Prologue
Delia swaddled the small infant and held her fast against her chest. She had just managed to escape the Dark Fae and ran for all she was worth, ran anywhere she could. Tears of fear streaked her cheeks as she passed tree after tree in the heavily foggy forest. She kept looking behind her every few steps not only out of fear of being followed by The Morrigan's minions but also for the hope of being followed by the others. The women who had helped her escape she knew their whole lives, from the time they were born to now as they distracted the Dullahans and the other unsavory Faes of their side. She had helped Aife raise those girls into the fine, brave succubi they were today.
She only hoped she hadn't ended their lives prematurely for the sake of their baby sister, who now started to make small mewling sounds, signaling to Delia that she was becoming hungry for mother's milk. She frantically shushed the child as she came to a dry riverbank far outside Dark Fae territory in the Neutral Zone. She found a small cave that had once been home to fish in this river bed years prior and scanned the dark shelter for harmful animals. Seeing none, she moved twigs, rotten roots, and branches away with her shaky legs to make a comfortable spot for herself and the baby. She ducked into the cave that was barely as tall as she and positioned herself and her ward into a comfortable position.
With one arm she held the babe close to keep her warm in the night air and busied her other by gathering the same small twigs and branches she had kicked aside and fishing out the lighter she had in her pocket. She placed the small baby in her lap and ripped some of her sleeve away to use as kindling to start a fire. It was dry and would linger just long enough to catch its fuel aflame. She placed the bit of fabric into the small pyramid of debris and struck the light, sending sparks and flames onto the material. Soon, a small fire began growing and alighting the small area they were hidden in. Delia took a moment to assess their little hideout. Though the cave wasn't quite as big as she would have liked, it made up for it by being quite long enough for her to properly stretch and lay out on the spongy bed of dead leaves. She heard the babe begin to whimper again and she plucked her from her lap and held her close, placing an affectionate kiss on top of the newborn's head of feathery wisps of brown hair, breathing deeply her unique baby scent. She missed being able to hold a baby, Aife having not bred since her youngest, Ceili, had been well on her way to becoming a talented succubus.
She peered down at the child and could plainly see Aife's features in her small, pudgy face. She smiled happily at finding the girl had no noticeable features of her bastard father in her. She knew the girl's hair would eventually match her mother's satin chocolate locks just like her big sister had inherited. She touched her hand lightly to the babe's soft, rosy cheeks and the her barely opened eyes peered at her wet nurse. Delia smiled again as she saw her eyes would become a deep, smooth brown that most of Aife's other girls had.
"Oh, you're going to be a vision like your sisters when you're older. I just know it, little one." she whispered to the bundle, who now had closed her eyes and was yawning as sleep started to take her. She kissed the babe's cheek, checked and banked the fire, and cuddled the girl to her as much as she could. She would wait her till first light for her friend's daughters and if they hadn't arrived there by that time then Delia had no other choice but to raise the babe herself...
If the Ash and the Morrigan didn't kill her and the babe first.
Please R&R. Much thanks.