Oh My, I Messed Up the Story

Left with no other choice, Franz and Mariela spilled the beans a week later. She needed the excuse to stay in her chambers. Apparently here, like in 1800s England, it was normal to stay in bed for the entire duration of a pregnancy.

I couldn't even imagine that. I had coworkers who kept teaching right up until their water broke.

One particularly eventful school year a teacher started going into labor right there in the staffroom. Her husband was called immediately and the vice principal was given the honor of driving her to the hospital.

I felt bad for the substitute they called in who had to explain to all those little first graders what happened to their teacher. That must have been super awkward.

Franz left Sir Marino guarding Mariela's door when he made the pregnancy announcement at dinner. I nearly jumped out of my skin from the deadly aura Sigmund gave off under a thin veneer of false politeness.

Rosenia seemed miffed that she hadn't realized it when she came to visit but other than that I couldn't sense much hostility from her. The king and queen exchanged nervous glances but that was the extent of it before they offered congratulations.

Al was as nonchalant as usual when it came to matters involving his family. He didn't really care what happened to any of them. I couldn't blame him but it was still sad.

The entire atmosphere was so awkward that I took it upon myself to be the one to break the silence after the bomb was dropped. "Congratulations, Franz. I wish peace and good health to your first child."

"Thank you, Katie," he said with a hint of relief showing through his stoic expression.

I stomped on Al's foot under the table so he would say something. He caught my drift and coughed before speaking. "Yes, many blessings on your child."

The queen finally spoke up though her words belied her true thoughts. "This child will be a blessing to the kingdom of Annalaias. Please pass my congratulations onto Mariela."

"Welcoming the next generation is something worth celebrating," the king said gruffly. "When is the child expected to be born?"

"Early summer," Franz said a bit stiffly. He was probably nervous that he would be asked why he had held off the announcement so long.

Rosenia smiled sweetly though I knew there was venom in that smile. She was preparing to put on a show.

"Dear me, that means she must be halfway through her pregnancy. We could have celebrated the news so much sooner. Isn't that right, Father?"

The king scowled. "Indeed. The announcement should not have come this late."

"Forgive me, Father, Mariela and I wanted to be sure the baby was stable first so we would not disappoint any of you were it to be a false alarm."

It was a decent excuse. They might actually buy it. I watched the king's expressions closely as he thought it over though I pretended to be interested in my soup. It looked like he couldn't publicly fault his son no matter what he personally thought on the matter.

The king harrumphed and thoughtfully sipped his soup before answering. "Very astute of you. No matter. Sigmund, Alpheus, when do you plan on joining your brother in continuing the bloodline?"

Al seemed startled at being addressed. It wasn't something that happened often. The king most likely only did it to hide the fact that he wanted Sigmund to have an heir first.

"The time will come soon, Father," Sigmund said soothingly. "It is my responsibility as the crown prince."

He said this with a snide glance at Franz. He definitely believed that his position was being threatened. Oh boy. Interfamilial conflicts in this palace were about to get much worse.

I didn't expect my husband to speak up at all but Al surprised me by casually remarking, "Sigmund and Franz have greater obligation than I at this time. They have been married longer and are older than I am."

It seemed harmless on the surface but Sigmund would definitely see it as a dig at him personally. After all, he was the oldest and had been married twice as long as Franz had.

Was Al playing with fire on purpose? That wasn't like him.

I couldn't tell if that barb was meant to support Franz or was simply because he hated Sigmund. My money was on the latter but the crown prince wouldn't necessarily see it that way.

What was Al doing? Hadn't he been the one who told me to keep my head down until we could get out of here in the spring?

Being the forgotten prince sometimes had its benefits. No one replied to his questionable comment and the rest of the meal continued in silence.

"Want to tell me what that was about earlier?" I asked once we made it back to our room and I was busy changing out of my stiff princess dress into something more comfortable "I mean, he totally deserved it but…"

Al sighed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let them get to me. I was feeling petty and wanted to rub salt in his wound."

So I was right. Still, it was a reckless thing to do.

"Al, do you really need Sigmund to hate you anymore than he already does?"

"What can he do to me that he hasn't already?" he asked with a shrug.

I could think of a lot of things—I had read way too many books with both fictional and historical accounts of royal family conflict ending in death. My imagination may have run a bit wild and I panicked, running out to hug him only partially dressed.

"He could kill you!"

Al turned redder than a tomato as he felt the mostly bare skin of my back from catching me as I launched myself at him. I was only wearing a half corset and a skirt. "Actually, I think you're more likely to kill me right now than he is."

"Huh?"

I realized what I had done and squeaked in mortification before sprinting back behind the screen. "Sorry!"

"Do you want to beat Sigmund out for an heir so badly?" he teased.

Now my face was the one that was red. "Shut up! I wasn't thinking clearly for a second because I didn't want you to die."

"That may be the most romantic thing you've ever said to me."

I was about ready to tear my hair out. Why did he have to tease me like this?! My virgin heart was not equipped to handle these kinds of taunts.

"I take it back. You can go ahead and die now."

I heard him trying really hard not to crack up. Jerk.

"You wound me, my love," he said as seriously as he could after getting a hold of himself. Wait, I was wrong. He started cackling again.

"You're the worst!" I yelled, emerging fully-dressed from behind the screen to push him onto the couch, where he continued laughing. "Why do I even like you?"

"Probably because I'm so handsome."

I threw a pillow at him and huffed. He popped up from behind it a moment later, grinning. He really was handsome. A handsome idiot.