Timing, as they say, is everything. It had been under a year since Nasir had come to the throne of Valentia, under a year since the harem complex had seen murder and torture in the wake of the former king's death. Less than six months since the new king had formally both married his chosen concubine and announced that she would be crowned his queen once she had given birth to their first child. So many things had changed in the country, yet the transition had been a surprisingly smooth one. The people who lived in the capital professed nothing but absolute faith in their young king and his circle of advisors. They would certainly not have believed that, at this moment, both he and one of those advisors were waiting anxiously outside the harem complex, unable to relax until they heard news of what was going on within.

Nasir had settled in well, not only to his new role as king, but also to that of being a husband. Being a father, though, was a role he was uncertain of, but what was making him even more nervous was the knowledge that his beloved Safiya was at this very moment struggling to give birth to their child. He was smart enough to know that childbirth did not always go well, and this was an important birth. The very future of Valentia depended on it.

"What do you think is going on in there, Ezra?" Nasir asked as he paced the floor, the hem of his robe trailing against the floor behind him.

In contrast to Nasir's pacing, Ezra was deceptively still, standing by the wall, his hands folded at his back. He was as concerned as his friend and king - it was not just Safiya giving birth today. Almost as soon as the news had reached them that she was in labor, his own wife - Teres - had gone into labor, leaving both men on edge as they waited for news.

"I am sure they would have sent for us if something had gone wrong," was all he could say in answer to Nasir's question.

"Do you think so?" Nasir said, pausing in step to gaze at his friend. He knew Ezra was likely as nervous as he was, but his friend was just better at controlling his emotions. "I do not know what I will do if anything happens to Safi," he confessed, sure Ezra felt the same about Teres.

"Women give birth every day," Ezra said, though he could just as easily have been reassuring himself. "And in conditions far worse than here in the palace. They are in the Goddess' hands."

Nasir sighed. He knew his friend was right, but while he professed that the women were in the hands of the Goddess', they were also in the hand of the midwives and the other women involved in the births. "I envy you your faith, my friend," Nasir said, reaching out to give Ezra's shoulder a squeeze.

Ezra's smile was a little rueful. "All those years in Gelre seem to have had some effect," he said, half-amused that his time in exile had thrown up skills for dealing with something so very personal with calm. "Tell me, do you hope for a son or a daughter?"

Nasir frowned at his friend's question, which he should have known the answer to without asking. Everyone in Valentia was hoping for a prince and an heir, though in truth, as a father, Nasir would be equally happy with a daughter - one who was as lovely as his Safiya. But before he could make her queen, she needed to give him a son. The future of Valentia was depending on it. "Are you asking me as a father or as a king?"

"As a man." Ezra's eyes were wise with understanding that it was a loaded question, but it was one that could distract his friend from his worry for just a little while.

Nasir turned away to resume his pacing as he contemplated his friend's question. He steepled his fingers beneath his bearded chin, but there was really only one way he could answer. "Every man wishes for a son," he said, though that was not his answer. "As a man, I would be just as happy with a daughter as a son. As a man, I only wish for a healthy child, and for Safi to come through the birth safely. As a king, however, I must hope for an heir, and I do not believe Valentia is ready to accept a woman on the throne, and so I must hope for a son."

"Teres tells me that Safiya has been praying for a son," Ezra offered. "I feel sure the Goddess will not ignore such prayers. She alone knows where we are headed. She will provide what you need, whether you know it now or not."

"And if what we need is a daughter?" Nasir asked. He had only just claimed the throne for himself; he did not think the country was ready for such drastic change just yet. He was already making changes that might have been considered radical only a few short years ago. How much change could Valentia stand"

"Then you will have a daughter." Ezra sighed softly. "Mystery is in all Her ways, Nasir. We just have to trust that She knows what She is doing."

From the other side of the door into the harem complex came the muffled sound of a thin wail - a newborn's cry.

Nasir was about to ask his friend what it was that he was hoping for - a son or a daughter - when the sound of a newborn's wail drew his attention. It was perhaps the most welcome sound in the world, but until he knew Safi's fate, he could allow himself to feel happiness or relief. In that moment, it didn't much matter whether the child was a son or a daughter; it only mattered that his child and his wife were safe and well.

"One of us is a father," he murmured, unsure to which of them the newborn belonged.

Yet, scant moments later, a second wail joined the first, and Ezra visibly relaxed, letting out a low laugh. He passed his hand over his face, rubbing his beard for a moment before letting out a heaving breath.

"We both are," he said. "Congratulations."

"How can this be possible?" Nasir asked, not really expecting an answer. It wasn't so hard to believe that both women were with child, as they had been married at very nearly the same time, but to have given birth at nearly the same moment could not be coincidence.

"They do everything together," Ezra said with a faint chuckle. "This should not have been such a surprise." Though, of course, it had been. Safiya, they had been expecting; he had been sure Teres had another month to go before she was due to give birth, though.

"Not everything," Nasir corrected his friend. "When do you think they will let us in?" he asked, though he wasn't really expecting an answer to that question. He assumed someone would come inform them what was going on soon; he also knew it would not be a good idea to enter the harem uninvited.

"I should imagine Baba or Sasha will come for us soon enough," his friend mused thoughtfully.

"Yes." Safiya giggled softly. "Just barely. Teres seemed determined to catch up and overtake for a short while there!" It had been an odd experience, to give birth in the same room as her best friend who was also giving birth, but it was an experience she would not have changed.

"And she is well?" he asked, as he pulled away the wrappings just a little so he could get a better look at their son. He needed to be sure he had all his fingers, after all, and looked fit enough to be a prince.

"She is," Safiya assured him, watching with a soft smile playing at her lips. The tiny hands Nasir uncovered were wriggling, fingers clenching and opening as the baby boy smacked his lips.

Though small and red and wrinkly, Nasir did not think he had ever seen a more handsome boy in his life. Of course, he was biased, but he was glad to see his son was fit and well and handsome. He couldn't help but chuckle at the infant's expression. "He does not look entirely pleased to have been born," he said, brushing a finger tenderly against the baby's cheek.

"He will have to learn to live with it, because he is not coming back in," Safi responded with a snort of laughter. She felt sore and beaten up, but for now, her physical aches were nothing in the face of seeing her son in the arms of his father.

"He is a fine lad, Safiya," Nasir praised them both. "He will make a fine prince." They would be sure to teach him to be such. Nasir carefully tugged the wrappings back up over the newborn's hands in hopes of making him comfortable. "He will need a name."

"He will," she agreed softly. "A strong name for a strong prince." She reached out, gently stroking her fingers against Nasir's cheek. "You look weary, sevgili," she murmured. "Was the day so worrying for you?"

"I was worried for you, Safi," he confessed, lifting his gaze from his son to his son's mother, a soft smile on his face. "I am relieved you are well. And the little one, too. Praise the Goddess," he added, for good measure.

"I am strong," she assured him. "It was truly not so hard as it may have seemed." Her smile deepened. "I will give you more sons, I promise you. We will build a strong family together."

"And a daughter," he added with a soft smile. He was glad they'd had a son, but he still hoped for a daughter someday, if only to please her. "I am glad you are well," he told her, leaning close to brush a kiss against her lips, brief but affectionate.

She smiled into his kiss. "I am very well," she promised. "And eager to sleep beside you again, but I am told I am not allowed to for some weeks yet." She pouted at this thought.

No, of course not. Because the temptation would be too great, and she needed time to heal. "There is nothing that says I cannot stay with you here, so long as we do not share a bed," he said, though he wasn't too sure. There were lots of rules when it came to these things that he hadn't concerned himself with.

"I think both Teres and I will be staying in the harem until we are recovered enough that physicians believe we are allowed to return to our husband's beds," Safiya warned him affectionately. "But there are no rules to state that we may not be with you in the daytime. I will not be far from your side, sevgili."

"I will ask the Goddess for patience, askim," he told her with the hint of a smile. He kissed her again before lowering himself onto a chair beside her, their son still cradled in his arms. "So, what shall we name him' If he is to be a prince, he should have a princely name."

"I had thought to name him Nasir, for his father," she confessed softly. "But perhaps it would be confusing, to have both a king and a prince who share the name."

"He will be his own man; he should have his own name," Nasir said, gazing down at his son once again. The little prince would, of course, not be a man for many years, but Nasir thought it better than he have a name to call his own.

"There are many noble names," she mused, watching them affectionately. "Baran, or Sadir, or Osman, perhaps. Strong names. He is your legacy. He should have a name to match."

"Hmm," Nasir considered. There were many names, indeed, but only one that would fit their son. "Perhaps we should think on it," he suggested. There was no need to give him a name just yet, so long as he had one before he was formally presented.

"He does not need a name until he is presented," she agreed. "But the heralds will announce that he is a prince tonight. There will be celebrations in the streets, I am sure."

"Very well. What name do you think suits him?" he asked, pulling the blanket away just a little bit to better see the newborn's face.

She tilted her head, studying their son's red face for a long moment. "I like Osman," she admitted, lifting her eyes to his. "Osman Nasir, Prince of Valentia."

Nasir couldn't help but smile at her suggestion, especially at the addition of his name to their son's. "It is a good name," he admitted, and its meaning was a noble one. It meant "one who is born to show the right path". Not even Idris could find fault with that. "What do you think, yavru?" he asked of the bundle in his arms. "Do you agree it is a good name?"

There wasn't much of a response from his newborn son - a bubble of spit at his lips and a quiet gurgle, a sudden flail of one arm before settling once again. Safiya giggled quietly. "I think he likes it."

Nasir chuckled at his son's response to his naming. "I think he does, too," he said, though they could not really be sure. Names were important and not something to be given lightly, in his opinion, especially when one was a prince.

"He will grow into it," she predicted fondly, carefully adjusting her lean against the pillows, taking extra care to hide the wince that came with that movement. She knew Nasir was a worrier, after all.

Thankfully, he was too enamored with his new son to notice, though it wasn't for lack of caring or worrying. "He is a fine son, Safi. You have made me very happy," he told her, lifting his face to prove his words with a shining smile.

"As you have made me," she countered affectionately. "We have done what we promised the people we would do. They have a prince, a secure succession. They will rally around you even more, I am sure."

"She walks in on your quarters often enough as it is," Safiya teased him, but she understood the need to keep his mother at arm’s length sometimes. Lady Shahista could be a little overbearing in her affection for her son.

It wasn't that Nasir didn't have a good relationship with his mother that made him speak that way. It was only that he thought a full-grown, married man should have the right to privacy, where his own wife and quarters were concerned. "I shall speak to her," he promised, adding, "Gently."

"She loves you, Nasir," she reminded him softly. "You are all she has left. I understand her need to be close, truly I do. And she has never been anything but kind to me."

Nasir frowned, realizing he might have come off a little harsher than he'd meant to. "And I love her," he countered. "We owe our lives to her," he added, quite literally. "I only wish her to understand that there are times when a man wants to be alone with his wife. If she wants another grandchild, she will understand." But not right away.

"I am sure she would like us to fill the nursery here in the harem entirely on our own," Safiya giggled softly. "That, I think, may be beyond even us."

He laughed, jiggling the bundle in his arms a little, though there were no audible complaints. "We will give her more grandchildren, in time," he said. They were both still young, so there was no rush.

"And our children will grow up with Ezra and Teres' children, and Idris and Sasha's," she said affectionately. Of course, there was no sign yet that Sasha and Idris had even consummated their marriage, much less planted a seed together, but she lived in hope.

"And we will not force them into an unwanted betrothment," he said, as might have been the case in the past. He hoped he could uphold that promise. Too many marriages were arranged for political purposes.

"We will try not to," she amended his statement. "We cannot know what the future will look like, Nasir. There may come a time when we may have to overrule our children in the furtherance of peace."

"I hope not," he said, looking again at their young son, so blissfully unaware and at peace, asleep in his arms. He could make no promises, for no one knew what awaited them in the future, but he could hope.

But that was what that baby boy represented - hope. Hope for Valentia's future, and for theirs. There would be others to follow, no doubt, but right now, in that moment, Osman Nasir stood for the future of his country, and his parents' dreams of a better world.