Above All

-One Hundred-One-

Lament the applause

Melodies within my soul

Days pass with relief

Amani:

            "So, what do you think of the names, grandma?" I watched as Grandma Zenny's face squint in a contemplative manner as she overlooked the names Layton and I had curated together over the course of a couple of months as we prepared for the birth of our child. Who knew that giving a baby a name—a royal one at that would be a challenge in itself; there were a lot of things to consider when giving royal heirs a name, one of them being their two middle names as by royal custom to do so; essentially it was as if we had to give our child three names instead of the standard two in the culture I had grown up in.

            Layton and I spent time researching the meaning of names, past usage in the royal family or in royal history, and more; funny enough the Idizian public was betting on the choice of names we would choose if the baby was either a boy or girl.

            I didn't fancy their choices much, but I appreciated the effort.

            Time was quickly approaching to my due date, it was next month—a month that was already bustling with many engagements, all of which I could not participate in for the most part. Last month was the annual Empress Day and I had to say, despite not being the one to headline as it was customary to, Nyarai did an amazing job taking over for me and I was glad to say she was settling into her role as a member of the Imperial Family quite remarkably.

            I did manage to peek my head in there like the nosy critter I was just to make sure everything was going smoothly and such, the young ladies were happy to see me, but I made sure not to take all the shine away from Nya who was doing her absolute best to make this a sophisticated and elegant tradition that has been done for decades now; besides, I had other things to occupy myself within the meantime, stuff that wasn't necessarily "labor-intensive" on my end.

            Though I had to slow down due to my pregnancy, I could still go through paperwork and sign of things that needed my attention for the time being, such as making sure things were well-prepared for upcoming events, but other than that my job was simply to relax and enjoy the last couple of months of my pregnancy away from the scrutinizing eyes and ears of the eager public.

            It was so different from being on the go as I usually was with my work; it took some time to get used to, I wouldn't lie but I knew I was the type to become easily overwhelmed and overworked if I allowed myself to; in that process, I could also cause myself to get sick, so it was best for me to stay away from things that elicited that kind of response. So, most days, I kept my swollen feet up and relaxed with books in hand, enjoyed all my favorite foods that I was craving—oh, and the foot massages Lay would give me were definitely worth-nothing, so I guess it wasn't all that bad.

            I also got to spend time with my kids which was fun; getting to see them grow and partake in activities that made me happy also brought lots of joy in my heart; it made me think of how our little one would be growing just as fast as this with their own personality and chance to explore the world for what it is. The one thing I knew I would promise my little baby, whether boy or girl is that they would be given the same chance in life as I was given—the chance to explore what made them happy and get to dwell in it before the time came for the responsibility of the throne.

            Though my circumstance was unusual, if I had been bred into this lifestyle, my mother who if given the choice had been Empress would've allowed me to marry and have children before passing the crown to me; all the time in the world to be a family and mother to my kids before having to step-up, just like Grandma Zenny had with Odette. But unfortunately, that was unable to happen, but this time I would set it right with my own, a good precedence to continue my legacy by.