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“Alright, dear, you’re fully dilated! It’s time to push!”
Goddammit, Bog! Where are you?!
For the past few days, everyone in the Dark Forest had been waiting for their king and queen’s first child to be born. So, OF COURSE, the one day Bog has to leave for just a few hours to oversee a new mining project in the west region, Marianne immediately goes into labor!
Griselda had quickly taken command of the situation, rushing her daughter-in-law to the bedroom and enlisting Dawn, who’d conveniently been visiting her big sister with their father and Sunny, as her assistant nursemaid.
Word had been sent out to Bog right away, but there was no telling when it would actually reach him, nor how long it would take to decipher the message once it got to the end of the blasted mushroom line.
The horror stories had all been true. Marianne felt like she was ripping in half over an ungodly slow passage of time.
At first, she’d practically spit fire and brimstone at every deity and living being in existence, then she’d graduated to cursing Bog alone and swearing up and down that he’d never have sex with her again. Now, she’d lost the will to rant and rave in favor of just grunting and groaning at the top of her lungs as she tried to bring her baby into the world.
She was getting tired fast and with the fatigue came the rising worry and panic. Bog still hadn’t returned and he just couldn’t miss the birth of their child! What if something went wrong? Especially now that they were so close? He had to be here! She needed him!
“Wait, no!” She begged, gasping for air. “Not yet! Bog’s not here! We have to-!”
“I’m sorry, dear,” Griselda shook her head, “but the baby won’t wait! You have to start pushing now!”
Heart pounding, Marianne reluctantly clenched her muscles. Everything seemed to spin around her. Dawn ran back and forth between her sister and Griselda. The gobliness’s orders dissolved into nothing but muffled warbling. She had no idea how long she’d been squeezing with intermediate rests, but she felt as if no progress was being made whatsoever.
Nothing but heaviness and pain.
No wasp-winged, deep blue-eyed goblin king to ease the burden with his rumbling accent, strong hand and soothing kisses to her brow.
And just like that, the tears came streaming down her face.
Bog, please hurry! I don’t wanna do this alone!
“Oh, Marianne!” Dawn comforted, fishing a handkerchief from her dress pocket and dabbing it against her sister’s wet cheeks. “It’s okay! You’re doing great!”
“Bog!” Marianne just sobbed. “I want Bog!”
She hated herself for crying.
Crying made her feel weak.
BUT SHE COULDN’T HELP IT! THIS WAS THE HARDEST AND MOST HORRIBLY EXCRUSIATING ORDEAL SHE’D EVER GONE THROUGH AND SHE WASN’T EVEN DONE YET, AND HER HUSBAND WASN’T HERE, AND SHE WAS SCARED AND SWEATY AND TIRED AND SO NOT READY FOR THIS AND-!
“He’s coming, sweetheart!” Griselda promised, patting her knee. “He’ll be here any second, I-”
BANG!
“MARIANNE!”
Chest heaving and eyes wide with anxiety, the Bog King stood in the slammed open doorway, staff-less and covered in dirt smudges.
“Well it’s about damn time!” His mother snapped. “Get your scaly butt in here!”
“Oh, Marianne!” He gasped, crossing the room as soon as his frantic gaze landed on his wife. “Oh, God! I’m so sorry, luv!”
The Bog Queen just shook her head and reached for him, too relieved to care for apologies, but still frightened enough to want nothing more than his support.
“Bog!” She whimpered as he slid his left arm around her shoulders and grabbed her right hand in his own.
“I’m here.” He crooned, pressing his forehead against hers. “I’m here, my queen.”
“Push, Marianne!” Griselda urgently barked. “We’re almost done!”
Gripping Bog’s hand as hard as possible and burying her face in his neck, Marianne did as her mother-in-law said with a roar of agony, hoping to God this was going to do the trick. There was only so much strength she could borrow from Bog’s presence alone.
Breath and energy momentarily spent like a dried up stream, Marianne sank against Bog’s hold, dismayed that it wasn’t over. It was as if she was being wrung out like a wet towel. This, plain and simple, felt like absolute death!
“I see the head!” The elder queen announced. “One more push, Marianne!”
“I don’t…...I don’t wanna……push…anymore!” The fairy panted, shaking her head. “I ca-….I can’t!”
“Yes ye can, luv!” Her husband encouraged. “Yer so beautiful and yer doin’ a perfect job! Just one more time, Marianne! You can do it!”
“No……no…..I……I can’t……I can’t do it! I can’t…push……..anymore!”
She felt awful, not just physically, but emotionally. She wasn’t strong enough to give birth to their child! She couldn’t give Bog their baby! She was about to die and deny the goblin she loved so much, the family he deserved.
I’m so sorry, Bog! I love you so much! I’m sorry I failed!
“Hey!” A voice called. The only voice that could reach her in such a mental state. “Hey, look at me! Look at me, luv!”
Cinnamon brown met sapphire blue and Marianne’s heart stuttered at the open adoration and faith she saw and heard.
“Come on, Tough Girl.” Bog whispered, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “Ye got this!”
Like a punch in the face, Marianne could see her reflection in Bog’s eyes. Not her literal reflection, but the reflection of the fairy she was proud to be. Complete with dark make-up and a sassy smile.
We’ve gotta get help!
You’re looking at it !
Return the Love Potion by moondown, Tough Girl, or ye’ll never see yer sister again.
I’ll have your head on a stick!
Well, at least yer not singing!
I’M COMIN’ STRAIGHT ON FOR YOOOUUU!
What were you thinkin’? A beast like you, fallin’ for a beauty like Marianne?
Aaaaaah!!! Who’s the beast?
Renewed resolve flooded through her body. Bog’s confidence and trust spurred her on as she sat up again and concentrated on her breathing.
She had to do this.
She could do this.
With every last modicum of power she possessed, Marianne pushed with all her might for the final time. It seemed to last forever, even with all the motivational cheers she could barely hear floating around her.
“That’s it! That’s it! Keep going, dearie!”
“Just a little more, Marianne!”
“Yer doin’ it! Almost there, luv!”
All at once, Marianne’s last strained scream melted into an exhausted groan as she fell back against the pillows. Griselda gave a final shout of encouragement, capped by a gasp.
But there was another sound.
A new sound.
The sharp, unmistakable sound of a newborn taking its first independent breath of air and releasing it in a wail. The world’s first half-fairy, half-goblin.
“Oooooooh, there you are!” Griselda joyfully exclaimed as she lifted a tiny, wriggling and bloody form from under Marianne’s skirt. “My grandson!”
“Lemme see! Lemme see!” Dawn squealed, rushing after the old queen as she carried the child to the cleaning table they’d set up earlier.
“S-S-Son?!” Bog repeated in breathless awe. “Did-? Did ye hear that, Marianne?! It’s a-! It’s a boy!”
Like magic, all of Marianne’s discomfort and worries evaporated into thin air. Everything was replaced by an overwhelming joy that brought a fresh wave of streaming tears coupled with a subdued, but nonetheless blatantly delighted peal of laughter.
She’d done it!
She’d brought their baby into the world!
Oh my God! I’m a mother! I’m a mother and Bog’s a father and Daddy’s a grandfather and Dawn's an aunt and-
Her happy thoughts only temporarily distracted her from the feeling of Bog’s lips on her own. When they eventually broke apart, she was barely able to hold back an endearing giggle at the look on her husband’s face:
In her whole life, she’d never seen a bigger smile. His eyes glistened and he even seemed to be trembling.
Neither could speak, so they settled for nuzzling for a short minute until their infant’s cries settled down.
“How is he, mother?” Bog managed to ask, his voice a dazed croak.
“Healthy as a horsefly, and cuter than a pill-bug!” Griselda half-answered, half-cooed. “Yes, you are! Oh yes, you are!”
“Awwww, he’s just adorable!” Dawn gushed, peeking over Griselda’s shoulder before flying across the room to give her sister and brother-in-law big hugs.
“I’m gonna go tell Sunny and Daddy!” She announced, bouncing on her heels as she covered Marianne with a sheet. “Congratulations, you two! I love you both and you have exactly one hour before I come back here and kidnap my nephew! Bye!”
Marianne almost snorted as her sister zipped out of the room. She could just see it now: Griselda and Dawn battling over play/face time with the child.
“Oh come here, my little pumpkin seed! Let’s go see Mommy and Daddy!”
Time seemed to nearly stop altogether as Griselda turned back to the awaiting parents with their heavenly bundle in her arms.
“Bog,” Marianne said as her mother-in-law approached, “I want you to hold him first.”
“Okay……wait, what?”
“I said I want you to hold him first.”
“Me?! But…but…but you did all that work! No, you should hold him first, Marianne.”
“I’ve been holding him for the last eighteen and a half months.”
Bog’s head whipped back and forth between his wife and his mother. His shoulder scales gave a nervous rattle.
“No, I-I…I can’t. I-”
“Oh for goodness sake, Bog, take him already!” Griselda ordered, patience gone. “It’s a baby, not a viper!”
“But what if I hurt him?!”
“You won’t hurt your son. Don’t be ridiculous!” The gobliness stated with promise as she forcefully placed the child into Bog’s large hands.
The king of the Dark Forest looked absolutely comical: stiff as a statue with bugged out eyes, as if he expected the baby to either maim him or fall apart.
But in the silence that followed, Marianne watched with a thrumming heart as Bog’s posture gradually relaxed and his face transformed into an expression of pure and tender fascination.
Trying to get used to its chubby arms and legs, the newborn wriggled in his father’s hold and softly blinked up at his face. It seemed he’d inherited his mother’s base eye-color, but their vibrancy was all Bog’s. His eyes were two gleaming stones of amber, like the one in the royal staff. Perhaps it was a fateful testament to his bloodline.
Either way, Bog obviously forgot all about his apprehension. He was completely and utterly enamored.
“Hello, my wee luv.”
The prince gurgled in reply.
“I’ll leave you two alone now,” Griselda quietly said, heading for the door, “but I’ll be back in a while. The little guy’s gonna be hungry.”
The door creaked as it shut and a peaceful silence befell the new family. Barely taking his eyes off of him, Bog moved to sit on the bed and carefully passed his son to his mother.
Everything came to a halt the second Marianne gazed into her child’s eyes for the first time. She believed her entire being just might burst with happiness. This was her and Bog’s creation. An innocent creature of two world’s brought together by love and sparring.
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger indeed.
Marianne had never felt so tough, and yet, so vulnerable all at once. The burning protectiveness was fierce, but the knowledge of what this infant would mean for not only her and Bog’s future, but the future of all goblin and fairy folk, was staggering.
Regardless, her soul was blissfully touched.
“Hi there.” She gently greeted. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
My baby.
Desperate to memorize every inch of him, Marianne curiously undid the cotton wrap.
“Oh, Bog!” She marveled. “Look at his wings!”
Though limp as a silk sheet and, currently, far too small for flight, the child’s wings were simply stunning. Neither Bog nor Marianne had seen the like before. They were mostly fairy in shape, if not slightly thinner, but they were clear. Smooth and iridescent as shimmering, unbroken glass and outlined in black.
“They’re so......beautiful!” Bog breathed.
“I know!”
Both parents hungrily drank in every last detail of their son’s body. Though pale, he seemed to have more fairy flesh, but it was hard to tell at this point whether or not his father’s goblin scales would become more prominent. At present, along his arms, legs and chest, their appeared to be rougher, greyish-black patches of skin, that would perhaps, develop into armored plates as he grew. The top of his head was dusted with wiry hair that was so dark brown, it could’ve easily been mistaken for black. His feet were like his mothers, but along with his fingers, the toes were tipped with short claws.
“What should we name him?” Marianne asked as they both kissed and cuddled the child.
“Something strong,” Bog said, playing with his grasping hands, “like his mother.”
She playfully elbowed her husband, but chewed her lip as she considered her own question.
“Hmm……how about………Rock?”
“…Rock?”
“Yeah. It’s a good boy’s name. It’s something sturdy found in nature and……doesn’t The Rock King just sound totally cool to you?”
Bog chuckled and pecked her ear.
“I luv it, and I luv you.”
“I love you too.”
Rock beamed at them and made a laughing sound that could only be described as magical.
True to their words, Dawn and Griselda came back about an hour later with Sunny and former King Dagda in tow. Rock was equally passed around and lovingly fawned over by each member of his family until his hungry fussing ultimately forced Griselda to shoo the guests out so Marianne would have some privacy for her first breastfeeding.
“But I thought goblins didn’t breastfeed.”
“They don’t, but since Rock was going to be the first half-breed of both kingdoms, I studied everything I could about fairy babies to be prepared. Normally, goblins are born with their fangs, so they can eat meat right away, but as you can see…”
With the tip of her finger, she pulled Rock’s bottom lip down so everyone could see his gums.
“…there’s no teeth, so he needs milk for the time being.”
The gobliness nudged her silently watching son aside so she could help guide her daughter-in-law with the unfamiliar process.
Rock whimpered and squirmed at being jostled so much.
“Let’s get your dress pulled down……alright…flick the nipple ‘til it’s erect......that’s right……cup your breast in your hand......good, good......okay, you can bring him over now……support his head just a little higher…just like that, aaand…………look at that! Mommy and baby; both naturals!”
Marianne chuckled and stroked Rock’s head as he continued to nurse.
Throughout the entire session, Bog remained oddly still and silent in the corner, but his eyes stayed glued to his wife and child, purely spellbound. He didn’t even move nor say a single word for a long moment after his mother left the room again.
“Bog?” Marianne said, readjusting Rock now that he’d had his fill. “What is it?”
“Nothing, n-nothing, it’s……it’s just…ye can……ye can carry him…and feed him……all on yer own. I guess…......I just feel…pretty insignificant…by comparison. He doesn’t need me to survive. He needs you.”
“Oh come on, Bog.” The Fairy Queen rolled her eyes. “You know that’s not true.”
“But-”
“First of all, I didn’t make him on my own. Without you, he wouldn’t even exist. Secondly, he does need you to survive. He’s half goblin. He needs you to teach him how to be a goblin just as much as he needs me to teach him how to be a fairy. He’s history’s first true bridge between our cultures, so he needs both of us, equally. Now come here.”
She held out a hand to him, which Bog eventually took, and the two of them sat together for a long while, gazing and talking to their baby. Occasionally, they’d discuss possible factors as to his dual development. The scales on his body suggested he might not need to wear as many clothes as a full fairy, but Bog noted that since his ‘thing’ was on the outside, he might need pants for modesty. Marianne already had a sneaking suspicion that Rock would have to have nappies, but for now, they’d have to wait and see.
And they were beyond excited to experience every single new aspect ahead of them.
Soon, the Bog prince was yawning and drooping his eyelids, so after kissing his little fists in turn, his parents began to quietly sing a very special and familiar song as a lullaby to the most important love in their lives from now on:
You’re waking meadows in my mind~
Making waves cross my time~
Oh no, oh no~
I gotta Strange Magic~
Oh, what a Strange Magic~
Oh, it’s a Strange Magic~
Got a Strange Magic ~
You’re sailing softly through the sun ~
(Softly through the sun)~
Of the land I’ve always known ~
You fly ~
(You fly)~
So high ~
(So high)~
I get a Strange Magic ~
Oh, what a Strange Magic ~
Oh, it’s a Strange Magic ~
Got a Strange Magic ~
Oh, I~
(Oh, I) ~
Never gonna be the same again~
(Never gonna be the same again) ~
Now I’ve seen the way it’s got to end~
(Got to end) ~
Sweet dreams~
(Sweet dreams) ~
Sweet dreams ~
Got a Strange Magic ~
Oh, what a Strange Magic ~
Oh, it’s a Strange Magic ~
Got a Strange Magic ~
Got a Strange Magic ~
It’s magic~
It’s magic ~
It’s magic ~
Got a Strange Magic ~
Oh, what a Strange Magic ~
Oh, it’s a Strange Magic ~
Got a Strange Magic ~
Got a Strange Magic ~
It’s magic~
It’s magic ~
It’s magic~
It’s magic ~
It’s magic~
It’s magic~