Nallini removed the now useless dressing and washed my foot again. Parushi brought the sticks and jar of ants, holding it by her fingertips, and gingerly placed it at Nallini’s side.
“Do you want to do the ants this time?” Nallini asked with a wicked smile.
“Enough jokes,” Parushi said. “Focus on the rani.”
“I can do both.”
It was true. Nallini had already cleaned the wound. She gestured for Parushi to hold the edges together, which Parushi did without comment. Again, Nallini extracted an ant and lined it up so that it bit the edges closed. I grunted as a fire blazed through my leg, but I stayed still. Nallini nodded her approval and repeated the process three more times so the cut was completely closed. Then she lopped off their bodies, one at a time, as she went from one end to the other.
I doubted that my nausea was due to the baby, but I sent Chaaya for some ginger tea anyway.
Nallini had the wound completely dressed by the time Chaaya returned. I sipped on the tea and focused on controlling my breath as the pain from the bites subsided. Dealing with the discomfort of my cut seemed a much smaller task once that was gone.
“We’ll need to change the dressing daily,” Nallini said. “And we’ll be able to tease the ant heads out after a few days. By then, you should be healed enough for it to stay closed with just a bandage.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“I’ll help when you redress the rani’s wounds.” Parushi looked at Nallini with wide-open eyes, perhaps for the first time. “And if you’d like, I’ll help you with yours too.”
Chapter 35
A few weeks later, blaring horns awoke me from my midday nap. I sat up like a shot as they sounded again, this time from all over the palace and its grounds.
“An attack!” Parushi called out from the sitting room. “The Porcugi!”
“Help me,” I said to Chaaya as I pushed down my bubbling nausea and began to unwrap my sari. It was far simpler than the ones I wore while touring Banghervari, but it was still impractical for riding, let alone battle. I unfurled the cloth from the top of my petticoat, which now had to sit above the small bump that had begun to protrude.
Chaaya came to my side and helped unwrap my sari obediently, leaving me in my blouse and petticoat by the time she was done. She looked confused but said nothing as she began to fold the long strip of cloth.
Nallini came in. “What are you doing?”
The healer monk had settled into our routine here, bringing me various teas and concoctions to help with my nausea while Chaaya watched and nodded her approval. Even Parushi gave her some begrudging respect when she realized how much less she was having to deal with the smell of vomit. But as much as Nallini understood our routine, she knew nothing of my training. She wouldn’t know that the call to battle was also for me.
Parushi slammed my bedchamber’s door open. “The Porcugi came up the river and are attacking. I will join the defense.”
She turned to leave but stopped abruptly and turned back to me as if she suddenly realized I was missing the yards and yards of cloth that usually cocooned me. “What are you doing?”
“I asked the same question,” Nallini said.
The sari was folded into a neat rectangle now, and Chaaya hurried out of the room to put it away?—almost as if she didn’t want to stay for the conversation.
“I couldn’t wear that,” I said. “I would never be able to ride Maraan properly in it.”
“You mean to say...” Nallini’s voice faded, and she looked at Parushi.
“You can’t fight.” Parushi crossed her arms and stood between me and the door.
“Of course I can! I must. What’s the point in me having all of this training if I don’t use it when we need it most?” I raised my voice and called out, “Chaaya, bring me one of my kaashtha saris!”
“No, Chaaya!” Parushi began to yell before I even finished. “That won’t be necessary.”
She turned back to me. “You can’t go riding into battle when you’re vomiting”?—she wrinkled her nose at the thought?—“every time you smell anything even slightly unpleasant. And your foot still hasn’t healed because you insist on continuing to walk instead of resting properly. Not to mention the fact that you’re carrying the heir, for Spirits’ sake!”
“Well, I can’t exactly put the heir down,” I snapped. I ignored her point about my nausea because she was right; Chaaya was constantly fretting that I was getting too thin because I could hardly keep any food down. But I wasn’t about to admit that. “And my foot is fine. Now leave and let Chaaya dress me unless you want to see me ride out in my petticoat.”
Nallini had found her voice again. “Forgive me, Rani, but Parushi is right.”
I stared at her. Parushi pointed at Nallini with both of her hands, as if to saySee! Even she thinks so.
