The hour of the vivat
May 25.
Reign of Cyrus....
The underworld...
Pain! Undescribable pain was what she felt.
The room was heavy with heat, mingled with the scents of sweat,boiled herbs and most of all... blood.
She gripped the frame of the narrow bed, wood biting into her palms,the thing sheet twisted around her legs like a rope.Her hair clung in damp strands to her temples,her lips.....bitten raw from stifling her screams.
A candle guttered in a corner ,throwing restless shadows across the brick walls, each flickering,catching the glint of the mid wife's sweat- beaded face.
Another contraction came without mercy.
She arched with the force of it,a guttural cry tore from her throat,the sound of a creature caught between the worlds.
Outside,the wind rattled the shutters,but inside,the air was thick and unmoving, charged with the metallic taste of dread.
Somewhere in a corner, a pot simmered, the steam curling towards the rafters like a prayer rising.
The midwife's hands that were once steady, began to tremble in fear.
She knew the law, yet she broke it.
It was forbidden to conceive during the hour of the vivat.
If the lady doesn't conceive before the hour of the vivat.
Her life would be taken away from her.
Her child would be locked behind the bars till death sought him.
Her generation would end.
And their names shall be written on the black book.
She began to panic.
" My lady, you must conceive before the hour of the vivat " her voice cracking
" I cannot afford to lose my life!"
But the hours bled into one another,each contraction a marker in a race with no clock,still time was against them.
The lady's voice had grown hoarse,her lips cracked, her eyes with exhaustion.she no longer gripped the bed frame with the same force.
The next contraction came like fire tearing through her body.she bore down with what remained of her strength,a sound erupting from deep in her chest.
"Again" the mid wife urged admist fear as the lady for breath."Now!"
A glisten of dark raven hair emerged beneath the candle light. The midwife worked quickly,one hand supporting, the other freeing the shoulder with a careful twist. The lady's cry broke into a sob as another push brought the child into the world.
Silence be fell them all of a sudden.
As though time had stopped. The midwife turned slowly and looked through the shutters,her eyes filled with dread.
Then... The bell rang!
The midwife stuggered backwards.
She couldn't believe her ears.
A tear fell from the lady's eyes. Those eyes whose vision became blurry and were fading from the world.
" The hour of the vivat" she whispered before her eyes closed.
The midwife knew she needed to get out of here. Staying a second longer would only bring her trouble.
She looked at the baby and was surprised that the baby's eyes remained shut.
But his breathing remained steady as though he has lived before now.
A pale skin like a vampire's.
His hands....joined together,fingers entwined,as though he prayed.
His legs positioned as though he knelt.
Unable to move!
The bell rang once again!