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I should have expected it. I really should have. Once the news of the invasion of Freedonia started to spread, as all such news spreads, the Freedonian expatriots started to hope once more that they might be able to return to their former homes once more. And as their hopes grew, they began to remember their loyalties to their former monarchs from the royal house of vanDraco. So it was with complete surprise to me that the expatriots started to show up at the compound's gates asking for an 'audience' with me. It started with a few every day and then grew into dozens a day. Sometimes in groups of a few and something in throngs. Poor Captain Quinton was being driven to distraction trying to keep them out. They tried so many different ways of bypassing the gates and the guards. It was fortunate that Tru had the nightingale floors installed in both of the wings of the mansion. There were several incidents were determined men made it into the house and were only caught because of the noisy floors. In the first instance, the man got in late at night and managed to sneak into my old suite. Aunt Trysta managed to put a stasis spell on him before he could flee. With the help of Orlando, both of them wiped his memories of his break-in and then sent him back to where he lived. The second incident, the man managed to get to my sitting room, but he was met with an angry Tru who almost decapitated him. Fiorenzia managed to heal the man's wounds enough so that he didn't die. Again Trysta and Orlando sent him home without all of his memories. Captain Quinton had to hire more guards and stationed several inside at all times, so that I and my children would not be accosted.

As the days went by and I grew closer and closer to my due date, a solution finally became apparent. I received a very polite and cordial letter from Clothard denVigo, a man with whom I was acquainted and with whom I had had almost daily contact with during the time before the Georgist conquest. Clothard had been the Palace Castallan, while I had been the Dragon Ward and Keeper of the Dragon Hatchery. I remembered him well and knew him to be an honest and discrete person. With Tru's and Captain Quinton's approval, I wrote him back and invited him to come visit me. I also made it clear that he and he alone would be admitted. No family or friends would be allowed in. He wrote back and accepted the invitation and the terms.

Clothard arrived at the compound gates promptly at the appointed time and was admitted into the compound. Quinton then ushered him into one of the sitting rooms. Tru and I joined him there a few minutes later.

Clothard had aged a bit since I last saw him almost five years ago. If I remembered correctly, he would have been thirty five years old, but he looked to be in his forties instead. His once smooth , pleasant face was starting to develope lines and there were several scars that appeared on his face, that showed that he had to fight his way out of Freedonia. His appearance was as neat and stylish as I remembered him to always be, but upon closer inspection, there were subtle hints that his clothes were not as new at they appeared to be. Someone had been very clever in refurbishing his outfit to make him look more affluent than he probably was.

Clothard bowed deeply to me as I entered. It was when I approached and gave him my hand, that he realized that I was very pregnant. His face went from polite attentiveness to shock and dismay. “Your Highness! Forgive me for intruding on you at a time like this! I was not aware of your eminent delivery.”

“It is fine, Clothard. I still have several weeks before the baby is due. It is because of my 'eminent delivery' that I have invited you here. The expatriots are getting out of hand and constantly badgering me for meetings. Several have even managed to elude the guards and frightened me. When I received your letter I remembered you immediately. I don't know what your situation is right now, but if you are interested, I have an employment proposition for you.

“My husband and I would like to hire you as my agent or secretary, or however you wish to call yourself. I need to have someone who will screen all the letters and requests for audiences. Your job will be to keep the people away from my home and give then a place to go to or send letters to. Your job will be to screen the requests and only give me those that are worthy of my attention. If you accept this position, we will give you guidelines as to what is acceptable and what is not. We will set up you up in an office somewhere in town. You will be paid a weekly salary and given a budget that will allow you to hire as many staff members as you feel you need, within reason. Are you interested in this position?”

Clothard looked astonished. It took him quite a few minutes to find his voice, but when he did, he said, “Your Highness! It would be my honor to serve you in any way that is within my power. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. Thank you for trusting me.” He got down on his knees before me and began to kiss my hand in gratitude.

“That is enough, Clothard! You are making me uncomfortable!”

“Come, sir,” Tru intervened. “I know that you are sincerely grateful, but my wife dislikes the trappings of royalty. Why don't we go to my office where we can discuss your new position in more detail? Lady Patra is looking very tired right now. Dearest, let me handle the business aspect of this? You look like you need to rest for a bit. Shall I call your maids to come help you?”

“Thank you, Tru. I think you are right. Please call them?”

When Ellyn and Mahli arrived, they helped me get up and walked with me back to my bedroom. The baby was getting so big and I was becoming more and more uncomfortable. Everytime he kicked, he kicked me in places that really hurt. I was looking forward to giving birth. Not only because I would have a new baby in my arms, but I would finally be able to rest without being short of breath or constantly have to pee.

Tru, his business manager and Clothard got together and really worked hard to start this office working. Once the office was properly furnished and supplied, with helpers hired, announcements were made to the expatriot community at various meetings, gatherings and parties. Within a week of Clothard's taking over, Captain Quinton noticed that the supplicants were becoming fewer and fewer at the compound. While they didn't go away entirely, the few diehards left were much easier for the Captain and his guards to handle. Clorhard came several times a week with lists of people and samples of letters for me to be aware of. Life became more bearable knowing that he was keeping all that stress away from me.

Over the next few weeks, I was able to do less and less. The baby was becoming less active, but still pressing painfully on portions of my body. Both Fiorenzia and Suthi were checking up on me regularly each day. It was a big disappointment to me when my due date came and went, with the baby giving no sign of wanting to make his appearance. In fact, it was two weeks after that that the baby finally dropped. Fiorenzia said that he was finally in the correct position for birth, but he still refused to come.

I seemed to be in a frequently irritable state. I hurt all the time. My back ached constantly. When I walked, I waddled. I couldn't get out of any chair without help. Tru was so patient with me during this time. He cancelled all his appointments and never left the compound. He gave me back rubs and foot massages. He just smiled at me, held me and frequently told me that he loved me.

It was very late one night that I couldn't take yet another uncomfortable night. I felt restless and miserable. Tru wasn't in bed, which surprised me, it being so late. But from the light that shown under the door to his office, he must have been working on something important. I decided not to bother him. Instead, I decided to take a short walk to try to ease some of the back pains that I had been feeling. I went out to the family area and circled the room several times. But the restlessness got worse and I started to feel as if the room was closing in on me. I left the house and went outside. The cool spring night felt refreshing and almost invigorating. There was a full moon that night, so walking outside was not difficult. I found myself drawn to the studio that once had been Donal's studio. I went inside and lit several candles.

Off to one side, there were several sculptures in various stages of completion and must have been done by Ancil, as they looked well done, but they didn't look like Donal's work. On the other side, there were tables with various pieces of art, almost all of them done by my children. Looking at them, I could tell almost to the child who had worked on which piece. To me, everyone of them was beautiful, despite the variety of skill or lack of skill expressed on each piece of paper.

I felt comfortable there and I imagined that I felt Donal's comforting presence there also. “Oh, Donal,” I said to the air, “I miss you so. I wish you were here to see the birth of your son. I wish you were here so that I could feel your arms around me and so I could tell you how much that I love you. I hope that you know that in spite of my marriage to Tru, you will always be first and foremost in my heart.”

When I closed my eyes, I felt as if he were there. I could feel his warmth and love all around me. I could hear his voice saying, “Ah, love, I am always here for your and with you in your heart. I will never leave you. I do understand you and your needs, including the reasons for marrying Pahpey. I want you to live, be happy and raise our children. I love you too much to want anything less than that for you. Be well and bring our child safely into this world. I will be with you every minute of your travail. Now go and find Pahpey. Our son will soon be here.” I stopped hearing his voice when I felt the first contraction. I knew that he was right. I couldn't stay here any longer. But I felt so much happier knowing that my Donal was with me in spirit, if not in body.

I returned to my bedroom as quickly as I could. I then opened the door to Tru's office. He looked up as I entered. Concerned, he said, “What are you doing up so late, my dear. You should be asleep in bed.”

Just after I told him, “It is time”, my second contraction came and I gasped as pain radiated throughout my body. Tru blanched a little, but kept himself calm. “Right” was all he said. He went to the bell pull and rang for my maids. He then came over to me and held me in his arms. “I am glad he has finally decided to make his appearance. I have been worrying about his tardiness. Everything is going to be fine, dearest. I will be with you every moment. I will not leave you.”

Ellyn and Mahli arrived several minutes later. “Patra has finally started her labor. Please run and get Suthi and her daughters and send someone to fetch Fiorenzia. I am taking Patra now to the birthing room. Go!” Tru ordered them. My maids quickly ran off to fetch everyone.

Ten minutes and several contractions later, Suthi and her daughters arrived. A minute or two later, so did Fiorenzia. The women set about preparing me; dressing me in my birthing gown, placing me on the birthing chair, etc. They tried to shoo Tru off, but he refused to leave, saying, “I am Patra's husband. It is my duty to be at her side right now. I may not be this child's natural father, but I am going to be the only father this baby will know. I am not going anywhere.”

It took four hours before I became fully dialated and was finally able to push. Tru stayed with me every minute, feeding me ice chips, reminding me to breathe, and helping me concentrate through the pain. As with Donal's other sons, this baby was quite big and required a lot of effort to push him out of my womb. There were times I thought he was going to tear me into two. But slowly, gradually, I was about to ease him out. Just as the sun rose over the land and suffused the world in its rosy light, my son, Donal, was born. He arrived squalling his head off, so very indignent to have been forced into this world. But he was healthy, weighing nine and one half pounds, with all his fingers and toes and was very much a boy.

After I delivered the placenta, Tru got the privilege of cutting Little Donal's umbilical cord. He was then bathed and wrapped in a warm blanket. Tru then took him out and presented him to the family for the first time, while the women cleaned me up and dressed me in a clean nightgown. When Tru returned with Little Donal, I gave him his first meal. He took to my breast immediately, without hesitation. When he had finished, the women took the baby and Tru carried me back to my bed, where I got several hours of much needed rest.