Princess Galadra is over joyed to discover she is pregnant with he Crown Prince's child, further securing the line of succession for the Wyvernic Empire. All seems well until her due date passes without incident. What appears to be a slightly overdu...
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Galadra never expected her first pregnancy to end like this. As wife to the Crown Prince she was of course expected to bear an heir and secure the line of succession, so it was no surprise that almost a year after being wed she became pregnant with the Prince's child and there was much celebration. Even her husband Toric, an intense and reserved man, expressed his joy upon hearing the news fro his beloved. As the months passed Galadra found herself loving her pregnant body as it swelled with the coming heir. The Crown Prince could not keep his hands off her either and the two frequently took pleasure with her fertile form. The child within her grew and thrived, and all of the Wyvernic Empire looked forward to the joyous event. Galadra never dreamed that pregnancy could be so wonderful and sensual. Everything went smoothly, until her ninth month...
Her due date came and went without so much as a slight cramp or pang. At first it seemed like a small inconvenience; the healers and midwives gave her a litany of comforting responses after looking over the heavily-pregnant princess: the baby will come when it is ready, perhaps the date was wrong, these things happen all the time, etc. Sitting in her bedchambers, Galadra would caress her large stomach and sing to the babe within in the hopes that maybe it would coax it out. Toric began making love to his princess even more frequently, as that was know to sometimes start labor, and while Galadra enjoyed the nights of passion she had with her husband the child still would not come.
Days pasted and as she neared the end of her her 10th month the worry began to get worse. Galadra's belly kept growing as the child became larger in size. Moving around the palace was becoming an ordeal as the overdue baby began to weigh her down. Toric would always escort his wife through the courts, supporting her heavily pregnant form with a strong arm. Courtiers and nobles whispered in groups as the royal couple walked past, remarking on the unfortunate state of the Crown Princess' pregnancy and that's when talk of witchery began to circulate. At first the royal family brushed it aside but eventually they began to consider it a possibility as all the of the empire's best healers and doctors could not aid Galadra. The Court Mage was called to investigate the scenario and after a few weeks he stood before the Emperor and his family and gave his verdict: the Crown Princess had been cursed.
"Cursed?" Galadra gasped. " Why would anyone do such a thing? Who would be so...evil?!" She held her oversized stomach as the notion sank in. Cursed! Her baby, the heir, placed under a curse to prevent it from being born. The sheer depravity of the idea made her feel ill and the blood run from her face. The Crown Prince, seated beside her, wrapped his arms around her as she slumped against his chest. Though his face was a mask of composure inside he was seething with rage. His father the Emperor was not as controlled.
"Are you positive?" he growled, slamming his fist on the arm of his throne, " Such accusations cannot be thrown about on a whim! I know how the Court loves to gossip and prattle about. I hope you haven't decided to join in!"
"Your Majesty, I have taken this matter quite seriously and have not allowed the idle whispers of others to influence my findings," the Mage replied. " That fact is that her Highness the Crown Princess is under a powerful curse which is preventing the child from being born. This is a very strong and deep magic; not your typical 'hedge witch' hexing. Whomever placed this curse is not playing around."
