Darina is needed
24th April 1103
Darina was utterly exhausted. Hepsie said she had lost a lot of blood. But what was a little blood? She had a beautiful, healthy boy. Eallair. She would name him Eallair. Perhaps the King would even agree to be his Godfather. A little blood was worth the squirming bundle that lay beside her on the bed, his pink mouth open his brown eyes wide.
She heard the door open softly.
“How are we doing in here then?” Hepsie sang out, drying her hands briskly on her apron.
“Oh we’re being just fine, aren’t we then Eallair? He’s even fed just now Hepsie. Ravenous little monster nearly was tearing my nipple right off,” she smiled proudly at her son.
“Well, I guess that’s being a good thing,” Hepsie laughed, “Though yew might want to be a little bit more careful then Eallair or no food will you be getting!”
Darina wiggled carefully up into a sitting position, wincing in pain as she try to find a spot to sit on that didn’t hurt.
“Isn’t he a beautiful boy?” Darina gently placed a hand on her son’s head feeling the soft, delicate hair that grew close to his scalp, “He looks so strong. Aisling wasn’t this big when she was born.”
“Beautiful he most definitely is,” Hepsie cooed, “and yer right, he is a rather big baby, which is why yer a sitting so carefully there. Yew know the drill Darina. Yew lost a lot of blood. Yer going to be needing several weeks of bed rest to recover. I’ve already told yer husband so.”
“My good for nothing husband. Several weeks and its ploughing time. The farms will be in shambles when I’m out of bed,” Darina growled.
“If you like, I’ll ask Steen to swing by a few times and keep an eye on the farmhands for yew so they don’t run amok,” Hepsie winked at Darina, “it will be our little secret.”
“Thankin’ yew Hepsie,” Darina murmured, still transfixed by the pudgy, red face of her newly born son.
“Knock, knock,” Engin called, “Yer have some visitors who would like to meet the new baby. Can we be coming in?”
“I’ll best be off,” Hepsie headed for the door which opened to reveal her husband and daughter, “Remember what I said. Bed rest! And plenty of it!”
Engin tiptoed in, Aisling perched in his arms her eyes turned flickering to the baby, her neck craning like a curious bird.
“Look there little mitten. That’s yer baby brother. Would yew like to meet him.”
Engin turned and set Aisling down on the bed beside the baby.
“Be careful Engin!” Darina snapped, “she might hurt him.”
“Yew won’t hurt him now will yew Aisling, be careful love, he’s only bein’ little. Good grief Darina, he’s certainly a big baby. He has my eyes!” Engin peered down at the baby beside her, but Aisling was staring up her mother, her eyes narrowed.
The girl was uncanny. Sometimes the way she looked at her…
“Engin. I’m just leaving then. I can let myself out,” Hepsie called.
“No wait, it’s alright,” Engin rushed off to show Hepsie out.
Aisling stared up at her mother, reaching out a hand towards her brother.
“Yew be careful now Aisling,” Darina hissed.
She glanced down at the baby whose mouth was open and gulping like the fish Engin sometime pulled from the pond out back. His eyes were wide and frightened and he began to whimper.
Aisling reached out a deliberate hand and poked at the baby causing him to snuffle and squirm.
As Engin came back into the room Darina deftly swatted Aisling’s hand away from the wriggling baby.
“Don’t yew be touchin’ him with yer grubby hands now do yew hear,” she snapped.
Aisling looked at her for a long moment and then spun around, whimpering, arms wide, “Da!”
In moments Engin had swept the shivering girl into his arms and was gazing at her in concern.
“What did yew do that fer Darina? She was being careful. She’s just a baby. Yer alright then love. Yer alright.”
He smoothed Aisling’s blonde hair back from her face and carefully righted the strands had caught between her trembling lips.
“Yer alright.”
“I don’t want her in here Engin. Take her away. I’m damn tired and me an’ the baby need to sleep now. Take her away.”
Engin nodded sombrely, only his eyes betraying the hurt, “Come on then love, yer ma is needin’ some rest. It’s been a hard day.”
He carried Aisling out and closed the door behind him with a squeak.
Stupid man hadn’t even oiled the door. It had been screeching on its hinges for weeks. If only she hadn’t married a good for nothing…
The baby mewed and squirmed beside her. She reached down and stroked his round belly. At least her son needed her. At least he loved her.
After I wrote this I suddenly had Lothere flashback… angry red-haired wife has baby boy and neglects blonde-haired elf-eared toddle who’s Da is besotted with her. Oops. Sorry Lothere. Any imitation was on a totally sub-conscious level. In fact I never planned for the story to go in this direction. I didn’t expect the elf-ear curve ball
It is evidence however, how much of my subconscious is devoted to Lothere
I think everybody writing a kingdom story occasionally experiences Subconscious Lothere Syndrome
I wouldn’t worry too much about it, especially since there are so many ways any given situation can pan out.
But hmmm… seeing that Aisling is the biological daughter of Engin and Darina, I see no reason why little Eallair might not also end up with pointed ears. Meanwhile, I’m curious as to how exactly that baby ended up with the black hair…
So… the real reason the baby ended up with black hair is that the baby is in fact not Darina’s *shock, horror*. While one pair of elf ears in the family might be interesting more than one (or at least on a boy… because it is supposed to be passed through the women of her family) wouldn’t make sense. And Darina has elf ears as a child (wish I had known that when I was making her) so she will always give birth to elf-eared kids. So in face I got Engin knocked up by the grim reaper and the baby is only his. Let’s just pretend that his hair is very dark brown and when he grows up I will fix it