Secret of the Snow Queen (Fire and Ice Book #1) *GOING THROUGH EDITS*

CH. 5 Nicolas

                                                                                Kelvin

I carried Aurora inside the castle gates as she squirmed in my arms. Luca was right behind us with knit brows and concerned eyes. Everyone around us stared in surprise as I walked into the courtyard with her in my arms.

"Is there a midwife in the castle?" I asked loudly as I took her inside and carried her up the stairs. I turned a corner and looked for a room, and when I finally spotted a bed, I had her inside. I laid her on the bed as she panted; I took her hand and shushed her. Luca and a male servant walked into the room. Aurora cried out as we all stared at each other like idiots. "Well?" I asked quieter.

"There aren't any midwives here, m'lord. Quite frankly, we didn't expect a woman to give birth here any time soon." I turned back to Aurora, who by now had covered herself in the blankets and was lying in the fetal position. My heart was racing now; seeing her like this made me tense. We stared at each other for a moment; I rubbed her forehead, trying to show her with my eyes that everything would be okay. Her eyes were almost as wide as Lilies were when her water broke...

Lily... I blinked in order to prevent the tears from welling in my eyes. This wasn't the time for emotions; it would make Aurora nervous anyway.

"Well, get on it then! Can't you see she's in pain?" Luca sounded exasperated, and I gave him a look.

"Get out!" Aurora was crying tears now. It was probably best if we left; we were kind of crowding her anyway. I shooed the men out but lingered; would it be wise to leave her alone? After all, she was in labor. I had a horrible feeling something would go wrong if I left her alone.

"Are you sure you want to be alone? I—"

"Get out!" Her eyes were wild, and she yelled this time.

Say no more. I scrambled out the door and shut it abruptly.

I had left the castle to join the other Lords in signing the armistice. Luca and a few knights rode with us as we again met Ignatius at the border. This time, the crowds of guards were gone. They were posted on different parts of the border in case Ignatius wanted to surprise us with anything...

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Luca asked me as we neared the border; he meant Aurora. I wasn't quite sure how to answer his question. I didn't know anything about pregnancy or babies. I was the last person to ask! I learned if it was my sister and there wasn't a midwife to help her, I'd be a little worried, too.

"She'll be okay, Luca; she just needs time alone until either the baby is born or the midwife arrives." I forced myself to bury Lily and the past... this was Aurora, she was young and she seemed strong. She had to pull through this.

Whichever one comes first. We finally went to the edge of the border and stopped. We all dismounted and strode to Ignatius while the knights stayed behind. There was a table, probably brought by him; Morgana stood on one end. He was smirking, and I couldn't help but wonder if he had something up his sleeve. Of course he does; this is Ignatius.

I knew that during wartime, armistices were never followed to the letter. He was probably going to wait a week, and then he'd strike when the artificial peace lulled the rebellion. But the question was where?

"Hello, gentlemen; we meet one last time to sign a peace agreement?"

"Let's get on with it; bring the document out!" Nilsen barked, and I stifled a laugh; he was such a snob, but he was like a bulldog when it came down to business. Luca brought the document and placed it on the table. Ignatius took out a pen and dipped it in the ink; he then proceeded to sign his name in big fancy calligraphy. There was almost no room for our signatures when he finished signing.