[Galadria]

LOL, thanks, Gammit. This concludes Part I. I shall start Posting Part II, "The Child Born of Women," soon.

Noemi, abdomen bulging, was laying on Galadria and Attalus' bed, legs apart, as the midwife examined her. An elderly, maternal woman, she was all smiles as Noemi sweated and gave little cries. She finished, and, as she wiped her hands, beamed as she told an anxious Galadria, "It won't be long now, M'lady. She's little but strong. This'll go well, you'll see."
Chorania, who was bathing Noemi's forehead with a rag soaked in cold water, heard and said to the motther-to-be. "See, m'zint to, you are almost through. Be stout. You can do it."
"Oh, Cho," Cythera said as she rushed in with more cold compresses, "what did you just say? Is it going all right?"
The drow shot her a reassuring glance. "Surely, Cyth," she answered. "My little Em is doing well and is being very brave. Oh, another pain? Push, my darling, push her on out. Little Uriel is ready to come into the world for you and all of us to love."
Sefa peeked in, and asked timidly. "Cho, Lord Attalus wants to know how everything is going. Lord Odo said to tell Em that he is doing everything he can and that Em is in his prayers."
Noemi's face cleared and she drew a great breath. "Tres, this is hard," she complained. "Ah, thanks Cho, that feels good...oh, no, another one. I haven't gotten my breath....aaargh." Sefa hurriedly ducked back out.
The midwife and Galadria were suddenly very busy, and then the dark mage looked up with joy. "Em, you did it! She's here! Oh, little Uriel, she is so beautiful." She quickly swaddled the infant in a clean cloth as the midwife cut the cord and tied it. Baby Uriel began to cry, lustily. After a minute, to let her sister rest, she took the infant to the head of the bed.
As Cythera and Chorania made inarticulate noises indicating admiration and approval, Noemi took the child in her arms. "Oh, Uriel! Gal is right, you are beautiful. Oh, I am so happy." She peeked inside the wrapping. "Perfect! And a girl, as we knew." She hugged her child to her, and, after a minute, she began quietly nursing.
They left her alone for a while, and once in the hall, Chorania turned to her Mistress and said, "Well, abbil, it is much too soon to say for certain, but I think that she looks like both of you. What say you?"
Amused and relieved, Galadria smiled at her friend and replied, "As you say, Cho, it is too soon to tell. We shall just see whether she has black or red hair. She is very fair, and I think that her eyes are blue, but that can change."
Chorania made a face. "They told me that my eyes were violet at birth, and my mother always told me that meant that I was born for trouble."
Cythera put her arm around her shoulders and murmured, "And she was right, wasn't she, sugar? That's all of us, though: born for trouble. And I'll wager little Uriel is, too."
"Ach," the drow said. "That is life, m'zint to, when you stop having trouble you are dead. Let us hope for trouble for a long time."
Galadria embraced the both of them. "That's one wager I'll be glad to take. Come on, we must tell the men."

THE END