An Arragement Most Foul

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Annaliel turned to Coriella and smiled a bit, it made sense that she would approve of something like this. She then walked into the banquet hall with her husband and began to enjoy the feast with everyone. She talked with friends and family, happily discussing the baby and their plans for it. She stood by Constantine's side throughout the evening, not wanting to lose in him the crowd of people congradulating him. When teh page boy came over she looked up at her husband curiously, wonder what it could possibly be. She let him go but kept her eye on the clock, waiting for an hour to be up before she walked off with Coriella to the room Constantine had been taken too.
 
"I can't believe I let that page boy trick me into this!" Constantine said while posing in his chair. The artist laughed mockingly and painted onto the canvas gracefully. "It was all my idea and the King's so don't get mad at the poor boy! Now, stop talking and keep that chin up, up, up!" he replied. The Grand Duke was hoping that he'd never have to see himself in the odd attire with the powdered wig ever again, and now it was going to be immortalized on a large canvas. Forever. Coriella squealed in excitement when she walked in and saw what was going on, "I knew it! I just knew it! Your father had a painting done on the day of his dubbing, too! And, now, we can stick yours over the mantle right next to his!" As much as he wanted to protest to that, Constantine knew he couldn't or else Larenth would complain again. It seemed to have taken forever till he was done, and once he was he leaped up and stretched and walked out the door quickly. "I'll send the painting to Coriella, I suppose!" Larenth called out behind him, laughing. Constantine didn't even look back. On his way back down to the banquet hall, the King ran into him and he was summoned into the Meeting Room to sign bunches of papers that took another hour to sign. Finally, when he was free, the inaugaration was over and he walked slowly back to Annaliel with an odd smile, "Remind me to kill myself once we get home." He knew that this was how things were going to be for now on, but as he had been doing all day, he did his best to be okay with it.
 
When Annaliel entered as couldn't stop herself from giggling, seeing Constantine being painted in his outragous outfit which would be hung for future generations to see. She didn't say a word though and just watched for a bit as he tried to keep himself still, it was rather entertaining to say the least. She eventually left, going back to teh party before he was done, saying that she was going to continue talking with guests so that people wouldn't question where they wandered off too. After than she moved from group to group, drinking a glass of iced tea while others drank wine. She giggled and laugh and even started making plans for a few dinner parties, though she warned they wouldn't be held until after she and Constantine were settled with the baby. When Constantine came wandering over to her she smiled and quickly snatched a small glass of wine for him to drink, holding out to him as she looked at him curiously.

"Oh? So you plan to make me a widow so soon? You don't want to even stick around to see your unborn child? Oh no, I think you'll be staying alive whether you like it or not." She said teasingly as she sipped some of her tea.
 
Constantine laughed and hugged his wife at this statement and drank a bit of the wine before he mingled with the guests, all of them asking them same questions. He answered as best he could, and smiled intently. His reputation as the Grand Duke started now and he coudn't let anything spoil it, so he spoke very clearly and phrased each answer very carefully. He even saw a few old friends around and spoke with them briefly. After the banquet, Constantine rode home in Annaliel finding it quite hard to stay awake in the carriage. He made sure Annaliel was alright before going to bed himself, looking around the room before actually falling asleep. He knew his life was about to change in a lot of ways, especially once the baby was born.
 
Annaliel stayed but Constantine's side for the rest of the evening, talking and laughing with friends and family happily. The ride home was nice and quiet, both of them rather tired from all the celebration. She eagerly crawled into bed and fell asleep quickly, snoring lightly as she slept on her back. It was a peaceful night for them both, making it all the more a surprise when Annaliel woke up in the morning, feeling a small bit of pain in her stomach. At first it went away quickly and she didn't think much of it but it returned soon, along with a feel of weight shifting lower. It was then she realized what was happening...

The baby was coming.

She quickly placed a hand on Constantine's shoulder and shook it roughly, trying to wake him up and another contraction hit her.

"Constantine!...Constantine get up!"
 
Constantine groaned and then turned over. He was having a very good dream. About what he had no idea, but it was good and he didn't feel like being woken up from it. He shifted and tossed and turned a bit before sleepily opening his eyes a little at the sound of his name being called. It sounded like Annaliel, but he didn't take it seriously thinking that she must've been thirsty or something......
 
Annaliel gave a small groan as another contraction hit her, holding her stomach as she looked down at her husband. Appaerently shaking wasn't working, guess that ment she had to take up a different approch. She pulled her hand back, only to bring it down onto his side harshly.

"Constentine! GET. UP. NOW! The baby is coming!" She nearly yelled before she gave a small hiss of discomfort.
 
Constantine let out a yelp kind of like the sound of a chihuaua, rubbing his side and cursing. "BOLLOCKS, Annaliel! You don't have to be so hostile over a glass of water!!!!" he yelled back. It wasn't until he looked over at her, that he realized what she really wanted. "OH!!!!! CLAMIDIYA!!!!!! MARGUERITE!!!!!!" the Duke yelled to the maidservants as he ran out the door quickly and fell down the stairs roughly and hurt his ankle. Constantine laid there at the bottom of the step holding his leg and staring at the ceiling as the women ran upstairs quickly with a bowl of water and towels. God, I hope it won't be like this once this child is born....
 
Annaliel sighed a bit in relief as Constantine ran for the maids, though she fliched as she heard the loud stumble down the stairs. She hoped he was alright because she really couldn't go and check on him herself. The maids came in quickly and started to set up, getting Annaliel into a simpilar night gown and pulling off the silk sheets and replacing them with cotton ones at ligthening speed. Soon she was was back on the bed, leaning into a pile of pillows as she took slow breaths like the doctor had told her to do.
 
Constantine sat outside on the lawn in his pajamas with a cold towel on his ankle since the maids had told him not to come back upstairs. He could've just sat in the living room and waited, but he didn't want to hear any screaming, having had a similar experience a while ago with a married friend of his. He watched as the midwife walked inside the mansion quickly eyeing him suspiciously as he picked at the grass. He waited.......and waited......and waited. It wasn't long before Constantine had fallen asleep right there on the groud, and one of the maids quickly came forth to wake him up.......
 
The labor was long, much longer than Annaliel thougt it would be. She pushed and screamed and nearly broke one of the maids hands from squeezing it so hard. She cried and sobbed through most of it and she could easily be heard throughout the house. Finally, after hours of work and maids running about, the baby was born and crying loudly with its tiny lungs. Annaliel looked like she had just ben thought hell, her face flushed and her body covered in a layer of sweet. Her hair was a mess and she looked like she was about to fall asleep. The only thing that didn't cause the maids to worry was the large smile on her face as she looked down at the new born in her arms. A maid surried off to go get Constantine and bring him to the room as the others cleaned up the mess.
 
Constantine walked back into the bedroom as the maids quickly ran out. As he walked over to the bed, he could see the most precious newborn in Annaliel's arms, and he couldn't help but smile at the baby boy proudly. My son.... Constantine was speechless and beyond words as he sat down on the bed next to his wife who was smiling at the child, too. The baby cooed softly and the Duke let out a chuckle. Besides his throbbing ankle, today had started off wonderful, and as he thought of a brilliant future for him, he couldn't help but think of his own father. "What should we name him?" he whispered to Annaliel.
 
Annaliel looked up from the baby and smiled at him before looking back down at her little baby boy. As he sat don next to her she leaned into him tiredly, her arms unable to hug him since they were cradling the baby. When he asked about a name she thought quietly for a moment trying to figure out one for their little son. A small smile came to her lips as she looked back up at her husbands face.

"What about...Arelson?" She said softly.
 
Arelson...... Constantine imagined himself spending time with Arelson, taking him places, teaching him things, and playing with him..... "It's perfect! But, only, if you really want to. We aren't totally obliged to naming him after my father," he replied kissing both her and his son lightly on the forehead. He absolutely couldn't wait to watch him grow up, and the whole morning his mind centered around all of these new things that had happened to him not just after his father's death, but before he was engaged, too. He himself had changed a lot, as well in the process and when he looked at himself in the mirror, he could hardly believe it was still him. Constantine quickly got dressed and went out to go get his mother. He knew she'd be ecstatic to see Arelson. Especially, when she found out his name.
 
"I really want to Constantine, it is a perfect name for him." Annaliel said to him as she smiled at him.

For the rest of the morning Annliel stayed in bed with the baby, nursing him and cuddling him as she got back her energy. She would leave all of the letter sending and calling to her husband, she was far to tired to do anything other than rest. Maids came and went, bring her breakfast to eat and water to drink. She couldn't wait for everyone to come and see the baby, she wanted Arelson to have a very warm welcome into the world.
 
"Oh, isn't he just about the most adorable child! Arelson! So cute!" Coriella exclaimed, holding the baby in her arms a bit before giving him back to Annaliel, "I almost forgot! Here!" She passed Annaliel a golden signet ring with the initials A. E. carved on the sides and the Evingsdale family crest on the top. "It used to belong to Arelson, and you can now pass it down to this little Arelson once he gets old enough!" Elias and Donovan and their wives came in to see the baby, too, looking at his cute little face. While everyone conversated upstairs, Constantine got Annaliel's family, too to come over and look at the baby. He was proud of his new son, and wanted to make sure that everyone saw him.
 
Annaliel smiled up at everyone as they passed the baby around, allowing her to relax a bit as she still laid in the bed gathering her energy. She took the ring and the baby back into her arms and smiled a little more, glad to have gotten something so important for her little one. Eventually her own parents arrived, followed by her sisters and their husbands, all of them laughing and smiling as they looked upon the adorable newborn.

"Oh Annaliel, he's beautiful! He'll be so handsome when he grows up." Her mother said as she took a moment to hold the baby in her arms, her sisters circling around their mother in hopes of getting their own turn."
 
While Constantine was out, he ran into the Viscount who told him that the King wanted to speak with him, so he left the butler in charge of dismissing the guests and told him where he was headed so Annaliel would know, too. On approaching the castle, he was quickly greeted and escorted to the King's office by the guards. "I've been wanting to speak with you all morning, but I heard about the Duchess and decided it could wait a while," the King chuckled as Constantine entered the room, "Congratulations, by the way. I'm sure your son will be as great as both you and your father...Moving on to more pressing matters, I wanted to discuss with you your title as Grand Duke." Constantine sat down in a nearby chair slowly not surprised at all. "Yes, of course! I wanted to talk with you about it, too. I've heard of Grand Duke before, but....why do we need one here in Hemmingsway?" The King sat back in his own chair and stroked his beard. "The economy here and in Walsberg is beginning to drop and it's mostly beacause I'm hardly ever in this part of England, I'm always either in London or shlepping off somewhere in that area or in another country."

"What I'm saying is, someone has to be in charge of this part of England in my absence, so I talked with the rest of the Royal Court and we agreed to make you Grand Duke," the King replied as throughly as he could. Constantine's face went from confusion to shock and disbelief. "But....Your Highness......Wouldn't that mean I'd be handling a lot more on top of a Duke's regular duties? I-I'd hardly ever be home! And if was at home I'd be too busy to even spend time with my wife and child!" he exclaimed. "Well, don't put it, that way, Grand Duke Constantine, Your Grace. You make me sound like an ogre! Hahahaha! You'll have time for your family if you set things up accordingly, I assure you! Of course, it'll take some time to get used to and you won't be home half the time, at first, but don't you want this? Isn't this what Arelson wanted? You don't want to spoil your family's good name, right?" Constantine nodded in response. He did want this and he promised his father he would, but what would Annaliel think? His meeting with the King lasted for the rest of the day, and once he had gotten home it was already nighttime and everyone was gone and the house was quiet. Coming into the bedroom, and looking at Annaliel, he sighed softly and decided not to tell her. I don't want to spoil anything. I'll figure out a way. I have to!
 
Annaliel spent the morning talking with the guests and cuddling the baby happily, staying in bed for the whole time. She frowned a bit though when she learned that Constantine had been summoned by the king. She knew it was for work but she couldn't help but be a little mad, their son had just been born that morning and he was already getting busy! Eventually the guests left, leaving her to sit and cuddle her baby son while the maids went back and forth throughout the room, setting up a small temporary cradle until Annaliel had the strength to take the baby to the nursery.

As day slowly turned to evening she began to wonder where Constantine was, he had been gone nearly the whole day! She sighed a bit as she looked back to the baby, who was now nestled and sleeping in the crib beside the bed. She had a maid bring her some books and tea to pass the time until Constantine came home, though she quickly got through them all. When he walked in she smiled at him and set her book to the side, patting the spot next to her on the bed to tell him to sit with her.
 
Constantine laid down beside Annaliel, putting his arm around her. "How was the family? Did they really like Arelson?" he asked. He was going to try and enjoy that last few minutes of time he'd be able to spend with Annaliel and the baby. Of course, he didn't tell her that, but he made it clear that he was more than happy to be near both of them. Snuggling under the covers, he held his wife as close to him as he possibly could. Yes, things were definitely beginning to change for him. He was just now having trouble keeping up with it all, hoping that'd it'd all pass eventually.
 
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