News reached Farrah, and she was devastated. She only had her younger sister Tilda, a barmaid at the inn, to help her when she was ready to deliver the baby. Her labor started early, with little warning. Tilda realized there were likely to be complications with the birth.
Farrah labored all through the night, and Tilda did her best to keep her sister clean and comfortable while tiring amidst the pain. With a final agonizing scream, Farrah pushed the baby free of her womb.
A strong healthy boy with golden hair was born. The mother named him Lukas.
Earlier on, Tilda sent a messenger to request the emergency services of a midwife or a cleric of the church to help with the birthing complexities, but nobody had arrived, and Farrah’s spirit was starting to fade.
In a shallow breath, Farrah asked her sister to recite The Mother's Prayer together: the lullaby prayer a mothers sings to their little ones to help them to sleep.
“Oh so Bright. Angel of Light”
“Protect this innocent child tonight.”
“Keep him warm. Make sure he's fed.”
“Dry his tears, and also his bed.”
“Let Mother sleep, and Baby too”
“With hearth and home at peace.”
“Tomorrow morn, when the rooster sings”
“I thank you m’lady, and grant you release.”
Holding each other hand-in-hand, Tilda wept as Farrah could no longer draw breath to finish the last words.
Knowing nothing of child rearing, Tilda cried out just as the cleric arrived a heartbeat too late. She comforted and held Tilda silently in her arms as she grieved for the loss of her sister.
Together they thought it might be best for the baby to be raised by the Sisters of St. Daimos, an orphanage and school for children. Tilda could visit Lukas as he grows up, but ultimately guardianship would be given to the church, allowing Tilda to continue to earn a living full-time.
Meanwhile, after three months Gilbert nearly finished serving his sentence on the Gilded Lady. In the last month the ship was presumed attacked by pirates at sea. The pirates would have plundered the ship and sunk it to the sea bottom. Nobody on the crew of the Gilded Lady was ever heard from again.
Prince Helios recovered quickly from his wounds, and seemed to forget about the matter fairly quickly, but his cousin, Prince Thebis maintained a limp, and required the use of a cane for the rest of his life. Prince Felbin died relatively young, at age 42. It was whispered that a cursed disease quickly sapped his voice and soon after his lifeforce in a matter of days.
Tilda continues to work as a barmaid at The Tilted Table Tavern Inn. Young Lukas at the orphanage was visited by his Auntie Tilda on birthdays and holidays over the years. He grew fond of her, being his only family, and he especially enjoyed her frequent gifts of gooey stickybuns. Lukas would often look out his dorm room window overlooking the sea, where his mind wandered. Perhaps his Papa was alive out there somewhere, exploring the oceans and finding treasure maps to search for pirate gold.
Thank you for reading my short story.
"A Mother's Wish" is the second chaper in a three-part series. Feel free to browse the first chapter in this tale, "A Horse and a Mule", or continue onto the final chapter in "The Mad King"".
Together these tales are meant to broaden the history and backstories of a greater fantasy setting I am exploring. Explore with me, and leave your kind thoughts.
The narrative and plot are entirely my own, with inspiration from Greek mythology, Grimm Fairy Tales, and modern fantasies such as A Game of Thrones. Some revisionary and editing assistantace was provided by ChatGPT.
Cover art provided by Pixabay.
