Chapter 17: Lord Mokabe (6): Orphan
Amiya was already exhausted from the pain and from pushing, trying to deliver her precious child with the help of Viis. She has been working for almost an hour now, but the baby is still not coming out.
Viis was starting to get worried, looking at Amiya, she worried that she wouldn't be able to deliver the baby safely.
'Where is Mokabe now? Why is he taking so long?'
"Mo-Mokabe...is he coming?" Amiya weakly asked Viis after giving a push once again. Her pale face was dripping with sweat. Her slender body was limply laid on the bed. Her knees were raised and parted to allow the passage of the baby.
Viis wiped her pale face and held her cold hands. "He is on his way now. Now, gather all your strength and give your all to push one last time. You're about to see your baby, so have courage, Amiya." Viis encouraged.
Amiya took a few deep breaths. She has to be strong for her baby and Mokabe. She can now imagine the happy face of Mokabe when he sees their baby.
"When you're ready, Amiya," Viis told her and settled herself in between Amiya's legs to aide the baby.
Amiya nodded and held tightly to the sides of her pillow and drew one last breath.
"Now!" Amiya screamed and gritted her teeth while she pushed her hardest.
"Here he comes, Amiya, just a little more!" Viis caught the head of the baby and gently pulled the baby's body out from Amiya's passage.
Viis let out a sigh when the baby's whole body was out, she quickly clamped its umbilical cord and cut it. She hurriedly gave the baby a quick wipe. Cleaning its mouth and nose, making sure it was breathing on its own.
After a few seconds, a faint baby cry was heard in the room, then the cry became louder and louder and resonated within the whole cave.
Mokabe stopped on his tracks. He heard a loud cry of a baby from the inside of the cave. He hurriedly waded his way through the tall bushes to the entrance of the cave. Viis already lifted the protective spell for him to pass through the forest quicker.
He ran the rest of the long tunnel leading to the living quarters inside the cave. When he got there, the sound of the baby crying was heard throughout the room.
He went inside the room and saw Amiya exhausted lying in bed. Her eyes were closed while the baby was crying on her side.
"What happened?" He worriedly asked Viis, who was still busy cleaning the blood drippings in between Amiya's legs.
Mokabe kneeled beside Amiya. "Amiya, I am here now. How are you feeling?" He stroke her pale, sweaty face.
He did not hear a response from Amiya. He worriedly looked at Viis. "Viis..."
Viis quickly looked at Amiya. Her face looks like a white paper, and her breathing was shallow. She checked her pulse.
Amiya's pulse was slow and irregular. She sent a worried look at her brother.
"Her pulse is weak. She must have exhausted all her strength. And she also lost a lot of blood. She won't make it." Viis sighed. There's not much she can do. Amiya has not delivered the placenta yet. She won't be able to at her current state.
"The placenta is still inside, she needs to deliver it." she looked at the worried Mokabe. He was on the verge of tears. "Stop being emotional right now and see if you can urge her to push one more time!" she scolded her brother.
Mokabe sighed and straightened his mind. More than anything else, he wanted Amiya to be healthy and well after giving birth. He needs to be strong for her too.
"Amiya," he spoke near her ears so she could hear him. "I am here now, my love."
Amiya tried to open her eyes, but it was cumbersome for her. She's too weak to move. But she could hear Mokabe's voice clearly in her unconscious state.
"Can you push more Amiya. Just one last push, please." He nudged her pale face to wake her up. "Do not sleep yet, Amiya. You have to see your beautiful child first. Can't you hear him calling your name?" He urged.
Amiya's eyelashes fluttered, but she won't open her eyes. She can not even move a single muscle in her body. Her body felt so numb, numbness that was not uncomfortable for her. It was actually soothing and calming her. It made her consciousness disappear. She felt like she was getting pulled into a deep sleep.
Mokabe's words were incomprehensible to her.
Viis rechecked Amiya's pulse. "She is going now, Mokabe. Let her go now. She had enough hardship, anyways."
Although Viis feels sad at Amiya's state, for her, it is better for her rest in peace now, rather than living a lonely life, stuck in this cave. If her situation with her brother were not complicated, she would not let her go as well. She will do anything in her willpower to save her.
Mokabe's tears that were threatening to fall fell down his cheeks. He shook his head, vigorously. He was not ready, no, he did not imagine to face this kind of situation. The birth of their child should be a happy occasion and something to be celebrated. Not this, not this painful picture.
"No, Amiya, wake up. You should wake up!!" He started to shake the limp body beside him.
Viis realizing that Amiya, decided to rest now, fixed her body, and covered her bottom half. She stood up and took the crying baby and lulled her in her arms. She left the room to give her brother time with Amiya.
Amiya heard a whisper. Mokabe was whispering to her ears. It was like he was putting her into a deep sleep. It sounded so good.
"Amiya, you have to wake up. You have to see your baby grow up into a fine man. Do not go, don't leave us." Mokabe begged. He was clasping her hands tightly in between his hands. Streams of tears running down his cheeks.
"I love you, Mokabe..." Amiya softly whispered as she starts to take the golden stairs in front of her. Her surroundings are lovely, nothing compared to the beautiful kingdom of Akijam or her previous country. Everything was sparkling white. There was a pearly gate at the end of the long stairs, and she can hear from the distance a choir singing. She really wanted to join the choir and join them singing. Something that she loved doing.
Mokabe heard Amiya whispered. He shook her limp body, but Amiya remained unresponsive to whatever shaking he made. Mokabe wailed clasping to his breast, the lifeless body of Amiya.
Viis, hearing her brother's wailing in the room, couldn't help but swallow her tears that were trying to fall on her cheeks. She had already foreseen this situation, but Mokabe did not listen to whatever warning she said. He and Amiya still insisted Amiya to stay with her.
She looked at the baby in her hands. The baby was already asleep in her arms. "Poor child. Now, you will really grow up without knowing your mother." She stroke the baby's soft and pinkish cheeks.
After some time passed, the room where Mokabe and Amiya already became quiet. Viis set the sleeping baby to her room and went to the other room.
Mokabe raised his head when he heard the door open. He couldn't hide his sorrow in front of his sister.
Viis sighed and went beside her brother. She patted his shoulder and said, "Go see your child now. She is in my room."
"She?" Mokabe asked.
"Yes, your child is a she. She is lovely, like her mother. Go, see her while I'll clean up here." She patted his shoulder and helped him stand up. She was not good with words and showing sympathy to her grieving brother.
Mokabe slowly got up and dragged his feet to the other room. On top of the bed, there, his child was peacefully sleeping. The baby's face was pinkish, and her cheeks were plump. The baby was making a sucking gesture while asleep.
"So, in the end, my lovely child, you won't be able to see your mother anymore." He wiped his tears that fell once again on his cheeks while staring at the sleeping child. He gently stroke the pinkish cheeks. "I am so sorry. I could not keep your mother stay a little longer for you." Again, he silently cried beside his sleeping daughter, mourning for the loss of his love and for his child, who will grow up not going to see her mother.
After Viis finished cleaning up the body of Amiya, they held a simple funeral and buried her body beside their mother. Mokabe mourned for a few days and stayed at the cave before deciding to go back to Akijam.
"What is your plan now?" Viis asked her brother, who was preparing for his journey going back to Akijam. She was holding the baby in her arms while she sleeps peacefully.
Mokabe looked at the sleeping child in Viis' arms. She looked exactly like the woman holding her. The only feature she took from her mother, Amiya, was her long eyelashes, and her thin lips.
Without a doubt, the child will grow into such beauty.
"You have to take her with you, Mokabe." Viis seriously looked at him. "At least do this in Amiya's sake. After all, you wanted her to grow in a normal environment. This time, listen to me." She said with a serious voice.
When Amiya died, Mokabe did not think of bringing the baby to the kingdom, he thought of leaving her with Viis and try to forget everything about her and Amiya. But the serious voice of Viis reminded him of the promise he made to Amiya. He also remembered how Viis gave him the warning about Amiya's death.
"She doesn't deserve to stay here. She will grow up as a wonderful child, you'll see." Viis convinced him. In the end, he decided to take the child with him when he went back to Akijam. This time, he heeded to whatever Viis told him. Viis can predict what will happen in the future.
"Lord Mokabe is back!" one of the servants exclaimed when she saw the image of their lord approaching the gate of their abode.
Nobody knew and suspected in his household, the reason why Amiya suddenly left.
All the servants gathered in the gate and waited for their lord. However, they were shocked when their master got down from his horse carrying a newborn baby in his arms.
"L-lord?" the oldest of the servants sent a confused look to their master. "You brought home a baby?"
"Ah...yes, I found it abandoned in the forest near the Budi mountain and took pity on her. I tried looking for her parents but did not find anyone around, so I took her home." He lied. It pained his heart, but he does not have any choice. At least, with his lie, his child will live a normal life.
The servants believed his lie and took the baby from his hand. All the female servants gathered around the infant. Pleased at the reaction of the servants, he said. "Go to the registry and sign her under my name. I am adopting this poor infant in my household."
Since the baby arrived in his household, the house became lively. The servants gave their focus on the child. He did not mind at all. Instead, he was happy that they were treating the child with love and care.
Five years went by in a flash. The infant grew into a pretty and lively little girl.
"Father, father!!" a crying girl came running to him while he was talking to the king. The girl did not even care that she was in the presence of the king.
"My child, can't you see that your father is talking to the king?" Mokabe scoot down to level his eyes to the crying girl.
"But, the king's sons are bullying me again!" the clear voice resonated at the room. She was still sniffling while wiping her tears with the sleeves of her dress.
Sentrin, the king, chuckled. He was amused at the child's tactfulness. "Surely, your daughter is adorable, Mokabe."
"She is quite a handful," Mokabe replied to Sentrin and looked down again to the girl. "Now, love, be still, and stay with me if you do not want to play with Mordecu and Matius."
The girl looked up at him with a confused look. "You are forbidding me to play with them anymore?" She innocently asked. She was scared that he wouldn't allow her to play with them anymore.
"Since you said, they were bullying you?"
The child shook her head, "No, they are not!" She denied. Even if she gets really annoyed if the brothers tease her, she still wanted to play with them. "You will still allow me to play with them right, father?" The little girl looked up at king Sentrin. "You are allowing Mordecu and Matius to play with me right, uncle Sentrin?"
The king let out a low laugh. "Of course, young one, you are free to play with them. And if they bully you, you have to tell me, okay."
Mokabe let out a laugh. "I will if you promise me not to come back running to me crying."
The little girl nodded repeatedly and slowly walked away from him before they change their minds; she speeds away from the two adults and goes to the two brothers in the garden, playing.
"Your daughter seems to be fond of my two sons," Sentrin commented. "I hope she marries one of them. What do you think?" He looked at him with kind eyes.
Mokabe did not refute what Sentrin said. It would be nice seeing his daughter marrying a kind and dignified man of their kind. He is looking forward to what she will become when she grows up.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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