NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 9 – She Said That?
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"What is your name?" Lena asked. The shadow lifted her head, and showed a slight frown on her beautiful face.
"Shadow." She said softly. Lena shook her head.
"You shall be Valina." Lena said, and pursed her lips.
"Valina." She whispered. She lowered her head to the floor. "Thank you, Empress." She felt Lena's hand on her shoulder.
"This is the soil of that dog faced king. My people shall never put their foreheads to its soil! Not willingly, ever! You have been given to me by Kyrie, and are important to me. As are all the ones from Haven." She lifted Valina's chin.
"Valina, shadow guard of Empress Lena, never bow to anyone that the goddess does not allow you to. And never bend your knee on any soil that the goddess has not claimed." Valina sniffed and covered her face.
"I am in the shadow of the one the goddess said to bow to." Valina felt her hands get pulled away from her face.
"Never cover your beauty in my presence." Lena leaned forward and put her lips to Valina's forehead. Valina felt a surge of power run into her body, which made her gasp.
'My Valina.' She heard the Empress' whisper inside her mind. 'Those gaudy fake roses of the king are nothing compared to my Valina. A wildflower with the breath of the goddess to sustain her. I must remember to properly treasure such gifts. When we leave this place, I must ask Kyrie to allow her to keep me warm at night.' She heard a soft sigh.
'I miss my Kyrie.'
* * *
"She said that?" Kyrie said, her cheeks reddened a little.
"Yes, goddess." The shadow, Valina, said from in front of the throne. "Her voice was quite strong inside my head. I've only known your whisper, but I heard hers." Kyrie nodded.
"It was bound to occur. I've invested a lot of my mist in her, and her body is slowly being remade." Kyrie said with a smile. "Obey her words. Do not kneel on that soil. Only in front of her can you bow. When we take her to the temple, then you may kneel in front of her." Kyrie growled a little.
"My Empress understands my heart well, even though we've had so little time together. None of Haven are allowed to kneel while she lives in Krov. Only bow, and say you respect her wishes, even if your heart wants you to kneel." Kyrie smiled. "When it's time, she'll allow you." Kyrie looked into the shadow's eyes.
"Yes, goddess?" Kyrie beckoned with her fingers. Valina came close and felt Kyrie's fingers on her head.
"Interesting. She marked you." Kyrie grinned. "She likes you, Valina. Since she took her power to name you, it is your name now. Her shadow guard, Valina." Kyrie turned as Hannah groaned. "What?"
"She named Valina! I wanted a name from her!" Hannah stomped her foot softly. Kyrie chuckled.
"Valina had no name as she was my important shadow. Would you discard the name I gave you for another?" Kyrie asked. Hannah pouted.
"No." She said quietly. Kyrie grinned.
"Liar."
* * *
"You know the rules!" Lena said firmly. Her belly was huge. She was ready to go into labor, and the pain she endured was higher than a normal pregnancy. Her nature as a human, and someone with the mist of the goddess within them, fought against this foreign flesh within her. The baby was not hers in any way, even if her womb had nourished it for the last eight and half months. Hannah nodded.
"Yes, Empress. No matter who approaches, they are not allowed through the door. When you give birth, the wet nurses will have to take over the care of the prince." Hannah said. She frowned slightly.
"Speak, ahhhh!" Lena growled as a wave of pain came over her. The contractions were increasing in frequency.
"You don't wish to see the child?" She asked.
"Ask the goddess! Ahhhhhh!" She growled. Hannah frowned, but immediately heard Kyrie's voice inside her head.
'HANNAH!' She rolled her eyes as her goddess roared inside her mind. 'It isn't her child! Stop trying to make her feel guilty!' Hannah paled.
"I am sorry, Empress. The goddess told me that the baby inside you is not yours. Somehow she made it possible." Hannah said, but was still a little dazed.
"Of course she did." Lena said. "It's Kyrie. She would never leave me to wonder when we leave. Ahh! Damn, I think I'm ready. Rachel, did you find someone in Haven who was a midwife at one time, or who birthed a child?"
"She's here, Empress." Rachel said as she stepped through the door. "Her Name is Sol." The woman who appeared made Lena stare, until her contractions hit her again.
"Stop trying to delay things, ladies. Move away. Get boiled water, so we can wash her, and the baby and keep them healthy. Clean cotton to keep the child warm. Have a wet nurse nearby. It will go quick once she starts." Sol knelt down beside the bed.
"Forgive me, Empress. My knees need to touch the stone in order to serve you." Sol said with a soft smile.
"Get her a rug to kneel on. Her knees shall not touch when unnecessary." Lena said. Sol smiled gently.
"You are exactly as the goddess said. Proud, and strong. Lay down across the bed, Empress. This will be over soon."
* * *
Sol watched as the child's head breached Lena's cervix and she opened wide to allow him out. Her young body could barely stand the pain, but she endured.
"Somebody neuter that dog faced bastard! Argh!" Lena cried out. Sol chuckled softly.
"Don't worry, Empress. He will be taken care of when he becomes too much of a nuisance. Right now, he is merely a flea trying to bite the ankle." Sol grinned as she heard her goddess inside her mind agree with her.
"One last push, Empress. It will be over with this last push. That's it. He's out." Sol smiled, and severed the umbilical cord with the razor sharp claw from her first finger. She tied the cord off with a piece of butcher's twine, gently washed him, and wrapped him in the cotton. She handed him to Hannah.
"Place him in the wet nurse's care. I have to attend to the Empress." Sol turned back and blinked.
'Goddess, did you heal the Empress?'
* * *
"Well done, child." Gallae said softly. She froze time again, and held out her hand. The soft white light slid inside the Empress' bleeding body and healed her from the inside out.
Gallae sat on the bed and ran her fingers through Lena's hair. She smiled gently, leaned down and kissed the teen's cheek.
"I am so proud of you for enduring the pain with no pay off for you." She breathed out a stream of white light that entered Lena's ear.
"I will not be around for a while. The ones outside approach my Imera, and they anger me. There will be great signs of calamity in the skies, but no harm shall come to Imera, nor to yourself." She snorted in disdain at the foolishness of some who believe they are strong. She smiled softly at Lena, and lightly rubbed her head.
"Sleep, child. Gallae protects those who belong to her."