( @agentondine , just so you can read the whole thing. I’ll try and crank out some happy bits for you and your mer children ^-^)
Neron wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back closer to his chest. His nose buried into her curls. They still had the lingering smell of salt on them. She settled into her new position against him. Her chest rose and fell with the steady breaths of sleep. He savored moments like this. They laid there a few more hours before he finally broke their silence. “Good morning, babe.” Neron place soft kisses on the back and side of her neck. His hands came down to rest on her growing stomach. “How is our precious little boy this morning?”
She let out a soft laugh. “Boy? You still think it will be a boy?” Anna turned to face him, brushing their noses together. “What makes you think it’s a boy?” It’s been many months since she left Roanoke. It was just supposed to be a leave of absence. Maybe a month or two. Nobody back in Kentucky knew her situation and neither did any of the other mer rulers. Neron was very protective of her.
“Call it fatherly intuition.” He laughed and gave her a soft kiss. “Or wishful thinking. I think it would be nice to have a boy... But if it is a girl, I will her just as much.” One of his hands rested on her stomach. He was just excited to become a father.
Anna hummed her approval. “They are certainly going to be a well-loved child. Maybe even spoiled! All I know is that I don’t remember my parents,” she placed a hand over his, “and I don’t want our baby to go through having missing parents.” That was another thing they shared. Neron didn’t know who his true father was, she didn’t remember either of her parents. They could agree on always being there for their child.
The months passed quickly and her stomach grew with them. Soon enough, her ninth month was upon them. Many hours passed by with tears, sweat, blood, and screams, all silenced by a small cry. A baby. A little girl.
Neron was cradling Anna to him as close as he could. She has given him the greatest gift he could ever ask for. All these years, he had never felt like a part of a family. Now he had his own. “I love you... This, this is the happiest I have ever been. Our little girl will never know the pain that we have.”
She was absolutely exhausted. Exhausted, but happy. Anna was so sure that she would never have a child of her own, yet here she was. She pressed her forehead to his. “She will be so loved. Our little miracle...” One of the healers came up to them with a bundle in their arms. Anna took the bundle, brushing her fingers across tiny cheeks. Her eyes started to sparkle with tears. “Just look at her. So innocent and beautiful. Hello, little one... I’m your mama. And I love you so very much.” She pressed a delicate kiss to her daughter’s head. Looking up to Neron, she smiled. “Do you want to hold her? Our little Celia?”
His eyes started to fill with tears. “Celia...? Anna I-” He placed a hand over his mouth, a few tears slipping down his cheeks as his eyes closed. He let the pearls fall to the ground. Neron nodded his head. “Yes, please, God, please. I would love to hold her.” He reached out his arms to take his daughter. His pride and joy. He wished he hadn’t.
The second she was placed in his arms, she vanished. Like she didn’t exist. His heart dropped as he looked up and saw that Rebekah wasn’t there either. He was alone, surrounded by darkness. Out of that darkness came his brother.
“You are pathetic, brother. Still thinking that she would be with you? You, out of all people?” He held out an arm and she walked up to him out of the darkness. “I think she would go with someone who can actually call himself an oceanic ruler. A King.”
Neron watched as she draped herself on his side. “He’s right you know.” Her voice was haughty and cold. “Why would I ever settle for something like you? What could you make me? A wife to some outcast? Leo is a King.” Anna said his brother’s name with adoration. It turned his stomach. “I would never let you infect me with your little parasites that you would call children. What kind of father would you be?” Her hand brought attention to the bump she carried. “Your brother will make such a great father. And our child will be royal. Unlike yours.” She turned to Leo, taking his face into her free hand where Neron noticed a glittering ring. Anna kissed Leo in such a fashion that he had to close his eyes. If he shut his eyes tight enough, maybe this nightmare would go away.
And it did. When he opened his eyes again, he was in his room. In his bed. Alone. He could feel the tears already streaming down his cheeks. The pearls started to roll off of his face. Of course it was a dream. He had let Annabelle go years ago. Part of him wished that she would come back to him, even now. But he knew that would never happen. They were both right. Why would she want to be with him? He was an outcast, a royal bastard. Nobody would want to be with him, let alone someone like him.
He wiped at his face, collecting the pearls that surrounded him. The pearls found their way into the jar on his nightstand. It was getting quite full now. Neron thought back to when he first started coughing up pearls for her. It was after dinner, in his art studio. She was painting a picture of his garden. He still had it. It hung just across the room. After he had left her that evening, he coughed up three pearls. The first of many. It still happened occasionally. When he walked through the garden and saw the flowers she tended to. When he was out sailing and remembered the sound of her laugh. When he would paint in his studio and remember what her lips felt like against his... Just thinking about all of the memories he cherished of her caused him to cough a few up.
Neron let his head fall back against his pillows. He laid there, staring at the ceiling. He loved her. Maybe he always would. Maybe one day he would finally move on. He didn’t know which he preferred. The one thought that kept crossing through his mind as he laid there: How different would his life be if he had asked her to stay with him? How happy would they be? If only he had had the courage to do so.
