I lost my shoe

Here Aulea could be who she wanted, and they could enjoy their time as they so wished. Especially when they weren't traveling for some royal matter, but for their own enjoyment. It was t he time that the Queen loved the most. Perhaps that's why she was humming that morning as she walked down to the stream - another reason they had stopped where they had, there was a close enough location for herking to go fishing. The though alone had her rolling her eyes, a small chuckle leaving her lips as she leaned down, gathering enough of the stream water in a bottle, and cleaning her hands, before she straightened back up.

Straightening up, she looked out towards the horizon, her lips pulling up into a smile. This was everything she had been needing. It was-

The feeling of something - someone- kicking at her ribs had the queen's hand falling down to rest on her stomach.

"I know, my darling. I'm telling him when I get back to camp. He'll be so excited to meet you."

The words were quiet, murmured to the air more than anything since the baby in her stomach wouldn't be able to hear her. She had just gotten past the first trimester and was finally at a point where she felt comfortable enough to tell Regis. It was something she had learned the hard way, waiting until she was far enough along, so she wouldn't get his hopes up. They had been trying to give Noctis, their sweet little prince, a sibling for a few years now. Finally? Finally it was happening.

All she had to do now was to tell the father.

With a soft breath, and the thumb on her finger swiping along her clothed stomach, Aulea turned and started back towards the camp.

Fear.

Anxiousness.

She only got about halfway back to the camp site when she noticed something was wrong. There was far more noise than there should have been for this early in the morning, too much yelling and a noise she couldn't register. It made her hesitate, just for a moment, before speeding up, a furrow between her brow.

When Aulea was just a turn away from being able to see their tents, through the bushes came Clarius. Normally the sight of the man would make her smile, usually she'd hold her hand out towards him for him to take. While most only knew the solider as Regis' personal guard, he was so much more to the queen than that. He was a friend. A confidant. A lover. She needed him almost as much as she needed her king.

Normally, when Clarius reached out to grab onto her shoulder, she'd lean into the touch with a chuckle. The look on his face, though, froze her to the spot. "Clarius, what's wrong? You don't look-"

"You have to go hide. We don't know if there's anymore that might show up."

"What are you talking about?" His words confused the queen, her head tilting to the side to try and see through to the camp. To where the sounds that she now registered as swords clashing had faded, replaced only by silence. "What happened?"

"Soliders from Niflheim. They came out of nowhere. We were able to finish them off, but there could be more. You have to g- Aulea!"

The queen had already took off, running down the path the rest of the way. The tents came into view and her blood ran cold when she saw the bodies on the ground. Most of them were those of the foreign tech, but she could see several of their guards as well. Her eyes ran across every face, but none of them were Regis.

Silence.

Empty.

Aulea could hear Clarius calling to her, but she ignored him as she made a straight line for her tent, throwing open the canvas flaps. The moment she saw him on the ground, she crumbled to the floor. Her king. Her husband. Father to her babies, best friend and the man that meant more to her than any title or any kingdom ever could. The blood pooling from his chest was dark against the white of his skin, eyes thankfully closed.

Pulling herself along the ground, she lost track of everything. She couldn't hear herself sobbing, couldn't hear the footsteps coming up behind her into the tent. There was no noise, nor could she feel the rocks under her palms as she reached him.

"Aulea...."

There was pain in the way the man said her name, but she didn't let it stop her from reaching out to pull Regis' head into her lap, her own moving to rest their foreheads together. "Come back. You have to come back." Aulea's voice was already hoarse from sobbing, her entire body shaking as she rocked with his body back and forth. "I'm pregnant, Regis. T-the baby needs you, Noct needs you. I...."

She broke down to the point of not being able to speak, his blood starting to seep into her clothes, staining them crimson. She was oblivious to the arms wrapping around her from behind, to the voice telling her she needed to let go.

Aulea wasn't sure how long she sat there before everything went black.

Anger.

Grief.

The next thing that she actually remembered was opening her eyes in their room. She had passed out from stress and exhaustion, sobbing and shaking on the ground of that tent. Clarius had carried her back himself, Regis being taken care of by several of the guards. There were no words spoken in the car on the way back, only the man's hand running along her back and through her hair to try and soothe her.

As if anything would make this better.

As if anything would make this go away.

Aulea shuddered as she looked a round, her cold body reminding her of the fact that everything had happened was real. Her husband was gone, the kingdom had lost their king, and Noct... the baby...

Her hand fell to her stomach, wanting to hold the little one close as she she pushed out of the room. She couldn't be in the room she shared with Regis. It was too much being able to smell him, see things everywhere that reminded her of him. Without thinking, her legs carried her through the halls to the main throne room, pausing in the middle of the room.

She didn't notice the guards hesitating by the door, obviously wanting to give her her space, but refusing to let her be alone given the current situation. Clarius was farther in the room, but even he knew not to touch the queen at the moment.

Aulea's eyes took in the banners, proudly showing off their family crest, and the flowers that were on stands through out the room. She had picked them all out herself, instructed the attendants to get them prepared while they were gone to surprise Regis when they got back. She had thought they'd have something to celebrate.

For a long moment, all she did was stare at them, feeling everything building inside of her chest. He was gone. The kingdom was going to be in chaos, and all she could feel was anger. Anger at the MT's for taking her husband and her kids father, anger that he had surprised her with this trip in the first place, anger that she had left him that morning instead of asking him to come with her.

Screaming, from as deep in her chest as she could muster, she reached for the banners and started to tear them down, knocking over the pillars of flowers to the ground. She kept screaming as she went up to the throne and hit the seat with her hands, falling down to her knees.

Aulea didn't think she stopped screaming for hours, before her voice was all but gone.

Everything was leaving. Gone. Vanishing from in front of her eyes.