Chapter 129: Anxiety

*The scent of blood filled his nose, seeping under the doors.* *Cries of agony and fear filled the air. He ran through the door to find Laurel in her birthing bed, growing paler by the moment, reaching for him with a trembling pale hand.* *Servants rushed around in a flurry, screaming for towels.* *The healer looked harried and he felt their bond trembling.*
*It shook, strained, and stretched until he felt it about to break.*
“Laurel!” Adolph cried, sitting up in bed. He was alone in bed and it only made his heart run faster. He threw off his blankets and jumped from the bed.
“Laurel?” Adolph called, entering the bathroom. Laurel flinched, looking up at him from in the bathtub, her body obscured by the layer of bubbles on top.
Her face turned bright red, “A-Adolph, what’s wrong?”
He shuddered, slumping back against the wall before crossing the room in quick strides. He fell to his knees beside the tub and pulled her close to press their lips together. She gasped as he pulled her against him, cupping the back of her head gently as he trembled.
Fear screamed along their bond, the remnants of some nightmare that had awakened him. He didn’t speak for a long time, simply holding her close. Had he dreamed of a battlefield? Had he dreamed of something worse than that?
“Adolph?” Laurel asked, “Are you okay?”
He nodded shakily and drew back, licking his lips before pressing a kiss to her forehead, “I-I will be. Forgive me for interrupting your bath.”
Laurel frowned, “It’s okay. Won’t you tell me what’s wrong?”
Adolph shook his head, “I’m okay. I’ll… Later. We’ll talk about it later.”
She nodded hesitantly as he kissed her once more and left with a lingering touch. She stared after him in worry. She heard him leave the chamber before rinsing the suds from her hair and getting out of the tub to follow.

Adolph pulled on a tunic and a pair of pants before walking quickly out of the king’s chambers and down the stairs. The dream, the nightmare, had been too real to ignore. Olivia had died bringing Basil into the world. Maybe he was just being anxious about it because he knew that. Maybe it was a warning from the moon goddess. He wasn’t sure, but the nervous, anxious energy in him wouldn’t settle. His heart had calmed upon seeing her, but he was still shaking.
He hurried down the steps and out the ballroom’s doors onto the path that led to the temple. The site had been cleaned up since the attack and he felt the peace wash over him, stilling his shaking as he walked up the steps of the temple to sit on the steps. He hadn’t meant to sleep so long. He had been more exhausted than he’d first imagined if it was so dark already.
The stars twinkled around the waning moon and he breathed out.
“Blessed moon who defends the night,” he murmured, starting the old prayer he’d learned when he was just a boy. “I ask you for guidance. If you find me worthy, hear my concerns and grant me peace…”
He tried to find the rest of the words, a way to explain his concerns. There was so much that had changed. The future of the kingdom had once been so clear, yet now, it seemed so complicated.
“Hey.”
He turned his head to see Laurel, mostly dried and wrapped in a thick dressing gown and cloak. He leaped to his feet and went to her.
“You shouldn’t be out here like this.”
She reached up, cupping his face, “Can it be later now?”
He swallowed thickly and pulled her close, turning his head to breathe in her scent. He drew the hood of the cloak over her head and pulled it tighter around her before walking back to the temple steps. He walked into the building and sat beside the altar, settling her in his lap carefully, using his body heat to protect her from the cool night.
“Perhaps we could add midnight prayers to our line-up,” Laurel said softly.
He chuckled a bit, “Not as exciting as midnight balls or picnics though.”
“That’s okay,” Laurel said, “I think we’ve had enough excitement, don’t you?”
He winced thinking about Eden’s body. He’d had Eden placed in the deepest dungeon near where Tina was spending the rest of her wretched life and instructed the guards to try everything they could manage to sever his head or burn him.
He was meant to hear their report soon, but he had a feeling that he wouldn’t be able to wait that long to hear it.
His stomach rumbled and she chuckled, “I think perhaps we should indulge a bit in at least a midnight kitchen raid, hm?”
He smiled and nodded, standing with her in his arms easily and carrying her back inside the castle. His heart had eased a bit, his mind cleared enough to speak.
“A nightmare,” Adolph said. “Or maybe a vision.”
Laurel frowned.
“I told you that the Raymond family had close ties to the temple… As twins, Raven and I have a different connection to the goddess as well.”
Laurel nodded, “She’s a black wolf too, isn’t she?”
“She is… Though where my eyes are of blood, hers are of moonlight.”
Raven could have been a priestess as well if things had been different, but Adolph had a bit of the foresight that was said to be reserved for priestesses. It made him nervous growing up, never knowing if his dreams were flashes of the future or not, especially when they were nightmares.
Laurel swallowed, “I’m sorry… Will you tell me what you saw?”
“No,” Adolph said, “Because I don’t know if it was a vision or not.”
Laurel licked her lips, “... it was about me, wasn’t it?”
He pressed a kiss to her head as they neared the door to the kitchens. It was quiet inside. The staff had all gone to sleep for the night. He set her down on a stool near the preparation table before wandering around the kitchen to grab things to eat. Cool cuts of meat and bread filled a platter, fruit, and jam before he settled down to sit near her.
“Laurel,” he said. “I need you to… do something for me.”
“Anything,” she said, kindly, taking his hand.
“Cut back on your duties.”
Laurel froze, flinching at his words. A spike of indignation went through her. Did he not think she could handle it, but she kept those words to herself. They were ridiculous.
“Is this about the promise and the honeymoon?”
“It’s about the baby,” Adolph said. Her heart clenched as she realized what he must have seen. “I… I need you to take care of yourself. Lean on the people around you… Lean on me, for both of your sake’s.”
*For his sake, too.*
She squeezed his hand and smiled, “Okay. I promise.”


They went back to sleep after finishing their little meal, curled together in the large bed. Laurel woke up alone the next morning and determined to follow through on her word. She called a meeting with Raven, Irene, and the others, adding Delia at the last moment though she was a bit reluctant.
She couldn’t ignore the fact that Delia was Basil’s wife and when Laurel stepped down from her position or died, Delia could very well become the next luna. She needed to start somewhere.
“What’s wrong?” Raven asked, her keen eyes seeing more than Laurel had hoped she would.
Delia sat quietly, arms crossed and her expression blank. Laurel hadn’t expected anything different.
“There’s nothing wrong,” Laurel said. “His Majesty and I have come to an agreement about me stepping back from my duties a bit until the baby is born due to all the… excitement lately.”
Raven smiled, relieved to hear it, “I’m glad you two worked that out.”
“As such, I’ve divided up the more demanding parts of my duties and will be assigning them to you if you’re agreeable,” Laurel picked up her list.
“Of course,” Irene said, “What else are we here for as courtiers than to support you?”
Laurel smiled and began to read out the breakouts. She trusted the women of Adolph’s family with the bigger tasks that require constant supervision and authority. She would have the final say on quite a few things, but the day-to-day of it would be handled by them. She reached the end of the list and watched Delia’s cheeks turn red.
“What did you call me in here for?” Delia asked, glowering at her. “To rub it in my face?”
Laurel gave her a small smile, “I have a different task for you that will fit around your schedule with Lady Helena a bit better.”
Delia’s eyes widened in shock and apprehension.
“I’m putting you over the expansion of the orchard under Maria’s oversight.”
Delia wanted to refuse, but she clenched her jaw and hissed, “As you wish.”