The King of Saminu

Chapter 24

 It shouldn't have been a surprise. We had been trying to have a child, had been working through everything we could do. But still, receiving the news this far away from home left me feeling uncomfortably frozen. Brann looked at me, then back at the healer. The healer got Brann's unspoken message and was nearly running to leave us by ourselves.

"You have to go home," Brann started as soon as the healer was gone. I shook my head, my mouth tasting bad from both the thought of leaving and the bile.
"I'm not leaving you," I stood firmly in place, even though my head felt light and my body was shaking from the exertion. Brann furrowed his brows, then walked closer to me. His hand reached out, resting a hand on my stomach. He sighed.
"I don't want you to leave either, but I don't want this danger on you, or our child. It's more than just us now," I shook my head again, the action only intensifying my dizziness.
"We said we would do this together. And besides, the maximum amount of time we'll be away will be three months, right?" I questioned. Brann nodded, not understanding where I was taking my discussion. "We'll be back home and still have months to spare before the baby is born.

"That's even if I'm pregnant. We don't know for certain. I could just have some weird stomach bug that the healer couldn't pick up. Maybe Ellsk got me sick? Who knows?" I smiled at Brann, but his frown remained deep.
"That if is still important. I don't care where you have the baby, Rensker. I care about the fact that we're going into active battlefields, and you might be pregnant. What if you get hit in the stomach? For you, that'd be an easy thing to heal from. A child? They could die," Brann made a good point, as much as I hated it.
"I can't leave you. I can't stay in the castle by myself," I whispered. Brann sighed, backing away from me to pace around the outside of the building.

"Fine. You don't have to go back to Spenn. But I don't want you near the battlefield. You can stay as far as Maeri, with the other troops who are based there,"
"But, Brann! I want to help! I don't want you out there alo-"
"Rensker!" Brann raised his voice at me. The flames in his hands were back. I stumbled away from the scary side of my husband. He sighed, returning back to normal. "I'm sorry. But we have to make this compromise. You can help there. You can heal the soldiers when they return. You'll be our stationed medic," Brann's voice softened, but I looked away.

"I don't want you on the battlefield either," I whispered, but the wind caught my words and sent them far away from Brann's ears. He reached his hands out to me, pulling me towards him.
"I'm sorry I yelled," Brann apologized, his words seemingly sincere. There was an undertone to it. He was sorry he had to yell. But he was glad that his tone had worked.
"King Brann! The phoenix is boarding!" Gamm announced, his head appearing in the doorway. He noticed that something was wrong. Gamm was always the first to notice. "What's wrong?"

"She's upset that she can't go on the battlefield with me," Brann answered for me after I remained silent for a little too long. Gamm looked at me, his blue eyes hard.
"You wanted to go on the battlefield? Rensker, none of us want you there. You're our queen. You're my sister. I don't want to see any harm come to you. Your husband doesn't want to see any harm come to you. Please, don't fight him on this," I sighed. The important people in my life all seemed to agree.

I boarded the phoenix with my husband, knowing that I would be letting him go into battle on his own. The pit of my stomach started a knot that wouldn't be untied for a while.

* * * * *

"Ren, we're needed in the preparation room," Gamm announced, peeling open the tent that would be my home for the next three months. I sighed, opening my tear soaked eyes in order to walk towards Gamm. I felt defeated. I would be alone- away from everyone.
"Cheer up, kid," Gamm ruffled my hair, which was already a mess. I almost smiled at the old action, trained into us. My younger brother was used to pretending to be the oldest. I sighed, exiting the tent to see the bright snow filled clouds. My eyes closed against my will, a hand thrown up to protect my fragile organs from the detrimental brightness. Gamm laughed.