I run along the hallways of my house, my wet feet slipping on the hard, wooden floor.
"Ziio! It's time for bed!" Mama calls.
I let out a loud giggle and keep running. Then something large and hard steps out in front of me and lifts me up, spinning me in a circle before tucking me under his arm.
"Papa! Let me go!" I squeal happily.
"It's bedtime. You must sleep now, little one." Papa says calmly.
"But I'm not tired!" I say, putting lots of emphasis on the word tired so that he knows exactly how 'not tired' I am.
"What if Mama and I tell you a story? Will you go to bed then?" Papa asks enticingly.
I draw in my breath excitedly. I love stories.
"Yes, yes, yes! I want to go to bed now, Papa!" I exclaim.
He laughs and walks up the stairs, still holding me tucked under one of his arms like I weigh nothing. We enter my room, where Mama sits in one of the chairs next to my bed.
"Thank you, Ratohnhnaké:ton." Mama says to Papa.
Papa places me in my bed, then pulls up another chair and sits next to Mama. "We have to tell her a story." He says quietly to her.
He leans over and whispers into her ear, and I occupy myself with studying Mama's big bump on her stomach. Mama said a baby is inside there, and when I asked where it came from she said that she and Papa had laid in bed one night. Then they held hands and wished very, very hard for another baby. Then when Mama had woken up in the morning there was a baby. I asked if its a boy or a girl, but she doesn't know.
Papa and Mama finish whispering, and Mama turns to me.
"Ziio, do you want to hear the story?" Mama asks.
"Yes!" I exclaim.
"Okay." Mama says, folding her hands over her baby bump. "Once upon a time, there was a man called Achilles. He was an old man, living in a big house. Then one day, a young boy knocked on his door and asked to be trained to be an Assassin. Achilles said no, because it was dangerous, and closed the door." Mama says. I sit there, already enthralled in the story.
"So the boy knocked again." Papa says, continuing the story. "And the man said no again. So the boy knocked again. And once again, the man said no. The boy knocked a thousand times. And the old man said no a thousand times. So the boy decided to sleep in the old man's stables, which weren't far from the house. That night, robbers came to the man's house and tried to steal from Achilles. The boy overheard them talking and came to stop them. He politely asked them to leave, and they said sorry. They didn't know Achilles was still living there.
"Achilles saw the boy talking to the robbers, asking them to leave. When the robbers left, he called to the boy and asked him to come inside. He asked the boy what his name was, and the boy replied 'My name is Sam.'. So Achilles trained Sam to be an Assassin, to protect the people from bad men and women."
"Then, one day, when Sam was seventeen," Mama says. "He was riding along a road in the forest when he heard a gunshot. He rode over to the source of the noise, where a woman was being held captive by... Wood pixies. So Sam rescued her, because she was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen."
Papa rolls his eyes and smiles.
"So Sam took her to a barn out in the forest. The girl thought he was going to kidnap her, so she distracted him with a big, long kiss." Mama says.
Papa sniggers, and Mama elbows his ribs before continuing on with the story like nothing happened.
"Then, when Sam was distracted, the girl knocked him out and hid. Then, when he was awake, the girl asked him why he had taken her away from the pixies. Sam replied that he thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. So the girl smiled and helped Sam stand up, and told him that her name was Claire. So Sam and Claire became the best of friends, and Claire went with Sam on all his journeys to fight evil. Then one day, as the sun was setting, Sam and Claire kissed. They fell in love, and then Sam asked Claire to marry him. They were married the very next day."
"The end." Papa finishes.
"Wait! Did they fight evil? Did they become Assassins?" I ask eagerly. "Did Claire get a baby bump like Mama?"
"They fought evil until there was no more evil left. They were Assassins for the rest of her life. And Claire got a baby bump, and had many more after that one." Mama replies.
"Like you!" I point out.
"Yes, like me." Mama concedes.
"Goodnight, Ziio. Sweet dreams." Papa says.
"Goodnight, Papa." I say tiredly, my head swimming with thoughts of Assassins and fighting mean people.
"Goodnight, little one." Mama says, kissing my forehead.
"Can I say goodnight to the baby?" I ask.
Mama walks closer to the bed, and I reach out to her bump. I put both my hands on her belly, then squeeze my eyes shut. When I open them the world is grey. Mama and Papa are glowing blue, as does the baby in her bump. I see my baby brothers sleeping there. I screw my eyes shut again, and when I open them the world is normal again. I plant a big kiss in the middle of Mama's belly.
"Goodnight, baby brothers." I say happily.
Mama laughs. She and Papa exit the room, and I fall asleep quickly, dreaming of Assassins.
~!~
Connor and I walk out of Ziio's room.
"The most beautiful girl he had ever seen?" Connor quotes.
"What? It's true." I say with a grin.
"Yes, it is." Connor replies sweetly, pulling me into his arms and kissing my head once. "But that was not the best kiss." He says.
I act offended. "How could you say that?" I ask incredulously.
Connor lifts my jaw so that we look directly at each other. He bends his head down and kisses me tenderly, and my lips spread into a grin.
"That was the best kiss." Connor replies softly.
I wrap my arms as far as they'll go around Connor's waist. He wraps his arms around me, and we stand there for a while. After a time, we part.
"When will we tell Ziio the truth?" I ask.
"When she is old enough. But it will be up to her, to choose her own future." Connor says.
"Of course." I reply.
I fold my hands over my belly, which grows ever single day. Now that I know what to expect, I'm apprehensive about the birth. What if the child is like Ziio? What if it is born dead? Connor sees my expression and immediately knows my thoughts.
"Do not worry. The child will be healthy, strong and happy." Connor says soothingly.
"And how can you know that?" I ask, slightly upset.
Connor places his hands on my cheeks gently, his calloused hands soft on my skin.
"Because tonight, in bed, we will hold hands. And we will wish very, very hard." Connor says gently.
My eyes soften, and Connor and I lean into each other. He moves one hand to my belly as we kiss.
"I love you." I say, deliriously happy.
Hello there!
I'm so sorry I'm not updating as much lately, but school has been piling on the homework and assignments and stuff and I just didn't have time to write, even though it killed me. So, yeah. Sorry. :P
Anyway, the end of term is in like 3 or 4 weeks so until then I'll be updating less. From Jenna