"I take it
you are here to pick up the last gift for Helios then?"
"Yes,
but we have made arrangements for other things that Justin selected for him to
be sent to his room…a toy ship, a new paint set, as well as some other games he
believed his friend would enjoy…this is really our last stop."
"I
see." He smiled as Darien looked towards him with an inquisitive glance.
"Tell
me the history on these horses, I am curious as to their breed…they look like
stallions, but that is where my knowledge of them stops."
"Well
highness, the black one is as very prestigious horse with a rare breed. I'm
sure you've heard of the legendary Royal horses of the Arabians. This one in
particular is a black bay straight
Egyptian that is known as Anazeh El Zahra." He paused. "The second horse is
called a Lipizzaner Stallion. It is also
a rare breed in that it has a very distinct line that not even I can trace
back...it has several times come very close to extinction."
"Very intriguing. The only problem is that both horses
would more than likely be raised in the same stall and it causes worry in me
that they will be competing with one another…they are both stallions after
all."
"Well highness, the question is whether or not you have any
plans of breeding them."
"No…I don't think so."
"Then consider castration highness." The man replied.
"Of course…that would." He jumped when a beeping sound
could be heard from the communicator at his side. He took only but a few
seconds to read the message it held before he called out to his son. "Justin
come, we must go!" He looked back towards the man with a hurried glance. "Have
both horses sent to the royal stables, have them castrated, and have the
saddles as well as all the other things they would need to take care of them
sent as well."
"Take care, I wish your wife well."
As
soon as Serena had awoken, she could feel the pain in her hips and the pressure
in between her legs; the pain was so intense that it felt as if there was a
football stretching her cervix. From what she could tell, her legs were
unceremoniously kept open and attached to some stirrups at the end of the bed.
Through narrowed eyes, all she could gather was white light and knew that she
must have been in the infirmary. Her hands clutched the white sheet and she
gritted her teeth as she tried to gather her bearings. A contraction hit her
dead on; she closed her eyes tightly and let it pass before calling out.
"Mamo-chan."
She whispered hoarsely. As soon as she had spoken, she could hear the patter of
feet as someone rushed to her side.
"Serena."
The voice she recognized to be of her friend Ami, whispered. "You're awake…"
"It
hurts Ami." She choked; she wanted to cry, but she didn't feel she had the
energy to perform the act at the moment.
"I know
Serena…you have to keep calm …we're doing everything we can."
"Mamo-chan."
She whimpered.
"Don't
worry, Mina just sent for him." She smiled. "That man was going crazy for you
ya know." She touched Serena's head and brushed back sweat soaked bangs with
her fingers.
"Baby?"
"Baby's
fine so far as I-"
"Ahhhhh."
Ami watched as Serena nearly screamed through clenched teeth, her eyes shut
tight. She waited for a minute for the contraction to pass before Serena opened
her eyes once more, a tear escaping from the inner corner.
"Serena…your
contractions are getting too close…you'll have to deliver the baby soon." Ami
hurriedly replied as she glanced at the other people in the room before turning
back fully to her.
"Mamo-chan."
She huffed with a stern grimace, her breathing slightly labored.
"I
know Serena…I know." She turned to the med assistants in the room and began to
give orders. "Clear the room, prepare for labor and delivery."
"Mamo-oh!"
She cried as another contraction overwhelmed her. Ami waited once more for her
to recover before addressing her.
"Listen
Serena…I know the contractions hurt, but you have to bare down, you aren't
quiet wide enough to push just yet." She reprimanded. "Would you like me to get
you some ice chips?"
"Mamo-chan…is
he coming?" She weakly asked once again.
"He's
coming Serena don't worry, would you like some ice chips?" Serena nodded her
head before turning it to the side to look towards a blank wall. She heard the
sound of shuffling all around the room as people hurried to prepare her to have
her baby. Silently, she couldn't help but wonder if the baby was okay. She
hadn't been told anything conclusive, but the way everyone was running about,
she could tell the situation was not good. She tried to focus on the after math,
when she would get to hold her baby in her arms; when she would get to touch
her little face…but it was hard, hard to focus when there was so much pain. She
was about to cry when she felt a light touch of someone's hand on her own,
grasping it to give her support. She turned her eyes to meet the worried deep
blues of her husband's.
"H-hey
baby." She smiled. His hair was dishelved, his shirt open two buttons down the
collar, but he looked so adorable. With her fingers she caressed his own before
tracing the platinum, gold, and diamond band on his ring finger. She smiled
again; her eyes caught the sight of his other bandaged hand with worry.
"What
happened to your hand?"
"It's
nothing, just a little cut that's all." He smiled, and she sighed, content to
just have him there.
"Told
you…I wouldn't have this baby…without you." She huffed. He sat down in a chair
that he must have placed by her side and brought her hand to his lips.
"I
love you, I love you, I love you." He whispered with each kiss of a knuckle.
"Serena…here
are the ice chips." Ami smiled as she brought her the cup. Serena slipped her
hand from her husband's grasp as he took the proffered cup from Ami; she
scooped her fingers in, taking a handful of ice and shoveling in her mouth.
"Your
highness, labor and delivery is all set up." One of the assistants informed.
"Thank-you."
Ami replied just as Serena wailed out once more in pain.
"Oh
god." She cried, her hand gripping Darien's, her head arching into the pillow
as Ami hurried to her open legs to assess the situation.
"Looks
like its time." She replied. "Okay Serena…don't push until you feel your next
contraction, and when you do, push but don't let go all right?"
"G'damnit,
I've done this before Amiiii" What started as a sarcastic comment ended up in a
cry as the next wave hit her like a punch in the gut. She clenched Darien's
hand as she began to push, the feeling of her body opening up like stretched a
balloon, not a welcome home feeling to her. Imagine someone pushing a tennis ball
through your nose, and then perhaps you could understand to some degree what
she was going through. "Oh god!" She cried through clenched teeth as her toes
curled downward, her neck stretched with effort.
"Okay
hold it, hold it! Don't let go!" Ami cried out as she slipped her fingers
inside her cervix and carefully pulled out a shoulder. "Okay! Push Serena!
Push!" Serena screamed as Ami pulled the baby through; what followed
thereafter, unlike the relieving river she felt with Justin's birth, was a horror
that scared Darien to the point in which he was deathly pale. Small lady was
followed by a huge gush of blood. After cutting the cord herself, seeing Darien
was in no position to do so now, Ami hurriedly handed the baby to one of the
assistants, her eyes wide with fear at the blue pallor she noticed in the
baby's complexion.
"She's
not breathing." A woman cried.
"My
baby!" Serena called out with a stretched out hand. "Ami, my baby!"
"We
have to focus on you right now Serena…don't worry, they'll take good care of
her…but you…you're bleeding too much." She whispered.
"Apgar
test is a three. Apgar test is a three!" Another man called out. "Appearance
blue; Pulse 35; Grimace not present; Activity not present and Respiration…not
present!"
"Intubate
the baby stat!"
"Okay
Serena…we're going to push out the placenta now all right?" Serena nodded her
head mutely. "It won't take much…one, two, three, push." In one fluid movement
she had pushed out all that she had and Ami noticed with indifference that the
placenta was in pieces.
"What's
wrong?" Darien shakily asked. "Did it come out all right?"
"Well
no, it's broken up and only part of it came out." He watched as Ami wiped
the blood on her hands onto a sterile towel. "I'm going to have to reach in and
get the other pieces Serena…" She bit her lip. "Brace yourself." Serena howled
and gripped Darien's hand as Ami placed her whole hand inside and began to pull
out pieces of the placenta here and there, all the while guiltily muttering
apologies for the pain she was causing her.
"IT HURTS! IT HURTS! OH SELENE! SOMEBODY…OH MAMO-CHAN!" She cried as she
ripped through Darien's shirt clawing at him to bring him towards her,
embedding deep scratch marks in his skin; the feeling of Ami reaching into her
hurt worse than the entire labor and delivery procedure. Darien's eyes only
widened in amazement and worry, as Ami reached in almost up to her forearm. A
few minutes into the procedure, and Ami was still pulling out pieces, Serena's
screams piercing their ears until she finally decided that it would have to be
done another way.
"I'm
sorry your highness, you're going to have to leave." She replied as she looked
to Darien seriously. "Prepare for operation and emergency D&C!" She called
out to the nurses in the room.
Darien
paced back and forth in worry, his shoes beginning to leave dark streaks
against the carpet floor. Mina could only watch as she held Justin tightly in
her lap. Jerrid held Regina close to him and comforted her with a soothing hand
as he had done his son before. Justin stared at his father for moments more
before wiggling out of Mina's grasp and following his motions. Darien stopped
for a moment to glance at where his son now paced, as he had been, when he
caught his eye, he stopped.
"Father?"
He queried curiously as he looked at Darien's face. "You think mama will be all
right?" Darien sighed. According to Malachite, Justin had been almost
completely traumatized by the sounds of his mother's screams drifting into the
waiting room. They had to quickly rush him away from the scene. When Darien
arrived to the room in which they had brought him to, it had taken him about an
hour to calm his son's frantic cries.
"Of
course sport, mama's a strong lady." He smiled.
"What
about Helios? Do you think Helios will be okay…and small Lady will she
be-." He was interrupted as a loud yet shrill cry echoed throughout the
room, followed by an iridescent glow, everyone turned to look at the window at
once to see a dark purple and black steak of wide light come down from the sky
and hit the grounds outside the palace.
"What
the hell?" Darien replied. Everyone stood stock still for a long while
until a deep voice interrupted them.
"I
have news." They turned around quickly as one of the doctors entered the
room, both Regina and Jerrid stood at attention, hope filling their eyes.
"As of this moment, both the Princess and Helios are out of the water…so
to say…and remarkably, they both recovered at the same time."
Darien
smiled softly, Justin in his arms, as he looked down at the small pink body
that lay inside of the small incubator, the lid lifted, a heating lamp focused
on her from slightly up above.
"She's
so small papa." Justin whispered.
"I
know---how many pounds does she weigh?" He questioned the nurse that
approached his side and placed a few small plastic liquid medicine bottles next
to the baby before sliding down the plastic wall in front of her so that she
could get better access.
"Six
pounds, one and a half ounces to be exact…and seventeen inches long." She
smiled as she took some wrapped alcohol pads from her pocket and began to tear
them open. "I don't know if anyone told you, but when we finally got her
to breathe, her sigil started to glow brilliantly and she let loose a wail that
you wouldn't believe…glass started breaking everywhere…which is why we quickly
moved her and Helios into the room they are in now." She wiped the pads
over the umbilical area before taking one of the small bottles and opening it to
reveal a roll on ball; she smeared a blue die all over the umbilical area
before closing it once more.
"That
was her?" Darien asked incredulously. "Now that's an entrance."
He smiled.
"It
is a trait that is carried on in moon children…the females in particular…we are
not sure as to why, though it does help one in locating the Princess whenever
she is in trouble."
"This
will lessen with time---right?"
"Yes
of course." Justin wrinkled his nose as he reached down in his father's
grasp to touch the small hard plastic wall that surrounded Small Lady, as if
sensing his presence she opened ruby red eyes and looked up and him before
closing them again.
"Justin!"
From across the room, in the bed where he lay, Helios called out his friend's
name. Justin squirmed in his place in his father's arms.
"Papa,
can I go talk to 'Elios?"
"Sure
sport." He replied as he loosened his grip and set him to the floor,
almost immediately Justin took off to the other side of the room. "Is it
all right if I…" His hand shakily caressed a small finger; her hand was
the size of his thumb.
"You'll
have to wait for a bit before you can hold her, her body has not yet reached
the right temperature that she should be outside the womb" She replied.
"I
understand." He smiled. "Oh, I'm sorry, what is your name?"
"Naru."
She smiled. "I'll be the one taking care of the baby and helping the Queen
get back on her feet again."
"Thank-you,
Naru, for taking care of my little one…for offering to take care of my
wife."
"It's
an honor, your majesty." She smiled once more as she looked at the
indicator that told the temperature that the baby was at the moment.
"Oh…it looks like you can hold her now." She paused. "Let me
just get her a blanket and bundle her up for you." He watched as she
walked away before turning back to the baby once more.
"Hey
little one…god you're beautiful---so precious…just like your mom." He
whispered as his fingers lingered over small feet and trailed up to her face.
"Don't worry, your mother will be okay real soon, I just know she'd love
to hold you." He stepped aside as Naru approached from behind; she took
the blanket and laid it underneath the baby before beginning the bundling
process.
"There
are two overanxious queens, Litalia and Reianne, awaiting outside for a chance
to look at the new princess." She paused with a smile as she tucked the
last piece of cloth inside the top of the bundle. "They were mightily
miffed when they were told that they could not come in to see the baby all at
once…I told them that you would bring the baby outside in the waiting room to
them when you had finished having your private time with her."
"Thank-you."
He smiled as he held Small Lady close to his chest. "Tell them that I will
be out in a moment."
"Certainly
your highness." She turned to leave before pausing in her steps and
turning back towards him. "Oh, and your highness…what shall be the baby's
full name?"
"Princess
Serenity Small Lady Wales the Fourth." He replied. "Tell the heralds
to announce the birth of their new Princess."
"Yes
your highness."
