226 Chapter 226 : Eira (Eye- ra)

Hysterical and panicked, Gareth tried not to look down at the beddings soaked in blood that his wife was laying in, he tried heard not to crumble as her screams of agony filled the chamber. He wished he could take away her pain he really did, he wanted to be the one to suffer not her, but all he could do was hold her hand and let her squeeze it as much as she needed when the pain was too much.

The king turned to look at the head midwife who had instructed Melissa to push yet again, wasn’t there a quicker perhaps less painful way to do this. “Is there a problem?!” Gareth finally asked the woman who was helping his wife deliver, he couldn’t just stand there and watch his wife go through this, if something had gone wrong he wanted to know.

He prayed everything was okay though, he had heard that some women died during child birth, and his mind completely refused to tolerate any thought of losing Melissa. “Someone talk to me! Why is it taking so long?! Can’t you see she’s in pain?!”

The head midwife, with her hands as bloodied as a serial killer looked up at the king and shook her head apologetically. That gesture, even though small, made Gareth’s heart sink, what was going on?! Was his daughter okay?? Was his wife going to be okay?!

“The baby, it did not turn,” the woman explained before giving instructions to her assistants. “Get the blades and some thread, hurry!”

“Blades? Thread?!” Gareth didn’t even want to think about what they were planning to do with those things they were asking for. “What do you mean the baby hasn’t turned?! What are you going to do to my family?”

“With all due respect your majesty, I don’t think you’ll want to be here for this.”

Gareth watched the woman take a sharp blade from the small silver tray filled with a clear liquid, that one of her helpers had placed on a small table. “What are you planning to use that for?!”

“My king like I said before,” the midwife explained, “the baby is not turned so your wife cannot deliver naturally. To keep the baby from suffocating, I’ll have to cut it out.”

.....

“What?!” Gareth felt like he was going to vomit every ounce of food he had ever eaten in his entire life, his stomach churned from anxiety and fear, and his head pounded painfully. “I can’t let you do that.. you can’t-”

Melissa grabbed Gareth’s hand making him turn to her. She looked tired and completely drained, her breathing was shallow and her beautiful eyes had sunk. “Gareth let them do it.”

The elven king was absolutely appalled, “Mel I’m not going to let them cut you! Have you lost your mind?!”

“Our daughter is running out of air Gareth! Let them do it!”

The man felt defeated, on one hand if they didn’t go ahead and cut his wife, his daughter’s life may be in danger, and on the other hand he had no idea if his wife would walk out of here alive after this procedure.

“Gareth, I’m going to need you to leave for this,” Melissa urged the man.

He looked around the room, the bloody sheets, the foggy windows and the maids who were tending to Melissa.. “no, I’m staying right here.” He took Melissa’s hand and held it tight with both of his. “Get my daughter out, and make sure nothing happens to my wife.”

The head midwife nodded and gave one of her helpers a sign to give Melissa a special elixir that would help numb the pain for a few hours. After the blue eyed woman drunk the elixir, the head maid proceeded with the cutting.

Since the numbing was not yet in full effect, the first incision made Melissa scream in agony, and Gareth gnashed his teeth desperately trying to bare the sound of his wife’s pain. In this moment, his love and respect for Melissa doubled, she was going through so much just to be able to give their child life, after all this was over, Gareth swore he would cater to her hand and foot, she deserved nothing less.

It felt like hours had passed since the procedure began, and Gareth was feeling lightheaded by the cutting sounds he was hearing, daring not to turn and look at what they were doing to his wife, but soon enough, his misery came to an end when the most beautiful sound he had ever heard filled the room, the sound of his baby crying.

A young midwife quickly severed the cord and cleaned the baby before wrapping her in a bundle of soft cloth. Gareth had his eyes glued to the woman as she walked towards him with his daughter in hand. She stopped a few inches away from him and gave him a congratulatory smile, “it’s a beautiful girl your majesty, I hope you’re not disappointed.”

“Disappointed?” Gareth looked down at the tiny infant that was crying in the midwife’s arms. “Why on earth would I be disappointed?”

“Well most kings hope for a boy and-”

Gareth cut the woman off, “she is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” he cooed, “I would never be disappointed.”

A few more minutes later the head midwife wife finished everything and Melissa was finally allowed to hold her baby for the first time. She was tired and in pain but she didn’t care, she reached out to her daughter eagerly and cradled her against her chest. “Oh my baby, my little angel.” She allowed the newborn to breastfeed as she lay down to rest.

Gareth watched her feed the baby with so much wonder, women were definitely the superior gender, he couldn’t fathom how after all that, Melissa was still able to nurse their child, may the gods bless this wife of his.

After feeding her baby, Melissa looked up at Gareth and smiled, “do you want to hold her?”

Gareth batted his eyelashes in confusion, “you want me to hold her?”

“Yes, she is your daughter after all,” Melissa whispered with a tired smile.

“I can’t, she so small and fragile, I don’t want to hurt her.”

“You won’t..” Melissa held out the small baby to Gareth who with shaky hands took it and cradled it in his arms.

When the tiny baby yawned, Gareth’s eyes watered and tears flowed down his cheeks. This was his daughter, his little girl, his whole world right here in his arms, gods she was perfect.

“What will you name her?” Melissa asked the man who was not in the least bit holding back his tears. Never in her life had she seen Gareth cry except now, and it moved her heart deeply.

“Would you look at that,” the head midwife spoke with a hint of glee in her tone as she looked out the window. “it’s the first snowfall of the year, this is a good omen your majesty.”

Gareth sniffed before planting a kiss on his daughter’s forehead, “Eira..” he whispered as more tears escaped his eyes. “Her name will be Eira, meaning snow.”

Melissa smiled at her husband and nodded, “it’s a beautiful name darling...” and not long after, the exhausted nosferatu woman fell into a deep sleep knowing her daughter was alive and well in the arms of her husband. Eira would be okay in Gareth’s arms while she rested for a while.

*

Elric opened the door and quickly rushed into his little log cabin where a fire was as flickering in the fireplace. He placed the large pieces of wood he had been collecting on the floor next to the fireplace and wiped his forehead. It had taken him most of the day, but now he had enough wood to last him the the winter, he actually would have gotten more but the sudden snowfall made him retreat back to his warm, self made abode.

historical

He sat down at his usual armchair next to the fireplace and drew in a breath, the silver haired lycan contemplated closing his eyes and resting a while before it was time to make dinner, but something was out of the ordinary today. His eyes scanned the room and he noticed that the redhead who had been haunting his mind and house was nowhere in sight, had she decided to finally leave him alone? Or was all this a sign that something had happened?

“Hello?!” Elric felt ridiculous calling out to a figment of his imagination, the woman never spoke to him anyway so why did he expect her to respond when he called to her? But still, the feeling was a little unsettling for some reason, he wasn’t sure if it was because he had grown accustomed to her aimlessly roaming his house like a ghost, or it was now that he was truly going mad, but he somewhat hopped she was still around. The redhead, despite not being real as Elric had established, had kept him company for months and made his isolation a little less lonely, he wondered where she had gone?

“Are you there?” Elric rose from his chair and searched the other small rooms of the cabin but did not see her anywhere. It seemed she truly had left him, maybe it was for the best, maybe it was a sign that his mind was finally clearing and he had started a new page of his life.