Gentle Eyes of Evil

Chapter 29: Missing Someone You Never Knew

A baby's cry. A sound so many hear on a daily basis. Whether it's in a train, on a plane, or even at a family gathering. Whether it means they're hungry, tired, or just telling you they're alive.

For Luna, no better sound could have graced his ears. The child's cries flowed through his head, slower and more relaxed than any emotion he had felt for months. All the panic, all the pain, all the anger. Everything faded away, and became lost in the gentle stream of the child's crying.

"We've got her!" A male nurse called from the corner of the room, over where the baby's crying was coming from. Luna felt a warm, reassuring hand on his shoulder as the butterflies in his stomach began to flutter again. "We did it...She's going to be okay." He muttered quietly, a calm smile plagued his stained red face as tears fell. However, Jace's smile then fell. "I wonder who the father is. I didn't even know she was pregnant."

Jace's mention of the child's father washed right over Luna's head. He felt relieved, happy even, for the first time in months. He wasn't going to let himself lose that now. Luna sighed calmly, all the tightness in his chest came out in one release of air. The tornado in his stomach stopped swirling, the fire within it died down, the butterflies flew around calmly again, his senses and thoughts picked themselves back up. "Luna? You alright?" His brother's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Yeah...yeah I'm fine." Luna replied in a quiet voice as he looked over to where the child laid. "Go deal with Sophie...I'll stay with the little one. Make sure things are clean, I'll check on the room later." He told Jace. Jace didn't question, he just nodded and went to go deal with the body of their mother. Luna made his way over to the incubator where the baby rested, the nurse put a hand out to stop him.

"Apologies, your highness. We can't let anyone get too close." The nurse sighed and looked down to the child, his hand lowered. "The little one is alive, yes, but we need to watch her for a period of time. She sustained no physical injuries, thank Satan." The nurse looked back up to Luna. "If I may ask, where's her mother? And what the heaven happened?" He asked, his tone a little snappy. However, he seemed to notice his mistake almost immediately, his eyes widened in fear as he tried to stammer out an apology. "M...my Prince, I didn't m...mean to take such a tone with you. I p...promise. I...it's just with the situation being so uncertain I-" His plea was cut short.

Luna raised his hand to silence the man and looked down to him. His eyes were kind, calm, and yet so broken. "It's alright." He replied, in a voice so silent and soft it resembled that of a whisper. A whisper, however, that was carried with a cold undertone. "I'm unsure of what exactly took place. I found her like that beside her mother, who was also deceased." He explained calmly in that same, soft, cold, whisper.

The nurse's eyes widened, then calmed to a sympathetic state once he looked down at the baby. "Oh that poor girl...Do you know where Prince Jace found her?" Luna heard the man's question and sighed calmly. He thought of nothing but the one thing he couldn't say. The truth. "She was found on the streets. Her mother was clearly the victim of some terrible attack. Judging by the state we found her in, it's safe to say she didn't survive." Luna replied, like a young boy lying through his teeth.

"I see..." The nurse paused for a moment. "Your highness...what do you propose we do with the child? Without a mother, and being of common blood, I would suggest-" "We keep her." Luna interrupted sternly. "She may be of common blood..." He began to pace around the room. "But this young girl has no other family. In case you haven't noticed, our own family numbers have been dropping rather drastically. With the King being months dead, and a new Queen having just taken his place, we need all the life we can hold in this place. Commoner or not." He explained, his hands held each other behind his back.

The nurse's mouth fell slightly agape. "Keep her? But, my Prince, she-" Luna raised his hand and placed a warm hand on the nurse's lips. He now glared down at the man with unforgiving eyes. "Hush. Enough of this. Now." He whispered calmly, his finger fell from the staff member's face. The nurse once again froze, this time to process what had happened. "Keep the girl alive and well. Let me know as soon as I may see her." Luna commanded the nurse, who nodded in silence.