Adriette (a-dree-et)
Any ideas on what you would like to see happen in this book are appreciated

A young boy around the age of six smiles ecstatically towards me. He possesses midnight black curls of hair and a pair of beautiful metallic eyes. He's in the muscular arms of someone familiar; a man. The handsome (slightly shorter) male stands proudly with a glistening golden crown perched upon his raven tassels. His piercing silver eyes mimic the life of his presumed son, expect his lips remain set into a firm line. "Momma! Welcome back!" The boy cheers, reaching out his angelic little fingers towards me. The excited boy wriggles from his father's grip, hopeful to rest in the safety of my warm embrace.

"You're quiet momma... is something wrong?" The inquisitive child suddenly appears reluctant to approach me. "Tsk, she's tired is all." The man closes the distance with a soft click of his boots, extending out his arms to pass the boy over to me. As we make the exchange, he mutters something soul-shattering under his breath. "Perhaps having a child was a bad idea after all."

---

"Open your mouth, (Y/N) Ackerman." In between a flurry of passionate kisses, my husband was eager to demonstrate his undying love for me. His pale hands curiously wandered below the luxury material of my wedding dress, brushing his fingertips across what lie hidden underneath. "Levi," I muttered against his lips, firmly wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders. A small hum of approval resonated at the back of his throat, encouraging me to speak again. "You look nice." His lips curved upwards, revealing a faint smirk. "Tsk," his once calm and collected presence began to fall. "Be quiet."

Our wedding ceremony ended almost three hours ago. A small part of me remained extremely sad; the other relieved I no longer stood before thousands of people. "Are you focusing on me?" His slender fingers grazed underneath my chin, tilting my head to meet his lips once more. Our actions weren't necessarily sexual; merely enjoying each other's presence. "I love you so much, Levi." His lips engulfed my glowing soul multiple times. "So you should," he muttered. "Hold still." As he instructed me to remain motionless, his palm traced my lower abdomen.

A faint search for our baby.

"I told you, nothing will be visible just yet." He made an odd clicking sound with his mouth, seemingly disappointed with my repeated announcement. A small crease between his perfect brows proved he was rather hopeful for our beloved child. "I wonder about the gender..." he mused to himself rather than his newly announced wife. "Tsk, are you feeling well?" An anxious smile clearly exposed my underlying worries of becoming a mother. No amount of preparation could arm a woman for the experience of childbirth and physically raising a child.

Plus, with Levi's royal blood flowing through the veins of our baby, people will be desperate to see new life inside the palace. "You look worried. I told you there is no need to be." A slender finger traced multiple buttons on the back of my beautiful white dress. "L-Levi..." an amused smirk graced his lips. No matter how many times his muscular hands claimed my body; embarrassment never ceased to flood my heart. "My surname is yours now. Keep it safe, (Y/N)."

"I watched the two get married right before my eyes! Levi is so happy now!" A painfully loud, obnoxious voice echoed throughout the hallway. Judging from the manic cackling, only Hanji the noblewoman could be the culprit. Levi cautiously placed a finger to my lips, shushing my racing heart into complete silence. It was evidently clear he wanted nothing to do with this woman, and was willing to take great risks in order to avoid her lively conversations. "I don't want to be rude to her, Lev--mmph!" He embraced my mouth for a passionate kiss, softly tracing the swell of my breasts with his fingertips. A panicked gasp of pent-up frustration escaped my throat.

"I'm so glad, Lev--!" The overjoyed voice now resonated within the room. It was painfully obvious Levi was putting on a show for the giggling noblewoman. I was quick to break away from his tight embrace and scold him for such inappropriate behaviour. "Y-You two are just as bad as each other!" Sadly, neither two of the lifelong friends appeared fazed by my careless remark. Levi seemed far too captivated by my rosy cheeks and bashful mannerisms. "Tsk, don't compare me to that idiot," Levi muttered. Hanji cackled quietly, eerily slithering after my fleeting presence. "Now, now, no need to be shy, (Y/N). Levi confided in me many times a little after he confessed. To think you asked for more tim--

"Shut your damn mouth before I sentence you the cells, you four-eyed freak," Levi asked Hanji of all people for help? He must have really liked me to risk such precious information. "As if you would do that to me, Levi," she chuckled. Her cockiness was nothing short of troublesome. In the presence of a King, such responses would land any other individual directly into the cells, yet he had failed to place her there. Perhaps he appreciated her more than he let on. "Leave us, you idiotic woman. I don't want to see your pathetic face right now." As dismissive as his words were, it was undoubtedly true that I wanted to spend some quality time with Levi. His duties as King (more often than not) took up most of his time. Our wedding provided a much-needed break from his unrelenting paperwork sessions. "Oh, I see. As you wish~" She winked softly in my general direction before skipping out into the hallway draped with white roses - a symbol of our newly acquired marital status.

"Perhaps having a child was a bad idea after all." A reoccurring dream plagued my mind late into the night. Within the mist of fatigue, Levi stood with what was perhaps our child. Despite the gender Levi so desperately craved, his eyes were troubled; sad even. Needlessly to say, the dream unnerved me. "Oi, you look distressed all of a sudden." It took a few minutes to put the dots together, but as soon as he did, his right arm instinctively reached for my shoulder. "Are you feeling okay, (Y/N)?" His constant worry over my health was sweet, but his instant link to the baby presented even more insecurities. "Of course I am. You worry too much, Levi." His beautiful silver eyes danced with amusement. "Tsk, don't question me." His dismissive reply was similar to a crumbling wall of embarrassment. It was evidently clear he panicked whenever the thought of his baby was involved.

"Tsk, I'm not done with you." His body sparked with embers of life. Done? What on earth is he talking about? His muscular hands lunged for my waist, swiftly lifting me up into an impractical princesses-carry.

Despite my newly acquired title as Queen.

His leather boots neared the comforts of our shared bed, and the word 'done' suddenly exposed a variety of new meanings.

---

It was hard to adjust to such a frivolous life inside the palace. I told myself Levi was all I needed, yet that was simply not true. With news of an innocent child, there would be three of us now. A drastic change to our once peaceful life as a couple soon after our relationship was permitted by the court. Serving a cruel, dismissive, demanding and heartless Prince now felt like decades ago.

In fact, some of the memories were distorted and blurred. "Levi, ah, there~" I adored the King with all my heart. He had awoken emotions previously non-existent within my soul. "There, more, Levi~" his loving gaze and rich demands were all apart of his charm. Never before had I seen such a luxury, royal man. Men of the street were unkept, dirty thieves. The second my head was raised to meet his toxic stare, a fire set light to my heart. A Prince, regardless of his unruly threats-- was looking at me. Me of all people. "Hah... I can't~"

Now, we lay together as one, bathing in the bliss of love. His hands trailed to places on my bare skin marked solely as his own.

I was his long before this moment.

He had claimed me a lifetime ago.

"(Y/N)~" his voice was riddled with desire. He never failed to whisper my name against the shell of my ear. As night fell, the physical exertion of our activities proved to affect the silver-eyed King, and for once, he slipped into the unfamiliar embrace of sleep. He was painfully close; the crisp, defined curve of his chin; every faint, rock hard bump from his six pack abs. All of him. I adored resting beside him.

---

"Perhaps having a child was a bad idea after all." The man leers softly. Although it pains me to do so, I question him. "Why say such a thing?" His silver eyes roll backwards, dismissing my painful expression with little consideration. "You are... different now."

"Different? How so?" I want to know his answer. I must know his answer. He deliberates over forming a reply. He struggles to get the words out. "You're... dull now. To think I ever saw something interesting in you all that time ago. What was I thinking? My father taught me exactly how to deal with women... and yet... you somehow caught me off guard. Perhaps it was your face?"

His eyes lower.

"Or your body? Mind you, I did get what I wanted eventually. You put up quite the fight--" a crisp, sharp sound of skin-on-skin contact echoes around the hallway. My hand spoke for me. I'd slapped him. Rather hard.

"Tsk, doing that won't change anything. Come, Adriette. You have much to learn from me." The little boy giggles softly, skilfully slipping from my arms and following after his cold-hearted father. "Bye, momma!" The King tilts his head for a moment of satisfaction. Although is cheek glows red, his snide smirk overpowers the colour of his skin. "We'll speak again soon. Hopefully."

---

The night, once again, opened a gate of insecurities. Dreaming of Levi was not particularly strange considering the large quantities of time we spent together. Yet conjuring up something as pathetic as this was beyond preposterous. Levi would never behave in such a manner. To speak down to me would shatter everything we'd worked for. He told me he'd abandoned his father's way of thinking long ago. Yet why was he acting like the man he despised in my dreams? I'd never seen nor met his father... so why now? Glimmers of sunlight crept into our quarters. It was finally morning. As expected, my raven-haired husband was absent from his space on the bed. He often awoke before me.

After all, the role of a King never slept.

Memories of our passionate night together flooded my mind. His lips on my skin left pink, purple, and crimson marks. Levi always tried to be gentle with my body, but after the prolonged preparations for our wedding came between us, our sinful nights together soon began to fade. He desires were heavily alleviated as soon as his lips met my own. Although I wanted to assist my husband with his important duties as King, my dreams failed to provide me with any proper rest, so I slept in until mid-afternoon. Levi didn't seem to mind.

"Did you lose sleep last night? Tsk, you should be more careful, (Y/N)." His teasing provided some much-needed comfort. He studied my dishevelled nightwear and parted lips with newfound vigour. "Are you awake now? You look a little out of it." He delicately clicked his fingers in front of my face, only for me to lunge into his arms and beckon him back into my warm embrace. I was quick to succumb to the safety of rest once again.

---

"Are you really that dense? Tsk, shut the hell up. (Y/N) is trying to sleep." A collection of agitated voices eventually surfaced from within the depths of my prolonged slumber. "She's awake now anyway. We really should discuss her immense fatigue." A female voice replied. A troubled exhale exerted the prominent pressure throughout the room. "She's fine. Her body is tired is all."

"Why are you pretending nothing is wrong, Levi?"

"Because nothing is wrong. She's pregnant with my child and that's that. I'll take care of her." The female voice I now recognised belonged to Hanji, remained silent on the issue. "I hope you know what you're doing, Levi." And with that, she abruptly closed the door behind her. The sensation of reality was strikingly different from the previous dream my corrupt brain had forced me to endure. Levi would never regret impregnating me. Right? "How are you feeling, brat?" His glistening silver eyes sparkled with concern, carefully studying my scandalous clothing.

"Sleepy..." I muttered, groggily standing from my once uncomfortable position on our luxury king-size bed. Walking now felt slightly... different. My hands now instinctively protected my abdomen when attempting to walk from one destination to the other. The Kingdom celebrated the news of our marriage, and a small gathering was held underneath the palace. The current speculation throughout the Kingdom was the hope for a baby. Many desired a boy to claim the throne. This only unnerved me further. The poor were desperate for an exact replica of Levi, as he ruled the Kingdom firm but undoubtedly fair.

"Tsk, I'll get a medic to check on you later today. Rest all you want, (Y/N)." Levi's condition was now painfully obvious at this point. His health was rapidly declining as the responsibility of King slowly began to crush him to the very bone of his soul. Deep, unsightly black bags hovered below his once smooth silver eyes, as the need of a Queen's assistance remained absent. But due to my fatigue, I would be no use to him. I wonder if someone would be kind enough to help? Although it pains me to say it... Petra could help. She was engaged to Levi for an extremely long time. She must have completed paperwork with him at least once or twice.

"I feel useless to you, Levi. I'm terribly sorry I can't help you with this." I spoke in Chi to mask my worries. I could never inform Levi of my concerns aloud. He would simply brush them aside anyway. "What was that?" He announced, swiftly abandoning his position behind his paper-covered desk. "You said my name." I feigned confusion with a cheerful smile, nonchalantly easing my way towards my beloved King. He appeared displeased with my little announcement, yet embraced me with open arms. He noticeably relaxed under my touch, tracing the back of my nightwear with a soft groan. He was tired. All who glanced in his general direction could tell. "Maybe... you should take a break, Levi."

"No... not yet. Soon, (Y/N)." His answer was always the same. I began to wonder if 'soon' actually meant 'never.' The urge to coax him into resting was all I could think about. It would undoubtedly take some heavy persuasion, but perhaps it was possible. "We can sit for a little while then. Just for a few minutes." Although reluctant, the ravenette King eventually caved to my plea. He simply couldn't deny my grief-stricken features over his appearance. "Just for a minute," he stated.

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