“No, Mihr, I had
not
been aware of that. How serious is this?”
“They didn’t make any headway with Queen Tresea and I’ve spoken to them personally.” Mihr didn’t sound happy which meant the talk hadn’t gone well. “They might stir up the men a little to cause you some trouble, though. I would watch your back.”
He could do that. But hopefully they wouldn’t be able to make much headway with the soldiers now that he wasn’t the one personally commanding most of them. Involving the other generals might be more of a godsend than he’d initially thought it would be. “Thank you, Mihr. I shall.” Taking a breath, he mentally flagged that potential problem and moved on. “Gentlemen, we have very limited time to prepare, as I’m sure you’re aware. This plan of mine is rough. Do you have any suggestions?”
A moment of silence fell before Mihr spoke up. “I think we need to survey the areas and talk to your commanders before we can say one way or the other.”
“Probably best. In that case, meeting adjourned. We’ll meet again in a week’s time.”
~~~
Darius felt beyond tired. Really, after a day like this, he should have just fallen face first into his bed and fallen asleep. But strangely enough, his mind wouldn’t settle.
He retreated instead into the garden, cold and still at this late hour of the evening. After a day of sitting, he avoided the benches and instead paced aimlessly around for a meaningless stretch of time before he eventually slowed to a stop of his own accord near the doors.
Darius almost started as someone caught his hanging hand with an iron grip. He turned sharply to find his wife staring up at him with worried eyes. He squeezed her hand and managed a smile for her in reassurance. “It’s about to get interesting, beloved.”
“I’ve only been hearing bits and pieces,” she responded, bottom lip caught between her teeth. “Brindisi is coming.”
He’d never sugar coated the truth for her before and he wouldn’t do it now. “Thirty-five thousand troops.”
Her eyes closed in horror, grip on him tightening.
“I can win.” Her eyes shot back up to his. “I can win,” he repeated, confidently. “But I can’t fight the way I did the last time. I can’t meet them on the eastern front. If I do, we stand no chance.”
“Then how?”
“I have to harry them, ambush them, whittle down their numbers before they even reach the Dakan Pass.” He looked back out at the moonlit garden, letting the serenity overflow his tired mind. “It will take them another month to gather all of the troops and supplies together before they can start the march here. It will take three months for them to actually reach Niotan’s borders. If I leave here in a month, I can make the logistics of this work. But Amalah, this won’t be a quick campaign, not like the last two. This can take anywhere between five to seven months, depending on what they do.”
She drew in an uneven breath, chin lifting in determination. “Then it takes seven months.”
He knew her well enough by now to know that she wouldn’t demand, or whine, or even show any doubt. He also knew that inside, her heart must be shaking in terror. His certainly was, despite his confident words. If this didn’t work, if the general they sent against him was one that knew his tricks and moved to prevent them, then his job became that much harder. If the other generals, the ones that didn’t support him, decided to move against him and use his absence to their advantage, then he didn’t know what would happen.
For her sake, and his, he wrapped both arms around her and just soaked in the feel of her for a long moment. She returned the embrace, hands clenching in his shirt hard enough to threaten the seams.
“Your commanders, they looked determined as they left the office today,” she said softly.
They’d spent five hours in that room, going over ideas and making plans. Payam and Sego were both run off their feet fetching reports, maps, and the like. Darius had a very broad outline to go off of now, but nothing finalized enough to give to Queen Tresea. Although she had already demanded he come to her tomorrow afternoon and give her the plan anyway. He’d have to get up early tomorrow to finalize what he could before then.
“Let’s go to bed,” she suggested, pulling away and tugging him along with her. “You’re exhausted.”
“Exhausted enough to warrant an oiled massage?” he asked hopefully.
She glanced back over her shoulder with dancing eyes and gave a low laugh. “If my raj-husband so wishes.”
He followed her docilely into their bedroom with a grin on his face. The day might have started out horribly, but it would certainly end well.
~~~
For eight days, he planned and schemed and researched and reported to Queen Tresea. That morning, he and Amalah were up with the sun, both focused on getting dressed before his staff arrived so that he could begin another day of planning. But even though his mind was so focused on war, he couldn’t help but notice that his wife fairly glowed that morning. In fact, did he hear humming?
She had been worried and trying to hide it for the last several days until…yesterday come to think of it, when she had abruptly gone out and then came back with a bounce in her stride. Beyond curious, he snuck up behind her as she started pinning her hair up and swooped her up in his arms.
“Darius!” she protested, half-shrieking, half-laughing. “Put me down!”
“Not until you tell me what that happy smile is about, wife.” He belied his own words almost immediately by returning her to her feet.
She looked at him with calculating eyes. “I’m not sure if I should just now.”
“I
will
tickle you,” he threatened, lifting a hand and wiggling his fingers in a threatening manner.
Amalah eyed the appendage in apprehension. “Err, I planned to tell you tonight….”
“We have a few minutes until my commanders arrive,” he assured her benignly. “You have time.”
For some reason, that made her roll her eyes. “A few minutes, he says.” Blowing out a breath, she shrugged in resignation. “Alright. Darius, I’m with child.”
For a moment, the words didn’t make any sense. Amalah? With child? That couldn’t be. They’d only been married two months or so. He’d expected they’d have children in the future, of course. The semi-distant future, that was, after he’d secured Niotan’s independence and they had a chance to properly renovate their home estate. Then he wanted to have a whole passel of children, or at least as many as his wife would be willing to give him.
But now? He lifted his hands and gently cradled her face. “Are you certain?”
She put her hands over his, eyes shining with joy. “Yes. I went to a midwife yesterday and she confirmed it. She said I’m almost two months along, and perfectly healthy.”
Two months. The plan he had would take nearly five. Perhaps more, if things went a little askew. Five months of leaving his wife on her own during her first pregnancy. He’d been nearly ten when his youngest sister had been born and he remembered how hard those last three months were on his mother. She’d assured him it was normal, but if that was normal, then Amalah would face the same. He did
not
like that idea one bit.
No. This wouldn’t do. He had to fix this somehow.
From outside their bedroom door, he heard the main door open and his staff come in, talking to each other in casual tones. Oh good. They were here.
For his wife, he kissed her gently on the forehead and whispered, “I am very happy, Amalah. Tonight, we will have to properly celebrate.”
She nearly bounced on her toes, her excitement uncontainable. “I want to start preparing today.”
“Of course,” he assured her. “I will send Sego out with you as he knows the best shops. But first…,” letting go of her, he walked quickly to the door and yanked it open. “Commanders.”
His staff, half in the study, all stopped and looked at him in surprise. “Sir?” Ramin asked.
“Scratch the plan that we have,” Darius ordered firmly. “We’ll win this in three months.”
They all broke out at once in alarm.
“—Sir?—”
“—Is something wrong?—”
“—Three months?!—”
“—What happened, sir?—”
Amalah caught him by the arm and tugged him around. “Darius! Why are you saying such a thing?”
Ignoring his men for a moment, he turned back to his wife. “What do you mean, ‘why?’ Because I don’t want to leave you alone, heavy with child! Isn’t that obvious?”
Sego timidly cleared his throat. “Ah, a child is expected?”
Sidetracked, Amalah stepped fully out of the bedroom so that she could see him and respond. “The child is due in seven months,” she announced with a particularly radiant smile.
The steward actually looked more relieved by this news than anything. “Congratulations to you both.”
“Thank you,” Amalah said, only to keep repeating herself as every man in the room offered heartfelt congratulations and well wishes. Darius felt his heart warm at the feeling of happiness and anticipation in the room. Truly, if he’d had a choice, he’d not have chosen to have a child now, but…he’d do what he could to keep that smile on his wife’s face.
“So you understand now?” he asked them in an almost rhetorical tone. “I can’t leave her alone for seven months, so we’re going to have to devise a plan to win this in three. Two would be better, really.”
“Again you’re saying that!” Amalah objected, smile fleeing. “You told me that you weren’t sure if even five months would be enough time. You thought it would take seven. That doesn’t change just because we’re expecting a child.”
He turned a frown on her. “Of course it does.”
“It does not!” she retorted.
“My love,” he said with as patience as he could muster, “if you think that I can leave you on your own, with our
first
child, you are sadly mistaken. I don’t like the fact that I have to leave you for even three months.”
“I will be
fine
,” she said with a determined lift of the chin, arms crossing around her stomach as if silently saying that they
both
would be fine.
“Even if you are, I will not be,” he responded, almost snapping out the words as he lost patience with the argument. “I will, in fact, be a nervous wreck the entire time. I am not leaving you on your own, Amalah, not one moment longer than I need to. That is the end of it.”
“It is not.” She pointed a finger to the hovering commanders that were watching this scene with silent unease. “
They
do not think it can be done in three months. I can see it on their faces.”
“I say it can.”
“You are being rash and impulsive.”
“So it’s wrong for me to want to be with you?”
“When it endangers your life and the lives of all those that depend on you, yes it is!”
He didn’t know who was shocked more that she had actually yelled out those words. The
only
time he’d seen Amalah raise her voice was when she’d called to him from a distance. It stopped him cold. He’d just sworn to himself that he’d do whatever it took to keep a smile on his wife’s face, and here he’d scared her so badly that she was actually yelling at him.
“Amalah,” he trailed off helplessly, not knowing what to say to reassure her.
Amalah grabbed his arms with both hands, eyes pleading. “Darius, don’t do this. I don’t want to lose my husband. I can survive without you for seven months. It’s the next fifty years without you that I can’t face.”
He raised a shaking hand to cover his eyes. “You’re stronger than me, then.”
“Stick to your original plan,” she urged him. “Use the tactics that you are sure will work. Come back to me alive. That’s all I ask.”
Pulling free from her grip, he walked three steps away and stopped, mind whirling. He didn’t want to leave, not at all, but he knew that she and their child would be in greater danger if he didn’t. That was the only thing that kept him from staying. And she was right—he knew that. Three months would be ludicrous and impossible to pull off. But he didn’t have to like it.
The whole room seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for what he would say next. He blew out a breath, head dropping back so that he stared blankly at the ceiling. Five to seven months. He could very well miss the birth of his first child altogether. He felt like cursing something, but couldn’t decide on a strong enough word.
The inevitability eventually sank in and he bowed to it, as much as he hated it, and turned toward her again. Amalah had both hands clasped tight in front of her, knuckles white, and her eyes took in every nuance of his expression.
“Alright,” he said wearily. “Alright, you win.” Her eyes closed in relief, hands loosening their stranglehold. “But you will keep Sego and Bohme with you at all times,” he added firmly.
“I will be very glad for Sego’s help,” she admitted with a quick smile at the steward. Sego nodded back, accepting the compliment. Licking her bottom lip, Amalah carefully chose her words before saying, “But surely I don’t need a bodyguard.
You
will be the one in danger, so I think you should take him with you.”
“This is not negotiable, Amalah.” His tone brooked no disagreement. “I’m not going to sleep well as it is. If Bohme and Sego are with you, I know that they can handle any emergency between the two of them. And Bohme has experience with guarding pregnant women. You
will
keep him with you.”
“But it takes two bodyguards to keep up with you!” she objected, clearly not scared of him or his increasingly bad mood. “And Bohme said it’s even harder on a battlefield. Do you plan to run Tolk into exhaustion?”
“I’ll be fine and so will Tolk.”
“
Darius
.”
“I’m not arguing this point, wife.” He stepped toward her, arm flinging out in a westerly direction. “I know you. You’ll be just busy running all around the house and the capital, shopping and preparing for the child. You won’t let Sego have more than a moment’s rest. It takes two people to keep track of
you
as well. No wife of mine is going to be running around with only one escort. You’re keeping Bohme.”
Her eyebrows slammed together and her mouth set in that mulish way that spoke of trouble brewing. “You are
not
going into war with only one bodyguard!”