It had been several months since her marriage to Karis. The assassination attempts had died down for about a month after the execution of the five traitorous lords and ladies, but then they’d started up again. Imre and Ardatha had quietly prevented a few, but they’d been attacked five times so far on their way to and from various locations in the palace. Demetrios had tracked down two more lords, who had also been summarily executed and their deaths made public.
It didn’t seem to matter. His court was determined to remove her from her place as empress. They couldn’t convince him to leave her, though the occasional lord still tried that during the audiences. When persuasion or outright demands failed, they turned to trying to kill her. Sayana was growing tired of these lords and ladies who were fixated on destroying her and Karis’ happiness by killing her.
It was fall, and she was feeling decidedly ill that morning. She came out into the main room. “Your Imperial Majesty, are you all right?” Ardatha was concerned.
“No, I am not all right.” Sayana put one hand over her stomach. “Would you please call a doctor? I feel incredibly nauseous, and I need something to settle that before I get ready for my day.”
“Again?” Ardatha asked. “Your Imperial Majesty, you really need to get them to run a scan on you this time. You’ve been nauseous practically every morning for the past month.”
“I have?” Sayana was surprised by that. “Then yes, I will have the doctor scan me this morning.” Ardatha nodded and sent the request.
Twenty minutes later, the doctor arrived. He ran a scan on her and frowned. “Your Imperial Majesty, were you and the emperor by chance planning on having another child?”
“Another child? We never discussed it. I knew it was a possibility, given I’m not quite out of child-bearing years, but it never came up in our conversations.” She paused. “Are you saying I’m pregnant?”
“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. Without more thorough tests, I can’t say for sure how far along you are, but you are most definitely pregnant. I have something that will help with the nausea for now, but I highly recommend coming to the med lab as soon as possible so we can do a full work up on you.” He chose a small vial from his kit and set it in the hypo spray. He injected it into her wrist and a few seconds later, the nausea started to subside.
“Thank you.” Sayana sat and stared at him. “I will be down there at some point today. I can assure you of that.” The doctor nodded and turned and left. “Oh dear.” Sayana put her hand back over her stomach.
“We should get you ready for the day.” Ardatha watched her with growing concern. “Then you can decide how you’re going to tell His Imperial Majesty.”
“Imre, do not say a word to him about this.” Sayana looked at the valet. “I will tell him myself.”
“Of course, Your Imperial Majesty.” Imre nodded.
Sayana got ready for the day. She paused as she dressed and looked at herself in the mirror. She wasn’t showing yet, but it was only a matter of time. She noticed her breasts were already beginning to swell. “Ardatha, we need to let out the top of my dresses a little. I’ve probably gone up a full size.”
“We’ll take care of that while you’re at the council meeting today, Your Imperial Majesty.” Her sisters looked at her. Ardatha whispered to them. They looked at Sayana with some surprise.
“What color do you want to wear today?” Faviola asked after a moment’s silence. “Or do we need to ask?”
“Do I have any blue dresses I haven’t worn? Or one I haven’t worn in a long time?” Sayana felt the need for the comfort of her favorite color that morning.
“You haven’t worn most of these, Your Imperial Majesty.” Vai looked through the wardrobe. “Fashion changed three days ago, and we replaced all of your dresses and gowns two days ago.”
“Nothing too dark. I don’t want him thinking I’m in mourning over this. I’m just in shock.” She hadn’t expected to get pregnant so soon. They weren’t all that active. Then again, as she well knew, all it took was once at the right time.
“What about this one then?” Vai pulled out a soft, pale blue day dress with dark blue trim and tiny cerulites winking at key locations. “I know it looks formal, but this is a day dress, Your Imperial Majesty.”
“All right, Vai. I’ll take your word for it.” They got her dressed and did her hair in the usual braided coil for simplicity and sent her back out into the sitting room.
She sat and read until Karis came out. “Are you feeling all right, my heart? You are looking a little pale.”
“I’m not sure if I’m all right.” Sayana tried to smile but failed. “I’ll explain once you’re ready for your day.”
“All right.” Karis was obviously concerned. He disappeared back into the bedroom, followed a short while later by Imre and the rest of his servants.
When he emerged again, he came and sat down beside her. “Karis, you know I’m not out of childbearing years,” Sayana began.
“I was aware of that.” Karis watched her closely.
“Were you wanting more children?” Sayana asked.
Karis looked at her strangely. “I had not given it much thought, to be honest. I mean, I already do have five sons.”
“Well, we need to start thinking about it and quickly.” She took a deep breath. “Because according to the doctor I spoke with after waking up feeling nauseous again, I’m pregnant.”
“You are what?” Karis stared at her.
“I’m pregnant,” Sayana repeated.
“Do you know how far along you are?” he asked.
“I need to go to the med lab to determine that.” Sayana felt a chill of fear run down her spine. What if Karis didn’t want the child? Sayana wasn’t sure she could go through with an abortion.
“When do you want to go?” Karis asked.
“I was thinking of going after the council meeting.” Sayana watched him closely. “We can visit the princes after the audiences this afternoon. At that point we can tell them all the information we have about the baby.”
“All right.” Karis put a hand on her cheek. “I am not telling anyone about this right now. That puts you at an even higher risk.”
“I agree.” Sayana leaned into his touch. “We won’t be able to hide it forever. It will eventually become obvious. But we can refrain from saying anything for the time being.”
They ate breakfast and went to the council meeting. Sayana paid close attention to what was said, not wanting to be accused of losing focus. She voiced her opinion on a few matters that she felt she had something worthwhile to say. Geraint tried to counter her, but she blocked him with a different counter argument, and he subsided. Geraint was learning the hard way that debating Sayana was not a good idea, because she usually won.
After the council session, Karis and Sayana made their way to the med lab. “Your Imperial Majesties, how can we help you?” one of the doctors asked.
The doctor who’d treated Sayana earlier came out. “Your Imperial Majesty, are you ready for that checkup now?”
“I am.” Sayana was nervous.
“Lie down here.” He gestured to one of the beds. She settled herself on the bed and he began running an in-depth scan on her. He drew blood to test for potential early warning signs of any gestational diseases and then waited for the scan to complete. He checked the results. “It seems, Your Imperial Majesty, you are ten weeks pregnant. We could do a test to determine the gender of the baby now, but from the experiences we are aware of with the Imperial princes, we understand if you want to postpone until you’re a little farther along.”
“The invasive test compared to the non-invasive test?” Sayana asked. The man nodded. “I’ll wait for the non-invasive test. That can be done at twelve weeks, correct?”
“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.” He nodded. “You only have two weeks to wait.”
“Does she need to do anything differently now?” Karis asked.
“No wine or strong spirits, as that could adversely affect the baby.” The doctor looked at her scan. “Beyond that, we’ll synthesize some anti-nausea medication to help with the morning sickness. We should have suspected something like this with how often you were calling us for nausea help these past few weeks.”
“I remember the last time.” Sayana grimaced. “I was utterly miserable for several months.”
“Take the anti-nausea pills in the morning when the symptoms are at their worst and you should be fine, Your Imperial Majesty. Stay hydrated. Try to eat as healthily as possible, though I know that’s often not easy with the court foods.” The doctor knew as well as Sayana did that the head cook was good at ignoring their requests for healthy meals.
“I’ll do my best.” Sayana sat up.
“I’ll send you with some natal vitamins as well.” The doctor smiled at her. “They should be a good supplement for those nutrients you don’t get from the usual foods they serve at court meals.”
“Thank you.” Sayana was relieved that the baby would still be getting all the nutrition it needed.
“Take those with your breakfast in the morning. Your Imperial Majesty, are you still taking your nutrient replacements that we gave you?” He turned to Karis.
“Yes, and I am almost out so if you could send some more for me, I would appreciate it.” Karis looked like he’d just remembered something.
“Excellent to hear that you’re still taking them, and yes we’ll send you a new bottle when we send the empress her medications.” The doctor helped Sayana off the bed. “Now, I trust that you want this kept as quiet as possible?”
“We will announce it when we are ready, but for now we are keeping it a secret. It will not remain that way for long as we know she is going to start showing.” Karis wasn’t averse to the pregnancy as she’d first feared. That gave Sayana some relief.
The doctor nodded and the two left the med lab. Sayana remained quiet until they reached their rooms. “Do you think it’ll be another boy?”
“I do not know, my heart.” He smiled wryly. “With my previous record, it is possible.”
“I enjoyed raising Ethian.” Sayana paused. “What are we going to do with him, Karis? If I’m working as your partner, I won’t have the time to raise him. However, I don’t want some stranger that could be in the pay of one of our enemies near him. That could cost him his life.”
“I know, my heart.” Karis was obviously as concerned as she was. “I want us to be an active participant in his life. I know we are busy with the council and audiences, and you have taken over some of my paperwork. I could take back the paperwork and you could tend to him most of the time.”
“I would feel guilty.” Sayana shook her head. “I can tend to a baby and read. I’ve done it before. Working on paperwork and taking care of an infant, I can do. It’s the council and the audiences I can’t manage. I have to be there. We’ve established that and I won’t change that now. It would work against us in having the court accept me as your wife.”
“Your Imperial Majesties, we can be of some service there.” Imre spoke, getting their attention.
Karis and Sayana looked at Imre. Ardatha nodded. “We used to mind Ethian when you went to the high feasts, Your Imperial Majesty.” Ardatha reminded Sayana of something she’d almost forgotten. “When he was an infant. We can easily manage your child while you’re in your council meeting and at the audiences.”
“That’ll work while the baby is still an infant,” Sayana agreed. “What do we do when he becomes a toddler? I could barely manage Ethian at that point, he was so full of energy. That was when Reynard took over and helped me with him.”
“That is when we would need the extra help.” Karis frowned. “Because Imre and Ardatha are not going to be able to take care of a toddler and our needs at the same time.”
“Regrettably no,” Imre agreed. “You are our priority.”
“What about Lord Arken?” Ardatha’s eyes went wide as she spoke. “He and the others in the courtesan wing? It’s protected, it’s easily guarded, and no one gets in without his permission. He knows all the servants on sight. It would be an easy thing to have the Imperial guards watching the wing. How far along are you?”
“Ten weeks.” Sayana could see where Ardatha was going.
“All of the courtesans will be returned to their academies by the time the child is in need of more adequate surroundings than your rooms.” Imre added his voice to Ardatha’s suggestion. “Lord Arken will not have anything to do at that point, unless one of the princes decides to take on some courtesans in the future. Until that time, he could watch over the child.”
“Would he though? It might be a step down from guardian of the Imperial courtesans in his eyes.” Sayana could see how this would help, if Arken could be convinced to do it.
“Ask him, Your Imperial Majesties.” Ardatha seemed convinced of the idea. “The worst he can say is no.”
“Imre, ask Arken to come see us when he has a free moment.” Karis was at least going to entertain the idea.
“Wasn’t today the day the courtesans were spending with their sons?” Imre asked. “He should be free now.”
“I had forgotten today was the day I said they could go spend with their sons. It took longer to smooth things over with the academies than I thought it would.” Karis shook his head ruefully.
Arken arrived a short while later. “Your Imperial Majesties, you should have been in the wing this morning. The ladies were very excited. They could talk about nothing else last night and their anticipation only grew once the Imperial guards showed up to take them to the enclave. They were a little nervous as they have not seen their sons in five years, but they hope for a pleasant day with them.”
“I hope they all enjoy themselves.” Karis smiled at the courtesan master. “Arken, Sayana and I find ourselves in a situation that we hope you might help us with.”
“How can I help, Your Imperial Majesties?” Arken asked.
Sayana laid out her current condition and what they were asking him to do. “If you don’t feel that you can do this, please tell us and we will look for another solution,” Sayana concluded.
Arken smiled. “I am honored that you would consider trusting me with your child, Your Imperial Majesties. Once the courtesans were gone, I feared my usefulness as anything but a mid-tier information broker would be over. I would find it a pleasure to assist you in this.”
“Thank you, Lord Arken.” Sayana smiled back at him. “I can think of very few people I would be willing to trust with my child. You and Lord Tremere are among those few.”
“We will not break your trust in us, Your Imperial Majesty.” Arken bowed deeply. “I expect you want this kept a secret for now?” They nodded. “I will inform Tremere but let him know he is to keep it a secret.”
Arken left. “We should wait to tell the princes until after their day with their mothers. I know I suggested today after the audiences, but I don’t want to interrupt them.” Sayana wanted to leave them in peace. It was their last chance to see each other, and she didn’t want to take any time away from that.
“No, I agree. We can tell them tomorrow.” Karis was satisfied with that solution.
“What will we name the baby?” Sayana asked.
“We should wait to find out if we are having a boy or a girl before we decide on names.” Karis didn’t seem concerned with a name.
“I didn’t when I was pregnant with Ethian,” Sayana reminded him. “I came up with a boy’s name and a girl’s name. Ethian just happened to be what was chosen because he was a boy.”
“Good point.” Karis frowned in thought. “Let us work on our paperwork and think about it for a bit. If we have to resort to the naming books, we can.”
Sayana nodded and turned her attention to her paperwork. The doctors dropped off the bottles of pills and Ardatha and Imre took possession of them. They listened attentively as the doctor who delivered them gave instructions on their uses, though Imre already knew about Karis’ medication. Sayana returned her focus to her paperwork and tried to get as much done as possible before lunch.
After lunch came the audiences, and Karis was confronted with the usual round of petitions. A courtesan academy came and asked for assistance with a minor dispute with their lord governor and Karis agreed to help them with that. After a few hours, he let the seneschal know they were through for the day, and the seneschal called an end to the audiences.
They made their way back to their suite and got changed. Karis looked at Sayana. “Now, we should work on our paperwork while we have some time.”
“Yes, we should,” Sayana made a face. “I suppose we have court this evening?”
“Yes, we do.” Karis was amused by her distaste. “I know you do not like it, but we do have to go.”
“All right.” Sayana sighed. She pulled her pad out and began reading. At least this was something somewhat enjoyable, even if it was difficult work.
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