Azkadellia's days quickly fell into a rather tedious routine. She would wake up, make breakfast, take a short walk in the fresh air to ensure healthiness, and then settle down in the well-stocked library to work. She spent hours preparing letters to send to DG, full of information on the regions that DG was visiting, discourses on political histories, farming practices, anything she could find that might be of use. Perhaps her most useful contribution had been to come up with a procedure to restore Ambrose's brain. Apparently DG had carried it out in the tower, and he was now whole again. The two sisters kept up a very lively correspondence, each writing nearly every day. In the evening, she would spend time preparing dinner. It had taken a while, but now she could make passable dishes, and had even come to enjoy the process.
Her routine was disturbed a little when she was forced to admit something she had been denying steadfastly: she was pregnant. New to having complete control over her own body, she had not been in tune enough with its rhythms and so the early warning symptoms had been ignored. When the baby started to move she had to face up to the facts. Occasionally, she wondered who the father might be, but her memories of the assault by the resistance fighters was rather hazy. The library had a couple of books with rather sparse information about the childbirth process, and what little information there was made Azkadellia rather more nervous that she had been before.
One annual and seven days after escorting Azkadellia to the Northern Island, Cain found himself on the road back, this time with the whole Royal Family in tow. DG had been insistent that they visit, but the first tour of the O.Z. by the new regime had taken a long time. Their visit now was low key, or as low key as was possible for the Royal Family. They were traveling with only a small complement of guards and servants, and none of the courtiers that had sprouted from the woodwork in the aftermath of the Sorceress' fall from grace.
It had been a good tour, and DG had gone a long way to sorting out some of the problems they had encountered, although many still remained. Cain had been very impressed with her diligence; she had taken to the O.Z. like a duck to water, and even seemed to relish solving the problems. She now seemed very excited about the prospect of seeing Azkadellia again, although he rather thought she was the only one. The Royal Family had announced Azkadellia's possession, but acceptance of the statement had been mixed. Keeping the former Sorceress out of sight seemed to keep her out of the minds of the people for the moment.
The ice covering the palace had disappeared in many places, showing a fine architecture of Ancient design. Cain glanced round at the others as they rode up to the door, and took the lead. Officially, he was now the Captain of the Royal Guard. Solemnly, he knocked three times.
A few seconds later, the door opened; Azkadellia stood on the other side, looking cold and imposing in a long, pale-blue gown. He saw her mouth quiver as if trying to smile, and then she inclined her head in respect. "Mr. Cain, Mother, Father. Welcome." The smile appeared more firmly. "DG!"
DG was not one to stand on ceremony, even after a year as a princess, and she dashed forward, pushing Cain out of the way to pull her sister into a hug. Cain watched suspiciously, but Azkadellia seemed to lose some of her stiffness and made no sudden moves.
She stepped away from DG and said, "Please, this way. I have some food prepared, although perhaps not enough for everyone." She gestured at the retinue.
Cain felt rather honoured to be included in the close family dinner that evening; he and Ambrose were there in addition to the Queen, Ahamo and the two Princesses. Apparently, Azkadellia had prepared the entire meal beforehand, and she had even served it with gusto. The Queen did not look particularly happy at seeing her daughter acting as a serving maid, and had harrumphed slightly as Azkadellia was serving Cain. Her hand had trembled for a moment.
The conversation was already rather stilted, but the atmosphere was completely disrupted by a thin, reedy wail. Cain was immediately on the alert, although it had sounded more like a baby's cry than anything dangerous. Looking around, he saw surprise on all faces, except for that of Azkadellia, who looked like a child caught in some wrongdoing. The wail sounded again, and Azkadellia jumped to her feet abruptly, drawing attention. "I'll just get dessert, shall I?" She walked out of the room, clearly trying not to hurry.
They heard a plate thump onto a table, but no more wails. DG stood up, and shouted, "I'll give you a hand." Cain saw the Queen wince and shake her head slightly.
DG pulled open the door to the next room, and then yelped. "Oh. My. God. Azkadellia. You didn't say anything. Why didn't you say anything?" DG turned to look back to her parents. "Az has a baby."
Azkadellia had, rather reluctantly, introduced her three month old daughter, called Esmeralda, to the family. The surprise took a while to wear off. As far as Cain knew, no-one knew who the father was. He had asked DG, but she had just said that her mother had asked but received no clear answer. DG was quite upset over the whole matter, and rather angry with her sister, as Azkadellia had clearly never mentioned the matter in any of her letters.
The Queen, of a more practical bent, had pulled Cain into an impromptu pow-wow with Ahamo and asked him to make sure that the staff and guardsmen did not catch a glimpse of the baby for the moment.
"You can't do that, Mother!" Cain easily recognized DG's voice. She was obviously arguing with the Queen again. Obviously filial respect was not in demand on the Other Side.
"If she argues, or shows any concern, then I'll reconsider. But think about it DG. She's not affectionate, as far as I can see. Considering the child's past, I think that there is certainly resentment there."
He heard no further argument from DG, and then knocked on the door sharply, ready to give his report on the preparations for their departure, the next day.
The Queen stood in the middle of the room, regal, poised, with her arms crossed lightly in front of her. She was looking down her nose at Azkadellia, who was standing by the crib close to the wall, stroking Esmeralda's cheek.
"Azkadellia, your father and I have been thinking about this for a while, and … look at me, please, Azkadellia."
Azkadellia turned quickly and straightened, mimicking her mother's pose.
"Well, Azkadellia, your father and I have been thinking, and, well, we think it would be for the best if we took Esmeralda with us back to Central City. We will announce that she is our daughter – no-one will question us, I think, and none of the guardsmen or staff have seen the baby. That way, she can be brought up in the Central City, free of problems that might arise if people know that she is your daughter. And she can have a father."
Cain saw a flash of something hard in the Princess' eyes, but then she looked down to the floor. "I suppose … I suppose that you are correct. Of course, it will be better for her than remaining here alone."
The Queen threw a significant glance towards DG, who looked away. Azkadellia lifted a hand to rub at her upper lip. "You will raise her as your own?"
The Queen nodded. "Of course. Ahamo?"
He looked at Azkadellia, seemingly embarrassed. "Of course. And we will come to visit, and bring her, every now and then."
Azkadellia smiled, "Oh well. What can I possibly offer in comparison. Of course Esmeralda should go with you."
They left the next morning. Azkadellia had taken her daughter, no, sister and held her for a long moment and then passed her over to the Queen. The baby was hidden away from the retinue, to appear at a suitable moment. Cain looked back as they left, but the doors to the ice palace had closed almost immediately and the place was quiet and cold.