NA'IMAH
"I think I'm dying, Na'i," the sick girl I am attending to whispers. I shake my head rapidly, placing my palm over her forehead. "Not on my watch," I tell her with conviction.
No one in this camp is dying on my watch, not if I can help it. Turning to Jodi and the lady who had called for my attention. "Get me a bucket of fresh water." They both stared at me as if I were requesting the impossible. I knew that asking them to find a bucket of water was nearly futile. We were in a slave camp, where we had to earn every single thing we received. If the Lycans who invaded my home could charge us for the air we breathed, they certainly would. They are monsters. But I am going to dwell on that right now.
"I know that's a difficult ask, but I need to clean her up. Do what you can; get me a fresh bucket of water, and Jodi, go to my tent. You'll find a stash of herbs under my mat; bring it to me." They nod before leaving the tent.
Turning to the sick girl, I ask, "I need to undress you; is that okay with you?" She gives a weak nod. "Thank you."
Helping her into a sitting position, I manoeuvre her body so she leans on me while I do my best to take off her garment without causing too much strain to her body. In the meantime, I examined her body, checking for signs of what might have gone wrong in the one week she was under Jodi's care. I had treated her last week, and she was fine before I left her tent that day.
"The water", the lady announces, heaving as she steps back into the tent.
"Thank you." I begin cleaning. Making a mental note of everything that stood out to me, what stood out to me the most was her scent and the discomfort she showed every time I put pressure on her stomach.
"Anything yet?" The lady asks, kneeling beside me.
"I think I have an inkling of what might be wrong, but I'll wait for Jodi to bring my stash before concluding."
Once I have all the wounds cleaned, I instruct the attending lady to sit behind the teenager to keep her body propped up. Jodi soon returns with my stash of herbs, and I immediately start searching for a particular tree bark.
"Here", the girl makes a face as I bring the dried tree bark to her lips. "I know it
doesn't look appealing, but it would help me get answers on what the problem might be. You don't have to chew much; just take a bite and chew as much as you can, then swallow." She nods, takes a bite of the bark, and begins to chew.
I watched every reaction she made intently as she chewed the tree bark. It's a rare bark found on spirit trees, and they are known to be effective for various ailments and also a source of diagnosis.
"It doesn't taste awful," she eventually mumbles after swallowing, and I nod.
"That's good to know."
"What now?" Jodi asks.
"Now, we wait."
A few minutes pass, and the girl jerks forward, hands immediately moving to wrap around her stomach. "Ohh. Ahh," she stares up at me with tears in her eyes. "There's something in my stomach," she whimpers.
I stand up, moving to the corner of the tent to grab a bowl before coming to crouch down beside her. "There is our answer. It seems you're pregnant." I broke the news to her with a small smile.
"Preg…" She glances down at her belly. "I'm pregnant?" She asks as tears spill down her cheeks.
I nod. "Yes, you are. I'll need to determine how far along you are, as that will help me decide what route to take in treating your wounds. But I'm guessing the father isn't here, is he?"
She shakes her head at my question. "He was killed while we were under attack."
"I'm sorry for your loss."
"It's not your fault, Na'i," she whispers.
It was my family's fault, though. Perhaps if Father had given in to the demands of the Lycan king, none of this would've happened.
"Is that the reason her wounds weren't healing?"
I nod. "I'm guessing she was recently mated. A freshly mated pair needs to be around each other as much as possible, especially when the omega is pregnant. The loss of her mate was causing a strain on her pregnancy, and her hybrid was doing their best to protect the baby, which meant taking from her core. Which was inadvertently draining her life source." I explained as I began applying a new salve to the wounds.
"But what will happen to her now?" Jodi asks.
"Once I figure out how far along she is. I can come up with a better treatment and put her on herbs that will help boost her immune system and also sustain her baby. We also need to increase her food ration. Inform Aunt Rory that we have a pregnant teen who needs to eat for two. In the meantime, I'll take care of you today and see where we go from there."
I spend the rest of the evening treating the pregnant teen until she falls asleep. I instruct Jodi to keep an eye on her through the night and let me know if there are any changes come dawn. With that, I make my way out of the tent only to stop short as royal tow guards appear out of nowhere.
I eyed both guards as they looked at me with disdain. "What do you want?" I hiss as they grab my hands
"The palace requests your presence." They respond as I struggle against their tight grip.
"Na'i," Jodi's voice rings through the evening air, and I turn. "Why are they?" Panic fills her voice as she hurries out of the tent.
"No, don't come. Stay with the girl. I'm fine; it's nothing. I promise, just look after the girl." I try to assure her, even if I don't believe what I'm saying.
The guards drag me through the streets of the camp before Jodi can say another word. "What does the palace want from me?"
"You will find out when we get there. And stop fucking resisting." The guard on my right snaps at me.
"Stop dragging me like I am an invalid," I snap back at him.
"We were asked to bring you, and that's what we're doing."
"Were you told to drag me to the fucking palace? Did I tell you I won't go with you?" I hiss at the female guard.
"No," she replies, eyeing the male guard.
"Then let me go. I can walk; you don't have to treat me like a freaking peasant."
"But you are a peasant," the male guard snickers. It took all my willpower not to hit him where the sun doesn't shine.
"She is a slave. Peasants are free citizens; she is not a free citizen."
I tune out their words as they lead me out of the slave camp. I have to hope that nothing is wrong. The palace has no reason to call for me.
Unless they have news about my parents. Perhaps they want to tell me in person that they've killed them.
Or… My heart slammed against my ribs as I realised there could be other reasons. Did they somehow find out that I've been sneaking into the palace to steal supplies and food for the slaves in the camp?
Fuck! I've been very careful with it, and no one in the camp knows about my late-night activities. Is that why the palace is requesting me? If that's the reason, I won't make it back alive. I glance back at the camp. What will happen to all these people? I am their only hope. I am the reason the majority of them are still taking each day as it comes.
Without me here to give them that hope.
I shake my head, trying to dispel those depressing thoughts. I can't let it show on my face that I'm worried or scared of what the palace wants with me.