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Chapter 20
The moment I opened the door to the room, a woman screamed from inside. I froze, but Len nudged me in the back. “Quicknow.”
“Yes, of course.” I stepped inside and found a heavily pregnant woman crouching over a towel, naked and yelling. Sweat coated her body, and her hair was slick withperspiration.
Nope, this was a mistake, but as I reached for the door handle, the midwife was at myside.
“Len said you could assist. Please.” She grasped my hand with such desperation, it hurt as she drew me deeper into the room. “Gwenth’s been in labor since last night and still the baby hasn’tcome.”
I hugged myself, standing against the side of the bed, unable to stop staring at the poor woman in agonizing pain, unable to think of anything else. My heartbeat banged in my ears. I didn’t want to be here or seethis.
“What do you suggest?” The midwife was a thin woman, maybe no older than twenty-five, and right then I doubted she was even a realnurse.
“Is this a breech birth?” Iblurted.
The girl nodded. “Yes. One of the other midwives snuck in earlier and confirmed it was a breech. Maybe we should get Gwenth to lie on the bed so we can pull the babyout?”
“No!” Thank goddess for Talin’s instructions, as I would have probably agreed. “In a breech, I think the butt wants to come out first as the baby is curved the wrong way around in the womb. Then, we can pull him or herout.”
The girl nodded, her face stricken white, and we were both thrown into the deepend.
“Let’s massage her back, release the pressure.” Whenever I had cramps, a hot water bottle also eased the soreness. “And bring lukewarm water so we can warm the towels to assist with thepain.”
The girl dashed from the room so fast. Who could blame her? When Gwenth howled with agony, I flinched. Okay, I could do this. It wasn’t in my nature to walk away from somethinghurting.
I approached the mistress and rubbed her shoulder. “Take my hand and let’s get you to lean over the bed so you can hold on to the post as you squat.” Someone had once told me she’d given birth to all her kids that way, as it waseasier.
“Nice to meet you, Gwenth. I’m Bee.” I dragged her onto her feet and took her weight against me, her body coated in sweat. We wobbled over to the bed and she leaned over, gripping the post. Her body trembled, and she let out a low shriek, my earsringing.
“Take deep breaths.” I rubbed her lower back, massaging her in slowmotion.
When the other girl hurried into the room with a bucket, she set the water down and kicked the doorshut.
“All right, soak a towel and then wring it dry. Let’s put warmth on her back to assist with thepressure.”
Was this even right? What in the world did I know about childbirth aside from my rushed lesson from Talin and what friends had told me back in Terra? Most of the time I’d tuned out because the idea of pushing a watermelon out of my body terrifiedme.
What felt like a lifetime passed, the walls echoing with screams, when finally the midwife yelled, “I see a bum.” She crouched right in front ofGwenth.
I kneeled down and grabbed a clean towel for the baby, hoping this was right. Letting it drop on the floor was wrong… even I knew thatmuch.
“Okay, we’ll give you a helping hand.” The midwife gently placed her fingers into the crease of the baby’s thighs, and the child’s legs spontaneously released out from the opening. She gave a light pull. “Keep pushing; the baby seems to bestuck.”
Gwenth hissed, her face twisting and turningred.
I wiped her perspiration-soaked hair off her brow. “You can do this. Keepgoing.”
And as if she’d turned on a waterfall, the little thing gushed out, covered in white sticky stuff. I jutted my hands out, catching the bundle with mytowel.
Gwenth huffed and cried withexcitement.
I gasped, cradling the little angel in my arms, but the midwife was fast to take her from me and wash the white coating off the baby. Climbing to my feet, I took a clean towel to the midwife, who placed a wailing baby in my arms. She returned to cleanse Gwenth as blood and other goo followed the baby. I gagged and turned away, staring at the precious bundle.Wow. I couldn’t believe I’d helped bring this little girl into the world. A new life, a new start. All lives were precious, and a newfound determination flooded me. We’d come this far, and I would save my princes. After this delivery, their cousin had to be grateful enough to remove thecurse.
When I turned, Gwenth was in bed. I approached her and handed her the little baby. “She’s adorable,” Isaid.
Tears filled her eyes as she held the munchkin and kissed her head. “I thought today I would die in childbirth and lose her. Thankyou.”
“I didn’t doanything.”
