At the Keep

It was not unheard of for a woman to go into labor early, it was not even so early that Difyr would normally be too worried about the baby or mother.

But this was Pinja. Nothing about this pregnancy had gone easy for her, from the hellish conception followed by months of vomiting, the hormones, flashbacks, nightmares, terror. Bai was also concerned about someone, like Galina’s followers, wanting to steal the baby after it was born. The raiders clearly wanted to get her pregnant, tortured her for days but were careful to keep her alive, and according to Bai there was something ritualistic about what they had done to Pinja.

Bai was probably right. But all Difyr could do as a healer was to help Pinja get through this and to bring the baby into the world as healthy as possible. At least she was not alone. Aalyssa, the token elf, was going to help. Right now she was resting, catching some sleep when she was able to because they both anticipated Pinja’s labor taking a long time. Millicent was there too. Not that a seamstress was especially useful in childbirth, but she was Pinja’s best friend, one of the few people Pinja felt comfortable around. Millie was doing everything she could to be helpful. She would go fetch anything they needed, and would relay messages back and forth in the Keep. Difyr was glad that Pinja had her.

Difyr looked at Pinja. The girl was clearly scared, even more scared than most first time mothers were going into labor. “It will be okay.” Difyr assured her.

“It hurts.” Pinja whispered. Her voice had never completely healed despite Difyr and Aalyssa’s best efforts.

“I know.” Usually Difyr would be able to encourage women by telling them about how they would soon get to see their babies, hold them in their arms. But Pinja was giving her baby up for someone else to keep. She did not want this baby. From how Pinja had been during hte pregnancy, Difyr doubted Pinja would want ot hold her child or even see them. Considering where this baby came from, Difyr could not blame her for feeling the way she did. “You’re getting close to the end of this ordeal.” Difyr told her instead. “Soon you won’t be pregnant anymore, you can go on with your life.”