Tatiana al'Pillan
Passing the Time


Voices drifted in and out of the room, a steady drone that constantly changed pitch. There never seemed to be a brake in the incessant chatter, there was never any silence.

Tanya shifted on the bed, pulling on the dark blue silk sheet that threatened to slide off. She had quit throwing things at her husband long ago, having quickly run out of objects and tired herself out. Everyone but Quince had left the room as she had removed her confining dress and slipped under the covers of her bed, pushing all but the one sheet to the floor.

After they had let everyone back into the room she remembered sending Rash out to get her some food, but she’d been so tired that she’d fallen asleep before he had gotten back. Looking to the side, she saw a tray of food setting on a far table. Her husband was probably still wary about letting things close to her that she could use to throw at him.

She grinned and closed her eyes, yawning.

Tanya could hear her sister’s voice now and smiled sleepily, finding Raven’s voice, the only one besides her husband’s that she could pick out, comforting. Her husband was arguing with her twin, his deep voice raised in agitation.

She opened her eyes slightly, the lids feeling too heavy to open all the way. “Quince,” she squeaked out, wetting her dry lips with an equally dry tongue.

He was at her side instantly, her left hand clasped tightly in both of his. “What is it, love?” he asked softly.

“I want a drink,” she rasped.

He left her side for a mere second, returning with a glass of water. Tanya pushed herself into a sitting position, making sure to pull the sheet over her naked body, and made herself comfortable against the pile of pillows that were suddenly stacked behind her back. She took the cup from her husband’s hands as he pressed it to her lips and frowned at him.

“I’m not dying, nor am I incompetent. I can drink by myself.” She took a long sip of the water, then handed the glass back. She rubbed a hand over her eyes and yawned.

“Still sleepy? You must have sleep for a few hours, though I can’t see how with all the pain I know you’ve been going through.”

Tatiana shrugged. “Anything interesting happen while I slept?”

Quince sighed. “Tanya, the only interesting thing that’s going to happen is you having the baby. And that’s not going to happen without you knowing it.”

“No, I suppose it won’t.” Tanya pouted. “How long is it going to take?”

“Quite a while yet,” Raven said from across the room where she talked with Rashadin.

Rash, for all of his nonchalance, looked like he badly wanted to get as far away from the M’Hael and Amyrlin’s room as he could. Unfortunately, Raven was leaning against the door, conveniently cutting off his only way of escape.

Tanya rested her head back against the pillows and bit her lip, refusing to cry out from the force of the contraction that had her in its agonizing grip. Her husband held her hand, their palms pressed together and fingers entwined, and his other hand gently slid through the black silk of her long hair.

Once the pain had passed, she rubbed a hand over her distended abdomen and glared down at it angrily, as if she could somehow hurry the torturous process and lessen the agony.

“Are you sure they’re not ready to come out yet?” she asked Raven, her voice hopeful.

“I just checked you a half an hour ago, Tanya. You’re not even close.”

Grumbling under her breath, Tanya crossed her arms under her breasts. The stance served two purposes. One, it showed that she was angry, and two, it kept the sheet from falling off.

“Why don’t you try to go back to bed?” Quince suggested.

Tanya shook her head. “I’m not tired anymore.” She shifted her position so that she was lying partially on her left side and looked at her husband, her eyes direct and serious. Violet stared into silvery-gray for a silent moment, a private conversation passing between the two that could never be properly interpreted by anyone else.

“I hope you know that I’m not going through this again for a long time,” she finally spoke.

Quince’s lips tilted into a small grin. “I’m not going to argue with you, my love. I don’t like you to be in pain almost as much as you yourself don’t like to be in pain. Besides, the baby will keep us too busy for us to think about wanting another anytime soon.” He leaned over and kissed her softly, mindful of their audience.

Tanya nodded, then rolled back onto her back. “Am I ready yet, Raven?” she asked.

“No, Tanya,” Raven replied, sighing with exasperation.

Tanya pouted, but was soon diverted from her plan of action to get sympathy by another excrutiating pain. She let out the moan that fought with teeth and claws for freedom and grasped the bed sheet in both fists.

“Can’t you hurry this up any!?” she shouted, uncaring if the whole bloody world heard her.