Chapter 150: 149. Embraced

"Are you sure?" I asked as I looked at Merryweather and Petunia. "We'll probably be gone a week, maybe ten days."

The small enby nodded, "Quite sure Tegan. We'll be fine, and we'll keep an eye on things here."

All eight of us were gathered in the little glade in the ravine out back of our home. Six of us were carrying small packs and our weapons. I'd convinced Padraig we didn't need to bring my banner with us, that was left hanging on the wall in the living-room of our home. Apart from that though, we had everything else we'd need for our trip back to Otherworld.

Siobhan Laoise and Padraig had all their gear as well, everything they'd brought with them to Earth. I hadn't asked any of them yet but I was certain Siobhan would be staying on Otherworld. I was sort of up in the air on the other two, they'd both made impressive strides already in getting used to life here but it was still a huge change from what they were used to.

So far though, only the pixies had declared their intent to make this their new home. And next to Siobhan, they were the two I thought most-likely to want to get back to Otherworld. I thought Earth would be a bad fit for them, that they'd be bored and isolated here. We wouldn't let them leave the property and explore, and the only human they'd met was Elise when she was here for a weekend.

Now it was the last Friday of July, Lughnasadh was in just four days, and I was hoping my little sister would be born some time in the next week or so. I wanted to be there when she arrived, but the twins couldn't stay indefinitely. They already made arrangements with their profs to finish up their studies and hopefully graduate soon.

"What are you going to do while we're gone?" Kelly asked them.

Petunia replied, "We'll tend to your estate here, while we continue working on our home. And there's countless more 'animes' we have yet to study. We'll continue teaching ourselves the local language too."

"All right," I said. "It's nearly sunrise, so if you're sure then I guess we'll see you both when we get back. Just try and stay out of trouble, ok?"

Both of them grinned, and Merryweather stated "Of course Tegan! Enjoy your trip."

The two of them flitted back out of the way but stayed to watch us go.

The rest of us formed up into a circle and took hold of each other, and as the sun broke over the horizon I cast the spell and pulled the six of us through.

We emerged into the meadow in the south forest. There were some guards on duty, but by now they were all used to me and the twins coming and going. And of course they all knew Siobhan very well.

After a quick greeting, me and the twins teleported the six of us to the castle courtyard. From there, Siobhan Laoise and Padraig were taken to VIP quarters again, while me and my girlfriends went to our normal room.

There wasn't any fanfare when we arrived, nobody made a fuss about any of us. The atmosphere in the castle seemed quiet, tense, and I guess the best word to describe it was 'expectant'.

The three of us had enough time to get unpacked and settled before Seneschal Owen came to fetch us.

"Lady Tegan, Lady Keira, Lady Kelly," he said as he bowed slightly. "You are invited to take breakfast with Lord Connor."

We all go to our feet to follow him, but I asked, "Just my father? Is my mother ok?"

As the seneschal led us through the castle to my parents' private chambers he replied, "Lady Maeve has been spending much of her time in bed the past two days. According to Muireann and Eabha she is fine and doing well."

"Who is Eabha?" I asked. "Has my sister been born already?"

Owen answered, "Eabha is the clann's midwife, m'lady. And according to her, the child is due any day now."

With that, we were at their private dining room. He gestured for the three of us to take our seats. Dad wasn't here yet so it was just the three of us as the seneschal turned and took his leave.

I sat down at my usual spot at the far end of the table, Kelly and Keira did the same.

"I hope everything's ok," I commented to them. "It feels a little strange."

Keira replied, "I don't know what it's like with ready access to magic, but in medieval times childbirth was pretty risky. There's the potential for a lot of celebration and joy if everything goes well, but also the possibility of things going very badly."

I remembered Taralynn's story, of Saoirse and her own birth. Saoirse had the clann's healer and midwife with her, and even with their magic she knew there were risks. The main difference between then and now was if the worst happened, our clann wouldn't die with my mother. It would all fall on my shoulders instead.

Before I got too carried away thinking about what that would mean for me and my girlfriends, my dad arrived and took his seat. He looked like the archetypical expectant father. He had a distracted look on his face, his hair was a little messy, and he hadn't buttoned up his jacket.

"Good morning Tegan, Keira, Kelly."

"Hi dad," I responded with a nervous smile. "How are you doing? And how's mom?"

He replied, "I'm fine, fine, thank you. Your mother is uncomfortable and um, very eager for your sister's arrival. She knows the three of you are here and would like to see you all a little later today."

A couple servants came in at that point with the food, so we were quiet for a bit.

After they left I replied "I'm eager to see her too. I'm glad she's ok. Has Muireann said anything? Like is she staying healthy, is my sister healthy? And what about this Eabha, is she good? Is she trustworthy?"

Dad ate a bit as he replied, "According to Muireann and Eabha both Maeve and the baby are healthy and doing fine. And unfortunately, as much as your mother wishes to speed things along, Eabha says we have to wait for things to happen at their own pace."

He added after a moment, "Eabha has been the clann's top midwife for two and a half centuries. She helped deliver you, Tegan. She's trustworthy, experienced, and excellent at her work."

That was good to hear, but it didn't really set my mind at ease. I didn't have much of an appetite as most of my thoughts were on my mom, and it looked like dad felt about the same. Kelly and Keira ate a bit, but overall it was sort of a quiet quick meal.

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After breakfast me and my girlfriends waited in the sitting room for a while, before we were allowed to go and see my mom.

She was sitting up on her bed, she looked good but she tired quickly. Muireann and Eabha were both hovering around nearby, the healer was there to monitor mom's condition while the midwife was there to keep tabs on the baby.

Mom greeted us all, she was happy to see us and glad we were back. We couldn't stay long though, she needed her rest.

I managed to steal a few words with Muireann and was told mom was the same way when she was carrying me. The healer suggested it was due to mom's small stature, carrying a child put a lot of stress on her tiny body.

So the healer would stay by mom's side, along with the midwife, and together they'd make sure mother and child were both ok.

After that, I was allowed to visit once each day but I went alone. Kelly and Keira would wait for me in our room or at the study.

And I could never stay too long, mom got tired too quickly. The whole situation left me worried, but I had to trust that Muireann and Eabha knew what they were doing. Mom too, since she'd been through this once already with me.

• • • • •

The days passed slowly as we all waited. We tried to maintain a sort of normal routine, but whatever we did there was that overarching expectant tension. We knew the baby could arrive any time now, and until she did all we could do was wait and hope.

And with each passing day that feeling grew stronger. Lughnasadh was tomorrow and I was almost positive my sister would be here then. I didn't have any special insight, I wasn't using any kind of magic to see the future. I just had a feeling. After all, I was born at dawn on Imbolc. It seemed to fit that my sister would be born on Lughnasadh.

Still, when a maid came frantically knocking at our door that night at dusk I felt completely unprepared.

That felt like it was hours ago now, but I'd kind of lost track of the time. All I knew for sure was it was very dark out, some time late at night.

I cringed as mom cried out again with another contraction, then asked myself for the hundredth time why anyone thought I needed to be here for this. My dad wasn't even here. It was just mom, Muireann, Eabha, and me. At least the other three had something to do. All I could do was stand around and watch. And cringe.

Realistically I knew why I was present, I just didn't like to think about it.

I was the first-born daughter, heir to all mother's titles. If anything went wrong and mom didn't make it, it would be my responsibility to deliver the news to the rest of the clann. And to my dad. Then I'd have to take over, take mom's place.

Of course if something did go wrong I also had the option of channelling the entire world's supply of magic into healing spells, so there was a good chance I'd be able to save her from just about anything. It didn't make me feel any less nervous though. I wasn't a trained healer, and I knew absolutely nothing about childbirth.

And despite my obligations and everything, I still wished I could be anywhere else but here.

Up till six years ago I thought I was a guy. Literally nothing in my life prepared me for this sort of situation.

Through my childhood, my teens, and the first couple years of early adulthood, I was raised as a guy. My dad gave me 'the talk' and I had sex-ed at school but it was all based on the guy's side of things. And I wasn't the least bit interested in fatherhood. Motherhood wasn't even on the horizon.

And because I was adopted, my human parents didn't even have stories about this stuff. I never heard what labour was like, how long my mom went through it, or what it was like holding me the very first time after it was over.

I had literally nothing connecting me to the concept of motherhood.

After my changeling egg hatched Kelly helped me deal with some aspects of womanhood that I was completely unprepared for, but that was mostly just about adapting to my body and the cycles it went through. There wasn't any deep philosophical awakening, my entire upbringing and education weren't changed.

So here I was standing at the back of the room near the door as if I was ready to flee at a moment's notice, while my mom was going through the final throes of labour with my baby sister. The clann's top healer and top midwife were both by her side, ready to help. The midwife was talking her through it, when to breath, when to push.

That much at least I was vaguely familiar with. TV shows and movies had the occasional scene like this, though I usually kind of cringed and tuned it out. Sort of like I was doing right now, actually.

There was another loud cry from my mother, followed by more coaching from Eabha. It sounded like things were reaching their peak, and my emotions and thoughts were all spinning and churning in a big confusing mess.

Eabha urged mom, "Now push! Keep pushing!"

Mom replied with a loud groaning cry of pain, followed by an exhausted half-sigh half-sob. And a moment later there was a very small wail and cry.

The sound of that tiny voice cut through all my jumbled-up thoughts and emotions. All the fears and misgivings and complaints and negative thoughts fell away, and I was left with hope and curiosity and love. I found myself approaching the foot of the bed as Muireann was moving away.

Eabha was still busy, but I reached mom's bed in time to see the midwife hand my mother a small bundle of life. Eabha said something to mom but I wasn't listening, all my focus was on my mom and the precious package she now held in her arms.

All at once I saw the look of exhaustion mixed with love and joy on mom's face, and the beautiful little face of my baby sister as she stopped her cries the moment she was in her mother's arms. I had to wipe my eyes as I realized I was crying.

And as I stared smiling at mom and sis I spotted the little wisps of blonde hair on my sister's head, and in that moment I knew two things.

My little sister was free of the Gods' curses, as well as their gifts and all the obligations and responsibilities that came with them. She would have a normal fae life, and her destiny would be entirely up to her to make of it whatever she wanted.

And I suddenly understood what motherhood was all about, but that realization was bittersweet. I knew it would be centuries, if ever, before I'd have the opportunity to experience it myself.

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