The Luna Cycle: Book One

Part Two: Chapter Six

                                                          The Luna Cycle

                                                      Book One//Part Two

                                 ‘If by happenstance, you meet a cow on the road,

                                                            Do not eat it.

                              You may need to ask it for milk in the days to come.’

                                                   -The Teachings of Sola

Six

Lucan rushed. His hair was slightly wild, and if Diaen hadn’t pointed it out to him before he left, his sweater would have been forever wrongly buttoned. He hadn’t wanted to leave her; she had spent much of the night plagued with cramps. But, sitting chest deep in steaming bath water, Diaen appeared to feel better, or at least claimed as much. So, he left their home as early as possible, armed with assurances that she would be only a few minutes behind him.. As it were, he was still late for the test. He was sure the House would wait for his arrival before starting, but it didn't really make a difference one way or another. The test was simple, and could be carried out with or without his presence.

Lucan ran for a handful of long moments before he felt close enough to the control house to slow down. The tunnels were humid during the hot summer months. Some parts of the Underground were properly ventilated, but not here; the air around him was clammy, and his breath was short.

But, as he walked up the curve of Tributary B, and prepared to turn down the smaller hallway leading to the pylon control room, the dark cement ground beneath his feet suddenly shook, and a light dust fell into his dark brown hair.

He resumed running.

                                                                           ~*~

As soon as the door clicked softly closed behind Lucan, Diaen sat forward to wrap her arms around her belly. She could not deny the pain she was in, and she hated herself for lying to Lucan, but he was so excited about the test, nearly more so than about their child, it was a milestone moment, as much as the birth. Diaen wanted to hold off one moment to give the other a chance to come to fruition. But as her pain cycled around again, her hopes of false labor flew out the window.

The water spilled over the sides of the tub. Her eyesight dimmed, and she slumped backwards against the tub. Panting, several moments passed as she struggled to regain her senses. Terrified couldn’t describe Diaen. She wasn’t supposed to go into labor for weeks yet. But she knew that despite her own desires, her time to carry her baby safely was over.

She lurched out of the tub, grabbed her robe, and tugged it over her wet skin. Clutching the handrail, Diaen moved down the stairs to the basement door, desperate to find help. She stumbled into the semi-dark tunnel beneath the library, holding her belly in a vain attempt to keep her child inside. Tendrils of wet, dark hair strung heavily across her face, but she was afraid to move her uselessly placed hands. Before she even got the door open to her neighbor’s store, the Bright Tailor, pleading screams were falling from her mouth.

"Emaris! Emaris please! Are you here?" Her voice broke around the words.

Light shown from a door above, illuminating the basement storeroom from the ground floor. Emaris and her husband Salden came rushing down the stairs. Apparently in the midst of cooking breakfast, Emaris clutched a spatula in her hand. When her eyes lit on Diaen, half crouched and soaked in her doorway; the utensil clattered on the dark ground of the basement.