“I owe you big time, thanks again for switching shifts Ray!”
Ray smiled politely while listening to her senior colleague chirp her gratefulness regarding the changed shifts. Swiping her access badge, she entered the nurses’ lounge and headed to the change rooms. Dropping her bag onto the bench, she switched her cellphone to her other hand, fiddling with the lock on her locker.
“Sarah, I just got into work and have to get ready for shift, let’s catchup next time?”
“Oh, for sure,” the voice on the phone chirped. “Thanks again! I’ll tell you all about it when I get back. I’ll be sure to grab you a present too!”
Ending the call, Ray quickly slipped into her nursing scrubs. Pulling her hair into a neat bun, she slipped on her gold wire-framed glasses and headed out onto the floor.
-Neo-Natal Clinic-
The change over huddle saw an efficient exchange regarding the current cases they were dealing with. Moving to stand in front of the two-way glass enclosure, Ray smiled softly as she gazed at the incubators housing the many children in the clinic.
Slipping into the room, she went to the first incubator; happily noting the little patient was doing quite well since she last saw him.
“Hey buddy,” she whispered, slipping her hand in and watching as a tiny hand gripped her index finger. Wide black eyes stared back at her, a toothless smile emerging.
“You’re doing so great! You’ve gained weight, and almost all set to go home,” she debriefed him, as if he could understand her. “Be honest, it’s because of me – right? I’m the best, and your most favourite!”
A happy giggle was her response and she smiled along with him. She let the small baby amuse himself for a few moments more, before gently pulling her finger back before he could slip it into his mouth. A small nose scrunched up, and the tiny mouth opened preparing to let out an unhappy wail.
“Uw-”
“CODE PINK – REPEAT – CODE PINK IN PROGRESS IN THE NEO-NATAL CLINIC!”
Ray withdrew from the already crying child, as the hospital alarm system began wailing. Security measures had been triggered, red blinking lights and doors engaging automatic shut down.
“What is going on!” she questioned, running out and down the hallway towards a group of nurses crowded around a delivery room.
“Nobody move!”
She skidded to a stop, almost colliding into a co-worker. The scene at hand had her freezing in her tracks.
A wild-eyed woman held a gun in one hand, and a bloody screaming newborn in the other – clutched tightly against her. She was dressed in scrubs and a white overcoat, but the lack of badges and identification indicated she wasn’t hospital personnel. The wild look in her eyes was fearsome, as she backed herself up against a wall and madly waved the gun at any slight movement.
The screaming from the nearby delivery room only added to the chaos.
“Hold on doctor! Don’t move, we need to staunch the bleeding!”
“My baby! She has my baby!”
Security and the police broke onto the scene, weapons drawn. The sight only aggravated the perpetrator, and she fired a shot blindly into the crowd. Staff and civilians screamed, ducking down as a glass frame shattered and sprayed shards.
“No one move! This is my baby now. You let my baby die; it’s only right I get this one!”
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The hysterical woman shrieked, moving against the wall towards a stairwell exit. The screaming baby in her arms continued to wail, lack of oxygen tinting its skin purplish blue as it desperately tried to pull oxygen into its little lungs.
“Ma’am stop!” Ray desperately cried out, “The baby’s going to get hurt!”
“It’s my baby! I know what’s good for it,” she screamed back, gun trembling in her hand.
“Stand down!” an officer barked at Ray, cocking his gun at the woman and advancing slowly. Ray moved off to the side, stepping closer in parallel to the exit door the crazed woman was inching towards.
The approach only served to aggravate the woman more, and she made a desperate dash for the exit. The sudden movement caused an officer to fire at her widely, in an attempt to stop her.
“Idiots!” Ray swore swiftly, watching as missed shot stopped the woman but almost resulted in the baby being dropped. It’s wailing continued and Ray’s heart trembled at the heart wrenching cries. She slowly began inching towards the duo, shifting bit by bit.
“Ma’am, there’s no way out. We have all exits blocked. You’re surrounded,” the officer in charge firmly advised. “Drop the gun, and hand over the baby. We understand why you’re doing this, the courts will be understanding too. So, drop the weapon and turn yourself in.”
The woman slumped against the wall, tears streaking down her face.
“You understand?!” she screamed mockingly, smiling enragedly. “You understand what its like having your baby die? You understand what it’s like to lose the most precious thing of all?”
The stand off was tense, a heavy atmosphere settling over the area. The woman’s head snapped up suddenly, her hair messily framing her face as she tossed her head back and laughed.
“There’s no way out then?” she questioned, glancing around the floor, eyes finally stopping on Ray who froze her slow approach.
“Fine then, but if I couldn’t have my baby, then why does anyone deserve to have this one?!”
Screams erupted as she tossed the newborn forward, bringing her gun holding arm forward at the same time.
“No!”, yelled Ray, diving forward.
A small, soft mass collided into her arms and she desperately curled herself around it, at the same time another deafening shot rang out.
Colliding against the cold floor, Ray felt a hot stickiness pooling by her head. Her eyes blurred, colours and lights mixing as the noises blurred together.
I shouldn’t have switched shifts… was her last conscious thought as she succumbed to a colourless abyss.
----------------------------------------
Drip…
Drip…
Drip…
The methodically cool feeling hitting her face slowly brought Ray into consciousness. She let out a groan, struggling to open her eyes.
Death… this must be what death feels like, she dazedly thought.
It felt like she had a desert in her mouth, and she desperately tried to swallow, hoping it would provide some moisture in her mouth. The pounding headache rhythmically drummed behind her eyes, making them feel as if they would burst. It felt like a giant boulder was pressing her head down where she lay, and her eyes shifted uncomfortably behind closed lids.
However, a sharp and sudden bout of nausea had her rolling over swiftly to what she felt was the edge of a bed, and dry heaving. Sweetly bitter acid burned at her throat and she coughed hoarsely.
Still bent over the edge of the bed, she finally opened her eyes, squinting as grey stone floors came into view. She furrowed her brow and weakly braced herself against her elbows, supporting herself up.
After a slow struggle, she finally propped herself up and observed her surroundings.
“What the…”
Her voice was raspy and hoarse, and she licked her dry and cracked lips as she tried to figure out where she was.
The room she was in definitely wasn’t in a hospital, unless they transferred her to some bizarrely themed one.
She was atop a four-poster bed, with decent enough bed covers that were currently damp with what she could only hope was her sweat. There was a leak in the stone ceiling above her bed, probably the culprit regarding the water that woke her up.
There was fireplace across her bed, surrounded with well worn furniture and a small table. Amongst other things in the room were wooden dressers and chests, and a small vanity pushed up against the wall, next to a small window. A quick glance outside indicated it was some time in the night.
Ray paused in her perusal of the room, glancing back towards the window. Her brows knit in confusion as she noticed it was similar to an iron wrought gate, with small sections of glass between framed squares. She sat up straighter as she noticed the room was peculiarly illuminated by the fireplace and a few strategically placed candles. Where were the lights?
“-enters!”
A voice cut through the assessment of her current location, and the doors to her room swung open. A luxurious figure strode into the room, bringing in an almost unbearably sweet scent.
Ray’s body suddenly moved, as if on autopilot. Slipping down from the bed, her bare feet touched to cold stone floor and a shiver worked its way up her body. The thin cotton nightgown did little against the chill in the air, but without regard her body moved into a low curtesy - almost kneeling on the floor.
“This subject greets her majesty, blessings of good health and fortune to the Empress.”
The words flowed out of her mouth without thought, but it triggered an even heavier headache behind Ray’s eyes.
Her greeting was met with silence.
Ray’s weak body trembled in the curtesy position, and she looked up through her lashes to the one she so easily addressed as … Empress?
A rich wine-red skirt came into view, and her gaze continued upwards, taking in the ornate dress that glinted even in the dimly lit room. A fair and delicate collarbone led to a swan like neck and Ray’s eyes widened as she took in breath-taking features of the woman she was prostrated before.
White gold hair was intricately styled around a jewelled headpiece, providing a rich contrast to the jewels that lay atop of it. Delicate brows in the same colour framed almond shaped eyes, the colour of the Mediterranean Sea. Those very same eyes stared down a sharp nose, the contempt in them poorly hid.
Empress Calista…a soft voice echoed in Ray’s mind.
The Empress stared for a beat longer, before bringing forth a shallow smile.
“Rayyan, you may rise,” she advised, no warmth in her tone. “It is unbefitting for a consort to stand on formality, especially in your condition.”
The unfamiliarly similar name echoed in the quiet room, but the confusion surrounding that was the least of Ray’s concerns. Despite the reprieve advised to her, Ray found herself unable to move out of the curtesy. Her weak body struggled to hold the position, sweat dampening her back.
Empress Calista smiled mockingly at the lack of movement and tutted quietly.
“It’s good you still are aware of your position,” she cooed unkindly. “Just because you’re pregnant with his majesty’s child, does not change the fact you still are – and forever will be – a consort of this empire.”
The words sounded foreign to Ray’s ear, but they continued to spin around her.
Empire
His Majesty
Consort
But most of all –
Pregnant?!