Janessa stroked her swelling belly. This had not been part of the plan, though with how much sex she had with the Sultan, it was only a matter of time before she was with child. When she found out, she panicked, even considering how to get her hands on herbs that would abort a pregnancy. But her sense soon took over, calming her down.
The Royal Concubines were treated well, but the concubines that became pregnant with the Sultan’s child had incredible amounts of security and safety. The only person more protected was the Sultan himself. She would be even safer than before.
Sure enough, when she told Arro, she was ushered out of the harem quarters and into a private room of her own near the Sultan’s. She had around the clock surveillance and guards, but despite this, some greater freedom than she had in the harem. She no longer had to wear her concubine uniform or be restricted to the harem quarters. She was free to roam the Palace, as long as she was accompanied by multiple guards. Janessa took advantage of this, naturally. She had been developing some cabin fever stuck in the harem quarters constantly.
Another bright side was that Janessa would be giving birth to her own heir. Once she was returned to Prince Jasper, she would retrieve her child, as long as it was a boy. Her concubines had never conceived any children with her, which made her worry Prince Jasper could not sire children. Janessa, however, was clearly fertile.
Janessa was now halfway through her pregnancy. A witch would be coming to visit the Palace to do a medical assessment of her and the child. Ahkan didn’t have witches, so whoever it was would be from a different kingdom. Janessa would be lying if she wasn’t curious about the witch that would be coming to see her.
There was a knock on the door of Janessa’s bedroom.
“Lady Janessa, the healer is here to see you,” one of the guards outside the room said.
“Send them in,” Janessa instructed. The door opened, revealing…