The Unwanted Wendigo [ManxMan]

EXTRA Chapter Six: Tiny One

[WARNING: Graphic pregnancy stuff, which includes vomiting and the like. Mentions of baby health concerns. Fear of miscarriage/stillbirth. Keep in mind that this is not a sad chapter, though.]

~EXTRA Chapter Six: Tiny One~

The first sign that something has changed comes when Felix took one whiff of the snack I brought him to soothe his mild stomach ache and he vomited halfway to the door in his rush to reach the bathroom in the next room over. I ended up having to carry him to the bathroom so he could moan over the toilet bowl. Once he was well enough to move, I took him to the medical wing, and it honestly should have ended there with a positive confirmation of what was wrong.

Instead, though the sign should have been pretty obvious, it ended up obscured by other facts. After all, one of the fish served during breakfast that day, though prepared properly, was apparently not as healthy as it appeared at first glance, so when Felix and I arrived in the medical ward, Atasah and Felix's twin sisters were already there, seemingly just as sick as my husband. The staff still tested the contents of Felix's stomach for other poisons, of course, but it only confirmed that Felix ate the same fish as them...even if it was not nearly enough to cause an upset stomach.

Since they detected no other toxins, however, they concluded that he was likely just very sensitive to the source of the fish's illness. Thus, we left the medical wing a few hours later, none the wiser. And with no recurrence of Felix's stomach upset, at least not right away, we both quickly forgot about it as we went about our daily lives.

It is for this reason that when the second sign comes around not even a full week after the first, we are not expecting it and are thus unprepared. Though...it is not like it is a particularly bad sign, so being unprepared does us no harm; it is just more inconvenient than anything. I mean, if it was weird food cravings or mood swings, we would have been in trouble since one would likely mean many market visits while the other would lead to confusion and arguments neither of us would be prepared to deal with, so fortunately, all that ends up happening is that Felix falls asleep in a meeting. A very, very boring meeting that I honestly cannot blame him for wanting to sleep through.

And if I could get away with it, I would totally join him in napping at the conference table.

Instead, though, because I have to be responsible, I do not allow myself to nod off when I notice his head starting to bob up and down while one of the presenting nobles discusses something that has to do with the agricultural needs of kelp farming. I just catch Felix's head before it can hit the table and maneuver him so that his head is resting against my shoulder, which is made possible by the fact that we are seated right next to each other. Of course, those present collectively freak out - in their own proper way, which is to say that everyone freezes and stares - but I just steal Felix's notebook and wave my hand for them to continue without waking up the king. They hesitate to do so, but the meeting eventually continues, since it is not like decisions need to be made today; it is just a day of boring, boring information.

Fortunately, no one asks why the king fell asleep when he is normally fairly engaged, even on boring information days, so I do not have to explain - or, rather, lie, since I am pretty sure it is rude to tell an audience sensitive information about one's husband before telling the husband himself - that Felix woke up tired and has felt off all day, despite getting enough sleep for the past few nights. He is not sick, either, since I would know.

Nope, the changes in his scent have been too subtle and unnoticeable up 'til just now for that...Felix isn't going to be happy.

I mean, not to say that he will be unhappy when he finds out that he is almost definitely pregnant, but...we have only been trying for two months. In other words, Felix's estimate of how long it would take him to become pregnant - a few months to many years - was completely off, and he is not especially fond of big, life-changing surprises.