"Because you are pregnant with twins" I let it spill out a little to bluntly. Her jaw drops and she puts her hand on her stomach.
"How do you know that?" she asked in a nicer tone. I proceed to tell her about the Haruspex and what we had to do to make sure the babies would be safe. "This protection spell is to protect them from me?" She says sadly.
I nod my head and say "They placed it because they did not know what would happen to the babies if you were to over use your powers. They cannot be harmed now, what so ever". She looks out the window.
"Can I come if I stay away from the fighting" She asks. not looking at me. I know she wants to help; I am just worried about her safety. Even though the babies are under a protection spell, she can still die.
But I do not want to make her sad so I tell her "Let us go talk to Thegan about it, and see what we can come up with". She smiles. Hopefully Thegan will back me up on this.
I get up and walk around the table, scooping her up in my arms I say to her "Do you want to know what they are?"
She squeaked and said "Of course I do". I sit down on the bed with her in my lap.
I lay my hand on her belly then I look her in the eye and say "A boy and a Girl, and they are healthy". Her eyes start to glass over, tears on the verge of spilling over. I hold her like that for a while, till Someone knocks on the door.
"Come in" I say. It is the maids here to dress Terra. I see the dresses they have brought, all of them are going to be tight on her before too long. I will see about getting her some new ones.
"I will step out while you get dress love. Meet me in the dining hall?" I ask. she nods and smiles at me as I walk out the door.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Terra
Pregnant. I cannot believe that I am going to be a mother. I do not know how to be a mother. What if I am bad at it? I am going to gain so much weight. Huge, I am going to be huge. Two, we are having two. I can barely handle myself. How am I going to handle two babies? My mind is running a hundred miles an hour thinking of the what ifs and can i's. Is it possible to be completely excited and terrified at the same time? Yes, yes it is. As I sit there waiting for the maids to get finished with my hair, I bite my lip almost panicking. 'I can do this; I can be a mother' I keep trying to tell myself. I mean, I do have enre and Thegan for help. He seemed very happy about it. Thinking of how he held me and comforted me calms my mind down. I have nine months to worry about all this stuff. There is no sense in making myself upset when they haven't even been born yet.
The older maid leans down to me and whispers "Congratulations My lady". she knows? I wonder if everyone knows.
"Does everyone know?" I ask her.
She shakes her head no saying "Just Mrs. Anna and myself and the king My lady". I smile at her and she squeezes my hand. She tells me when the jewelry maker is going to visit and how Enre asked her to have the dress maker visit as well. He has thought that far ahead, I am not even showing yet.
When they get finished, I head to the dining hall Where the men are waiting. When I walk in they all stand. Enre pulls my seat out for me and I sit down. "Are you hungry sister?" Thegan asks.
"Very" I say with a small laugh. They all chuckle.
"I do not believe Aiden has heard the news yet love" Enre says to me.
I grin when Aiden says "What news?" I look at Enre and he motions for me to say something.
"Enre is going to be a Father" I say to Aiden.
He smiled real big and said "Congratulations, That’s great news. A new baby in the castle, the maids are going to have a field day". Enre clears his throat and holds up two fingers. Aiden looks at him funny and then it hits him "Twins, you’re having Twins?" he says.
Enre nods his head yes and says "A boy and a girl" Smiling ear to ear. We carry on like that for quite a while. I get my belly full and am listening to the men talk about a little bit of everything. Then comes the subject of me going with them to fight Molven. They bicker back and forth on the subject. Thegan thinks it will be alright to come but stay on the outside of the fighting and Enre doesn’t want me to go at all.
"I have an idea" Aiden says. after he looks at me and smiles.
"Out with it then" Thegan says obviously irritated.
"What if she comes with us, and if they agree the Haruspex come as well to protect her. If it gets too dangerous, they can transport her out of there. Plus, they have visions, so it may come in handy if they do come" That could work.
Enre wrinkles his forehead in thought. then he looks to Thegan saying "If she insists on coming, that is the only way I am going to let her go, we have more than just her to think about now." He is being really stern. I understand why he is not wanting me to go, But I feel like I need to be there. I don't know why. It is just a feeling I have.
"Understood Brother. Aiden, go talk to the Haruspex and see what they think" Thegan says to him.
"Yes My lord" Aiden says leaving the table to find them. Enre and Thegan talk more about strategy and the amount of guards they have available.
I am supposed to meet the jeweler soon, so I have to figure out a way to get away from the guys. Sitting there thinking, The library pops in my head. "Can I go to the library for a while?" I ask Enre when they were in-between subjects.
"Yes, I can take you my dear" he says standing up.
"It’s ok, I know where it is, you guys finish your talks" I say, forcing a fake smile. I don’t want to lie to him, but I am trying to surprise him.
"Are you sure, I don’t mind" he says.
"I will be fine, If I need anything I will ask one of the maids ok" I lean in and kiss him on the cheek. he blushes a little and says
"Ok My Love, I will be here when you get done ok". I nod my head and smile at him, then head to meet the Jeweler.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Enre
Sitting at the long dining hall table, Thegan and I discuss strategy for the impending battle. They have a lot of men, and we will probably be out numbered. If we do not come up with a good plan, we stand to lose everything. That’s is not something I am willing to accept. There is too much at stake. The strategy we have come up with so far should work if everyone keeps their ducks in a row, so to speak. It will be hard to carry out, but they will never see us coming from the other side of the mountain. There is an old trader’s pathway that would lead us over the mountain that has not been used in many years. Hell, we are not even sure if it passable still. The people in the northern part of Aelmere use to use it to travel back in forth between villages. It became too dangerous to use because of landslides and the few carnivores that roam the mountain. So they built a road that goes around it. Almost doubling their travel time. Better safe than sorry as they say.
"The only other way to get to them if the path is not stable would be to attack them directly and prey that we have more of our people join in" Thegan says. I know they have a lot of slaves. The question is, will they be in any shape to help us.
"When the Haruspex arrive, we can ask them and see if they have seen anything pertaining to the battle" I say. hopefully they can give us some insight on about what is going to happen.
Terra must have found herself a good book to read. She has been gone for quite a while. The way she looked at all of the books in the library, she could probably live in there and never leave. I snickered to myself. The Door to the dining hall swung open, Slamming against the wall. Two Maids and a guard run in. Me and Thegan both shot to our feet.
"What’s this about?" he said in a stern voice. I have got a really bad feeling about this. "ANSWER ME!" He said. The Guard bows and starts speaking really fast. To the point where we cannot understand him.
I put my had on his shoulder and tell him "Calm down and tell me what has happened" The young Guard takes a deep breath and holds up a strip of blue material. I take it in my hand, recognizing it immediately. It is the same material as Terra’s dress. My heart starts beating fast and I can feel my anger starting to rush through me like a raging river. "Where was this?"<
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"It was in the cellar my lord" one of the maids said. "I went to fetch the wine for dinner and I found it laying on the ground, no one goes down there but us maids and that’s when I knew something was wrong" She said sniffling. "I Helped the princess into a dress of the same color this morning" Twisting her hands in her apron. "I took it straight to the guards and we searched around for her through the entire castle, but she is nowhere to be found and a few of the staff are missing as well My lord" She says lowering her head.
I fall back into my seat. My mind racing. What could have happened to her? She should have been safe here in the castle. Who could have done this? I lean over and put my head in my hands. Tears slipping down my face. I have let her down again. Not just her, But our babies as well.
"I want all of the maids, ushers that are in this castle and the captain of the guard in here immediately, Go NOW" Thegan barks out at the maids and single guard still standing there. He comes over to me and lays a hand on my shoulder and says "We will find her Brother, and bring her home" gritting his teeth.
I Hope.
To Be Continued
Essentia
The Torment of Aelmere
Coming Soon
Look For
Book 2
Of the
The Curse of Aelmere Series
Fall 2016
Essentia Page 21