Page 41 of Dead Crown
Lumi was pretty sure it didn’t work like that. “A King should have several sons.”
“An heir and spares.” Tivar stood and gave his hair and ears another good rubbing with the drying sheet. “You can watch them all because I can’t have a bunch of children tagging along and running around me all day.”
Mother had never employed a nanny or believed in strangers raising a woman’s children. She also hadn't complained about them running around. Lumi didn’t mention her. He was sure Tivar had found a way to murder her, and he’d never know where her body was. Her horse hadn’t thrown her by accident.
Tivar never mentioned Mother anymore either. Lumi tried not to think about her and the last time he'd seen her because it hurt. Perhaps Tivar didn’t speak of Mother because she hadn’t mattered much after all, and in the end, she’d simply been a nuisance to remove.
Being King was what he cared about.
“I’ll get the cuffs, and you can suck me off in front of the fire,” said Tivar.
He didn’t forget that knitting required needles, and he wasn’t about to let Lumi have anything sharp without a warning. He probably thought Lumi would snap one night and drive them into his neck or ear while he slept. When the items were placed on the bed one morning, Tivar grabbed Lumi by the hair and bent his head back so far, his neck protested in pain.
“When I come in here, both needles are to be placed on the bedside table,” he said with a warning note in his voice. “Don’t try to hide one and say you lost it. If you disobey me, I’ll wait until after you have the baby, and then, I’ll cane your ass bloody and let you recover naturally. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes,” Lumi managed to get out. For punishment beatings, Tivar wasn’t kidding about drawing blood. Lumi might even get locked in the closet again.
Tivar released his hair and flicked one of his ears. “You better be grateful I let you have so much.”
“I am. Thank you.”
Once Tivar left, it was just Lumi, a sore spot on his scalp, his baby, a book on knitting techniques, two shiny needles, and a whole bag filled with skeins of soft yarn in different colors.
Lumi had enough slack in the chain, and he sat cross-legged in the center of the bed with the book open by his leg. He only got up to pee in the chamber pot by the side. He always had a large, wooden cup of water on his bedside table with a wooden pitcher, and he didn’t think he drank extra, but he’d been pissing a lot. Fortunately, he seemed to have skipped the dreaded morning sickness.
The book had many line drawings and descriptions to help beginners make various things such as jumpers and blankets. He started with blankets since they’d be the easiest. He messed up a lot at first for a couple of days, but it grew easier. Eventually, he didn’t even need the book. He knitted away the hours, soothed by the repetitive movement as the baby’s first blanket grew. Occasionally, he took a nap in the afternoon and went back to knitting. Growing a baby was making him tired, and he often wanted to go to bed early at night. Tivar’s needs came first.
He was pretty sure he was carrying a boy, although he didn’t know why. Maybe it was because he was supposed to have a boy. Tivar wouldn’t be pleased with a girl, but he’d accept her. It wasn't like Lumi had control over what he birthed. He could have a boy later, right? Maybe Tivar was correct, and Lumi would be able to have more now.
That’s what Lumi told himself. Unfortunately, if he had another baby, it certainly wouldn’t be Jaki’s, and he couldn’t doanything about it. At least he had one now who had to be the Prince’s baby.
He always put the needles on the bedside table when Tivar entered the bedroom. They were taken away and kept out of his reach.
Tivar was only gentler in bed because he didn’t want to injure his future heir, not because he wanted to be tender and sweet with his fake little brother. Lumi acted like his usual self: compliant, eager, and happy to serve. He watched the skylight when he stayed on his back and let his fake brother do what he wanted. What else was there to do?
His meals were whatever Tivar thought was best. When Lumi hit five months, he tried asking for a couple of things he craved one night after he’d swallowed Tivar’s cum. The orgasm hadn’t been enough to make Tivar agree, and he said Lumi shouldn’t waste his appetite on sweets. They weren’t good for babies in his opinion.
“I’ll get you a present instead.”
Surprisingly, he brought something, and the present turned out to be a couple of wolver flowers which were grubby and already half-wilted. Tivar said it was the best he could find outside in the garden and left Lumi to knit. A cinnamon bun with honey brushed on top would have been better.
Lumi stared at the limp flowers on the bedside table. He used to love wolver flowers when he was young, and he would pluck them to feel the soft pink petals. He’d stopped caring about flowers a long time ago.
The pink reminded him of Jaki’s eyes, and he started to cry even though he hadn’t done so in the room for a long time. He’d never get to tell Jaki about his baby. It’d be another bastard in their fucked-up family.
It was also around the five-month mark when he finally felt the baby move for the first time. It was small, and it gave him anelated feeling that lasted all day. He didn’t mention it to Tivar so he could have that all to himself too for a bit.
The baby would have no shortage of blankets, caps, booties, and jumpers since Lumi had plenty of time to read and knit. He had no idea what Tivar did with himself all day and didn’t care to know. By six months, it was harder to get comfortable since he’d grown bigger. The skin around the scar stretched enough to itch.
For sex, he had to get on his hands and knees so Tivar could mount him from behind. Lumi wanted to look at the skylight and be elsewhere while the heat did the work of being eager for him, but he did what Tivar ordered. As usual. He stared at the other end of the shackle on the headboard or the windows while he pretended to love it and came on the blanket. Tivar complained about having to do the position like it was a big bother to him for whatever reason.
Lumi had to ignore his cravings because those hadn’t gone away, and he told himself he was spoiled after three years of meals at court. Even with no clothes, being pregnant also made him feel uncomfortably warm at times, and his pecs had swelled a little, although milk wouldn’t start coming. His nipples, which had been pale before, were darker too.
“You look like a cow or a mookie,” Tivar told him one night. “I can’t believe you’ll only get bigger.”
Lumi had thought his round belly looked rather cute, and the comment stung beyond belief.
“Your son is in there,” he whispered. “He has to grow, and it’s mostly just my stomach growing-”
