Steel Butterfly

1

Lady Malinalli's POV

She walked towards the shrine, hoping to be able to pray to the fertility and childbirth goddesses of her people. Malinalli was not ready to give birth but the baby would be coming soon enough.

"I thought you had given birth already. Teteoh Innah was busy today." A voice spoke. She smiled at him as he appeared beside her.

"Oh my gods, you're not supposed to be here." Malinalli almost jumped out of her chair.

"Why wouldn't I?" He chuckled. "Besides, it's only a matter of time."

"True but still." Malinalli spoke."My husband is hoping it'll be a boy."

"Well, as long as it's healthy that shouldn't matter."

"You're right." She looked down at her swollen belly. Despite it all, she was thrilled with the idea of her becoming a mother. "But he doesn't see it that way. He thinks a son is far better than a daughter. He's obsessed with his legacy."

"Of course, he longs to fit into Hunir society." Her friend rolled his eyes.

Suddenly, Lady Malinalli felt a sharp pain in her belly. She grunted, holding her belly.

"Mali!" He exclaimed. The maids quickly ran up to her.

"The babe is coming!" One of the women exclaimed. Malinalli tried to stand up but it was too painful to do. Suddenly, she hit the ground, too weak to do anything.

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Lord Ixcoyotl's POV

He heard the commotion outside and dropped his pen. Lord Ixcoyotl ran out to see what was happening. He saw his lady wife, Malinalli as the Brother and the maids tried to pick her up. She had a head wound and foam came out of her mouth.

"Malia!" He shouted, running to her.

"We'll take her to the room and try to wake her." The Brother spoke as the maids and he moved her. He might lose his wife and heir.

They quickly moved her to the nearest bedroom. He took her hand as the Brother checked her pulse. A midwife checked her.

"She's a few centimeters dilated but she's lost a lot of blood." She spoke. "I worry that her placenta is hemorrhaging from when she fell down. We will have to deliver the baby."

"What about Malinalli?" He asked.

The midwife and Brother stared at him.

"We have to act fast or we will lose both." The Brother spoke. The maids started to remove Malinalli's skirts and stripped her lower half to her shift.

Ixcoyotl watched as the Brother lifted her shift and started to cut into her belly. He turned away, not wanting to see the blood that was spilling from her belly. He was stroking his wife's hair, kissing her forehead, and praying that their gods would save her and their child.

Finally, he heard a baby's cry. As the doctor ripped the child from the womb, the midwives quickly got to trying to stop the bleeding and save his wife.

"Congratulations, Lord Ixcoyotl. You have a beautiful little girl." He smiled at him, trying to hand him the baby.

Ixcoyotl stared at the bloodied baby with a swollen face. A girl. She would never be able to inherit lands by Britannai standards. She would be married off and his family branch would go extinct if his wife could no longer bear sons. Well at least he had male cousins and brothers.

"Take her to the wetnurse." He spoke, thankful that he had gotten one. Only peasants fed their own babies.

"Yes, sire." The Brother spoke and walked off with the babe. The pool of blood under his wife was getting bigger and bigger. The midwife was trying to save her, performing healing spells after healing spells. He noticed her skin was pale and she had gray hair.