Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: The General's mission had most certainly not anticipated this most unexpected arrival.

A/N: This story is part of my A Light in the Darkness universe. It is set at the end of ALitD: Glistened. And contains some spoilers for that story if you haven't read it. Enjoy!

An Unexpected Arrival

Part Three

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I kept my gaze impassive as Alambiel finished her story only to moan softly as her nails dug into my arms. Worry nipped at me but I pushed it away. "And there is nothing we can do to stop your pains? To prevent the foal from arriving early?"

My worry gained more of a bite as I tightened my grip around her, helping her stay on her feet even as she clung to me. The pains were lasting longer now and coming far closer together. And I had left the patrol in the west in my effort to both bring a report back to the High King and to be with Alambiel for our anniversary.

When she straightened and her grip eased, I wrapped one arm more securely around her waist while maintaining a hold of her right hand. We resumed pacing around the cave, passing where I had piled my armor and swords next to the small fire I'd made when night fell. I glanced at Alambiel's bent head. "Chéadsearc? I know I do not have much in my pack beyond the most basic healing supplies but is there nothing to be done?"

The exhaustion in her eyes when she looked up made me ache for her. Still she offered a tremulous laugh. "I fear that option passed us when my water broke and that was hours before you scared me half to death. Our daughter is going to be joining us earlier than we ever suspected. Or planned."

I did not like the sound of that at all. I flicked my tail. "I can try to find a healer for you. There must be someone. We are not so far north or west that they are all dispersed. I can find a way to rouse them despite their hiding from the heat."

Lightning struck the ground a scant foot from the cave's opening just as I made the suggestion. Alambiel laughed softly. "As terrible as it is to be stuck in here with me, Kentauri, I do not think it warrants the risk of being struck by lightning to escape."

Her laughter cut off into a hiss and then another low moan as she stumbled to a halt in order to cling to me. Holding her steady, I tried to think of another solution. Some way to bring her proper help or to bring her to help. As the lightning storm continued, however, I knew there would be no scheme that would allow me to do so safely. I raised my head and looked out into the darkness lit only by streaks of lightning. I could hear more than the wind and rumble of thunder. More howls and they were coming ever closer.

"You never did answer me, you know."

I looked down to find her watching me again. Sweat trickled down her temples and I quickly guided her to sit with her back braced against the cave wall. This time she didn't argue to keep walking. She merely leaned her head back as she blew out a ragged breath then her eyelids fluttered closed.

She was already exhausted, something I found increasingly worrisome. Childbirth could be dangerous for dams. I could only imagine it was more so for Alambiel given the circumstances. She needed a proper healer, especially if I could not bring her to Tuulea. Wetting the second of my spare handkerchiefs, I gently wiped the sweat from her brow. When her eyes opened once more, she offered a weary smile. "It is always something, isn't it, Kentauri?"

"I fear so." Attempting to lighten the mood, I added gravely, "And after this I expect you and our daughter to both be on your best behavior for the next year."

Her smile widened briefly. "You never said…why you were out here, alone without the patrol. And don't tell me it's not important because I desperately need another story to distract me."

"I was attempting to return home in time for our anniversary. I left Lieutenant Dalibor in command of the patrol four days ago as he continued the task of ensuring our northwestern border is now secured. We found no signs of the rumored Ogres but we did find some of the smaller Fell harassing a few villages, Boggles and Goblins. They were easy to break…"

I trailed off as Alambiel cried out before she bit off the noise. Unfortunately, I feared it was too late. I heard a single howl before it too went silent. They were hunting for us now.

She grimaced and hissed through her teeth before relaxing slightly then murmuring, "I'm sorry. I am trying not to make too much noise, Oreius."

"Shh, you are in pain and I most certainly do not fault you for expressing it," I stated firmly. I hesitated a moment before I continued, "However, I came here to investigate reports of a pack of Werewolves hunting between Beruna and Owlwood. And I was searching for signs of their passage when I came across you instead."

There was fear in her blue eyes as she met my gaze. Holding the damp handkerchief against her throat, I could feel her pulse leap in speed. I didn't look away or wait for her to voice the fears as I rumbled, "Do not worry, Alambiel. This storm is protecting us and you have been very quiet. The Werewolves might be hunting but the lightning will keep them trapped for a little while longer."

"And when the storm ends?"

I smoothed her hair back as I stated simply, "I will protect you. Both of you."

She nodded slowly before grimacing as she endured another pain. Worry continued to nip at me as I watched her struggle through more pains. They were coming even closer now and lasting longer. And Alambiel and our little foal were trapped with only my poor efforts to help them. Aslan help us.

"Oreius…" Alambiel's grip on my arms lessened as she leaned back against the cave wall, panting. She swallowed before continuing, "Oreius, you need to check if the head is crowning."

"Crowning," I repeated, trying to think of what Alambiel had been able to tell me about the birthing process. Following her instructions, I slipped her skirts back so they would not be in the way. The sight of blood on the cave floor concerned me greatly. She needed a healer, a true healer who knew how to help a dam and foal during the birth. She needed Tuulea or Alithia. I would even settle for the Marsh-Wiggle Mumpwort with his vastly unhelpful and ridiculous predictions of the most absurd fates for those under his care.

"Oreius. It's a head. You should be able to recognize it when you see it," Alambiel's tart reply made me look up at her. She grimaced. "And if you don't see it already, that's probably going to change very quickly."

I didn't have time to ask for clarification before she shifted her stance and bore down. I counted aloud to ten as she had asked me to but didn't even reach six before looking up. "I can see the head."

She barely nodded in acknowledgement. I returned my attention to the most important thing I could do…catching the foal. Her head emerged fully and my eyes caught on something that made my heart sink. Her lips were blueing and… "Alambiel, stop pushing. There's something around her neck."

Alambiel leaned back against the wall, panting for breath. "It's the cord. Has to be the cord. You need to very carefully loosen the cord before it chokes her."

I looked at her as doubt joined worry in biting at me. "I am not a healer."

"But you're the only one who can save her," she whispered. "I can't… I can't do it. It's taking everything not to push. Oreius, you have to save her."

I forced doubt and worry away as I offered a curt nod. "Tell me what to do."

Alambiel's gasped instructions sounded simple until I was faced with the actual task of finding the loosest loop of the cord while I supported the foal's head with my left hand. I wanted to hurry and it was only by the grace of Aslan that He heard my silent pleas and steadied my fingers as I carefully worked the cord loose.

Looking up to meet Alambiel's eyes, I nodded. "Now."

She pushed once more and our little foal slid into my hands. She was so small and weighed hardly more than a newborn kitten. I gently lifted her closer, hoping for some movement. Squirming. Even a cry. A thin thatch of dark hair covered her little scalp but her eyes remained closed.

"Oreius?" My wife's voice quavered as she whispered, "Is she breathing? Is she alive?"

I didn't know. "I…I cannot tell."

"Clear her airways. We have to clear her airways." Alambiel held out her hands, fingers trembling. "Let me see her."

She didn't hesitate when I leaned closer, resting two fingers on our daughter's chest before she gently tilted her head back and slipped her finger inside the foal's mouth as though she were scooping something out. Perhaps she was. The fear strangling my heart fell to pieces as the little one suddenly squirmed then opened her mouth wide as she turned her face away from her mama's ministrations. She didn't make more than a squeak but I grinned as her little face crumpled into a scowl.

I handed her to her mama then followed Alambiel's instructions on how to tie and cut the cord as well as helping her with the afterbirth. Looking from my blood covered hands to Alambiel as she nestled the little foal against her heart, I couldn't help murmuring, "I am reminded why I never felt the call to be a healer."

Alambiel's weary laugh was reward enough as I cleaned my hands. She shook her head at me. "Well at least you didn't follow Peter's example and faint."

I snorted as I knelt once more in front of her. "My colt has much to learn about keeping his wits off the battlefield." My gaze dropped to the filly and I smiled. "She is more beautiful than I imagined."

"Well, we still need to clean her up properly and make sure we figure out some sort of nappy to use. Try to get her to nurse…" She paused, looking rather tired but also contemplative, then opened her mouth to continue before she suddenly stiffened.

Before I could ask what was wrong, growls echoed through the cave. I looked around to see three Werewolves filling the mouth of the cave, their gazes fixed on us. The bulkiest of the three snarled. "A Centaur and the sweetest blood. Alambiel has a little morsel." His companions shifted closer as he added, "Give us the little morsel, Centaur. We'll let you go for the little morsel."

I carefully picked up the knife I had used to cut the cord and bumped it against Alambiel's hip. She grasped it, fingers brushing against mine, as I turned my full attention on the Fell. "I will give you nothing save your own lives provided you leave now."

One of the Werewolves gave a dark chuckle. "He threatens us."

"The little morsel is weak," the first Werewolf said. "It will not live long. Give it to us and we will let you take your mate and her sweet blood with you."

I glanced at Alambiel out of the corner of my eye. My swords were on the opposite side of the cave. I needed them to fend off three Werewolves and yet fetching them would leave Alambiel and our foal exposed. Our eyes met and she gave a curt nod.

I surged to my hooves with a war cry. The smaller Werewolves skittered back and I leapt to the side, wrenching my claymore free of the sword harness. I heard the Werewolves' howls and then the scrabbling of claws. Whirling, I leapt forward once more as Alambiel half dragged, half stumbled her way back. One of the smaller Werewolves fell beneath my blade.

Placing myself between the Fell and my family, I raised my claymore. They separated. The cave was barely small enough for me to hold my ground without offering an opening. I swung and caught the leader in the side then kicked out, catching his compatriot in the head. The leader pressed a hand against his wounded side then looked at the blood now staining his fur. Turning his yellow gaze back to me, he snarled. "Give me the little morsel, Centaur. End its suffering now."

"Never."

The Werewolf leapt, attempting to bypass me. He fell with a snarling yelp as I cut him down mid-leap. I paused as I noted my knife was now sticking out of his eye. I twisted around to see Alambiel standing by my gear, still holding our foal in the crook of her left arm. She paled and I dropped my claymore in favor of catching her before she collapsed. Our foal gave another weak squeak and I pressed my forehead against Alambiel's as I helped her settle on the ground. That had been far too close.

After assuring me she was all right, I reluctantly left them long enough to retrieve and clean my sword and knife. I fetched the waterskin then wet one of the cleaning cloths and passed it to Alambiel who used it to gently clean our now squirming foal. She used another cleaning cloth to create a temporary nappy for the little one. I wasn't certain whether I should be grateful or concerned that there were still no cries from our newborn as I stepped around the dead Fell to look outside. I could see faint flashes of lightning still but it seemed confined to playing in the clouds instead of dropping to strike the land. There was still no rain to alleviate the continued heat but the lightning storm seemed to have ended.

There was no promise that it would remain that way, however. Which meant we had to hurry… I had to hurry. Returning to the back of the cave, I kept one eye on my wife as she ran her fingers along our newborn's thin arms then touched her tiny fists. Cuddling her closer, Alambiel pressed a kiss against the foal's head. "My poor baby, you've come to join us far too soon. We have to get you home to Tuulea."

Hearing the worry underlying her words, I paused in tidying my pack. "How bad is it?"

She shrugged. "I don't know yet. But between her early arrival and the cord being around her neck…" She trailed off, shaking her head.

I finished buckling my sword harness then took my spare tunic from my pack. Alambiel gave me a curious look before asking, "What are you doing with that?"

"This." I sliced through the front of the tunic with my knife then knelt in front of them once more and handed it to her. "Use this to keep her warm." I pulled the blanket from my pack and wrapped that around Alambiel's shoulders as I added, "And this to keep you both safely hidden while I carry you."

As she wrapped my red tunic around our daughter, my heart constricted at the sight. She looked so tiny and fragile, especially since she had ceased squirming. Even with Alambiel's efforts of cleaning her up, her skin looked very red to my eyes. Early as she was, under worse circumstances than I had ever imagined, my daughter slept soundly in her dam's hold and she was so much more than I had ever imagined. The joy of knowing she was to be with us had finally been surpassed by the incomparable joy of seeing her alive and relatively well. Despite Alambiel's worries and the alarm I had felt during her birth, I considered my filly being alive and breathing to be a sign of wellness.

Taking the time to redress in my other tunic and armor as well as putting out the dying fire, I paused only to settle my pack with the attached helmet in its place before I approached Alambiel. "Come, Wife, we must see you and our filly home."

She looked surprised for a moment but exhaustion also clung to her. Then she glanced down at our daughter. "We haven't named her."

I hesitated. We hadn't discussed names for her, Alambiel wanting to wait until I'd returned from the patrol to choose a name. "What do you wish to name her, Sweet?"

"What time is it?"

"Not two hours past midnight on the fourth of Greenroof," I replied.

She nodded slowly then stroked the filly's cheek as she murmured, "I think Selene is a good name."

I stared at her for a long moment. "You wish to name her after my dam?"

She nodded once more, tucking the makeshift blanket more securely around our daughter. "Yes. I want her to be strong in her gentleness. Just like her sire's dam." She smiled faintly. "And you shouldn't argue with me otherwise I'll start being silly and burst into tears because of all my emotions."

My stance softened and I couldn't help smiling. "I am honored, my star, that you would have her be called Selene. It is a good name for a little filly born beneath moonlight." I helped her to stand, bending to press a kiss first to her lips then to Selene's brow, before I settled the blanket more thoroughly around them both to further ensure the foal was hidden from casual observation. Then I picked them up. It was time to take my fillies home.

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A/N: Please Read and Review! What do you think? I've been anticipating this part of story for a very long time! There's a little bit more to the story now Baby Selene has arrived.