For all that she had said, Eliana couldn't bring herself to fully trust Mari. She tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, but uncertainty lingered.
The girl had been true to her promise to taste everything that came to Eliana's table, and the incident had not been mentioned again, but still she could not eat or drink without a little flutter of worry in her belly. She kept quiet about it, not wanting to make Mari feel worse; she did seem genuinely repentant.
Eliana could only hope that her own good nature would not be her downfall. She had even considered telling Samsu, but the blame would certainly fall to Mari as Susa tried to deflect suspicion. Eliana shuddered to think of the girl's fate – Samsu would be obliged to believe his wife over his concubine's slave.
So far, Susa had not attempted any retribution against Mari, but Eliana could not help but be nervous for her. The flutters continued for more than three weeks – she put them down to almost everything else before she realised what they were.
It was as she lay on the bed one afternoon, resting in the midday heat as the two girls took their naps, that she felt it. An unmistakeable thump against her ribs.
She cried out and sat up in alarm, placing her hand where she had felt the kick.
Everything was still for a moment. Mari came running, 'I heard you shout, my lady. Are you alright?'
'I think so,' she said, cautiously. Then, 'oh!' Another thump in the same spot.
A slow smile spread over her face and she felt a warm glow diffuse through her body. 'It's the baby,' she said. 'Come, feel!'
Mari almost ran to the bed. Eliana took her hand and placed it over the spot. The baby obliged with another hearty kick.
'Oh!' Mari laughed. 'He is strong!'
A fist of fear gripped Eliana's stomach. 'You said "he". What if... if it's not a boy?'
'It will be,' said Mari, with absolute conviction.
'You can't know that. If it's a girl... I'll go back to being Samsu's whore. There'll be no hiding from him. He slapped Kisha when she bore him a daughter, and he's more intense about me than he ever was with her. I can't bear it – the not knowing. Building my hopes for months. At least if I could know, I could accept it. Prepare for what might be coming.'
Mari dropped her voice to a whisper, 'there could be a way.'
'How? What way? Nobody can know.'
'There is a priestess in the city – I knew her back when I was free. She serves Ninlil – a goddess who should have great sympathy for you.'
'Enlil's wife? Why should she?'
'Think about it, my lady. You share the same plight. Ninlil was forcibly taken by her husband, ravaged and impregnated. She conceived a boy-child from her ordeal, perhaps in her sympathy, she will send one to you, too. The priestess could tell you – Ninlil speaks to her.'
'As Marduk spoke to Samsu and promised him a boy with Kisha?'
'Marduk is a false usurper – Enlil truly rules the pantheon. His wife is queen and mother of his sons. She will take pity on you.'
'I hope so. If you think you can get your priestess here, I will happily see her.' Eliana conceded. 'Anything to set my mind at rest.'
**
It took only a few days to make the arrangements. Mari sent Resu out to find the priestess, with instructions to disguise her as a midwife. She would enter the palace under the pretence of examining Eliana.
She was admitted with minimal fuss. Satisfied that she was not carrying a weapon, the guards at the gate sent for Mari to verify the woman's identity and escort her to Eliana.
The woman arrived in Eliana's chambers shrouded in a black hooded cape and veil. She bowed.
'Please, no need,' said Eliana immediately. 'Stand, make yourself comfortable. What is your name?'
The woman removed her hood and veil. Eliana gasped – when she heard the word 'priestess' she had expected a wizened old crone. This woman could not be past twenty-five years. Her hair fell straight and fine past her shoulders in a startling shade of red that could not be natural, and she stood a head taller than Eliana.
'Matima, my lady.'
'Please – we are all women here. Let us all be equal. You may call me Eliana.'
The woman nodded. 'Do you have the items I require?'
Mari brought them to her – a clean linen cloth, a copper bowl and a jug of water.
'Good. Please, lie down, Eliana.'
She did as she was told – Mari came to sit on the bed beside her, holding her hand for comfort.
Matima took a small pot from the folds of her cloak, liberally sprinkling a purple powder from it into the water. She stirred it into the water, turning it a vibrant shade of violet.
She took the cloth and dipped it into the water, then gestured to Eliana to pull her dress up to expose her belly.
Chanting mysterious words in a language that Eliana did not recognise, Matima rubbed the linen over the baby bump before withdrawing a yellow crystal on a fine gold chain from another hidden pocket in her robe. She began to swing it above Eliana's belly in a hypnotic, pendulum-like motion.
A silence fell as the women watched the crystal swing. It extended for several minutes before Eliana could bear it no longer. 'Please, what is it? Can you tell?'
'The signals are mixed,' grumbled Matima. 'Ninlil is unclear. I sense first a boy, then a girl, then a boy again.'
'What could that mean?' asked Mari, anxiously.
'Any number of things,' replied the priestess. 'I get the strongest feeling that there is more than one baby present in this room – that is what is most likely to confuse the signs.'
Eliana looked at Mari in shock. 'Mari, are you...?'
The girl looked away, ashamed. 'I had not decided whether or not to keep it. I have some of the potion that Susa sent, still.'
Eliana gripped her hand, 'you must keep it. Is it Asag's?'
She nodded.
'Then your baby will be the child of a Babylonian – born free and guaranteed a lifetime of Babylonian privilege. And you will be protected – a slave who has born a master's child cannot be sold.'
'I know all that... but, when I have a baby, I would like it to be the child of a man I care for, rather than one I merely tolerate. Asag may choose not to acknowledge the child.'
'I'll see that he does.' Said Eliana, darkly. 'Count yourself lucky that you carry the child of a man you can tolerate, rather than one you despise.'
Beside the bed, Matima cleared her throat. 'Perhaps, Mari, I could ask you to leave the room. Ninlil may be clearer without the spirits of two babies vying for her notice.'
Eliana gave Mari's hand a final squeeze, 'we'll talk later,' she promised.
Once she had left, Matima began to concentrate again, swinging her crystal back and forth, muttering in her foreign tongue. Eliana was captivated as the light danced through the facets, throwing rainbows onto every surface.
The words had an almost musical timbre – she longed to know what they meant.
'The signals are still confused,' frowned Matima. 'I sense both male and female.' She sat back and sighed. 'Ninlil refuses to be clearer on this – her voice blows with the wind, first one way, then the other. I am afraid, my lady, that you will simply have to wait and see. All I can tell you is that the child is healthy. Its heart beats strong enough for two. This will be a child that thrives – its thread of destiny is woven. Ninlil tells me that it shall have its mother's courage and spirit, and its father's strength and bravery. It will be protected and by Ninlil herself, nourished by her milk.'
Eliana felt threatening tears of disappointment. She swallowed them back. 'Thank you for trying,' she said, trying to keep her voice from breaking. Usually she would not be so prone to tears – the pregnancy played havoc with her emotions. 'Please, Mari will pay you and see you back to the gate.'
'May Ninlil bless you and keep you, Eliana,' said Matima gravely. She took out a charm and placed it beside the bed. 'This will shield you in childbed.'
Picking it up and examining it, Eliana could not help but be intrigued. Made of shell inset with fragments of the same yellow crystal the priestess had used over her belly, the creature had the head of a dragon, the wings of a bird, and the body of a lion.
She did not recognise the creature, but something about the amulet gave her comfort. She clutched it to her breast, 'thank you,' she whispered.
'One further thing,' Matima said. 'Ninlil warns of a man with the strength of a bear and the cruelty of a snake. His shadow looms large – he poses great risk to the child.'
The Brute. It could only be him.
'Thank you,' she said again.
Matima bowed and took her leave.
Eliana turned the amulet over in her hand, thinking of all she had been told. The baby had a great destiny, strength of spirit, would be protected by the mother goddess, was at risk of harm at the Brute's hands... and still could be either male or female. The priestess's words tumbled through her mind, wrapping around each other until they were so hopelessly entangled that she could hardly remember which order they were supposed to go in.
She missed Ashan keenly in that moment. Missed his calming words, his reassuring presence... his blade that would not hesitate to flash against those who tried to hurt her.