Winter Heart by H.D. Foxe

Author:H.D. Foxe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: young adult fiction, young adult fantasy, christian fantasy, young adult romance, fantasy, winter heart, hd foxe
Publisher: H.D. Foxe
Published: 2024-04-03T00:00:00+00:00

33

A KNOCK AT THE DOOR woke Niamh from her restless dozing. After the incident in the cottage, she’d barely been able to sleep until several hours later. She rolled over, wishing the warm covers would send her back to her, for once, dreamless sleep. Another knock, this time more frantic.

"Miss Niamh, you're needed urgently." The woman on the other side sounded panicked and out of breath. Niamh rose from her bed and quickly crossed to open the door. A midwife stood there, one of the girls she’d trained with Hael only a few months prior.

"What's going on?" Niamh was immediately awake, stepping into her slippers and donning a thin robe.

"It’s your friend.” The midwife panted, her hand to her chest. Niamh’s blood turned cold. “What about my friend? Who is it?” She said, grabbing the midwife’s shaking arm.

“Ailish. She-she went into labor. It's too early, by a month, at least." The midwife said, her eyes wide. “She’s in the stables. We couldn’t move her further than that. She tried to come find you.”

Without another word, Niamh grabbed her apothecary bag from near the door and followed the midwife down far too many stairs. Even before they reached the stables, Ailish’s thin and distressed cries could be heard echoing across the courtyard.

Niamh was already running through the procedures in her head, checking off all of the stages of delivery that may have come before if she was already screaming. As they burst into the stables, running to one of the closer stalls, she had her confirmation. Ailish would have already been in labor for most of the evening at this point, and the two other midwives gathered around her tried in vain to soothe her pains. Niamh wished her husband could be there with them, but he would have to hear about it later.

Niamh immediately rolled up her sleeves and stepped into a position where she could see all that she needed to. As she thought, Ailish was dilated enough at that hour to give birth properly. It's clear she's having the proper amount of contractions. Niamh saw, with dismay, that all three of the midwives present were only newly trained, and were all slightly younger than her. No one of significant experience, other than herself for as much as it was worth, was to be seen.

"How long have you been working with her?" She asked one of the other women near her.

"Nearly four hours now." The midwife answered. Niamh nodded. That was nothing unusual. She had seen births take up to nearly twelve hours when she assisted the healers of Wolfrau. Ailish's face was twisted with pain and sweat soaked the hay around her. Niamh rubbed her ankles soothingly.

"Ailish, I need you to focus and breathe with me." Niamh laid a hand on her friend’s rounded stomach. Just as she had hoped, Ailish opened her panicked eyes and met Niamh's calm blue ones. Ailish visibly relaxed. “Niamh. You came.”

"Yes. I’m here.” Niamh said, “Breathe in." She commanded softly, breathing in herself as a demonstration.

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