A Husband for Deva

Seeking Knowledge

Deva woke in the night, her guts cramping. She lay still, holding her breath, until she felt the baby shift position inside her, a roll and a kick. You're still there, little one.

And when had that started, thinking of the movement inside her as a life, a little person? Precious, even.

Another spasm gripped her, and she rubbed the curve of her belly, trying to ease it. Is this normal? She peered through the darkness at Brialach, fast asleep beside her. She wanted to wake him, if only for comfort, but how would he know what these pains meant? And if she woke him and saw worry in his eyes instead of the reassurance she wanted? No. She heaved herself over onto her other side, curling away from him but snuggling her backside up against his warmth. And in his sleep he cuddled up to her and wrapped a strong, warm arm around her.

Sleep didn't come.

Deva, when she was quite young, had overheard one of her mother's ladies saying to another, "The babe died inside her." It meant nothing to her at the time, but now it echoed in her memory. The babe died inside her. So it was possible for something to go wrong.

I'll ask Ashlen about it in the morning, she thought, but then hesitation rose in her. Ashlen and Hal were hoping to be blessed with a baby too, and judging from Ashlen's smoothly-laced bodice and a certain expression of wistfulness Deva had caught in her sister-by-marriage's eyes, there'd been no sign yet of any happy news. It wouldn't be right to worry her with thoughts of losing a baby.

Would Bekra know anything about these pains? But... Bekra was barely older than Deva herself, and had no babies yet either. Gossip and third-hand tales couldn't give comfort like facts and research did. Like books.

Maybe one of the Fortress' libraries would have something. Not the Library of Tales or the Royal Library, but perhaps expectant motherhood was addressed somewhere in the Scientific Library or the Household Library.

I'll look tomorrow.

She closed her eyes.

                         ♥   ♥   ♥

"Volia tiya!  We have looked all morning for you!"

Startled by Brialach's voice, Deva tried to jump up from the low footstool where she sat, but her belly unbalanced her and she wobbled, dropping her book, toppling the little seat and falling to one knee.

She'd been lost in her own world, soothed by the dusty-sweet fragrance of the Scientific Library. Even before she could read, she'd liked hiding there, looking at the books with pictures in them – detailed ink drawings of plants and animals, rock formations, constellations, the structure of snowflakes. Happiness.

Ashlen picked up the fallen book while Brialach helped Deva to her feet. "You were looking at healers' books, caila?" the Islander woman asked, seeing the open page and noticing the other tomes stacked nearby.

"Oh. Well, no one tells me anything about what's normal and what to expect with... this," Deva rubbed a hand over her belly, "so I thought I'd look here for answers, but it's all myths and vagueness, not proper science. I can't even find a reasonable picture of what's happening to my insides. Useless."

Ashlen nodded. "That fits with everything else I've seen here, yes. The book you want is by a great healer of the desert lands, Tawak An-Amar – it was written long ago, but is still the best book on how our parts work and how babies grow in us. If your library has works translated from other tongues, it might be there."

"I hope so." But Deva's thoughts were focused on something else. "When I fell over, just now... did I see – that is, did I make some, you know, majka stuff?" The evanescent sparkles had been so tiny and faint, she couldn't be sure if she'd only imagined them.

"Yes," said Brialach, just as Ashlen agreed, "You did."

"But I wasn't wearing my torcha. How – ?"

Brialach shrugged. "The majka is in you; your torcha and bandhi only make it stronger, to take less strength and do more. And they are here, close enough for you to feel." He drew the familiar leather case from the bag he carried, and held it out to her.

"Why?"

Brialach looked at Ashlen, who answered for him. "Because you need to learn to use your majka. And why not here and now, caila? I do not think anyone will disturb us."

A cramp seized Deva's belly, and she waited for it to pass, hoping no sign of her discomfort and anxiety showed. That book Ashlen mentioned, she thought. I must find it. But Brialach had fastened the torcha around her neck and was tying the bandhi into her hair, while Ashlen placed a small ball of wool on the big reading desk in the middle of the library.

"New majkeidhi always start with a ball of wool," Ashlen explained. "Give it a push, try to roll it along."

Nothing happened.

"You must want it to happen. Just thinking about it won't push the ball," Brialach said, his tone all too reasonable and helpful.

Deva snapped at him, "I do want – oh!" The ball of wool shot off the table in a streak of violet light and hit a nearby bookcase.

Ashlen laughed. "Getting annoyed is one way to do it. But maybe you'd rather be inspired." She flicked a finger, and the ball of wool rose into the air and floated there, trailing a few golden sparks. She waved it toward Brialach, who laughed in turn and flipped it back at her with a twist of his hand to set it spinning. They played catch-with-no-hands for a minute, then Ashlen bounced the ball of wool toward Deva.

On pure instinct, she sent it wobbling back. "I did it!"

"Good! Keep going!" Ashlen spun the ball toward Brialach, who flipped it back to Deva.

None of them had heard the door open.

"I do beg your pardon for interrupting this most interesting game of yours," said Jenia.

___________

♥ I got really stuck trying to write this chapter. Like half a year of being stuck. Then TJ_Lockwood told me to just keep writing no matter what I thought of it. So I did. On another note (and I hadn't intended it), Jenia's back! What's she going to do?

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