Glory in Our Defiance • Zarry

35. - Crowning Touch

March 1488 - Windsor, England

Harry absolutely detests waiting. He's been called impatient but is that really a bad thing? Wanting everything to move smoothly without wasting time? Whether it is waiting for a battle to start in the uncomfortable armour or waiting for a lover at midnight in a dark hallway, Harry's always anxious to just fucking move on with it. What he absolutely hates is when someone's late, stalling all the plans Harry has for the day.

But the waiting for his first child to be born takes the crown for being the most annoying one because it is the most inconvenient. It has been four days since the midwife told him the child has moved into the right position and everything seemed like it was ready to get out. As stated, that was four very long days ago, during which Harry didn't get anything proper done and it drove him crazy. Sitting around and waiting isn't a thing he does so he's understandably anxious and irritable.

In the morning of another day that Harry deems boring before it even starts, he wakes up too early. The sun isn't even out yet so it must be little after five in the morning when he calls for some servants to draw him a bath. His lower back hurts like hell and the water might help. Either way, he knows he isn't going to fall asleep again with that much discomfort.

It's just when he's about to get dressed that he gets notified in a very wet, watery way that his child has finally decided to stop torturing him and wants to get out.

He retreats to his own chambers that he doesn't frequent often, simply because he doesn't want to ruin the bed he's intending on sleeping in after the child is born and where his husband is also sleeping at the moment. Being the true pragmatic he is, Harry starts reading a book after getting as comfortable as he can get with the pain in his bed. The true pain hasn't kicked in yet and truth be told, he just wants to get his mind off of everything.

The midwife arrives shortly after, giving a shocked look to his apparent leisure.

"Your Grace, how can you be... so calm?" she asks dumbfoundedly.

"The pain is just like a good smack with a sword on shitty armour," Harry winces as he tries to shit of the bed. "But it is growing stronger."

The midwife nods. "I shall check how everything is going and then I will get you some tea and potions to speed things up and help a little with the pain."

The sun is already up when Zayn comes in, worrying coming to the bed and embracing Harry around the shoulders.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" he asks, pulling back but grabbing Harry's hand in his. "I cannot believe you. How are you doing?"

"I feel like crap," Harry sighs. "Can you lie here with me? I don't wanna be alone anymore. Well, I do but I want to be alone with you."

"Sure," Zayn nods. He crawls over Harry's outstretched legs to the other side of the bed and Harry then arranges himself very painfully to have his head in Zayn's lap. Without even a word, Zayn's hand goes to Harry's hair automatically which is very soothing and just what Harry needs now that he can't really distract himself with books anymore.

"I wish I could speed up time," Harry says. "I hate waiting. And I hate the pain. It's not like an injury. Well, it was at first but not anymore."

"I am so sorry you're hurting, love," Zayn says softly.

"It's fine," Harry sighs again. "We need to have children somehow. It's not like we can buy an egg and have a baby hatch in a few months without all the struggle around it."

Zayn laughs. "That would be funny, babe."

There's comfortable silence for a while, the motion of Zayn combing his fingers through Harry's hair nearly putting Harry to sleep if there weren't these spikes of pain hitting him in intervals.