When Rae’s mother had given birth to Nukaim, it had been in a special chamber; sectioned off from the rest of the Shana’s Palace. The doors were sealed shut and painted with protective spells, the smell of healing balms choking the entire east wing.
Only the closest of attendants were allowed to enter, and the only male permitted was Duke Bejuk. Normally Nana, the Kaolin Shana’s maid and confidant, would be the best person to stay by her side through the ordeal.
But the Shakje needed to be attended to and no one could soothe him like Nana.
When the chamber was finally unsealed, Rae’s mother was gone. The scent of death filled the air. Rae and the Shak were allowed inside to see her spirit off. Nukaim’s tiny body, alive but too frail to last, was offered to the Shak first. When he left, he handed him off to Rae.
The maids were whispering of things like burials and wet nurses. Rae could only hold that tiny, quivering body, more fragile than any treasure he’d ever been permitted before.
“He’s your little brother,” Nana said, gently squeezing his shoulder. On her face was an expression Rae had never seen before. His Nana wasn’t an inevitable force of the heavens. For the first time, he looked at her and saw himself reflected.
Rae looked down at the baby, “what’s my brother’s name?”
He heard a heaving breath. Nana stroked his hand, still holding the infant.
“H-her majesty didn’t… he doesn’t have one yet,”
“Don’t cry, Nana,”
“How… My lady… my dear child…”
“Don’t worry, Nana. If Mama can’t, I’ll give him a good name and take care of him. I’ll take care of him for my whole life!”
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Duke Bejuk did eventually arrive, but the baby was too quick for him.
Rae had witnessed the birth from the Shana’s side, feeling utterly helpless. All he could think of to do was fold his cloak into a pillow and ease it under the Shana’s head.
Thank the heavens, it was quick. Or at least, it wasn’t as slow as he remembered Nukaim’s had been.
The baby was pink, plump, and loud. Only seconds after it came out, Sebi handed it over to Rae, along with his fur-lined cloak.
“Keep her warm,”
Her.
A flash of relief.
“Her?” the Shana asked.
“Yes. You’ve given birth to a healthy baby girl,”
If she was disappointed, she didn’t show it. The birth might have taken too much of her energy.
Just as Bejuk, Gaori, and Duke Ashem burst onto the scene, Sebi was busy tying off the umbilical cord.
“Laovin! Bejuk, you bastard, can’t you move faster!” Duke Ashem cried at the sight of his daughter on the ground, skirts hiked up and looking worse for wear. Seeing the newborn in Rae’s arms, he froze.
“Baba, it’s alright,”
“Is- is that?”
“Another granddaughter, Baba. Forgive me for worrying you,”
A pause. Then, he was snapping at Bejuk again.
“What are you waiting for? Are they both alright?”
Bejuk took the baby from Rae and studied her briefly before handing her off to Duke Ashem. He knelt beside the Shana, taking her wrist.
“The afterbirth?” he asked Sebi.
“Not yet complete, but progressing steadily,”
The Shana’s maids soon heard what had happened, and hurried to the clearing behind the palace to tend to their lady. When she felt well enough to move, they took her and the child back to the Shana’s palace.
They crowded into what was meant to be the birthing chamber, tearing down the now useless seals and spells. An area of the floor was piled with cushions, furs, and blankets, and the Shana was placed on top of them. Someone fetched a silk veil, to shield them against the view of the baby having its first feed.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Everyone else sat around a low table, talking of celebrations and blessings, birth weights and tea parties. On the table, there was a centrepiece of yellow chrysanthemums.
Rae joined this crowd, feeling more and more like he didn’t belong, but knowing the Dukes would want to speak to him when the excitement wore off. Sebi was sending furtive looks his way, between checking on the Shana and the baby. He distracted himself by studying the flowers. They were a lot like the infant, he thought, round, and sunny, and joyful, and heavy.
“Have you decided on a name yet?” Gaori asked.
Rae thought of Nukaim.
“Not yet,” The Shana said, “His late majesty chose all the other girls’ names, but he never told me what to call the next one…”
For these mountain people, naming a child could be left for several months, maybe as long as a year after the birth. Until then the baby might be known as Goo-goo, or Stinky, or Little-darling, or Infernal-screacher… or any other affectionate nickname.
However, the children of the Shak were normally named within a night or two. There were vassals living in distant camps, who were anxiously awaiting missives revealing the name of the newborn child. The name was the first gift the father gave them, spoken to him in the voice of the heavens themselves.
“It’s a terrible shame, for his majesty not to have seen his child. Even worse to have never received a name… a terrible shame,” Bejuk said.
“Truly a tragedy,” Rae said, not intending to lace his words with so much poison.
If anyone understood where his malice was coming from, they didn’t show it. Gaori was the exception.
“R-right… I’m… I’m going to return to my chambers. I should write to my parents to let them know the wonderful news!” he said, glancing at Rae in a way that said, you’re coming back with me?
Rae ignored him, addressing Bejuk.
“I’ll remain here. There are a few things I need to clarify with your Grace,”
Duke Ashem narrowed his eyes. Gaori glanced between him and Rae for a moment, before escaping, “congratulations on the safe delivery!”
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While silence solidified between the men, the maids hurried about, attending to the Shana’s needs. They fetched her tea, water, porridge, and blankets. They combed her hair and tidied her robes, whispering behind the modesty screen.
Sebi was studying Rae like a rare animal, his pale eyebrows furrowed.
Just as Duke Bejuk was clearing his throat, the Shana spoke:
“I’ve just realised: where is Baorin? Shouldn’t someone have fetched her by now?”
The maids all froze in place, eyes turning to Bejuk.
“Baorin?” Rae asked.
“She’s the one who’s going to be the wet nurse. Today was supposed to be her day off… has anyone gone to let her know the good news?”
“I was attending to Lady Baorin when I heard that Your Majesty had gone into labour…” Bejuk said.
The Shana pushed the gauze screen aside.
“Whatever can you mean? What has happened to her?” her face was pallid with fear.
“It seems our poisoner has struck again,” Duke Ashem sneered, looking at Rae, “which begs the question, why exactly were you luring my daughter away from the palace at such a precarious time?”
Rae sighed. He should have felt afraid. Duke Ashem bearing down on him with terrible accusations was the stuff of nightmares. But after the numb terror and the aged bitterness that came with the birth… he couldn’t muster those emotions anymore.
The letter the Shana had handed him so long ago, had been crumpled into a ball and hidden in Rae’s sleeve. He tried to smooth it, before presenting it to Bejuk.
“The Shana received this letter, a convincing forgery containing my seal, suggesting we meet privately. I received the Shana’s reply, asking me to meet her in the backwoods, and thought little of it.”
“For someone to have forged a letter using the Shak’s seal… who could it have been?” Bejuk studied the letter line-by-line.
“Isn’t it much more likely he wrote it himself? This story has too many holes. For one thing, why would you trust a letter sent by my daughter? You’ve barely ever spoken to her. And she had no reason to lure you out except to harm you,”
“Well…” Rae glanced at the Shana, “Young Master Ven and Young Master Zott have been assisting me in investigating the poisonings, and Her Majesty knew about that. We had spoken rather recently. So when I received a letter stating she wished to meet… I believed it to be genuine,”
“Well, that just goes to show how utterly stupid you are,”
A maid gasped and was shushed by the others.
Rae should have bit his tongue. He might have, if not for Ashem’s next words.
“It’s such a shame… It’s a good thing your father isn’t here to-”
Rae slammed his hand on the table.
“-To what? To acquiesce to all of your demands? To give you a grandson? An excuse to usurp my position? Not that you need one,”
“How dare-“
“-How dare I? How dare you?” Rae stood up, jabbing his finger at Ashem, “You dare bring my father up now?”
Duke Bejuk tried to place himself between them, facing Rae, “Your Majesty, please calm down,”
Over Bejuk’s shoulder, Ashem’s sneer was still visible, “You are nothing more than-“
“-Baba, that’s enough!” The Shana had passed the baby off to a maid. Her hand was raised, as if she was about to strike her father. She lowered it, her brow furrowed.
“Don’t say any more. I’m worried about the girls. Won’t you go check on them for me?”
Ashem was quiet for a moment. As was everyone else. Rae dared not look anyone in the face so his eyes fell on his shaking fists. He could hear his pulse.
“Alright, I’ll take my leave,” Duke Ashem said and strode away.
With him gone, the silence grew even more deafening.
“…”