Chapter One

Queen Eloise was very excited to be with her friend, Queen Evangeline. It was not often that they could travel to see each other, their swollen bellies and feet a hindrance to carriage travel, on top of overprotective husbands.

"Lu, my dearest friend, how are things going?"

Queen Evangeline was worried about her friend. She had been hesitant to allow her visit, her friend nearing her expected date and she herself not too far away herself. Her midwife and handmaidens were always at the ready, knowing their little royal heir-to-be would soon be arriving.

"Eva dearest, I'm quite alright. Theo had the doctors check me

four times before we left and your husband had me checked a fifth

time upon my arrival if you do not remember!"

The exasperation was clear in her voice, the overprotectiveness over her sister and husband driving her crazy. Eloise knew better than to continue to push the subject, her friend was as stubborn as they came, and if she wanted to see her there was no force in their lands that could stop her. Leaming back in her favorite padded chair, she let herself sigh as she rearranged herself. Her belly ached and she was excited to finally meet her child.

“How are you doing Lu? Your belly is as large as a pumpkin!”

Evangeline was also worried about her dearest friend but knew acting concerned would only heighten the stress the other was feeling. She had been making jokes about their bellies and their husbands the entire pregnancy, and it had helped them both to keep calm and avoid too much stress. The doctors had been quite clear- unneeded stress could trigger an early and dangerous labor, and the kings had not taken the warning lightly.

“I’m fine, the baby kicks quite often now and if the bruising I am sure I have on the inside of my ribs is any indication I feel like the baby is a strong boy. What about you? Any idea of the gender for your baby?”

Eloise was certain she had a boy, but she was also curious about her friend's feelings on the topic. She was surprised when a small warm smile graced Evangeline’s face. Evangeline turned from where she had been standing by Eloise to walk to the window and look at the sunset as it graced the room with a gentle warmth and a fierce red and purple light. She placed her hand on her protruding belly and replied, “I think that my baby is a gentle baby girl. The little one rarely kicks and for some reason I feel like the spirits above have granted me a sweet and adorable baby girl.”

Eloise smiled in reply and both sat content for a while watching the sun as it slowly sank below the horizon. As the colors faded and the cool night breeze swept across the garden outside, the two pondered their lives and what the lives of their children would be like. Both had already agreed many years ago that they would be the godmothers to each other’s children, and their husbands the godfathers and that fact had not changed in recent years.

“Eva-”

“Lu-”

Both stared at the other for a second as they realized they had spoken at the same time, before bursting into laughter and giggling like the girls they had been years before.

“You go first Eva!” Eloise was curious about what her sister had to say,

“Well,” She started hesitantly, “You know how we were talking about whether our children would be boys or girls?”

“Yes?” Eloise was curious to see where her counterpart was going with this.

“Say…what if we each are correct and have a boy and a girl. If that happens maybe we can be family for real! What if our children get married? Then we can unite the kingdoms and live and rule from one palace and then we can be together as much as we want! Wouldn’t that just be amazing!? Oh Lu, we should tell our husbands tonight at dinner about this and see what they-” Evangeline was suddenly cut off from her increasingly fast rant by a hand covering her mouth from behind. Turning she saw Eloise covering her mouth with an eyebrow raised and a small smirk on her face.

“Breathe Eva! Take a breath and slow down. Where did this come from?” Eloise had not even considered the idea of their children potentially marrying but hearing the idea certainly had piqued her interest.

“Well just think about it! If we had a boy and girl each, we could unite our kingdoms and be one whole family! Not to mention the logistical nightmare we currently have with our citizens intermingling and laws overlapping would be solved! We could rewrite all the laws at once and make everything easier for the kids in the long run!” Evangeline was clearly excited by this prospect, and she had to admit she was as well. It would certainly be beneficial to everyone in the long run.

“Why don’t we run the idea by them tonight? But don’t forget- this all rides on our guesses being right or at least reversed! If they end up being the same gender we will have to try again with more children or wait until the next generation,” Eloise reminded Evangeline.

She didn’t want her to get her hopes up too high just for them to be wrong and have to deal with the sadness of that. That or the potential refusal of the idea by their spouses. They were both from long lines of royal descent, their families ruling for centuries. The founding families' countries were named after the family, hence the similarity between the names of the royal families and their countries. They might not want to merge their countries after having built such astounding legacies.

It was while they were discussing this potential arrangement that a knock sounded at the door. With a call, Eloise beckoned whoever was there to open the door. The door opened to reveal one of her lady-in-waiting, who then informed them that it was time for supper and that they should begin to work their way down to the dining hall. With a glance both women exited the room with their arms linked, and slowly began to walk towards their meal and spouses. It was definitely going to be a dinner to remember.