The royal baby

The rules

*Allison's P.O.V*
My eyes shoot open as I take shuddery breaths, pausing when I inhale the sweet scent of the queen's perfume. I bury my face into her chest, letting out shuddery sobs.

"What's wrong little one?" I hear Maxon say before I feel a gentle hand rubbing up and down my back. I squirm away, pushing into the queen even more. "Was it another bad dream?" He questions.

I nod as I turn over slightly to look at him. "Bad... bad dream," I whisper as I stare at him blearily. He reaches toward me and I pull away for a moment, looking at him with wide eyes. He was nice and all but he wasn't Annabelle and she was the only one who had picked me up before.

"Don't worry darling, you're alright," He murmurs as he sits up, patting the bed beside him. I crawl over to sit near him, pulling my knees up to my chest. Annabelle's nightgown is long and flowy so I really like it.

"Hurt...bad people hurt," I whisper as I rub at my eyes. "Don't like it," I say as I grab the loose fabric of the nightgown between my hands, squeezing it as hard as I can.

"Oh poor darling, I promise no one will hurt you here. Those mean guards from earlier are in trouble with Celestria and anyone who wants to try something will have a lot of people to go through," Maxon informs me as he gets up, going over to Annabelle's vanity. He picks up Dusk and I reach for her with my free hand.

Maxon hands it to me and I hug onto the unicorn, finding comfort from the soft fur of it. I was glad I had been given it now. Even if it was a child's toy, it was offering me comfort after that horrible dream.

"There we go darling. Are we feeling better now?" He questions. I nod my head as I smile softly. "There's that pretty smile," he states as he sits back down on the edge of the bed.

I blush as I look away earning a small chuckle. "Still time to sleep?" I ask hesitantly as I look at the queen.

"Yes, there's still time to sleep but I think we need to go over the rules now," he states. My eyebrows furrow at that. I was sleepy, I didn't really want to listen to any rules right now.

"Okay," Is what I say with a small pout. 'I hope they're not too strict,' I think idly as I look up at him.

"Number 1: tell us if you're going anywhere. We worry about you and want to make sure you're safe. Number 2: No cursing. We understand if one or two curse words slip out occasionally but cursing just to curse will not be tolerated.  Number 3: Please tell us if something is wrong. It's not really a rule, you don't have to but we would like for you to tell us if something is bothering you. Or if you don't want to tell us you can write it down in a journal that's for your eyes only. No one will see what you write unless you show them," He states. I nod my head. Those wouldn't be so hard to follow, well maybe the cursing one would be.

"See those weren't so bad were they little miss pouty," he says teasingly.

He was right about the rules not being so bad. They weren't bad at all actually. It felt nice to know that they had boundaries that weren't so strict that they literally kept me from doing something, they were merely there for me. "They're not bad at all," I say softly.

"Good, we did not want to be overwhelming with our rules and make them sound like commands nor did we want you to have no boundaries to let you run wild," he explains as I scoot closer to Annabelle, laying back down beside her. Her arms wrap around me almost instantly.

"You feeling better baby?" She asks. I tilt my head back to look at her face, huffing when I realize I can't. I turn over to look at her, making her arms loosen around me slightly.

"You were awake this entire time?" I ask as I tilt my head slightly.

"Yes I was darling," she murmurs as she kisses my forehead. She is really affectionate, I notice. "I did not want to overwhelm you with two people fussing over you. I'll wait until you're settled in before I fuss over you constantly," she smiles as her hand rubs my back, scratching it gently.

I smile as I nuzzle my head into her neck. I couldn't deny that it felt amazing and I wasn't going to try and stop her from doing it. I did like having my back scratched since it just felt so good.

Her heartbeat was so soothing to listen to. Its rhythmic pace sounds lovely and I was more than happy to go back to sleep while listening to it.

I smile softly as she covers us both up with the blanket blanket. "Goodnight darling," she whispers

"Goodnight ma'am," I murmur as I close my eyes fully. I lifted up my arm slightly when I felt something soft press against it.

"You nearly forget your friend," Maxon says. I open my eyes and glance behind me to see Dusk resting in arms.

"Thank you," I murmur as I grab Dusk, holding the unicorn close, tucking my head back into the crook Annabelle's neck. "Goodnight," I smile softly as I yawn.

It takes me a moment to get comfortable and settle down. I hum happily as I start to drift off to sleep again. A small whine escapes me when I feel Annabelle's hand move down my back, resting just below my waist.

"Can I make sure you haven't had an accident?" she asks into my ear. I squirm before nodding with a huff. I fall asleep with my head resting against her chest, my thumb slipping into my mouth as I sigh contently.