Halfling (editing in process)

Chapter Thirty-Six

"Aria! Aria you are going to hurt the baby! For fuck's sake let Maven go! Aria!"

"Aria! My sweet... Please, please come back. You are hurting your brother and Maven. You have to wake up."

Aria's eyes shot open, a sharp gasp leaving her as her body arched off the bed. She could feel the hot trail of tears staining her face as her mind tried to come back to the present time. The room was ice cold, darkness surrounding the walls of the room. Maven was pressed against one of the walls, a thick vine wrapped around her throat, her body pinned by a layer of bark. Shadow creatures roamed the room, hissing madly at Payne and Javen, one prodding Maven's cheek with its claw, a few holding down Marcus, biting him as he tried to bite them, and one lay against her side, cooing strange hissed, broken words at her as it stroked her belly with its claws.

Her eyes moved to Payne, the face she recognized first.

"M-My mother." Aria whispered, pulling Payne to her easily with a strip of shadow. "She didn't want me either. But then she loved me... How could she love me knowing what I was? She knew I would be evil; she tried to kill me... But she loved me; she tried to save us... Why?" She questioned quietly, tears continuing to flow down her face.

"Because you are worth saving Aria." Payne whispered, cupping her face and gently brushing away her tears with her thumb. "She must have seen that. She must have realized that you could be saved, that she could save you from your father. She loved you Aria... You need to stop thinking that you aren't worth being loved, that you don't matter because of what you think you are. You are good, you are kind, and you have the brightest soul I have ever seen in a demon. You are not your father."

Payne slowly crept up on the bed, trying to ignore the shadow creature as it jumped up and hissed madly at her. In one move Aria pushed it off the bed, crawling into Payne's lap, pressing her head to her chest and holding her tightly.

"I was going to kill it." Aria whispered. "I was going to kill our baby. What does that make me Payne? I am a monster. I tried to kill an innocent... l-l-little baby."

"Shah..." Payne's fingers stroked through her hair, looking to Maven as she let out a choked sound as the vine grew tighter. Javen had moved and was trying to pry it away from her. "It's okay Aria... It's all going to be okay. You need to calm down... You need to let Maven go, okay? Then we'll talk just me and you. Just let Maven go."

Aria's face scrunched in confusion, slowly pulling away from Payne and gasping in horror as she saw what she had done. In an instant the shadows disappeared, along with the creatures. The bark collapsed, leaving splinters in the floor; the vine released Maven, who then fell forward limply into Javen's arms, gasping desperately for breath. Aria shook her head as she locked eyes with Maven, horror in her eyes.

"O-Oh n-no. I-I-I didn't mean to. I'm sorry Maven, I'm sorry!" She moved forward to try and get to her, Javen pulling Maven close to him and moving to the door.

"Don't you get near her." He hissed darkly. "You were suffocating her! What if you would have crushed her throat?! You almost killed her and our child! Stay away from Maven you damned demon spawn!"

Aria let out a soft sound of hurt, Maven letting out a light gasp as well. Payne drew Aria close to her, letting Javen pull Maven out of the room.

"I almost killed Maven too." Aria shook her head, a bitter laugh leaving her. "Two babies and a dark elf. I am a monster. I am nothing but a monster, a stupid Halfling that can't even control her pow-"

She was cut off as Payne's lips gently pressed against her own. She tried to draw away from her, but melted against her when she refused to let her go. Her eyes shut as tears flowed freely down her face, Payne finally pulling back as she began to sob.

"You are not your father Aria." Payne whispered.

She wanted to protest, wanted to scream at her, wanted to throw herself to she shadows and let her creatures tear her apart. She opened her mouth to speak, her entire body going rigid as a soft pulse of energy, barely detectable, came from within her. Her hand trembled as she moved down and rested her hand against her stomach, another weak pulse coming from within, elven.

She wrapped her arms around her stomach and cried. She felt Payne's arms wrap around her, her chest press against her back as she whispered in her ear. She couldn't hear anything she said, didn't bother to open her eyes as Marcus came up and curled in front of her.

Her baby was elven, her baby was alive... Her baby had a chance.