Chapter 27
"This can't be happening." Ishwari thought to herself. "Not now." she wasn't ready for this moment. She had expected Pagan to be here with her when she delivered the baby. It was all he had talked about. She took a deep breath knowing she needed to remain calm. Her contractions hadn't started yet, but she knew that the pain would soon kick in.
After taking time to remove her now soaked underwear, she stumbled into the bedroom wearing only her nightgown. She decided there would be no point in changing into a new pair of panties and the gown she wore was plenty long enough to hide her woman hood. She made her way to the doors that lead into Pagan's office, knowing that calling him would be the right thing to do.
She glanced at the clock hanging beside his desk which informed her that it was past ten o'clock. She thought about what he might be doing at that time, hoping he wasn't in any kind of meeting, or worse, with Yuma. Shaking her head, she knew there was no need to worry. No matter what he may be doing, this situation would be one he'd want to be informed about.
Sitting down in the comfortable leather chair that accompanied his desk, Ishwari picked up the phone. She glanced down at the paper with a number written on it in Pagan's hand writing. Careful to punch the buttons in the right order, she held it up to her ear, listening to each ring nervously. Eventually a man answered but he began speaking in a foreign language.
"English?" Ishwari asked, hoping the man would understand. It seemed as if he didn't when he muttered another sentence in the language she couldn't understand. Ishwari wasn't sure how to respond. "Pagan Min?" she asked.
"Ahhh" the man gasped. Ishwari smiled knowing that he understood her that time.
"Hello?" A new voice came over the phone.
"Hi." Ishwari answered. "I need to speak with Pagan Min."
"He's asleep in his room right now. I can take a message though." The new man answered.
"It's urgent I speak to him now. Would you go wake him up please?" Ishwari asked, but was turned down when the new voice refused to do such a thing. "May I ask who I'm spea..." Ishwari was unable to finish her sentence when a sharp pain pierced through her lower abdomen. She fell forward, resting her forehead on her arm, taking deep breaths waiting for the pain to pass.
"Miss?" the voice spoke
Ishwari finally composed herself enough to start speaking. "What's your name?" She asked.
"Karson. I'm one of Pagan Min's guards."
"Okay Karson." Ishwari didn't have time to argue with the man. "If you don't take this phone to Pagan right now, I will personally make sure that he knows you were the one responsible for him missing the birth of his child." She could hear the guard sigh in the background. After a moment she heard what sounded like knocking on a door, followed by Pagan's voice.
"Do you have any bloody idea what time it is?" Pagan cursed at the guard.
"S-sir, you have a phone call." the guard stuttered, showing the reason why he was hesitant about waking Pagan in the first place.
"And you had to wake me up? Jesus!" Pagan yelled. "Is it too much to ask for you to function on your own? Couldn't you have just taken a message?" The guard began to stutter something back, but was cut off once again by the angered king. "Oh for the love of..." The shuffling sound told Ishwari that Pagan was now holding the phone. "This had better be bloody good!" he yelled into the ear piece.
"Pagan..." Ishwari cried at the sound of his voice.
The king's mood was quick to change when he heard Ishwari tearful on the other end. "Ishwari? What's wrong?" He asked concerned.
"The baby is on the way." Ishwari said. She waited for him to respond but it was quiet. "Pagan?" she asked, afraid she lost connection.
"You're not due for a month..." he answered, unable to believe what was happening.
"My water just broke and the contractions are starting. I don't know how much time I have before I need to start pushing." Ishwari cried at the thought of Pagan not being there with her. "I want you here." she pleaded to him.
"I will be dear." He reassured her. "I'm leaving now. Find Shanna."
Ishwari heard the phone hang up. Any other time she would had been upset at him for ending a call in that manner, but from the background noise she could tell that he was rushing around the room, eager to leave. Standing up from the chair she had been sitting in, she waddled to the golden doors, knowing she had to find Shanna for this was something she couldn't do alone.
The journey from the west wing to the east wing seemed longer than usual. Ishwari had anticipated Dr. Aida being present for the birth. She had never even discussed the possibility of having to ask Shanna to help deliver. Ishwari wasn't even sure if Shanna would know how to handle the situation. She was almost to the east wing hall when another contraction came, this one worse than the last. Ishwari placed both her hands on the wall for support and let out a loud moan, allowing the pain to pass. It had been at least ten minutes since the last contraction came, so Ishwari knew that she still had some time before the pushing stage of labor.
Once she was able to walk again, she continued making her way to Shanna's bedroom, knocking on the door once she arrived. After a moment, the door swung open to revile Shanna standing in the doorway, eyes heavy from where she had been asleep. Rubbing her eyes, she spoke. "Ishwari? Is everything okay?"
"My water broke." Ishwari managed to say through her pain.
"Oh..." Shanna was surprised. "You're probably going to need some help then. I've never delivered a baby before though."
"I need someone with me." Ishwari begged of her friend.
Shanna smiled. "And I will be with you. We'll get through this together." Shanna stepped out of her room, closing the door behind her. "Let's get you back to your room then I'll get supplies." Grabbing ahold of Ishwari's arm, she slowly led her back to the kings sleeping chambers to prepare for the eventful night that was about to happen.
Ishwari paced back and forth around the large bedroom, now hitting the three-hour mark since her water broke. Every contraction that came always felt stronger than the last. She squatted down beside the massive bed, resting her head on the side as she let out another loud moan. She felt Shanna rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort her.
"Ishwari, your contractions seem to be happening more frequently." Shanna looked at the clock. "You may have to start pushing soon."
"I haven't felt the urge yet." Ishwari lied through the sounds of her moans.
Shanna could hear the deceit in her friend's voice. "Ishwari if it's time, you can't delay it. It's not safe for you or the baby." Shanna exhaled, knowing exactly why Ishwari was so hesitant on pushing. "I know you want to wait for King Min to be here with you, but you know he would be furious if he knew you were putting yourself in danger."
Ishwari began to let her tears fall as she heard Shanna's hard truth. She was right. It wasn't safe for her to avoid pushing, but she had always imagined getting through this moment with Pagan by her side. She needed him there more than anyone could ever know. Another hard contraction hit her and she scrunched her eyes from the pain, ignoring the fact that her body was so desperately trying to tell her to push.
"Oh I'm so glad you're here." Ishwari opened her eyes when she heard Shanna speaking to another person. Looking up she saw Pagan rushing through the door. He was out of breath, a clear sign he had been running. "She's been refusing to push until you were here." Shanna tattled.
"What!?" Pagan said in a frustrated manner. He knelt down beside Ishwari. "Don't you ever put yourself in danger over a petty excuse such as myself." Grabbing her arm, he gently helped her to her feet. "Climb up on the bed dear. I'm here now so there's no reason for you to be avoiding this."
Ishwari obeyed and sat down on the bed. Pagan situated pillows behind her so she could lean back comfortably. She moved around until she felt she was in a suitable position for the difficult part that was about to come, spreading her legs wide enough for the infant to pass through. Pagan moved so that he was seated beside her, one arm behind her for support while his other was holding onto her hand. "You can do this Ishwari." He assured her.
Yet another contraction came and this time Ishwari pushed, ready to bring her child into the world. The pain was unbearable and she let out a scream and squeezed Pagan's hand hard. She could hear his breathing become shaky, as if he could feel her pain. The look on his face showed that he was nervous about what was happening.
"That was a good one Ish." Shanna encouraged. She began placing all the towels around Ishwari's bottom half to catch the excess blood "Keep doing pushes just like that one."
Ishwari pushed again at the feel of another contraction, and then again, letting out screams with each one. Her bottom half was on fire and she wanted it to be over. At some point she heard Shanna mention the baby's head was almost out and that it had a lot of hair. Knowing that it would all be downhill after the head came through, Ishwari gave a strong push before feeling a slight release of pressure.
"The head is out!" Shanna said relieved. "Just a few more pushes and you'll be done."
"You hear that?" Pagan smiled. "You're almost done. Just stay strong for a little bit longer."
Wanting to be done with it, Ishwari gave her all on the following contraction, but it wasn't enough. She waited, until she felt the urge again and at last she felt the relief of the tiny body being expelled from her own. She panted as she listened to the sound of her new baby's cry fill the room.
"It's a girl!" Shanna announced as she placed the baby on Ishwari's chest.
Ishwari began crying as she held her daughter close. She looked up at Pagan to find that he too had tears falling. "Pagan..." she said exhausted.
Smiling, Pagan leaned in and kissed the woman he loved. "Ishwari, thank you." He reached his hand out, holding out a single finger, allowing the infant to grasp it. "You gave me a daughter..."
"You know..." Ishwari looked at her naked baby. "I think I like the name Lakshmana."
Pagan smiled. "Me too."
