The Whore of Babylon

Chapter 27 | part 2

The freedom from Samsu was utter bliss; Eliana finally felt able to relax without fear that she might be summoned at any moment or called to audience at a minute's notice. She could even stop taking her herbs at last, after forcing down the bitter drink every day without fail since Samsu's assault on her during their first Akitu in Babylon.

Though she adored children, the idea of carrying any child of Samsu's was utterly abhorrent. The thought that she might not be able to love it as well as she loved her children by Ashan terrified her – she could not bear to imagine that the child might suffer any sort of emotional neglect just because of its paternity. It was far safer to prevent any such child from ever existing.

At first, Samsu had been mystified by her failure to conceive, then he had been angry, and finally, after several years, he had accepted it. He still took her to his bed once or twice a week for sport, but she believed he had resigned hope of Eshu ever having brothers.

It was quiet in Samsu's absence. The palace felt deserted – it was possible to walk through a whole wing without hearing anything but the eerie whistle of the wind through the passageways.

The weather was beginning to turn – the temperature was dropping and the wind was rising as the season changed. When Eliana took her daily walks in her rooftop garden, she was forced to wear a cloak to keep out the biting chill. Still, she made sure that she took a walk every day. Knowing that Samsu could not call on her meant that it was little matter if she was windswept or rosy-cheeked – there was no-one around to care.

It was as she took one of these walks, just a few days after the army had marched out, that Adra came running and screaming for her; eyes wild, and hairline damp with sweat.

'Your Highness!' she called, racing out to the garden.

'Adra? What is it?' Eliana shouted back, every nerve suddenly alive with fear.

'It's Eshu,' the girl panted, 'he's had a fall.'

Eliana's heart seemed to stop beating, and the world around her slowed down. 'What do you mean, "a fall"?' she pressed, urgently. 'Is he alright?'

Adra shook her head, 'Down some stairs... he's, he's hurt...'

Grabbing the maid hard by the shoulders, suddenly blind with panic, Eliana cried, 'where?'

'He's in the account-keeper's office – it was the nearest room...'

Eliana was off at a sprint, tearing along without a moment's hesitation towards the small office on the ground floor of the palace.

Why was he near the account-keeper's office? He knows not to go to this side of the palace – it's almost deserted most of the time. What could have taken him there? Dozens of questions chased through her mind, almost drowned out by one overriding thought: please be alright. I beg you Ishtar, please let my little boy be alright.

She burst through the door of the little office, not knowing what to expect, her heart hammering so hard that it gave a burning sensation in her chest.

Eshu was not there.

Where she had expected to find her little boy, her darling prince, twisted and injured, there were only two men. Young men, by their stature and posture, probably servant boys, by their clothes, but it was impossible to tell for sure; they had lengths of cloth tied around the lower halves of their faces.

The door slammed closed behind her. She wheeled around – a lined and careworn face stared back at her: neat grey hair smoothed back beneath an oversized headdress, malicious eyes glinting above pursed lips.