VI: Addition

Once it was clear that Cato was making headway with his recovery, Gytha made the decision to finally fulfill her duty to the Sisterhood.  He hadn’t experienced any kind of relapse for the first time in weeks.  Communications between himself and Belasarius hinted that the Dromaires would be returning to the capital shortly.  She had gotten exactly one piece of correspondence from Thusaye that was just as frosty as Nivatus’s ice caps; she had put off her duties long enough and used up all of the allotted leeway Thusaye had managed to wheedle for her.  If she failed to act now, there would be consequences.

It was easy enough to accomplish.  A strong nightcap before bed and a few hours later, Gytha was well on her way to having their firstborn, Cato none the wiser.  

She couldn’t sleep afterwards.  The conversation that she and Cato had had on their first day at the summer estate kept resurfacing in her head.  Their daughter would be a pawn for the Bene Gesserit to use.  She wasn’t in the know regarding who they were intending on matching her daughter with, but she knew she would be told to encourage her to seek the favor of this man who would be her intended husband in the future.  That bit was starting to bother her.  More than that though, she feared that once Cato knew about her pregnancy, that old coldness would return to their relationship.  Their daughter would be a constant reminder of Gytha’s ties to the Sisterhood, and that Cato had been forced to marry her through underhanded means.  

It wouldn’t have bothered her five months prior if Cato was upset or not by what she did.  Now, however, Gytha was willing to do anything to keep them from drifting apart…and she might as well have destroyed those chances in order to remain loyal to the Sisterhood.

—

She found him in the estate’s training room, which was a more open setup than the one at the Keep with large windows looking out to the pond and surrounding forest taking up one wall.  He had just concluded a slow-paced training session to ease himself back into his usual high-speed fighting.  Gytha hovered in the doorway as she watched him carefully putting the weapons he had used back where they belonged.

    He glanced in her direction, tossing her a smile as he continued to work.

“I would have waited to spar with you but I didn’t want to wake you up from your nap,” he said, sliding a set of throwing knives into their protective sleeves.

    That was right.  Gytha hadn’t slept at all over the course of the last several days due to her worrying keeping her up.  She found it was easier to rest without Cato being right next to her, his presence an uncomfortable prod that she would have to eventually tell him the news.  She released a shaky exhale as her hands tightened together against her abdomen.

“Cato, I’m pregnant.”

Gytha watched his back lock up tight as her words sank in.  He slowly turned to face her, his whole posture saying this was not a welcome piece of information that he was trying desperately to cover up.  His fingers fidgeted nervously with the small blade he had been ready to put away.

“Oh?”

She closed the gap between them, smiling up at him slyly as she leaned her head against his arm.

    “I was only teasing you,” she said. “How is your shoulder holding up?”

The relief that flooded Cato’s face was all the proof Gytha needed to confirm her worst fears: he did not want to have anything to do with fathering a child.  Gytha couldn’t blame him.  He already had enough responsibilities riding on his shoulders, and being a parent would not help with the stress he was juggling.

    Cato brushed a hand over his shoulder and across the injury site that had grown a healthy layer of scar tissue.

    “You have a funny idea of joking.”

“I wanted to make sure I had your attention.  You didn’t injure yourself again, did you?”

    He gave her a look.

“The shoulder’s fine.  Still a little tight from not being used, but it’ll be back to normal in no time.  How are you?”

    The question caught her off guard, freezing the smile on her face.

“What do you mean?”

    “You’ve seemed a little more tired as of late,” Cato said, cupping her chin to tilt her head up and look her over with a squint. “Do I need to have Doctor Rowan see if you’re coming down with something?”

    “Oh, no.  I’m fine,” Gytha said quickly, turning her head into Cato’s hand to kiss the palm. “A little more exhausted than I’d like to be from all the running around we’ve been doing, but I’m fine.”

    “You’re sure?”

“Of course,” she insisted, straining on the balls of her feet to kiss his cheek. “I know the Doctor will want to see you after you threatened to undo his work with your exercises–”

    “I’ll indulge his paranoia as long as it takes him to stop treating me like an invalid.”

“Just a little while longer then.  Did you want to do anything after your examination?  I’d like to stay on the estate, just in case you have a postponed flare up.”

    “I was going to suggest a hike,” Cato said sourly.

“Tomorrow,” Gytha said, giving his hand a brief squeeze. “If you’re not too sore after pushing yourself with your training, as I know you probably did.  For now, maybe we can walk around the hedge maze again.  Separately.”

    Her expression turned crafty.

“I’ll make it a game: you have to find me.”

    “I might like that.”

“Good.  Be good for Doctor Rowan.  He always complains to me after you two butt heads.”

    Cato leaned down to peck her brow.

“When am I ever bad for the good Doctor?”

    “Ninety percent of the time if I go by his word.  I’ll see you in an hour.”

Gytha smiled without showing any teeth, quickly turning her back on him to hide her blurring vision and the muscles tightening in her neck as she tried to maintain her composure.  She didn’t know where she was going until the cackle of birds from overhead filled her ears, a warmer temperature permeating her surroundings as she sat with her back to a broad tree, staring at the artificial brook noisily bubbling away.  She kept replaying Cato’s initial reaction in her mind as she twisted her fingers in her lap.  He had balked.  She had read the unease in him as if he were an open filmbook.  Gytha closed her eyes with a tremulous exhale, rubbing at the side of her head.

    What had she expected him to do?  Bound around with excitement?  What had sprung up between them was safe for now, but as soon as she started to show more obvious signs, things would definitely come crashing down around them.  In her most recent letter, Thusaye had told her that she only needed genetics from House Dromaire in the form of a daughter.  As soon as that was accomplished, she didn’t have to actively protect him anymore.  She was free to step aside and allow an assassination to take place, or his ego to lead to his demise.  They had arranged for her marriage to him, but it didn’t have to be a long one.  The Bene Gesserit were willing to take her back where she could have her child among faces she had grown up around.

    The only problem in that logic was that Gytha wanted to remain on Nivatus now, indefinitely.  

    She pressed a hand to her abdomen.  It would have been better if she had remained unattached.

    “You…weren’t teasing, were you?”

Gytha jerked her head in the direction of the voice, a hand having gone to her hair to whip out one of the needles she employed as weapons.  She dropped her hand to her lap, empty, when she saw Cato make a hesitant approach through the trees.  He stopped short in front of her before crouching to her level.  She could feel that her throat had closed up, preventing her from saying a word in response.  Even a simple “no” was impossible to get out.  Steeling herself for the worst, she gave her head a small shake.

    “How long?” he asked.

“A-a few days.”

“And…you thought I’d be mad…?”

She nodded again.  Cato’s eyes flicked to the side as he frowned, then back towards her as he shifted closer.  From where she was staring hard at her lap, she saw his hand tentatively enter her field of vision, laying flat against her stomach.  Gytha pressed both hands on his.

    “Okay,” he breathed, his tone indicative of the anxiety he was doing his best to stifle. “Okay, okay.”

    She squeezed his hand harder when she felt a slight quiver emanate from them.

“So, no curses on the Sisterhood?  No muttering about how they’re using me to manipulate you for their grand schemes?”

    “No.  You know how I feel about them, but it’s not how I feel about you.”

The tight ball that had been building in Gytha’s chest since she knew she was carrying Cato’s child began to unravel, leaving her limbs shaky and loose.  Cato scooted closer.  Neither of them said a word as the noises of the massive greenhouse filled the blank space.

    “What are you thinking?” she asked finally.

“I’m trying not to panic right now,” he said honestly, then with a quick inhale: “Gytha, I’m not mad at you.  I might be mad at the Sisters for what they’re forcing you to do, but not you.  All right?  I want you to know that.”

    “All right.”

“Syms…he explained the situation–your situation–to me a little while ago.  We both have a lot riding on our shoulders, huh?”

    Gytha nodded once more.

Cato let out a breath through his nose.

    “Okay.”

Gytha haltingly raised her eyes to his face.

“I thought–maybe–I might have ruined–”

He gave his head a firm shake, lifting a hand to wipe at her cheek.

“Never.”

One word was all the assurance she knew she needed from him.