Ewen held his breath before slowly exhaling. He was trying to manage his growing anger at the men in the private chamber. It had been over an hour since the meeting had started, a meeting necessitated by the arrival of a messenger from the west stating his desire to enter into negotiations to end the conflict between the two kingdoms. An end to the conflict was not what was causing Ewens growing anger. Every single man in there desired peace as much as Ewen did. It was the conditions for the peace that was the cause of the growing tension. King Augustus of the West desired the negotiations at the Eastern Castle with the King and his Queen present. Apart from the potential for treason, there was nothing that would persuade Ewen to take a pregnant Freya anywhere near the eastern castle where she had spent her childhood or near the king who had orchestrated the death of her father. Part of Ewens frustration stemmed from the fact that he had not yet informed any of his inner circle; the men who sat around him, of the Queen's pregnancy. Instead together, he and Freya had decided to keep it a secret for the time being.

The day that they had discovered that Freya was with child the weather had turned horrible. The cold wind and flurries of sleet had allowed them to concoct a story of the Queen having a slight fever and cold. As the weather had persisted for the rest of the week, Freya had been able to manage her nausea and vomiting through eating small amounts through the day and having some of the cook's ginger biscuits in the chamber for bad mornings. She still struggled to keep her meals down and Ewen was alarmed by the pallor of her face and the dark smudges under her eyes. Her personal maid had been sworn to silence under threat of execution to keep the secret of the pregnancy and it was she that secretly brought the biscuits into Ewens chamber and removed the evidence of Freya's morning sickness.

A loud voice brought Ewen back to the present.

'We have to accept the King's terms and meet with him,' boomed the loud voice of one of Ewens most trusted advisors, Marcus.

'The Queen can manage the ride to the east with ease and it will reassure Augustus that she is alive and well. Like your claim to the East'.

Ewen heard murmurs of agreement across the massive table. He tried hard to control his anger and phrase his answer with care.

'It is not the journey that concerns me,' he said evenly. 'It is the possibility of treachery. It is a long ride and the Queen has been ill.'

In the silence that followed, the one question that Ewen dreaded was asked.

'Is the Queen with child?'

Ewen waited to answer even as the silence in the chamber grew to uncomfortable lengths.

Eventually he conceded with reluctance.

'Yes,' he said, 'she is.'

There was another silence as that news sank in.

Ewen spoke again.

'If this is a trap with the Queen as a target, then the Eastern throne belongs to any man who can fight for it. My cousin, the Duke cannot hold the castle indefinitely without my assistance and without the Queen and the heir she carries I have no more claim to the East than Augustus does.'

The murmurs started then. Ewen thought rather ruefully that eventually the men in his inner circle had a better idea of what his concerns were.

'Why didn't you inform us from the start?'

Ewen rubbed his eyes tiredly before he answered.

'It was my thought that the fewer people who knew, the safer the Queen would be. I had hoped to delay the official announcement until peace could be achieved and when the Queen was in better health.'

There was another murmur at Ewens words. The discussion continued for the rest of the day, by the end of which Ewen had a terrible headache from containing his anger and frustrations. The final decision had been that they had to take the chance of peace and meet Augustus at the Eastern Castle. As soon as Freya could ride they would leave, their hopes and prayers would be that she would be able to manage the visit. The announcement of an heir could be made once she was safely back at Ewens home in Aberthy Castle.

Ewen felt a sense of heaviness as he returned to his private chambers. He would need to let Freya know of the expectations of the people. While he knew that she would agree unreservedly to their decision, it was he that worried about her.

It was only after the formalities and the traditional toast that Ewen and Freya could leave for the privacy of their chamber. In the warmth of their chamber, in front of the fire, he had gently removed her gown and stroked her breasts gently. Her nipples were already taking on a more dusky hue and her breasts felt slightly swollen in his hands. As he moved lower he found her already moist with her arousal and he had used his fingers to increase her arousal. Freya moaned and turned to face Ewen. He bent her gently over their bed. For a moment Freya had resisted. She blushed as she looked up at him briefly before she looked down again in shame.

'Does this way make you feel shame?' Ewen asked her softly.

'Yes,' Freya confessed in a whisper. 'It is the way that horses mate.'

Ewen pulled her closer to him gently and replied.

'It is indeed, but it can also be most pleasurable. Relax and let me show you.'

Freya nodded and stepped forward to bend over the bed again. This time Ewen reached for her breasts first and stroked them before moving his hands lower. He gently stroked between her legs, targeting the small bud there before he softly moved through her folds to her opening. Using his fingers he gently opened her up so that when he entered her there was no pain. As he thrust into her from behind he continued to stimulate her bud and her nipples with his hands. Under him Freya shuddered with the sensations. He could hear her breathing harder and faster. Her thighs quivered as he moved in and out of her. Too soon he found himself at his climax and he thrust deeply into her one more time before he pulled out of her and pulled her onto the bed in his embrace.

Freya was still breathing hard and her body shuddering from her pleasure. Ewen kissed her gently on her forehead. He did not know what he would do if something were to happen to her.