March 1488 - Windsor, England
Zayn moves quickly around the castle, trying to get to the wing where Harry's chambers are. He asks a Lady in passing if she knows anything about their baby but she said that not a single word has left Harry's chambers yet. Zayn's unsure whether that's a good sign or a bad one.
As he gets closer to Harry's chambers, there are more and more guards, those additional ones he had stationed there before he left for the battle. No one from Edric's followers has breached the castle's walls and that's incredible news. The guards in front of the door to Harry's bedroom, let him in without a word. Zayn then realizes that he's still wearing the bloody armour, although he has thrown off his gloves and washed the blood off his hands before coming inside.
Zayn hesitates for a moment with his hand on the door handle. He doesn't know why but there's a smidge of anxiety. So many things can go wrong in a situation like this and he wouldn't survive losing Harry or their child. But how can he know if he doesn't open the door?
He opens the door slowly, entering as quietly as he can. There is none of the ruckus around the room like there was before he left for the battle. Upon entering fully, he sees that there's only Harry in the room, with a baby in his arms that's squirming around. A huge weight falls off of Zayn's chest, seeing that both of them are alive and well.
Harry looks up at Zayn with a tired smile. "Hello. I am very happy to see you alive, love. How was the battle?"
"Hi," Zayn breathes out, a smile appearing on his face as he walks closer to the bed. "Edric is dead. Helen is taking the survivors in for interrogation. But I believe you have better news than I do."
"I guess so," Harry chuckles as Zayn sits on the side of the bed. "I do have someone for you to meet."
Harry shifts the baby in his arms, propping it up a little higher and Zayn finally sees their child's face. The baby is staring at him with wide blue eyes, the default colour for newborns. He reaches to touch the baby's hand and it grasps his finger in its tiny hand. Zayn's heart misses a beat at that, overwhelmed with the love he already feels for his child and his husband too. The baby is his blood and they came to be out of love, just as must of duty to the throne. But this little human will one day be powerful and strong and brilliant and Zayn can't wait to witness it.
"Hello, sweetheart," Zayn says quietly. "I am so glad to finally see you. You're so beautiful."
"Her name is Philippa," Harry says then. "She's been out in the world for less than an hour."
"She's wonderful," Zayn says as he watches his daughter calmly take in everything around her, his finger still in her grasp. "I am so happy you are both alright. I was terribly worried."
"I'm fine. We both are, aren't we, love?" Harry asks the baby and bends down to leave a fleeting kiss on the top of her head. "After you left she decided to stop taking her time and came out in no time, even though it felt like an eternity. The midwife said she is perfectly healthy and one of the most beautiful babies she's ever seen, which sounds about right. And you, mister, you need to take off that nasty armour before you can hold her."
"Of course," Zayn chuckles and leans over to kiss Harry shortly. "I love you so much and I'm infinitely grateful for our child. It was a sacrifice but you did great. I'm proud of you, love."
"I love you too," Harry replies. "While I do whinge a lot about everything, I forgot about all the hardships of the last months when I held Philippa for the first time. She's worth it. And I will make sure she will be the Queen after we die. No matter what it takes. Go on now. I'll wait for you and then I'm going to sleep for a day and whoever wakes me will lose their head. Unless it's Philippa."
"Alright," Zayn laughs and leaves one more kiss on Harry's cheek. "I will be back shortly."
"I love you so much, mon petite cerise," Zayn tells to Philippa before kissing her forehead and getting off the bed.
"Zayn?" Harry asks just before Zayn opens the door to the hallway. "Were you the one to kill Edric?"
"Of course," Zayn replies. "I nearly decapitated him with my sword and before he died, I told him that I hope he burns in hell with his Father."
Harry grins at him from the bed, the tired look on his face disappearing for a flash. "I love you so fucking much. That knowledge brings me great joy. It's what he deserved. I must say, with Philippa's much-awaited arrival and now this, today is a great day."
"It is, my love," Zayn says with a smile before leaving the room, already looking forward to coming back again.
xxx
When Zayn leaves and Harry's left alone with Philippa again, Harry just starts talking to her again in a low, soft voice. He can't wrap his head around her being here at last. The was so much worry and fear about her arrival. In the darkest moments, Harry couldn't trust the notion that his child was to be born on term and healthy. After the loss of his son, it was kind of impossible even if Philippa never let him forget she was with him twenty-four hours a day by kicking him constantly and moving in a very concerning way, which Harry later found out was completely normal for a baby about to be born.
Then after hours of pain, she was outside of the cocoon of safety that sheltered her for nine months and Harry was taken back to that moment more than two years ago when his first child came out just like her, but he didn't cry, he didn't breathe, he didn't move. Today, he heard loud cries almost immediately and the cheerful voice of the midwife saying "It's a girl.". Then Philippa was in his arms and all the pain suddenly seemed like a distant memory.
Harry and Zayn never really talked about the name of their baby because when they tried, nothing really fit. They didn't know if it was a boy or a girl so it seemed pointless either way. But when Philippa first opened her eyes and looked at Harry like he was her entire world, something in him just knew that she should be Philippa. The second and third name needed for royal babies aren't that important to him, but Philippa Helen Grace does have a ring to it.
Philippa doesn't fall asleep in Harry's arm, even though he expects her to. She just stares at him and a little at her surroundings, more alert than most newborns Harry's seen in his life. Philippa seems so fascinated by the world that it seems like she's regretting not coming out sooner, like her Father desperately wanted her to.
The door to the bedroom that leads from the sitting room opens and Juliana appear there, a hesitant smile on her face.
"May I come in?" she asks. Harry nods, trying to give her an encouraging smile. He didn't want anyone else to come see Philippa before Zayn got back from the battle. But now, it's fair for Juliana to meet her grandchild.
"Mother, this is Philippa," Harry says when Juliana is sitting at the edge of the bed. He tries to give her Philippa to hold but she starts crying and quiets down only when Harry's properly holding her again. "I guess she didn't communicate that well, but she surely is glad to meet her grandmother."
"Hello, little one," Juliana tells her and touches her little hand. Philippa watches her in wonder, as she does with all the new people and things. Juliana coos at her, talking to her in a baby voice. For the first time since the whole Warwick incident happened, Harry sees her smile is truly genuine.
"Harry, she is so beautiful," Juliana gushes. "Babies often come out looking red or wrinkled but look at this beauty. She is so alert too. And I know it's too early to tell, but she looks so much like you but I think she has Zayn's eyes."
"Do you?" Harry asks. "I never understood how people can tell who a baby took after just moments after being born. I can't see anything."
"Oh, love," Juliana chuckles and puts her hand on Harry's cheek. "You will learn that with age and experience. As Philippa grows, you will start to see it and with your next baby, you will see right away, trust me."
"God, Mother," Harry scoffs. "Do not talk about another child when Philippa was born not even two hours ago. I need time to recover, lots of time, actually. The question of another child is an if one, not a when one. At least now."
"Alright, alright," Juliana puts her hands up. "I understand. How are you feeling now? Are you tired?"
"Extremely," Harry replies. "I will sleep in a moment, don't worry. I will be fine. Could you leave us now?"
"Of course," Juliana smiles a little. She says goodbye to Philippa and squeezes Harry's free hand that isn't holding Philippa encouragingly before she leaves. As she's closing the door, Possie sauters in, stopping by the bed and looking up at Harry before meowing.
"Oh, hello, Pos," Harry greets the cat. "Haven't seen you in a while."
Possie meows again before jumping up on the bed and cautiously walking closer to Philippa. Harry's not really worried Possie could hurt her. She's not a violent cat. She doesn't usually fight with the other cats running around the castle's courtyard and she's never scratched anyone, as far as Harry knows. The last few days before Philippa was born, Possie at was Harry's side almost all the time and she used to butt her head against his belly sometimes. Some people say cats can feel your emotions or your hurt and that their purring acting helps you heal because they use it to heal themselves, so her presence now shouldn't be a bad thing.
Philippa watches the cat, her head propped up on Harry's arm and she starts to make these little baby noises that are the most adorable thing Harry's ever heard. Possie puts her front paws on Harry's chest and smells Philippa's hands before backing down and curling into a ball on the side of the bed, right by Harry's hips.
"Good girl," Harry says quietly and scratches Possie's ear, who starts purring loudly and doesn't stop even after Harry removes his hand from her soft fur.
"Possie will be your kitty, baby girl," Harry tells Philippa in a soft voice before kissing her head. "She already loves you. But you know what, sweetheart? No one could ever love you more than I do. And your Papa too. We love you so, so much and we would never let anyone hurt you. You are going to be so loved, angel. We wanted you so much and we waited a long time for you before you came to us. Always remember that I love you, Philippa."
Philippa blinks at him and if Harry was just a bit more exhausted, he would think she understood what he just said. But he believes she feels all the love around her. From the first time, he held her against his chest, Harry will make sure she is so happy and loved she could never possibly doubt it.
xxx
Zayn has to take a detour before going back to Harry and Philippa because Helen runs into him in a hallway and asks him to come to the dungeons to see the prisoners. It turns out that Edric's right-hand man is a young seventeen-year-old Lord from the North, who starts crying the second Zayn and Helen enter his cell and starts begging for mercy. He spills everything in a matter of minutes, all while wailing and begging to give him a pardon because his parents would be terribly disappointed in him.
It turns out that his parents live at court and his Father, Lord Halifax, who has always been known as an honest man and loyal to the crown. Zayn wonders what would Lord Halifax do if he knew his son is in the dungeons at the brink of his death. They can't grant him a pardon. What he did was treason of the highest order and no King or Queen would let him walk a free man.
The man cries that Edric fooled them and said that he had a bigger army that would crush any resistance from the crown but when they all gathered, Edric acted like he was about to march on Rome with 200 000 men when in reality, he didn't have even more than five hundred. It doesn't help him because Zayn leaves, leaving him wailing alone in his cell and he tells Helen to tell Lord Halifax what happened.
Back in Harry's chambers, Harry greets him with a "Finally, I thought you were getting ready for a ball or something."
"No, Helen wanted me to see this one prisoner," Zayn sighs as he closes the door. "Lord Halifax's son. He was Edric's closest companion. The poor man just started crying and begging for a pardon while he revealed everything he knew even without torture."
"He shouldn't have conspired against the crown," Harry says dismissingly. "He made his bed and now he should sleep in it. How on Earth can he be so terrible when Lord Halifax and his wife are such good people?"
"He lived at their estate alone for some time since they're at court and he must have been manipulated by Edric," Zayn says and comes to the bed, where Harry puts Philippa in his arms right away. "Hello, Philippa. How are you, love? I missed you."
Zayn then hears a disgruntled meow and he notices Possie sitting on the bed, right at the spot where he wanted to sit. He rolls his eyes and sits in an armchair by the bed instead.
Philippa stares at him with those beautiful, wide eyes for a moment before they start getting droopy, matching Harry's who's watching them from the bed with a tired smile.
"Put her in her cradle when she falls asleep," Harry says. "I hope she doesn't cry because she really likes being held. She cried when I tried to give her to my Mother."
"Well, I take it as a good sign that she's not crying now," Zayn chuckles. Philippa squirms in his arms and yaws, closing her eyes right after she does.
Harry laughs cheerfully. "Oh, imagine if she did. That would be cruel. But she knows you're her Papa. She loves you. God, she is so wonderful. Just the most wonderful baby there is. I love her so much. She's perfect. She's honestly perfect."
"She is," Zayn agrees. "I can't believe she's ours. It's crazy that we have a child now."
"We are not really that young," Harry muses. "Some would say that having your firstborn at twenty-one is late. But she came at just the right time. We have officially created our family, you and me. She will bear the Plantagenet name again and I know she will bring the lost glory to that name."
"Let us not put political pressure on her before she can even talk," Zayn says, half-joking, half-serious.
"No, of course not," Harry shakes his head. "I would never try to control her life like that. I just know she will be a wonderful person and even now, I can see great things ahead of her. I can feel it."
"You should rest, love," Zayn says then and he stands up, putting the now sleeping Philippa in her cradle that's between the outside wall and the end table next to the bed. She doesn't wake up as her position changes which makes Zayn pretty pleased because he didn't make wake his daughter up and accidentally made her cry.
"I know," Harry says. "I am so exhausted. I feel so weird and disgusting and a bath would probably be just so wonderful but then I'd fall asleep inside and drown and no one wants that. Can you stay here while I sleep?"
"Of course," Zayn says and comes to the bed to leave a kiss on Harry's forehead. "If Philippa wakes up, I'll take care of her so you can rest."
"What did I do to deserve you?" Harry asks, a small exhausted smile on his lips.
"Everything, my love," Zayn replies. "I am the lucky one."
Without any more words, Zayn goes back to the armchair and he grabs a book from the pile on the end table, kicks his feet up on the edge of the bed and starts reading. Harry's passed out in moments, his chest rising and falling calmly, just like Philippa's.
After some time, Zayn abandons the book because Possie jumps into his lap and demands cuddles which gives him the time to think. As he watches Harry sleep peacefully, his mind goes back to more than three back, when he and Harry had just met. Zayn saw a cocky young man then, confident, fearless and charming. He saw his enemy that he was taught to hate all his life. And Harry came to Zayn's table and that was all it took. That one night in the tavern in York essentially erased decades of war and hatred. They didn't hate each other. In hindsight, Zayn thinks they fell in love right then and there in a shitty bed of a dodgy tavern as stars were moving across the sky above them and war was trying to consume them.
They were kids then. Stupid kids listening to their Mothers and advisors but things have changed. They make their own decisions and they've been successfully ruling over a country for three years. With Philippa, their legacy will continue even after their death. Even if they were killed tomorrow, Philippa would carry on their family name and hopefully continued to try and bring peace to England and take England further into a new era, into a better time for their people.
The night before their wedding, when he and Harry stayed in Leicester, Zayn was sure he didn't know how to love Harry properly, how to show him the love that he carried in his heart for him. But now he knows that he could never love anything or anyone more than Harry and Philippa. Their love and marriage have only been strengthed by all the hardships they didn't succumb to. With the birth of Philippa, the love has only gotten stronger because she is another thing connecting them, bringing them even closer. The romantic love they have for each other is only more powerful thanks to the love they have for Philippa. And that is the most beautiful thing anyone can experience.
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It's a girl!!!!! Ok guys, it's here... the last chapter of the first part of GIOD. First of all, thank you ALL so so so much for reading and supporting this story, I am forever grateful!!! I will be back with the second part of the story, so stay tuned for that! (I might even start it now and then get back to it later, I'll see what my schedule has to say about this :D)
There will be an epilogue for the first part of this story in the next few days :)
Let me know your thoughts :) What did you like the most about this story? Are you satisfied with this sort-of-ending?
Like I have previously promised, this story will NOT end with the birth of their child :) this is just a little milestone before I continue after a break :) There is a lot of interesting stuff I still have to show you guys and Zarry's reign is faaaar from over :) You can look forward to more action, more scenes of them being absolute badass Kings and we will see some familiar faces again :)