CHAPTER 256: EARLY SYMPTOMS

In Roseville, inside the boarding establishment, Belle was given the least good room in the building, as it was said the rest were occupied, and as desperate as she was for a place to rest the day, she had no choice but to take the lounging.

The room was small, not even half the size of her chamber, with a string bed that had rusty iron posts and an old, cracked nightstand. There was a barn-worn-out basin kept at the side for a bath and two unlit lamps hanging on the walls. And true to the owner’s words, there was no fireplace, nor were there stoves to keep the place warm. It had one window, but that too had a broken windowpane, and the curtain was sheer, with the morning wind blowing in fiercely, chilling her soaked body to the bones and marrow.

The man who had led her to the room had left, saying a hot bath would be brought to her, and she would have to pay for it separately as it did not come with the room payment. Belle had quickly agreed to it.

Her body felt so heavy, walking was becoming difficult. She couldn’t believe she had been able to run just last night in her condition, and she silently prayed that those men who had been in the manor in Bimmerville would never find her here.

The thought that all the people in the house had been shot dead sent a horrifying chill down her spine.

She did not move from her spot until the hot water was brought in by a young boy who looked like a worker. He was whistling happily to himself as he poured hot water from a bucket into the basin for her, his face calm and carefree, as if the world held no darkness. Belle felt a painful sting tug at her heart and a lump rise in her throat as she watched him.

She longed for that kind of life, a simple, ordinary existence where nothing hunted her, where she wasn’t constantly fleeing or looking over her shoulder. A life where her days were structured, predictable, and quiet, where her biggest worry would be what to eat or what to wear, not whether she would survive the night.

But that life was no longer hers.

The people around her moved on with their lives, oblivious to the storm she was caught in. Children’s laughter echoed from somewhere outside, workers near the room whistled and laughed, and the early morning streets bustled with purpose and peace. Yet for her, time felt frozen in fear. Her life had come to a dreadful standstill, suspended in uncertainty and danger, and every second she carried a weight in her chest, a gnawing, breathless fear of what was to come.

She was terrified of many things, and yet she couldn’t show it. She had to hold herself together even when everything inside her was unraveling. Her husband was away, lost to her, and she didn’t know what condition he was in, or whether he would ever find her, now that she had fled the place where he left her.

He might be in danger, and she wouldn’t know. She might have wandered too far, and he wouldn’t know where to find her. She was weary, afraid, and longed for the unbothered life everyone else seemed to have. But she knew her life had taken a different turn the day she chose to marry, to save her sister. It was a decision she did not regret for a single moment, because that very marriage had led her to the man meant for her.

Belle was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice when the boy finished pouring the water and was now standing before her, hand stretched out, palm up.

"Payment for the hot water, ma’am."

Belle snapped back to her senses. She reached for a gold coin and handed it to him, telling him to keep the change. He grinned and thanked her before adding that she could ring the bell if she needed anything else done.

It was only after he was gone, closing the door softly behind him, that Belle moved from the spot she had been standing in since she entered the room. She dragged her heavy body to the bed and placed the bundle of clothes she had been gripping onto the worn mattress.

Thankfully, the waterproof leather cloak had kept the clothes inside the bundled sheet from getting wet, even though she herself was soaked. She quickly stripped off her drenched garments and walked over to the basin.

Belle stepped into the hot water, letting it seep into her weary, cold bones and warm her. The steam rose, curling in the air, and she breathed it in deeply, as if hoping it would warm her from the inside too. She lifted the pitcher and poured the water over her head, letting it wash away the tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried to fight through the pain in her lower abdomen.

She wanted to ignore it, to pretend it was nothing, but she couldn’t anymore. She needed a doctor as soon as possible. The problem was, she had no idea where she could find one, this village was still unfamiliar to her.

Furthermore, even if she knew where to find a doctor, a human doctor wouldn’t be able to help her.

But she knew what the cramping meant.

She had read many books about pregnancy and labor back in Bimmerville to educate herself. And now, the early signs of labor were beginning. Her baby was getting ready to come into the world.

And though she never thought she would feel this way, she found herself wishing, hoping, that he wouldn’t come just yet.

Giving birth in this situation was not a good thing, and it certainly wasn’t what she wanted to happen now, nor was it how she had imagined the day she would welcome her child into the world. Her baby couldn’t come now.

She needed to find a safe place first.

She needed her husband.

Hating herself for what she was about to do, Belle did it anyway. She had no other choice at all.

She looked down at her belly, touching a wet, trembling hand to it as she whispered, "Please don’t come yet. Stay in there until your papa finds us. I can’t do it alone. I can’t give birth to you without him, or anyone, by my side... please, hold yourself in there for a few more days. I can carry your weight inside me.

Please, Angel, help me get through this by staying there."

She pleaded, tears rolling down her flushed cheeks as she bit back the sob that rose in her throat.

She sat in the basin until, surprisingly, the pain began to subside. The weight that had been lowering to her lower abdomen pushed back up, settling again in the middle.

And Belle—Belle sobbed and smiled at the same time as she wrapped her arms around her belly.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. I love you. I want you to know that," she whispered to the baby, who had just made everything easier by not wanting to come out now.

Without the pain, Belle felt more clear-minded. She washed her body in the water that had turned warm and then carefully stood up, wrapping herself with the provided towel that smelled like milk honey, not a pleasant scent, but what choice did she have?

She wrapped it around herself and walked toward the bed, carefully dressing in the other gown she had thoughtfully packed along with her baby things, oils, and powders and all.

The rain had started to fall in earnest again after it had stopped earlier, and due to the broken window glass, water sprayed into the room and wetted the floor near the window and the sheer, useless curtain, chilling away the warmth she had felt from her bath.

Belle spread her drenched dress on the back of the single chair in the room, along with her other undergarments, to let them dry. Then she made her way to the bed and sat at its edge.

She was tired, hungry... but the thought that clung most to her mind was of her Rohan and what he was doing.

Had he really gone to kill the king?

And had he succeeded?