of the room. Melor followed Samsul as he moved to the door, excited that they were going to go outside.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia took Samsul's hand when he exited the room. When they were a safe ways away, she giggled, "I can't wait to tell her... I feel as though she is going to bounce off more walls than we are."

She rested her head on his arm as they made their way to the garden. She kept feeling the hard spot of her abdomen when her hand under the cloak, glad that it was covering much of her movements as it might be a giveaway or it would at least look very odd that was continually feeling one side of her stomach. She giggled again for no reason and she pressed her forehead to Samsul's shoulder. It was amazing how much better she felt after telling Samsul her fear. He clearly had some kind of magical power to make anything that was making her feel horrible just suddenly disappear. Even when her mother died, he was able to make it not feel that bad. She kissed his shoulder and smiled, "Maybe I can't wait six months..."

[pyroman]

Samsul nodded at Anastasia as they were a safe ways away from Millie. "I'm pretty sure that she will do that when she finds out. I'm curious though. Why does she want for us to have children so badly? I think we should ask her that after we tell her the news."

He smiled once more as she told him that she couldn't wait either. It was obvious that they were both excited for their child, and Samsul wanted to be the best father that he could be. He had no idea that he was able to keep his wife so calm, despite all of the recent news. He had seen some of the Lost Elf woman when they announced their pregnancy, and even though they were steeled warriors, they still squealed and jumped up and down as if they were years younger than they were. He wondered why Anastasia wasn't lie that, and didn't even bother to think about himself being a factor in how calm she was with the news. "I can't wait either, but it seems that we'll have to.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia shrugged, "Like the nurse said. This castle hasn't had a royal baby since me... and I was gone within the hour that I was born. Or maybe... Since she is my maid in waiting, she'll get to be around the baby a lot and just enjoys children. We are people who have to have children... So she wanted it to just happen sooner than later."

She wrapped her arms around his and held his hand, "Six months... Isn't that long..." She rested her head against his shoulder, "And we'll spend a lot of it preparing... getting a crib for our room... blankets... telling people... celebrating with people..." She sighed, "We'll probably have to invite the Royals again." She felt like the Royals had been in their castle a lot. First, her coronation, then the marriage some months later, then Samsul's coronation and now the baby. She laughed a little, "They must be getting sick of the travel to get to us," she joked.

They entered the garden and Anastasia smiled. She loved the garden, the flowers all bright and colorful. She stopped and kissed Samsul, "I love you..." She wrapped her arms around his waist and sighed. She closed her eyes, "I'm already tired...."

[pyroman]

Samsul smiled at his wife's joke and could only nod in agreement with her. It seemed that so many events were happening too close together, and forced everyone to bring Greenspring to their full attention. He could only imagine how the royals would react to being back in Greenspring once again.

As the two entered the garden, Samsul let out a sigh of relaxation as he looked around at all of the flowers around him and Anastasia. It was so calm and peaceful, and the Elf couldn't help but think about how their child would react to being in the gardens. Before he could lose himself in his thoughts, he felt Anastasia kissing him and smiled at her. "The you should rest out here, Anastasia." He told her with a small smile.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia nodded and walked over to the bench and took a seat. Melor ran over to her and placed his paws on her lap whining. She smiled at him and pet his head, "Go play with Samsul," she pointed to him and smiled. Melor looked over his shoulder before he jumped off Anastasia and ran to Samsul. He gave her husband a doggish grin and jumped around him happily. Anastasia leaned back against the bench and rested her hands on her stomach as she watched the two of them.

[pyroman]

Samsul smiled back at Melor as the dog ran over to him. Ever since he had first played with him, Samsul had gotten better at playing with the dog, and felt more than happy to do so. Finding a small stick near him, Samsul reached down and grabbed it before waving it at Melor to catch his attention. After seeing that it had gained Melor's attention, Samsul threw the stick and watched as the dog chased after it and returned moments later with said stick in his mouth. He smiled at the dog and took it from his mouth, Melor letting go of the stick as soon as Samsul had grabbed it.