Read what happens after the finale, Fateful Echoes (Sweet Burden Series Vol. 3)...
(**SPOILERS**)
Pt. 4
The Exception
(Sweet Burden Series)
Pt. 4
Hitomi’s eyes fluttered open. She found herself back in her
bedroom in the Heavens. Obi was asleep next to her, but he didn’t appear to be
sleeping well. There was a frown line on his brow. She reached up smoothing her
finger over it and trailed her finger down to his cheek. He startled and
grabbed her hand. His eyes widened at the realization she was awake. His body
relaxed and his expression shifted to relief.
“You’re alright,” he stated.
Hitomi smiled. “Of course I am.”
He leaned over as he grasped her face and pressed his mouth
to hers. “Hitomi, you were out for three days. One of the maids found you at
the bottom of the pool. We have no idea how long you were down there.” He sat
up. “What happened?”
She wanted to tell him everything, but she stopped herself as
she sat across from him. She fixed the t-shirt Obi obviously put her in. If one
of the girls dressed her, she’d be in a nightgown. Making sure the fabric was
pulled over her stomach, she looked up at Obi watching her and waiting.
“Well, I sort of went into a memory-walking episode.
Actually, it was a lot of episodes. One melted into the next, but they were all
my memories.”
Obi’s expression became more concerned. “Do you think Minns
did something by just suppressing your memories? Maybe something else is
wrong.”
“Obi, I saw my father. After I went through the memories I
ended up in the High Court.” For the moment she omitted the part where she was
led there by a little boy. Reflexively she put her hand on her stomach.
“Did you tell him what’s been going on?” Hitomi nodded unsure
how to give him the unexpected news. Nerves climbed up her throat, but Obi took
her silence as something bad. His face fell. “Is it bad? He knew what was going
on, didn’t he? I was right about something being wrong. Just tell me and we’ll
figure out how to fix it.”
Hitomi stared at him. She loved him so much, but she hated
how he was preparing for the worst. She knew part of his pessimism was her own
doing. Things she did to him in the past caused him to lose any of the
hopefulness he may have had left. He had been so much better about it lately,
but the moment there seemed to be a ripple in their lives he assumed always the
worst. She couldn’t tell him now. He was liable to think she was crazy. She
couldn’t expect him to believe the unthinkable or impossible now. As much as it
hurt her to keep the news from him, now was not the time to tell him.
“I’m fine, Obi. There’s no darkness inside me. There are no
effects on my mind from Minns. I’m perfectly alright. My mind and body are
simply adjusting to this new life.”
“Was Isbian sure?”
“I’m alright. I’ll just schedule some time with Guri and I’ll
work to get everything under control. Stop worrying.”
Obi let out an amused snort. “When it comes to you, my
worrying never stops.” He leaned forward kissing her tenderly as he ran his
fingers down her neck. “You are my reason for everything.” He started to scoot
off the bed. “I’ll have one of the guards go get you something to eat.”
She reached out to him. “I can wait until breakfast.” The
darkness in the room indicated it was late at night. “Don’t make anyone get
up.”
“The guards are right outside and they better be awake.”
“Obi,” she whined. “Come back to bed.” All she wanted was for
him to hold her.
“I’ll go get you something if you don’t want them bothered.
What would you like?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “One of the cooks made
some muffins. I bet there are a few left. How does that sound?”
Hitomi knew he wasn’t going to let it go. She finally agreed
and he hurried out of the room. She took his absence as an opportunity. Hastily
she got up pulling a pair of Obi’s boxers on and her robe. She hurried across
the room and opened the door. The guards were a little surprised to see her and
quickly bowed. She waved off their formalities and rushed down the hall, up the
steps and straight to Guri’s room. Before she could knock the door swung open.
Guri stood there rubbing his eyes and let out a yawn. “I could
feel your anxiety coming down the hall. What’s wrong?”
She suddenly felt wrong telling Guri before she told Obi the
news. “I, um…I wanted to ask you about some sessions to try to get my powers
under control.”
He raised an eyebrow. It was obvious he knew she was lying,
but Guri always had a knack for not pressuring her. He knew she would tell him
when she was ready. “What time were you thinking?”
“After breakfast?”
Guri nodded. “Are you sure there isn’t anything else?”
Hitomi shook her head as he eyed her. “Sorry to wake you.”
She rushed away before she blurted everything out and she needed to get back to
the room before Obi returned.
Hitomi tried to act as normally as possible around Obi all
morning and through breakfast. She was happy when Obi said he had some things
to attend to after eating and she went to the library to meet Guri. He wasn’t
there yet and she browsed the stacks of books. Her fingers ran over the spines
of the ancient books and she wondered if there were any books about babies. It
was doubtful, but she couldn’t stop herself from looking. She found a human
anatomy book and started leafing through it.
“Hitomi?” Guri startled her and the book created a loud thud
on the floor. She hurried to scoop it up, but he grabbed it. “Human anatomy?”
He handed the book to her. “Hitomi, tell me what’s going on.”
“I can’t. Not yet. But I promise it’s not bad. I need to tell
Obi first, but I don’t know how.” Her voice dropped to a whisper.
He peered at her quizzically and looked her over. She knew
what he was doing, trying to read her emotions and get a better handle on what
was going on. Hitomi wondered if he could feel everything; her fear,
excitement, and worry. What else did he know she felt? His eyebrows twitched
and his gaze shifted immediately to her stomach. Hitomi felt the overwhelming
urge to protect her child from his inspection, but she stopped herself. She
watched him as he hid a smile and turned to the bookshelf pushing his fingers
through the bindings.
He knew. “Don’t tell Obi,” she blurted out.
“Tell him, what?” He continued searching through the titles
until he found what he was looking for. Guri pulled out an old large paperback
and dusted it off. “You’d be surprised how many halflings there once were in
the Living World,” he said very matter-of-fact as he handed her the book. She
took the book and ran her fingers over the cover. “That’s a journal from a
protector that was a midwife for a lot of halfling mothers. It’s very old, but
it might be interesting to read until you figure out…things.”
“Thank you,” Hitomi replied quietly as she leaned up and
kissed his cheek before taking off to go read. She headed for the gardens but
once she reached the fountain, she felt too exposed. She didn’t want someone to
catch her with the journal of a midwife. Basically she didn’t want Obi to catch
her.
Continuing along the path of the gardens, she walked out to
the waterfall hidden in the woods. Hitomi knew she was supposed to have guards
with her, but she needed privacy. She picked a spot on the bank of the water so
she could put her feet in and opened the journal at the beginning. The writing
was faded and the pages yellowed, but she could still read most of the words.
It was getting close to dinner time when she stashed the book
away in a safe spot in the woods and she started back to the palace. She took
her time walking thinking about all the different children the woman delivered.
Even after reading a quarter of the woman’s entries, Hitomi didn’t know the
midwife’s name, but there were plenty of children’s names. She wondered if any
of them survived the extermination. Did any of them go on to have families?
There had to be people out there that were part angel or protector. Hitomi
stopped at the fountain with her mind overwhelmed. Reading the journal put so
many questions in her head. Questions about pregnancy, delivery, being a
parent… The list was endless. But even with all her worries, she was excited.
Having a child was never to be a possibility and now it was reality. It was
meant to be.
Her hand traveled down to her stomach. “Our miracle,” she
whispered. There was a thud behind her and Hitomi didn’t need to turn around to
know who it was. She’d recognize his scent anywhere.
“I’ve missed you today.” Obi stepped up behind her and put
his arms around her. “Guri told me he sent you to meditate. I’m assuming it was
to help you with control of your powers.”
She nodded as she leaned back against him. Hitomi hated lying
to him, but she wanted to tell him the news at the right time. Not when he was
assuming the worst.
“Don’t go off again for so long.” He kissed her neck and her
shoulder sending shivers through her body. “You need to take a guard with you
too.”
“I needed to be alone. I can’t very well meditate with a
guard standing over me.”
“And I need to know
you’re protected when we’re apart. There still might be those that want to hurt
you. I will never allow you to be put at risk again.”
Hitomi turned around meeting his eyes. She wanted to tell him
so badly the words stung in her throat, but right now wasn’t the time. He was
liable to turn their talk into an even bigger lecture on the need for a guard. Or
maybe he would lock her in their bedroom for the next nine months. She let out
a sigh and reached up brushing the hair from his face. Would their child look
like him? Hitomi hoped so, but hopefully without all the worry lines. “When are
you going to relax? We have so much to be thankful for. All the bad stuff is
behind us.”
“I hope you’re right, but I doubt I’ll ever relax. Not when
it comes to you.”
Great. How much is he going to
overreact when he finds out there’s going to be a child now?
Obi pressed his lips against her forehead. “Let’s go eat
dinner. I bet you’re hungry after missing lunch.”
Hitomi smiled at her husband. “Famished.”
(To Be Continued)