-Warning: Sensitive content.-
The Ronna was only surprised for a moment before resignation spread on her features. She had expected this moment to come, however she still couldn't leave this child behind.
'The hormones must be making me more compassionate.'
She sighed. In all honesty, she had no responsibility for Neera. Their transaction was finally reaching an end, and they both met their end of the bargain, but Davina had already made up her mind. Children had no faults in this world yet. She stopped the hand that was unconsciously going towards her abdomen.
"Where do you plan to go?"
Neera only stared at her quietly, refusing to answer.
Davina rubbed her forehead with her fingers, kneading the crease between her brows as she chose her next words.
"I am pregnant."
The girl's frigid eyes widened in surprise, first in wonder, then in horror.
"The father..."
With a self deprecating smile the Ronna answered.
"I don't know. I have a... Husband as you would call it in your language back home. We were trying to conceive but it we never had any results for years. I'm not even sure if he's still alive. We were both patrolling in the same team when we were attacked and I was taken away. He was heavily injured. His arm..."
Flashes of exposed bone and rivers of red passed through the back of her eyes.
"Now... I'm not even sure what to think anymore."
Her menstrual cycle had always been irregular, so she had no way to calculate the months back to try and understand who the father was. She only noticed the changes in her body after staying at the duchy for a while. The baby could be her husband's, the guards', who didn't waste the chance to take advantage of her chained state in the caravan as they brought her to their master, or even the Duke's, who's slimy touch she could still vividly feel on her skin as if he was standing next to her with his pristine clothes and waxy smile.
A wave of nausea struck her like a punch in the stomach, making her cover her lips with her hand while her eyes squeezed shut.
'Look at this savage, she's got quite the cleavage, eh? Who wants to go first?'
'We can go all at once, we have all night anyway. We won't reach the fortress for at least a month and a half.'
'Haha! Look! She's crying!'
'Disgusting bitch. Take that! Not so tough now huh? You should've thought twice before killing so many men from our squad!'
'Is she awake? I think she fainted.'
'Can't handle all of us now can you? The chains look good on a beast like you.'
'Hey, wash her down there with water. With all that bleeding she might get infected and die before the Duke even has a chance to go at her. Just throw a bucket on her and it should be fine.'
The bile rose to her throat, burning its way up her chest.
'So this is the new addition to the harem, huh? This one is nice. Exotic.'
'Hey, hold her legs down, I don't like it when they struggle.'
'Yes, that's it, cry. No one can help you now. Disgusting savage.'
Neera's soft voice pulled her out from her nightmares.
"Will you... Abandon it if it isn't his?"
Davina's eyes flashed open, zeroing on the girl who's gaze rested on her abdomen. Neera's bottom lip trembled, wondering if this was what her mother had gone through as well in order to discard her. The child was not even born yet but it had already become akin to a monster growing in her womb, an unrecognizable creature born from pain and sorrow, a shadow to follow their mother's life. Did her progenitor want to rid herself of the constant reminder of such painful memories?
The Ronna finally escaped from the whirlwind inside her head and noticed the girl's shaking frame, understanding her distress. Steeling her resolve she finally compelled herself to answer.
"I'm... Not sure. At this point whose child it might be is still uncertain, but if... The worst is true, at the very least I will ask one of the elders back home to raise it. There are some children like that.'
"So they won't be alone?"
Neera lifted her eyes to Davina's warm and firm gaze.
"No. They won't be alone."
The girl's trembling stopped and her tense shoulders sagged. The child would be fine. It would not starve and beg for food or freeze from the cold in winter. Her brows furrowed as she started pondering about the situation.
She now understood why Davina refused to take the poison, why she always protected her stomach from the beatings and how the concoctions from her rudimentary botany skills had worked so well. She had actually been experiencing the symptoms of early pregnancy. This also explained why she didn't risk an attack on the Duke directly and helped Neera train in order to fight together. She had been taking precautions to minimize the risks towards the life inside her. With more hands to fight and a planned escape the rate of survival of the creature in her womb increased.
"So, you want me to come with you."
"Yes. I need you to. In order to cross to the Ronna territory I will probably need to fight through the guards' posts."
The mere thought of those men made her knees shiver, but she kept talking.
"I don't know how far down the pregnancy I'm at, so I can't tell how swollen I will be by the time I reach the border. Besides, although winter is almost over, the white caps in the mountains are eternal, and crossing the mountainous region through the snow will be too difficult. If I were to go there alone I risk getting discovered while gathering provisions at towns because I look too different."
The woman felt she had made quite a decent case for herself, but she could see the hesitation in Neera's eyes. The grey irises were focused on her belly, and she could see a myriad of emotions flashing through them. Eventually, the lids closed over them and the small chest swelled in a deep breath.
Davina confided in her because she wanted her help. To keep the child safe. How would her life have been if her mother were like Davina? Travelling miles and miles so she could be raised in safety, even if she didn't raise the child herself, at least it would have a semblance of a parental figure. Still, it was too late to ponder. Her mother was nowhere to be seen and the only sense of family she ever had already perished in those freezing alleys and dark dungeons.
This child was different. It had a chance. A bitter feeling spread on her chest. Why them and not her? Was she simply not deserving? Did she do something to her mother for her to leave? Did she too much like a man she hated as Davina feared?
'Maybe I should just leave so they can go through the same and feel what I feel. If I can't have it why should they?'
Her train of thought came to an abrupt halt at that last sentence. Vengeance for her misfortune on a baby that hadn't even drawn its first breath? What would be the difference between her and her tormentors for all those years if she chose to let another child suffer to ease her own pain? Would that even make her feel better at all? No. Not being the only one in pain doesn't mean it hurts less. She refused to become like them.
Even if no one had given her a chance she forged one for herself. She was now free, not anyone's property anymore. If she had the option to go back and help herself in the past she would, so why not do the same for this child?
Deciding to help the woman in front of her, Neera finally stood taller.
"I have a business with the Evernon County, building a naval fleet to trade with other continents. Soon, with all the resistance from the nobles of the region, I will need a place to dock the ships and place the cargo so we can distribute grain along the kingdom without getting attacked. Help me negotiate with your people so that I can place my ships in the coast of your territory. But before that I need to meet my contact and the workers he hired in Vinoa City."
Davina was completely dumbfounded. She was not very versed in financial matters, but she understood the weight of the endeavor that gathering a fleet entailed. The Ronna were aware of the kingdom's grain situation, where the people were starving in order to feed the army for the war. The prices for food soared, while the people's incomes decreased due to the heavy taxation. Cheaper grain from outside would be a gold mine in such an environment.
"Where did you get the money?"
"Stole it."
She fell silent for a few more seconds.
"No one noticed because many nobles were embezzling funds."
"Yes."
"And you motivated the Duke's son to do the purging."
"Yes."
If yesterday she appeared as a broken child, today Neera looked like a monster to Davina. Such a terrifying intellect seemed more dangerous that any sword she had ever seen. She had already made up her mind to protect the girl, but now she had even more reasons to stay with her.
'Such a woman will shape the future of this country. And she is still so young.'
Calming her thumping heart, the Ronna finally stretched out her hand.
"Okay. We will go to Vinoa and meet your contacts. Then, after winter is over, we will go to the Ronna's. I will stand by you and you will stand by me."
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A/N: I want to quickly say that this chapter is written purely from the intention trying to put myself in the shoes of a rape victim, regardless of what my opinion on abortion could be (in this case it is not much of an option since the medicine is way too rudimentary). I wanted to portray how the character would feel in this fictional scenario, with no intentions to offend anyone who may have gone through something similar. If you are a survivor, please know that I admire your bravery to keep going forward.