Morven craned her neck to look at them as they processed through the door. She still couldn’t comprehend the fact that in their arms they carried her babies. Babies! How could she not have known that there were two of them kicking around inside her. Oh! but they were so very small, she thought her heart sinking.

“Well hello their yer ladyship”, Hepsie smiled jovially, “we’re bringin’ some litll’ fellas to be seein’ their ma then, can we be comin’ in”.

“Of course…”, she mumbled weakly, struggling into a sitting position with Alexis’ help.

She rested her back against the bed for a moment, breathing heavily, her heart pounding, supremely irritated that such a small movement could exhaust her so much.

Hepsie slowly waddled around the bed carrying the smaller of the two. She stared at it for a moment, with an odd feeling of detachment. Somehow she couldn’t believe that this small creature had actually been living inside her for the last eight and a half months, sleeping in her belly listening to the warm thump of her heartbeat.

She suddenly had an overwhelming desire to hold him in her arms, prove to herself that he was solid and real and not just some dream wraith that would disappear when she awoke the next morning.

She heaved her legs over the edge of the bed, as Hepsie gently protested.

“Yer ladyship… perraps it’s bein’ better if yew stay lyin’ down… yew can hold him there. Ye’ve been havin’ a rough time these past few weeks”, she could hear a note of disapproval in the younger woman’s voice.

“Hepsie… I… I want to stand… been in bed for so long… want to… see… if my legs… still work”, she wheezed.

“Arright then… but don’t be sayin’ I didn’ give yew the best advice… and yew better be lyin’ yerself down if yer feelin’ bad”, now she was smiling slightly and Morven realised she understood, she couldn’t imagine a woman like Hepsie having to lie down for weeks. Even when she broke her ankle they couldn’t get her to stay in bed, she was up hobbling around the ships, saying it was the best thing for healing it.

She stood up, steadying herself on the chair beside the bed for a moment to catch her breath. Her heart was fluttering in her chest, the tiny brushing wings of a dying bird.

“Here yer are then”, Hepsie said softly and passed the small bundle to her.

She held the tiny baby up to her chest, bringing his little face close to hers so she could look it at in the dim light of the room. Her son looked alarmed for a moment, looking up at her with eyes the colour of her own, then he relaxed in his arms as he recognised her as his mother.

“He… he’s so small”, she murmured.

She gently hoisted him up onto her shoulder, feeling the warmth of his face as it pressed snuffling against the sensitive skin of her neck.

He reached out a tiny hand, clasping gently at a strand of her hair that had slipped over her other shoulder.

Her heart was thumping hard in her chest, with each thump the feeling of awe at this tiny being that she had brought into the world growing. She had not realised it was possible to feel so much.

“Now then”, she heard Alexis, who had gone over to look at the other baby, “will you let me get this fat little baby in my arms”.

He bent down towards his son and began to tickle his tummy. The disgruntled baby kicked its legs out, squirming in Juzzine’s arms and then opened its mouth to give a mighty howl.

“What… what are you doing… to… that poor baby”, Morven laughed weakly.

“Nothing, nothing dearest, he and I are already getting to be great friends”, he replied, swooping down and plucking the screaming baby from Juzzine’s arms.

He held him at arm’s length to get a good look at him. The babies arms flapped wildly in dismay and he gave a confused wail.

“Poor thing… he… he doesn’t know what’s… going on”, Morven smiled in amusement. Her husband seemed to be back to his old self, joking and smiling and generally being exceedingly silly. She hadn’t seem him smile like this for many weeks before when she had been awake.

“Do you know what’s going on little lad”, Alexis teased, “your papa’s going to teach you to fly that’s what”.

He launched the baby up through the air above his head, holding him up there high above him. On the upward swing the boy gave a wail of protest, but once he was up there his crying ceased and he stared down in wonder at his father’s face.

“You see, we’re going to get along just fine. This young fellow appreciates the finer things in life too… like flying”, he said swinging the little boy up and down again.

Watching them, Morven’s body began to feel very tired, the weight of her little son on her shoulder was dragging on her neck. Her still swollen belly was pulling at her back, so that her entire body felt like it should sag gently to the floor where it could finally get some rest. Her knees were beginning to shake with the effort of holding herself up from it. Suddenly it was too much and she just wanted all of them to leave, leave her in peace so she could just sleep again.

“Hep… Hepsie… can you take… take the baby”, she whispered hoarsely, “I think I… need to lie down… again”

Hepsie gently took the baby from her arms. Morven slumped weakly onto the bed, and with great effort began to draw the blankets up around her. They scratched at her skin as she pulled them up, but at this moment, she longed to wrap herself in them and hide from the world.

She heard Hepsie beside her, gently cooing to her son, and she looked up to see her bouncing him on her shoulder while the little baby snuffled quietly.

It seemed so unfair that she could not take care of her own babies, she must leave it to the other women. She cursed the weakness of her body that had ever let this happen in the first place, her heart pounding angrily in her chest.

As she pulled the blanket up to her chin she looked over at Alexis. He was murmuring softly to the other peasant girl. She could not hear what he was saying, but the girl’s head was bowed, her eyes downturned and Morven could see a blush slowly blooming in her cheeks.

An acrid surge of jealousy boiled up through her throat and her heart constricted painfully in her chest.

She laid her head on the pillow and tried not to think about it. She was not usually jealous of Alexis’ escapades so why should she be now. She just wanted them all out, it was too much. She wanted to sleep. She closed her eyes and to her body’s relief, sleep found her there quickly and wrapped her in its embrace.

Cade, Hwratar