07. Night - In 24 Hours: Septych - Fiction[NET]
Nathanial returned straight after dinner and carefully picked Deyanira up in his arms, blanket and all, and carried her into their room. She hardly even snuffled in her sleep, she who was usually such a light sleeper. Nathanial tucked her into their bed, taking his time as he arranged the hot water bottle at her feet and the blankets snugly around her shoulders. He didn’t have the heart to wake her even though she had asked him to. So he kissed her forehead and took his time walking to the study to fetch some parchment, ink and a pen. He would write to his parents to tell them the news, there would be little time before he could see them in person, the end of the week perhaps, and it would be improper to sit on this news and not inform them straight away, especially when Deyanira’s family knew the news already.
Nathanial sat on the bed beside the sleeping Deyanira and rested his parchment against a book to write. He paused, not knowing how to start it and realised a little how hard it must have been for Deyanira to give him the news. All he had to do was tell his parents and he already knew what their reaction would be. Deyanira had worked herself into such a panic she hadn’t even known whether he would be happy or not, never mind what his reaction would exactly be.
He leant against the pillows and began to write, starting with the proper polite form of saying he and his Lady were well and that he hoped to find his parents in good health also, etc etc, he wrote about work for a moment, etc etc and then simply scrolled the news in his proper technically readable script, boyishly messy. He added that he wished they were pleased to know of their news and that they should meet for dinner sometime soon to celebrate and then put the letter away to the side. He would have it delivered tomorrow.
Nathanial lay down then and looked at his wife. It wasn’t that long ago that they hadn’t met, didn’t know each other, didn’t think they’d ever even like each other; let along love each other someday… Now she was carrying his child and kissing him and looking at her with her smile and those eyes and he just didn’t know why they could ever have been so against the idea. He would almost do anything to be able to go back in time and get them to meet so much earlier, marry to much earlier, be together for ever for so much longer. All those lost minutes…
But they were together now and that was the important thing. They were to become parents together. Nathanial moved closer to Deyanira and touched her stomach hesitantly. Still as flat as it always was, he knew it would be but to think, their little child was in there, growing, existing, just so real and so close.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Deyanira asked sleepily, not even bothering to open her eyes.
Nathanial shot back, feeling embarrassed at being caught for some reason. “Uhh, I was-”
“Do what you were doing. It felt… nice.” Deyanira cracked open an eye at him and looked sleepily adorable. “Helps settle my stomach maybe…”
Nathanial scooted closer once more and stretched out carefully beside her, kissing her forehead once more as he rested his large, warm hand on her stomach.
“This helps?” he asked, unsure.
“Mm. Prepare for that and a lot of backrubs, apparently.” Deyanira cracked a grin. “Do you think you can manage?”
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to handle it.” He grinned back at her then tilted his head in worry as the smile dropped off her face. “What?”
“…Do you think… What if…”
“What is what, love?”
“What if… what if I can’t handle it? What if I can’t cope?”
“What do you mean?”
“Being pregnant. What if I’m no good? What if I…what…what if…”
“What if you lose it?” he asked quietly, and pulled her into his arms gently as she looked close to tears and nodded. “Well then… that’s all honey. We lost it. But don’t ever blame yourself, and it won’t even happen honey. I’ll look after you.”
He knew the answer didn’t reassure her but he also knew that there was no answer that ever could. There had been a knight who had used to serve the king when Nathanial had first joined who had lost his wife. She had become pregnant but then had lost the child and then soon enough she had attempted to run away from Sourevent, only to become lost in the nearby woods and they had eventually found her body at the bottom of a cliff. Nathanial wasn’t about to pretend he understood woman and pregnancy but he understood a little that the worse thing and the greatest worry was to lose the baby.
“We can’t have you stressing for the next seven or more months Nira.” He spoke quietly and brushed her hair away and out of her face. “Right honey?”
She didn’t answer but she cuddled closer and gave would could have been a nod.
“Ready for sleep?” she asked and he chuckled.
“You can’t still be sleepy.” He prodded her side gently then apologised - it had been an automatic reaction, he hadn’t been thinking how it would make her feel.
“I am and you know it.” She yawned and curled up on his chest. “Tell me a story.” She said childishly. “Get you good practise for telling stories to our child.”
He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her waist, but obeyed.
“Once there was a princess called Nira. Who was the most beautiful princess of all the worlds-”
“You’re not telling this story to our son. C’mon, tell me a guy story.”
“Uhh, once there was a battle and there was lots of blood and killing?”
“Hmm, you may have to tell me a story every night from now on. I can tell you’re going to need some practise at this…”
“Well okay then missy, how about you tell a story to me then, show me how it’s done?”
Deyanira paused for a moment while she thought, and then she did.
“Once there was a brave Knight called Nathanial. He was tall and dashing and the strongest Knight of all the lands. He gave his life to protecting the King and his kingdom and made all the fair ladies of the town swoon, but he had no time for them for he was a man, and a man has no such interest in such things.”
“Hhmm, okay if we have a son, you’re telling him stories. If we have a daughter, I’m telling her stories.”
“That’s not fair Nath! You know we’re having a son!”
“We’re not sure sure sure yet. We only think that…”
“No, I know we’re having a son.” Deyanira said firmly. “And you’ll learn how to tell him stories.”
“Yes dear, sure.”
“Now tell me a story, talk me to sleep.”
“You want me to be boring?”
“I just want to hear your voice.”
“Oh, of course.” He paused, actually giving thought to it before he started this time. “Once there was a beautiful young Lady by the name of Deyanira. She was feisty and snarky and acted as if she had all the worlds fire in her heart. She was rough and wanted to change the world, wanted to make it better. She had no time for rules and the customs in the small kingdom where she lived, until she met a charming and manly Knight by the name of Nathanial who fairly woo’d her and stole her firey heart, …somehow.”
Deyanira laughed softly and leant up to kiss him. “See, you’re not so bad. …If you told me a story every night, maybe I wouldn’t be so against telling our son a story every night…”
“One day the fair Lady told her young Knight that she was with child… and it was the very best day… very best night of his life.” Nathanial kissed Deyanira gently. “And they lived very happily forever after.”
<--- 06. Day
Nathanial sat on the bed beside the sleeping Deyanira and rested his parchment against a book to write. He paused, not knowing how to start it and realised a little how hard it must have been for Deyanira to give him the news. All he had to do was tell his parents and he already knew what their reaction would be. Deyanira had worked herself into such a panic she hadn’t even known whether he would be happy or not, never mind what his reaction would exactly be.
He leant against the pillows and began to write, starting with the proper polite form of saying he and his Lady were well and that he hoped to find his parents in good health also, etc etc, he wrote about work for a moment, etc etc and then simply scrolled the news in his proper technically readable script, boyishly messy. He added that he wished they were pleased to know of their news and that they should meet for dinner sometime soon to celebrate and then put the letter away to the side. He would have it delivered tomorrow.
Nathanial lay down then and looked at his wife. It wasn’t that long ago that they hadn’t met, didn’t know each other, didn’t think they’d ever even like each other; let along love each other someday… Now she was carrying his child and kissing him and looking at her with her smile and those eyes and he just didn’t know why they could ever have been so against the idea. He would almost do anything to be able to go back in time and get them to meet so much earlier, marry to much earlier, be together for ever for so much longer. All those lost minutes…
But they were together now and that was the important thing. They were to become parents together. Nathanial moved closer to Deyanira and touched her stomach hesitantly. Still as flat as it always was, he knew it would be but to think, their little child was in there, growing, existing, just so real and so close.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Deyanira asked sleepily, not even bothering to open her eyes.
Nathanial shot back, feeling embarrassed at being caught for some reason. “Uhh, I was-”
“Do what you were doing. It felt… nice.” Deyanira cracked open an eye at him and looked sleepily adorable. “Helps settle my stomach maybe…”
Nathanial scooted closer once more and stretched out carefully beside her, kissing her forehead once more as he rested his large, warm hand on her stomach.
“This helps?” he asked, unsure.
“Mm. Prepare for that and a lot of backrubs, apparently.” Deyanira cracked a grin. “Do you think you can manage?”
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to handle it.” He grinned back at her then tilted his head in worry as the smile dropped off her face. “What?”
“…Do you think… What if…”
“What is what, love?”
“What if… what if I can’t handle it? What if I can’t cope?”
“What do you mean?”
“Being pregnant. What if I’m no good? What if I…what…what if…”
“What if you lose it?” he asked quietly, and pulled her into his arms gently as she looked close to tears and nodded. “Well then… that’s all honey. We lost it. But don’t ever blame yourself, and it won’t even happen honey. I’ll look after you.”
He knew the answer didn’t reassure her but he also knew that there was no answer that ever could. There had been a knight who had used to serve the king when Nathanial had first joined who had lost his wife. She had become pregnant but then had lost the child and then soon enough she had attempted to run away from Sourevent, only to become lost in the nearby woods and they had eventually found her body at the bottom of a cliff. Nathanial wasn’t about to pretend he understood woman and pregnancy but he understood a little that the worse thing and the greatest worry was to lose the baby.
“We can’t have you stressing for the next seven or more months Nira.” He spoke quietly and brushed her hair away and out of her face. “Right honey?”
She didn’t answer but she cuddled closer and gave would could have been a nod.
“Ready for sleep?” she asked and he chuckled.
“You can’t still be sleepy.” He prodded her side gently then apologised - it had been an automatic reaction, he hadn’t been thinking how it would make her feel.
“I am and you know it.” She yawned and curled up on his chest. “Tell me a story.” She said childishly. “Get you good practise for telling stories to our child.”
He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her waist, but obeyed.
“Once there was a princess called Nira. Who was the most beautiful princess of all the worlds-”
“You’re not telling this story to our son. C’mon, tell me a guy story.”
“Uhh, once there was a battle and there was lots of blood and killing?”
“Hmm, you may have to tell me a story every night from now on. I can tell you’re going to need some practise at this…”
“Well okay then missy, how about you tell a story to me then, show me how it’s done?”
Deyanira paused for a moment while she thought, and then she did.
“Once there was a brave Knight called Nathanial. He was tall and dashing and the strongest Knight of all the lands. He gave his life to protecting the King and his kingdom and made all the fair ladies of the town swoon, but he had no time for them for he was a man, and a man has no such interest in such things.”
“Hhmm, okay if we have a son, you’re telling him stories. If we have a daughter, I’m telling her stories.”
“That’s not fair Nath! You know we’re having a son!”
“We’re not sure sure sure yet. We only think that…”
“No, I know we’re having a son.” Deyanira said firmly. “And you’ll learn how to tell him stories.”
“Yes dear, sure.”
“Now tell me a story, talk me to sleep.”
“You want me to be boring?”
“I just want to hear your voice.”
“Oh, of course.” He paused, actually giving thought to it before he started this time. “Once there was a beautiful young Lady by the name of Deyanira. She was feisty and snarky and acted as if she had all the worlds fire in her heart. She was rough and wanted to change the world, wanted to make it better. She had no time for rules and the customs in the small kingdom where she lived, until she met a charming and manly Knight by the name of Nathanial who fairly woo’d her and stole her firey heart, …somehow.”
Deyanira laughed softly and leant up to kiss him. “See, you’re not so bad. …If you told me a story every night, maybe I wouldn’t be so against telling our son a story every night…”
“One day the fair Lady told her young Knight that she was with child… and it was the very best day… very best night of his life.” Nathanial kissed Deyanira gently. “And they lived very happily forever after.”
<--- 06. Day