Valterra

CHAPTER EIGHT

     "Push!" Chloe held her patient's ankles and helped her bear down. She had been monitoring this labour for the last few days and it was finally coming to an end. The mother was exhausted which made the pushing more difficult, but it wouldn't be long now, just a few more.

     Chloe's assistant, Elise, hung some clean towels to warm by the fire in wait for the baby. Elise was a midwife in training who Chloe had taken in just this past year. She had proved herself time and again when it came to monitoring patients; Elise seemed to have a knack for picking up potential problems and finding the right remedies. 

     "One more! Push!" With another long grunt, one more babe was brought into Bolster City. Chloe placed the little girl on her mother's chest and she was soon nursing strong. Elise placed the warm towels over the newborn and gave the mother some blankets while they both got to work cleaning the birthing room.

     A few moments later, Elise stepped out of the room and came back with a small satchel she usually carried around with her while attending to patients. Chloe watched as she rummaged through it and finally pulled out what she was looking for; was it Moon Daisy? It must have been, it was a common remedy for after birth. Knowing Elise, she had probably already made the capsules from the plant's roots days ago and stuffed them with its petals. 

     "Here, Miss Mae, you take these each morning until you're feeling strong enough to walk around holding your little one."   

     This new mother had a long labour which could lead to a painful recovery. Elise also gave her a small amount salve made from Wolf's Bane. She must have noticed the small lump on the new born's head which most likely developed from being partially in the birth canal for so many days. The salve would lessen the swelling of both their injuries and would make the healing process a bit quicker. 

         Chloe watched as Elise explained and delved out her concoctions. She was impressed at how professional, yet personal Elise was with each patient. It was almost as if she could sense what they needed with a look. She even gave the mother some chamomile tea which was not something given regularly. What was that for? Cramps? Depression? Chloe wasn't sure, though she felt a stab of jealousy that knowing what remedies to give did not come so natural to her. Perhaps she should have been trying to learn more from Elise rather than the other way around.

         "Don't look so glum Chloe, you were great, as always!"  Elise praised her boss as they left the mother and her new child alone for the first time.

         "Glum? No! I was just wondering what the chamomile was for?"

         "Ah, she was always praying under her breath. A woman praying so much has got to be a worrier, just thought it would help ease her mind, especially now when she needs it the most." She smiled and gave Chloe a little wink.

         "You do know people Elise, very well. It has been a pleasure having you work for me." And in that instant, she knew she could sign off on her. Elise was ready to have her own patients and run her own ward. What a gift she would be to any care-house that snatched her up. 

     She had a selfish thought then. Perhaps before Elise found work somewhere else, she would have time to visit home again. She wanted to see how her brother Caldwell, his wife Kaja and her nephew Avos faired at her old farm. She missed them terribly. She couldn't believe it had been almost seven years since she'd seen them. 

     While she lived on the farm, she was proud to be one of the most well known midwives in the South. Word had carried here of her talents. After her husband died in the war, she accepted the offer to move and work here in the care-house.