"I know. I know. I don't think you need to figure it all out - I don't think you can, not in a little bit of time - 's why I didn't even bring it up until you had a little bit of buffer. But I think the thing you are doing isn't going to get you what you want, and it isn't going to protect your baby from - other babies, if there are some eventually, whose mothers have been at this for longer - from his own father - and I don't see how it gets you the helmet off."

"I don't know how to do anything else.

"But - he says the thing I'm doing isn't right, anymore, anyway."

"I can help you."

"...how?"

"I can keep him away, when you're not ready for him. We can come up with things to try saying and go over how well he took them, and come up with better ones."

"Okay.

"I'm not supposed to be manipulative - it's bad when people are manipulative - "

"It's bad if he catches them at it, he means."

She sobs a little. "Don't wanna make him angry - don't wanna be bad - "

"Sssshhh, sshh, I don't want you to make him angry. I want you to be safe, Korva, I'm trying to keep you safe. You just - sometimes to be safe you need defenses, not just a conspicuous lack of weapons."

...nodnod.

"And you have one, now." She gestures towards Korva's belly. "And we'll work on some more. And in the meantime I am going to tell the Healers to tell him that his presence excites you and it's bad for the baby."

"I don't wanna lie to him - "

"No one's gonna say anything that doesn't hold up under Abadar's Truth but that gives you a bit of room to pick your words carefully."

...she nods and hugs her knees to herself.

"Don't you think he'd want someone to be protecting and looking after his wife? If you asked him whether he wanted that wouldn't he say 'yes'?"

"...yeah, but - he might not like it if someone said they were doing that and then - did it in a way he didn't like - "

"Then he should probably have done it better himself."

She is not really sure what to do anymore besides cry. She's done way too much crying lately but it seems to be kind of her default state right now.

She brings her tea and a hot cloth for her face and some sharp-smelling flowers that help with congestion.

She drinks the tea and smells the flowers and wipes her face off.

"I'm sorry I'm so hard to take care of."

"You are way easier than average, for what it's worth."

"Okay."

She will... sit and wait for her headache to go away and the charm to wear off. At some point she's hit with a wave of sick fear about everything she told him last night and this morning, and she figures that's probably it.

She stares at the ceiling and contemplates how thoroughly she has failed at every aspect of her existence except for having sex and getting pregnant. But then, he always said those were her jobs, so maybe none of the rest is very important.

Healers come in. Declare that she is in fact pregnant and should be on bedrest and her husband might excite her excessively. 

She is too tired to argue with anyone about any of this.

Her husband comes by anyway. 

"Hey. How are you doing?"