Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Edelgard cracked her eyes open as light filtered in through the windows, though she closed them again as she snuggled into Hubert. She still didn't feel too great and didn't want to get up. They would probably just be spending another day or two in bed while she recovered from the sudden stress-induced sickness. Still, she couldn't believe she was already pregnant.. She had expected to wait a few more months, but no, she simply couldn't wait. The magic had almost definitely worked... She would have to speak to Mirjam, though. Hubert kissed her head and spoke softly. "How do you feel?" "Still not great..." She sighed. She really hated feeling like this. There was nothing she could really do about it, though. All she could do was wait for this to pass. Hopefully it'd be gone tomorrow or the following day. The source of her stress was now past and she didn't have to wait any longer for what she'd been dreading. All she could do now was wait... She at least didn't feel as bad as she had yesterday. She didn't feel as overheated. "Well, we'll just wait until you do feel better, okay? I'll stay by your side until then." His voice was soft and he ran a hand down the side of her face. She leaned into it and smiled. He loved her so much and she wouldn't trade it for the world. She still wasn't sure if her own feeligns were romantic or not but...she did love him deeply. She knew she couldn't ask for a better husband. He would be forever loyal to her no matter what. She would always have him regardless of what good or bad times came. She wasn't entirely sure about what would happen with the consorts, but she had several months until she even met them… "Thank you... Though I probably should talk to Mirjam..." She sighed. It was best to let the woman know that she'd used magic to be impregnated. Though waiting a week for sex... She had honestly enjoyed it quite a bit and was a bit put out that they couldn't have any for a little while. Then again, she didn't feel great, so it was kind of the last thing she should be worrying about. She needed to rest and recover... She really had no idea what to do now that she was pregnant, though... She had expected to wait a while longer before attempting for kids. "I can go get her later. It probably is best you talk to her, considering yesterday... Do you feel any more up to eating than yesterday?" Edelgard shook her head. She really wasn't feeling any hungrier than she'd been. Her stomach still felt uneasy and off. She knew she needed to eat, though... She now had two little lives inside of her. She needed to provide not only herself with nutrition but them as well... The idea of all of this was absolutely so scary for her... She at least had Hubert there to help support her, though. She knew he wouldn't leave her. And she had the Imperial women too. They had all gone through pregnancy at least once, so she had a support network of those that would be able to help her. And she had a knowledgeable midwife on her side as well. She had the best care that was available to anybody. She knew she wouldn't be let down. "You should still try to get down what you can... Maybe some bread and butter with some broth?" Hubert suggested. "Yeah... Stuff that's easy on the stomach." She really didn't have any desire to eat, but she knew she needed to. Though Mirjam had warned her about morning sickness even if the name was a misnomer. She might very much have a hard time keeping anything down for the first while in her pregnancy. She would try to eat, though, after she got over this bout of soft illness. Hubert got up and flagged down a servant, asking for breakfast, then came back over to her. He sat up and pulled her into his lap, then she rested her head against his shoulder. He rested a hand on her forehead and it cooled down considerably. That...felt really wonderful. She snuggled and nuzzled against him, wanting to be as close to him as physically possible. She just wanted him to be near and hold her... She felt incredibly clingy and needy today, probably because of yesterday. The rest of the day was relatively quiet and her meeting with Mirjam was mostly just telling the woman and a basic checkup over her health. She also gave Edelgard a roughly estimated due date of late Lone Moon. It was hard to believe how long pregnancy really was... She had known it was roughly nine months, but to hear it be so far out.... It felt like it was going to take forever to meet her children. She was pretty sure she was going to be sick of being pregnant relatively early on, but it was only going to get worse and worse as time progressed. Changes would be slow and subtle, but they would accumulate and be noticeable in due time. She wasn't looking forward to this, but at least she had chosen when and how she'd gotten pregnant... Though, in the end, the advisers were still pushing her from the sidelines. As the sun dipped below the horizon, they snuggled up into bed and fell asleep again. As the next day dawned, Edelgard did feel a fair bit better and she ran a hand through her hair as she sat up. Hubert blinked and yawned as she did so. "Good morning... You're looking a lot more energetic today. You have the spark back in your eyes." He smiled up at her and sat up next to her. "Yeah... I feel like my fever's broken. I should still probably take it easy for today, but I feel a lot better and like I can actually handle being active again. Maybe I could do some light drills for ten or so minutes." Her stomach still felt a little queasy, but she felt like she could handle some light drills as long as she didn't get too intense with it. "Please don't push yourself too hard too soon, my-- Edelgard. You should probably check with the healer too." Hubert's voice was quiet, worry tinging every word. She touched their noses together and smiled at him. "I'll take it easy today. Think you'd like to play some more games? Or maybe I could finally study that chess book myself..." That would be nice. She really needed to study that book. And she could ask Hubert questions as needed. He was a good teacher, she just really struggled with chess in general. She wanted to master the game if at all possible. Though once she was back on the throne, she'd be busy... Between child rearing and the throne... She would definitely have a hard time keeping up with her hobbies. "I'd just like to do something today." "All right..." They got dressed and headed down to the training grounds. She stayed true to her word and only did about ten minutes worth of drills which was more than enough to wind her. She was far from a hundred percent, but she could at least function somewhat now. It would probably take another day or two until she was back up to full. After the drills, they met with the healer and he did a checkup on her. He was surprised just how quickly she was recovering, but she wasn't going to argue. She wanted to get better. She knew pushing herself with physical activity wouldn't help anything, but she was at least keeping it easy. Mirjam had told her to be careful with the exercise now too... It was still recommended for pregnant women, but she had to be a bit more careful especially once her belly started to show around three months. They headed back to their room and Hubert offered her chess book, then they settled on the bed. Yeah, things were making a lot more sense now that she had the book in her own hands. Him reading and explaining things had helped a bit, but not quite as much as just being able to read it herself. This was a library copy so she couldn't exactly mark it up. Frustrating. She had a lot of thoughts and questions and clarifications from Hubert on the matter. She used her magic pen to write thoughts down in a stray journal she had, so she hopefully wouldn't lose them. She really needed her own version of the book to be able to mark up... But they weren't anywhere near where she could get a second copy. The day wound down and she felt good enough to take a bath which...was good with how long it took her to feel up to it. They slipped into the bath and she stretched out, the cool water feeling nice against her skin. She still felt a little warm, but she was pretty sure her fever had broken by this point. Or there might be some residual but the worst of it was over. She just wanted to sit and soak for a while which Hubert seemed to pick up on. He didn't push her to do anything until she made a move in order to wash his hair. True to his word, it was pretty greasy. "Sorry I kept you from washing your hair for so long..." She felt bad, but she'd been under the weather... She hoped he didn't hold it against her. Hubert shrugged. "Now you see why I wash it everyday. But it's fine. I'd rather stay with you and ensure you feel better than leave you alone and have you feel abandoned." He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. She nodded, though she still felt bad. But it wasn't like she'd been forcing him to stay with her... He would've been fine for the time he would've taken a bath. "I would've been fine for the time you'd needed to take a bath. You didn't need to stay with me 24/7. I would've been fine for a little while on my own. I spent most of yesterday and the day before sleeping anyway..." She'd mostly been in and out of consciousness. Her appetite still hadn't really returned, but she knew she'd have to try to eat tomorrow regardless of how she felt. She actually had weight to gain over the course of her pregnancy and she dropped it much too easily if let to her own devices. A few days wasn't the end of the world, but she just knew that she to not keep sleeping on eating. She had to try to get down everything she possibly could for not only her own health but that of her children. Hubert shrugged and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "I'd rather stay with you than not... You mean everything to me, my... Edelgard. Absolutely everything." His voice was incredibly soft and she nodded, letting her head rest against his chest. He was almost too loyal for his own good half the time... But that was one reason she'd chosen him as her husband... He was loyal and wouldn't leave her alone... She didn't want to be forced to be left alone with children should the marriage not work out. Even if she never truly reciprocated his feelings, she knew that he would always be there for her. Through the good and the bad, until death... He would be there with her until the very end. "And that's exactly why I chose you..." She leaned up and kissed him softly, nuzzling their noses together... She was glad to have him as her husband. It may never fully turn to romantic love on her end but she didn't regret anything at all. She cared about him so much and wanted him to always be with her. Even if she did fall in love with the consorts, she would always be glad to have him by her side. Eventually, though, they got out of the bath and settled in for the night. Hubert dried her hair with the low-grade fire magic and she yawned afterward. They curled up together in bed and fell into the arms of slumber, her tucked up against him with everything feeling right in the world.