by Alex Tryst

Dedication & Author's Note: See Chapter 1.

Feedback: Drop me a line if you’d like at alextryst@e-scribblers.com.

Copyright © June, 2008 by Alex Tryst. All Rights Reserved.

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A year later Alexa was in Scotland at an international conference with other world leaders. Over the last year her mother had been relinquishing some control of the country to her, making it more difficult for her to carry on her affair with Lauren. However, the librarian seemed to understand and was patient with her. It helped both of their morale greatly when the redhead got pregnant. Now the princess was in Europe when she was wishing she were at Lauren’s. Her lover’s due date was while she was away, but Janice promised to take care of her in her absence. Nevertheless, Alexa was anxiously awaiting the arrival of their first child. She was so excited about it, but she had no one to tell.

That evening as she was attending a gala with other world leaders, her secretary interrupted her during her dinner. He leaned down as he touched her on the arm. “Excuse me, your highness, I have an urgent message for you.”

“What is it?” she questioned, not paying him much attention as she smiled at her dinner companion next to her, the princess of Wales.

“It is a private matter, your highness.”

Nodding her head in understanding, she excused herself from the table and followed Matthew until she got to her hotel room. When they were alone, she asked, “What is it? I really need to get back downstairs.”

Matthew shook his head as she handed her something off the printer. “I think you have a change of plans, Lex.” Taking the paper he handed to her, she looked down at it. Her heart stopped beating a moment and then started again in double time. There staring back at her was a photograph of the woman she loved holding a newborn. Lauren’s hair was matted and damp, and her blue eyes looked tired, but the bright smile she gave made Alexa’s heart melt. Underneath the picture were the words “Anastasia Elise Washington Fulton, born August 1 at 8:37 AM, 7 pounds, 6 ounces, 17 inches long, red hair and blue eyes.” The princess felt tears escape as she stared down at the photograph. Arms came around her shoulders as Matthew gave her a hug. “Congratulations, Lex.”

She looked at him with questioning eyes. “How did you know?”

“You pay me to know everything about your life, even what you choose not to share. I knew something was going on, and when Ms. Fulton called me this evening requesting to speak with you, I figured you had rekindled your relationship. Now I know it is much more than that.”

She nodded her head as she wiped at her face with the back of her hand. “I just wish I could have been there.”

He nodded his head. “I have already scheduled to have the royal jet take you home. It will be ready for take off by the time we arrive at the airport. The conference was over tomorrow anyway, so I arranged to get you out of here without the media knowing about it. We are ready to leave as soon as you are. I had someone lay out some traveling clothes for you on the bed, and your bags are packed. Change quickly, so we can go. Your daughter awaits you.”

Hugging her secretary once again, she whispered, “Thank you, Matthew, for everything.”

He nodded. “I just want you to be happy, Alexa. She makes you happy, and that is all that matters. Go on now.”

By early the following morning, the princess arrived at the hospital. Matthew had arranged for her to be snuck in through a private entrance and taken to Lauren’s room without the public seeing her. When she got there, she found the redhead and their little girl asleep. Quietly she crept into the room, shutting the door behind her softly. She did her best not to wake either of them, knowing Lauren needed whatever sleep she could get. She gently lowered herself into the rocking chair near the bed and just gazed in awe at the little baby sleeping in the crib next to her. She couldn’t believe it. All she ever wanted was there in front of her. Unable to resist, she reached for her daughter. The little girl squirmed as she was picked up and wearily opened her eyes for a moment. Alexa smiled at the sleepy face that greeted her. Bringing her to her chest, she rocked her gently back to sleep.

For the next twenty minutes there was silence in the room. Alexa couldn’t tear her eyes away from the precious girl she embraced. Before she had met Lauren, the princess didn’t know what love was. She had found it in the librarian, but just then as she held her daughter for the first time, the idea took on a completely different meaning. One look into those drowsy blue eyes, and Alexa was in love. She could hardly believe it could happen so quickly, but she was smitten with the little girl in her arms. If there was ever a doubt that she had made the right decision, it was erased just then as princess and princess sat together.

Finally though, Anastasia began to make noise that started as a whimper until out-right crying overtook her. Alexa did her best to calm her, but it woke Lauren anyway. When the librarian opened her eyes and saw the sight before her, she at first thought she was dreaming. There was Alexa by her side cradling their daughter and trying to soothe her. Her heart overflowed with the feeling of love the princess had for her. “The doctors say different cries mean different things, but I have no idea what that cry is,” she mentioned softly.

Alexa jerked her head up at the sound of her lover’s voice. She smiled at Lauren. “Sorry I am late.”

“It is all right. We understand. You have a world to run. Here. Give her to me. That might be a hungry cry.”

Alexa handed over the tiny bundle to Lauren. The redhead buzzed the nurses’ station and within minutes a nurse came into the room. She was shocked though to see Alexa there. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you had company. Did you need something?”

“She is crying, and I thought maybe she might be hungry. She has not eaten anything since I gave birth.”

“Well, perhaps we should try to feed her then. Are you going to be breast or bottle feeding her?”

Lauren looked at Alexa for a moment before answering, “I was going to try breast feeding, because it is better for the baby.”

“All right. Let me show you the correct technique then.”

Unsure of whether or not she should be watching, Alexa offered, “I can leave if you want.”

“No. Stay. I want you to stay,” Lauren replied as she sat up straighter in bed. She unsnapped the front of her hospital gown and exposed her left breast.

Alexa quickly averted her eyes, even though part of her desperately wanted to watch. She did her best to focus on the floor as the nurse instructed Lauren how to properly feed the baby. It seemed to take several minutes and tries before there was success. When they were left alone again, the brunette risked a look at mother and daughter together. “You look so beautiful right now.”

The older woman blushed. “Thank you even though I do not feel beautiful at the moment.” She paused. “Does this make you nervous?” she asked, gesturing to their daughter feeding from her breast.

Alexa shrugged. “It is fascinating. I cannot believe she is here. I have dreamed of this moment with you.”

“So have I. She looks like you.”

“Do you think? I think she looks like you.”

Lauren shook her head. “She has my hair and eye coloring, but she has your face. If you study her, you can see it. She has your nose and your ears. I even think she has some of your smile.” She paused once again before looking at her lover. “Thank you for giving me this gift.”

“It is my pleasure. I hope this is just one of many more to come.”

Lauren nodded. “They are lying when they say you cannot remember the pain. It really hurt, but it was a small price to pay to have heaven on earth. She is perfect.”

“Yes, she is.”

“It makes me already crave another just like her.”

Alexa laughed. “Well, you know if that is what you want, I will certainly make it happen for you. However, I think we should just enjoy our little princess first for a few months.”

“She is a princess,” Lauren mumbled, looking down at their daughter. Neither spoke as the comment lingered in the air. Both of them knew that the remark was much more true than either wanted to admit. The little life they had created together was indeed a princess. Moreover, she was the heir to the throne behind Alexa, but believing it was in her best interest, they decided the country would never know this little girl. Lauren smiled at Alexa and patted her bed. “Come sit next to me.”

Dutifully the princess did as she was told. Moving to the bed, she stretched out next to Lauren, wrapping one arm around her as she watched her daughter suckle. It was the most beautiful thing she thought she had ever seen. Kissing Lauren on the temple, she whispered, “Thank you for loving me enough to have our baby.”

The librarian snuggled into her shoulder. “Thank you for never giving up on us.”

The following day Lauren was released to go home. Being that her mother still thought she was in Europe, Alexa went back to the condo with her lover and their new baby for some quiet time together. However, the rest of the day and night were anything but quiet as Anastasia woke them from their sleep every few hours.

After a relatively sleepless night, Alexa left Lauren and Anastasia to head home herself, knowing she was expected back at the palace. Upon her arrival at home, she headed to breakfast. Her parents were sitting there together with Meredith. Her wife gave her a brilliant smile as she walked into the room. “You are back early. Welcome home,” she said, hugging Alexa as she sat.

“Thanks. It is good to be home,” she stated, giving Meredith a perfunctory kiss on the cheek. “You look beautiful today, Mere.”

“Thank you.”

“Meredith was just telling us the wonderful news, Lex. Why did you not tell us before you left for Europe?” the queen questioned.

“News? What news?” the princess inquired as her breakfast was set before her.

Her mother laughed. “What news? Goodness, Lex. You act like the fact that you are going to be a mother is no big deal.”

Panic struck Alexa as her eyes darted to Meredith. For a moment she thought Janice had told her wife about Lauren, but her mother wouldn’t be happy knowing a woman less than she thought worthy had given birth to the princess’s child, so she was confused. Her wife smiled at her and took her gently by the hand. “Alexa, I am pregnant.”

“How far along are you?”

“Four months.”

“And you waited this long to tell me? You told my mother before you told me?” she asked in surprise.

“I just wanted to be sure. Dr. McQuade thinks I have a good chance at carrying to term.”

Inside Alexa’s heart hammered wildly. She hadn’t expected this, and furthermore, it left her with a nauseating feeling in her stomach. The woman she loved had just had her baby, and now the woman to whom she was married just had declared she was pregnant with her child. Although there was one bright side to the moment, because she promised Lauren she would leave Meredith as soon as the princess had her baby, and it seemed that moment might be closer than she had expected. Knowing she had to look happy, she curved her arm around Meredith’s shoulders and squeezed her gently.

“I think we should have a press conference to announce this,” Queen Faith stated.

“Maybe we should wait, Mother. You know it has been difficult for Meredith and me, and I do not want to announce anything prematurely.”

“But the country is desperate for this good news. We must share it. The rumors about the two of you are flying. We have to do something to put them to rest. This pregnancy will do just that.”

“I think we should do something more subtle, Mother. Perhaps a well-timed photo opportunity dressing Meredith in something that shows off her growing physique. Then the rumors will start to be about her being pregnant, but we do not have to say anything. With all the difficulty Meredith has gone through to get here, I would hate to have any added pressures.”

“I agree with Lex. I think I would have it rather leaked to the press through rumors than having a press conference. I am nervous enough as it is,” Meredith added.

The queen sighed. “Oh very well. Make it soon though. Right now the media is making it sound like you two are on the edge of divorce. They have nothing better to do than write silly nonsense about the two of you.”

“Well, we have a charity ball tonight. Perhaps we should play it up then,” Alexa suggested. On the inside she cringed. She hated the thought of having to pretend to still be in love and happy with Meredith. Even though she loved her wife dearly as a friend, it was getting tiring lying to everyone.

“I think that is a good idea. The sooner the better,” the queen said with finality.

When the meal was over, Alexa took her wife by the hand and escorted her back to their bedroom. However, when she opened the door, she found the space vacant on her wife’s side of the room. “What happened in here?” she questioned.

“I moved my things.”

“You moved them where?”

“Down the hall. I wanted my own room.”

“But what about the fact that we are married, Mere? We are supposed to be sleeping together. Does my mother know about this?”

“No. Do you think I am a fool? Listen, Lex. I am tired of pretending. We might be married, but what we have is a sham. It is bad enough that we have to parade ourselves in public as this doting couple. Right now all I really want at home is to be alone. We hardly see each other these days. Your mother has you so busy running all over the world. You were not even at the session when Dr. McQuade implanted these embryos.”

“I have no doubt that Janice took care of you in my absence,” she remarked snidely.

“What does that mean?”

“It means I know about your affair with the good doctor, Meredith.”

The younger woman just stood there with horror written all over her face. For a moment she didn’t say anything. Finally, though she asked, “How long have you known?”

“A long time, over a year.”

“And you did not say anything?”

“What was I supposed to say to you?” Alexa inquired, going to the bed. She took a seat and then patted a spot next to her for her wife. Meredith took the place indicated and just waited. “Look, Mere. You are not the only one tired of this. I understand your frustration with the queen, because I have lived my whole life with that frustration. She is my mother after all. My whole life she has told me what to do and when to do it. You have had her for five years. She wanted us to get married. It was her idea, and she picked you out from all the other available women I could have had as my bride. She was the one that pushed for me to court you and propose to you, because she felt it was right for the country. You bought into that as a teenager. She was the one that pushed both of us into this. You may have not realized it at the time, but she was the one holding all the power in our relationship. She still is.”

Meredith nodded her head. “Looking back I can see how that was true. She used to talk to me about you. She was so adamant that I become your wife when really all I ever wanted was to sleep with you. I think she knew that. I guess at nineteen you do not hide that kind of thing well. I was obsessed with the idea of your bedding me. I thought it would make you love me. I went to our marital bed honestly believing that, Lex. In the end I guess it just made you resentful of both her and me.”

“I did not resent you. I understood then that you were just a pawn the way I was. We both had a role to play, and we have been playing it to the best of our abilities. I know you are not happy in this marriage, and I do not fault you for seeking happiness elsewhere. I love and adore you, Mere, and I want you to be happy. If it is with Janice McQuade, then fine. She is a good woman and can provide for you. However, we both still have roles to play being a part of this family. You and I have to pretend everything is fine. We have to act cheerful and in love wherever we go. Most importantly, though, we have to have a baby. My mother will not rest until we have a baby for the sake of the country. Our lives mean nothing to her without this child to carry on the family name.”

Meredith nodded her head as she started to cry. Alexa slipped her arms around her and held her. “I am so sorry, Lex, that I have let you down. I do not even know how my feelings all started for Janice. I was just spending so much time at the clinic without you there, because she would have to give me fertility shots everyday. We started talking a lot about personal things, and she seemed really interested in me. One day I had gone to the clinic for my shots, and I had been crying about the whole process. She held me and listened to me. I never felt like you listened to me seriously about anything, and then the next thing I realized there we were kissing. To this day I feel ashamed for going behind your back.”

“And yet you have done it for over a year?”

Meredith shrugged. “I am sorry, Lex. I love her. I do not know how it happened, but I do.”

The princess nodded her head. “I understand. I fell in love once myself. The sensation makes you do things you normally would not.”

“That woman Lauren, right? The one the queen hated?”

“They never met, so I do not know how my mother could have formed an opinion of her, but to answer your question, yes, it was Lauren.”

Meredith shook her head. “No. The queen did meet her a few times. She told me she had met her.”

“When?”

“Was it your birthday party? I remember seeing the two of you dancing together. You looked at her like she was the most amazing thing on earth.”

“My mother did not meet her at my birthday party. She met my father that night, not my mother.”

“Well, Queen Faith told me she had spoken to her. I remember because I asked your mother about her specifically. She said she had spoken to her, and there was no reason for concern. If I remember correctly, it was around the same time you were contemplating abdicating the throne. That was it, was it not? She was the reason you wanted to abdicate?”

Alexa saw no reason to lie to her wife, considering they had already revealed so many intimate secrets, so she answered, “Yes. She was the reason.”

“I always suspected that.”

Both of them were quiet for a few minutes, taking in all that had been disclosed. Finally though, Alexa spoke again. “Meredith, since we are being honest here, I think I should confess something to you. I also have been having an affair.”

“With who?”

“Lauren.”

“The same Lauren?”

“Yes.”

Meredith nodded her head. “That explains a lot. Lately you have seemed content, and I had wondered why. If your mother ever found out, you would be in so much trouble. I do not know why, but your mother really does not like her.”

“Probably because she does not fit into my mother’s plan for my life.”

“Do you honestly think your mother would be so cold?” Alexa looked at her like she was crazy for even asking such a thing. Meredith gave a smile. “You are right. That was not a smart question. I think we have already established that she is stringent enough. I wonder why though. I mean I only saw this Lauren once dancing with you, and even I could see how happy you two seemed together, so much so that I was terrified of losing you. She saw it too. She had to have seen it, which is why she met with Lauren in the first place.”

“You know, neither my mother nor Lauren has ever mentioned the two of them meeting. How do you know so much about this supposed meeting between them? What did they even talk about?”

“Lex, the night of your birthday party when your mother announced our engagement, I saw Lauren run out, and then I noticed you followed along behind her fairly quickly. I was mad. I will admit it. I was extremely upset that it was so obvious you had feelings for someone else. I went to your mother the following day and begged her to do something about it. She said she would. Then before our wedding you started to get that crazy idea of abdicating, and I suspected it was over Lauren. I spoke to her again, and she said she would handle the situation before you did anything you regretted. A few days later she said it was done. She said she had spoken to Lauren and made her see reason. I thought Lauren was out of your life for good then. How long have you been seeing her?”

“About as long as you have been with Janice.”

“And you love her?”

“Yes, Mere, I do.”

“Then what should we do? We both love other people.”

“You know as well as I do that a divorce is out of the question until we have children together.”

“Well, we have one on the way. I say we have this baby and then talk again. I just want you to be happy, Lex, and I am sorry that I have contributed to your heartache. It was never my intention. I think I was just too young to fully appreciate the consequences of my actions. Nineteen is too young to get married. Promise me that we will not allow our daughter to do that.”

Alexa smiled at her wife. She felt as some of the burden she had been carrying was lifted. For the first time in their marriage, they really had spoken to each other, and it felt wonderful. Bringing Meredith into a tight hug, the heir sighed. “No, we will not allow our daughter to marry at nineteen. In fact, I will do more than that. I promise that when I am queen, our daughter will be allowed to marry whomever she wants. No more restrictions. She will be able to choose her prince or princess charming as she sees fit.”

“Good. I am happy to hear that.”

Leaning up to Meredith’s forehead, Alexa placed a delicate kiss there. “I love you, Mere. You have always had a special place in my heart, and that will never change. I just think we are meant to be friends instead of lovers.”

“I think you are right. I love you too, and I want your happiness. Just know that I will support you.”

“And I you.”

That evening at the charity function both women played their parts better than ever. With their new-found understanding, the tension that had been building between them had dissipated, leaving two friends that genuinely enjoyed each other’s company. They danced together most of the night, and knowing the press was about, they made several gestures that if captured on film would indicate that there might possibly be an heir on the way, and in fact by the following morning that was what all the major publications were suggesting.

Continued in Chapter 10

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