“Why can’t I see mummy?” Livia asks the nanny as she is being tucked into bed. She did not know the nanny’s name. The older woman had suddenly appeared one day instead of her mummy, and started taking care of her without a word.

Dark blond hair falls into dull brown eyes as the woman offers the young miss a bland but kind smile.

“It is not for me to say, Miss Livia,” The nanny replies, pulling the covers around her tight. She then leans forward to blow out the candle on the bedside table and stands up, “I will greet you in the morning. Have a good night's rest,” she says before grabbing her own candle holder and turning to leave the room without a backward glance.

Livia watches as the light in the hall slowly shrinks as the door closes with a soft click and she shuffles to stare up at her ceiling, waiting.

The young miss becomes bored in a matter of seconds and sits up in her bed, staring around her room to find any sort of entertainment. Her eyes catch sight of the book her mother had read with her, weeks ago, sitting on a small table by the sitting area.

Livia perks up and quickly remove the tight bundle of covers around her before jumping off her bed and walking over to the book. Though not before grabbing her purple stuffed dragon and tucking it protectively under her arms. She picks it up before turning around and taking a seat.

Her room was dark without any candlelight, but the night was clear, and the stars bright and pretty outside. She was tempted to shuffle onto the balcony but was afraid of being seen. Instead, she settles on being content with the minimum light in the room and opens the book to admire the pretty pictures inside.

The young miss was not interested in reading if she had no one to show off her ability to.

And just like that, the time passed, and the noise outside of her room calmed until finally, the candles were extinguished by the servants.

Livia closes the book and rubs at her sleepy eyes, her head nodding off to the side as her heavy eyelids threaten to shut. But when the book slips from her lap and makes a loud thump, she startles awake, blinking rapidly.

“I can’t sleep,” She tells herself and slaps her own cheeks, “I must find mummy.”

Feeling a bit more awake with the sting in her round cheeks, Livia climbs down the too-large chair and heads for the door of her room.

She carefully opens it, trying not to make a sound, before peeking out, looking down the right side of the hallway and then the left. When she sees no one, she grins in triumph.

Her plan was working well! Now, all she had to do was go to her mother's room without anyone discovering her!

Livia steps outside and closes her bedroom door behind her. Then she stops.

Which was mummy’s room again? She tilts her head, thinking hard.

Then she raises her pudgy hand, closes her eyes, and spins three times. When she opens them again, her hand is pointing down the left hall. Livia beams. It was that way. She knew it was.

She trots off in that direction without giving it another thought.

Livia raises her beautifully crafted stuffed dragon in front of her, “Mummy will be so happy to see us, Caroline. She mustah have missed us.” She tells her only friend and waves her in the air to make it seem as if Caroline was flying alongside her.

The young miss gets momentarily distracted by this, and zooms the stuffed dragon around, making small whooshing noises as she spins and walks at the same time, giggling happily.

Livia does not pay any attention as to where she is going, so when she turns a corner, she is startled when she bumps into something soft yet firm, which causes her to stumble back and fall on her butt. She drops Caroline and whines in annoyance, instantly scowling.

“Watch where you walk, servant!” she snaps, echoing the words she once heard her mother say.

“Oh my, are you alright, dear?” A softs voice asks and a pale hand falls into her view. Livia grabs at it blindly, looking to the floor to find where Caroline had fallen.

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She spots the dragon a few inches away and trots towards it to pick it up. She makes a show of dusting off Caroline, a pout on her face.

“Look what you did,” she says, “Caroline is durty because of you.”

“I’m sorry. I should have not spaced off. Is Caroline alright, Miss Livia?”

The toddler hugs the stuffed dragon to her chest, finally looking up to the person she had dumped into. Her almond shape eyes widen in shock and she points at the fat belly before her.

“What have you swarrowed!?” She nearly shrieks, backing away, “Your belly is about to burst!”

The ethereal woman with snowy white hair falling around her face alight with the glow of the sister moons blinks once, stunned before she places her hand on her stomach and lets out a startling sweet giggle.

“Oh, you are cute,” she says, very amused. She shakes her head and her hair shimmers like fine silver.

Livia just tightens her hold around Caroline and takes another step back. Who was this woman? Why was her belly so big? She was pretty, like what she thought an angel to look like, but Livia did not know her. She had never seen her before in the estate.

“Who are you?” She demands to know.

“I am a guest,” the woman replies easily, rubbing at her fat belly.

Livia wrinkles her nose at the gesture, “It is impolite to not give your name,” She raises her chin.

The woman giggles once more, before she nods somberly, “Of course. How rude of me. My name is Lily.”

Livia tilts her head, “Lily of what?”

Lily's smile widens, “Just Lily.”

Livia stares sullenly at the stranger before her, not really knowing what to do now. She shuffles her feet, but stops, knowing how much her mummy hated when she did it. She stares at the windows, the floors, and wonders why this Lily person was just standing there, not talking. Then Livia's eyes fell to the woman's belly.

She points at it once more, “What happened?” She demands. Livia has never seen a belly such as hers. Lily was not overly plump, her arms and face rather slim, but her belly was still round and stuck out as if she had eaten a whole melon or two.

“Oh, you mean this?” Lily hums, patting her belly. In response, her belly jumps under her fingers, as if something was pushing out from inside it.

Livia cringes and scrambles back, disgusted and fearful. It moved! How is that possible? Livia did not understand it at all, and it was super strange, and she really just wanted her mummy right now! Why would anyone let such a woman in as a guest! She had a creature living in her belly! Shouldn’t she be handed over to be examined!

The young miss was tempted to cry in the hopes that someone will hear her and come to her rescue from this stranger, but then, she would be scolded and put back to bed, and she still wanted to find her mummy! Livia buries her small button nose in the soft fur of Caroline's head, nuzzling it as she tries to also hide the tears in her eyes by wiping them away.

She sniffles.

“Miss Livia?” the stranger, Lily, calls out to her. Her delicate hand reaches out, but Livia cringes back once more.

“You are strange,” Livia decides and voices her thoughts out loud, eyeing Lily with very wary eyes.

Lily's hand drops and she tucks it close to herself as her sparkling eyes dull and become crestfallen. Still, she tries to offer a smile, and even forces a light laugh, “Well, I suppose you are right. I am a strange woman, aren’t I?”

Livia does not reply. She hugs the wall as she shuffles passes the woman before turning and darting off. After wandering around for thirty more minutes, she finally finds her mummy’s room and opens it without knocking.

“Mummy?” She calls out in the dark with a watery voice.

A shadow moves on the bed uncurls and gets up, slow and sluggish.

“Livia?” A voice croaks, low and unused.

“Mummy!” Livia cries, and all but launches herself on the bed, scrambling it up it and into her mother's thin arms. When her mother lets out a pained noise at her actions, Livia jumps away, surprised.

“Mummy?” This close, Livia can see the long shadows cast on her mother's face, the redness of her eyes, and the deep sorrow carved into her face.

It is then that her eyes fall to her mummy's stomach, recalling how Lily’s had been so round. Once, her mother had gone on and on about a new sibling, but Livia had been so upset that she had thrown a fit and cried and cried until her mummy had stopped talking about it.

Her mummy’s stomach had been fat, but not as fat as Lily’s. But now, it didn’t look fat anymore. Livia tentatively reaches out towards it, wondering if it will jump and move like Lily’s belly had, but lets out a sharp gasp when thin fingers close around her small ones like steel.

“Do not,” Her mummy says coldly and drops her hand.

Livia shivers and nods eagerly, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry mummy,” she whispers, biting her lips and hugging Caroline close.

She had found her mummy. But her mummy was not as she remembers her to be. Livia didn’t understand, but she shivers again, wondering why she could not muster up the strength to draw closer, even though that is all she had wanted to do for days now.

Lynette stares at her daughter as if she was staring at a stranger. Her gaze haunted and drawn.

Livia cannot meet her eyes. Her purple gaze falls to the covers, then the curtains surrounding the bed, then back to her stuff dragon, unsure and a bit scared.

“I’m sorry,” Little Livia says again, dragging watery eyes up to finally met her mothers.

Lynette trembles as her stomach aches, empty of a child.

“I’m sorry mummy,” Little Livia repeats once more, and moves closer, cautiously slowly, in a way no one as young as she should.

Lynette covers her face with her hands and sobs. When her first and only child presses into her side, she practically collapses around her, pulling her small body close and curls up, shielding the young girl and drawing comfort for her at the same time.

Livia only smiles and pats her mummy’s wet cheeks, just happy to be back in her mummy’s comforting arms.

Even if they felt a little cold and tighter than usual.