BABY ROYAL

by Bella Grant

  It was time he returned home. He grabbed his cell phone from his pants pocket and called Rick. “I need a pickup. Now!”

  “Right away,” the voice came back over the speaker.

  He sat on the edge of the bed, contemplating his situation while he waited. He was well aware their time at the castle was even shorter than he had realized. He hadn’t seen or heard anything of the Wyatts since he got to the village, but that was no indication they weren’t weaseling their way toward the crown. He was the only one who could stop it, and he’d blown it.

  Why couldn’t he have simply chosen any girl? So many had been willing, but he had to fall in love with the lowest of them—at least in their eyes. Now his heart was set on making Elena his wife, but he knew he would have to give her the time to grow into her feelings. He was taking a big risk leaving now when they were on rocky ground, but hopefully she would hear he had avenged her. Hopefully, after a few weeks, she would miss him so much she would come looking for him.

  He smiled at the thought as he heard the car honking outside. He jumped up and quickly left the place that had left an unsavory aftertaste.

  Elena

  Six months later…

  Elena sat outside the barn door, reading yet another letter Jason had sent to her. Like all the others, he expressed his feelings for her and his intention to come back to the village to see her. And like all the other times before, she rolled the paper into a ball and tossed it into the trash.

  A ripple began on the left side of her stomach, and she watched as the tide rolled to the other side. She smiled and placed her hand on it as the movement continued. She knew she should tell Jason she was pregnant, but that would mean inviting him back into her life, and she wasn’t sure she wanted that at all. She had never given him the impression she wanted to leave the farm, and she had nothing to reassure her he would leave the castle or be involved in a long-distance relationship. But she didn’t want anything like that either. She wanted a simple, quiet life, and he was incapable of maintaining one.

  She pressed against the wooden exterior of the barn and eased herself to her feet. She was almost six months pregnant, but she felt like she was ready to go into labor. Her feet were swollen, her back ached, and her sense of smell was so frighteningly sensitive she found it impossible to work with the animals as much as she used to. As heavy as she felt, she knew she needed some exercise, so she decided to go into town.

  She was almost at the gate when Emma ran up to her with something covered under a white napkin. “I wanted you to have this.” She beamed as she stretched out her hands to Elena.

  “What’s this?”

  “It’s pumpkin pie. I know you love it. Will it hurt the baby?” she asked, her eyes bulging as she realized she might be less help than she had planned to be.

  Elena laughed softly. “No. Luckily for me, this baby eats almost anything.”

  “Oh, great,” she replied, and her smile returned. “So, how are you? Going into town?”

  Emma had always been the one friend Elena had, if she could be called that. She had become even nicer since Jason left. As a matter of fact, the entire town had been acting differently. No one treated her as an outcast anymore, and they welcomed her into their homes although she never really went with them. Elena had been thrown by the weird behavior and unusual smiles she started getting from the townspeople.

  Shortly after he’d left, they had held a town meeting, and she had learned that Prince Jason had forced Charlotte to say she had made up a lie about them. Some of them believed Charlotte confessed under duress, but the majority believed her and pitied Elena. Not for the lie that she had been the victim of but because they felt the prince had taken advantage of her. They rallied around her, protecting her and the baby from the eyes and ears of the prince. He hadn’t been back in months, and they hoped, along with her—or the impression she gave them, anyway—that he wouldn’t return.

  “I’m going for a walk,” she told the girl and took the pie she offered. “Well, I was. Give me a second. I need to take this inside.”

  “I’ll walk with you,” Emma volunteered, and started off before Elena made her first step. “So, how does it feel?”

  Elena looked at her, unsure what she was talking about, until she saw her eyes glued to her stomach. “Oh. There are good days and bad. Today, he’s moving around quite a bit.” The girl stared with wide-eyed wonder, like she had never seen a pregnant woman before. “Would you like to touch it?”

  Her eyes danced with excitement and she nodded her head enthusiastically. Elena took her hand and placed it on the highest point of her stomach just as the baby began to move again.

  “Oh.” Emma giggled and jumped when she felt it. Afterwards, she rested her hand more comfortably on it, flattening her palm and rubbing over the areas that moved like jelly under her touch. “It feels so weird.”

  “It’s a nice feeling,” Elena corrected her gently. “Sometimes a little uncomfortable.”

  “I bet. I wish I was pregnant,” Emma said sadly as she withdrew her hand. “I’ve always wanted a family, three kids.”

  “You’re young. It’s still possible. And I’m sure you don’t want it to happen to you like it did to me,” Elena half-joked.

  “That’s true!” Emma exclaimed, almost without sensitivity. “Sorry, that’s not what I meant, but it was a really nasty thing the prince did, forcing you to give yourself to him and leaving. If he ever did that to me, I would have gone to that castle and made him pay, prince or not.”

  Elena listened while she ranted, but she didn’t correct her. Everyone, for months, had been under the impression that Jason had forced her to have sex. She hadn’t said anything to the contrary, more out of shame than anything else. She was afraid to admit to the people who had grown to hate him even more than they had before that she had fallen for the prince. She didn’t want to see him because she knew what his presence would evoke. She hadn’t seen him in months, but she knew, especially with his child growing in her, that her heart would remember him as quickly as her thoughts. She wasn’t sure she would be able to withstand him another time, and she was afraid.

  “What’s done is done,” Elena replied softly. They reached the back door, and Elena excused herself as she hobbled up the steps and into the kitchen. She set the pie down on the counter and returned outside. Emma was all smiles as she waited patiently, and she grew animated when she saw Elena return. They left, and having said enough as it was, they walked in silence for a while longer.

  Elena received many congratulations and wishes for the best from the other villagers as she passed them. Even Charlotte wasn’t as bitter anymore, and she gave her a half smile before disappearing. Elena knew she still felt embarrassed, but she didn’t hold it against her. Charlotte, it seemed, never forgave herself. Or maybe she was simply envious that she wasn’t the one bearing the prince’s child.

  She returned home from her task, feeling exhausted over something that was usually so simple to do.

  “Elena, where have you been?” Olivia asked as soon as she returned.

  “I went into town,” Elena explained. “I can still do that, right?”

  “Hmm,” her mother grunted and placed the back of her hand on her forehead. “Your eyes look dull.”

  “Mom, you worry too much,” Elena complained and walked around her.

  “Are you sure you’re feeling well?”

  “Mom! I’m fine.”

  But she wasn’t. When she moved too quickly, her eyes glazed, and she stumbled into the wall. Her hands flailed, and she clawed at air as she felt the ground move beneath her feet. She swooned, but before she could hit the ground, Gregory’s large hands scooped her up. She lay limp in his arms like a rag doll as Olivia rushed over and offered support.

  “Elena! Elena!” Olivia called frantically. “Quick, get her to her room. I’ll get some warm water and a rag. I knew something was wrong with her. I just knew it,” she wailed as she hurried to get the water.

  G
regory practically dragged a limp Elena into her bedroom and laid her gently on the bed. Elena’s head rolled to the side, like a drunken woman who had no control of her body. Her eyes were half open, and so was her mouth. She was moaning, and Gregory grew more frightened by the minute. He held her hand and watched the door constantly for Olivia’s return. He sprang to his feet as soon as he saw her enter the room, and he gave her space to act.

  “Elena, can you hear me?”

  “Mom,” Elena whimpered, and tried to move her hand. “Baby.”

  Olivia’s eyes darted to Elena’s stomach, and she quickly pulled the shirt over her head. “What? What is it!”

  “Hurts,” Elena cried as tears filled her eyes. She started to sob, and her body rocked as her tears came more forcefully.

  Olivia turned to a helpless Gregory, who still stood by the door. “I think we need to call the prince.”

  “No!” Elena cried as she found the strength to grip her mother’s hand. “Don’t!”

  “Elena, something could be wrong with the baby. Now is not the time to be stubborn,” Olivia persisted.

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but your mother’s right. If something is wrong, the prince can help. He has the money and the means to get you to a good doctor,” Gregory added and stepped closer to the bed again.

  “I don’t need his help,” Elena answered stubbornly.

  “Now is not the time for pride!” Gregory shouted. “God knows what’s happening, and I am not watching my daughter die.”

  “I’m not dying,” Elena said, as she rose on her elbows. Olivia applied the wet rag to her forehead as Elena pulled the shirt down again. “I think I was out in the sun for too long. See? All better.”

  In truth, she was not feeling as well as she tried to make them believe, but she didn’t want the prince involved. The town had shut itself off from the royal family, pledging their support so Jason would have no reason to return. That was done all for her, and she wasn’t reneging on that contract because she was feeling flushed. For all she knew, this was normal for any pregnancy, and the feeling that overwhelmed her would soon dissipate.

  “I don’t believe that,” Olivia replied. She gripped Elena by the chin and turned her head to face her. “Your eyes look the same.”

  “Mom, I’m going to lay down. I’ll be fine when I get up. If I’m not, feel free to call the prince.” She gave them a half smile and cocked her head to the side.

  Gregory grunted and walked out, and Olivia glared at her disbelievingly. “If you don’t feel better in the morning, I’m going to personally pay Prince Jason a visit. This business of yours is nonsense, not wanting to tell him about the child. He should be here, accepting his responsibilities.”

  Elena wasn’t sure how accepting he would be of a baby, another sore point with her. “Mom, not now,” she replied sadly. Olivia didn’t say anything else, and she got up and left the room.

  Elena felt queasy for hours after they had gone, but she couldn’t show it. She wasn’t sure what had happened or why she had almost fainted, and she hoped with everything in her it was simply a passing phase. She didn’t want to lose her child any more than she wanted to lose its father, but this was the one piece of him she could have.

  She turned her head to the window and imagined him standing on the balcony of his castle, looking across into the village, the child moving in her stomach unknown to him. And so it would remain. Elena knew, as she thought about it, it wasn’t exactly what she had wanted. No, she wanted something entirely different, but she was afraid to dream of it, or to seize it, for fear it would slip away. She held onto the one thing she had, and her eyes filled with tears. She squeezed them shut, blocking out everything inside and outside of her, welcoming the darkness that was to be her relief. Instead, the darkness only brought back memories of a night so long ago when fate had brought them together in the most cruel but beautiful way.

  Jason

  Jason swirled the egg around the plate, his train of thought lost as the circular stains of grease made an abstract pattern on the china. He didn’t have his usual appetite, which wasn’t lost on his parents.

  “What’s on your mind?” his father asked him as he paused in his own eating to observe the atypical behavior of his son.

  Jason swirled still, his eyes far away and the world around him completely drowned out. In his mind’s eye, he was on Elena’s farm, sitting on a log, watching her play with the horses. She would come out to him with a smile so bright it lit up everything around her and followed her everywhere. She would almost glide along the grass as she tended to her farm or weeding the garden, her face filled with life and pleasure over doing something as menial as gardening, like it gave her purpose and her life meaning. As soon as she finished, she would flit over to him, settle on his lap like a butterfly, and lock her hands around his neck. She would lower her head like she always did and kiss him so gently he could hardly feel her touch, yet she would ignite a fire that was impossible to quench.

  “Jason!” his mother called, and his head snapped around.

  He gave her a blank stare. “What?”

  “Where were you just now?” she asked him, her eyes curious as she looked at him like she didn’t know him.

  “Uh,” he began and sank into the chair. The fork clattered onto the plate, and he ruffled his hair as he tried to gather his thoughts. “Nowhere. Just thinking.”

  “Must have been intense,” his father said suggestively. “You were a goner for a minute.”

  Jason eased himself forward and rested his hands on the table. “I don’t get it.”

  “Don’t get what?” his mother asked.

  “The people in the village—they gave us an ultimatum. Marry one of their daughters or we would lose their loyalty for good. I didn’t marry one of them. I chose one, but I didn’t go through with it, so for all they know, I could easily go back on that. So why have they shown us such favor in the last few months?”

  “Who cares?” his mother was quick to comment as she started eating again. “I’m merely glad we don’t have to worry about the Wyatts anymore, and our throne is secure.”

  “I know,” Jason replied softly, but he still felt uneasy. “Something isn’t right. And I’ve been there several times in between, as a show of good faith, and not once have I seen her.”

  “Seen who?” she asked, having already forgotten the name of the girl she had tried to help him woo months ago.

  “Elena, Mom,” Jason snapped.

  “Well, maybe she doesn’t want to see you,” she said tersely. She gave him a blank stare as she chewed her food slowly.

  “Clarise, do you have to be so cold?” King Jaimie asked, his voice betraying his sympathy for Jason.

  “What for? I mean, she is a village girl, and a weird one at that. She doesn’t like dresses, or perfume, or anything ordinary girls like.”

  “So? That doesn’t make her any less of a decent woman,” King Jaimie argued.

  “Oh, like hell it doesn’t. I never wanted my son with any of those…those uncomely girls. He can do a lot better, if you ask me, and now that he can, I don’t see why there is any need to dwell on it.”

  King Jaimie shook his head. “Don’t listen to her, son.”

  “I’m not,” Jason said and ground his teeth. “But something is going on. I have this strange feeling in the pit of my stomach.”

  “Maybe it’s hunger. You barely ate,” his mother mocked.

  “Laugh all you want, Mom,” Jason retorted. “But I don’t trust this. They are up to something, and it has to do with Elena. I mean, think about it. When I was there, no one liked her. They treated her like an outcast because she was different, but now, out of the blue, they all have nice things to say about her.”

  “Well, good for her,” Queen Clarise chimed in.

  “You don’t get it. I think they’re hiding something.”

  “Maybe she left the village,” his father suggested.

  Jason thought about that for a few
seconds. “No, she won’t leave that farm. She’s there. She told me too many times how she loves being there, and that’s where she finds peace. She wouldn’t leave.”

  “So, go back and see her,” his father urged.

  Queen Clarise’s eyes almost popped out of her head. “I beg your pardon? Why would he willingly go back there? I say good riddance.”

  Jason pinched his lower lip and sank back into the chair again. “Mom, stop, please,” he beseeched her. He pushed the chair back and stood. “Excuse me.” He slapped the napkin onto the table and walked to the balcony. He needed some air.

  But the balcony on the west wing pointed directly to the village, and Jason was reminded more of Elena. He was torn between accepting that he didn’t need to get involved with her again and his actual desire to see her again. He hadn’t cared to speak with the other villagers on any of the occasions he had gone back, but he’d had to entertain them as a show of good faith. He didn’t want to risk their turning back on their renewed loyalty to them. He was distracted for too long, despite trying to leave, and now that he thought deeply about it, he couldn’t help thinking they were trying to keep him away from her. But why?

  He wasn’t aware that his father had come up behind him until he cleared his throat. He jumped and turned his head sideways.

  “A little nervous?” his father asked and smiled as he leaned against the wall, his hands propped up against the edge of the balcony.

  “Confused, really,” Jason told him and sighed deeply. “I don’t get it.”

  “Well, here’s my bit of advice. If you love this girl, go after her.”

  Jason choked on the laugh that sprang from him unexpectedly. “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  “Who said anything about love?” Jason asked and looked across the green canvas below them.

  “You did.” His father leaned over and whispered, “I hear the way you talk. As a matter of fact, I remember that feeling all too well.”