Arista's POV:
"It's a boy, my lady!"
Just a month after Martin Sunster and his leader left for war, I went into labor. The woman who helped me give birth was kind and I was stunned that they were able to find someone like her. When I asked about it, she said that she had been brought over from the village nearby.
The chaos erupted after the spy situation but the vile man recovered quicker than I hoped to. Shayne was gone. For some reason, she felt upset about it. So upset that she couldn't tell him goodbye.
He had been a loyal...companion. The way he promised to return and take me home after I gave him the ring I stole from Martin. And...the way he confessed his feelings to me.
After all that disarray with my current husband, I didn't need a man at the moment.
What I loved the most was my son, Draye. Since my husband wasn't here, I named my child after my family's naming ordinances. When he was placed in my arms for the first time, I was in shock.
This was the beautiful life that came out of someone as wretched as Martin. The being that protected me from his wrath to some extent.
"My child..." I mumbled, pressing a kiss to his head.
At that moment, I was looking out the window, cuddling my baby when my brother entered. Unfortunately, he wasn't taken along with the rest of those men. The 'King' had placed him and a small portion of his army back here for now.
"How's my nephew?" he titled his head. "And...how are you feeling?"
I turned my attention to my child. "Why would you care?" even he noticed the anger in my voice and opened his eyes. My eyes.
"You're my sister," he stated nonchalantly. "As your older brother, I'm supposed to care for you."
I looked at him, right in the eyes. "You were Daryn's brother too. What did you do while he was killed?"
My brother froze. I took a step closer to him. "You didn't even watch when he was being murdered. Coward."
He flinched. The heartless Drue Cyvern flinched. I scoffed, walking towards the bed. I hadn't recovered from childbirth yet and that nice lady told me to rest often.
"I thought you accepted your life here," I heard my brother say. "You have the husband you wanted. And now, his child is in your arms. Why does it matter if our idiotic brother was alive?"
I laid my child on the bed, on the blanket I later wrapped him in. A chill was settling down in the room. He held his arm up, giving me a look before closing his eyes.
"I loved the man he pretended to be," I sighed. "And now...I wish I never fell in love with what was some unreal feeling. He was never true. Everything was a lie."
"You learned the hard way that life is harsh, Arista."
I turned to him, watching outside the window with collected. How does a man like that sleep?
"But I misjudged you, sister," he said. "It seems that I'm not the only one who had been hatching plans for so long."
I knew what he was talking about but pretended not to. "You thought wrong."
"I wasn't foolish enough to not notice Revar's feelings for you," he said, making me freeze. "The man had been in love with you for years. And when he volunteered to be your guard months ago, I allowed it because your husband did. If only he knew what you two were doing..."
I placed a hand over Draye's stomach. "So you know everything?"
He turned his head to me. "Realised it too late. The dots were hard to find but once I did, everything became linked."
"Now...you're here to kill me?"
"No."
"Kill my child?"
"I'm not a monster-"
"But you are!" I couldn't hold it in. Draye quivered and looked at me but all these emotions weren't something I could handle anymore.
"You destroyed our family. And now, you've forced our men to fight a war for a man who had no hesitation to kill pregnant women and children!"
I saw something change in his eyes at that moment. Something close to regret. But before I could ponder further, he walked out of the room. It was too late for anything now. The men had marched and the war was soon to begin. And I desperately prayed that my husband would meet the fate he deserved.
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Xander's POV:
This was rather a different experience.
Traveling along thousands of miles and looking at lands I'd never seen before was wonderful. Managing a large army was something I had never done before. But there was a first to everything.
What I liked the most was the presence of men that I was becoming fond of. My cousin Devin, Catheline's brother, Eliot, and the rest of the men formed one comedic batch that kept us entertained at night.
It was one of those nights where half of them were drunk and shouting. I hadn't touched any drinks for now, mostly because I wanted to remain alert.
"This is impossible!" Aaron threw his hands in the air. "I'm not going to do all that for a wife."
"No wonder you're a single, miserable man," Leon shrugged. He had just finished speaking of how long he courted his woman and what he had done to convince her to marry him.
Karra was not going to be happy with this publicity.
"There are benefits of being single," Eliot chimed in. "No one can bother you. You don't have to get up and do things. I rather remain single for the rest of my life."
"But you're the heir of your kingdom..." Devin pointed out. "If you don't marry and have children, your line will die out."
"Never been my concern,"
"We'll see how many children you'll have after five years," I smacked his shoulder.
The people in the tent began laughing and throwing insults at each other once again. Desmond was half asleep on his hand like his life depended on it. Nathaniel was chatting with Leon. And Shayne...he had remained silent ever since I invited him here.
"I am much more imaginable as an amazing uncle than father, huh?" Eliot countered, smacking me harder.
That shook me out of my thoughts. Every time I looked at him longer, I was reminded of my wife. My precious wife. The one that was making me insane. The letters exchanged with her weren't enough. I wanted nothing more than to see her again, to hear her laugh. My memories were enough to serve that purpose but the urge to hold her in my arms was distracting me from the primary goal.
'It pleases me to know that you're fine, husband. Know that I'm unable to get you out of my thoughts too. Things are fine here. Gillian is such an adorable boy. I like him very much.'
The letter was the third I received from her, after three weeks after I left Anthreal. I was more happy to know that she was happy. But something cracked in my nerves when I read that last sentence.
My jealousy was so obvious that it made Nathaniel laugh.
The Cartographer she found was contributing much help. Since he knew most of the terrain, he knew where to take a break and how long we should travel.
"Um? Xander? What the hell?" Eliot snapped his fingers, causing me to end my thoughts.
"I just figured out that the King isn't that frightening," Aaron grinned. "And I'm feeling kinda brave. Can I call you by your name too, My King?"
"Not a chance, you idiot," Nathaniel huffed, slamming a fist on the table. "Even if you and the King are friends, you must respect him. And he's more scarier than you think."
"That's enough," I smiled at my aide. And then decided would be good to add a joke. "No one will take me from you. Don't be that jealous."
His jaw dropped while Aaron howled with laughter. When he slammed the table too hard, he accidentally woke Desmond up. And even Shayne turned his head to give attention.
"Your Majesty, did Nathaniel ever talk about a woman?" Aaron went on.
"Shut it---"
"He never had. Not even once," I replied curtly. "We didn't have much time to talk about matters like that."
"Well, look who's suffering being a single prune too."
Nathaniel scoffed. "At least I have someone who I fancy-" he slapped a hand to his mouth but it was already too late.
"What?" I frowned. "You like someone?"
Everyone gave their eyes toward him, making him turn red. He shook his head but the rest of the men were each taking turns and asking questions.
"You didn't even tell the King about it?"
"Damn, man. You are something."
"Who is the lucky woman? Do we know her?"
"Enough women talk!" he screamed. "You miserable bastards have nothing else to talk about except women or what!?"
I placed a hand over my face, wondering how I missed that. If he did have someone in his heart, it was not any of my business. But there was this strange feeling that I knew. Somehow.
"But it's sweet, isn't it?" Devin sighed, looking at the lamp hung above. "To have someone to care about you. And have someone to care for."
I fell silent, my thoughts taking me back to my wife again. Was she able to sleep peacefully, unlike me? Judging by her letters, I had my answer. But there would be many more memories made after I finish this war.
I was about to see my uncle. The man who was also the last person to see my parents alive.
For nights, this urge to keep him alive long enough just to ask him what their last words were was tempting. I assumed that they weren't any good. But I wanted a form of closure.
Just as I slipped into my thoughts again, another person had entered the tent. Marwin Sunster walked in, greeting me with a bow before approaching me.
"A letter from the castle, My King," he held out a small piece of paper. "From the Queen."
Without a moment of thought, I snatched it from him like a moody cat and unveiled it. I was miserable, seeing how small it was. I wanted to hear more from her. When I looked at her handwriting, it brought me that sense of comfort.
You picked the name last time. This time, I will.
I frowned, my eyes narrowing. What was she trying to say? No matter how I read the words, it made no sense. Was it a riddle?
"Is this it?" I asked Marwin who nodded.
"What's wrong?" Eliot asked, peeping. "Is she alright?"
"I'm not sure what to decipher out of this," I admitted, still reading the words over and over in my head.
The man snatched it away from my hands and read it out loud. "You picked the name last time. This time, I will?"
"It was meant to be private, you fool," I tried to take it back but he moved away.
"Hm..." he sighed. "What did you name last time? A pet? A bird? The hawk I gave her? See? Women are confusing."
I looked at the distance, looking at the words again. For a while, I was confused too. But then, it hit me like a flood. And then, everything stopped. The noises, the thoughts...everything.
I looked at the letter Eliot was holding before taking it back from him. The clue given by Catheline made more sense now that I found an answer to it.
This was not happening. No, it was.
"What's with your face?"
Oh, Catheline. If you were here, I would've hugged you right now. I would've kissed you and would say how glad I am for you. That you finally got what you wanted. That we got what we wanted.
"Everyone can go back to their tents," I told the others. "Eliot and Nathaniel, stay back."
I bid everyone good night until the men I called for remained. When we finally reached silence, my good brother wasn't going to stay quiet. He stood up.
"My sister better be fine,"
"She is..." I nodded. And then I sighed, placing my hands in my palm. "Hell, this is not happening without me."
"What do you---"
"I guess you are going to be an uncle," I looked up at him and watched him freeze. He took his time to compose himself and so did I.
What was she feeling right now? Was she fine? At the time, my only regret was that I might not be able to be by her side. I might not be able to witness the birth of our child? I might not even have the chance to see them again.
And most importantly, this changed everything. Including the deal I made with Catheline's father.
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Author's note:
I know it's been a long time but please hear me out! I've been working on a new project which I'm intending to publish. I'll try to reconnect with this story and hopefully finish it 😢