Chapter 2.5
Rain pounded the castle as thunder boomed and lightning crashed in the midst of the storm, though not loud enough to drown out the screams of the mistress of the castle, Duchess Aleria von Groenburg. Milly, a young maid of only 13 years, clutched a set of clean cloths to her chest as she ran back from the laundry to her mistress's chambers, steeling herself for the sights and sounds she would witness once inside. The day her mistress had been waiting for had arrived, but Milly had almost forgotten just how brutal witnessing childbirth could be.
Milly pushed the door open and the sounds of pain coming from the Duchess were so loud she winced. Her mistress's brow was glistening with sweat as she screamed from the pain of pushing. A maid wiped her brow with a wet cloth while another tried to get her to take a sip of water. When they saw Milly enter with the clean cloths they beckoned her over and Milly took over wiping the Duchess's forehead while the other maid prepared the cloths for Dr. Kramer to use.
Dr. Kramer wiped her own forehead as she calmly guided the Duchess through the birth. There were bloody cloths strewn about the floor, marking just how dangerous this was for Milly's mistress. Milly rushed over to start picking them up to take them back to the laundry when the Duchess let out a pained cry like a dying animal. The other maids turned to look at Dr. Kramer whose face immediately paled and she began calling out orders for the healers to begin weaving their magic.
Milly made sure to get out of the way, watching from afar as her mistress struggled against the pain ripping her body apart. The healers seemed to be having a rough time, their magic barely helping to ease the Duchess's suffering as her body writhed on the bed and her screams pierced through the clamor of the storm. Milly couldn't make out what Dr. Kramer was saying, but she could tell it was serious since she saw her begin to rifle through her bag for some medicine. Was she about to attempt an emergency surgery on her mistress right here in her room?
The lights overhead flickered, their magic waning slightly as the storm raged outside. To Milly, the energy in the room was tense, and the mana felt incredibly dense as if something terrible were about to happen. Unlike the other maids, Milly could sense the flow of mana due to her special training, so she was the only one who could see that the situation was dire. She could tell something was very wrong, and likely Dr. Kramer and the healers could too since they wore incredibly panicked expressions. The mana was so dense it almost choked her, and Milly watched as one of the healers passed out with a thud on the floor.
Lightning flashed outside and suddenly the power went out. The crytech lights in the room all burst with a loud bang, raining crystal shards down on the room and causing the maids and healers to cry out. Milly instinctively moved to cover her mistress with a cloth, blocking the crystals from landing on her head. She locked eyes with the doctor, and they shared a knowing look that things were definitely getting worse.
"We have to get the baby out," Dr. Kramer announced. She turned to Milly, "you look like you have your wits together. Come help." Milly nodded and rushed to the doctor's side. "I'm going to have to perform surgery at this point or we risk the lives of both Duchess Aleria and the baby. These conditions are incredibly dangerous, so I'm going to need your help. Think you can do it?"
"Of course," Milly replied, letting her training take over. "I was trained by the Maid Saint for a lot of things, including child birth, so while I'm not an expert I can at least help you doctor." Dr. Kramer cocked an eye, looking impressed by the young maid before her who was apparently the student of a Saint, and nodded.
"Better than nothing," she stated. "Okay, I'm going to use this potion," she pulled out a purple concoction from her bag, "to try and numb the pain as best we can. It'll still hurt, and while the healers will be able to keep her safe, I'm worried that with the mana density in the room things might get out of hand. I just need you to administer the 5 mL of the potion every 5 minutes while I perform the surgery and help me keep an eye on the mana density. Think you can do that?"
"Yes ma'am," Milly replied.
"Good girl," Dr. Kramer said and handed the potion over to her with a dropper. "5 mL every 5 minutes, and don't forget." With that, the doctor turned her attention back to her bag and began to pull out surgical equipment. She unfolded a gown and pulled out her tools. Using some magic she sanitized them, set them on a side table, and wiped a disinfectant on the Duchess's stomach. Dr. Kramer nodded to Milly, who used the dropper to measure out the potion for her mistress. Once it was on her tongue the Duchess seemed to relax a bit, and her silent screams were quieted. It was now or never.
Dr. Kramer got to work, and Milly kept her focus on the mana around her that had started to become stifling enough to make it hard to breathe. Something abnormal was happening, and she doubted that it was just the storm outside. The only thing she could think was that it had to do with the baby her mistress was carrying--that was the only thing out of the ordinary in her mind. What that meant, Milly couldn't hazard a guess, but she figured it was the only logical answer. The baby was messing with the mana of the room, possibly even the whole castle. Was this what her Master had sent her to watch out for when she assigned her to the home of the Duke of Groenburg? Her Master mentioned something momentous would happen, but not what. Perhaps this was it.
Suddenly, the mana density spiked so hard in the room that the glass of the windows shattered, causing the rain to start pouring into the room. The other maids shrieked, running out of the room in fright while the healers tried their best to maintain focus. Dr. Kramer didn't even look up from her work, and Milly tried to keep calm by administering the next dose of the potion to her mistress.
Over the next few minutes, Dr. Kramer kept calm and kept working while Milly did her duty. Finally, after what felt like forever, Dr. Kramer smiled and held a baby boy in her arms. The baby did not cry, but Milly could see that his eyes were open and staring in what looked to be confusion at the world around him.
"Can you take him?" Dr. Kramer asked Milly. She rushed over to take the baby from the doctor's arms as the older woman went to work trying to stabilize the Duchess. "Shit," she whispered. "This isn't looking good." Milly started rocking the baby in her arms, trying to keep it calm, but she had never held a newborn before so it was a new sensation to her. However, the baby seemed to be watching her intently with his rose-colored eyes that seemed to dance as if on fire, as if he could tell what was going on around him and that things were in chaos. But that couldn't be, right? There was no way a baby would know anything of the world around him and be keeping calm. That was what this was--the baby was staying calm despite the confusion. It was a strange sensation to see a baby keep composed like this, as if it were older and wiser beyond its years. The color of his eyes too was so completely foreign to Milly. A chill went up Milly's spine, but she continued to rock the baby and soothe it while Dr. Kramer worked on his mother, ignoring the rising discomfort in her stomach.
"Shit!" Dr. Kramer yelled now. "Her heart's not beating! Healers!" She yelled for them to get closer and together they tried their best to heal the Duchess, but her body had been through too much and she was visibly starting to weaken and turn blue. Milly wished she could help, but she didn't know much healing magic, and certainly not enough to help. The baby's eyes widened and he seemed about ready to cry. Of course--what baby wouldn't cry surrounded by chaos like this? And even if he didn't know it, his mother was dying before his eyes. Milly felt powerless in that moment, unable to protect her mistress and her newly born young master, and she felt a tear fall down her cheek.
The baby started to cry, but it almost sounded like it was yelling something instead. How was that possible? Milly must've been imagining it and it was nothing more than the cries of a typical newborn. However, given how silent he had been...Milly shook her head and tried to soothe the baby. However, the baby struggled against her, trying so hard to reach out towards his mother to do...what? It was a baby, but it looked like he wanted to help.
Suddenly, she felt the flow of mana around her shift and a warm light enveloped the baby in her arms. Milly watched as the room started to glow with soft light that reminded her of fireflies dancing on a farm. It was warm in the room, the chill from the rain pushed away by the gentle mana flowing out from the baby. His eyes were truly ablaze now, the pink and red flaring like a roaring fire as tendrils of light drifted from the baby's hands towards the Duchess.
As if it were alive, the light tenderly touched the Duchess's body where she had just had surgery, where the pain was most acute, and where she was injured. With great care, the tendrils wrapped her in a cocoon radiating warmth and love, and in a burst of stars everything went quiet again. No one dared move in case it disturbed the peace that permeated the room following what was no doubt a magical miracle. The baby boy that the Duchess had just given birth to had just saved her from the brink of death using incredibly powerful healing magic. If that wasn't a miracle, Milly didn't know what would ever count as one.
"My baby," she heard the voice of her mistress whisper, stirring awake after the silence and the warmth began to fade. "My baby," she whispered again.
"Right here, my lady," Milly said, breaking the silence and making her way to her mistress's side. "He's right here."
"My baby," she repeated, taking the boy into her arms as another maid propped her up on some pillows on the bed. "My sweet sweet baby boy." She touched his face, and the boy looked up at her with what seemed to be recognition in his eyes. Then, just as suddenly, the baby closed his eyes and fell asleep.
"He saved your life," Dr. Kramer finally spoke. "A miracle..." Milly didn't know what to say, and neither did the Duchess. Instead, they silently watched as the baby's breathing settled and he fell asleep. The sounds of the storm settled to a quiet drizzle, and the world felt at peace.