Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Edelgard stirred as dawn filtered through the windows. She felt a lot better now... She was pretty sure she was up to everything and getting back to normal now. She blinked when she felt a kiss on her forehead and looked up at Hubert with a smile. "Good morning, Hubert," she murmured, then closed her eyes as she nuzzled into his chest.   "Good morning, my-- Edelgard. Are you feeling any better?" His voice barely carried even with how close they were. It felt so warm... She didn't want to move. Warm in a good way. Like she was safe and all was right with the world.   She nodded a bit. "Yeah... But I think I'd rather lay here for a little bit first... I should probably get on my training drills soon, though." She was still frustrated that she couldn't keep up her more brutal training like she and Hubert had been doing before. But she had to protect the tiny lives now growing inside of her. She had heard stories of women falling and losing their pregnancies or such... That actually made her frown. Being on a horse was a fall risk... Could she do horseback falconry? She’d have to talk to Marjam later about it.   "All right. We can lay here for a bit then start on our day. Whatever you want to do, my love." Edelgard felt her cheeks heat up a bit at that. She knew he loved her but still... To hear it so blatantly. She could help but be flustered. But she hadn't told him not to say anything about it. She wanted him to express himself, so she wouldn't speak against it. She wasn't uncomfortable with it either. It still felt strange to be in a pretty much one-sided relationship. But she did care about him in her own way. She didn't know what she'd do without him. He was her loyal vassal and had done so much to help make sure she was cared for and loved.   "All right." She nuzzled against him and kept her eyes shut, laying there with him for a little while. Something did hit her as she laid there. "...We should probably decide on names at some point." Assuming both twins made it to delivery and beyond, they would need two names. She wasn't sure if there would be one of each or two of one sex. Plus, they could always grow up to not identify with their birth sex... She would have to be flexible while raising them. She wouldn't try to force them to stay in one lane... She had no real experience with that community, but if it came to that, she would investigate and learn as much as she possibly could. But, as usual, she was getting ahead of herself.   "Hm, that is true... But right now probably isn't the best time to discuss that."   "Agreed, but it just hit me. We should think on it. I know we won't know what they are until they're born, but still... Getting name ideas down would be good." She was wondering if there were any books on names and naming or if she'd have to delve into census data for that. She needed ideas. Then again, she did have dead siblings she could name her children after... One of her boy names would probably be Tobias. She could already decide on that.   "Yes, just give me a few days to think... For now, how about we get dressed and have breakfast?"   "Sounds good to me." Edelgard got out of bed and got dressed, resting a hand on her lower abdomen. She just... She couldn't believe she was pregnant. She wouldn't have minded children so much if it were on her terms, but to be forced into it... She hoped her children wouldn't resent her nor would she resent them. And she would have consorts in the mix potentially too. The family dynamics of the Imperial family were frustrating at absolute best. Now she was starting to see why there had been so many disagreements between the Imperial women. And she only had Hubert yet... She could only imagine how they were going to clash once she started to get to know the other women that he had proposed as consorts to her.   She blinked when he wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her head. "You seem preoccupied," he said softly.   "I am... So much change happened so fast. One day I was single and free, the next I was married. And now I'm pregnant with twins. I can't believe how quickly life changed." She sighed. Her life was irreversibly affected now. She wished she could go back to her first falconry season before she had the worries of court or anything like that. She missed the freedom even if she couldn't really remember it.   Hubert gave her a small squeeze. "It's all right. I can only imagine how you're feeling right now. It is a lot of change very quickly... I am worried about being a father even if I'm not really showing it right now. I...don't think I'm going to be a good one." He sighed. She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down into a soft kiss.   "I think you'll do just fine, Hubert. You're gentler and more understanding than you give yourself credit for. You're doing great with me. Just treat the kids like you would as if they were me. Treat them with the same kindness and respect as you give me and I think it'll turn out fine." She smiled up at him warmly. She felt like he'd be a fantastic father even if he didn't believe in himself. He was so kind, sweet, gentle, and understanding. And very patient. He'd never once lost his patience with her. If he could extend that to their children, it felt like it'd turn out just fine. Hubert didn't say anything and they finished up eating. After getting dressed, they headed down to the training grounds and she started running through some light drills. She was neither fast nor graceful due to the years of neglect of her skills. She had been on top of things while at Garreg Mach and before, but ever since returning, she had let them deteriorate. She really wanted to get back up to par, but without her being able to take strikes like this, it was hindering her abilities. But she had to protect the little lives within her. Magic would make it easy to get pregnant again, but she didn't want to lose a child due to the fact she just wanted to do something. After about half an hour of that, she headed back up to the room with Hubert and sat on the bed. "Hm... I'm not really sure what I want to do today." They'd had several days of rest and she hoped Hubert would be up to doing some more active things... "How are you feeling?" "We can do as you wish now to, my-- Edelgard. If you wish to be more active, we can be. The couple days of you being ill gave me the rest I needed. So we can do as you wish." Well, that left a lot of options... She rested her cheek in her hand. "Do you know of any nearby villages? It's been a long time since I've been able to visit the people..." She tried to make it a point to visit people and learn of what they needed, but with her more or less counter-coup to the Seven to regain the Adrestian throne fully, she just hadn't had much of a chance to go down to the city. And she hadn't gotten to get any sweets or chocolates from her favorite shops. Hubert sometimes brought them up for her, but that was rare. She really just needed to get out now… "Well, there is a village about three hours' ride away. We could probably stay overnight if you wish to do some things there." She nodded. "I think that sounds lovely." Yeah, once she started showing, it probably wasn't a good idea to ride on horseback herself, so she'd need to take advantage of it while she had the time left. She didn't want to hurt her unborn children. Divine, all of this was so stressful, and she hadn't even been pregnant that long. How much worse was this going to be? She knew the potential side effects due to her discussion with Mirjam and wasn't looking forward to it. What a mess. But she didn't have consorts, so it wasn't like she could rely on them to help with childbirth right now... Hopefully that would change in the somewhat near future. They headed down to the stables and she got on Anni, Hubert mounted his horse, and they had a local guide come with them. For the most part, the journey to the town was quiet. Edelgard used the time to pick up on what prey existed around the area. She could definitely see traces of different types of hares, foxes, and even wolves. She hadn't hunted foxes or wolves with Evelin, but Ueli had told her the bird had been trained in order to do so. If they could get wolves here...she'd be impressed. She just didn't want to go down into the gorge... Water set her off so badly even now. When they got to the village, the people looked at them a bit warily. She dismounted and offered a polite bow to them, ignoring the couple of guards they'd brought with them. She was certain Hubert was on high alert though. She hadn't glanced at him, but she knew how he was. And now that she was pregnant... She could only imagine just how much more intense he'd become about making sure she was protected. "Hello citizens. I am Edelgard von Hresvelg, your current Empress. I am here with hy husband, Hubert von Hresvelg--" That felt so strange to say. "--on a trip to one of our nearby homes. If there's anything we can do to assist you, let my guards know and we'll do so." She smiled warmly at them. She liked being involved with projects to help with whatever the people needed help with. She'd gone down to the village near Garreg Mach more than once in order to help out. Not to mention Remire… The people looked uneasy and most of their eyes seemed to be on Hubert. She couldn't entirely blame them. He was incredibly terrifying and probably didn't seem like he'd be a good fit for her. Nothing really could've been further from the truth... Nobody seemed willing to approach so she got back on Anni and they headed to the inn. The innkeeper was shocked to see the Emperor and Empress there, but he offered them his best room which...was frankly nothing compared to the room back at the vacation home, but she didn't mind. It reminded her a bit of the dorms back at Garreg Mach. They unpacked and got settled in as much as possible, then she insisted they head back out. Hubert frowned. "They didn't seem like they really wanted to talk to you, my--Edelgard." She shrugged. "I still want to help if at all possible... Maybe there's a house that needs to be built or something." Though she didn't have her strength anymore. It was frustrating. She hadn't used her strength much, but she used it just enough that she missed it. She really, really hated the fact that she couldn't lift barrels of bricks anymore. The looks on people's faces when they saw it was honestly priceless…   "Well, all right. Though your safety is...questionable here."   "I know you'll keep me safe, Hubert." She leaned up and kissed his cheek, smiling at him. He flushed faintly, but nodded. She had full trust in him. He was quick to notice things and they had guards around them. Though her reign was controversial in the nobility, it seemed like she was pretty popular among the peasants... She was slowly getting schools for large-scale education built in a lot of villages. Though finding people qualified to teach on such a large scale was proving tricky... A lot of it was coming down to priests and other members of the Church. The scriptures would be the basis for the education in the first place, so it made sense. She still hated working with the Church so closely, but it was part of the deal she'd struck with Rhea.   They headed downstairs and walked around the town a bit, seeing people putting up stalls and such. "What's going on here?" she asked to a nearby woman. The woman looked spooked out of her skin   "Y-Your Highnesses... There's a festival tomorrow, so we're getting set up... Merchants from all over have come here for this. It's one of the best days of commerce in our village. C-Can I help you with something then...? The merchants won't be set up until tomorrow though..."   "Actually, we can help you set up if you'd be so willing." She smiled at the woman warmly. She could set up stalls. She had never done it before, sure, but she learned quickly as did Hubert. She was pretty sure they could be of help. Even two extra pairs of hands would hopefully be welcome.   "Um... But you're--"   "I'm not above talking to and helping commoners. I attended Garreg Mach. There were plenty of commoners attending there. I treated them not different than anybody else. We're all human in the end." She smiled warmly at the woman. There was no difference between commoner and noble. They all bled scarlet in the end. They could all die of the same diseases. Nobody was above death. It was the great equaliser in the end. Death came for them all. Nobles would live longer than commoners quite often, but there was nothing different other than the false notions that society placed them in. Crests ought to have meant nothing...   "Well, all right..." The woman directed them to an area where there were a lot of stalls being set up. They were taught how to set them up and started quickly helping. Hubert was never too far from her, of course, but they worked side by side with the people without any complaints. Day came to an end quickly due to all of the work and Edelgard wiped her brow. She had gotten water breaks through the day but she felt a little woozy.   "Let's go back to the room, my-- Edelgard," he said quietly. She nodded, though she squeaked and flushed when he picked her up. She opened her mouth to protest but he spoke first. "I know how stubborn you are, but you're pregnant... You really ought to be taking better care of yourself." He kissed her temple and she sighed. She was barely only a day or two pregnant... It wasn't like she was some shrinking wildflower all of a sudden. yes, Mirjam had said she would need to slow down eventually, but so early in? No. She was fine right now.   They headed back to the inn and he sat her down on the bed once they got back. "Hubert, I'm not made of glass," she protested.   "You need to think of not just your life now, my-- Edelgard."   "It's only been like a day or two... It's not like I'm three months pregnant and overwhelmed." Mirjam had said exercise was actually good for her... And, well, this was exercise. Just sitting around all the time unless the pregnancy was high risk wasn't entirely necessary. Though she would need to start doing less and less as time wore on. But when she was so early in? She didn't see any reason to be treated like she was made of glass.   "You're no stranger to abusing yourself. I probably should've stopped you a while ago." He shook his head. "I noticed you getting pale but until you nearly fell over..." He sighed and kissed his head. "How about we get ready for bed then sleep?"   "Fine." She let out a sigh and switched over to her night clothes. Hubert followed suit and they curled up in bed, snuggled up close together.