Okay, everybody, we're at the penultimate chapter, and the moment you've all been waiting for!

The birth of Marigold! I admit, I started writing this chap long before the last chapters, and I've been asking my friend neagoieolivia for tips to make the birth as realistically as possible.

Enjoy!


Eventually Xibalba recovered. As he did, many things happened.

It took a little longer, but Zipacna soon recovered fully with no memory of what happened between him and Epona. He felt so much better that he even started dancing when he was told that Xibalba would be given back the crown, which in turn meant he could go back to the way he was.

The news of Itzlacol's death spread out like gunpowder. Though nobody mourned him, many wished to seize control of his properties in both the Land of the Living and the Realms of the Gods.

La Muerte had no interest in receiving them as compensation for what he did to her, and though Xibalba did crave for some he wouldn't dare disagree with his wife in that topic.

So all of Itzlacol's lands would be held by Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca until they someone who their favor enough to be rewarded with them.

As for the pregnancy, thankfully the rest of the term could be taken lightly.

La Muerte and Xibalba watched their unborn baby flourish as La Muerte's abdomen continued to grow bigger, the baby's kicks became stronger and she felt it dreamily float inside her belly.

Xibalba made sure her every need was attended to, he insisted on cooking her favorite meals for her (much to Regina's amusement), and when La Muerte had to go anywhere, be it as far as the kitchen or as close as the bathroom he always carried her there; La Muerte didn't like that he treated her like a fragile piece of glass, yet she didn't have the heart to tell him to stop.

He was pleasing the baby, he said.

They still hadn't picked a name, though. They were having a little niña but there were so many options they still hadn't chosen a name, and with all that had been happening lately…

"How do you think we should call her?" La Muerte inquired, rubbing her abdomen affectionately as she looked through the balcony doors.

Xibalba had just slipped into his bathrobe as he walked towards his wife, taking her shoulders and leaning his head to whisper into her ear. "Which one do you think would fit her?"

"Well, I liked Talula."

"Don't do that to the poor baby," Xiblaba winced. "She'll be whining in a few years and complaining why we named her like that." Emilio and his wonderful ideas.

La Muerte rolled her eyes. "What would you suggest, then?"

"How about the name of a flower? Like Rosa, or Margarita?"

"I want to give her a much more original name, those are very used."

"It doesn't have to be the usual flowers, my dear. There are many more, remember? There's the romneyas, dandelions, marigolds…"

Marigolds… La Muerte looked down at her belly, thinking. It had a nice ring to it. "How about… Marigold?"

Xibalba considered it for a moment. "Marigold… I like it." There was something else he wanted to discuss with his wife. "Say, La Muerte… I was wondering… Would you mind if we added my mother's name?"

"Ay, Balby…" La Muerte smiled, stroking her husband's cheek. "Of course. I don't mind."

He smiled in return, placing his hand on her abdomen. "Marigold Selena it is, then…"

"It fits…"

The two gods were about to share a kiss when La Muerte felt a small kick, just where Xibalba had placed his hand.

Xibalba looked down at his unborn child, smiling. "Aww, don't worry, my little Marigold, soon enough you're coming out." He glanced at his wife. "You should rest, mi amor. You're close to your due date, you'll need all the energy you can get."

"I guess you're right…" La Muerte sighed. "Toci said the first birth is always the most painful…"

"You're going to be okay, mi amor. You are a strong woman, everything will turn out alright."

La Muerte frowned. "Easy for you to say, you're not the one who will be going through it."

Xibalba chuckled amusingly. "I guess." He picked La Muerte up bridal style and took her to bed, placing her down to cover her with the duvet. "But I'm glad to have a baby with you."

La Muerte smiled, lifting her hand to stroke the dark god's cheek. "Me too… I always longed to be a mother, though I admit we didn't find about the baby in the best moment…"

"That's all in the past, Muertita. Let's focus on the future right now, okay?" he whispered, laying down next to her and snugging against her body.

Smiling, La Muerte shifted in his embrace so that she could snuggle against him in return. "Okay…" A few seconds later, she fell asleep in her husband's embrace, completely content. Xibalba smiled and kissed her forehead, pulling her against his chest and stroking her abdomen. He just couldn't wait until the baby was born; he was already very impatient to meet his daughter.

Everything would be so much better…

It happened an hour later, or two.

La Muerte winced lightly when she felt some pressure in her abdomen; Xibalba instantly awoke when he felt his wife sitting up on bed. "La Muerte, what's wrong?"

La Muerte removed the covers off her and found the bed and the area between her legs still dry, but suddenly she felt another mild contraction.

This couldn't be, her water had not broken.

She winced at another mild contraction and started taking deep breaths, but she was puzzled as to why the contraction started without her water breaking.

"La Muerte!" Xibalba grabbed her shoulders and looked down at between her legs, finding it dry. "What the…?! Your water didn't even broke-!"

"Oh, don't tell me!" she snapped unintentionally. "We better call the doctor. Something's wrong!"

Xibalba didn't need any more cues. "EMILIO!"

As he waited for the lizard to come, Xibalba helped his wife accommodate on bed. He placed the pillows on her back to raise her so she could open her legs in anticipation of what was apparently happening.

La Muerte took slow but steady breaths like Akhushtal had taught her. By then she was sweating lightly, but other than that the contractions were still mild and not very frequent. What worried her was the circumstances, however.

Ten minutes passed before Emilio crossed the doors, scared out of his wits and wearing a sleeping gown.

"W-What is it, M-My Lord…?!" he didn't need any answers, though, judging by what was going on.

"Send word to Asclepius! La Muerte is going into labor, but her water hasn't broken!" Xibalba growled, glancing at Emilio while holding La Muerte's hand. "Wake up the rest and tell them to bring water and towels!" he couldn't believe what he was going to say next. "And inform Sol of what's going on!"

"Yes, My Lord!" Emilio yelled, rushing out of the room, too freaked out to bother in closing the door.

The pain was mild, and she got very long contractions in between long periods of time, but La Muerte could feel pressure in her abdomen and her baby wanted to come out but her vagina was closed.

Xibalba stroked her head, shushing and cooing, assuring her everything was going to be alright, but she couldn't help but worry. Why hadn't her water broken? Why was she in labor when there were a few more weeks due?

Despite the sweat she felt cold even though Xibalba had made everything in his power to have the room warm.

"That's okay, my love, you're doing fine…" Xibalba whispered, stroking her head and brushing hairs away from her face.

"It's starting to hurt …!" La Muerte managed to say between pants, her grip on his hand becoming stronger. "And the water still hasn't broken!"

"Just keep breathing, help is coming!"

A few minutes later, Regina rushed in accompanied by Luis, Gael, Emilio and other lizards, carrying bowls of water and clean towels, as soon as they arrived Xibalba started barking orders at them.

Time passed.

La Muerte continued to pant and shiver heavily. The contractions became longer and more painful, but her water still wouldn't break.

Xibalba continued to comfort her while Regina dabbed the sweat away from her face with a humid cloth, and Roberto would help the goddess with a drink of fresh water to keep her from dehydrating.

Emilio, meanwhile, was having a panic attack and Lorenzo had to make him lay down to fan him with a book.

Xibalba was getting worried.

Two hours had gone by already and La Muerte's water hadn't broken yet, he had the feeling it was not good. He was worried about the baby, what if she suffocated… he recalled she still breathed through the umbilical cord, so he didn't have to worry about that, but still it was worrying.

Where the heck was Asclepius?!

As if on cue, the doors opened and Asclepius rushed inside-he looked like he had just risen from bed- accompanied by midwives trained by Akhushtal herself, closing the doors behind them.

The midwives immediately took the lizards' tasks, while Asclepius started to check on La Muerte's condition.

"What is going on?!" he heard Sol's voice from the other side of the door. "Open the door!"

"Lower your voice! Can't you see she's in pain?!" Xibalba lashed out at his father-in-law from behind the door.

"What's wrong with my sister?!" Aimé asked next, also from the outside.

"Her water hasn't broken and she is already having contractions, that's what!"

"How did this happen?!"

Xibalba contained the urge to roll his eyes. "How am I supposed to know?!"

Realizing he would get no answer from Xibalba, Sol directed his next words at the doctor, pounding on the door. "Asclepius, what's going on?!"

Asclepius was running his hand over La Muerte's pregnant belly, a white light glowing from his palm. "It should break anytime soon, but if doesn't she'll have to break it on her own."

"And how am I supposed to do that?!" La Muerte yelled when she felt another contraction, this one lasting much longer than the others. She felt like her womb and vagina were on fire.

"First we have to wait, if your water hasn't broken after ten hours we'll have to help you."

"TEN HOURS?!"

Xibalba and the rest of the gods present in the room, with the exception of the midwives, flinched when La Muerte yelled the question at the top of her lungs. Suddenly, Asclepius felt her heart rate augmenting considerably, and shivers. "She's too nervous, if she keeps on like this it might affect the child."

"Instead of telling us what could go wrong, tell us what we can do!" Sol snapped while attempting to open the door.

Asclepius turned to Xibalba. "We'll have to leave them alone for a few minutes."

"What do you mean?!"

"She'll get more nervous if you don't lower your voice! She has to calm down before anything so we can proceed!"

"But-!"

"Do as he says!" La Muerte snapped at her father, panting heavily.

The lizards left the room, as well as Asclepius and the midwives. For now they needed the privacy.

They barely prevented Sol from bursting in.

"La Muerte…" Xibalba stroked his wife's head, holding her hand tightly. "You have to calm down, mi amor, if you lose it something might happen to the baby…"

"It hurts…!" La Muerte growled with a whimper once again, tightening her grip on her hand. "It hurts so much…"

"I know it hurts, my love, but you are strong, you are a warrior. You stood up to Set, you stood your ground against the Forgotten Beasts, you protected our child from Itzlacol and everyone who judged you for carrying her! You can do this, I know you can!"

La Muerte was shaking, but his words were assuring her, she started to calm down.

"I'll be right here for you, mi corazón, I promise." He continued, his lips pecking her damp forehead. "You'll need all your strength for this. Remember what Toci said, that childbirth is a battle, but also a beautiful experience. You have to make it a beautiful experience, think that it'll be worth it when you hold our little one in your arms."

The thought of holding a little girl after nine months of waiting and feeling the baby growing inside her gave her the strength and reassurance she needed.

With some difficulty, La Muerte managed to nod her head, squeezing Xibalba's hand. He smiled, wiping her tears with his thumb.

Soon after, Asclepius returned into the room with the nursemaids, closing the doors shut before Sol could attempt to burst in again. Immediately they resumed their chores, while Xibalba continued to talk gently to his wife, assuring her and talking soothing words to her as he held her hand.

Hours passed.

Asclepius started to worry.

Her water should have broken by now. If it didn't break soon all the pressure would crush the baby, he had told the Lizards that if eight hours passed with no news, they should prepare chili tea for La Muerte, and it seemed they would have to break the water themselves.

To make things worse, a storm had broken out, the winds were howling and thunders clapped outside; La Muerte kept panting and tried to concentrate on it, flinching at the contractions and gripping on Xibalba's hand, taking deep breaths.

Thankfully, Regina soon entered the room (closing the doors behind her) carrying a cup with the previously mentioned tea. She ran to the side of the bed and handed the cup to her master.

Xibalba accepted it and held it to his wife's lips. "Here."

"What is that?" La Muerte whimpered. She was already weakening, exhausted from so much pressure.

"It's chili tea, your water should break with it!" Asclepius replied with an urgent tone. She didn't need any more explanations.

La Muerte shifted in bed, raising her head so Xibalba could bring the cup to her lips and she drank; she nearly spat the liquid back into the cup when her tongue started to burn, but with all her willpower she swallowed the liquid whole.

The burning sensation went down her throat and into her stomach; it was so spicy and bitter she had to take a gasp and deep breaths of air to try and relieve the horrible taste of fire.

A few minutes later she felt a pop and liquid flushing out from between her legs, all the pressure was released, but she cried out in pain at another contraction.

"Her water's broken!" Asclepius cried out. "Get ready to deliver the baby!"

The storm continued to rage on, and the real battle began as La Muerte felt contraction after contraction, short but very painful as she dilated. This time she was cursing Xibalba for putting her through this, even though she really didn't mean any of it.

One of the midwives continued to dab the sweat away from the goddess's forehead, others poured water into the bowl and held it to Asclepius so he could wash his hands, and the others cleaned the dirty rags.

Time went on once more, even though she eventually dilated and pushed when he told her too, Asclepius noted the baby didn't crown.

"For goodness sake, what now?!" Xibalba cried out, flinching when La Muerte's grip on his hand tightened for about the one-hundredth time that day.

"The baby's not crowning." Asclepius panted.

"For goodness sake, why did she have to be so stubborn?!" La Muerte yelled between pants.

"We'll have to change her position," The old god glanced at the curtains of the bed's canopy. "Xibalba, bring her to the edge of the bed, and help her get into a squatting position!"

"A what?! Are you nuts?!"

"Do as I say if you want your child to live!"

Xibalba muttered under his breath as he carefully took his wife in his arms while the midwives grabbed the curtains and removed the dirty blankets (he made a mental note to change his mattress when this was all over).

La Muerte grit her teeth in pain and dug her nails into her husband's robe, now gripping Xibalba's arms, as he took her to the edge and helped her get into a squat, holding her from behind to keep her up.

The midwives handed La Muerte the curtains, and she near-immediately gripped on them, panting heavily when suddenly she felt the full weight of her child in her bottom.

"What now?!" Xibalba snapped as he held his wife by wrapping his arms around her chest.

"We let gravity do its job." Asclepius said as he was handed a clean, disinfected towel and neared it to La Muerte's vagina. "Milady, listen carefully! You're going to start to push 3 times until counting to nine, and you take a breath in the tenth second!"

"Okay!" La Muerte said as one of the midwives wiped the sweat from her forehead and face.

The little one inside started to shift in the womb, preparing to come out at last.

The next contraction lasted 30 long seconds, she gripped into the curtains almost to the point of tearing them from the canopy and let out another yell of pain; all the while Xibalba held her close and spoke reassuring words to her, blocking the sight of the thunders in the window with his wing.

"Just a little more, mi amor…"

"IF YOU TOUCH ME AGAIN, I'LL CASTRATE YOU!" La Muerte yelled at him in return.

"Push!"

La Muerte screamed in pain as she pushed with all the strength she had, trying to keep pushing for the nine seconds she had been told, stopping and taking deep breaths in the last second.

As another contraction followed, Xibalba stroked his wife's head gently when she took quick breaths. "Shh, it's okay, mi vida… You can do this…"

Asclepius lifted the skirt of the dress to take a look at the vagina, and saw it was bulging out slightly; good, the head was coming out. "At the count of three, milady! One, two, three, PUSH!"

She pushed for a second time, but this time suddenly she felt a burning, stretching sensation in her vagina when she felt the baby's head finally starting to emerge.

La Muerte started to pant, sweating and tears trickling down her cheeks as another flash of lighting illuminated the room, followed by a loud thunder that nearly gave her a heart attack.

Time went on once again.

Though she managed to calm down, the pain at this stage was unbearable. At Asclepius' signal, she pushed with all her might, little by little feeling the baby's head bulging out of her vagina.

To think her mother went through this when she and Aimé were born, and she had seen Xibalba's mother give birth to him.

She should be grateful her baby was coming in the right position.

Another push.

And another.

As his wife went through the last stage of childbirth, Xibalba continued to comfort her, speaking soothing words to her, holding her hand and kissing her head. He couldn't imagine what she was going through, he could only tell her it was going to be alright and do his best to comfort her.

"Milady, just one more push when you feel the your abdominal muscles stretching out at their maximum capacity!"

Xibalba reassured her. "You're almost done, mi amor, hang in there!"

Nodding, the La Muerte prepared herself for what was to come. Her panting became quicker when the sensation became stronger and more painful. Asclepius knew it was time.

"One, two, three, PUSH!"

Gathering all of her remaining strength, La Muerte screamed and gave a final, very painful push…

A baby's cry echoed through the castle, calling the attention of Sol, Aimé and the lizards waiting outside to hear news from their Lord and his Lady.

Outside, Medianoche and Blanca lifted their heads and turned their glances in the direction of the castle, just as the storm finally came to an end in cue with the crying.

La Muerte momentarily lost touch with time as the stinging burning sensation disappeared, and felt something being pulled out of her vagina, she heard Xibalba whispering words and kissing her head, but the only sound she cared about was the tiny wailing coming from Asclepius's arms as she caught a glimpse of a wriggling figure being handed over to one of the midwives.

Her maternal instinct instantly awoke.

"I want to see my baby!" she cried out, only to wince at another contraction.

"Just a little longer, milady. You still have to expel the placenta." Asclepius told her calmly this time.

He placed an empty bowl beneath the goddess's vagina, and started to press down hard unto her abdomen to help her with the last task. Thankfully, these contractions were less painful, and it wasn't long before she felt the placenta coming out of her body, and falling unto the bowl.

La Muerte was exhausted. She was sore and very worn from so much time in labor, but she still did her best to stay awake as she heard her child's cries.

Xibalba lifted his wife from the ground and took her back to bed as the midwives started to clean up the bloody mess. The dark god gently placed La Muerte on top of his bed (the clean side), fluffing the pillows to make her more comfortable, and sitting down next to her just as one of the midwives approached, holding the wriggling bundle of joy, now clean and swaddled tightly in a pink blanket.

"She's a girl." The midwife said, smiling as she handed over the little one to her father.

The moment both gods saw their newborn daughter for the first time, time stopped, they were alone in that room, all their thoughts on the tiny life in Xibalba's arms.

The baby had most of her mother's looks; she was made out of sugar and black hairs, both humid because of the amniotic fluid. There were two tiny stubs peeking out of the blanket, and Xibalba could see a few humid feathers sticking out of them; he instantly knew they were wings.

The baby was crying her lungs out, tiny tears rolling down her cheeks as she wailed, exposing her toothless gums and little pink baby tongue.

The moment he held his baby girl, his little Marigold, in his arms for the first time his chest swelled up in fatherly pride as he smiled and pulled the baby closer to his chest, stroking her cheek gingerly while taking in all of her features. La Muerte was smiling too, tears of joy rolling down her cheeks as she stared at her wailing newborn.

Asclepius and the midwives left the room taking the dirty sheets and blankets with them; they overheard Sol questioning him about the birth and what had been going on before one of the midwives closed the door behind them to give them a bit of time for themselves.

"Look, mi amor…" Xibalba whispered, handing Marigold over to his wife, helping her to hold her properly. "She's beautiful…"

La Muerte was the happiest woman in the whole universe when she held her baby in her arms for the first time, when she felt her warmth and her smell for the first time. "Mi bebé…" she whispered, kissing her daughter's forehead with all the motherly love she had been saving for this tiny criaturita. "It's so nice to finally meet you…"

"Marigold…" Xibalba lay down next to his wife, stroking the baby's head tenderly. "Our little Marigold…"

Soon Marigold quieted down, soothed by the familiar heartbeat and the voices she had been hearing inside her little 'prison' for months; she lay her head down on her mother's chest, gurgling.

Xibalba smiled. "She responds to her name…"

"I think she responded more to your voice, Balby…" La Muerte sighed, staring at her child as she opened and closed her little mouth.

The first thing her maternal instinct urged her to do was to nurse her baby. La Muerte lowered the cut of her dress, and carefully led her baby's lips to her nipple. Marigold caught the scent of her mami's milk, and she almost immediately latched unto the nipple, suckling her first meal hungrily.

La Muerte winced a bit at the feeling of her daughter suckling from her breast, but soon got used to it, and came to enjoy the experience. She recalled Xibalba was watching her, and started to pull the duvet to hide her nursing baby from view, but a large gloved hand stopped her.

"Don't," Xibalba said gently, smiling. "I've waited for this as long as you, mi corazón."

Marigold continued to suckle the sweet milk from her mother's breast, but it didn't last long as soon she released the nipple and settled down, hiccupping a bit. Xibalba had the feeling of what was going to happen. "Muertita, I think we're supposed to burp her."

"I know…" Carefully, La Muerte accommodated Marigold in her arms and started to pat her back in a firm but gentle way. Soon after, the baby let out a small burp, and almost immediately snuggled deeply against her mother's chest.

"Aww, baby wants to take a nap…" Xibalba chuckled, before noticing La Muerte yawning as well. "Mami wants to take a nap too."

"I'm okay, Balby…"

"It'll be okay, my dear… I'll take care of the baby."

Although reluctant, La Muerte handed over the baby to her husband, never removing her gaze of the little bundle of joy as she accommodated in bed, smiling in pure happiness as Marigold gurgled and cooed, before her soreness and exhaustion over the long process caught up to her. La Muerte snuggled against the pillows, her eyelids sliding closed as she fell into a well-deserved slumber.

Xibalba smiled at her as he brushed some hairs away from her face with his free hand, then leaning in to plant a kiss on her forehead.

"Descansa, mi cielo…"

Just then, he looked down when he felt Marigold squirming in his arms, having noticed she was not with her mama anymore, and letting out whimpers and sobs.

"Aww, it's okay, mi florecita…" he cooed, pulling her close and stroking her cheek. "Shhhh…. Mami is just very tired, she needs to take a nap, and I got the feeling you need one too."

Smiling when her little fingers wrapped around his, Xibalba lay down in bed, holding his daughter tenderly and watching as she closed and opened her little mouth. She was so beautiful, more beautiful than he imagined.

The baby reacted to his voice again, and much to his surprise she opened her eyes slightly, revealing two big red eyes surrounded in gentle green.

Marigold squinted her eyes as her vision adjusted to the lack of light, and soon she found herself staring at a big, black face curiously. Xibalba smiled at her as he found his own eyes reflected in her little face.

"Mi hija…" he leaned in to plant a kiss on the baby's forehead, and Marigold took advantage of it to grab one of his moustaches, much to his amusement. "Just don't pull it, sweetie, it'll hurt papi…"

The baby ignored him as she curiously continued to examine his moustache, before her attention centered on his beard and her chubby little hands went to grasp it.


I know, I gave Marigold a second name, Selena's own name. I think Xibalba would want to honor his mother that way, especially after what happened two chapters ago.

One more chapter to go! See you next time!