King and Queen

Chapter 6: The Report

As Maxon and I were getting ready for the report, Amberly came into our room.

    “Hey, mom,” Maxon said to her.

    “Hi, are you and America revealing the news tonight?” she asked us.

    “Yes,” I told her, wincing as Lucy tightened the corset on my dress.

    Maxon, noticing my pain, looked over at Lucy before speaking. “Not so tight, Lucy,” he said.

    “Sorry, Your Majesty,” she said sheepishly as she loosened the corset a little.

    “Is that better?” she asked me.

    “Yes, thank you,” I said to her.

    Once we were ready, we walked to the set for the report and took our seats. The cameras began rolling once we were ready.

    “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of Illea! As you know by now, I’m your host, Gavril Fadaye, let’s get started,” Gavril spoke loudly into his microphone as he took his seat next to us on the middle of the stage.

    “Hello, Gavril,” Maxon said, smiling warmly.

    “King Maxon, Queen America, I understand that there is some news that you want to share with us tonight?” Gavril asked us.

    “Yes, there is,” I said to him and smiled.

    “Well? Don’t keep us waiting any longer!” he said and laughed.

    Before speaking, I looked over at Maxon and he nodded in encouragement.

    “Well, Gavril, I’m pregnant,” I said loudly enough for everyone in the audience to hear. At the same time, I pressed my hand against my stomach.

    “You are? There’s going to be a royal baby?” Gavril asked us, his excitement rising along with everyone else’s.

    “Yes, but that’s not all,” Maxon spoke up, quieting the noise of the audience.

    “What do you mean, Your Majesty?” Gavril asked, unsure of what he meant.

    “Well, America is having twins,” Maxon said.

    At that point, the room fell silent as everyone took in the news.

    “She is?” Gavril asked us, his voice rising in excitement.

    “Yes,” I said, laughing at the expression on Gavril’s face.

    I was happy that we had gotten such a positive reaction to our news, not that I expected otherwise, but I could tell that Maxon was relieved, like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. When the Report ended, Maxon and I walked hand in hand to dinner.

    “I feel better now that that’s over with,” he said to me.

    “I do too,” I said. Once we had taken our seats, the chefs came and lifted the lids that covered the platters on the table.

    Underneath the lids was a vast spread of food, ranging from appetizers to entrees and desserts.

“Is every dinner going to be all out like this?” I asked Maxon.

“No, this is just a celebratory dinner for us. Normally, dinners are much smaller and it’s just the two of us together,” he murmured.

“Oh, okay,” I said quietly.

Maxon then stood up and cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. He then thanked everyone for coming and dinner had begun.

Six courses later, dinner had ended and I was stuffed. I stood up from my seat and Maxon and I excused ourselves before heading to our room.

“I’m so full,” I moaned, taking off my dress and pulling on my nightgown.

    “I am too,” he laughed. Once he had changed he pulled me down onto the bed next to him.

    “I love you,” I murmured.

    “I love you too.”