Filia

Latin

Daughter

-

and

turns from me to gawk at some other child,

another girl.

-

"It's a girl, Your Majesties."

"WHAT?"

"Oh!"

"Aww!"

"NO!" Jem shouted, scrambling to his feet and nearly throttling his uncle when he tried to make him sit back down. "Mumma and Daddy said I was getting a brother- brothers are boys! No girls- why-"

"Jem, sweetie, girls aren't bad. They're very good." Lucy tried to pacify the stomping child, wondering if this was how her brothers had reacted when they'd found out they were going to have little sisters.

"They're 'noying!" He said stubbornly. "And their voice is too squeaky! Like Aunt Su when she mad!"

Susan, who had been attempting to bring the boy back into her lap, looked most offended. "Excuse me-"

"Ekkactly like that!"

Peter failed to hide his laughter, which annoyed Jem further and he moved to pummel him with his fists repeatedly.

"Prince James." The brunette nurse frowned at him, crossing her tawny arms. "Is this the behaviour from the next High King of Narnia?"

Jem gaped at her, that particular nurse had always intimidated him- with her knitted-together eyebrows and pressed-together lips- when he'd gone with his mother for her check-ups, and mutely shook his head.

"Now then, what do we say?" She prodded, staring at him meaningfully.

Head hung down in shame, he turned to his aunts and uncles and mumbled, pouting, "I'm sorry for being a bad boy."

Susan's soft heart melted, and she immediately brought her nephew back into an embrace, "It's okay, sweet prince..."

Lucy gave the nurse a grateful smile, but was unable to say anything as Peter had already spoken, in a rather awed voice, "That was amazing, honestly. I don't think any of us have ever managed to calm him down so quickly."

The nurse blushed hard- she may manage to discipline the Crown Prince, but she wasn't much in the face of the very handsome and indeed very Magnificent High King, "I grew up in an orphanage, Your Majesty. I know how to deal with annoying young 'uns."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but it doesn't make what you did any less impressive. If you hadn't had a job already, I'm quite sure my brother and sister-in-law would've made you Jem's governess." He said earnestly, and her cheeks flamed even more.

"I'm not quite fond of children, I'm afraid." She admitted awkwardly- this was the first time she'd ever spoken to a Monarch (apart from Queen Sanya)- she'd only been in the palace for four months- and was taken aback at how jumpy she was. "I shall keep it in mind if I ever become disillusioned with my current field, though, I assure you."

"That's good to hear." He smiled at her, rather wondering how he hadn't seen her around the castle. And here he thought he knew every human who worked in Cair... "Your name...?

Lucy and Susan promptly shared looks over Jem's head. Their brother was interested in her. Ha! Edmund would never stop making fun of him over this- granted, Ed would never stop making fun of Peter period so....

"Oh, er, Aura, Your Majesty. No la- no last name, simply Aura." She tried her best not to stammer as she looked into navy blue eyes. No, Aura! Be professional! You dress wounds and treat diseases, not wax poetic about ocean blue eyes and honey blond hair!

"I see." He couldn't help be amused at her nervousness- sure, he was a King but he was also human. "Peter Pevensie, but you can call me Peter."

She was spared from answering by Dr. Asherii calling from inside, "Aura! Aren't you done telling them already? I need you here!"

"Yes, yes, Doctor, I'm coming!" She called back quickly before turning and curtseying to the Monarchs, "Your Majesties."

"Peter, please, Aura." The High King corrected.

She grinned at him- her real, broad grin and not a timid flitting smile- and nodded, "Peter," before dashing into the medical chambers again.

-

"So wrinkled and red." Edmund was close to crying. "Why is she so wrinkled and red, Doctor? Why-"

"Oh quiet, Your Majesty." Aura snapped, entering to hear his snivelling. "That's what babies look like when they're born."

"I thought they were supposed to be cute-"

"They grow cuter." Dr. Asherii cut him off, swaddling the newly cleaned babe in a lilac blanket and handing her over to her father. "Now, she's had her first cry, so just bounce her a little gently till she falls asleep. Usually, I'd give her to her mother, but the Queen has lost a lot of blood, and needs rest."

'Needs rest' was an understatement. The build-up to the actual childbirth was easy and quick- even the date had been earlier than expected, the 31st of January- just eleven days after Sanya's twenty-second birthday- was a few days before the date that the Prince-ss had been expected. And the Queen had been at the proper dilation length in less than an hour, but the actual act of pushing the baby out of her body had taken over three hours, a lot of effort, a lot of sobbing (the number of times Aura had to hand the Just King a tissue), a lot of loss of body fluids, and a lot of excruciating pain.

At the end, Edmund wanted to wail from second hand pain (and also because his wife had almost broken his hand), he couldn't even imagine what she was going through.

He said none of this, his attention captured entirely by the small being placed in his arms- she was even smaller than a chessboard and her eyes really were wrinkled and her cheeks red as tomatoes and her face all frowny and grumpy. From the moment her tiny fingers wrapped themselves around his much larger one, however, his heart completely and absolutely belonged to her.

"Hi, Selene." He whispered, taking in the fine downy dark hair on top of her head, the fact that she didn't have eyebrows yet and that she was now struggling to get her eyes open. "Hi, my princess. Welcome to your new home. Not as nice or safe or warm as your old one-" He chuckled, and immediately thought that the second he would get a moment of free time, he would come up with as many dad jokes as he could. Sure, he was a father already and he loved Jem immensely but there would be a feeling of satisfaction at annoying your own blood, "but I promise I'll make this as wonderful and peaceful a place for you as possible."

"Your Majesty." Aura brought him out of his new-father-enamoured-with-baby-daughter session. "If you're done, perhaps you can show the Princess to your brother. An-and your sisters, of course! We'll call you in when Her Majesty is well enough to see you and the babe."

He looked to the nurse, and then through the doorway where the birthing chamber was, and where his brave wife was sleeping, exhausted to the point of feeling dead, smelling like blood and sweat and mucus.

"I can't stay with her?" He asked worriedly. He had found it difficult enough to move to the adjoining room while Dr. Asherii had cleaned the aforementioned liquids off of her as well as laid a fresh blanket over her, but he had been forced nevertheless.

He knew it was a tradition that only women were allowed inside the birthing space, that the husband and/or father was to wait outside- but Sanya had wanted him with her, and he had wanted to be with her, and naught a soul had spoken up against them.
Not even Susan, who was generally quite a stickler for the rules.

"No. No hindering of her healing, even if it is her husband and a King asking." Dr. Asherii said firmly. "She's young and this is her first pregnancy. Her body needs time to recuperate."

"Oh, alright." Feeling annoyedly chastened, he nodded reluctantly and looked at his daughter again- who had apparently not been able to open her eyes, and had instead decided to not just take a nap instead, as opposed to making any effort. Smart girl, she was clearly already her mother's daughter. "Come on, my princess, time for my siblings to burst our eardrums with their squeals- hm, I wonder what your brother will say when he sees you- oh, you have a big brother, he's five and a half, and his name is-"

"Your Majesty!" Aura practically shouted from where she was dipping the bloodstained rags in clean water. "By today, if possible?"

She didn't know why she got so tongue-tied around the High King- but was quite easily ordering the Just King out. Her mind worked very strangely.

Edmund scowled at her, his finger still safely being clung by a tiny paw, but exited nevertheless.

"If he's like this every time Her Majesty has a child, I'm not letting him in here anymore." Dr. Asherii asserted.

Aura could only agree.

-

It hurt. Every single inch of her lower body hurt like hell, and Sanya didn't think she could ever sit with her legs spread ever again, it hurt too much to even think about. Even rubbing her legs together for extra warmth under the blanket hurt, and it hurt a lot. Not as much as the actual process of pushing a real live person out of her body, of course- which she'd tried to ignore by falling asleep as soon as she'd released Edmund's hand (speaking of, her hand hurt, too- she hoped she hadn't hurt her supportive husband in the process) and the healer had announced that it was a girl.
She'd taken a moment to exclaim surprise that it wasn't an Ethan like she'd thought- which made no sense to the healer or the nurse- before she'd closed her eyes and gone to the joyous land of dreams.

Now, though, she was coming back to the land of the living- and the land of the bodily pain- and she didn't like it. Perhaps she should ask for a sleeping draught. Sleeping draughts were good. Sleeping, in particular, was good. It was, in fact, the best.

But, no matter how tired she was or how much her muscles ached, she wanted to see her baby. Her baby girl, her daughter.

She ached even more suddenly and it wasn't because of labour. She wanted to meet Selene.

Sanya knew her voice was weaker and thus softer than usual, but she hoped she was still audible- and so, she began to call out, "Keo-" no, no one would understand if she was using her native tongue, "is- a-anyone there?"

"Your Majesty!" Dr. Asherii came in after a few more calls. "Are you alright- do you need anything-"

"A sleeping draught, but after I see my daughter." Even speaking was exhausting. "Where is she?"

"King Edmund has her, I shall summon him in right now." The healer nodded and swept out of the room just as she'd come.

-

"Oh, she's adorable." Lucy cooed, looking over the whining newborn in her brother's grasp. "I think she looks like you, Ed!"

Considering how he'd called her wrinkled and red not moments ago, Edmund didn't suppose that was much of a compliment- but he couldn't help a smile.
"Oh, thanks, Lu, but I don't know. She's fairer than Sanya, but her lips are like hers- but that's rather all one can say at the moment. I mean, she hasn't even opened her eyes yet."
But he still knew she was absolutely adorable. His and Sanya's tiny daughter, their princess, their star.

Susan burst into tears, and a disgusted Jem leapt off her.
"Oh, I can't believe you have a baby, and that too a baby girl! Oh, Eddie-"

Peter looked like he was thinking along the same vein, but he didn't cry, probably because he was afraid that Jem would start hitting him again.

"Jem." Edmund started cautiously. "Do you want to see your little sister?"

The green-eyed child looked up, and immediately shook his head.

"You and Mumma said-" He started to shout, before realising that Aura could come and scold him again so he forced his voice to be quieter, "you said that I was getting a baby brother! Not an icky girl!"

"Girls are not icky," by Aslan, did every little boy go through this phase?, "and we weren't sure if it was a brother or sister, Jemmy. But- oh." The Just King would've gone on trying to explain, but Selene's whines were becoming louder and she kept smacking her lips together. Did she want something?

"I don't know much about babies, being- as you all say- a baby myself, but I'm rather sure she's hungry." Lucy said, seeing her brother look down at his daughter with a bewildered look, amid Jem frowning. "What's my sweet niece's name, again?"

"Selene." He answered distractedly, bouncing her- but gently. Babies were quite fragile, and he would never forgive himself if he ever hurt her, in any way. "Well, what's- what does she eat?"

Peter facepalmed- and here he was supposed be the idiot brother. "Breastmilk, Ed. Your wife's breastmilk, in particular."

Susan rolled her still teary eyes as Edmund blushed redder than the setting sun.

"No wonder your title wasn't the Wise."

"Oh, shush, Su-"

"King Edmund." Dr. Asherii stepped out of the medical chamber. "Her Majesty is awake, and is requesting to see the babe."

The resultant smile on Edmund's face was simply luminous.

"Mumma's up?"
Jem hadn't been allowed to see her at all, and it wasn't fair! He wanted to be with his Mumma!
"I want to see Mumma!" He declared, and sidestepping and ignoring everyone who moved to stop him, dashed inside

"Prince James-" Aura called threateningly, but he ignored her as well, running in through the doorway to the room where he was sure his mother was.

"MUMMA!"

Sanya turned, startled out of her pain, as she heard her son shriek, and looked over to see a simply horrified look on his face.
"Jem?" Who'd let him in? She didn't want him to see her sweetling like this, so weak and in pain, smelling like blood and sweat. "What's wrong, darling boy?"

"What happen to you?" He asked, inching closer slowly- she looked so sickly and sweaty- and her tummy was no longer as round as it had been just the day before. "It- baby sister made you like this! Di'n't she?"

"No, Jemmy, sweetling, it wasn't-" Oh, she so didn't have the energy to console him!

"Jem!" Edmund strode in, an unusual frown present on his face as he looked at their elder child- by Aslan, they had two now. They had two babies.
That was almost as shocking to him as a world inside a wardrobe had been.
"We told you to wait outside till your mother is better."

"But-" His lips wobbled. He'd just wanted to see his mother.

"Nurse!" The Just called sharply, and Aura came bustling in. "Kindly escort our dear son outside, and ask my siblings to make sure he isn't let out of their sight."

"That was harsh, Ed." Sanya said weakly as the Nurse left with Jem in tow and she slumped against the headboard.

"I know, and I feel awful, and I will apologise to our son- but you are the priority, Moonshine. You can't be stressed right now, you should just rest." He said firmly, before remembering why he'd come in and adding sheepishly, "And feed her..."

"Sorry?" She looked confused at his words, her mind on why he wasn't letting her hold their daughter. "Can I hold her? Or at least see her?"

"What? Oh, yes- of course, Moonshine." He nodded, and managed to somehow move the baby to her hold.
He gazed at them for a moment, enamoured, his heart feeling like it was expanding, before snapping out of his reverie.
"She's hungry." He informed his wife.

“Well, get her food.” She said absently, looking at the tiny, pouting, adorable being in her arms.
She cooed at her for a few seconds, speaking in the Rihaayan language, before saying in a language that her husband would know, “Oh, she’s already so like you, husband, and- oh, she has your nose, Ed! Thank the Heavens- has she got your eyes or mine? Dark or light brown?”

“I don’t know, darling.” He shrugged, sinking into a chair next to the best, not wanting to be anywhere further. “She tried to open her eyes, failed, and then went to sleep without trying again. When she woke up, she was whining for food.”

"Definitely my daughter."

"I agree." He said, watching as his wife looked as enthralled with his daughter as he had been when he'd held her for the first time. The look on her face was- soft wasn't a delicate or caring enough word to describe it. When he'd stopped smiling at the scene, he spoke, "Also- by feeding, I meant-" he blushed again, "breastfeeding."

Her eyes, outlined with crows' feet, snapped up to his. "What?"

"Well, she keeps pawing at your chest for a reason." He pointed out, gesturing to how Selene indeed was grabbing blindly at her mother. He had to admire their daughter's dedication- she hadn't even opened her eyes yet, but she was already after the prize.
He couldn't blame her, the prize was very excellent, and he knew that from very enthusiastic experience.
"And I'm quite sure it's not the same reason I usually have."

She blushed, too, but started looking helpless as the whining turned louder and more mewling.
"But I- I don't know how to? I-"

"Just undo the top of your dress, darling, and move her face to it." Edmund was equally as clueless, but he wanted to help. "I think babies instinctively know how to- you know."

"Oh- well." With one arm still securing the child, Sanya hesitantly moved her fingers to the ribbon which held her dress together, before stopping and looking at her husband. "You're not going to leave?"

"Do you wish me to?"

"Well, na." She admitted, her heart giving a pang as she imagined being without him, even for a few minutes. "But, um- I have to breastfeed."

"You speak as if it's something I've never seen before." He spoke with a laugh, raising an eyebrow.

She scowled at him, but undid the ribbon anyway, and shifted Selene closer to her chest without dropping her. In a moment, as she found her footing- er, mouthing, sounds of sucking filled the room.

Sanya shivered.

"What? Something wrong?" With slight difficulty, Edmund moved his gaze to her face, instead of her breasts. But he didn't mind the change- Sanya's visage was more beautiful than the Moon to him.
Gosh, he would never tire of looking at her.

"No, no- it-" She giggled slightly, looking down at the little head latched to her chest, "it kind of tickles."

"Really?" Her husband was surprised. "I thought it'd- I don't know- hurt or something."
But he was glad to hear it. He didn't want anything or anyone to ever hurt Sanya.

"Well, not now, her gums are soft. When she starts growing teeth, it'll be painful, I've no doubt." The Rihaayan Queen winced at the thought.

"Surely, she won't be feeding on breastmilk for that long?" He truly wished there were baby books in the Library.

"I don't know, actually." She bit her lip, and grimaced as Selene's sucks started becoming greedier. "My brother could never breastfeed, he always drank bottled milk...I, on the other hand, breastfed till I was almost four."

"Well, you'd made up for his future lack, obviously." Edmund rolled his eyes, before looking down at their daughter again. "Moonshine, she's opened her eyes!"

"Hein? Oh- haan." Sanya managed to pull her eyes away from the excruciatingly beautiful visage of her husband, and she looked down, too. "They are brown."

"Well, we both knew that, but what brown?" He craned his neck to inspect their baby's eye colour. He hoped she had Sanya's beautiful bright eyes.
Sanya jerked her head at the patch of space next to her on the bed, and Edmund moved away from his previous seat on the chair to sit next to his wife.
As his arm tentatively went around her, he said, "I'm a bit jealous of her right now, you know."

"Oh, shut up and see what brown it is." She wasn't having sex with him for a while- she didn't know if she could ever have sex with him again.
The thought made her sad. She really loved having sex with him.

"Not as dark as my eyes, Moonshine. Selene's got your pretty chestnut brown eyes."

"Oh." She felt inordinately pleased at the fact. Their daughter, with her eyes and Edmund's features, Crown Princess of Rihaaya and Princess of Narnia.
"But I can't believe you described my eye colour as chestnut." She added, chortling softly- as if she hadn't always described Edmund's as chocolate.

"It's what I thought the very first time I properly saw your eyes." He shrugged. "You were rolling them at your long list of titles."

"They're just brown."

"Brown eyes are mundane and seem ordinary until you start adoring someone who has brown eyes." He said quietly, before clearing his throat and saying, "Come on, look at Selene's eyes and tell me they're 'just brown'."

She did look. They were like tiny pools of liquid honey blended together with the essence of tree bark.
"They're beautiful."

"Yes." Just like you. "I'm so over the Moon, my wife."

"As am I, my husband." She spoke softly, and their lips met in a gentle kiss.
Which was interrupted almost immediately, as Selene yawned and unlatched her mouth from her mother's breast.

Edmund kissed the side of his wife's head, before saying jokingly, "Welcome to the rest of our lives."
A very happy welcome, truly.

Sanya laughed as carefully as she could- oh, she just was so happy.
"Are you done, baby?" She asked Selene, amused as she looked down at the little face, her lips stained with white.

Selene yawned again, brown eyes blinking sleepily, and tried to burrow closer to her. In a few moments, she was asleep with her head laid on her mother's bare breast.

"Sleep, eat, repeat." Edmund said, laughing as he pulled up the blanket to cover his wife and daughter- it was still January and thus cold. "Definitely your daughter."

"She's fixated with my breasts." Sanya replied with a grin, though her own eyes felt heavy too. "Your daughter too."

"Touché, Moonshine, touché."

-
Nathalie Emmanuel as Aura

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-✧･: °*✧*°:･✧-
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Baby Selene's here!!! God, I love this chapter.

ALSO CAN I JUST SAY HOW MUCH DADMUND HAS MY HEART, LIKE SJWKKWNEHWHWJJWJWJ I ADORE HIM

If you're seeing this, I humbly and unashamedly beg you to vote and comment on the chapters, please.