Book two of Blind Love
After being saved from the Saxons and brought back to the man she loves, Ailbe has grown far less naive. Still a gentle soul with a heart of gold, Ailbe begins to find the balance between compassion and subservience. She becom...
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As Ailbe walked back to the main hall she felt a sharp pain shoot through her. It was this awful wave of agony the made her double over. She gripped Whitehair's arm with a yell.
"My Queen?" He asked with concern as yet more pain sent her falling into his arms.
"No, no! It's too soon!" She wept as she clutched her belly.
"Get a healer!" Thora yelled at one of the soldiers while Whitehair brought her inside the Great hall. "Ailbe, stay calm. The child is coming whether you like it or not."
"No! Not now!" She yelled angrily, holding her belly. "It has to stay. It has to wait for Ivar and I'm not-" She was cut short by another surge of pain, making her scream out again.
"Ailbe!" Thora snapped. "After what you just did for him to your own brother, I'm sure he can forgive the baby coming early."
"But I can't! How dare he-" Again she was cut short, but this time by a wave of emotion as she began to sob. "I'm going to be a horrible mother, aren't I? I just- I just turned away my own brother. I just threatened to kill him!"
"Yes, you did." Thora nodded. For a moment she wasn't sure whether to agree or not. Had it not been for the early birth, she would've likely yelled at Ailbe when they got inside the hall for the things she'd just done to the small boy. "But you did that for your baby, remember?" She spoke comfortingly, not wishing to start more confrontation in a time that Ailbe didn't need it. "Now stop complaining!"
When the baby came, Ailbe internally apologized for every rude word that she'd ever said to her mother. It was agony. Utter agony. She felt battered and bruises and exhausted. For a while, she feared the child would tear her in two.
And for even longer, she feared the deathly silence that may follow her pain.
When that screeching cry resonated through the room, Ailbe swore that she'd never been so happy to hear something cry in her life.
"She's small," The healer said. "But she's a healthy baby girl."
Ailbe sighed, gently letting go of Thora's hand with a smile. She wished that she could see her, that she could look into the eyes of her own beautiful daughter - and she was certain that the baby would be beautiful - and tell her that everything would be alright.
"Can I hold her?" Ailbe let out in a whisper. The healer nodded, quickly wrapping up the small child in a soft white blanket and handing her to her mother. The little baby rested her head on her mother's chest, listening to her heartbeat with a contented smile. Her little hands curled around Ailbe's finger and she gave a tiny giggle that lit the room with joy. "Thora?" Ailbe asked, pulling her attention from the sweet baby. "Could you describe her to me?"
Thora smiled, looking down at the baby. "She definitely has your smile." She began. "But Ivar's eyes. She has the bluest eyes I've ever seen, they're beautiful. And she's got small strands of red hair coming through, so I think she will look like her mother in that regard. Ailbe, she's the sweetest baby I've ever seen."
Ailbe smiled, hugging her closely. "I know. I just wish that Ivar was here to see her."
"He'll see her soon, I'm sure." Thora smiled. "What are you going to name her?"
Ailbe lay back, still holding the baby close to her and cradling her in her arms. "Aslaug." She answered. "Princess Aslaug."
