Waveborn | The Oceane Series

Twenty-Three

The rocking chair where I sat in the nursery moved back and forth as I rocked, humming softly while I crocheted. I was determined to make a blanket, though the string of knots was not as straight a line as I had hoped and looked more like a circle than I would care to admit. With a frustrated groan, I threw it on the ground, watching as the ball of yarn rolled across the floor and ran into a pair of men's boots. Delmare walked further into the room. Looking up, I watched the amusing look play across his features as he leaned down to pick up the ball of yarn. Chuckling, he wound the yarn back up as he walked toward me, his eyes never leaving my face.

"Why are you abusing your scarf?" he asked, picking it up off the floor and setting it on the table beside me.

"It's supposed to be a blanket," I groaned, getting up. Delmare tried to help me up, but I waved him off. I was just pregnant, not helpless. "I'm fine, thanks. How are the preparations for tomorrow coming? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Everything's going fine. You don't need to do anything," he replied with a smile.

"Oh," I said, trying not to show my disappointment. "I guess I could sit here and fail at crocheting."

"I think I have a better idea."

"What's your better idea?" I asked as I followed him into our room. He pulled out two sets of clothing, the fabric taught and dirty, completely the opposite of the clothing we were both currently wearing.

"I want to show you our kingdom through the eyes of our citizens," he said, handing me a pair of clothes. Thankfully he handed me a pair of pants, the band made of a stretchy material, reminding me of the maternity pants I had seen in stores. "I'd like to give you the tour without anyone recognizing us."

"You're going to have to do a lot more to disguise that handsome face of yours," I replied, peeling my dress off and getting dressed in the clothes he'd handed me. "No one has seen me yet, so you don't have to worry about anyone recognizing me. But how are you going to disguise your face and hair? Haven't your people grown up with you? Wouldn't they know every inch of your face? What are we going to do if they ask us who we are?"

"I have everything covered. If someone asks us who we are, we are Mr. and Mrs. Waters." He smiled as he unbuttoned his shirt. "And if my face is a little dirty, it will hide some of my features, so hopefully no one will recognize us."

"Oh, we're married, are we?" I asked, picking up the dress off the floor and hanging it back in the closet.

"Yes, because no one will question our relationship, especially with you carrying our children as you are." He smiled, now fully clothed. He reached down to hold my stomach just as one of them kicked. "They're pretty active today, aren't they?"

"Yes, very." I paused. "So, how are we going to get out of the castle with no one noticing?"

His eyes sparkled with excitement and he took my hand, leading me toward one wall of his room. He placed his hand on it. Suddenly, the wall moved on its own, opening up to reveal a secret passageway. Following him into the passageway, we walked quietly and cautiously as I clung to his arm. After a few minutes, we made it to another door. Watching quietly beside him, he opened the door to reveal the expanse of the ocean ahead of us. Strangely enough, no water escaped through the opening, instead stopping as if there was a barrier and falling down the opening like a waterfall.

"Wow," I breathed, staring at the water and then back at Delmare. "Why isn't the water coming through the doorway?"

"Because my mom took the water away from the palace. No water will enter the palace walls. Once we come back, the water will leave our skin and hair as if we hadn't spent the afternoon in the ocean." He motioned me to go through the opening before him. "Ladies first."