Ivory's belly had grown impossibly round, each movement a reminder of the life growing inside her. Earlier, Ivory had begun to fold laundry until her belly had gotten in the way. After nausea kicked in, she called one of the servants to help her.
An hour passed with Ivory lying in the bed, round yet small, chest pounding. She had a feeling that her baby was coming soon. As she watched The Big Bang Theory on T.V. to help her ignore the pounding in her chest, Blue entered, silence as always. His eyes, dark and calculating, fixed on her like a predator observing its prey.
She turned to meet his gaze then looked away, and tried to ignore the nervousness she felt around him. Blue walked around the bed to her side and touched her belly, his hand lingered on her stomach for a bit before he pulled away.
Ivory noticed a medium sized wrapped package on the bed. The subtle hum of energy seemed to radiate from it, and Ivory's pulse quickened.
"What's this?" she asked, suspicion lacing her voice.
He tilted his head, calm, deliberate. "For you," he said.
"You got me a gift?" Ivory was shocked, though, knew that Blue had intentions with it.
Blue nodded. "You must know what you're carrying. Our child will flow out of you like water sooner than you know it."
Ivory's stomach twisted. She hesitated for only a moment before peeling back the paper and opening up a box.
Her eyes widened in shock.
Inside was the codex — Seraphyne -- the book her daughter had led her to. She recognized the metallic pages she had discovered in the basement, now pristine and bound in new leather. It pulsed faintly, blue light glimmering along the edges, almost alive.
Her hands trembled as she picked it up. Every page was familiar, yet new. She could feel the weight of knowledge, the hum of Seraphyne's energy vibrating faintly through the room, through her, through the baby inside her. She felt connected with the energy; it was like the energy accepted her human body and blood into its family. It was the strangest feeling Ivory had ever felt. Power she could not deny or ignore.
Blue's voice, low and soft, cut through her thoughts. "You should finish reading it. You must understand what is inside you… and what it can do."
"Finish -- finish reading it?"
Blue smiled. "You hadn't finished what you had started."
Ivory's pulse raced, both with fear and the strange thrill of forbidden knowledge. She set the book next to her on the bed and felt anger and fear pulse through her.
"Is this some kind of joke?" she sneered at him.
Blue smirked. "I don't let people sneer at me, though I'll let your reaction slide because you're my pregnant wife."
She decided that she was going to leave the bedroom and continue watching The Big Bang Theory in the living room. She wasn't going to let Blue get the best of her. She had no idea how he found out about her discovery, though he always knew. Maybe it was a super power that dragons carried. That was what she believed.
She slowly got out of bed and stood for a few seconds with icy glares at Blue, who stared at her indifferently. And then — sudden, sharp warmth. A gush of fluid, and panic slammed into her chest.
Her water had broken.
Ivory had gasped as she clutched her belly, eyes wide with terror.
My water just broke! It's only been 3 months! Ivory stared to panic.
"3 months --- it's only been 3 months! Something's wrong with our baby!" Ivory screamed with fright. She had never been so scared in her entire life.
Blue moved instantly, sweeping her into his arms bridal-style. Ivory stiffened, writhing, every instinct rebelling against him. Ivory did not feel safe with this psychotic man and did not want him touching her.
"Don't resist me. Your water just broke," he murmured, voice calm, unnervingly so. "We need to move quickly."
The hallway blurred beneath her as he carried her with precise, effortless strength. She struggled to focus, feeling the child's pulse in rhythm with hers, and the Seraphyne's enery from the Codex book hummed around her, the energy lingered and got stronger with each step Blue took.
The medical room came into view, instruments gleaming, sterile, and terrifying. Ivory's heart hammered, panic clawing at her throat as Blue gently placed her onto the bed, where the midwife and doctor suddenly came into view.
"I need an Epidural," Ivory said quietly as Blue used a cloth to wipe sweat from her forehead. . "I -- I'm in a lot of pain."
The midwife frowned, her blue scales reflecting in the light For some reason Ivory felt that she could trust this woman. "I'm sorry Ivory, as you know, this isn't a human baby. You won't be in labor for too long; your child is already coming out. By the time we administer the Epidural, your baby will be out."
Ivory jolted forward as she felt a twisting sensation in her stomach. She started to cry out in pain.
"The baby is coming," Blue gently grabbed her face and peered into her eyes. "It'll be quick. Trust me."
Before she could voice another protest, the door burst open.
"Lily? Lily! You're here!" Ivory cried, relief and fear twisting together.
"I'm not missing my best friend's birth!" Lily said fiercely, grabbing Ivory's left hand.
Birdie and Honor rushed in behind her. Birdie took Ivory's right hand. "Be ready, Ivory. We're here. Don't worry," she said, grounding her through the chaos.
Blue held one foot, the midwife the other, and the female doctor positioned herself beside the bed, ready.
"Get ready Ivory, your child is coming!" the doctor replied. "You must push, then breathe, then push in that order until your baby is out. Okay?" Ivory nodded. "Don't force yourself or you'll faint. Push gently and let the baby flow out naturally."
"When I say go, push." The doctor said. "PUSH!"
Ivory did what the doctor instructed. Pain hit her in waves, sharp and commanding. Sweat soaked her hair and clothes. The baby whispered in her mind: "Push… breathe… Seraphyne…"
And then, a cry — piercing, alive. The entire birth took maybe 30 seconds, like flowing water.
The doctor told the midwife to take the baby as she cleaned up the blood from the birth.
"Ivory, I'm going to place numbing cream on the area; I need to give you stitches. It should only take a few minutes. You did great," the doctor smiled.
Ivory nodded. Lily's hand was still around Ivory's; the two girls refused to let go of each other.
As the doctor finished with the stitches, the midwife had cleaned the baby up, removed the umbilical cord, and wrapped it in a blanket.
"It's a healthy baby girl!"
A girl, Ivory smiled.
Lily, Birdie, and Honor squealed and wrapped their arms around Ivory, who was hot, sweaty, and exhausted from the birth.
Ivory's eyes widened as the baby, a fully formed baby, was placed in her arms. Nothing about the baby signaled that anything was wrong. She slowly peeked at the baby's face, and saw that her face was fully developed.
Blue hair glimmered under the lights, she had his hair color and eyes and Ivory's face. Ivory's heart hammered. She instinctively knew: she was holding something no longer entirely human. She fell in love instantly with her baby girl, who stared at her with a small smile.
"She's pretty like her mommy," Blue smiled as he placed Ivory's head into his chest.
"A girl!" Birdie screamed. "Girls rule the world!"
"What are you going to name her?" Honor asked Blue, who shrugged.
"Wait until your brother hears about the good news!" the midwife smiled.
Blue leaned closer to Ivory, voice low, reverent. "She is … the beginning."
Lily, Birdie, and Honor stayed close, grounding the baby toward Ivory, who held the newest Seraphyne to her chest, understanding in that instant that everything had changed — her child, her knowledge, her power, and the very history she was part of.
Ivory was thrilled that everything made sense, though, didn't know what that had meant and how different her life would be now. Blue took their child, told her to rest, and she watched Blue hold the quiet baby in his arms. Ivory noted that he seemed happy, which was unusual because he rarely expressed happiness.
Ivory laid back as everyone gathered around her new born child and fell asleep to the humming of the Seraphyne in her ears.