Against the Odds

In the dark, she lay alone in a bed of refuse, and decay. Her labor screams echoed throughout the abandoned mine shafts, and shook the dirty water that clung to the stalactites. The flames of the Norvian candles she had scrounged to get danced fretfully, and imbued the cave in a gentle blue light. She had picked the perfect place; it was far from the world above. No one would be able to hear her scream.

Katherine laughed ruefully at the thought as the last wave of pain passed. She felt her hands loosen on the rock ledges, and tried to regain control of her breathing. The floor of the cave was smooth and cool, a product of years of the water above dripping down. It was exactly as she had wanted. Ragged blankets buffered her body from the harsher edges of the small indent on the cave floor. Her hands were already bruised and bloody, and she knew that even worse was about to come, but at least she had the solace of the darkness to calm her.

Katherine grabbed a small clay gourde, and drank the entirety of its contents. The liquid was gritty, and slightly bitter, but it helped ease her pain as the Healer said it would. She knew that the odds were against her. To give birth alone was hard enough, but to give birth to a son of a Helian was deadly. Everyone knew it. No creature in the mines above expected her to come back alive.

Another wave of pain bore down on her, and Katherine clenched the rock ledges as the pain exploded throughout her body. Sweat and tears cascaded down her face. She whispered the name she had chosen for her son. It became a mantra that she clung to. Alexander. It was a strong name, and Katherine had chosen it because she knew her son would have to be strong to live in the world that they did.

Katherine had beaten the odds before. Life had always been hard on her. When she lived on earth she had fought tooth and nail to survive in it, and when she came to this world, she knew it would be no different.

Alexander, Alexander, Alexander…

She felt his head breach the surface. She pushed through the pain. She knew she was bringing her son into a world that hated him because the world hated his father, but still she pushed. The world may hate him, but he would have her. There was no love stronger than that of a mother’s, and she hoped that would be enough.

Alexander, Alexander, Alexander…

Her throat was sore from screaming and her hands ached. She pushed harder, and the pain racked her body. The world was not going to stomp her or her son into the ground. They had every right to live as any other creature. His father’s species may have been classified as tyrants and villains in the eyes of the universe, but her son would be different. She would make sure it was so.

Katherine gave one last herculean push. She would not be beaten by this pain, nor the ridicule she knew they would have to face. She would face it as she had faced everything else, except this time, she would not be alone.

When Katherine felt her son finally come out, she greedily grabbed him up, and wrapped him in a blanket. Her arms were limp, and her body sagged from exhaustion, but she smiled all the same as her ragged breath peppered his tiny face. His small little lungs let out a weak little cry. Katherine held her baby close.

“Alexander, Alexander, Alexander,” she whispered.

She hardly knew if he understood what she said, nor did she care. They were together, and together they would take on the world.