Manon's Child

Part 49

There's a moment of pure panic when I think she means she's loosing the baby, right now. I sit as though paralysed, long enough that Manon turns to me, just as Yrene bursts in.

"What's the problem, Your Majesty?" she asks, looking toward the bed and the vomit beside it, then to the open bathroom door, her healer's eyes quickly assessing everything. I quickly turn back to Manon, pushing down my panic, and help Manon stand. She leans heavily against me.

"Yrene," I say, my voice quiet.

 She turns, her face calm as she says, "Come and sit here." She points to one of the book-heavy couches, clearing away the novels as we come over and sit, Manon still leaning against me. If anything, the show of affection scares me more. She's never like this. 

Yrene stops before Manon, looking her over before ordering the guards loitering in the doorway, "Find someone to clear that up." She gestures to vomit, before continuing, "And get some more light in me." Even though there's pure authority in her tone, the guards wait for my nod before obeying. I think it's a good sign.

Yrene turns back to us, tying her hair back. Manon has her head on my shoulder, her eyes closed against the light now flooding the room. "Manon?" Yrene says gently, "Before I start, are you going to throw up again?"

Manon shakes her head slowly, but Yrene still extends her hands towards her, the white healers light making its way up her body. While her magic is working, Yrene says, "Have you experienced any of these symptoms before?"

Manon nods. "Yes," she says quietly. I turn to her. Noticing my stare, she says, "I tried to hide it from you. This is a form of weakness."

"Manon," I say, and I try to hide how much she's hurt me. Yrene holds up a hand to stop me from saying more.

"Your Majesty," she says, "Please let Manon speak. I'll ask you for your input where necessary."

I nod, though it's strange to here her using such formal tones. She turns back to Manon, asking more questions about her condition, each answer showing how blind I've been to her suffering. I knew there was something I should've picked up on, but this... I guess it explains why Abraxos was staring at me so angrily.

At the end of the examination, Yrene passes Manon a glass of water before saying, "You're overdoing it. I've heard witch pregnancies are harder than human pregnancies anyway, and carrying twins -"

Manon chokes on her water. "What?!" she exclaims, and her shock is mirrored on my face.

"Twins?" I ask.

"Oh, sorry," Yrene says. "I assumed you knew." She gestures to Manon's quickly growing stomach, which, now I think about, makes a lot of sense. "Pregnancies aren't usually so visible for at least another two or three months."

Manon nods, saying nothing. Yrene continues, "As I was saying, stress is also having a negative impact. I am unsure what's, hopefully it's something you can resolve, but you need to do less. It is my professional opinion that you need to take some bedrest."

I can see the annoyance lining Manon's eyes, but all she does is nod. She stands, walking over to the bed that the servant has finished cleaning. I stand up to join her, but Yrene grabs my arm. The guards at the movement, but I wave them off.

"She has to stop overexerting herself," Yrene says, quietly enough that Manon won't hear, but urgently. "If she doesn't start pacing herself, and sticking to the limits of her body, she will loose the babies. Her body needs to readjust to this new situation, and doing so much, especially for a witch, will not help." I've gone pale, and Yrene says. "Look, I know it will be hard for her, but she can't keep on like this. I would have told her myself, but I don't feel like having my throat ripped out. She'll more react more positively to someone she trusts anyway." She pauses for a breath, and then continues, "Another thing - try to find out what's stressing her out so much. It's not healthy." She steps away from me and starts towards the door.

"Yrene," I say, and she pauses at the exit. I want to say something, but change it last minute. "Sorry for waking you."

She smiles. "I was awake anyway. Goodnight, Your Majesty," she says, and leaves.

I turn to Manon, who is sitting up in bed, waiting for me.  "what was that about?" she demands.

"Oh, nothing," I say too casually, but she leaves it. I dim the lights and climb into bed beside her, curling up together until she falls back to sleep. I, however, don't sleep for the rest of the night.

---------------------------------------------------------

HI peoples,

I would've posted this sooner, like 2 days ago, but I decided I'd rather binge Agents of Shield again. I would say I was busy with schoolwork, but...

This was the last bit I had planned. I don't actually have anything else planned in detail, so it might take me a while to post the next part cuz I need to write it. I mean, I have the basic overview but this was as far as I got in my head and on paper.

lol it feels like i'm just making excuses.

Also thanks so much for over 5k reads!! 

stay safe :)

---------------------------------------------------------------

AHhhhh peoples I have no idea where to take this from here!! I was thinking all night but I literally have 0 ideas XD. any suggestions?