Those Lovely Shards (BXB)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The queen's maid averted her gaze from the panting woman and met Eryx's eyes. "The queen's condition has worsened."

"What? But there's still an entire month left before the due date!" Cedric exclaimed.

"Yes, but the baby isn't waiting. The contractions have started and they're not far apart. There's no time to fetch a doctor, either," the maid answered.

"No. There has to be a way. I'll get him. There must be a period of waiting," Cedric said.

Dove squeezed his shoulders, trying to calm him. "Neil and I will accompany you. Let's leave now," he said.

"Yes, that would be most agreeable," Cedric answered.

Neil sighed. Even though Dove seemed cheerful about his surroundings, Neil couldn't help but have a seed of doubt flicker within him, especially concerning Prince Cedric. 

Before Eryx started descending the stairs, he heard Neil say, "Don't worry, just take care of them both and try to get the doctor as quickly as possible. I'll handle everything else here."

Neil halted in his steps when he saw Eryx, "Getting enough sleep?"

Eryx smiled wanly and nodded.

Neil hesitated before speaking, "Don't you sometimes feel there's something weird going on with Prince Cedric? Like he gets so close to Dove and keeps touching him. I don't think they have that sort of comfort with each other. And if I ever point it out to him he puts it off as a joke or gets very rude. It's frustrating he doesn't see it. Maybe I shouldn't care. I feel like I'm getting too involved."

"It's hard to see when it's you. It's really easy to look the other way and not help. But you're right Cedric seems nice but he's shady and he does get too close for comfort. I don't think you should stop looking out for Prince Dove. What if it was you who was going through this and not Dove? Wouldn't you want him to be involved and warn you?"

"You're right. I'll try to talk to him again at the cotillion once. Thanks for your advice."

Before Eryx could reply, they heard Dove's calls for Neil to join him downstairs and Neil had to leave abruptly.

Overwrought as he was, Eryx knew it was his duty to stay behind and help the queen if any problem arose. He sat by the chimney. It was still, except for the rustle of cinder in the grate and the slow tick-tock of the wall clock. No, there was another sound—the beat of the maids' footsteps as they slipped in and out of the room.

He pondered upon Neil's question and he could understand why he felt that. Despite the eldest prince's temperament being a lot better than Cassius, Eryx couldn't fully trust his words. He had been in a similar situation to Dove where he felt a bit uncomfortable by how long Cedric's hand seemed to linger on his shoulders or how close he got while conversing. He never asked for his consent or make sure he was feeling comfortable the way Cassius did.

When he had shared this with Cassius he remembered the way his face contorted into a bitter expression and his words still send a shiver down his spine, 'Stay away from him and if he does anything that makes you feel unsafe. Stop him. Don't ignore it or feel guilty just because he's the prince. Trust me the scandals he's found himself in, he is definitely not what he seems. But he understands politics and he knows how to keep his image clean.' 

Eryx's thoughts were heavy, muddled. He let his chin sink upon his chest, stretched out his legs, and stared broodingly into the fire. The episode he had witnessed a few days ago when he was imprisoned still obsessed with him morbidly.

He glanced at the clock yet again, which now showed half-past four. An hour had elapsed.

The birth was a long, harsh struggle. Then, as the first streaks of dawn strayed past the broken edges of the blind, the child was born—a boy.