Flow

This one is written on a whim by Chelsey. Please enjoy

That is they way it always starts. A baby. This story starts there too. He is so sweet. Those round, chubby cheeks. Ever so slightly pink as he sucks on his tongue while dreaming whatever dreams babies have. His world is simple. He is loved and cared for. He is fed and kept warm. What worries are there for one so young?

I draw the blanket up over the child's stomach. I have checked on him so many times over the last hour. I won't see him again after tonight. At least, not usually. You see, this babe is not mine to care for.

That is why this hurts.

For the mother, the pain is labor. She is justly rewarded with a babe at the end of her fight. The time is long and takes strength. Her pain is her burden. She is the life giver. At times, she calls for warriors to aid her in her battle. That is why I am here. I help fight the battles and walk away with no reward. I will never have my reward.

I think I am getting ahead of myself. My name is Ebony. I am a midwife. That is what I choose to be. I didn't choose to be born a beast. I didn’t choose to have talons, or fire in my belly. That is just what fate decided I would be. Destiny has let me forge my own path. So here I am. Using my magic to have human hands, to have a human face. To look as little like my true self as possible. Tucking in a child that is not my own. Re-lighting the fire in a home that I may or may not ever return too. Keeping my secret from another mother who almost took her last breath as her child took their first. Midwives are not clerics. Most rely only on herbs to save the mother and child. That is why I am called. They do not know of my dragon self. They do not know of my ability to use spells. They do not know that as I help, I heal. That is a secret known to only one other person. Ivory.

Ivory is my partner in crime, as it were. She is the only one not of my kind who knows what I am. She fits the name well. Ivory is a woman that is able to catch the eye of many a man. Thin as a wisp and light on her feet, she flutters around almost fairy-like. One would almost swear wings were going to sprout from her back. She is always happy and sings while she works. Her flaming red, waist length hair is a stark contrast to her pale complexion. Her wide green eyes draw in many men who think her innocent and unworldly.

None of them realize that she is battle hardened and baptized in blood and pain. Ivory was once a knight who was sent to slay me. Seems funny now to see her in an apron. Ivory is so different from me. Not to say I can’t catch the eye of any human male I want. Dragons in human form have a hard time keeping it a secret due to looking like nobility. Most dragons would play that to their advantage. They live like nobility. I feel that if I did that, no one would call me to attend to them. So Ivory is the one who plays the noble. She works as a dragon rider mercenary. This is enough to be able to have the home that we love without questions being asked. I allow her to ride and fight as long as she attends me when there is a birth in the village. Our home is spacious enough that I can take my true form and relax as I wish. Because of Ivory’s work, no one bats an eye when they show up to speak with her and her “dragon” is asleep in the grand glass observatory. I told her to just call me “Dragon” when she has company over.

The village knows that she houses the midwife in the small cottage that is attached to the main house. There are many women who have given birth there because they feel more comfortable there. On the plus side, all of my equipment is there, so they feel that if anything goes wrong there is no reason to have to call the doctor or cleric into attendance. Ivory is good about keeping the father’s comfortable in the main hall.

As I begin to lose myself in thought, the babe stirs in his crib. Bringing me back to the present and the healing that is still needed on this night.

"Ivory, I am in need of some more raspberry leaf and camomile. She is doing better, but the womb still needs some help" I would rather use herbs if I can instead of magic. Magic causes questions and I am not prepared this night to give answers.

"Yes, I can see that she is still bleeding. Is it bad? Or will it be alright?" Ivory asks with concern causing her to quickly lower her voice.

"Her heart is strong and Bahamut is smiling on the lady this night. The bleeding should stop soon and she should wake" I reply.

I feel the lady's hand yet again and feel the steady b-bump of her heartbeat. It is much stronger that it was an hour ago when it almost stopped. This was the woman's sixth child and with her slight frame, the odds where not in her favor for another child. Her heart is full of love. What it was lacking was the amount of blood it needed to keep pumping.

As the woman's eye beginning to flutter open, I turn away. It is hard to disguise my worry. Humans are just so fragile!  I am always worried. Humans are just so fragile! Then, they make others of themselves that have no defense against anything. The babe will grow and die it what seems like a day to me.

I pack up the last of the things that I need and I toss the blood soaked sheets on the fire. Since the woman is still sleeping, I breathe a little on the fire to help speed along the burning of the sheets. Ivory hands me the herbs and gives a quick glance to the woman who is starting to wake and turns to me as a warning.

“I will go get the horse ready to head home. You good in here?”

I nod as I turn to pick up the bucket of dirty water. The cleanup is my distraction from the thought that the babe is not mine. I file away the thoughts until I can face them, away from this new mother. I turn to the babe as a tear rolls down my cheek.
“Is it a boy? Or another girl? Madam Ebony, is it healthy and alive?” The mother wispers as I walk across the small room to the bundle of blankets that she can’t reach because of her lack of strength.
“You finally have your boy, love. Your husband will be happy. His name will live on. He is strong and already a fighter. This one almost took you out as he came Earthside my child. You lost a lot of blood and the darkness overtook you on the last push. We are glad to see your eyes again.”
I pick up the little boy so that I can hand him to his mother. He is still sleeping and the way his face looks of complete contentment amazes me once again.
“We held him to your breast for his first feeding while you were still in the darkness, but he should be ready to eat soon” I tell the mother who is just now recognising that she has not been there for her child yet. She reaches out with all her strength for the boy child that she has wanted since the birth of her first child, 5 children ago.
“Thank you Madam Ebony. There is no one I trust more than you.” As she stares down at her child for the first time, I can see the love flow from her into this small being. “He is amazing, don’t you think?”

“I will go tell the father and the children of the good news. You are well versed in the rest of all this, so send for me if you need anything. It is time I took my leave.” I lower my head in respect as I turn to leave the room. I can see Ivory standing outside speaking with the father. They finish talking as I walk up.
“We expect the fee to be paid as soon as you can, so please just keep in connection about when you can get it to us. Blessings be to you now. Both of them are looking better now and you can see them as you wish” Ivory says.
“Are we packed and ready to head home now?” I ask.
“Yes. Will you be riding with me? Or are you headed to the market from here?” Ivory questions, fully knowing that I won’t ride the horse.
“I need more herbs and I am thinking some stew for supper and we are out of carrots. So, to the market I go. Hopefully the shopkeep is still awake.” I reply.

I never intended to go to the market. Ivory will go once we have left. She knows that right now is the time I need to get out and stretch my wings. The villagers call it ‘the dragon’s blessing.’ For, each time that the dragon rider attends a birth, her dragon will take to the sky and spout flames in a celebration of life. They believe this is a sign that the dragon knows that the child is born and that the child is healthy and strong, showing that the village will continue to prosper.

If only they knew that as my fire lights up the sky, my tears will fill the streams and cool my face. As the wind crosses my wings, my eyes will close and I will be lost in my own thoughts and none of them are for the village. My memory relieves that horrible night of my laying of my one…….. and only one, egg. The egg that proved that I will never be a mother. I can see it’s misshapen form. I can feel the soft shell against my claw. My body won’t make the shell that a little one needs. It won’t survive the fire needed to incubate. I have mated many times and only once has my body let me have hope. I will never stoke the fire around the clock. I will never watch the cracks as they splay out across the shell of gold. I will never know that longing look of my baby as it seeks it’s protector. As is crawls from the flames that have kept its egg warm. I will never know that magic.

I am not meant to be a mother. I am the last of my bloodline.