Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 149: New Life, New Hope

20 April, 1360. Westerhaven Palace, Islia.

Camilla gently placed a cool, damp cloth over Elizabeth’s forehead, taking care not to wake the sleeping young woman. Seated on the other side of Elizabeth’s bed, Meg was carefully stitching a swaddle, while Katerine rocked the cradle at the foot of the bed, staring in awe at the newborn girl inside it. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The four friends had spent the past few days in the large bedchamber that Elizabeth usually shared with her husband, waiting for the arrival of the baby. As a wife within a noble family, Elizabeth had been provided with maids and midwives to attend her in the last stretch of her pregnancy but she had begged for the company of her closest friends as well.

Camilla, Meg and Katerine had been more than happy to oblige. The four of them had ensconced themselves together in nervous anticipation.

The midwives had been less than thrilled by the presence of Elizabeth’s friends and even more so when they discovered one of them was a Moraigthian born princess. Camilla felt their suspicious glares on her constantly, but she stubbornly ignored them and refused to be made to feel like an intruder.

Around noon the previous day, Elizabeth had been struck by sharp pains in her belly. The midwives had flown into action and tried to shove Elizabeth’s friends out of the bedchamber, insisting that they’d need to wait outside.

Like an enraged lioness, Elizabeth had roared that her friends were to be allowed to stay in her bedchamber, otherwise she’d refuse to push her baby out. And so the three of them had taken turn holding the labouring woman’s hands and wiping her sweating face under the glares of the midwives, as the hours had slipped by.

Camilla had tried to observe everything happening around her carefully, knowing she’d likely be in the same situation in only a few months. She wasn’t sure how different it would’ve been if she’d had her baby in Moraigth, but the Islian people seemed to have some very firm ideas on how things should be done during childbirth. Some of them seemed beyond odd to Camilla.

The midwives had insisted the bedchamber drapes were to be kept tightly shut throughout Elizabeth’s labour, and the fire stoked to a roar. Camilla understood their reasoning that the newborn needed to be protected from being chilled but couldn’t understand how a hot, stuffy room was good for them either.

The mother also wasn’t allowed to eat or drink anything. That lack of drink seemed especially strange, given how stifling the room was kept. Elizabeth’s lips had cracked from desperate thirst and Camilla had begged for her to be given at least a few sips of weak ale. The midwives had adamantly refused.

In the end, a healthy baby girl had been born two hours before midnight. Camilla had teared up in relief and amazement, as had Katerine and Meg, when the squalling infant had been placed in Elizabeth’s arms. It had all been worth it, judging from the joyful look on the new mother’s face. They had all marveled at the baby’s tiny features and scanty dark hair.

That night, Camilla had finally crawled into bed weary but feeling more hopeful than she had since William’s departure. As soon as dawn had started chasing the night away, she’d quickly gotten dressed and bounded for Elizabeth’s rooms again.

The midwives had bowed coldly to her and reluctantly allowed her inside, but Camilla was too lighthearted to care. Inside the bedchamber, she’d found Meg and Katerine already there and fussing over mother and baby.

"How is Bess doing?" Camilla had whispered.

Meg had smiled and nodded. "She just fell asleep again but she said she slept quite well last night. We can help her bathe when she wakes up."

"And the little one?"

"Baby Katerine is doing well." the older Katerine had smiled down at her tiny namesake, who was warmly swaddled in her cradle.

The three of them quietly ensured that everything in the room was tidy and Elizabeth was resting as comfortably as possible.

Katerine cleared away the half eaten plate of breakfast food they’d prepared for Elizabeth, then served out meat and cheese for Meg and herself. To Camilla, she handed a slice of plain, warm bread which the princess accepted gratefully.

"Last night was the first night that I didn’t fall asleep miserable since the army left for the north." Camilla mused as she picked at her bread.

"New life brings renewed hope, I suppose." Meg murmured, glancing at the cradle. "I hope this is a new beginning for our army too. We must pray that they can recover quickly from the recent defeat, rise up and defeat our enemies once and for all."

"Amen." Camilla and Katerine replied in unison.

- - -

When Elizabeth awoke, her friends helped wash her with cool water and get her changed into a clean, loose dress. A wet nurse entered the room later in the morning, having been duly sent by Elizabeth’s in-laws. Elizabeth however, was having none of it and insisted she’d nurse the baby herself. Meg cheerfully chased off the insistent wet nurse, further outraging the midwives.

After the baby had been fed, the three friends took turns helping change her linen and swaddle, then rocking her back to sleep. They all howled in laughing disbelief when they saw the sticky, messy black waste that filled the baby’s linen.

"Bess! Is this supposed to happen?" Meg asked in fits of disgusted giggles.

Elizabeth threw her head back in laughter, then grimaced. "Ow! Please don’t make me laugh, it makes my belly hurt! And yes, it’s to be expected. My sisters’ babies all did the same thing when they were born. It doesn’t last very long, luckily."

"I should hope not." Katerine had scrunched her nose up at the mess, still laughing.

By early afternoon, exhaustion started overtaking Camilla again. She sat limply in an armchair, trying to listen to the ongoing chatter but struggling more and more to follow the conversation.

Elizabeth glanced at her sympathetically. "Why don’t you go lie down and rest in your rooms for a while, my lady? You look quite drained."

"I’ll be alright." Camilla sat up straighter and tried to smile but ended up yawning instead. All four young women laughed and Camilla had to concede defeat. After promising to visit Elizabeth again before dinner, she dragged herself out of the bedchamber and headed for her own apartments.

Camilla walked through her presence chamber on leaden legs, nodding briefly to Matilda and Louisa, who were busy wiping surfaces for dust. "I plan to rest for a while. Please ensure I’m not disturbed."

She saw the look exchanged between the two maids but was too exhausted to react. Instead, Camilla crumpled onto her soft bed and promptly fell into a deep sleep.

Behind her closed eyelids, she saw rising flames and choking smoke filling the corridors of Arlen Castle as she ran. Agatha’s panicked voice as she screamed, "The king’s forces are attacking, along with the Islians! Hide, Princess!"

In her dream, Camilla remembered crouching inside a tiny guarderobe, not daring to breathe, telling herself over and over that the violence she could hear outside wasn’t actually taking place.

She had finally screamed when she’d been dragged out of her hiding place, fearing the worst. And yet, she hadn’t been killed or brutalised. Instead, her life had been spared on the word of a fair haired young knight with eyes as chilly as shards of green glass...

Camilla jolted awake, her face wet with tears. As she slowly sat up and wiped her cheeks with her trailing sleeve, the final wisps of her nightmare faded away. She was back in her bedchamber in Westerhaven, safe and sound. The sun was low in the sky and the room was on the cold side.

Camilla hastily called for Bonnie to help untangle her hair. She then rushed to Elizabeth’s room to look in. Both mother and child were sleeping peacefully.

She started making her way down the dimly lit corridors and towards the banquet hall. She was a little earlier than usual to dinner but it didn’t really matter to her. As had become her habit, Camilla was planning to ignore everything apart from the bread.

Camilla ended up sitting between Princesses Blanche and Annabel. Sweetness and sour, she thought to herself mischievously as she took a tiny sip of wine, testing whether her stomach would accept it without rebelling.

She turned to find Annabel looking at her quizzically, grey eyes narrowed. "Why are you barely eating?"

Camilla shrugged lightly. "I’m just not very hungry at the moment. I had a grand lunch with my ladies-in-waiting to celebrate one of them giving birth to a healthy daughter last night."

Annabel continued to stare at her, then finally nodded slowly. She still didn’t look completely convinced.

Camilla gave her what she hoped was a bland smile as she took a bite of her bread.