Feeling his arms sweat, he fights hard to keep himself from losing composure. His wits were about him as his heir was being delivered and as he thought about who he had just seen.
Trying to free himself of his guilt, he paces up and down the room as one of the queen's maids comes to fetch him.
"Sire, it's a boy!" She says
"Huh?" He replies trying to shake himself free from his thoughts.
"A boy sire! It's a boy!" She repeats.
Quickly, he dashes into the room to meet his heir. Gently, he plants a kiss on both mother and child's foreheads. For now, he would not trouble her with his past. For now, he would relish in the beautiful babe gnawing at his finger with its toothless gums.
The queen's midwives quickly prepare baths for both mother and child and quickly push the king out of the room as they relieve him of the baby.
He was happy but at the same time, he dreaded this day as he would finally answer for his greatest failure. He turns on his heels towards his chambers and softly closes the door.
***
"Breathe, lunge forward, relax. Push yourself up, reach across and pull!" Came the instructions at the hallows. Now more than ever, the ladies had to be at their best as they were being let go.
It was the day Caramel had been waiting for as she took on her adversary and as she smiled at the toothless angel before her afterwards. It was the only thing to keep her from falling apart.
Recalling how her sister lost her life to the king's mother's orders, she had to prevent it from getting to her niece. As she could not concieve her own, she took care of Amelia as her own. It was her vow and she would keep it.
***
Finally managing her body again, May gets out of bed and walks towards her husband, rubbing his shoulders slowly. "Come to bed my love. You need all the energy to meet the help tomorrow." She tells him pulling him from his chair towards the bed.
Indeed he would need the strength because he was about to get slapped in the face with a horrible nightmare.