WOE AND FOES

Soren could feel a mild whisper calling out his name, he could feel his whole body tired and exhausted in addition to being sweaty.

Soren slowly opened his eyes only to see a couple of blur images that settled calmly into one familiar face he knew.

The silhoutte finally became clear enough to reveal Conelm's face, he wore the look of worry on his face and sadness was mingled along with it.

"Conelm?" Soren asked.

"Yes it is me." Conelm replied as Soren sat up in bed with the help of Conelm who offered a pillow for supporting his back.

"What happened?" Soren asked as he gained his composure feeling a slight headache.

"You fell unconscious at the ceremony, I am afraid that it did not go according to plan." Conelm replied.

"According to plan, what is it that happened?" Soren asked trying to recall everything that happened back there.

"It is a very long story, you shall need to get something to eat first and then freshen up." Conelm replied.

Immediately he had mentioned it, the bedroom door opened and a short train of servants walked in holding trays that were filled with very many dishes of food.

Once the dishes were opened, Soren could clearly see that all the food supplies that had been brought in mainly comprised vegetables.

"Oh Conelm, you know that I can certainly not eat all of this." Soren said.

"No, you should simply not object, you have been out for twelve hours and as far as I remember, it was long before that that you had last eaten.

I must say that the baby is a very strong and tough one but then you must compensate the meal you missed yesterday." Conelm said as he tapped the bed.

Nearly three small tables were put on the bed surrounding the two and the dishes were placed on the table.

"You are very stubborn you know." Soren said.

"And you are seriously eating everything." Conelm said emphasizing every word he spoke in his tone.

It was more of a commanding one than a requesting one but Soren knew well he was trying to be the sweet husband and perfect father in the little circle of theirs.

"But I do not have the strength to move my arms, who knew that a pregnancy could be this exhausting?" Soren said.

"That is good because I was not intending on watching you feed yourself either in the first place." Conelm said.

"Oh wow, since when have you actually ever fed another mouth other than yours?" Soren teasingly asked.

"Well, lucky record that since today and surprisingly you are the very first person I am going to feed all my life." Conelm replied as he held a golden spoon  filled with some beef stew on it.

"And how are you going to do that if you do not know how to feed?" Soren asked.

"I remember how my mother used to feed me when I was very young." Conelm replied as he held the steaming spoon closer to Soren's mouth.

"Oh please, you are very terrible." Soren said.

"Shhhh keep quiet and open the canon." Conelm said.

"No, that only works for children, you are doing it wrong." Soren said as he gathered some bit of his strength to carefully lower the spoon.

"So how exactly do you suggest I should be doing this or you are just making excuses." Conelm asked as he raised his eye brows.

"Have you not thought that maybe the food is too hot it could burn either me and the baby, to make matters worse, you haven't tested it if it is poisoned so that at least you can die and may be both me and the child can survive." Soren replied.

"If it is hot what should I do about it, don't give me an excuse to help you eat your food." Conelm said.

You pull the spoon with the stew closer to your mouth and gently blow it to cool it down, I repeat with emphasis, do not spit or exhale heavily, just blow it lightly." Soren replied.

"I get it when you say blow." Conelm said and dipped the spoon back into the stew lifting it up with some little stew cupped inside it.

Conelm blowed gently and turned to look at Soren as he did it.

"Like this?" Conelm asked for affirmation .

"Very well, you are indeed doing it very well, turns out you are not so stupid after all." Soren teased.

"Lucky one, just because I cannot hit you because you are pregnant that does not mean that I cannot punish you once the baby is born." Conelm said.

"So then if you really want to hit me I suppose you do not love me." Soren said and looked away with a frown.

"Not now deary, my little princess should have something to eat and then maybe for a punishment after the child is born, I shall take him to Endra for a week." Conelm said.

Soren seemed to clearly hear the last words and he returned his attention to the evil charming prince who smirked.

"Promise me you certainly will." Soren said.

"My promise is as good enough a guarantee of life after death Ren." Conelm replied.

"Alright then, you have won this time." Soren said as he opened his mouth.

Conelm inserted the spoon and pulled it out the sooner its contents were devoured by Soren.

He continued to cool down the food and feed Soren and surprisingly, a great deal of the meal was devoured.

Soren also changed course from being fed to feeding the Prince as well and the two were basking into so much romance at that very moment.

Laughters of the royal couple could be heard in the corridor near their bedroom and after a while the dishes were empty.

"My my, what an appetite for an expectant little rose of mine!" Conelm exclaimed.

"It is evident that you ate the most since you are the bigger one here." Soren said.

"But last time I checked I was not the one eating to feed two stomachs." Conelm teased.

"You are such a kid, I do not understand why you always wore that serious face when I first met you." Soren said.

"To scare all other people away, only my darling wife can see the warm part of mine." Conelm replied.

"Fine then, now that we are done eating, I wanted to ask about the ceremony that happened yesterday." Soren said.

"That is not necessary at the moment Ren, forget about it simply." Conelm replied.

Soren saw that talking about it certainly gave Conelm a bitter expression on his face and immediately chose to drop it.

"So, we'd better go then." Soren said.

"We, go, where?" Conelm asked.

"Excuse me, both me and the baby need to have a shower and as far as I know, I am not in the condition to shower on my own." Soren said.

"You are clearly taking advantage of this situation now that I am seeing it." Conelm said.

"I thought someone was trying to be the caring father here." Soren said as he slowly caressed his belly and gave an evil grin that promised nothing more than a sure record of the very day that the crown prince of Scoln showered him.

"You win again." Conelm said as he helped Soren out of bed and they walked away.

A while later in the afternoon, Soren was seated under a shed in the courtyard and reclined on a cushioned rocking chair.

Helren kept him company as he read a very small novel that Soren could literally not make out exactly what the title was.

"Helren?" Soren called.

"Yes Your Highness." Helren replied in an instant. " do you need me to help you with everything?" Helren added.

"Yes of course." Soren replied trying to keep his tone low.

"What is it Your Highness?" Helren asked.

"I wanted to ask about yesterday." Soren replied and Helren's facial expression changed.

"What about it, it is all past, just forget it." Helren said.

"And why is that, why is everyone trying to keep everything from me?" Soren asked.

"We were forbidden by the King himself not to talk anything about it on Conelm's orders that it might not go very well for you to process the events that you witnessed." Helren replied.

"Then perhaps you should very well know that if I understood everything I would be on guard since I am aware." Soren said.

"No need, the guards in the palace and everyone else in it were ordered to protect you." Helren replied.

"From what?" Soren asked.

"Danger, the obvious of course." Helren replied.

"But they did nothing in the course of all the turmoil that prevailed in here yesterday." Soren said.

"They just weren't ready like they are now." Helren replied.

"Then how certain can we be that they shall be ready in the future?" Soren asked.

Helren kept quiet.

"Please, just tell me, I suppose if it is regarding my health and safety then it is a preriquisite that I know Helren." Soren said.

"Very fine then, I shall tell you but be rest assured the result of this will not please you." Helren replied.

"What is it about then?" Soren asked his expression very eager and dying to know what the meaning of the events that had happened meant.

"Well, first of all, this is a matter of woe and foes." Helren said and Soren had a puzzled look on his face as he tried to comprehend everything Helren had spoken at that very moment.

A silence prevailed for a while as Helren processed what words he would tell Soren about the previous day next.