Folly & Agendas & Talulah

Chapter 37: [Gilded]

"A shower of light is wondrously pretty..."

"But it cares not for what it secures..."

"...For it shadows the remnants of the dark..."

"...Yet this callous world blemishes its colors..."

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Back when Marzanna was...
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My husband wrapped his arms around me as I cradled my daughter in mine. Marzanna's soft coos lingered in the air like the sounds of a slow moving river. I held her to my bosom, bringing her little head closer to me. Kaiser Rye wrapped his arms over my stomach and laid his head on my shoulder. A tingling sensation blossomed in my chest before I kissed my daughter's little forehead. 

"She looks just like you," My husband said.

"How can you tell?" I asked.

"She has the same face as yours," He tickled my cheek with his fingers.

"She has your eyes," I said. Two sleepy, golden orbs were delicately planted on Marzanna's face.

"But her hair and horns... I wonder who she got that from?" 

Strands of black and silver hair decorated the top of my daughter's head. Two soft horns sprouted through her hair, but they were too small to resemble any of ours. Her tail was as thin as thread, only the tip has a few spikes on it. I shared a quick kiss with Kaiser Rye before he placed a hand on Marzanna's back.

"Talulah, can I hold her?" He asked.

"No," I grinned. 

"Please?"

"My answer is still no. She is my daughter. I was pregnant for over seven months, and I gave birth to her. Did you?"

But he didn't relent so easliy. His hands fumbled across the length of my body as I held Marzanna close to my chest. Then she burst out crying. 

"Ahhh! Agh -eh - ahh!"

"No -shh- it's okay Marzanna. Shh," The lull of my voice wasn't enough to calm her down; I rocked her in my arms, but it didn't work. I scowled at my husband for making her cry. My heart was slowly flaking away as she continued wailing; I felt helpless.  

"Let me try," Rye said. I put my daughter in his arms and watched as he used his Arts to soothe her. A faint white light shined softly as he hovered his hand over her forehead. To my surprise, Marzanna stopped crying, but her body started shaking uncontrollably. 

He gave her back to me, and I started cradling her in my arms again. Rye stood close to me, making our foreheads touch, until our breaths mixed. He wrapped his arms behind me, and used his Arts once again to put our daughter to sleep. Her body stopped trembling and she was more calm this time; a feeling of serenity returned.

"Don't startle her again Rye," I scolded through clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry Talulah," He replied. He planted a kiss on my forehead before an uninvited guest barged through the door. My husband covered our daughter's ears to block out the intrusive noise.

"Hey Talulah! Everyone here wants to meet you!" 

It was the brown-haired, green-eyed Sankta, Haley, and she clearly has a blatant disregard for a mother and her child. I immediately turned and buried my body in my husband's embrace with my sleeping daughter in my arms. 

"Haley, I told you that I'll be out there and leading everyone once everything is settled," I respond with a hint of annoyance.

"You haven't showed yourself in months. People are getting suspicious. After that explosion you created when you gave birth, somebody almost called Patriot on us. And speaking of Patriot, he's here right now."