Note: This chapter is dedicated to my prominent and avid readers and commentators, I can also say kind of reviewers of my works or at least the ones they've read 'Cookie1026' and 'Moonsun_ship' my fellow authors who took their time to comment in details on my every chapters, I want you to know that I do appreciate your efforts because despite your hectic lives, you always find time to comment enormously and even give me fresh ideas. Thank you guys and I truly love you! And thank you all too for your efforts, I truly appreciate it. ~~~ Three months later. Taeyeon's jaw slacked, hands slipping limply out of Sooyeon's. She took a step back, looking infinitely confused, like the princess was speaking a foreign language and she was trying to work out the meaning of the words in her head. She blinked. “What?” “I think I’m pregnant,” Sooyeon repeated quietly. Her hands were shaking, she was scared of this new thing whatever it is and wanted Taeyeon to step forward and hold her, but Taeyeon was frozen in place, her expression following Sooyeon's announcement was unreadable, like she was waiting for the other shoe to fall, maybe for the princess to smile and say “just kidding", but it didn't come, she waited and searched Sooyeon's eyes and all she saw was intense solemness. “With a baby?” The general asked flabbergasted. Sooyeon her dry lips and nodded. “With a baby.” Taeyeon's mouth parted slightly. She blinked, her face went blank, then she squinted and grimaced like a hammer was slammed behind her head. "How can you be pregnant?" "I don't know... I'm not sure." Sooyeon looked away. "If you are not sure, how are you certain it is pregnancy?" "I just can feel it." The ludicrous look on Taeyeon's face told her just how crazy she sounded. The princess knew it was impossible, she’d been telling herself just how impossible it was for the past few days. Two missed cycles didn’t automatically mean she was pregnant. But there was a nagging feeling in her gut that said she was. Something just felt... not off exactly, but different. Not different in a bad way, either. Pregnancy, after adding up all the evidence, was the next logically illogical explanation. Taeyeon gave out a short, barking laugh. “Sure, You can just feel it.” Sooyeon stared at her for a long moment, fighting the anger trying to creep into her answer. She’d known telling Taeyeon would be hard, but she’d hoped for a little more understanding and a little less sarcasm. “I’m being serious.” “Yes, I know,” Taeyeon said, but she snorted as she said it. “You don’t believe me.” Sooyeon pout. “That you’re pregnant?” Taeyeon shrugged. “It’s possible. You do have all the parts for it. That it could be me who is responsible?” Taeyeon shook her head. “That's hard to believe.” “It’s the only thing that makes sense, you are the only one I've ever been with,” Sooyeon pressed. “Except for the fact that I don’t have all the right parts, this is incongruous.” Sooyeon pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. Yes, it sounded ridiculous and impossible. She wasn’t an idiot. She knew how babies were made and she knew that normally, under normal circumstances, two women couldn’t make a child. But when had their lives ever been normal? She's a woman and so is the general, yet they are legally married, which is queer in their society. Also weird and impossible things had happened to them ever since, she even killed a talking serpent and conversed with fireflies. Why did this have to be different? “I know that it sounds crazy. But it's true, I feel the changes in my body” Taeyeon laughed, "You can stop the jokes now Sooyeon, but I got to say you really got me there." The general continued to laugh. "I really don’t need this from you right now, Taeyeon." Sooyeon said, her voice low. “I’m tired, I feel sick to my stomach." “Be rational, Sooyeon-ah. What you are saying is not even close to possible." “You think I don't know that? I know it’s not!” Sooyeon stomped her foot, frustrated with Taeyeon's unflappable denial. “I know! I’ve been telling myself that all week, but I still…that’s all I can think of!” "If you do know how ridiculously impossible this is, then why do you insist that we, both women, can generate a baby?” Taeyeon counteracted in a defeated tone. “Look, I'm not crazy and I know what I'm feeling, it's my body and you also can tell,” Sooyeon said in a suddenly quiet, stern voice. “You’re just too afraid to believe something like this could happen,” Sooyeon said, putting her hand on her hip as if daring Taeyeon to say she was wrong. Taeyeon studied her, her eyes going from Sooyeon's face to her stomach and back again. “You’re sure you’re pregnant?” This time she asked hallowedly. “No, but I—” Taeyeon made a noise in the back of . “Just listen,” Sooyeon snapped. “For two seconds, just listen to me.” Taeyeon crossed her arms. The joint of her jaw stood out as she clenched her teeth. “I’ve missed two cycles, almost three,” Sooyeon started, ticking things off on her fingers as she went on, “I’ve been sick, sometimes in the morning right after I wake up, sometimes later. I can't stand the aroma of my favorite dish anymore or any dish at all. I feel tired all the time, and, as you put it so eloquently last night, my s are bigger.” Worry flickered in Taeyeon's eyes. “You’ve been sick?” Sooyeon drew her shoulders up. “Sometimes.” “You should’ve told me,” Taeyeon said accusingly. Her tone was now concerned, with a gaze filled with love, her body language reserved and she wasn't playing around anymore. "Well, I'm telling you now." "Should we consult the royal midwife? She’ll be able to tell us for sure if you are really pregnant, or maybe you are just sick and you misunderstood the signs." Taeyeon suggested because deep down she still doesn't believe that Sooyeon is possibly pregnant with her child, maybe she was just sick and the princess was just over-reacting. "I think we should." Sooyeon nods her agreement. "But not the royal midwife." "Why?" "I don't know if I'm really pregnant, and I don't want anyone to know about this until we are sure." "Then I will search for one, and I'll get us an appointment." Sooyeon nods and Taeyeon walked up to her, securing her in her arms. "I'm sorry," Taeyeon said referring to the way she acted earlier. "I want you to know that no matter what this is, it will be alright, we'll sort it out together." She said and felt Sooyeon nodding her approval against her shoulder. ~~~ The midwife that Taeyeon found was a plump, pudgy old woman with a pale face and wiry grey hair barely contained by a kerchief. She was delighted to see the princess, overjoyed to meet the general and even though she had no idea who they were, dressed like ordinary maidens, she was so pleased that the taller of the two women might be expecting. Saying the word like it was a candy on her tongue, like there was nothing better in the world than to be expecting. “Perfectly natural to be nervous,” she’d told Sooyeon when neither the princess nor Taeyeon had joined in with their own squinty faced smiling, and Taeyeon was tempted to ask if it was also natural to feel nervous if your wife is expecting, and that she was impregnated by a woman precisely. she just can't stop the feeling of being nervous at the possible answer they'd get today. The midwife ushered the princess towards a wooden cot loaded with pillows and insisted she sit. Taeyeon pressed herself against the wall, a little far away from them, but also as close as she could possibly get, and fixed her eyes on the ceiling, she appeared to be deep in thought. “So you’ve missed a few cycles?” The midwife dropped a pinch of salt into a mortar and began cheerfully grinding it with a wooden pestle. “Two.” the princess fidgeted. “Actually, it’s probably closer to three now.” “Been feeling nauseous?” “Yes.” “Sick, particularly in the mornings?” “Yes.” Taeyeon shifted uncomfortably. She’d heard the symptoms before, but she didn’t appreciate the reminder that Sooyeon hadn’t been feeling well and that she had failed to notice her wife's illness. “I'm sure there will be a good explanation to thos