The Arcana - Muriel Fanfics!

XXI - The World

well when I'd decided to take a little break, somehow it turned into three weeks. And I'd completely forgotten there were only like 22 major arcana (including the fool). However, I intend for there to be 2 more 'bonus' chapters that defy the laws of tarot. Until then, enjoy! <3

"...Val. Let...let me hold that."

Leaning heavily against the doorframe, I grimace as my ankles seize up again. What's worse, I can't even reach down to rub my swollen calves, ankles and feet, or any of the places where the cramps are. I huff, readjusting the egg basket's position on my hip. My enormously irritating belly has made even the simplest things into herculean feats of endurance. 

Muriel tentatively extends his hand, as though he's secretly afraid I'll bite it off. I wave him away with my free hand, pushing off from the doorframe. 

"It's ok, love, really. I've got-" 

A spasm in my ankle twists up my leg like a vice. Crashing into the doorframe with a cry, I screw my eyes shut. Gritting my teeth, I focus on breathing, waiting for the cursed cramps to pass. 

Someone touches my elbow gently. The cramps seem to just grow, twisting, twisting, up my legs- 

The touch envelops me as Muriel slides his arm around my hunched shoulders, worry etched into every line of his face. Breathe, I think he's saying. Breathe, Val, just breathe...but something feels...wrong. Very wrong. I gasp and bite back a yelp as the horrible, tightening sensation swirls upwards, every muscle taut. 

Suddenly, Muriel goes still. The whites of his eyes are all but visible. 

Without warning, he drops his basket, fruit and eggs flying. His freed arm slips under my knees just when I feel like collapsing. 

Head spinning. Nails, digging into someone's flesh. Mine or Muriel's, I can't tell. But through heavy eyelids, I see it.

Sunlight glistens from a puddle, right where I'd been standing moments before. Then, a trail of it, leading right to...under me. My water, I realise, alarm bells clanging in my mind. My water broke. I barely register the sudden feel of fur beneath me, the familiar rumpled sheets and sunken parts of the mattress, where Muriel and I sleep.

Drawing a ragged breath, I twist the sheets in my fists as a tide of contractions rolls through me. 

Blinding, white spots appear as I blink away hot tears. The world shatters, tilts. Muriel's voice is faraway, his face fuzzy and featureless...he's yelling? At...at Inanna. I catch fractured pieces of Asra, something that sounds like Julian, before - 

I thrash wildly, another contraction slamming into me. 

It feels like fire. Like rusty knives, tearing my belly, my thighs and in between. 

Fire.

I 

am 

on 

fire

I throw my head back, sweat pooling in my eyes, mixing with tears. 

I 

am 

burning

from 

inside 

out

Someone is screaming. It's filling my ears, filling my belly. My throat is raw. Raw from screaming. 

Burning

burning 

burning

surely 

I 

am 

burning

Everything splinters, and I hurtle back to reality. There's pain, so much pain...but there's warmth. In my hand. Muriel's fingers being crushed by mine, but he holds on nonetheless. Chest heaving, I find his face. Those emerald eyes in the fire. Silent tears slide down Muriel's cheeks, his eyes pleading. "...J-j-ust...just b-breathe...breathe and...and J-Julian will...will be..."

Muriel's voice cracks, and I hold on tighter. It feels like falling, falling together. 

Suddenly, his tear-stained face twists away, speaking...speaking to someone. A flash of red hair, a heavy cape draped over my knees, and - 

Fire. It hits like thunder, rolling through me. It burns like lightning, lancing and exploding. Muriel starts whispering, lips trembling, trembling, against my fingers. 

Fire.

Surely.

Surely 

I 

am 

burning.

                                                                                            **********

Falling and rising. 

My chest, falling and rising, like gentle waves after an unforgiving storm. 

I can hear voices, but barely. Like a breeze through the trees. 

Faces...I don't know whose...swim through my vision, fish through a reef. 

My eyes ease open. 

Buttery sunlight filters though the windows, warm and bright. A lanky figure sits hunched over the table, head in his hands, hands in thick, auburn hair. 

Another figure, large and steady, stands by the window, his back to me. But he's bobbing up and down, rocking slowly. 

My heart aches at the sight of him. My throat feels as though I've been shovelling handfuls of sand into my mouth. "...Muriel..." I manage, barely more than a croak.

Julian lifts his head from his hands, and I vaguely notice the blood smeared down his front. He springs from his seat and skids to the bedside. Instantly, I feel his hand on my sweat-smeared forehead, then a thumb under my jaw. Slowly, Julian looses a shaky breath. "No fever, and her pulse feels fine," he mutters. Then...then he smiles. Muriel face appears over his shoulder, his features rippling with tension. Purple smudges sit under Muriel's eyes, his hair unusually dratty. He looked...as exhausted as I felt. 

But...but he smiled too. Then I heard it. Soft cooing, and a kind of gurgle. Muriel's face softened as he gazed down at a bundle in his arms, resuming his steady rocking. The sound was...heaven. The purest thing I'd ever heard. Julian moved to the side, and I saw. 

A squashed face, round cheeks and a brush of chocolate hair, matted and curling at the ends. But those eyes, peering at me with a wild curiosity. Bright green curiosity. 

I gaped in disbelief as Muriel knelt beside the bed, laying the babbling baby down on my chest. Chubby fingers curled against my collar, and Muriel nuzzled against my hair. 

"...A girl," he breathed, chuckling quietly. "...Our little girl."