The Sleeping Princess Ch. 06

When Rosella began to scream from the pain of the contractions Jamie couldn't sit still any longer. He rose and began to pace, his eyes never leaving the bed. He saw his wife's face, barely visible between the crowd of women, contorted in pain as she was encouraged to push by the midwife. He wanted to comfort her, but there was no room around the bedside for him.

Suddenly there was a flurry of 'oohs' and 'aahs.' Jamie stood still while one woman exclaimed that she could see the head. The old crone then began to usher the women out of the room, gesturing to him to hold Rosella's legs. Everyone was confused. It just wasn't done. The women attended the birth, the king waited outside, not the other way around. Jamie, however, was relieved. He didn't know how they would achieve a switch if so many people were to see the true heir, especially if it was, as they suspected, a girl.

Rosella looked much like she was about to pass out. Jamie held her legs with one hand while he stroked her cheek with the other.

"You can do it, darling. Just a little more."

Rosella roused herself just enough for another strong push. The midwife was there as a fuzzy head emerged.

"One more push, my queen."

Rosella bore down again and the little child slipped from her body. The old woman quickly wrapped it in an absorbent cloth, wiping the blood from its body and the mucus from its mouth and nose. The faint wail of his child's first cry rang in Jamie's ears.

Rosella was fighting to keep her eyes open. She didn't understand why she was so tired. The birthing had been so short. It almost felt like the spell she had been under, but she knew that wasn't possible. Vaguely she heard the midwife tell her to push one final time and felt the woman pressing gently down on her stomach. Something hot and wet gushed from her body and she lost consciousness, slipping into a drugged sleep.

The old woman handed the bundled child to the king, and then quickly left the room. She didn't say a word, leaving Jamie alone with his sleeping wife and child. Was it a girl or a boy? He didn't know.

As carefully as he could, so as not to wake the babe, Jamie pulled the blanket aside. It was a girl, as they'd expected. Watching his sleeping daughter Jamie was caught off guard by the way his chest seemed to swell with pride. The burning in his eyes returned and he buried his face in the blanket, breathing in the scent of his newborn child.

The door opened with barely a creak. His warrior senses were still keen enough that he turned immediately to face the old woman as she walked inside. She carried a bundle of towels. One of the towels wiggled. She put the other towels onto the bed and held out the squirming one for Jamie, who took it gingerly.

"Your son, your majesty."

Jamie stared down at the little boy with jet black hair. His face was red and squashed looking and he was sleeping fitfully. This was the child who would sit on the throne one day. This was the child who would save his kingdom from madness. This was their savior.

Suddenly his daughter let out a soft mewl. His gaze shifted to the other tiny bundle he held in his arms. His daughter's face was less red and puffy, but she still looked a little squashed. Her hair was not black, but thin and blond, like her mothers. Her eyes were cracked open and they were a startling shade of clear, icy gray. She watched him intently, her tiny mouth forming a little moue. He wanted to lean down and kiss those tiny little lips, to hold her close and never let her go. She was perfect, just like Rosella, and equally irreplaceable.

Against his better judgment, Jamie handed the old woman the tiny bundle, his hands nearly shaking as he did so. He looked at his wife as she snored gently in their bed. As he watched her face, so peaceful in sleep, he knew that he had no other choice.

The old woman took the child from him, watching his face intently, although he had stopped looking at her. She didn't say a word as she turned and left the room, carrying the babe away and leaving the small family in privacy.

Jamie sat down on the edge of the bed, cradling the infant in his arms. She stroked the fair cheek with one finger, and then touched the tiny lips, which instantly tried to suckle. Rosella began to rouse from her strange slumber, her green eyes fluttering open until they were able to focus on the man sitting in front of her. She smiled at him, and then her eyes fell on the bundle he held in his arms.

Rosella held her arms out and Jamie gently laid the child in them. She held the wiggling babe to her breast, its tiny mouth latching on with ease. Staring into one another's eyes, mother and child connected for the first time. Rosella smiled, and then turned to her husband, the love shining in her face making her seem to glow.

"She has your eyes, my love."

Jamie took a deep breath before he replied.

"Yes. Yes she does."