fandomania | The Adventure continues... (Reply)

Our Eggs:

Our Hatchlings:

The Story:

The weeks passed rapidly because of all there was to do. Trying to keep up with Pahpey was becoming harder and harder for me to accomplish and yet he wanted me to know all that was going on. Pahpey had almost a dozen different projects going and he managed to keep track of all of them. The security walls and gates were finished and the new school started, along with an added playground and library for it. A studio for Donal to work in was created. A small temple to house a family priest started construction. A well expert was hired and many new wells were dug. Groups of gardeners, vinyardists and orchardists were hired and given land to grow many things. You would have thought that the available space would have been used up by all this, but it wasn’t. There was more land to this estate than I knew of. Pahpey showed me a map of this particular estate and it also had woods, a small lake and even a mountain! This was just one of his properties. I was having a hard time fathoming the enormity of his wealth.

With all the activity that Pahpey was handling, he seemed invigorated and truly enjoying himself. All this had revitalized him and made him look younger than he actually was. He was like a master juggler who could keep many balls floating in the air and never dropped one.

I was having expansion problems myself. The babies were continuing to grow, but soon reached a point where my belly just couldn’t get any bigger. I was well past my eighth month. I was surprised that labor hadn’t started yet. With Melia and Meliscent, I hadn’t lasted this long. Although they were smaller babies than normal, they still survived. I was beginning to worry about which was going to give out first; my body or the babies.

That last month, Aunt Suthi, the mid-wife, checked on me daily. I was then ordered to total bed rest because of all that I was carrying, I was having difficulty standing up without help, walking, even finding a comfortable place in bed. My only allowed activity was being helped up and waddling the required feet to go to relieve myself. Donal checked in on me every couple of hours, when he could tear himself from his new studio. Tauntie Rosa popped in several times a day. She would bring the children in once a day for a visit. She would also bring in a few books for me to read to ease the boredom.

Rosa came in one afternoon. “Are you up for some visitors? Your friend, Orlando, has returned, and had brought a female doctor with him. She says her name is Fiorenzia. Would you like to see them?”

“Orlando has come back? With Fiorenzia? Oh, yes! I would love to see them! Please let them in?” Apparently, word got to Donal also, and all three of them entered together. Rosa discretely left us alone.

“I am sorry that I can’t get up and give you two big hugs, but I am so huge that I can’t do so.”

“Oh, my! You must be very uncomfortable,” commented Fiorenzia.

“Yes very,” I replied. “I am surprised the babies didn’t come a month ago.”

“May I examine you?”

“All right. You know that I trust you.”

Fiorenzia did a thorough visual and manual examination, humming to herself all the while. After twenty minutes, she finally spoke and said, “Your body is more than ready to give birth. However, the spell that Orlando and I placed on you months ago to save you and your babies is what is hindering you from giving birth right now. Its protection spell is being too broad. With a few minutes of consultation with Orlando, it shouldn’t take us too long to remove the spell. Do you want us to do this right now? Once the spell has been removed, I would say that your labor will start a few minutes after it is gone. The babies are in a perfect position for birth. If nothing else happens, I would say that the babies could easily be born this afternoon. Is this what you want? Are you ready for this? It is all up to you, Patra.”

Donal had come over to the bed. He leaned over and kissed me. “It is fine with me, Patra, if you are ready. I am here for you all the way.”

“I am more than ready. Let us get this over with!”

Orlando and Fiorenzia talked together for a few minutes and then stood by my bed. Over my body, they held their hands and started chanting in Old Tongue. I was surprised that I could feel things changing inside me. A barrier was lifted and then vanished. I realized that I was now sensing the babies inside me. I sent them messages of love and belonging and welcome. And as I was doing so, the first contraction came. It seemed to startle them and scare them, but I sent back soothing messages and told them that this was a good thing and not to be afraid.

When I finished gasping from the pain of the contraction, Fiorenzia said, “I should have asked this before. Are you planning to give birth here or in a birthing room?”

“In a birthing room. It is down the hall to the right, second door to the right.”

Donal carefully gathered me into his arms and carried me to the birthing room. Soon, we were joined by Aunt Suthi, two of her daughters as assistants, and Tauntie Rosa. They eyed Fiorenzia warily for a minute, but relaxed when I told them that she was my doctor. All the women tried to shoo Donal out of the room, but he refused to go. “I helped deliver Jayzon. I know what childbirth looks like. I want to be here to see my babies born. I am not taking ‘no’ for an answer.” The women looked to me for the decision and I sided with Donal. So, he was given the tasks of holding my hand, wiping my face with a cool compress, giving me ice chips when I needed them, and to stay out of everyone’s way.

While this was the best supervised birth I had ever had, it was also the longest and most painful I had ever had. It was fortunate that this wasn’t my first or even second birthing, or I might have had worse problems.

I transitioned rapidly once the contractions started. It took only three hours of labor for me to become ready to push. But the pushing soon became slow and difficult when it was clear that my first baby’s head was a tight fit through my pelvis. All of my other children had been smaller and had caused few difficulties. Slowly and very painfully, my first baby came down the birth canal. When finally it crowned, after three hours of pushing, I gathered all of my strength and screamed to the high heavens, and managed to push the baby out far enough so that Suthi, my mid-wife, was able to pull my first son out. Donal went out of his mind with joy. He had been so stoic before, keeping me encouraged and focused. Now, he kept kissing me and thanking me. But quickly there after came the reminder that I still had more to do, when the contractions started again and the pushing started again. The second baby came much quicker and was born thirty minutes later. And thus Donal’s twin sons, Vâlen and Gælen conAgri were born.