What does this mean?
1518 Words
* * * Queen Erin’s POV * * *
Stefan, Amara and I enjoy almost three hours of cuddles, exchanging expressions of love and wonder at our lives and our new blessing. “Do you think she is going to be as much trouble as Reece and Lottie?” Stefan laughs.
“I have a feeling Reece will lead her astray…… Or….. he could finally meet his match,” I giggle.
“Oh, I hope not. I love him to bits, but holy goddess, he has sent me gray early,” he exclaims and pulls on a small part of his hair that has grayed to emphasise his point.
“He really is something else. But your Dad assures me that this is the case for all young Alphas and that you were exactly the same.”
“I remember when I was young and my Dad would say ‘One day you will finally understand what you have put me through, and I will sit back and smile for karma will have finally been served’ I never knew what he meant until Reece started crawling,” Stefan laughs, but I’m already laughing at his impression of his Dad.
As Amara begins to stir, it is time. “I’ll let the sisters know you are ready and apologise for keeping them waiting. Then I’ll go get the family,” he smiles as Amara is already latching on and kisses both our foreheads before leaving.
The sisters arrive within the next five minutes, just as Amara has about had her fill. “Thank you, all of you,” I smile to them as they enter the room.
“Before we begin, can I have a cuddle?” Elsie begs.
“Elsie, she’s only just birthed her,” Betty half laughs and half scolds.
“It’s okay. You’re all family, and she’ll love you, just like Reece and Lottie do,” I smile and adjust my position with a wince to pass her over.
“We’ll have that pain gone in a jiffy,” Betty smiles sympathetically.
“Do we have a name yet?” Elsie asks as she scoops Amara into her arms. “Oohh,” she gasps briefly.
“Amara,” I tell her.
“Well, Princess Amara, you certainly are beautiful,” Elsie compliments my baby.
“Less rocking Elsie, she’s just eaten and needs to be winded,” Betty laughs.
“Of course, I knew that. I mean I may have briefly forgotten while admiring her beauty. Has she opened her eyes yet?”
“Not yet, but she’s starting to try.”
I lay back and relax as the sisters coo over my little bundle and smile at the amount of love and strength I am now surrounded by.
“Let’s get to it, before everybody arrives,” Betty tells Elsie, who has once again taken Amara.
Amara begins to scream to the high heavens as soon as she is put down in the hospital cot. “Okay, your mummy will just have to hold you while we work,” Elsie chuckles and lifts Amara back up and brings her to me.
“May I?” Betty asks, pointing at my hospital gown as I place Amara on my chest.
“Of course. You’re the one helping me. Do as you please,” I laugh.
No matter how many times I watch these wonderful ladies perform magic, it never fails to amaze me. I watch as they place various items around me and each hold a stick of incense, place a hand over my abdomen and begin to whisper.
“By Earth and Air,
By Fire and water,
Ancestors, you shall hear our call,
Powers of birth and rebirth,
Powers of silence and peace,
Heal her body and soul”
They pause to light the incense stick and this time their words are no longer a whisper.
“By Earth and Air,
By Fire and water,
Ancestors, you shall hear our call,
Powers of birth and rebirth,
Powers of silence and peace,
Heal her body and soul”
The incense is waved around, casting plumes of smoke around me, and once again they chant….
“By Earth and Air,
By Fire and water,
Ancestors, you shall hear our call,
Powers of birth and rebirth,
Powers of silence and peace,
Heal her body and soul”
The incense is again waved around, casting more plumes of smoke around me. The sisters repeat this process until I feel my skin begin to itch as the wound heals. The skin and muscles reconnecting. Speeding up months of healing into just a few uncomfortable moments. I feel the magic in the air, it’s thick and hauntingly beautiful, perhaps because it is a healing spell. I don’t think I’ve ever felt its presence this way before.
Amara is beginning to stir, and she is making cute baby noises that seem to match the rhythm of the sisters' speech. I tap her bottom as I used to do for the twins and hum a tune to help her settle. I don’t want to distract the sisters.
“By Earth and Air,
By Fire and water,
Ancestors, you have heard our call,
Powers of birth and rebirth,
Powers of silence and peace,
Heal her body and soul
We thank you”
They each blow out the lit incense stick, which casts a lilac-coloured smoke, which makes the sisters look at each other.
“What did I miss?”
“Does your family recall its heritage at all, my dear?” Elsie questions me.
“I don’t know. My parents and I were all born within Black’s Kingdom. We were human slaves?” I question them as I answer them.
“Hmmm. Perhaps. We shall have to do some digging, I think,” Elsie smiles.
“Is something wrong?” I begin to worry.
“Not at all, Erin. Please don’t worry about anything, even if what we suspect is true, then there is still nothing to worry about,” Elsie reassures me.
“I’d feel better if you just told me what the hell is suspected,” I curse and then immediately feel guilty for snapping. “Sorry,” I decide to add.
“Don’t apologise, Erin. In hindsight, we should have been less vague from the off…..” before she can finish, Amara begins to wriggle and starts to open her eyes. “Oooohhhh” is all Elsie finishes with.
“Her eyes!!” I gasp.
“They are beautiful,” Betty exclaims.
“They are… They are purple. Why are they purple? What does this mean?” I ask them, unable to take my eyes from Amara’s.
“I believe your family are descendants of witches and, or wizards. It can skip generations, that much we know. We will do some more research on your family tree. Remember awhile before we found out you were pregnant, and you had sprained your ankle and I healed it?” Betty asks me.
“No?” I half ask, and try to search my brain, but I cannot recall the memory.
Betty laughs, “Forgive me for saying so. But you are rather accident-prone, Erin. I’ve healed minor injuries many times, so you probably won’t remember.”
“That’s true,” I agree with her.
“Well. I have a theory. As around the time I healed your ankle, it will have been around the time you conceived. My theory is that by using magic on you as you conceived, it triggered Amara’s dormant witch gene. But somewhere in your history, is a witch or wizard,” she explains to me. “Being a witch isn’t a bad thing,” she adds.
“Please forgive me. I never meant to imply that. I was just shocked. Doubly shocked, as I thought she might be a wolf like Stefan. We still think Reece and Lottie are going to have the ability to shift, based on their characteristics.”
“Amara could very well be able to shift. Only the future will tell. Once we are over the shock and everyone is in the loop, if you wish, we could try to get the ancestors to show us a glimpse into the future and see what it has in store for Amara.”
“I think I would like that. Thank you, and please let me just promise you, not once did a negative thought come into my mind at her being a witch. You know how much I love you ladies.”
“REECE SLOW DOWN,” we hear Stefan bellow, probably from the other end of the hospital.
“That boy, he really is a little Alpha,” Elsie laughs.
“That he is. Are we ready to tell Stefan and the others about Amara’s heritage?”
“You and Betty can inform and reassure the others; I need to run a few errands. I will be back for cuddles at yours if that is okay?” Elsie smiles.
“Of course,” I tell her, just as Reece steamrolls into the room.
- Writer
