Lover Redeemed

Prologue

Old Country, October 1, 1589

Adam took a washcloth from the water bowel and dabbed his daughter's forehead. Dabbing the last bit of sweat from her brow, he placed the cloth aside and moved one of the candles closer to the bedside. The cabin he and his daughter lived in was lit by hundreds of candles. He would need the light to help him for what was to come.

Lying in the bed was his daughter, his Esther, who clutched the sheets when she felt her labor pains come. They had been growing closer to where Adam knew the babe was coming. No midwife in the village a couple miles away from their home would help his child with the birth. All the people who lived in the village were Catholics who believed his daughter had been defiled by a demon. While they prayed to their God for some forgiveness for her soul, Adam had prayed to his gods every day Esther had been taken and every day she returned heavy with child.

In a world where many believed in one God, Adam came from a long line of pagans who worshipped the world around them. He had kept his faith a secret from his wife who bore him a beautiful little girl. Even when his wife died he kept what he believed a secret. As for Esther, the ability which made his line special had skipped her which he thanked the gods dearly. His child, his only child, would one day have a chance in this harsh world without the fear of her heritage ever coming forth. Then the day came when Adam wished the ability hadn't skipped her.

At the age of six and ten, Esther had been stolen from their home. Adam had been in the woods hunting when he came back to find their home in shambles. For days he worked with the villagers to find his daughter with no success. Many believed her gone while Adam refused to stop. From morning to dusk, Adam searched for his daughter and prayed when he could. Eventually days became months and even his hope began to slide to darkness.

When six months had passed, the village had forgotten his daughter. They prayed for her and lit pretty candles. Adam stopped taking his usual route by the church. He had never showed such anger towards the Catholics and their religion no matter what they did to those who didn't believe in their God. It was their easiness to give up on his daughter which disgusted him. And for himself. Adam's line had been a line of strong and powerful warriors who would defend their own to the last breath. How could he protect his daughter when he didn't even know where she was?

As the months turned to seven, the human had awoken in the middle of the night to a scream. He knew the scream as he clutched his weapon of his own creation and ran out into the woods. After seven long months without his daughter, Adam saw Esther running for her life through the night. And it was what had been chasing her that made Adam pray to his gods like never before. With the blood of his fathers' running strong in his veins, he fought the creature that stole his daughter from him. The monster had been so strong that the two were evenly matched until Adam used his ability. Unable to kill the creature, he had done the only thing he could.

He sealed the beast away.

Now here he was in preparation of a new life. The monster had raped his little girl and she would bare its child.

"Aye, Esther. Tis time."

"Nay, papa! I'm scared!"

"Shh, child. There is nothing to be afraid of. You must bring your son or daughter into this world. Now you must push."

Esther screamed as she pushed. When her father told to again, she cried and prayed to the gods to deliver her child safely. Esther even prayed out loud through her screams. Reciting every god's name, she prayed to each of their individuality and more to the ones of childbirth. It was all she could do for the babe.

"I can see the head. You are doing well, child."

Clutching the sheets with all her might, Esther screamed and followed her father's words. She pushed with all her strength until her father told her for one last push. Giving her final prayer to the mother of the earth, Esther pushed.

The sound of a young crying its first breath sounded through the cabin.

Cutting the cord and wiping the babe clean, Adam held his grandchild in his arms when Esther looked up.

"Tis a boy."

As the babe cried, Adam watched his daughter stare at her child. Her eyes were misty not by the pain she just went through but by the sight of the babe. Taken from her home and held captive by the monster, her eyes held strong on the little one. Adam could understand his daughter's hesitation. He had fought the monster himself. He had seen its appearance. It truly looked like a demon the Catholics talked about. But as he looked down at the crying babe, there were no evil traces of its father in him. A tiny line of brown hair just like he and Esther, the babe's skin had a very light tan like his mother. Everything he was came from his mother and her line.

"Please, papa."

Raising her arms out, Esther waited for her father to hand her the child. He smiled as he did as she asked. Taking the babe in her arms, she brought it close and touched its face. Even though Adam was beyond proud of his daughter, his delight came to a standstill when the child wrapped its tiny fingers around Esther's and stopped crying. The child's weak hold held around his mother's pinky as it opened its eyes.

Esther let out a saddened sound.

"His eyes. His eyes, papa."

Adam stood to walk around and sit next to his daughter. It was when he saw his grandson's eyes did he see why his daughter was so distressed. This child held every character of his mother except his eyes. These eyes had been the same Adam had witnessed while locked in battle with the monster.

This child had inherited its father's eyes.

As Esther muffled her cries for her son, Adam noticed how the babe stayed silent. Its tiny hand kept its grip on his mother's finger as if he was feeling something. His eyes was focused for a newborn. It was like this babe knew who his mother was for not once had he ever looked at Adam or around at his new surroundings.

"Look, Esther." When Adam scooped up the young in his arms, the child began to fuss and would've started crying if he hadn't placed him back in his mother's arms. The child then settled down and went back to holding his mother's finger. "He knows you are his mother. He knows who you are."

"But, papa. His—"

"Aye, they are strange. But do you not remember our saying? Do you not remember the code our people have lived by for so long?"

"Fate has no hold over us. When we are born, we have the choice to follow or create our own path."

"Aye. This boy is an Adam. He has the birthright to the name of Adam just like every Adam before him. Now it will be his decision to accept fate or create his own life. Nothing his father has will hold him back."

"Adam," Esther whispered as she held her babe close. Adam had spoken true. His grandson had the same blood in his veins. He would not let the shadow of this child's father haunt him. He would not let the villagers harm him. This child would continue the bloodline and will one day have a son to proudly call Adam.

He vowed from this day forward he would protect his daughter and grandson. Adam knew the road ahead would be a treacherous one. His grandson, Adam, bore eyes no other human possessed. His father had marked him in the cruelest ways. But he would teach his grandson to see beyond peoples' hate. He would teach him the ways of his people just like his daughter. He would teach him there was a world out there where his grandson would thrive.

Aye. Adam swore. He swore to the gods and his ancestors he would do this child good.

Adam, son of Esther, grandson of Adam, would one day have a future of his own making.