Divergence: The Vampire Queen

The Birth

((TW: Gore, blood, and childbirth for this chapter))

By the time two more weeks had passed, Natalia was bedridden. She continued to grow at an astounding rate, well past what full gestation with a single child would be. The doctor came to check and measure her daily and was flabbergasted by how quickly the children inside her must be growing. As they grew, they became stronger, causing more damage to her body and organs as they moved about violently.

She awoke coughing, blood spurting out of her mouth. As the red liquid came flying out of her, she could not even speak. Natalia tried to cover her mouth, in vain, but only succeeded in splattering her hands with blood as well. Terror struck her green eyes as she tried to fathom what was going on. She wasn't vomiting up blood she had drank. There was an hour to go before he'd been meant to wake her, and she should've been able to digest all of it she'd drank three hours prior. She was just coughing and blood was coming out of her mouth.

Marcello was by her side in a flash, getting thick, dark liquid on all his clothes. He had seen these twins tussle inside of her, causing pain, but this was on a whole other level. "Have they hurt you? Do you feel anything broken or bruised?" The fear in his voice was palpable.

Even though the doctor had warned them that as the two of them grew bigger and there was less space to confine their bodies, they would likely start hitting the rest of her organs. The sudden onset of blood, her own blood, pouring from her lips, was jarring. He had warned of internal injury, but it had prepared neither of them for so much, so fast.

Marcello grabbed a towel from beside the bed and began mopping up some of the blood as best he could. He had to stay busy, do something, or he'd go mad with worry.

The white sheets were ruined, and it appeared as if he had committed a gruesome murder upon them. She herself looked as though she had ripped apart some poor human with crimson dripping from her lips and covering her chemise. "I'll call the doctor! Just tell me if it hurts anywhere!" He pleaded, but she still could not answer as it continued to bubble out anytime her mouth was open.

What was he talking about did anything hurt? EVERYTHING HURT! Constantly!

Natalia couldn't cease her choking, and as she surveyed herself, it was clear her mouth was not the only place blood was seeping from. It soaked her nightgown thoroughly, as was the bed. Everything touching her was scarlet.

"Get the doctor! Quickly!" She yelled, horror sweeping through her. Either she was bleeding so severely internally that she barely had any time left, or the babies were coming. Either way, the doctor needed to be there now. Pain swept over her, and her stomach began to cramp. Natalia grabbed it, feelings all her muscles seize.

The doctor had said they needed at least two more weeks, but she hoped their continued rapid development meant they could come now and still survive. They had no choice. The children had to be born. She was going to die without it.

Once she peeled back the bed and Marcello saw the extent of the bleeding, it clicked in his head. This was the all-or-nothing moment. In his mind, a battle raged. It was too soon for them to be born. They might not be safe! But, even so, she definitely wasn't safe!

While his mind raced, his feet had already taken him to the doctor's door, and he pounded upon it. "NATALIA! SHE'S BLEEDING OUT!"

"You said she's bleeding profusely?" Even the doctor's voice had lost its usual soothing tone.

"Everywhere doctor! It's just everywhere! Unless you can do something, I have to turn her. Please save our babies!"

They burst through the door, and the scene looked even worse than when he had left. Blood covered her, and the bed was practically ruined. Natalia laid on her back, screeching like a banshee, her stomach moving so violently that it was shaking her whole body. He couldn't tell if they were fighting to get out or dying, but they were, without a doubt, killing his wife.