The Reward of Anavrea

by Rachel Rossano

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Breathe with me...” Larissa broke into the breathing pattern that Jayne had taught her. Lirth followed her handmaiden’s lead. All the signs of the progressing delivery were normal, but something nagged at her as wrong.

  “A message from Commander Loxian, my lady.”

  Jayne turned to find one of the younger soldiers standing at attention next to her. Dirt covered his face, and a scrape streaked the left side of his face in blood. He carefully diverted his eyes from the women’s work that occupied her hands.

  “I will come out to speak to you in the hall in a moment,” Jayne replied. “I have something I must finish first.”

  Thankfully the boy didn’t protest but retreated to the hall. Jayne finished cleaning her hands and crossed to check on the queen’s progress. This birth was moving surprisingly quickly for a first birth. She predicted that the child would appear within an hour or two, only eight hours after the water broke.

  “Do you see this Fiora?” she asked her assistant.

  “Yes. She is almost ready for delivery right?”

  Jayne nodded. “The Kurios has heard my prayers. With His blessing we will deliver and hide her and the child before Klian breaches the walls.”

  “You think he will, my lady?” Fiora’s dark eyes widened with fear.

  “It is only a matter of time. Regardless, our first duty is to our queen. Warn Larissa that we are going to begin the pushing soon and coach her on what to do.”

  “I will.” She turned away to obey.

  Jayne wiped her hands on the apron that covered her front and walked to the door. The messenger leaned wearily against the wall in the corridor. He didn’t notice her approach, but when she appeared at his side, he straightened and greeted her with a salute.

  “Yes, soldier?” She acknowledged him with a smile. “What is your message?”

  “The commander said to inform you he expects the walls to fall within the hour. He is preparing to raise a defense in the keep, but he says it is only a matter of hours before we will be overrun.”

  Jayne frowned at the timing. That meant that the baby could arrive the same time as Klian and his men. There was nothing she could do about it. She wasn’t about to transport Lirth at this point in the birthing. All they could do was hope it was in the Kurios’ will for the child and mother to be spared. Please protect them, Father.

  “Any news from King Ireic, Lord Tremain, or the messengers?”

  “None, my lady. The commander expects nothing this soon anyway. What message should I give Loxian in return, my lady?” he asked.

  “Tell him to try everything to hold them back. The queen has not delivered, but she will within two hours. Also, thank him for all of his efforts.”

  “I shall, my lady.” Then with a salute, he rushed along the corridor toward the main hall.

  “Was that Larst?” Rowana asked as she approached from the opposite direction with a full water bucket in hand. In light of the fact that the siege was breaking, the water keeper handed out rations to any who asked. They would not need it in a matter of hours anyway, no matter what the outcome.

  “I don’t know his name, but he said the walls will fall within the hour. Give me that water and go find your sisters and all the women and children who are not occupied and bring them to the queen’s chambers. We will need a defensive system of our own to protect the queen.”

  “Won’t the child be here by then?”

  “I don’t know. Now go.”

  Rowana relinquished the heavy bucket and then rushed off to seek her sisters. Jayne lugged the water into the queen’s room.

  “How is she doing?” she asked Fiora in a whisper as she set the container down by the fire.

  “The contractions are coming fast and strong now. Everything appears normal, but something feels wrong.” The dark haired girl looked up at Jayne with worry in her eyes. “What is it?”

  Jayne frowned. “I have the same feeling, but I don’t think that we will find out until the child appears. Then, hopefully we will have time to adjust or prevent whatever it is.”

  “Could the child be wrong side up?”

  Jayne nodded. “Or a host of other things. Just pray the cord is in the right place.”

  Twenty minutes of comforting Lirth and organizing the women who were appearing with children in tow passed in a blur. Jayne felt the pressure of disappearing time as she ordered those under her in different directions. Finally as Rowana arrived with the last of them, Jayne gathered them together around the queen’s bed, because the Queen needed to hear the plan too.

  “We will hide the queen in plain sight,” Jayne explained. “Everyone will refer to her by another name, Adra. She will be just another one of us and since we have been all trapped in here together, she will appear to be a commoner being forced to deliver her child because it is her time.”

  A few of the women nodded.

  “Who will play the queen?” A sea of hands rose and eager voices volunteered. One of them was a young woman from the village. She was dark and lovely with the delicate facial structure of a woman above her station.

  “What is your name?” Jayne asked.

  “Loralie.” The young woman stepped forward.

  “Are you willing to play the role even if it might mean death?” Jayne didn’t have time to coddle. She needed to know at once if this one would have the nerve to face armed men shouting demands at her.

  Loralie didn’t even blink. “I am. What do you want me to do?”

  “In the far trunk are the Queen’s clothes. Find something that looks regal and put it on. Then practice. You need to be ready the moment the men come through the barricade.”

  “What barricade?” a young mother asked as she bounced her child on her hip.

  “We will block ourselves inside this room.” Jayne motioned around at the heavy furniture that graced the bedchamber. “I am sure we can create a sizable obstacle for them to get through.”

  “Ah.” One of the older women smiled mischievously. “I did this to my Ishmal once after an argument. Come on, I know just what to do.” She turned away and gave orders. The women obeyed; so, Jayne left the organization up to her while she returned her attention to the Queen.

  Face tight and pale, Lirth breathed her way through another contraction as Larissa mopped her forehead with a cool cloth in her free hand. Fiora knelt at the foot of the bed and monitored the baby’s progress.

  A burst from a battle horn drew Jayne’s attention to the window. As she reached it, the sickening groan of the heavy wooden gates below made her heart sink. The gates were falling, scattering men in their wake. The second line of defense unleashed a barrage of arrows as the last remnants of the first defense scrambled to retreat before Klian’s men. While standing on her toes, Jayne caught sight of Klian’s brightly glinting ornamental helmet in the second wave of men that climbed over the carcass of wood to enter the courtyard.

  “Jayne, the baby is coming,” Fiora yelled. Jayne reluctantly turned from the window.

  “Ryana, watch and tell me what is happening,” she instructed her sister as she turned toward the birthing. “I need to know when they enter the keep.” Ryana moved to obey as the women made the finishing touches on their barricade.

  “How much longer before they reach us?” Larissa asked.

  “Soon.” Jayne assessed the progress with a glance. “Lirth, I need you to push with the next contraction.”

  “Push?” Lirth laughed shakily as she sagged against the pillows.

  “You can do it,” Larissa coached.

  A contraction began and with a scream, Lirth pushed with all her might.

  “Good.” Jayne frowned at the movement of the child. The feeling in her chest increased. The head was about to crown and suddenly she knew she had to check something before it did. As the contraction subsided, Jayne held up a hand. “Don’t push again until I tell you.”

  Lirth whimpered, and Larissa nodded and whispered encouragement as she
eased the Queen back.

  With clean hands, Jayne tactilely checked the child’s position. Her heart eased when she found that it was head down. A breech birth would be complicated under normal circumstances. But then, her fingers found what had been causing the premonitions. The child was facing the wrong way. Passing through face up could mean serious damage to the child’s face, or worse the brain. “It is facing the wrong way.”

  “What do we do?” Fiora asked, panic lacing her voice.

  “Klian’s men are taking the keep,” Ryana announced. The sounds of battle changed direction. Instead of echoing around the open courtyard, the crashing and yelling rumbled through the depths of the vargar beyond the blocked door.

  “We turn the child,” Jayne told Fiora. Pausing to face the women, she said, “Gather around the bed. I am not sure how long this will take or how long it will be before they reach us, but I need a physical barrier between us and the door.”

  Not waiting to see if they obeyed her, Jayne rolled up her sleeves and got to work.

  “Can I push now?” Lirth asked. “I want to push.”

  “I know.” Jayne struggled to ease the child around, but it didn’t want to move. “For your child’s sake, refrain. If I can turn it, the rest of the birth will go smoothly.”

  Time seemed to slow. Vaguely aware of the press of bodies around her, Jayne concentrated on the task at hand. Ryana, her ear to the wall beside the door, continued to give a progress report as the death cries grew closer.

  Then the unborn child turned.

  “Push,” Jayne commanded.

  Lirth pushed as hard as she could, face straining red. A contraction hit and she screamed but continued to push. “Please, Kurios,” she cried with tears running down her face.

  Jayne’s heart joined the cry. Please Kurios!

  The top of the head appeared. “I see the head,” Fiora announced before turning away to get the prepared blankets.

  “Keep pushing,” Jayne instructed, but she could have saved her breath. With renewed strength, Lirth bore down hard, and the head emerged. The child took its first breath of life, filling its lungs. After the shoulders appeared, the rest quickly followed. The child let out a soft cry as Jayne lifted her into the light.

  “Congratulations, you have a girl,” Jayne announced. Lirth broke into joyful tears.

  “They are here,” Ryana announced as a loud hollow thud on the other side of the door resonated through the room.

  All joy gone, the women huddled closer as Jayne handed the princess to her assistant. Fiora would know what to do without Jayne’s prompting. Within moments, the tiny girl would be at her mother’s breast, hungrily feeding. Sadly, Jayne knew she didn’t have the time to enjoy the moment.

  More banging and shouts kept all eyes on the door hidden behind the avalanche of furniture. Somehow the women had even moved the wardrobe that Jayne could never budge.

  Taking a deep breath, she moved to wipe off her hands, but then hesitated. No, if Klian wanted her he would have to take her as she was, covered in blood, sweat, and other nasty things. Fiora would see to the afterbirth and the other tasks that still needed attention.

  A wall-shaking bang made her jump. They were using a battering ram. The door would fall in moments. Jayne lifted her eyes to the final obstacle between her and the future. Kurios, please give me strength. I place myself in Your perfect will. Kurios, I am Yours now and forever. I cannot face this on my own. Do not let my heart fail me now.

  Stepping through the crowd as they shied away from the door, Jayne made her final move. If she stood before the others, there was a possibility that Klian would forget to even look for the Queen. It was a small chance, but a possibility nonetheless. Placing her feet shoulder-width apart, she crossed her arms, ignoring the mess it made of her sleeves, and waited.

  “What happened here?” Klian demanded as he picked his way through the debris of the wardrobe.

  “A birth.”

  “A birth caused that?” He pointed to her bloodstained front. Jayne hadn’t uncrossed her arms. “Is the woman dead?”

  “No. She is the proud mother of a healthy girl-child.”

  “Proud?” He laughed without amusement. “How can anyone be proud of a female? It would be best to take it out and drown it in the nearest stream.”

  “Not while I live.”

  He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “My sources said that you had grown more shrewish with the absence of a strong male hand to guide you. Luckily, I am here to take over where your father quit.”

  “The beatings, the tongue lashings, the cruel punishments to make yourself feel superior. No, that shall not be.” Jayne kept her voice calm and pronounced each word with exaggerated care.

  “I shall do what I will with my property.”

  “I am not your property.”

  “Ah, but you will soon be.” He turned to the man at his left. “Bring in my village elder.”

  The man saluted and disappeared out the door.

  “I am of legal age, a fact you and my father tried to hide from me. I can refuse to marry you and there will be nothing you can do about it.”

  Klian smiled at that. It wasn’t a pleasant expression. Evil glinted in his eyes and he took on the look of a predator that had just cornered his next meal. “I don’t think you shall deny me given the right motivation.” Pointing to Rowana, he ordered, “Bring her here.”

  Rowana put up a fight, but it was only a matter of seconds before she was overcome. The soldier dragged her over, still immobilized, so she stood before Jayne.

  “Take one last look at your sister, Jayne. For in a moment, she will be dead.” Klian spat at the floor. “I will give you one minute.”

  Rowana’s dark eyes widened as she met Jayne’s gaze. Pain, sharper than any sword, pierced Jayne’s chest. It would come to this. She had known it, prepared for it, but it hurt more than she had anticipated.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “I will. Let her live and I will marry you.”

  “Pardon?” Klian leaned forward.

  “You heard me. Now release her.”

  Klian grinned triumphantly. “At last I have something you want.”

  “Set her free,” Jayne demanded.

  Klian laughed, but signaled for the guard to release Rowana. The child collapsed to the floor, stunned. Jayne stepped forward to kneel beside her, but a strong hand grabbed her upper arm and dragged her over before the fireplace. Klian followed.

  “Now where is that elder?”

  “Here,” a new soldier announced as he ushered in a stooped old man leaning on a gnarled cane.

  “Finally,” Klian grabbed Jayne’s wrist and nodded for her assailant to go help the old man. In a matter of minutes they were positioned, Klian grasped both of her hands, and the elder began to warble his speech.

  “We are gathered before this company...”

  So this is how the end will come? Jayne blinked back the tears as her heart screamed that this couldn’t be happening. It should be Liam standing before her. He should be the one holding her hand. Instead, Klian stood over her, crushing her fingers in his grasp and oozing triumph.

  “... now to exchange your vows.” The old man coughed raggedly, the spasm ripping through his lungs. Absentmindedly, Jayne noted that he had an infection and most likely wouldn’t last the winter. “Do you, Lord Klian, consent to take this woman as your wife?” The elder drew in a gasping breath.

  “Yes,” Klian answered, and then squeezed her hands harder, grinding the bones.

  The man cleared his throat with a phlegmy hack and then continued. “Do you, Lady Alain, consent to take this man as your husband?”

  Klian’s grip grew unbearable. Tears came to Jayne’s eyes, a combination of emotional and physical pain. This time she didn’t stop them. She didn’t care if Klian thought she was weak. She didn’t care what any of them thought. Her chest was throbbing as each beat of her heart seemed to rend it in two. It screamed for Liam all the while knowing he would
not come. Even if he wished, he could not make it in time to stop the inevitable.

  “She does not.”

  Jayne’s head came up at the sound of Liam’s familiar voice that seemed to be summoned from her desires. It couldn’t be possible. But, it was true. There he stood only a few feet inside the room. His sword gripped in his hand and fire in his eyes. Had she ever seen fire in his eyes before?

  “Oh, yes she does.” Klian tightened his grip. She could feel every joint as the sinews struggled to hold the bones together. “Say it, Jayne.”

  Turning so she faced Klian, she met his ice blue eyes. “Breaking my hand will not change my answer.”

  “Say it.” Madness flooded his eyes.

  “You break her hand, Klian, and I will kill you with my bare hands.”

  Hesitation lingered in Klian’s gaze as the insanity slipped past the barrier. “You will need more than your hands to kill me. Say it, Jayne, or I shall finish what I have started and kill off the rest of your siblings.”

  “Don’t listen to him, Jayne,” Liam’s voice turned calm and controlled. “Oran is wounded, but alive, and Urith has only a scratch. Klian has killed none of them.”

  “The woman isn’t willing?” the elder asked.

  “Silence,” Klian yelled, turning to glare at the elder.

  Jayne took the opportunity and dropped like a stone to the floor. Using his grip on her fingers as a fulcrum, she pulled him over her head. He fell forward, tripping over her and releasing her fingers to catch himself before he fell into the fire.

  The moment her fingers were free, Jayne scrambled on hands and knees away from Klian. However, doing so didn’t give her much opportunity to assess where everyone was. She rose to her feet a safe distance away to find that Klian was between her and Liam and the door.

  “You haven’t bested me yet,” Klian roared. Grabbing a slender log from the pile next to the hearth, he plunged it into the flames. Dry and eager, it welcomed the flame’s hungry touch and flared.

  He brandished it toward Liam threateningly. Liam stepped back from its heat. Then swinging around, Klian held it up between himself and Jayne.