Chapter 221

221 Chapter 221 : Bad back

When the redhead woke up she was shocked to find that the room was already completely bright, what time was it? Had she slept in?! Oh gods how could she allow herself to oversleep in her mother in law’s house. Melissa tried to jolt upright but her back radiated a dull pain that made her plummet back into bed.

“What in the..” Melissa cursed internally before groaning loudly. What in the bloody hell was this pain? Her mind drifted back to the wedding night before and her face flushed all shades of red, was it her night with Gareth that had put her in a position of being unable to walk.

The consummation that happed last night was nothing short of a pool of bliss and euphoria, Melissa clamped her legs together just by the mere thought of the previous night’s happenings. Gosh.. she put her pillow on her face and shrieked in glee.. her husband had never made love to her quite like that before.. oh goodness, ‘her husband’, what a wonderful ring it had to it.

“Mel..”

The ramble of Gareth’s soft voice reached her ears and she pulled the pillow away from her face. She adjusted her sleepy vision and there he was, in all his handsome glory staring and smiling at her like she was the most beautiful thing in the world.

“Good morning my wife...” the man walked to her side of the bed and sat down before planting a kiss on her forehead. “How was your first night as Mrs Burchard?”

For some strange reason those very words made Melissa feel aroused all over again. She tucked her face away slightly and mumbled the words ‘fine my husband.’ She felt her heart race as the elf grinned from ear to ear, clearly indicating that their marital union made him as excited as it did her.

“What time is it?” Melissa asked with a yawn, ” I hope I didn’t oversleep..”

Gareth’s smile only widened as he marveled upon the beauty of the woman who was stretching and yawning in front of him, the belly holding their child visible as a bump under the sheets. A few lifetimes ago Melissa was just a woman he had been admiring from afar, a woman he never thought he’d ever muster the courage to confess his love to. But now, here she was in his bed naked after a long night of passionate lovemaking, and carrying his child. This was the epitome of the saying ‘patience pays.’

.....

“It’s a few minutes after noon..” Gareth responded and reached for her hair that was tasseled all over her beautiful face.

“Noon?!” Melissa attempted to sit up but the pain in her back dropped her back on the bed. Gareth reached for her worriedly.

“What happened? Are you in pain?”

“Just a little..” Melissa groaned while adjusting herself onto the extra pillow that the king had placed behind her. “My back is a little sore, I’m not sure if it’s the pregnancy or the...” Melissa’s face flashed making Gareth arch his eyebrows in amusement.

“Or the what?..” he leaned forward and smiled at the woman who was burning up under his intense gaze.

“Garry could you not do that you’re embarrassing me..”

The elf flashed his perfect white teeth in an amused smile that made Melissa clump her legs underneath the sheets.

“I’m only teasing my shy beautiful wife,” Gareth teased while rubbing his nose against hers. “Shall I ask Maria to help you with your bath?”

“This is so embarrassing, I can’t believe I’ve been asleep for half the day, what will people think? What will your mother think?!”

“That your wedding night was a very memorable one,” Gareth whispered in a mischievous tone.

Melissa placed her open palm on Gareth’s face and pushed him away, “stop it..”

The prince chuckled and caught Melissa’s hand that he kissed. “Let’s get you bathed and fed. The whole family is dining together for lunch today, we want to catch up a little before everyone disperses tomorrow.”

“But my back,” Melissa whined wondering how she was going to attend the family luncheon when she couldn’t even get herself out of bed.

“Don’t worry about that..”

*

About an hour later, everyone at the smooth oak dining table looked towards the door that had opened, through them came Gareth and in his arms was Melissa who was holding on to him as they walked towards the two vacant chairs that had been reserved for them. The elf set Melissa down on one of the chairs before taking a seat next to her.

The nosferatu Princess’ face was bright red, she had protested and protested about Gareth carrying her to lunch and insisted in eating from the room, but Gareth was as stubborn as a morning stem, he would not heed until he got what he wanted.

Everyone at the table had a different expression on their face, Estel, Vivian and William had small smug smiles, Bahram, Aiden and Kaiser Stefan had indifferent looks on their faces, while everyone else tried to maintain a straight face.

“Good morning sweetheart,” Emma who was sitting next to Melissa greeted her daughter. “Did you have a good night last night?”

Gareth opened his mouth to respond and Melissa immediately shot to his lips and pinched them, “don’t you dare,” she whispered to him. She was appalled by how this man had no filter whatsoever when it came to the things he said.

“I slept just well mother thank you, I just had some trouble this morning getting out of bed because of my condition,” Melissa lied, “but my dear husband..” she pinched his lip more, “..insisted that he carry me to join us for the family lunch.”

“That better be the reason why your back hurts,” Bahram mumbled from next to Emma and earning himself a smack from her.

Queen Tauriel who was sitting across from her son and his wife, smiled and waved her hand for the maidens to start serving the food.

Back in the kitichen, Ronda placed a silver piece in one of the maiden’s hands before she handed her a cup of Melissa’s daily dose of ichor.

“Make sure you set it down in front of her,” Ronda explained, “if she drinks it, there is more silver where that came from.”

The maiden nodded and made her way towards the dining area while Ronda smiled as she watched from afar. If that little nosferatu took as much as half a cup of that Ichor, half of Ronda’s problems would be solved.

The blonde green eyed maiden watched anxiously as her little puppet placed the cup of ichor beside Melissa’s plate and grinned from ear to ear. The little maid Ronda had sent to put the cup of poisoned ichor owed her a favor, after Ronda had helped her get a job in the royal palace when she was almost thrown into the streets by her landlord, this little elf would do almost anything for Ronda if she asked.

Melissa thanked the maid and turned to look down at the cup of ichor by her plate and gagged a little. Lately she had been feeling noxious over eating a lot of different foods, especially her daily ichor. She understood that she needed it, especially now that she was pregnant, but the smell made her noxious. But this particular cup smelled even more vile than the one she drunk yesterday.

Gareth reached for Melissa’s hand underneath the table and squeezed it lightly, “are you alright?” He whispered upon seeing the noxious expression on his wife’s face.

Melissa took the cup with her free hand and swirled the contents of it around, “I’m alright, I’m just having trouble drinking this.”

Gateth took the cup and gave it a sniff, “you’re right it smells a bit strange.” He put it down next to his plate and instead grabbed a bow of rabbit stew that he served for the redhead. “Eat some food first before taking it, I’m not an expert in pregnancy but I’m an expert in my wife’s little habits. You’ll feel less nauseated after you’ve had a bowl of your favorite rabbit stew.”

Melissa smiled and nodded before grabbing a spoon and proceeding to eat, thank the gods her erratic hormones had not altered her tastebuds enough to make her detest rabbit stew, it had been her favorite since her life as Aria.

Ronda cursed lightly as she watched Gareth place the cup aside, she wanted to get this over and done with as quickly as possible. The sooner Melissa’s little abomination she called a child was out of the way, she could proceed to getting rid of Melissa as well. The only reason Gareth was with her was because of that child, without it, Gareth was as good as hers.

No matter, soon Melissa’s little meal would be over, and with it, all her plans and hopes of having a future with Gareth. She had waited so long, silently loving Gareth despite having not met him, and now that he was within her reach she would never let him go.