by Maura Seger
"What a beautiful babe!" Brenna exclaimed as she laid the child at his mother's breast Neither parent could disagree. The son they had already agreed to name Kenelm in honor of Colin's late father had his sire's coppery hair and features, except for the eyes that amid the blue of all newborns already showed amber glints.
The adults watching him laughed indulgently as he rooted around for a moment in search of Roanna's nipple before clamping down on it determinedly. Soft sucking noises announced Kenelm's success as his mother's milk began to flow.
His appetite was barely satisfied when Roanna's eyelids fluttered. Sleepily, she allowed Brenna to take the child and place him in the cradle Colin had lovingly made. For a few moments longer she watched her son with awed fascination before sleep gently claimed her.
Brenna tiptoed out, leaving Colin to watch over his wife and son. Though he had been up since the previous night and should have felt weary, he was aware of nothing but soaring exultation. Not only had Roanna come safely through the ordeal he had so dreaded, she had also given them both a beautiful, healthy son.
After checking once more to make sure she was really all right, he strode over to the cradle. Kenelm blinked at him curiously. Very carefully, Colin lifted the baby into his arms. He could not resist the urge to show his child to the world.
The late night air was warm enough for the shutters to be opened. Standing by the window, Colin gazed out over the countryside just visible in the predawn fight The gently rolling hills and tranquil valleys were already verdant with the promise of spring. The scars left by war and defeat which he once thought beyond repair had vanished. There was no sign of the terrible upheaval begun little more than a year before. The land, and the people, were too busy now with the future to worry about the past
Cradling his son to him, Colin looked down into the small, puckered face. The future. Bright with the promise of peace and joyful with the knowledge of love. Smiling, he turned back to the woman who had made it all possible. Sitting down on the bed beside her, he laid their son nearby. His eyes, quicksilver in the gathering light never left them as slowly the new day broke over the land
