Against all Odds

Chapter 14- The Birth

"Mi amor?"

Xibalba slowly creaked the door of his wife's chambers when he heard no reply. The curtains were closed, and La Muerte was asleep, lying against her pillows, holding a pair of knitting needles on her hands, and he spotted a pair of pink baby shoes on bed, with a ball of the same string she used to make them lying aside. She had spent the whole day working on a single pair of shoes?

Xibalba smiled as he approached the bed, then he covered his wife with her blanket. The dark god took the tiny shoes and examined them closely; they were really well-made, they even had a few trimmings of sugar skulls on top. Xibalba could tell La Muerte had put her heart into these little shoes. He placed the knitting needles, the shoes and the ball of thread on La Muerte's bedside table, but as he was about to take his leave to let his wife rest, he caught side of her abdomen.

She was in the third trimester of her pregnancy. The little one would come into the world soon, very soon. According to Toci and Akhushtal, it was in this stage of pregnancy that unborn infants could hear voices from the outside; he doubted it, but he never voices his opinion to his wife. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?

Carefully, Xibalba lay himself on the bed face-down and approached La Muerte silently. When he was close enough, Xibalba lay his head on his wife's baby bump, wrapped his left arm around her waist carefully and rested his other arm on her legs, careful to keep his wings away from La Muerte's body. The question was, what could he say to a baby that was yet to be born? She was still right now, probably because her mother was asleep.

"Hola, bebita. I'm your papi." Xibalba spoke in low voice, so not to wake La Muerte up. "How have you been?"

What a stupid question. She couldn't even reply, he had to think of something else.

"I guess you are napping now, am I right? Considering you don't have much to do in there, I guess you are."

The music of the never-ending fiesta going on outside could reach the chamber even with the curtains closed. An idea came to Xibalba's mind.

"Can you hear the music?" he whispered, smiling a little. "You're going to hear a lot of music when you come out, I'm sure you're going to love it." He stroked La Muerte's belly with his hand gingerly like a dragon cherishing its hoard. "You're going to love the Land of the Remembered, mi pequeña. You're going to love your mami, too, I'm certain of that." Xibalba's expression became a bit sad. "I just hope you will love me too."

Just then, he felt the baby's little feet coming into contact with La Muerte's womb, just where he had placed his hand. Xibalba felt his heart skip a beat; it was as if his little one had replied. Listening more carefully, he heard the baby's little heartbeat from within, he felt her moving in the dark, trying to go back to sleep. Xibalba swore he could feel his eyes swelling up with tears as he smiled and planted a kiss upon his wife's belly.

"I love you, mi pequeñita." He whispered tenderly. "I can't wait to meet you either."

With this, tiredness overcame him and he fell asleep, his head resting against La Muerte's bump, lulled by the child's heartbeat.

Xibalba took La Muerte's hand as she breathed in and out quickly, gritting her teeth wherever she felt a contraction. Soon after, Emilio, Jorge and Gael rushed inside with looks of confusion, but they turned into looks of dread when they realized what was happening.

"Well, don't you just stand there!" Xibalba snapped at them, but winced when La Muerte's grip on his hand tightened and nearly crushed it. "Bring some water and cloths!"

"Y-Yes, My Lord…!" Emilio and Gael had to drag Jorge out of the room before their master lashed out at them.

La Muerte yelled in pain at another contraction, and nearly crushed her husband's hand again. "Balby…" she managed to talk between her panting. "I'm scared…"

"Everything's going to be okay, mi amor." Xibalba stroked her head with his free hand. "You'll be okay."

"What if something happened to the baby…? What if he-?"

"No, don't say that. Our little one is fine, he'll be a pretty little baby." However, La Muerte could catch a glimpse of fear in her husband's eyes; fear that so much time in distress, with little food and water, had somehow affected their child and he would be born dead like their previous attempt, though he tried not to show it.

"Stay with me, Balby…" La Muerte screamed at another contraction and felt the amniotic liquid and blood spilling out of her, her cervix dilating with excruciating pain.

"Shhhh, don't worry, mi corazón…" Xibalba embraced his wife and kissed her forehead, stroking her hair. "I'm right here with you… Everything will be alright…"

Although she managed to calm down to some degree, she was in so much pain tears were starting to form in the corners of her eyes, and her face was all sweaty. She knew childbirth was painful, but it wasn't this painful the first time! Xibalba helped her get comfortable as much as he could, he helped her lay down over the pillows, her legs bent at the knees. He couldn't believe what he would have to do, to make matters worse things he didn't know what to do.

Soon, the three lizards were back with what he had asked them to bring. Again, Jorge froze in dismay at the scene, but Emilio gave him a whack in the head with his tail to snap him out of it. Xibalba gave them instructions on what to do while he delivered the baby; Emilio wiped his Lady's forehead with the water and cloths, Gael acted as something similar to a squeezing device (his tail, actually) and was containing tears and whimpers of pain as La Muerte was close to breaking his tail unknowingly with her right hand.

Should she start pushing now?

"Maldita sea…" Xibalba muttered to himself as he caressed his wife's head. "What do we do now?!"

"You don't know what to do?!" La Muerte yelled in pain and anger, though the anger was only brought out by the agony she felt in.

"Hey, this was not in our plans! Xochiquétzal and Akhushtal were going to deliver the baby!"

"What kind of husband are you?!"

"You can't blame me for this!"

Xibalba winced when La Muerte dug her nails into his glove and let out a piercing scream, also causing Gael to cry out in pain. She turned to look apologetically at the lizard. "S-Sorry, Gael…" she apologized.

"Don't worry, My Lady…" Gael whimpered, rubbing his tail with his hands.

"M-My Lord!"

"QUÉ?!" Xibalba lost his patience and lashed out at Jorge with sharp teeth and outstretched wings. He was not in the mood for being interrupted every five seconds.

Jorge shrank under his master's thunderous glare, but managed to lift up an old book. "I f-found a book that c-could help…"

Xibalba was about to lash out verbally at him for suggesting such a ridiculous idea when he realized what he meant by that. That book may have instructions of what to do in situations like this. He nodded to the lizard to motion him to continue, prompting Jorge to open the book and flip through the pages until he found the ones he was looking for. "According to this, dilatation lasts for a long time, sometimes hours-"

"QUÉ?!" La Muerte's yell startled all men in the room.

"Until the baby starts crowning! That's what the book says!" Jorge replied nervously. "My Lady, you're not supposed to push until then, and you have to push when the contraction eases!"

La Muerte nodded, and grit her teeth at another contraction, squeezing Xibalba's hand yet again, making him cry out in surprise and pain. "How much time will it take?!" Both asked simultaneously, but for different reasons.

"I c-can't really t-tell… I g-guess ab-bout a few hours…"

Twelve hours.

Twelve hours of agonizing pain for La Muerte as her body finished dilating (Emilio had given her a cloth to bite on a while ago), and Xibalba could swear his hand was all fractured. He had to release his wife's hands to see if she had finally dilated; he felt like fainting everytime he looked, but there was no other way to know. This time, the area around the vagina was bulging out, and he could faintly see something emerging from it.

"Jorge!" Xibalba called out for the lizard, shaking him awake with his wing. "Now?!"

The lizard glanced at his Lady's vagina, and it took him every single bit of willpower not to faint. Still he managed to speak. "Y-Yes…"

"Al Fin!" La Muerte thought to herself, her eyes stinging with tears, her face all sweaty and her hair a whole mess.

Xibalba got in position to deliver the child. "Okay, mi amor, on count to three, push as hard as you can!"

La Muerte nodded.

The dark god gulped. "One… two… Three!"

La Muerte's nails dug into the sheets as she pushed with all her might, biting down on the cloth in her mouth, the piercing scream locked in her throat. Xibalba couldn't help but feel a bit of nausea when he saw the blood and fluid come out of his wife's vagina, and the bump coming out a bit more, but he contained it. He had to be strong, for his wife and child.

"My Lord, when the head emerges you have to support it! But don't pull it nor the umbilical cord or you might damage the nerves!"

"Wow, that makes me feel much better!" Xibalba snapped sarcastically, but panicked when La Muerte pushed again, and he barely had time to support the baby's little head as it finally emerged. Part of him stirred when he touched his child for the first time, but now was not the moment. A few more seconds later, he spoke to his wife again. "Mi amor, get ready! One, two, three, PUSH!"

She clenched the cloth in her teeth as she pushed with all the strength she had, tears of pure pain streaming down her face, but as the body was about to come out, it got stuck. Something prevented it from coming out. La Muerte tried to push again, but the pain was even more excruciating than before.

"Nonono! What's wrong?!" Xibalba couldn't believe it.

"She's suffering very much, My Lord!" Gael pointed out, rubbing his tail and whining a bit.

"I can see that! I'm talking about the baby! He got stuck!"

"If the head doesn't rotate, you have to guide the side of it toward the mother's back! That should help one of the shoulders emerge in the next push!" Jorge said.

Xibalba stared at his baby's head with dread and, as slowly as he could, did as Jorge told him, but his heart shrank when La Muerte whimpered in pain. "It's okay, mi corazón. It should help."

Despite the pain, she managed to give her husband a piercing glare, as if she was saying 'if something happens to my baby I'll kill you'.

"Let's try again, mi amor! One, two, three, PUSH!"

La Muerte grit her teeth into the cloth and screamed, pushing again like her life depended on it. This time, as Jorge had predicted, the right shoulder emerged, but then he realized something else, covered in fluid and colored black, was also emerging… Xibalba proceeded to gently lift the child's body toward his wife's stomach to help the other shoulder come through.

"La Muerte, escúchame!" he spoke gently to his wife. "Just one more push! Give me one more push! Then it'll be over!"

La Muerte nodded her head, digging her nails into the sheets, preparing herself for what was to come. Xibalba gulped and closed his eyes shut, praying with all his might everything would be okay now.

"One… Two… three…" he got ready. "PUSH!"

With one final scream of pain locked in her throat, La Muerte pushed with all her might and strength, closing her eyes shut as more tears formed in her eyes.

…

A tiny wail echoed throughout the Land of the Forgotten.

…

Xibalba looked down in awe and wonder at the tiny little creature he now held in his hands as he… as she cried angrily, taking in her first breath of air, now out of the darkness, warmth and safety of her mother's womb. She was the most beautiful cosita he ever saw (other than her mother, of course); her skin was made of white sugar, her hair a deep raven black, swirls of golden on her chubby little face and body. But what called his attention the most were the two black, feathered wings with golden tips protruding from her back, flapping unconsciously. Those were the reason the body had trouble coming out.

Xibalba smiled as he cut the umbilical cord with his claw-like fingers and took a blanket with one hand, while carefully holding his slippery infant with the other. He swaddled her in the thick blanket and held her closer to his chest, taking in her features as she cried, demanding to be fed. The dark god swore he felt his eyes were tearing up, but he didn't care if anyone saw him.

As soon as she heard her baby's first cry, La Muerte forgot all about her pain, and her chest brewed up with happiness, gratefulness and joy. Removing the cloth from her mouth, she lifted her head to look at her husband as he held a tiny bundle in his arms; he was smiling at it, his eyes glossy with tears as he spoke to it tenderly. "Hola, bebita. Soy papi. Te acuerdas de mi?"

"Balby…" La Muerte whispered weakly, trying to sit up and take a closer look. Xibalba took notice and approached his wife to help her sit up, all the while holding the little bundle of joy in one arm carefully.

"Look, mi corazón…" Xibalba smiled as he gave the crying baby to her mother, helping his wife support her carefully. "She's such a beautiful girl…"

That moment, when she felt the weight of her baby in her arms for the very first time, La Muerte felt like she was the happiest woman in the universe. Smiling sweetly (yet tiredly) down at her baby, the Goddess stroked her cheek with a finger tenderly. The baby soon ceased crying and rested her head against her mother's chest, soothed by the familiar heartbeat and breathing.

That very moment, time stopped for the married couple as they watched their newborn baby wiggle in her mother's arms, letting out the most adorable and heart-warming sounds in the world. The little one snuggled deeply into her mother's embrace, sniffling with tiny tears; it was only the three of them.

"Mi bebé…" La Muerte sobbed, but not from sorrow. She gently touched her daughter's cheek with her finger, and giggled when the little one's tiny fingers gripped on it. The baby took her other hand to her mouth and started suckling on her thumb. Twelve long hours of agony, of tears, of pain, but it had been worth it.

Xibalba felt his chest swell up with pride as he sat down next to his wife and looked down at his baby, his pequeñita, his pride and joy. He reached out his hand and the tips of his fingers ruffled his daughter's dark hair curiously. The baby shifted in her mother's embrace, and her eyelids started sliding open.

"Balby, look, she's opening her eyes!" La Muerte cried out in excitement, pulling her child closer.

Wide red pupils in a pool of glowing green were soon looking up at the two gods, as the baby stared at her parents with a spark of curiosity, wondering who they were.

"Hola, mi bebita…" La Muerte smiled, kissing her baby's forehead. "I'm your mami," the Goddess then held her out a bit so she could see her father. "And this is your papi."

Xibalba thought for a moment, then removed his blood and fluid-stained gloves and placed them in his bedside table, in part because he wanted to feel his daughter's skin with his bare hands. "Mi amor…?"

"What is it, Xibalba?"

He held out his hands for the baby. "May I…? You know, I… I'd like to…"

She needed no more explanations. "You don't have to ask, mi vida."

Xibalba gulped as his wife handed the baby over to him. La Muerte watched as he cradled their child in his arms like she was a little miracle. And she was. Xibalba froze when the baby started to wiggle and shift underneath her blanket wrapping, but relaxed when she remained still again and her little eyes kept staring at him.

"You're so tiny, mi pequeña…" he cooed at her with a smile, and once again he felt his eyes becoming wet.

"Balby, are you crying?" La Muerte giggled when she noticed the tears in her husband's eyes.

"Oh, que diablos. Yes, I'm crying." Xibalba admitted, but he didn't mind. He just held his child closer to his chest, supporting her little head with his hand, his fingers playing with her hair. The baby just kept staring at him with wide eyes. "I'm scary, aren't I, pequeña?" he chuckled, stroking her cheek with a finger. He had been afraid that she would cry the first time she saw him, but she did not. She didn't have any sign of fear when she looked at him; instead, the baby reached out her little hand and touched his cheek, letting out a coo that he could only interpret as a giggle.

"Awww, Balby, she likes you." La Muerte giggled as she watched the baby fidget with her father's moustache.

"I can see that…" Xibalba chuckled as he carefully handed the baby back to his wife, not before planting a kiss on the child's forehead. As soon as she was back on her mother's arms, the baby suddenly started nuzzling against her chest with an open mouth, as if she were looking for something…

"I think she's hungry, Xibalba…" La Muerte suggested, giggling at the ticklish sensation of her baby's lips looking for her nipple.

Wait a second… hungry? Did that mean?

…

"Okay, you three, you may go!" Xibalba snapped softly at his three servants, but there was no reply. "Emilio!"

"Sorry, My Lord, we got a small situation here…"

Confused, Xibalba turned to his servants and found Jorge passed out on the floor, Gael fanning him with the book he had brought and Emilio was rubbing his temples in dismay. Great. Just great.

"Then drag him out, or whatever!"

The two conscious lizard glanced at each other, and lifted up Jorge from the ground, Emilio by the back and Gael by the feet. As carefully but swiftly as they could, they carried Jorge out of their master's chambers and left the family alone for the moment. As soon as they were out, Xibalba snapped his fingers and the doors slammed shut.

"You should be nicer to them, Balby." La Muerte sighed, temporally straying her attention from her baby. "They just lent you a hand in bringing our baby to the world."

"I know, but I don't want them to see this…"

La Muerte rolled her eyes, but smiled nevertheless. She carefully held the baby in one arm, and with the other she brought her left breast from underneath her dress, then she supported her child's head and guided her to the nipple. As soon as she caught the smell of breast milk, the baby's lips immediately clung unto the nipple and she started suckling instinctively the milk that would nourish her, even squealing a bit in delight. La Muerte winced at the sensation of her daughter suckling from her breast, but quickly got used to it after a few minutes, and came to enjoy the experience.

"So how will we call her, mi amor…?" Xibalba inquired, teleporting to the other side of bed so he could lay down next to his wife, and stroke his daughter's cheek with his finger as she fed.

La Muerte stared at her baby for a few minutes, remembering they hadn't chosen a name yet. With all that had been happening these days… After a while, the little one stopped nursing and let out a small yawn as she buried her face into her mother's chest and fell asleep.

"I was thinking-"

There was a sudden temblor that shook the entire castle. The baby started to wail her fright loudly.