The Fire and The Storm - The Nexus of Kellaran #2
Chapter 33

Part 7

"Bah!" Mark said with a shake of his head. "It's useless and worrisome to even speculate about it. We'll know eventually. In the meantime, here, have a distraction..."

In less than ten seconds, all three of them were quite distracted indeed.

Three weeks later, after a pregnancy that would have been of about average duration for a human but was short for an elf, Alilia went into labor.

She had felt heavy and lethargic that day, and had slept through most of it. The third hour past midnight found her in the living room, slowly rocking in a rocking chair, sipping tea and lightly drowsing occasionally, unable to truly sleep as the rest of the household slumbered.

She felt her first contraction and smiled, knowing it for what it was. She knew that there was no real use in waking anyone at this stage, and waited for it to pass.

Her next three contractions came about ten minutes apart and lasted about a minute each, and seemed normal.

Her fifth contraction, however, struck her suddenly, and with a power that took her breath away as her entire torso clenched. She knew it shouldn't be so sudden or so strong, but she wasn't very concerned yet initially. But the contraction only got stronger and stronger, long past when it should have ended. By the third minute she was in absolute agony, and would have called for help if she'd had any attention left for it. As the fifth minute approached she felt a bolt of panic as she realized that she was in serious trouble. She hadn't been able to take a breath for almost two minutes.

Within her, unborn Valentia struggled against the crushing feeling of the abnormal contraction. First it had frustrated her, then angered her, then filled her with a fear that grew constantly along with the increasing pressure. As the baby began feeling serious pain, her sense of magic awoke in her with a rush like an explosion.

In the moment when Alilia tried to call for help psionicly, Valentia struck out against the crushing pressure with Force and Fire. Alilia's call became a psionic scream that jolted everyone in the settlement wide- awake in an instant.

Mark and Talia Translocated into the room without thinking about it, a second later the twins ran in, and a second after that Yazadril, Nemia, Hilsith, and Yzell appeared.

They found Alilia screaming and writhing in the rocking chair, and every bit of her prodigious power was being used by her inherent Healing ability. Her hands were clasped on her stomach, which writhed like a wildcat was trying to tear its way out from inside her. Two or three times every second one of the Force bolts erupted through her skin in a spray of blood, or a small Fireball burned its way out from within with a huge puff of stinking smoke, and each time Alilia's body Healed the wound in a fraction of a second. It was a testament to the power of her maternal instinct that she didn't strike back at her daughter. Seven small fires were already burning in the room, and it was quickly filling with smoke.

It took all of those arriving a moment to overcome their shock and horror at the scene and decide on action. It was difficult to even think over Alilia's continuing psionic scream.

"Help me Mark!" Hilsith cried as she Linked with him, and she guided him as he cast spells around the baby that cut her off from the fields of magic power, and vented her spells high in the sky above the house. Then Hilsith began treating Alilia.

Reggie and Helemia Linked with Valentia and did their best to calm the panicked baby girl.

Yazadril extinguished the fires and vented the smoke.

Talia and Nemia did their best to calm and comfort Alilia.

And Yzell Examined the baby while assisting the twins' effort to calm her by casting a Tranquility on her, then treated her pain and self-inflicted burns, which were already mostly Healed by her own inherent Healing ability. As soon as the baby stopped thrashing and stilled for a fraction of a moment, Yzell delivered her by Translocation.

Fifteen seconds after Alilia started screaming, the crisis was over and her daughter was born. It took a while after that for everyone to get their racing hearts and panicked breathing under control. Hilsith continued to treat Alilia for the next fourteen minutes, as her body was still undergoing abnormal and painful contractions, though her daughter was no longer in her womb.

Yzell continued treating Valentia, even as she washed the baby and wrapped her in a soft blanket. She stood close, holding the babe until Hilsith was finished and was satisfied with the health of both mother and child.

Finally, at Hilsith's direction, Mark gently picked Alilia up from the ruined rocking chair with Levitation, and Translocated to the bedroom with her, Yzell, and Valentia. Alilia was gently bedded down and her daughter placed at her breast.

"Thank you." she whispered in exhausted joy as she caressed her baby. "All of you, thank you."

In another ten minutes they were both asleep, but everyone else was far too wound-up from the excitement to want to go back to bed.

At Hilsith's request, Mark sent a quick Speaking to the awakened community, announcing Valentia's birth, but asking all but the closest family to postpone visiting until further notice, due to the delicate condition of mother and child after a difficult delivery.

Hilsith and Yzell remained at the bedside, monitoring their patients. Talia, Nemia, and Helemia made tea and snacks, while Mark, Yazadril and Reggie cleaned and Restored the living room. Shortly Dalia and Bezedil arrived with sparkling wine for the congratulatory toasts. Only then did it truly strike home in Mark's emotions that he had a new daughter, he was a father again, and now he had three children.

Reggie and Helemia fell asleep in their parents' arms an hour later, but the rest stayed up and waited to meet the new baby when she and Alilia woke.

That happened an hour before noon, and a few minutes later Hilsith and Yzell said it was fine for small groups to visit in the bedroom, if they were calm and quiet.

Valentia was born weighing two and a half kilograms with entirely elven-looking features. Her delicate hair was already ten centimeters long, and most of it was the same white-blond as Alilia's, but there were black streaks almost three centimeters wide from her temples and over her ears that curved down in back, and almost met at the base of her skull. Her eyes were wide open and focused, and were the same deep dark violet as Helemia's.

Mark, Talia, Reggie, and Helemia were the first to come in for a visit. They all climbed onto the huge bed, and for a minute it was a gentle chaos of hugs and kisses, congratulations and greetings, love and pride and laughter. Then Mark and Talia spent a minute giving Alilia more serious kisses, while Reggie and Helemia gave the newborn girl the energy she needed for her psionics, and spent a while getting to know their new sister.

"Her hair is amazing." Mark murmured with a grin a few minutes later as he watched his children interacting. "Mostly your color, with some of mine."

"It is beautiful, isn't it?" Alilia agreed with a loving smile. "What's most peculiar is that this white isn't my natural hair color, this came upon me gradually when I was about thirty-two hundred years old. Before that my hair was medium brown, like most of my people. Almost exactly the same color as Bezedil's, actually."

"Could you kids show me what you do to spark Valentia's psionics?" Mark asked.

"Sure, here." Reggie replied as he Linked and passed the information. "And then you have to do this to initiate a Link with her. Wow, you got that right away!"

"Your father might not have Povon's psionic strength, but when it comes to fine control work, he's second to none." Talia proudly proclaimed. "Why don't you let him do it?"

"Okay." Helemia nodded. She and Reggie let Mark gradually assume what they were doing with Valentia as they carefully withdrew. "That was sure smoothly done, Father." "Thanks." Mark chuckled, then gave his tiny new daughter his full attention as he picked her up and cradled her in his arms. "Hello Valentia, I love you very much." A minute later Alilia asked; "May I?" and Mark brought her into the link.

After a while Talia told Mark; "Alilia and Valentia need some time with you."

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