the treasure of a lifetime [closed]

[Ophelia Harrington]

It was most likely the worst decision of her short life – to board a ship for Lorelai when she was so heavily pregnant. The storm that hit the ship the second night on board was vicious, and it was the only time that Ophelia truly thought that there might be a God out there, somewhere, and he was playing tricks upon her and the poor crew that surrounded her: she was sure they were used to it though. It was most likely the only time that Ophelia would ever be sick at sea too, for she had no control over her faculties. It was embarrassing, an ocean Nymph, being sick upon the crest of a wave.

The young Bard didn’t wake her husband immediately because she couldn’t be sure that she was actually going into labour, and she had prayed to every single deity she could think of that she didn’t have the babies until they reached the capital of Shalott. It seemed that the twins she carried had other ideas though. It took a lot of effort to push herself up from the bed without letting a scream peal from between her lips, but she managed it. There was little in the way of room, so the walk towards the door of their quarters was short but still, she was wobbly on her feet, and it felt like she had walked across country by the time she had made her way onto the deck.

It was the fresh currents of night time air that she sought and as soon as it touched upon her soft skin she inhaled a sigh of relief. It didn’t last long, for the next set of pains set upon her; the grip she held on the rail caused her knuckles to go white and she grew so feint that she almost fell over the side. She still didn’t say anything though, for she was still quite sure that she could hold on and make it the remaining distance between where the ship currently sailed, and the island of Kythin’s ancestors. “You can’t come yeeet…” She bemoaned, to no one in particular.

It was a particularly eagle eyed sailor that brought Ophelia’s condition to Kythin’s attention, with a swift knock on the door, and a: “You better come, Sir. I think your wife is sick…” It was very obvious by the shape of her that Ophelia was with child; she looked like she’d been blown up like a balloon, but none of them could have guessed that she would go into labour on the way to the island kingdom.

[Kythin Steelfang]

Kythin did not expect a woman heavy with child, twins especially, to be quite capable of controlling the whim of either the children nor her own body. This extended to the matter of pushing the adorable parasites out. It did not help matters that a superstition existed that it was bad luck to bring a woman aboard a sea-worthy vessel. How likely was a pregnant one to prove or disprove such things?

All too likely, Kythin found himself thinking after that keen-eyed sailor chose to point out the apparent illness Ophelia must have been suffering from. Strange that a keen-eyed man couldn't discern the very likely condition of labour. In a stark contrast the opposite proved true for the infrequently keen-eyed Knight. It turned out to be his first consideration when awoken to the prospect of her being ill. The second was to throw the poor sailor overboard. How fortunate indeed the man was that Kythin concerned himself with his wife far too much to waste the mere seconds necessary to commit to the imagined scenario.

" Ardgrim smite the lot of you if she is not well. " Albeit likely quite unhappy with the situation at hand, Kythin could imagine .. even if he could not imagine how she might react to seeing the man responsible for her very pregnant condition.

Awoken from tenuous slumber Kythin hurried to the side of his wife without any further thought. Without skill beyond the most typical of divine healing and regeneration of his own flesh, limbs, and all manner of other assorted bits and pieces of his own anatomy .. the prospect of child delivery was not one Kythin liked to think about.

Whether Ophelia noticed or not the man most well known as the Black Knight of Dunsany took one hand in two of his own. Ignorance of child delivery was one thing , the ability to support his beloved? Was something he was much more capable of even now.

After all, he had faith .. and if that failed him?
If things went awry? 
Gods have mercy on the world, for he would give none. 

[Ophelia Harrington]

If Ophelia ever heard Kythin refer to their children as parasites, then not even his Gods would be able to protect him from her particular brand of wrath! Small as she was, she had a fierce bite – especially when it came to punishing her steadfast and humourless husband.

It had been a particularly bad idea for her to board the ship, and the captain had held fast to his superstitions until Ophelia had turned on her charm. It was a charm that had, as was well known in the stories and songs of Bard’s, caused her innumerable amounts of trouble. She had decided it was worth the risk though, that she just had to reach Lorelei before the babes were born.

Mother-nature had a sense of humour though, for as soon as Ophelia had settled aboard the ship and they had set sail into the deep blue waters of the seas, she had deemed it time for them to come. It was fitting, if one was in the mood to look at it so, given who and what Ophelia was. It made sense that her body would react to being surrounded by water, when she was carrying not one, but perhaps two Oceanid descendants.

She noticed his presence as soon as he stepped aboard the decking; his hand was squeezed gently, and she looked up to him – troubled and in pain. “I’m scared.” She murmured softly, for his ears only. It was not often that she gave away such emotions; rarely – unless she was surrounded by the undead – did she give away when she was scared of a situation. This one was terrifying though. “I don’t want my babies to be born on a ship!” Not that it wasn’t a very nice ship, and the stories she could write about it… those thoughts were cast aside, as the pain split her sides and she gripped Kythin’s hand so tightly he may wonder if his wife had been body swopped for a giant, or something as strong!

It didn’t look like Ophelia was going to get much of a choice as to where her children were born; her body, the fates and nature all had different ideas. For no soon after the pain had passed, the Second Hand of the ship had noticed what was going on aboard his Captain’s decks, and called for the ships doctor. He arrived at the side of Ophelia and Kythin and looked about as terrified about the whole situation as Ophelia felt. “Never birthed a babe before…” The threat from Kythin had carried across the ship though, so he was forced to say: “Ain’t nothin’to it, I hear.”

[Kythin Steelfang]

There existed very little indeed that could protect a husband from their wife when the latter was rightfully angry! Parasites, Indeed. Still the term was not an inaccurate one from his own understanding. A pity the anatomy lessons he'd suffered through during his teenage years were dedicated to torture rather than specifics .. like pregnancy.

Plenty of silent cursing filled his head till finally setting eyes on Ophelia. The pressure of her hand delicately claiming his; successfully drawing his gaze to the appendage as if they connection might soothe the many thoughts of what could go wrong. Aboard a bloody ship headed to Lorelai and the Gods thought to play the cruel joke upon them of childbirth at sea.

It would have been simple to blame the oceanid lineage of Ophelia herself. Of the woman - then thinking much along his own lines of thought - subjecting his hand to a cruel grip changed fully from the gentleness that came before. Kythin could smell her fear .. and the fear of his wife brewed concern. A concern that left the man descending into worried tones ill-suited to the fey tongue that left his lips. " It must be the sea to blame. " How fortunate at least they had not chosen dragonsflight as their means to the Island Kingdom's capital.

The interruption of the Physician did not fill him with any measurable amount of confidence. In fact, quite the opposite came about - this idiot is going to the death of my wife and children, he thought. A thought his expression conveyed with a mixture of concern and pre-mature rage. " Best you learn quickly or its into the drink with you! " Possibly as a doc-sicle; lest the man somehow secure luck and survive the ordeal if Phe and the unborn did not come out of this for the better.

[Ophelia Harrington]

Ten hours after the first pangs of her labour, Ophelia was laid out in the captain’s cabin, fast asleep with two new-borns, Jacen (the eldest by just 3 minutes) and Leila Steelfang, nestled safely in her arms. They were born with brilliant white heads of hair, and just as dazzling and brilliant blue eyes – just like their parents.

No one knew how the ships doctor had managed to get through the entire birth without losing the slim thread of sanity he had; the likelihood was that it was the shadow of the brooding dragon that was stood next or at least near him, the entire time. The threat he had spoken when each of the men aboard had realized what was happening was still being grumbled about below decks but so far, not one of the grizzled sailors had tried anything.

It had been the most harrowing experience of her entire life and that included being kidnapped, and her soul stolen by an evil necromancer. Every part of her hurt and ached and she was flush with a sincere lack of energy. It was obvious that it had taken a toll on her body, for she had barely moved the entire hour after the doctor had left. Eventually, she awoke and settled her gaze upon her children and was immediately terrified but at the same time, there was so much adoration in her chest that she was quite sure that her heart was about to explode. She couldn’t quite decide if she loved them yet, and immediately a pit of guilt formed in her stomach. Was that normal? She would find that it was but that was in the future, away from the ship and their travels.

“Kythin?” She murmured sleepily, before turning her attention around the cabin to see if her mate, and husband, and fellow creator of tiny creatures was around or if he was up on deck with the other men. It was lonely, being the only female around sometimes.