Queen Enwel Xiloscient of Elysium felt happier than she’d felt in a long time. She just found out that she was pregnant. She was just leaving the quarters of the court physician, who had confirmed her suspicions. Enwel knew that it was generally impossible to tell whether it was a boy or a girl but some part of her knew; it was a son. The child that now grew inside her was her first son. The secret wish of her heart was finally coming true. After giving birth to three daughters, the last one of which had been born after 36 hours of agonizing labor. The midwife had said afterward that she did not recommend Enwel have any more children, but Enwel desperately wanted a boy. Her husband, King Lucian, did too, but his reason was mostly because he needed an heir.

Later that day, she told her husband about her pregnancy. She had to wait because the king was in council for most of the day, and it was the rule of the court that no women were allowed in the meeting; this rule applied even to the queen. It had been a previous bone of contention between the king and queen, but one that the queen eventually gave up on. 

Six months later, Enwel was well into her pregnancy and her belly was noticeably swollen. Outside of the kingdom, war had erupted between various groups in Draconia, though few of these wars were purely between nations; several countries were experiencing civil war. Most notably, the Supreme Republic of Talle, the country of the halflings, remained completely neutral. The Draconic Confederacy—the international organization, led by the dragons, that was tasked with the maintenance of international peace—was struggling to contain the problem. The war was caused by conflict between the gods of Draconia. Ra, the king of the gods and god of the sun, had abdicated his throne, leaving it to Osiris. Osiris’s brother, Set, grew jealous and killed Osiris, hoping to claim the throne for himself. Horus, Osiris’s son, was angry over the death of his father and made his own bid for the throne. War between the gods ensued, with most of the gods and lesser divine beings siding with Horus. The conflict was so bad, that even the followers of the gods among mortals were now fighting.

Elysium was no exception to the fighting. One of the king’s closest friends and best generals, Edras Argon, had been killed in battle. Enwel was a friend to Edras’s wife, Mithrie, who was very upset. The situation was made even more tragic because Mithrie was pregnant as well. The shock of her husband’s death was too much to handle, and it sent Mithrie into labor. Luckily, she was in the palace when it happened and Enwel had a midwife on hand to assist with her own pregnancy. After the birth, Mithrie lay in bed, holding her newborn son. Enwel stood by her side, imagining herself in the same position in just a matter of weeks.

“What will you name him?” Enwel asked.

“Galdore,” Mithrie responded. Enwel was confused. Galdore was a name that came from an ancient elvish word, hardly in use anymore, which meant ‘heir.’

“That’s a curious name,” Enwel admitted. “Why that name?”

“Because,” Mithrie explained. “He is his father’s heir.”

This statement further confused Enwel who said, “heir to what, exactly?”

“His father’s throne,” Mithrie said simply.

Suddenly, Enwel realized what Mithrie was hinting at, but she refused to believe it. It could not be true. She said, “Why would you say something like that?”

“Because it’s true. I’m sorry you have to find out this way, but it would have happened sooner or later when the king named his heir.”

Enwel was furious, not just at her husband, but at Mithrie as well. She said, “How dare you. You have betrayed my trust.”

“It wasn’t just me,” Mithrie said. “The king also wanted it. You know what he said? He said that he hoped my child would be a boy so that at least he would have a son. He was so disappointed that you could never give him the son he wanted.”

Enwel turned and shouted, “Guards!” Two guards entered the room and she said, “don’t let this woman out of the room.” The guards bowed to her, and she left to find her husband.

King Lucian, as it turned out, was in a council meeting at the time. Enwel didn’t care at the moment. She opened the door and strode into the room. The king looked at who had entered. He said, “Enwel, you know better than to just barge in like this.”

Enwel didn’t respond to him. She just looked around the room and said, “everybody out. Now.” Her voice was not raised but she spoke in such a way that everybody obeyed without a second thought. She was left alone in the council chamber with her husband.

Finally, Enwel broke the silence and said, “you’ll be happy to know that Mithrie successfully had her child; a boy.”

“That’s good,” Lucian said. “But hardly worth interrupting my meeting.”

“I would have thought,” Enwel said, barely keeping it together now. “That the birth of your heir would be a cause for joy for you.”

All the color drained out of Lucian’s face as the full weight of Enwel’s words struck him. He said, “she told you, did she?” Enwel nodded. The king continued, “And she said that her son would be the heir to the throne?”

Enwel nodded again, then said, “How could you do that? I’m pregnant with your son right now. How could you have an affair?”

“It happened before I knew you were pregnant,” Lucian admitted.

“That doesn’t make it better,” Enwel said.

“I know,” Lucian replied. Then, after a moment’s silence he said, “How do you know it’s a boy? Your child I mean.”

“I just have a feeling,” Enwel said.

Lucian said, “I promise you, if your feeling is correct, the child that you now carry will be named heir to the throne.”

“You don’t deserve this child,” Enwel said. “I have half a mind to leave the city right now.”

“If you do that,” Lucian said. “I will find you and take my child. You would never see him.”

Enwel was disgusted. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll stay, but only for my children. As far as I am concerned, I am only the Queen. I am no longer your companion.” Without giving him a chance to respond, she left the room.