The Crown's Entrapment

Chapter 803 A Bright Future

Weeks passed, and Bella couldn't help but feel happy as she went about her usual day in Helion Castle. Again, it almost felt like a dream at times, but Amon's constant presence in her life only made things feel all the more real as they constantly made love whenever they could night after night. Some would think that it would get stale with how much they did each other, but in her opinion, making love with the person that she loves would never get old. In fact, every night they did it only made her long for him even harder, waiting for the night to come so that they could finally have a piece of each other.

[You'd think that you'd be pregnant already with how much you and our mate are constantly going at it,] Poona chuckled as they walked through the castle hallways. [I don't feel anything happening so far though.]

[It must be too early still,] Bella insisted with a frown. [My usual monthlies should come any day now, and yet it hasn't.]

Indeed, she was hoping that their constant lovemaking would finally bear fruit. She had an unspoken promise to the Queen Mother, after all, and she refused to back out from the challenge that she set upon herself.

"I can only hope…" she mumbled to herself, her hand grazing her lower abdomen with a hopeful stare. "I'm sure I can do this…"

With her mind remaining hopeful, Bella went about with her day. As much as she wanted to simply enjoy all of the benefits of being Amon's queen, she still had a responsibility to do everything she could to better the realm. Surprisingly, it was more than the work that she used to do during her stint as a merchant, and she always ended up being tired at the end of the day.

Although, for some reason, she felt a lot more tired recently. She didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, but she couldn't let such a small thing stop her from her work.

"Ah, Bella," Amon lovingly greeted her with a smile. "Are you feeling better already?"

"I can manage," she reassuringly smiled back. "I'm not that fragile. I fought by your side, remember?"

"Fighting enemies and fighting potential sickness are two completely different things," he reminded her with a small frown. "You can always get more rest if you need it. The kingdom can manage without you for a day or so. I can even try to get you some of the pies you've been craving lately."

"Amon, I'm already taking a lot more breaks than I should have," Bella frowned back. "While I won't say no to the pie, I can't look like I'm a lazy queen, especially after I took it upon myself to try and improve our economy."

It was just the principle of the matter. While she didn't think that her recent tiredness would be much of a problem, a short fainting spell during one of her usual duties looking over the kingdom's accounts immediately sent Amon into a fit. Thankfully, the healer who looked her over told them that nothing was amiss, but the incident still took its toll on the both of them.

"...I understand," Amon hesitantly nodded. "Though I do think that we should stop with our usual… nightly activities tonight. I can't help but feel like I'm only making things worse by-"

"Absolutely not," Bella immediately chided him. "Us doing the deed helps me feel better. We don't need to stop that."

"Well, maybe I just won't keep you up too late into the night," Amon lightly chuckled. "I want you to get as much rest as you can, Bella. I won't say no for an answer."

"Fine," she rolled her eyes with a small smirk. "You win. Now let's do our duties. I'm sure the court is already waiting long enough for us as it is."

"We can always make them wait," he scoffed. "But if you insist, then let's go meet our adoring officers."

Bella chuckled at the obvious joke before taking her place by Amon's side. Grabbing his arm, she smiled all the way to the throne room, where she went and took her usual spot beside the king's throne.

As usual, the officers bickered and argued in front of them. This time, however, they were smart enough to actually listen to her whenever she had something to suggest about the markets and the economy. They knew that she was in charge now, and she couldn't help but smirk at the power she now held over them.

Hours passed, and the usual court meeting ended. Somehow, Bella felt exhaustion creeping in already despite her best attempts to keep her movements to a minimum.

"It's not like I'm delaying things," she heard Rendon insist to Amon as they talked in the background. "I'm just looking for the right moment to do it."

"Rendon, there is no right moment for this kind of stuff," Amon chuckled. "If you want to confess to Lera, then do it as soon as you get the courage to do so."

Bella saw Rendon frown, and she would've already jumped in to tease him if it weren't for her head feeling like it was about to burst. She felt really bad at the moment, and despite the healers saying that it was nothing, her symptoms never disappeared. It almost felt like… like…

[Poona, am I pregnant already?] She couldn't help but hopefully ask her inner wolf. [It explains everything, right?]

It made everything make sense. The constant exhaustion, the dizziness, the pie cravings… it all fit!

But before she could hear her wolf's words, Bella felt her stomach retch as she was forced to vomit onto the side of her throne.

"Bella?!"

Immediately, she heard Amon appear on her side, quickly soothing her as she wiped the spittle off her mouth.

"I-I'm fine," she weakly chuckled. "It's a good thing the court meeting's already over. Only Rendon saw me do this in the throne room."

"Shall I fetch for a healer?" Rendon quickly offered.

"Do that," Amon firmly nodded, making the man quickly leave the throne room. He then focused on her as he asked, "Are you sure you're alright? You've been feeling unwell for days now."

"The healers did say that nothing's wrong," she couldn't help but giggle. "And I'm inclined to agree."

In fact, she was ecstatic. She didn't know how her pregnancy managed to evade the eyes of healers after all this time, but with her symptoms now in full swing, she could only assume that the next time she was checked, she would end up being positive. Everything lined up, and her hopes were soaring by the time a healer came to check on her.

"Queen Bella," the healer greeted her as she stood in front of her. "May I?"

"You may," Bella smiled. "Try to be thorough this time, alright?"

"Do as she says," Amon seconded with a serious expression. "I don't know what she has, but you all keep saying that nothing's wrong despite her being like this."

"Your Majesty, I assure you that nothing is indeed wrong back then," the healer defended even as she began to cast her spells on Bella. "If we found something, we would've told you as soon as we-Oh…"

Bella waited with bated breath as she watched her healer's expression. It also helped that the woman's glowing hand stayed just above her womb, the location giving her all the clues she needed to know what was happening.

"Why? What's wrong?" Amon anxiously questioned. "Is she sick? Is there anything we can do to stop it?"

"Amon, relax," Bella giggled as she reached out to hold onto his hand. "Let the healer do her work."

This was it. She knew what was happening. She could already feel it. There was no denying it now.

"Your Majesty, congratulations," the healer beamed at her.

"What? Congratulations?" Amon skeptically asked. "Why? Unless…"

Bella couldn't help but smile brightly at her husband as her grip on her hand tightened. Likewise, Amon looked at her in anticipation as they waited for the healer to finish her words.

"You're expecting, Your Majesty," the woman smiled at her as she pulled away her hand. "The baby's healthy so far, but you should get more rest. You're already doing that recently, correct?"

"That's right," Bella replied.

"Then all will be well," the healer smiled back. "Again, congratulations, Your Majesties."

Bella could only sit there with a wide smile on her face as she watched the healer turn around and leave. Likewise, Rendon simply congratulated them both before leaving, having decided that he was no longer needed and left the room to give them privacy.

With the two of them now alone, she immediately felt Amon's arms around her before their lips inevitably clashed once more.

"You… We're going to be parents," Amon dreamily whispered into her lips. "You're going to have a baby…"

"We're going to have a baby," she corrected with a chuckle. "This is just as much your baby as it is mine."

They both smile at each other before giving each other yet another deep and loving kiss. All the while, Bella felt her cheeks getting sore with how much she was smiling. Their love had finally bore fruit, and the future never looked brighter than ever before.

"I love you, Amon," she sincerely whispered to his lips. "Thank you for loving me… For choosing me…"

"And I love you too, Bella," he eagerly replied. "Thank you for never giving up… For fighting for us…"

Once more, they shared another kiss. Truly, nothing could ever stand in their way now. Together, they have a bright future, and they will face it together as one.