Morning Glory-Francis (Reign)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

When I awoke, I was laying on a bed in a dark cottage. Natasha was sitting at my side, and the sharp burning pain in my stomach had subsided mostly, though breathing was still difficult. The doctor appeared from around the corner and smiled when he saw I was awake.

"Good news, Your Majesty. You'll live. You'll have a nasty scar, but you'll live." He wiped his hand on a cloth.

"What is your name?" I asked quietly, being careful not to move around too much.

"I am William," he gestured to himself, before pointing over to the girl who was sitting in the corner. I hadn't noticed her over there. "That's my daughter, Olivia." Olivia nodded in greeting from the corner.

"Who was that man? Who stabbed me?" I asked, adjusting slightly on the bed, and hissing when pain shot through my abdomen. My hand came up to clutch at my wound, but I found my torso had been wrapped tightly in bandages.

"His name is Alfred. He's never been one to bow to anybody." William explained. I noticed my overdress laying folded at the edge of the bed. My petticoat skirt was still on, and my undershirt put back on despite the blood on it and the holes in the side from the knife. "Your guards took him back to their camp outside of town."

Speaking of soldiers, the door to the cottage opened to reveal the soldier who had praised me in front of the crowds earlier. Upon seeing that I was awake, he bowed his head to me, before getting any closer.

"The villagers have been settled, and most have returned to their homes, Your Majesty." He told me. I smiled and nodded.

"What is your name?" I asked him.

"Feliks, Your Majesty." He bowed his head slightly.

"Thank you for what you did today, Feliks." I said sincerely. A look of confusion flashed across his face.

"Today, Your Majesty?" Not understanding his confusion, I turned to look at Natasha.

"Is today not today?" I tilted my head at her.

"It's been two days since you were attacked."

"Two days?" I repeated, leaning my head back on the pillow and taking a deep breath.

"I'll leave you to rest, Your Majesty." Feliks stepped back, looking to be dismissed.

"Thank you, Feliks," I waved my hand for him to leave.

As soon as the door to the cottage shut, and the room was silent again, I looked to William who was washing something in a basin of water. I had a question that I needed an answer to, but I wasn't sure if I really wanted to know the answer.

"Are you alright, Your Majesty?" Natasha must have noticed the look on my face.

"Yes." My voice was quiet, barely a whisper. "Who knows about my injury?" I asked just as quietly.

"I know that Feliks was doing his best to keep it quiet. The soldiers who followed the general don't know the extent of your injury, just that you were hurt. I don't believe a messenger was sent to Moscow. We wanted to wait..." She trailed off sounding uncertain.

"They wanted to wait to see if I would die." The words came out monotone and lifeless, like I was already dead. Natasha didn't answer but I could tell I was right.

"William," I called out to the doctor. He set down the instrument he was fiddling with and came over to me.

"Yes, Your Majesty," He looked down at me, with a fatherly kindness I had not seen in a long time. It warmed my heart. I took a deep breath before asking the question that was burning in my throat.

"Will I still be able to have children?" Because if not, it may have been better if I died, I continued on silently in my head. William didn't answer right away, and tears welled up in my eyes as I prepared for the worst.

"The longer you let your body heal before conceiving the better, and a child may be harder on your body than for other women, but yes, you will be able to have children." He finished with a smile.

"Thank the Lord," I whispered, my body relaxing against the mattress, and tears slipping out of the corners of my eyes, running down my cheeks onto the pillow. "Thank you." I closed my eyes. Soon enough, I fell back asleep.

The next time I woke, Feliks had returned. A glance out the window told me night had fallen.

"I'm sorry if I woke you, Tsaritsa." Feliks dropped into a quick bow.

"It's fine." I muttered, propping myself up on my elbows to retain some sort of posture. William appeared behind Feliks, a look on his face telling me he protested to me moving around, but I waved him off.

"We received a message from the army in Poland. They will reach Krakow in two days. The Polish army has all but surrendered."

"That is good news." I said, absently, turning the new information over in my head. "How far from Helsinki are we now?" I asked Feliks.

"If we left tomorrow morning, we could make it there in a few days. But our intelligence tells us the Swedish royal family has fled to the Norwegian border. The King and Queen of Poland are waiting for the Russian army in Krakow."

"Thank you, Feliks." I stared down at my feet at the edge of the bed, concentrating. "Prepare the troops to leave tomorrow morning. You will continue on your trek west." I paused for a moment. "Choose a handful of soldiers and have them prepare my carriage as well."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Your Majesty." William cut in, stepping up to be next to Feliks. "But you really shouldn't travel in your current state."

"While I appreciate your concern, William," I smiled at him, "I don't have the luxury of time to wait for my body to heal. My country needs me now. Not in a few weeks."

"You don't need to travel with us, Tsaritsa." Feliks agreed with William. "You should stay here and rest."

"I'm not going with you." I said simply. "I'm going to Krakow." William began protesting immediately.

"That's a very long journey, Your Majesty. Consider going back to Moscow where you can recover properly. Your wound could become infected."

"While I now you're correct, I cannot take your advice. My army is about to take the capital of Poland, and I need to be there to see it."