[IC] The Making of a New Queen

[tsubasa]

Anastasia took to wearing more nightgowns. She didn't want her usual dresses to press against her small baby bump. She was laying on the bed. Her hands on her belly, she was amazed that there was actually a child in there. Samsul lay next to her, asleep. She'd woken up in the middle of the night and hadn't managed to get back to sleep. He had taken on much of her work. Even on the days that she made it to the office, he only let her sign a few pages, despite the fact that is wouldn't hurt the baby in the slightest. So, she had allowed him to sleep. She leaned over and kissed his temple, waking him before whispering, "I think we need to tell your parents."

She smiled with five months left, she wanted to start preparing of the baby's arrival. She couldn't do that with the entire castle in the dark about the pregnancy. She climb out of the bed with only the slightest amount of struggle and grabbed an envelope off of the small table by the window. Inside, contained the letter that she was to send to her parents, informing them of her pregnancy and inviting them to the castle. She walked back over to Samsul and smiled, "Come on," she said, making the bed bounce a little, "It's time to tell our little secret."

[pyroman]

Samsul stirred slightly as Anastasia kissed his temple, but woke up fully when his parents were mentioned. He knew that they would find out eventually, so running from the situation was futile. With a light sigh, the Lost Elf stirred around more and eventually got up after Anastasia began to make the bed bounce. "I'm going, I'm going. Give me a moment to get ready for the day and we'll head over to my parents." He said as he rose from his spot on his bed and set his feet down on the floor.

Samsul went straight to the closet to pick out some new clothes, and left the closet shortly afterward in his usual clothing. He looked at his wife and smiled a little at her. "Alright, Anastasia. Are you ready?"

[tsubasa]

Anastasia smiled at him and laughed a little before she when into the closet with him. She grabbed a different nightgown, as she had been wearing the other the previous day. When Samsul asked if she was ready, she nodded. Her hands were shaking slightly as she took Samsul's hand in her own. She felt as though his father didn't exactly accept of her.... She wasn't sure how he was going to feel about them having a baby. As they walked, she felt like her nerves were going everywhere. She was nervous about the baby, she was nervous about telling his parents, she was nervous about how they would react, she was nervous about anything and everything that involved the child that was growing inside her stomach. It didn't take them long to reach their door. Anastasia remembered the last time they went in their room and the two of them were just staring out the window while they stood awkwardly at the door. She looked up at Samsul, "They're going to be happy right?"

[pyroman]

Samsul could feel Anastasia's hand shaking in his own, so he have it a small squeeze to let her know that it would all be fine. He was worried as well to hear what his parents had to say on the matter, but he didn't seemed as worried as his wife had seemed to be. He was sure that his mother would be elated to hear the news, but he was worried about his father.

Before he could think any more on the subject, the two of them had reached his parent's door. Samsul nodded at Anastasia with a small smile as slowly reached for the door and turned the door knob. Slowly, he pulled the door open and looked inside to see his parents sitting where they usually sat, having a silent conversation through only glances and looks to each other.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia stood closer to him than she did the day that they first went to see them. The day that they told them about their marriage. She held Samsul's arm and looked at them. They sat the same way they had the first time, which left Anastasia and Samsul to do the same. The two of them stood awkwardly at the door as they waited to be noticed by his parents. She rested her forehead against his shoulder and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She smell enveloped her nose, causing her to smile. She loved him so much and the thought of having a child with him was fluctuating between elation and uncertainty. Luckily for her, it was never too bad a feeling, she was always still happy about their child. She looked up at Samsul and gave him hand a small squeeze, smiling.

[pyroman]

History seemed to have been repeating itself as Samsul stood there with Anastasia awkwardly, waiting for his parents to notice the two of them. They wanted to tell Samsul's parents about the big news, and both of them were afraid to hear about what the older couple had to say.

Although only minutes passed in real life, it had seemed like and eternity for Samsul. His mother's voice brought him out of his thoughts like the last time. "Hello Samsul and Anastasia." Arah said kindly, smiling at them as the old woman turned her head to them. Hatan did the same and looked at Anastasia, a little upset that his plan to her Kala with Samsul didn't work. He knew that Samsul loved Anastasia, so he then felt bad for trying to split the two up.

Samsul smiled at his mother and took in some air as he stood there, insure of how to go about the topic that he wanted to present to them. With a larger and deeper breath, Samsul glanced at both of his parents before speaking. "Mother, father. We have some important news, and both Anastasia and myself want for you to be the very first to know..." He drifted off to allow Anastasia to continue on, as well as so that he could see the curious expressions and his parents faces.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia smiled at his parents as they turned around and looked to them. She nodded her head to Arah when she greeted the two of them before looking to Hatan and saw him looking at her. She gave him a soft smile, she was going to tell herself that he was warming up to her. She then looked up at Samsul as he addressed them and started to tell them the news. However, his voice trailed away and Anastasia took that as a sign to finish the news. She placed her hands on her stomach, pull the gown back to reveal her baby bump. She didn't really know what to say as she looked down at it. She was quiet for a moment, before giggling and looking at her in-laws, "I'm pregnant."

[pyroman]

Both Arah's and Hatan's eyes widened at the news, but although the older man was the first to recover he said nothing. A short moment later, Arah smiled at the two again and began to tear up a little. "Oh, my son...!" She said as she teared up more and more. "I'm so proud of you for becoming a father.. I hope you take good care of him or her." She then looked at Anastasia and wondered just how far in they were, as she always had a bump from her baby. "Anastasia... If I may ask, how fare are you into pregnancy? I'm sure that your at least three or four months by the looks of it."

[tsubasa]

Anastasia laughed a little at Arah's reaction to the news. She seemed beyond thrilled about the news of her having a grand baby. When she told stated that she hoped he take good care of their child, Anastasia looked up at him, "I don't doubt it. He'll take wonderful care of the three of us. I'm sure of it."

She turned back to look at Arah when she asked how far along she was and took a guess. She nodded, "Four months and growing," She chuckled a little, "Not going to be able to hide it much longer."

She squeezed Samsul's hand and looked up at him. She couldn't stop smiling. Telling people was making her giddy, she almost forgot entirely about her nerves.

[pyroman]

"I see." Arah said with a small smile as she though about it. It had been four months, and neither or them seemed to have wanted to tell her and Hatan about her pregnancy. She understood it though, how Hatan didn't seem to fully approve of the marriage, and that could have possibly been the reason that they were holding back the information.

This was the time that Hatan had chosen to speak. He felt so happy for his so for finally becoming a parent, but wanted to tell him a few things from the start, rather then later when the possibility of having something go wrong would he more apparent. "Son." Hatan said in his old voice, gaining the attention of said Elf. "Be a father first. Always be there for your child and wife." He wanted for him to know this since he felt like he had somewhat failed as a father. He did help his son become the best guard that he could be, but other than training, they had little contact with each other.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia looked at Hatan when he spoke to Samsul. She smiled at him when he spoke, advising him to be a father first, before he was a king. Anastasia smiled, happy to hear this from him, she felt as though, in telling his son to be there for her and their child. he was accepting their marriage and maybe even approving of it. Even if it was only by the slightest amount. She was grinning at them when she felt a tear escape from her eye and then she was crying. She started to wipe away, laughing slightly at herself, "Oh... shoot..."

She sniffled, the nurse had told her that she would be emotional. Although, she hadn't expected to be so happy that she started to cry. She shook her head and kissed Samsul's cheek, "Visit, I'm going to go calm down a little..."

She did need to calm down but she also didn't want to cry in front of his parents. Hatan was already on the fence about how he felt about her and she didn't want to be crying in front of them. Especially not when they wanted a strong woman for their son.

[pyroman]

Samsul was happy to see that Hatan was becoming more accepting about the marriage with Anastasia, even if it did take them talking about her pregnancy for him to he more vocal about it. He was happy nonetheless, but was a little surprised to see that Anastasia was crying over the matter. It seemed that they were tears of joy, but he wasn't sure that this news was enough to make people cry. After a moment of silence of Samsul, the Lost Elf looked at his wife fully. "Anastasia-"

He was stopped as she kissed his cheek and told him that she was going to calm down a little. Samsul could only nod dumbly, not seeing Arah smile and silently giggle at the sight. She knew that the mood swings were a part of pregnancy, and believed that she fully understood why Anastasia was going to calm herself down. With a wave of the hand, she spoke in her usual calm and sweet voice. "We're so happy for the both of you. I'm sure that there are other people that you'd like to tell the information to, so we shouldn't keep you."

[tsubasa]

Anastasia was about to leave the room with Arah waved her hand, saying they shouldn't keep them. Anastasia shook her head, "Oh, no, it's fine. We have five months to tell people," However, Arah seemed fine with the two of them leaving. Anastasia gave her a soft smile before taking Samsul's hand and walking out of the room with him. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed, "I can't believe I just did that."

She shook her head again, she felt silly for crying the way she had, even if it was just the pregnancy. She looked up at Samsul, "I sent the letter off to my parents... I suppose it is just those within the castle we should be telling... It might be best to hold off telling the kingdom.... Wait until we have our little Royal or as long as we can... To avoid anything like what happened with my mother..." She squeezed Samsul's hand, "I say we start with Millie, Arabella, and Eric. Oh, and Autry, so that she can make up a few dresses that I can wear."

[pyroman]

Samsul left with Anastasia out of his parent's room and smiled at her once they had gotten out. It had went much better than he expected, and he was happy to even ear his dad speak openly about the subject. "It went better and I thought it would be." He told her. "I'm happy to see that they fully approve of everything." He listened to what his wife had to say, about her parents and who else they should tell at the moment. It was a perfect little list of the people that they knew the best, and Samsul didn't want it any other way. Even though the war was over, there were still a few people who held onto their beliefs and wanted to fight with their last breaths. Although the situation was different than when Anastasia was born, if was still possible that something like that could happen to them. Autry and Anastasia's parents were the only people outside of the castle that would know about the child, so it was safe to say that nobody would have a clue as to what would be happening in the months to come. Suddenly, a thought came to him as he turned his head and looked at Anastasia. "Have you thought about any possible names?" He asked.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia smiled as Samsul seemed to silently agree with her list. She walked with him to start rounding up their small list. She looked up at him when he asked about names. She gave a small nod. There had been many sleepless nights in the past month that she had sat up in her bed quietly thinking to herself. She held his arm, to keep her arm off of her stomach as they walked to the kitchens, "Oh Gerald!" She laughed, "Not as a name... but we should tell him as well..." She smiled, "I like the sound of Estelle Elana and Theodore Edward.... For my parents... Although, they aren't very Lost Elf-esque names... and the baby will be half Lost Elf...."

They reached the kitchen and Anastasia walked in. The kitchen staff was quite surprised to see the King and Queen within their work space, so Anastasia made the request quickly, "Eric, would you mind bringing Samsul and I some dinner to our room? We haven't had the chance to see you much. It would be nice to see you outside the kitchen a little," she teased. Next was Autry, she spotted Amul walking by as they exited the kitchen. She waved him over and smiled, "Amul, do would you mind running into the city and fetching Autry for us? I am growing out of my old dresses and I haven't the time to make it to her. We will make it worth her time."

Amul nodded and bowed, "Of course," Before he ran off to fetch the seamstress.

Finally, that left Gerald, Millie and Arabella, those two who be the easiest to get since they had every reason to be in their rooms. Gerald... Although, not as easy, would not be difficult to get. They walked to his office and she smiled at him, "Gerald, could you grab Millie and Arabella for me and bring them with you to my rooms?"

The man seemed slightly confused but nodded, "Of course your majesty."

Leaving, Anastasia smiled up at Samsul, "Now to go to our rooms and wait."

[pyroman]

Samsul followed Anastasia with little to say as she made her way about gathering everyone for the announcement. First up was Eric, who glad fully accepted to bring them dinner for the night. He had also caught on by the way that she said 'you' and knew that he couldn't have any other staff around when it happened. He was curious as to why, but he didn't ask any questions.

Samsul was sure that Autry would accept and make her way to the castle with Amul. It would've be her first time going to the castle, as Elana had called her to the castle for the exact same reasons many years ago. She felt so glad that she could help out the royal family as much as she did, and her shop had become popular since word got out thy the old woman had made the finest dressed for the queen.

Gerald would easily obey whatever the queen would tell him, so there weren't any problems whatsoever with getting him to come to the room later on in the evening.

Samsul nodded at Anastasia and walker her back to their rooms, where they would wait for everyone to gather so that the news could be shared. Samsul had his own thoughts for names for the children, and had some that were more focused on their lost elf side, and others that were about their human side.

[tsubasa]

When they got back to their room, Anastasia took a seat on the couch and pulled Samsul onto it as well. When he sat down next to her, she leaned against him and put her feet on the couch. She was tired, who knew caring around another person in you could make you so tired... Or maybe she was just hungry... They didn't eat that morning before going to tell Samsul's parents. Now she was eating for two, so that could be the reason behind the fatigue and light headedness... She was just glad that she asked for Eric to bring them some food. She looked at her husband, her chin resting on his shoulder, "Have you been thinking of any names?"

[pyroman]

Samsul nodded his head and looked at his with with a smile. He was still so happy to hear that we was going to be a father, but the excitement from hearing the news had died down a bit so a stupid smile wouldn't be plaster on his face whenever he would think about his child. Now that he was thinking more heavily on the name of their child, he wasn't as sure about the names, since he or she would be stuck with it for the res of their lives. With a sheepish smile, Samsul looked at his loving wife. "Maybe... I should keep thinking of names.."

[tsubasa]

Anastasia laughed and nodded, "As long as you tell me them," she gave him a kiss on the cheek before they continued to discuss things about their child. Not long after, there was a knock on the door, Anastasia stood, with only a slight amount of struggle and walked over to it, letting Gerald, Millie and Arabella in. The two women looked a little scared, after all, it wasn't often that Anastasia asked Gerald to get them for her. She smiled at them both, "Don't worry... We are just waiting for Autry and Eric."

Gerald nodded and walked over to one of the chairs by the couch and sat. The two girls went about cleaning the room, not feeling comfortable with standing around or sitting with the King and Queen, no matter how well they knew them. Anastasia sat back beside Samsul, knowing now that Arabella or Millie would grab the door when the other two arrived. They did just that when Eric wheeled in their food and again when Amul presented Autry to them. Anastasia looked around them and smiled, "Please come sit, we wish to speak to you all."

[pyroman]

Samsul waited patiently for everyone to arrive at their room. The first group consisted of Gerald, Millie, and Arabella. The second group came in not long after and Autry, Eric, and Amul all roved. Samsul smiled as everyone got settled into the room. Amul stood over by the door and Autry going a shair to site down at to hear the news. She was happy to be back in the castle, but she wondered why two servants, a guard, an advisor, and a seamstress were all in the same room with the king and queen.

Samsul looked at all of them before smiling calmly and cleaning his throat for what he was about to announce. He didn't want to be misheard when he told the news. "We've brought you all here today to tell you something very important. The reason that we have chosen you is because you are out most trusted people, and you should know what is happening before anyone else does..." He turned to Anastasia and smiled at her. "Would you like to tell them?"