Kyungsoo’s morning sickness eventually dwindled out and was almost non-existent by the 13th week, at the beginning of the second trimester of his pregnancy.

Since then, Kyungsoo’s bump had hardly even grown if at all from previously. If he was shirtless and observing himself in the mirror sideways, he could make out the bump but it was easily mistaken from the usual slight bulge of his stomach especially with a full stomach. If Kyungsoo was clothed and fully dressed, it was very hard to notice and thus, Kyungsoo ceased to appear pregnant yet, which was rather beneficial seeing that the announcement of his pregnancy had not been made official to the public yet.

Even King Junmyeon, the grandfather of the child had not been made aware of Kyungsoo’s pregnancy until about a week ago when Chanyeol himself finally felt it was appropriate to bear such news to his father.

Even then, Kyungsoo had not heard a single peep from Junmyeon, even if it was to congratulate him or Chanyeol on their soon to be born child.

Then again, now understanding how Chanyeol’s relationship was like with his father, Kyungsoo wasn’t too surprised.

**

Now that Kyungsoo could move around more freely without having Chanyeol or Minseok advising him to sit down and stay put because of nausea that came with his morning sickness, Kyungsoo had a bit more freedom and was even allowed to go out of the palace if he pleased

Seeing that as soon as he would return to Vallis after giving birth, Kyungsoo wanted to visit places and at least do some sightseeing before he returned.

It was mid-September now and the official start of autumn was a week from then. Kyungsoo was sixteen weeks pregnant and due to give birth in another 24 weeks.

Chanyeol fulfilled his promise of bringing Kyungsoo to the oligarch council meeting, which was Zerura’s version of a senate hearing in Vallis, just like Kyungsoo had wanted to a while ago.

While Chanyeol would rather not be there but had to anyway as the future King of Zerura, Kyungsoo was very much happy to be there to overhear lawmaking decisions being brought up and debated in court.

Kyungsoo was even more delighted when Chanyeol allowed him to speak with some of the oligarch council members to talk about the difference between their two countries and how laws were decided and formed, here in Zerura and compared to in Vallis.

To the people who interacted with Kyungsoo, it was very evident even in his eyes, to know that Kyungsoo was actually very genuinely interested with the law and governance of a country which served to protect and provide for its citizens.

If Kyungsoo had been born an alpha or at least been born in a different country elsewhere which were more open towards omegas, he would have made a good King for his people indeed. In fact, if Kyungsoo was a Zerurian and not a foreign subject, Chanyeol would have been more than happy to have someone of Kyungsoo’s caliber to serve the country.

While Kyungsoo was still in the city center of Alberta after attending the oligarch council session in the morning, Chanyeol decided to bring him around the coastal city before they returned in the afternoon.

Minseok had not come along as his duties were more bound to the palace, so Jongdae had come along with them as usual when it came to being outside the palace.

As per palace protocols, they could not actually go anywhere as they pleased. They were only allowed to go to a few places which the palace had determined as “suitable” mostly due to security reasons.

Thus, there was a list of only a few selected shops or restaurants a member of the royal family could go to if they pleased, and even then they had to be escorted by their guards and assistants when doing so.

Being royalty wasn’t actually always a nice thing in the world they lived in. It was very restrictive and they were considered the property of the state, unlike a regular citizen who was free to do or pursue anything they pleased.

After lunch at one of the few food outlets they were allowed to eat in- only because the owners had built a special private section to accommodate patrons such as them- Kyungsoo asked to see the coastline of Alberta before returning to the palace.

Since Kyungsoo arrived in Zerura half a year ago in late winter, he had always wanted to see the port and the coastline bordering the city of Alberta which was built in a bay leading out to the sea. The port of Alberta was a famed major port for trading and shipping in their region, thus the decision to designate it as the capital of Zerura hundreds of years ago.

The car stopped at a row of cobblestone shops overlooking the calm, glistening ocean under the glow of the late afternoon sun. The row of cobblestone shops and the walkway outside just beside the ocean was a popular tourist destination in Alberta.

There weren’t just shops but also street stall vendors mostly selling souvenirs, snacks or trinkets which were targeted to the tourists.

If abiding royal security protocols, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo weren’t actually allowed to be there but because it was not so packed on a weekday afternoon and Kyungsoo really wanted to visit, Chanyeol managed to persuade Jongdae to let them go there for Kyungsoo.

Like the typical tourist in Alberta, Kyungsoo asked to stop at a souvenir shop and after Jongdae and a few guards made a general search on the premise, mainly to look for potential emergency exits and safe locations; only then Kyungsoo and Chanyeol were allowed to enter and shop there.

Chanyeol mainly stood in a corner of the shop with Jongdae while Kyungsoo shopped, avoiding the shell necklaces or ornaments that dangled from the ceiling which he had to duck to avoid because of his height and the relatively low ceiling. 

While they were inside, two more guards stood outside the shop and prevented anyone else from entering.

Kyungsoo bought various kinds of souvenirs which he planned to gift to his mother, sister, and even Baekhyun and Yixing when he eventually returned back home despite not hearing from them for over six months now. It didn’t matter because they were still his friends and family and not even a decade of silence could change how he felt about them.

Chanyeol and Jongdae remained silent, standing against a wall as they waited while Kyungsoo happily talked to the shopkeeper about the various items being on sale there. Like the person he was, who interested to know other people, Kyungsoo even somehow managed to talk the shopkeeper into a conversation about their shop and how long they had been running it.

Once Kyungsoo was done shopping and was standing on the curb of the sidewalk, ready to get into the car, he stopped to look out toward the ocean with the sun already low in the sky near the horizon.

Chanyeol had already gotten into the car and was already sitting and waiting for Kyungsoo. Jongdae remained standing outside the car, holding the door open for Kyungsoo.

The calm blue waters shimmered with orange and violet colors, reflecting the streaks in the sky above from the setting sun. An even cooler breeze blew out from the ocean and towards land.

It was a breathtaking sight, even more so when surrounded by the historical and beautiful buildings around him. Truly, it wasn’t an everyday sight for Kyungsoo when he returned to Verndina which was a landlocked city.

Somehow, it made Kyungsoo wished to stay here a bit longer, despite knowing his circumstances and why he was even in a foreign country in the first place.

Kyungsoo desperately wanted time to pass by as fast as possible so he could give birth and go home but yet he found himself feeling a bit reluctant to leave such a beautiful country and the people he had gotten to know here, especially Chanyeol.

Kyungsoo honestly felt bad about leaving Chanyeol once the time came to do so, knowing that Chanyeol would just be alone yet again, although this time with their child.

In a way, Kyungsoo wished that they both weren’t royalty and had met under different circumstances. Then maybe, Chanyeol wouldn’t have to be alone and that they could even raise their child together.

**

As Kyungsoo’s pregnancy progressed and he began very evidently showing even through his clothing around twenty weeks or so, Kyungsoo began to notice a change in behavior, in not only Minseok and Jongdae but also Chanyeol.

Initially, Kyungsoo attributed it to their concern over him due to being pregnant but soon enough, it was beginning to make Kyungsoo as restless and antsy like when he had just arrived in Zerura.

Kyungsoo didn’t really think that there was anything to worry about it because his pregnancy was viable, his health was good and that the doctors were very positive about him giving birth to a healthy child.

But of course, there was much more than that which Kyungsoo had yet to find out.

On some nights Chanyeol would visit Kyungsoo in his room and sometimes, they would sleep together, with Chanyeol almost always leaving in the morning even before Kyungsoo woke up.

Kyungsoo didn’t mind it and he actually appreciated having some company at night, especially being heavily pregnant, feeling vulnerable in a strange land and everything. It was actually nice to not sleep alone.

Almost entering into the third trimester of his pregnancy, Kyungsoo began experiencing insomnia and difficulty in maintaining sleep, just like the palace doctors had warned him would happen to almost all people who went through pregnancy.

On one of these nights, Kyungsoo had managed to fall asleep but he would wake up just after a few hours and then have trouble going back to sleep.

Chanyeol had visited him earlier that night and had decided to spend the night with Kyungsoo. When Kyungsoo had gone to sleep a few hours ago, Chanyeol was already asleep.

However, when Kyungsoo woke up in the middle of the night, under the illumination of the burning candle, he caught the view of Chanyeol walking away from the bed and out of the room. Chanyeol was unaware that Kyungsoo had woken up.

Although Kyungsoo knew that Chanyeol often left his room right after waking up in the morning, it was strange for Chanyeol to just get up and leave at this time of the night.

If Chanyeol had needed to get up to use the toilet, there was actually one attached to and accessible from inside Kyungsoo’s room.

Unable to think of any other reason as to why Chanyeol had to leave in the middle of the night; Kyungsoo got up from the bed and quickly grabbed his night robe hanging on the back of a chair to see what Chanyeol was up to.

Especially after that night when he found Junmyeon angrily confronting Chanyeol with a sword and had actually got him injured, Kyungsoo had been overall concerned about Chanyeol’s wellbeing and the situations he got himself into.

Kyungsoo scurried to the door, which Chanyeol had left slightly open, as fast as he could with a large belly that made him seem to waddle a lot.

But before Kyungsoo even reached for the handle, Chanyeol was already entering back inside, wearing his own night robe over his nightgown.

Chanyeol’s blond hair was messy, evident of his sleep earlier on and his ears perked up to see Kyungsoo awake and just about to grab the door handle to pull it fully open.  

“Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol exclaimed with a rather low voice as it was pretty late into the night.

“Chanyeol!” Kyungsoo returned, probably as equally as surprised.

“I thought you were asleep,” Chanyeol gently mentioned, making his way into the room.

Kyungsoo helped pull the door open and then shut close again as he answered, “I was but as you know, I have trouble sleeping sometimes and I actually just woke up.”

“Oh, did I wake you? I’m sorry if I did,” Chanyeol questioned, standing near Kyungsoo at the now shut door.

“Not at all,” Kyungsoo denied and then revealed, “I woke up by myself and just happened to see you leaving the room. I was worried about you, which is why I went up to check.”

“I see. Everything is fine though,” Chanyeol understood, placing a gentle hand on Kyungsoo’s back in between his shoulder blades, “You should try to get some sleep while you can. When the baby arrives, it’ll be harder to sleep.”

“I know,” Kyungsoo replied, “I can try but it’s hard.”

Lowering his gaze to meet Kyungsoo’, Chanyeol rested a finger beneath Kyungsoo’s chin as he softly spoke, “Is there anything you want me to do for you then? To help you fall asleep?”

“I-I don’t really need anything,” Kyungsoo assured, trying to avoid Chanyeol’s gaze which he was beginning to find alluring. Maybe it was the hormones due to his pregnancy and the fact that he was carrying the child of the tall man standing in front of him. Because Kyungsoo never really recalled being like this with Chanyeol.

“Is the baby kicking again? Does it hurt?” Chanyeol continued to ask gently, removing his finger from under Kyungsoo’s chin, lowering his hand behind Kyungsoo to the small of his back as he gazed down to look at Kyungsoo’s bulging baby bump under his clothes.

“No,” Kyungsoo shook his head.

“Is it your feet then? Is it still sore?” Chanyeol asked.

“No, it’s alright now,” Kyungsoo once again denied.

Chanyeol sighed and snickered a little, rubbing his hand that was on Kyungsoo’s back, “Well, I was trying to offer you a belly or a foot rub if you said yes to any of that. But because it isn’t, I really don’t know what else to say or offer to you to help you sleep.”

“Well, you could actually come to be with me so we can fall asleep together,” Kyungsoo suggested with a smile.

“I suppose that would work too,” Chanyeol agreed, smiling as he walked himself and Kyungsoo back to the large four-poster bed at the other end of the room, especially being careful of Kyungsoo who was over six months pregnant with their child.

Once they were back in bed, Chanyeol tucked them both under the thick blankets as the fireplace in the room continued to burn and radiate heat to beat the cold early winter air in December outside.

Winters were actually moderately cool in Zerura when compared to the harsher cold of Vallis but because of the cold air surrounding the lake near the palace that never froze over even in winter, it was actually colder than the rest of the region.

It was nothing Kyungsoo wasn’t used to, but he still found it very pleasant to lie in a soft, warm bed with someone while sharing their body heat.

Since Kyungsoo’s stomach had grown very large as the pregnancy advanced, he found it uncomfortable to lie on his back and thus only laid down and slept on his side.

In this position, lying on his side, Kyungsoo was facing Chanyeol who had also decided to lie on his side so they could face each other.

Chanyeol smiled, pushing Kyungsoo’s hair out from his face as he moved his hand lower down to Kyungsoo’s nape, gently massaging the area, softly cooing, “Go to sleep, Kyungsoo.”

“I’m trying,” Kyungsoo muttered, feeling comforted under Chanyeol’s touch but still a ways from falling asleep, “You go to sleep too. Don’t you have a lot of things to do too?”

“Mmm…yes, a lot of things,” Chanyeol murmured, already feeling tired himself as he let his hand rest on the side of Kyungsoo’s neck.

“Why don’t you go to sleep first then? I’ll watch over you until you fall asleep,” Kyungsoo suggested, speaking lowly so as to not a sleepy Chanyeol.

“Okay then,” Chanyeol agreed, mumbling his words with his eyes already closed as he continued to rest his hand on Kyungsoo, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Kyungsoo replied softly, smiling as he watched Chanyeol peacefully drift to sleep while thinking about their soon-to-be-born child, who would be a carbon copy of both himself and Chanyeol.

Maybe, for a while, Kyungsoo was deluded into believing that he could maybe be together with Chanyeol and raise their child together; something he didn’t even really want to consider earlier on because he only looked forward to giving birth, handing the baby to Chanyeol and then leaving.

**

Kyungsoo entered the seventh month of pregnancy sometime in early January of 1918, almost a year since he first arrived in Zerura and last heard of anything from his own country.

During the time Kyungsoo had been there, there had been several diplomatic trips made by Vallisean officials to Zerura but they had been held in another city and handled by King Junmyeon instead of Chanyeol.

In fact, Kyungsoo wasn’t even made aware of these diplomatic trips until they were over for at least a week or two.

The apparent radio silence from his own country was one thing. The fact that it seemed as if the Zerurian palace was also controlling what Kyungsoo heard from the outside world made it even more suspicious.

Kyungsoo had these suspicions for a while now but he merely accepted things as they were, justifying it with the fact that he had to be on his best behavior while under the care of a foreign power.

Kyungsoo did question it but he had admittedly been too busy dealing with his own emotions, his soon to become a parent and his duty towards both countries to worry about such things. After all, it wasn’t as if he was being starved, hurt and deprived of his needs and wants.

In fact, his stay on Zerura had been pleasant so far with people often going out of their way to accommodate him.

However, on that cold, grey and snowy early January morning, Kyungsoo wished that maybe