The Worst Storm in a Century

The Easing

"Amaya.." Magnifico's voice whispered in the darkness, his face solemn as he held Amaya's hand to his cheek. He'd used his very basic healing skills to help stop Amaya's bleeding, but the healer had warned him that it might have been too late, that she might have lost too much blood to fully recover. Magnifico didn't believe it. He wouldn't believe it. No one knew his wife the way that he did. She'd not leave him if she could help it.

"Your Majesty" the midwife's soft voice broke the silence of the room before quickly being drowned out by a roar of thunder as the storm continued outside the castle. It was almost poetic, Magnifico thought to himself briefly, that such a storm should rage outside while a similar one burned through his soul as he allowed himself to think, for a split second, that Amaya might not wake up.
"Hm?"
"Do you want to hold your daughter?"

The King's head snapped around and he glanced towards the woman, taking in the worried look on her round face, and the way her eyebrows knitted together, as though she was anxious that the King would snap at her. His eyes trailed down to the small bundle of blankets, and the sleeping face of his newborn daughter, the last child he and Amaya would have because he would never be putting his beloved wife at risk this way again. Three was enough.

He remained silent for a moment, torn between two very strong emotions. The thought that he didn't want to be near the child who might have caused him to lose his wife and the horror that he would ever consider that thought in the first place. It wasn't their daughter's fault that things hadn't gone perfectly, and how could he turn against someone that he'd made with the woman he loved?

"Yes.." he said, finally, and the midwife passed the baby to him as gently as she could. The King stared down at the tiny girl, a rush of love washing over him as a sad smile brushed over his lips. How could he ever, for even a moment, have thought that he'd feel anything but love for the tiny, little girl? Gently, he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I hope your Mama wakes soon. She's going to love you so much," he whispered, holding the baby against himself in one hand as the other moved to take Amaya's once more.

Magnifico sat in silence for a while longer, the sound of the pouring rain outside soothing him somewhat. Amaya's hand was still warm in his, and her chest was still rising and falling, but the shallow breaths she had been taking were growing deeper, and he felt himself relaxing, certain that she was healing as he watched her.
"Wake up, Amaya," he whispered as the sky began to lighten, his lips brushing over the Queen's knuckles gently as their daughter slept against his chest.

"Come on, I can't name our daughter by myself... You'll only wake up and tell me that you hate the name, and then you'll have to break her tiny little heart because I'll already have gotten her used to it.." he smiled weakly at his own words before letting out a gentle sigh.

"I've not hated a single name you've chosen yet.." Amaya croaked, her throat obviously dry.
"Amaya? Mi amor?"
"Hey baby.." the Queen said tiredly, eyes fluttering open, and the King couldn't help but smile, leaning over to brush his fingers through her hair.
"Oh thank the heavens.. Stay still. I want the healer to check you over.." he motioned the man over, getting to his feet and handing the baby to the midwife as he rushed off to get Amaya some fresh water.

"I thought I'd lost you," Magnifico said softly as he sat with Amaya in bed, his arms wrapped around her, her back resting against his chest. He planted a kiss on her cheek, before looking down at the baby cradled in her arms, fast asleep and completely oblivious to the danger her mother had been put in while bringing her into the world.

"I thought you had too" Amaya admitted, a weak smile on her face.
"It was a... strange experience. 'Almost death'."
"Oh? What did you see?"
"Well.. some of those we've lost over the years. It was odd. I was in our throne room, but it was.. different. More ethereal. And my Mama was there, with Rosa Maria.."
"She was?"
"Honestly, it felt so real. Mama placed her in my arms and I felt her, just as I'm feeling this little one now."
"Well.. we don't know much about the afterlife. Maybe it was real."
Amaya chuckled softly "Maybe it was. Perrito was there too."
"Of course he was. He's our good boy. He wouldn't miss a chance to come and say hello to you."
"And so were... your parents"

"My... my parents?" Magnifico looked at Amaya in shock, and she shifted in his hold so that she could look at him properly.
"Mmhmm. I mean, obviously, I've never met them but I recognised them. Your father had your lips, and the same cheekbones. And your mother.. well, she had those eyes."
Magnifico smiled weakly.
"That sounds like them.. maybe it was real" he shrugged, but the thought disturbed him more than he'd ever admit. Not because Amaya had taken a trip to some strange afterlife, or because the description of his parents were spot on for a woman who had never met them, but because it was an ever present reminder of just how close he had come to losing her forever, and that was a thought he couldn't bear.

"Maybe. They wanted me to pass on a message."
"Oh?"
"Yes. They said to stop blaming yourself for what happened in the past. You were just a boy and there was nothing you could have done."
"They would say that" Magnifico smiled sadly, cuddling Amaya against him, burying his face in her neck to hide the tears that had built in his eyes, the thoughts of his parents words soothed him somewhat, but they also brought up a flurry of emotions that he didn't need to bother Amaya with right now.
"They want you to know that.. you make them so, so proud."
Those words broke him, and Magnifico let his tears fall. He knew Amaya would feel the wetness against her skin, but she didn't say anything. She knew him well, knew what those words would mean to him.

"Thank you, for saying that. I hope I do."

As the storm eased outside their bedroom, and the sun began to rise, a gentle knock echoed around the quiet room. Magnifico slipped out from behind Amaya and crossed the room, pulling open the door with a grin as he spotted the two small faces appearing in the gap.

"Can we see the baby?" Eliana asked, a grin on her small face, and Magnifico chuckled, bending to lift her in one arm, and Nicolás in the other. As they giggled happily, he carried them over to the bed and placed them gently in front of Amaya.
"El, Nico.. meet your baby sister, Mía" Amaya said softly, as their two older children shifted closer to peer down at their sister's face.

"Mía? That's pretty," Eliana grinned, "can I hold her, Mama?"
"Hmm, are you sure that you're old enough? She's very delicate..."
"I'm five! That's old enough. Please Mama? Please, please, please..."
Amaya chuckled softly, patting the space next to her.
"Alright, come sit here so that the pillows can support you.."

The name Mía had come to Magnifico the moment he had set eyes on the baby, a sweet name that he'd thought of because he knew it meant 'beloved'. As he watched his wife, and their three beautiful children together for the first time, seeing the looks of joy on all of their faces, he knew for certain that she always would be.