Daughter of the Nile (a Percy Jackson AU)

Bes Of All

***Hazel***

          I was in my birthing pavllion with statues of the god Bes and Tawaret around me for protection. I silently prayed to the gods for a healthy baby and an easy delivery because I knew with even the best midwives that Egypt could offer helping me, I could die today. "I want Frank to be here," I told Eileithyia, who frowned.   

     "He can come in after the birth," she said.

        The pain was so intense that I had to think of something to block it out or I thought I'd go utterly mad. "Husbands are good for wives in labor," Ella said and she got up and left.

      Eileithyia looked at her speechless for a moment before putting a damp wash clothe over my sweating brow. By now, my contractions were growing more and more powerful and had become so painful that I bit my tongue to stop myself from screaming. It was one thing to hear about childbirth and quite another to actually experience it. Then again, the same thing held true for being a pharaoh and if I could fight the Hittites and survive, then I could suffer through this.

     Ella returned and to my surprise she had brought along not just Frank with her, but also Nico and Will. Nico looked vaguely uncomfortable but he squeezed my hand and gave me a watery smile. Will, on the other hand, started examining me and running around to look for medical scrolls. 

       Frank walked over to me and kissed me on the cheek. At that moment, the most painful contraction yet occurred and I could not stifle my ear-splitting scream. Frank jumped backwards and crashed into Nico, who fell into Will. "Falls are not good for humans," Ella said as she helped them up. 

     "Thanks Ella," Frank said. "You're pretty smart."

     I glared at him and he threw me a look of confusion. Then, I screamed again and he ran over to me. "I'm here with you, Hazel," he said.

       I closed my eyes tightly. "Promise me if anything happens," I began.

       "Hazel you'll be fine," he said a bit too quickly. "I know you'll survive."

        "Promise me," I said. "Promise me that you'll look after the child if there is one. Promise me that you'll preserve Ma'at in Egypt."

       "Hazel, I can't do it without you," he said. "I need you more than you can imagine. I love you Hazel and I cannot bear the thought of living without you. I love you more than Isis loved Osiris. I would do anything for you and if that means living for you-even after you're gone-then I'll do it."

     "Thanks," I replied, my dry throat causing my voice to crack. "I love you too."

     He looked like he wanted to say more, but another wave of pain hit me and I yowled like a lion cub. Why had the gods punished women by making childbirth so difficult? I knew that birds, reptiles, and fish laid eggs instead of giving birthing to live children. Why weren't humans and other mammals the same? Had humans been inflicted with painful childbirth to outweigh our dominion over other animals?

      The next few hours were a blur of pain so bad that I screamed until my voice was as raspy as a snake's hiss. I was sweating profusely and I felt like I was burning up, as if Amun-Ra had parked his sun boat-Atet- beside my birthing pavilion and the heat from it was seeping into the room. My attempts to block out the pain only made it worse.

      As Amun-Ra's Atet dipped lower in the sky, I realized that I couldn't block out the pain. Pain could never be dealt with by simply trying to forget it; pain had to be confronted head-on, even embraced. I concentrated on my body, where the pain was and how often the intensity and kind of pain fluctuated. "Push!" Eileithyia instructed and I concentrated all my might on bringing my baby into the world. 

       I thought of my love for Frank and despite the exhaustion and pain infecting my body, I felt a ripple of strength, as if Tawaret and Bes were finally answering my prayers. I squeezed his hand-a little too strongly judging from his wince-and screamed as the contractions grew more rapid and intense.

     Finally, I felt the pain peak and I screamed as loudly as Sekhmet, the warrior goddess. Then, a curious thing happened: the pain lessened and I heard a loud cry. I sat up a little too quickly and groaned in pain; my abdomen was sore and tender and I felt as if I'd been in labor for the entire growing season. Judging from my exhaustion, I probably had. 

      Ella examined the squirming baby and gave me a grin as wide as the Nile when it floods the fertile lands of Egypt. "It's a girl," she said and I thought my heart was going to explode with happiness.

     "Can I see her?" I asked and she handed me my daughter, who I held to my chest.

      She was small and her curly mop of dark hair stuck up in an endearing way. She had my nose and lips, but her eyes were shaped like Frank's. "She's beautiful," I said. "I love her."

      "What do you want to name her?" Frank asked.

    "Neferu," I said.

      He smiled. "She will grow up to be a great princess," he said. "Or even a pharaoh."

     I laughed. "You're not thinking about stealing the crown already?" I teased. "I never knew that you were so ambitious."

     Nico and Will came over to fawn over my baby. "She has your cheeks," Will told Nico.

    "You think I have baby cheeks?" Nico asked.

    "Well, it's kind of cute," Will said, "when you're not wearing your grump face like the dense brother of a pharaoh you are."

      Maria arrived and congratulated me. "You chose the right guy," she said, looking between Frank and I. "You were able to see past his awkwardness, like I saw past the gloomy demeanor of your father. You have made all of Egypt proud."

      In that moment, I knew that all the gods loved Egypt. I had a healthy, newborn daughter, the best siblings a pharaoh could ask for, and a loyal husband who I trusted my life with. I was a daughter of Egypt-a daughter of the Nile-and nothing could change that.