Lillyan blushed but led Alyssia up the stairs to the quarters set aside for the noble guests. "My lady, these are your rooms. For your entourage, they will be given rooms on the ground floor, unless you would prefer they share these rooms with you, in which case other accommodations will be made." She giggled nervously and dropped another curtsy.
Aery was faced with a dilemma. She was attempting to get dressed for dinner; she'd make an extra effort tonight since the whole court would be there for the presentation of the Terrasen ambassador. After selecting one of her favorite dark blue gowns and having one of the maids zip her into it, she realized it was rather tight around the belly... But she'd not been gaining much weight. She'd been eating so little, in fact, that she was losing it (though she didn't have much weight to start with.) She looked in her mirror to see what was going on... There was a bulge in her lower belly... She knew what it meant, and clapped her hands over her mouth in shock. Tears sprang to her eyes. She'd thought she'd been too young... She'd not had a monthly before, in any case, when the male guard had done that... [i]No, no, don't think about it, Aery, don't you DARE think about it.[/i] But here she was, and here was the evidence.
"I must make a social call on one of my companions." She said softly. Seeing the maid's raised eyebrow she shook her head vehemently. "Not THAT kind of friend. But nonetheless it is a matter of some urgency."
Without waiting for the undoubted comment about an escort, she sprang out of her rooms, half-sprinting down the stairs until she found Rowan's room. She knocked furiously. "Rowan? Rowan, please, I need help..." She was crying, one hand covering her mouth, the other pressing on her belly.