Chapter 59 - A Mother's Fears (Lady Hilda POV)

Lady Hilda returned to her quarters after having planted the seeds in Leaf’s mind, yet she did not know exactly how to make use of the Gobbo as of yet. Mudohoon had been coerced to reveal that stripping her of rank and ostracizing Vinaraeya, leaving her only a single letter to show her precarious position in the warren, was all part of his plan to keep her weak. The main question she had was why, but it was beyond her to extract the truth from a now trusted agent of a General. Mudohoon was given status in a way that conflicted with the very nature of how Gobbos, or all goblinoids for that matter, were treated throughout the Ecumene. If only she could dip her fingers into that twisted mind she’d know exactly what was going on. Precisely for that reason she would not have allowed her otherwise normally free reign; ferreting out secrets with Astra's help.

Entering the dark room and locking the door behind her, she let out a heavy sigh and immediately sensed a presence in her room that should not have been there. She did not care for visitors, particularly those who intruded into her private quarters and had the gall to lay on her bed while waiting for her. The scent of a woman hung in the air, and she relaxed, the scent of sweat, orange and mint was stronger than was reasonable. It tried to mask the feminine musk of its wearer, but she knew right away that the hormones had been wild, and excessive perfume would not conceal such a scent that was biologically driven for recognition. More precisely she knew the scent of only one woman who ate enough garlic that it seeped through her pores and became a part of her.

“Lady Geraen.” She said as the only suitable name popped into her head, “Why are you in my bed?”

A soft mocking laugh came from the bed, the blankets shifting as the woman rose up and a flicker of flame came from the center of the bed, casting its maker in ominous underlighting. A soft rounded face with brilliant long hair and small dark eyes, a small nose and a impish like grin spoke of her wild nature. The ambassador’s wife, and a priestess in her own right, Lady Geraen made a candelabra out of the tips of her fingers as she rose up from the bed, glancing at the small bundle nestled in a pile of blankets. Her body was considerably thinner than she had seen it last, but still had managed to have a significantly larger bust owing to the swelling of milk. Her outfits must be uncomfortable if not outright impossible to wear. While the wrath of pregnancy and lactation were personally unknown to her, Lady Hilda did understand why Geraen had opted for the thin opaque shift.

“Does it not surprise you?” Geraen approached Hilda, “My hands? My body? Not even a little?”

“I saw you through Raeyn’s eyes. Your desperation, fear and joy over her revival was all that I needed to see to know you have changed. You did your best to hide your connection to Belos, but the Flamekeeper noticed, if not the High Priestess.” She nodded before adding, “You were lucky.”

“I was.” She agreed, “If not for the fact I was pregnant then I might have been killed. Belos’ works in strange ways.”

“Tell me the truth. Who attacked you?” Lady Hilda approached the bed.

“The Dwellin, naturally, if you saw me through Raeyn then you know what their warren is like. My child was saved by a demon. A demon under your employ.” Geraen got straight to the point now, “Is the filthy chief right about her? I need to know, and I’ll pull rank if I must.”

“He’s wrong.” She said flatly, “The one who saved your child did so without a single thought in her head. She’s an empty vessel but one ripe for filling by more potent minds. Belos and Maelyn have both given her blessings and I dare say that even Astra would be inclined to use such a creature in these lands. She has an innocence and lack of identity that makes her good clay. Tamed with some friendship and a set of clothes; not even the Gobbos in Menna would be swayed by mere gestures.”

“Then what do you think is going on with Mudohoon?” She pressed.

“Whatever happened sixteen years ago is coming full circle and Raeyn, as she goes by here, is unaware of it. She is a Savior of Maelyn. She is cursed and blessed by Maelyn, and I think that something beyond mortal comprehension is at play. In another life, she killed Maelyn and yet Maelyn has personally given her blessing in this world. Such a contradiction makes absolutely no sense, but I saw her cursed dream myself. I found myself upon its stage and felt the magics at work.” Lady Hilda clenched her fists, “Raeyn has the potential to awaken as a full Savior. Can you imagine that sort of power in our hands? I wasted no time in pressing her into our service to find Magnesia.”

“Using a native blessed by two divines to find one of the four keys?” Geraen laughed, “You are really stretching. Has Astra given you guidance?”

“The full moon is not for another six days.” She relaxed her hands and placed them on Geraen’s shoulders, “Can you reach out to Belos?”

“He has little use for me.” She brushed the other woman’s hands off her, “The Dwellin are no doubt massing and the other warrens; ones not crippled by Mudohoon, will be ready for a fight. The whole of the continent could turn against us. A green wave leading to slaughter and bloodshed.”

“He’s abandoned you?”

“No. Belos will not answer because I am working against his interests. I knew once I was in the presence of that old hag what terrible power had wrecked the first expedition. Belos put so much power and trust into a Gobbo that she became a living husk. Her skin was harder than leather and though I only saw her interact with the fire a few times, I knew she was powerful beyond comparison with anyone else in that warren.”

Lady Hilda pulled back slowly, “Thank you for coming here. How is the little one?”

“Ever-hungry.” She giggled, “Born in darkness, greedy and selfish. I feel like I have given birth to a little Gobbo. As if the spirits chose to inhabit…”

Geraen suddenly shuddered and buried her hands in her face, but Lady Hilda knew what she was referring to and dismissed it outright, “The world does not work that way. Your child is your own. Raeyn would not be labeled a ‘demon’ if such a thing was possible.”

“Then why could Mudohoon not kill her?” She snapped back, “What if that is the reason they need her alive? As a prison to contain the soul?”

“Raeyn did not reincarnate from this world,” Lady Hilda was firm, “Your child comes from the heavens and is not the recycled product of a goblin warren. You should not fear her. If the world worked in such a way, then the Emperor himself would be immortal and none of this expedition would have ever been made. Think it through and know it is true!”

Geraen stayed silent for a few minutes, thinking hard over the implications, but the lingering doubts still ate at her. It did not take her long to broach the real reason for her having come, “Peer into her mind and tell me.”

“No.” Lady Hilda snapped, “You’d risk her death for your comfort? Your own peace of mind worth the risk?”

“If anyone can do it, surely you could.” She leaned forward to beg with her head down, “Please, Lady Hilda.”

“Absolutely not.” She pulled away, “Get out of my room. If that child dies or comes to harm, I will be pulling the truth out of you one way or the other. I’ll even be the headsman if I must. You have soiled my room with your desperation.”

She nodded and extinguished the flames on her fingertips, gathering up her newborn without further protest. She opened the door and let herself out, closing the door quietly behind her. Could she see in the dark? Lady Hilda locked the door and returned to the bed, stripping down and all but flopping into the bed. The scent of the woman hitting her in the face. Growling and thrashing the covers off to find a spot that did not reek of her garlic sweat.

She raked the sheets with her fingers, “You know I won’t be able to sleep like this! Has nothing changed after all these years? Why can't I escape these memories. How many of us disappeared... how many of us didn't make it out...”

She punched the bed and growled with anger, hitting it again and again, rolling off the bed in a pile of sheets and crashing to the floor. Tangled up, she cursed her name over and over again until exhaustion and fury gave way to an uneasy sleep. Her dreams ruled by the horrors of the brothel and their escape that led to bloodshed, imprisonment and redemption. Geraen had opened the old wounds and planted her own seeds. Turnabout was always fair play in the world of lesser nobles, but she did not expect it to come from her of all people.