The morning after birth was a calm one compared to the chaos of the previous day. Dim quiet morning light enters the room.
Everything feels still, but not in a peaceful way. Lorelei slowly steers on the bed, as she wakes up slowly.
Lorelei feels ache all over her body. Her limbs feel sore, her muscles feel weak. The lingering pain from childbirth still rockets her body.
She tries to shift slightly on the bed but winces as she moves.
Lorelei moved her eyes to the side, then she saw him, her baby still sleeping. He is wrapped in soft cloth, he looks small, quiet and vulnerable.
The sight of him made her emotional, though exhausted she no longer feels empty inside. Lorelei watches her son quietly for a while without moving.
The sound of celebration breaks the silence in the room. Though not as loud as the previous day but it was still present, the music now faint. Outside the palace, celebrations are going on around the capital.
They are still celebrating the crowning of the new empress.
Inside the Moonveil palace, the rooms were dim, the servants were moving quietly. She has not had any visitors or any acknowledgement of the birth of her son.
Lorelei looks at son, "The empire is celebrating…. And no one even knows you exist my love"
Servants trouped inside the room, led by Ursa. "Good morning your ladyship, hope you rested well…. How is the little prince my ladyship…."
The remaining servants all work in silence as Ursa comes to the bed side to check on her. "I had a wonderful rest, Ursa. The prince is still sleeping." Lorelei looks at Ursa with a tired expression.
Lorelei continued as she spoke to Ursa, her voice still weak. "Did anyone come to visit?"
Ursa looked at her with hesitation before she spoke. "No one has come by to check on you my ladyship."
Lorelei feels like she has completely been ignored by everyone.
"What about the imperial physician, I have not seen him. He needs to come check up on the prince." Lorelei continued in the same breath.
Ursa lowered her eyes, not wanting to look at Lorelei, " The imperial physicians are all attending the palace…." Lorelei knows what Ursa meant, they are all attending to the Empress.
Lorelei begins to notice a pattern, she has not had visitors, there has been no official acknowledgment for her son, the physicians are not attending to her or her son.
And there is also no preparation for any ceremony to celebrate the birth of her son.
Lorelei begins to understand, "They don't recognize my child, as a prince"
Lorelei hears something outside her room, it sounds like footsteps, then she hears armour clanging. For a moment she thinks someone important has come.
Lorelei was expecting them to come inside, but she noticed the guards didn't stop, they didn't enter either.
Lorelei looked towards Ursa, she asked weakly, "Those guards who are they…." Ursa responds quickly, "They are the Silver Guard, your ladyship… they protect royal heirs," Ursa continued.
"They are only assigned to recognized royal children…. And i dont think they were assigned here…"
Then it hit Lorelei, "My son indeed has no protection, because he has no status, or rather i have no status."
Lorelei stills her expression, her thoughts sharpen with that realization. She grips the blanket tightly, there was anger in her eyes.
Her son began to cry softly. Lorelei immediately turns to him. She moved slowly towards him. She carried him to herself.
She holds him properly without any help for the first time, she looks awkward at first but she is determined as she tries to calm him down.
Her voice is very soft, as she tries to sing him some lullaby from her previous life. She held on to him as he is as she is in this world.
She looks at him and thinks he deserves a name , he deserves recognition. And most importantly he deserves safety.
Then Lorelei thinks to herself, " Can I really protect him?"
Some of the servants in the room started whispering again, "If his majesty refuses to acknowledge the child….Then the child...."
Lorelei understands why the servants keep murmuring, they are scared for their own lives.
Lorelei's thoughts become stronger, "If no one is coming, and no one will help me, if I do nothing, my son and I will be erased forever…."
As time passes, the celebration outside slowly fades away. Night began to fall. The Moonveil palace becomes quiet, darker and more isolated
Ursa is gone to get some food for her. The servants in the palace are moving less. It's like everything is suspended.
Lorelei feels something is off, she doesn't feel danger but a form of awareness. The sound outside her door is faint, there is a shadow moving. The servants inside the room are more alert.
Lorelei looks at her sleeping son who is in his court. She gently adjusts his blanket.
Lorelei's mind returns to one question, "Why hasn't he come? She thought curiously.
Then the silence breaks. She heard footsteps. This time it was clear, measured and it was approaching the door. The footsteps were not hurried.
It sounded controlled and powerful.
The servants all freeze and immediately they recognize the sound, fear fills the entire room. Some servants lowered their heads, others backed away.
Lorelei also looked towards the door. The footsteps stopped just outside the door. The silence in the room grew heavy as everyone held their breaths.
There was a slight movement, the door creaked, it opened slowly. And the room held its breath.