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"We tried to wake you for breakfast, Princess, but you barely made semi-consciousness. You woke enough for a few sips of whatever concoction the medic gave you, then you were gone again."
Ellery came into the room with a frown. He looked back at Erhaird. "Get me a glass, Erhaird." Erhaird walked to the table and came forward to hand the medic the glass. I watched as he took a cooling flask from his bag, pouring a thumb of white liquid into the glass. Kneeling beside the bed, Ellery helped lift my head and put the glass to my lips. "It will help give you your energy back faster than a mouthful of food will. What is in this glass is the equivalent of a meal."
Drinking the liquid down, I smacked my lips and sighed. "Hälsodryck, I recognize it. We always keep some on hand in our houses in case we need a boost."
"I know; it is where we got it from," Ellery revealed. "When the men went to your house to seize the papers they needed for your joining, your senior attendant, Nyla, insisted they take this flask. She said you would need it if you got with child because there is no way you could ever eat enough to sustain you both."
Ellery poured another measure and put it to my lips. "I contacted Nyla after the single dose at breakfast was not enough to rouse you. She informed me that without the addition of food, it would be near useless. She suggests I double up doses for the rest of the day."
Drinking the second glass, I already started to feel a little less limp. "When women are pregnant in my world, they drink a serving of hälsodryck after every meal. It contains all the nutrients and minerals a woman with a child needs and gives the mother enough energy for them both. Nyla started producing it for the native women to drink while with child. It's seen a massive drop in missfall and dödfödda just in the five years of circulation."
Ellery's eyes lit up. "I know. I have been watching the administration and outcomes of it closely over the years. I also know that you supplemented the production cost and paid Attendant Nyla double her wage to continue the production. I believe you hired a second attendant to complete the mundane household duties so that Nyla could concentrate solely on the production of hälsodryck." He watched me for a second. "Feeling any better?"
"A little. Give me a third hit, and I might be able to manage a bath in the next hour and try some real food."
Ellery nodded, pouring a third glass and helping me drink it. This time I could lift my own head, so I was sure the third drink would give me enough energy to actually bathe and eat something solid. When I'd finished, Ellery put the flask on the ledge beside the bed and pulled out his sats monitor. Lying back, I let him place it over my eyes.
"There is not much of an improvement, but I think you are over the shock. Your body temp is back to normal at least." He removed the monitor. "After you have your bath, I will look at your shoulder again and make sure it is healing correctly. Then I think we should have a talk."
"Talk?"
"I have never cared for an Avalonian, Princess. What I am taking as norms right now I am getting from a cyberbase of statistics for Medics. I need to know more of your history to establish your norms."
"Oh." I considered for a moment. "Have Nyla come to talk to you. She can bring my records from birth."
Ellery looked surprised. "She has your medical records?"
"Yes, Medic Ellery. Before we fled Avalonia, Nyla was the throne medic appointed to the heir and the royal womb. That is why she received double the normal wage of an attendant."
"You trust her?" Ellery asked, suddenly cautious.
"Medic Ellery, Nyla's position is to keep me alive, get me with child, and see that child become the next ruler of Avalonia. I trust her with my life. At least until I've produced another heir and royal womb. After that, my life is worthless, and my existence is forgotten."
"That is what happened to your mother?"
"That's what happens to all of our mothers, Medic Ellery. The royal womb is treated as an incubator. My brother was always Heir Zimri while I was always the royal womb. We are never referred to by name. We are valuable only until the heirs are born, and then our people couldn't care less about us. We hold no rank, and the title of Princess only lasts until the next is born. We become commoners who receive a good supplementary income from the throne for services rendered."
The last came out with such spite that Ellery actually sat back away from me. "You hate who you are?"
"No, I loathe what my people make me. If the royal succession so heavily relies on the royal womb, why does our throne not pass from mother to daughter? Why do the males still get to rule, and the females get treated as incubators for the next generation? I actually have the Barbarian to thank for that clarity. I was raised to believe that's all I was suitable for.
"It wasn't until I escaped here and experienced the value the Praldians and Cyrans give their royalty that I realized just how messed up the Avalonian line of succession is. My parents’ mistake wasn't in seeking to seat me as the queen. It was that they vied for the wrong throne."
Ellery sat quietly for several minutes after I'd scowled the last of my annoyance. Eventually, he eyed the metal flask. "Out of curiosity, Princess, is there some ingredient in hälsodryck that may lower a person's inhibitions if ingested in large quantities?" I raised a brow at the medic. "It is just, I would never have picked you to be so fiery, Princess. You have always seemed so passive."
At this, I laughed. "You've obviously never been in the throne room during one of my showdowns with the prince about funding?"
Ellery smiled. "No, Princess, I have not. Though, now that I have seen this more passionate side of you, I dare say I have missed some quality entertainment."
"Apparently. All these years, it turns out the prince was just as entertained by my passionate petitions." Closing my eyes, I smiled at the memory of some of my less ladylike phrases. When I opened them again, Ellery was gone, and the sun was setting.
* * *
"I hopeyou can understand how hard it was for us to make this decision, Princess Zira. It is in no way a negative reflection on you, but we don't believe we can rely on your impartiality with the way things currently stand."
Standing in Luther's office, I faced the Ambassador's digital image for the Praldian Natives as he tried very hard not to offend me. "Of course, Ambassador Twyford. How can I represent an impartial view when my companion and legal guardian is the very man you need me to stand against? I hold no grudge and will still endeavor to do the work I was doing before my new status. If you need anything, please just ask. I no longer have to make an appointment to gain the Prince's ear."
Twyford smiled, but I didn't join in. It had been four days since Luther left for Cyra and the most recent assassination-abduction attempt took place. I'd spoken to Luther once in that time. It wasn't an intimate conversation between lovers. It was a Prince and a guardian putting a child in its place. He hadn't been happy to learn of Nyla's role. The suggestion she be allowed to visit me at the palace only infuriated him.
