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Exiting the carriage was far more difficult than getting into it. In the midst of the swift trip down to the docks another contraction had hit her full force, and no position had made it any easier to deal with. She’d cried into Stephanos shoulder while Selene had tried to help ease the pain, but perhaps due to the motion of the carriage nothing was working. A sheen of sweat covered her as they finally arrived, and thank the gods the pain had started to subside as she was handed down from the vehicle, unable to stand up straight yet.
The sound of a sharp voice demanding where someone was didn’t frighten her as much as it should, with her sister not reacting in fear this must be someone to trust. Instead Pia leaned heavily into Selene as they made their way at a snails pace toward the ship that was clearly ready to set sail. Fear gathered in her chest and she shook her head in panic at the thought of being trapped on a boat without her midwives. She’d never had a baby, as far as she knew no one on the voyage had ever been present for a birth, and if something went wrong she would have no chance.
”I can’t, Lene..I can’t do this without Desma, or mother. We don’t know how to do this ourselves!”
They’d made it to the gangplank and though she was balking, Pia knew she had no choice. It was stay and die for sure, or go and possibly live. Once they were aboard it was if Poseidon himself grabbed hold of her abdomen, and she gave a scream of pain and fear. So far she had done her best to stay silent, but now on the boat in this most intense moment of her labor so far it felt impossible to keep it in. Nor could she stay upright until two sailors rushed over and somehow helped carry her below.
It was dark, clearly in the belly of the boat where she was finally laid on a bed. She couldn’t tell through the tears who was with her and who was not, only that she was finally lying down again and the pain was only growing worse.
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Until they were out of Taengean waters, Selene would not feel like the task has been fully accomplished. There was still the thread of Irakles discovering the escape, of him sending out a search party to bring them back. And being with them, Selene would find herself guilty of a true crime. And she had brought Vangelis into it too.
Guilt washed over her the moment they were in the carriage, knowing that this could still all go wrong. She had asked him for his assistance simply because he had always been there for her, even when they weren’t officially friends. His actions could have dire consequences, and he had risked it for her. Yes, and for his friendship with Stephanos. But he never would have considered it if she hadn’t begged, hadn’t asked if he would have left his sister to die.
She tried her best to calm Pia, shifting uncomfortably in the armor that dug into delicate places. But her pain was nothing compared to her sister’s, in the throws of active labor to bring a child into the world. She tried not to think of the danger that the precious life was already in, instead whispering calming words to the woman each time her pains came on. There was panic in the Queen as she made her way towards the boat, but Selene did her best to ease her fears. ”I was present for all of Mama’s births, little sister.” She said calmly, quietly. It was as if the Gods had given her the strength to be level headed in this moment of chaos. All her emotions had been spent on Vangelis— now she had nothing left but calm. ”I may not be trained, but Desma promises me that the body will know what to do. You and I can do this, Pea.” She pressed a kiss to her forehead, leading the way onto the unfamiliar ship with an oddly familiar crew.
As Pia was brought into a cabin and placed on a bed, Selene couldn’t help but allow a bit of panic to wash over her. She didn’t know much about childbirth, save for what she had seen as a child herself. But she could do this, and hope that the ship’s physician was able to assist if anything went wrong. Helping settle her into the bed, Selene was the first to take charge, as if these men where her own. Orders for hot water, clean linens and a kettle were given and followed, although she wasn’t exactly sure who had told them to do so. The moment the water arrived, she was adding the satchel of loose herbs to the kettle for a tea, putting the sprigs into the larger bucket for cleansing.
She almost slipped out of the armor, but it seemed like a better idea to stay in it until after the baby was born, since she had no other clothing save for the dress she tucked underneath it.
Pouring the tea into a cup, she handed it to her sister. ”Sip this between pains, Pea. Once you’ve had a few drinks, I’ll look to see if the baby is showing.”
Dear Gods, could she really do this?
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Nodding at her sister's reassurance, Olympia simply tried to breathe. Desma had told her over and over again that at this point there was little else that could be done. The babe had decided to make his way into the world and nothing would stop him from doing so. The reminder that Selene had been present for all of their mother's many births made her feel somewhat better, at least the older Leventi would have some vague idea of what was supposed to happen. From all the tales she had been told, she knew that this would be painful, the most painful thing that she had ever experienced in her life, but as they settled her on that bed in the ship she hadn't realized how excruciating it would be.
There was blood now all down her legs from the movement it had taken to get her beneath deck, no doubt the one chiton she had which she was wearing now was stained beyond all use. It felt as if she was being stabbed repeatedly, from inside and out, and the pain was not contained to just her stomach but her back now felt as if her spine was set to break in half. How could her mother have done this so many times? If it was always like this Pia didn't know how she could be expected to do this more than once if she even survived this time.
"Oh gods help me.."
Her words were barely a whimper as she clutched at the sides of the bed, desperate for something to cling to as Selene organized water to be brought and boiled. The queen couldn't even tell if the ship was already underway or not, she was dizzy and nauseated and so disoriented they could have been pitching about in a storm or still securely on land and she wouldn't have been able to sort out the difference. Closing her eyes to try to stop everything from moving about in her vision, she was panting through a sweet moment of relief between pains when her sister brought her the cup of tea, taking it with shaking hands and sipping it immediately, the burn on her tongue barely noticeable compared to everything else.
"Where is Stephanos? Is he aboard? I need-"
Whatever she had been about to say was cut off by a cry of agony as the pains rose again, still sharper than before and gripping her whole stomach and lower back, the pressure lower this time though it felt as if something was stuck. She couldn't remember how much time had passed between the start of this and where they were now, but she felt very much as if she might be sick. Her entire body was covered in sweat and her lower half in blood as she tried to shift into a position to relieve at least some of the pain, wishing both for her husband to be here with her and for him to never witness her in such a condition.
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