Chapter 24

 

After a bath and some help into a fresh dress, Anwyn felt up to seeing her family and attending the celebration. They were quite late for the event, but they figured that Anwyn’s awakening was enough of an excuse for that to pardon them.

“The fastest way to get to the platform is by teleportation. I can take you, Anwyn, if you hold my hand. Everstar will take Fredrico, and we’ll be there nearly instantaneously. Don’t worry, it’s very safe. There has never been an accident.” Midshore explained.

Anwyn looked a bit hesitant, but took her hand. She wanted to see her family, to let them know that she was alright. It would be a relief for them all to finally let the past go and not worry that it would catch up to them.

Holding Midshore’s hand, the floor suddenly felt like it fell out from under her and the sky floated away. There was nothing for a moment, and then a night breeze came and caressed her cheek, and the sound of waves hitting the shore tickled her ears. A wooden deck was under her uncertain feet, and the sky was full of stars glittering in their domain.

People turned to see the sudden arrivals, and Anwyn saw that her family was among the group. Her already weak knees felt like they would give out entirely, but she was happy to see them enjoying themselves. There didn’t seem much for children to do at this party, but they were having fun dancing to a fairybox.

Anwyn moved to her family, emotion welling inside of her, and she felt like she would start sobbing at any moment. She fell into her mother’s arms and embraced her like she hadn’t seen her in years, finally letting everything out. All of her sorrow about Liam dying, having to leave home, her fear about the king catching them, and her relief that they were finally safe from the tyrant once and for all.

She felt the baby kick and she sat down. The baby hadn’t kicked much before they had left, just little movements, but now it was very active. Anwyn instinctively put a hand over where it had attacked her and rubbed, rocking back and forth, hoping that the little vibrations of her voice would soothe the child. It seemed to oblige, and didn’t continue to kick her.

Her father and mother were talking to Midshore and Everstar about her, wondering the extent of her recovery. It was good to see them relaxed. They hadn’t been relaxed for some time.

Romeo plopped down next to her and handed over some food, a plate of his own in front of him. “They say that sometimes a restored soul can see people they love while they are on the other side.” he mentioned. “Did you- did you see Liam?”

Anwyn steeled herself, trying to shore up her emotions. It was something she had a lot of recent practice in, but the topic of Liam would never be an easy one. “No, I didn’t.” she said, regret flickering in her.

Romeo looked out at the ocean, disappointment spreading on his face. “I know you didn’t get to say goodbye. I didn’t either, not really. I tried to stop him from doing it, you know. I tried to take his place, but he knew that they wouldn’t spend any time trying to fight me, it was the two of you they were after.” he looked at his hand, trying to look at anything but Anwyn.

“He was right- he always is. Liam notices things that we can hardly see, things that we don’t want to see. His heart was too big, always was.” his eyes were filling with tears, and Anwyn felt her nose tingle with the onset of her own tears. “He wanted me to make sure that your child has a father, and I’ll be there for the both of you. You’re not alone, you’ll never be alone, Anwyn. I will fill the place where Liam was supposed to be in your child’s life. It will want for nothing. I swear it!” he said it with such strength that Anwyn believed him without a shadow of a doubt.

“I accept your offer, Romeo. Thank you.” she smiled.

~*~

As they had feared, the king hadn’t given up on his search for the elusive Western Islands and had continued to circle the place they should be, unable to reach them through the cloak and the swirling winds.

“We must answer him now, it’s been a month. We’ve had to let two refugees pass us by. Who knows what they were fleeing from?” Colton argued.

“We couldn’t possibly allow him to set foot on our land, we don’t entertain dictators. We can’t very easily send someone to him by ship, he would see where we came from. How could we answer him?” asked Layla.

“I believe that we could have a spellcaster teleport over to the ship We wouldn’t have to worry about them being harmed or captured, as they would be able to teleport away if things became dangerous.” Luna Ma, the head council woman answered.

“I beg your pardon, ma’am, but to teleport that distance wouldn’t be easy. The further away, especially to a moving target, it’s not simple to know where to go. And they are still mortal, a simple wound would make it very difficult to escape. The spellcaster would have to be very good at what they do.” Theodora, one of the quieter council members, spoke up.

“Midshore has proven to be a very powerful spellcaster, I believe that she would be suitable for the job.” The head councilwoman answered.

“With all due respect, Midshore has become very attached to the refugee, and I don’t think she would be impartial enough to relay the message without insulting the king. And she is invaluable as a healer to the Islands. I don’t think we should choose her. Perhaps Flagworth? He hasn’t had much of a chance to stretch his legs past these shores for a while and he’s diplomatic enough. I think he would make a fair choice.” said Fugu.

The council seemed to agree, nodding their heads.

“Very well, Flagworth will be notified of his assignment. May we wish him well and a safe mission.”

~*~

Whoever thought that Flagworth would be diplomatic was outdated on their information. He spent most of his money and time at the local bar, trying to get himself to leave and always telling himself ‘after this round I’ll go home. But there’s no drink at my house, so I’ll get another round for the road. After this round…’

Why he was teleporting to a ship to talk to a king for a simple refugee was beyond him, but he was being paid nicely for it, so he may as well. He watched the winds and he watched the ship sailing past, trying to time his entry. From what he could guess of the build of the ship, he wouldn’t materialize inside a wall, but it was never cut and dry with these sorts of things. He just hoped he arrived with all of his body parts intact.

He shut his eyes and felt the slope of the sand fall away. The wind stopped, and the smell of unbathed men hit him like a wall. Did they really not bathe? Even a bit of dried lavender would be sufficient to perfume a body, but it seemed like they had stopped caring a while ago.

He was on the lower deck of the ship, and he needed to get to the captain’s quarters. There would be no other place the king would reside.

Walking up the stairs, he found the deck of the ship oddly empty besides the man at the wheel who appeared to be falling asleep. Poor man, looked like he had been out here for days. How many men had the king brought with him, and where were they all?

He walked right up to the king’s door and knocked, then let himself in. It was dim compared to the sunlight outside, but the windows were large enough to see things clearly.

The king sat up on his cot, alarmed that a man he didn’t know had strolled into his quarters. “Who are you?! You’re not one of my men! How did you get aboard?” he demanded to know.

“My name is Flagworth, and I am a representative of the Western Islands.” he said measuredly.

“I knew we were close! The winds have been blowing us in circles around our target for weeks, now I know that we finally arrived!” he looked tired, crazed. When was the last time he slept?

“The council wants to know what business you have with our island,” he said plainly.

“I am here to claim my queen and our unborn child, as is my right. I expect them to be delivered to me at once!” he seemed to feel like he was in control of the situation.

“A queen? I don’t recall a queen arriving. What did she look like?” Flagworth toyed with the king.

“She’s young, has curling brown hair, with child, has an artful scar on her face that can’t be missed. She would have arrived with a large group consisting of her family and a former guard. They are all traitors to the state, but I am willing to let them go in exchange for the queen.”

“Oh! I think I heard about a small family arriving, but I'm afraid the young woman died on route to the islands. She was cremated, as is the Island custom for burial. I’m sorry for your loss.” Flagworth said without a drop of empathy.

“What? You weren’t able to heal her?! What’s wrong with you- you incapable stupid spellcasters! I thought that was one of the gifts of a magic user.”

Flagworth shrugged. “I wish I had better news for you, but unfortunately, there’s nothing for you here. The young woman is dead, as is her child. The guard drowned on the way here after tipping his boat. Any revenge you thought you would find here is gone.” he said bluntly, trying to convince the madman to leave.

“That’s- that’s not possible. Inconceivable! I-I’ll.” he fell over, too tired to continue standing. “I’ll have that guard’s balls for this.” he muttered as he fell asleep.

Flagworth didn’t know which guard the king was referring to, be it Sir Romeo or another guard, but he didn’t want to be him. He walked over to the sleeping king and set a remembering charm. It was easiest performed on sleeping victims, so this weary tyrant would be no challenge. “I will leave and return to the mainland," he thought for a moment, considering. "and I will not remove the guard’s balls.”

~*~

“Oof- oof. Whatever you’re doing, you had better stop it right now!” Anwyn lectured her womb as it hurt like a horse was stepping on it. “I may be huge, but you and I both know that we're barely ready for you yet!”

Her water broke anyway.

“Romeo!” she called out, a wave of pain echoing through her. “Romeo- Get Midshore and my mother! The baby’s coming!” she sat up further in bed. She would be in the best hands, but she had heard two of her younger siblings be born and knew how much what was coming was going to hurt. This wasn’t going to be pretty, but it was going to be worth it. A piece of Liam lived with her as long as this child lived, and that was what she held on to now. For Liam.

Romeo burst into her room. He had insisted on sleeping over lately for this very reason, knowing that a mother-to-be shouldn’t be alone when expecting a baby, especially on her own tiny island. “Oh my- yes- I’ll go and get them. Don’t move! Or- move to get comfortable- I don’t know!” He was frantic.

“Romeo, I have hours before I have to deliver, you just go and get them.” she looked at him while he stood there frozen. “Hurry!” she urged.

“Right!” he dashed out of the room and Anwyn looked on as he got into the boat and sailed for the larger island’s shore. Midshore would be able to teleport, so retrieving her mother would be easy and quick. Let’s just hope that Midshore had some herbs or potions to make this easier.

As Anwyn watched the little form of Romeo sail across the lagoon and run up the hill to the ruined greenhouse, she waited pondered names. She had nearly three months to think about names while she had settled in and made a home for herself here. She had found the solitude of the little island comforting, though she often felt exposed. She was so used to trees and mountains that the lack of a landscape made her feel like anyone and everyone could see her.

But here in her little house she felt safe, like a rabbit in a hutch. A squirrel in a tree. A bird in a nest. This is where she would raise her child, and this would be home.

Her mother came through the bedroom door, accompanied by her sister and Midshore. The priestess carried with her a rucksack of clinking bottles and she pulled a few out and put them on the dresser to be ready when the need arose.

“Alright, let’s meet this baby!” she smiled.

“I think you’re entirely too happy. Have you ever given birth before, Midshore? It feels like I’m dying... “ Anwyn shuddered.

“I haven’t had the pleasure, nor will I for the foreseeable future, having a wife and all. I haven't found the right charm for that quite yet.” she teased.

Anwyn looked at her mother and sister. While Lara hadn’t had any of her own children, she and Dante’s (Anwyn’s brother) wife had helped to deliver the last child her mother had borne. She was in the best hands available.

***

Anwyn laid back, tired and finally done with the pain.

“Baby’s here!” exclaimed Lara. She passed the child to Anwyn's mother, who cleaned her off and placed her into the bassinet at the foot of Anwyn’s bed.

“You have a daughter,” she cooed, looking at her first grandchild.

Anwyn very carefully stood up and peered at her tiny miracle. “Her name is Gloria.” she declared, and for the first time in a long time, she smiled a true smile.

Midshore looked like she was vibrating, and her normally dusty blue face markings turned white, as did her eyes. When she spoke, her voice sounded like it was someone else speaking.

“There will come a soldier, who carries a mighty sword. He will tear down your doors but you will be happy when he comes.

There will come a poet, whose weapon is his word. He will slay you with his tongue, a trickster to be sure.

There will come a ruler whose brow is laid with thorns. He will be your rival and greatest danger in this world.” She seemed to recite, then put her hand to her head, feeling dizzy.

“What in the world was that about, Midshore?” asked Lara.

“I- I think the spirits used me as a voice. What did I say?” she asked.

“Some really weird stuff, that’s what!” Mrs. Cupshire said.

“I think you said a prophecy about my child.” Anwyn formed the words. “That she will meet three people, all of which will change her life. A soldier, a poet, and a ruler.”