Alexis did not know how many hours he had sat there beside her, listening to each laboured breath as it rattled in and out of her chest. It seemed to him that time did not matter anymore, all that was important now was this room, the chair he sat in, the swollen form of his wife and the bed beneath her.

And the lamp, the little, green glass lamp sitting on the table shedding the only light into the dim, musty room. Perhaps that was the most important thing of all, he thought, for without it he would not be able to see her little face in the dark. It had certainly been important to her, a gift from her beloved father from some far off land he had travelled to. When he told her they must flee, among the woman demanding chests of dresses all she had asked for was her lamp and her cat. He had managed to save some of the dusty volumes she had lying around and bring them too. Oh, the look on her face when she saw that he had brought them. And what she had done to him afterward.

But now the pretty, green lamp only cast ghastly shadows on her fever flushed face, illuminating the hollows or her cheeks, the strands of red hair stuck to her clammy face and the dark shadows beneath her eyes. She was still beautiful, as she lay there in the embrace of Death himself. Alexis was a jealous man, Morven a faithful wife, but Death was a lover no woman could refuse. Even now Alexis could picture the skeletal fingers gently stroking her face, her body wrapped in his bleached arms.

And his son! Their baby. He had not even known him yet, it seemed far to cruel that Death should take them both from him now.

“God!”, he sent out a silent prayer clasping his hands together piously, “I know we haven’t always been on the best of terms and I am not a good man. But please do this for me… for her… for our baby. Please spare them. I cannot live without her”.

He thought for a moment, “If you spare her now I will be a good and faithful husband for the rest of time. I promise to shun other women… please… I am begging you… don’t take her from me”.

He started as Morven groaned next to him. Her face was a contorted grimace of pain, her breath coming out in ragged gasps. He reached out timidly and stroked her face, his hand resting on her chest feeling the desperate pumping of her fading heartbeat.

“Oh God!”, he sobbed, jerking his hands away and burying his face in them.

He wept hard and long, washing away layers upon layers of grief. But never did he come to the final surface, it was endless, there would be no respite.

He heard footsteps in the corridor and then a soft knock on the door. He hastily dried his eyes with his sleeve. He had cried enough for today.

“Enter”, he called out in a low voice.

The door clicked open and Hepsie walked in. He tried to muster some sort of greeting for her but the best he could come up with was a strained smile.

She was accompanied by a tiny mewling sound.

He looked down at her feet to see the tiny figure of snowflake, squeaking at him affectionately.

“Well, would you look what the cat dragged in”, he said with a wry smile.

“How is she Alexis?”, Hepsie asked gently.

There had been so many days now, so many visits that he had finally been able to convince her to call him by his first name, not Sir Hwratar. He liked the way it rolled off her tongue, the shape of her lips as she made the soft s sound.

“She…”, his voice caught in his throat so he had to start again, “She seems to be in a lot of pain today”.

He was interrupted by a frantic but very small yowling at his feet. Snowflake had run around to where he was sitting, though it had taken her a while and was now throwing herself at his feet, trying to climb onto his boots.

He stooped down and picked up the squirming kitten who instantly began purring ecstatically.

“Can I be takin’ a look at her then?”, Hepsie asked.

“Yes… yes of course”, he answered shakily, clutching the small creature to his chest and moving out of her way.

Hepsie bent over and began to examine his wife, with her deft and practiced hands. He could not help but stare as she worked, she looked so alive next to his fading wife.

As her hands moved over his wife, taking her pulse, feeling her brow, he watched transfixed. Her lips were slightly parted, as she concentrated and he could see the moist inside of her mouth. Her dark hair was tucked neatly behind perfect little ears that he longed to take between his teeth and nibble.

His eyes slid down her graceful neck, the smooth skin of her throat coming to rest on her succulent round bosom rising from her dress. Her breasts were swollen as was her belly from the coming baby, and they did not fit inside her bodice as well as they used to. He longed to pull the ties on that bodice and watch them softly slip out of their containment and into his waiting hands. Her arm brushed against one of them, causing it to bounce slightly before it settled to rest in it former place. He waited with baited breath to see if it would happen again.

Suddenly Morven cried out in pain, awakening him from his reverie. He realised with horror that despite his fervent promise earlier he was already thinking sinful thoughts. God help them all, they were surely damned.

Snowflake meowed worriedly at the sound and was wriggling in his arms, straining towards the bed. He put her on the ground and she ran underneath it.

“Alexis”, Hepsie was saying to him, “I just need to be examinen’ beneath the sheets. Yew might want to be turnin’ around”.

He did this, grateful to be able to hide the blush that was rising in his face, and to turn his sinful thoughts away from her.

“Alexis… yew can be turnin’ back now”, she said, carefully smoothing the sheets back into place.

She looked him in the eye, “I think it’s bein’ time now”.

“Time?!”, he squeaked, bile rising in his throat.

“Time for this here baby to be born is what I’m meanin’”, she hastily replied, seeing the look of terror on his face.

She walked over to him and gave him a quick squeeze on the arm, “Yew’d best be sendin’ fer the other women… and perhaps some menfolk to wait with yew”.

Her little face was so open and beautiful he felt a pang of love for her at that moment. She was taking care of his wife. Surely Morven would be alright if such an angel was watching over her.

“Will you take care of them for me Hepsie?”, he asked his voice thick with emotion.

“Of course I will yew silly man… “, she smiled sadly at him, “Now yew best be gettin’ goin’ then”.

“Can… can I kiss her first?”, he asked, trying not to let out the sob that was building in his chest.

“Of course”, Hepsie said, “I’ll just be being outside the door… yew best come too little one. This ain’t no place fer the likes of yew”.

She bent down and scooped the small, white kitten out from under the bed and left the room, softly closing the door behind her.

He crept over the bed and leant down planting a soft kiss on his wife’s fevered brow. She moaned, turning her burning face away from his lips.

“You’ll be alright Morven my love, be strong like I know you can. I love you”.

And then he left the room as tears began to run down his cheeks.

Cade, Hwratar