In possibly not the smartest move of my long existence, I run towards the screams instead of away from them. Shortly down the road, I find a young woman curled in a ball, clutching at her very round stomach and writing in pain. I crouch down next to her and press a hand against her forehead. Her skin is hot and clammy and i don't have much time to think before she starts screaming again, a howl so full of pain and fear it tugs at my very core.
"Where do you live?" I ask her, already pulling my daughter out of the sash at my chest and handing her to one of the triplets. The woman is clearly in labor and I need to get her back to her house. She gestures in a vague direction and I nod.
"Take your sister and your brothers home and tell Papa I will be late tonight," I order my son and he nods once before taking off back towards out house. Scooping the woman into my arms, I begin to carry her in the direction she'd gestured. "I'm going to get you home," I murmur to her, trying to keep my steps smooth. "What is your name?"
The woman takes deep gasping breaths, her contractions seeming thankfully to have stopped for the moment. "Alcmene," she manages to say between heaving breaths.
"Alright Alcmene, just keep breathing. My name is Selene. You're going to be alright."
"My... baby?"
"Still safe and sound inside of you, but I expect not for much longer."
As if on cue, Alcmene lets out another scream, grabbing onto my shoulder and digging her nails into my skin so hard I think she draws blood. I force myself not to yell at her, remembering the pain or my own labors and knowing I have no room to complain compared to the agony Alcmene is in right now.
"It's going to be alright," I tell her, over and over again until we finally reach her house where a lone figure stands by the door, as though waiting for us.
"Eileithyia," I growl, stomping past the goddess of childbirth into the house and looking for somewhere to set Alcmene down where she will be comfortable. "Where have you been? This woman has been in labor for hours and only now do you show up?"
"Hera banned me from allowing Alcmene to give birth until her cousin, Nicippe, had borne her child."
"What in the heavens does that mean?"
"This child is a child of Zeus. If he had been born first, he would have become king of this land. Hera decreed as punishment for Zeus, the child's cousin would be born first instead, and Zeus's bastard child would serve him."
I stare at her, wondering just how much the gods had changed in my absence. To punish a mortal woman for the infidelity of a god was cruel beyond reason, especially because it made no difference to Zeus. More than likely, he wasn't even aware Alcmene was pregnant.
Suddenly, Alcmene begins screaming again, louder than before and I look back at Eileithyia. "Well, Nicippe's child has been born, which means you are free to relieve Alcmene of her labor too."
Eileithyia nods and I step out of her way so she can approach Alcmene. I'm careful to keep my back turned from the pair until I finally hear the wails of a newborn join the chorus of noises and I can finally release a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. The birth of a child is a sacred act, one that belongs only to the child's parents and their midwife. The last thing Alcmene needed was a stranger staring at her the entire time. However, now that the child had been born, I knew from my experience she would need help.
I sit with her long after Eileithyia has left, showing her how to swaddle the child and get it to feed from her breast.
"Where is his father?" I can't help but ask. I remember what Eileithyia had told me about the baby's true parentage and I wonder if Alcmene knows her child is part god.
YOU ARE READING
Cry of the Moon
FantasyHave you ever looked at the moon? Not just at a passing glance or to admire how bright it is that night, but really looked? Have you ever wondered where the marks on it came from? How the mountains and valleys and craters appeared? Have you ever won...
