Chapter 362: Side Story 29 – An Emperor’s Worry

“Regardless of status or social standing, wealth or power, no husband in this world could remain calm and without worry when their child was being born. Not counting those who were already heartless bastards to begin with, of course.” - Miridina Kles’vael, Elven Midwife and healer.

Xain Haroone, or given his full formal name, Xain Khaleed Al-Barajas Ibn Haroone the First, Emperor of the Al-Shan Empire and arguably one of the most powerful and influential men in the world, was nervous and full of worry that day. He paced restlessly around the luxurious room deep within the Imperial Palace, almost as if he was intent on carving grooves into the carpeted floor of polished wood with his footsteps.

 

As the Emperor, he and any future young sons of his were the only males allowed so deep into that section of the Imperial Palace, which was traditionally where the harem was located. All the servants and guards in the place were women, as Xain had abolished the practice of using eunuchs as servants early in his reign as Emperor.

 

A younger maid more recently promoted to the inner palace tried to offer him some refreshments when she saw him pacing restlessly, but was ignored. The young girl was visibly nervous to the point of sweating, but an older middle-aged maid patted her shoulder and silently shook her head while telling the younger one not to worry.

 

The older maid was one of the first ones who worked in the inner palace, and had been part of the few responsible for keeping the place clean and tidy even before the Empress moved in. She had seen the Emperor in the exact same state just a couple years ago, and knew better not to bother him, even if the kind Emperor was not likely to punish them even if they did so.

 

At the moment, Xain was full of worry over matters that were completely out of his hands. He couldn’t help but wince whenever he caught wind of Layla groans and cries from the next room, which were somewhat audible despite how the rooms were enchanted to keep voices isolated within, just a testament to how loud she must have screamed out inside.

 

He knew that his Empress was in the best hands there could be, as Ying Xiao stood guard within the room to keep her safe, while they had even hired the most experienced midwife in Levain, an old elven woman over seven hundred years of age who had helped the birth of many thousands of babies, to help her with giving birth to their children.

 

Xain had even called in a favor and asked Aideen to be there as well, and while his heart knew that it would be difficult for anything to go wrong even if they wanted to with the presence of one of the most powerful and experienced healers in the world, he could not help but worry regardless. There was nothing for him to do but wait, and listen to the cries that slipped through the sound-damping enchantments the rooms were lined with.

 

It felt almost like an eternity to him, though probably only a few tens of minutes to maybe a couple of hours at most, since his legs had not cried out in pain from all the walking he did. Finally, however, he heard a scream clearer than the ones before, followed by the faint noise of a different cry. The cry of a newborn baby.

 

He was elated and had just walked towards the room when a maid came out from within and closed the door behind her. The maid, another older one who worked in the inner palace for years by now, bowed low before him before she spoke with genuine joy in her voice.

 

“Congratulations, your Imperial Majesty, a healthy little Princess has been born just now,” said the maid.

 

“How is the Empress?” asked Xain with some obvious nervousness and worry in his voice. He showed none of the dignity an Emperor was supposed to have, but he could not care less at the moment, as all that mattered was his wife and children.

 

“The Empress is doing well,” said the maid, who noticed his nervousness and apparently remembered her instructions. “The Lady midwife bids your Imperial Majesty to wait more, as there still remains a second child to be birthed.”

 

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“Oh. Right. Pass our thanks to the Lady midwife,” said Xain at last as he finally remembered that his wife was pregnant with twins. In his worry and nervousness he forgot that fact for a moment, and was glad for the reminder.

 

The wait repeated itself, though this time more briefly, before once again he heard the faint cries of a newborn from within the room. Xain fidgeted as he waited until finally the same maid from before walked out of the room. This time she had not closed the door behind her.

 

“Congratulations, your Imperial Majesty, a healthy little Prince has been born just now,” said the maid as she bowed low once again. This time the maid gave a reverential gesture of invitation, and Xain had not needed more than that before he rushed into the room where his Empress had just given birth to their children.

 

The inside of the room still smelled faintly of blood, and Layla looked a little pale on the bed, though with Aideen around, chances are she would be fine. The old elven midwife gave Xain a knowing, understanding smile as she stepped aside, and allowed the Emperor to walk closer to the bedside, while Ying Xiao kept watch from a bit further away with some awe in her eyes.

 

What occupied Xain’s full attention besides his smiling Empress however, was the two small bundled figures that lay in her arms as she gently rocked them asleep. The two newborn babies - a boy and a girl - mumbled some unintelligible noises in Layla’s arms, and looked so frail and tiny that Xain had not dared touch them yet.

 

Some people said that newborn babies looked ugly, like shriveled, wrinkly pink monkeys, but Xain wholeheartedly disagreed with that, as the two little infants cradled in his wife’s arms looked like some of the most precious jewels in the world to him. Two more children of his, children by whom he swore he would do right by.

 

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A few days later, Xain felt nothing but peace and contentment as he watched his children. Farah looked curiously at the newborn twins, which they had named Miruka and Kareem, and playfully extended her arm over their cradle. One of the twins looked at her arm curiously, while the other grabbed one of her fingers in their little hand, which caused all three children to break out into happy laughter.

 

Layla lay beside him on the large divan, her head rested on his thigh. She was still a touch lethargic after giving birth to two children in succession, but the smile on his face was mirrored in hers as they watched their children play. Ying Xiao has also kept close to the children to keep watch on them as she looked at them with obvious fondness.

 

Aideen had given Layla and her newborn children a clean bill of health before she left, though she told Xain to just send a letter to call her should he have need of her in the future. The Imperial couple just watched their little children playing together for the moment, with their worries and obligations shelved for the time being.

 

They felt that everything was right with the world at that moment.

 

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