After the fight, I can barely walk back to my tent before collapsing onto the cot. I'm exhausted from everything I've done today, especially the fight. I never get so tired after using so little energy. It's infuriating.
I lie still on the bed, not sleeping, content in my isolation. I let myself contemplate this pregnancy, truly think about it. Witch pregnancies are tough, but I'm strong, much stronger than the average witch. Maybe I might have to use a little less energy, but I can't imagine it'll be that bad. I run my hands over my stomach, and the bump there. I wonder what gender the baby will be. Will it be a witch, like me, or male, like Dorian? I wonder what Dorian wants, although knowing him, he probably doesn't care, as long as they're healthy, or other soppy nonsense.
With a start, I realise this is the first time I've thought about Dorian since leaving Adarlan a few days ago. In all the chaos of arriving back here, and the fight, I completely forgot about him! I try to stand, pushing myself up, but a wave of light-headedness hits me, and I have to lie back down again. Damn.
After a few minutes, I stop trying to get up. There's not much I can do about Dorian anyway - if I went off to Adarlan, I could miss him again. And, if I'm completely honest with myself, I'm on no fit state to travel. I'm exhausted. Maybe this pregnancy will be harder than I thought.
Eventually, I fall asleep. I dream that I'm standing at the top of a mountain, far above everything else. All around me are clouds, and the occasional other peak far in the distance. I turn around, and realise I'm standing in snow.
Behind me is an empty wooden cabin, with no windows, just a door. From it, a faint crying sounds, a baby's crying. I stalk towards the door, the cold not affecting me, and pull on the handle. I can't get in, no matter how hard I push and tear and snarl at the door. The more I try to move the door, the more stuck it gets, and the louder the baby cries, but, alone on the top of a mountain, there's nothing I can do.
YOU ARE READING
Manon's Child
FanfictionAfter the war, everything has changed for Manon. All of her friends are dead and grief is eating her up inside. But then, she finds out she's pregnant and everything changes. Things with Dorian could be ruined, the witches are revolting - what else...
