Seventh Son

Chapter 1

     In the dark of the night Ba'al awoke in excruciating pain, she clutched at her belly and knew the time was close and her seventh child would soon be there. She woke up her husband and in a hushed voice she let him know that the child would be there soon. Throwing the covers off the bed he helped her get up and ran upstairs to let his oldest son know to watch over the others while he took his wife to the midwife in the village. Through the whole trip Ba'al was praying this child would be a girl. She couldn't imagine what would happen if she gave birth to another son. She prayed that like her mother in law she would not bear seven sons.

     As the cart slowed and Hermaan got out extending his hand to his wife she grabbedit and slowly climbed down holding her belly. He ran up to the midwife's doorknocking rapidly. He saw a lamp flare up and heard foot steps slowly come downthe stairs. "What do you want at this hour of night with a lowlyold woman" a deep raspy voice called from behind the door. "Please help"Hermaan yelled "my wife is in labor and the child will soon be upon us." The door creaked open with an audible screech revealing a matronly looking womanwith grey hair and wrinkles that each told a story of the many years she hadseen and children she had watched grow up before her eyes. She ushered Ba'al and Hermaan in shutting it quietly muttering a short prayer to herself. Shelike many others had heard the rumors of a strange prophecy years ago when Hermaanand Ba'al had moved into town with their six sons. Ushering the groaning womanup the stairs and into a room with a more comfortable bed she instructed Ba'alto remove her clothing and lay down on the towel. The midwife set about getting her items together and constantly telling Ba'al that everything would be alright and soon their lovely child would be with them and healthy as a child can be. 

     As the hours passed Hermaan paced on a now well worn path outside the door to the room his wife was in. He could hear her screaming in pain and it made his stomach curdle knowing he couldn't do anything about her pain. Suddenly the door flew open with an audible thud and out came the midwife and in a stern voice told him "go down to the kitchen and fetch me a bucket of water and linen strips". Brow furrowed Hermaan shambled towards the kitchen knowing the all familiar drill which was designed to keep him away during the actual birthing. As he was tearing up the linen into thick enough strips he heard one final scream and then a hushed silence, he cocked his head to the side and then heard the familiar cry of a child. He slowly ran back to the room careful not to spill any of the water or drop the strips. As he approached the door he said a silent prayer to the gods that it was a baby girl he had so desperately wanted. He softly knocked on the door and opened it to see his wife holding a small package wrapped gingerly in a blue cloth and his heart hit the floor. He slowly slid to the floor his shoulders heaving as tears came to his eyes. There before him was the seventh son of a seventh son, the one the prophecy foretold would bring either peace or destruction to the land around them.    

     He walked in hiding his tears as he walked up to the midwife handing her the water and linen. Walking somberly over to his wife he looked down at his new born son and cuddling his cheek he looked at his wife "What did you name him dear?" His voice came out cracked and uneven as he was trying to hide his sadness and the fact that he was now deathly afraid for his sons and his family. He turned away quickly to wipe his eyes and turning back to the bed he gingerly accepted the tiny little human into his arms cradling him carefully and looking at him with the love that only a father can have. "I decided to name him Sabie but I couldn't think of a proper middle name" her voice was frail and weak Hermaan knew she was exhausted. Kissing her gingerly on the forehead he placed the baby in her arms and left them to get some sleep. 

     Walking slowly back to his house noticing that the gakk flowers were in full bloom tonight, he decided to pick a bunch knowing that their bright color and smell would be a welcome sight to Ba'al when she came home from the midwife. Reaching his house he noticed that all the lamps and the fires had been put out meaning all of his sons were sleeping peacefully like they were supposed to. He leaned up against the door applying pressure to avoid the tell tale squee of the hinges signifying someone was there in hopes of avoiding waking anyone else up in the house. Grabbing the nearest vase and putting water in it he placed the flowers on the front table for all to see hoping that the baby blue color would bring smile to everyone and be an announcement to the gender of the new born child. Exhausted and barely stumbling out of his clothes Hermaan crawled into bed pausing only long enough to pull the shutters closed and a blanket over himself.

          After a fitful nights sleep Hermaan awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside his window and a faint roaring sound in the distance. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes trying to fixate on the sound in the distance, perching his head to the side listening it almost sounded like the whole town was gathered somewhere trying to protest some new change implemented by the council of elders. After a quick minute he jumped out of bed worried about where the crowd might be gathered. Yelling to his eldest son "Watch the others and barricade the door, do not let any one in unless you can confirm that it is me." He ran out the door not even stopping to hear his sons answer. As he navigated the maze of the village hearing the cries and screams get louder he grew more and more worried. Finally he reached the midwives house and was taken aback at the large crowd that had gathered. It took him a minute to notice all the pitched forks and the lanterns that were flaring up. The midwife was at the door a look of sheer terror in her eyes as she scrambled around trying to find a peaceful solution. Finally her eyes met his and with an audible sigh of relief she turned around and closed the door. This riled the crowd up even more as their source was suddenly taken from them.

          Hermaan called out in a booming voice "Why must you gather with such violence in your hearts around a place of happiness. I know this dear midwife has delivered many of your children and probably delivered you." He scanned the crowd hoping his words would have some effect. After a few tense minutes he saw forks and lanterns being lowered, and taking that as a positive sign decided he should speak some more. "Yes the rumors are true my wife birthed another son who is the seventh of his line as I am the seventh of my line like my father before him. I know we have all heard the rumored prophecy and I for one do not take much stock in the rumors of a son having such wondrous and evil powers." Hearing this the crowd roared with a huge crescendo, he heard cries of "traitor", "liar", "blasphemer." Waiving his hands to try and calm the crowd down which seemed to have no effect he tried a different tactic, "My brothers you know I mean no disrespect to the oracles and their prophecies but have there not been times when the prophecy was inaccurate or simply wrong?" That caused a small murmur in the crowd which he was looking for but didn't last very long as they started back up again with the shouting. "Brothers, brothers, brother," Hermaan tried again "my wife just birthed a new little one who has the potential to be a great warrior like many of your children, please let me go and visit my child in peace and set this little kerfuffle behind us." The crowds died down a little with the occasional word coming his way as he turned to the door and opened it listening to see if the crowds would flair up again and when they didn't he closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief believing this  to hopefully be the end of some of their problems. 

          Walking into the light of the fireplace he looked down on the bed where his wife rested he couldn't help but smile. "Through all the sweat and the pain you are still the most beautiful woman in all of the kingdom." She smiled up at him weakly and motioned for him to come over. He sat down gently leaning over to kiss her forehead as he wiped the hair out of her eyes. "Was the birth easy and is the child fine?" Ba'al looked worried and avoided his gaze until she could muster up the energy "Asure is fine but