This choice: Isallia lives up to her promise, and so does the king. • Go Back...Chapter #7Desperate Times, Desperate Measures by: GodofRevels   While Isallia didn’t entirely trust the king to live up to this agreement, she did at least comfort herself knowing she could have some leverage in the situation. She would see what would happen at first, and if she discovered he had been lying, well, then he could kiss his “willing” participant goodbye. Then again, he could just find a way to force her to eat if she still refused, and she hated to think of that possibility. For now, she still had to have hope.
The king, in his eagerness, had plied his new acquisition with lots of food, but Isallia only ate what felt comfortable. Yes, she was eager to see her family again, but she also wasn’t going to give the king the satisfaction of watching her stuff herself like one of his other prized “hogs.” She still hadn’t had a chance to meet any of the others, still confined to her room. She was genuinely curious to know what some of his other concubines were like. She wanted to know if they saw the monster she saw in the king.
They had figured out that, at the moment, Isallia weighed almost exactly eight stone, and the king quickly whipped up a document with their arrangement. As part of it, she had agreed to let him feed her on occasion. He had practically strong-armed her into that piece of the agreement, but if it got her back to her family for just one day…
She just hadn’t accounted for how zealous or sometimes forceful he would be during these times. At the moment, she was nursing her swollen, and painfully stuffed stomach from her latest encounter. It seemed, as she understood it, that he made time to see each and every one of his concubines, and that her being a new and fascinating catch for him, she got just a little more attention, or at least more frequently. He at least saw to feeding her once a week. She rubbed the tight curve of her belly, suddenly being reminded of the last time she looked like this, when her family was whole, or at least as whole as it was ever going to be.
* * *
The warm sunlight hitting her face finally caused Isallia to stir. She stretched her arms a little, and tried sitting up. That was getting harder these days. Inaril was at her side in an instant. “Decided to sleep in, did we?” he asked playfully, stroking her hair.
She yawned. “Well, had to when your child decided to spend most of the night kicking my organs. Course, now that I’m up, they want to make sure I haven’t forgotten.”
She placed Inaril’s hands on the lower part of her rounded belly. He could feel a few punches knocking at his fingers. She was truly content in this moment. Everything was perfect. She was with a man she cared about very much, and they were going to have the family they always wanted.
He laughed. “Okay, okay, I get it. You and mom are both probably hungry.”
Isallia’s stomach growled in response. “Food does sound good,” she said.
He helped her quiet down the aggressive movements in her insides, and kissed her cheek before rising. Isallia made an attempt to get up as well, before Inaril gently coaxed her back into the bed. “Inaril, I’ve still got a few weeks. I’m pregnant, not invalid,” she complained.
“I know,” he said, “but you ought to at least take rest where you can. Really? Only a few weeks? Is it that soon?”
Isallia had loved his child-like wonder from the moment they found out they were to have their first child. He had been incredibly attentive and wanted to know just about everything that was going on as their little one continued to grow. He had proudly bragged to all their friends about how they were going to raise a large family, and she loved how joyful he had been about the news. “Yes, only a few weeks,” she answered, rather excited just saying that herself. She rubbed her belly and whispered to it, “Although, I think you’d better get here sooner before your father drives me crazy trying to keep me on bedrest.”
* * *
Not more than a few days after that, Inaril had gotten sick. The worst part was how alone she felt without him. She had to go through her last few weeks of her pregnancy on her own, and when the time did come, she really only had her friend Niyi to help her. Inaril wasn’t even conscious when Rhala was born. He had been so hopeful, and now he didn’t even know he had a son.
Isallia tried her best to roll over in her current state and go to sleep. She groaned as her stomach protested to the slightest bit of pressure. This was going to be harder than she thought. Sure, she was going to be fine for a little while, but what would happen as she continued to get bigger? Would she reach a point where she couldn’t even get up? What then? Would the king let her see her family at all at that point?
She had to try and not think about that. Right now, she had to focus on the now. Surely, by now she’d be getting close to having her first day to spend with her little boy. Surely, she had met the first of the king’s demands to earn some time back among her people.
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