KongArt Week Stories

The Emperor's Secret - Part Ten

As Arthit's stomach grew, so did his disbelief. When Kongpob had first told him the physician's diagnosis, his only reaction was to laugh. He had thought his lover had gone insane from all the pressure that he had been getting from his mother. How could a man be pregnant? It was just absurd.

He had thrown a hissy fit and screamed at Kongpob for lying to him. Coming up with such a ridiculous lie to keep him trapped within his palace. But right now, stroking his tummy, there was no way he could ever believe otherwise anymore. The little kicks to his gut firmly assured him otherwise.

He was pregnant.

After he had taken a few days to calm down, Kongpob had brought in a pile of old scripts and read them one by one to him. The scripts had both written and illustrated depictions of a particular clan, whose male offsprings were born with the ability to bear children. It was a well kept secret, Kongpob had said, up until the last dynasty. The neighbouring warring states had somehow gotten news of this clan and destroyed their state just so they could have these men. These men had the ability to both impregnate women and to be impregnated themselves. So the generals forced them to have children, then cut them up to try to peek into the magic of their bodies.

"But it was said that none of these children survived," Kongpob told him, "because another state soon launched an attack on them. The clan was completely obliterated as were the generals that had taken them."

Arthit had never known his birth mother as she had died during childbirth but his other 'mothers' in the brothel had often told him stories about her. He knew that she had travelled from another state and ended up working in the brothel because she was alone and had no money at that point in time. Whether she had been pregnant before she came or if she was impregnated by her clients remained a mystery but Arthit was born not even nine months after her arrival and it was clear that he was a premature baby based on his size.

The scripts also said that this ability was only passed from father to son which made everything an even bigger mystery since no one even knew who his father was. There was simply no way to trace who his father was and if his father even knew himself that he was part of this mysterious clan.

Kongpob's protectiveness of Arthit had also increased threefold and Arthit was now barely even allowed to do anything on his own. Prae was one of the first few people to know, as Kongpob and her planned Arthit's delivery. She had graciously welcomed the baby with open arms and was even willing to play the role of their baby's mother. The Empress Dowager had been pleased when they had announced Prae's 'pregnancy' to her that she had gifted her a heap of tonics, all of which Prae had readily sent Arthit's way.

Speaking of the devil, Prae's voice could soon be heard as she made her way into the room, now tottering instead of walking normally. Arthit grinned at her.

"Increased your pillow size I see?" He teased, patting his tummy.

"Oh but of course," Prae announced, flipping her hair as she sat beside him on the bed. "How else could I play the part of a pregnant woman perfectly?"

Shifting closer to him, she whispered in his ear. "I've already prepared my throat for all the screaming too. My mother told me the pain is excruciating, I'm going to scream the roofs down."

When she pulled away, she saw Arthit's horrified face. "Oh my god, has no one told you about childbirth? I'm going to kill Kongpob."

Arthit tugged at her arm, "no don't. He's already busy enough as it is, making preparations. I don't want him to stress over.. Such minor things."

"Minor? You're carrying his child for god's sakes! Preparing you well for a safe delivery is the least he could do!"

Arthit shook his head, still gripping onto her tightly. "The way he's worried about the baby and me? You'd think he was the one going into labour soon. Besides, I don't think he knows anything about childbirth."

Prae rolled her eyes, "fine, defend your husband. Don't be scared, even though I can't be here with you, I'll be praying for you every moment. Maprang has been well taught by the midwives, she will take care of you."

"Can you.. Tell me more about it?"

"I can, but because you're a man.. I don't know how different it will be for you," she grimaced before launching into her full speech, telling Arthit everything she knew about childbirth that she had learnt from her mother.

~***~

"Kong you are being ridiculous," Arthit whinged but still moved himself to allow Kongpob space to climb in behind him. "The tub is tiny!"

"No it isn't!" Kongpob insisted, tucking Arthit into his arms. "Look, there's still plenty of space! It was built for two you know?"

"Yeah? Well now it's two and half so there isn't enough space." Arthit gruffed, picking up his washcloth to now scrub at Kongpob's arms that were around him.

"I've missed this."

"Your bath? You take one every day." Arthit answered cheekily. He had felt better these few days, the morning sickness finally weaning off. Although it was replaced by constantly sore body parts and the inability to put on his shoes by himself anymore, it was a relief to not want to throw up every single mouthful he ate.

"You know what I mean," Kongpob grumbled, leaning on his shoulders. "How are you feeling today? Baby better not be bullying you." He lovingly rubbed circles upon Arthit's stomach.

"Mm, it's being good." Remembering his talk with Prae, he tilted himself slightly to look at Kongpob. "Do you want a boy or a girl?"

"Either is fine by me. The fact that we can have a child, between you and me, is already a blessing as it is." Kongpob smiled, kissing Arthit's temple. Everyone around him had been telling him that they would be praying for a little prince for the kingdom but honestly? Kongpob could care less. All he wanted was for both Arthit and his child to be safe and healthy. That was all that mattered to him.

"Prae and I were talking today, and she told me that if it was a princess, she would love to spend more time educating her. I think it would be good, Kong. Between you and I, we wouldn't be able to teach her what a girl needs to know. It should come from a woman she could look up to."

"And what's wrong with having two fathers? I'm sure my daughter will grow up just fine." Kongpob growled, unhappy at the thought that anyone thought any less of them being parents.

Arthit rolled his eyes and smacked him on the arm. "You should know by now that Prae doesn't mean that. Don't be a grouch. We could teach her martial arts and how to protect herself and even literacy. But do you know how to stitch because I sure as hell don't. I will not have my precious baby being laughed at for something we couldn't give her. I only want the best for her in life."

Kongpob sighed, he knew Arthit was right. Being royalty meant that a certain decorum had to be followed and despite what he believed in, the expectations for his child would be no less.

"Besides, two sets of parents. I can't imagine any other child being as lucky as this one will be. Lin and Prae would make wonderful mothers." Arthit recollected, having met Lin a handful of times. The quiet lady was a strong, reliable person who too was well versed in martial arts. Coupled with Prae who was educated to be the perfect empress, there could be no better candidates to help bring up a child, be it boy or girl.

"You're right, our child would be the luckiest and happiest one in the world. But what if it is a boy?"

"Then you, father dearest, are going to have to take up the responsibility of teaching your son because I definitely won't be doing it on my own." Arthit quipped, completely unafraid of his words offending the Emperor anymore. He had gotten past that once Kongpob had proven time and time again that his status was merely a name, and all he did was love him wholeheartedly.

"You could teach him music too, then he too could serenade his future lover," Kongpob teased. "Just like how you hoodwinked me with your tunes," his voice dropped a notch lower and his naughty hands began to wander under the water.

"Kong!" Arthit exclaimed, but didn't make a move. Pregnancy did make him pretty horny after all.

~***~ 

Author's note:

I'm tryna balance all this drama and fluff and hopefully not be too naggy. Hur.