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The great throne hall was quieter than usual. The subjects awaiting their audience with the king whispered among themselves, exchanging worried glances as they observed the figure on the dais.
Arthur Pendragon, King of Camelot, Unifier of Albion, the man who had brought magic back to the long-forbidden lands, sat on his throne with an expression that was a perfect mixture of exhaustion and defeat. His enormous belly, now in the ninth month of pregnancy, seemed to weigh more than the kingdom itself, and his eyes were so sunken in their sockets they appeared to have permanently moved there.
Gwen, seated beside him on the smaller throne reserved for the queen, watched her husband with growing concern. He was pale — paler than usual — and his dark circles were so deep they looked painted on with charcoal.
"Arthur, dear," she said, her voice soft, leaning slightly toward him. "You look so tired. Would you like some coffee to perk you up?"
Arthur turned his head slowly, as if each movement required superhuman effort. His eyes met Gwen's, and for a moment, she saw a flicker of the man he used to be — before the pregnancy, before the exhaustion, before the four babies who were about to arrive.
"To get rid of my tiredness," he said, his voice dragging and grumpy, "you'll have to ask Gaius to inject coffee straight into my vein."
Gwen tried to stifle a laugh, but a smile escaped. "Oh, come on, my king."
"I'm not joking." Arthur gestured with one hand, a weak movement he barely managed to complete. "You'll need to bring coffee in a cart and intubate me with caffeine! Because I'll tell you, this tiredness in my body is worse than a curse!"
Gwen frowned, concern replacing amusement. "Arthur..."
"If the curse depends on my energy to stay active," Arthur continued, as if he hadn't heard her, "then it's screwed. Because I have no energy. Zero. Less than zero. I'm an empty well of tiredness."
"My king..."
"If tiredness burned calories," Arthur went on, now gesturing with more emphasis, "then I would have already vanished into thin air. I'd be just bones, just a skeleton in Tutankhamun mummy style!"
Gwen didn't know whether to laugh or be frightened. She opted for a mixture of both, a hesitant smile that barely hid her concern.
"Oh, my king," she said, leaning closer. "Do you need help with anything? I can call Gaius, or..."
"I need," Arthur interrupted, his voice dramatic. "But I can't! I'm afraid of blinking now and passing out like a candle. If I close my eyes for more than a second, I'll faint and fall off the throne, and then you'll have to carry me to bed like a sack of potatoes."
Gwen bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Have you told Merlin this? Maybe he has a spell that could help, or, I don't know, maybe try exercising a little?"
Arthur let out a sound that was half laugh, half groan.
"Oh, my queen, the muscles I've been working out the most are my facial muscles."
Gwen blinked, confused. "Huh? How?"
"When I give a big yawn!" Arthur opened his mouth and demonstrated, an enormous, exaggerated yawn that made Gwen laugh. "Yawning works out my entire facial musculature. If I earned a coin for every yawn I give daily, I'd buy the neighboring kingdoms and still have money left over."
Gwen laughed — a worried but genuine laugh. "Arthur..."
"Gwen," he continued, his voice now lower, "I'm so exhausted I feel like at any moment my shadow is going to turn to me and say: 'Sit down! Hell, I can't walk anymore!'"
He fell back against the throne, his heavy body sinking into the upholstery. The enormous belly rose like a mountain, and Arthur placed his hands on it, feeling the babies' movements.
"They're so active today," he murmured, his voice softer. "It's like they're dancing inside me. A party. And I wasn't invited."
Gwen smiled, but her eyes were worried. "Did Merlin try to help?"
"He tried, of course." Arthur sighed. "But using magic on pregnant people seems to be a terrible idea. So he helps by spending hours by my side, massaging my back, holding my hand, keeping me company."
"And where is he now?" Gwen looked around, noticing the sorcerer's absence. "It's been a while since I've seen him. He rarely leaves your side."
Arthur made a face — a childish pout that contrasted with his position as king.
"I made him rest," he said, his voice sulky. "It won't do any good for either of us if that idiot is more tired than I am."
Gwen raised an eyebrow. "How exactly did you convince Merlin to sleep?"
Arthur looked away.
"Arthur..."
The king bit his lip.
"Arthur Pendragon."
"Perhaps," he said, his voice hesitant, "I may have drugged that idiot with one of Gaius's sleeping potions."
Gwen's eyes widened. "My lord!"
"I know!" Arthur raised his hands in defense. "But in my defense, Merlin had been awake longer than I had! By the gods, it's almost like he's the one about to give birth! Did you know he's been having nausea in my place lately? That he's been anxious all the time? Or that he's been doing rounds around the wing where I sleep, because he needs to satisfy his desire to hold me hostage in a tower like he's some great dragon from fairy tales?"
Gwen frowned. She didn't know what to say about these strange dragon-like behaviors from her friend, but she needed to calm the king and knew how to do it.
"That's normal for some couples, Arthur. Merlin is just worried about you."
"I know." Arthur's voice grew softer. "But his worry is making him sick. And my children can't be born seeing their father looking like a walking dead with huge dark circles!"
Gwen felt her heart tighten. She rose from the smaller throne and walked to Arthur's side, placing her hand over his.
"My king," she said, her voice soft. "You don't have to carry this weight alone. We're here. All of us. The knights, Gaius, me, and when Merlin wakes up, he'll be here too."
Arthur looked up at her, and Gwen saw tears glistening in his eyes.
"I know," he said, his voice trembling. "I'm just so tired, Gwen. So tired I can't think straight. And these four little demons are so active, and I want them to be born soon, but I'm also so scared..."
Gwen squeezed his hand.
"You're going to be fine," she said. "You're the strongest man I know."
"I don't feel strong."
"You don't need to feel strong. You just need to keep going."
Arthur let out a sigh — a deep sound that seemed to carry all the weight of the world.
"Thank you, Gwen."
"You're welcome, my king."
The silence that followed was filled only by the crackling of torches and the murmurs of the subjects awaiting their audience. Arthur closed his eyes for a moment, and Gwen saw his shoulders relax slightly.
"Gwen?" he murmured, his voice low.
"Yes?"
"Do you think I can take a five-minute nap before the next subject?"
Gwen laughed — a low, affectionate laugh.
"Of course, Arthur. I'll let them know the king is in an... important meeting."
Arthur smiled — a tired but genuine smile.
"You're the best queen anyone could have."
"I know."
And Arthur closed his eyes, his breathing becoming slow and deep. The enormous belly rose and fell with each breath, and Gwen watched, a smile on her lips, as the babies' small movements calmed, as if they too were resting.
When Merlin finally woke up, hours later, the sunlight was already low. He sat up in bed, confused, trying to remember how he had gotten there.
Then he remembered.
Arthur. The tea. The strange taste.
"You idiot," Merlin murmured, a pout forming on his lips.
He stood up and walked to the great hall, where he found Arthur still seated on the throne, now awake and attending to his subjects with an expression of tiredness, but also of relief.
"Merlin," said Arthur, his voice soft. "You're awake."
"You drugged me."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"With one of Gaius's sleeping potions."
"That's a very serious accusation to make against your king, Merlin."
"You made me sleep for hours!"
"As your king, I order you to shut up and accept the forced time off I imposed on you."
Merlin shook his head in disbelief at the idiot he loved, but he was smiling. In a way, he felt better than he had in days now that he'd slept enough, though still annoyed that Arthur had left his side instead of trying to sleep with him.
Merlin approached and, without ceremony, sat on the arm of Arthur's throne, his hand finding the king's belly.
"Well, how was your day without me taking care of you, sire?" Merlin teased. He knew how the children stirred even more whenever Merlin was away from Arthur.
"Oh, a terror. The children wouldn't stop kicking. Half my work was done by Gwen, and I only managed 5 minutes of sleep before waking up hungry and needing to use the bathroom. A complete nightmare."
Merlin laughed, but kissed his king's forehead and sighed in relief at being together again.