Scarlett didn't have time to enjoy her child - a healthy baby boy, with coal black hair and blue eyes - emerged, squalling as lustily as every newborn before and since. He was whisked away right before her eyes, and horror set in as she realised that Arjun had meant every damn word he'd said. Scarlett cursed herself for mouthing off once more, but as she was stitched up - none too gently, though she refused to let the harridans know they were hurting her - she knew it wouldn't have mattered if she'd kept a lid on her temper or not. Arjun would've done the same regardless, and Scarlett prayed that her son - hers, no matter what her father and the council said - would some day know the truth about his conception and birth.
For Scarlett had finally come to realise that she and her son were a means to an end. She wanted to believe that her father's intentions were noble, but now, having watched her son being taken away without giving her a chance to bond with him, she realised something was amiss. She still had no real clue, but something wasn't jelling, and as she settled down in her bed, she vowed she'd make it her personal mission to find out why her son was so important.
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She had little time to peruse the matter as she recovered - the nurses made sure she had no time to herself, beyond sleeping and bathroom breaks. Her breasts ached unmercifully from the weight of the milk that would now go unused, but the nurses were unkind when she complained. "Pump it," one bitchy harridan told her, her grey eyes as cold and hard as stones as she regarded the pale faced girl. "It will be put to use, but don't think this is a kindness. We're only doing this so you won't complain and upset the boy's mother."
Scarlett glared at her. "Screw you," she said angrily. "I'll suffer in silence, if that's what it takes to get you miserable old bitches off my back."
The nurse huffed. "Very well," she said coldly. "Just remember your words when you can't sleep for the pain. And don't think we'll offer this to you again, not after the way you've behaved so disgracefully. Suffer in silence, or you'll soon find yourself wishing sore breasts were the only trouble you had."
Scarlett sighed as the door slammed shut behind the nurse, once cursing her careless tongue. But after years of suppression, it was small wonder she could no longer keep a lid on her temper. Still, she made a vow to keep a more civil tongue in her head for the rest of her stay, privately resovling to let her father absolutely have it when she got home!
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A few hours later, the grey-eyed nurse returned, and much to Scarlett's surprise, she carried not only the evening meal, but a breast pump as well. She said no word in greeting, but Scarlett didn't care, and after she'd eaten, the nurse, in a surprisingly kind mood, helped her get the pump secured. Still, she said not a word, but Scarlett wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, and she sighed in relief as the excess milk was pumped out, leaving her feeling lighter and less engorged when the process was done. "How long will I have to keep doing this?" she ventured.
The nurse shrugged. "A few days," she said, her voice less abrasive than normal. "I'm not doing this out of kindness, by the way."
"Of course not," Scarlett said, sighing. But somehow, she had the sneaking suspicion she had at least one ally on her side, even if that ally was a bitchy harridan. One ally, though, was better than none!
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After a few days, the milk finally slowed and stopped, and Scarlett sighed in relief as the nurse - Heather - took the pump off. "I know you're not doing this to be kind," Scarlett said, "but thank you. I appreciate it."
Heather shrugged. "I don't like you," she said curtly. "You're just as recalcitrant as your mother was. But I can't stand by and let the rest of the crew run you into the ground."
Scarlett frowned. "My mother was recalcitrant?" she said. Saanvi never had a cross word for anyone - unless Arjun was being a stubborn c-word - and she was about the kindest, most patient woman Scarlett had ever known. If she dug her heels in, it was for good cause, but Scarlett could never recall in her life ever seeing her mother do so.
"As stubborn as the day is long," Heather clarified, but there was something in her eyes that suggested the realisation she'd said too much. "She fought tooth and nail to keep you by her side, and threatened to burn the place down if we didn't allow her to leave with you."
That was a bald-faced lie; Scarlett smelled something dangerous. "Tell me," she urged.
Heather glared at her. "Be quiet," she said, her old harshness reasserting itself in a flash. Only now, Scarlett sensed it was a facade. "You'd better hope no one hears this talk; it'd be your head if word got out you were nosing around in matters not meant for the likes of you and me to know."
Scarlett wouldn't be budged; she reached out and grabbed Heather's hand. "Where is she?" she begged.
"Not here," Heather ground out through gritted teeth. "Is that enough for you, child?"
"For now," Scarlett said, releasing her hand. "But if you do know something, I beg you, please tell me. If I was stolen from my real mother, then my son will be facing the same fate. You cannot let that happen."
"Child, you're asking me to put my neck on the block for you," Heather said curtly. "Do you really want to know? And are you prepared to go on the run, like your mother was forced to do?" Her lips pursed in a tight line as she met Scarlett's eyes with an intensity that shocked the girl. "I lost my daughter when she was born," Heather said baldly. "I was told she'd died, only to discover she lived, but was being raised by another woman. I wanted to scream at her for taking my daughter from me, but the council ... forced me to swear an oath to never betray their secrets. And you know Pandorans cannot break an oath; it will kill them from the inside out, and it is not pleasant."
Scarlett took a deep breath. "I need to know," she pleaded."
Heather stared at her in silence for a long while, before nodding. "Take my hand," she said. "I can't tell you, but I can show you; the council don't know I can circumvent their oath..."
The door crashed open, and Scarlett screamed as two blue-clad officers shot Heather. Arjun stormed in and seized his daughter by the wrist, hauling her out of the bed and depositing her on the floor. "You faithless bitch," he snarled, but Scarlett soon realised he was talking to the dying Heather. "It's a good thing I tagged you; I knew you'd try and weasel your way out of your oath. But you couldn't let it go, could you? You had to be the one to speak to my daughter!"
Heather spat out blood. "She's my granddaughter," she said. "I'll do whatever I can to break the charm you still have on her." She grinned mirthlessly. "Now that I'm dying, it doesn't matter if I break oath."
"You're my grandmother?" Scarlett said, horrified as she crawled over to the dying woman. Taking Heather's hand in hers, she kissed the calloused palm, eyes filling with tears as she regarded the relative she'd never known she had.
Arjun sniffed. "It's no use," he told his shocked daughter. "The curse still holds; she'll be killed before she can utter a single word."
Heather grinned again. "Four... words," she rasped. "Council... stealing... your... babies..." She paused, spat out blood again. "Babies being... used... to... cure disease.... Pandorans created in the... first place." Her smirk was bloody, but there was triumph in her eyes. "That's ... twelve more... bastard."
Those four words were the last four before Heather finally succumbed to her injuries, and while Scarlett was stunned witless at this shocking revelation, she was also relieved that her suspicions all along had been correct. Kissing her dead grandmother's brow, she rose, glaring at her father. "I hate you," she said.
Arjun chuckled. "And what are you going to do?" he mocked. "Flee? Good luck. I've my orders - you're to be locked under house arrest until such time as you are married off. Your new husband has his orders; if you step one toenail out of line, you're to be killed."
"You can't muzzle the truth behind murder," Scarlett said angrily. She looked at her dead grandmother and shivered. But the anger was still hot in her as she faced her father - who probably wasn't her real father, not if his comments a few days ago about altering DNA were actually true. They probably were, Scarlett thought disgustedly to herself. "My grandmother fought the system, and though the system killed her, she still managed to defy it at the end. And what she's done, her granddaughter can do."
"Seize her," Arjun directed the two police officers, but before they could do so, Scarlett kicked them both in the nuts, before turning around and doing the same to her father. All three men went down, and Scarlett grabbed the gun before bolting from the room. She wouldn't have much of a lead, but she refused to be intimidated. There had to be a way to get off Pandora somehow, and Scarlett's mind started working overtime. First, I've some unfinished business, she thought grimly.
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