Yuki thought about how she would tell that story as she walked to get there and spoke firmly:
"My friend was chosen to make a man happy and after that happened, she ran away and after a few months, she found out she was pregnant."
Sean looked at Yuki seriously.
"I would help the mother and the child. She can work at the palace and the child can be taken to school until a member of the Royal family decides whether to adopt her or allow her to be just another peacekeeper."
"You can't adopt her? I mean... I thought that maybe you and I would be the ideal parents for her..."
"I'm the Pharaoh, Yuki. I can't just adopt a child. I... I wouldn't mind, but there's a whole nation that has expectations of its Pharaoh that I need to fulfill. I can't adopt a child before I have my own children. It's tradition."
"You can't change traditions? You're the Pharaoh and you have the power to repeal laws, you can break any tradition."
"That's not so simple!" Sean said, frowning. "Our laws, our traditions exist for some significant reason, Yuki. Most of them sealed with the blood of victims of the bloodthirsty Ancient Pharaohs. Laws that were made to protect people. I can't just get up on the throne and cross out laws that I find uncomfortable."
Yuki looked at him in surprise.
"So... You've never considered... Changing any laws? Not even the law that protects Farida from your... Violence?"
"Why would I hurt you? I can't say I've ever thought about changing the laws, Yuki. But there's a big difference between fantasy and reality. I need to be responsible with the lives entrusted to me. The lives of millions of people depend on my good judgment. I have to think that my son, my heir and future Pharaoh, could turn out to be an evil man. And the law is the only thing that protects people." Sean paused and led Yuki to sit on the bed. "I want to change laws, yes. But only those that I'm sure won't harm people. I didn't sit on Pharaoh's throne to only do things that favor me. I need to change some... Celebrations that I consider barbaric, but they will be changes aimed at preserving lives, not destroying them. And I'm going to do it the right way, without tyranny. I'll take it to the Gumis to vote on."
"So, my... My friend's daughter will only be able to enter this palace as a pacific?"
"No. I'm not the only member of the Royal family, although they all need my permission to adopt a child, I promise you that I will be in favor of responsible adoption. But... What about your friend? We usually only adopt orphans..."
"She doesn't want the child." Yuki hastened to say and stood up. "Do I need to convince any Royal members to adopt her?"
"Yes."
"What if it's Attila? Would you accept him as the likely father of this child?"
Sean smiled.
"Is this child important to you? Then don't make that proposal to Attila. He's not yet mature enough to be a father."
Yuki felt her face burn with shame.
"If he's the only option..."
"She'll be better off at school."
"So if it's Attila, you won't allow it?"
Sean wondered.
"Attila is my brother. I wouldn't deny him something like this and he won't deny a request from you. But I don't think it's a good solution. We're at war and this child won't know the love of a family. Attila loves battles and will spend most of his time looking after his own interests." Sean said and stood up too.
Yuki suppressed her desire to snuggle into his arms.
"Where's that woman you invited to live with you?"
Sean looked at her amused.
"Are you jealous, Farida?"
"No."
"You realized that this place isn't small when you walked through my entire Wing. I invited Celesty to live here with me, but that doesn't mean she has to be glued to me for twenty-four hours."
"You asked me when I would fulfill my wifely duties."
"Yes."
"When you send her away."
Sean smiled.
"I'm not going to do that, Yuki."
"Then... I'm afraid we've run into an impasse, Pharaoh."
Sean moved closer until he was just a few centimeters away from her. Yuki smelled his perfume and once again felt like hugging him.
"And I fear that my heir will not be sired by my Farida." He said and his eyes became dark and dangerous. "Don't come back here, Yuki. Don't you dare impose your will on your Pharaoh again. I'm being patient with you, but don't abuse it. Don't think that our laws protect you from being repudiated and right now, I'm very tempted to do that."
Yuki knew she had overstepped her bounds, but she took Sean's words as a challenge.
"All right. Keep her here. But don't be alarmed if one day you find her waiting for you in your bed without her legs."
Sean's expression immediately changed to amusement.
"That's a strong threat. I hope you're the Farida known for your generosity, Yuki."
Yuki saw the insincerity with which the words were spoken and with a brief nod, left.
On the way back to the ward where her room was, Yuki was furious. Of course, Attila's confidences had made her hate both brothers. He had just confessed that she had been deliberately used by... She took a deep breath to avoid the obvious conclusion of that event. Selytha's father. Now she knew who he might be, but she would never reveal this secret to anyone. The most important thing was to get her daughter out of hospital and...
Yuki stopped before opening the door to her room. Atila could be lying and that would be much more reasonable than the story he told. If he had any doubts about his daughter's paternity, he, as a doctor, could order a test that would remove those doubts forever. He must have had some reason to lie to her.
Yuki opened the door and started taking clean clothes out of the trunk. She needed to buy clothes for her daughter. She didn't have any clothes of her own, as she had been wearing only hospital gowns for over two years. And Yuki would feel bad about shopping for her daughter in clothes embroidered with gold. It seemed... Indecent. But she thought again. If she didn't want people to suspect that she was Selytha's mother, she had to shop as if it were an act of charity. She abandoned her clothes from the trunk and opened Farida's closet. She took out a pair of white silk pants and a yellow shirt. Both had labels and the family crest inlaid in gold. She put them on, feeling like a different woman as she looked in the mirror and went out into the palace courtyard. She saw the host talking to some soldiers and followed him. The soldiers bowed briefly when she stopped next to them and withdrew. The host turned to her.
"You look beautiful, Yuki. If I may say so..."
"Are you part of the Royal Family?" Yuki asked a little rudely. She still hadn't decided if she could trust that man.
"Yes. I'm a member..."
"And so ready for your home. You're going to adopt a girl. You're going to go before Pharaoh and ask his permission to be the father of a little girl that I'm going to bring here in a few days."
"Farida, I don't..."
Yuki left without allowing him to refuse to carry out his order and approached a guard who, obeying his orders, took her shopping.
...
Atila entered a round hall, with several men wearing blue gowns sitting behind glass tables, which made a circle following the wall, wearing his white royal cloak and stopped in the center of the room, letting his cloak slip to the floor.
"I come before you, councilors of the kingdom of the Waves, to demand my right to the place of sovereign." He said, looking out of the corner of his eye at them all.
"You don't have that right yet. We can't put as our king someone who doesn't share our love for our people." One of them replied, looking intently at Attila.
"Our spies have told us that you have accepted your father's name before all the citizens of your kingdom. You are now a warrior of fire." Another said thoughtfully.
"You already know we're not the Ice Kingdom anymore, how did you find out?" Another asked suspiciously.
"Let him speak." A woman who appeared to be two hundred years old ordered rudely.
Atila looked gratefully at her.
"Your spies cannot be more valuable than the word of your king. I will fight for what belongs to me and if I leave this place without a positive response, I will find allies even stronger than the fire warriors and I will raze this kingdom to the ground. If it's not mine, it won't be yours either. I will not allow you to dishonor the memory of my family in this shameful way. Your refusal to crown me can be seen as usurpation. And I will not spare you my wrath." Attila said without changing the expression on his face.
They looked at each other.
"You need to prove to us that this realm is important to you, young Tykar. The kingdom of fire is under our judgment and you know it. They can't beat us in battle and if those people don't agree to serve my people with everything they have and their lives, we will devastate that place. We don't fear you, and if you want a favorable response, next time come prepared to kneel before the Council and swear your loyalty and in ten years of living and learning our traditions, you'll be ready to sit on the throne. Before that..." The man who spoke pointed to the door.
Atila looked thoughtfully at the man.
"You said I just had to kneel before this council?"
"Yes. And we'll train you."
Atila ducked and slammed his flat hand on the floor and when he stood up again, he brandished his sword and advanced against everyone.
He was so fast, they didn't have time to scream. They died with the scream in their throats. Atila saw that the old woman had fled and went after her.
Atila managed to stop her escape and when she raised her sword, which was still dripping with the blood of the other councillors, she shouted:
"I am your grandmother!"
He stopped himself. The woman could have been lying. But what if she wasn't? He let her go, but continued to hold his sword up menacingly.