Nerva is bright. Ever since she could form words, royal tutors have been shaping her to take the throne. The perfect picture for a Queen.

And she needs to be. With her half brother taking over the Chartan kingdom, she became the only option for ruler for Allaver. As a young Royal, she needs to prove herself. Not to her standards but society’s.

Above all else, she is kind, caring to those around her. One of those people is Louisa. Her best friend and lady in waiting. If Nerva is intellectually bright, Louisa is visibly bright. She shines in the best ways possible, always with a smile on her face.

Except she doesn’t right now.

“Louisa, what happened?” She knows not to ask if she is ok. Louisa gets this glassy glaze over her eyes when she is most definitely not well. It is worrying for both her and Nerva.

“Something,” Louisa simply states.

“Isa,” Nerva eyes her, not letting up until she spills.

Louisa’s head swivels, eyes shifting nervously. “Will we be interrupted?”

“No.”

With a giant breath, fingers tapping at her side, she avoids Nerva’s gaze. “I’ve found something out. Something concerning.”

The air between them tenses up. Louisa is a confident woman. Nerva cannot imagine what has got her anxieties so high. “You can tell me anything. I won’t judge.”

“It is not judgement that I fear,” she reassures. “I have a lot to ask of you.”

Nerva grasps her friend’s hand. “Anything,” she promises. Through her whole life, Louisa has been there, by her side. She’s been the constant in her tornado of a life.

Lifting her head up, eyes newly determined. “You and Redfal still having troubles with bearing a child?” Louisa asks.

It startles Nerva. If their hands weren’t connected, she would have taken a step back. While she has always tried to be open on the topic, she can’t help but feel hesitant. It is a vulnerable subject.

“What does this have to do with you?” Nerva shoots back, not necessarily avoiding the inquiry but confused.

Louisa lets out a shuddering breath. Her hand squeezes Nerva’s tightly. “Because I find myself with child, Nerva.”

A gasp escapes her mouth before she can stop it. Never in her wildest theories could she have come up with that. Louisa is the more responsible one between them. When Nerva would try to skip one lesson, Louisa would guide her back and say that each one is improtant. “What are you saying?”

“This child deserves two good parents.” Louisa’s words echo in Nerva’s mind, attempting to make sense of it. Once her brain connects the dots, she is floored. The gravity of what Louisa is asking of her comes crashing down on her.

“You know the father,” Nerva states, not a question. When it leaves her mouth, Louisa’s pinched expression is enough of an answer.

Her best friend nods, confirming what Nerva already guessed. “Yes and he is not a good man. If I were to raise this baby, he would find out. He would know. It will put this life in danger. He can **never** know of this.”

The emphasis on the last part has Nerva shivering with how steely she said them. This man did something terrible. There’s no other way Louisa would respond in this way otherwise. Louisa is a ray of light and someone tried to snuff it out.

“Are you certain? You always desired children.” Nerva thinks back to when they were young and would plan out their whole lives. What their weddings would be like. Future husbands. Their children’s names.

But whatever circumstances that this child came about, it is enough for Louisa to be certain. “I still do, but I do not have the luxury. If this child is to live a full and happy life, they need you.”

Louisa never asks for anything. She is the perfect lady in waiting and the finest friend. Redfal would follow what she wanted, so it was really Nerva’s decision, and she already knew her answer.

“I will do my best, my friend,” she promises.

“That is all I ask for,” Louisa says.

They embrace, arms tight around one another. Their bond strengthening even more with this deep conversation.

When they part, Nerva can’t help but feel giddy. It set in that she would have a child. She and Redfal yearned for children, but she appeared unable to conceive. It didn’t help that everyone expected children from the Queen and King by now already.

“Do you have a name in mind, Isa?” Nerva asks.

She shakes her head. “Well, this will be your child, Nerva. You and Redfal have naming rights.”

Mirroring Louisa, she shakes her head right back at her. She knows her best friend. Louisa just hasn’t let herself think about the child as hers. “I would love for you to pick two names, for a boy and a girl. I want this baby to have something of yours,” Nerva assures. It would be an honor to raise this child. It would be even better if her best friend would take part and leave the child with a name she chose.

“As you wish. For a boy, Cornell, close to my father’s name.” It can’t be exact. The father cannot know that this child is hers. Louisa’s eyes stare up to the ceiling, no doubt brainstorming girl names.

There is only one name that sticks in her mind. “For a girl, I always loved the name Covelle. Cove for short.”

“It’s perfect.”

———

(This is Queen Nerva from my More Than Blood series on here. It gives a bit of background on her and Louisa, which in the future is Nerva’s children’s royal doctor. It also serves as a bit of a reveal that Louisa is Cove’s biological mother.)