Chapter 1: The Birth
Everyone in the Timberlands were excited. Everyone was gathering food, chattering among themselves. The people's chief, Torx the Trusting, and his beautiful wife Belna were expecting their child sometime in the next few days. The older women made clothes for the child, just a few simple long shirts until they knew the sex of the child, then they would make pants or dresses for the little one.
Torx smiled as he looked out of the window of his hut, watching people smiling. He had sworn when he took over from his father he would make sure the people were happy and healthy, and he would do the same with his child. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see his wife. Her belly was swollen, but she had a huge smile on her face. Her blue eyes fixed on her husband's, and she stepped up to him, taking his hand.
"Not long now I suspect" she said, placing her other hand on her belly. She looked at him and he felt a rush of love for her, and for the life she carried inside her.
"I suspect not, you're almost the size of a yak" he joked, and they laughed. Suddenly she gasped and clutched her stomach. His smile dropped as he held her. She laughed weakly to reassure him.
"It's alright, they're just a little fighter" she said, and Torx placed his hand on her belly to feel the child kick. He smiled again, but she gasped again.
"On second thoughts, I may need you to fetch Ila, I don't think they're going to wait" she said, breathing heavily and clutching her stomach. Torx took off for the door, turning in time to see her close her eyes and breathe through the pain. He ran to get the mid-wife.
The sun was starting to go down, and Torx was pacing outside his hut. Inside he could hear the mid-wife reassuring Belna, and now and then Belna's screams would pierce his mind, and he wished there was something he could do. Other fathers' in the village reassured him, telling him all would be well when the child came. Torx nodded, only half-listened. He knew he could easily lose his love or their child, or both, and he wasn't sure if he could handle that. But he refused to believe that was possible, and it was this fierce determination that had kept him focused the last 8 months, this determination that their hut would be safe and secure for the child, that the village would be safe from harm. He had faith in his people to care for the child if he did not return from his trips to other islands, and he had faith in the Gods that the child would be born healthy. His worries escalated as Belna gave a final yell and all fell silent. No-one moved, and Torx froze in his pacing. His blonde beard lifted slightly in the wind, and the door of the hut opened.
Ila stepped out, wiping her hands on a cloth with a smile on her face.
"Both are well" she said, and those 3 words lifted the fear and worry from Torx's heart and mind, and he run forward. He stopped before the door and turned to Ila.
"Thank you" he said, and she nodded.
He ran into the house and up the stairs to the bedroom. Belna was sitting upright in the bed, holding a bundle of cloth. Her dark hair fanned out around her, and her blue eyes locked with his. She smiled tiredly, and his heart swelled. He moved slowly to her on the bed, and sat near her. The child was wrapped against the cold in the room with a thick blanket, and he moved it to see the child's face.
Everything about the child in the blanket was perfect. The soft blonde hairs that covered the child's hair like fluff, and the little nose on the child's face. The child breathed quietly and he smiled.
"A little girl" Belna whispered quietly, resting her head on her husband's shoulder. His smile grew wider.
"I know you wanted a son…." Belna said, and Torx shook his head.
"She's a fighter already, and I always said I never minded as long as they were healthy" he said, still looking at the life in his wife's arms. The baby gurgled and opened her eyes. Her big blue eyes. She locked them on her father and made another gurgling sound, and reach down to gently touch her face.
The baby's eyes closed at his touch and she turned her head into her father's hand. His heart felt it would explode.
"She will find a way to keep our village safe as a chief, and as Lady of the Timberlands" he said, using his wife's title. Belna smiled sleepily.
"She will" he said, re-enforcing his beliefs.
"Scout" Belna said quietly, and Torx turned his head.
"Scout will be a good name. It means 'one who discovers'. Ila and I spoke about names earlier" Belna explained. When Torx didn't respond, Belna asked if he liked the name.
"Scout will be perfect" he said.