6. Peyton - 1: The Birth

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Psyche listened to her daughter’s screams from the next room. She rubbed her hands together and sighed with worry. Eros sat next to his wife and rubbed her shoulders.

“I wish we could help her,” Psyche mumbled under her breath. “She sounds as if she is being killed.”

Eros took a deep breath and let it out before answering. “She will be fine. Artemis has her under great care.”

“She did not request my presence,” Psyche blubbered. “It is quite an important time in her life. She struggled for so many months.”

“Without us, this child would not be happening,” Eros pointed out just as another blood curdling scream filled the room.

“Hedone still does not want it. She has hated it since its creation. Surely we cannot let her dispose of the child!”

“Never,” Eros assured. “We will care for her like she is our own if necessary. I still firmly believe that Hedone will love the child once she sees it.”

“She has spent the last few months just lying around and complaining. I do not suppose that she could ever love that child. She is so set in her ways and is constantly complaining about her lack of alcohol.” Psyche sighed and then suddenly yawned. The bags under her eyes were clearly evident.  Hedone’s condition had taken a toll on everyone in the house but mostly Psyche.

Eros kissed his wife’s temple softly. “It is not your fault. You have done a magnificent job of keeping Hedone away from the evil substances. Her child will be perfectly healthy.”

The screaming suddenly came to a halt. Both Psyche and Eros looked to their doorway unsure of what to expect. They could hear the low hum of conversation on the other side of the wall. After a moment, Artemis entered the room. She looked to both of the new grandparents with a grim expression. Psyche stood up in alarm.

“Please tell me that everything is alright!”

“Everything is fine,” Artemis assured. “You can go in and see them both now.”

Psyche raced into to see her daughter. Eros followed more calmly. They found Hedone in her own bedroom tucked into her own bed. She was leaning against a few pillows and looking into her arms at a bundle of blankets. Psyche smiled at her daughter and joined her on the bed. Eros walked over to the other side of his daughter and they both gazed into the blankets. Inside was a little round face of a beautiful baby.

“She is so quiet,” Hedone whispered as she stroked her baby’s cheek.

“A baby girl,” Psyche marveled. “She is beautiful.”

“She is so small,” Hedone countered. “Her life is fragile and yet she is in my arms.”

“Is it not magnificent?” Eros asked. “Her life rests in your hands.”

The little girl stirred and grunted a bit. There was a small tuft of orange-red hair on her head. She suddenly opened her large eyes to expose simple baby blues. Her eyes gazed directly into her mother’s. Hedone kept eye contact with her baby until suddenly she let out a big wail.

Both Eros and Psyche covered their ears in alarm and Hedone would’ve done the same had her hands not been full. Artemis entered the room suddenly and looked at the family.

“Cradle her,” the goddess commanded to the new mother. “Rock her back to sleep.”

Hedone did as she was told until her squirming child stilled once again. She didn’t fall back asleep but she stopped her crying. Hedone sighed when the noise had gone.

“This is just the start of your adventure as a mother,” Artemis commented. “You will have many more restless nights to come with that child.”

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