/ Istvan – FC Rob Evans
/ Both images borrowed from their Instagram
/ I own none of these images, all used with love and respect <3
/ Rings – enoirvado / Vegas view – Instagram sin1city / Quotes – all taken from Pinterest and none had credit for where they came from.
Important – My MC is Viktoria Petit, and my King Liam is called King Istvan
Rating – No bad language but it does contain some sensitive topics surrounding pregnancy and possibly mental health, so please be aware of that if you think it might affect you negatively, I wouldn’t like to upset anyone.
Disclaimer – Characters are Pixelberry’s, not mine.
Cassie arrived at the palace around three; she’d had a few hours sleep, exercised Thor then headed over to see Viktoria. She smiled as the security guards waved her through the ostentatious gates; patting the big bag on the passenger seat excitedly as she made her way up the hill to the doors. Bastien nodded to Cassie as she hopped out of the 4×4,
“No Drake today Cassie?”
She shot him a dazzling grin as she shook her head,
“Nope. Off fishing. I’m having a girlie afternoon with Viktoria.”
Bastien raised an eyebrow at Drake’s pretty girlfriend,
“You didn’t want to go fishing…?”
Cassie laughed out loud, showing Bastien her strappy high wedges,
“Not in these! I’ll stick with coffee, cake and crafts!”
Bastien dramatically waved her down the hall,
“I best not keep you then!”
She skipped down the hall towards the royal apartments to be greeted at the door by Viktoria,
“Heeey!”
Viktoria welcomed Cassie inside, closing the door before hugging her friend. Cassie smiled warmly,
“How is my favourite mommy-to-be? Vik, I’ve got fun stuff for yooo-hooo…”
Viktoria laughed at her very enthusiastic friend,
“Oh wow! What’s in the bag??”
Cassie flicked her ponytail theatrically as she marched through to the lounge, plopping her canvas bag down on the sofa,
“All will be revealed – soon!! But first, I want to hear all about your yoga session.”
After a short catch up, Cassie pulled some printed papers out of her bag,
“I couldn’t stop thinking about your gorgeous little bump last night Vik, it’s so perfect. You look so beautiful…”
Viktoria blushed furiously and dipped her head as she nudged Cassie with her shoulder. Cassie rolled her eyes and grinned at Viktoria,
“Why are you being so shy?? Babe, I know you’re not feeling super-confident right now, but Viktoria, you’re a stunning pregnant woman. You look amazing. Listen, I’ve heard about women doing this, so I searched for it online and printed these to show you… Look? You take a picture every other week as your bump grows! And you can use a chalk board beside you each time, like this? See? You can put things, like…”
Cassie pointed at one of the images, talking at a-hundred-miles-per-hour,
“13 weeks gone. Baby Rhys is the size of a peach. I’m craving -whatever! And, you know, anything else you think might be cute to look back on…? We had a scan today, or, daddy felt you kick for the first time, or, we found out that you’re a girl, you know? Anything you like! And then in the final picture, you’re holding that sweet little baby where your bump used to be and the board has the name and weight and date of birth… I hope you don’t think I’m interfering, it’s just, with what you were saying last night, I thought it’s maybe something you could do together to bond with the baby? I think Istvan would be crazy about it. Vik, he’d love taking those photos of you; I saw him yesterday, he literally cannot keep his eyes off of you! Plus how amazing would it be to look back on those photos afterwards…?”
Viktoria gawped at her friend, with a lump forming in her throat, she couldn’t believe that Cassie had put so much thought into trying to support her,
“Oh Cassie… I don’t know what to say… That’s so sweet… I think Istvan really would love that!”
Cassie beamed at Viktoria,
“You don’t have to say anything, keep the print out, show it to him. I’m just happy if I come up with something that helps you guys. I mean, you can pay me back in cuddles with the little one when he or she gets here, obviously!”
Viktoria scrubbed her eyes to stop the tears she could feel starting to form, she hated being so overly-emotional all the time. She pulled on a big smile for her friend,
“You got yourself a deal, Kapranos! Now, what else do you have in that bag??”
Cassie’s big green eyes twinkled as she excitedly waved the bag before tipping out two pairs of knitting needles, patterns and a variety of white, grey, mint green and lemon balls of yarn. Viktoria raised an eyebrow at Cassie as she grinned dreamily,
“How about you and I knit your little boy or girl their first pair of bootees this afternoon…?”
Viktoria could feel her nerves start to flare; this wasn’t some hypothetical or abstract idea, they were talking about actual clothes for a real baby… A baby that was going to be here in a few short months, that she was supposed to look after, and protect, and… Viktoria felt her stomach flip as the colour drained out of her face,
“Oh Cassie, wow, I don’t know, I mean, it’s really sweet of you, but I don’t have the first idea how to knit…”
She looked down and Cassie was already holding her trembling hand as she calmly mouthed something that Viktoria knew didn’t refer only to knitting,
“Sweetie, you don’t have to be an expert; learning is half the fun. You’ll be surprised how quick you pick things up… Come on, I’ll help you..? Pick a colour!”
—
Istvan arrived home later than expected, it was past nine. He walked in the door of the royal apartments, surprised to hear cheerful chatter in the lounge. Sticking his head around the door he greeted his wife and Cassie, pale blue eyes wide as he loosened his tie,
“Hi girls… What’s going on in here?”
Vik got up from the sofa, removing his tie completely as she reached up to press a kiss to his lips,
“Cassie and I have been busy…”
Istvan stroked his wife’s hair as he smiled at them both, a curious look on his face. Cassie jumped up from her seat,
“Ok you guys, I’m going to make tracks! Drake’s probably already sent out a search party!!”
She blew kisses to them both and ruffled little Raul’s fur on her way out the door, calling back,
“Vik, text me…”
Istvan muttered,
“Hmm. I feel like I’ve chased her out now… Sorry, my love…”
Viktoria shook her head,
“No, don’t be silly, you didn’t, she obviously wanted to give us alone time. I’ve got something I want to show you…”
Istvan groaned, a twinkle in his eyes as he pulled her body flush to his, the back of one hand grazing over the little bump. Viktoria smiled shyly as she shook her head,
“Ok, King Istvan… Close your eyes.”
Istvan raised one eyebrow at Viktoria,
“Okaaaaay…”
Viktoria stroked his face as he closed his eyes, his lips curling into a smile revealing those sexy little dimples of his…
“Closed??”
He nodded firmly, as she waved her hand in front of his face to make sure he wasn’t cheating,
“Hold out your hands…”
Istvan dropped his grip from her hip, patiently turning his palms upwards, holding them towards his wife… He felt her gently press something into his hand, something small and soft. He closed his fingers around the object, or was it more than one thing in his hand? He was trying to feel the edges of the fabric. Istvan pressed softly with his fingertips against the delicate material hoping he could guess what she’d put in his hands: was it wool? Viktoria was getting impatient as usual, he could hear her sighing and shifting on her feet,
“You won’t guess. You can look, Ist…”
Squinting one eye open, he looked down at his palm and felt his heart fill with love as he looked at the tiny pair of baby bootees in his hand. He regarded Viktoria closely; she was standing before him, her fingers steepled in front of her face, watching his reaction… Istvan’s bright eyes twinkled as he asked softly, “What’s this…?” Viktoria bit her lip,
“Cassie taught me to knit. We, uhh, we made these for the baby this afternoon… I mean I’m not great at it or anything Istvan, she had to fix my dropped stitches, like a hundred times, but… You know… What do you think?”
Istvan held the little bootees up; they were so very tiny; so delicate. Like little snow boots in white with a precious little button decorating them, they would be suitable for a boy or a girl… They weren’t flawless, but they were completely adorable. He shook his head, dismissing her self-critique, as he pulled her close to him once more,
“They’re absolutely perfect, Viktoria.”
Later that even as they lay snuggled together in bed, Viktoria murmured sleepily to her husband,
“I know this is going to sound silly, but I enjoyed knitting those little shoes today, Istvan… It kinda felt like I was doing something… I don’t know… Important? I mean, I know it’s just bootees, and that sound ridiculous…”
Istvan enveloped his wife in his strong arms, one hand clasped with hers, resting on their little bump,
“It’s not the bootees that are important, my love. You made our baby a gift… You’re going to be such a lovely mommy. You just need to give yourself a chance…”
Viktoria nodded her head thoughtfully, maybe tomorrow she would show him the print outs about the pregnancy photography… She drifted off to sleep that night with both Cassie and Istvan’s words playing over and over in her head; maybe she *could* do this?
