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“Argh, I don’t want to stay in this bed anymore but it hurts too much to move.”
“M’lady, you know it’s for your best interest to stay put. His Majesty specifically asked for—“
“I knoooow! I know Nax is getting antsy about me doing anything but he forgets that he isn’t the one with an egg,” the queen groans, barely shifting off from her side to her back. Her entire body moves along with her, knocking the sheets from the bed and exposing the soft, lighter scales of her underbelly. The maid in charge of looking after her blushes, turning her head away out of respect.
“M’lady, you shouldn’t expose yourself like that. I-It’s quite indecent.”
“I don’t caaaare.” She lies flat on her back, sighing with relief that some of the pain was alleviated; however, her swollen belly aches and she can’t help but look down at it. The queen’s hands come up instinctively, holding her belly and rubbing one hand across it. She smiles, knowing that all this pain will be well worth it once it’s laid. Her only complaint is that her husband is twice her length and the child within the egg takes after him.
As the maid gathers the satin sheets from the marbled floor, the door opens slowly, with a large figure entering. The maid jumps up in shock and quickly bows, giving her respect to the naga that has just entered.
“Your majesty, it’s a pleasure to see you. I apologize for the current state of the queen.” The maid blushes once more, remembering that she’s currently sprawled out on the bed, showing off her more private area.
The king chuckles, slithering over to his bedridden wife, and smiles down at her. She makes an attempt to reach for him, groaning in pain in the process. He takes her hand in his and brings it to his lips, gently kissing it.
“How are you, my love? Aside from flashing the maids?”
“I’m ready to get this egg out, Naxie.”
Nax smiles at her again before bringing his attention back to the maid. “Has Rose eaten at all? Did anything happen?”
“Oh my god, Nax, I’m right here. You can ask me,” Rose complains, sticking her tongue out at Nax in the process. He ignores her, albeit stifling a laugh from her childish display. The maid tries to hide her smile, always enjoying the sight of them together.
“Yes, she did, Your Majesty. Other than that, nothing happened at all.”
Nax nods, looking down and admiring his wife once more. “All right, you may leave. I’ll stay with her for the rest of the day.”
The maid bows respectfully once more and neatly places the discarded sheets on the bed before slithering out the door. After she has left, Nax sits on the bed next to Rose, careful not to jostle her around too much. Rose smiles at him, happy that he’s finally with her.
“Meeting’s all done?”
“Yes, it ended sooner than I would have thought, surprisingly. The nobles were all cooperative for once. I think they realized that I was more in a hurry to come back and see you.”
Rose blushes as their tails curl together and sighs. “You didn’t have to finish so quickly for me…”
“Rose,” Nax says firmly. “You and the baby are worth more to me than a silly meeting on taxes. Honestly, we’ve been discussing this same point for ages now because no one can agree on anything.”
“Taxes are important.”
“You’re more important, my love.”
Rose clicks her tongue, holding up one finger and waving it in front of him. “Bad Nax, using contractions like that. What would your mother say if she heard her son speak like such a commoner?”
Nax rolls his eyes from the statement but chooses to ignore it. He lies down next to her, carefully setting his golden crown off to the side and watches her, resting his head in his hand. With his free hand, he reaches up, gently placing it on her belly, feeling instantly calm and happy. He rubs it in lazy, light circles, just admiring his beautiful wife and the life she’s holding within her.
“You’re gorgeous, my love.”
“Huh? What brought this on?”
“Just…you. Everything about you is gorgeous.” Nax moves his hand off of her belly and to her face, lightly holding her chin and turning her head to him. “Your eyes are so beautiful and delightful to gaze into. I often find myself lost in them as one would be lost in the midst of the blue sea. And your freckles, my love don’t even get me started on those. You know very well how I feel about them.”
Rose smiles, blushing as her husband showers her with compliments. “Yeah, I do know. You liked them so much, you ran away from me as a child.” She reaches over and pinches his cheek as a dark red coats his tanned cheeks. “Aww, you were so cute, Naxie. You promise you’ll stay here for the rest of the day?”
“Of course,” Nax says, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “I’ll stay with you forever, you know that.”
“Then let’s take a bath together. A nice hot bath with my adoring husband ought to help this pain go away.” Rose winces from a slight pain in her abdomen as she tries to get closer to Nax. He puts his hand firmly but gently on her, stopping her from moving any more.
“Honey, you shouldn’t be moving around so much. Let’s just stay in bed.”
“But Nax,” Rose whines, pouting and lightly shaking his arm. “We always take a bath together and I know the hot water will do us both good. Please?” She bats her eyes at him, hoping he’ll see how right she is in her reasoning and carry them off to the bathroom.
When Nax relents, smiling down at her, Rose offers him a bright smile of her own, briefly forgetting about her condition as she tries to sit up too fast. She squeaks in pain and Nax rushes to her aid, laying her back down on the bed. Rose bites her lip, looking bashfully up at her husband’s worried face, hoping he won’t change his mind after her sudden movement.
“How about you wait here and I’ll ready the bath, okay? I’ll come back for you when it’s ready.”
“That sounds great, sweetheart.” Nax kisses Rose’s forehead, her nose, and then her lips, lingering and enjoying the sweetness of her taste. He pulls away reluctantly and slithers over to their large bathroom that’s connected to their royal bedroom. Once he enters into the bright, cream-colored room, he heads over to the large tub on the opposite end of the room. He reaches for the knobs, turning them and letting the water flow and crash loudly against the porcelain.
Nax plugs it up, allowing the hot water to begin filling the tub. He periodically checks the temperature, making sure it’s nice enough to relax in and not to burn in; the last thing he wants is for his wife to be in any more pain than she is already. Satisfied with the level of the water and warm, inviting steam emitting from it, he shuts it off and rises to retrieve his wife.
The tip of Rose’s tail wags slightly as she sees her husband return for her. She smiles as he leans down to kiss her once again before wrapping his strong arms around her and carefully lifting the top half of her body from the bed. The rest of her body slides off of the bed, coiling beneath her neatly as Nax holds her.
Rose winces in pain but tries to brush it off. “Thank you, sweetie. Now let’s go get in the tub.”
“Of course, my love.”
Nax, refusing to let go of his wife despite small protests, keeps an arm around her waist firmly and holds her close as they slither into the bathroom together. Once inside, Nax takes the time to remove the bracelets and necklaces from Rose’s body and sets them down on the sink next to them. As he does so, he pauses to kiss her tenderly on the lips or wherever he’s closer to.
Rose giggles from the attention her sweet husband is giving her. “Nax, you’re really spoiling me, you know?”
“Nope. Just taking care of my lovely queen.” He presses a kiss to her temple before helping her into the tub. Thankfully she wasn’t wearing a top but she elected not to for comfort and ease. Rose shudders and sighs in delight as the hot water envelops her body, already easing some of the pain. She lies down with her back against the wall of the bath and shuts her eyes as a smile forms on her face.
“Ah, scalding hot water. You know me so well, Naxie.”
“Well I would hope so,” Nax begins, working on removing his own jewelry so as not to ruin the fine gold from prolonged exposure to the water. “After knowing you for what, sixteen years, I think I’d know you by now and what you like.”
He sets his gold down neatly next to Rose’s and shrugs off his burgundy vest, folding it carefully and placing it on top of the jewelry. From behind, Rose whistles, enjoying the wonderful sight of her husband’s strong muscular back complete with tattoos of cobra eyes on each shoulder blade.
Nax rolls his eyes and turns around, wearing a devious grin on his face. “Catcalling already, I see.”
Rose nods eagerly, admiring her husband’s thick, toned body that’s covered in black tattoos, his symbol of royalty. She scoots to the side a little bit, holding her enlarged belly as Nax gracefully slides into the tub next to her. Their tails immediately tangle together, wanting to perpetually be touching in any way possible. Nax wraps his arm around her shoulders and brings her closer, carefully taking the clip out of her hair, letting her long, black locks down past her shoulders.
“Whoops. I guess I forgot one thing.” Nax places the clip off to the side, bringing his attention back to his wife. With his free hand, he places it on her belly once more, rubbing it soothingly in lazy circles.
Rose snuggles closer to her husband, letting out a content sigh and just relaxing in his embrace. They’re quiet for a few moments, just enjoying each other’s company and warmth; they don’t always need words to fill the gap. Nax’s fingers play with Rose’s thick, dark hair, twirling it and letting it fall back to place.
“Mmm, Rose, let me wash your hair, love,” Nax quietly offers, pressing a kiss to her head. She nods eagerly and moves over, readying herself to slide underwater in order to wet her hair. Rose breathes in, submerging herself under the hot water for a brief second before resurfacing and wiping water away from her eyes. Nax’s hands come around her head to move the wet hair that’s stuck to her face.
“You know, Nax, you’re going to be an amazing father in a few months. You’re very protective, affectionate, and annoying when it comes to caring for others.” Rose smiles as Nax reaches behind her for their small container of shampoo.
“Annoying? How on earth am I being annoying?” Nax asks, feigning an offended tone.
“Now don’t get me wrong, baby. But you’re constantly on me ever since I got pregnant. Asking me ten times within one hour if I was hungry was a little excess.”
“Oh, come on, I haven’t done that to you recently.”
“You did it like two days ago.”
Nax brushes it off with a smiles, rubbing his hands together to spread the slick cream around. He gently runs his hands through her hair, massaging her scalp and spreading the shampoo around to cleanse her hair. Rose leans her head back, making it easier for him to move around and make sure everything gets covered equally.
“Mmm, Naxie, you’re so good with your hands. How was I blessed with such an amazing husband?”
“For being a vivacious woman with adorable freckles.” Rose snorts, giggling and blushing from her husband’s unrelenting praise. “Okay, I’m done. Go ahead and dunk again.”
Rose does so, swaying her head around to get out all the shampoo. When she resurfaces once more, Nax repeats his duty of hair moving and holds her close.
“Nax…?”
“Yes, my love.”
“Do you think we’ll be good parents together? Do you think the baby will be happy with us?”
They’re silent, allowing their minds to think about a few months down the road when the egg will finally hatch. Nax contemplates her words, reminding himself over and over that he knows what not to do when raising a child. He knows that with his structure and Rose’s love and bubbly nature that they will be amazing parents.
“I’m sure it will. We’re ready for this, Rose, I know we are. Besides, who doesn’t enjoy a fun-loving mother such as yourself?”
“Heyy, don’t leave yourself out. I can’t wait to see you as a father to our little baby. So strong and protective.” Rose reaches back to cup his cheek with her wet hand. “And so smart. You’ll know exactly what to do with them and I’ll probably fumble around and mess up…a lot.”
Nax stares hard at her, brows furrowing from such a negative comment. “Rose, don’t say that. We’ll both mess up at least once, there’s no stopping that. But don’t make it out that I’m something perfect and you’re not.” He gently grabs her chin and moves her head comfortably to face him. “We’re equals. We’re going at this with the same amount of experience and skills. Heh, I wouldn’t be surprised if you came out on top as the supreme parent while I’ll be on the sidelines as the mean, old grump.”
Rose giggles as Nax finishes his mini speech, pressing light kisses to her cheeks. “I can’t see you as a mean, old grump. It’s just not you.” Nax lets go of her chin, allowing her move freely. She brings her arms over her head, stretching her body, causing a couple of bones to crack. Nax watches her carefully, looking for any sign of discomfort, but doesn’t budge as he sees how comfortable she is.
“How are you feeling?”
“Ahh, the water is really helping take the edge off of the pain. I don’t wanna leave.”
“Then I guess we’re living in the bathtub for the rest of our life.”
“You’ll have all your meetings and nobles come in her and discuss taxes and other royal issues.”
It’s Nax’s turn to laugh at such an absurd thought. His deep, low rumble of laughter is contagious as his wife can’t help but suppress a couple of giggles before erupting into loud, carefree laughter.
“I wonder who’s sense of humor our little Marco or Alice will have?”
Nax tenses as Rose uses those names. He smiles lovingly down at her, resting his hands on belly once more as the length of his body untangles itself from her tail and wraps carefully around her.
“I see you took a shine to Alice after all. It’s a lovely name for a future princess, as Marco is a wonderful name for a prince. Which would you prefer to have though? A boy or a girl?”
Rose answers immediately, already having thought of this same question. “I don’t care at all. I just want a happy, healthy child who has dreams and just loves to live. They can be anyone they want to be, love anyone they want to, and I will be happy.” She smiles, looking up at her husband. “What about you?”
Nax returns the smile and kisses her softly on her forehead, her nose and her lips. “You took the words right out of my mouth. I just want a child who is both kind and ambitious. One who can proudly carry on the Bodt name and rule the nation peacefully.”
“We’re so lucky, Nax. I can’t wait to finally have a family with you. We’ll have a nice big family where there’s constantly little tails squirming around the corners and giggling. One day, we’ll have both Marco and Alice.”
“I can’t wait for that day, my love.”