The Queen of Dawn

Chapter 9

A week later, Azora was beginning to recover, and she was now propped up on her pillows, being spoonfed chicken soup.

Another maid brought in a concoction of Honey, lemon and brandy, which they held to her lips, and she swallowed the drink with disgust.

She motioned for one of her Ladies in Waiting, a married woman of 23, to come closer to her bed. She cleared her throat, which now enabled her to speak.

"Pray do tell, where is Lady Madeline?" Her voice was husky, but still audible.

The Lady in Waiting replied quickly.
"She is sick my Lady."

"Has no doctor attended to her?"

"I am afraid not, my Queen."

Azora felt her heart beat and her stomach feel nausous. What if she had caught the fever too? What if she died?

"Send my doctor to her, immediately." Azora commanded.

The kady in waiting looked up at her in surprise but did as her Queen said and sent a maid to fetch the doctor.
***
Half an hour passed, and Azora lay in her bed in anguish. Her left fingers rapped against the sheets, and she bit her right fingernails. She could not wait anymore. Would her only friend die? Azora completely forgot all about the discovered affair between her friend and husband, and  jumoed out of her bed.

She ordered the surprised maids to dress her, and at first her Ladies in Waiting warned her, but she ignored them and headed to her friends chamber.

As Azora reached the door, the doctor left, with a solemn look on his face. He quickly bowed in reverance at the sight of Azora, and kissed her outstretched hand.

"My Queen, what are you doing here, you cannot possibly be well? You must rest!"

She furrowed her brows.
"I came to see my friend. How is she? Is she well?"

"My Queen Im afraid I cannot-"

Azora felt a tear slip out of her eye, and she quickly brushed it away.
"Please I must know, I cant let her die!"

The doctor glanced at her with pity before sighing.

"May I?"

Azora nodded and he leaned forward to whisper in her ear.
"Im afraid she is pregnant."

Azora felt her stomach drop.
"How many weeks."
Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Three."

Azora could hear no more, she dashed into the room.

The scent of vomit was the first thing she noticed, the second was her friend, sobbing on her bed.

"Oh Maddy." Azora sighed, rushing to her friends side and wrapping her arms around her.

Madeline sobbed into Azoras shoulder.

"Ssssshhh everything will be alright." Azora comforted the distraught girl.

She knew everything would not be alright. Her husband would have another bastard child, and she tried not to cry at the betrayal.

Azora feigned innocence so she didnt jump to conclusions.

"Do you know who the father is?"

Azora hoped Maddy had found a suitable husband to marry quickly and pretend the child was his, but instead she got an answer that confirmed her suspicions.

"No, I do not."
Maddys eyes darted everywhere around the room except for Azora. She looked down at her hands in her lap.

Azora reached out to touch Maddys abdomen, she had to stop herself from bursting into tears. Maddy had no bump yet, just a firming stomach.

Azora oulled her hand away after a few seconds of blissful silence, and got up to leave.
She hugged her friend, even though she wished to slap her, but she clutched her tightly and then pulled away.

"The doctor says you are three weeks along."

Maddy nodded sheepishly.

Azor made her way towards the door, but before she left, she turned her face to Maddys. She tried to keep her face as expressionless as she could.

"I guess you have been seeing him longer than I thought. I thought it was a longtime drunk thing. Apparently it was from the time you arrived here."

Azora turned and left the room, leaving a shocked Maddy to the darkness of the night.
***
Azora waited until the maids had finished braiding her hair and left, before she collapsed on her bed and sobbed.

She longed for a babe in her belly; and for her parents to be proud of her for producing an heir.
She turned over onto her back and got under the covers, trying to fall asleep, but she just couldnt. The heat was too much.

With a frustrated sigh, she threw the covers away from her and made her way to the window.
She sat down on the window seat, and stared out at the city beyond the palace walls.

She noticed two figures make their way towards each other in the courtyard below, and she watched with fascination.

She watched them embrace, and then the whispered to each other. Azora smiled, she wished she had a love like theirs. Her smile, however, dissapeared when she realised who the couple were.

She saw him reach out to the girls flat stomach in surprise, as she guiltily looked down. She no longer looked guilty when she picked her up and spun her around with joy.

Azora looked away in anger.