In the heaven's

Chapter twenty-two

Kalani struggled to breath in the smoke filled corridor. But the toxic air filling her lungs wasn't enough to drown out the shrill screams that echoed through halls from a few doors down. Ever so curious, Kalani carefully tiptoed down the hall until she reached the door that was cracked open and that's where she saw it. 

Inside the room was a woman with brown curls sticking her forehead from sweat that fell down her face. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she let out another shrill scream, which startled Kalani to the point of nearly falling over.

 But when the woman's eyes were opened again, she noticed that the womans were a stormy grey— the same shade of grey as her own. But before she could get a better look, a voice broke through the silence. 

"I— I can't do it. Where is Al? Where is my husband?!" She sobbed as a nurse dragged a cold rag across her temple. She dragged her legs to the side of the bed and only then did Kalani notice the blood that soaked the bedsheets. And she finally pieced it together, the exact brown curls , the strikingly gray eyes, this was her mother, and she was watching her labor. 

Iliyana scrunched her face as she pushed herself up from her seated position, and was now leaning on the bed, balancing on her fists. "You've already done this once for your first daughter, now you can do it again for these two." The midwife encouraged her, but Iliyana ignored her. 

"I can't do this. I need Al— I can't do this without him." Her shook her head before doubling down in pain. 

Suddenly, a weird shiver surged through Kalani. She closed her eyes to try and gain focus again, but when she opened her eyes again, her father, Alastor was rushing to join Iliyana at her bedside. 

"I'm so sorry, my star. War council needed my instruction, but I'm here now." His silver hair was left down, free of the gel that Kalani saw him with in the portrait. And the fact that he was meeting with a war council explained why he wore armor. 

He presses a chaste kill to her temple before placing one hand on the small of her back and another on her very pregnant belly.

"It's ok. I'm here now." He began to lull her as he gently helped her get back on the bed. "Now, when they tell you to, I need you to push like you've never done before." Iliyana dryly laughed before responding with "I've never pushed. Eli was done cesarean section." 

Once Iliyana was properly positioned, the nurses nodded. "Now, push!" Iliyana's screams of pain flooded the otherwise silent corridor. And then silence. 

Suddenly, Kalani was jolted. Her head fell back on something soft as her eyes flew open in fright. "Finally. You sleep like a dead person." Brown hair that she quickly deduced belonged to Flora tickled her nose as the nature fairy leaned over her. 

"Bloom's doing it again." Another voice spoke, startling her. Kalani jumped up and gripped her chest in an attempt to slow her racing heart. She tried to focus her eyes in the dark, but when she noticed the platinum blonde hair shining in the moonlight, she realized that it was Stella. 

"What's she doing now?" Kalani muttered as she tried to rub the sleep from her eyes. "She's talking to someone in her sleep. Just like you were a couple weeks ago."

 Kalani's eyes widened as she shot up from her bed. She fixed the straps of her white nightgown before rushing over to her and Flora's shared dorm. 

"Why are we panicking anyway? She's probably just having a nightmare." Kalani shook her head. "This isn't just a nightmare. Look at her!"

 Bloom's nightwear was shifting to her fairy form and back. "Maybe we ought to do something. Let's get the others. Maybe Tecna can do something to help her."