Jillie
Swinging my feet out of bed, I sat up and stretched. Walking over to the mirror on my closet door, I placed my hand on my stomach. Pregnant. I shook my head. I wasn’t pregnant. Sure, I’d missed a menstrual cycle or two…or three, but I wasn’t even having morning sickness. It was just stress, stress from what was, at the time, unknown, and stress now from the wedding, which was now only a month away. I let out a deep breath and headed into the bathroom. Turning on the shower, I undressed before stepping inside. I let the hot water run along my body before washing myself and my hair. When I was done, I wrapped a towel around my body and one around my hair. I walked back into my room to find Jarren sitting on my bed.“I swear I locked the window.”He chuckled, amused. “Teya, let me in.”“Oh. Okay.” I stated, pulling out a bra and matching panties.“How do you feel?”I turned my back, rolling my eyes as I slipped into my bra. “Fine.”“No sickness?”“Nope.” I responded while popping the “p.”“Hmm.”“Reid was wrong,” I stated simply, pulling out some clothes.“No, I don’t think he was,” Jarren replied.“Then explain why there’s no change in my body. Why I have no morning sickness.”“I can’t explain that. I haven’t been around many pregnant women, especially those having a half-vampire baby. What I do know is that you’re pregnant. It’s either that or you suddenly have two heartbeats.”I turned to look at him. “What?”“I can hear the baby’s heartbeat. It’s a slow fluttering sound.” I placed my hand on my stomach. Even two months later, I was still in denial. I still didn’t believe I was pregnant and probably wouldn’t until I saw this small bundle growing inside me. It was even more challenging to believe because I didn’t want to be a statistic. I didn’t want to be a teenage mom. Yes, my fiancé and the father of my baby was over three hundred years old. That still didn’t make me feel any better. What would my parents say? Better yet, what would the people of his Kingdom say? How would they react?“Come here.” Jarren requested, pulling me from my thoughts. I walked over to him and stood between his legs. “Don’t worry about any of that. Our parents will be fine with it. They know we love each other, and they know grandkids are inevitable. As far as the other people, they won’t say anything. We’ll be married, and it’s none of their business.” He kissed my lips gently. “So, please relax. I can’t have you stressing more than you already are. It isn’t good for you and the baby.”I let out a deep breath. “Okay.” It sounded strange to hear him talk about a baby I wasn’t sure I was carrying. I mentally shook my head. There I was again with the denial.“Let’s get some breakfast,” I stated, slipping on my pants.“Where do you want to go?” Jarren asked. I furrowed my eyebrows. “Teya was on her way out when I got here.” He explained.I pouted. “But she always cooks breakfast on Saturday.”He chuckled. “You’re so spoiled. We’ll go get something.”I pulled my shirt over my head. “Or,” I started wrapping my arms around him. “You could make me breakfast.”He kissed my lips. “Definitely spoiled,” he mumbled against them.“Well, whose fault is that?”He bit my bottom lip. “I have no idea.”I moved away from him. “Come on. I’m hungry.”“So am I.” He informed me with a smirk as he reached out to grab me.“For food.” I countered, narrowly sidestepping him.“Fine.” He stated as he stood, heading for the door. “But I’m only making you pancakes.”“We’ll see about that,” I mumbled, slipping on my bracelet.“I heard that.”“Of course you did.” By the time I finished blow-drying, leaving my natural curls free, my stomach was making harsh demands for food. Going downstairs, I headed into the kitchen.“I thought you were just making me pancakes,” I stated with a smirk looking at all the food he’d cooked.“I did only make you pancakes. The rest is for the baby.” My smirk instantly fell. Don’t ask me why because I don’t know. I let out a deep breath.“Are you okay, Piccolo?”“Uh yeah. I’m fine.” I took a seat, and he placed a plate in front of me. I’d lost my appetite. But my stomach was still growling. My body was still demanding food. So I forced my way through about half before pushing the plate away.“You’re finished?” Jarren asked, eyeing me skeptically.“Yeah, I guess I wasn’t as hungry as I thought.”“Alright, you go get your shoes while I clean up, and we can go.” I nodded before heading upstairs. I slipped my feet into my shoes, ensured everything was unplugged, and turned off all the lights before heading downstairs. Naturally, the kitchen was spotless.“Jarren!” I called when I didn’t see him in the kitchen. “Jarren!”*I’m outside, Piccolo.*Rolling my eyes, I headed for the front door. He was leaning up against his car on the phone. I locked the door before heading over.“You know what? I’ll let you talk to her because I don’t know.” I heard him say before holding the phone out to me.“Hello,” I spoke.“Princess Jilliannah, I really need to go over a bunch of small details with you and Prince Jarren, and he’s just not being cooperative. No offense. We need flower arrangements, bouquets, ring pillows, tablecloths…”“Angela,” I spoke, cutting off our frantic Royal Wedding planner while glaring at Jarren. “We’ll be in later to take care of all that.” Before she could say anything else, I pushed the phone back to Jarren’s ear.“We’ll see you later, Angela.” He spoke before hanging up.“I should set you on fire,” I stated, sliding into the car.“Why?” He asked innocently once he was in the driver’s seat.I glared at him again. “Because you know I don’t like talking to her. She talks too fast, and it makes me dizzy.”“Maybe it’s not her talking. Maybe something else is making you dizzy.” He stated, pulling off.“Yeah. Maybe.” I responded. We pulled up to the caterer about fifteen minutes later. Since Jarren’s family and my mother’s side were Italian or of Italian descent and Caribbean, and my father’s side was of Indian descent, we decided to base our first wedding’s menu around that. Jarren took my hand as we exited the car and headed into the building. My Aunt Carla was already there waiting on us.“Hey, kiddos.” She greeted.“Hey.” We replied pretty close to unison. We wasted no time getting down to the taste testing. All of the appetizers were delicious. I knew it would be hard to make up my mind. The main course came next. The first three were delicious, but the fourth…well, I never got around to tasting it.“Ewww. What is that?” I asked, one hand over my mouth and the other over my stomach. “Can you please just take that away?” I asked, pushing the plate away. The rest of the tasting went on in the same fashion. There was always something that turned my stomach after that. Once we were done, we headed to the bakery where we were having our cake made. I wasn’t up to tasting anything else, so I decided to go with something safe—a simple white cake. To think I’d have to do this all over again.Jarren Jillie was more than tired by the time we’d finished everything, and she still had to go to her dress fittings. I stopped at an ice cream parlor and got her some vanilla ice cream. “I love you.” She stated, taking it and digging in. “Well, aren’t you easy to please?” I chuckled, amused. “I mean it. You always know exactly what I need.” I pulled out of the parking lot, and we headed toward her house. I glanced over at her when she let out a deep breath. “What’s wrong?” “Do I have to go to this fitting?” “Yes. Don’t you want to fit into your dresses?” “Well, yeah, but do I have to have them on the same day?” “It’ll be over before you know it.” It was quiet for a minute. “I think we should tell my parents you’re pregnant.” “Why?” She asked, spooning some more ice cream. I glanced at her. “Because maybe then you won’t be in denial.” “I’m not.” She responded quietly. “Whatever you say. Either way, we should tell them because if I can hear the baby
Jillie I watched as Jarren and Phoenix walked out of the library. I took a deep breath and laid my hand on my stomach gently.“She’s mad. Isn’t she?”“She’s just in shock, sweetie.” Grams told me.I shook my head. “No, I’m pretty sure she’s mad.”“She’ll come around,” Nunny informed me. “She sees herself in you. In this situation.” I leaned back in the chair, closing my eyes. I continued to rub small circles on my stomach as I felt the familiar sensation of a vision coming on, allowing it to lead me.“Mommy!” I looked around me and saw a beautiful little girl. She was about six years old. Her hair was a mass of black with curls at the ends. Her eyes were the brightest brown I’ve ever seen.“Mommy!” She called again, waving her hand in my direction. I walked the few steps over to where she was sitting on a swing. I looked around, and we were outside the palace. My hand flew to my mouth as I looked down at this beautiful little girl. She was s
Jillie“Ouch. Would you stop poking me?” I asked, becoming a bit irritated.“Well, if you’d hold still….” They mumbled.“What was that?”“Nothing, Your Highness.” I let out a deep breath—stupid dress fitting. I looked over to see Alyx with a grin on her face. I glared at her before rolling my eyes.“Someone’s not in a good mood.” She stated.“I’m really not. I had to meet with Angela early this morning. That took about three hours. Then, I had to go to my first fitting. That took almost two hours, and now I’m here. To top it all off, I have no idea where Jarren went.”“He’s not supposed to see your dresses before the wedding,” Alyx stated in a duh tone.“I know that. I want him to go get me something to eat. I’m starving.”Alyx laughed. “I’m sure we can find someone to get you something to eat.” She placed a hand on her stomach. She already looked as if she was about four months instead of two.“Well, let’s find that person as soon as possible. I get agitated when I’m…ouch.
Jarren“Prince Jarren, we must measure you for tomorrow’s event.” I looked up from the book I’d been reading to stare at Howard. He was delusional if he thought I was about to go to a fitting.“I’ll find something,” I replied before turning my attention back to the book.“But, Your Highness, the Queen has requested that-”“I said I’d find something.”He let out a deep breath before mumbling, “Her Majesty will kill me.” I held in a laugh as he exited the room. He was over-exaggerating. I never let him pick anything I wore to an event. He and my mother both knew that. I don’t understand why they thought it would change. I got back to my book and waited for Jillie to come back. She and Nunny were somewhere, probably in the garden. What they were doing was beyond me. I’d finished an entire book and was halfway through another one when I got tired of waiting. I closed the book and tossed it on the table. Walking out of the library, I walked through the many
Jarren “I’m not wearing this.” I looked up from my phone to see Jillie standing in the dressing room doorway. She wore a long floor-length ivory dress. Her hands were braced on her hips, and her face housed a frown. I furrowed my eyebrows.“Who gave you this?”She shrugged. “I don’t know. You have so many people running around me that keeping track is hard.”“Go change out of that, and we’ll go somewhere else.” I turned my attention back to my phone while waiting for her to change. I’d become a little addicted to this game that Jillie had downloaded.“I’m ready.” I stood up, pausing the game, before putting my phone in my pocket. I grabbed her hand and headed out of the shop. I went left towards another shop. This one was smaller and more practical. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought to bring her here, to begin with.“Prince Jarren. Princess Jilliannah.”I smiled at the store owner. “Hello, Caroline.”“What can I do for the two of you?”“I’m looking for
Jillie “Can we just do something simple? Like accentuating my natural curls, maybe?” I’d been sitting here trying to tell this hairstylist for the past twenty minutes that I didn’t want all these extravagant hairstyles she described. I just wanted something simple. “Princess Jilliannah, curls are just so plain.” “That’s what I want. Something plain.” She shook her head. “No, I believe you need something else. Let me think.” I was becoming frustrated.*Jarren, will you come in here, please?*
Jillie“Gosh, my belly just keeps growing,” Alyx stated while she looked in the mirror.“That’s because there’s a life in there,” Sage replied.“You still don’t know what you’re having?” I asked Alyx while fixing the straps on Sage’s dress.“No, but I don’t want to know until I have them, which is killing Mason,” she laughed.“I bet it is,” I responded.“Jillie, you picked beautiful dresses,” Sage complimented. “For both weddings.”“Thank you,” I responded. “I hate that Alyx won’t be in the first wedding, though.”“Girl, this belly will raise too many questions. I’m okay with it. That’s just less time I have to be on my feet,” she informed, causing us to laugh.“At least she’ll have Mason to cater to her every need that day,&rd
Jillie“Jillie! Is that you?!”“Yeah, it is, Mom!” I called back.“Come into the kitchen, please.”I walked into the kitchen, and she had flowers scattered everywhere. I picked up a few off the floor and placed them on the table.“What are you doing?” I asked, taking a seat.“Trying to come up with a centerpiece arrangement for the reception.”“I just wanted to do six white lilies with a brown rose in the middle,” I told her.“That’s a great idea, Jillie,” Aunt Carla stated, walking into the kitchen.“Hi, Aunt Carla, and thank you.”“It’s simple yet elegant.”“Do you know who’s going to do your hair yet?” Mom asked.“No, but I know how I want it. I’m also thinking about going completely dark brown, black.”“I like your hair the