Two Sleepyheads

Alec sits in his corner, a book in hand. He glances up at Anthea, rubbing her swollen belly.

"How long has it been now?" Alec asks.

"Seven months." She doesn’t look up from her stomach.

"The days blur together here. I can't believe it's been that long."

She giggles. "You were so adamant about not—"

The door slams open. Anthea's maid rushes in. "The King and a midwife are coming to check on the baby. Alec, hide in the next room!"

>>>

"Is the baby healthy?" Alec steps back inside.

Anthea sniffles.

"What’s wrong?" He rushes over.

"He didn’t even speak to me," she croaks.

"Who, the King?" Alec kneels by her bed.

She doesn't answer, only sobs into her hands.

Alec reaches a hand out but stops midway. His arm floats, suspended, as she weeps.

"Is this how marriage is supposed to go?" she chokes out between heavy breaths.

"I—I… um…" Alec stammers. "I wouldn't know, Anthea."

Anthea finally lifts her head from her hands. "You're not married?"

"No. I've never had the time to think about it. Since childhood, I’ve trained under my father to inherit his place as Holy Knight Commander."

"It’s just… I wonder why I’m even here," she murmurs.

Alec has no answer.

>>>

"I always begged Father to carry me out to the flower patch beyond the village," Anthea says softly. "My brothers yelled, said I was wasting his time. But I couldn’t help it. Those orange and yellow flowers… they mixed so beautifully with the grass."

The maid lifts a spoonful of soup to Anthea's mouth.

"Thank you, Sarah," Anthea says after swallowing. "Having the two of you to talk to really does make my day."

"Oh, I just remembered. I must fetch your laundry." Sarah springs up and rushes out the door.

After a brief moment, Anthea says, "Alec, I’m famished. Could you feed me?"

Alec's book slides from his hand.

"Can you not do that yourself?" he gulps.

She pouts.

Alec tepidly steps over and grabs the tray from the bed. "This isn't poisoned, is it?" he says with a playful smile.

"No, Sarah cooks all of my meals." Her pout turns serious.

"I was only joking," he says, dunking the spoon. Just as it is about to touch her lips, the door slams open.

"The castle is in panic! Demons have attacked the Aetherite mine!" Sarah shouts.

Alec drops the spoon, splattering soup across the sheets.

He turns to the door.

"Alec, please… don’t go!" Anthea calls out.

"Anthea, I must. The Kingdom is in danger."

"But you promised you’d be my bodyguard until the baby was born!"

"I’m still keeping my promise. I’m defending the Kingdom. The Kingdom with you in it."

"I worried something like this might happen. Take this." Anthea struggles to lift her arm.

In her palm lies a light-purple rock, inscribed with a circle of foreign symbols.

"What is this?" Alec carefully plucks it from her hand.

"It’s a demon artifact. I had Sarah buy them from Aurelith. It should let me send you a message from any distance. I have one too. It's supposed to buzz like a bug."

"I promise you, I will return. Victorious." Alec strides out the doorway.

>>>

Alec’s sword clashes with the demon’s spear tip. The demon's flurry of thrusts is fast, but Alec parries each one.

"I’d never dreamed there’d be a human who could keep up with me. What's your name?" the demon stops to ask.

"Alec Durhand."

The demon grins savagely. "Anpu. General Anpu."

As the two stare each other down, Alec hears his subordinates behind him: metal clanks, battle cries, the holy knights clashing with an army of demons.

A fireball whizzes overhead, exploding behind him and setting more trees on fire. Demon mages atop the cave entrance of the mine hurl spell after spell at Alec’s soldiers. He knows he must get past this general and stop the mages.

Alec leaps back, readying his sword.

Anpu laughs. "This will be fun." He charges Alec.

Alec's arms give out. His sword slips from his hands. Buzzing. His pocket. The purple rock.

"No, no, Anthea!" he mutters.

The spear tip slides through Alec's armored shoulder.

"What happened to my entertainment, human?" Anpu snarls, yanking the spear out.

But Alec is already running, barreling through demon soldiers and his own men alike.

"General Durhand!" Alec hears Randolf cry out, but he doesn’t stop.

"I promised her. I promised her," he whispers, cutting through trees until he finds the path. He bolts down the blurring dirt road.

>>>

"Anthea!" Alec kicks open the castle gate, sending the metal doors flying.

He speeds inside, up the grand stairs, down her hallway.

He passes the Prime Minister. "Durhand, why are you here?" The question fades as Alec races past.

He slams open her door. The normally quiet room is full of people, full of noise.

Sarah stands at the far side of the bed, wiping her tears. The King, a barber-surgeon, and a midwife stand at the foot of the bed. A baby is cradled in the midwife’s arms.

Anthea lies faint on her bed, her sickly pale even more sickly, almost green.

"General Durhand, what are you doing here?" the King demands, all eyes turning to Alec.

"How’s Anthea?" Alec asks, his breath shaky.

The barber-surgeon shakes his head. "She did not survive the birth."

Alec falls to his knees, and so does his heart, sinking into his stomach. Sarah’s eyes catch his, and he swears they’re telling him 'no'.

He clenches his teeth, surging to his feet. Out of instinct — or maybe rage — he charges the midwife, tackling her. Snatching the baby from her grasp, he flies out of the room.

"Stop that man! He’s stolen the princess!" the King’s voice echoes down the hall.

Two guards burst through the front doors, blades drawn. Alec leaps off the grand steps, dropkicking the first guard into the stone wall, leaving an imprint. The second charges, sword raised. Alec sidesteps, tripping him with ease.

He bursts out of the castle.

~~~

Elayne stares at Alec and the girl across the table, trying to process the tale she just heard. "I don’t get it," she finally says.

The girl takes off her glasses, revealing deep purple, almost glowing eyes. "I am that baby. I am Anne Sagia, the first and only princess of Sagia."