Zelink Short Stories

The Knight's Princess

Warning: swearing, brief descriptions of violence and sex (extremely mild)

Song Suggestions:

If You Want My Love- alayna
Woman No- Katie Tupper
Love Story- Sarah Cothran

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Finding out you are with child is meant to be a precious moment filled with happy tears and hopes for the future and me being queen, it means I will be carrying on my line. But the child I conceived may not be the king's and rather the child of a royal guard. A high ranking officer I would never truly get to be with. I was forced into a loveless marriage by my father to a prince who only wanted power. He was eager to claim the throne after my father's sudden death. Too eager though I never had enough evidence to claim he had a hand in it. But I was stuck nonetheless with a man who only lusted for me and never truly loved me. The only one who did was my knight.

My knight knows the child may be his. My husband refused to sleep in the same bed with me, surely taking lovers of his own. I didn't see the problem lying with another man if he had women in his chambers on the nights he didn't want me. My knight, having access to all parts of the castle, would come to my chambers and make me feel loved in ways my husband refused to. And now as I near the birth of my child, I could be condemning him to death if the baby is his.

Blonde hair I could explain, my own mane being a bright yellow. But with my eyes green and my husband's brown, I wouldn't be able to reason if my child is born with blue eyes.

My labor has lasted hours with little to no progress being made. I have endured each painful wave with midwives at my side. They've made me walk, squat, sit in my tub, and rock on my hands and knees, trying everything they could but the baby just won't come. It was simply stuck.

"I can't do this anymore," I whimper, all the strength in my body having been used up. My husband was nowhere to be found, probably off with another mistress as we speak. But my knight was outside the door, keeping watch while listening to my wailing. He can't come in no matter how desperately I want him to. I know deep down that the baby is his. And I'm being punished for it.

"We're sorry Your Majesty," my head midwife says, an older and very experienced woman. She's been delivering babies since she was a young woman, helping the Royal family and other members of the court. Even she doesn't know how to get the baby to come.

"Isn't there something you can do?" The pains were unbearable, coming every thirty or so seconds and lasting even longer.

"May I feel your belly, Your Majesty?" I nod, unable to get any words out through the next pain. All I could do was grip my blanket until my knuckles turned white.

She places her hands low on my swollen belly and presses her fingers in gently, feeling the stubborn baby.

"I believe the little one is trying to come arse first," she says after a few moments of feeling. "It seems he flipped after I checked the first time."

"So it's not going to come out?" I wail. Babies were meant to come head down and it was in the beginning of my labor. I really am being punished.

"I can try to flip him but it won't be comfortable."

"Just do it!" It can't be worse than what I'm feeling right now.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

She once again places her hands on my belly, her fingers digging in more this time to give her a grip on the child. She turns her arms and I feel the baby moving inside. The next pain drowns out any discomfort I'd feel from it.

She turns her hands one more time and it's almost like I feel a pop. She presses on my belly once more and smiles.

"Head down like he should be." The smallest flicker of relief burns in my chest.