Choosing Life

Chapter Thirty Two

Elle smiled as she looked at her daughter, cooing happily in her bassinet. Today was the day she'd receive her blessing from their aquatic family, or a christening as others in Auradon might call it. Elle never found it necessary to correct them, even following suit if it was called a christening, since it was basically the same thing just a different name.

The kid was still getting a gift after all.

Gently lifting her out of the bassinet, Elle smiled down at Emily. How had it only been a month or so since this little bundle of perfection had been born? It felt like it was only yesterday that Elle was going into the hospital to prepare for her water birth.

"You are my world, my darling, what a wonderful world I see," Elle began to sing, her words soft and yet still audible. She didn't know exactly why she was singing but the song her mother had sung to Melody rang through her head.

Oh don't get her wrong, it would have also been the song their mother would have sung to her the day of her blessing had Elle's numerous surgeries not prevented the big party. Elle didn't mind, she knew her mother loved both her and Melody equally.

"You are the song I'm singing...you're my beautiful Emily," she continued to sing, Emily cooing happily in her arms. "Down to the sea we go, down to a world I know. There continues to be, and hopefully more, children born of sea and shore. Down to the sea we go, down to the world below, a journey to bless my Emily, under the sun and under the sea..."

A subtle knock on the door brought Elle out of her musings. "Come in," she called.

"Singing to Emily again?" Akiho asked with a smile as he entered the room.

"And here I thought you'd barge in like dad did with Mel's blessing," Elle chuckled.

Akiho shook his head. "Believe it or not, Ben sat me down after Stephanie and Maurice were born and explained that, while he loves how insane I am, I need to tone it down when I'm around the kids. Or he'd have Nyx sit on me."

"You know you'd love that," Elle said with a small snort.

"Yeah, yeah," Akiho chuckled. "But also...I didn't want to startle you or whoever was in here and cause them to drop Emily."

Elle couldn't help but give her husband a loving smile as she heard that. Of course she wouldn't want anyone to drop Emily either but it was always so touching how much Akiho seemed to care.

Maybe it was just a hang up left over from her youth, about how she'd worried that no one would care about her because of her chair...she wasn't going to lie, it was nice to be proven wrong about that.

"Everyone here?" Elle asked, pulling herself out of her thoughts.

"All humans...and canines," Akiho said with a chuckle. "The only ones not here are Macaria and Gil, Markos heard about his grandfather's egg obsession and tried to eat four dozen in one sitting which for a toddler is too much even for a Godling toddler, and Emir and Emma; apparently Emma's getting really bad carpet sickness when they try to fly so Emir doesn't want to risk it on the seas."

Elle couldn't help the sympathetic smile that pulled at her lips. "Poor Emma. I know this is going to sound bad but I couldn't imagine going through the full nine months of a mortal's pregnancy. Thank the Gods for mom's mermaid heritage."

"I think Emma would know you didn't mean anything negative there, sweetheart," Akiho said with a small smile. "And honestly I think she'd agree with you. The more I hear about pregnancy, the more I'm glad I don't go through it."

"I think you'd love being pregnant, honestly. No one tells you what you can or can't eat...well except for sushi but I don't eat that anyway. Or caffeine...or alcohol...and people touch you..."