“Great to see you, Jaylyn. Can we help you with something?”
“Can I hold him now?!”
“All right.” I sighed. “But only because I know you’re not going to go away.”
Jaylyn clapped her hands with a big smile and reached for Dirk. “Hello—um—well, what happened? Did you change or keep the name?”
“You knew about that?” Darius asked.
“Not that long. Just today. We heard it from Aleksander while Trever went to tell you.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter.” I said. “And we’re keeping the name. I’ve grown attached to it and we’ve chosen his middle name to be after Darius’s father, Nikolai.”
Jaylyn stood with Dirk in her arms and an odd expression on her face.
“My real father.” Darius clarified.
“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t know about that.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t expect you to.”
“So, where are we off to?”
“Where should we be off to?”
“The dinner will be soon. Guests have already begun to arrive to see the baby.”
I sighed. “Great.”
“What’s the matter?” Darius asked. “Celebrating him is a big deal.”
“I know that but it’s just—people. They judge, it’s their nature. Dirk’s different. They’re not going to see him like we do and I don’t want him to get attention for the wrong reason.”
Darius let out a long breath and put his arm around my shoulders. “It’ll be all right. No one’s going to ridicule him, at least out in the open. They wouldn’t dare to.”
“We’ll just have to see about that.”
“Awe, it won’t be that bad.” Jaylyn smiled, looking down at Dirk. “He’s so adorable. They’re going to love him just like we do.”
Hearing her say it put a smile on my face and I tried to be positive about it as we continued with our slow walk downstairs but I swallowed hard when we walked into the dining hall and saw that it was full of people.
“It’s okay.” Darius whispered, rubbing my back.
Kathryn was first to notice us and immediately turned from a conversation to approach. “Oh, Ruby, it’s good to have you back!”
We hugged.
“Thank you.”
“May I?”
“Of course.”
We both turned towards Jaylyn and she didn’t seem ready to give him up yet. She lifted Dirk and held him gently to her chest. “But—”
“Jaylyn, learn to surrender him now. You’re not going to be able to hold him all night with the amount of people here.”
She sighed childishly and handed him off to Kathryn.
“Oh, he is so cute!” She said in a high pleased voice. “And he has your hair? Izin mentioned it but I had to see for myself. He’s remarkable! You must be so proud!”
“We are.” Darius smiled, pulling me to him by my waist.
“Okay, I don’t want to either but I’m going to give him back so you can be the ones to present him.” Dirk was given to Darius and Kathryn walked right next to him to the tables where the people are. “Look who’s finally here!”
Everyone looked up and they started talking amongst themselves and the room seemed buzzing with noise.
Izin lifted his glass at the head of the table and tapped a fork against it. “I’d like to thank you all for coming and congratulate you on being the first among the world to lay eyes on my first grandchild. Darius and Ruby have been graciously blessed with a beautiful baby boy whom we are all here to celebrate tonight. To Dirk.”
He raised his glass in the air and everyone followed in an echo. “To Dirk.”
Everyone took a drink but I still stood unsure as I watched Darius holding Dirk still mostly covered in his arm.
“Come, Darius.” Izin smiled. “Do show everyone your son.”
“All right.”
Darius repositioned Dirk into his hands so he could hold him up and I stood nervous. I was tensing to stand still to keep from shaking as the blanket was pulled off him.
Gasps as well as awes roamed all the way around the room and remarks were openly made.
“Look at that.”
“So adorable.”
“He is his mother’s son for sure.”
“What a remarkable distinction.”
“My word—”
And it went on.
I tried not to listen. It made me feel like standing in front of a cage containing some odd being that everyone was gawking at but this was my son. He was no deformed creature or rare sight. I was standing right before them with the same likeness but it seemed like the echoing voices were never going to stop. They were getting in my head and making me dizzy but I made an attempt to keep my thoughts to myself and sat down.
“And we heard this right?” Someone asked. “You had him today?”
I was hesitant to answer but I did as politely as I could. “Yes, this morning.”
“Wow. Out of bed and everything. You look great.”
“Yeah.” Darius smiled. “It’s like she never even gave birth.”
“Please sit down.” I muttered through my teeth.
Darius kept his smile and lowered himself into the chair next to me while bringing Dirk in close to his body. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Just not really an attention enthusiast.”
“Really?” He joked.
I nudged him hard in the arm closest to me, thankfully it wasn’t the one holding Dirk and dinner had begun.
Silver trays of food lined every table and conversations proceeded among the guests.
I sat quiet while I ate, trying not to involve myself in any. My eyes never even roamed the tables. They would be fixed either in front of me or at Dirk who spend his night with Darius and never made a peep. I smiled as I watched him talk like I was actually listening but I was more enjoying seeing my boys together and how Darius was behaving around his son.
It’s like he changed somehow but a good change. I could finally see that this was something he truly did want and it made the night for me a bit more bearable.
The hours passed and the food had all but come and gone. Everyone remained around the tables, mingling and all getting a chance to hold the new baby.
I kept my eye on him, determined not to let him out of my sight but it became difficult at times.
“It’s all right.” Darius whispered, leaning down into me.
“Call me paranoid, I just don’t want anyone to hurt him.”
He laughed. “We’re right here. No one’s going to hurt him.”
The sound of a baby’s cry echoed and my heart skipped a beat as I gasped lightly and raised my head to look alert.
Darius turned too and the nursemaid that had once tended to me was holding Dirk out away from her with well-open eyes and others surrounding her seemed to be keeping their distance away from him as well. “This child is a curse. He should not have been saved.”
I was almost breathless as I pushed my way through people to get to him. “No! Leave him alone!” Darius was right behind me and I held my hands out for my son. “Give him to me.”
She looked at me, hesitant and slowly began to draw my child towards her.
“Give me my baby.” I demanded.
“What’s going on here?” Izin asked.
No one seemed to pay him any mind as Dirk was still crying as loudly as he could and the nursemaid looked down for a brief second. “You birthed a monster and he’ll destroy us all.”
I didn’t hesitate it another second. I snatched Dirk from her hands and held him in close to me while I looked down. He was still crying but his eyes were open and I saw them red. It wasn’t that much of a surprise to me but I looked back at Darius with worry.
“Get him out of here.” He said softly. “We’ll take care of it.”
I could only nod to stop my own eyes from turning red around everyone and I slowly started to move away from the crowd and leave.
“You must stop her. That child is
—”
“Not your decision to make.” Izin cut in.
I was out of there, my feet swiftly carrying me upstairs and no one was going to stop me. Dirk was calming in my arms because he knew it was me; he knew he was safe.
“Red?”
I quickly turned around with Dirk held close to my chest to protect him. My eyes were red and I took a slow step back.
“It’s okay.” Trever said, holding his hands out so I could see he was doing nothing with them. “It’s me.”
“Stay away!” I moved Dirk so his head was right up to my chin.
“Red, calm down. He’s safe. You know I would never hurt him.”
I knew that; I knew he wouldn’t. A tear fell from my eye as they changed back and I rushed towards him, leaning my head down into his chest. “Oh, Trever! Don’t let them take my baby!”
“It’s okay. Nothing is going to happen. She was just surprised.”
“I knew it was a bad idea. I knew something was going to happen. He didn’t mean it. He’s just a baby. He can’t help it.”
“And the important ones know it’s going to take time for him to control it. Nothing is going to happen to him. We would never let it.”
“I want her gone. Far away. Out of here so she can never try to hurt him.”
Trever moved me back and made me look up. “You have nothing to worry about. They’ll see to it that everything is taken care of.”
I wiped my eyes with my free hand and started to turn away. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
“You don’t have to be. He’ll forever be safe with you around to protect him and having Darius for a father will only add to that.”
“I can only hope that you’re right.”
“Haven’t I always been?”
“Sadly yes.” I sighed. “But in a way, I was glad you weren’t here to say I told you so.”
“Yes, I’ve heard about what happened between you two and I’m sorry that I wasn’t here for you. I wouldn’t have rubbed it in your face.”
“Well, thank you but we’re passed it now. Dirk is our future and it’s how we both want things to be.”
“I’m proud of you, for sticking with it and not giving up on him. You were made to be together.”
“Though I still would have done things differently when I look back on it. So much has changed since then. It’s hard to believe that any of this is real.”
“Well, believe it.” Trever came to me and gently stroked the red locks of Dirk’s hair. “Because he’s a miracle not a curse. You deserve it.”
“Thank you. I feel a lot better since you’ve been here.”
“You’re welcome. I knew I needed to follow you. You shouldn’t be alone.”
I looked around the room for a moment then sat myself comfortably on the bed. “I know this is asking a lot but I have to feed him and I’d like for you to stay. At least until Darius gets here.”
“And have him walk in on me seeing that? I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”
“I’ll stop him from taking your head off. Please just stay. You said I shouldn’t be alone.”
Trever paused then sighed. “All right but only because I miss seeing your breasts.”
I laughed. “Stop! It’s not going to be like that and you know it.”
“Sorry. I had to.”
“It’s who you are. I know. I’m only letting it go because Darius wasn’t around to hear it.”
“That’s fair.” Trever sat down on the foot of the bed and watched me begin to feed my son. “What’s that feel like?”
“I don’t think I can describe it to you but after a few seconds it’s like I don’t even feel it anymore.”
“Oh.” He continued to watch through a pause. “Wow. I still can’t believe it. Red has a baby. Honestly, not something I could have ever imagined.”
“Thanks a lot!”
“I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just—as long as I’ve known you—never mind.”
“No, what?”
“It’s stupid.”
“Tell me.”
He let out a long breath. “If you told me a year ago that today we’d be sitting here in your husband’s room, feeding your baby, well, I wouldn’t have believed you.”
“You mean, it was never foreseen?”
“Not the exact date. It was coming, surely but I guess it came too soon for me. Everything has happened fast like you said.”
“Well, isn’t it kind of a good thing? You’ll be able to start your life and not have to focus it on everyone else.”
“You mean in a year from now?”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot. You’re leaving again in the morning.”
“It’s okay, Red but you’re right. I will be.”
The door opened and Trever’s head turned. Darius stood still by the door, his eyes slowly beginning to narrow.
Chapter 43
Darius
I should have known.
“Well, that’s my cue.” Trever said, getting up. “Remember, don’t worry about a thing.”
“I won’t.” Ruby smiled. “Bye.”
Trever nodded and turned for the door.
I still had my eyes on him and spoke quietly as his steps got closer. “What are you doing?”
“Be gentle. She was just a little frightened.”
He walked right out the door and I didn’t get the chance to respond. My head quickly turned towards the bed and my feet carried me to it. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I am now. What happened?”
“We won’t be seeing her again. You won’t have to worry about that.”
“But what? I feel something else coming.”
I sighed and sat next to her with my eyes down on my son. “But—father thinks it’s best that Dirk stay a distance from the public for long periods of time, at least for a while until he can control it. We all understand that it could take years.”
“Oh, you made it sound bad. I never wanted to bring him in the first place and it will help that we live out in the middle of nowhere.”
I paused again and she saw it.
“What?”
“About that, we’ll be staying here until Jaylyn and Adele have their sons.”
“What?! You’re kidding. We can’t go home?”
“Father wants to know the second it happens. It only makes sense that they’d have to be here and he wants them to be born of Seni.”
Ruby sighed and rested her head back. “Great. Darius, I don’t want this life for him.”
“What do you mean?”
“Growing up here, among all the judgment. I don’t want him to be ashamed of who he is.”
“He won’t be. He’ll grow the way you want back home. We’re only staying until the other two are born then I’m sure they want to get back home too.”
“Okay. I’ll deal with it, I guess. He won’t ever know that he lived here the first months of his life.”
“Not unless we tell him.”
“Okay but I hope you like spending a lot of time in this room.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m rarely going to leave it and no maids allowed.”
“Who’s going to clean up after us?”
Ruby smiled and hit my arm. “Relax. I can do that. How much of a mess do you plan on making anyway?”
I laughed and kissed her head. “I was kidding. We’ll do things however you want.”
“Thank you. Now, I think I want him to finish so I can get some sleep. I don’t know when he’ll be up again.”
“Then we’ll do that. I could use some more sleep myself.”
“What is everyone else doing?”
“I’m sure they’ll be up shortly. Things were just getting wrapped up downstairs.”
A steady knock was heard on the door.
“Don’t worry.” Ruby said. “It shouldn’t be Trever. Can you get it?”
“Sure.” I got up and answered the door, surprised to see Izin standing on the other side.
“Father?”
“Darius, is Ruby available?”
“Ah, yeah, come in.”
I held the door open for him and Izin walked in. “Thank you.”
“She’s right over there. Dirk’s eating.”
“Then I’ll make this brief.” I nodded and walked with him over to the bed. “Ruby?”
“Yes? Oh, hi.”
“Forgive me for disturbing you but I wanted to formally apologize for what happened.”
“Oh, it’s okay. You don’t have to. It wasn’t your fault.”
“Yes but it is I who wanted to celebrate him this way and I proceeded without thinking how special he truly is and for that, I am sorry.”
“Well, thank you and I heard about your decision about what to do and I accept it.”
“I do hope that you don’t feel as if we’re trying to cast him aside by any means.”
“Of course not. I don’t feel that way at all. I completely agree. That’s why it’ll be better for us when we can get back home.”
“Yes, I understand that though it saddens me to talk about it this early. We’re going to miss you terribly around here when the time comes.”
Ruby smiled. “We’ll be sure to visit as often as we can. We want you to be a part of his life.”
“Glad to hear it. I’ll go now. I just wanted to make sure you were okay and know that he’s completely safe here.”
“I do and thank you.”
“Have a good night and we’re looking forward to seeing all of you in the morning.”
Ruby smiled with a nod and Izin turned back towards the door.
“Goodnight, father.”
“Not yet. I think someone else is eager to come in.”
“Jaylyn.” Ruby muttered.
Izin opened the door and Jaylyn was standing there with a big smile and Adele by her side.
“What an unexpected surprise.” Izin smiled. “They’re right in there and she’s fine.”
“Thanks.” They chorused.
They let Izin pass before entering.
“Hey.” Adele said. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“I guess I better start getting used to it sometime.” Ruby smiled.
Jaylyn laughed. “You mean, you’re not already?”
“Funny.”
“All right.” I cut in. “Let’s behave. My son is present.”
New Roots (Fate's Intent Book 8) Page 18
