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"Where are you taking me?!" An old woman struggled
to keep pace with two
soldiers.
She was led down the hall and nobody answered her. Her keen hearing
turned
to a
woman's scream and wondered where she was being taken.
"Where is that woman?!"
The old woman saw a man burst from a door. He looked
around and spotted her. "There you are. What took so long?
Mia sounds like
she's being
torn apart." He grabbed hold of an arm and practically dragged
her to the
room. Another
scream was heard.
"Is she here, Cale?"
asked another man's voice. The old woman looked around
the room
and found the woman that had been screaming with a red-headed
man holding her
hand.
"Oh, my word..." the
old woman trailed. The young woman's reddish-brown hair
was
plastered to her forehead with sweat and her knuckles were white
against the
man's hand.
She was breathing heavy and the old woman knew what to do.
She pushed aside the redhead
and grabbed the corner of the blanket to wipe
the sweat
away. Her hands settled on top of the younger woman's belly and
knew that
time was
short.
"Get me a lot of towels
and some hot water," the woman said. The two men in
the room
looked at each other, not really sure if she was talking to them.
The old
woman turned
away from the girl and glared at both men. "Didn't the two
of you hear me?!
Get me
some towels and hot water! That isn't too hard!"
The old woman turned back to
the girl and started to whisper encouraging
words to her.
The redhead stepped forward, about to clobber the woman for ordering
them
around
when the one called Cale caught his arm.
"Watch it Anubis. We don't know any other midwives you know."
The one called Anubis shrugged
his hold away but did not advance any further.
He
turned and left the room, a determined look on his face. Cale
shook his head
and
followed him to go look for somebody to bring them the items.
"Where...did he...go to?" the girl asked in between breaths.
"I sent them to do something,"
the old woman answered as she cleared a place
near the
bed. "You are Mia I presume?"
"Yes, but...I need him here."
"He'll be back. What do you need him for? Is he the father?"
"He kept the pain away. He needs to come now!!"
"Just breath regularly
and calm down." The woman wiped off sweat again.
"He'll be
back."
It seemed like an eternity to
Mia before Anubis ever came back. She didn't
really mind
the pain, just needed his comfort next to her. A few minutes
after they came
back with
everything she needed, the pain was even greater.
"Okay, anybody that wants
to stay, you can stay. Otherwise, I don't need all
of you in
here." The midwife looked around at the countless soldiers
and slaves in the
room. She
picked out who she needed then told everybody else to go.
"Don't you leave me." Mia grabbed hold of Anubis' arm.
"I'm not."
The midwife directed everybody
to where they're supposed to be but couldn't
move the
Warlord. She could tell that the girl was cutting circulation
to his arm but
he didn't seem
to mind. Mia screamed again and she knew they were close.
"Alright dear, when I say
push, you push with everything you've got." She
situated
herself at the foot of the bed and waited. When the time came,
she
instructed what to do
and got to work. Anubis was at Mia's head, trying to comfort
her the best he
can.
The woman let out a yell when
a head emerged. She continued to coach her
through
everything until the child was completely out. She could have
asked if
Anubis wanted to
cut the cord but could see that he was busy. But it didn't stop
there.
Another one was
coming out and something was wrong. The head came out fine but
as the neck
emerged,
she could see that the cord was wrapped around its neck. She
struggled with
it for a few
seconds and finally got the baby lose but it did not breath.
"Oh no," the old woman
whispered. Anubis looked at her as well as Mia. They
saw one
baby in the arms of one slave, all wrapped up in blankets while
the other one
the midwife
held.
"No!!" Mia screamed.
She tried to get up but Anubis gently held her down.
Her strength
was depleted after that.
Mia reached for the child in
the midwife's arms and she complied by coming
around and
placing the baby in her hands. Tears streamed down both women's
cheeks as
Mia looked
up at Anubis.
"I don't feel anything
from him Anubis! Nothing!!"