[RPG] [FEI][SL]An unexpected arrival...

[kathleen stalnaker]

The days had grown long.  Her back ached constantly now and the burden she carried in her belly seemed to have dropped a bit.  The meetings with the royal court didn't seem to go as she expected, but then she seemed to forget what she was talking about often these days and she left out key bits of information.  It was no wonder Morthwyl was exasperated with her.

Aimee was never far from her these days, for the time drew near for the child to be born and yet it seemed as if the time would never come.  As Hoshi walked into the corridor she grabbed Aimee's arm and gasped as she felt a tightening her abdomen.  Aimee looked into Hoshi's face, it was pale and her eyes were wild, she grabbed Hoshi and shouted to a runner in the hall to fetch the midwife as she ushered Hoshi into her suite of rooms and settled her in the bed.

But this child was in a hurry to make an enterance and as Aimee tried to leave Hoshi's side to attend to what one should have on hand for the birth of a baby Hoshi grabbed her arm again, gritting her teeth and crying out, "There is no time Aimee, you must do this with me."

Aimee stared at Hoshi, panic in her eyes, she had been trained to do many things, but deliver a child was not one of them.  As Hoshi cried out again however Aimee snapped into action helping the Queen out of her clothing and into her sleeping shift and repositioning her on the bed for the pains of birthing were upon Hoshi once again.

"My Lady I know not what it is I should do..." 

Hoshi smiled at Aimee and said, "It is alright the child knows, she will bring herself into the world with little help from outside if all inside is right."

Aimee nodded and watched helplessly as Hoshi and the child did the work set before them...

"Aimee, guide the baby out...catch her in your hands so that she does not fall."  Aimee nodded and did as she was bid.  

The midwife burst into the room just as the baby burst out of Hoshi and then the room became a bustle of activity, the stout woman ordering the boy who'd fetched her to get a basin of warm water and towels to clean the baby up with while she went to work to help with all that comes after the child arrives.

"It's a girl!" Aimee exlaimed..."It's a girl!"  Hoshi smiled as she was being pushed on and poked at by the midwife, she let out one last cry and then the midwife announced..."If is finished, once the babe is cleaned you may have her."  She snapped her fingers at a servant who came and helped clean Hoshi up, and began changing the bedding, for childbirth is a bloody affair.

Resettled and cleaned up Hoshi smiled as Aimee handed her a small bundle wrapped tightly in a blanket.  She looked into the clear eyes of the small girl and ran a finger across her cheek and leaned in and kissed her bald head inhaling the sweet scent of her child.

She looked at the little girl and whispered, "Welcome Kenzy to this world, may the gods walk with you in beauty and bless the path you have been set upon."  Tears filled Hoshi's eyes as she remembered a similar scene 11 years ago, she continued whispering to the girl in her arms, "Your brother will be pleased to know you've arrived with out too much trouble."  Hoshi uncurled one of Kenzy's little fists and kissed the little girl's palm, "His name is Kieron.  He is in Zonasa with his father.  Perhaps one day soon we will go and see them."







"Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?

from Sabriel by Garth Nix

 



 		
---------------------------------
Get your email and more, right on the  new Yahoo.com 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://news.battlemaster.org/pipermail/rpg/attachments/20060903/e6384b3a/attachment.htm