Chapter 23

 

This chapter has been moderately edited, but if there are mistakes, don't hang me.

~*~

It had been two weeks since they had arrived, and everyday Anwyn seemed to grow stronger. Her breathing was more even, her face more peaceful, and the child grew within her, promising new life.

Romeo went to her everyday to check for updates, but he also had bigger fish to fry to be ready for when she was well again.

“We usually don’t use this house, it’s an extra. It’s too hard to get to; you have to pull out a boat or you have to get tired swimming that far. It's out of the way and yet you’ve been here for a while and unlike the rest of her family, you are unwilling to start settling down with the rest of the population on the larger islands. Why do you stay so close? You know that Midshore would teleport to you right away if there was any change in Medora’s condition.” Everstar asked.

She was showing Romeo a small house across the lagoon. It was very plain, and appeared to be cobbled together from driftwood or tropical wood, not very sturdy. Most of the windows didn’t have glass, but in a tropical paradise who needed glass? Just use shutters to keep out the elements.

“Her name is Anwyn, not Medora. Don’t people usually pick their own Rebirth name here?” he asked, wandering further into the building. At least the roof seemed sound.

“Do I seem the Everstar type? No one picks their rebirth name. Anyone with a troubled past looking for a new identity is given a new name should they choose to take it. Medora means ‘mother’s gift’, so I think that it fits her quite well and therefore is what I’ll call her until I have been told that she doesn't want the name.” she said defiantly.

“But if the name means ‘mother’s gift’, wouldn’t that be the name of her child?” Romeo asked, confused.

“The mother is giving the gift of life, that is the mother’s gift to the child. Think outside the box!” she teased.

She turned back to the house, guiding him through it. “As you can see, the basics are all here, it just needs a bit of decoration. There’s an eating area outside, two bedrooms, and the blessing of plumbing. Midshore, a few other spellcasters from the island, and myself have charmed the houses to have running water. You know what running water is, right?” she asked him.

“Like in a river?” he asked, confused. How do you have running water in a house?

“A very small, clean river. I have so much to show you.” she gave a lopsided smile.

~*~

Midshore meditated near Anwyn in the ceremony room. The spirits hadn’t been as angry as she had feared, and had come once again to show her what the world was feeling.

She could feel Anwyn’s breathing just as she felt her own, and she subconsciously synced her breath to the rhythm of it. It was much easier to do than it had been a week ago. They hadn’t known about the arrow in her back until Romeo had mentioned it in his retelling, and while he had thought that it was very small, in reality it was just incredibly sharp and thin, like a flying needle. It had lodged in her back and had to be carefully removed. It was no wonder she hadn’t awoken yet, but everyday that passed Midshore felt that time came closer.

Levitating, she reached out from the ceremony room and felt beyond. The islands felt at peace, as was normal. The family was acclimating well to the environment, though she knew that it would take some time for them to get used to the relaxed customs. That and their clothes would soon be far too warm for them, even in the winter. They would have to change.

The unrest that had come with the group had eased, but she felt it rising again, away from the island, a great searching. The king had continued to send ships trying to enter their borders, and Everstar and Midshore had to enlist the help of other spellcasters and locals to be lookouts for the large ships so that the responsibility wasn’t put squarely on the shoulders of the two priestesses.

Midshore feared that if their borders were always closed that they wouldn’t be able to take in refugees that were looking for help. The council had given them the responsibility to protect the islands, not cut them off completely. The frequency that the king’s ships were in the area made it nearly impossible to let down their guard. A point that was very bothersome to the local government.

When they had been concerned about the borders, Midshore had gone to them and explained the events that had happened.

“The spirits feel that the child is destined to be important, we can’t let the tyrant have it. He would manipulate the child, have it be his heir, and that would be handing an innocent being to a monster and hoping the monster doesn’t eat it!” Midshore argued.

“We understand where you’re coming from, but we can’t keep the borders shut forever. The Islands are a haven for people, we can’t lock our doors because of one man and his army.” Colton Gothic replied.

“We also can’t let him in to look for the mother and child.” argued Layla Frey. “By their laws, his wife belongs to him. Not to mention the fact that she is considered a criminal to their monarchy.”

“So what do we do? The Islands have always been more of a legend than fact, a dream to people who want a better life. If we open our borders to tell him that we don’t have his queen, that could act as an invitation to look within our nation for the people he and any other nation believes to be criminals, and that happens to be a lot of our civilians.” Fugu Moo-Goo brought up.

“If we do nothing to address the knocking on our door, he will keep knocking!” hollered the first. “We must answer him, tell him that his queen is dead and the child with her. Let him believe the lie and let him move on.”

“I’ve heard enough!” the center woman hollered. She looked at her fellow council members. “We will keep a diligent eye out for any other vessels, but if we see the king’s ships we will raise the border, just as we are now. If he persists for a month more, then and only then will we answer his presence. We cannot keep the border up forever.” She looked at Midshore. “We will not let him set foot to the Islands, and we will not let him take the mother and child. If he persists, we will tell him that they both died and that we cremated the bodies, as is customary for our culture. Neither will he take the family that came with them. We will not let any of our refugees be taken prisoner, not now, not ever.”

The council grumbled in agreement.

“Good. I wish to see all of you at the festival this weekend..” The council stood up from their seats, not having anything more to discuss, and Midshore felt that she was still wary. What if the king took the islands by force? What if when they addressed him he continued to push on for the family until he depleted his resources?

~*~

Midshore and Everstar were preparing for an evening of fun at the festival celebrating the coming of the winter solstice. Gifts would be given, songs sung, and a whole lot of juice would be drunk. It was a night to remember, and yet many would forget it with their partying.

This wasn’t a night they would forget though, as they heard a coughing in the ceremony room. Looking at one another, they rushed in, seeing from the short distance that she had rolled over and seemed to want to sit up. She had been unconscious for three weeks at this point, and her body had changed. Her muscles were weak from lack of use and her stomach had grown quickly and she was in her second trimester now.

Midshore and Everstar rushed to her side, trying to comfort her.

“How do you feel?”

“Do you know where you are?”

“Do you want some water?”

“Is Liam here?” she asked with a whisper of a voice, barely looking up at the women. “Where am I? Where is my family?”

Everstar looked over to Midshore and nodded. Midshore focused, and teleported away to fetch Romeo. Everstar turned back to Anwyn.

“How long have I been asleep? What am I doing here?” Anwyn asked Everstar.

“Medora, a lot has happened. You have been asleep for three weeks. You were shot, you died, and we brought you back to life. We restored your soul.”

“I was dead?!” she asked in her gravely tone.

“Yes.” Everstar answered. “Sometimes people say that they see others they loved who have passed on in the afterlife, did you see anyone, Medora?”

“I- I can’t remember. I feel like I dreamt of my grandparents, and I remember feeling like I had my old cat back, but I can’t remember past that....”

“So you- you didn’t see-” for once, Everstar was lost for words. She wanted to ask if she had seen her love there, if he had passed on peacefully, but she couldn’t ask that now.

Midshore returned with Romeo, and Anwyn looked like she let out a breath of relief when she saw him. “Romeo, where is Liam?” She asked. “Is he with you?”

Romeo’s face started to crumple, and he gathered Anwyn into his arms, and he started to sniffle. Anwyn acted like a shell of a human.

“So he’s gone then?” was all she asked.

“Yes.” Romeo choked out.

They held each other for a while, rocking back and forth, taking comfort in knowing that while they didn’t have the one person they wanted to be there, they had the next best thing: each other.