The room is dark and windowless, and the beds are full of moaning, big bellied women. I hang limp between my three captors as they drag me over to the only empty bed. Roughly, they lift me up and onto it. As they begin to chain me to the bed, I throw my carefully husbanded strength into one last escape attempt. The element of surprise gets me up off of the bed, but my body, with its swollen stomach, betrays me, and I topple forward. Roland and another paladin catch me, force me back to the bed, and, as I struggle and curse, chain me in place. Then they leave me alone in the dark. Well, almost alone.
My head is all I can move, with my legs chained to the lower corners of the bed and my hands manacled to the wall above. I turn to look at the women in the other beds, and, although I know what I will see, I almost cry.
There aren't many Lady Paladins in the Order. Noble born ladies are expected to be dutiful wives, not warriors. There are eleven of us, and two female squires. I know them all.
The lady chained to the bed on the far side of the room is Adelia. She is vain and sometimes petty, and was a squire to my page, and, later, a knight while I was a squire. We were rivals, but I would not wish this upon her. Her belly is enormous, bigger than should be possible, and I wonder if, even were she awake and unchained, she could stand. She is tossing and moaning in her fevered dreams.
The next one is a squire, Venitie. Her eyes are wide and frightened, though she is usually quite brave. I wanted to train her myself, once, and petitioned for the honor, but she was given to another. A paladin named Heratio, I think. I wonder if he knows where she is.
It is the bed next to mine that breaks my heart. Morane. My best friend, sister of my heart. I had hoped she had escaped this, and here she is, belly bigger than mine. As I watch, she wakes up and looks over at me.
"Thera," she says dully. "Shit."
"That pretty much sums it up," I agree.
We stare at each other in silence for a moment. Then I shake myself and ask urgently, "The other Lady Paladins and squires. Where are they? I only count four of us."
She sighs. "I was out questing when this started. When I got back, they took me straight to Orwen, and he won't say anything other than that the ones who agreed to this are being kept separately."
"Some of us actually agreed to do this?" I am shocked and outraged.
"You know Xane, Thrush, and Salama. They'd agree to anything a higher up wanted them to do. And Yolana hates the fairy folk. Listi was on a diplomatic mission to Celeste, so hopefully she's safe. And Ophala is too young. I hope. As for Quia, Zera, and Fini, I don't know."
"Does Venitie know? Or Adelia?" I ask.
"Adelia was the first one taken, as far as we know. Months ago. She's got no idea. And Venitie..." Morane sighs. "She hasn't said a word since she arrived."
I frown. "I would have thought Adelia would also agree. Why is she here?"
She laughs bitterly. "She told me, back when she still woke up occasionally, that she didn't want to get stretch marks."
"Ah." I consider this. "What have you tried, escape wise?"
She shakes her head. "There's no point."
"There's always a way," I say stubbornly. "I'll get us out of here, you'll see."
Morane laughs bitterly. "And then what? I didn't say there wasn't a way, I said there wasn't any point."
"What do you mean?" I ask, confused.
"I mean, there's no way to get the eggs out, even if we escape," says Morane. "Every priest powerful enough to do something like that has been ordered by the Zierat himself not to."
"You mean, every priest of the Church," I say.
"What, you planning on walking all the way to Beste by yourself? Throw yourself on the mercy of the wood elves? If you can even get there in time. You may not have noticed, but we aren't in any shape to travel. Or fight, for that matter, and, this close to the wild lands, you're almost guaranteed to run into an orge." She gasps sarcastically. "Wait, that's it! We'll ask the ogres for help! I'm sure they won't just slaughter us."
"Enough, Morane," I snap. "There's got to be a way. We can't just give up."
She sighs. "What's the point of trying?"
"To try!" I growl. "The point of trying is to try! We're guaranteed to fail if we don't try." I pause, remembering the words of the Spider King. He said, 'when my people were alive, I was a powerful priest.' Powerful enough, I wonder, to remove the eggs? "Besides, I have an idea about egg removal."
I refuse to say anything else about my plan, partially because I am not sure if there is anyone listening, partially because I do not think she would like my idea if she knew who it relies on. When I will not divulge my plan, she subsides into silence. I try to engage her in conversation, but she will only answer in a quiet monotone, using as few words as possible, and, finally, I give up. She is soon asleep again.
I will escape, I know. And I will find the Spider King again. Then, I will make him remove the eggs. I will make an escape plan soon, but, first, I think, a nap...
*
I awake to the sound of screaming. At first I panic. I've got no idea where I am. I struggle wildly against my bonds. Then I remember where I am, and my struggles cease. Blind panic is replaced by cold rage, which only increases when I see the source of the screaming.
It's Adelia. She's fully awake now, for the first time in a while, according to Morane. Her eyes are wide and staring, full of pain and panic. She is thrashing madly within her bonds. And her nether regions are gushing with blood.
Morane is screaming to, now, except her screams have words. "Get in here now, assholes! She's dying! Adelia's dying!"
Three guards immediately rush in. Latimer is among them, as is a warrior I think is Heratio. Latimer gestures to the third guard, the one I don't recognize, and yells something in his ear. The man immediately runs off, hopefully to fetch someone who can help. Latimer and Heratio unchain Adelia, who by now has stopped thrashing, but is still screaming weakly. They carry her out of the room. As the door shuts behind them, the weak screams gradually fade away.
*
Morane is asleep now. I don't know how she can sleep after that... That horror. Blood is pooling on the floor below Adelia's bed, and in a trail to the door. I know a bit about healing, from combat. That amount of blood... Well, a person can't really lose that much and survive.
I hear a noise from the other room, the one the guards stay in. I rattle my chains, and call to Morane. "Someone's coming!"
She blinks sleepily. "Does it matter?"
I growl, and thrash in my chains.
Sir Latimer enters. I immediately begin to berate him, using every curse word I know.
He claps his hand over my mouth. When I bite him, he winces, but does not take his hand away. "Shut up! I'm here to let you out!" he hisses.
I quiet down, and stop biting his hand. He pulls his hand away, and shakes his head. "This has gone too far. I wasn't expecting..." He shakes his head. "Poor Adelia."
"She's dead, isn't she?" I ask.
He sighs. "You saw how much blood she lost. What do you think?" He wipes his bloody hand on his leggings, and winces. "You didn't have to bite me."
