Everything I Am - Orm Marius/Ocean Master

Chapter Five - Opal

"AHHHHH!"

So this was giving birth.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

They said giving birth in the water was helpful. She had no comparison so she couldn't really say. Who was they who said it was helpful? Probably some man. 

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Orm and Atlanna had helped carry her out of the  house and down to the shoreline, Mera and Tom coming with them.  Arthur was chosen to stay back at the house with Atlas, as they didn't want to traumatize the poor kid with seeing his sister in pain. And boy, was she ever in a lot of pain. Like, a lot. 

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"You're doing great, My Darling," Orm encouraged.

"OH SHUT UP!"

"He's right," Atlanna agreed.

It sure didn't feel that way. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

They had positioned themselves in the shallows, Aurelia leaning with her back supported against Orm's chest and Atlanna at her feet.

Tom stood a ways back, video taping the whole thing for the family records, extensive as had already been established. Wonderful. 

"You got this, Kiddo!" her father called. 

While Orm supported her and held her one hand, Mera held the other, brushing her hair away from her face. "Almost there, Aurelia."

"AHHHH!" She flailed her arms, swinging backwards and unintentionally striking Orm in the face with her elbow and the full force of an Aquawoman hit. Now he was in pain too, but not as much as she was.

Suddenly, the pressure stopped, and a scream that wasn't hers pierced the scene.

"She's here! You  have a beautiful daughter!" Atlanna announced, scooping up the bloody screaming blob that was their baby.

Aurelia fell back, limp and exhausted, against Orm. "I'm never doing that again!" she announced, but when her mother placed the blob into her arms, she quickly melted. "Okay, well maybe not never..."

Orm wrapped his arms around her from behind so that he could hold both she and the baby. He was crying, both from his tender and bloody nose but mostly upon laying eyes upon his daughter for the first time.

She, their daughter, had stopped crying now, and was instead cooing, her little face all scrunched up. It was quite the look.

She had a darker skin tone, like her mother, with dark eyes and already had a head of dark hair like her grandpops and uncle. So far she took mostly from the Curry side of her family. 

"We made her," Aurelia said, almost in disbelief. 

"We did." He leaned down to press a kiss to the baby's head, then one to her own as well. "I'm so proud of you. You did amazing."

"Didn't feel that way, and I'm glad it's over now cause that sucked, but now we have her." And suddenly, despite how awful the pain had been, it suddenly seemed worth it. She instantly knew she would go through any amount of pain for this little blobby baby. 

"He's right, you did do amazing." Atlanna pulled her daughter close.  "And now look who's here."

"She's beautiful," cooed Mera.  "Congratulations!" 

Tom had raced back to the house, video camera still in hand, and came back with Arthur and Atlas in tow, right close behind him.

"Yeah Couz!" hollered Arthur from the shore with a cheer.

"Baby!" put in Atlas. 

"Opal," Aurelia said, tearing her gaze away from her daughter to look at her husband. It had only made sense from the beginning: if they had a daughter, they would name her after her grandmother, her father's mother, and it fit the little blobby bundle so well.

Now Orm's tears fell even harder.  "Yes. Opal." Now he couldn't stop saying the name.  "Opal, Opal..."

Aurelia tucked her daughter - Opal - to her chest.  "Hello Opal. Hey baby girl, welcome to the world." 

She could still hear Tom and Arthur whooping, and Atlas chanting, "I'm and uncle, I'm an Uncle!"

"Yeah you are! And Arthur! And Mera, you're an Auntie. You're a grandmama," she told Atlanna, then shouted towards the beach, "You're a grandpops, Dad!"

"And you're a mother," her own mother reminded her.

"I am." She leaned back against Orm some more, now perfectly sandwiched between her husband and their daughter. 

Princess Opal Marius-Curry, future Queen of Atlantis. It was perfect. She was perfect. Everything was pretty darn perfect.

-----------------------------------------

Aurelia had thought there was no way to be any more happy than she already was (besides the whole Queen thing). But now here she was. 

"Princess Opal," she and Orm announced to the packed-full Great Hall, all Lion-King style, days after Opal's birth. 

"Princess Opal!" the guests cheered. 

"All hail the future queen!"

"All hail the future queen!"

Then it was time for individual congratulations and gazing upon the baby. 

"A heartfelt congratulations from all of us in the Brine Kingdom," the Brine King said. Opal blinked up wide-eyed at the giant talking crustacean, and honestly, same.

"Thank you, Your Highness," Orm said.  

"Hmm, she doesn't really look like you two, does she," said Nereus.

"Father," chided Mera.

No 'Thank you, Your Highness' was given to this. 

Immediately following Orvax's defeat, Orm commissioned a statue memorial to his mother, Queen Opal, in the city centre. It had even been done in time for their wedding. Now he held their daughter, looking up at the stone version of his beloved mother. 

"You see Opal, that's your grandmother, my mother. She was one of the kindest, strongest people I knew. I wish you and your mother could have met her. She's who you're named after. And, she taught me your favourite lullaby." 

He hadn't been able to wait to serenade his daughter with his favourite lullaby, one of the many wonderful memories he had of his mother, and would sing to her even as she was asleep. 

Aurelia wished she could have met Queen Opal too, and thank her for raising her son to be the best man ever. 

While Orm and Opal were admiring the statue, Lady Karshon floated over to Aurelia. "Many congratulations to you and the King for the future queen."

Aurelia nodded stiffly. "Thank you, Lady Karshon."

"We will see you bright and early in the Council Chamber. And King Nereus is right, she does not resemble either of you." This was clearly a jab at her part-human heritage - Aurelia had heard it all herself. Karshon gave an icy smile bearing no kindness and floated away, leaving a very pissed Mama Aurelia behind. 

She had barely finished giving birth and the Council was already on her case about 'getting back to work'. 

Clearly, maternity leave was over - now she had to get back to work. 

(The ceremony is inspired by Neteyam's naming in Avatar: The Way of Water, another favourite water movie of mine! 

Yay, the baby is here - prepare for the onslaught of chaos that is about to ensue! ;)

Thank you so much for reading (and the 1000+ reads!) I hope you enjoyed! :))