Our Little Eggs

Chapter 1

It was meant to be a good day, but in hell, there was no such thing as a good day. Stolas took a tiny sniff of his breakfast, and instantly felt the urge to vomit. He had been sick for weeks, and he knew it wasn’t a stomach bug.

A quiet knock on the door was accompanied by a muffled voice. "Dad, are you okay?” Stolas felt a twinge of guilt for causing his daughter to be worried about his well-being. “I’m all right, dear!” he exclaimed, fighting the urge to vomit. There was silence on the other side before the bathroom door was open. “Really?” Octavia raises her eyebrows and puts her hands on her hips. She's not dumb enough to not have been aware of his recent mood swings and poor condition. “Cut the crap, dad, I know you're not fine and even the staff knows it!” Stolas couldn’t help but grimace at the sudden outburst. "Oh no Via, I apologize if I caused you any concern. I simply assumed it was a stomach bug. I didn't anticipate it to be an issue." Stolas said with a worn-out smile. He did not want the staff to discover what a mess he is or for his daughter to be concerned about his current situation. He has not preened in a while, black bags are beginning to form under his eyes, and he has strange pain in his back.

"We're all worried about you dad," Octavia spoke in a worried tone. Her expression changed from being serious and furious to worried and concerned. She kneeled down beside her father, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Dad, please go to the doctor. I can’t stand seeing you like this.”
She pleaded. Stolas met her eyes; they were sad and filled with concern. "All right, starfire, I'll schedule an appointment." He said as he pulled his daughter in for an embrace, which she accepted. She complained, but he noticed a smile plastered on her face.

He tried to eat again, which combined with the nausea made him vomit again. He accepted Via's suggestion to eat something small, like cereal or some younger—hopefully not expired. He pulled out his cell phone and wondered what the doctor would say. Maybe Stella had poisoned him again? But that would make no sense since she no longer lives at the palace. Was it something he ate? Or was he dying? He shuddered at the thought and kept eating his cereal.

He called his personal doctor on this occasion because he wanted to know exactly what was going on with him and wanted to have a private conversation about it. He did not want any word to get out about his condition, especially not if Blitz found out about it.

It's not like he’s dying, right?

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"I apologize, but I'm what?" Stolas asked, his eyes widening even more as he gazed at the pregnancy test he was holding.

“Your Highness, for the fifth time, you are pregnant.” Said his doctor wearily. "How could this be possible? I've been taking birth control!” Stolas exclaimed as he got up and began to pace around the room. He bit his nails now, wishing he was getting news that he was dying rather than this.

"I assure you, Your Majesty, it is not a problem. You can always abort the baby and forget about it!" His doctor smiled warmly as he spoke, but Stolas was no longer listening to what he was saying; all he could do was wonder: does he want to keep the baby?

"I-I must be heading, Frank. Thank you for your help today." He was unable to simply stand in the room with the pregnancy test in his hand. All he wanted to do was go home, maybe watch a movie with his daughter, eat some ice cream, and cry himself to sleep. He gripped his vest tightly, trying to keep back the tears that threatened to roll down his cheeks. “Alrighty then, if you ever change your mind about having this baby, you know what number to call," Stolas receives a card from Frank without turning to face him. He looks at it and considers having the baby aborted, but he has mixed feelings about it.

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"So how did it go?" his beloved Octavia asks him. Stolas looks into his daughter's magenta eyes while remaining silent. How was he supposed to inform his daughter that he was expecting a child? That it was Blitz, the imp who had rejected him, the imp who didn't want anything to do with him, the imp that he adored, the imp who wasn't aware of his pregnancy?

It was a rollercoaster of emotions all in one day and what's worse is that he's thinking about keeping the baby. "Dad?" Via asks, giving him a worried look."Dad, are you alright? Was it bad news?" and that was all it took for Stolas to burst into tears. He quickly hid his face in his hands as Octavia embraced him and he wept like a pathetic man. Stolas heard Octavia humming the lullaby that he had sung to her since she was a little owlette.

He drew in a shaky breath and at last turned to face his daughter. He knew he had to be honest with her; he couldn't keep such a significant thing from his daughter. "Via, I'm still progressing on the news myself and I'm trying to find the right words, so please be patient with me." Octavia looked at him with bewilderment. She was feeling a little anxious about the news. Though it sounded more like he was unsure, he said, "Octavia, I'm pregnant?" He expected her to be angry, disappointed, or even shout at him, but he hadn’t expected her to be laughing. He looked down at her with a straight face and she looked up at him, wiping a tear away. "Nice joke dad but seriously what did the doctor really tell you?” she asked. Stolas shot her an owlish glance “I am not kidding,” he said flatly, his voice shaking.

"It wasn't on purpose right dad?" Octavia asked, with pleading eyes. "Oh Via no, no, it wasn't on purpose, the news shocked me and I never planned this." he said, making a hand motion to his abdomen. Octavia asked, "Do you want to keep it?" All day long, he found himself asking himself the same question.

"I'm not sure." He uttered a quiet voice. A part of him knows that keeping the baby is wrong, especially considering that once it is born, it may be in grave danger—not just from the Goetias' perspective, but also from hell's. Perhaps now that Octavia is growing up and needs to go on her own path. Since Blitz, the father of his child, doesn't want him, what will make him want to have a child with him? Perhaps now he won't feel so alone.

Octavia moved to lie next to him and gave him a hug. "I will be there for you, dad, no matter what you decide." Maybe it was the hormones, but he was tired and just wanted to cry and let it all out. With a broad smile, he asked, "When did you become so mature?" “I learn from the best.” She spoke before continuing. "Everything will be okay.”