“When the child is born, I expect to be notified immediately so we can proceed with a fatherhood examen,” Browan continued, ignoring her statement. “If the baby is mine, it will live with me in the castle, and will never know who his lying, poisonous whore of a mother is.”
Veria clutched at the bed post as sobs shook her entire body and weakened her legs further.
Browan left the room, slamming the door behind him, and Veria slid down the post until her bottom hit the cold stone floor, and her tears matched the downpour outside. She wasn’t sure how long she stayed there, crying on the floor, before she packed her clothes into a bag and made her way out to the carriage house to try to find a driver she could beg to take her to Longberme in the middle of the night in the rain and mud.
Upon seeing her tears, and her glaringly obvious condition, jutting out in front of her noticeably even as she was wrapped in her brown coat, the night shift stable boy took pity on her and agreed to go hitch up a carriage and wake one of the drivers.
“Fifteen minutes,” he said, and he rushed inside the carriage house with her bag, leaving Veria standing by herself in the pouring rain.
She didn't mind the rain—it hid the tears that had yet to cease their streams down her cheeks. But after only five minutes of standing out in the rain, her back began to ache, and she looked around for somewhere to sit. She stepped inside the carriage house and jumped when Virro appeared in front of her and grabbed her arms.
“Oh, Virro!” she cried, flinging herself into his thin arms.
I heard the stable boy waking the driver, for the Commander Lady. I had to come check.
Veria had the suspicion that Virro had been looking for her anyway, after that morning's reminder that he was only here in the castle to look over her for Daloes.
“I have to leave,” Veria said through short gasps of air. “He's making me leave. Will you tell Strelzar?”
I already sent him a message when I heard the stable boy. He should be here any—
They both turned to the sound of rapid footsteps sloshing through the mud. Strelzar ran into the carriage house and pulled her into his arms, winded from his mad dash.
“Are you alright? Did he hurt you? What did he say?” Strelzar fired off his string of questions as he panted to recover from the exertion.
“He didn't say much, only that I have to leave and if the baby is his he...he's going to take it. But he knows everything, and he was so angry, and spiteful,” Veria felt the sobs that she had just managed to quell working their way back up her throat.
She winced and grimaced as her back twinged.
“What? What is it?” Strelzar asked, his eyes filled with panic.
“It's nothing, I've just been standing for too long in the mud, and I need to sit,” Veria replied, rubbing her back, but as she said the words, she wasn't entirely convinced of them anymore. It wasn't the typical back soreness she had grown accustomed to waking up to every morning and going to bed with every night, or that lingered for hours after a walk that was just a few minutes too long.
But, it couldn't be anything besides that. She still had several weeks left.
Strelzar watched her face carefully, and she knew he was listening to her desires, one of which was 'please don't let this be what I think it is'.
“I'm getting Turqa,” Strelzar declared.
“Strelzar, it's nothing!” Veria said, as much to convince herself as him.
“Turqa went to Longberme for dinner and hasn't returned,” Virro mumbled out loud.
Veria snapped her head to him. “Why is he at Longberme?” she asked, a band of tightness in her abdomen gripping her and she clutched into Strelzar's firm shoulders.
“Doesn't matter,” Strelzar said shortly, his voice urgent and full of concern. “We have to get you to him immediately.”
-IX-
Sobs and whimpers pealed from her lips the entire ride to Longberme, which was taking twice as long as usual with the rain and mud. Virro had stayed behind, prepared to send any warning if the King came looking for Strelzar, or asking about Veria, and Strelzar sat across from her and let her squeeze his hand with each miserable, burning ripple of pain that seized her.
“Please don't do this in the carriage,” he begged, a hint of teasing to his voice that she assumed was for her benefit, to make her laugh.
“I don't understand!” she cried. “It's too early! It can't be happening. It's something else. Something's wrong.”
She doubled forward and clutched her abdomen as another vice of pain squeezed her middle. Her sobs became desperate and Strelzar rubbed her back to attempt to comfort her, but there was no comforting this level of pain. When she looked up at him, his face was filled with fear and agony. He was just as terrified as she was.
“Birdie, I can't stand to watch you like this,” he whispered, a sob catching in his throat and strangling his words. “In this pain...”
She breathed heavily, inhaling fully and exhaling slowly, trying to gain some relief from the stabbing and burning and squeezing whenever she had a momentary break from them. It was hardly noticeable in her drenched dress, but she was certain she felt the distinct rush of warm water down her legs that had signified progression to the harder portion of her labor with Irea.
“I don't want to have my baby in a carriage!” she cried as the reality finally sank in.
“Is that a possibility?” Strelzar asked, his face dropping and his eyes wide with panic. He had joked about it a moment before, but now that Veria was convinced, his face and tone were serious.
Veria bit her lip against a wave of pain that overtook her entire body and nodded fervently, unable to hardly breathe through the pain let alone speak through it. When it had passed, she was trembling and exhausted and looked up at him. “It's going so fast...I don't...it took all day the first time, and now...the waters ruptured. I don't know how long I have—it's only been three hours!”
“We have maybe an hour still, Veria,” Strelzar said as reassuringly as he could manage, even though she knew he was just as scared as she was. “Maybe less. The rain is lighter here, and...just hold on. Please. We will get you to Turqa.”
The pain continued to grow and grow, her sobs and whimpers turned to grunts and wails of agony, and her time between each body-gripping wave of pain grew shorter and shorter as they continued toward Longberme. Strelzar announced they had just passed through Bermedge, signifying they were very close to the estate.
She was starting to go dizzy from the pain and not being able to catch her breath against it, and the last fifteen minutes of the drive passed in a hazy blur of screaming and sweat. When they pulled up, Strelzar jumped out before the carriage had even stopped and rushed into the house, and the driver followed him, apparently eager to fetch the physician after listening to almost four hours of her laboring, as well.
Alone in the carriage, gripped by pain that she thought would kill her, Veria realized with horror that her body was bearing down with the squeeze of her abdomen of its own accord. When Turqa returned with Strelzar, both sprinting through the mud toward the carriage, Veria was hysterical.
“Turqa, I don't want to have my baby in this carriage!” she shrieked in panic, hardly able to breathe.
“Then let's get you out,” he said, reaching in for her arms.
“I can't move,” she argued, shaking her head. The pain was too much, she was drained of energy, and had no strength left in her body.
“Veria, I have a very important question,” Turqa said softly, his eyes calm as they surveyed her. “Have you felt like pushing?”
In lieu of a response, Veria nodded and sobbed hysterically.
“Alright, we need to get you out of here, dear,” he said.
“What is going on?” came a familiar voice, approaching from the house.
“Villicrey—what are you doing here?” Strelzar questioned.
“Madame Tanisca invited Turqa and I to dinner, and Irea wanted me to stay the night—is that Veria?” his voic
e went from drowsy and relatively calm to tinged with urgency and concern.
“Andon?!” she cried and another wave of pain threatened to rip her body in half as it worked to force its cargo out without her permission.
“Veria!” he called out as he pushed his way into the carriage with urgency. “What's going on?” he asked, his face suddenly going soft and calm again as he climbed into the carriage, surely for her benefit. She didn't need anyone else being as panicked as she was.
“I don't want to have this baby in here,” she whimpered, repeating the sentiment she had screamed and cried many times before.
“Alright, then let's get you out of here,” he said matter-of-factly, brushing a sweaty matte of hair from her forehead. Crouching down in the carriage, he scooped her into his arms, then stood and turned and hopped lightly down to the muddy ground with an audible slosh. The cool rain felt momentarily refreshing against her skin, every inch of which was covered in sweat and ached in pain.
The train of people, which included her mother, watching with tears in her eyes in a green satin dressing robe, followed Andon as he calmly and easily carried her inside, up the stairs, to what had been her room before she had moved to the castle. He laid her gently on the bed, and knelt down next to her face at its side, taking her sweaty right hand into both of his and stroking it comfortingly as Turqa went straight to work at the foot of the bed.
“Get her out of these sopping clothes,” Turqa ordered to Tanisca and Strelzar, who both looked like they were rooted in place with shock.
Andon beat them to it, standing calmly and letting go of her hand briefly to slide her arms out of her coat and pull it out from underneath her, and then unbuttoned the front of her dress, peeling it from her damp skin, as well, leaving her in her chemise. He resumed his position at her side, clasping her hand in his just in time for the next constricting, gripping vice of pain.
“It's too early!” she yelled and sobbed, fighting against her body as it tried to deliver the baby.
“It is early, Veria, but...from what I can tell so far, the baby is healthy, and we can deal with any issues once it's out,” Turqa said sternly. “So you have to stop fighting this, alright, dear? Next time you have to push. I promise this will all be over soon.”
Veria sobbed uncontrollably and shook her head, and she was too tired and drained to speak anymore.
“Veria,” Andon whispered, his face right next to hers, and she turned her head to look him in the eyes. “Just look at me, alright?” She nodded and swallowed and took a deep breath, feeling suddenly calm, that little window of tranquility he seemed to project over her anytime she was in pain, or stressed, or sad.
When the next wave of anguish clutched her entire body, she hardly felt concerned, and she did as she was instructed as Turqa talked her through the pushes. She just kept her eyes locked on Andon's, and he kept his eyes on her, his face completely serene and filled with affection, letting his calm extend to her as everything else around them seemed to fade to the background.
Her mother gasped happily behind Turqa, who assured her in his deep, confident, physician tone, “One more time, Veria.”
“Almost done,” Andon murmured, kissing the hand he held in both of his, his soft, warm voice sounding practically like a song to her.
She squeezed his hand as the 'one more time' came, an unbearable surge of splitting pain that threatened to tear her in half, but she remained calm and connected in their gaze as she gathered every bit of strength in her almost depleted body, willing it to finish the job it had started just a few hours before.
A rush of relief replaced the fiery pain throughout her entire body and she heard Tanisca crying behind Turqa, and Strelzar sighing in profound alleviation from a far corner of the room. She watched as a single tear fell down Andon's cheek as they baby's raspy cries filled the room.
“You did it,” he whispered, squeezing her hand.
“I couldn't have done it without you,” Veria whispered back, her lip trembling and throat tight, her entire body shaking as she tried to regain her breath.
He laughed softly, a smile taking over his whole face as more tears streamed down it. “I highly doubt the validity of that statement,” he said. “You might have had him in the carriage in the rain without me, but I'm sure you could have done it without me, nonetheless.”
“Him?” Veria asked, emotion breaking her voice and tears filling her eyes as Turqa placed the baby, who looked about half the size she remembered Irea being at birth, in her arms. Andon let her hand go so she could better cradle the baby and he could wipe his eyes.
“He looks like you,” Andon remarked fondly.
Tanisca broke into uncontrollable happy crying next to them. “He looks like Gordon,” she managed through her sobs.
Veria stared at the tiny baby, wrapped loosely in a cream blanket and nestled in her arm, mesmerized for several silent moments until Andon's calming effect seemed to wear off just enough for her to start to panic again.
“Are you sure he's alright?” she asked Turqa, looking up at him with wild eyes.
“You carried him over thirty-two weeks, which is certainly long enough, though I would be very careful in these first few months, as some of his organs will need time to fully develop. Namely his lungs,” Turqa explained. “I will check constantly, and see if there are any treatments I can administer to help him along. I would not recommend he leave the house until he is three months of age, and feeding him from the breast would provide the best nourishment to help him develop. And if Irea or anyone in the house becomes ill, they should not have any contact with him as he will have a harder time fighting sickness until he is several months old.”
“She's still terrified,” Strelzar muttered from the corner.
“I assure you, I'm very confident in his chances—” Turqa started, but Strelzar cut him off.
“Not of that. She wants to be the one to take care of him.”
“Well, I don't see why she wouldn't,” Turqa shrugged in confusion.
“Because if that baby belongs to Browan, he is taking him away, to live at the castle. Without her,” Strelzar explained.
“What?!” Andon snapped, turning to look at Strelzar in disbelief. Tanisca gasped in horror and covered her mouth next to him.
“Is he insane?” Turqa spat in disgust. “This infant is premature and needs his mother more than anything else to survive. Surely he would see reason—”
“He sent a pregnant woman out into the cold rain to make her way home and antagonized her so badly that she went into early labor, so no, I don't think he's much into seeing reason right now,” Strelzar said, his voice full of icy rage. “And as we speak, the carriage is on its way back to the castle, and it is only a matter of time before he knows about that baby.”
“This infant might not survive a trip to the castle, let alone his first few months without his mother, living amongst hundreds of staff and constant visitors,” Turqa shook his head. Scalding tears poured down Veria's cheeks and Andon placed a calming hand on her shoulder.
“Turqa...” Tanisca sputtered rushing to him and placing her hands on his chest. “We need to know if...”
He nodded. “Yes. We should know what we are dealing with here. Andon, are you ready?” he asked.
Andon nodded, and for the first time since she had arrived, Veria saw a flash of momentary panic on his face.
“Hold the baby, please,” Turqa instructed, and Andon scooped the tiny bundle out of Veria's arms.
Turqa went through the ritual, exposing the baby's little abdomen, placing a hand on it, and a hand on Andon's forearm. After several moments in which everyone in the room watched in tense, anxious silence, hardly breathing or moving or blinking an eye, Turqa's head dropped in defeat and he shook his head.
Veria immediately started to sob, feeling her heart plummet into her stomach.
Andon placed the baby back into her arms and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
“What are we going t
o do?” Veria wailed.
“I think one person in this room knows exactly what to do,” Strelzar said matter-of-factly.
Everyone looked around at each other in silence for several moments.
“I can't lie,” Turqa said. “He probably won't even allow me to perform the examen. He'll bring Pascha and a verifier.”
“He means me,” Tanisca sighed. “But, Strelzar, if they find out—”
“No, Tanisca,” Strelzar stopped her protest, holding a finger in front of him to signal she should cease, “I'm rarely impressed in my own element, so don't take this lightly or as a form of persuasion when I tell you that the deception you placed on Irea was some of the best work I have ever seen in person.”
Veria felt Andon go rigid against her at the mention of the deception that was placed to his detriment. Tanisca was at least sensitive to having the conversation in front of him, shooting both him and Veria an apologetic look as Strelzar continued.
“I promise you, if Veria and Willis didn't feel it, no Earth Mager in the world could,” he stated firmly. “They are the best. And they came into contact with her many times. And Pascha is not as good as Turqa, certainly not in physician skills. Nor Raken.”
“If we fail—if I fail...he will hang us all for treason,” Tanisca whimpered, and it was one of the few times in her life that Veria had seen her mother doubt herself. “Fire! We haven't even asked him if he's okay with it!” She threw her hands toward Andon.
Veria looked up at him, where he had perched himself next to her on the bed, looking over her shoulder at the baby that was not his, with a mix of wistfulness and the affection of a father.
“I'm not going to let this baby be put in harm's way again,” he said, not taking his eyes from him. “If this is what Veria needs, what the child needs, I'll do it. Of course, Tanisca. Do it. Everyone in this room knows you can. This time it will be for the better. A redemption.” He finally looked up at her, and she swallowed hard under his gaze, straightening her spine confidently.
“We can do it together,” Strelzar said. “It will be stronger, if that's what you're worried about. And you have two people here to test it until you get it right, although I'm not entirely sure it will take more than once. You were my student, after all.”
Daughter of the Diamond: Book IV of the Elementals Series Page 8
