The next morning, breakfast was brought just as she woke up. Afterwards, she got dressed and the female from last night arrived.
"Good morning," she said cheerily, "Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, thank you."
"Excellent. Today, I'll show you around the hatchery and the main rooms of the Keep. Don't worry if you don't remember how to get around right away. It takes most of the girls a few months to keep from getting lost. Follow me."
She followed her out the door and to the right, further down the corridor. She stopped at a T intersection in the corridors.
"If you turn right and follow the hall, you'll end up in the kitchens, which are connected to the Great Hall. The doors in that hallway are storage and the kitchen help's quarters." They walked on for several yards, coming to a three-way fork.
"The far left corridor leads to the infirmary. If you get hurt, even just a scratch, you go the infirmary. Same goes for the young ones you care for. Your first aid knowledge will be helpful, but the king would expect you to bring them to the infirmary anyway. The middle fork leads to the hatchery, you'll spend the better part of your day there. And the right fork goes down to the soldier's barracks. The boys can get a little rowdy, but they treat females well and they know the meaning of no."
The female led the way down the middle passageway. It sloped downward gently, getting warmer as they went. Niri wiped sweat out of her eyes before rolling the sleeves of her dress up.
"I suggest you wear something light that breathes well while you work," her guide told her. "We wouldn't want you fainting from the heat. There are a few small openings to the outside that will allow some air in, but not a whole lot."
A few minutes later, the hall leveled out at another three way fork. Continuing through the middle passage, they entered a huge cavern filled with sand. There were four small clutches of eggs around the room, pearly blue and dusted with the golden sand. A large female dragon was lying along the wall towards the back, her belly severely distended.
"This is the incubation room. The sand was brought by the bronze dragon flight from their desert home. It's always the perfect temperature to keep the eggs warm. The left fork leads to the nursery, where the newly hatched are kept for the first night, to make sure they're healthy. The right fork leads to the classrooms and the day care center."
As they moved towards the closest clutch, four females and a male in human form nearly ran them over, heading for the female. Niri ran after them, stopping near her head. Her breathing was shallow and she was in a lot of pain. Hearing someone else approach, she looked behind her to see Xander, and two other males, one in their dragon form. The blue male sat beside her, fraught with worry.
"I came as fast as I could," he panted, nuzzling her neck briefly. "You ok, love?"
"Something's...wrong," she grunted, pushing with everything she had, "It's time, but...nothing's happening."
Niri got up and went around to where the first male and the attendants were, the male examining her carefully.
"She's dilated, but for some reason, the eggs are stuck. If she can't lay, her and the eggs will die," the male said, pulling off the latex gloves he'd been wearing.
Niri remembered something like this happening with her mother when she was pregnant with her brother.
"I have an idea," she said aloud, getting the doctor's attention. "I don't know if it'll work on a dragon..."
"Something's better than standing around and watching her die," he interrupted, "What is it?"
"Three of you," she said, turning to the attendants, "start massaging her belly. If the eggs aren't in the right position, doing that may move them into the proper position. The last of you and the doctor...go and get the biggest irrigation syringe or turkey baster you can find, a bowl and pestle, muscle relaxants, lightly boiled mint leaves, um...blackberries, a bit of ginger root, a plate of nuts, fruit and cooked meat for her, and fresh snow."
Ten minutes later, she had everything assembled before her, the food given to the female to eat. While she was eating, Niri quickly ground up the powerful muscle relaxants the doctor brought until it was a fine powder. Two bowls of snow were brought in, one given to the female's mate to give her to eat for water and for her forehead, the other left in an indent in the sand, melted down and warmed perfectly.
She mashed a chunk of ginger with the boiled mint and blackberries. Once it was ground as fine as possible, she mixed it in the warmed water, turning the water black. Filling the huge syringe with the powdered medication and packing it by depressing the plunger, she set the tip of the syringe in the bowl and pulled back slowly, dissolving the powder with the liquid mixture. Once it was filled, she shook it well, mixing it completely. The rest of the mix in the bowl was handed off to the male.
"Have her drink that, it'll help boost her immune system," she explained.
"Why did you mix the pills with it?" Xander asked.
"Liquid is easily absorbed and the combination of ginger and mint will help her body fight off infection and allow the medicine to be absorbed," she told him as she inserted the end of the syringe into her dilated vagina.
She depressed the plunger hard, making the female moan in discomfort. Niri took a large, empty bowl and held it just under her, to catch the mix when it runs out in case she needed to do a second injection. The female gasped and let out a sigh.
"Everybody...m...move," she stammered, rolling on her belly when they were out of the way.
The female laid a clutch of seven eggs effortlessly. Once the last egg was out, the female dragon carefully laid back on her side again, her breathing deep and even as she curled her tail around the clutch. While she was resting, the doc examined the eggs carefully.
"All of them are thriving wonderfully," he sighed, wiping his brow. "You did good, Lania."
