Nightmare for Christmas

[Prodan Zhefarovich]

Just moments ago, Aleyha managed to shove Cecily down the stairs of their home, and now, Prodan was waiting because they rushed Cecily in and had not let him know a single thing. He hated healers sometimes. Why could he not be in there with his wife? This was torture! Austin and Aleyha were in the waiting room, and Aleyha had this dark, evil aura about her that freaked out Prodan. Austin was the only one that Prodan could trust with Aleyha right now. Even then, they were kept under watch. Prodan paced back and forth, back and forth, waiting for something. Anything. However, tears rolled down his eyes. He heard something that made him sink into a chair outside in the hallway, bury his hands over his face. This was a nightmare. Prodan's nightmare. He wanted it to end, and it was so bad, he couldn't wake up from it. The words that the healers shouted and Prodan could hear repeated in his mind and heart were:

"We are losing them! We are losing them!"

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

Cecily followed the bright, high laughter through the fog, stepping through a clearing. It was beautiful, lush and green filled with flowers everywhere. Her fingertips grazed high calla lilies and she smiled, remembering giving someone a white lily. But she couldn't remember who or why. She felt peaceful, at rest. The white fog rolled over the valley, covering everything, covering her until she could not see. Fingers brushed her cheek and the warm scent of peppermint filled her nose. "Gramma?" The fog shifted, lowered around them to their ankles. Her grandmother stood there, hand warm upon her cheek, green eyes bright within an all too familiar face. She spoke, holding up the bundle in her arms. "Say hello Cissy."

Cecily looked down, confused, until she saw the most beautiful baby. Eyes the color of a stormy sea, hair dark upon her small perfect head. "Who is she?" Her grandmother smiled, coming nearer. "She's your miracle, child. Take her and go home." She pressed the baby into Cecily's willing arms. "Go home."

Everything faded away, lamp light filled the room and Cecily reared up, crying out as pain returned to her body. Hands restrained her, liquid poured down her throat, magic buzzed across her skin until finally it faded to black.

---

A healer came out of the room and immediately spotted the tall man sitting in a misplaced chair. He frowned, walking over to stand a few feet in front of him. "Mr. Zhefarovich?" He identified himself as a healer then went on to fill in his patient's husband on her condition. "The trauma of the fall caused her to bleed internally. She fractured her skull on impact, we had to set her femur. She's lucky. If there'd been more stairs-," he trailed off, shaking his head. "We managed to save the baby but there was a tear in the placenta. Now, we have them both stabilized," he said before the man could freak out. "But treating pregnant patients can often be tricky. There are certain potions she couldn't be administered, although the ones we could have her quickly on the mend. She'll be fine with plenty of bed rest. We'll want her to stay overnight for observation. You can go in and see her now." Quickly, he left, needing a large cup of coffee.