"Where is Lee Baram? Is the girl I sent to call her still not back yet?" The royal midwife asked her aides.
"We're here, Ma'am." Her assistant replied as she entered the room.
"Baram, why did you choose not to come to work today of all days? Didn't I tell you all that we have to be on standby for the next six weeks since the queen might need us anytime?"
"Oh, about that, I'm really sorry, Ma'am. My sister-in-law's water broke, and so I had to help with the delivery."
"Oh. Okay. How is she and the babies? How was the delivery? No complications, right?" The midwife asked, somewhat less agitated now by the good news.
She knew Baram's sister-in-law was expected to have twins because she had checked on her before.
Baram had a smile on her face as she replied. "Luckily, everything went so smoothly. So now, I have both a niece and a nephew, ma'am. The babies are so cute! I can't wait to see their parents' reaction when they see them."
Her last sentence got those in the room confused, including the midwife.
"What are you implying?"
"Oh, my sister-in-law had fallen asleep by the time that I finished cleaning the babies, and their father too is on a business trip."
Just then a court lady from the queen's palace knocked and entered the room.
"Ma'am, the queen's water has broken."
"Really?" The midwife then clapped to draw the attention of her subordinates. "Alright. Everyone, you all heard the news. Now let's get going."
"Her water broke? I thought that she had about four to six weeks more. Could it had been caused by the food poisoning she had yesterday? You know, like listeriosis?" Baram asked on their way to the queen's.
"Well, anything can happen during childbirth. It's because of things like this that I told you all that we should be ready for her and the baby any moment from now." The midwife answered.
*
"Mhmm. Whoosh. Hmmm."
The expectant queen gasped and moaned as the contractions returned, this time more intense than the last.
Inside her chamber now were the royal midwife and her assistant plus three female aides.
"Come. Let's set her up on the stool and be ready, everyone." The midwife instructed her team.
All her court ladies were sent outside with the exception of her most trusted one, Areum, who stayed behind to watch over her queen.
They sat the queen up on a large birthing stool with a leg on each side while each of her hands tightly clutched the draping cloths for support.
"Arghh! Mhmm. Oohh. Aarrgghhh!!!"
The queen's cries and screams could be heard all throughout her quarters.
Kneeling in front of her now was the assistant midwife, Baram. She had both of her hands strategically placed under the stool, ready to receive and welcome the new life into this world.
"Whoosh! Hmmm!!" The queen continued to moan with each contraction.
The midwife herself stood beside her and started to massage her back to help with the pain.
"Now, please push. Take in some deep breaths and then start pushing, my queen." The midwife said while still massaging the queen's back.
"Aarrgghhh!!!!" The queen screamed again as the contractions returned.
"Yes. Come on. Push harder." The midwife urged her on.
One of the aides wiped off the queen's sweaty face with a wet towel.
"Aarrgghhh!!!!" She screamed and then pushed again.
"I can feel it! It's coming." The assistant exclaimed, but slowly her excited face changed to that of confused. "It's coming... but with the feet... first?"
She looked up at the midwife. "Ma'am, it's a breech. What should I do?"
"You mean it's a breech baby? Quickly, come to this side. Let me have a look." The midwife said, and then the two exchanged posts.
She washed her hands thoroughly before kneeling in front of the queen and checking on the baby's position.
She then got up and wrapped her hands in pieces of clean cloth. This was to prevent the slippery newborn from sliding out of her grasp upon its arrival.
"Now, try and push harder. You need to use the pains to help you push real hard. It's going to be a bit difficult once those contractions stop, my queen." She said as she directed the baby's foot, which is already sticking out now.
"Arghh!!! Whoosh! Hmmm!!!" The queen screamed once again and then pushed with force. There were tears in her now reddish eyes from all the screaming.
An aide was made to wipe the sweat off her face again, but the assistant told her to leave her be.
"It's alright. You're doing very well. Both feet and butt are already out. Just a few more pushes and we'll be done..."
"Arghh!!! Whoosh! Hmmm!!! Aarrgghhh!!!!"
The queen used all her might and forced-pushed out the baby out in one long, hard push.
"Haf. Huff. Haff. Hmmm." She panted and then sighed in relief.
As for the midwife, her eyes were fixed on the quiet new life in her hands.
"What did we get? Can I see it?" The new mother asked as she tried to stretch her neck to see, but Baram told her not to sit up as they hadn't finished with everything yet.
"Is it a boy or a girl? Can you bring it here? I want to see my baby."
"Um..." For a moment, the midwife didn't give any response to the queen's questions except to look alternately between both the new mother and the newborn baby.
This made the queen worried. "Um... why are you still not telling me anything? Is my baby alright? And why is it not crying? Aren't all babies supposed to cry upon birth?"
The midwife turned to her team and said. "All of you should leave with the exception of you, Baram. Lady Areum, please watch the door while I speak with the queen. Don't let anyone in."
"What... what is wrong?" The queen's anxiety was only rising.
"Here's your baby, my queen." The midwife said and handed the newborn to its mother.
"White hair? What is this? How..." Every other question that the queen wanted to ask about her newborn's hair colour ceased once the baby was placed in her arms.
"Hi, little princess. I'm your mommy. You're really beautiful, and I'm sure that your father is going to love you once he meets you. Mmuah!!!" She kissed the tiny angel on the forehead and the cheeks.
"Um... my queen. There's a little problem, please."
"About her hair? Who cares? I've heard that some of our ancient ancestors did have it. It looks good on her anyway. There's no cause for alarm here." The queen said while playing with her newborn without taking her eyes off her for even a minute.
"The hair colour is not the issue, and he is a boy, not a girl, my queen. The problem that I am talking about is..." The midwife then removed the cloth covering the baby's genitals. "This."
"What!? What is this?!" The queen almost dropped the baby by accident had it not been for the quick support from the older woman.
Areum too was very shocked to see the baby's hair, and now this.
"Why? How? How... does sh... he have that of both sexes? What will I tell the king? What if he thinks that this baby is cursed? I doubt that he'll let him live."
The midwife looked at both the mother and son with empathetic eyes. It was very hard for her to surmise how the king will take it.
The queen grabbed the midwife's hand. "I need your help. Can... is there a family that you can give him to to raise?"
"WHAT!?"
The queen tightened her hold on the older woman with pleading eyes.
"The king... he will not let him live, and I don't... I don't want to lose my baby... You know how hard it was for me to conceive. We can tell the King that it was a stillbirth. Please." Her voice broke as she spoke out her worries, and tears started to fill her eyes while many thoughts ran through her head.
Baram could feel her desperation. They all know how hard it has been for her to conceive, and now this.
"My queen, even if we tell him that it was a stillbirth, we still have to show the body to either him or the queen dowager at least. Right now, they're all outside, waiting to see the baby. Where do you suppose that we'll be able to find a dead body to show them in time?"
"Then what do you propose?"
"Um..." Baram contemplated whether or not she should go ahead with her suggestion.
The queen's focus turned to her. She clutched onto Lee Baram's arm like she was hanging on it for her and her son's dear lives, with sorrowful eyes.
"What is it, my dear? Do you have a way out for me and my son? I'll be very grateful if you could, please. Even if it seems stupid, just say it, because I am out of options now. Please."
"Um... I can get a family to raise the prince for you, but since we still need a baby, whether dead or alive, to show to the king and the others, then why don't we exchange him with someone else's? I am willing to help with that if only you promise that you'll take very good care of this other baby and will never abandon him.
"Baram a, do you understand what you're..." The midwife tried to interject.
"I promise. I promise you that I'll love and cherish this other baby as my own. In fact, I'll do more than that. Please help us. Help me and the child. Please."
Seeing the admirable queen looking so sad now pulled at her heartstrings and thus made her too desperate to help out.
"Okay. Fine. Then, give me this baby. I'll be back with the other one."
"Baram a, that is dangerous. What if you're caught?" The midwife tried to be the voice of reason, but the other two didn't pay her any mind.
"Stall the delivery. The royal family cannot enter until we tell them that it is over. So, my queen, I guess that you need to start with your screamings again until I get back."
"Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much, dear. Please make sure to not be caught." The desperate queen said while bobbing her head several times like a lizard on the rooftop of a busy clubhouse.
"Definitely, my queen." Lee Baram said and exited the queen's palace through the back door.