This piece was written for the Donkey Discus, in which the fic must contain an unexpected plot twist.
Kel was scared and she wanted Faleron here with her, but he would not be returning for another week, give or take a couple days, and she was sick. It was more than the sniffles or a stomach ailment, though that's what she assumed it was in the beginning. She suspected differently now. That was how she ended up at the infirmary door, knocking urgently.
"Keladry," Baird said when he opened the door, looking surprised, "it's good to see you." Then he took a closer look at her haggard face, with its black-ringed eyes and wounded mouth, and said quietly, "Or perhaps not. You look ill, my dear. Come in."
He closed the door behind her and guided her to a bed, urging her to sit. His hands were gentle, and Kel already felt soothed by his touch.
"Now," he said kindly, "what seems to be the problem?"
"I don't—I don't know," she said, and then, to her horror, she began to cry. Baird seemed to conjure a handkerchief out of nowhere and he pressed it to her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I feel ridiculous—I don't even know what I'm crying about."
"Don't be silly," he admonished. "It's frightening when your body is sick and you don't know why. Just take a breath, and tell me your symptoms."
Kel inhaled deeply, and then exhaled, trying to catch her breath. "It started a couple weeks ago, I think. I started having these headaches, and I was nauseous all the time, and I started swelling—"
"Where were you swelling?"
"My feet and legs, mostly. A bit in my hands."
"I see. Go on."
"The headaches are worse now and I get dizzy all the time. My sight's blurry, I'm seeing spots, my chest hurts—I'm worried that it's going to get worse."
"Have you gained weight? Missed your monthlies?"
"I've noticed my clothes fit tighter, but I was trying these new exercises the Lioness taught me. I assumed I was gaining muscle. And my monthlies are a lot lighter, but they have disappeared completely..."
Baird was frowning fiercely. "Keladry, is there a chance you may be pregnant?"
"Pregnant?" Kel sputtered, flushing. "I don't—I don't think so. I always wear a pregnancy charm. I have several, and I keep them on my bedside table, because I'll take it off at night...I suppose it's possible I forgot to put it on one morning, or, or it fell off during a fight, or—Your Grace, am I pregnant?"
"If you can't say for certain that you're not, it seems likely." Still, Baird didn't seem happy for her. In fact, he seemed disturbed. "However, the symptoms you're describing—they're indicative of a complication. It sounds like you had a condition called pre-eclampsia, and I fear it may have developed into full-blown—Keladry—"
Baird caught her before she hit the ground, convulsing violently in his arms.