A plea for help (Morgan, Abi, Gwen)

Abaigael was uncomfortable sitting in the throne beside her wife despite the fact that she'd been there several times since her coronation. It all just felt a little surreal to her; if she'd been told a year ago...or even a month ago that she would be married to Morgan Coughlan and crowned queen she would have laughed. Regardless of her feelings on the matter she was still sitting there, though she had taken to reaching across the space between herself and Morgan to gently grasp the other woman's hand. When the woman entered the audience chamber Abi had actually been turned towards her love, a grin plastered over her face as they talked about their own future children; she'd been offering up the most ridiculous names for their children in order to make Morgan laugh, and didn't even noticed Gwen's entrance until she was speaking.

She would immediately stifle the laughter that had been bubbling up in her chest before turning to smile at the woman. Her gaze would dance longingly over her swollen stomach, a foreign pang of jealousy assaulting her chest before she pushed it away. There was no place for it now. Upon hearing her thanks she would shake her head, "Oh, no. There is no need to thank us," she would say, offering the woman a friendly smile. After a moment she realized that the woman would provably be dying standing there as pregnant as she was, especially after traveling. She would gently squeeze Morgan's hand before standing and moving towards the doors, poking her head out and asking a servant quietly if they would bring an extra seat into the audience chambers. Afterwards she would move back towards Morgan, though she wouldn't sit again; it seemed almost rude to her. It didn't take long for the servant to arrive with a seat for the woman and Abi would offer the boy a gracious smile before gesturing for Gwen to have a seat. After she was seated she would smile once again at the woman, "What might we help you with?"

Gwen just stared in awe as one of the Queens requested a servant to retrieve a chair for her. She was desperately trying not to cry, but her entire world had been thrown upside down. When Queen Abi gestured for her to sit, she did as she was bid, even though she felt a bit rude while the Queen still stood. At the same time though, the Queen had gone to the trouble of requesting a chair and everything, how could she not sit? She would take a few moments to catch her breath, and then start with, "Thank you, my Queens, you are both most gracious." She truly meant it, them seeing her was her only hope and they were taking time out of their day to see her, virtually nobody. At least, not anymore.

Gwen's eyes started to water, "Oh, but I must thank ye. I have nowhere else to go, no one to ask for advice. I have never known a mother, she died giving birth to my brother and I. My father, Baron of Skyvale, has disowned me, for this shame I bring upon the family." Her lower lip started to tremble. Her hands lightly rested on her very swollen belly and the tears flowed freely now. "I can not tell him, you see, that the father of this babe is an evil, evil dead man. I know not what to do." She lifted an arm and wiped at her face with her sleeve. She lifted her gaze to the two beautiful Queens, and she was glad that there was no King. A King would frighten her into silence and despair. "Please, I beg of you, I confide in you in secret. I have told no one what I am to tell you. You must believe me. The K-k....king..." At which point she just starts to tremble and then just covers her face with her hands as if to hide the shame. As if not finishing it out loud would make it less real. She then rubs her face, as if trying to somehow give herself courage to continue. She took a deep breath and looked again to the Queens, rubbing the dirt and tears away from her face. She whispers now, "Please, do nae tell anyone. He said he would ruin my father if I did not do exactly what he wanted, when he wanted. He hurt me. He is dead and he still hurts me. You must believe me. I do not need much... I can work with children? I can sew... I do not even know if... if I will be able to even bare to look at this ... at this child. But no one can know who the father is. Please? That is a burden I do not wish this child to bare..."

She was so emotionally worn out that she just leaned back in the chair and wiped again at her eyes. She could only hope the Queens could come up with a possible solution for her current predicament. No one would marry a disowned, unwed mother that was carrying a bastard child. She would be too afraid of any man anyway. She had no means to care for a child at this point either, not on her own. Not unless she could maybe work here, or somehow find some sort of work. Even so, the rumors would spread and everyone would soon know that she had born a bastard. What sort of life would that be for a child?

The smile slipped from her face as she noticed the woman's eyes watering, feeling anxiety grip at her stomach. She felt as if accepting this woman's request for an audience was the wrong decision; it felt like something was about to go terribly wrong. That couldn't have been closer to the truth, as the woman spoke about not being able to tell her father who had gotten her with child, only to start crying and blubbered something about the King. The mention of the King caused a flash of pain across her back, though she knew it was merely in her mind. She would stare at the woman for a moment, horror filling her eyes as she spoke about possibly not even being able look at the child, though she didn't have much time to react before Morgan was on her feet and screaming at the girl. Abi would turn sharply to watch as Morgan blew up, fear pounding in her chest though she knew that Morgan would never turn that kind of anger upon her. No, she was afraid for the pregnant woman sitting in the middle of their audience chamber. She would quickly move after Morgan, grabbing her hand and gently tugging back on it, "Morgan..." she would start, shaking her head sharply as she feels panic trying to well up in her chest, "Morgan, you need to stop," she would say, her voice stern as she moves between Morgan and the pregnant woman. She would ignore Qwen for a moment and would lean up on her tiptoes, reaching up to cup her wife's face in her hands, "It's okay, calm down," she would say quietly, her voice no more than a whisper so that the pregnant woman couldn't hear her, "We don't need this child going anywhere else. And besides, how do you know that she was a...mistress?" she would ask quietly, not waiting for a response before gently removing her hands and turning back to look at Gwen. 

"You have to understand that this news is very unsettling for the both of us," she would say, though her tone suggested that she wasn't looking for a response, "It's a very difficult thing to process, perhaps you should have sent a letter first," she would say, trailing off for a moment before shaking her head. "Regardless, you are welcome to stay at our Palace until you give birth to the child, we require no services from you. But, I think it would be best for everybody involved if you surrendered the child into my custody," she would say, glancing once again at the woman's swollen stomach. She would emit a low sigh before shaking her head slightly, "I will find the child an appropriate guardian, without a woman who would be biased towards it because of who its father is," she would say, shrugging her shoulders. She wasn't trying to be cruel with the last statement, just honest.