Claimed By The Tyrant King

Rosalind had just swallowed the food in her mouth when her hand instinctively flew to her forehead. Rowan’s gaze turned to her, clearly puzzled by the sudden reaction. "What’s wrong?"

"I forgot," she admitted, letting out a small sigh.

"I’ve been meaning to bring this up for a while now, but it just slipped my mind." She paused before muttering the last part more to herself than to him. "I’ve been forgetting things lately too."

Rowan’s expression softened. "I’ve heard that’s normal."

"It is?" Rosalind couldn’t help but be concerned.

"So they say." He responded.

Rosalind breathed out quietly before shaking her head. "I don’t particularly enjoy it."

"Fortunately, I remembered it now," Rowan replied before taking a sip from his wine. "Do you think now is a better time, or would you rather discuss it later?"

"No..." Rosalind answered gently. "Let’s talk about it now. If we leave it until later, one of us might forget again, and besides, we aren’t occupied with anything at the moment."

"I suppose you’re right." He agreed as well.

A comfortable silence settled between them as they continued eating for another moment before Rowan rested his cup back on the table. "You go first," he said. "I honestly have no idea how people decide on children’s names."

Rosalind almost clicked her tongue. "Are you leaving the difficult part to me?"

"I’m trusting your judgment." He answered smoothly with a curve on his lips.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, "That sounds suspiciously convenient."

Then she said, "I certainly have thought about some" earning a faint smile from him before she continued. "If it’s a girl... I have a few options."

Rowan placed his wine aside completely and gave her his full attention.

"What do you think about Eleanor... Lucia... Isabella..."

Her voice gradually trailed away as she studied his expression, hoping to tell what he was thinking before he even spoke.

Rowan quietly repeated each one in his mind, taking his time before answering. "They’re beautiful names, but..." He paused, searching for the right words. "I’m not sure I feel connected to any of them."

Instead of looking disappointed, Rosalind’s eyes brightened. "Really?"

He nodded.

"I thought you were simply going to tell me to choose whichever one I liked." Rosalind muttered.

"This is our child," Rowan replied. "I think we should both love the name."

Rosalind’s expression softened at those words as she had secretly hoped he would care enough to have his own opinions instead of leaving the decision entirely to her.

She said, "I still have more."

Rowan paid attention as Rosalind tried to remember the names she had been considering. "There’s Corinne... Madeline... and Marceline."

"Marceline does sound great," Rowan admitted after giving it some thought.

A pleased look crossed Rosalind’s face. "It’s actually one of my top three."

He looked at her with genuine curiosity. "I’d like to know the rest"

She didn’t answer immediately, almost as though she wanted to build a little suspense before finally saying, "There’s Penelope... Marceline and Estelle"

Rowan unconsciously repeated the names to himself.

His thoughts however settled on the last one. Estelle...

Princess Estelle.

For some reason, the last one stayed with him.

He found himself imagining calling that name years from now, picturing a little girl running through the palace gardens before hiding behind Rosalind whenever she got into trouble.

"Estelle," he finally said. "I think that’s the one."

Rosalind’s eyes widened with unmistakable delight. "Me too... Actually, that’s my favourite."

The corners of Rowan’s lips curled into a smile as he watched the excitement on her face. "I’m glad we managed to agree on one so quickly," he said, pleased that neither of them had needed to argue over it.

And without thinking, Rosalind rested a hand over her stomach. "Princess Estelle..."

She whispered the name quietly with a bright smile...

"It sounds lovely."

"It does."

For a brief moment they simply imagined the future. They both found themselves wondering what kind of little girl she would become if that was indeed the child they were expecting.

Eventually Rowan cleared his throat. "Although, we should still prepare ourselves in case it’s a boy instead."

Rosalind looked back at him and she smiled, saying, "I’ll let you go first on this one,"

"... Tristan" Rowan said.

Rosalind repeated it thoughtfully. "It’s a good name... although it reminds me a little of Drystan."

"I noticed that too." Rowan’s eyes narrowed.

She then continued eating while considering it. "Lucian sounds nice"

Rowan smiled faintly before saying, "It’s indeed a fine name, but it sounds rather close to Julian."

Rosalind paused halfway through another bite before she slowly nodded. "That’s actually true..."

"I’d rather people didn’t confuse the two." Rowan said thoughtfully.

Silence settled between them again as they both searched for another name that felt right. Every now and then, Rosalind would quietly say one to herself before dismissing it just as quickly, while Rowan seemed equally deep in thought, wanting to find one that somehow felt as though it belonged to their child.

"Well then... Ronan?" Rosalind suggested all of a sudden, glancing at him with an innocent expression that almost convinced him she was being serious.

Rowan looked at her for a long moment before letting out a quiet breath. "Very funny, Rosalind."

She couldn’t help the soft laugh that escaped her because she had expected that exact reaction.

It sounded far too close to his own name, and she could already imagine the confusion it would cause whenever someone called for one of them.

The amusement between them slowly faded, and another comfortable silence settled over the room.

Neither of them felt the need to rush the decision because they both knew this was a name their child would carry for the rest of their life. Rowan continued thinking, allowing one name after another to cross his mind before dismissing them.

Then, after a while, one finally remained. "Leander," he said quietly.

Rosalind slowed as she was eating, her hand pausing halfway to her mouth while she let the name settle in her mind. She repeated it softly under her breath, almost as though she was testing how it sounded.

"Leander..."

Her eyes gradually lifted to meet his.

"That’s... beautiful," she admitted honestly, searching for another word but finding that none seemed to suit it better. "I wasn’t expecting it to sound so lovely."

Rowan watched her reaction, and although he didn’t say anything immediately, he was pleased that she liked it just as much as he did.

Rosalind softly repeated the names to herself. "Prince Leander... Princess Estelle..."

A gentle warmth spread across her face before she looked back at Rowan. "They do kind of rhyme pretty well."

"They do," Rowan agreed, quietly hearing the names in his own mind as well.

Somehow, they sounded as though they had always belonged together.

Prince Leander and Princess Estelle...

All that remained now was for their little one to enter the world. Until then, the two names would stay safely in their hearts, waiting for the day they would finally be spoken with joy by two parents who were already looking forward to meeting their child.

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