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The bumpy, uneven and rock-riddled road was making the already uncomfortable ride in the carriage a nightmare for the already sick Catherine. She hung her head out of the window, trying to breathe slowly, taking fresh air into her lungs. Next to her, Hadi reached over to pat her hand sympathetically.
“Your mother had horrible morning sickness with you. It was more like all day sickness, really. It should pass in a few weeks, though.” Catherine replied by turning her hand and squeezing his for dear life as they hit a bump in the road, making the carriage, and Catherine’s stomach, lurch violently.
Travelling while pregnant was less than ideal, but considering the circumstances, there was really no other choice. The idea of Amethar coming back home, of settling on the farm with her was long gone. News of his father’s death had come recently, and with it, the knowledge that things would never be the same. Never how she hoped things would be.
But it could be worse. She had to think like that, she had to be positive and count her blessings. She and her father had survived the war, she was pregnant (though the sickness was not a blessing), and after everything that had happened, Amethar had found Catherine, and given instruction for her to be brought back to Candia. Warmth spread through at the thought, the fear that Amethar would forget her long gone. Even as she breathed deeply, Catherine couldn’t help but smile.
Hadi squeezed her hand again, bringing Catherine’s attention to him. Excitedly, he pointed out the window past her head, to the growing image of the castle past the town. Catherine’s stomach flipped, pleasantly this time, knowing that they were almost there. That in an hour or two she would see her husband again. She finally brought her head back into the carriage, looking at her father with a weak, somewhat queasy smile.
“Well, do I look presentable enough for an audience with the king?” Hadi chuckled, reaching up to tuck an errant strand of hair behind her ear.
“You look beautiful, my darling. You are glowing with love. But perhaps you will want to rinse your mouth before the reunion.”
----
Catherine followed the young woman who was sent to fetch her from the chambers she and Hadi had been initially taken to. Curiously, Catherine watched the small gummy bear cub that hung off the woman’s hand, and the cub watched her curiously back. Catherine smiled a bit, to which the bear growled in response, pulling his mouth wide to show off his sharp teeth. Catherine started and stepped back while the woman laughed.
“Don’t mind him. He’s not good with words yet, just growling. He’s not mad at you or anything, he just wants to bite you, probably. But he wants to bite everything, so it’s nothing personal.”
Catherine smiled weakly at that, resuming her pace behind the servant woman.
“He’s quite cute. I take it he’s your son? You’re both the same shade of blue.” The woman laughed again, glancing back at Catherine.
“You’d be right. This is Harry, and I’m his mother, Devorah. It’s nice to meet you, Lady…” she trailed off, prompting Catherine to answer, which made Catherine smile weaker.
“No, no Lady. Just Catherine. But it’s nice to meet you too, Devorah. And Harry of course.”
They stopped outside a chamber door finally, and Devorah turned to Catherine as she scooped Harry into her arms.
“Here we are, Catherine. The king’s personal chambers.” She made a bit of a face, no doubt thinking about how odd and improper it was for the king to have a woman in his chambers, but she didn’t voice any concern. Catherine wasn’t sure if she was allowed to explain, anyway.
Nodding, Catherine smiled a bit more sincerely now.
“Thank you, Devorah. I will...see you later, I suppose. And Harry.” She looked at Harry who growled again before burying his face in his mother’s neck, making Dev giggle as she walked off.
Catherine turned to the increasingly intimidating door then, hesitating, wondering if she should just walk in or not. She settled on knocking, rapping gently at the door before adding a quiet “it’s me-” as an afterthought.
The door flew open with such force that Catherine nearly fell back, but before she could she was swept up into strong arms and pulled inside. Once the door was closed, Catherine barely had enough time to catch her breath before lips were crushing against hers, making her gasp in surprise. But it took mere seconds for her to register just what was going on, and then she was kissing Amethar back, lips moving just as desperate, gripping the front of his doublet tightly.
“Amethar-” she managed to huff, his grip tightening on her as he just continued to kiss her fiercely, a soft huff of “Catherine-” slipping past his lips as he stayed pressed to her.
Finally Catherine came to her senses, though, and something very pressing came to mind. Carefully she started pushing back from him, just gentle enough to urge him to stop the kiss.
“P-please put me down-- I’m happy to see you too, but we have to be careful of the baby-”
This was enough to get Amethar’s attention, his eyes widening as he carefully set her back on her feet, actually taking a moment to look down at her now, taking her in, including her somewhat protruding stomach. She was a few months along now, a bit bigger than she expected to be, and was certainly noticeable. When Amethar registered what he was looking at, he started crying.
“You’re pregnant- Bulb, I’m sorry I didn’t realize-” As he cried, so did Catherine, wiping her eyes quickly as she reached up to hold his face, thumbs brushing the sharp angles of his cheekbones, taking a moment to examine him. He was there and whole and unharmed, yes, but there were new lines on his face that no 28 year old man should have, and a sadness in his eyes that she knew was for his sisters, his parents, all the friends he’d lost along the way. But he was there and breathing and she couldn’t help but thank the Bulb.
“It’s okay. I would have told you as soon as I knew but I wasn’t sure where you’d be. Never mind, though, you found me, and now I’m telling you. I’m pregnant, Amethar. We’re going to be parents.” She couldn’t help but smile wide as she said it, fresh tears falling. Amethar smiled too, stooping down to kiss her fiercely again. One of his large hands rested on her stomach, gripping the front of her dress, too, and Catherine sobbed.