Not even a day had passed when Mother calmly announced that she was about to enter labor, sending the Marquess off to the Sanctum to retrieve the Countess and inform the Empress of this event, leaving me to look after Mother as I settled her onto a bed, her serene and calm smile as she sunk into the sheets at odds with what was about to happen.
"I am not as thick headed as you think I am, Katherine. Last night I thought on it some more, and I... realize just how idiotic it was to think that I failed you. I mean, even if I had, you turned out far better than I could have ever hoped, so if this is me 'failing' my child, well..."
She gave me a reassured grin before looking up towards the ceiling, continuing on even as I frantically made sure everything was clean and ready for what was to come.
