Within The Dimenscape And Beyond

Chapter 26: Penemuel

Tabitha's POV:

"Ugh, my head." I groan while waking up with a splitting headache in the tent with Cole putting on his battle armor. "Get this baby out of me already!" The sounds of my annoyed whines alert my husband as he swiftly turns around to see my unhappy face. "You did this to me, mister, and I want it out." This last sentence was meant to be a joke but at the same time I wasn't joking anymore.

I hate being pregnant now.

My entire body aches. I constantly need to sit down. I run out of breath easily. And my cravings are so weird! Just last night I ate a peanut butter jelly sandwich with anchovies in it! I hate anchovies!

Cole laughs at this when making his way over to me, giving me a tight hug. "Don't worry, my love, it's only a matter of time before they decide to show up." He says with a grin. "Now, let me help you get ready."

I groan in annoyance once more prior to lifting my arms up in the air for Cole to help me up.

He helps me put on my clothes and armor and after that we're reading to go.

After that, we went to the food tent to grab some breakfast before starting our long march back to the castle, where we met up with Walter. He was sitting alone at a table looking completely miserable. His hair was a complete mess, bags were under his eyes, and even his clothes looked grubby. Walter appeared to be eating a bagel, however, it barely looked like he was doing just that.

Cole strolls over to his friend with a cheeky smile on his face. "Hey buddy, how ya doing?" He asks when sitting next to him. "Did you get any sleep last night? You look like an absolute mess."

Walter groggily turns his head in Cole's direction to show the exhaustion on his face, and to answer his question at the same time. "What do you think, your highness?" He grumbles. "I haven't had a wink of sleep for almost several hours. I feel tired but I'm wide awake, hungry but I can't eat, and I feel like I can lift this table up and toss it across the valley with one hand."

"Woah, woah, woah," I hurry over to him with a worried glance on his face, sitting by his side. "Is something up? Are you getting sick?"

Walter shrugs his shoulder, still unsure of what to think of this. "I-I don't know, Tab." He pants heavily. I notice that his eyes with flickering from brown to white which instantly caught my attention. "Do you think that it's just nerves?"

I look to Cole nervously who does the same thing. Something was definitely wrong.

"Do you think you're still able to fight?" Cole questions Walter calmly in order to not upset the man. "You seem drained, and I don't want you to get hurt out there. This is going to be a real fight after all. People will die."

Walter grunts, "I'm good. I know how to fight Cole." He says, getting up from the long dining table. "I'll just be in my tent for a while before we all head out. Make sure Pikka and Cubo don't get into any mischief."

"That's alright, Walter." I say with a smile. "You go get some rest."

Walter only nods in response prior to leaving the tent with his bagel in hand. As he walked away, Loki rushes in and hides behind me as if he didn't want anyone to see him. I giggle at this while wondering what he could be hiding from.

"What's the matter Loki?" I ask him kindly, lightly chuckling at the same time. "Is your daddy trying to scare you?"

Loki shakes his head vigorously while looking in all directions.

Cole joins in on the fun. "Yeah, little man, what's wrong?"

"She's after me!" The small child squeaks. "She hasn't left me alone since the breakout!"