Nathaniel shut the door behind him and went to lean against the backboard of Lucina's bed. Zaizon was already standing in the corner and Lucina was sitting in front of the mirror.
Nathaniel tapped his finger on the backboard, looking between Zaizon and Lucina silently. His normal smile was a thin scowl.
Lucina eventually spoke, "We've been at this for six months. We've tried everything. We've healed directly in front of palace guards, we've healed palace guards."
Nathaniel nodded, "It means nothing. They have no reason to bring you forward. They already have the best doctors in Vesia."
"Not that they're particularly good ones."
"Compared to Lomcarnex? Certainly."
Zaizon lifted his head, "The only way to get them to come to you is to give them a problem their doctors can't fix."
Nathaniel glanced towards the window before speaking, "The queen is expecting soon. If we could find one of the midwives..."
Lucina looked at him, arching an eyebrow with a small smirk.
"Their doctors can't bring back the dead."
Zaizon nodded, "But they think Lucina has."
"Their last three heirs died before birth or shortly after. It wouldn't surprise them."
"But this time they have a way to save them."
Lucina frowned, "How do they know they'll take the chance?"
"What parent wouldn't want to save their baby?" Nathaniel straightened, "The queen won't be able to bear another child. She's getting too old. This is their last chance. They'll take it."
Zaizon spoke. "What if Jarek can't bring the baby back?"
"We've always told people that people can't always be brought back. We'll tell them the same thing." Nathaniel shrugged, "If he can't, Lucina can just... prophesy that they'll find the heir in a particular spot and put a different baby there." He looked at Zaizon curiously, "Do you think you could make one?"
"A baby?" Zaizon grimaced, "I've never tried, but I suppose I could try. I can't create souls, though. We'd need to use a soul to use."
Lucina tilted her head. "We could use an old soul, cut out the bits we can't use."
"That wouldn't be a whole soul."
"...How much soul can someone live without?"
"If your mortal? You can't survive long without the whole thing."
Lucina hummed, "What about me, then?"
"You might be able to live without a couple pieces."
"Then we'll use some of mine to replace the missing pieces. Could that be done?"
Zaizon nodded slowly, "But we'd still need a soul to use."
"We'll find one if we need it."
Nathaniel smiled grimly, "It sounds like an excellent back up plan. I'll go find a midwife." He stood up and walked out. "Don't hang out in there too long. People might get the wrong idea."
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