Hello all,
Here is the first chapter of For Warriors! The CW is at the end of the page.
CHAPTER 1
Pain and Then Love
“Aaahhh, damnation to hell! Orra, get out of here,” Calixta shouted from her bed. She had been in labor for fifteen hours. For the last hour, she had sent a fireball shooting to the fireplace with almost every contraction. And now the woman could barely move her arms. Her sunken eyes and pale face were almost devoid of color when she shouted. Exhaustion had taken root in her body, and the child wasn’t crowning.
Orra, the child’s guardian angel, flew through the wall to get out of the room. When Orra was outside the hut, Calixta could hear the men asking Orra if everything was all right.
Dreyden and his group had stayed in the Desert Dweller’s village of Elijah for the last two months of Calixta’s pregnancy. Lala—Elijah’s wife, and Miomi—Calixta’s best friend, helped Calixta as she labored in their hut, and everyone else waited outside. Elijah, the Desert Dweller chieftain of his people, had given them a place to stay, food, some men, and minokawas. They still had to travel from Elijah’s Desert Dweller village to the Fort of Marr. But Calixta only cared about getting the child out of her.
“Sissy, take a deep breath and exhale with the next contraction, but don’t push; your body is still not ready. The child will come when your body has prepared itself for her birth,” said Miomi. Her tanned skin and sweaty body shined in the light from working with Calixta.
“Please, Miomi, do something! You have healing magic; please make this pain go away … aaahhh.” A massive contraction made her entire body twist.
“I am sorry, love. I can’t take your pain away. The only way we can tell when a contraction is coming is by watching your pain,” said Miomi.
“M’lady, you’ll be getting yer little one in yer hands soon. Jani, bring more water,” said Lala. Young Jani left the hut in a hurry, and Miomi kept her hand on Calixta’s knees with her hand glowing green.
“What ya doing with yer green magic?” asked Lala.
“I am making sure the little one will not get hurt in this process,” said Miomi.
“Miomi, please, listen to me. I need to push. This is not right. I’ve been trying for hours,” moaned Calixta. A contraction left Calixta breathing fast and hard; as soon as it was over, she turned onto one side and stretched her back. The pain in her hips came in waves. Her hip bones cracked, then her hip moved up and away from her. She felt relieved, then turned and sat back on her bed.
“I feel better,” said Calixta with her eyes closed.
“M’lady, I think yer hips finally unlocked to let yer little one be born,” said Lala.
“Sissy, please try to relax and let me check you,” said Miomi. She checked Calixta then smiled.
“I think you are ready,” said Miomi.
“I feel another contraction coming. Ooohhh, it hurts—so much!” Calixta frowned, and she had to shut her eyes. “Aaahhh!” Her scream came in a loud and long wail.
“Calixta, do not push. I can feel her head, but you are not there yet,” said Miomi, but Calixta didn’t care; she pushed with her contraction anyway.
“I told you not to push,” said Miomi.
“But I am hurting.” Calixta’s light-brown hair was in a braid swept to one side of her body, which was covered in sweat. Her hazel eyes looked at Miomi and, pleading, she said, “My arms feel numb.”
“I know, mi amor, but you need to take deep breaths when the contractions start and try to relax between them. Corazón, ya prontito tendrás a tu nena. Your little girl will be here soon. Just wait to push when I tell you. Yes?” said Miomi.
“Aaahhh!” Calixta shouted with the pain that ensued. The door slammed open, and Dreyden entered the hut brandish his sword.
“Oh, Lord in heaven! Ashton, I am not done here. Aaahhh, Get out!” Calixta shouted at her husband, Ashton Dreyden, as another contraction came over her.
“Calixta, don’t push yet. Dreyden, get out of here, now!” shouted Miomi.
“My Lord, this is no place for a man,” said Lala, placing a cold rag over Calixta’s forehead.
“I want to help. I can’t bear to hear her scream,” said Dreyden.
“Alright, fine, you want to help, then come and sit by her side and help by rubbing her back between contractions. And later, you can help her by holding the back of her thigh toward the side of her body when it’s time to push,” said Miomi.
Dreyden dropped his sword to one side and went to sit by Calixta.
“She looks exhausted. Miomi, do something now!” said Dreyden.
“That’s part of labor. If yer going to be in the way, ye need to leave,” said Lala with her hands on her hips. Her gray hair was loose around her face, and her imposing persona revealed precisely who she was—the chieftain’s wife.
“No, no, I’ll stay quiet,” said Dreyden.
“Good, then rub her back, she’s hurting,” said Lala. Jani ran into the hut with a bucket of clean water, and Lala kept wetting the rag to keep it cold before dabbing Calixta’s sweaty brow.
After a few more minutes of contractions and pain, Miomi smiled and said, “Calixta, your daughter is crowning. I can see the top of her head. On the next contraction, you must push hard.”
Calixta leaned her head back against Dreyden’s chest. “Dreyden, I am so tired. This child has taken all my energy.”
“I can see you are tired, my love, but now you must breathe and push when Miomi tells you.” Dreyden kissed Calixta’s temple.
“Miomi, I don’t want to do this anymore. Oh no, another contraction!” said Calixta. Calixta held the back of her knees up to her sides. She closed her eyes and pushed with every contraction for about five minutes. During one contraction, Miomi’s eyes opened wide.
“Push, do it now. Push hard! Her head is almost out.” Calixta pushed with all her might, and the child’s head emerged.
Miomi moved the head a little to the left and then to the right.
“What are you doing with her head?” asked Dreyden.
“Just making sure the cord isn’t around her neck,” said Miomi.
Calixta pushed with the next contraction one more time, and the child’s body came out. She cried loudly, and her mother smiled.
“It’s a girl,” said Lala, passing a clean piece of cloth to Miomi. She cleaned the little girl’s face, mouth, and nose.
“Calixta, here is your daughter,” said Miomi, placing the baby on Calixta’s naked chest so she could cut the umbilical cord. Calixta counted two dimples, ten fingers, and ten toes. She had brown hair like her father. Her eyes were glazed and watery, so Calixta could not tell what color they were. They could be brown like her father’s or hazel like hers. Only time would tell, but one thing was for sure—this was her child. The same little girl she had seen at the Box Exchange Train Station all those months ago. And Calixta felt all the love of the world. It was as if Lord Love had given her an extra measure of his gift. She felt so strongly about this one little person she had just seen for the second time.
Miomi cleaned her hands while Dreyden cried over Calixta’s head. Tears dripped down the side of his face and touched Calixta’s face.
Orra flew in through a wall, hovered near the bed, and eagerly craned his head. “I can hear her cry from outside. She has good lungs,” said Orra. His enormous white wings opened out, surrounding everyone in the room.
“Are you both fine? Is she hurt? Why is she crying so loud?” Dreyden asked, then looked up at Miomi.
“Newborns cry when they’re born, silly man. Meet your daughter. And Orra, you can stay but step away; this is a mommy and father moment,” said Miomi.
“Lord Ashton Dreyden, meet our daughter, Lady Erika Miomi Natalie Harlow Dreyden,” said Calixta in a tired voice with the child laid over her chest. She cleaned her little treasure with a cloth, kissed her, and held her precious gift close to her breasts.
“Hello, little lady, I’m your father.” The baby hiccupped in reply. Dreyden smiled. He kissed Calixta and stared at the two ladies in his life.
“Let her be the first of many,” said Calixta, giving a kiss on Erika’s head.
Miomi turned to face Dreyden. “I need to clean mother and child and deal with the afterbirth, so Dreyden, you must leave. I’ll tell you when you can return to your family. Orra, it will be best if you leave the room.”
“I’ll stay out of your way. I’ll make myself small and invisible, so you can work easily,” said Orra.
“Fine, just stay out of our way,” said Miomi.
“How long will it take?” asked Dreyden.
“It’ll take about an hour. Now go. When m’lady Calixta and her child are cleaner, ye can be together again,” said Lala, then she took some linen and held the little one.
Dreyden left, but Orra stayed and hovered in a corner. He closed his wings and made himself appear small, around the size of a human.
“Lala and Miomi, thank you for everything. I could not have survived this without you both,” Calixta said, while Lala made silly faces at the newborn child.
“You are welcome, cariño. I think you are the first woman who has left an undesirable Exotic trade behind. You are now a Vanquisher, a mage, the wife of a marquis, and now you are a mother. Sissy, you are a blessed woman indeed,” said Miomi, taking the baby from Lala and holding her close to her heart.
“M’lady, yer most welcome. Ye must rest. Come, Jani, take these dirty linens out of here,” said Lala.
Under Lala’s watchful gaze, Jani left the hut with the linens, and Miomi placed little Erika back in Calixta’s arms.
Calixta wanted to sleep, but she wanted her child by her side even more. Her body felt as if she had battled hundreds of demons. Her legs were numb, and her back ached. All her training as an Exotic had not prepared her for giving birth. She wanted her child in her arms from the moment she saw her. Miomi then helped her push the placenta out. Afterward, Lala called three other women to help clean Calixta, take out the bloodied bed, and bring in a clean one.
Finally, Calixta was in a clean bed with her child, but then the little girl screamed bloody murder. Calixta looked at Lala blankly. “What is wrong with her? Why is she crying so much?” Calixta rocked her child and kept glancing fearfully over at Lala and Miomi.
“M’lady, she’s hungry,” said Lala.
“Sissy, you must nurse her,” said Miomi in a tired voice, with bags under her eyes. Calixta took one of her breasts and offered it to the little girl. It took mother and child a little while to figure it out, but they managed.
“I need sleep, love. I am tired,” said Miomi.
“Go rest, healer Miomi; I’ll have Jani come and help m’lady Calixta through the afternoon. I’ll come in the evening and will stay with her for an hour or two,” said Lala.
“Dreyden said he will be here all night. Erika will wake every few hours to feed. I’ll let Dreyden know to place Erika on your breast for feeding and to let you sleep,” said Miomi, rubbing down her hand with clean linen.
“Thank you, my dear friend. Go rest. I will be fine with Jani.” Miomi left the room and Calixta stayed, feeding her child. Lala called Jani, and she entered the room and helped Calixta with Erika. Dreyden entered the room and sat next to his wife. The little girl fed some more, and soon she fell asleep, as did Calixta in Dreyden’s arms.
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Twenty-five days after Erika was born, Dreyden and the others sat around Calixta’s bed talking about their next move.
“We must leave in two days,” said Calixta, nursing her child.
“You are not going anywhere. You just gave birth to Erika not four weeks ago,” said Dreyden, rubbing Calixta’s foot.
“Ashton Dreyden, we have talked about this already. I am not staying behind. Orra will protect Erika, and I feel fine. I am a Vanquisher, just like you. We must go to the Fort of Marr. This trip has taken us ages. What now?” Calixta said, looking at Miomi.
“It’s been over seven months since we left Barshaw Manor,” said Miomi.
“The minokawas are ready to travel. Chieftain Elijah has given us all the supplies we need to take us to the Fort of Marr. Joppa says we are packed and ready to go. We could leave at any moment,” said Erasmo, drinking his tea.
“I said we must wait. It’s too soon for Calixta to travel,” said Dreyden.
“Ashton, you made us stay in Elijah’s village for two months before Erika was born because of me and the baby. Fine, I went along with it. I was feeling awful. But now she has been born, and we are doing well. She has her protector in Orra, and I will let nothing happen to her. I will fight with her shield if need be.”
“You two are all I have, and I will not lose either of you,” said Dreyden.
“Stop it,” Calixta said. “Love, I don’t need you to fight my battles. You want to protect us, but I am not something small to keep hidden. I am a Vanquisher, a woman of power and strength. I need you to fight with me, not for me. We move and fight together as a family. Are you ready to travel?
“Things are getting worse in this kingdom, and we can’t let this happen because you are afraid of losing us. I will leave in two days’ time, and Erika will come with me. You want to care for us. You better be ready to fly, or I will leave without you. Gálida must awaken, and Joseph needs our help.”
“You are a pain in the ass, Calixta. How can I love such a woman?” Dreyden paused briefly. “Fine, you win; we leave in two days.”
“Finally, someone hit some senses in his brain,” said Erasmo.
“Ha! You are welcome, Erasmo. Now, can all of you leave my hut? I want to change my daughter’s swaddling cloth, and that is a smelly job,” said Calixta. They all left except Dreyden. As Calixta changed the little girl’s cloth, Dreyden looked at his wife.
“Why do you love contradicting me?” said the man.
“You know I will do anything for you, but you also know we have a big job ahead of us. Listen, there is one thing I didn’t tell you, and you need to know. The last time I went to the Box Exchange Train Station, the virtues were going to take Erika from me. But I made a promise. If they let me have Erika, I wouldn’t let her get in the way of my task as a Vanquisher.
“They returned her to us, and I will keep my promise. I trust Orra will protect her. I will do all I can to keep her from harm, and I suggest you do the same. You must place her in the arms of our g-d and let Orra be her guardian. Or else I am afraid they might take her away from us for good the next time.” Calixta placed her daughter in her bed. Then she stood up, walked over to Dreyden, and kissed him. He took Calixta in his arms and hugged her tight.
“What you are asking is a hard thing for a man to do. It’s even harder for me to do. You two are my life,” said Dreyden.
“Yes, but you are not an ordinary man.”
“What type of man am I then?”
“You are my man, a Vanquisher. You’re a man who helped an Exotic woman leave her trade, who got her with child, and who taught her how to love and forgive,” said Calixta. Erika cried, and Dreyden moved to her side and picked her up. Calixta walked toward them and the three of them joined up in a family embrace.
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Two days later, Joppa, Olag, Jani, and Vikas, four of Elijah’s best warriors, stood in waiting outside the village boundary. Elijah had given Dreyden and Calixta four warriors and enough supplies to last them for about three months on the road. Erasmo arrived with enough ammunition for a war with another Nartago. They had planned the next part of their travels for weeks. Mario and Wally collected all the supplies, and Erasmo helped them saddle the animals. Lala helped Calixta prepare a special chest harness for her baby. Lala helped Calixta pack her minokawa, and Elijah stood with his two sons.
“I am going to miss you, Lala. Thank you for all you have done for me. Giving birth to Erika was an ordeal only made bearable because of your help,” said Calixta.
“Ye take care of your little bairn, yer hear me. I feel like a grandmamma to little Erika now,” said Lala.
Calixta chuckled then said, “I think you are going to be the only Grandma Erika will ever have.”
Lala took Erika in her arms, gave her a motherly kiss, and hugged her. She then hugged Calixta, kissed her, and recited a prayer over her.
“May the Lord of the Sky, Moon, Sun, and Land guard you and shelter you always. May you have good health and prosperity every day of your life. I cast away all evil and call happiness upon you forever.” After this prayer, Lala kissed the baby’s forehead again and passed Erika to her mother. Calixta placed the baby in her harness.
“I gave her me blessing. Go and mount the minokawa, and hold on tight. Here miss Miomi, I made this scarf for ye,” said Lala, handing Miomi a royal blue scarf with a blue-and-red minokawa embroidered in it.
“Thank you, Lala, it’s beautiful,” said Miomi.
“It will keep you warm on the cool prairie nights,” said Lala. Miomi went to mount her minokawa and Lala went to stand next to her sons while Dreyden talked with Elijah.
“My dear friend Elijah, I must thank you for all your help. I will do all in my power to wake the Second Vanquisher and then go find Joseph,” said Dreyden.
“I hope ye get to the Fort of Marr in good health and with good winds. These minokawas are strong, and I trained these warriors meself. They will serve ye and obey yer orders.” Elijah’s eyes shone bright. The old man stood with his hands behind his back.
“I will never forget what you have done for my family and me,” said Dreyden.
“Ye must know. We will stand with ye in the coming war, but ye must be ready to make sacrifices,” said Elijah.
“What do you mean?” asked Dreyden.
“Ye are the First Vanquisher. As a leader, ye must be willing to make the best decisions. Sometimes the hardest decisions are the best and not the easiest. Remember me words when yer in battle,” said Elijah.
“I will,” said Dreyden.
Elijah turned to face Vikas and nodded. “Vikas, ye must make sure Lord Dreyden has all he needs for his fight. Ye know how to contact us.”
“Yes sir, I’ll do all I can to follow yer orders,” said the redheaded Vikas.
Elijah walked back, and he stood next to his sons and Lala. Calixta and Miomi had already mounted their minokawas and were waiting for the others to finish packing. They had said their goodbyes to Lala and Elijah. Living with Elijah and his Desert Dwellers had been a great experience.
“Hop, hop,” said Dreyden to his minokawa. And the feathered dragon took to the sky. Calixta had flown only once before, when they had arrived at the village almost three months ago. Calixta felt a little scared at being so high in the sky, but Orra’s wings almost touched her. Calixta could not understand how the feathered dragons were not scared of Orra. Maybe the minokawas could not see the angel, but she knew Orra would protect her and Erika. Dreyden’s group left Elijah’s village early in the morning, heading toward the Fort of Marr. Calixta couldn’t wait to finally reach the fort.