Drafty

The Queen's Aura

        Spring had just arrived to the land of King Derich.  His kingdom was no longer covered in the white that consumed his domain each year.  The castle no longer appeared entirely sinister, for now the sharp icicles that dotted the edges of each tower were thawing and dripping into puddles on the cobblestone paths.  His empire was now converting from pure white to green, and the farmers were just returning to their jobs as they began planting their crops in the fields to be harvested again in the fall.

        Within the castle, there was a great commotion about.  King Derich's spring festival had just been announced.  After the great thaw of winter, King Derich had always awarded his people with a great festival and feast, but this year was especially important.  His daughter, Princess Aura, was to be wed to a suitor of her choosing.  She was too, like most princesses, parade throughout the land and find a man she deemed capable to be her husband.  This was the tradition of the Derich family.  The first-born of the latest king or queen was to chose his or her own spouse without any necessity of the parent's approval.  This custom was to prove that, if they chose wisely, they were supposedly capable of being the king or queen.  However, if the spouse was not carefully chosen and the kingdom fell into ruin, the next in line to the throne was to take over.  In this way, it appeared to the people of King Derich that a ruler's success was determined by their abilty to chose a good spouse, and so the people tended to take bets on whether the successor would succeed in making the right choice.

        Currently, as was everywhere across the kingdom, men sat in bars hoping to either catch the eye of Princess Aura or place bets on who would catch the eye of Princess Aura.  This year, the men of the kingdom were especially lucky, for Princess Aura was to be paraded across the entire empire.  The King would not allow her to miss any options, as was usually the case.  She would see everyone, from peasant to lawyer, and thus give every male citizen the chance to be chosen.  The men were also especially excited this year due to the fact that Aura, according to the rumors of most people, was the most beautiful princess to have ever lived in all the generations of the Derich's.  She had golden hair that changed tints depending on the sunlight.  One minute it may be a striking yellow, and the next it may be a deep warm amber hue.  She always appeared to have a light breeze following her, for with every step her wavy hair was always in motion.  She was healthy and thin, and had a tan complextion with absolutely no blemishes to be seen.  Finally, there were her eyes.  The glinted always, even without the sunlgiht, and like her hair, they changed colors throughout the day.  She was a magnificent beauty and all the men desired to attract her attention.  Not only would they become filthy rich, but they would also gain a new remarkably beautiful wife.

        As the servants scurried throughout the castle making preparations a month in advance of the festival, another commotion could be heard coming from the infirmary of the castle.  Suddenly, a woman screamed, and at least ten nurses rushed in to her aid.  It was the Queen herself  who was in such desperate pain.  She had been pregnant for eight months now, and she had been waiting for the day she would give birth to her second child.  She was fairly plump due to her large stomach, but all else about her was thin and taught.  Her eyes were covered in worry marks from years of aiding the king with ruling the kingdom, but they were also sunken with being tired.  She had been up all night dealing with baby pains, and she had been hoping that she was now ready to deliver.

        "I'm sorry your highness, but just because you are in tremendous pain doesn't mean you are going into labor," said a doctor, "Plenty of women have prelabor pains that they can't control.  It's completely normal."

        "Nothing can happen to the Queen," the Queen snapped back, "There must be something wrong.  This baby has irritated me long enough."

        "Really now your highness.  You know entirely well that that is not how it works.  Your sister thought the same thing and looked what happen to her.  May she rest in peace."

        "I don't care about my sister.  She was weak and a fool.  The only person who matters is me, and I say that this baby needs to stop this this instant! Aura wasn't this bad.  In fact, she was just a doll."

        "Again your highness.  There is nothing I can do.  All I can say is that you need your bed rest.  Then maybe the pains will go away."

        "Ugh.  Fine Doctor Stewart.  But if something happens again, I will be right back here demanding the same thing of you again.  I cannot stand this any longer."  With that, the Queen stood up quickly and was suddenly overcome with a jolt of pain.  "Ow!" she screamed, "No, I will not be leaving this spot until the baby is born.  I can tell it'll be soon.  Why else would it be doing this to me?"

        The doctor could only sigh as he studied the woman.  Even though she was the Queen, she had no smarts to be found.  It was a wonder how the King delt with her so easily.  Maybe he didn't.

        The doctor exited the infirmary and thus left the Queen to herself, along with the patient who was sound asleep in the bed next to her.  "Hmm.  I wonder how long you've been in here," she said to herself as she stood up slowly to grab the patient chart that hung from the end of the bed.  "A few months eh?  Looks like you've got something going on with your skin.  It looks raw.  I wonder... " She walked over to the patient and poked them, trying to get them to wake up.  "You've been asleep long enough," she said, "I want to see what's up with you."  

        When the Queen realized it was no use, she returned to her bed beside the other patient and began to speak outloud to herself, "Stupid baby.  I never wanted you to bring me this much trouble.  I was entirely fine with my daughter Aura.  She's beautiful and almost ready to inherit the throne, but I know that if she fails in finding another husband, we still need a backup plan.  That's where you come in," she said as she rubbed her enlarged stomach, "If Aura fails, the Derich bloodline will be over.  You must be there to inherit the throne if necessary.  Not that I think my Aura will fail but..."

        "Ow!" the Queen contorted and screamed wildly in pain, "Doctor! Doctor! Come quick.  I think my baby's coming!"

        The doctor rushed quickly into the room and saw the Queen covered in beads of sweat across her forehead.  "Are you positive?" the doctor asked.

        "Yes I'm positive," shreiked the Queen, "I've never been more positive in my entire life!"