Jarren   I woke in time to see Jillie bolt off the bed and into the bathroom. Getting up, I followed her, pulling her natural curls out of her face and rubbing her back. When she finished, she walked over to the sink to rinse her mouth before brushing her teeth. I walked out of the room and down the hall into the kitchen. Getting another glass, I poured her some ginger ale and grabbed a few of the ginger candies. I was walking back towards the room when I heard Jillie talking. I stopped slightly out of view, watching her. She was rubbing her stomach. “You’re kicking Mommy’s butt. Calm down, little one, just for a little bit. You’re worrying, Daddy. He’s not showing it, but I know you are.” She continued to rub her stomach. “Just long enough for me to sleep. Does that sound reasonable to you, baby girl?” I smiled to myself before walking into the room. I ha

Jillie          I had taken so many pictures that I was sure the camera begged for a break. My morning sickness hadn’t been that bad today. That was probably due to the amount of ginger I put into my system. Because of it, we were able to go back into town today. I’d seen everything I wanted to earlier in the day: all of the tourist attractions.           Jarren was now leading us past the many shops that littered the streets. I was enjoying looking at some of the items in the windows. Everything seemed so different, so unique. A specific store caught my attention, and I stopped, pulling Jarren to a stop with me. It didn’t matter that I couldn’t understand the store’s name. I could tell what it was from looking through the window at all

Jarren          I listened to her easy breathing as she slept. She was sleeping so peacefully. Closing my eyes, I listened to the sounds of the house. Nothing. Everything seemed to be deafly quiet.         Inhaling, I didn’t smell anything either. I settled back in the bed and pulled her closer to me. I didn’t plan on sleeping tonight. I was bothered, and I had a right to be. I had left Jillie alone, and there was no telling what could have happened. The lights had gone out, but I knew they should have come back on. The cottage had a backup generator. It should have kicked in if the storm had knocked the lights out.         I also wanted to believe that the generator was affected by the storm, but I knew that wasn’t the case. At the moment, it didn’t matter. I would figure it out in the morning. Right now, I didn’t plan on leaving Jillie alone again.         I

Jillie          Our honeymoon had been fantastic. The last few days were spent doing different things. Boat riding, hiking, and more shopping, to Jarren’s dismay. Unfortunately, it was also filled with more sickness.            I stared out the plane window as Jarren looked over some papers he received yesterday. To say he wasn’t happy about it was an understatement. He was more than upset that people were interrupting our honeymoon even though it was the last day.            Jarren groaned, and I turned to see him run his hand through his hair. Standing from my seat, I took the folder from his hand and placed it in the chair across from him. I sat in his lap and kissed him softly.“Whatever it is, you’ll figure it out.”“Why do we have to go back?”I laughed. “Because they’ll all get w

Jarren I leaned against the counter, sipping a glass of blood and waiting for Jillie downstairs. We had about an hour left before meeting Hollie at the palace. I would have preferred for her to come to us, but I knew all her equipment was set up in the medical room. Honestly, I was trying to avoid my mother.           I didn’t understand why she was pushing this so hard. Yes, I had agreed to take the throne a year after getting married. I’d promised I’d be ready, and I was. Now, things have changed. It was no longer just Jillie and I. We had a child on the way, and what type of parent and husband would I be if I just up and took over right after the baby was born?            Not to say that my parents weren’t great, because they were. But I could remember most of my time spent with Nannies when I was younger. Especially with both of them traveling for