Chapter 107: A New Life Unfolds

Soft clinking of cutlery against the fine plate on the dining hall. Reika was seated at the long oaken table, and on her plate lay a few vegetables with a slice of seared meat on it. Usually, smells will delight her nostrils but it didn't. Her Appetite had grown steadily slow through days taken over by Viktor and Alfonso's deadly adventure to catch the golden spider rose, and the infirmity that Alpha Ileus was getting deeper into. "Luna, you have to eat," Daisy whispered, drifting closer to the table. An edge of alarm ringed her voice. "I am trying," Reika answered with a forced small smile. She stabbed at one piece of vegetable on her plate and then to her lips; upon swallowing, immediately after, the dizziness attacked. The room seemed to tilt; the sun glaring through the panes flared with incredible heat, like the licking from a blowtorch. Her hand flashed out to balance herself against the table. "Luna? Okay?" Daisy sounded like she called from a hill many miles away-distorted by what was pounding Reika's ears. "I.I don't feel-" The words were torn from Reika's mouth as nausea churned through her. She barely had time to push her chair back before she vomited onto the marble floor. Gasps like a tidal wave ran around the room. Servants surged forward, but before any could reach her, Reika slumped sideways, her vision going black. She slowly opened her eyes to the faint scent of lavender. The softness of her bed beneath her was a great contrast to the cold, hard floor of the dining hall. Her vision adjusted through slow blinking to the dim light within her chambers. "Daisy?" she croaked, her voice hoarse and dry. "I'm here, Luna," Daisy whispered, materializing beside her with a cool wet cloth laid delicately on her forehead. What had happened?" Reika asked no louder than a whisper. "You fainted," Daisy replied, alarm creeping into her voice. "I brought you here without telling anyone. The palace doesn't need more rumors milling about." Reika exhaled and shut her eyes. "Thank you." "I have sent for the royal physician," Daisy said. "He shall be here in no time. Minutes later indeed, the door swung ajar to admit Dr. Carver, a man long avowed as a physician to royalty, grey hair and lined face spoke of decades of experience; an immediate air of calm enveloped the man. "Luna," he said with a bow. "So I am informed, you fainted. I have to check on your condition." Reika nodded weakly, letting him take her pulse and shine a light in her eyes, asking this and that. "Have you been eating and sleeping well?" he asked. Reika looked sheepish. "Not really. There's just so much to worry about." Dr. Carver nodded knowingly. "Stress can be an agony to the body. But I'd like to do just one more test to make sure, though." An hour later, Dr. Carver returned with a small vial of liquid in his hand and an expression Reika could not quite place. "Luna," he said with a direct and sure voice, "I have news to bring." Reika's heart skipped a beat. "What?" You are pregnant, he brought the news succinctly out, words suspended in mid-air like a thin taut thread. Reika stared hard at him, her brain trying to wrap itself over such news. "Pregnant?" she whispered. "Yes," Dr. Carver told her, "you are in the early stages-about two months or so. Fainting and nausea, especially mixed with stress, is a common symptom. You need rest, Luna, for both yours and the baby's health. Instinctively, Reika's hand flew to her abdomen, her fingers shaking. An avalanche of emotions stormed her-heartfelt delight and utter disbelief, a pang of sorrow. "…I am going to be a mother," she whispered to herself, mostly. Daisy, who had not uttered a word all this while, took a step forward, a huge smile spreading on her face. "Oh, Luna, that's great news! Instead, Reika felt the swell of tears rise up. "It is," she choked, her voice shaking. "But Ileus… He's not here to share in it." As the doctor and Daisy left her to rest, Reika lay in bed and went back in her mind to when she and her husband first married. It had been a marriage for reasons of political stability rather than because either of the two had cared for one another. They lived together strangers, six months of never sharing anything meaningful. Then one night, there came the night. She remembered that the moonlight streamed through casementing in their chambers and delineated strength-chiseled features in an argentine glow, and he fell upon her tautly limbed, melting the customary clumsiness of abandon. "Reika," husked this awkward man's whisper-voice, "I have played so utterly at being fool setting you as if upon some altar or unreachable star-or dreaming-goddess end A soft, sure touch that leapt palpitations in his heart as he found her hand. That night, yes, they did let their defenses down against each other-to lie themselves open, vulnerable. Teary eyes stared back at the ceiling for it was the first time alone in this bed his absences cut so deep. Reika splayed a reassuring hand on her tummy, though a sad face was traced by her smile. "You're here because of that night," she whispered. "Because we finally let ourselves love." The next morning, Dr. Carver was back to see her. "You are improving," he said, nodding in approval. "But you mustn't overexert yourself, Luna. Stress is your biggest enemy at this time." "I know," Reika said. Her voice was firmer than it was yesterday. She poured some orange juice into a glass and came back into the room with a full tray; the picture of determination was stamped across her face. "You are going to eat this whole meal, Luna. No arguments." Reika softly laughed. "Yes, Daisy." And the more she ate, her resolution began to set. She could not fester in her sorrow nor in fear of what lay in store in the future. She had her child, who needed a strong mother for her. In the late afternoon, she summoned all the people to the throne in the palace and with a stronger voice started talking. "I know it is hard now, but really, we have to be able to take everything. The Alpha shall return to us, and until then, we must carry on. Certainly at this point, more than ever is when this kingdom needs our unity." People nodded, their eyes aglow with resolution now. It wasn't until the sun had finally dipped behind the mountains and set the sky to orange and pink that Reika retired to her chambers. She sat in silence in the window seat, watching the greying scenery with her protecting hand across her stomach. Her mind strayed to Viktor and Alfonso, who were still risking their lives in the Abyssal Valley to return with the golden spider rose for her. A knock at the door pulled her from her reverie. Daisy entered, pale-faced. "Luna," she said hesitantly. "There's word from the scouts." Reika's heart lurched. "About Viktor and Alfonso?" Daisy nodded. "Yes. But… it's not good news." Reika's breath caught, and her hand knotted over her abdomen. "Tell me," she whispered. Daisy hesitated then said, "They've been delayed. There was… an attack." Reika's world tilted again, and she was off running with the possibilities. Were they alive? Had they found the flower? Hardening her eyes, she stood. "Prepare the council," she said. "We need to be ready for whatever comes next."