Kapitel 24: Chapter 24: You don't want an heir
Astrid sat on a white couch in her room, her room was huge with white furnitures and a beautiful bed that had a veil over it. Her eyes were laser focused on the material in her hand.
Her bright skin glowed under the candle light, her hand gently sew the cut part of the material and her fingers carefully avoided the sharp end of the needle she held.
Niel walked in and shut the door slowly, "welcome"
Niel's forehead caressed. he didn't want to disturb her but at the same time it annoyed him that she didn't turn to him like she normally did.
"What are you doing?" He asked as he made his way to her.
Astrid giggled like a child and stretched out the half sewn pants to the fireplace. "I am making a pair of pants for the little prince. Niel sat beside her and stared at her protruding belly. His eyes lingered between Astrid and her belly.
"You seem very interested in this child" he commented and pulled her closer to him, his arm gently picked her up and placed her in between him. Astrid rested her head on Niel's chest with a sigh of relief.
"I can't wait for him to be in my arms" Astrid smiled gleefully and continued to sew the pants. Niel had his eyes on the pants in her hand, it wasn't just oversized but the two legs were unequal in both length and width. A smile formed on his lips and gradually died down.
"What if it's a she?" He asked calmly waiting to see her reaction.
"It won't be a she this time, I'm sure of it " Astrid replied.
"And if it is?" Niel asked back, a little bit serious this time. He pulled her closely to his warmth and rubbed her belly gently. "You promised me you wouldn't take in again"
Astrid stopped her sewing and bit her lip. Her eyes watched Niel's gentle movement on her belly. "I don't want anything to happen to you"
"I'll be fine, after the prince is born I'll stop I promise" Astrid quickly replied while waving her hand.
"And if it's a princess?" Niel asked once more.
"It won't be a princess"
"If it is?"
"Nielsen, I know my child okay" Astrid replied calmly and raised her head to meet his golden eyes. Niel sighed and kissed her lips gently.
"I don't care if it's a girl or boy Astrid" he tucked a few strands of her hair aside. Pulling her sleeves down he kissed her shoulder and then her neck.
"I care" Astrid replied in a cold tone. "It has to be a boy or you would..."
"Are you still worried about me losing the throne?" Astrid choked on her words and sighed.
"I'm crown prince Astrid, heir or not" he replied bluntly.
"But you could be stripped off your title if you don't provide an heir" she gently moved her hips to face him. "I don't want you to lose your inheritance because of me" she whispered under her breath.
"As long as I have you, Daphne and Emmabella I'm satisfied" Niel stroked her back gently.
"But that's not right" she retorted "all the queens in history have given birth to one male child at least for the crown princes" her eyes slightly turned watery "what good am I if I can't give you an heir?"
"All good, I'll have you as my throne and the other you as my heir" a mischievous smile crawled his lip.
"I'm serious Niel, you know your mother is already on to me. She as well as the entire kingdom expect an heir" Niel's eyes turned cold.
"And I said I'm the crown prince, heir or not" his voice was a little bit firm and gruff.
"I bear the burn and shame Niel, soon enough you'll be persuaded to marry a woman who will bear an heir, I don't want to lose you. I want to live up to the expectations of the kingdom " Astrid gently rubbed off the tears in her eyes. Niel sighed and picked Astrid up. He carried her to the bed and laid her down.
"I'll be back later just sleep" he smiled and was about to walk away.
"You don't want an heir do you?" Astrid growled "I've noticed your behavior towards this child, you are not happy I'm pregnant. You feel don't you, that this one is an heir"
Niel stood by her side his back facing her, clenching his jaw and balling his hands into fists. "I wanted to ignore it when you sent the maid with herbs to flush my child. You don't want an heir, do you? Don't you want to take after your father as king?"
"I didn't ask for the throne" he replied coldly
"Nielsen!!" Astrid scolded and stood from the bed.
"I don't want to be king" he yelled at her angrily "I don't care about the throne, I don't need it"
"The throne chooses it's leader, it doesn't need the acknowledgement of the heir or not" Astrid tried to pull him to face her but he wouldn't.
"I don't want it, I'm not cut out to lead people" Niel pulled his hand away gently "go to sleep Astrid, I'll be back later" he said a little bit softer and walked away. Astrid tailed behind him.
"Niel we aren't done..." Suddenly she stopped moving and held her waist. "Ahhh" she paused for a while and took heavy breaths. Niel quickly walked to her side with worried eyes.
"What's wrong?" He asked while assisting her to the bed, Astrid's face twisted in pain. "Astrid! What's wrong? The baby isn't due till 5 months"
"It hurts, my-my (screams in pain)"
MANASSEH'S MANOR
Manasseh walks into his chamber tiredly, he slumped on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Callie completely ignored the fact her husband had just walked in. Manasseh on the other hand turns to her and watches her movement.
She was gently brushing her hair in front of the mirror, she wore a light peach silk nightgown that exposed her arms and her back. Manasseh felt agile and ready for action, he's lips curved upward and his hand walked it's way to his shirt buttons.
"Can I help you comb your hair?" He asked in a seductive way.
"I already know what's going on in your head and I am not going to partake of it" Callie replied coldly.
"Oh come on Callie it's been weeks since I had you, don't say you don't miss me?" He stood up from the bed and made his way towards her. "I missed you" Manasseh gently rubbed her shoulders and kissed her neck.
"Hmph, I doubt" Callie placed her comb on the table and spanked Manasseh's hand in a way that stung him. "You had your concubine to satisfy your every desire" her words pierced Manasseh's heart.
"I still want my wife" Manasseh laughed it off and tailed her like a hungry beast. Callie turned to him with a gaze that killed all momentum in his body.
"I don't want my husband" she replied coldly "go meet your concubine and let me sleep" she laid on the bed and covered herself with the huge blanket.
Manasseh watched Callie for a minute then an hour and then he walked away when he noticed she was fast asleep. He left the room quietly and headed for Larkin's room.
Larkin sat by the fire place watching the flickering flames and burning wood. Beside her was a clothe stained with blood and a few medicine. A heavy sigh escaped her mouth.
"If death is the only way for you to feel satisfied, I beg you please kill me" Oona's face was still plastered in her head.
Larkin felt heavy and at the same time light, if it weren't for her spell she would be dead by now. She wasn't all so concerned about her life like she was concerned about Oona.
"Why are you crying?" Manasseh appeared inches beside Larkin on the bed. Larkin jolted and sighed. She quickly wiped her tears away and cleared her throat.
"I didn't realize you were here" she replied and quickly packed the bloody clothe and medicine. Manasseh had already seen it but decided not to ask any questions.
"So why are you crying?" Manasseh asked.
"I'm not crying" Larkin sniffed in and cleaned her face.
"Do you know you're a bad liar?" Manasseh sighed and slumped on her bed. He looked round her room and then at her.
"Why are you gloomy?" Larkin asked with a dull smile.
"I'm not gloomy " Manasseh lied which made Larkin shake her head.
"If course you aren't "
She sat on her couch and stared at the fire. "Emotions trigger her power, it's hard for her use control it"
Manasseh closed his eyes and smiled brightly "Now I have an upper hand when it comes to emotions" he sat up and laid properly on the bed covering himself with a blanket. "I'll use Sage's weapon against him"
Larkin's eyes turned brown, she gently adjusted herself on the couch so she could lay on it and sleep. "Goodnight Lord Manasseh"
"Goodnight" Manasseh yawned out. Just the Larkin sat up startling Manasseh. "What's wrong?" He asked by the time he sat up Larkin was no where to be found in the room.
Oona opened her eyes slowly as Sage dropped her on the ground. She was terrified when she saw the ground open up.
Her eyes glimmered when a lone lake came to her view. The half moon reflected it's light on it. There weren't many trees surrounding it, just flowers and a few plants.
"Beautiful" she whispered to herself.
Sage stood behind Oona watching the lake as well, he had a slight smile on his face as he recalled memories. "My brothers and I usually came here at night during the summer break" he had been a little bit harsh on Oona, he decided to show her this as a way of saying sorry or so it went in his head.
Oona turned to Sage with a smile that left him with butterflies, he hadn't felt this way in a long time and somehow it felt good. "Come let's swim"
"Eh" Oona gaped for a while trying to understand what he meant by let's swim. "Wait let's swim?"
"Of course" Sage nodded and walked down the path leading to the lake. Oona tailed behind him a little bit embarrassed about the fact she can't swim.
She hurriedly followed him "isn't it cold?" She asked nervously.
"Of course it is" he replied calmly. Once they got to the river Sage pulled off his boots and placed it by the edge of the lake. He stepped into the water slowly, steam emitted from his clothes nonstop like he was hot coal being placed in water.
"Your body is..." Oona pointed out.
"It does that a lot" he replied while he buried himself underneath the water. Oona walked up to the lake and sat by Sage's boot. She looked round trying to figure out where they might possibly be.
"Are we still in Annika?" She asked.
"Yes, this is part of palace grounds" Sage swam majestically in the lake enjoying the cold feeling he got from it. Oona watched him for a while, she had never seen sage this calm, kind, free and somewhat happy.
"You're different today" Oona said under her breath, it was meant to be in heard but she said it anyway. Sage turned to her, his green olive eyes glowed in the dark grazing on Oona's face then back to the lake, he didn't say anything.
"I heard Larkin was at the manor to visit you" Sage pretended he didn't hear what she said. Oona smiled sadly and looked at her feet that were inches away from the lake's water.
"We both had a misunderstanding at Astrid's party so she came to apologize" Oona replied as she curled up and hugged her shoulders.
"I see" Sage answered, he swam closer to Oona than the deeper parts of the lake. "Stay away from her" he continued "she's under Manasseh meaning bad news"
Oona watched him for a while "do you hate Manasseh?" the lake's water began to vibrate and make riffle, Oona turned to the water and then at Sage.
"No" Sage replied calmly. He stepped out of the water slowly, Oona had her eyes on his shirt which was stuck to his body and revealed a few portion of his torso. She unconsciously gulped in when he sat beside her. "He irritates me that's all" he later said.
Oona nodded slowly and watched the water. "I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you" . She turned to Sage shocked.
"Vilma died a few years back and it hurts whenever I remember that she died in my arms and all I could do is watch" Sage curled up like Oona and watched the lake. Oona wasn't quite shocked by the fact Vilma was dead, Figured one would say.
"It's alright" Oona smiled warmly. "I'm sorry for crossing boundaries" Sage stared at her blues eyes, he noticed the sags under her eyes and the red hue in her eyes. What caught his attention the most was the finger marks that was visible on her neck. Her hair had fallen off her shoulders and her neck was a little bit open for his sharp eyes to see."Thank you for bringing me here"
Sage decided to let his questions die but he was definitely going to investigate it. "You're welcome"
Both sat side by side and watched the beautiful lake.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein