Silence fills the entire room, the screaming is over. The room feels stuffy and still. There was an unusual silence.
Lorelei feels weakness all over her body, she is barely conscious. She laid back on the bed feeling drained and numb.
Then a baby's cry breaks the silence. The cry was sharp and alive, it was real. "I'm a mother now, " Lorelei smiled as she spoke out loud. Her voice sounds very hoarse.
"I have my own child now, my own family" she smiled with tears in her eyes. The baby kept crying as the midwives and maids all gathered to clean up the child.
"My child…. That mine….
The midwife brought the child closer to her , "It's a boy, your ladyship. You have a son." There was joy in the room.
Lorelei slowly turned her head weakly to see her son. Her movements were very slow. Everything hurts as she moves. She tried and she was finally able to see her son's face for the first time.
She saw his tiny fingers, his skin looked flushed. His breathing was very fragile. He clenched his little fits. "He looks so small, and fragile". Lorelei looked at the midwife beside her.
"That's because he has just been born to my ladyship, new born babies are very fragile" Ursa replied Lorelei.
Lorelei looked at his small frame. He looks totally helpless. Lorelei finally realized something, this new life will depend entirely on her. A part of her became a little scared.
Lorelei pushed back the fear. She was very happy, she has never had any family to call her own even in her previous life.
Now, she has her own person. This child will depend on me, he has no one else except for me. Lorelei thought within her as she smiled at the child.
"I will protect him with everything I have, this is not just about survival, I now have a reason to fight."
Lorelei slowly reaches out to her son, her fingers tremble as she touches her baby. Her baby , sensing his mothers presence, gripped her fingers. He held her fingers tightly as if he won't ever let go.
Lorelei held her breath at that moment. She felt a rush of emotions from within her. Her eyes softened as she looked at her baby.
She felt so much joy from just watching him. As she looks at her baby with so much love, Lorelei can not help but wonder what kind of life lies ahead for her son.
Not just because he is her son, but who his father is. Ursa and the maid took her son away again so they could clean up Lorelei and prepare for her to feed the baby, and also to keep her baby warm.
As the servants moved around the room to clean up, there were whispers among themselves again, thinking she is too weak to notice them.
"A child born during coronation night has never been heard of before…. Is this is blessing or a cause"
Another responded " He might be marked by the heavens… another continued "or it could be a blessing or a waring…." we can never know.
"Will you stop with the murmuring, our ladyship needs to rest, Ursa shouted at the servants whispering. The servants kept quiet immediately and continued with their jobs.
Lorelei still weak on the bed. Thought to her self " Heaven marked or a curse…. Who is he a curse to the Empress, Emperor, or the Empire….. What does that even mean?"
Lorelei hardened her heart, whether my son is a blessing or a curse, I will protect him with everything I have, because he is mine.
A servant brought her back to reality, "My ladyship, you need to rest… So you can feed the prince properly."
Outside they can still hear the cheers of people from a distance. The music echoed in the far distance. The celebration of the new empress is going on.
Inside the room the maid servants brought back her son, after she had been cleaned up. Lorelei carried her son as the celebrations continued outside.
Lorelei looks at her son again as Ursa helps her to position the baby well so she can feed him.
Lorelei thinks to herself as she looks at her son who is sucking with so much force. Her thoughts are now clearer and sharper.
" I won't allow them to discard my son, he will not suffer for what he did not do".
Beneath her resolve there was a little bit of fear, Lorelei feels afraid because he knows nothing about this world, her position in it, or even who are enemies of her.
Her son suddenly began to cry again. She quickly began to smooth him. She got distracted due to her thinking, she was not feeding him properly.
Lorelei felt a little overwhelmed, as she is new to this, but she also wants to be the best mother to her son.
As her son calmed down, there was a loud sound outside. Boom boom boom!!! Cannons are being fired in the distance. The sound echoes throughout the palace.
Ursa looked towards the confused Lorelei " The Empress has been crowned your Ladyship".
Lorelei felt as if something got stuck in her throat. She thought "Now that the empress is officially crowned, my son is born into uncertainty…. What direction should I fight now….
"Should I try to gain power again, or abandon it…."
Lorelei holds her son tightly, the cannon still echoes in the distance. Lorelei looks towards the windows, "While my son is born in the shadows, another woman gets to be crowned empress in the light"
Lorelei paused a little, and looked towards her son, " What place do we have in this empire?"