Her baby wasn't due for another few weeks. The pain of labor, however, came early.
It has been nearly seven months since Arabella has seen the sun. Sébastien has kept her locked in his basement for the entire duration of her pregnancy, delivering her meals and vitamins to ensure that the baby is strong and healthy.
Every month that has gone by, Arabella has grown weaker. By the end of her first trimester, she could no longer drink blood or move at fast vampire speeds. Her pregnancy has reduced her to being a simple werewolf. One that is too weak to fight off her captor and too scared to put her baby's life at risk.
She wonders if she will ever regain her vampirism, or if the baby has permanently stripped her of that strength.
Sébastien comes when her cries of pain become too loud for him to ignore. She has faked her labor before in hopes that he will grow a heart and set her free. Instead, it only gave him justification to keep her locked down here for even longer.
"Please, let me out of here," Arabella begs. She attempts to stand, but the pain of labor immediately sends her to her knees. "Don't let me baby be born in the middle of a dungeon."
Outside the bars, Sébastien eyes her. There's a weariness to his gaze. Then, he pulls out a key from his pocket and places it into the lock. "I do hope that this is not another misguided attempt to trick me," he states.
As Arabella forces herself to stand, she can feel her water break. Liquid spills out all over the cell floor, coating its surface with a sheen.
"I can't fake that," she responds shortly before the next wave of pain hits her.
The man claiming to be her brother scoops her from the floor. He carries her out of the dungeon and carries her upstairs. The light of the room they enter burns her eyes.
It takes them far too long to adjust to the lighting, making her miss significant details. If she wants to escape later, she needs to know where she is. She needs to know everything about her environment.
Sébastien carries her into a bedroom that has a crib in the corner of the room. The room is painted a lilac color and is decorated with a mix of adult and children decorations.
Two women stand on the outskirts of the room, awaiting orders from their leader. They both refuse to look in Arabella's direction, instead staring straight ahead.
Arabella cries out in pain while the lights above them rapidly flicker. Everyone else in the room glances overhead in surprise.
"Looks like we're about to have a little witch," Sébastien claims. He looks over at the two women. "I will grab whatever materials you need. Ensure that my niece is born healthy."
This is not how Arabella ever imagined the birth of her child. She thought that she would be receiving the comfort of the child's father. She thought that she would have the support of her friends and family.
After she was turned into a hybrid, she had forgotten her dream of having children. Arabella had been happy with the idea of spending eternity at the side of her soulmate.
This situation is all wrong. She shouldn't be subjecting her child to a life of imprisonment. Her child should never be subjected to the painful life that Arabella has lived.
One of the women move to the edge of the bed, peering underneath Arabella's dress. Her face is a vision of calm. "She's completely dilated and I can see the baby's head," the woman claims.
Her companion walks to Arabella's side, gently taking hold of her hand. "You're going to need to push, Arabella." Her voice is soft and soothing.
Some of her pain eases from the touch of the woman, giving the werewolf some relief. She tries her best to push the baby out, but it only brings the pain back tenfold.
A scream leaves her lips while she quickly gives up. "I can't," she cries.
"You must," the woman declares. "Otherwise your child will die."
The werewolf begins to sob, once again attempting to push the baby out of her. After a few more attempts, she can feel the relief of her child being born.
Within seconds, the sound of an infant's cry fills the room.
Arabella weakly glances over in the baby's direction. "It's a girl," the first woman claims. She observes the baby for a moment before she hands Arabella her daughter.
The moment that her daughter is in her arms, Arabella is filled with a strange sense of peace. This was destined to happen. This baby has a greater purpose in life, Arabella can sense it.
"You're so beautiful," she murmurs softly. "You're perfect."
The baby's cries dampen to soft whimpers while Arabella holds her. A soft smile grows across the young woman's face.
When her daughter wraps her hand over Arabella's finger, she is immediately hit with a wave of pain. It feels as though someone is draining away Arabella's strength, something she no longer had a lot of.
One of the women snatches the infant from Arabella's arms, appearing to be shocked. "The child is cursed," she states.
Sébastien enters the room his gaze sweeping over the scene. When he looks at the two women in the corner, his eyes narrow. "What is the problem?"
"She's a siphoner," says the woman who delivered the baby.
The man's eyes flash with an unreadable emotion before he shakes his head. "She's barely five minutes old. How can you be certain?"
Carrying the baby over to the crib, the woman gently sets the baby done before taking the child's finger. Almost immediately, the woman lets out a soft groan. The lights of the room flicker as the baby begins to scream.
Though the woman tries to take back her hand, the baby holds onto her finger too tight. The witch does not have the energy to fight back, slowly collapsing to the floor.
"H-help me," she begs Sébastien.
When the other witch takes a step toward the woman, the man stops her. "Leave her," he orders. There's something cruel about his gaze while he watches the scene. "My niece is hungry for magic."
Arabella attempts to sit up, but finds that she is too weak to do so. Between giving birth and being siphoned, Arabella no longer has the strength to move around. She barely has the energy to stay conscious.
After a few minutes, the baby releases the woman's finger. She collapses onto the floor, taking in shallow breaths.
The man slowly approaches the baby's crib. "What an interesting little creature you are." He reaches down and gently strokes the baby's cheek. "You are the perfect addition to our family."
He turns around to look at the witch that is still conscious. "I want you to clean up the baby and then immediately bring her back here." Sparing Arabella a glance, Sébastien straightens his spine. "The child is going to want to be near her mother soon enough."
With that, he exits the room and leaves Arabella hopeless and broken.
*****
It takes Arabella two full days to recover enough to stand up on her own. It takes her three more to finally come up with a name for her child.
Prior to her kidnapping in the 1860s, Arabella had created a small journal with baby names that she loved. Several of those are certainly outdated and no longer seem to fit with the current times. There is one that she refuses to give up, though, for it was almost the name that her mother had given her.
"Victoria Rose," Arabella quietly says. She rocks the baby in her arms while standing in front of the window to drink in the sunlight.
Since she hasn't been able to use her routine to maintain her hair, Arabella's hair is now brown at the roots with ugly blonde ends. It's long enough for the blonde to start at her shoulders and reach down to the center of her back. Her face is more pale and angular than it was seven months ago and her body now carries more trauma.
If there is one thing that hasn't changed about her, however, it's her determination. Arabella Salvatore will escape this prison. She will find Niklaus Mikaelson and the two of them will raise their child together.
She will give her daughter a better life than she was ever granted. That is a vow that she will keep.
END OF BOOK 1
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We have finally left TVD and are now entering TO! Be on the lookout for book 2!! I'm currently trying to work out a title for it.