To Make a Kinder Children's Tale

46: Rebirth

The Prince lounged on his couch. He had moved it into the second bedroom while waiting on the cocoon to finish growing to its full size-in fact, the room held her and the couch with little space left. The thing swelled rapidly after the third or fourth layer of binding-and the lower levels had fused enough to hold fluids, but the past few days it had been shrinking almost as fast, as the fluids dissipated. It was a matter of time before his betrothed burst forth, holding his own firstborn. A stray crazed thought crossed Althalos' mind-his uncle wasn't his grandfather's firstborn descendant. He, too, had his first child yanked from him. Hard behind that was the longing to hold his own child, but he wasn't sure she would allow him to before leaving, and he dare not ask. He asked for one thing, he'd ask for it all. He couldn't start down this path.

The gentle rocking of the cocoon before it sloughed off into an entwined mess on the floor was the only warning he got before she was free. They stared at each other for a long moment of silence, but already she had the look of a woman not totally here-which caused his heart to sink in his chest, even as he stood to face her. The call of the Queen was upon her. He decided to take the time to memorize what had changed as he didn't want to forget this, either. She held what looked like a bundle against one breast, the other one bare-or mostly bare. She had gained the shell of a Queen during her time in the cocoon, something he was not sure she would have or not, leaving very little of her flesh exposed. Her once just below honey hair was a darkend gnarled mass that poked its way out from under her skull's shell in a very haphazard manner-which meant that it had not made itself the right way-given that she was too human, it didn't surprise him. But it gave him concerns about how else her new parts fit her. Did she even have wings?

Moments later she unfurled them- clear, like many of the Crystal Queen's descendants, but not as large as he thought they'd be, no more than her natural arm's length, and she lifted off the floor, preparing to leave him. She cocked her head, and looked at him thoughtfully-the first time she didn't seem to be in a daze this whole time. He closed his eyes and bowed to her, wholly expecting her to be gone before he straightened out. He felt her hands upon him, perhaps a farewell she couldn't voice. In his grief, in this moment, he couldn't bring himself to look at her.

So he was thoroughly surprised when she forced a hand under one of his arms and lifted him off the ground before taking him through the Frostways.