He took up another handful of water, this time to swish around his mouth in hopes it would help clear his breath so as not to upset his wife's delicate ....Had she just said child" He coughed, spluttering that mouthful of water and nearly choking on it.

Marianne waited quietly, her arms wrapped about herself as she lingered in the morning sunshine pouring through the window, watching as he absorbed what she had told him. He had not noted the news last night, and she had promised to tell him again when he woke. Yet now the news was told, she did not know quite what to do with herself, left to stand quiet and alone by the window in the hope that he would find his voice soon.

"Child?" he echoed once he found his voice, looking up at her from where he was bent over the bowl. He drew the back of his hand across his mouth to wipe away the excess water, brows furrowing as he straightened to look at his wife. She did not seem very happy about this new development, though perhaps it was only the smell of his breath that had annoyed her. "Did I hear you right' You are with child?" So his efforts had not been for naught, after all.

She bit her lip, her expression torn between hope and joy, and a certain wariness of his temper, given their past experiences with his head the morning after a deep night. Nodding, she offered up a small, shy smile. "The physician believes it certain," she told him softly, her smile widening as she shared this news. "I have been these two months without my courses. We are to have a child, Stephan."

"Oh, my dearest ..." he started, his expression changing from confused to elated. Forgetting her warning about his breath, though he had at least made an attempt to rinse the smell from his mouth, he closed the small distance between them, taking her hands in his to draw her closer and away from the window. They had discussed this more than once, and he had to believe from the smile on her face that she was as happy as he was with this news. "It is certain then" You are with child" There is no chance of a false alarm?" he asked further, looking her over all the harder for any signs of illness or regret. "My sweet Marianne, such happy news," he said, his eyes shining with tears of joy, though he hesitated in kissing her again, afraid he might make her ill.

Drawn toward him, her smile deepened further, warm joy spreading through every inch as she joined him in celebrating their news. "It is certain," she promised him, "though I have been advised not to make news of it until I begin to show. We are to have a child!" Laughing, she disregarded her former concern with the smell of stale wine to rise up onto her toes and kiss him tenderly, deeply glad that she had finally done her duty and proved herself fertile. Though she wished for a boy, healthy and strong, she did not think there would be overmuch concern if she should produce a girl this first time.

Though a few moments earlier, he would have been hesitant to return that kiss, afraid he would upset her again, he now understood that upset was not because she found him abhorrent, but because she was feeling the effects of the child she was carrying inside her. He laughed with her, though it made his head ache. "Come, we must tell Felipe," he told her excitedly, despite her warning not to made news of it just yet.

She laughed, holding tight to his hands to keep him from rushing from their chamber. "Undressed as we are, and unsettled as he is?" she asked her husband pointedly through her smile. "Would you not prefer to hold such news as ours, and ours alone, until such time as we cannot keep it from others" If we are to share such news so soon, I would rather it be shared with the Queen, your mother, before all others, dearest."

Stephan's smile faded, as he was faced with the far more practical insistence that they wait to share the news, though he was not sure he would not be able to succumb to the temptation as to share it with his brother so long as he was with them. He sighed, a hint of disappointment on his face, but the look was short-lived. He was too overjoyed with her news to let it dampen his mood for long. His smile returned, warm and joyful. "My mother will be beside herself with happiness, more so, if we give her a granddaughter." Oh, he knew it was his duty to produce a male heir, but if they could conceive of one child, it was likely there would be others.

Giggling softly, any fear of his response swept aside by his obvious excitement, Marianne threw her arms about his neck, hugging him close to herself as she peppered his cheek and neck with kisses. "I love you so, my Stephan," she promised him in a tender voice. "I am not so naive as to promise you a son before the year is out, but I will hope for him."

His smile warmed and softened for this gentle creature that was his wife. "There will be plenty of time for sons," he assured her, hoping in his heart that it was true. He had no great love of war and wished only for peace for the people of Pomerania, but if war was what it took to gain that peace, then he would lay his life down as willingly as any man to achieve that goal. "Is it foolish of me to wish for a daughter first?" he asked as he held her close, his voice barely more than a whisper, not quite daring himself to speak any louder for fear she'd hear the sound of tears in his voice. For a man who'd grown up with two brothers, the thought of a daughter was especially profound.

"A son would stand you better for a firstborn child," she murmured softly, knowing exactly what it was to be the firstborn and female. "But neither would I begrudge a daughter for you, a granddaughter for your mother. There are too few women in the House of Hasperan. We should set it right over the years to come."

"I promise I will be happy with whatever the Goddess grants us - son or daughter," he assured her, too happy to care either way. There was plenty of time to produce an heir, but whether the firstborn would be their heir remained to be seen. "We should do something to celebrate!" he told her, circling his arms around her waist, but careful not to kiss her just yet. Not until he'd had a chance to properly wash the smell of stale wine from his breath.

Laughing, Marianne embraced him once again, nuzzling close as she sighed happily. "And what could we do to celebrate that will not share our news with the whole house?" she asked him in amusement, understanding his wish to tell everyone but respecting, too, that the physician who had seen to her knew what he was talking about when he suggested they keep such news their own until it was obvious to others.

"Hmm, I have a thought or two, if it would not upset your delicate condition," he replied with a smile, drawing her farther away from the window and closer to the bed. Thankfully, none of his plans had anything to do with wine or becoming inebriated, though he was still sorely tempted to tell his brother, if only to swear him to secrecy.

"And what might those thoughts entail, my loving husband?" she asked playfully, offering no protest as he drew her away from the window and out of the warm drench of sunlight. She thought she might have a vague idea of where his thoughts had wandered in celebration, but some perverse mischief wanted to hear him say it aloud.

"I thought perhaps we would languish in bed for a little while longer before joining my brother for supper." Breakfast had already been provided and was waiting for their enjoyment, and supper was still many hours away. He trusted Felipe could entertain himself for a while longer, especially given the fact that he had a new steed to occupy his time. If Stephan had his way, languishing in bed would have very little to do with sleeping, however.

As Marianne dissolved into shy giggles, Beatrice curtseyed to them both, an indulgent smile on her own lips, and turned to shoo every last servant out of the Prince's private chambers. With the sound of the door closing in her ears, Marianne bit her lip, shaking her head in amusement. "I do believe she still sees me as little more than a child who needs to be protected from my deviously passionate husband."

"So long as she acknowledges and recognizes my authority, you need never fear anything from her. She and others will find out soon enough that you are no child, but the mother of my children and the love of my life. One day, you will be Queen, Marianne, and they will all look to you with awe and envy. Until then, your chief duty is keeping the Crown Prince happy. Do you think you are up to the task?" he teased, rolling off the bed to his feet, and offering her a hand so that they partake of the bath before the water cooled.

"I believe I may," she teased him in turn. "If I can teach myself this lady's skill of lying still and quiet while he takes his pleasure." Knowing now what she did of love, she understood why she had been taught so, but could not understand why any woman would willingly do nothing to share pleasure with her husband. Slipping her hand into his, she abandoned her nest of blankets with little more than a flame-spread of blush over her skin to show that she acknowledged her nudity. "Will the Crown Prince have patience enough to teach me, do you think?"

"The Crown Prince would prefer his lady to feel free to utter whatever sounds she so desires, rather than suffer in muted silence. Is it so unladylike for a woman to acknowledge her husband's ministrations?" he inquired, merely curious, as he knew very little of the proper behavior of ladies in bed. It was not something that was taught to men. He led her toward the bath and held fast to her hand while she immersed herself in the water, only to step back so that he could yank his tunic over his head and dispense with his breeches to join her.

Helped into the bath, she gasped just a little at the heat of the water, though it was a welcome flush to her pale skin as she knelt, waiting for him to join her before she made herself comfortable in the steaming bath. "In truth, I do not know," she admitted. "I know only what I was taught and told, that the marriage bed is a man's domain, and a woman should learn to please him as best she may. That she might please him by loving him also was not among my lessons. I was taught only that the way to please a husband is to be quiet and obedient and fruitful."

"Nonsense," he said as he climbed into the bath to join her, exhaling a long sigh as he allowed the steaming bath to relax him. He reached for her to draw her close, lifting her hair to push it back over her shoulders, admiring the beauty that was his wife. "Is it not ironic that a wanton woman who is hardly interested in love or pleasure is expected to put voice to her passions, while a woman who is enamored of her lover is expected to be silent in her enjoyment of his ministrations?"

Easing close to him, she smiled, letting her hands smooth over his skin once again. "In fairness, I believe it is only women of rank who are taught such things," she confessed. "We are taught to expect to be married off to men as old as our own fathers, or older; men of power who have already been wedded once and wish only a pretty bride who brings power with her connections. I believe myself the luckiest of women to have been chosen by you."

"I chose a woman based on a painting, Mari. It was a match made for political reasons, but I believe it was the Goddess who led me to choosing you. I do not regret that choice, but thank Her each day in my prayers for the guidance She gave me that led me to you, dear wife." His hands, too, smoothed over her skin, pausing to lay a hand against her stomach, which was flat and showing no hint of her pregnancy. "Is it true there is a child of ours growing inside you?" he asked with almost childlike wonder.

She watched his hand move to touch over the place where their child rested, though there was no outward sign yet that any such heart beat beneath her own. "So the physician says, and he has no reason to lie," she said softly. "It does not seem real, and yet, it makes sense of some feelings I have had over past months that did not appear to have any grounding."

"What feelings are those?" he asked, gently caressing the flat of her stomach for a moment longer, clearly in awe of the wonder that was growing inside her, before drawing her close to settle against him.

Marianne smiled, blushing a little as he drew her close once again, finding it only too easy to settle in comfort in the circle of his arms. "Sickness that strikes at odd times," she admitted. "Never so much as to make me truly ill, and yet sometimes enough to have me disgorge my stomach, seemingly touched on by time of day, or some scent, or sometimes it seems even without cause. A certain lethargy, too, yet the most marked feeling ..." Her blush darkened as she laughed, mostly at her own shyness in sharing this. "I believe I have grown, and in growing, have discovered some new sensitivity."

"How so?" he asked further, not only curious but interested in these changes in his wife, both physical and otherwise. Though some might see her as little more than a child, she had proved to him that she was indeed a woman, and one who he believed was ready for the challenges that lay ahead of her. "I am sorry there is so much suffering in bearing a child, but surely there is joy, too."

She hesitated, her blush deepening as she giggled once again, closing her eyes to draw his hands to her breasts. "Here," she told him, almost cringing at how shy she was of telling him something he could surely have noted over time. "And it is not suffering, dear heart. It has perplexed me, but now I know the cause, it is nothing to fear, surely?"

She drew not only his hands, but his eyes to her breasts. It was difficult to hide the desire he felt at such an innocent gaze, naked as he was. He savored the softness of her beneath his hand and moved his fingers over her flesh in such a way as to not only savor the feel of her but test what she'd mentioned of a growing sensitivity. And if his young wife wanted to sigh or moan or scream her pleasure, he would not disapprove. Was this what Felipe meant by wildness, perhaps?

He was rewarded for that gentle test with a clear sign of her own desire - not simply the flush of her skin, nor the catch of her breath, but in the tightening of the buds that crowned the bounty in his hands beneath his palms. And yes, she moaned softly, a moan that bore his name as her eyes turned to his, stormy with undisguised loving desire. "I-I had thought you knew of it."

"You are a wonderful mystery to uncover, my beloved," he replied, marveling at her body's response to his fondling caress. While it was true, he had certainly explored her before, it was the heightened sense of pleasure that interested him in testing her further. While there was no doubt he garnered pleasure from her, he wished to return that pleasure tenfold in hopes of demonstrating his love and affection. Shifting his body so that he could lean closer, his mouth found that same place of heightened sensitivity, exploring and enticing her further with lips and teeth and tongue, almost daring her to endure his ministrations without uttering some sound of pleasure.

He wrapped a cloth about her shoulders to keep her warm, gently rubbing her back and shoulders dry so she wouldn't catch a chill, while he himself stood there naked and dripping wet from the bath. "I wish us to keep no secrets from each other." He had nothing to hide, after all, which was made all the more evident by his lack of modesty following the bath.

"As I have none from you, dear heart," she assured him warmly, taking charge of her own linen to wave one at him. "Dry yourself. It is not so much spring yet that you can afford to risk a chill looking after me." She giggled, squeezing the water from her hair with a second linen. "I told you of our child last night, but the drink held you too deep. You could not keep yourself from worrying over our duty as yet undone."

"Last night?" he echoed, taking the linen from her and hastily patting himself dry before wrapping the cloth about his waist. Thankfully, the servants had stoked the fire in the hearth before leaving their master and mistress alone with the bath. "I do not remember." In point of fact, there wasn't much from the night before that he did remember.

"I did not think you would," Marianne laughed softly, reaching up to gently touch his cheek. "Thus did I promise to tell you again in the morning. No secrets between us, my own dearest love." Catching his hand, she kissed his palm affectionately, moving to discard her linen in search of a fresh chemise.

He smiled softly back at her as she kissed his hand, touched by such a sweet and loving expression of her affection. He could not help but admire the grace and beauty of her form as she moved away from him, discarding her linen so that she was as naked to his eyes as he had been to hers. "If it was not for my brother, I would linger here with you all night."

Blushing as she withdrew a silk chemise from the press, his little wife smiled back to him with sparkling eyes. "We have many such nights ahead of us," she promised him, "aye, and many such days, too. We should not begrudge your brother one evening more to enjoy our company."

"I begrudge my brother very little," he replied, only half in jest, as he, too, moved to get dressed at long last. It was unlike him to linger in bed for so many hours, and he knew if he didn't at least make an appearance for the evening meal, the servants might worry, not to mention his brother. "I hope he knows how much I will be counting on him in the days to come."

Choosing not to call on her lady to help her dress, Marianne dressed simply herself in bodice and skirt, leaving her sleeves to hang loose as she tied ribbons and laces about herself. "I am sure that he does," she agreed in her quiet way. "You are his port of call in a storm, as proved by his escape from court to your side. There is too much honor in him, too much love for you, to allow him ever to betray you."

Likewise, he did without his valet, choosing a simple tunic and breeches to start with, and pausing in his own dressing to help her with her ribbons and laces, as much as he was able. It was no wonder she needed help dressing with so many layers and laces to tend to. "No, I do not worry of his betrayal. Nor do I of Maksim. I know my brothers almost as well as I know myself. Why should they covet a crown so laden with responsibility when I am willing to give them everything they could possibly desire" All I ask for in return is their loyalty."

"And they know of your trust in them," she assured her husband, slender fingers twisting damp tendrils of hair into braids to wrap about her crown and hold back the heaviest part of her mane of chestnut locks. "Such trust is rare, indeed, where it has not first been proved ten times over. You are lucky in your brothers, Stephan, and they in you."

"I do not deny it," he replied, turning to finish dressing, adding layer upon layer of clothing, partly for warmth and partly for fashion. He pulled on a pair of boots and pushed his fingers through his own tangle of curls to force them into some semblance of order. "We are both lucky to have them. They are very fond of you, and I do not doubt that Felipe, at least, would lay down his life to protect you." Even more so once he learned that she was with child.

Sat down, Marianne drew on her stockings and garters, sliding her feet into soft slippers as she smiled. "It is an odd thing, to be a younger sister after so many years," she admitted a little ruefully. "To have brothers who are not set above me by their birth, who seem to enjoy my company. I confess, I have not quite learned to accept such filial affection."

"One day, Goddess willing, they will have wives who might become like sisters to you," he pointed out from the bench where he'd sat down so that he could put on his boots. "One day, you will have your own circle of ladies, as does my mother." It went without saying, he supposed, but perhaps it would help her feel less lonely, especially when he was away from court on business or campaign.

"One day," she agreed with a soft smile. It was a day she couldn't quite see yet, with Maksim sowing his oats and making sure they didn't take root, and Felipe eschewing the company of women altogether. "And you are right, it is beyond time I selected my own circle. If I may, I should like to befriend Lady Eleanor, even if she and Felipe do not suit one another. She is very alone in Berengaria."

"Of course," he replied, without hesitation. "So long as Lady Margaret is not part of your circle, I have no objections," he remarked with a small teasing smirk, knowing there was no chance of that ever happening. He secretly hoped none of her ladies would dare seduce any of their sons when they were of age, but the possibility of that was a long way off.

Marianne raised her brow, and for a moment, there was a glimmer in her expression of the grave threat that must have been there when last she had spoken with that lady. "Should Lady Margaret dare approach me but on business, she will rue the day she ever thought to place herself above me in mind," she promised him fervently. Young she might be, and small in stature, but those attributes made it only too easy to forget that she was also the firstborn daughter of a king, and the wife of a king-in-waiting. Only a fool would cross someone in her position.

He laughed at his wife's response to his teasing as he moved to his feet to offer her both his hands. "I do believe the Lady Margaret has more than met her match," he teased further, blue eyes dancing with amusement. He felt flattered and a little amused by his wife's jealousy of a woman he clearly felt nothing for.

Slipping her hands into his, Marianne set aside her formidable expression in favor of a soft smile as she found her feet, rising up onto her toes to brush a kiss against her husband's cheek. "I love you," she reminded him quietly, letting her lips touch his just briefly. "But you really must feed me a proper meal, my dearest."

"And I love you," he replied, touching a kiss to her lips. "We have likely kept my brother waiting long enough. If we tarry much longer, he may start to worry," he told her, tucking her hand into the crux of his elbow to lead her very properly to the door. He made no mention of the very improper meal they had shared a short while earlier, but for the tiniest hint of smirks on his bearded face. It would likely be clear to anyone who saw them just how they had spent their afternoon.

And who could blame them, in all truth' Once Felipe knew of their precious news - and there was little doubt he would know before he had even straightened from his bow, so excited was Stephan to share it - there would certainly be no blame from him for the way they had spent their day. It promised to be a fine evening, a proper farewell for the brother returning to the city, and a first celebration for the promise of new blood within the royal house. And in truth, Marianne could think of no better way to spend such an evening than with family. A new family to her, yes, but family, nonetheless, who had embraced her without a moment's hesitation. She had done her duty, finally, and could at last simply enjoy being the only daughter of Hasperan House. For now, at least.

For who knew what the future might bring? If all went well, there might one day be sons and daughters to fill the King's court with love and laughter. But for now, the Crown Prince and his Princess were happy and content to start their family here in the peace and safety that was Peronell.

((Many, many thanks to Stephan's player!))