Chapter 51: Blood loss
Before starting work, and still having his sister in mind, Ramses walked up to his bedroom, a small portion of food on a plate in his hand. He entered the bedroom really quietly, not sure if his wife was still awake.
"Dedyet?"
She was lying on the bed, facing the wall. "Hm?"
Happy to see that his wife wasn't asleep, Ramses sat down next to her. "I am bringing you some food."
She turned to him, a sad smile on her face. "Thank you."
"Is everything good?"
"No."
"What's wrong?"
"I just feel so sick and…sad."
He placed a hand on her shoulder, putting on a sad face. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"I heard you fighting with Neferia..."
"Dedyet," Ramses said in a determined way, "you were right about her."
"What do you mean?"
"She is unbelievably rude."
Dedyet's eyes widened.
"She has left the palace."
"What?! You can't just throw her out! She's your sister!"
"She decided to leave on her own. But still, she has crossed the line with the action this morning. She is the reason you don't feel good, after all!"
"No. It's not because of that. I just have some morning sickness, that's normal."
Ramses pulled the blanket away to put the food down and almost vomited at what he saw. The sheets were bloody!
"Oops."
"Ahhh!"
"Ugh, Kija has warned me about this. I should have listened to her in a better way. Intercourse in pregnancy is not the best idea, as it seems."
Ramses looked like he had seen a ghost.
Dedyet sat up. "Thank you for the food, Rammy. It feels nice to know how much you care about me."
Just that he wasn't answering.
"Rammy?"
"The sheets… They're all dirty…"
"It's just a bit! Like, a little spot."
"Oh… Ra…"
"No need to look at me like that. I'm not dying or anything."
"Has this already been there when I got up?"
"I don't know. Possibly."
"Nasty blood! On my sheets!"
"Hey! This came from me!"
"Do you know where this came out of?! It is unclean!"
"Ramses, please! Calm down! You make it seem as if you've never seen blood!"
"Maybe my child is dying!"
"No! I'm educated enough to know that it is not a miscarriage or anything! I was bleeding because we had-"
"Miscarriage?!"
"It's not a miscarriage!"
"How do you know?! You've never been pregnant!"
"Kija has informed me about several symptoms of a miscarriage. Severe bleeding, cramping…"
"I will call a doctor."
"Ramses!"
Someone knocked on the door.
"Ugh, what is it?!" Ramses barked.
It was Kija who opened the door shyly.
"Kija, can you please come in here and tell Ramses that I'm not having a miscarriage?" Dedyet asked, obviously annoyed.
Kija gasped then blushed. Her eyes widened.
"You will not enter my bedroom!" Ramses yelled at her.
"I will not, Sire," Kija quickly told him. "I am just here to tell you that your chief adviser is looking for you! He has send me to-"
"Kija, please tell Ramses that passing tiny drops of blood in pregnancy is normal!"
"...There are several reasons a woman could be bleeding when pregnant," Kija told Ramses with an anxious face.
"My child might be dying!"
"No. Certainly not," the nurse answered. "The symptoms would be different. It's just a tiny spot on the sheet, as I can see from here."
"And you will spend your day washing it out!" Ramses snapped.
Kija nodded. "Yes, your highness."
"Stop yelling at her!" Dedyet commanded.
"I yell at her the way I want to! She's my servant!"
"And my friend."
"Argh, nonsense!"
"You know, if I had a miscarriage now, I wouldn't even be surprised. There's stress here every day and the only thing I want is peace and quiet! I can't bond with my baby, because there's always someone who wants something from me! A nurse warning me about my hobbies, a priest forcing himself on me for a ceremony... I get that being queen is an important job. But I also need some free time."
Kija's and Ramses' eyes widened. They were certainly surprised.
After a few seconds of silence, the pharaoh turned to Kija. "Get a doctor. Right now."
Kija had no choice. "Yes, your highness," she responded as she hurried out of the room.
"Ramses!" Dedyet snapped. "I don't need a doctor!"
"You might as well bring a priest!" Ramses called after Kija.
"Ughhhh!"
"Please, Dedyet, stay calm. We don't want our baby to get stressed."
"It's already stressed!"
It was then when a doctor and a priest made their way inside. Several examinations happened - the priest ended them with a holy ritual - only to find out what Dedyet had known form the start: Both mother and baby were fine.