The brown eyed girl
by LiltingBanshee
Author´s note: Thanks to Ana for commenting on the first chapter. Here´s a second chapter for you all:)
As if the baby sensed it's mother's discomfort it began to cry with a force that could easily compete with Christine's sobbing.
Christine lifted the screaming infant out of the crib and began rocking it gently in her arms.
"Shhh my baby, don't cry. I didn't mean to scare you like that", she cooed through her tears.
The baby didn't seem to take any notice of Christine's soothing voice and just kept on wailing. Not even when she started to sing softly did the baby give up.
She was almost about to panic when a soft knock came to her door and Raoul carefully peeked into the room.
"Christine are you allright?", he asked.
"Oh Raoul, please I can't make the child stop crying. Tell me what to do!", Christine whimpered.
"I don't know much about children, but here, hand her over to me", he said
"Her?", Christine looked puzzled at him.
"The baby. Your daughter Christine. Haven't you looked at her?"
"Uhm, no. I was so surprised when I saw….", Christine trailed off as she handed the baby over to Raoul.
The child's cries immediately turned into soft whimpering.
"There you are", Raoul spoke softly to the little girl. "Don't give your mother such a hard time, she is very tired".
"Raoul, what happened last night? Why is she like…like…. that?", Christine asked, as she eased herself onto the bed again.
Raoul began explaining to her carefully. "You went into labour yesterday afternoon Christine. Almost a month too early. The doctor and midwife came as fast as they could, but the birth was very hard. You panicked so the doctor gave you something to calm you down. That is probably why you slept so hard and don't really remember anything."
Christine looked at her daughter, now sleeping peacefully in Raoul´s arms.
"Why is her face like that? Is it the same disease that….?", Christine couldn't finish her sentence.
"Oh Christine, is that why you were so upset when you saw her? Don't be afraid, she is not sick. She had the umbilical chord wrapped around her throat when she was born. She actually nearly died – you both did", Raoul looked away with tears in his eyes.
"But why is her face like this?", Christine said.
"The doctor said the pressure from the chord caused to small blood veins under her skin to burst. She will look bruised for a few days, that's all".
"But what is that long red mark on her cheek?", Christine still wasn't totally convinced.
"Everything went so fast last night, they had to get her out quickly. The midwife's wedding ring accidently scratched her cheek. That will disappear as well." Raoul smiled reassuringly at her.
Christine nearly passed out with relief. Her baby was fine; her little girl would not have to go through life bearing the mark that had caused so much grief for Erik.
Erik…she thought. He would never meet her little girl. And her daughter would never meet the wonderful man that held such a special place in her heart.
She was pulled from her thoughts by Raoul, who handed the baby back to her.
"There you go Christine. She will probably be hungry soon, and you must be as well. Take care of this little angel. I will go and see if the servants are up to make some food for you".
Christine accepted the baby into her waiting arms and Raoul carefully kissed the top of her head before he left.
Christine looked down at her daughter, who gazed back at her with her big brown eyes. She softly stroked the girl's bruised cheek.
"It's right you know, what Raoul just said", Christine spoke soft to the baby.
"You are an angel, my little angel. I will never let any harm come to you".
She kissed the red mark on her cheek.
"I promise you that, my baby Angeline".
Hope you liked this, let me know what you think:)