The Center of His World
By Misha
Disclaimer- I don’t own the characters of The Crown and the Flame, I am just borrowing them for a little while and will return them when I am done.
Author’s Notes- After I wrote “The Waiting Game”, I started thinking about the birth of Kenna and Diavolos’s other children. I thought about writing about the birth of their second son and do a more humorous story with him having to deal with Zenobia, but this popped into my mind instead as I started figuring out why they stopped with four children and instead what came out was a little more angsty than I intended (but with a happy ending).
Pairing- Kenna/Diavolos, minor Zenobia/Tevan
Rating- PG-13
Summary- As Kenna fights for her life after giving birth to her fourth child, Diavolos tries to keep it together even as he faces the unthinkable: a life without her.
Words- 1118
Diavolos paced the halls of Lykos Castle nervously. He hated this part. The fact that he had done this three times before didn’t stop the helplessness and fear that he felt.
“You know the pacing doesn’t do anyone any good,” Zenobia commented as she joined him.
Diavolos sighed. He really did prefer it when Kenna gave birth at Stormholt because Raydan and Dom made for much more pleasant companions than his sister. “If my pacing bothers you, you don’t have to watch.”
“I’m just trying to be a supportive sister,” she replied.
He started to make a retort, but she hadn’t actually done anything. “I’m sorry,” he said with a sigh. “I just…”
“She’ll be fine,” Zenobia assured, “I mean if I can manage childbirth, Kenna certainly can. Besides she’s done it enough times.”
Diavolos nodded, that was true. But each time, he still felt the knot of fear in his stomach and the worry that this time he could lose her. Time passed slowly. At least it wasn’t as excruciating as Leon’s birth, because now he had the children to distract him. He took breaks from his position outside Kenna’s door to play with the children and eat dinner with them. Then he resumed his pacing.
Thankfully, his sister did not join him this time, though his brother-by-marriage did.
“I wish you’d let me return the favor you did for me,” Tevan told him with a smile, “because the wine made the experience much more bearable.”
Diavolos spared a smile for the memory of getting Tevan very drunk when Zenobia had given birth to their first child. Still, that wasn’t his way. He wasn’t going to seek out oblivion while his Kenna was in pain. “Thank you, but I’m fine.”
Except it was taking so long. Longer than any of the others. Adriana’s birth had been so quick, shouldn’t this one be the same? Tevan kept up a stream of mindless chatter that almost made Diavolos long for his sister’s company until Zenobia finally re-appeared.
“I assume there’s no point in suggesting that you get a good night’s sleep?” She asked him, leaning into her husband’s embrace and peering at Diavolos.
“No,” Diavolos said flatly, his eyes fastened on the chamber doors.
Just then it opened and Annelyse emerged. He straightened waiting for her to come to him, but instead she headed to Zenobia’s side. Diavolos watched the Aurelian woman whisper something to his sister, whose eyes widened before she nodded and slipped into the chamber without a word to him.
What was going on?
He exchanged a troubled glance with Tevan, who had thankfully stopped talking, his face uncharacteristically grim. Why had Zenobia been summoned and not him? What was taking so long?
After what seemed to be an eternity, Zenobia emerged, a small bundle cradled in her arms. “Diavolos, meet your daughter,” his sister said, a smile on her face but it didn’t meet her eyes.
Diavolos stared at his daughter, in awe of her, and then it hit him that something wasn’t right. In the past, he had always been brought to Kenna’s chamber to meet his child, so why was Zenobia bringing the baby to him?
“Zenobia, what’s going on?” He demanded, even as he took the baby from her arms.
She looked away, unable to meet his eyes. “There’s a lot of blood. The midwife and Madeline are trying to stop it. But…”
He knew what she was trying not to say. Kenna might make it.
Diavolos felt his whole world collapse. He quickly handed the baby back to Zenobia and then rested his face in his hands, unable to handle the weight of what he was hearing. Kenna couldn’t die. He needed her, the children needed her.
He felt Zenobia grab a fistful of his tunic. “This is helping no one,” she hissed, “you have children to think of. Besides, what does the midwife know? This is Kenna we’re talking about. That woman defeated a lightning goddess and Father, this is not going to be what takes her down.”
Diavolos laughed despite himself. “I never thought I’d hear you praise her, sister.”
“What can I say, I’ve gotten used to having her around,” Zenobia admitted “and I refuse to believe that this is how we’ll lose her. I have more faith in her than that and you should too.”
“While more direct that I would have been, Zenobia has a point,” Tevan spoke up and Diavolos saw that he was cradling the baby, “Kenna is the strongest person I have ever met. She will pull through this and in the meantime, she would want you to focus on the children.”
Diavolos nodded, taking the baby back from Tevan and staring at the tiny face. After a few moments, one of the servants came back out and took the baby. Diavolos reluctantly handed her over, wondering when there would be word on Kenna.
Tevan disappeared to check on the children leaving Diavolos and Zenobia alone. Thankfully, Zenobia seemed to sense that he didn’t want to talk, so she just stood with him.
After what seemed like an eternity, Annelyse emerged.
“She’s ok,” she told him and he could see the relief on her face.
Diavolos was overwhelmed with emotions. She was alive. Kenna was alive.
“That Gods,” he said and then, on impulse, he wrapped Annelyse in a hug.
“She’s a fighter, Our Queen,” Annelyse assured him, “and it served her well today.” She pulled back, her face grave. “But… There won’t be any more babies.”
Diavolos dismissed her comment. That didn’t matter to him at all. He had four beautiful children and that was enough for any man and most of all he wanted the chance to raise them with Kenna. “Can I see her?”
“Of course,” Annelyse said, motioning to the door.
Before he went he turned to Zenobia, “thank you.”
She just nodded and bade, “go see your wife.”
He followed Annelyse into Kenna’s chambers and it took all his control not to run. Kenna was on the bed and she looked pale and tired.
Diavolos hurried to her side, kneeling by the bed and taking her hands in his.
“Diavolos,” she whispered.
“I’m here, my love,” he assured her.
“We have another daughter,” Kenna told him.
“We do and she’s as beautiful as her mother.” He took a deep breath, still shaken by how close he came to losing her. But he hadn’t. She was weak and pale, but she was alive and that was what mattered.
The day she’d chosen him he’d believed himself the luckiest man in the world and today he knew it was true because she was still in his world.
- End
