Sweetest Sin
DaggersBloodPain
Chapter Fifteen
The Announcement
The healer eventually did make it to Ayame's rooms, about an hour after the birth of Kaori. Her excuse was surprisingly vague, "I was attending to a matter of importance, I couldn't just leave. You will find out soon enough. I believed I had time to get here, first births are usually so long in coming."
The old youkai stayed long enough to pronounce both mother and child healthy before disappearing out of the rooms. She left the three women in the room feeling a bit slighted and confused, what could possibly be more important then the labor of the Lord's personal guest? It just didn't make sense at all.
The little girl was what drew their attention, no matter how angry they were with the healer. They couldn't stay mad for long looking into her tiny face.
Thankfully, Kaori had taken after Ayame in almost every way, from the pale skin and pointed ears to the tuft of fuzzy red hair covering her head. There was absolutely nothing to indicate who her father was and the three females breathed a sigh of relief.
Despite knowing Ayame could use some rest, Sango was the one who noticed the mess left over from the birthing. "Come on Ayame, you can stay in our room until the servants get this cleaned. I imagine you might like a quick bath before trying to back to bed?" She asked practically.
"A bath sounds wonderful, but I am so tired." Ayame admitted, with her words punctuated with a wide yawn.
"We will help you," Kagome assured the very tired new mother.
Leaning heavily on Sango and Kagome, Ayame was able to get up off the bed and into a robe, but her legs proved to be too weak to hold her. "Kagome, hold Kaori, I will get Ayame," Sango asked her lover quietly.
Kagome carefully took the baby, making sure she never left Ayame's line of vision, while Sango easily lifted Ayame into her arms. Even the additional weight of pregnancy couldn't cover the fact Ayame was not the picture of health due to her capture.
Sango and Kagome escorted mother and child to their rooms, Sango snapping at a servant to prepare a bath for Ayame, and quickly. By the time they arrived at the rooms the orders were already being carried out. It did not take long for the in room tub to be filled with warm water. Sango sat Ayame down in the tub and helped her wash off the drying blood and sweat the birth had produced. It was no wonder Ayame had a rough time walking, her blood loss was not dangerously so, but it was enough to make her weak on top of the tiredness from actually birthing Kaori. They once again wondered what could have been so important the healer had to rush off.
When Ayame was clean and once again swathed in a warm robe, Kagome had been busy cleaning Kaori. Handing the blanket wrapped little girl to her exhausted mother, they collapsed onto the bed, Kagome and Sango holding the new family protectively between them. All of them drifting off into a well deserved sleep.
It would take another week before they found out what caused the healer to be in such a rush.
They were sitting down to dinner all together again. The groupings much the same it had been the first night they ate together, with the addition of little Kaori resting in Ayame's arms.
They all noticed when Inuyasha reached out and laid his hand atop Sesshomaru's when the bowls in front of them had been mostly cleared. "Sesshomaru and I have a bit of an announcement." Inuyasha started, not quite nervously, "There will be a new heir to the West in another two months."
Shock was the most common emotion on their faces, until Kagome's twisted into one of slight hurt. "why did you take so long to tell us?" She asked.
"Well, things haven't been going so well, the Healers were not sure this pregnancy would last, it is harder for Uke's to carry. The night Kaori was born we thought we might lose our pup. The healers have now assured us the danger has mostly passed, so we decided to tell you now." Inuyasha explained painfully.
"I'm so sorry, but still why didn't you tell us? Even if you did lose the pup we would have been there to help you." Kagome apologized.
"We couldn't afford to have a servant overhear us telling anyone. Having an heir is very important, but losing one before it is born is not well received. It calls into question the fertility of the Lord and his mate. Sesshomaru might have been the Lord first, but if he lost the pup and the Council found out they could force me to lay with a different demon to get an heir and that is the last thing we wanted. The healers in this palace have long since taken a oath of silence involving the health and well being of our family. They couldn't tell anyone or they forfeit their lives." Inuyasha explained seriously.
During Inuyasha's speech, Kouga had self-consciously laid his hand on his expanding waistline. Just the thought of harm coming to his pup was unthinkable, but for Sesshomaru to be facing the loss of one, it was painful beyond belief. He felt a warm hand find and grasp his own under the tabletop, Miroku just looked at him, silently asking if he was all right, and he managed a small nod of ascent.
Ayame had just clutched Kaori closer, knowing if it had been one of the males in her place they would have miscarried. She was still weak from the experience and yet she held a healthy baby in her arms. She almost felt guilty, but she refused to wish her capture on another, knowing the consequences could have been far worse than weight loss and stress. She found herself hoping for a safe delivery for both her friends, it was the only thing she could really do to help them.