The Whore of Babylon

Chapter 9 | part 2

In her sister's absence, Eliana lowered herself onto a floor cushion, pulling her knees up and cradling Sarri in the warm crook of her arm. She would enjoy some time to cuddle her niece now – Kisha certainly wouldn't let go of her for quite some time after tonight's trauma.

The sweetly sleeping face was relaxed, unaware of the danger her father had put her in. Eliana envied her a little – babies seemed to live only for the moment; their pasts were too short to trouble them, and their futures too distant. The future was a concept that would not trouble this little one for years yet. She was utterly dependent on others to see that she had one.

Mari flopped down on the cushion beside her. 'You look as though you've got the weight of the world crushing you – was it so awful?'

'Hm? No, not so bad, not what he made me do. It's just her,' Eliana gestured at Sarri. 'This is no place for her. What sort of future will she have here?'

'Well, she'll be treated with a reasonable degree of respect, being Samsu's legitimate daughter. She'll be raised as a princess, and when she's ready, she'll be married into another royal family somewhere.'

'If there are any other royal families left when Samsu's father has built his empire.' Eliana scoffed.

'Hammurabi is very enthusiastic about expanding his borders, that's for sure.'

'Anyway, that's not what I meant. There will always be a shadow of fear hanging over her – that's not what any of us would wish on an innocent child.'

'True. She will always be a weapon for Samsu to use against you and your sister.'

'A life of luxury, but there will forever be a sword hanging above her head. I wish I could smuggle her out of here, get her to safety. And she makes Kisha do stupid things too.'

Mari was quiet a moment; she looked thoughtful. 'Well... why don't you?'

'What?'

'Smuggle her out – get her to safety.'

Eliana glanced at her for a sign she was joking, but Mari's face was straight and deadly serious.

'Do you really think we could?'

'I think we could try. For her. She deserves better.'

'But who would we send her to? The only person in the city I would trust is my father.'

'Then send her to him.'

Eliana sat in silence for long minutes, turning the possibilities over in her mind as she gazed down at the little body in her arms. It was true that Sarri would never be safe here, and she would be better off raised as a merchant's daughter in the city than a royal princess in this palace. Her father could arrange for some pay off to be made to cover the girl's expenses – she need never know.

At length, she spoke. 'No... it's impossible really. For a start, Kisha would never agree. She'd die before letting us take her baby.'

'She's going to get herself killed anyway if she carries on being this stupid about her,' Mari was blunt as ever. 'The way I see it, she doesn't even have to know until the deed is done. Wait until she's with Samsu, like now, and get her out.'

'I couldn't do that!' Eliana was shocked. 'Take my own sister's baby away without giving her a choice in the matter, or even so much as a farewell.'

'But it's in your niece's best interests,' Mari persisted. 'She would come to forgive you when she realised you saved her baby's life, and maybe her own.'

'My father may not agree either,' Eliana warned. 'He's as frightened of Samsu as any of us. His main priority is to keep his place so that the city and the people don't go to rack and ruin under some Babylonian thug.' Her heart ached a little as she thought of her father, alone now in his big house, with none but the servants for company. She hoped he wasn't working himself to death. She went on, 'and we'll also need someone with the freedom of the palace and the city to take Sarri. Someone we trust.'

'Well, that one isn't a problem, surely?' Mari looked at her as if she had missed something obvious.

'Who? Ashan?'

Mari laughed, 'Ashan! No! Why would you think of him? He's a good man, but he'd never betray Samsu. No, Isin, of course.'

Eliana paused for thought, 'I suppose he did say he'd do anything for Kisha. In fact, he swore to care for the baby like his own. But those were just words spoken by a broken heart – he might feel very differently if we called him up on them.'

Mari shrugged, 'if you don't ask, how will you ever know?'

Completely torn between loyalty to her sister and a sense of care to her niece, Eliana's head was beginning to hurt as she tried to weigh up the rights and wrongs. Was it a greater wrong to leave an innocent in danger, or to destroy the sister who had loved her and raised her? For it would destroy Kisha if they took Sarri away – the child was her whole reason for being now. Mari had confided to Eliana that Kisha had stopped eating in the weeks before she conceived – too afraid for her family and of her own blood to take her life with a blade, she had hoped to starve herself gently to death.

The pregnancy had changed everything. Sarri was her entire world.

With the stresses and events of the evening catching up on her, Eliana could not wrap her mind around the moral complexities. She rubbed her temple with her free hand; the arm cradling the baby was beginning to go numb from her weight.

'I'll think about it,' she said eventually. 'I can't make this decision right now - we're talking about taking a baby away from its mother. It's not to be done lightly.'

Mari opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment Ashan came striding back into the room, escorting a subdued-looking Kisha.

Without a word, she went straight to her sister, plucked the baby from her arms and retreated to their bedroom. Eliana stood up, shaking her arm gratefully. She and Ashan exchanged a glance; Eliana longed to go to him, to feel his protective arms around her and his lips on hers again.

He bowed and left.

That night, Eliana barely slept; despite the exhaustion of her body, her mind was overactive, and saturated with guilt that she should even consider what she and Mari had spoken of.

But, lying awake and straining to catch the sound of Sarri's breathy little snores, she was becoming ever-more convinced of the right course of action.