Uriel hesitated. For a moment he looked almost uncertain, an expression she had not seen on his face before.
"You would let me?"
"It's your baby too." She took his hand and placed it on her stomach. "Right here. Just wait."
They sat still, both focused on the point where his palm met her bare skin. The lanterns cast soft light around them, the fountain trickled gently, and for a few seconds nothing happened.
Then the baby kicked again.
Uriel's eyes went wide. His whole body stilled.
"It moved," he said. His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Keep your hand there. It might do it again."
The baby obliged. Another kick, right where his palm rested. Then another. Then a whole series of tiny movements, like the baby was exploring this new presence.
Uriel slid off the bench and knelt on the ground in front of her. Both hands now, cupping her stomach gently, his gold eyes fixed on the spot where his child was moving.
"They are following me," he breathed. "Every time I move my hand, they follow."
Lin Yue watched, her heart doing something complicated in her chest. The grown man, a prince, a soldier, a commander who had probably killed people, was on his knees in a garden with his hands on her stomach, completely transfixed by the tiny life moving inside her.
She shifted her hand to a different spot. The baby followed.
Uriel moved his hand to the other side. The baby kicked there instead.
"It looks like you two are playing," she said softly.
He looked up at her, and the expression on his face made her breath catch. Wonder. Awe. Something raw and real that he was not trying to hide.
"This is..." He trailed off, unable to find the words.
"Yeah." Her voice was thick. "I know."
The baby kept moving, kept following, and kept playing this silent game.
Then MS's voice chimed in her ear, private and amused.
[WELL. THIS IS ADORABLE. BABY VITALS ARE EXCELLENT, BY THE WAY. STRONG HEARTBEAT. ACTIVE MOVEMENT. YOU ARE BOTH DOING GREAT.]
Lin Yue smiled but did not respond out loud. Uriel would not hear it anyway.
[I WILL BE IN THE BACKGROUND IF YOU NEED ME. TRY NOT TO BE TOO DISGUSTINGLY SWEET. I HAVE STANDARDS.]
She almost laughed but caught herself.
Uriel looked up. "Something funny?"
"Just happy." She ran her fingers through his hair without thinking. But he didn't mind, instead he even liked it. "The baby likes you."
He turned back to her stomach, pressing gently where the baby had just kicked.
"I like them too."
The stars overhead had shifted by the time Uriel and Lin Yue finally rose from the bench. Her legs felt stiff from sitting so long, and her stomach ached slightly from the baby's constant movement, though the discomfort was not unpleasant.
Uriel offered his hand and helped her up, his grip steady under her elbow.
"I should get back," Lin Yue said.
Uriel nodded. "I will walk you."
They retraced their path through the garden, passing the fountain and the silver-leafed trees. Lantern light painted the way forward in soft gold. Neither spoke, but the silence felt comfortable now.
At the door to the medical wing, they stopped.
Lin Yue turned to face him. "Thank you for tonight. For the walk."
Uriel held her gaze. "Thank you for letting me stay."
She smiled.
His attention dropped to her stomach, to the rounded bump visible beneath her robe.
"May I?"
She nodded.
Uriel lowered himself carefully, gracefully, until he knelt on the ground before her. One hand pressed gently against her stomach. He leaned in close.
"I will see you soon, my baby." His voice was soft, meant only for the child. "Be good to your mother."
The baby kicked. Right where his lips had touched.
Lin Yue's breath caught.
Uriel looked up and smiled.
This was probably the most genuine thing Lin Yue had seen all day.
He rose to his feet.
"I will see you soon too. Goodnight, Lin Yue."
"Goodnight, Uriel."
He waited.
It took her a moment to realize he would not leave until she was safely inside.
Lin Yue opened the door and stepped through. Before pulling it shut, she glanced back.
Uriel stood under the lantern light, watching her.
A small smile touched her lips. Then the door closed between them.
The corridor lay quiet and empty. Lin Yue walked to her room alone, one hand resting on her stomach.
The baby kicked again.
"Your father is strange," she murmured. "But I think... I think he might be a good one."
Another kick followed.
A smile tugged at her lips in the darkness.
Later, lying in bed with sleep tugging at her eyes, Lin Yue stared at the ceiling.
[THAT WAS NICE. I ALMOST CRIED. ALMOST.]
"Go to sleep, MS."
[FINE. BUT FOR THE RECORD? HE KNEELED IN DIRT. THAT IS COMMITMENT.]
She laughed softly and closed her eyes.
Despite the pain, today had been a good day and she hoped tomorrow would be even better.
After all after tomorrow, she would be seeing her baby.
----
Evil people can't sleep until they've done their evil deed for the day. They can't rest until they've caused someone to stumble.
Across the castle, in a wing far from the gardens where a prince had knelt in the dirt and whispered promises to an unborn child, Varn sat in his private chambers.
Sleep would not find him tonight, not unless he cause someone to stumble.
The woman across from him shifted nervously. She was middle aged, with tired eyes and hands that bore the scars of a lifetime in the kitchens.
Her fox ears lay flat against her head.
"You wanted to see me, my lord?"
Varn did not look up immediately. He stared at the fire instead, watching the flames dance.
"You have worked in the palace kitchens for how long? Fifteen years?"
"Eighteen, my lord."
"Eighteen years." He finally turned to her. His expression was pleasant. That made it worse. "And in all that time, have I ever asked anything of you?"
The woman hesitated. "No, my lord. You have been... generous."
"Generous." Varn smiled. "I like that word. I have been generous. Your son's position in the guard? Secured through my influence. Your daughter's marriage to that minor lord's nephew? Arranged with my blessing. Your husband's debts? Paid. Quietly. Without expectation of repayment."