NED: A VISITOR

Ned stirs, shifting his body.

He opens his eyes and brings a hand up to wipe the sleep away.

Turning his head, he is confronted by a pair of deep gray eyes and a smile.

A slender finger with a long nail digs into the tip of his nose.

“Hello Marthelion. How are you doing? Have you been well?”

“I am fine, Ned. How have you been?”

Ned looks around at the clean sunny room. The bed and furniture. The chair next to the bed which inexplicably has a Princess seated in it. Strokes the soft sheets with his right hand. “It seems I am doing okay, now.” He smiles at her. “I’m happy to see you.”

“And I’m happy to see you. Ned, I am so sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” he asks, puzzled. “Did you eat all of the potato chips, again?”

“Sorry for what they did to you. That should never have happened.” A tear escapes from her right eye, making its way down her cheek.

“That’s not your fault, though, is it?” He reaches out to her with his left hand, gently brushing the tear away.

She gasps in shock, then grabs his hind in both of hers. The hand that was crushed. Nearly useless now, the fingers are curled into the palm, immobile, the bones fused together, set in place by a healing process that could not overcome the trauma.

Marthelion starts crying in earnest. Silently cradling his hand against her chest, rocking back and forth while streams of tears roll down her cheeks.

Ned, unsure what to do about this unexpected development, stays silent, watching her for awhile. Then says with a stern commanding tone, “Excuse me, Princess. But you’re leaking on me. What have I told you about leaking on me.”

She looks confused for a moment, “You never told me anything about leaking. This is the first time we’ve ever had a conversation!”

“Well I’ll tell you now, then. First you leaked blood into my potato chips. Then you leaked some nasty black poisonous stuff all over my couch. Smelled horrible and took forever to clean up. Now you’re leaking tears all over everything. I want you to stop leaking. It’s not necessary and it’s inappropriate behavior. Even if you are a Princess. I won’t allow it.” Then in a softer tone, “Please stop crying because if you don’t, I’ll start to cry too.”

She leans forward, burying her face in the covers over his chest. He reaches over with his other hand and gently strokes her hair while she cries herself out.

Eventually, he says, “I have two questions.”

“I will hear your questions,” she says, voice muffled.

“Am I wearing any clothes?”

She sits up and lifts the sheets. “Nope.” Then uses one corner of the sheet to wipe her face and nose before covering him again.

“Gross. Why are you so fat?”

“How rude. I’m not fat, I’m pregnant. And it’s your fault.”

Shock, confusion. “I’m pretty sure it’s not my fault. I would definitely remember if it was my fault.”

She laughs. “It’s a long story. You’re not the father. But your magic made it possible. Let’s discuss it later.”

“Okay. Can you find me some clothes? I want to get out of bed.”

“I’ll get the maid. She’ll take care of you. Then I’ll come back.” She turns to leave.

“Marthelion.” She stops. “Thank you.”

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She laughs, “Marthelion means ‘Princess’, dummy. My name is Anika.”

CONFESSIONS

Now that he is recovering from his forced hermitage, Ned is a little shy around the maid. Merilee is all business and no-nonsense, however, so she chivvies him out of bed and into the bath without too much fuss.

The bath helps to restore a bit of color to his skin. Less gray and more pink now. Merilee sets out a set of soft clothing for him. Pants, shirt, belt and slippers. Ned decides that he can get used to this. Small things make a difference. Small things bring joy.

Merilee then sets him down at the table and feeds him sausages and something like a sweet potato pie. Unfortunately, Ned has eaten so little for so long that he can only fit in a few bites of each before he’s full.

Anika returns as he is finishing up and takes her place at the table with him just in time for tea with scones and jam.

“Why aren’t you eating?” She asks.

“My stomach has shrunk,” Ned says. “They didn’t feed me much.”

Anika looks sad at this, her eyes getting shiny. “Anika, don’t you dare start crying again.” Ned says, almost shouting. Then more quietly, “I’m not very … strong … right now. I don’t think I can … “

Reaching out to him, she sets her hand on top of his and gives a gentle squeeze. “I’m sorry. I’ll control myself.”

That got her a shy smile. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“It’s a bit of a long story. I’ll give you the highlights. Merilee, please leave us.”

The maid disappears without a word and Anika goes on, “I had a … lover. One of my guards who recently joined the squad. It is not something princesses are allowed to do, but we were discreet and no one knew.”

She took a sip of her tea and returned the cup to the saucer with a little clink. “It would not have lasted long, but fate intervened. I was betrayed and we were attacked by a small group of rebels. He died, along with most of my guards. My last-ditch defenses teleported me out into your living room. The person who betrayed me was my lover.”

She pauses, looking sad for a moment, and who would blame her? Ned slathers marmalade on a scone and hands it to her. She takes a bite, then continues. “To save my own life, I took your life force. I know it was very painful for you and I’m sorry. You were my only hope.”

“I’m glad you did,” says Ned. “A little of my pain is worth nothing compared to a life.”

“Don’t brush it off too casually. If you were weak, it would have killed you. I was ready to … sacrifice you … in order to save my own life. Fortunately, you are strong. Very very strong. That’s how I became pregnant.”

“Because I am strong?”

“Yes. Your power overwhelmed the charms I had against pregnancy. Not only did it strengthen the fetus but it super-charged it, splitting it into two. I will have twins.”

“Congratulations!” Ned offers a high five, which the Princess meets with a loud clap. Shaking his hand to cool the sting, Ned asks, “When are the babies due.”

“Within a month. But also never,” she answers cryptically. “My pregnancy has been quite the scandal. Officially, I lost the babies to a miscarriage some months ago. But now I am getting ahead of my story. Let me get back on track and all will be revealed.”

“Okay.”

“So you saved my life. Willingly. Not even knowing who I am, what the consequences might be, or asking for anything in return.”

“What person could deny life to a dying person?”

“Many, many such people exist. You are the rare one, here, Ned.” She looks away for a moment. “So I recovered. Spent time with you doing nothing in particular. I cannot explain to you how much that time meant to me. As a Princess, I had never had such leisure time in my life. Not even as a child.”

“That time was great for me, too. I was too much alone. It was … changing me. I think you might have saved me, too. In a different sort of way.”

She smiled again, gray eyes flashing. “I am glad, then. Although what came next may not have been worth it. After I returned home, I started to settle back into my life. Then we discovered I was pregnant. A skilled healer can sense many things about the body with their magic. My doctor, who is the lady who attended to you yesterday, is highly skilled and she realized what had happened immediately. It was meant to be kept secret but somehow the information was leaked.”

Another pause to sip tea. Ned offers another scone but she declines. “As I said, a pregnancy for an unwed princess is a scandal. Especially for me, as I was high in the ranks for succession should the Emperor step down. The Emperor, my father, was very angry. I was demoted and sequestered in the Palace.”

“I won’t bore you with the politics. Having these children is a bad idea. With the current political outlook, they would likely end up as hostages in the power struggle that is developing here. Since I refused to have them aborted, it has been decided that they will not officially exist. But that comes with other problems.”

“In order to save their lives, I must give them away. After they are born, I cannot see them, interact with them, communicate with them in any way.” Tears start rolling down her cheeks again.

Ned stands and limps over to her chair. He takes her in his arms and pulls her head in to his chest - even sitting she is almost as tall as he is. Holds her, gently rocking, as she cries.

After awhile, he asks, “Who will take them?”

“I don’t know,” she sobs. “Who can I trust? Who can I believe will love them the way I will? Take care of them like the precious gifts they are?”

Without saying a word, Ned stands up, takes her hand and pulls her out of the chair. Leading her over to the freshly made bed, he pulls back the covers and sits Anika down on the edge of the bed. He lifts up each of her feet to take off her shoes and then gently helps her lay down.

He pulls the covers up over her swollen belly to her chin. He leans over and kisses her forehead, then sits down in the same chair she had been sitting in when she woke him up that morning. “Rest,” he commands. “Sleep. We will find answers when you awaken.”

She reaches one hand out and takes his right hand. Closing her eyes, she dozes off in minutes.