Deliciae
Latin
Delight
-
beyond all hope,
i prayed those timeless days
we spent might be made
twice as long.
-
"Never thought I'd say this, but Aslan bless Su." Edmund said five hours after he'd laid Jem to sleep in his own bed- and he hadn't woken up crying once.
His parents, however, felt like crying themselves- out of sheer joy and relief.
"Give her all my jewellery, I don't wear it anyway." Sanya yawned as she rocked to-and-fro in the rocking chair which was in the corner of Jem's room.
"Yes, you do." Her husband rolled his eyes at her, dropping down to sit on the carpeted floor, moving away a soldier toy which had been strewn there. "You happen to love those tiny star earrings I got you, you wear them all the time."
"I do love them, but I usually wear jewellery only occasionally." She said, yawning again. "Parenting is exhausting, Edmund."
"Well, you were the one who adopted him, so serves you right, Moonshine." But his retort was half hearted- he really was quite sleepy.
Not to mention, he'd turned out to be quite happy with the adoption, in the end.
"But who knew it was so exhausting?"
"Probably our parents. Or, you know, all parents." And they had to deal with normal human children, he thought. We deal with a magical faerie prince who had his memory wiped by his real mother and now just thinks he's a normal human child.
"You get extra sarcastic when you're tired." She didn't even have the energy to stick her tongue out at him. And her back hurt even more than it usually did. She was quite sure she was too young to be suffering from lower back pain.
"I thought you liked me being sarcastic." His tone was one of mock-hurt and disappointment, and she chuckled.
"Not when I'm too tired to think of a good retort."
"Come on, then." He got up with difficulty- they should stop making the floors so comfortable to sit on- and walked over to where she was sitting. "Let's get to bed." He said, extending his hand.
"Won't carry me?" She teased with a mock-pout, but took his hand and moved to Jem's bed- where each softly kissed his forehead and whispered wishes of happy dreams and sweet slumber.
"I mean, I am strong, but I'm not that strong, darling." He laughed quietly after they'd turned away, leading her out of the bedroom and through the hallway which connected their chambers to Jem's.
She scowled at him, but restrained herself, only saying, "I bet I could carry you."
He laughed much louder this time, as they entered their own quarters. "And thus, we now know that you speak nonsense when you're tired, as it so appears."
Though, despite his jest, he knew that she was right. She was much more physically stronger than him, and would likely have no problems carrying him around. At least until she got tired and dropped him down, which was also something he knew.
"Try me." She said challengingly, before immediately falling into bed.
"The only thing I want to try right now is sleeping." He said firmly, kicking off his slippers. "You can show off your formidable physical strength tomorrow."
"I don't think I'll be awake tomorrow." She yawned for the third time, clumsily undoing the buttons of her (well, technically Ed's, but she'd claimed it for herself) nightshirt- it was too hot for her to sleep even in the cotton garment, she'd take a chance sleeping in just her underwear, if even that. She'd grown comfortable enough with Edmund that she didn't mind having so much of herself exposed around him, no matter whether it was while sleeping or anything else. There was a degree of camaraderie and openness with them now, which they hadn't ever thought they could achieve.
"I'll tell Peter, don't worry." He yawned this time, settling himself in bed. "No doubt he'll have something snarky to say if you don't show up."
"Well, but you shouldn't be awake either- I don't think either of us have slept since Tumnus's wedding."
"It's been that long?" Edmund asked, surprised, as he threw the covers over his wife- he couldn't sleep with a blanket over him in summer but she couldn't sleep without one, in any season. "No wonder you've been tired and cranky these past couple of weeks."
"I've not been cranky!" She glared at him, before thinking it over. "Alright, maybe a little. Lady problems plus nausea plus endless sleeplessness plus constant screaming and crying of child plus responsibilities of being Queen? Enough to drive anyone off the edge."
"True." He nodded, and pulled her closer so that her back was pressed against his chest and his palms rested against her stomach. He was glad Sanya was all curves and contours, and that there was actually something that he could hold and embrace and caress. "Women really are strong, even if you consider womanly troubles alone. And when you take in everything else- well, their strength really is aweing."
"I wish I could kiss you for that, but I don't have it in me to turn around." She said softly, meaning it and tipping her head back to show him that she meant it.
Usually, she was the one holding him- she wouldn't admit, but she liked feeling like she was protecting him, of knowing that he was right there and if she didn't want to, she wouldn't have to let him go- or they would be snuggled up to each other, usually moving away as they tossed and turned in their sleep- but recently, she'd started liking to be the one held. It made her feel cosy and secure and lo- cared for. Though she knew how much Edmund liked her warmth as she held him, he hadn't minded the role reversal at all- he'd taken it into stride and was being the best back-pillow he could be.
He brushed the hair off the nape of her neck and lightly pressed a kiss there. "There, that'll be the substitute for now."
"Thanks. I'll return it whenever I wake up." She murmured, stretching a hand behind her and patting his bare shoulder- or could've been cheek. For all she knew, it might have even been his hair, she wasn't aware of much right them, except that she knew her eyelids were getting heavier and heavier- "Good night." She somehow managed, though she wasn't sure if she was speaking this whilst awake or in a dream.
"Good night, darling."
She was mostly confident his using 'darling' again wasn't a dream, though- despite it being good enough to be part of one.
-
"Your wife is a good-for-nothing layabout." Peter didn't mean it, of course, but his temper had reached too high a boiling point for him to care about if he meant what he said or if his words hurt anyone.
Edmund counted to ten in his head so that he didn't bludgeon Peter to death with his gold chessboard- he was setting it all up to give Jem his first lesson, just the basics, of course. He didn't know why Peter was there. He certainly hadn't invited him.
"She's not well, I've told you. Stomach ache, back pain- even girl problems, I think, but she doesn't like speaking about them any more than I like asking."
"She hasn't been to a single meeting in three weeks!"
There was a bit of an edge in the Just King’s voice as he replied, "My wife will resume attending meetings when she's healthy again."
Nothing was more important than Sanya’s well-being.
Peter forced himself not to throw all the chess pieces at him. "And when will she be healthy again?"
"I suggest you take her a doctor and find out." He shrugged, placing the Rook there.
"She hasn't been to a doctor?"
Edmund actually snorted, "No, and good luck if you're going to try to take her to one, she hates going for check-ups."
"But- why?" Peter had nursed dreams of being a doctor himself, in their world, and he couldn't fathom why anyone would be averse to being medically looked after.
"No idea." He assumed she just hated a stranger prodding her body and asking intimate questions, and the fact she hated making a fuss about her troubles as well.
Hm. He was starting to get to know her very well.
"Your wife is strange."
"Thanks, I know." Then Edmund paused for a moment. "I'm very lucky to have her."
-
"Where's Mumma?" Jem rubbed tiredly at his eyes as his elder aunt walked him to the sitting room where her brothers were waiting. He'd just been woken from his afternoon nap, and he was still drowsy.
"Oh, she's tired, child." Privately, Susan worried for her sister-in-law. Various diseases were sweeping various lands now- healers and medics and doctors dispatched all over- and what with her unusual biological makeup, what if she was more susceptible to these illnesses? Lucy had told her- despite being anxious herself- that it was all simple paranoia, that Sanya wasn't sick and nor was she going to die, but neither of them could stop that tiny tendril of terror from growing into something greater.
"Even for me?" His bottom lip jutted out in a pout as Jem looked up at his aunt with beseeching green eyes. Even on his birthday two weeks ago, she had been fatigued and sick.
"She's resting up just so she can spend as much time with you as possible now." Susan told him convincingly, before saying something she hoped would cheer him up, "Your Daddy's going to teach you chess now, you know."
"Chess?" His eyes grew wide as saucers. "Daddy's faw- fau- favu- favoori- favourite-" he finally managed, "game?"
"Yes! You excited?"
"Yes, Aunt Su! Very ekkited!"
"Excited, Jemmy." She laughed as they turned around the corner and walked towards the sitting room- and from the open doorway, she could see Peter and Edmund bickering.
She inwardly rolled her eyes. Some things never change.
--
It was rare for Sanya to be confrontational and argumentative. But what it was not rare for her to be was stubborn.
And she was being all three right then.
"I said no, Lucy!"
"You've been sick since- I don't even know! I know it's crossed over a month and a half, though!" Lucy wished she could shake her friend. "You must show yourself to a doctor!"
"I'm not sick, I've just been tired!" She argued, knowing full well she was perhaps a little bit ill.
"You've been having headaches all the time, stomach ache, body ache, leg ache-"
"Let's just say all kinds of ache." She interrupted. "Saves time."
Lucy scowled at her. "Okay. Not to mention, you've been throwing up and are overtired all the time- you can hardly go from here to the dining hall, without falling over."
"So I'm a weak and sickly person." She rolled her eyes. "I already knew that. I always got headaches and cold very easily."
Her sister-in-law ignored her, "And when you do manage to go, you hardly eat."
"Narnian food is odd, I've been saying it since the day I came here- you get me the food I grew up eating in Azraq, and I'll put Peter and Edmund's eating capacity to absolute shame."
"So you won't go to the doctors?"
"That's right." Sanya smiled happily, pleased she'd finally understood. "Nothing personal, Lucy, I just hate going to the healer's. They're annoying and bothersome. And I'm fine."
"So it's absolutely fine if you just drop dead one day, is it?" Her tone was bitingly sarcastic, but her sister-in-law ignored that.
"Well, as long as it's painless, it really is fine." She shrugged nonchalantly, before saying, "If you really are worried, Lucy, give me a sip of your cordial. Edmund said it tastes wonderful."
That did the trick. "That is for life and death injuries, not because you're a food-lover!" Lucy almost shrieked, looking and sounding uncannily like Susan and then swept out of the room without another word.
Sanya watched her go, feeling equal parts sorry and relieved. She knew the younger woman was just trying to look out for and help her, but all she wanted to do was sit in bed and read Medea.
And she really was not sick, she didn't know what had got into every single Pevensie.
-
She wasn't even the least bit surprised when the next person to visit her was Susan, though it was a little weird that Peter had come as well.
"What now?" She asked flatly, sitting up and setting down her book- Antigone this time. She'd been done with Medea a few days ago, and she'd been in the mood for tragedies for a while now.
"Lucy told me you didn't want to go to the doctors-"
"That's right."
Susan ignored her interjection, "and so I decided to bring the doctor to you."
Sanya looked at them and then behind them. "But it's only Peter with you."
Peter spoke then- though it was clear from his body language that he did not want to be here in the slightest, "I have knowledge of the medical sciences, actually-"
"Peter, no offence but I don't trust your 'knowledge of the medical sciences' any further than I can throw you."
He gave her a look, "How can I possibly take offence at that?"
"Can you just leave me alone?" She requested as his sister opened her mouth. "I'm sorry I'm not the paragon of human fitness all the time like you all, but it doesn't mean I'm sick or dying."
"We're just worried about you- even Ed is-"
Sanya scoffed, “Unlike you, my husband has not come hyperventilating after me-”
"That's because he's with Jem all the time or working and he's really doing his best not to be a mother hen, but I'm quite sure he will bring the entire medical section here if you don't go for a check-up soon." Susan ended.
"And it's just a lot of problems to build the place again in its original location." Peter shrugged. "Come on, Sanya, it's one doctor's visit. It won't kill you!"
"If it would have killed me, the chances of my going would've been greater." Her head was throbbing again and her stomach was churning. There was a sour taste in her mouth, like acid or bile, and she swallowed thickly- and she really wished they would leave.
She didn't want to vomit in front of them.
"Fine, if I go, will you leave me alone?"
And perhaps Edmund could stop being so concerned. She really was fine!
Bright smiles instantly appeared on their faces as they nodded.
"You want us to take you?"
"Absolutely not." She said, feeling like a smothered child. It was true she'd never gone to the healers back in Azraq when neither of her parents were there, but she had been much younger then. She was twenty one years old now, and a High Queen, she could go for a simple check up on her own.
Anyway, her parents coming here would take two weeks, and she didn't think she could stand the mollycoddling for that long.
"Aren't you leaving?" Peter asked, seeing that she was making no effort to get dressed and leave the room- she wasn't even making an effort to throw off her blanket and get out of bed, she'd gone back to lying there!
"I'll go in the evening." She promised honestly, picking up her book again. "I don't feel up to it right now."
"Truly?" Susan raised an eyebrow at her, and it was then that Sanya finally realised that they had all lost their minds over her malady because they cared about her. It was a very heartening thing to find out, and she found that she had never appreciated them more.
"I swear." She gave a smile- ugh, that took more effort than usual. Perhaps she wasn't as healthy as she was deluding herself into believing she was.
"Very well then." Susan believed her, and she would always be able to find out if she had broken the promise. "Ask for Dr. Asherii. She's the head."
"Oh, alright."
"We're taking your word for it." Peter told her solemnly. "I hope we can trust you."
"Go away before I actually throw you."
-
July. Evening. Cair Paravel.
Sound of waves coming in from every side. Fauns and Talking Animals bustling all about the castle. The taps of hooves and feet everywhere, as well as the noisy chatter, and clinking of plates as supper was being prepared.
Not a single bit of peaceful silence in any hallway, or any corner of the castle.
Sanya's head was completely pounding by then, and the level of noise as well as the never-ending flurry of 'Your Majesty's aimed at her wasn't helping at all.
Horrifically enough, she'd even run into Edmund on the way.
"Moonshine, you're out of bed!" He'd exclaimed in a surprised voice, before asking in a suspicious one, "Why are you out of bed?"
"You have ink on your nose." She had told her husband instead of answering his question- she'd found she didn't want to tell him- and reached up to rub it off. "Is Jem with you?"
"Yes, he is, but what are you-"
"Are you letting him play with the quills and inkpots again?" She'd then asked, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at him.
Their five-year-old already had a love for drawing, but he was allowed only to draw with pencils. Whenever Jem got in the vicinity of an inkpot, which Edmund had accidentally allowed once or twice, he would end up spilling all of it onto him, mostly because he loved to play with it. Sanya had spent much of her childhood with mud and dirt and grass on her royal clothes, and she had never understood her parents’ annoyance- until now.
He had swallowed, "I- er- he's playing with paper, actually."
That wasn't a lie- it was just...not the whole truth. He had kept the inkpots far away from where their son could get to them, but he had asked so sweetly, his green eyes so big and pleading, Edmund had not been able to say no. Plus, he did agree with Jem that pencils were a bit boring compared to ink-quills.
"Hm." Her eyes had then narrowed further. "So if I head into that sitting room, I won't find our son with ink all over himself?"
Edmund had been quite sure he'd have blood all over himself if his wife headed into that sitting room, and quickly said, "I'm sorry, darling, but I'm working, so can't stand around and chat. Bye, enjoy your stroll!" He'd added, kissing her cheek swiftly before darting back in the room again, in order to scrub the ink off and clean their five year old.
Sanya had flushed at the kiss- even after months and months of dating, and years of marriage, he and his kisses and touches had that effect on her- and then rolled her eyes. She had no doubt she would see Jem later that night, looking exceptionally and uncommonly clean (not that he wasn't usually clean- he was, very much so).
Somehow, she'd made it without any interruptions to the wing of the castle where the medical staff worked- it was called the Hospital Wing, and Peter, Edmund and Lucy were constant visitors to it.
She dutifully bowed her head in courtesy to the nurses and healers there- dryads and fauns mainly- as well as the few patients there, both soldiers and servants- until she reached the station Dr. Asherii, the chief healer, was sitting at, sniffing at some plant with bluish-purple flowers.
The Rihaayan Queen recognised it, and asked in surprise, "That's wolfsbane, isn't it?"
Dr. Asherii, an Archenlandian woman with arched eyebrows and brown hair, jumped and looked up.
"Your Majesty." She curtsied respectfully, both of them deciding to ignore the jump. "And yes, it is wolfsbane- aconite and monkshood are its other names."
"I've never seen any- we never had them in Rihaaya." Sanya moved closer to inspect it, thinking the flowers to be so pretty.
"Ah, they grow at the edge of the Dancing Wood, and are pretty rare. But quite useful in terms of medicinal help, if you know how and when to use them." She shrugged, dumping the plant in a bowl of hot water. "Have to heat and boil it, or it's toxic."
"Oh." All Sanya had known about wolfsbane was what she had read- that it repelled werewolves and even real wolves. Well, if she ever went looking for them, it was reassuring to know there was some protective measure.
Perhaps she should go looking for werewolves- it'd be an adventure, that's for sure.
"Excuse me, I am quite fascinated with medicinal herbs, Your Majesty. They're better to deal with than patients, most of the time." She added, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I must confess I am surprised to see you. I don't think I've seen you in this wing in all your years of living at Cair Paravel."
"Only four and a half years." Sanya reminded her, feeling somewhat ashamed. It was true- no matter how many colds and coughs and headaches and stomach problems and fevers she had got, she'd dealt with them on her own. Mercifully, she didn't get sick often, apart from frequent headaches and colds. "And yes, I've not come here before." Even this time, she had been coerced to come.
"Are you not keeping well?" She asked, looking curious. "I had heard hearsay of your not attending meetings and meals."
The urge to say 'Oh, I'm alright' was overwhelming but she somehow controlled it and she forced herself to say, "I'm a little under the weather."
"Ah. Well, what problems are you facing?"
It was at this question that she would usually turn to her mother, who would go into a detailed summary about the various symptoms she would have been having.
But, as there was quite a lack of her mother there, she had to answer, "Practically everything. Headaches, back and body ache, nausea, fatigue, and stomach pains."
She wasn't about to tell her the more personal problems- which included the numbness and soreness of her breasts. She'd had to finally stop asking Edmund to stop touching them so much, which saddened both him and herself.
"I see. Could be a common digestive problem or the flu- are you having fevers too?"
"No, but my temperature is always a little hotter than usual, has been since I was a child."
"Hm, that's odd."
Not when you learn that I have human blood, fae blood and godly blood in my veins, she thought.
"I guess so."
"What is it you're suffering from the most? Headaches?"
She nodded- headaches were more a part of her life than being royal was. "Yes. And the body aches- oh, and nausea."
Dr. Asherii surveyed her critically, looking her up and down, "Is it just a feeling that you're going to vomit, or do you actually do so?"
"I actually do so. I try to hold it back, but-"
"Trying not to vomit is far more harmful than vomiting, Your Majesty, please remember that."
"Oh." That was another reason she hated going to healers- they always made her feel stupid. "Sorry."
"Well, for your head and body aches, I'd say take equal amounts of radish, bishopwort, garlic, wormwood, helenium, cropleek and hollowleek and then pound them up, boil them in butter with celandine and red nettle."
She didn't even know what half of those were- fruits? Plants? Vegetables? Animals? Countries?
"And then?" She asked bravely, feeling timider than she ever had.
"Keep the mixture in a brass pot until it is a dark red colour, and then strain it through a cloth and smear it on your forehead or aching joints." She said before frowning, "I hope I've remembered it all right."
She hoped so too.
"Anything else?"
"Yes- you mentioned stomach aches? How does it feel? As in- how does it hurt?"
How was she supposed to describe that?
"Like something is kind of twisting in there- or- like-" Then she decided to give up and say, "It's like menstrual cramps."
The healer started violently and exclaimed, "Oh, menstruation! I almost forgot about this- my deepest apologies, my Queen, you just don't look very feminine right now."
Right. She was wearing two-piece pyjamas under a vaguely presentable robe, she was sure there were spots and pimples all over her face- her body didn't seem to realise she was no longer an adolescent. And her hair was greasy, and uncombed, thrown up into a messy ponytail, and she was wearing her smudged glasses. She looked about as feminine as Philip did.
“Yes, I don’t care about my appearance, and I look sick, I know.” She gave a trying-not-to-grimace smile. “So…?”
"Are your moonbloods regular?"
"Haan, they're always-" Er. She really should start keeping track better. "I think they always start during the last week of a month."
"I see." She nodded, and peered at her again. "Do you remember when it ended the last time?"
Oh, that she remembered- it was only a few days after Peter's birthday ball when she'd woken up to not being bloody.
"Yes, it was some days after King Peter's ball."
Her brows rose, "High King Peter's ball?"
How many other King Peter's were there?
"Yes."
"The Ball which was in late April?"
She didn't understand what was so surprising about it- that was when Peter's birthday was, so it was obvious that was when his ball had been.
"Yes. The twenty-seventh, to be exact."
"The last time you had your moonblood was in late April?" There was no longer just surprise on her face- a kind of exasperation and pity was there too now. "When it's early July now?"
"Yes- oh." She finally realised. She hadn't had her menstrual cycle in May- nor in June. That was odd. "Is there some kind of problem? I remember I hadn't had them for three months when I was fifteen- it was a stressful time-" She had had to give exams then. Why she had to do so, she still didn't understand, but she did have to, and it had made her more anxious and stressed than she had ever been.
"Your Majesty." Dr. Asherii cut her off. "These stomach cramps- do they feel like a stitch?"
"Yes!" That was actually a very apt way to describe it. "Yes, actually. Like someone is slicing it open and then mending it back together."
"How are your breasts?"
Oh, the number of complimentary jokes Edmund would've made.
"Fine." She went a little defensive, as she always did whenever anyone commented on her body.
"I mean, has there been any soreness? Tenderness, perhaps? Have they grown?"
Yes, yes and she hoped not, they were uncomfortably large enough already.
"A little." She allowed herself to say. "Why?"
She didn't answer her question right then, instead asking yet another two of her own, "How often have you been vomiting? And have your emotions been swinging slightly more than usual?"
"I've been throwing up almost every day." It was easy enough to keep track of when she puked- and she wasn't really emotional or emotive at all, usually, so the latter one was also an easy question to answer as well, "And yes, slightly. Wait, is all this- headaches and nausea and everything- just because of my moonbloods?"
"No, Your Majesty." Her grave grey eyes looked steadfastly into her brown ones. "All this is because you are pregnant." And then, foreseeing the young woman continuing to be stupid, she added for good measure, "With child."
-
Rosario Dawson as Doctor Asherii
-
-✧･: °*✧*°:･✧-
-
Yessir, we're getting an Edmanya baby 🥺
Also, as much as I DESPISE periods, moonbloods is a good name for it.
If you're seeing this, I humbly and unashamedly beg you to vote on the chapters, please, and comment, if you can.