Page 58 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown (Kingdom of Bellhollow #1)

P anic goes through me as I stare at her. What am I supposed to do?

“Get the midwife!” Mother screams again.

I look back at Avira to find her already gone and I clench my teeth. Of course she leaves when Mother is in labor. Why would she stay?

“I’ll get the midwife and more ice to melt!” I reply as I pick up the bucket and run toward the front door.

I pause and turn back to Mother. “Do you need anything before I go?”

“Midwife.” She takes a deep breath.

Nodding, I rush out the door and run down the street, straight to the midwife’s house.

“I need a midwife!” I yell as I knock on the door. “My mother is in labor.”

The door opens as Maria is standing there, a smile on her face. “She’s finally in labor?”

Before I can answer, Mother screams. We hear it clear as day. Maria’s eyes go wide.

“Your mother is definitely in labor. I’ll grab my things and head right over,” she replies and looks at the bucket in my hand.

“You are going to get more ice from the river? Good. You do that but take your time. From the way your mother is screaming, there are still several minutes in between her contractions. She isn’t quite ready yet, but don’t take too long. ”

Right. Hurry, but don’t hurry. I can do that.

“Once you get back, you can stay close, but you don’t have to stay in the room unless your mother wants you there,” she gently says. “I can tell how panicked and uncomfortable you are. I can deal with everything, you can just be nearby, so if I need anything, you can help out.”

I let out a breath and nod. “Thank you. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

She smiles. “I can see that. Now, go get the ice.”

I speed-walk past the houses and straight for the forest, on a mission to get the ice. The sooner I do, the sooner I can do something else that will get my mind off the fact that I’m about to be an older sister in a couple of hours.

I make it to the stream in record time, fall to my knees, and start to place ice in the bucket. Kieran was here earlier, breaking it up for me, or one of his friends was.

“I thought I might find you here sooner or later.” Kieran’s voice fills the forest. “How are you, Sweets?”

My hands shake from the cold and nerves as I stare at him. How am I?

Kieran searches my face before he kneels in front of me, cupping my face with his hands. “What’s wrong?”

“My mother is having the baby,” I whisper, tears pooling in my eyes.

“I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know if I’m ready to be an older sister.

I could be the baby’s mother! I’m uncertain about so many things right now, and not having my father here to help her though this just makes it even harder. ”

His thumb rubs up against my cheek, sparks dancing across my skin. “Everything is going to be all right. The midwife is with her?”

I nod.

“Then you don’t have anything to worry about.

She will take care of everything. She knows what she is doing,” he gently whispers.

“And as for you not being ready, it’s okay to feel like that, but when the baby comes into this world, you are going to feel so much love for them.

You are going to be the best older sister. ”

I lean into his right hand and close my eyes, taking several deep breaths to calm myself down.

“Just take it minute by minute and you will be fine.” His voice is smooth and calming as he speaks.

“How do you know?” I ask, opening my eyes.

“I’ve helped a lot of women out among our people. It will come naturally to you, don’t worry.” He cracks a smile.

“And if it doesn’t?” I hate to ask the question, but I need to.

“Then you will learn every single day, and that’s okay as well. I have faith in you. I don’t doubt for a second that you won’t do amazing from the beginning.”

We take a second to just stare at each other, and I wish it could be more.

“I need to go back,” I whisper. “But can we meet up later?”

A smile blossoms on his face like a Cheshire cat. “Of course. Later tonight or tomorrow night?”

“Maybe tonight? I’m not sure,” I mumble.

“I’ll be here tonight, waiting. If you don’t come, I’ll be here tomorrow. We’ll talk when you can,” he gently says.

“Thank you. I really don’t want to go, but I need to. They are probably wondering where I am.” I pull away from his hands and put the last couple of pieces of ice in the bucket.

Kieran kisses my cheek, getting awfully close to my lips. “I’ll see you later.”

He stands to his full height and walks off, leaving me alone with my bucket of ice.

My heart aches as he disappears right in front of me, and I stand, grabbing the bucket and making my way back to town.

Every step I take is like walking through knee-high mud, my steps get slower and slower, struggling to walk away from Kieran.

I wish things could be different.

I take a deep breath of the cold air, letting it shock my lungs and bring me back to the present and not thinking about Kieran and wanting to be with him.

But he’s always on my mind. Placing the bucket down on the cobblestone pathway, I flex my hand several times, bringing the blood back and giving it a rest. I thought having carried so many of these that my hands would get used to the weight, but they haven’t.

“Adeline, didn’t you just get ice the other day?” Prince Archie appears right in front of me.

Yelping, I take a step back and look at him with wide eyes. How did I miss him walking up to me? Was I that much in my head?

“I did, but my mother is having the baby.” I pick up the bucket again.

“I’m not done talk?—”

“Please, Prince Archie. You can punish me later for interrupting you, but my mother is having the baby and they need me,” I interrupt him, not caring about the consequences.

Before he can respond, I hurry through the streets, between the houses, and stop in front of ours as my mother lets out a scream. I wince and look away for a brief second before opening the door.

“I have the ice!” I announce.

“Put it in the pot so it can start boiling and purifying. We have some of the others already cooling, but she is close,” Maria says from next to my mother, holding her hand. “You can go do whatever you want, but please stay close so if I need anything, I can call your name.”

Nodding, I lean against the counter and look at the ceiling. Mother is still sitting on the chair, sweat dripping down her face and body.

“Shouldn’t she be in a bed?” I inquire.

“I had you,” she groans. “I had you while I was sitting in a chair.”

“Not this chair, but a special chair that has a hole in the center so I can catch the baby. I have it here, but it’s not time yet,” Maria explains.

“Right,” I whisper.

I’m out of my depth here. I don’t know what I’m doing or where I should really be. What can I do right now that I can stop at any point and help if needed?

Sewing.

I can work on some pants or fix one of my dresses that I’ve been needing to for a while. I can stop that whenever and help.

“I’ll be in my room. Call out if you need anything,” I gently say right before my mother screams, and I wince.

Hearing her scream like that, I don’t know if I want to have children. Will it be just as painful with Kieran, or will it be better? The blood leaves my face as I think about it. They are so much taller than humans. How big are the babies?Do the babies have wings when they are born?

With a hand over my stomach, I take a deep breath and slowly let it out. No time to think about that. I rush off to my room and sit on my bed for several minutes, trying to clear my head.

“Everything is going to be okay,” I whisper to myself as my mother yells out. “ Everything is going to be fine.”

Grabbing my sewing kit, I sit on my bed and begin working on my dress with the scraps I have. I try to think of this as a new dress, something I’ve always dreamed of wearing. All I can see is the faded blue with several different patches from where I’ve fixed it so many times.

Are things going to continue to get harder because Father is gone? I push it to the back of my mind and focus on my dress. I need to think positively right now.

Mother screams, and I close my eyes, trying to block it out. But as I hear the baby cry, I stand from my bed and rush into the room. Maria is holding a fluid-covered baby in her arms, looking down at it with a small smile on her face.

“Is the baby all right?” I hesitantly ask. “Is Mother okay?”

“Your mother is perfectly fine, just tired,” Maria replies as she starts to wipe the baby with a cloth. “Come meet your baby brother.”

I grip onto the wall as I stare at the baby. “Brother?”

“Yes, it’s a boy.”

I take several steps forward, looking at the bundle in her arms to see my baby brother crying. How is he going to survive in this world when so much is changing?