Chapter Six - A new life is born
"Good morning, Ginevra, did you sleep well?" Queen Narcissa enquired the following morning at breakfast, when the pale young woman entered the dining room.
"Good morning, Milady, my Prince... This night I had some trouble sleeping, but I'm sure it was only due to the excitement of the party…" Ginevra replied sweetly and in fact she was saying the truth… well, half the truth as she was certain that being kissed by the Prince had been part of the reason why she had spent the most of the night thinking about the tingling she had felt all over her body and the way he had felt against her. She was now sitting in front of the Queen and by Prince Draco's side, not sure on how to behave around him after the previous night. So far he hadn't said one word to her, not even glanced her way, and Ginevra analyzed this behavior as his way to say `It never happened so leave me alone….'
For the next few moments the only sounds in the dining room came from the cutlery softly touching the china and from the pages of Prince Draco's newspaper. Apparently there was an interesting article that caught his attention and made him choke on his coffee. The Queen looked curious at his reaction and forgetting her quarrel with him for a few moments, enquired what was so shocking in the news.
"It's an article about last night's party." He replied quickly, but obviously omitting information from both women.
"And what could ever be so shocking about our party, Draco?" the Queen pressed on with a hard glare towards her son, making him reveal the whole information.
"Just a few comments about Ginevra and about myself…" the Prince explained, folding his newspaper and placing it on top of the table so that he could use both hands to have breakfast. He was so busy reaching for the cheese that he failed to keep his mother from grabbing the paper and opening it to the article's page. "Mother, really, don't read it, it will only make you angry…"
But the Queen was strong willed and quickly read the article with an angry frown on her usually gentle features.
"That bad?" Ginevra mumbled studying the Queen's expression. What could they have possibly written about her? That she didn't deserve the Prince? That she was marrying for the money? What?
"They were very rude writing such things about the Royal Family for everyone to read!" the Queen complained, throwing the newspaper on the floor in a clear gesture that the article was just garbage. "It only commented that Draco spent the whole night finding pleasure with Miss Parkinson while his best friend, Blaise Zabini, distracted you on the dance floor; that your gown was ridiculous, that your waistline wasn't elegant, that your hair is too red, your skin too tanned and your hands too rough… The usual viper comments, don't you agree?"
Ginevra's face showed hurt and shame, but she merely nodded in agreement and kept sipping her tea. She would never be fully accepted by the high-society and in truth, she didn't need them at all, but still it hurt to be talked about in such a harsh way for the whole Kingdom to know.
"Ginevra, don't care about what they say… Even if you were the most perfect woman in the world, they would still criticize you just to start rumors. Do not, I repeat, do not pay attention to that garbage!" the Queen commanded heatedly, trying to keep her future daughter-in-law from becoming exaggeratedly self-conscious and with a low self-esteem. "They are just jealous…"
"Jealous? Who are they jealous of? Me or Pansy Parkinson?" Ginevra replied coldly, surprising both the Queen and the Prince, making him choke on his coffee once again. "Jealous that I was being distracted by Mr. Zabini while my husband-to-be indulged in Miss Parkinson's … treats? Or jealous that Miss Parkinson is the lucky girl having fun with the Prince?"
"You stop this nonsense right now!" Prince Draco ordered furiously, standing up from his seat to tower over Ginevra menacingly.
"What is it, my Prince? Does truth hurt?" Ginevra hissed, even though she knew she had already said more than she should have, but all the pent up frustration from last night, all the hurt, were now coming to the day light and she couldn't stop the words from being said.
A sudden pained look crossed the Prince's face before he left the dinning room in a hurry, closing the door with exaggerated violence, making an empty tea cup fall from it's plate, on top of the table.
"Oh Merlin, I've said too much…" she whispered to herself, feeling slightly guilty of becoming so bitter towards him, so soon after the magnificent kiss they had shared last night.
"No, you haven't, my darling. The way he behaved at the party was improper, and he knows it…" the Queen replied gently.
"Still, I should have kept those words to my self. When I see him, later in the day, I'll apologize…" Ginny said, feeling a slight weight settling on her chest. She had been too harsh on him, she knew that and felt bad for hurting him, but he had hurt her as well, spending the whole time with a mistress and leaving her alone to face the people he knew so well and she had no idea of.
Ginevra and the Queen spent their morning reading in the Queen's private sitting room, rarely speaking, as they both seemed worried with something. Lunch was a quiet affair with only both women, but soon enough Mrs. Potter arrived, followed by a short woman and a young man, the three of them smiling happily.
"Good afternoon, Milady…" the three visitors said, making a small bow towards the Queen.
"Ah, here you are… Ginevra, this is Madame Malkin, my favorite seamstress and she'll make your wedding dress as well." The Queen said with a big smile, all her worries forgotten for now.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Madame Malkin. You've done a wonderful job with the Queen's clothes." Ginevra told the short woman with an excited smile on her face. She had never had new dresses before she came to the Palace because she needed to wear white clothes at the time, but now, the possibility of wearing different colors on different models was so very exciting.
"Thank you, Milady. This is Mr. Terry Boot, one of my secrets for success, as he holds the power to use a wand." The gentle woman explained and the sandy-haired young man smiled widely, showing white, even teeth.
"Shall we head for the fitting room?" the Queen said, standing up and led the way to the first floor, where Ginny had never been before.
The Fitting Room was a large room with white carpet on the floor and walls covered with dark green wallpaper, there were several ceiling-high mirrors, as well as a small round table for the person being fitted to stand on. A mahogany closet stood against one of the walls and some boxes were placed in a corner, apparently just for decoration.
"Miss Weasley, please step on the fitting table." Madame Malkin ordered and proceeded to remove Ginevra's dress, leaving her wearing only her corset and inner skirt, which gave the volume to her dresses. Ginevra felt embarrassed to be nearly naked in front of a man, but said nothing. Apparently, the Queen, Mrs. Potter and Madame Malkin thought it was normal, so who was she to complain?
Soon, she lost all ability to think as the young man began to flick and swish his wand around her body, mumbling spells as he circled her. She was so mesmerized by the casting of spells and wand movements that she barely heard the delighted gasps coming from the Queen and Mrs. Potter, much later.
"Is there anything wrong?" Ginevra asked, looking at the huge smiles on the other women's faces.
"There is nothing wrong, dear child, they are only delighted with your visual…" Madame Malkin replied, walking around Ginny with a pleased smile on her face. "Take a look at the mirror, darling."
Ginny did as she was told and turned around to face the huge mirrors, letting out a gasp of her own. She looked… gorgeous. The dress was made of wild silk, having a corrugated texture, the color was a dirty white and the corset was embroidered in silver, forming an intrinsic and beautiful pattern. The cleavage was square, held by a strap on each shoulder; the skirt was full with the same silver pattern on the hem. Turning around to face her back Ginny smiled widely when she saw the dress's long tail and the dozens of little silver buttons securing the dress down her back.
"It's fantastic!" Ginevra said excitedly, a tear spilling from her eyes as she wished her mother was there now, to see her daughter in a wedding gown.
"On your head you'll wear the crown linked to a long, long veil, handmade by me, of course." Madame Malkin explained, fixing a few things on the dress's hem. "And the shoes… Terry."
Mr. Boot mumbled a spell and a pair of shoes in the dress's same fabric appeared in front of Ginny. The set was complete.
"I'll take the dress back to the store with me to give the finishing touches by hand, and I'll bring it back on the night before the wedding." Madame Malkin warned, taking the dress off of Ginevra's body. "The dress will be kept under utmost secrecy, guarded by two Royal Guards and by a few wards set by Terry. Don't worry, my darling, your marriage will be perfect now that you have the perfect dress…"
Ginevra could only smile as she wasn't so sure about the outcome of her marriage as Madame Malkin seemed to be. The three visitors left the Palace once more, leaving Ginevra and the Queen in the Fitting Room.
"You looked wonderful in that dress, Ginevra… You'll be a beautiful bride." The Queen told her with a gentle smile, holding one of Ginevra's hands in a sign of confidence.
"Thank you Milady, I'm glad it pleases you to have me as your future daughter-in-law." Ginevra replied, her cheeks burning with the amount of attention she was receiving.
"Yes, it pleases me very much… Come, it's dinner time."
The time had flown by while the dress was conjured on her body and it was already dark outside. The delicious smell of food greeted Ginevra and the Queen just outside of the dinning room, causing small smiles to appear on their faces. The King was already sitting at the dinner table when both women joined him, but Prince Draco was absent.
Queen Narcissa seemed to notice Ginevra's worried glance towards the Prince's usual seat and took the opportunity to ask about her son to a maid.
"Prince Draco is at the stables… His mare has been giving birth since this morning." The maid explained quickly before exiting the room.
Ginevra smiled excitedly at the thought of a small horse running around the palace's gardens, but the look of concern in the king's face made her become worried. There was something going on that she didn't know about.
"Don't worry, Lucius… He can do it." The Queen said in a kind voice, placing a hand on top of his, and surprisingly, the King showed her a small worried smile, accepting her words and gesture of support.
"I hope so…"
The show of affection between the couple was something completely shocking for Ginevra. The few times she had seen the Queen and the King together in the same room had been terrible, full of yelling and attempts of violence. Maybe Queen Narcissa had learned to love her husband in all those years of marriage… Maybe he loved her as well…
Ginevra couldn't understand why the King was so worried about the birth of a new horse, and as soon as she was left alone with the Queen, she took the chance to ask what was going on.
"In the Royal families we have some initiation rites. At the age of fifteen, the Prince is given a newborn mare to feed, clean, raise, train, and so on. That mare becomes the window to the Prince's persona. If the mare is well trained, fed and cleaned, then the Prince is responsible, committed and capable of taking care of others than himself, mainly the kingdom. If the mare is thin or too fat, lacking train or cleanness, then the Prince is not the good choice to rule the Kingdom." The Queen explained, looking out the dinning room's window towards the direction of the stables, where a small flicker of light indicated Prince Draco's presence. "The ultimate task is when the Prince helps his mare give birth, all alone and with no magic. If the colt is wealthy and resists the first few hours, the Prince will be chosen as the future king, but if the colt is born dead, doesn't born at all or dies within twelve hours, the Prince won't be elected king, and remain as a Prince for the rest of his life."
"Well, that's an interesting way of choosing a King…" Ginny mumbled sarcastically, joining the Queen by the window. "I've seen Luar before and she's very healthy. It's easy to see he loves her very much by the way he rides her so proudly. I hope he's successful tonight…"
Queen Narcissa just nodded in agreement and kept on staring out the window. A few moments later, she retired but Ginny went to the living room to keep on reading a book she had come across earlier.
"Milady, can I bring you anything?" a maid asked from the room entrance, making Ginevra stop her intensive reading.
Who would have said that two witches and two wizards had founded Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, all those years ago? Her brothers had never told her that piece of information! So, women did have the power to perform magic? Well, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff had been powerful witches, for sure, if they were two of the school founders AND teachers. This matter needed further investigation, but it was getting late and she needed to rest. Ginevra slowly shut her new favorite book, Hogwarts: A History, First Edition and smiled to the maid.
"I'm fine, thank you… Can you give me some information, though?" Ginny asked gently and with the maid's nod, she carried on. "Has the Prince eaten anything in the last couple of hours?"
"At lunch one of us took him some food but he threw us out and told us to stay away." The young maid explained, shyly, her hands buried in her white apron's pocket.
"Oh he did, did he?" Ginny mumbled, standing up from her seat and went to the kitchen, followed by the curious young girl. Ginny had wanted to apologize to him all day long and now was the time. Besides, he needed to eat in order to help the birth.
With the maid's help, Ginny placed some bread, sliced cheese and bacon, some fruit, ginger cookies and a small pitcher of milk inside of a basket, as well as two glasses. As soon as she had everything she needed, Ginny crossed the garden in quick strides, following the direction of the weak light coming from the stables.
The stables were a wooden building, with several compartments in which she could see the shadows of the horses, with their long necks peeking in the corridor, as if waiting for someone to pat their heads. Slowly, as to not disturb the animals, Ginevra walked towards the light, near the back of the building, and tried not to feel scared. She had never been among so many animals of this size and it really was dark, the only light coming from Luar's compartment was weak and it made the horses' eyes shine in a scary way.
At last, Ginevra entered the illuminated compartment and found Luar's body lying on top of large amounts of hay, the dark velvety fur contrasting with the cream colored straws. In a corner of the compartment, Prince Draco sat next to his mare's body, massaging her belly as if it would somehow help the colt born faster, his face concentrated and worried.
"Is she fairing well?" Ginevra asked in a soft whisper, scaring him to death as he turned around to face her, a startled look on his pale face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."
"You didn't… I was just lost in thought." The Prince replied, continuing his massages. "What are you doing here, so late at night?"
"I thought you might enjoy some food and company." She explained, showing him the basket as she sat by his side on the floor, not bothering with her dress. "Are you hungry?"
Prince Draco didn't answer, just kept on studying her with a confused look in his eyes.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked, at last, his eyes still studying her face attentively.
"For several reasons, actually. I've never see a mare giving birth; I knew you haven't properly fed yourself today and you need your strength for this task; to be the first to know if you've failed or succeeded…" Ginevra explained as she prepared him bread with cheese and bacon in it, and handed it to him. Surprisingly he accepted it without further questioning or insults. "I came to say that I'm sorry for my behavior at breakfast. Although I had every right to say what I've said, I hurt you and I'm sorry for it…"
Prince Draco ate in silence, thinking about her words, his eyes never leaving his mare, that once in a while would move and whine.
"Do you think she's in too much pain?" she asked, touching the mare's neck gently, looking into Luar's big brown eyes, which looked back at Ginny with a great intensity, as if she could sense the concern the two humans were feeling over her.
"Yes, she is, but there's nothing I can do to stop it. Everything in this birth must be natural and not even pain relieving potions can be used… She has been like this all day, but soon the colt will be born." The Prince replied, drinking the glass of milk that Ginevra handed him and then watched her as she dipped a ginger cookie in the milk and ate it slowly. The sight of her eating cookies and milk made him remember their first contact, in the Palace's kitchens. It seemed so long ago, but it had only been a few weeks… Not much had changed since then, they were still practically strangers and they still had to marry each other soon. Very soon.
"Don't worry, you'll be successful and Luar will have a gorgeous baby running around her in a few hours." Ginny smiled sweetly, dipping another ginger cookie in her glass of milk and, surprising the Prince, she placed it on his lips, waiting for him to open his mouth and accept the food. Prince Draco's eyes glittered in amusement and he slowly opened his mouth, allowing her to feed him the cookie. Beside last night's kiss, this had been the most intimate gesture they had performed towards each other, and he found that he quite enjoyed it… It felt good to be pampered by a beautiful young woman with a strong personality. Sometimes, too strong for her own good, but still, better to have a strong one than no personality at all.
The Prince munched the cookie, his eyes still locked with Ginny's, neither feeling able to break the eye-lock, but soon Luar pushed hard, her neck lifting off the floor and her breath coming out in short gasps, making them break eye contact. This seemed to be what Draco had been waiting for all day as he raised quickly from the floor to kneel behind Luar, preparing for the birth.
Ginevra watched him with fascination. Prince Draco, the vain one, was wearing dirty, ragged clothes, looking like a man who worked on a farm, but she had to admit that he still looked good, even without his usual fine clothes. Knowing she couldn't help him, Ginny crawled to Luar's head and sat on her heels, pulling the mare's head to her lap, her full skirt serving as a pillow.
Every other minute Luar would contract her muscles and whine, slightly raising her head from Ginny's lap, who kept on caressing the mare.
"Go on, girl… You're doing a wonderful job and soon you'll have your baby out here, cuddling with you." Ginevra whispered in Luar's ears, in a soothing voice that made Draco watch her curiously.
"You don't have to stay here during all this. There will be blood; the birth will be a little messy and disgusting, as well. Your dress is already dirty and you shouldn't be out of the Palace, this late at night…" the Prince said, staring at her with his piercing silver-gray orbs.
"I've killed more chickens than you can count, so I don't have problems with blood. We used to have a goat and I saw her give birth once, so there's no problem there, and I don't care about the dress or the rules. I may be forced to marry you, but I'm still a person who loves freedom, and that freedom you'll never take away from me…" Ginevra replied seriously, and then her face softened, becoming sad. "If you don't want me here, all you have to do is tell me to leave."
She tried to get up, but both the mare's head and the weight of her dress made it hard for her. Her sadness became anger and frustration each time she failed her attempts and finally sighed, admitting defeat.
"Can you help me up, so that I can leave?" she groaned, looking at his amused grin.
"No… You'll stay right where you are. Not that I want you here, that's not it, it's just that Luar seems to be very comfortable and I don't want her to loose that feeling…" he replied, sounding very calm and honest, although he knew he had just said one big, if partial, lie. Yes, he wanted her there with him, but it was also truth that Luar was better with her head on Ginevra's lap.
Ginevra felt that the Prince was saying that as a cover up of some kind, but said nothing, just keeping on caressing the mare's neck. Silence fell on the compartment once again, but soon enough, Prince Draco gasped happily as the colt's paws showed up and then it slowly slid out of Luar in one slick movement. The Prince smiled widely, with no malice or mischief, just smiled with happiness as he removed the mucus from the small black colt's nose and mouth. The mare extended her neck and licked her baby, giving him all her love and protection.
"Well done, girl… You did it!" the Prince whispered, patting Luar's head. Only then did he looked up at Ginevra, expecting to find her on the verge of vomiting after such a messy birth, but she wasn't pale or disgusted… no, instead of it, her face was wet from her tears and a wide smile was on her full pink lips. The same lips he had devoured the previous night and then on his dreams, unable to forget the taste of her mouth, the scent of her skin or the feel of her body against his. "Are you feeling well?"
"Yes, I'm fine… I'm just feeling so happy after witnessing the beautiful event of a mother giving birth to her baby. You've done a good job in helping her, my Prince." Ginevra replied, drying her tears with the hem of her dress. "Is it a boy or a girl?"
"We don't refer to horses as boy or girl, Ginevra… They're either a stallion or a mare." The Prince corrected her as he examined the small colt that was now enjoying his mother's licks. "It's a stallion and a healthy one at that… Within two years he'll be a great help to enlarge our herd of horses."
"Within two years… we'll have to have a baby." Ginevra mumbled, remembering what was expected of her, and buried her face in her hands. "Oh Merlin!"
"What is it?" the Prince asked, kneeling in front of her and touching her shoulder, trying to find out what had caused the sadness in her eyes.
"Nothing… just catching up with the reality." She replied, avoiding the subject of children for now, and then lowered her hands, looking at his face that was now so much closer to her own. "Do you love her?"
The Prince's eyes widened with shock at her blunt question, but his face remained calm and with a slight frown. It was obvious whom she was referring to, but he didn't understand why she was asking such a thing. Usually women didn't mention their husband's affairs.
"The colt is born… You can retire, now." Prince Draco said in a cold voice, reaching for a bucket full of water and started to wash his hands and forearms.
"You do…" Ginevra concluded after his avoidance of the question. "I just wanted to say that, you're still on time to marry her and be happy."
Ginevra was surprised to feel her heart clench and a shiver race down her body. She hadn't wanted this arrangement from the beginning, but in the last weeks she had come to learn to accept her future next to the gorgeous man that was now scrubbing his nails clean from the dried blood of the birth. Somewhere along their fights she had come to admire his beauty and presence, although his behavior sometimes made her want to smack him on the head… still, she had come to like the prat and having to leave the Palace behind, as well as the Queen, Mrs. Potter, Parvati, Prince Draco, Luar and her colt, would make her suffer very much, indeed.
Smiling sadly, Ginevra patted both horses' heads and then, leaning on the wall behind her, she raised to her feet successfully, but as soon as she gave a step to leave the compartment, the hem of her dress got caught on a nail's head and Ginny almost fell back, but two strong arms enveloped her waist, keeping her standing on her feet.
Gasping in shock at the sudden movement, Ginevra brought her arms around the Prince's neck and held tight, not out of fear of falling… just out of instinct. With her face buried on his neck, Ginevra could smell his male sweat mixed with the smell of blood and even a trace of his usual cologne… Anyone would have said it was filthy and gross, but to her it was heaven as it proclaimed him as a man, just like any other, in spite of his royal title or fortune. Ginevra raised her head and nudged his throat, gently kissing his Adam's Apple and then right bellow his ear, making him groan.
The sound made her realize her actions and afraid that she had hurt him somehow, Ginevra let go of the Prince and with a yank ripped the dress free of the nail. Not feeling brave enough to confront him now, after her improper behavior, Ginevra ran out of the stables, towards the Palace.
`I shouldn't have done that… Why did I do that? I don't even like him! Right…? Oh, I just don't know anymore…' Ginevra thought nervously as she walked towards her bedroom, her footsteps echoing in the empty hallway. She had a long sleepless night ahead of her, as she was sure her brain wouldn't stop reliving those moments she had just experienced.
End of Chapter Six
Please, read the following Author Notes:
Hello, everyone, once again I have to apologize for taking so long to update, and I want to make something clear: THIS CHAPTER IS NOT BETA-ED YET! As soon as I get it beta-ed I'll post it on top of this once, all right?
I have a few things to say, so read if you're interested:
I had a huge accident last week that injured my hands, legs and face. My face is better now, my knees still hurt a bit when I walk and for a week all I could do with my hand was move my fingers. My mother had to give me bath, put me to bed, cut my meat and give it to my mouth… It has been awful!
I'm drowning in schoolwork. I had one month of research on Sign Language but there was a problem, I had to give up on it and start all over again with another theme. Then, I have two group works flowing slowly, too slowly, in fact. And, still another work, a individual one, which has me pulling my hairs off my head.
The new chapters are getting harder to write now that I've changed the plot of the story. Somehow I get a hard time making Draco and Ginny taking things slowly, but I'm sure I can do it.
PLEASE, BE PATIENT WITH MY CHAPTERS, THEY WILL BE COMING, BUT SLOWLY.
DON'T EVER FORGET, I'VE FINISHED ALL MY STORIES SO FAR!!!
Good thing that has happened in the last few weeks? My parents gave me a laptop??? (Portable computer? I don't know how you say it)
Enjoy the chapter…
Love, Carina
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