I sigh and turn my head away from Rose, my gaze falling to the floor sadly. I can feel something moving inside of me, and I shudder. Out of no where, there’s a muffled explosion and the powerful stench of brimstone. I look up as Rose yelps softly in surprise.
“Kurt?” I whisper.
“Ja. Oh, Frauline, what has he done to you?” He rests a gentle three fingered hand on my swollen belly.
“He made a few embryos of his sperm and my eggs and put them in me…I…I’m pregnant…”
“Mien fruend…”
I sigh a little and look up into his warm yellow eyes. “We’ll deal with it later, Nighty. I just want to get out of here. Is everyone else ok?”
He nods. “Our team is…our adversary is a coward…”
“I know. Did you come across a group of people like Rose?” I motion my head towards the scared girl.
His tragic look tells me all I need to know.
“I see,” I comment softly. “Rose? Come over here, please. Kurt, this girl was one of those people, and she was assigned to take care of me. Can we take her along?”
He nods. “Would you like to come with us, Rose?”
She pauses for a moment. “I go where Mistress HLM goes.”
“All right, then.” Kurt kneels by my bed, slips an arm underneath me, gripping me around my waist. With his other arm, he holds Rose’s tiny frame close. In less than a moment, our surroundings disappear only to be replaced with those of the blackbird. Kurt wraps the blanket around my naked body before turning to Beast, who monitors the progress of the others. I hold the blanket closed under my arms, my progressively rounder belly barely showing among the folds. Rose stands by my side, gripping my hand tightly, her head jerking around at the strange sounds.
“How are the others, Herr Beast?”
“They are on their way back, my Germanic blue friend.”
I kneel by Rose, trying to reassure her when I feel a huge wave of muscle contractions painfully make their way through my body.
“Oh…” I gasp, putting a hand on my belly.
Something’s wrong…
I double over as the pain increases dramatically and blood begins to pool on the floor beneath me. The world starts spinning as the pain takes everything over. It’s a relief when the crazy merry-go-round I’m trapped in disappears in favor of soothing darkness.
When I come around, I’m lying on the floor, wrapped in blankets. Nightcrawler is sitting by me with Rose in his lap. She sobs hysterically as he holds her thin frame to his chest comfortingly. He watches me with worry on his handsome blue face.
“Kurt?” I whisper, feeling very weak. “What happened? Why is Rose crying?”
“I’m sorry, HLM,” he starts hesitantly, “but you lost the babies. Rose is afraid that Vincent is going to kill her because of it.”
I…what…? …I’ll deal with it later…poor Rose…
“Oh no…Rose…c’mere…”
She climbs out of Kurt’s lap and finds the hand I hold up for her to take.
“Yes, Mistress?”
I shudder at the undeserved title and sit up with difficulty. “Vinnie isn’t going to kill you! You’re free now and safe.”
“How can you be sure?”
“We’ll protect you, sweetheart,” I tell her comfortingly. “We can care for you and help you with whatever you need.”
She nods and puts her skinny arms around me. I hold her and stroke her soft hair.
“It’ll be ok, Rose.”
I look up at Beast. “How are the others doing?”
Beast looks back at me. “They’re on their way back. You rest, my friend, you went through a lot.”
I bite my lip against any objections at feeling blood soaking into the pad between my legs.
I’m glad we packed that extra set of clothing…
A yawn overtakes me and I sigh heavily.
Beast looks back at me. “You really do look tired.”
I blink and nod a little.
Nightcrawler takes one of my hands and pats the back of it. “Get some sleep, my friend.”
“I guess I should…”
I lie back down and close my eyes. Slowly, I drift off.
Across my
shoulders, I bear a pole with two full buckets of water hanging off the ends. I
leave sandal prints in the dirt as I head down the road.
I set down the buckets and slide the pole out of the
handles. Picking up the water, I step into the hut. The wise man of the village
and his apprentice are sitting on either side of my twin sister. Strangely, it
doesn’t strike me as odd that I don’t know the names of my village or
anything else.
"How is she?” I ask the wise man.
He raises his bald head and his blue eyes meet my green
on black eyes. “She is not doing well.”
I sigh and dip the ladle into one of the buckets to fill
a bowl of fresh water to give to the read-haired female apprentice.
My sister had been raped and impregnated by an enemy
warrior. She lost the babies this morning and we’re all afraid she is going to
die.
I kneel at my twin’s feet and look at her pale face. I
sigh and attract the gazes of her two caregivers.
“I wish I could help more.”
The red-haired apprentice’s eyes hold sympathy. “So
do we…”
She goes to say more, but the sound of the hide covering
the entrance of the hut being torn down startles us out of our conversation. The
imposing figure of a young man with long, dark hair and pale blue eyes stands
there. This is the man who raped my sister.
Part
Fourteen
Part Sixteen
Mind Index