She Wasn't Always a Witch

The Passage of Time is Nearing (E)

"Shhhh shhhh shhhh shhhh" I whispered to my children. 

Ector ceased his crying before Igraine did. He whipped his eyes with his hands and looked at me. His little hand was squeezed so tightly in his little blanket that his fingers were turning white. Smiling down at his little face I wiggled my fingers enough to be able to still be holding his tiny body in my right arm without dropping him and gently disentangled his whitened fingers from his blanket. He seemed to want to be holding on to something though so he grabbed onto my index finger and squeezed it with all his might.

Igraine stopped her wailing once she saw that her brother was no longer crying with her. 

The baby sister follows suit in her brother’s wake. I smiled at her as she looked at her brother's sleeping form.

She looked from Ector's face to mine and gave me a toothless smile. Her spittle pooled on her bottom lip as her eyes sparkled at my smiling face.

"I love you both." I said to them and kissed both of their heads.

Igraine giggled her infant giggle and opened and closed her tiny fists at me.

I turned to place them both back into their cribs by our bed. Placing Ector down first as gently as possible, so as not to make wake him, I then began the task of putting Igraine to bed for her nap. 

Thirty minutes later, I was looking down at Ector and Igraine. They both slept on their tummies with their heads turned towards each other with their hands holding each of their blankets.

"I stood at the door for the past hour, watching you with them." Cain whispered 

Gasping, I turned around quickly.

Cain stood by the hearth, with a cup in his hand.

"Cain, I did not even know that you were in here." I said, walking towards him

"I was not always in here. I just came in when you had placed Igraine in her bed. I was watching from the door." He pointed to the opened door.

"Why did you not make yourself known sooner?" I asked placing a hand on his shoulder

He did not answer me, just placed his hand atop mine. He turned towards me and his eyes were so full of tenderness, love, and awe.

"Cain..." I whispered

"You are too good for me, Anora." He whispered and grabbed me and crushed me against his chest.

"I never thought that I would end up with a women like you for a wife. You can make any man die happy without even bedding him. Simply knowing you and your warmth is enough to make a man happy for the rest of his days. Yet you gave me a sturdy home; a family to call my own; the love of a women; sons and a daughter." His voice broke towards the end of his speech.

I had tears in my eyes. He had taken to telling me such lovely things since Ector and Igraine were born.

His hands began roaming my back, soothing my body as I cried happy tears. His hands made their way upwards towards my face and he encased it before kissing me so tenderly, fresh tears washed my face.

Leaning his head against mine he whispered, "What have I done to deserve you?" His eyes bore into mine and my heart shattered with all the love I had for this man, my husband.

"You were you. That's what you did." I whispered to him.

I do not know how long he stood their just watching me and I watching him but soon Braiden ran into our chambers and declared that he was now an expert at archery.