[Lauchenoiria]

She just had to be stupid about it.

In the night, before the Robinsons slipped out, Natasha was tossing and turning, feeling guilty about just fleeing in the night without Kristofer knowing anything. She had loved him to begin with, or thought she did. Teen pregnancy scandal wasn’t exactly something Kerlians were taught to expect or fear. They’d been careful, of course – so either their protection had failed, or he hadn’t been entirely truthful with her. Probably the former, but one could never tell in the patriarchal countries.

Unable to sleep, Natasha had eventually made up her mind that to assuage her own guilt, she would have to tell Kristofer. In a moment which resembled the scene in the teen movie that has the entire cinema screaming “don’t be so stupid” at the screen, she snuck out of her room to find her prince.

The guards allowed her entry; this was not the first time she’d snuck into the Crown Prince’s room at night. They probably thought she was going there to do what had started this mess in the first place. Kristofer was reading in bed, and his face broke into a smile when he saw Natasha enter.

“Natasha! I was beginning to think you were angry with me, you haven’t come by in weeks,” he said, patting the bed beside him. She shook her head, instead perching on the edge of a chair in the corner. “Are you angry with me? What’s up?”

He had been so sweet to her as they rode horses together, and he taught her about Zongongian culture. She’d tried to teach him about Kerlile, but they’d only ended up making fun of it together. She laughed at all the jokes to seem as if she was in on them; as if she was laughing with him rather than him laughing at her country of birth. With the benefit of hindsight, it seemed like one way he hadn’t listened.

And the dates had been secretive but lovely. The rumours had spread regardless, and the other young women ended up hating her for it. She’d become very isolated aside from him and her immediate family as a result. But it’s not like he’d done it on purpose. Only, he hadn’t exactly reacted with surprise the time that journalist happened to stumble upon them in the middle of the Zongongian countryside. It had seemed like he almost expected it. She’d put it down to royal decorum.

The more she thought, in this moment, about how their relationship had progressed, the more red flags she saw flapping in the wind. All the things that Kerlile warned about were suddenly staring her right in the face. In her attempt at rejecting Kerlian propaganda, she seemed to have rejected the true parts among the lies and exaggerations. In some ways, her Kerlian upbringing made her more vulnerable.

“Nothing, this was a mistake, I should go,” Natasha stammered, rushing to get up and leave. But he was already in front of her, grabbing her hand and looking down at her with that look he always gave. She had thought it romantic, now it just seemed patronising.

“Natasha, I know something is wrong,” he murmured. “Is this about your sister?”

“No, no, that’s all resolved,” she quickly said, pulling back from him. He stepped forward, taking her hand again. In Kerlile this alone would be a crime, she thought, to take her hand when there was even a chance of interpreting her actions as rejection.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” he asked. She was between him and the chair, feeling trapped. She couldn’t work out what to do. A Zongongian woman would relent. A Kerlian would attack him. She couldn’t do either.

“Let me… I don’t… I can’t… You need to… I…” she desperately tried to find words. But it seemed she didn’t need to. He already suspected. He placed his hand on her stomach and she froze.

“Are you?” he asked softly.

“I…” she nodded.

“I thought so, the minute I discovered you’d acquired that many tests,” he said, shaking his head and walking over to a drawer, opening it and searching for something.

“I didn’t tell you because… wait, discovered what? How did you find that out?” she asked.

“Oh, they monitor everything you Kerlians bring into the palace,” he shrugged, still searching.

“And you asked them for the report?” she said.

“Well, of course, you were behaving oddly. Aha!” he exclaimed, turning around with a plain business card in his hand.

“I was behaving oddly, so you asked your country’s intelligence service to give you reports on me?” Natasha demanded. Kristofer hadn’t noticed her mood, and continued as if she hadn’t spoken.

“This is the details of a clinic in Greater Acadia, they can take care of it easily and discreetly; tons of my friends have sent their girlfriends there. Totally safe,” he tried to hand her the card and she took it in shock.

“I’m sorry, I’m having a hard time understanding this,” Natasha shook her head in disbelief. “You spy on me, and now you’re handing me a card for an Acadian abortion clinic like you’re recommending a new restaurant?”

“If you want to keep it, we’ll need to have the wedding as soon as possible,” he replied, frowning in confusion. “I assumed you wouldn’t. If you do, we’ll need to tell Father. But if you’re going to Acadia, he can’t find out or he’ll make us get married.”

“He’ll make us… what the hell, Kristofer!?” she shouted. “How is this your reaction!? Do you have any idea – any idea what you sound like right now!?”

“This is what all my friends do!” he replied defensively.

“And you don’t see a problem with that?”

He shrugged.

“Of course you don’t,” Natasha said to herself, laughing in disbelief. “Of course you don’t! Imogen was right, the patriarchy is well and truly alive in Zongongia. I’m such a fool. The biggest fool to come out of Kerlile in a century. Well you know what, Kristofer? You can go to the deepest level of hell.”

She shoved him out of the way, storming back to her rooms. She gathered her things quickly, then roused the others. Before Kristofer had time to process what had even happened, the remainder of the Kerlians were on their way south.