throne of glass one-shots

Elorcan Pregnancy

He had been gone for three weeks. Three weeks spent without Lorcan by her side. It felt like a lifetime. Elide had been worried already, sceptical about Lorcan leaving for so long, especially as her belly had only grown bigger, until she felt full to bursting. Yrene had been hovering over her for days now, providing hot drinks and endless comfort. It felt foolish taking up all of the healer's time, Elide was sure her talents would be better used elsewhere. But Lorcan had insisted; if the Queen of Terrasen was sending him away, Elide should be left in the best of care. Aelin had taken it upon herself to see to it, even staying in Perranth for the last few days. As much as Elide hated being fussed over, she had to admit it was becoming very difficult to do things herself, not being able to see her toes was one thing, but not being able to get up was quite another. The males were due back any day now, they tried to hide it but all of them were getting anxious being away from their mates for so long. Yrene put yet another blanket over Elide, who now required three to cover her enormous bump. Any day now...

Lorcan was supposed to be back; they all were. Three days had passed and the females were sure something had gone wrong. It was supposed to be a simple trade agreement for Ardalan; the males only needed if things turned sour. They were supposed to be home.

Elide was pacing. No matter how much the others tried to calm her down; she would not relax until her mate returned. Until she was once again surrounded by the comforting scent of him; until she knew he was safe. She had gone into labour an hour ago and, as was normal for witches, it was coming fast. Manon had arrived on Abraxos a few hours ago when Aelin summoned her; although Yrene was the best healer around, she had no experience with witch births. It didn't help that Manon was constantly checking on her mount, and gazing out the window awaiting Dorian's return. Where were they? Everything was wrong. This was supposed to be the best day of Elide's life, she had the best healer and was surrounded by two of the most powerful rulers in Erilea, who were ready to fight if the need arose. Yet without Lorcan, her brave, strong, brilliant mate, Elide had never felt less safe. The child was coming, with or without its father. 

The pain was world ending, like being ripped in two by an ilken, like the sky was caving in and she was trapped underneath. Elide's screams reverberated through the castle, her pain could be heard from a mile away. Despite her agony, she couldn't help but smile, her child was a fighter. Still, she held on, not willing to begin without Lorcan; when he arrived safe and sound, she was going to kill him. He would be safe, she told herself, Dorian and Rowan were with him, two of the most powerful males alive, Rowan whose only match was Lorcan himself. Lorcan wasn't exactly helpless either, she reminded herself, he was incredibly powerful and skilled in combat, and had saved her life countless times. But he wasn't exactly tactful, the males, for all their centuries of experience, still didn't exactly know how to lose, and if the negotiations hadn't gone as planned... Elide screamed even louder. This child would be the death of her. 

She felt pain rip through her. Not from the birth, but in her arm, as if it had been stabbed. Yrene turned white as snow. She bent down to clutch her leg, then Aelin did the same for her back. One look at the queen was enough to confirm, they all felt the same. Manon hissed, "This is why you don't bind your lives to men, or mate with them. Always getting stabbed." Yrene grit her teeth against the pain. Elide realised that while she had grew up accustomed to pain, and Aelin had withstood more torture than any of them, Yrene was a healer and Elide wasn't sure she'd ever actually been stabbed. A strained chuckle escaped her lips. Colour began returning to the lady's cheeks as Yrene slowly numbed her arm, they'd have to look at the males to heal it. Elide felt more pain rip down her calf. Lorcan. She stood, halfway through labour, having not been able to do so for weeks, she stood, biting her tongue to stop her scream, she would not sit idle as her mate died. Aelin wouldn't have it, demanding that Elide stay behind with Yrene, that she and Manon went to find the males but Elide whispered "I made a promise, I promised to always find him. I found him in Anielle didn't I? You can try to stop me, I'll only fight harder." and, with that, she began to slowly walk towards Abraxos. Manon helped her up, cushioned between Aelin and the rider, Elide refused to scream as the pain of labour overtook her, she'd choose getting stabbed any day. They had flown for less than a few minutes when Aelin spied her prince of ice and wind. There was Dorian, standing in front of Chaol, all his focus spent on a shield around them, backed up by Rowan's power, but no darkness. Aelin sent a wall of fire, intertwining with Rowan's wind, the male turned and smiled at his mate, although Aelin's grin faltered when she saw his pale face. Manon smirked at Dorian, who looked very pleased to see her, still no sign of Lorcan. Abraxos dived for the fae, landing just next to them; all three glanced cautiously at Elide, and she swore Aelin told Rowan through that secret language of theirs what she'd said. Elide didn't care, "Lorcan" she whispered, Dorian grunted as their attackers launched another assault against the shield but Aelin flared her fire, burning through them without blinking. Elide followed the males' gaze to where a pile of bodies lay. No. She would not lose him like this. No. She blinked through her tears and caught sight of a black figure, wiping the blood off his knives, emerging from behind the mound. Their eyes met and Lorcan saw the pain and fear in her gaze. Elide let out a sob and hurtled towards him. She tripped and lost her footing, but landed in the arms of her mate, who buried his head in her hair, whispering to her. "Together. When we go, we go together.". As the male collapsed to the ground, Yrene ran over to him, swearing at the amount of blood covering him, both others' and his own. She set about healing his wounds but the moment he regained consciousness, Lorcan growled, demanding she saw to Elide, who was propped up on a tree beside him, refusing to let go of his hand. She relaxed slightly upon seeing he was awake, and leaned against him. "Not long now." the healer said. No chance of giving birth in a nice warm bed them, frozen lake it was. 

It took just over an hour for the child to be born. Lorcan didn't leave Elide's side throughout, letting her squeeze his hand so hard it must be broken. he didn't care. Elide, his Elide, was in pain and he couldn't help her. Her screams broke him, in a way he didn't think he'd ever recover from, her pain, he could feel it through the bond, so immense. He'd have done anything to take her place; to spare her from this. But nothing could be done. 

Then it stopped. 

Everything stopped. 

Lorcan didn't think he'd ever seen anything so beautiful in his life. He didn't care that he was crying, didn't look up and notice the tears of all who surrounded him. He had eyes only for Elide and their beautiful baby girl. She held her so tightly, so carefully. Lorcan reached out to stroke Elide's hair, to hold their baby's hand. She gripped it fiercely, her tiny palms not big enough to reach around even just one of his fingers. She was perfect. He said as much to Elide, who simply whispered, "Look what we made." her voice full of awe, "She's ours." it was almost a question, as if Elide didn't quite believe it, "She's ours." Lorcan echoed. "You going to introduce us?" Aelin whispered cockily, but didn't bother disguise her amazement. "Alright then." he said with a smirk. "Hello baby girl. I'm your daddy and this is your mummy. We both love you very much. This ugly creature," he huffed a laugh, pointing at the queen, "is your aunt Aelin, she will always protect you." Aelin bowed her head, accepting the burden. Elide continued for him, "These are some of your uncles, Rowan, Dorian and Chaol, they'll teach you to do all sorts of things." They too nodded, promising to do just that. "Here's Aunty Yrene, she'll show you how to always do the right thing." As one, their friends sunk to one knee. Elide began to cry again when even Aelin, Manon and Dorian, who bowed for nothing and no one but their crowns, did the same. There was a brief silence before Aelin called out, "I'm going to be favourite Aunt." They all chuckled again, and Elide turned to face her husband, her mate, to give him a good hard slap. "You couldn't keep yourself out of trouble for just one day?" Lorcan chuckled, but his face darkened, "About that, we may have some bad news." Elide just reached up and brushed her lips against his, "Tomorrow." she whispered.

Any feedback would be appreciated xx