Soon after Prince Kelton left for the night, Iredys turned her head to the NorthEast. The furniture in the room was lifted off the floor and rearranged several times before they were set back in their original places.
‘Iredys?’ Ponderosa wondered.
‘We should sleep now. We may have a very early start tomorrow.’
Ponderosa nodded.
She built up the fire a little more and packed what she could. Then she settled into the bed beside Iredys to sleep.
Ponderosa woke to the sound of scraping behind her. Iredys was up and mixing glasses of meal. She sat up and accepted one of the glasses from Iredys.
‘Where are we going?’
‘Reash Town. Are you willing to transform to get us there?’
Ponderosa glanced at the wall, hesitant given the company they were keeping. ‘What’s going on in Reash?’ she wondered.
‘A woman will be laboring in a run down stack on the north end of town and will bleed out if she is not given assistance.’
‘Then transform I will and assistance we will give,’ Ponderosa replied, throwing away her hesitation.
Iredys nodded.
They drank their glasses and rinsed them out before grabbing Ponderosa’s bags and leaving. Iredys helped her tie the bags to the saddle of Sir Hamnet’s horse before the two of them sped out of the village. Once they were out of sight, Ponderosa slowed the horse and entered the trees. She climbed off the horse so she could transform. She shivered slightly as she removed her clothes. Iredys bundled them in one of the blankets while Ponderosa took on the form of a Griffin.
Once her transformation was complete, Ponderosa bent down so Iredys could climb onto her back. She picked up the calm horse in her talons then jumped into the air. She flew close to the treetops, making a slight detour to keep out of sight of Kead City.
‘This is close enough,’ Iredys said when they were getting close to Reash Town.
‘Okay.’
Ponderosa circled down into the trees. She landed on her hind legs and gently set the horse down. The horse shook itself off and shifted on its legs while Iredys climbed down. She pulled Ponderosa’s clothes out as Ponderosa returned to her Human self, She quickly pulled her clothes on. Iredys pulled her into a firm embrace once she was dressed again.
‘Thank you.’
‘You are most welcome, Iredys. We need to get to the shack now.’
Iredys nodded.
They released their embrace before mounting the horse once more.
Ponderosa guided the horse to the road before picking up the pace again. They rode through the sleepy town to the run down shack Iredys had mentioned. Soft whimpers and moans could be heard coming from inside. Iredys climbed down and untied the satchel of herbs. Ponderosa accepted the satchel from her before the two of them cautiously entered the shack. A very young woman knelt in the far corner. The shack was not much warmer than the air outside. When she saw them her eyes widened in panic, but she was too scared to move.
‘It’s alright,’ Iredys soothed. ‘We’re here to help.’
The young woman’s jaw trembled before she cried out with the pain of her next contraction. Ponderosa set her satchel down then started to mix several herbs together. ‘This will help ease the pain,’ she said to Iredys before she brought the cup towards the laboring woman.
‘This will help ease the pain,’ Iredys repeated for Ponderosa, to keep the woman still.
She hesitantly accepted the glass of herbs. Drinking it slowly while trying to breath through the softer, but still intense, contractions.
‘Good. Now, do you mind if I check your progress?’ Iredys asked, as Ponderosa relayed what she needed to do next.
The young woman nodded as tears streaked down her dirty face.
Ponderosa shifted her into a different position. Blood gushed from between her legs. Ponderosa grabbed her cayenne pepper and added a pinch to some water. She had the woman drink it quickly before continuing her assessment. The woman coughed after swallowing the hot liquid. Darker clots came out before she cried out again. Iredys built a fire in the firepit. Then she grabbed a bucket and stepped out. Ponderosa shifted closer to the woman.
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‘Match your breathing to mine,’ Iredys said.
Ponderosa changed how she was breathing. The woman struggled to mimic it.
‘You are doing great! Continue to breathe with me.’
The woman tried again and managed to match her breath until the next contraction.
‘Bare down.’
She grunted and screamed.
‘Release. Match my breath…. Good. Good. Bare down again…. Once more.’
The woman screamed and then whimpered.
Ponderosa caught the baby girl. A soft whine came from the blood covered baby. Ponderosa used the cloth the young mother had brought with her to wipe off the baby’s head and face before setting the child on her mother’s chest. She then lay the cloth over the child to help keep her warm. The young mother peeled her eyes open to look at the little baby.
“My baby?” she whispered.
‘Yes.’
“She’s not crying. Why is she not crying?”
Ponderosa smiled. ‘She does not need to cry right now. She can hear your heartbeat and knows she is still with you.’
Iredys had long returned and brought over a cloth full of snow to lay on the young mother's abdomen. The young woman flinched and her expression scrunched in discomfort before her attention returned to her baby girl. Iredys brought in one of the blankets and laid it over the two of them while Ponderosa helped the mother loosen the top of her dress. The mother smiled in amazement as her little girl shifted to latch on to one of her breasts.
Her arms came up to support her baby while Ponderosa cut the pale cord and took the placenta away to clean it and store it until she could dry it out. The young mother gently stroked her baby girl’s head. She accepted more herb infused water from Iredys until Ponderosa returned to check how much the young woman was still bleeding.
‘Take this,’ Iredys encouraged, when Ponderosa mixed several tinctures in a glass of water. ‘It will help shorten your recovery time.’
The woman accepted a couple mouthfuls of the liquid before her baby stopped suckling. The little girl whimpered.
‘See if she will latch onto your other breast.’
The young woman very carefully shifted her baby so her head was near the other breast. The baby girl rocked a little before latching on to continue suckling. Smiling, she slowly turned her gaze away from her baby to accept the rest of the herbal mixture from Ponderosa.
‘Do you have better living arrangements?’ Iredys asked.
The young woman shook her head. “Nothing I can afford.”
Tears filled her worried eyes and tears started to spill down her cheeks. She turned her gaze toward her baby as her hands started to shake.
‘Do not worry,’ Iredys soothed. ‘The two of you are going to be fine. When you feel ready, we will take you to the Carefree Traveler’s Inn.’
“Thank you. Both of you.”
‘You are welcome.’
They sat together until the baby stopped nursing and let out a tiny burp. The young mother wrapped her baby more securely in the small cloth before she nodded her readiness. Ponderosa motioned to Iredys to grab her bag. Iredys washed the cup with the leftover melted snow that she had brought in before putting it away. She poured the water over the fire to put it out then carried Ponderosa’s bag out to the waiting horse. She tied the bag to the saddle then mounted the horse.
Ponderosa came out shortly with the young mother and child. She handed them to Iredys. Iredys held them securely then turned the horse toward the Carefree Traveler’s Inn. Ponderosa walked beside them. She accepted the woman from Iredys and took her inside. She was able to request a room with two beds, thanks to Iredys’ telepathy while Iredys remained outside to take care of Ponderosa’s bags and the horse. She was glad to see Iredys step inside as she turned to follow a young man upstairs.
They needed to get mother and child cleaned up, and the young woman would need more treatment to ensure the hemorrhaging stopped. Ponderosa lay the mother and baby on the bed while the innkeeper helped bring in warmed water for a bath. Once the water was ready, Ponderosa helped the mother while Iredys took care of the baby.
‘You, little one, are going to grow up to be very beautiful. Just like your mother,’ Iredys said as she gently ran a cloth over her body and limbs. ‘You will meet and marry the most handsome and generous of men. You will be his treasure and he will forever be your prince charming.’
“That is kind of you to say,” the young mother said tiredly.
‘I will gladly speak the truth of what I see. The two of you have a bright future ahead of you.’
Ponderosa smiled and nodded.
She finished helping the woman bathe then helped her into the fresh clothes and undergarments brought up by the innkeeper. She supported the woman to sit on the bed so she could give her a few more herbs before she rested. Once taken, Ponderosa helped her lay down and covered her. Soon after laying her down, Iredys brought over a warmly dressed and swaddled infant to lay beside her.
“Thank you both again.”
‘You are most welcome,’ Iredys replied. ‘We will remain nearby in case you need us.’
She nodded and held her baby close to her before closing her eyes to rest.
‘Thank you, Iredys,’ Ponderosa said, now that the crisis had passed. ‘I am always grateful when I can keep both mother and child from leaving this life too soon.’
‘You are welcome, Ponderosa,’ Iredys replied. ‘Thank you for honing your skills well over the years and being willing to transform in order to get us here. If not, we would have been able to save the child had we run the horse hard, but her mother would not have been so fortunate.’
Ponderosa nodded then dropped her gaze down to Iredys baby bump. ‘How are the two of you doing?’ she asked, concerned, since many women had miscarried because they rode a horse while pregnant.
‘We are doing fine,’ Iredys smiled. ‘He quite enjoyed the ride. Was a bundle of wiggles the whole way here.’
Ponderosa chuckled softly, but it didn’t quite assuage her worries. ‘No contractions then?’
‘None, but you are welcome to check.’
‘I’d like that. I know how precious the bundle you carry is.’
Iredys smiled. ‘Check away.’
Ponderosa had Iredys sit on the other bed before she felt her abdomen and back for any spontaneous movement. She then transformed into an owl then hopped up beside Iredys to listen to the young Prince’s heartbeat. It sounded a little faster than usual, but she had learned over the years that such was typical for a happy baby.