‘Eliana!’ Kisha gave an anguished cry when she saw her sister. ‘Mari – what happened?’
‘I don’t know, my lady. Ashan just brought her to the door and left her here.’
Eliana did not open her eyes as she leaned heavily on Mari. ‘S – Samsu.’ She croaked out, her voice still hoarse from vomiting. She swayed – Kisha rushed in to catch her under the other arm.
‘We’ll put her in my bed. Gods, she’s freezing. Why is she unclothed?!’ Kisha had never seen her strong baby sister in such a state.
Mari gave her a meaningful look. ‘Perhaps it is best not to ask questions when the answers would only distress you.'
Between them, they got Eliana onto Kisha’s bed as she drifted in and out of consciousness.
‘Bring warm water,’ Kisha said, ‘and arnica and thyme.’
Mari moved quickly, and they were soon tending Eliana’s wounds with expert care. Mari washed her, while Kisha applied arnica to the bruising on her sister’s face and ribs, and oil of thyme to the wound behind where the whip had split the skin. They dressed her in a warm woollen bedgown of Kisha’s and manoeuvred her under the blanket.
Their work done, Mari gathered up the medicine and returned to her little room adjoining her mistress’s. Kisha climbed into the bed, wrapped her arms around Eliana and held her as she slept.
The following morning, Eliana struggled to remember where she was. Waking with her sister’s familiar arms encircling her, she could almost believe that the last eight moons had been an awful nightmare. She made to snuggle closer into Kisha’s warmth – every muscle ached.
She slowly became aware of a dull throb in her face, a pain when she breathed in too deeply, and a sharper pain in her backside. Her throat was raw and swollen when she swallowed.
The memories of last night came surging back. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, concentrating on calming the flutter of panic in her stomach.
‘Elly?’ came Kisha’s sleepy voice from behind her.
‘I’m awake,’ she whispered, rolling onto her back.
Kisha sat up and looked at her sister, ‘what are you doing here?’
‘I came to see you. Or, I tried to. I got your message through Isin. But they turned me away at the gate, so I broke in...’
‘Oh – you silly thing! Just like you – brave and daft!’ Kisha clutched Eliana’s hand.
‘... I fell in a pond, and they caught me. Now Samsu wants to make me his whore.’ She almost spat the final word, the indignity of it catching in her throat.
‘And if he wants it, it will happen,’ said Kisha sadly, crossing her arms over her stomach.
‘It will not,’ Eliana set her jaw in the way she always did when she was determined. ‘He’ll never have loyalty or obedience from me. I’ll find a way out of this place for both of us.’
‘Hush!’ Kisha covered her sister’s mouth, eyes wide with fright. ‘You mustn’t say such things! Even the walls have ears, here.’
‘I don’t care,’ Eliana sulked. ‘I’ll fight him with every breath. I’ll even kill him if I have to.’
‘Stop it! Now listen, Eliana: as Ensi’s daughter, you were always allowed to be free in your words and your ways, but if we’re both going to survive in this place, you need to learn to still your tongue. You’ll get all three of us killed.’
‘He wouldn’t kill Mari too, surely?’
‘No,’ Kisha let the blanket drop away from her chest.
Eliana gaped – her sister’s belly was huge and round. ‘You’re having a baby?’
‘Samsu’s baby. He leaves me alone now that I’m carrying his child. If I give him a son, maybe we’ll be safe.’
‘How long to go?’
‘Just two moons – I fell pregnant quickly. Samsu was... generous, with his attentions.’
‘So, when I visited you in the garden...?’
‘I was three moons gone, yes.’
‘And you didn’t say anything!’
‘What could I say? Every word, every move was being watched. I hadn’t even told Samsu at that point.’
‘Oh, Kisha!’ Eliana put her hand on her sister’s stomach, hoping to feel movement.
‘He’s sleeping at the moment, my little prince,’ Kisha smiled. ‘I’ll grab you when he kicks.’
There was a tentative knock at the door.
‘Come in!’ called Kisha.
Mari entered, clutching a tray. ‘Sorry my lady, I heard voices and thought you might be up.’
‘We are,’ Kisha beckoned, ‘come and eat with us.’
Placing the tray on the bed, Mari perched on the edge. ‘You look much better, my lady,’ she said to the younger girl.
‘I’m no lady,’ said Eliana bitterly. ‘I’m to be a whore. A toy for Samsu and his officers. You can call me by my name.’
There was an uncomfortable silence.
Kisha reached for the tray and poured herself a bowl of warmed honey drink. She took a sip, then offered it to her sister: ‘try, it’s lovely.’
Eliana waved it away. ‘I don’t want anything.’
‘You must have something, my... Eliana.’ Mari said, ‘you’ll need your strength to recover from those injuries, and to bear anything more that’s to come.’
She could have wept, then, at the futility of it all. These wounds would heal, but how long until Samsu sent for her again? Days... hours?
Kisha placed light fingers on her arm, pressing the bowl into her hands. ‘Drink,’ she said.
Eliana took a long swallow, the warm, thick drink soothing her aching throat. In a moment, her gloom dissipated. She looked into her sister’s loving face, and felt at home.
‘Whatever’s to come,’ she said, ‘I can bear it. As long as I have you, Kisha, I can withstand anything they throw at me.’
Kisha smiled, kissing Eliana’s rumpled curls. ‘Come on, let’s finish breakfast and get down to the bathhouse. Then I’ll show you around – it’s not all bad, living in a palace.’