A Court of Fear and Hope-ACOTAR

Vyta

Artemis was brought back to reality when she felt a very familiar cramp in her body. She clenched her body forward and had to stifle her shout of pain. As the pain rippled through her body, the tears she had fell from her eyes. She nearly held her breath throughout the pain, and once it let up, she crashed back against the cushions and shook her head.

"No, no, no, no." She quickly looked down at her belly. "Do not do this to me. You cannot come yet. Please just stay put so we can create a plan to get you out."
But did they have a plan?
Rhys had started to talk about how he could secretly get her out of the court with the help of his spies, but Amarantha would know she was gone. But to get Vyta out...

"We have a plan...We have a plan...We—"

There it was again, the contraction. Artemis kept her mouth shut as the pain went through her with incredible speed. She held her breath and towards the end, she slowly let it out before she fell to the couch again. By now, she was fully crying.

How was it that only a few months ago, she didn't even know she was pregnant and now she was in active labor? It always felt like things moved slowly under the mountain, but this event was moving way too quickly. She needed more time. They needed more time. They needed more time to figure out a plan. But it seemed that they didn't have that luxury.

Just as Artemis had finished another contraction, she desperately tried to reach Rhys. But she was far too weak to send anything. She was alone and she was crying and she felt helpless. Absolutely helpless. But when the blood started to fall from between her legs, it was fear that she felt most.

"No, no, no. This cannot be happening again. Please, please."
When her next contraction pushed through her, she didn't just feel pain, she felt pressure. Pressure from her daughter's head nearly crowning. Again, Artemis tried to reach her brother as she forced herself to stand from the couch.

It was painful, but she knew she needed to move into the bathing room. She placed her hands under her belly and so very slowly waddled to the bathing room by the far wall. Just when she was about to reach the room, another contraction hit. She gripped onto the chair that was next to her and as she let out an audible shout from the pain, she could feel the babe slowly start to move from her body.

This experience was completely different than her son. Where she was pushing for over four hours and they still had to intervene to get him out. No, this experience was the opposite. It hadn't been more than fifteen minutes, and she could already feel her daughter. While Artemis was standing in the middle of the room with her grip on the chair, she reached down between her legs. And when she felt the smooth scalp of her daughter, she tried her hardest to move to the bathing room.

She finally got to the tile and she was even able to get herself into the porcelain bath before her next contraction hit her. She gripped the sides of the bath and let out a shout of pain as she bared down with her contraction. She felt her daughter push against her body and Artemis knew that within the next few contractions that she would have to deliver her babe by herself.

Artemis couldn't stop her tears as she leaned back against the bath and gripped the sides. She had to let out long deep breaths to keep the pain a bay, but it was fruitless.
"Rhys, please hear me. I need your help. Please. Please. Please."
Artemis clenched her body forward and her grip on the sides of the tub tightened as she let out an agonizing shout as her body bared down.

At this point, when Artemis's contraction paused, she reached down and fully felt the head of her babe. When she was able to feel the facial features of her daughter, she started to panic. She sent a prayer to the gods as she forced herself to push her body to the brink of pain a fear. The shout that reverberated off of the bathing room walls was loud enough that she hoped Rhys would hear.