Lifting the hood of her cloak over her hair as Vangelis instructed, Olympia took a deep breath and followed her husband into the hall, looking over her shoulder at the retreating back of her old nursemaid and the other guards before biting her lip and turning forward. This was her only chance to survive, and no matter how terrifying this escape attempt was, at least they were giving it a fighting shot. Her stomach felt tense and the movement was not easy, but she tried her best to keep at the same pace as the others, holding her arms protectively across herself.
The trip through the halls felt smooth enough, they walked past several sleeping guards and she glanced over at Selene with a slight smile, a giddy leap in her heart as they got closer to freedom. Everything that these people had done for her, for her family, the risks that they were all taking in trying to save their lives, it was making her emotional to think of it. Vangelis and Selene had not needed to take such chances to help them, nor did Alastair and Desma and the guards that had come along with the prince. So many lives would be lost instead of just her own and Stephanos' if this went wrong.
Pia gasped in surprise as the soldier's voices rang out through the hall, her sister's grip on her arm pulling her to a halt as her lip trembled, trying not to burst into tears. She stayed silent, certain in those moments that this was the end for them all until Vangelis' voice boomed through the hall. Turning to look at him, she pursed her lips as he strode forward and addressed the guards in a tone she had never heard before, but didn't seem at all unfamiliar to him. This was who he was, how he had gained the reputation of being a Stone Prince, and though she felt a pain starting low in her belly she drew herself up to her full height as if she could lend any sort of additional power to the moment.
"I assure you, your highness, when my husband is in his rightful place, such a slight would not go unpunished." With an irritated glance at either side of her, she made a show of shaking off her sister's grip and huffing imperiously. "I grow weary of standing, or have none of you the decency to allow a woman with child to rest?"
She took the lead this time, striding past the men who were getting berated until they were around the corner, staying to let Selene and Stephanos catch up and trying to breathe as the pain grew stronger, leaning against the wall to collect herself. When she looked up to them she shook her head, afraid of what might come out if she opened her mouth. They had to be quick, even though this pain in particular had been fleeting, the contraction receding as quickly as it had come on, there was no guarantee the next would be as kind. The end was in sight, and she pulled herself upright as the small group finished the walk through the palati halls and out onto the street.
Fresh air hit her and she took a deep gasp of it in, letting Selene and Stephanos guide her now to the carriage and giving a strained cry that was a mix of relief, terror, pain, and sadness. She was leaving behind everything she had known in doing this, leaving most of her family, all of her friends, everything she loved and held dear. In spite of Selene's extensive travelling, she had never been outside of Taengea before in her life, and to think that she was now about to leave for perhaps forever, that her child would not be born here with her mother and sisters around her, without Desma to hold her hand, it felt as if her heart was breaking. As soon as she could, Pia curled against her husband, tears streaming down her cheeks as she waited for the next pain, uncertain now of what to do without her nursemaid to guide her.
The trip through the halls felt smooth enough, they walked past several sleeping guards and she glanced over at Selene with a slight smile, a giddy leap in her heart as they got closer to freedom. Everything that these people had done for her, for her family, the risks that they were all taking in trying to save their lives, it was making her emotional to think of it. Vangelis and Selene had not needed to take such chances to help them, nor did Alastair and Desma and the guards that had come along with the prince. So many lives would be lost instead of just her own and Stephanos' if this went wrong.
Pia gasped in surprise as the soldier's voices rang out through the hall, her sister's grip on her arm pulling her to a halt as her lip trembled, trying not to burst into tears. She stayed silent, certain in those moments that this was the end for them all until Vangelis' voice boomed through the hall. Turning to look at him, she pursed her lips as he strode forward and addressed the guards in a tone she had never heard before, but didn't seem at all unfamiliar to him. This was who he was, how he had gained the reputation of being a Stone Prince, and though she felt a pain starting low in her belly she drew herself up to her full height as if she could lend any sort of additional power to the moment.
"I assure you, your highness, when my husband is in his rightful place, such a slight would not go unpunished." With an irritated glance at either side of her, she made a show of shaking off her sister's grip and huffing imperiously. "I grow weary of standing, or have none of you the decency to allow a woman with child to rest?"
She took the lead this time, striding past the men who were getting berated until they were around the corner, staying to let Selene and Stephanos catch up and trying to breathe as the pain grew stronger, leaning against the wall to collect herself. When she looked up to them she shook her head, afraid of what might come out if she opened her mouth. They had to be quick, even though this pain in particular had been fleeting, the contraction receding as quickly as it had come on, there was no guarantee the next would be as kind. The end was in sight, and she pulled herself upright as the small group finished the walk through the palati halls and out onto the street.
Fresh air hit her and she took a deep gasp of it in, letting Selene and Stephanos guide her now to the carriage and giving a strained cry that was a mix of relief, terror, pain, and sadness. She was leaving behind everything she had known in doing this, leaving most of her family, all of her friends, everything she loved and held dear. In spite of Selene's extensive travelling, she had never been outside of Taengea before in her life, and to think that she was now about to leave for perhaps forever, that her child would not be born here with her mother and sisters around her, without Desma to hold her hand, it felt as if her heart was breaking. As soon as she could, Pia curled against her husband, tears streaming down her cheeks as she waited for the next pain, uncertain now of what to do without her nursemaid to guide her.