Page 21 of The Dark Elf's Surprise Baby

Every day is a nightmare without him nearby. I pray every night to the Thirteen that he makes it back in one piece, safe and sound.Please let him be okay, I whisper in my head, all day every day.

It doesn’t help that I have bad dreams every night that he’s away from me. I can’t sleep, I feel restless and unable to get comfortable. When he’s here, the bad dreams go away but when he’s gone, I’m plagued with memories of my old life under my harsh master.

I carefully clean the dust from the table in the entryway and try to focus on making sure that Demethys will come back to a clean and well-kept house. The table has a single vase and an old fossilized rock atop it, both of which have already been carefully dusted.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the vase cracks for no apparent reason. I’m not anywhere near it and I’m being extremely careful so I’m in absolute shock, eyes bugging out when it happens.

I take an unconscious step back, shivers racing down my spine as I stare at it.

What happened? Anxiety fills me as I examine the crack. A dark vision enters my mind, of someone lying on the ground, bleeding out. It’s too dark to see who it is but it frightens me nonetheless.

I have a bad feeling from this dark vision and I feel weak as I start breathing harder, unable to catch my breath.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had trouble breathing lately. I’ve been feeling under the weather a lot lately. At first I thought it was because I miss Demethys so badly but now I’m concerned because I’ve become exhausted to the point of falling asleep on my feet and this morning I was violently sick to my stomach.

I lean on the wall, trying to catch my breath as the room starts spinning. My body breaks out into a cold sweat and I feel nauseated again, my stomach rolling.

“Miss Harper!” Ivrir calls out, eyes wide as he sees me barely able to hold myself up, leaning against the wall. “You must sit down! I’ll fetch the healer at once!”

He guides me into Master Demethys’ office, having me lie down on the comfortable, plush leather couch.

“Stay there. I’ll be right back,” he says. He’s not usually so concerned about things—I must have given him a real fright back there.

I lay with my eyes closed, breathing shallowly in and out while Ivrir sends for Healer Varia. She comes at once and enters Master Demethys’ office, shooing Ivrir away when he tries to look over her shoulder, concern etched into his furrowed brow.

“We need some privacy please,” she asks. Ivrir looks reluctant to leave and hovers by the door. “Can you bring mea damp cloth for her?” Healer Varia asks when he doesn’t immediately go.

He bows and takes his leave then, leaving us alone.

“Alright, tell me your symptoms,” Varia asks me. When I list them off she nods along and purses her lips. “And how long has this been going on?” she asks.

“Well, I only started recognizing it this past week but I think when Master Demethys left is when it all really began. I threw up that day, and then I’ve thrown up once again since then, this morning. Is it serious? Can I die from a broken heart?” I ask, anxiety coloring my voice.

“I don’t think it’s a broken heart,” Varia shakes her head. “May I see your belly?”

I lift my dress up and move my corset aside, giving her access. “May I palpate it?” she asks.

“Uh...yes,” I shrug. “If you need.”

She begins to feel around my belly, humming to herself as she does, making noises and saying things like “Oh, interesting”.

When she’s done, she helps me sit up on the couch. “You’re not going to die of a broken heart,” she tells me.

“Then what’s wrong?” I ask, frowning.

Healer Varia smiles. “You’re pregnant, Harper.”

By the Thirteen! I’m pregnant? Joy fills me up inside at the thought of having Demethys’ child. I can’t wait to tell him!

But then my joy turns to sadness when I realize that he’s not here to share the news with. But he’ll be back and I can tell him then, I’ll have the perfect surprise for his return!

“Thank you,” I tell Varia. “Thank you!” I hug her and her eyes widen for a moment but she relaxes into the hug.

“I’m glad that the news is good!” she says. “I think you may be about six or seven weeks along. I’ll be back in a few weeks to check up on you and the baby again.”

I stare at my belly, trying to wrap my brain around this.

“You’ve got this,” she says. “Just take it easy for a while. Try to do more light work, less carrying of heavy loads and the like.”

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