Eleri Lanfear's Arc

Chapter 6 of 8

The pains began before dawn. Eleri woke with her hands pressed to the heavy curve of her belly. A tight band of hurt wrapped her low back, then let go. She breathed. It came again, closer this time. She shook Rhydian awake. "It's starting," she said. He sat up fast, dark hair wild, and for once had nothing clever to say. He sent a servant running for the midwife. Senara came through the door before the midwife did, red hair loose, still in her night shift. She took one look at Eleri gripping the bedpost and crossed the room. "Lean on me," she said. "Don't fight it." Months ago she had called Eleri an enemy. Now she held her weight without flinching. The midwife arrived, an old woman with strong hands. She felt the bump and nodded. "Soon," she said. "But not easy." The hours dragged. The pains stacked one on another until Eleri lost the gaps between them. Rhydian stayed at her shoulder. When she crushed his hand, he did not pull away. "You closed a tear in the sky," he said. "You can do this." By midday she was shaking. The pain pulled her under like deep water. She thought she could not go on. "I can't," she said. "You can," Senara said, flat and sure, wiping the sweat from Eleri's face. "Push now. Don't lie to me." The old joke steadied her. Eleri bore down. The midwife's voice sharpened. "Again. Harder." Eleri gave everything she had. A long tearing push, and then the pain broke. A thin, furious cry filled the room. The midwife lifted a small red body, arms thrashing against the open air. "A boy," the midwife said. They laid him on Eleri's chest. He flinched and bawled, overwhelmed by the loud new world. Then Eleri's arms came around him. The crying stopped. He turned his face against her skin, done fighting, as if being held was the one thing he had wanted all along. Eleri looked down at him and wept. Rhydian touched the baby's tiny fist. "He's perfect," he said, quiet for once. Senara stood at the bedside, her hard mouth soft. "He has your stubborn chin," she told Eleri. "God help us all." "Eoghan," Eleri said. "His name is Eoghan." The name came from somewhere sure. Senara went still. Eleri had learned the name from the household, a Murray name carried by their own blood. She watched Senara's face to see if she had overstepped. Senara leaned down and pressed her lips to the baby's head. "A good Murray name," she said. "He belongs to this house." She looked at Eleri, and there was no coldness left anywhere in her. "So do you." Eleri held her son in the quiet room, her husband's hand over hers, her new sister beside her. She had wanted a place and a family. Now a Murray slept against her heart, and the house was truly hers.