We escaped from Menzoberranzan with the help of a few slaves, who put their lives on the line to get us out of there. Since then, Ykril has been silent and spent the time since our return to Waterdeep in bed or staring lethargically into the fire. I can't imagine what it must have been like for him. He also no longer went east, whatever he was doing over there every day.
Even so, he never gave me the feeling that he was leaving me alone with everything. Every night, when I cuddled up to him, he always put his hand on my stomach while he slept. For these few minutes, I felt the comforting warmth spread into my abdomen that he always gave off during a healing process. Obviously, he knew exactly what had happened, what mixture I was being fed, and its effects. Unlike me, he was still sure that the baby would survive birth.
Sanise promised me that she would take good care of him while I was constantly being tormented with all sorts of medical treatment and tests in the temple's infirmary or doing my work in the tailoring shop. Nevertheless, I only told Miara the whole truth, and she was absolutely ready to blow up Menzoberranzan undoubtedly. Luckily, I convinced her that it wasn't a good idea to infiltrate the capital. Between the demands of Ykril and Sanise, as well as the stillbirth, I would not be able to take on the burden of attending my sister's funeral.
Due to the intensity of what had happened, I refrained from waking him up with a blowjob, as I usually loved to do. Instead, I brought him breakfast that I had made myself, like I always do every morning.
»What about showing me today what you are doing in the east every day?« I asked him gently as we were nibbling on the bacon, whereupon he looked at me questioningly for a moment, but nodded silently.
So we set off east after breakfast, me ignoring the slight pain in my abdomen, and after about an hour's walk, we reached a small construction site where two guards from Waterdeep had been stationed.
It took me a while to realize that he was building a home. He immediately revealed the blueprints he had pulled from his pocket, and it became clear that he was doing many things underground. His handwriting was still very challenging to read to me, but a lot of the notes on his blueprint seemed to be about the fact that he had designed most of it according to my preferences. For example, the bed in the bedroom, which on his plan only seemed to be accessible via a ladder from above, was set into a wall as an alcove.
He only planned the kitchen for the area above ground. He explained to me that I was the sunshine he loved to be woken up with, and that he wanted the rising sun to compete with me in the morning.
But his plan couldn't be right. According to it, the kitchen would be larger than the space he had designed. I asked him how he'd imagined it, but he kept his mouth shut and just smirked at me, which meant he knew exactly how to do it.
But before I could ask any more questions, my stomach hardened, and the first contractions rippled through my abdomen into my back.
»I think it's time« I said to Ykril, holding on to him as I tried to breathe through the first contractions.
It took only a brief moment for him to dispatch one of the guards to search for a priestess, gently lowered me to the ground, and start filling a tub with water with the assistance of the other guard. The effort he made just to make the birth comfortable for me indicated that even when he was awake, he had not given up. Everything that would be necessary for a water birth had been carefully planned by him. Including a way to heat the water. Even here on his construction site, he had prepared everything.
I had been lying in this tub for several hours now and thought the pain would never end. In the very short breaks when I could take a deep breath, I looked for comfort in Ykril's eyes, who was kneeling next to the tub, holding my hand, and trying to encourage me. His face, however, spoke a very different picture, and it looked like he was more panicked about what awaited us than I was aching. Sanise and Miara, who had been brought in by the incompetent guard instead of the priestess, seemed to be amused by me continuously yelling at my poor Ykril.
»Why are you still up here? Go down there and take it out of me!« I grumbled towards him tensely, yelling out a »Now« when the pain forced me to push.
Another couple of hours of pain and exertion had followed, when suddenly a feeling of relief went through my body, and Ykril raised his son out of the water, who instantly began to cry. He cut the umbilical cord, wrapped the baby in a towel, and leaned over the bath with him towards me.
»He's beautiful.« he announced proudly with a wide smile.
But I just wondered how that could be possible. I couldn't feel any movement in my stomach, nor was I able to sense a heartbeat from the fetus. But it seemed that Ykril's hope was proven right.
As I lifted a hand to caress my son's cheek, my arm dropped weakly.
»Honey« I began as my vision blurred, »I don't feel...«
Yet, I couldn't finish the sentence, and my vision went black. The sounds became muffled, and everything that was being said sounded like it was being spoken in the distance.
»Sanise, take care of the baby. Miara, I need your help!« Ykril seemed to be panicking and helpless.
»Damn, she's already bathing in her blood.« Miara stated, while Sanise and my child screamed in panic in the background, and I was lifted out of the bath.
I awoke in a bed and saw Ykril napping on a chair next to me. Why didn't he lie down next to me? Was I looking that fragile right now? Weak and hungry, I tried to sit up. The crackling noises of the bed instantly woke up my sweetheart, who normally slept like a rock, who jumped up to help me without making a single sound.
»Our child?« I asked him curtly, until I realized that he was already guiding me to the crib, which had been placed near the chair Ykril was sleeping on and was softly lighted by a candle.
As I gently lifted our baby and gently placed him against my chest, I sensed his breath hitting the exposed areas of my upper body.
»How is this possible?« I asked myself silently, even if I didn't really care. The most important thing was that my son was actually alive!
Ykril embraced me from behind and firmly supported me as my legs were trembling to ensure that I did not fall to the ground again.
