NEW STORY!

This takes place just after Hazel's Mission ended, though this chapter takes place during HM.

IT'S ALL ABOUT PRIYA GUYS

Be warned, this is not a happy story. You can tell by the way it's titled Priya's Pain.

…

Priya's POV

It's been two hours since I visited Artemis.

I'm at home alone, making our bed. I don't feel well. My stomach is churning, and it's taking all my restraint to not throw up. I keep having to blink spots out of my vision.

As I pick up one of our cushions from the floor, a sudden pain stabs through my forehead, making me drop the cushion with a cry. I lean on the bed for support, one hand clutching my forehead.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" I scream. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

But the pain doesn't go away. As soon as my head stops hurting, I stand up straight and immediately get hit with a wave of dizziness. I stumble backwards and hit the wall. "Please go away," I whimper. "It hurts."

The pain-god doesn't take sympathy on me. In fact, he adds to my discomfort by doubling my nausea. I stagger into the bathroom and throw up into the toilet. I go to the sink to wash my paws but I have to grip the sides of the porcelain as my vision goes completely black for a brief second. I raise a hand to my forehead but that's the last thing I do before the blackness completely takes my vision and I collapse to the ground.

…

"Priya!"

I open my eyes woozily to see the worried face of my mother-in-law swim into view.

"What time is it?" I slur.

"About midday," Pearl replies, looking incredibly worried. "Goodness, what happened? Are you okay?"

She reaches out to help me sit up but I close my eyes again. "I'm not even half a week pregnant and the problems have already started."

"Problems?" repeats Pearl.

I tell her what happened. "I feel rotten," I say quietly.

Pearl feels my forehead. "Oh, Priya! Your forehead is very hot and you look sick. Let's take you to Apollo."

"Yes, Apollo," I murmur, half-delusional. "I need to slap him for not telling me how horrible this was going to be."

"Maybe he didn't know," says Pearl fairly.

But when we get to Apollo and Pearl relays what happened, I see Apollo looking slightly guilty. He tucks me into one of the beds. As Pearl leaves, I confront the doctor. "You knew," I state. "You knew as soon as you discovered I was pregnant. You knew that this was going to happen."

Apollo has the good grace to look even guiltier. "Yes," he admits quietly. "It's what I wanted to talk to my sister about."

"Artemis knows?" I slam my head onto the pillow. "Wait, I was just there! Why didn't you tell me then?"

"I didn't want to worry you," Apollo says, clearly trying to calm me down.

The pain in my head gets worse. "Isn't there some kind of anaesthetic you can give me to stop the pain?" I ask in frustration.

He shakes his head. "Not without harming the baby in some way."

"Great. Is there anything you can do?"

"I can give you a painkiller-."

"Then do it."

"You didn't let me finish," says Apollo patiently. "I can give you a painkiller which will make the headache go away temporarily but when it comes back, it will affect you more badly."

I think about that for a moment. My decision is made for me when my brain decides to replicate the feeling of being on fire. "Just do it!" I snap, clutching my forehead.

Apollo goes away and comes back with a syringe full of a blue liquid, which he injects into me. Sure enough, all my pain dies down.

"How long will it last?" I ask.

"No more than twenty-four hours," replies Apollo. "I must say, you're being really brave."

"Save it."

I'm annoyed with Apollo right now. He didn't tell me that I would become sick, despite the fact that he knew I'd find out anyway. Maybe he didn't expect it to happen so soon. It doesn't matter either way. He kept crucial information from me and as such I was unprepared for the pain. If he had told me, I could have been prepared. There was literally no point in not telling me.

Apollo looks a little hurt but he nods like he knows he deserves it. Then he leaves. I roll onto my side, facing away from him, and try to sleep.

I must have gone to sleep because when I next open my eyes, it's early morning. Apollo is tidying away something from surgery. "Apollo?" I call. "Can I go?"

Apollo turns to me. The state of him makes me feel shocked. He has bags under his eyes, his hair is unkempt, and his face holds the look of someone who hates himself right now. "Are you okay?" I ask. "What happened?"

"Surgery," Apollo replies dully. "James the Hooper. He had a spike through his chest. Worked on him for almost sixteen hours straight but…he didn't make it."

James is dead…! James the Whale Song Singing Double Breasted Angle Hooper has never liked me or Perry and neither I nor Perry really liked him—which is natural, I suppose, since they're the natural enemy of the platypus in the wild—but…I can barely believe it.

"I'm so sorry," I say. "Do you need anything?"

He shakes his head and runs his fingers through his hair. "All you need to do is rest. You can go home if you want but only if you promise to take it easy."

"Are there any other patients here?"

"No, but I need to stay to fill out the paperwork."

"Then I'll stay and keep you company. Even if that means someone to just be here if you want someone to talk to."

Apollo manages a smile. "Priya, I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

There's no need to ask what he's referring to.

"It's just that…when you came to me yesterday, you were so depressed. I was worried about what your mental health would do if I told you when you were so vulnerable. Believe me when I say this: when I headed to Artemis's office, I was intending to tell you. But when you came out, you had a smile on your face and you looked so much better. I didn't want to ruin that just yet. If you had come back this morning and still felt fine, I promise I would have told you then. It's just that…I didn't want to make you feel worse."

He looks nervously at me. "It's okay," I say. "It's just all this pain that's making me feel more crabby than usual."

"You have a right to be."

There's a pause. "Is there anything else you're not telling me?" I ask.

"That depends on how badly you want to know anything else I might be keeping from you," Apollo replies.

I hesitate. "Please tell me."

"I…" Apollo also hesitates. "It's about the birth, so I think you should know."

"Then tell me."

He hesitates again. "I also told Artemis this. Your birth…it's going to be a lot more painful than your three previous births put together."

"Great," I sigh, but he's not done.

"I can't guarantee it won't kill you."

"Ah. But why?"

"It's to do with your age," Apollo replies. "If you had no children and you were pregnant at this age, I'm afraid you wouldn't have a chance. Female platypus' bodies are designed to have four or five babies between the ages eight to nineteen. A pregnant female between the ages of four and eight can physically give birth but it's trying on such a young body. You with me so far?"

"Yes."

"Well, your condition is the exact opposite. Instead of being on the younger side of the spectrum, you're on the older side of the spectrum. You are physically able to give birth but it will be trying because your body is past the prime age for reproduction."

"Ah…" I say again.

Despite my calm exterior, my heart has begun pounding. My fourth child might just kill me…

…

This is the beginning of the end for poor Priya :( and yes, I know his explanation is exactly the same as chapter 8 of Hazel's Mission but that's the point.