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00:00My sister died because the king said she was pretty. That's all it took. One compliment, and by nightfall, Chloe
00:07had driven a bronze stylus through her throat until she stopped breathing. They brought her home under white linen. I
00:13pulled it back myself. She was cold, already stiff. I held her until I had no more tears. What was
00:19left wasn't grief. It was revenge.
00:22To get to Chloe, I had to get inside the palace. I knew she suffered from the curse of Helios,
00:28the blinding headfire that comes without warning. So I spent a year learning the old remedies, the herbs, the pressure
00:34points the Thessalian healers passed down in silence.
00:37When the palace opened for servant selections, I stood in front of my mirror and painted a long, ugly scar
00:43down my left cheek. Purple-black. Grotesque. I walked in. I was assigned to the laundry quarters. I waited. Then
00:51Chloe's episodes came back, and the court physicians failed her. My turn. They brought me to her. She was gripping
00:57her own head, face twisted in agony.
01:00I can try, my lady. She looked at my scar. If you fail, I'll have your tongue. I pressed my
01:06fingers to the points along her skull, and ground the herbs into her temples with slow, deliberate circles. Her face
01:13relaxed within minutes.
01:14You're useful. Stay. She trusted me completely after that. My skills helped her. My face made her feel safe. She
01:23had no idea those were both lies. One night, the king sent it to her. She was preparing herself when
01:28the episode hit.
01:29She called me in. The king waited in the outer chamber. I could only see the edge of his robe.
01:34Deep, Tyrion purple. Heavy wool. I knelt at her side and worked the pressure sequence, one pass at a time.
01:41Then I reached into my case for the final compound. The one I had prepared weeks before. Odorless. Tasteless. It
01:48would not be felt in contact. But it would move. Slowly. Through her blood. Toward her heart. I just had
01:55to be patient.
01:55Her pain cleared. But the king had already lost interest and left. Chloe was furious. She smashed everything in the
02:03room. Then had three servants dragged out and beaten. I was one of them.
02:07Twenty strokes. Face down on a cold stone. I bit through my lip and didn't make a sound. Lying there,
02:13I thought about my sister. How she'd been in this same position. How she'd never done anything wrong.
02:18Killing Chloe isn't enough, I thought. I'm going to take everything she has first.
02:23The next day, the king came to check on her. The first time I saw his face. Dark robes, straight
02:30back, and handsome. Chloe had already ordered us to cover our bruises before he arrived. She didn't want him knowing
02:37what she was.
02:38As he turned to leave, I let my sleeve fall. He saw the marks on my arm.
02:42What happened to you?
02:43I looked up. Let my eyes fill. Used the voice I'd practiced a hundred times.
02:49Nothing, my king. Please don't worry. Just please visit her more often. When the pain comes, she gets upset.
02:57He was a king. He wasn't going to investigate a servant's bruises. But the seed was planted.
03:03Spring. The king's mother held a garden gathering. Chloe arrived late, leaning on my arm, and spent the first hour
03:10insulting every other woman at court.
03:12Those people were cheap. That hairstyle was sad. That woman had the taste of a fishwife.
03:19I was pouring her wine when I let my wrist tip, just slightly. The cup emptied across her skirt. She
03:25grabbed a cup of water and threw it in my face.
03:27You stupid girl!
03:29The scar dissolved on contact. I felt the pigment peel away. I had no time to think. I didn't bother.
03:36A voice from behind us.
03:38What's going on?
03:39The king. Chloe transformed instantly.
03:42My king. Just a clumsy servant.
03:44He glanced at her. Then at me. His gaze stayed one beat too long. I excused myself to change.
03:51I didn't go to my room. I went to the stone columns near his root back and waited. When I
03:56heard his footsteps, I started crying. Not loudly. Just enough.
04:01Who's there?
04:02I stumbled out and dropped to my knees.
04:06Forgive me. I didn't know you were passing.
04:09He recognized me.
04:10You. Chloe's healer.
04:13He was already moving on. I had seconds. I raised my face.
04:16Please. Pretend you didn't see me. Don't tell anyone what I really look like. I'm begging you.
04:24He looked down at me. A woman in the dirt. Tears on a face that wasn't scarred at all. A
04:29face he wasn't expecting.
04:30After a long moment.
04:32I won't say anything.
04:35What's your name?
04:36I shook my head. Said nothing. Let him wonder.
04:39I was nearly back when one of the younger servants came looking for me and called my name down the
04:44corridor. Behind me, I heard him say it quietly to himself.
04:48Daphne.
04:49That was the first real move.
04:50Chloe hosted a feast. Three days later, the hall was full and loud. She sat in the place of honor
04:56wearing the king's gifts, and every woman there had to pretend to be happy for her. I stood behind
05:01her and remembered what day it was. One year ago today. This same hall. My sister. When the feast hit
05:08its loudest point, I slipped out to the garden pool at the far edge of the grounds. A few small
05:13oil lamps floating there by other servants for luck. I lit a bundle of dried laurel and lowered
05:18a plain white lamp into the water. Sister. Wait for me a little longer. I'll give it all back.
05:26Every bit of pain she put you through. A hundred times over. Footsteps. The king. I didn't turn
05:32around. I had about two seconds to decide. I stood up and stepped off the edge into the pool. It
05:38wasn't
05:38deep. Only waist height. But I went under. And when I came up, my scar had washed away completely.
05:44He was calling for someone to come help. Lamplight behind me. Hair loose and wet. I looked at him
05:49across the water with the expression I'd practiced until it felt like breathing. Someone who had run
05:53completely out of hope. Don't help me.
05:56I let him look. Counted to three. Then I took a breath and went under. Swam hard along the bottom
06:01to the far bank. And was gone before anyone reached the water. By morning, the story was everywhere.
06:06The king had seen a woman appear in the garden pool and vanish. Searched all night. Hadn't slept.
06:12Chloe put her fist through her favorite mom's mirror.
06:14Some sorceress is working tricks on him. When I find her, she drowns. For real.
06:22I'm sure it was nothing, my lady.
06:25Even if it wasn't, I could make her disappear. A ghost, she called me. She was more right than
06:32she knew. After the garden, the king and I had a secret. Neither of us named it. He kept coming
06:39to see Chloe. I kept staying out of his line of sight. Or, keeping the scarred side toward him.
06:45Eyes down. Movements stiff and correct. Men like him were used to women who came to them. Distance was
06:52more interesting. Then came the royal hunt. The whole court rode out to the countryside.
06:57Banners. Horses. Noble suns showing off. Halfway through the morning, a storm hit fast. Cold and
07:04hard. Everyone scrambled back to the hunting lodge. That night, the king had a fever. The headfire
07:09came back with it. The court physicians failed him. One after another. Chloe paced the corridor
07:15outside his room, turning in circles. Then she grabbed my arm.
07:19You treat these episodes. Go!
07:21My face was her guarantee. She wasn't worried. The room smelled of medicine and sweat. The king
07:27was on the bed, flushed, jaw locked with pain. Chloe tried to go to him.
07:32My lady, he needs quiet. Perhaps the healer should work alone?
07:36Chloe didn't like it. Just me and two servants in the corner. I sat at the edge of the bed
07:41and
07:41opened my case. When my fingers touched his temple, he opened his eyes. Blurred with fever,
07:47but they found me. I'm going to help with the pain.
07:52I kept my hands moving. Ground herb paste into the points along his skull. Dipped my fingers in
07:57cool olive oil and worked down his neck. His breathing slowed. The tight lines around his
08:02mouth softened. I started to pull back. His hand closed around my wrist. He pulled. I had no time
08:09to catch myself. I went backward and landed across the bed. His arm locking around me before
08:14I could move. Cedar and fever sweat. Close and overwhelming. His arm was around my waist. His
08:21weight behind me. His mouth near my ear. Don't go.
08:24The two servants had already slipped out and pulled the door shut.
08:28You still have a fever. Let me get you back on the pillow.
08:32He sat up instead, keeping me with him. His eyes moved over my face. The scar side, then the other.
08:38Come serve me. Not her. Me.
08:42Too soon. Too easy. Easy things don't last. I tried to shift onto my knees to bow. He wouldn't
08:49let me move. My king, I'm grateful. But Chloe gave me a place when I had nothing. I can't repay
08:54that with betrayal. Please, let me keep this much. I looked at his face. Loyalty to someone who hurts
09:00you. That was the thing that would work on him. Every woman at court came toward him. A woman who
09:06held a line was something different. He looked at me for a long time. Something shifted behind his
09:11eyes. Frustration. And underneath it, sharper interest. He let me go. Fell back on the pillow.
09:17But his hand stayed loosely around my wrist. All night. His fever broke before dawn. His grip
09:23loosened. I fixed my robe and left quietly. Outside, Chloe was still waiting.
09:29How is he? The fever's down. The pain eased. He's sleeping.
09:34Then she slid a bracelet off her wrist and held it out. Plain carnelian beads on a copper wire.
09:40You did well. Go rest.
09:42I thanked her and walked away. A dead girl's blood is worth more than a string of carnelian,
09:47I thought. I said nothing. The hunt resumed two days later. Chloe was tired, and it showed.
09:53One of the other women at court noticed, and smiled. You've been working so hard, sister.
09:58Why not ride out today? Show the king what you can do.
10:01Everyone knew Chloe couldn't ride. The woman was doing it to watch her fail.
10:05Chloe started to make an excuse. I stepped forward.
10:09My king. Lady Chloe hasn't been well. She shouldn't strain herself. I'd be honored to ride in her place.
10:16Every eye in the courtyard went to the scarred servant who'd just put herself forward in front
10:20of the king. Chloe caught on fast. She's rough, but she can ride, my king. Let her go.
10:26Permitted. I walked to the horse they'd brought out. Big, white, bad-tempered. It was stamping and
10:32tossing its head. The other women watched with expressions ranging from bored to amused. A
10:37scarred servant playing at hunting. I ran my hand along the horse's neck and pressed my thumb into
10:43the hollow below its jaw, the point my sister had shown me for calming animals. The horse stilled,
10:49nuzzled my palm. I mounted and rode into the field, fast and low. A hair broke from cover.
10:55I took the shot without thinking, clinging, through the neck. I didn't go deeper. This
11:00wasn't about showing off. A king doesn't want a hunting dog. He wants something he can't fully
11:05predict. I brought the hair back and knelt. I hope it serves my king. He looked at me for longer
11:11than
11:11he needed to. Undisguised interest. Good instincts. Then he praised Chloe for keeping useful people
11:18around her. He praised her, not me. Smart move. Chloe beamed. He gave her gifts. She looked at me
11:25differently after that, like I was actually worth something. You did well, Daphne, she said back at
11:30the tent and gave me two gold pins. I accepted them and bowed. That night, his summons came again.
11:37Another episode. Chloe waved me off without hesitating. The scar. The loyal servant. The
11:43safest woman in the palace. An attendant led me to a building at the back of the lodge. The thermal
11:49baths.
11:49Low light. Steam. Rose petals in the water. The king was already in the pool. Eyes closed. One shoulder
11:56bear. The attendant disappeared. The door closed. Your servant didn't know the king was bathing.
12:02I'll wait outside. Stay. I stopped. He stood up. Come here. My king, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to
12:09-
12:09A wet hand closed around my wrist, and I was in the water before I finished the sentence. Water over
12:15my
12:15face. My robe soaked through instantly. I came up coughing. He was right in front of me. The scar had
12:22washed off. Steam and lamplight. His eyes on my face. Fully. With no polite distance.
12:29My king. I'm a servant. Please let me go. He took my chin and turned me back. Then he kissed
12:36me.
12:36No question asked. I pressed both hands flat against his chest and pushed. Useless. He didn't move.
12:44The resistance seemed to interest him more. Eventually, he let me breathe. I shoved and got a
12:49foot of space between us. I belong to Chloe's household. She trusted me enough to send me
12:54here. I can't repay trust with betrayal. I hit hard on those last words. A king who commands
13:00everything is rarely told no. Someone who holds a line and means it is rare. Rare things are
13:06interesting. He didn't come closer. Go. The next morning, I was leaning over to pour Chloe's
13:11wine when her eyes stopped on my neck. Daphne. What is that? I didn't flinch. The bathwater was cold,
13:22my lady. I must have bruised myself on the tile. I'll cover it. She stared at me. At my face.
13:27At the
13:27scar. She was looking for a reason to be suspicious. She found none. My face did its job. Put some
13:34save on
13:35it. That evening, the king held a fire feast. Torchlight, roasting meat. The noise of people
13:40who'd been writing for three days. Chloe fed him from her plate and laughed too brightly and kept
13:46her body angled toward him. She needed his eyes on her. His eyes kept moving past her. I felt the
13:52direction of that gaze even with my back turned. I stepped half a pace to the left, behind her shoulder,
13:58and out of his sight. Chloe noticed him drifting. She looked around. Found nothing. On the ride home,
14:04she sat in the carriage, complaining in the dark. He wasn't with me tonight. Some woman is pulling
14:10his attention. I can feel it. Her hand went to her temple, the head fire building. Come here. I
14:16pressed my fingers in, moved down her neck, her shoulders, to the base of her spine. I pressed one
14:22point. She cried out and spun around. What are you doing? Are you trying to cripple me? My lady,
14:28I'm so sorry. I felt a blockage. There's nothing there. You're just clumsy. Kneel here for
14:34the rest of the ride. Two hours on jolting wood in the dark. I smiled the whole way. The compound
14:40was moving faster than I'd planned. Good. Back in the palace, the king stopped coming as often.
14:46Chloe paced like something caged. No child, no guarantee. Fifteen months of position and nothing
14:52to show for it that couldn't be taken away overnight. Without a child, I'm nothing. But I heard it. A
14:58few
14:58days later, she turned to me. Do you have more of that first remedy? The one that helped with my
15:03cycle?
15:03There it was. That compound is hard on the body. Using it again so soon could damage you. But I
15:09have another idea. I'd learned the king often walked alone in the palace gardens at dusk,
15:13down near the laurel pool. He went to think. Go to him. Not dressed for court. Go simply.
15:19Be there by chance. Bring your kyaka. I described exactly what to wear. Hair loose. Nothing showy.
15:25Just her and the music and the evening air. I pressed a small cloth pouch into her hand and a
15:30vial of oil.
15:31Bathe with these tonight. The oil on your wrists and throat.
15:34The pouch held dried crocus and iris root. The oil was infused with something older.
15:39Chloe took them. Hungry for it. The following evening she went. She found the spot, arranged
15:44herself with the kithara across her knees, and played. The king heard it. Sent his attendants
15:49back and followed the sound alone. I watched from the shadow of the colonnade across the water.
15:54He slowed down when he saw her. New dress. Dark water. Music in the still air. She looked up at
16:00exactly the right moment. Surprised. Composed. Quietly glad to see him. It worked. The lights
16:06in her chambers didn't go out until near dawn. I stood outside in the dark and waited. Before sunrise,
16:11I moved to a covered walkway near the crossing point between her chambers and the king's morning
16:16route. I arranged myself on a stone bench. Knees up. Arm under my head. Robes slightly disordered.
16:22I let my lips go pale. I didn't fake the cold. It was genuinely cold. I heard the chamber doors
16:28open.
16:28I slowed my breathing. Let my eyes go to half focus. The king crossed the courtyard. His gaze
16:34picked up the shape on the bench. I jolted awake. Tried to stand. And let my knee buckle just enough
16:39to pitch me into him. His hands caught me. For a moment, I was very close to his face. He
16:44took in
16:44the loose hair. The crumpled robe. The pallor. I pulled back and tried to straighten myself.
16:49Forgive me, my king. I didn't hear you coming. I'll go.
16:53What are you doing out here? Waiting for Lady Chloe. In case she needed anything. I must have
16:58fallen asleep. All night? Please don't be angry with her. She doesn't know I stayed. I chose to.
17:04The more I defended Chloe, the worse she looked. I'd learned that. He was quiet, looking at me. Pale,
17:10shaking slightly. Defending the woman who'd put me out here. He turned and told his attendant to send
17:15a physician to check on me. Call the doctor. Before he left, he looked back once. I stood very
17:22still and watched his procession disappear around the corner. Then I smiled. Chloe, you were warm and
17:27comfortable all night. And this is what he saw this morning. Everything you don't know I'm doing costs
17:34you something. When Chloe came back, the headfire hit within hours. The remedy I'd blended for her
17:42had done its work. I worked the pressure sequence. Three minutes, and the worst of it broke. When she
17:48closed her eyes to rest, I pressed my fingers to her wrist. The pulse was there, and something else,
17:53deep in it. An irregular pull. Faint but real. The compound had reached the edge of her chest cavity.
17:59Almost there. Chloe recovered. She complained that the episodes weren't going away for good.
18:05The symptoms I have are not gone yet. These old afflictions take time. I said. But you're
18:12improving. The frequency is down. Give it a few more months. Not a lie. Her episodes were improving.
18:19The physician said so too. No one was looking at the other thing. The king had been coming nearly every
18:25day since the garden evening. Chloe was pleased with herself. She thought she'd fixed it.
18:29She didn't know he came partly to find reasons to be in corridors and side rooms,
18:33while she sat in the main hall. For these moments, I was always exactly what he expected.
18:39Careful. Eyes down. Loyal. Slightly afraid. Never easy. Never coming toward him. Men who have
18:45everything want the one thing that won't come to them. I prepared a new compound for her evenings
18:50with the king. Something that would make the hours more vivid. He'd associate those feelings with her.
18:55It also contained something slower. Something she'd never taste. The poison was almost in her heart.
19:01The compound was building in her blood. Good things come to those who wait.
19:06A court feast. The hall was packed. Wine and music and everyone pretending to enjoy themselves.
19:11I'd spent a week on two separate preparations. The first, Chloe had been wearing on her skin for weeks.
19:17Worked into the oils I gave her each night. The second, I carried on myself tonight,
19:22in a small cloth pouch. When the two met in the same space, they reacted. Slowly. Just a soft
19:28thickening of the air. I moved carefully through the banquet hall. Close to the king's table. Close
19:34to Chloe. Spreading the second scent as I went. The king's eyes went heavy. He excused himself to rest
19:39in the back rooms. Chloe watched him go. The haze was already working on her too. She moved to follow.
19:45I intercepted her smoothly. Called her handmaiden. Suggested the side rooms. Guided her away without
19:51her noticing. Then I turned back. I picked up the shawl Chloe had left on her chair and walked toward
19:56the king's rest chamber. I pushed the door open softly. My lady, your shawl? He opened the eyes.
20:02Looked at me. I started backing out. Wrong room. I'm sorry. An arm came around my waist from behind.
20:09The second compound, suddenly this close, hit the first. The reaction was immediate. What followed
20:15was exactly what I'd planned. I lay still afterward. Watching the door. Counting time. A crash. The door
20:21came in hard. She stared at the clothes scattered on the floor and at us embracing on the bed. Her
20:26face
20:27went white. What is this?
20:48The king moved fast. He pulled me in and got the blanket over my face before she could look at
20:53me
20:53directly. I lay still in the dark. I'd set this up down to the attendant I'd sent to put the
20:58idea in
20:59Chloe's head. A strange woman in his chambers. Knowing she'd come running. Knowing she couldn't stop
21:04herself. She lunged for the blanket. I felt her fingers grab at it. The king's hand shot out and
21:09shoved her back. She sat down hard on the floor. How dare you? How dare I? You do this and
21:15ask how I
21:15dare? Everything in this palace is mine. Every room. Every person in it. You pushed me. You've never
21:20pushed me before. Get out. Alexandre. Take her back. She doesn't leave her chambers until I say. I heard her
21:28footsteps. Fast. Then slower. Then running. Her crying fading down the corridor. The room went
21:34quiet. He lifted the blanket. I was trembling. I made sure of it. Are you hurt? I shook my head.
21:40Kept my eyes down. Let me give you a formal place here. You don't have to go back to her.
21:45My king. She was kind to me when I had nothing. Everyone will say I used her. Please let me
21:50go
21:50back. Please let me keep what little I have. Go. I dressed and walked back through the palace.
21:55When I came through Chloe's courtyard, her servants were kneeling in rows across the stones.
22:00Chloe stood above them on the step with a riding whip. I went through the gate and knelt. Chloe's
22:05eyes locked onto me. Where were you? Getting food from the kitchens, my lady. I heard something had
22:12happened and took the long way back. She stared. No holes in it. But her anger needed somewhere to go.
22:17The whip came down across my back. Then again. I pressed my forehead to the stone and made no sound.
22:23Hit harder, I thought. Every mark is evidence. She moved down the line. The courtyard was filled with
22:29crying and begging. She moved through it like the weather. Stop. Then from the gate, the king
22:35walked in. He stood still and took in the scene. The kneeling servants. The whip. My back. His face
22:41went flat. My king. These servants have been impossible today. I was just... I can see what
22:48you were doing. Alexandrus, I have every right to discipline my own... Not like this. He crossed the
22:53courtyard and looked at the blood on my robe. His jaw tightened. Not ever like this. Chloe started
23:00explaining herself. He didn't let her finish. He announced her confinement in front of all of them.
23:05One month. No exceptions. You should stay in your palace and reflect for a month. Chloe went pale.
23:11Then, she made the mistake of talking back.
23:26She said things she couldn't say. Old closeness is used as a weapon. She'd known him long enough
23:31to know where to cut. She forgot she was talking to a king. He slapped her. She fell. Grabbed at
23:36the
23:37column beside her. Then doubled over. Hand pressed to her chest. Face draining white. And went down.
23:42The servants screamed. The king stood there for one frozen second. Then he shouted for the physicians.
23:48The court physician ran in. Nelt beside her. Checked her. Once. Twice. Three times. Then he
23:55knelt lower. Very formal. My king. The lady Chloe is with child. Approximately one month.
24:00Silence. Chloe's eyes opened. The words reached her slowly. Then she started to cry. The real kind.
24:07Not the kind she performed. The king crossed to her immediately. He took her hands.
24:12Cancel the confinement. Send for gifts. I watched from the back of the room. A child, I thought.
24:18How convenient. From that day, Chloe treated the pregnancy like a siege. Triple tasted food. Four
24:24servants walked her from room to room. Someone at her bedside every night. She also became worse.
24:29Much worse. A handmaiden was flogged for sneezing during her rest. Another beaten for pulling a single
24:36hair while dressing her. I was punished several times. I kept counting. I kept preparing her medicine
24:41too. The compound I was adding to her morning coffee was carefully measured. Just enough to hollow her
24:46out slowly while making her feel she was improving. Good days would keep her trusting me. Bad days would
24:52keep her scared enough to need me. The poison was almost at her heart. The child won't survive it.
24:57And after that, neither will you. The pregnancy was not peaceful. Within weeks, she bled three times.
25:04Physicians rotated through her room. They all said the same thing. Weakness. Rest. Strengthening herbs.
25:11None of them looked further. After the third episode, Chloe threw her medicine cup across
25:15the room. If I lose this child, every one of you dies with me. I swept up the pieces while
25:22she raged.
25:23Careful what you threaten. I thought. You'll be first.
25:27The physicians couldn't find what I'd put inside her. They weren't looking for a compound with no
25:32taste and no smell that had been building in her body for months. They weren't looking for a slow
25:36extraction from a root that grows in gorges no court physician ever visits. They just kept
25:42refilling her with remedies I kept quietly undermining. She was pouring water into a cracked
25:46jar and calling it healing. One afternoon, she grabbed my hand. Her nails bit into my skin.
25:52Daphne, you have to save this baby. If you do this, I'll give you anything. Anything.
25:58I looked at her hollowed out eyes and her desperation.
26:01My lady. I said gently. I'll do everything I can. I added something new to her morning coffee that
26:08week. Something that would lift her energy for a few days. She noticed it within two days.
26:14You see? You're better than all of them. The lady is very strong. I said. Not for much longer.
26:24The coffee was making Chloe's temper savage in ways she couldn't control. She threw things away.
26:30She had her oldest attendant kneeling in the courtyard for two hours because of a single
26:35pulled hair while dressing her. She swung between rage and weeping with nothing in between.
26:41When the king visited, she managed to hold herself together. Barely. He came every day now.
26:47Officially to check on her. In practice, he kept finding reasons to be in side rooms and corridors.
26:53I slipped out of the main hall one afternoon and had barely stepped into the adjoining room
26:57when he pulled me in by the wrist. She was half asleep in the next room. Her hearing had been
27:03getting worse for weeks. Another thing no one had connected to anything.
27:09He turned my arm over and looked at the bruising around my wrist. She did this? I was careless.
27:19Stop covering for her. From the main room. Daphne! Where are you? I straightened my robe and stepped
27:27back through the doorway. Chloe looked at me with narrow eyes. What were you doing in there?
27:34Preparing your afternoon remedy, my lady. She stared. Then her face darkened and her hand came
27:39up. He stepped through the doorway. Who are you about to hit? Her hand froze in midair. She softened
27:46everything immediately. My king. Just correcting a servant. Rest. He said. Stop working yourself up.
27:54He left. She didn't hit me. She made me kneel in the corridor. I knelt in the afternoon sun and
28:00looked at nothing. Not much longer now, Chloe. The night she went into labor, the whole household
28:06fell apart. It started at midnight. Screaming that carried across three courtyards. The queen mother
28:11sent her two best midwives. The king broke protocol and waited in the side room. Chloe's brother,
28:17who commanded armies on the border, rode through the night and stood in the outer courtyard. This was
28:22the first child. Nobody could afford it to go wrong. Chloe gripped the bed frame until her knuckles
28:27split. She begged the physicians to save the baby. She made promises to gods she hadn't thought about
28:32in years. The poison had been moving through her body for nine months. The compound had been layering
28:37in her blood since the beginning. The body she was fighting this birth with was already running on
28:41nothing. The midwives worked until the room smelled of blood and exhaustion. Near dawn, Chloe's screaming
28:47stopped. A midwife said. He is coming. The room went completely still. Everyone held their breath.
28:53We waited for the cry. It didn't come. The midwife's voice, when it came, was barely a voice
28:58at all. My king, the boy has no breath. The king pushed through the curtain. I stood near
29:05the wall and watched the midwife holding the small, still shape. Perfect hands. Perfect mouth.
29:10Not moving. There it is. Chloe turned her head. Let me see him. They gave her the baby. She held
29:19him, and her whole body understood before her mind did. Then the sound came out of her.
29:23A single cry with nothing held back. I dropped my head, under my breath, quiet enough that no
29:30one would ever hear. That is for my sister. Chloe held the dead child and couldn't be separated
29:39from him for hours. The king summoned every physician in the palace. They knelt in a row.
29:45Last month you told me everything was stable. Explain this.
29:50No one could. Chloe's brother was not the kind of man who accepted that. He wanted a cause. He
29:56wanted someone to blame. I waited three days. Then, while bringing Chloe her afternoon remedy,
30:02I deliberately let a folded piece of cloth slip from my hand. I moved to get it back quickly.
30:08One of the brother's men reached it first. The cloth held dried plant residue, dark-pedaled,
30:14with a faintly bitter smell. The court physician was brought to examine it. He held it to the light,
30:19then looked up. This is black hellebe, forbidden to pregnant women. Even a small amount causes
30:27repeated bleeding. It can prevent a child from surviving full term. Chloe turned to look at me.
30:32Everything she'd never let herself suspect landed on her face at once.
30:37I stayed kneeling. I said nothing. The poison was at her heart now. She had days, maybe less. There
30:44was nothing useful left to say to her. She threw herself out of bed toward me. Her legs barely held.
30:49A cough ripped through me, and blood came with it. Dark, onto the white wool. She pointed at me from
30:56the floor.
30:57You. You. It was you. You killed my son.
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