Cassarah #2
“Hang in there. We don’t call you Dragon Queen for nothing,” Day offered, trying to be encouraging.
I grabbed him by the front of his shirt and dragged him down to my level. “Go find someone else who is going to be more helpful.”
His eyes went wide, and he nodded, backing away slowly. Then another wave of pain hit, and I was screaming, which had him moving into high gear.
“Please tell me Alto is coming,” I heard him yell at someone.
“Goodness, you certainly aren’t taking this well. Go on, find the others. I’ll sit with her while you do that,” Helena soothed, then appeared in my room moments later. “What did you do to that poor man? He looked like he was going to cry.”
Groaning, I rocked forward, grabbing my stomach as my whole body seemed to contract on itself. “He wasn’t being helpful, blathering on about stupid things.”
“Ah, I see,” Helena commented as she kneeled before me, brushing a cool rag over my face. “Let’s see if we can’t get you out of these clothes. It will be much easier to deal with this whole thing without so many layers.”
It was a struggle, but we managed to get me down to my shift. The damn thing was wet and sticking to my legs, and I had a feeling it wasn’t going to survive this birthing.
“Do you feel like you can get up and walk around a bit?” Helena asked.
I shook my head. “No, the pain is too bad and coming faster.”
“Believe it or not, that is a very good sign. It means your little ones are eager to get out and meet you.”
“The feeling isn’t so mutual at the moment,” I said, glaring at her.
Helena laughed and patted my arm. “Trust me, when those little ones are in your arms, you won’t care a lick about what you just went through. They will be worth it.”
When this wave of pain hit, I felt the urge to push, but there was no way I was going to be doing that without Alto here. Then, I heard the crash of a door and male voices growing nearer.
“Hold up,” a female voice called. “Absolutely not. There is no way I am going to let all of you in there while this is happening. You’re going to drive her mad.”
May the fates bless you for the rest of your life, Alto. She was right. If they thought they were going to be in here talking to me, I might stab one of them. There was a heated discussion, but it was cut off when my guttural cry cut through the air.
“There is no discussing this. I’ve told you what’s happening, and your wife needs me.
Are you going to listen, or do I have to stand out here, leaving her alone to make sure you do as you’re told?
” Alto challenged. There was some sort of answer, and then Alto was striding in, arms full of things.
“Oh, Helena, good, I’m glad you’re here.
It’s nice to have someone who knows what’s going on with a level head. ”
Alto moved about the room gathering things, placing them where they were needed, and finally came to stand in front of me.
“Have you reached the point where you want to push?” Alto asked.
I nodded, unable to talk as I tried to control my breathing through the pain. When the next contraction hit, I could feel a shift, and something was coming whether we were ready or not.
“Something happened,” I gasped, standing. “It’s coming… it’s coming fast.”
Both women moved into action, grabbing my arms and walking me to the foot of the bed where two ropes had been tied.
We’d gone over what to expect so I leaned my back against the wood, grabbed onto the ropes, and squatted.
Helena came to the side, cloths in hand while Alto was right in front of me, lifting my dress over my knees so she could catch the baby as I pushed.
“You are doing amazing, Cassarah. This is the worst part, but we are nearly there,” Alto coached, gripping my knees and looking me right in the eye. “When the next contraction comes, I want you to push like you’ve never pushed before and don’t stop until I tell you, understood?”
Biting my lip, I nodded, feeling the tightening in my lower back, signaling the start of a contraction. I screamed, my hands turning white with how tightly I held the ropes and pushed.
“That’s it,” Alto praised. “I see the head. You can do it… keep pushing.”
Then the air was filled with cries of a new life entering the world and mad as hell about it. Alto handed the baby off to Helena, who wrapped her and handed Alto a knife. The cord was cut, and Helena bustled off to clean up the baby while I did this all over again.
“You did great, Cassarah,” Alto murmured as she moved her hands over my belly. “I’m just checking to make sure this second baby is just as ready to leave as its sibling.”
Quickly, another contraction happened, but it was shorter and seemed to shove the next baby in position.
“Ah, that’s lovely, just lovely,” Alto said with a smile, meeting my gaze. “Are you ready to be a mother of two?”
“I just want them to be all right and preferably out of me,” I answered, sobbing as I laughed, the stress making my emotions all over the map.
The next contraction moved in, and I was bearing down, pushing this baby out like it was my only purpose in life.
“There it is, you got this,” Alto cheered. “Come on, one more big, big push.”
“I’ll fucking push you,” I screamed as I did what I was told, pain lancing through my body telling me this baby was bigger than the last. “Oh God, tell me I’m close.”
“A bit more… the shoulders are broad on this baby. Let me see if I can assist,” Alto explained. “Push again, and I promise this will be over.”
“If you’re lying, I’m going to stab you,” I panted, gathering all my strength and pushed.
A literal pop could be heard, and the baby was out and in Alto’s hands. I could tell that the baby was indeed bigger than its sibling. Helena hurried over with more cloths to swaddle the baby while Alto cut the other cord.
“Is he all right? He’s not crying,” I asked, my breath coming quickly as I tried to fend off panic.
Helena smiled down at the baby. “Oh, this little man is just fine… wide awake and alert. Just seems like he doesn’t need to share his thoughts with the world yet unlike his sister.”
I sobbed, letting go of the ropes and sliding to the mess-covered floor. “A boy and a girl?”
“Yes, Cassarah, a beautiful baby girl with her father’s seafoam green eyes, and this little boy is the spitting image of Abbott. There’s no denying who their daddies are,” Helena cooed as she cleaned up my son.
Alto cupped my cheek, drawing my attention. “I’m going to need one of your men to help me get you to the bathing chamber to get you cleaned up. Then you can hold your babies.”
Weeping, I nodded, unable to control the joy exploding from my heart. They were fine—everything I went through and survived didn’t affect them in the slightest. Relief washed over me as Abbott came to carry me off.
“You have a son,” I whispered. “What are we going to name him?”
Abbott looked down at me with so much love and joy and kissed my forehead. “How do you feel about Christof? It’s a family name. I had a little brother who only lived a week who’d been given it.”
“I think that’s a wonderful name, and I love it’s part of your heritage,” I shared as he helped me into the water.
Too tired to complain, I let him wash me from head to toe. He brushed and braided my hair and carried me back to the room, where the bed was turned down, and Helena and Alto waited, holding my children.
“We didn’t let them see yet. It seems only right that you should first,” Alto said with a grin. “You did all the work, after all.”
Helena offered me one child. Her skin was darker than mine but not as deep as her father’s.
The curls came from both of us, though, along with the dark coloring.
Her stunning eyes gazed up at me, almost as if we were both shocked to see each other.
“Hello, my little flower,” I whispered, nuzzling my nose against her cheek.
She gurgled her joy, waving and kicking her arms and legs.
Then Alto placed my son in the crook of my other arm.
He was just as beautiful as his sister, with creamy skin, light blue eyes, and a bald head.
He was absolutely stockier than his sister, but it fit him perfectly.
He would be a brave warrior like his father, protecting our lands with his sister right at his side because I could tell these two would be inseparable.
“Can the others come in now?” I asked, not lifting my gaze from these stunning miracles.
Someone chuckled, causing me to look up, and there, standing around the bed, were my men. I gave them a watery smile and motioned with my head for them to join me on the bed.
“Don’t get shy on me now,” I teased. Jade crawled over to my left side, peering down at our daughter. “She’s perfect, isn’t she?”
He nodded, completely at a loss for words as tears welled up in his eyes. “What are you calling her?”
“I have an idea, but only if you like it,” I said. “There was someone through this whole ordeal who taught me so much through her life experiences. She lost so much yet through her sacrifice, we all survived.”
Jade frowned. “Who?”
“Miranda, the Raven Queen,” I answered. “Our daughter is going to do so many amazing things. I just feel it.”
“Then it sounds like the perfect name to me. Both of our children have some big shoes to fill. Considering who their mother is, I think it’s best we give them all the help we can,” Jade agreed, kissing her forehead.
“That’s where you’re wrong, my love. We are only the ones who have set the plan in motion. It will be their job to change the world for good,” I explained.
“Good thing they have one of the best role models as a mother to learn from,” Abbott shared, stroking a hand over our son’s head. “We will do our best to add to that and teach them everything you’ve taught us.”
“Hope and love… it can change the world,” Cole said, smiling.
This is just the beginning.
Of what?
Of everything.
~The End~