Out of Time

Chapter 48

Dani had resisted the urge to strangle Arthur when the announcement of her pregnancy was leaked after Lancelot's rescue. She'd been furious with him, but as the months passed, she tried to remind herself not to stress herself out, that it would only be a self-fulfilling prophecy if she did.

She contracted one of their carpenters to build the round table, using a basic trestle table design and building it with multiple curved sections. The table could be broken apart and set aside, and could also have trestle tables from the added in if needed like leafs in a dining room table in the modern world. Arthur loved it.

Which was not the same response they got when Dani attended her first meeting. She'd sat beside Arthur, with Merlin on his other side, as knights, lords, and kings filed in and sat down. Some grumbled about the lack of hierarchy, which Arthur had whispered in her ear was another part of the reason he'd wanted to implement the design—to eliminate strife between his men.

As she paced the halls, she rubbed her stomach. She had become increasingly uncomfortable for months, and while Arthur had become insanely overprotective, she had defied him at every turn. He would ask her to rest, and then she would get up and move around. She was restless, and it was nearly a daily argument now. All he wanted of her was to lay down and do nothing. All she wanted was to get it over with, but she still had a few weeks left, and she didn't look forward to it.

Dani frowned, bending over slightly—as much as she could in her condition—and breathed through a cramp. She couldn't tell if it was a stitch in her side, Braxton-Hicks, or what.

"Are you alright, Dani?" Guin asked, touching her elbow as if the must smaller, much weaker woman could possibly catch her if need arose.

"Fine, just ready for this to be over with."

"I'm sure you are. It won't be much longer."

"Yeah," she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice, "just the really fun part next."

"You'll be fine." But Guin couldn't hide the worry in her voice. The girl didn't seem to have a deceitful bone in her body. How could she have possibly hid an affair from Arthur in the original version of this legend? Unless Arthur had been purposefully obtuse, not wanting to know.

Which made a lot more sense than she cared to admit.

Dani rubbed out another cramp, and paced the upper hall once more.

"Maybe you should sit down."

"I don't want to sit down." Though, recently, her ankles had started swelling, which was beyond annoying. She should probably put up her feet from time to time to try to combat that, but hated to admit, even to herself, that Arthur's overprotectiveness might be on the mark, even a little.

A few more steps, and she cried out, crashing to her knees. Guin squawked, her hands flailing around her, making unintelligible sounds that made Dani want to swat at her to get her to leave her alone. This time, the cramp wrapped all the way around her, and even she knew what that meant.

It was time.

#

Arthur paced the Great Hall all day, not knowing what to do with himself. He couldn't focus on any given task for more than a few minutes at a time, so eventually he just gave up trying.

Danielle, Lady Guinevere, and some maids and servants had sequestered themselves in their chambers during the long process. He'd been ecstatic and terrified when the news drifted down to him. He couldn't deny that Danielle had become a bit of a pain in the last couple of months, unwilling to listen to any of his demands that she take it easy or rest. Instead, as if knowing she would never win the argument, each time she went behind his back.

And now, his wife was upstairs, travailing to give birth to their first child. He didn't know if it was a good or bad thing that the event had come several weeks earlier than they'd anticipated. Did that mean something was wrong? Or would it be a good thing, a smaller babe making it easier for his wife?

He didn't know, and as the sun set and the night dragged on, he ran his hands through his hair for the thousandth time. Merlin had sat patiently beside him, mostly keeping passive and quiet. A couple of times, he'd reminded Arthur that Danielle still wore the protection amulet that he'd given her, that it would protect her. She would be alright.

Finally, a maid came down the stairs, a smile on her face. "The queen has given birth to a baby girl."

A little girl. His heart melted, and for a moment, he forgot how to move.

"Both the queen and the princess are fine." The woman curtsied, then took off.

Arthur burst into action, running up the stairs, and storming into his chambers. Danielle sat on the bed, smiling at him, their daughter in her arms. Lady Guinevere sat on the other side of the bed, leaning over to coo at the baby.

Arthur inched forward, and pressed his impossibly large hand to his daughter's head. "Our little miracle." He smiled, and looked up at his wife. "Thank you."

#

Morgan cursed herself for waiting so long. She'd wanted everything to be perfect. She'd had to wait until the most recent meeting of Arthur's "Knights of the Round Table" to end. She couldn't very well have her armies attacking when he had plenty of backup. And she needed the time to fully coordinate her forces.

Mordred wasn't lord to any lands. He had three older half-brothers from his birth mother, and either Morgan or Ywain, her own biological child, had control of her late husband's forces. It had taken work for everything to line up perfectly, and it had to be perfect. Not a single member of Arthur's forces could be left alive if this were to succeed.

But that blasted queen just had to give birth an entire month early. Even though she'd given birth to a girl child, it still had the potential to change everything. She couldn't have that. She knocked on the nursery door.

A young maid opened the door and peeked her head out. "Lady Morgan. The baby is asleep." She didn't speak above a whisper, further testament to her statement.

"Yes," Morgan whispered. "I just wanted to see her. I didn't have the opportunity to earlier. Everything has been crazy today."

"Of course, just try not to wake her. The queen needs her rest."

And no doubt if the woman heard her daughter cry, she would come running, never mind that she had just given birth a few hours ago. "I won't be long."

The maid opened the door, and Morgan slipped inside, closing it behind her. With a swift motion, she slipped the knife she'd been hiding under her skirts up into the maid's ribcage. The girl's eyes bulged, then drew blank as the life drained out of her. Morgan eased the girl's weight to the floor, and stepped up to where the baby princess slept peacefully.

"I'm sorry, little one, but you've mucked up my plans."