Chapter 15: The queen and the crown princess II

Queen Loretta was not an unreasonable mother-in-law. When Serena first lost her pregnancy, she too was devastated not only because the child she was carrying was her first grandchild, but because she sincerely liked Serena.

At that time, she was with Serena drinking some refreshments when suddenly, Serena said that her stomach hurts then she started bleeding. It was terrifying and she did not know what to do. Thankfully, they were in the Kensington house (Crown prince's residence) and there were ready physicians at bay.

It was horrendous. At first, she only thought that Serena was having a large pregnancy because how far along could she have been when she only got married to Geoffrey about 5 months ago? Thus, when she saw how the physicians had to use forceps to forcibly take the baby out, she was not only horrified but also flabbergasted. Turned out, Serena was already carrying the child for about 7 months.

It was not a miscarriage but a stillbirth. If she did not like Serena enough, not to mention blaming her for she knew she was pregnant then and though she skipped balls and only hosted a party once, it still could have affected the baby, she could have used it against her.

Pregnancy before marriage even in the lower nobility was a big no-no. Not only was it morally frowned upon, but it was also a ground for the paternity of the child to be questioned. Even if her son was only a poor baron from the countryside, she could have still put Serena on trial and consequently shamed her for life.

Thus, imagine the gravity of the consequences Serena could have faced when who she married was Geoffrey, her son, the crown prince of their kingdom. Even if Geoffrey loved Serena and wanted to protect her, he wouldn't have been able to do so if she, the queen, pursued the matter.

However, she did grow to like Serena and since she trusted her love for Geoffrey, she never questioned the paternity of the child. Instead of laying blame or questioning, she even sympathized and helped cover up the mess her pregnancy could have caused. Fortunately, the only ones present then was herself, the servants in the Kensington house, and Annalys, a young maiden, who could not have possibly understood what was going on.

After that, she did not pressure Serena for another pregnancy immediately because having gone through a miscarriage herself, to some degree, she knew what Serena was going through. Besides, Serena and her son were only in their first year of marriage, they can still take their time.

A year later, Serena was again pregnant. It was a happy event for them but given what happened in her first pregnancy, they became more prudent and did not make a public announcement. It proved to be a good decision because the pregnancy ended up in a miscarriage.

Queen Loretta had a foreboding feeling then but chose to ignore it. It was just a second pregnancy and at least she was certain that Serena had no fertility problems. Besides, Serena proved to be such a great asset that she was able to put queen consort Floresca on her place just a few months back.

Then came Serena's third pregnancy. This time, they took great lengths to ensure that the pregnancy could go through safely, but to their utter disappointment, the result have been the same, miscarriage.

Now, don't get queen Loretta wrong. She did sympathize with Serena considering all she did and that she did become pregnant with Geoffrey's child thrice. However, it did not change the fact that her womb wasn't strong enough to birth him a healthy child.

Geoffrey was the crown prince, the future king of Windsor. It was his duty for the custom of succession to produce an heir. Obviously, he has no problem in that department given he successfully impregnated Serena, and though some would say that he was only 25 then, arguably still young, being childless after 3 years of marriage still did not reflect kindly on him.

Although Geoffrey seems to have solid footing politically, Loretta knew that if the situation were to persist, those with political aspirations could use the issue of him being childless against him. It doesn't help that second prince Frederick who was only married the year before already had a male child of his own.

In the end, queen Loretta had to make a choice. Serena despite all her glory as the crown princess failed to accomplish her most important duty. Thus, reluctant as she was, she had to let go of Serena.

Initially, she still wanted to salvage their mother-daughter relationship by breaking matters to her gently. She reasoned to herself that although a second wife was needed for Geoffrey, it doesn't mean that their relationship should turn sour. So, knowing how smart Serena was, she only dropped hints here and there, hoping that she would follow like usual and come up with the suggestion herself.

However, contrary to her expectations, Serena still did not comprehend even after she already mentioned it a couple of times in several different occasions. She wanted to give Serena the benefit of doubt, so she simply interpreted it as Serena not intentionally playing dumb but being in denial. Given how much she loved Geoffrey, it was only to be expected.

Still, no matter, she had to break it to her. So, after a few months, she finally decided to table the matter plainly. Since she cared about Serena and how she would feel, she gently coaxed her that though a second wife was needed for Geoffrey, it was solely for him to have his heir and she (Serena) was still indisputably the crown princess.

She was so considerate of Serena that although she (Loretta) has always preferred Annalys, she did not even mention Annalys' name because Serena might feel threatened of her position given Annalys' family background. Instead, she told Serena that she can have free reign on who to choose as Geoffrey's second wife, it doesn't matter if she were some lowly noble, or whoever so long as she's acceptable and can bear Geoffrey a son.

However, time proved that her kindness was for naught.

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TBC