Daniel met the Queen in the garden room. He was surprised how comforting the room was with its southern exposure and many plants. He had to wait a few minutes for the Queen to arrive. Pleasantries were made and then she discharged her attendant to wait outside for her. Daniel began the interview by summarizing what little he knew about the case. He asked her, “Ma’am, are you comfortable proceeding?”
She smiled, “Heather told me about your quaint custom of not using titles. I would prefer if you would call me Sandra instead of ma’am, at least in informal settings. You know, Heather and I are not so far apart in our ages. I’m not so much her stepmother as an older sister. You don’t think I look that much older do you?”
“You have youth yet. We need to work on finding out what happened to your baby. Did you have any trouble with the pregnancy?”
“The morning sickness was a problem. But I did not have any illnesses to speak of.”
“Did you take any unusual medications or eat strange foods?”
“I don’t remember anything other than the ginger tea. I think the Royal physicians were afraid to give me anything. I did have a craving for cabbage; it was about the only thing I could eat.”
“You didn’t have any unusual bleeding during the pregnancy?”
“No.”
“The sacred water was given to you every week?”
“I think that was part of the problem with my morning sickness. They must have given me extra strength sacred water because every time I tried to drink it I would become sick.”
“But you did use it?”
“I tried but lots of times I would just throw up after taking a couple of sips. Other days I was too sick to even try and drink it. You don’t think that’s why my baby died do you?”
“I’m not sure. What did you do with the sacred water you didn’t drink?”
“Oh, I had Betty drink it, otherwise the court priest would go on and on about my needing to fulfill the religious ritual with the sacred water. You know Betty; she’s the one you operated on.”
“Did the sacred water bother Betty?”
“I don’t think so. She was pregnant at the same time but she never had any morning sickness. I’m not sure if the half brains get morning sickness. I guess her baby was okay, but I’ve never seen it.”
“Was your labor difficult?”
“I don’t think so, it lasted about six hours. It wasn’t nearly as bad as other women experience.”
“What was the delivery like?”
“The midwife had me sitting in the delivery chair and told me when to push. Of course, when the time came, nobody had to tell me to push I just did it. When the baby was first born he cried, but then the crying stopped. That’s when she told me the baby had died. I don’t really remember anything else after that.”
“Did you get to see your baby?”
“Only a glance when it was first born and the midwife was taking it to the back table. I could tell it was a boy.”
“Did the baby look normal?”
“Of course. The bellybutton was a little big but I only had the one glimpse, so it was probably okay.”
At this point the tears where streaming down her face. Daniel stood up and began rubbing her shoulders gently. After a few moments he said, “I’m sorry your baby died. I’ll try to figure out why.”