"That was it?" Callum asked.
Ethari rubbed at the base of his neck. "Pretty much. The next morning, I went to the healers after Runaan and Rayla left for training and asked them to check. They asked when I'd had the dream and after I told them it was last night, they said to come back in a week."
Callum moved his leg back across the bench so he was no longer straddling it. With his elbow propped up on his knee and chin in his hand, he looked up at the elf again. "Why did you have to wait a week to find out?" Wouldn't magic have been able to tell right away, like it would-
Do for him?
The prince swallowed. He didn't often remember dreams with much clarity, but the one he'd had the night after the climactic battle was burned into his brain. Sure, it wasn't an old woman, but he had the Sky Arcanum, his dream was bound to be different. Still, did that mean this was real?
Oblivious to the tumultuous thoughts next to him, the craftsman answered the question. "Usually they wouldn't make a mage wait to be checked out, but you have to understand. The two people I love were about to leave on a very dangerous mission. It was possible that my mind just made up the dream, instead of it coming from the Moon Arcanum. So they told me to wait a week and come back if I had any of the other usual signs."
At that, Callum straightened up again. "What other signs?"
That tone made Ethari give Callum a deeper look. The curiosity was gone, with the monotone, quickly spoken words raising a suspicion in the back of the elf's mind. "During the week after the dream, a womb forms in the mage's body and it creates some pretty severe cramps. You might also start to feel dizzy or more tired." Oh yes, Ethari thought. He's gone far too pale for this to be purely academic.
Gulp. "And what are some of the other ones?"
The elf studied Callum as he answered. "Those are the standard ones that every mage experiences. We think the increased blood flow to a new organ, the womb, means there's less for the rest of the body and that's why every mage experiences the dizziness and fatigue. For some, it gets to a point where they faint or become unsteady." The boy's hands tightened on the hem of his tunic. "I have heard," Ethari continued that some mages get pain in their legs in the latter months, or a tenderness in the chest ." His mind was racing a mile a minute. If he was correct, it would mean tremendous things for the magical community, all of Xadia. For a human to experience magic in such an intimate way…
"Why do some mages get tender chests?" The prince raised his hand halfway to his torso, but forced it back into his lap. He looked forward, but his eyes flicked quickly to Ethari's face. Then he was facing forwards again with his hands clenched in his lap.
There was silence, and then, "Is there another reason you're asking me about this, Callum?"
The prince looked at the elf who smiled gently at him, though there was concern there too and no little amount of hope and, strangely awe. He wasn't going to get a better opening than that. "To be honest, I mostly came to talk to you because Ez seemed certain something was up with me and when Rayla heard what symptoms I had, she brought this possibility up. I wasn't convinced it was, well, this, but-"
He took another deep breath. "I've been having dizzy spells the past few weeks, and my chest is really sensitive." He blushed and looked away, so he missed how Ethari's hand started to extend towards him. "On top of that, I kinda had one of those dreams you mentioned, where your Arcanum talks to you. I didn't really think that hard about it when I woke up, but now-"
A hand on his shoulder halted his words and he looked up into two kind eyes. "You think magic has given you a child." The boy nodded. Ethari's heart leapt in his chest. This was amazing! This meant so much for all the races! If a human like Callum could learn magic to the point that an Arcanum was giving him this, then humans could all learn primal magic. Elves and humans would be on equal footing! There would be no need for Dark Magic or separate countries or the war or…
Ethari looked deeper into the young man's eyes and shoved all his excited thoughts to the back of his head. The uncertainty in the prince's face needed something besides the bigger picture. "There is a spell I can use that will let us know for sure, but before I cast it, I want to tell you something." Ethari got off the bench and knelt in front of his ward's friend. "I know you don't feel ready," he started, and moved his hand off Callum's shoulder so he could take the prince's hands in his. "You're much younger than anyone I know who's gone through this, and I know quite a few, seeing as they all suddenly wanted to talk to me when it was announced that I'm having twins." His smile turned humorous and Callum's lips quirked up for a moment before his expression reverted to worry again. "But even though it foreshadows a loss for Moonshadow mages, and some rejected the child at the beginning because of that, not a single one of them regretted it when the babe was finally born."
Finally, the prince looked at him again with a spark of hope rekindled. "Every single mage who has gone through this loves the child they were given, and would not trade them for anything. Even if they were scared of what would happen, it always worked out in the end." He gently squeezed the hands still grasped in his own. "Always. Without exception." He stood up from his kneeling position then, using a hand on the bench to push himself up. Callum followed without any trouble. "Now, are you ready for the spell?"
` Nodding, the prince summoned a tremulous but hopeful smile. "I'm ready." Softly, the elf muttered something in the elven language and touched the young man's middle.
A rapid thumping sound filled the room, like a gentle drum but faster than any beat he'd ever heard.
Slightly stunned, Callum's mouth dropped open and his hands went slack as he listened. He had a feeling he knew what he was hearing, but he asked anyway. "What is that?"
A choked sound answered his question and he stared at the craftsman. The older elf had a hand over his mouth and his eyes were shiny, even though Callum could see smile lines crinkling at the corners of his eyes. "That," Ethari answered, lowering his hand and showing the prince his awed smile as they both listened to the rapid thumping, "is your baby's heartbeat."
Yes! We finally have the reveal! For me, hearing my daughter's heartbeat for the first time was one of the most precious experiences I have had as her mother so far. I wanted Callum to have that moment. This spell is also how Ethari found out he was having twins. Two heartbeats in kinda hard to miss.
Also, I wrote the reassurance part of this chapter a really long time ago. It was a piece of this conversation that really needed to happen.
The title is a Lord of the Rings quote.
