Rough fingers stroked over a small soft face, tracing the plump curve of a baby cheek. They danced along the tiny button nose, over a curved ear, and up through a mop of dark black hair. A tiny sigh escaped the rosebud mouth and the babe snuggled contentedly into the crook of the arm the cradled it. Dark eyelashes fluttered as they opened to peer out at the world around, latching briefly onto a blurry face far above it. A dainty hand instinctively clamped around one of the rough fingers and squeezed hard.
"Oh, Ivriniel, she's perfect," a rough voice murmured.
"She is…" an exhausted voice replied.
"To think that we would be so blessed at our age."
"Yes," the tired voice chuckled, "We are very blessed."
"Perhaps we might be so lucky to have another?" teased the first voice.
"I think not!" the second gave a watery laugh, then more seriously, "The midwife said this she was a miracle, but it won't be possible again."
"Ahh…but we have her and that's all that matters."
"Yes."
"Mariel Tinwe."
"What?"
"Our blessing, our star."
"Ahh, sounds lovely, quite a mouthful though, dear."
"Just Mariel then," chuckled the deep voice.
"Mmmm," hummed the lighter, tired voice, "Yes, our dear Alonniel."
A hand reached out and stroked the top of the babes dark thatch of hair, then to the imperceptibly pointed tip of one of two tiny ears. A chuckled burst forth, "There's that little bit of truth to the old tales about my family."
"Well, just means that she's going to look like her mother," he leaned in for a kiss.
"Just as long as she gets your eye-lashes, they are wasted on you…"
The infant snuffled, discovering something that it had never experienced before, hunger. Her hand let go of the finger it had been holding onto and waved around in a frantic manner, finally slapping into the firm chest of her father. She whimpered, the her little face screwed up and she let out a mighty scream. She was not a fan of this new world of hers, and she was going to let everyone know it.
Hi everyone,
This is one of my first attempts at publishing a story that I've written/am writing. I've been on the lookout for a good Beta-reader, and have contacted many, but no one has gotten back to me. If you are a beta-reader and would be interested in pre-reading and giving advice on my story I would really appreciate it.
My update schedule will probably be sporadic since I have a lot going on in my life right now. This is my outlet for me to just do something I love, which means that it typically is not consistent when I have time to work on it. I do have through chapter 6 pre-written, but would like to have a ton of chapters to fall back on if I end up hitting a point where the muse leaves me for awhile.
Although I appreciate criticism, please be kind.
Thank you, Lady H