The Reason for Marriage - Chapter 5.1

An heir…

Somehow, even though she knew what the finer details of marriage to a royal included, the thought hadn’t even crossed her mind until his asking a few moments before. The words swam around her ears, building a fire underneath the one true worry she had about this whole situation – she really didn’t know anything about him, did she? Everyone said he was an innocent, friendly, kind… and everything she could remember of him matched up with that assessment. But she had never known him then, either. And now this man she didn’t know was asking these questions, smiling all the while. Strange didn’t seem to cover it.

He knew that she could not refuse if she wanted to maintain the things she wanted. After all, the promise that she would keep her job at the Judicial Affair Bureau was one thing; a marriage to a royal meaning that she had a duty to produce an heir was entirely another. Iveca had never felt more like a chess piece, in a game played by figures far too large and mysterious for her to understand. 

“So you agree to my proposal, Iveca?”

She nodded, and Daniel smiled larger than she had ever seen him smile before.

His smile unfading, Iveca bowed her head slightly. She could hear him take a few sips of tea, see the image in her peripheral, before he put down the teacup and took her hand.

“Shall we?” he said. 

“Now?”

“There’s no time like the present, Iveca.” He continued to smile and pulled her to her feet. She did not resist the movement, allowing him to command her along through the door of the room, down a grand hallway with statues lining either side, before coming to another door. He opened it with a swift motion and led her inside. He must have known this room was here already, as the center of it was all but taken up by a huge bed, all white sheets and what seemed like a thousand pillows. 

“Iveca.”

She looked up and met his gaze. The smile on his face was so beautiful that she opened her mouth slightly without even realizing.

“There is no need to have such a… determined expression, my dear.”

She began to blush. “I’m sorry, I…”

“If you don’t like something, you can say no,” said Daniel. She believed this – whatever was going to happen would not be forced upon her.

“It’s not like that. I’m just a little…”

As she spoke, he pulled her arm gently and brought her over to the bed. Iveca sat gently, trying to make sense of something that didn’t seem could ever make sense. They had to produce an heir, she reasoned, and this part made some sense. She wondered what expression she was expected to actually have. 

“You can just do what your instincts tell you to do. Follow what feels natural…”

Daniel’s tone was more like reminiscing than instructing. Her instincts? She had no knowledge of this, nothing to guide her and make it feel natural. Daniel smiled at her again, and she presumed she must have had that serious expression on her face again. 

Iveca recalled the ‘How to Have a Child’ book, a well-thumbed instructional guide to reproduction that the Bureau library held. She had only read it once, shortly after her arrival at the Bureau, and she tried to remember exactly what the protocol she was expected to follow was. As it happened, she moved onto her back on the bed, raising the hem of her dressing gown and positioning her legs slightly apart. Daniel looked at her blankly for a moment, taken back by how quickly she had assumed the position. 

“You can do it… if you want…”

Ivecca stared up at him. Daniel blinked in confusion.

“What?”

“I said you can put it in… if you want.”

“Pardon?”

She was confused now. Did Daniel not know how this worked either? Surely, it was not the case that the King didn’t know how to have children, but his expression and general bewilderment at her actions was troubling her. She spoke almost verbatim from the book she remembered, explaining the actions and reactions in muted, scientific detail. It would have to do if they were both figuring out how this worked, she reasoned. 

“You put your manhood into my vagina.”

Daniel blinked again, but no words left his mouth. She continued explaining with an unconfident voice.

“When the semen is released, the sperm and egg meet and the egg is fertilized. The fertilized egg implants safely in the womb…”

“Wait, wait, Iveca.”

Daniel continued to look down to her, still laying with her legs slightly apart. He was blushing, and Iveca realized that he was embarrassed. Suddenly, she didn’t feel quite so inexperienced. 

“Did you say your last memory was when you were eighteen?”

Iveca nodded. Daniel swept his blond hair back from his face, which was contorted with the signs of thought and more awkward questions. 

“So you never received a formal… education, on sexual matters? Or if you did, you don’t remember it.”

She thought for a moment, trying to recall something she knew would never return to her, and nodded again. At this, Daniel looked a little more relieved and managed a smile. 

“That would explain a lot about how you’re reacting to this.”