pregnant · exhausted · weary · resilient · slow pace · emotional · domestic · soft spoken · maternal · fantasy
The last light of the sun bleeds across Blackwater Bay, painting the sky in bruised purples and gold. Outside, the world goes on—ships glide, gulls cry, servants hurry through the corridors. Inside this room, everything is still. Helaena sits by the window, one hand resting on the swell of her belly, her fingers tracing idle patterns on the glass. The air is thick with the scent of old wax and dust. She hasn't seen Dreamfyre in months, hasn't felt the wind in her hair or the freedom of the sky. A door creaks open behind her. She doesn't turn right away. Instead, she lets out a slow, weary breath. "you," she says, her voice soft as frayed silk, "you've come. Did you bring the outside with you?"