Amarth

Chapter 3

It's so easy to fall into a state of mind where you believe that everything will always be the same.

Where you wake up everyday to greet the ones you love and then go about the rest of your day with the mindset that it will be the same way tomorow.

But when something happens to change all that, and everything becomes twisted and dark, the walls that surround you break.

And everything falls apart.

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I pace back and forth with my hands clasped together behind my back. The day has finally come, any moment now I'll be a father.

I had been out chopping down trees in the forest in order to gather wood for our house. I realized that having only two bedrooms and a very small dining area wasn't going to be able to house four elves.

I knew it would take a lot of work to add on to the house but I didn't exactly have anything else to do anyway. Since I had been expelled from the Guard I've had a lot of spare time on my hands.

I used it to mainly spend time with Anna and Elwin before I decided to do some work on our home. The news of the men was kept hidden from everyone in the village, as well as me killing them.

Everyone assumed that I left the Guard because of Elwin and the baby that was soon to come so that's what Idhrenion, Landion, and I decided to let them believe.

Landion and I are not as close as we used to be but we haven't stopped being friends. He'll come over every once in awhile and talk to me about how things are at the borders but it never goes far beyond that.

As I said earlier I had been out hewing away at wood with my axe when Anna had appeared shouting that Elwin was giving birth.

I had thrown my axe onto the ground, scooped Anna into my arms, and ran all the way to the house. Once I arrived healers were already in there, and had told me that I had to wait outside.

Anna sat in the grass with her hands folded on her lap. She watched me pace back and forth with her wide green eyes. She was just as excited as I was.

A few elves had gathered near the front of our house waiting for the baby to arrive. It had been almost a thousand years since there'd been an elfling in the village and for the longest time many assumed that Anna would be the last.

Landion walks over to me and I stop pacing. He clasps me on the shoulder and smiles.
"Congratulations Caran."
I nod and smile back, but it's a forced smile.

Part of me still loathes him for wanting the men to live, while another part wishes that we could still be as close as we once were. Another reason my smile is forced is because I'm worried about Elwin.

What if something goes wrong? What if something happens to her or the baby? I try not to let that fear settle in my heart but it's a battle that I'm losing.

Anna scrambles to her feet as one of the healers comes out of the house. I spin around to face her and immediately start asking questions.

"Is Elwin alright? How is she? What about the baby? Are they both alright?"
The healer chuckles and grins.
"Everything went just fine Caran. Elwin is fine, and you now have a son."

Cheers and calls of congratulations fill the air at the news. Anna hugs me and I can only stare ahead with a huge smile on my face.

A son...
I have a son!

"Can I go see them?"
The healer nods and stands aside allowing me and Anna to enter.
We head towards the room just as the second healer is leaving.