The Lady of Skye (closed)

"I'm sorry, m'lady, but this li'l one's comin' whether we like it 'r not," the healer told her as she set up all she needed. "With any luck, by the time it's here, Tamblin will be too."
 
Kitty nodded, her heart racing as they settled in for the duration of her labor. With Durban it had taken days. She hoped this little one would be in more of a hurry. As the battle raged outside, Kitty fought her own battle. The pain was excruciating and terrifying. Even little Durban was concerned as he held into his mother's hand. As the sounds of the battle died down, Kitty knew she needed to push.

"Oh Gods!" She cried out as Ashelin helped her to sit up, the healer in position as she fought to bring her child into the world.
 
This baby wasn't going to put up nearly as much of a fight as Durban had, being so early. It had hardly taken four hours by the time a squirming and whimpering bundle was placed in Kitty's arms. Her hair was as dark as Tamblin's but she had a fair complexion like her mother.

"A perfect little girl," the healer told her softly. "She's just fine, even if she is early. It seems she was tired of waiting."
 
Kitty cried as the baby was placed in her arms, great tears coursing over her cheeks as she looked into Selena's perfect little face. She kissed her daughter's forehead, drawing her closer to her body to figh off the chill in the evening air. She even drew little Durban against her side, a kiss placed to his little cheek as they waited for news.
 
The three, now trapped on the opposing side, had no news until early the next morning when Kitty was woken by a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Milady," she heard Breven whisper. "I know you're exhausted... but I think I can get you home." The Prince of Wick was prepared to release his father's prisoner, despite what it might cost him. "I released your guardian, he's waiting for you outside. We're going to sneak you back in by a wagon. Your guardian is disguised as a merchant."
 
Kitty woke with a start, glancing up at the young prince as he offered to take her to freedom. By offering that to her, she knew that he was forfeiting so much. She glanced down at Durban as he slumbered against her shoulder and then at Selena rested in her swaddling. She had a lot to lose by not taking that offer.

"If I do go, you must stay with me. I can't send you back here knowing that you are in danger." She said softly.
 
"I can't, milady. I have to stay or my father will discover you're gone immediately. Please go," he pleaded softly. "I can't stand knowing two infants and their mother are trapped over a squabble between warmongers." He looked down to Selena. "She's very beautiful... It would be a shame if her first days were all spent in fear and imprisonment."
 
Kitty reached out to touch the boy's cheek gently, sharing with him a knowing gaze. He would be dead soon if his father had his way. It broke her head to think of that as she sat up, passing Durban to Ashelin as she held Selena tightly against her own chest.

"You are very brave, Breven." She said softly. "I will forever be in your debt."
 
"Here," Breven took a medallion from his neck. "To keep you safe." It was a seal of the archangel Michael. Breven quietly led them out to where Charles awaited them with a covered cart. Kitty and Ashelin had to lay in the back, but if Durban or Selena cried before they got out of the camp, they were done for.
 
"Thank you." Kitty said sincerely as she placed the necklace around her own throat, allowing Charles to help her into the back of the wagon.

She was incredibly sore, but she knew that if she didn't keep Durban and Selena quiet, she would give up her life. She pressed Selena against her breast, allowing the little girl to suckle as Durban thankfully slept. If there was ever a time that she needed her son to be silent, it was now.
 
The cart trundled off along the dirt path, Charles doing his best to avoid bumps. But just as they got near the edge of the camp, he hit a large pothole that startled Durban and the boy began to whimper. Ashelin hugged him close, whispering and pleading with him to be silent. Thankfully, no one heard him.
 
Kitty reached across Ashelin and took Durban's hand, squeezing it tightly as she prayed for him to be quiet. She had tears in her eyes, mostly from fear, as she prayed that they would make it back to Inverness. She wanted this feud to be over and done with, if not for her sake, for the sake of the children that she was trying to raise.
 
Durban only finally let out a wail once they were safely into Inverness town. Charles kept the tarp over the cart as it had begun to snow, but now Ashelin spoke softly to Durban, and a gentle voice of reassurance was really all he'd needed. Charles only let it be known who he was and that they were hidden in the back when they were inside Inverness Keep's courtyard and the gates were shut. It was then that Charles, having been beaten nearly to death, fell from the wagon and passed out as he attempted to climb down. Keep guards opened up the back and welcomed the two women and infants into warm cloaks. Marius was there, and he picked Kitty up off her feet and whisked her away inside while Warwick brought Ashelin close behind. Marius took Kitty to her room and sat her gently on the edge of her bed at the corner nearest to the fire and Ashelin sat beside her.

"Is there anything you need, milady?" Warwick asked quickly as Marius hurried off after making sure neither was hurt. It was as they finally settled that Ashelin got to take a proper look at Durban and finally saw that he had not come away unscathed. It was why he'd wanted to cry; he was in pain from a nasty cut across the bottom of his jaw that extended to the back of his neck, no doubt caused by Lochlan. They hadn't seen in before under Durban's blanket and amid the confusion and panic of Kitty so suddenly giving birth.
 
Kitty shook her head as she cradled Selena close, exhausted from her ordeal. She saw Ashelin pulling Durban's tunic away from his neck, showing the cut that her son had recieved at the hands of Lochlan O'Hennessey.

"MA!" Durban wailed as Ashelin tried to get a good look at him. His dark eyes turned towards her and she suddenly felt so helpless with a newborn in her arms and a son that needed her.

"Warwick, we need a healer. Ashelin, take Selena for me." She said, giving orders as she instantly stood up and passed the newborn to her friend before she scooped up her son and held him tightly.

"It's alright, love. Ma's right here." She cooed and murmured, pressing kisses to Durban's cheek as she watched fat tears roll from his dark eyes.
 
Warwick was off running instantly, and it was only minutes before the same healer who had delivered Selena (and had been set free by Breven) arrived and took a look at Durban. They had to calm him down before she could properly treat him, and he struggled all through the stitches he required until finally he just wore himself out and cried himself to sleep.
 
As tired as she was, Kitty held Durban all the way through his stitches. He was a brave little boy and she praised him as he cried and struggled. Even after he had fallen asleep, she paced the floor of her room with him, her cheek pressed against his slumbering form. She wondered where Tamblin was and if he knew that they were alright.
 
Warwick returned a bit later, knocking on the half-open door. "Milady. How are you doing?" He always made it his business to make sure the royal family was at their best, though he knew no one was anywhere near their best at the moment. Even he was recovering from the shock and fear of his Queen disappearing. "I informed the King of your return. He's routing Wick as we speak. They're fleeing north."
 
"Tired, Warwick. Very tired." Kitty admitted as she continued to pace with her dozing son.

She had given birth hours before. Her infant was sleeping in the cradle that Ashelin had brought in and placed next to the fire. Her mind was turning so fast that she didn't know she could sleep even if she lay in her great bed.
 
"Please, milady, you must rest," Warwick stopped her pacing. "If only for the sake of your children. It wouldn't do to have their mother exhausted and unable to care for them while their father is away. Everything is back in order, and Marius has been posted to guard in Charles' place while he heals. The king will return soon."
 
"I suppose you're right." Kitty said softly as Warwick pleaded with her to get some rest.

She turned and placed Durban in his little bed, tucking him in before she finally relaxed. He didn't whimper or fret, he simply slumbered peacefully. That did her a world of good to see.
 
Warwick made sure she was resting before he left her, and it wasn't until noon that Tamblin finally returned looking weary but triumphant. He entered quietly so not to disturb Durban, but no one had yet told him that his daughter had been born in the camp of Wick. He came quietly to Kitty's side, kneeling there. "Kitty?" He asked softly.
 
Kitty slowly opened her eyes at the sound of her husband's voice. She found herself staring into the eyes of the man that she had wanted to see so badly the night before.

"Oh, Tamblin. It's so good that you're home." She whispered softly as she gathered him tightly in her arms. "I didn't think I'd see you again."
 
Tamblin hugged her carefully until he noticed that her belly was no longer so swollen. He looked at her, then his gaze turned to Durban. That was when he finally noticed the cradle. He rose slowly and lifted little Selena from her crib without hardly disturbing her. Kitty saw a strange look in his eyes, like he wasn't sure what to think, even more so than when Durban had been born.
 
"Tamblin?" She asked softly as she watched him gently lift Selena into his arms, gazing at his daughter with an unreadable expression. "Selena's been a good baby so far. Hardly a peep from her."
 
Tamblin had been told all his life that he should only ever want sons. He'd grown up with only a brother and had no friends outside a small circle of boys training to become what were now his warriors. His only real experience with the fairer sex was with his wife and his mother. He had no idea what to think of a little girl. He felt a tug at his stone heart like he did with Durban, but it was different somehow. He seemed utterly confused altogether.
 
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