by T.M. Nielsen
***
Saith handed the baby over to Dewell. “It’s a boy.”
Alric smiled and then turned back to Kyrin. “One more.”
Dewell took the baby and began cleaning him off in the corner.
Only a few minutes later, the second heir was born, and Kyrin collapsed back onto the bed, panting.
“Two princes!” Saith said, handing the other baby boy over to a priest. Now both were screaming, and the entire temple sounded with their cries.
Alric kissed Kyrin lightly on the forehead. “Two sons.”
“You got lucky,” Creteloc said, and then she turned when dark shadows began to appear around the room.
The priests turned to them when panic filled their bodies, and a foreboding covered the room.
Alric stood slowly, and Finn drew his sword.
The shadows formed into figures robed in black. Their faces were obscured behind hoods, and their hands were clasped in front of them.
“Get knights in here,” Alric said, and then turned to Creteloc. “Who are they?”
“Priests of Daemionis,” she explained. “They’ve come to make sure Sithias doesn’t bless the babies into his order.”
“Get them out of here.”
“No”
“No one’s doing anything with them until Kyrin feels well enough to make a decision.”
“We’re not leaving. I wouldn’t put it past you to bless both of them while Kyrin is too weak to defend them.”
“Get out!”
Knights began to swarm into the room and Saith hurried and pulled the covers over Kyrin.
“Please, don’t,” Kyrin said softly.
“I got this.” Alric stayed facing Creteloc. “No decisions on the babies will be made without Kyrin. You have my word.”
“Ha! Like I can trust a Holy Knight,” Creteloc yelled.
“So what now? You think I’m going to allow you to bless them into Daemionis’ order?”
“As much fun as that sounds, he doesn’t take infants.”
“Oh that’s right. He just sacrifices them.”
“Pretty much.”
“Creteloc?” Kyrin asked, trying to sit up.
“Stay down, please,” Saith said, holding her to the bed. “It’s too early to stand.”
Creteloc ignored her. “Until we know that you aren’t going to steal these babies from us, they have Daemionis’ protection.”
“Nothing will be done without Kyrin being involved,” Alric said, getting angrier.
“So you say! Wait until we leave and then what? She can’t fight you now.”
“I hold to my word.”
“Your word is worth nothing to me.”
“Get out of my dimension!”
“Stop!” Kyrin yelled, and finally managed to sit up. “Both of you get out.”
“Kyrin,” Alric said, turning to her.
“No! I’m too tired to referee you two, and I want to sleep, so get out.”
“No,” Creteloc said, crossing her arms.
“On the count of three, everyone better get out of this room.”
“We can’t leave you right now,” Alric said softly.
“One… screaming babies too.”
“Kyrin”
“Two”
“I’m not leaving,” Creteloc told her.
“Three… Sithias and Daemionis, I suggest you get your loyal followers the hell out of my room before I make them.”
“You’re too weak to cast on us,” Alric said, seconds before her hands touched and began to glow orange. His eyes grew wide and he headed for the door, followed by all of Sithias’ followers. Creteloc and Daemionis’ priests all disappeared in a puff of black smoke.
Kyrin, exhausted from casting, checked again to make sure she was alone before rolling over to sleep.
Alric got into the safety of the temple’s foyer and smiled slightly. “I guess I was wrong about the no casting thing.”
Saith took the nearest twin and began to rock him. “Will she be feeding them?”
“No, I’ve arranged a wet-nurse for each of them.”
“I suggest you get them then.”
“They’re on the way,” Emerisa told them. She took the second twin from one of the priests and cradled him tenderly. “He’s beautiful.”
Finn walked over to her and smiled down at the tiny prince. “That he is.”
Alric paced, glancing often at the door to where Kyrin was sleeping. “I don’t like that she’s in there alone.”
Emerisa smiled. “She’ll be fine. She’s just braver than most women. I would have kicked everyone out too if I thought it would have worked.”
“You would have?” Finn asked, shocked.
“Of course, dear. She’s exhausted and just wants to sleep.”
“I thought you wanted me in with you.” Finn was somewhat hurt, and Alric couldn’t help but smile.
“After labor? A woman wants no one.”
“But…”
“No one,” she said, and then handed the baby to a priest. “I better go check on my own children.”
Alric sighed. “I guess we should leave her alone then.”
“I got a chance to heal her before we came out,” Saith explained. “Other than soreness, I think she’s fine. She’s young and strong, and it was an easy delivery.”
“Didn’t seem easy,” Alric said, sitting down on a couch in the waiting room.
“It could have been much worse.”
“I guess.”
“How are we going to name the babies if we can’t bless them?” Saith asked.
Alric shrugged. “I haven’t figured that out yet. I’ll talk to Kyrin when she wakes up.”
“Can’t you just, I don’t know… name them?” Finn asked.
“It has to be official,” Alric said. “Normally, the babies are blessed into the noble family with a name.”
“Blessed into a noble family that they are already a part of, not blessed into Sithias’ church. I bet it’s okay.”
“I’ve quit trying to decide what is and what isn’t okay.”
“True”
“She takes blessings as healings though.”
“I don’t want to bring that up, or she may stop.”
“Oh, right.”
Dewell came into the room. “The wet nurses are here. They also want to know if they are nursing only, or if they are to be nannies.”
“Nursing only for now,” Alric said. “I’m hoping to raise them ourselves, like my father did.”
“You want your sons raised by Kyrin?” Saith asked, frowning.
Alric seemed irritated. “She’s their mother.”
“I know, but she knows so little about it.”
“They’re safer with their mother than with any nanny.”
“I realize that.”
“She’ll come around.”
“I hope.”
“Besides, Qualsax has tried to take every newborn in my family. Kyrin’s our best bet to keep that from happening.”
Saith smiled. “That she is.”
“I can’t stay with them, and as soon as she’s well, she’ll be strong enough to protect them and herself.”
“If she does…”
“She will.”
Finn headed back to the castle as soon as Emerisa returned, while Alric and the priests waited in silence for Kyrin to wake up. It was hours later when they heard her call out for Emerisa. She smiled and went quickly into the room.
“You called, Lady Kyrin?” Emerisa asked, sitting beside her on the bed.
Kyrin sat up with some difficulty and sighed. “So now I have two sons. What do I do with them?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s no secret that I don’t want children.”
“No, it’s not.”
“However, Alric is deeply devoted to them, so I want to do my best as a mother.”
Emerisa smiled. “I think that’s a good idea.”
> “I don’t know what to do.”
“That’s the joy of being a mother. You do what you want.”
“What would you do if you were me right now?” Kyrin asked her.
“Well, first thing, I would be nursing them myself.”
Kyrin thought about that for a moment. “Is someone else doing that?”
“Yes, wet nurses. The best way to get close to the twins, to bond with them, will be to nurse them,” Emerisa explained.
“I don’t want wet nurses then.”
“I wouldn’t either.”
“I’ll do it myself. Can you help me do that?”
“I’d love to. Let me go get them.” Emerisa stood and walked out of the room.
“Is she okay?” Alric asked her.
Emerisa seemed a little irritated. “Did you ask Lady Kyrin if she wanted wet nurses?”
“Well, no.”
“Hrm,” she sighed, and then bit her tongue and went to get the babies. When she returned with one in each arm, Alric stopped her.
“Is she going to nurse them?”
“I think you’re going to find that Kyrin is attempting to be a mother. She doesn’t know how, so I’m sure her ways will be foreign, but she is trying.”
“I didn’t think…”
Emerisa left it at that and walked back into the room, shutting the door behind her.
Alric turned to Saith to defend himself. “How was I supposed to know?”
Saith shrugged. “I would have assumed she would take a hands-off approach.”
“I guess I could have asked her.”
“Perhaps”