Shadows of a Broken Past: A Shard of Faith (Book one)

Chapter 6:

Pearl shifted in her seat, growing increasingly uncomfortable, feeling the faint taste of bile in her mouth from having vomited earlier in the day. She fought back the urge to race for solitude to be sick without her panicked attendants and friends surrounding her demanding to know if she was okay. 

"My liege?" One of her attendants looked to her, seeming to notice her distress. "What troubles your Majesty?" 

"Nothing." Pearl said, a bit sharply. "I'm fine." 

The attendant's eyes widened and she shrank back. "My apologies-"

"Pearl." The young queen looked up, spotting Kaye by the door. "May we speak?"

"Not now, Kaye." Pearl said, waving her hands to dismiss everyone in the room. "Go, I need a moment to myself." Her head was pounding and her stomach was doing flips. 

All her ladies stood up and bowed respectively, but Pearl didn't think about waving them up, simply waiting for them to leave her be. They filed out of the room and slowly closed the door, and Pearl huffed a sigh of relief. "At last, some peace and quiet." She growled, flapping her wings to stand up, checking her communicator. No messages. She shrugged. 

"Maybe Kaye just had a note from a villager who needed advice." She said to herself, feeling her head slowly start to pound again. 

She sat down, closing her eyes and pressing her fingers to her temples. She was dizzy beyond belief. "Maybe I should call Gem." She murmured. 

She picked her communicator up again, sending her a quick note. 

Pearl: 

Gem, could you come by as soon as possible?

She set her communicator down and waited. It buzzed within minutes. 

Gem: 

Hey Pearl! It's Emery, Gem's student. My mentor is unavailable but I might be able to help. What do you need?

Pearl frowned. That was unlike the wizard, to be busy and not have her device with her. 

Pearl: 

Sure Emery. Come to Gilded Helianthia and go straight to my house. I'll be waiting, and I'll explain then. 

She set it down and leaned back, closing her eyes, not realizing how pale she was. She felt cold sweat on her forehead, and her breathing was a little shallow. 

'Emery, hurry here soon.'

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"Pearl?" The queen's eyes shot open. Emery stood in front of her, wearing a cloak with an embroidered patch of Crystal Cliffs Academy's logo. The young wizard-in-training wore a worried expression as well. "Is everything okay? You're -forgive my wording- white as a sheet." The girl crouched at her side. 

Pearl looked at her, grabbing her arm. "I need you to do a health check on me." She said firmly. "I'm not feeling particularly good." 

"Okay." Emery nodded slowly, looking her up and down. "What troubles you?"

"My stomach feels like it's flipping and my head pounds like a second heartbeat. And my temperature is chaos." Pearl informed her. 

The apprentice wizard frowned. "Odd. Have you asked anyone here about it? Is it an ailment from Heliotropite descent?" 

"No-" Pearl shook her head, feeling sick to her stomach. 

"Hm. Let me do a vitals scan." Emery incanted a medical chant swiftly and closed her eyes. "Let's see." 

Pearl closed her eyes as well as Emery put her index and middle fingers on the young queen's temples, letting her see the scan. "How is it?"

"Steady. Your vitals are safe. Are you ill? Any sickness passing through Gilded Helianthia? Have you passed through a land of illness recently?" Emery questioned. 

"No to all of them." Pearl said. 

"You say you have stomach pains? When was your last cycle?" Emery asked, sitting beside her. 

"A little over a month ago." Pearl said. "It's late- should have been here about a week ago."

"And you're not on an irregular cycle?" Emery prompted. 

"No." 

"Are you...." Emery trailed off, looking her up and down. "No, you can't be." She muttered, and then almost as though it were an afterthought, did a quick internal scan. "How-" She gasped and pulled away. "Oh my god."

"What?" Pearl demanded. "What is it?"

"Pearl- Pearl you're-" Emery stumbled over her words, looking shocked. 

"I'm WHAT?" Pearl cried. "Emery, what's happened?"

"Pearl- Pearl, you're pregnant." 

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Cliffhanger >:D

Sorry it's a bit short! I didn't know what else to add-

But yeah- hehehehehe

-Quiet