SONG FOR THIS CHAPTER: SMALL BUMP by ED SHEERAN
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4 weeks later...
C A R O L I N E
I am lost in a deep slumber due to how mentally and physically worn out I am. The past month has been crazy enough- a guard constantly entering the dark room to extract small amounts of blood from my body. No arrival of Harry either, and it kind of disappoints me. What if he isn't coming for me? However, the little hope inside me hasn't died yet.
It's been multiple days of insufficient food too. Just a glass of water a day with the goopy grey mixture for my meals which I throw up for some apparent reason.
I wouldn't be surprised if they fed me that to intentionally food poison me. Though, Melissa (She said she feels awfully old when people address formally) always manages to bring me back a little edible food which I chow down in the matter of seconds. My body is now feeble and irregularly thin.
Through my sleep, I hear the door creak open, footsteps scuffling closer and closer to me. "Boys, do your work." A familiar, snarly voice declares lowly. The voice seems so distant to me, as though everything is either echoey and out of reach, or underwater.
My heart thrashes against my insides rapidly but my limp, weak body cannot react. I'm not even sure if this is normal. My eyes can't open even though I'm screaming internally. Get up, idiot! Get up, something bad is sure to happen!
None of this moves me. It's like my body is forced to not respond. Like I'm paralyzed...but not quite. Suddenly, I feel a hard kick in the abdomen- leading me to whimper and curl up in pain. Wake up! Open your eyes and scream. Now the kicks are persistent, voices cackling evilly as tears stream down my unresponsive face.
"You. Slut." A grim voice- which now I recognize as Desmond's- snarls between stepping hard down on my stomach, other pains due to the pressure on my ankles and calves as well. "This was your master plan to have my son under your charm?" What is he talking about? Wake up and ask him the damn question! I curl up even more, feeling a fabric plastering my mouth.
"I'm going to make you feel so much pain right now!" He hisses as I feel a foot stomp down on my stomach on last time, sending an excruciating spark of pain through my body. My warm tears wet my face- I am helpless and alone, unable to scream. Nothing feels right at this moment...
I really hope it's all a dream.
•~•
I wake up in the morning feeling a little woozy and dazed. My head is pounding as I'm sprawled out on the dusty, cold ground- there is a silk blanket lazily laid overtop of me. This wasn't on me last night.
What the hell happened?
I bring my hand up to rake through my hair, still lying down. My body is too sore and more weak than I last remembered it to be but I haven't got a clue why.
Unexpectedly, a harsh cramp twists inside my stomach making me grimace as I try to hold in the hurt sound that threatens to escape my mouth. But I can't avoid it when I let out a sharp yelp. I turn over to the other side, facing the wall and clutching my abdomen. Tears start to form at the corner of my eyes due to the unbearable pain.
Cursing under my rigid breath, I fling the blanket off of my body, sitting up sharply as I feel a thick wetness escape me. I instinctively snap my head down to glare in between my legs. I now realize that I'm sitting in a large pool of my own blood. Oh no, oh no, this is too much to be my period...
I stand up, screaming in disbelief as I stare at the mess on my floor. My knees are shaking and I feel like jelly- it takes everything from me not to faint at the horrific sight. The cramps in my stomach only get worse when I drip more. I quickly collect the blanket from the floor and struggle to clean myself up. My mind is stuck in panic mode- wondering why I'm bleeding like this.
"Princess? I heard you scream! Is everything alright?" Melissa crashes through the door with a worried tone. Her left cheek that had been bruised in a bluish hue from the past month has finally healed down. King Ivan and her haven't spoken to each other ever since- she told me a while ago. She always took a bit of time from her day to come see me, constantly apologizing for the state I'm in even though it's not her fault.
Melissa takes in the tears of pain and panic running down my face, then looks down at the large quantity of scarlet blood on the stone ground. Her face pales instantly as she takes in the scene.
"Oh my," She breathes out, her eyes starting to get glossy. I look intently at her, clogging in between my legs with the fabric of the blanket. She speeds over to me, holding me by the shoulder as my legs shake again. I crouch down after an unexpected cramp. "Caroline, I'm so sorry."
Through my pain, I look up at her sobbing as she holds her head, sympathy swimming in her eyes. "W-Why sorry? What's this?" I am beyond confused- probably because I'm too shocked to think. Before I know it, I start to sob loudly as well, holding my stomach.
"Y-You had a miscarriage, Caroline. I'm terribly sorry." The queen says, her voice shaking tremendously. My eyes widen as I don't bother to look down at the blood on the floor. I shake my head vigorously. "No, no, that's impossible, I never- I didn't know-" Melissa shushes my denial, kissing my hair as I cry in her arms.
I lost my child.
I lost Harry's child.
I lost our child.
To think that there was a little person forming inside of me and I was oblivious to that. I should have known- The constant vomiting and cramps. The soreness. Why was I so blind to see? That child would have been a great person- containing the mixed features of both parents. Harry's green eyes, my blond hair...or my blue eyes and Harry's curls...Harry's lousy humour and perfect charm, my stubbornness...
If only I had been more careful.
"I guess your body was just too weak to bear a child." Melissa mumbles as stray tears spill from her eyes. I slowly give into the tragic truth: I lost the baby.
"It's all my fault." I sniffle, withdrawing the blanket from between my legs and letting it flop to the ground. My face is blank as a million sad thoughts run through my head. Melissa shakes her head, furrowing her eyebrows.
"No love, it's not. Somethings just aren't meant to be sometimes, you know what I mean?" She tilts my chin down slightly, given that she's just a few inches shorter than me. "Take me for example. It just wasn't in my fate to have children, but that's alright...you know why?"
"Why?" The word tumbles from my lips weakly. Melissa's kind eyes gaze into mine lovingly.
"It's because I gained both a daughter and a son in this lifetime." She claims, rubbing my cheek with her soft thumb- knowing that she's referring to me.
"Who's the son?" I ask, as she flicks my tears away.
"Why Harry of course. Who do you think sung him to sleep every night? Who do you think kissed his scrapes when he used to scare the living out of me by swinging high on the swings? Who do you think applauded him the loudest when he played as the knight in shining armour for his third year play?" I chuckle weakly, imagining what she just said as a small, knowing smile tugs at her thin lips. "I was basically his own mother, I loved him as my own."
This makes me tear up again, her as well. "I'm sorry, this is a horrible time but...was it Harry's?" I know she is referring to the child torn from life. I nod sadly.
"Oh.", Is all she says before bursting out in tears again. "I'm sorry, I should be staying strong for you, not crying, oh dear me." She scolds herself, wiping the tears with the back of my hand. I silently stare at the puddle of blood on the ground. I bring my hand to my stomach again- I never noticed how empty it feels now that I know about the life it could have contained.
"Here. I'll clean up." Melissa offers, tearing off the long fabric from her shawl easefully and making her way towards the mess. I stop her.
"No, it's alright. I'll do it." I say, wiping my runny nose and staring at pool of blood.
"Are you sure dear? No, it's too-" Melissa starts to say, continuing to walk to the pool of blood but I cut her off impatiently.
"No, I'll do it." I insist, snatching the cloth from her hands. The cramps are starting to simmer down inside me. My body is sore as hell now- not giving in for the slightest bend. Though, I don't show this to the queen. She seems to get the message that I want to be left alone so silently she hesitantly leaves the room, closing the door behind her.
After several seconds of staring at the blood, I bend down to wipe it up. I wince sharply at the throbbing pain in my back. Through all the blood, I am horrified as I find the incredibly minuscule fetus of my child. It is no bigger than the size of my thumbnail- maybe even smaller. Seeing this, I start to cry again. Here I am, cleaning up my dead child from the floor.
As soon as I am done, a maid comes down to collect the dirty cloth and discharge of my miscarriage. "I'm so sorry, dear." She apologizes with pitiful eyes. I watch sadly as she takes away my lifeless beginning of a child in a small shoebox.
Collapsing to the ground, I sob uncontrollably. How will Harry react when he finds out I lost the child? The night was so clear to me, we used a condom for sure but it probably broke or something. I told him I wanted one last memory...
I certainly wasn't expecting this one.
Discarding my dirtied articles of clothing, I change into the garments the maid brought me earlier. A bra and panties of course, a simple blue skirt and a long tee shirt. Even though they are Mighties, some of them are kind enough to do things for me. I guess it is just people like King Ivan and Desmond who change everyone else into cruel, heartless people.
As I change, my fingers accidentally skim across a purple bruise on my hip. I grimace at the touch, creasing my eyebrows as I wonder where I got it from. Nothing seems to come back to me. I don't remember. There's no point in thinking further, I tell myself, The worst that could happen, has happened. I stop my thoughts in its track.
But what if the worst is only yet to come?
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A/N: Sorry, I had to speed up to one month later. Ooh plot twist...Caroline was preggo peeps. Aw nah, now I'm sad thinking about that Little Harry or Little Caroline:'( So basically, Caroline couldn't feel it went Desmond and his people hurt her because the guard drugged her food that last meal. SO IT WAS ALL A PLAN IF YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED YET. Damn you, Desmond. K bye...please vote and comment, it's really appreciated:) M.
P.S. Oh wait, who do you think should play Queen Melissa Rose? I'd love to know your thoughts! At first I was thinking Meryl Streep but then I was like nah.