Sarai Hux, a cold but beautiful woman, glanced down into the blanket with disgust at the product of betrayal. Pale skin, crystal blue eyes and a crop of red hair; yes, he was his alright. She hadn't wept when she made the discovery; what could she expect only that he would take mistresses but she hadn't expected for him to drop proof of it on their doorstep and leave her in charge of it. Instead, she was white with rage. Why shouldn't she be? While he was off at the Academy, how could he expect her to adhere to this without question? But her husband knew her better than that, he knew she wouldn't. He knew she wouldn't accept him but he didn't think she'd be cruel to Armitage; he was a child after all, a newborn. Perhaps he underestimated that Sarai would feel threatened and jealous, despite the child's mother rotting in the primitive hut he'd been born in, where she had been exiled to on the revelation of the pregnancy.
"I don't care what you do with it." Sarai haughtily dismissed the meek woman holding the helpless weight in the blanket, one of her chamber maids; a pretty girl, young, who Brendol had probably already had his way with. The blonde, grey eyed wicked stepmother knew he was a boy, she knew his name was Armitage but to acknowledge those little details acknowledged he was human. This, this bastard brat, a mere result of her husband throwing around his authority and superiority to the women on the estate staff. "But I want nothing to do with it. Take it downstairs, keep it with your people and keep it away from me." Tana, the maid, looked down at the little boy whose face was starting to contort in discomfort. Please don't cry, little one, please don't. It seemed he didn't want to heed her. Whether it was hunger, thirst, a requirement for a new nappy or just the terrible atmosphere in the room; little Armitage began to wail. Much to Sarai's displeasure. "GET IT OUT OF HERE NOW!" With as close to a bow as she could muster in a hurry and with the squalling child in her arms, Tana exited the room but stopped halfway down the corridor to fix him.
"Sshhh sshhh sshhh... It's alright, she's gone. I have you." Tana lifted the baby to her shoulder and secured him and the closer contact seemed to calm him significantly; for now. All the way back through the winding corridors towards the servants quarters; she rubbed his back, kissed his head and held him close to her form until she got to the kitchen where a number of the staff were waiting for her.
"How did it go?" An older, stout woman called Marla, the head chef asked from over a bubbling pot.
"About as well as we thought." Tana replied grimly, feeling the tiny hand against her cheek and nuzzling into it. "She's terrible. This isn't his fault, look at him! He's barely a day old! She said she wants nothing to do with him and she wants him kept away from her. And by that, she means down here."
"So, his mistake and we're raising it?" Vas, one of the gardeners and less liked of the staff chimed in with a raised eyebrow; he should have realized his two cents weren't appreciated by Tana.
"You're sounding like her! He doesn't have anyone else! His mum's gone, his father's a lecher and his step-mother is a psychopath!" With an exasperated sigh, Tana felt the shift of the tiny body resting against her shoulder and so gently swayed herself in an attempt to comfort the little half orphan. "Looks like you're staying with me, little one. I'll look after you."
"We all know she won't be happy until he puts one in her. You're going to need all the help you can get, love." Marla murmured, giving the pot a stir but carefully monitoring it so as to avoid an eruption later when Sarai's dinner was served if it wasn't to her liking; the house was already on edge with the new arrival. "We'll have a look for a few bits and pieces for him but you might need to make a trip into town. And don't expect thanks or gratitude when his father comes back." Tana already that much. She had seen the master, she had heard him speak and she knew of his fascination with the lower women. So far, Tana had escaped unscathed though being the self-appointed guardian to his son might put her in the spotlight.
In the days, weeks, months and ultimately years that followed, it appeared little Armitage's mother's gentler personality had won out over his father's significantly colder one. He was good natured, well behaved, slept plenty and ate often; Tana had no complaints but Sarai's shadow seemed to dog the little redhead no matter how hard the servant girl tried to shield him. Tana continued to make good on her promise though; she had promised Sarai nothing but she had pledged little Armitage protection and as decent an upbringing as she could provide. It might not have been much to be skittering after her in and out of the kitchen but the little redhead knew no different or better; as far as he knew, she was his mother. His unsteady little steps at around a year old were used to help Marla in the kitchen, fetching things for her like utensils and vegetables until Tana came back at the end of the day. Exhausted, he was swept up and kissed and cuddled; he would doze on her lap, leaning against her chest while she ate her meager meal then gathered up her adopted son again to bring him to bed.
Armitage (or Armie as he was affectionately known by Tana and everyone else in the servant quarters) only saw his father a handful of times in those first few crucial years. Sometimes the elder Hux sought out the little boy, sometimes he didn't and Tana preferred those times. When he returned from the Academy (usually only for a day or so at a time), his first port of call was Sarai and as if poisoned by his wife, the contact with the child seemed to lessen and lessen which suited Tana just fine. She felt even Armie was relieved by it since the child was affected by the cold, disinterested demeanour. Why did he even bother? If he had no intention of even being kind to the child, why did he inflict himself upon him?
"He might be illegitimate but he's still a son." Marla's wisdom seemed to shine through as always, though not quite fitting in with the image of her up to her elbows in bread dough. "And until he manages to get one from Sarai, if he manages it, he's going to make sure he's strong enough in case he's the only son."
"And I think we both know Sarai would rather die than let that happen." Tana responded bleakly, swallowing a scolding mouthful of soup at the end of a physically and mentally draining day. Leaning back slightly in her chair to take in the toddler's face, her curiosity was satisfied when she found his eyes closed and his breathing slow as was the norm for that time of night. "Did he eat?"
"Mmm. Spilled a bit on his way to the table."
"Sorry…."
"He's a child, Tana. It happens. A good child, at that. Nothing like his father, thank the Gods."
"He's clever though, Marla. He knows the bells, he knows the different utensils and everything else…. It would kill me if he spent the rest of his life in a kitchen." There was no possibility of removing Armitage to a more thriving environment, despite the concentrated hatred his step mother openly held for him; his father wouldn't allow the child to be relocated.
"His father knows he's clever. You mark my words; if Sarai doesn't produce as she's supposed to, Armitage will go to the Academy. Hux won't tell anyone he's illegitimate, it won't be on a need to know basis but I'm telling you, that child is a backup. Besides, would it be so bad if he did stay in the kitchen? Or working in the garden? He's being raised among decent, hardworking folk; of course that's going to rub off on him. We'll make a proper lad out of him and not a stuck up little snot like he'd be if he was legitimate. He's better off with us, Tana." Wise as always, old Marla.
"Can you still make the birthday cake next week?"
"Aye. I put in an order for the basics, we'll just need to chip in an extra bit each to order the chocolate without Sarai noticing. She'd go ballistic if she thought we were getting stuff for his birthday on the household budget. Did you manage to get him something?"
"I'll talk to the others and see if they'll donate something." Finished her soup; Tana's thin, pale fingers raked her hair while her eyes closed and her temples were massaged. Why did it have to be so difficult to plan a small birthday party? It wouldn't even be a party; just a cake, hugs and kisses. And it would have to be done in silence and secrecy. "I got him a ball." The answer was almost shameful and though Tana knew she couldn't do any better, the disappointment in herself was still there. "It's all I could afford."
"I think I have a little bit saved somewhere, I'll see what I have." Marla offered gently but still grunting through the effort of kneading the dough. "Not to worry, love. You know what he's like, he'll love the ball even if it's the only thing he has. Go on, take that child to bed. He's exhausted."
The usual morning clatter of spoons, bowls, mugs and other breakfast paraphernalia indicated a day like any other. Everyone readied themselves for work even though some had departed already but were due back soon for their morning meal. Tana was no exception when she fought her way to where Marla stood waiting with the little redhead in her arms.
"I love you." The chamber maid told him with the routine kiss to his face, pausing for a moment when Marla dipped him so he could wrap his little arms around his 'mother's' neck in a parting hug. "I'll be back later, be good for Marla!" Just before she and the others hurried from the kitchen, frantic footsteps on the stone staircase disrupted the morning rush and doused everyone into silence. A few seconds later, one of the earlier maids appeared, a girl in her mid-teens called Nara. Nara darted to the table where she fell against it in relief of her exertion and seemed to stay there, panting, for almost a minute; much to the curiosity of everyone else.
"Nar?" Tana poked her way through the crowd surrounding the collapsed maid who still heaved as though she had sprinted all the way from the upstairs of the opposite end of the house. "Nar, you alright?" Nara's eyes flickered to her colleague; she didn't seem to be damaged or in pain, simply disheveled.
"You'll never guess." The younger of the two murmured, managing to prop herself up on the table to address the curious silence. "It's happened. It's finally happened. Sarai's pregnant."
