Duty

Chapter 53 Ardashir

Elora looked out of the window with a loving smile as Darius lifted his oldest son on the small pony that was his. Time had gone by so fast. She remembered the day Zara had tried to take the boy's life as if it had happened yesterday. Darius had not wasted a moment and had turned the palace upside down to make sure any possible accomplice was weeded out. The harem guard had been replaced and security had been reinforced. She now had her own personal bodyguard shadowing her wherever she went, but she did not mind. The young eunuch knew how to make himself invisible and he was discrete. She liked him. And her children did too.

Elora turned away from the window and watch her second son play on the rug. He had been born two years after her first and currently she was carrying Darius' third child. She truly had been blessed.

Secretly she was hoping this one would be a girl. Her two boys gave her incredible joy, but she longed for a daughter to teach her how to make oils and fragrances.

On the floor, little Shahzad was quietly stacking blocks on top of each other, creating a very unstable tower. Elora shook her head amused when the structure collapsed not a moment later. The little boy however wasn't fazed in the slightest and patiently started all over again.

It was only a matter of time before the scene would repeat itself.

She walked over and picked the boy up from the floor. "Come. Little rascal," she said, "let us go see what your brother is up to."

Shahzad crowed happily as his mother carried him outside.

Contrary to what Elora had been told, no one had tried to take the children from her. They had a wet-nurse, and once they were a little older they would be educated in arms and riding as well as reading, writing and calculus, but that did not mean she was forbidden to see them.

She just cherished these moments when they were still young and innocent.

Elora walked outside into the courtyard, her guard Mehr, silently shadowing her at a distance.

Darius looked up when his wife approached. He frowned in worry. "Should you be carrying him in your condition? Where is his wet-nurse?"

"Busy with other tasks," Elora answered calmly, "and I have born two children. I know what I can and cannot carry." She handed the child to Darius and turned to the pony where her other son was proudly sitting on the animal as if he had done so all his life. She smiled at him lovingly. "Look at you, Ardashir," she said, "you are a natural. Just like your father."

The boy smiled widely at the sight of his mother. "Amma," he said and reached out to her.

Darius intercepted the child before he could fall off the pony. "Careful; now," he said, "and be good. You are too heavy for your mother to lift you. Besides, you are a big boy now. You can stand on your own two feet."

The boy wasn't deterred and patted his father's cheek. "Dada."

Darius sighed. "Troublemakers, both of you," he scolded lightly as he planted Ardashir on his feet. He shifted Shahzad in his arms and turned to his wife. "Was there something you needed?"

Elora shook her head. "We just came to greet you. And to invite you to the evening meal in my quarters tonight. It has been a while since we had the chance to dine together."

"I know," Darius nodded, "duties have kept me busy. We had to strengthen our coastline defenses. There's been unrest with the nomad tribes. And the drought in the Northwest makes things even more complicated." He ran a hand through his hair. "I am grateful for your father's assistance in that matter. He is redirecting one of the rivers in the South of Lavos, so it will flow at the edge of our border. It will only sustain the people for so long, but at least it is something. We need rain."