Yeah, so people have been kind of knocking on my door because I left them with a cliffhanger in the last chapter of "The Girl with the Voice" (which you should read if you haven't – otherwise spoilers! Don't say I didn't warn you!).
Since I haven't been able to write the next chapter to that yet, and am once again having trouble getting it finished (read: started), I figured I'd try to make the transition a little easier.
First Light of Dawn
The words…the words rang in her ears repeatedly.
They had for the whole night, keeping her from falling asleep. And when she did fall asleep, they managed to arouse her from her slumber.
You are with child, Marieka. You are pregnant.
How could she even begin to think of anything other than those words?
Her emotions were uncontrolled and scattered. Panic seemed only natural – after all, she was dovahkiin. That in itself did not make her panic, but what she found herself in the middle of did.
This business with the dragons? With Alduin? Who had mere hours prior attempted to destroy her for the second time. Not to mention the ongoing war between the Stormcloaks and the Empire. The fact that she was entangled in so much risk…frightened her.
I can't fight for the Stormcloaks. There's too much risk.
How can I continue to travel throughout Skyrim putting myself in danger? Too many small creatures who'd like to make a meal of me. Never mind the dragons…
She sat on the steps at the top of the world in front of the monastery at High Hrothgar. The normally strong and turbulent winds that assaulted the mountain had calmed in the pre-dawn hours. A gentle snow was falling, blanketing the ground with a fresh layer of fluff. When Marieka lifted her head up from where it rested upon her knees, the sudden beauty of the place struck her. And she remembered the most important part of all of this…
Brynjolf! Oh gods…how am I going to tell Brynjolf?
They'd never discussed children. They should have…but they hadn't. She didn't know what his feelings were. What she did know was that he was less than happy about how old he felt. And she wasn't sure if the news of a child would make him feel older.
A child. Her child. Their child.
As she sat, her hands meandered towards her belly. She rested them there for a moment.
"I don't feel any different," she mused aloud to no one.
But then again, she did. Her whole life was about to change. It wasn't feasible to assume that anything would be the same after this. The doubt began to creep into the forefront of her mind.
How can this happen? Nothing is going to be okay. Oh Brynjolf…I wish you were here with me right now. I'm so frightened…what am I going to do?
She squeezed her eyes shut for a few moments, but when she opened them, they were drawn to the east. The sun's first rays were reaching up and over the slopes. They sparkled on the snow – flickering like crystal and gemstones on the ground. The snow that fell was surrounded by a brilliant glimmer of light as the rays encountered tiny ice crystals suspended in the air.
The display made her gasp. This place…this world…was so truly beautiful.
A small smile crept on to her lips.
"I'm going to have a baby."
Perhaps everything would work out after all…