The Ranger And The Prince.

A Family to Belong To.

I could say that being over eight months pregnant was a breeze but then I wouldn't be telling the truth. I was huge and bloated, my back hurt if I walked too much and I was easily tired.

It became harder to walk for long periods at a time and though I tried to shrug it off, Legolas soon caught on to the fact I was in pain and denying it.

Ever since then, he had placed me under bed arrest, meaning I wasn't allowed to leave our room at all, I had to sit in bed all day.

Of course, I had been furious that he had even considered it and when he had told me I could no longer leave our room, I had punched him hard in the face. He had a rather goulish purple bruise on his face for the remainder of the week.

I know that was probably unreasonable, after all, he was only doing what he thought best for me, but when had I ever been reasonable?

He had the servants bring me food and drink throughout the day (sadly no alcohol). And when he came back in the afternoon, he would sit with me and help stave off the boredom. Sometimes, when I was tired, he would sit and read to me or hum something soothing for me to sleep to. We would spend ages debating baby names, both of us anticipating the arrival of our first born.

Needless to say, by the time I was nearing my nine months of pregnancy, I was fed up and was eager to get the baby put of me as soon as possible. Don't get me wrong, I was finally happy at the prospect of being a mother but having had nine months of torture - pregnancy - I was counting down the days until I would no longer have to live with a bloated stomach and frequent mood swings.

I should have been careful what I wished for because it wasn't long into the last month when I felt a sharp pain surge through me.

I recoiled on the bed, Legolas rushing to my side as I clutched my stomach. The pain was so sudden, I didn't even realise I had screamed until after my throat felt dry.

"What's wrong?" Legolas fretted as he sat me up and tried to calm me down.

I slapped him in a burst of rage, "Baby's coming you-"

I would've cursed at his incompetence but another shot of pain ran up my stomach, making me yelp again, clutching my stomach.

I was too preoccupied with the pain that I barely registered the fact that Legolas had scopped me up in his strong arms and was now hurriedly laying me out on the bed as he called out the door to any nearby guards to alert the healers.

Though I was squirming in pain, he tried his best to calm me by whispering sweet words of encouragement in my ear and rubbing my stomach to help with the pain.

It wasn't long before I saw the healers and widwives burst into the door. Legolas was sat on the bed beside me as they bustled about me. He took my hand and though I was likely crushing every bone in his hand, he didn't seem to care as he ran his finger through me hair in an attempt to help.

I don't remember much of the evening if I'm being honest. Most of it was a blur not only because I was drifting in and out of consciousness from the pain, but because the healers had make me drink something, a concoction for the pain.

I didn't even have the energy to slap Legolas when he was being particularly annoying and loud.

If I had know this would be what birthing would have been like, I would have never let Legolas near me.

The last thing I remember before blacking out, was a baby screaming.

***

I must have slept for hours - perhaps a whole day - because when I finally awoke, the sky outside was a deep orange, like that of an afternoon.