Miracle Child

My Fateful Birthday

Ryanni’s POV

“Good morning, princess,” said a gentle voice that pulled me from my light dozing. I’d woken earlier, when the sun had just come up over the tree line to enter my window, but hadn’t wanted to get up. The sun was now fully risen and beaming through my window to brighten every corner of my room. Just how I liked it. But, today, I wasn’t particularly happy with the sight.

My gut twisted as I pushed myself into a seated position to look at the woman who rolled a silver cart to my bedside. She was old enough to be my mother and had been part of my life since my first breath. Gray streaked through her light brown hair and lines etched into her face at the edges of her eyes and corners of her mouth. A face that had known more smiles than any other expression, but there wasn’t a smile now.

“It is time for you to get up and ready, your highness,” Edna continued, a deep sadness dimming the usually shining caramel color of her eyes. Her lips were twisted down at the corners, and I dropped my gaze from her to the food she brought. A pile of pancakes covered in chocolate sauce and whipped cream that would normally have me bursting with excitement. Celebratory days always started with a sticky, sweet breakfast feast. I would rush out to crowd in my youngest sibling’s room with the rest of my family, and we’d spend the morning laughing and playing. Instead, today, the sight of the sweet treat made me nauseous. I shook my head sharply when Edna tried to move the tray onto my bed. She moved the tray out of the way with only a second of hesitation, that slight frown growing at my refusal.

I stood and made my way to the bathing room. The bath was filled and steamy with a sweet but subtle floral scent. I pulled my long braid up to wrap it around my head as Edna untied my night gown. The thin dress pooled at my feet when I lowered my arms, and I stepped out of it before into the large freestanding white tub filled with milky water and flower petals. I sank into it slowly, letting my eyes close as the heat seeped into my muscles, soothing and calming all the tense lines of me.

Edna took my hair out of its wrapped state and slowly began unbraiding the long locks, and I let myself get lost in my head as she brushed through my hair. Last year, this day had been something incredible. I had spent my entire life worrying about how long I’d be here, but after turning eighteen, my parents were convinced that I wasn’t going anywhere. Last year, on my nineteenth birthday, I was officially coronated as heir to the throne. Only to be told the very next day that I would be collected next year. Today was the day I was to fulfill the bargain created between my parents and the Fae King.

My chest felt tight and hot, like there was a fire in my lungs, making my airways burn, and I pulled myself up straight, sucking in quick breaths as I forced my upper body out of the steaming water. The air was too hot, too sticky, and I couldn’t seem to be able to cool down. Edna’s hand stopped me from running out of the room, possibly out of the damn house. My limbs trembled with the effort it took to settle back into the water and wait for Enda to finish bathing me. She even washed my hair, scrubbing me clean with lightly scented soaps until I felt as if an entire layer of skin was rubbed off. I stepped out and quickly dried myself before wrapping my hair up in a towel while Edna rubbed sweet peony-smelling oils into the skin of my body.

When I reentered my bedroom, there was an unfamiliar gown laid out on my freshly made bed. Revulsion had me stopping where I stood, stark naked in the doorway, but Edna merely pressed a hand against my back to push me forward.

“I’m not wearing that,” I said, finally breaking the silence between us, as she guided me to the emerald dress. It was made of a material that seemed to hold the gemstone in every thread. It caught in the light of the sun and sparkled like nothing I’d seen outside polished jewels, but despite the entrancing material, there was nothing to it. The lack of structure and coverage had my lungs burning again. My skin, still steaming from the bath, seemed to overheat as Edna yanked her hand from my back with a hiss I barely registered as I stared at the gift that was clearly from the male coming to claim me.

“I suppose,” she said as she went to my wardrobe, “you don’t have to put that on just yet.” She brought out my normal, everyday clothes. Thick, leather pants and a lighter, loose cotton top dyed a light blue. Relief pulled a breath from me that Edna answered with a small smile. She helped me dress before sitting me down to fix my hair into a spiraling sort of twist instead of my normal braids. She fastened the long, thick locks into a sort of coronet that wrapped twice around my head, a little off center to hide the edges of my ears.

“Thank you,” I said softly to the woman who’d helped raise me, “for everything.” Her hands stopped for a second as she was pinning my hair in place. Then they gripped my shoulders tightly as she offered me all the comfort she could in her position. She couldn’t do anything about this. No one could. My parents had sold their firstborn to the King of the Fae for a blessing of fertility in a childless marriage. Only a miracle could save me from the male now that he’d decided to collect.