|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:42 pm
Pain. All she could feel was pain, all she could think of was pain, and all she wanted was to be rid of it. Haellara sat in her room, surrounded by all of the luxury she had seen fit to bestow upon herself, all of it useless and shining mockingly at her through her haze of red-hot pain.She felt her body seem to spasm, and she let out a scream that bounced off of the ceilings and was certain had made the shoppers in the Brundag market pause and reflect.
Just months ago, after she had had her talk with Adin, she had gone about her daily routine as a matron mother, confident now taht she had two gifts from Lolth, albeit males, watching over her and ensuring that she was safe. She had so desperately needed that encouragement; the last few months had seen her belly grow larger than she would have ever thought possible, and then she had begun to feel the child moving around inside of her, as though eager to get out. The movements had been less than comfortable, and often made her feel as though her innards were being tied in bows. She had wondered offhandedly if this was how Mika had felt that time she almost literally HAD turned his innards into bows. It was enough to almost think about feeling sorry for him.
But a little past the ninth month, she had finally begun to feel the true pains, and as she had screeched out for Nuumia to fetch the healer, she had sat on her bed trembling, wondering if she had the strength for what lay ahead of her. For the past several hours she had lain in the most undignified position she could think of, with the healer standing right in front of her urging her to breath and push and all the idiotic things that nearly made her want to reach out, grab the healer's bottom lip and pull it over her forehead. She couldn't understand; how could it still be lodged in there?? Was something wrong? The healer didn't seem too worried, but she knew that like everyone else in the house, the healer was a servant there and probably would not shed a tear for her mistress if ever she met with an unfortunate accident or fall to the blade of some ambitious rival. Such was drow loyalty.
Finally, after what had seemed like an eternity, she felt a sudden release, and she slumped onto the bed, utterly spent, barely listening to the first wails of the thing that had just come out of her. She couldn't help but think of her own mother just then; she had gone through that at least five times; so Dilayne had had a bit of strength after all, even if she had failed to use it to its full extent and supply the house with strong females. Ah well, at least the way things had happened, she had grown up without any true rivals. She closed her eyes and mentally said a short and barely sincere thank you to her mother's spirit before opening them again and refocusing on the scene in front of her.
She saw the healer working to clean the child off before wrapping it in a bundle and setting it down in a waiting basket. She then turned back to Haellara and began to work on what must have been quite a rupture in her nether regions, to have something like THAT pass by down there. She wanted to ask if it was a male or a female, but she was still trying to catch her breath, and wet her throat, which was hoarse from all of the screaming she had done. She suddenly heard a thud off to her right, as she saw the door shuddering on its hinges. A ragged smile broke across her face; of course he would be trying to get in, like the ever protective patron, now the ever-anxious father. "Let.....him in."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 10:16 pm
The moment the first scream had sounded, Nuumia had come running. The matron was in pain...giving birth...she was vulnerable in such a state. As far as Nuumia was concerned the rest of the House could be on fire. His more important task was to be at his Matrons side. However...it seemed someone had seen fit to bar him from the room. This..was not...acceptable.
Nuumia had attempted to bully his way past the guards stationed. he may have been far smaller then them. Both in height and muscle. But there was no one in the House more determined then Nuumia to get past that door.
"I don't care! I am the Patron and I will be admitted to that room!" He snarled. Until now he'd only had slight problems with the guards. They were all too used to looking down one the seemingly weak appearance of those like him he supposed. That was why he had to be three times...no...eight times more vicious and determined in compare to any other male! Nuumia had been spending so many hours a day working diligently in the House. All so Haellara had less to concern herself with. He did not have the audacity to try and play middle man when it came to dealings with other House females or the priestesses of course. He did know there was only so much he could handle as a male.
This though..this was something he could do! He would not let anything hold him from his Matron! When Haellara's screams seemed to die away, Nuumia's agitation reached a high point.
"Ssussun pholor dos!" he cursed at the guard so cockily blocking his path. Nuumia leapt, his small legs proving quiet springy, and kicked off both of his feet into the chest of the guard. It was more of a desperate angry attack, but it had the desired outcome. The guard, caught a bit off guard by the furious move, was sent crashing back against the door. Nuumia landed on his hands and feet in a crab crawl position, and he scampered back in preparation of some sort of lashing out. It seemed like the guard was angry enough to at least try and take a swing at him.
The door seemed to open then and Nuumia spied the healers form beyond it. Quick as a darting bat, Nuumia lunged forwards again, and twisted past the female in a desperate dash to Haellara's side. "Matron!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 6:59 pm
Turning her head as the door was opened, Haellara smiled a crooked smile as she saw the slumped form of the guard out in the hallway. "I hope you didn't break his head; good guards are hard to find." She chuckled and did her best to ignore the itch as the healer went about the business of magically closing up the undignified injury to her person and helping her to lie in a much more dignified position laying in the bed, unmarked from the ordeal, though she would probably have to send out a servant for new towels. She lay there with pillows propping her up into a somewhat sitting-up position, and she smiled at her anxious patron. "It pleases me though that you would risk so much to keep me safe. I assure you, if anything had gone wrong here, I would more than likely be beyond your ability to help me. Fortunately, it looks like all has gone well."
Haellara watched as the healer walked over to the bedroom table, pouring a pitcher of chilled water and bringing it over. It had been the healer's foresight to have it ready before the delivery; she knew how much her mistress would need to be rehydrated once the deed was done. Haellara took the glass and dipped it slowly, her eyes drifting over to the basket, where feeble movement could be seen issuing from within. She looked questioningly at the healer. "It IS alright, right? There were't any extra eyes or missing limbs, right?" She couldn't bear the shame of having her first child be unfit to live. The healer shook her head. "Nothing appears to be wrong, mistess; he is as healthy a male as I have ever seen."
"He? Male?" Squeezing her eyes shut, Haellara slumped against the pillows. s**t! All of that work, all of the pain and discomfort, all of the fear that she would be set upon by vengeful house members in her heavy and lumbering state, all for a stupid male.As though she didn't have enough with Nuumia and Adin! Why a third? It was so unfair! The healer's next words seemed rather tentative. "Would you like to see him, mistress? I could bring him over to you and show you how to properly hold him." Haellara opened her eyes and looked almost with contempt at the basket. It was just a male.....still, it represented a joining of her and Nuumia; both of their bloodthirsty, vengeful spirits combined. That at least warranted a look. With a rather resigned sigh, she nodded to the healer. "Very well; let us see the child. I'm sure Nuumia would like to see him as well." She watched with little emotion as the healer walked to the basket and returned with the child in her arms.
Haellara blinked in surprise as the healer placed the baby in her arms. The first thing she noticed was that his hair was almost completely black; the same black as his father's hair. A little streak of gold ran through the onyx-colored locks, the same shining gold as the hair that hung in sweaty locks around her head and on her shoulders. As she watched, the boy yawned a humongous yawn for such a tiny mouth, and blood-red eyes opened to stare up at her with interest. There was no trace of the yellow that tinted her own eyes, but perhaps that was not such a bad thing; boy or girl, she would have to keep double the watch on it if it had her mad ambitions right from the start.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 8:14 pm
Nuumia popped up beside Halleara as if he were on springs. His black eyes swept over her form worriedly, and he just barely restrained himself from lifting the covers of the bed to ensure there was no dagger sticking in Haellara anywhere. "I..." He paused then and glanced back at the door. A trace of his earlier anger flickered over his features. "I told him I was the Patron and I must be here for this. It's my job." He tilted his head then and blinked his eyes at Haellara. "I am no healer. It is true...but if the healer had failed you I would have made certain she did not leave this room alive." Nuumia had no qualms in the least about speaking his intentions with the female present. Priestess she may or may not have been...it did not matter to Nuumia. He'd kill a high priestess if she had slighted or harmed his matron. He truely had no reservations in his capacity of revenge.
When the healer relayed the gender of the child, Nuumia's face fell instantly. "He!?" He almost groaned...no..he did groan. His first child was a male!? Nuumia lifted a hand and placed it to his face in shameful regret. "I...Matron...Forgive me. This is my failing I am sure. I... I must be lacking..." The words tripped up on his tongue as he tried to find the right way to apologize for this. He could not bring himself to look up as the healer brought the bundled infant over for Haellara to inspect. Unhappily Nuumia lifted his head and grumbled some sort of attempt at agreeing with Haellara. He honestly had no interest in seeing the male. If it was not female it was unworthy of Haellara's first birth.
"Could always smother it and pretend it was still born." He muttered as he watched the child being handed over to Haellara. "Then it would not count as your first born..." Nuumia's words paused as Haellara looked into the bundle. After a moment of staring, he reached his hand in and lightly pinched at the golden streak in the childs hair. "If nothing else... it could be a good bartering chip for an alliance later. Some female is bound to find this pleasing to look at right?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:09 pm
For a split second Haellara found herself actually opening her mouth to reassure Nuumia that he had done nothing wrong, that it was mere chance that chose what a matron would give birth to, or even the will of Lolth that it be so, but the sheer disappointment still hung heavily on her and she found that it had momentarily silenced her. Why had Lolth seen fit to give her another male? Had she not proven herself worthy to raise a strong healthy female? Was this what She had intended all along; to make her think that she had regained her favor, only to prove her wrong with insufficient fruits? For what seemed like a while, all she could do was stare down at the child she had carried for so long, the male with both her and Nuumia's hair.
Finally she looked up and met Nuumia's gaze. She had listened with half an ear to his apologies and suggestions on what to do with the child. She thought of smothering, and her face puckered into a frown; it seemed like such a waste, to carry a child for so long and then have to throw it away like garbage. She reflected back on her mother once again; how many had SHE smothered before finally succumbing to just giving birth to males and using the opportunity to swell her house ranks? She felt a short pang of anger; if her mother had found something she could do with her males, than she, her daughter, could too. She would NOT take the coward's way out and kill the child.
She nodded and fixed Nuumia with the most reassuring smile she could muster. "Be still; it is beyond your power to choose what comes from me, male or female, and I am certain we can find use for him. After all, was it not merely several months ago that I was able to find use for a male that I had unexpectedly received? At the very least, I couldn't possibly do anything to the child until I cut that golden streak off." She did not recall telling Nuumia, but ever since she was small, she had been absurdly proud of her hair; how many drow naturally had that wondrous yellow color, the color of treasure glinting in the light of a dozen candles? Perhaps it was a sign, much the same as Nuumia's own dark locks, and Adinas' spidery wrappings, that this young one held promise, male that he was?
She looked back down at the baby in her arms, who was looking somberly at the hand messing with his hair, and reaching out a chubby arm to also feel the fascinating yellow toy. "I think we shall wait and see what he can offer before his fate shall be decided. At the very least, tradition dictates that we name him."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 9:26 pm
Nuumia's eyes were fixed on the baby's face. So chubby and small. If it had not been born a male, Nuumia knew that he'd be bursting with pride right now. he had helped to make this infant. It had his darkness. The dark skin and the black hair. And it had Haellaras reddened eyes and that golden streak. The child would have been a object of such pride otherwise! Nuumia withdrew his hand from the baby and glanced at Haellara questioningly when she'd mention having to cut the blond streak from the babe's head. Why would that have mattered any?
Instead of asking, nuumia glanced down at the baby and nodded his head. "It is your child Matron, to do with as you see fit. If you want I can find someone to take care of it while you recover." Name...what sort of name could the little child be given? Nuumia shifted from one foot to another. "Hnnn. You are also right on that matter Matron. The child must have a name. What would you like to call it? It is yours after all." Children...thinking of them caused him to glance over his shoulder. The thought brought that other child to mind. The one that had usurped him in a way, by becoming the Matrons first son by merit of Lloth's blessing. He knew he should not have hated the boy so much for that. Particularly now seeing as how all he had managed to do was give Haellara another boy as it was.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 10:37 pm
Haellara could see the obvious consternation on Nuumia's face, and she reveled in being the cause of it, in spite of herself. Even if it was her poor patron, whom she knew was mentally kicking his own a** for seeding a male. She liked to know that she could remain unpredictable; when she had grown heavy with child, it had been one of her only defenses left. Still, she knew that she could only go so far this time; too much and she might as well just hand the boy over to Nuumia to toss into the nearest abyss or drown in the dirtiest tub of dishwater the kitchen could scare up. She needed to assure Nuumia that even though he had not succeeded in producing an heir, there would be other times and chances, and right now they had a male that they could still use for some benefit or another.
Pursing her lips, she looked down at the small face, watching as it scrunched up and the boy opened his mouth to issue a sharp cry; apparently it wasn't taking too kindly to being stared at so. Either that or it was hungry. Knowing immediately that it was the latter, the healer rushed over and quickly showed Haellara how to feed him. As she continued to hold him, she let her thoughts return to the matter at hand; a name. "Well......I must admit that I had pondered more about girl's names. Still......how about Xunrak? It has a hard sound to it, and we shall bring him up to be as hard as his name; a worthy warrior for our house, one who will protect the females we shall also have and stand between them and harm's way. You see Nuumia; even males can be taught to be of use to their house; they are just denied the same sort of advancement. Because of this, they strive to be the best they can as compensation. My idiot brother never did learn that lesson."
She turned to smile at Nuumia. "While we're on the subject, have you seen much of Adinas lately?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 9:00 pm
When the baby began to wail, and the healer came over to show Halleara how to silence it, Nuumia drifted back a few steps. It was weird, but something about that smile act made him feel uneasy. As if he ought not to be watching it. There seemed something so wrong, considering what he had been doing with Haellara just nights before. Well... he would not be serving her like that for a while now. Hopefully long enough for this weird feeling to go away.
"I believe the name is just fine Matron." Nuumia spoke up from his place while pointedly not looking at the little infant now. "I will make certain he grows up exactly how you will. I will give him no quarter for failure. If he is to be your son then he must be a proper one." Nuumia promised Haellara. Oh yes. The boy would -not- disappoint. He'd personally see to that with the child. Nuumias eyes blinked as Haellara would venture in to question about Adinas, and he felt his cheeks darken slightly.
"I must admit matron, I have not seen the boy since that first night. I have busied myself with other matters and assumed..well... He was never in his room...I thought perhaps he ran off, or one of the guards took him for some fun before hey were warned about him. I...thought to..maybe not bring it up until after your child was born. I did not want to risk getting you upset over such a matter..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:17 pm
Haellara was beyond relieved when the child finally stopped feeding and fell asleep against her chest; she hoped that in time she would get used to such a thing, or it would get less uncomfortable with time. She wrapped the blanket a little closer around the sleeping form and smiled at Nuumia, still so obviously nervous. "So you think his name is good? I've had no experience, after all." She smiled and looked down at the tiny face, listening to Nuumia's tirade. "I've no doubt that you will show the boy the proper way to be a male and son. Provided of course that he remains JUST whole enough to succeed. Or at least give him the illusion that he actually can succeed."
She smiled wider at Nuumia's embarassment at the mention of Adinas, though she kept her eyes down lest they give away any secretive sparkle. "I have caught glimpses of him at times; apparently he would like to serve as a sort of silent bodyguard and gatherer of information. And he is not partial to the ones he tails, so I might watch what I say or so around here that could be interpreted as actions against me." She spoke with a hint of laughter in her voice, but she let the obvious warning linger. Nothing wrong with having a little precaution instilled in every house member, no matter how loyal they were or appeared to be. She couldn't help but notice that the healer had heard and seemed rather uneasy herself.
Speaking of which.....she watched as the drow approached with much apprehension and suggested that the matron be left alone to rest. She nodded and smiled at Nuumia. "You may remain close by if you like, but I really do need to sleep. I am quite tired. Do not let this discourage you consider it good practice for when we actually do get a female to raise." That being said, Haellara eased herself back down and settled among the pillows, joining little Xunrak in slumber.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 9:27 pm
"Yes Matron." Nuumia murmured in response to her question about the name. It would be suitable for a male, and he was sure the boy would earn his place with proper tutoring. It became clear, as the child dropped off into a exhausted slumber, that it was time for his matron and son to rest. He glanced over at Haellara, and blinked. "He...does?"
Such was his surprise that Nuumia missed the uneasy reaction of the healer. He glanced around searchingly for the boy, as if he thought at this moment to see a small black face peering out from under something. "I was...unaware. I suppose it makes sense. He is even more scrawny then I am. Being a creature that stays out of sight would be safer for him." Nuumia ran his fingers through his hair and begrudgingly admitted to himself that it was good for the House to have such a talented spy even. When he next looked up, Haellara was in the process of settling in to sleep. Nuumia moved to gently ease himself onto the corner of the bed.
"I would prefer to stay here with you Matron." He replied softly. "Just...in case the child wakens before you. I'll be here to take care of it." He paused then, and reached out to smooth some of the blankets over Haellara's legs. Yes. He'd just sit here and watch over them for now...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
