The New Baby

"There's a baby inside here?" Conrart asked, laying a hand on his mother's stomach. Queen Cecilia had just announced to him that he was going to get a new brother or sister. When sweet little Prince Conrart asked where the baby was, he was surprised to learn that the baby is currently sleeping and growing in his mother's tummy. She had explained to him as well that was also the reason she had been throwing up in the mornings lately.

"That explains a lot," the little boy said in the-matter-of-fact way. The Queen looked at her younger son in confusion. "A lot of what, Connie?"

"Why you're grumpy nowadays..." he answered with innocent serious brown eyes, "Uncle Stoffel says you're so grumpy nowadays you're beginning to look like an old lady."

Gwendal, who was in the same room, made a noise that sounded a lot like an amused snort as Lady Celi set a few vendettas in her mind with a pulsing vein at her temple. Seeing the angry look on his mother's face, the younger prince decided to change the subject. If what Gwendal and Uncle Stoffel said was true about her anger, it was better to run or change the subject.

"When will the baby come?" Conrart asked again.

His mother told him.

"That long?" Conrart whined, almost pouting.

"Hey, scamp," Gwendal teased, walking over and picking his brother up, "I had to wait just as long for you when we found out you were coming." Brown eyes widened in shock. "I was in Mama? How did I get in there?"

"Well," Gwendal began, "It all started when Mother ate a watermelon seed..." he stopped noticing a dark look from his mother which said, continue if you dare. "Uh Connie... we'll tell you when you're fifty."

"No fair! No fair!" Conrart protested, wriggling out of his brother's arms.

"Oh, don't look at it that way Connie," his mother soothed, "It will give Gwendy and I plenty of time to teach you how to be a big brother... and a fun one too."

"Honto?" the little boy asked. "Why not?" Gwendal shrugged, "it'll give us all something to do until the br-" noticed Celi's infamous glare, "the baby, comes."

"Boy, oh boy!" Conrart yelled, jumping about undisturbed by his mother's sudden mood swings, "Being a big brother is going to be fun!" Gwendal faced palmed, this was going to be a long year...

"WHERE ARE MY *&(#%^?" they could hear their mother yell. Gwendal had to cover Conrart's innocent ears at the last word. Both boys were currently hiding deep in the library so they could escape the Queen's wrath. Conrart was not aware of the mood swings his mother was in mostly because Gwendal had first hand experiences and did not want Lil' Connie to be scarred by it as well. Conrart almost thought that his brother was afraid of women, even the name Anissina would scare his older brother.

The little boy looked from the storybook he was reading to his studios brother who sat besides him against the bookshelf, a question in mind. "What will the baby be like?" he asked.

"Who knows," Gwendal shrugged, not looking up from his book, "I didn't know what you'd be like till you were born."

"Oh," Conrart murmured and went back to his book. A thought entered his mind then, "Gwen?"

"What?"

"Will I be a good big brother?"

Only now Gwendal looked up from his study book. He looked into his brother's serious innocent brown eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," the little boy tried to answer, "you and Mama sometimes have a late important meetings. That means I'll have to babysit, right?"

"Maybe..." Gwendal answered carefully, wondering what his brother was getting at.

"What if the baby wakes up and won't go back to sleep?"

Gwendal shook his head and ruffled his brother's unruly brown hair. "Don't worry, Cub," he said, "I'm sure you'll be a good big brother. I know from experience when babies can't sleep." He pinched his Conrart's nose playfully then, making the little boy laugh.

Celi put down her pen and sighed as the baby gave another hard kick to her stomach. After Conrart and Gwendal, one would think that she would be used to the kicking but this baby kicked harder than Gwendal did. As for Conrart... Celi smiled indulgently, as active as he was now, she remembered how gentle he was with his kicks. Blissful days when just a tiny tap was needed to tell her that he wanted her.

"Mama..." a small voice called. Celi looked up from her desk and saw the serious little face of her younger son.

"What's the matter, little bear?"

"I'm not going to be your baby any more am I?"

"Oh Connie," she laughed, "Is that all?"

Conrart nodded seriously. Celi laughed at the serious look the little boy had. It was just too KAWAAAAAAIIIIII! She picked him up and showered him with kisses.

"You're as much as my baby as Gwendy is," she put a hand near her bulging stomach, "And this baby."

Conrart looked down at his mother's belly. "Does the baby move sometimes?"

"He does," Celi answered, "that's what makes me tired sometimes. And he kicks too."

"Wow!" Conrart murmured, filled with awe - wondering what magical power his mother possessed to have been able to help the baby grow and become a real living being.

"The baby's kicking now," Celi murmured, delighted with her son's fascination, "Would you like to feel him.. or her..."

"Can I?" Conrart murmured. His mother nodded. Ever so carefully Conrart laid a hand on his mother's stomach and felt the rythm of tiny kicking feet.

"He's dancing," Conrart murmured. Celi had to laugh again, now remembeirng that the child within her only gets active when his or her brothers are nearby. "He always seems to know when you're close by."

"Honto?" Conrart asked, his brown eyes widening still, "Does that mean I can talk to him?"

"Why not?"

Conrart laid his head near his mother's stomach. "Hi in there," he murmured, "I'm Connie, I'm your big brother, but I'm only your little big brother 'cause I'm not as old my- I mean our big brother. His name is Gwendal but I call him Aniiue..." from there he had quite a long one-sided conversation with the baby. Telling the baby everything he knew about Shin Makoku, about his friends, about his father and the baby's father – and of course, Gwendal. Lady Celi had to smile at the antics of her younger son, it seemed only yesterday Gwendal himself was talking to her stomach when she was pregnant with Conrart.

Months later...

"Night night, baby," Conrart murmured, patting his mother's bulging stomach, "I'll see you in the morning..."

The baby took his brother literally. "Uh oh," Celi murmured, feeling the cramps and warmth.

"Mama?" Conrart said in confusion, finding his mother breathing heavily.

"Get Healer Foren," his mother told him urgently, "the baby's coming!"

"HEEHHHH!" Conrart yelled, running, "FOREEEEEN!"

A week later...

Mo, little Conrart thought sleepily to himself as he looked at the tall cradle, how are any of us going to get to sleep with him around? The only answer to that question was another wail.

He had never thought having a baby around would be annoying. Though, he was the second to hold the baby, he didn't think the delicate little thing would be so boring and so noisy. The minute Wolfram had entered the world he screamed. That was not unusual since Gwendal told him he did the same thing when he was born. Though there were times he wondered he got excited over nothing...

Apart from crying, the only things Wolfram ever did for the past week was wriggle and leak. Conrart had to cover his nose the first time Lady Celi changed the baby's diaper. How could something so small make a smell so bad?

Right now, Conrart was having problems with a very tired and angry baby. When poking his finger in the cradle only resulted in nearly being yanked off, Conrart had to resort in taking the baby out of the cradle and rock him in his arms – but the baby still would not sleep. "Just let him know that he is loved," Lady Celi had said, "Then he'll go back to sleep."

"Easier said than done," Conrart grumbled to himself. As he walked aimlessly in the nursery with a crying baby in his arms – not to mention the little bundle of trouble had a good set of lungs. Little Conrart wondered how long it would be before the baby would scream him to deaf.

"Yosh, yosh," he said gently, "don't cwy, Pup, don't cwy Ra-ra is here...

It was then he spotted a rocking chair. Celi had that rocking char from the time Gwendal was born. Conrart remember all the times either Celi or Gwendal would rock him in that same rocking chair and allowed to pour out all his worldly troubles. The little prince wondered briefly if would have the same effect on the baby.

It did...

Just as Conrart started rocking and patiently humming slightly, Wolfram crying turned in to hiccups and eventually silence. Blissfull silence. Conrart lay back on the chair and sighed. Being a big brother is troublesome, he decided.

Conrart felt something wet on his finger, he looked down to find Wolfram sucking on it. The sight was so cute, Conrart forgot all about his anger and grumpiness. Instead, he just rocked in the rocking chair his baby brother in his arms.

I think I'll nap for a bit, Conrart thought to himself as he held his little brother securely. He leaned back against the soft warm pillow and allowed his eyes to close as he continued to rock the chair. Within minutes he fell asleep.

"Have you found him?" Lady Celi asked urgently. She and Gwendal had to present themselves in a meeting with the Ten Nobles and it had ended later than it should have. She had stopped by the babies room which had a closed door, when she heard nothing, it told her that Wolfram was asleep. But when she could not find Conrart in his room, Celi immediately called Gwendal and the guards to search the whole castle - quietly.

Gwendal shook his head. "We've checked everywhere except..." Realisation dawned uopn them. "The baby's room!"

They ran towards the baby's room , opened the door quickly and quietly and found both Conrart and the baby asleep in the rocking chair.

"He was in here the whole time," Gwendal sighed, exasperated. He blushed as he took in the mental picture. It was a cute sight afterall.

"We ought to put them to bed," Celi murmured smiling. She walked over and gently pried Wolfram from Conrart's embrace and laid him in the cot while Gwendal proceeded to lift the elder boy and walked out of the room, murmuring, "I'll put Connie to bed."

"He is just like you were when he was born," sadi his mother smiling.

"I know..." Gwendal murmured as Conrart stirred in his arms. He quickly went into the little boy's room then.

Conrart felt a strong pair of arms lifting him. He allowed the stranger to carry him until he heard a door open; he opened his tired brown eyes slightly to see long dark grey hair partially in the light. "Ah-Aniiue?" he yawned, noticing he was back in his room.

"Shh," Gwendal soothed, laying the boy down in his bed, "Just go back to sleep, Connie."

"What about Wol-fram?" he asked sleepily.

"He's asleep and been put into bed, don't worry," Gwendal murmured, laying the blanket over him, "you are a good big brother."

"Being a big brother is troublesome, but it's nice," the boy murmured, falling asleep. Gwendal grinned as he tucked in the sleeping boy. "Is it ever?" he murmured, kissing Conrart's hairline, "Sleep well, ototo."