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Anything can happen, always expect the unexpected. She had been living with this motto for years now and yet she was always caught by surprise. Penelope had been married for less than a year and the proof of Callisto’s care, love, and singleminded devotion was obvious on her body. More so than when she worked and lived away from the palace and only saw him in the weekends or for breakfast through the crystal ball which she had been notoriously horrible for remembering to call him through, or at all.
Well now, those days were long gone. Penelope had, in three short years, done all that she wished to do. She had become a doctor of archaeology, made a discovery of a lifetime, and had gotten to know Callisto so well as to know without any doubt that she would never be abandoned by him, that she would never be alone in the world again. And so, she returned to their home and never left. They spent many blissful months before and after the wedding in each other’s arms, being taken by one another.
And her lover, her husband, her emperor, showered her with the best of the best. From the finest clothing, the most expensive jewelry, the most luxurious and delectable food, and of course the most valuable thing of all, his love and ardour. As a result, Penelope’s body has begun to fill out, particularly by her torso on her décolletage and her midsection. It wasn’t much but she definitely looked healthier and fuller. Her hair thicker, and her skin as people had described it, was glowing and luminous.
Well that wasn’t to say she wasn’t treated like this before their marriage but it was a definite jump from just experiencing it on the weekends to living it daily. To wake up everyday wrapped up in his arms, his eyes warm and a salacious smile on his face even as she still felt the pleasant soreness he left her with nightly. His seed often dripping from where they’d been joined.
Penelope stared at her body, thicker definitely but not too much. If anything, she was still thin just not the deathly emaciated form she’d been on her coming of age. Callisto went to wrap his arms around her as he smiled at her through the mirror.
“Oh, are we admiring your glory then? I can stay here the whole night if you wish and I’ll extol all the virtues of your beauty from your lovely face to your form. From the tips of your toes to every strand of your hair. I’d even speak about your wisdom, intelligence, and fiery passionate and wonderful beauty.” He said. “Or we can also get to bed and I can show you how much I worship you.”
Penelope grinned and dragged him to the bed and let the dressing robe fall from her form to leave her bare to him. She lay on the bed and waited as he followed after her.
Penelope woke up in Callisto’s arm on the middle of the night from a pain that shot through her. It started from her abdomen and travelled from there. It was blinding and unbearable.
She shook his arm. “Callisto!” She called in obvious pain. Her husband’s eyes shot open immediately and he sprang up. His eyes assessed the room for danger before it fell back to her and he noticed the way her face was contorted.
“What’s wrong?” He asked frantically. “What do you need? No don’t answer that, you obviously need a doctor.” He said as he extracted himself from her grip and fetched her robe and a nightgown and handed it to her. He didn’t care about his own naked form as he ran to the doors.
“Guards! Call a doctor immediately!” He ordered as he briefly flung the door open. The guards seemed to startle and there was an awkward silent pause, she couldn’t see them but she felt as though they were most likely trying to avoid looking at him. “NOW!” He said firmly.
“Yes, your majesty!” And then he closed the door with a slam and returned to her side.
The pain had subsided for a moment and she was able to think clearly. “Your majesty,” she began through whatever breaths she was able to gather. “Don’t you think you should put on some pants at least. You just essentially flashed your guards.”
He looked down and nodded briefly but she could see that he had some redness on the tips of his ears.
The pain arrived once more and she tried to breathe through it while she clutched Callisto’s hand as he became more and more desperate and fearful through the shortening gap within the interval as each loop of pain became longer and longer.
It took a half hour for the doctor to arrive and she’d suffered through this phantom ailment of hers through tears and anger.
When the doctor arrived, he took one look at her, face grim and serious but as Callisto enumerated her symptoms, clarity came through. “May I have permission to lift the blanket and examine her majesty?”
Callisto growled for a moment before she cried out in pain and immediately acquiesced. “No funny business.” He warned.
“Of course not.” He had Penelope prop her legs up and he took one quick look before he stood up pale and barked orders of his own. “Get me my tools, bring some boiled water, and clean towels!”
“What?” She asked in tears. “What’s going on? What’s wrong with me?” Penelope was terrified for herself and for Callisto whose life was tied to hers.
“It seems we’ve all missed something glaringly obvious about her majesty recently.” The doctor said.
“Which is?” Callisto asked impatient.
“Her majesty is pregnant but not for much longer, she’s far along into labour that she must’ve begun her early labour hours if not in the last two or three days even.” He explained.
“What?” They both asked.
“You’re about to have a baby. Congratulations your majesties, you’re about to become parents to the first imperial heir of the next generation.” He said shortly as he repositioned her and then got in between her legs, ready to catch as the maids hovered behind in just as much shock as they were. “Now, you are far enough that you’re almost fully dilated, I’ll need to get you to start pushing soon.”
Penelope couldn’t believe this was all happening too fast. Just a handful of hours ago, she was in this very bed as she and her husband enjoyed their union. The sheets were still stained with the very proof of that union and she hadn’t bathed yet either and dear goddess, she hadn’t thought about the fact that she hadn’t taken any supplements for her pregnancy, she had drunk wine in small quantities but she had still done so nonetheless, and of course, their own coupling was quite frequent. It seemed as though those very thoughts seemed to invade Callisto’s mind as well because he grimaced.
“I’m going to be a father.” Callisto whispered over and over in a stupor.
“Your Majesty!” She called out in distress. She needed him present and in the moment. He snapped out of it and immediately dropped to sit beside her, his sole focus on her.
“I’m sorry, just momentary shock.” He apologized.
“I know, I’m going through the same thing too.” She told him quietly. “Now let’s have this baby.”
Half an hour later, Penelope held a bundle of soft pink flesh, chubby and wrinkly, tufts of curly golden hair on her head, little ruby eyes, and palm sized golden dragon wings on her back. She stared at her new daughter with so much awe.
“I would feel upset about missing the milestones like feeling her kick if it wasn’t for the fact that I now know that the rumbling in your stomach probably wasn’t just because you had indigestion and was gassy as a consequence. I’m glad I had held my comments in back then, especially with how temperamental you were the last few weeks.” Callisto remarked nonchalantly though there were tears in his eyes and he had a warm smile on his face as he gazed at their little miraculous gift with nothing but wonder and a deep seeded love and devotion she’d only seen in him when he looked at her, but this one was more gentle, delicate and a different nature all together.
She slapped his arm. “Must you ruin the mood all the time?”
“When do I ever? If anything, I set the mood.”
“You’re doing it right now. Don’t ruin this moment.”
“We have nothing ready, we’re so unprepared, are we going to be alright?” He asked her. “We don’t even have a name.”
“We will. Because this child, surprise as she was, is still our precious little one. We have money and influence enough to get everything done soon. And as for a name, we wouldn’t have had one for a girl anyway. Every child born to your family has always been male so she’s a complete surprise.” Penelope counted out.
“A praiseworthy surprise.” He quipped, “the best kind.”
“How about Judith then? It means ‘she will be praised’.”
“Judith, I like it.” He said as he tested it out. “You do look like a Judith. So what do you say, little one?”
The baby cooed.
“Judith it is I guess. Welcome, Judith Regulus, Crown Princess of the mighty Eorka Empire.”
Callisto turned to the maids who had just finished changing the sheets. “Have the bells ring and tell them to spread the word that the Empress has given birth to a healthy and beautiful baby girl, a surprising gift that appeared in the night. The Crown Princess Judith Regulus!”
They nodded and moved to follow his command.
Within the hour, the bells had begun to toll as the sun rose and people woke to the news of a princess born in the night a dragon like girl, both of which were a first for the imperial family. And it was noted, the news spread quickly and threw everything into chaos.
Gilbert woke early from the bells that rung out of turn. He grumbled at what his son-in-law was playing at. Knowing that devilish cad, he had done it to ruin his day.
Frantic knocking reached his ears and he immediately began to worry that something drastic had happened. Was there an invasion? A war call? He sprung out of bed and opened the door.
Pennel was breathless as he delivered the earth shattering news. “Your Grace! The empress gave birth to a princess last night!” He said in a rush.
“What are you talking about? Penelope’s not pregnant, unless I’ve missed something or have been asleep for at least six months.” Because he had seen her the night before at a ball where the emperor and empress had danced and she had even had a drink of wine or two.
“It seems to have come as a surprise to everyone including the Emperor and Empress. She was merely awoken by pain last night and it was discovered that she was in labour.”
“That damned scoundrel! Is he even taking care of my daughter when he doesn’t even notice his wife was pregnant!” He roared out, it was loud enough that people begun to rush to him. “Get everything ready, I’ll dress and we’ll depart to the Imperial Palace immediately.”
“What’s going on, Father?” Derrick asked.
“It seems Penelope had a baby last night. No one realized she was with child until the babe was ready to make her presence known.”
“WHAT?!?” The shouts echoed loudly thought out the hall.
Whatever confrontation the Duke had been planning drained away the moment he heard the infant’s cry. His roaring voice fell silent and he saw Penelope tired but radiant with a bundle in her arms.
“Father, this is Judith, your granddaughter.” His heart skipped a beat when he heard those words.
“And we’ve lost him and his righteous temper.” Reynold said with a sigh.
Gilbert rushed to kiss her cheek and glance at the baby only to burst out into tears of anger. “Why does she look like that cad?”
“Because his majesty is her father. Please mind your words in the palace now.” Penelope chided him.
“Of course.” But even that anger disappeared when that little hand wrapped around his finger and he was lost in love with the sweet child.
In the days that followed, a flood of well wishers came as presents were immediately sent their way for the princess. A nursery was completed within a week and a half, Callisto had pushed the builders to completely renovate his old palace and furnish the nursery within those handful of days.
And ever since then, the doctors had learned to give Penelope regular check ups. She had learned to live with it and allowed herself to be subjected to such things because she felt that if she’d had one cryptic pregnancy, she could possibly have another after that. As such, Penelope’s strict medical check ups had helped them detect pregnancies within a month of conception from then on, and the rest of her brood came about in a calmer more expected fashion.