2. An Anti-Climax?

Though I’d been hit with a succession crisis just as soon as I’d gotten into the swing of my laid-back pregnant lifestyle, my parents-in-law had swooped in from their far-off home of Le Pied to throw me a lifeline. Their encouraging advice of “It doesn’t matter if you have a boy or a girl so long as you and the baby make it through all right” had pulled me out of my funk, and it was without further issue or internal dilemma that I reached the final stages of my pregnancy.

My baby bump had grown awfully large by now, but spending my days lazing about the manor would “be bad for me and the child I was carrying.” (—Dahlia) Thus, I frittered most afternoons away going for leisurely strolls around the garden.

For someone who worked(?) as hard as I usually did, it felt a little too laid back to count as real exercise. That said, the gardens of the Fisalis manor were huge.

Though I generally only went as far as the greenhouse near the mansion or my own personal garden behind the cottage, I’d determined this was the perfect opportunity to scour the grounds from top to bottom, and I was in the midst of an invigorating walk with my escort, Stellaria. Pay no attention to the knight-guards bringing up our rear!

“Man, the trees around the mansion get as dense as forest. In fact, we pretty much are in the middle of the woods, aren’t we?”

“That’s right. The estate was designed to be hidden from outsiders.”

The mansion itself was encircled by towering walls to stave off any unwanted guests. Within those walls, a myriad of tall trees had been planted around the grounds to give it the look of a forest—which also served to keep out prying eyes. A trail ran between the walls and the trees, which the manor’s knight-guards diligently patrolled to keep our home safe.

Not too long ago, a band of thieves had broken into our mansion under the cover of a storm, but we’d tightened our security even further since the incident. Following that little disturbance, we’d had iron grates installed over the windows (retractable, plus sophisticated enough to keep the place from feeling like a jail when they were down!) to make our manor an even more impregnable fortress than before, but we hadn’t stopped there; Rohtas told me he’d drafted a new security protocol too thorough to fail come rain or shine.

But I think that’s enough explanation of the gardens for now.

“I can’t believe how big the place is. You could take a carriage around the grounds and no one would bat an eye.”

“True. Makes it perfect for a walk, wouldn’t you say?”

“You said it! C’mon, let’s do this thing!”

And so it was that I made a daily routine of strolling around the premises.

* * *

“Isn’t it about time for Master Fisalis to be getting home?”

We’d gone for a walk after lunch that day, and by the time we made it back to my private garden, it was well into the evening. Just as Stellaria said, Mr. Fisalis could be home any minute now.

“We’d better start heading back to the mansion, then...or so I was about to say.”

“Hm?”

Just as we turned to walk back to the manor, I spotted a weed near my feet. Stellaria followed my gaze and likewise her eyes landed upon the offending growth.

“A weed?”

“It sure is. And I’m afraid I’m not the type to let one go once I’ve set my sights on it.”

“Yes, I’m well aware.”

A pretty wildflower would have been one thing, but this particular weed stuck out like a sore thumb. I wasn’t about to just leave it there.

“I’ll head back once I’ve pulled this out.”

“All right.”

The moment I crouched down to uproot the weed, I saw Rohtas and Bellis heading our way from the direction of the manor.

“Wow, now here’s a rare sight. Looks like someone’s come to pick us up.”

“So it would seem.”

Whenever Rohtas came by to inform us of the time, he usually came alone. Did Bellis have some business out in the garden? Not that it made a difference either way—the pair didn’t appear to be in any rush, so whatever they were up to clearly wasn’t time-sensitive.

“All right—time to yank this thing out!”

I grabbed the weed with both hands.

I’d been so sure I could pull it out of the ground in two seconds flat. Unfortunately for me, it turned out to be unexpectedly tenacious, and a light tug proved insufficient to free it.

“Oh, drat! It won’t budge!”

“The roots of that particular species of weed run deeper than you’d think,” explained Bellis as he came over, glancing down at my hands.

“What, really? Hrm...”

“Don’t push yourself too hard, or else—”

Though I cast Stellaria a sidelong glance as she implored me not to put too much strain on my stomach, I ignored her advice and tugged on the weed with all my might.

“Don’t worry! It’s almost free! Heave...whoa!”

“Madam!” everyone cried out in alarm.

When I’d felt the weed starting to give, I’d given it as hard a yank as I could.

And it did come free.

The issue was that all my leftover momentum had sent me hurtling backwards.

Oh, crud, this is the part where I land flat on my back. I’d love to be optimistic here, but there’s no way my belly’s not going to feel the impact!

Just as I was starting to panic, Rohtas swiftly slid in from behind to catch me, ensuring that I never hit the ground.

“Thanks, Rohtas!”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake... I’m just glad you’re all right, Madam.”

“I’m sorry about that!”

Now, while it was all well and good that Rohtas had gotten me out of that pickle unscathed...

“Bellis?!”

“I was distracted.”

“Oh... Uh, my bad.”

There stood Bellis, covered in the dirt I’d flung his way.

The flow of events went as follows: soil flew everywhere when I pulled the weed up by the roots → Bellis panicked when he thought I was going to tumble over and moved in to help me → but Rohtas was one step ahead of him, so he stopped where he was → a shower of soil rained down upon the spot where he was standing → as a result, he ended up covered in dirt.

And that should bring us up to speed.

“All that matters is that you’re okay, Madam.”

“But you’re not okay!”

“A little dirt isn’t going to kill me. This sort of thing happens to me all the time,” Bellis responded, taking a handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe away the soil. The look on his face was as surly and unperturbed as ever, but combined with the pile of dirt sitting on his head...uh-oh. This was hilarious.

“Pfft...”

“Madam Fisalis?”

“I’m really sorry! It’s just, you look so funny like that...!”

Jeez, I can’t contain it any longer. Once I’d come out and said it, there was no stopping the laughter bubbling out of me.

“Sorry, Bellis! I know you’re used to working in the dirt, but when it’s sitting on your head like a hat? Aha ha ha ha!”

“See if I help you next time,” he groused. His trademark frosty aura was starting to coalesce around him, but it didn’t pack the same sort of punch when he was covered in soil.

“You’re not much of a Demon King today, Bellis.”

“Who do you think you’re calling a Demon King?”

“You. Tee hee.”

“Hmph. The next time something happens, you’re on your own.”

“Aww, c’mon! I said I was... Hm?”

While I was laughing and bantering with Bellis, I felt a pang in my stomach all of a sudden.

A cramp? Is that what you’d call this?

I frowned at the unpleasant sensation.

“What’s the matter?” asked Stellaria, peering into my face with concern when she noticed I had abruptly stopped laughing.

“Uh, I don’t know... My stomach feels weird?”

“What?!” came the surprised cry of everyone present.

“I’m not sure if ‘weird’ is the right word for it, or...huh? Now it’s starting to hurt.”

As I was assailed by a squeezing pain, my face twisted into a grimace.

“I remember the same thing happening to Mimosa,” said Bellis. From the sound of it, this wasn’t too different from how things had gone before his wife had her baby.

Rohtas sobered up instantly. “I see. Then she might be ready to give birth.”

“You’ll be all right, Madam! Just stay calm,” Stellaria assured me.

“I’ll leave the madam to you, Stellaria,” said Rohtas. “I’m going to go call for a doctor.”

“I’ll go get Dahlia and Mimosa,” Bellis offered.

“Owww... Thanks, guys!”

Once the trio had figured out the situation, it didn’t take long for them to regain their usual composure. Each one of the three jumped right into their respective duties. A capable servant knew how to keep their cool even at the eleventh hour, and the smoothness of their reaction managed to keep me from panicking too. I appreciate it, guys!

“Hold on, Madam. Dahlia and Mimosa should be here soon.”

“Yeah, I know. Owww...”

As I remained rooted to the spot, doing my best to ride out the wave of pain, the first person to arrive on the scene was not who I was expecting: it was none other than Mr. Fisalis himself.

“Vi! I heard you’re having stomach pains! Are you okay?”

“Oh, you’re home, Cercis!”

“I was surprised to find no one around to greet me when I got back only for Rohtas to come in from the garden and tell me that a stomach cramp had you incapacitated out in the garden. I rushed here as fast as I could.”

“Sorry...”

“Rohtas is calling for a doctor as we speak, so hang in there just a little bit longer.”

“Okay.”

Mr. Fisalis gently lifted me up in his arms and carried me off to the manor.

* * *

The pain continued to surge and ebb for a good long while after I was taken to my bedroom.

“You must be going into labor,” said Dahlia as she massaged my hips. “You’re far enough into your pregnancy that the timing seems right.”

“Really?”

“I can’t say for sure until the doctor confirms it, but that’s my best guess.”

Wow... So it won’t be long now before I finally meet my little one.

I was simultaneously filled with joy and the suspense of not knowing what lay in store for me, and the agony that assailed me was so overwhelming that I hardly had the time to sort out my own conflicted emotions. Talk about having my hands full!

Still, I somehow managed to keep myself calm until the doctor arrived.

Now that it’s come to this, all I can do is buckle down and prepare for the worst. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be—you can come on out whenever you want, kiddo! I thought, psyching myself back up again.

The doctor explained that soon, the intervals between my on-and-off bouts of pain—which would come and go almost like the tide—were going to start getting shorter and shorter.

I see. I’d better start counting the time between them, then. The last wave of pain just went away, so I wonder how long it’ll be before the next one comes?

I waited.

And waited.

Huh? It’s not coming.

Had having everyone’s eyes on me made me so nervous that I stopped feeling the pain?

“Huh...?”

“What’s wrong?” the doctor asked as she checked my pulse.

“The pain just stopped all of a sudden. What does that mean?”

“Oh, dearie me.”

As happy as I was that the pain had subsided and I was feeling good as new...I couldn’t help thinking this was a bit anticlimactic.

While I sat there stunned by this turn of events, the doctor eventually declared, “I believe this is what we call false labor.” She then asked me, “Do you have any recent memory of exerting yourself physically, or perhaps having a particularly hearty laugh?”

Exerting myself physically? A hearty laugh? Yep, that rings a bell. I’m probably in for a lecture if I tell her about the part where I tipped over, so I’ll keep that my little secret.

“Yeah. It was earlier this evening, out in the garden. I strained myself pretty hard trying to pull out a weed. And then I cracked up laughing when I saw Bellis covered in dirt.”

“Well, that would do it. The overexertion and the fit of laughter must have put an undue amount of stress on your stomach.”

“Whoopsie...”

From the sound of it, those hadn’t been full-fledged labor pains, but false contractions caused by those hysterics of mine...among other things.

“What’s the word?” Mr. Fisalis later asked Dahlia. “Is the baby on the way?”

“Not yet. It seems they weren’t actual contractions.”

“Damn...”

He seemed awfully disappointed to hear that it was a false alarm and our baby wasn’t ready to be born just yet. Sorry to get your hopes up!

Be sure to save the real deal for another day Daddy is around, okay, Bitsy (name TBD)?