A/N: Okay, this chapter starts out with Selene having her baby. For those of you who are confused by that, it is nine months after Viktor's death, which means it's about seven months after the last chapter. For those of you bother by the time jump, sorry, I didn't feel like coming up with stuff for them to do for the last seven months. Sorry, I'm really lazy. Also, I am fifteen, and have obviously never had a baby (maybe that's not so obvious, but it should be) so if I got some of the info on having a baby wrong, sorry. I tried to ask my mom, but she didn't really tell me anything I didn't know. And there was no way in hell I was going to ask my dad or my science teacher. So, if you have had a baby and this is wrong, sorry. Feel free to review and correct me. My muse has returned to me!! She has forgiven me for being "mean to her precious Lucian." And, for all of you who are wondering, Lucian has not vanished; he's actually been somewhere throughout this whole baby fiasco. Just wait until you find out where. That'll probably be in the next chapter, or maybe the one after that, I'm not sure.
Disclaimer: Own nothing
Chapter 7: Ravyn.
This is all your fault, Michael! Selene thought. She wanted to scream it, but there were too many people in the room who believed Kraven was the father of her baby. Instead, she let out a wordless scream of pain as another contraction ripped through her body.
Erika stood by the bed, wiping sweat from her forehead with a cool cloth. Somewhere in the room, she heard Endainme En'Dae walk in and shoo everyone out of the room except Erika. Selene had, at a suggestion from Kestral a few weeks ago, asked the former Amazon to deliver her baby. She had agreed readily and Selene was glad, seeing the fluster the Death Dealers had gone into when Selene's first contraction had happened an hour ago in the middle of a meeting. Kahn had helped her to her room and then gone for Erika, knowing the two were friends and not knowing what else to do. Endainme En'Dae had been out of the manor when Selene had gone into labor, but now she was back.
Thank God! Selene thought, seeing Endainme En'Dae walk up to the bed, rolling up her sleeves, satisfied that the flock of confused and flustered female Death Dealers that had been "helping" were gone and would not interrupt. She soothed Selene's damp hair back from her face, murmuring encouragements. Selene gritted her teeth and groaned as another contraction swept through her.
Endainme En'Dae walked to the foot of the bed.
"Not long now," she said cheerily.
Easy for her to say, Selene thought. She's not the one who has to do this!
"Is it supposed to hurt this much?" Selene asked through clenched teeth.
"Unfortunately, yes," Endainme En'Dae replied sympathetically. "If it didn't, men would do it. But the gods saw that man wouldn't be able to handle to pain of childbirth, and so they gave the job to women, who could." She paused, then pushed her rolled-up sleeves behind her elbows, tied her long blonde hair back with a band around her wrist, and said, "When the next contraction comes, I want you to push. It will hurt like hell, but you can do it." Selene nodded, licked her dry lips, and braced herself for the next wave of pain. When the contraction came, she pushed, and the pain was so intense, Selene forgot to grit her teeth against it and let loose a loud, bloodcurdling scream she was sure Michael, all the way back in Farkas Kikötõ, could hear.
Through the haze of pain, Selene thought she heard Endainme En'Dae say, "You're almost done Selene. Get ready and...push!" Selene pushed, keeping her scream under control this time. Erika wiped her sweaty forehead with the cloth and Endainme En'Dae glanced up, trying to meet Selene's eye, but she had her eyes squeezed shut.
"I can see the head," she told Selene. "Once more, Selene. You can do it. Last time. Come on." Selene pushed and a wave of pain more severe than anything she had ever felt before nearly swamped her.
A tiny wailing filled the air in the room and Selene opened her eyes to see Endainme En'Dae taking a clean cloth from the pile beside Erika and gently cleaning the little thing in her arms.
"You have a daughter Selene," Endainme En'Dae said softly. She laid the little girl in Selene's arms and Selene held her child tenderly. She wished Michael was with her and could see his daughter.
"What will you call her?" Erika asked.
"Ravyn," Selene said softly, staring into her daughter's gray eyes. Human babies were born with blue eyes that darkened as they grew older, but vampire babies were born with their natural eye color. So were hybrids, it would seem. Selene felt a little thrill as she recognized the color of her child's eyes as Michael's. Even if she never saw him again, she would always have a part of him in their daughter.
Ravyn, who had calmed when placed in her mother's arms, began to cry again.
"She wants her dinner," Endainme En'Dae told Selene as she looked slightly panicked.
Wonderingly, Selene unbuttoned the maternity shirt she had bought when the Death Dealer suit became too tight for her. She brought the little girl to her breast and the baby seized the teat offered her and began to suckle.
"Erika," Marcus said, opening the door to Selene's room. "Are you in here sweet?"
Erika turned at the sound of her lover's voice. "Yes, I'm in here." She was holding a sleeping Ravyn and pacing the length of Selene's room, rocking the baby gently to keep her asleep. Selene, near sleep herself, was tucked into her bed covers pulled up to her chin, watching Erika and her hours-old child. "Want to hold her Marcus?" Erika asked after glancing at Selene for permission, and holding the sleeping infant out.
Marcus took her in his arms, careful to support her head, and not to jostle her. Almost at once, his expression changed. Erika thought she saw consternation slip across Marcus's face, but then realized she must have imagined it because Marcus was smiling at the little girl wrapped in blankets. He handed her back to Erika and said, "Let them get some sleep." Erika nodded and lay Ravyn in the crib Endainme En'Dae had set up.
"Night," she said to Selene, who nodded and shut her eyes as Erika and Marcus left, turning off the lights as they did.
As soon as Selene's door was shut, Erika slipped her arm through Marcus's and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Hm?"
"As soon as you held Ravyn, you looked...I don't know...worried about something."
"Oh, it's nothing." Marcus brushed off her worry and kissed her gently to distract her from it, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Marcus couldn't know the truth about Ravyn, could he?
The door to Selene's room opened, letting a small sliver of light spill across her floor. A figure came to the door and peered through, looking around the room. Seeing that all was still, the figure opened the door a little wider and stepped through, closing the door softly. The figure walked across the floor quietly to the baby's crib. He looked in, eyes easily piercing the blackness of Selene's room, and saw that the baby was sleeping quietly in her crib. The figure gently picked her up, and walked carefully backed to the door. At the door, he encountered a problem. How to open the door when his arms were full of sleeping baby? Carefully shifting her into one arm, he opened the door. But the slight movement was enough to jostle Ravyn awake. She began to wail, knowing instinctively that she wasn't in her mother's arms. The figure left the room and shut the door with a sped that seemed impossible. With a speed Selene would have recognized as hybrid speed, had she awoken in time.
Selene opened her eyes when she heard Ravyn cry. But when she sat up, the room was completely still and silent. Throwing the covers off, she got out of bed, wincing at the pain the quick movements caused her. She walked with wincing steps to the crib where her sleeping baby lay. She looked down and noticed with a jolt of terror that the crib was empty!
She let out a cry and, heedless of the pain, ran towards the door. She looked around the hall outside her room, and seeing no one, began to run. She turned a corner and ran into Endainme En'Dae. The Amazon stumbled backwards, then realized who she had run into and gripped Selene's shoulders.
"Selene, what are you doing out of bed? You'll hurt yourself." Selene looked around Endainme En'Dae, looking for someone, anyone, who might have taken her child.
"Ravyn," she said. "Someone's taken Ravyn!"
They had searched the manor several times in the last hour, and no sign of Ravyn had been found. Tears streaked Selene's cheeks as she, Endainme En'Dae, and Erika returned to her room. Selene walked over to Ravyn's crib and looked sadly at the empty bed. She sniffed, wiping her tears from her face, and as she did, she caught a faint scent she hadn't smelled before.
Marcus.
She whirled to face Erika. "Where's Marcus?"
Erika frowned in confusion. "He left two hours ago. Said he had Elder business to take care of."
"See if you can get him back here. He knows the manor better than any of us and I want his help."
"I'll do it," Endainme En'Dae volunteered before Erika could move.
"I'm going to look outside," Selene told her as she left. "Whoever took my baby could have gone outside." Endainme En'Dae nodded and left. Selene grabbed her keys off the bedside table, thanking every one of her lucky stars that her body healed fast and she could now walk easily.
"Where are you going?" Erika asked.
"To see Xavier and Kestral."
"Why?"
"Marcus took Ravyn and this is just the excuse we've been waiting for to attack. I am going to get my child back, and nothing will stand in my way. Marcus knows where Ravyn is and if I threaten to attack with the force of the renegades behind me, I know he will give her back." Selene turned on her heel and left at a run. A few moments later, Erika heard the squeal of tires as Selene sped out of the driveway.
"If she's right," Erika said to herself. "Marcus is in deep shit, and not just from Selene and Xavier either." Her eyes full of fury, Erika stormed out of Selene's room and went looking for her wayward lover.
Disclaimer: Own nothing
Chapter 7: Ravyn.
This is all your fault, Michael! Selene thought. She wanted to scream it, but there were too many people in the room who believed Kraven was the father of her baby. Instead, she let out a wordless scream of pain as another contraction ripped through her body.
Erika stood by the bed, wiping sweat from her forehead with a cool cloth. Somewhere in the room, she heard Endainme En'Dae walk in and shoo everyone out of the room except Erika. Selene had, at a suggestion from Kestral a few weeks ago, asked the former Amazon to deliver her baby. She had agreed readily and Selene was glad, seeing the fluster the Death Dealers had gone into when Selene's first contraction had happened an hour ago in the middle of a meeting. Kahn had helped her to her room and then gone for Erika, knowing the two were friends and not knowing what else to do. Endainme En'Dae had been out of the manor when Selene had gone into labor, but now she was back.
Thank God! Selene thought, seeing Endainme En'Dae walk up to the bed, rolling up her sleeves, satisfied that the flock of confused and flustered female Death Dealers that had been "helping" were gone and would not interrupt. She soothed Selene's damp hair back from her face, murmuring encouragements. Selene gritted her teeth and groaned as another contraction swept through her.
Endainme En'Dae walked to the foot of the bed.
"Not long now," she said cheerily.
Easy for her to say, Selene thought. She's not the one who has to do this!
"Is it supposed to hurt this much?" Selene asked through clenched teeth.
"Unfortunately, yes," Endainme En'Dae replied sympathetically. "If it didn't, men would do it. But the gods saw that man wouldn't be able to handle to pain of childbirth, and so they gave the job to women, who could." She paused, then pushed her rolled-up sleeves behind her elbows, tied her long blonde hair back with a band around her wrist, and said, "When the next contraction comes, I want you to push. It will hurt like hell, but you can do it." Selene nodded, licked her dry lips, and braced herself for the next wave of pain. When the contraction came, she pushed, and the pain was so intense, Selene forgot to grit her teeth against it and let loose a loud, bloodcurdling scream she was sure Michael, all the way back in Farkas Kikötõ, could hear.
Through the haze of pain, Selene thought she heard Endainme En'Dae say, "You're almost done Selene. Get ready and...push!" Selene pushed, keeping her scream under control this time. Erika wiped her sweaty forehead with the cloth and Endainme En'Dae glanced up, trying to meet Selene's eye, but she had her eyes squeezed shut.
"I can see the head," she told Selene. "Once more, Selene. You can do it. Last time. Come on." Selene pushed and a wave of pain more severe than anything she had ever felt before nearly swamped her.
A tiny wailing filled the air in the room and Selene opened her eyes to see Endainme En'Dae taking a clean cloth from the pile beside Erika and gently cleaning the little thing in her arms.
"You have a daughter Selene," Endainme En'Dae said softly. She laid the little girl in Selene's arms and Selene held her child tenderly. She wished Michael was with her and could see his daughter.
"What will you call her?" Erika asked.
"Ravyn," Selene said softly, staring into her daughter's gray eyes. Human babies were born with blue eyes that darkened as they grew older, but vampire babies were born with their natural eye color. So were hybrids, it would seem. Selene felt a little thrill as she recognized the color of her child's eyes as Michael's. Even if she never saw him again, she would always have a part of him in their daughter.
Ravyn, who had calmed when placed in her mother's arms, began to cry again.
"She wants her dinner," Endainme En'Dae told Selene as she looked slightly panicked.
Wonderingly, Selene unbuttoned the maternity shirt she had bought when the Death Dealer suit became too tight for her. She brought the little girl to her breast and the baby seized the teat offered her and began to suckle.
"Erika," Marcus said, opening the door to Selene's room. "Are you in here sweet?"
Erika turned at the sound of her lover's voice. "Yes, I'm in here." She was holding a sleeping Ravyn and pacing the length of Selene's room, rocking the baby gently to keep her asleep. Selene, near sleep herself, was tucked into her bed covers pulled up to her chin, watching Erika and her hours-old child. "Want to hold her Marcus?" Erika asked after glancing at Selene for permission, and holding the sleeping infant out.
Marcus took her in his arms, careful to support her head, and not to jostle her. Almost at once, his expression changed. Erika thought she saw consternation slip across Marcus's face, but then realized she must have imagined it because Marcus was smiling at the little girl wrapped in blankets. He handed her back to Erika and said, "Let them get some sleep." Erika nodded and lay Ravyn in the crib Endainme En'Dae had set up.
"Night," she said to Selene, who nodded and shut her eyes as Erika and Marcus left, turning off the lights as they did.
As soon as Selene's door was shut, Erika slipped her arm through Marcus's and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Hm?"
"As soon as you held Ravyn, you looked...I don't know...worried about something."
"Oh, it's nothing." Marcus brushed off her worry and kissed her gently to distract her from it, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Marcus couldn't know the truth about Ravyn, could he?
The door to Selene's room opened, letting a small sliver of light spill across her floor. A figure came to the door and peered through, looking around the room. Seeing that all was still, the figure opened the door a little wider and stepped through, closing the door softly. The figure walked across the floor quietly to the baby's crib. He looked in, eyes easily piercing the blackness of Selene's room, and saw that the baby was sleeping quietly in her crib. The figure gently picked her up, and walked carefully backed to the door. At the door, he encountered a problem. How to open the door when his arms were full of sleeping baby? Carefully shifting her into one arm, he opened the door. But the slight movement was enough to jostle Ravyn awake. She began to wail, knowing instinctively that she wasn't in her mother's arms. The figure left the room and shut the door with a sped that seemed impossible. With a speed Selene would have recognized as hybrid speed, had she awoken in time.
Selene opened her eyes when she heard Ravyn cry. But when she sat up, the room was completely still and silent. Throwing the covers off, she got out of bed, wincing at the pain the quick movements caused her. She walked with wincing steps to the crib where her sleeping baby lay. She looked down and noticed with a jolt of terror that the crib was empty!
She let out a cry and, heedless of the pain, ran towards the door. She looked around the hall outside her room, and seeing no one, began to run. She turned a corner and ran into Endainme En'Dae. The Amazon stumbled backwards, then realized who she had run into and gripped Selene's shoulders.
"Selene, what are you doing out of bed? You'll hurt yourself." Selene looked around Endainme En'Dae, looking for someone, anyone, who might have taken her child.
"Ravyn," she said. "Someone's taken Ravyn!"
They had searched the manor several times in the last hour, and no sign of Ravyn had been found. Tears streaked Selene's cheeks as she, Endainme En'Dae, and Erika returned to her room. Selene walked over to Ravyn's crib and looked sadly at the empty bed. She sniffed, wiping her tears from her face, and as she did, she caught a faint scent she hadn't smelled before.
Marcus.
She whirled to face Erika. "Where's Marcus?"
Erika frowned in confusion. "He left two hours ago. Said he had Elder business to take care of."
"See if you can get him back here. He knows the manor better than any of us and I want his help."
"I'll do it," Endainme En'Dae volunteered before Erika could move.
"I'm going to look outside," Selene told her as she left. "Whoever took my baby could have gone outside." Endainme En'Dae nodded and left. Selene grabbed her keys off the bedside table, thanking every one of her lucky stars that her body healed fast and she could now walk easily.
"Where are you going?" Erika asked.
"To see Xavier and Kestral."
"Why?"
"Marcus took Ravyn and this is just the excuse we've been waiting for to attack. I am going to get my child back, and nothing will stand in my way. Marcus knows where Ravyn is and if I threaten to attack with the force of the renegades behind me, I know he will give her back." Selene turned on her heel and left at a run. A few moments later, Erika heard the squeal of tires as Selene sped out of the driveway.
"If she's right," Erika said to herself. "Marcus is in deep shit, and not just from Selene and Xavier either." Her eyes full of fury, Erika stormed out of Selene's room and went looking for her wayward lover.