My Sister's Prince

Chapter Nine:

     Every day, Eulalie met the Queen Mother for tea at dusk. Afterwards, she began ticking off assignments from the large scroll Violet always handed her. Just when she believed she was getting the hang of her duties as Queen, the tasks would move on to some other aspect of ruling that Eulalie hadn't prepared for.

     Seeking reform of some of the former Queen's outdated policies, Eulalie was originally excited by the idea of being consulted for her opinions during these tasks and meetings. Excitement quickly turned to disappointment, however, as she realized nobody was even remotely interested altering the former Queen's procedures. At every turn, she felt inadequate, unprepared, and unimportant. Her only relief were the brief moments in which she saw her husband.

     She mostly saw Alaric in the evenings and at night, just before she crumbled into the silky sheets and slept like a hibernating bear before the sun rose on the next day. Jealously, she listened as he spoke about his day spent riding, hunting, and attending to only a handful or so of "kingly" tasks. It was obvious from his description that Eulalie was working far harder than he was. Why was the Queen Mother working her so hard then? Was it so that she had a crash-course of sorts in being Queen?

     It was during one of these evenings in their bed together that Alaric's cool, long fingers began to explore the hidden corners of Eulalie's body. Already half-asleep, she groaned and rolled over. "I love you, my dearest, but I'm exhausted," she mumbled, punctuating her sentence with a deep yawn.

     She felt his hands pull away, and she worried she'd offended him. When she turned to face him, however, she saw a look of concern across his features in the dim candlelight. "You're always so tired...are you sure you're okay?"

     "I'm fine," she assured him, "your mother's just working me too hard."

     "Mother? That can't be, that doesn't make any sense. You just need to shake it off, my darling. I feel as though every evening, you always have a problem with my mother!" Before she could respond, Alaric's face shifted and he turned towards her.

     "What are you doing?" She asked, watching him as his eyes scanned her body up and down. 

     He leaned across the large bed and examined her closely. "How long has it been since the wedding?" He said with a start, his eyes getting wide.

     "It's been about a month, why?" She was confused, wasn't he just accusing her of starting problems with his mother?

     "My love," he said with a look of glee on his face, "is there a chance you're so exhausted because you're with child?" Instantly, Eulalie's thoughts rushed back to the last time she'd had her monthly courses. It couldn't have been more than a week or so ago, though there had been some unexplained spotting these past few weeks...

      They had been so excited about sharing their marriage bed that they hadn't necessarily been responsible about "family planning." Even still, she'd just had her monthly last week. Looking at her husband, whose face was illuminated with happiness, she hated to be the bearer of bad news.

     "No, my love, I don't think so. I've just had my monthly this last week..."

     It was impossible to miss the look of disappointment in his eye. Up until now, they hadn't quite discussed the idea of having children. She understood that producing an heir was one of her future duties as Queen, but that has always been ages away in her mind. She didn't even know Alaric had wanted children. She told him all of this, and she saw him look at her in contemplation.

     "I love you, and you love me. I think it would be a gift to create a little life with you. I don't want to rush you, we can start being more careful if you wish, but I'm ready whenever you are..." He exhaled deeply after his short speech, and he reached his hand over to cover hers.