Chapter One
It was dark and the clouds thundered with rage sending sparks of lightning down at the manor which stood proudly on the top of the mountain's peak. A man stood at the window his face hard and cold, She’s been in there too long, this is what happened before he thought to himself. He turned to look at the solid wooden door and his chiselled face became even darker, he couldn’t hear anything due to the complex runes carved into it exterior.
Agitated by his own inactivity he knocked loudly on the door of the manor's master bedroom, the noise of his knuckles on the wood echoed in the hallway eerily. He knocked once more this time choosing to speak through it “Is everything okay? Is my wife safe? What about the baby?”. There was no reply due to the dampening of the runes, he just heard the echoing of his own voice.
He began to turn around and walk back to the window he heard the door open with a creak, he saw servants and midwives working so fast they were almost blurred, mixing herbs into tonics, fetching clean cloth to replace the bloody cloths that hung from bowls of now cold water.
“Master, your wife is fine it’s just taking longer than usual. Stop knocking wait outside and let us work,” she said sternly but with respect. His face turned grave seeing the sweat beading on her forehead “Okay, pass my love onto her,” he spoke with hardly any emotion. “I will manor master,” the midwife replied quickly as her eyes looked towards the floor.
As the man began to turn to reclaim his space at the window he heard an almighty scream, guttural almost animal. It was his wife’s scream, which was followed by another more shrill and younger. Hearing the screams, he pushed past the midwife into the room to see his beautiful wife, her face pale. In her arms was a child covered in blood and mucus, still attached to his mother via his cord. His face was healthy and pink.
“I did it, Henry! A boy, our beautiful boy!” she smiled triumphantly. His wife was pale, traces of fatigue on her face and her hair wet with sweat. Henry looked at her with a smile on his face, as he approached he could hear the gurgles and soft cries of the child. He scrutinised the infant's face and could only see himself, olive skin, round eyes that shone artic blue, a tuft of red hair sprouted from the top of his head.
The child seemingly reciprocated his curiosity, his eyes darted around and fixed on specific points as if with an innate intelligence. The child reached out its chubby hand and squeezing Henry’s finger as if with intention and Henry’s eyes glistened as he sent a stream of energy into the small child leading to a spark of electricity flowed through the both of them.
“Hahahahaha! Aura resonance!” Henry laughs boomed and rebounded off the wall of the room, causing all the servants, and midwives to cover their ears with discomfort. “Well done Stella, I knew you were a good choice! I already know it, my child is a genius and will one day be a leader of men! Hahahaha!” his voice betraying his excitement. The woman, Stella smiled but deep in her eyes was her disappointment ‘my child he said, not ours’ she thought to herself, trying with all her might not to expose her emotions.
His voice boomed across the whole manor and his proclamation began “He will have the best of everything, resources, teachings, and opportunity, bear this in mind each and every one of you, this child, MY BLOOD, TOGETHER WE WILL BE MONARCHS! FOR THAT I NAME YOU ALEXANDER!!!”.
He took the child to the window at which he had remained for so much time and sent another much bigger surge of energy through its tiny body. A birthmark appeared on the infant's neck, one that had not been there before. As he looked at the child a cold, sly grin appeared on his face, his eyes wide with excitement.
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Meanwhile in the servant's quarters
Another beautiful woman lay on a roughly made bed with a straw mattress a makeshift maiden by its side. Her clothes were not as fanciful nor were the treatment she received. Her face was covered in grime and there were no midwives or servants, just her and her husband. As the fireplace raged, he held her hands and looked at her and the baby in her arms with nothing but love in his eyes. The man beside her had a robust body filled with muscle. Thick brown hair that fell to his shoulders and a beard big enough to match, his face was stony but eyes filled with kindness. “Marcus, he’s perfect,” she said straining out each word.
Marcus picked up and looked at his son and his hardy exterior melted away. “Anise, what should we name him?” he turned to his wife whose eyes were closed. He gently stroked her face thinking about all the time they had spent together, in this moment she looked the most beautiful. “I’ll let you rest my love, but the name can’t wait” he said in a loving yet joking manner.
He stood up and gently placed the child in the maiden and watched as his new born child got comfortable wriggling his shape into the soft blankets. He looked over at the unmoving figure laying on the bed. “Anise? Anise?” he called to no response.
He approached and gently nudged his wife, but all he could hear was the sound of his breathing and the now dying crackle of the fire. Fear sank into him as he shook her more forcefully and again there was no reply. “ANISE! answer me, please answer, he shouted with worry”.
Her eyes began to flutter and opened at his loud voice “Marcus, I feel so weak, something is wrong, this didn’t happen before”. His fear turned to terror as he dug through the mountain of blankets and quilts which felt hot and wet. As he threw the coverings to the floor, he saw red, every inch of her dress was soaked with blood. His eyes betrayed the emotion he longed to hide “It’s bad isn’t it? I’m not going to make it,” she said her voice a whisper and a tear running down her cheek.
Marcus grabbed her hands and squeezed them tight “NO! No this can’t be, you can’t leave us Anise, please don’t leave me, you are my everything!” he said as tears threatened to pour out of him. “You have Flora and now you have him, they are the both of us, the future,” she spoke with struggle. “How will I go on without you? What about our son? How will I raise them alone?” Let me get the manor master, he will be able to help you” he replied hurriedly.
Her breathing became weaker, her eyes glassy and unfocussed and she breathed out slowly “No, it’s too late for me” and continued “you must carry on Marcus, for Flora and… for Jonathan, promise me you will love them for both of us and protect them.” Marcus looked at her with despair, as his tears ran down his cheeks “I promise, my love. I will protect them until my dying breath!” he spoke with conviction as he made his oath. “Where are you Marcus, let me see you one last time” she spoke her eyes glassy and unfocussed. Marcus gently squeezed her hand with everything he could “I’m here Anise, always here” he bent down kissing her lips.
As Anise lay there unmoving, her face drained of all colour she summoned all of her remaining energy to speak in stunted breaths “I am - sorry my love - my Marcus - Sorry I - cannot continue - this path with you – I hope - you know - that I will - love you – always - in this life - and the next – goodbye – my – lo-ve.” as the last syllable left her lips her hands became limp, slipping out of Marcus’s grip.
Marcus knelt there at her side, shell-shocked. His beautiful wife that was so content with life the life they had, the one that made his life so wonderful was gone. No longer here but somewhere he could not reach. He couldn’t accept it or understand it. It was only until he heard a small gurgle that he was snapped out of his darkness. I must live, live for them and once I have completed this promise I can rest at your side, forever, wait for me Anise, he thought to himself, as if to etch this vow and his very soul.
He reached into the makeshift maiden and picked up the bundle once more, but the joy he felt was overshadowed by his loss. Conflicted he walked out of the room an air of gloom surrounded this man who had to find someone to watch his children so he could bury his wife.
“I will protect you Jonathan,” were the last words he spoke as he left the room that had changed his life forever.