I Know You're Still Just A Dream - Chapter 9 (Early Access) (Patreon)

Lucia POV

38 Weeks

It was impossible to tell how many days Lucia had been locked up in the dark. Even her meals gave no clue to time passing. They were sporadic, with long periods in-between in which Lucia wondered if this might be the time Alyssa finally forgot to feed her. Of all the things to kill her, starvation would not have been on Lucia’s bingo card. She hoped Baby Bonnet wasn’t feeling her hunger pains, too.

The bolt to the door clunked across and a metal bowl entered the room, followed by a man. It seemed Lucia would live another day, maybe two.

The bowl contained the same thick soup she had been offered for all of her meals. It wouldn’t have stood out amongst the Oliver Twist gruel. Still, she ate it. She was ravenous. And she couldn’t give up, not with Baby Bonnet relying on her.

She was strong. She was a little crazy. But most of all, she always made it out alive. At least, she had the last three times her sister-in-law had attempted to murder her.

Snatched right out of the Bonnet’s prized garden. Surrounded by security, but apparently none with their eyes on her. It was almost embarrassing how easily she had been taken after all of Elijah’s hard effort to protect her. Stepped too close to a wall of shrubbery and got pulled right in. Once the rag was over her nose and mouth, everything was gone.

She woke up in the dark. She sat in the dark. She ate her few meals in the dark.

If Alyssa’s long game was actually to drive Lucia insane, she was doing a pretty good job.

She gagged a little on the last bite, but had left the bowl clean. It was disgusting, and probably poison. What code of conduct did Alyssa have to prevent her from trying a tactic twice? But food was food and options were non-existent. This time when the bowl was collected, it was Alyssa herself providing the room service.

"It's time,” the ratty woman said.

"To die?” Lucia snorted. “What a corny line."

"For you to give me my baby."

Lucia looked her up and down. "I don't remember you putting it inside me."

"It has always belonged to me," Alyssa snarled.

"I'm gonna need to see some paperwork, like a land deed-"

Alyssa snapped, "Is everything a joke to you?"

"Have you ever laughed at anything?" Lucia countered. "Felt happiness?"

"Before you arrived, yes." She seemed to slip back into her memories, fish-eyed, and Lucia would have taken the piss out of it, but the old bat wouldn't stop talking. “When Elijah was wholeheartedly mine, I was truly happy. We laughed together. I will return my life to how it was and how it should have been. I will laugh again."

With a pause finally opened to the room, Lucia asked, "Why does Eden never seem to exist in your narrative? You tell these stories like she was never born." She shifted her weight on the crusty mattress before adding. "She's his real sister, you know."

"She is blood. I am chosen." Lucia wanted to interrupt and remind Alyssa that she was chosen, too. But, once again, a self-indulgent tangent had begun. "They got her whether they wanted her or not. I was picked for him. To be his companion, and to be his friend. I always knew one day I would also be his wife."

"And yet-" Lucia waggled her fingers at the stringy woman. It didn't have quite the same effect without the enormous gemstone and gold band combo that had been stolen from her by Alyssa's goons. They had taken everything but her summer dress and underwear. Even her shoes. Literally barefoot and pregnant. "I got the vows and the party and the title." She was riling her up, which was no doubt a bad idea, but it was Lucia's reflexive defence when cornered. Make the bull angry, let them drive themselves into a wall.

If Alyssa still had blood pumping through her veins, her face would have turned scarlet. Her eyes had narrowed, her nostrils flared and her limp brown hair seemed to grow around her in static fury.

"He settled for you."

"And he rejected you,” Lucia retorted. “So which is worse?"

"He was following his parents' orders. He is too obedient to them. When he takes over the clan, then he can be free. He will make his own decisions, his own laws."

"Oh, I absolutely agree,” Lucia said with a knowing nod. “He needs to cut the cord. He's way too old to be taking orders from his mother-"

"When you are the prince," Alyssa spat the word 'prince' like it meant something in the real world. Outside of the royal fantasy that clearly inhabited her head. "You must obey the queen until you are king."

"Is that how you see yourself? A princess waiting on her prince?"

"It was an analogy for your stupid human brain-"

"But in that case." Lucia tapped her chin as though thinking through Alyssa's words. "Shouldn't you follow the rulings of the king and queen, too?"

Alyssa's frame jolted. Only her greasy straight hair didn't budge. "Do not attempt to discredit my loyalty," she said tightly. There was a tension holding her, causing an almost-tremble to run over every part of her body as she continued, "I was obedient. Until they brought you in too soon. They did not give me enough time. My research-"

"And what part of that is my fault?"

Every part of her seemed to still.. Even her eyes turned flat. She seemed to be considering Lucia's words. Either that, or having a power nap with her eyes open.

"It is unfortunate." She took another long pause, dead-eyed as a fish on a market stall. "It was out of our control, but now it is not. I must still have the child, and I must still have Elijah. You being caught up in this is not my fault either. It is poor circumstances."

"Funny how poor circumstances always seem to happen to undeserving people," Lucia mused with a grimace.

"You find everything funny."

Lucia shrugged.

"I hope you find childbirth funny also, because I will not be providing drugs aside from those to induce you. I want a natural birth for my child, you see." A taut smirk pulled the woman's mouth into an awkward crease. "I'm sure you understand."

A cold chill shot up Lucia's spine. She hoped it was adrenaline, she would need anything her body could offer her. She had never pushed a melon out of her body before, but she knew for a fact she would want lots of drugs before she attempted it. Before she could argue, Alyssa had left.

She was induced by Alyssa herself, although she had a few brutes to keep her patient still.

Lucia put up a struggle through the entire procedure and well after her labour had begun, but was easily chained down when Alyssa had finished her part in the process. Each limb attached to a different corner of the dirty mattress. There were just enough links to allow her to cross her legs or rub her stomach with her grimy palms. Alyssa had let her know directly to her face that bacteria, and subsequent infection, was no concern to her. Apparently she was convinced it would only affect Lucia and not the baby. Which made it okay.

From this point onwards, it seemed Lucia was on her own to finish the delivery.

A deep, painful pressure was encouraging her to push. Whether or not it was the right time, though, she had no idea. The presence of Dr Farris had lulled her into a false feeling of confidence. She had never considered attempting to evict Baby Bonnet without his support right at her side. She wasn’t prepared. She had expected to have the family doctor and his helpful nurses around her the entire time. Now she was alone.

Lucia guessed an hour had passed when the commotion began. Quiet at first, with sporadic yelling and thumping noises. The noise wasn't clear enough to give her hope or convince her she was in more danger than before. People were fighting and trashing the place, but the reason was impossible to tell.

Breathing was all she could remember. She was supposed to breathe deeply and slowly and in time with her contractions. Possibly. She had only skimmed the baby books that Sariyah had bought her. She had been more interested in things like her abs splitting apart, or her ankles being forever swollen post-partum. That little blip in between pregnancy and baby hadn't been a major concern to Lucia. She had Dr Farris, and Elijah, and Sariyah. Now she had no one.

The crashing and shouting on the other side of the stone wall continued. The chaotic noises were doing nothing to help Lucia focus, only adding to the swirl of stress that was filling her. She was fairly certain she was supposed to be doing her best to relax, but it felt as though every sensation was one too many. Overwhelmed. Exhausted. Barely able to blearily blink through the painful contractions.

The metal door embedded into the stone was thrown open violently and Alyssa reappeared. She hurriedly shut the door behind her and locked it with an old and rusted key. The bolt followed immediately afterwards.

Lucia groaned at her. Alyssa growled back.

Not another word was spoken. Only the sound of Lucia's huffing and puffing filled the dingy room. She didn't even have the energy to feel awkward at being watched while she groaned and grunted her way through the contractions. She had lifted her dress to her chest but hadn't taken off her underwear, yet. Baby Bonnet wasn't close to that point, she could tell that much.

After a few minutes, Alyssa began pacing impatiently, snarling to herself. Or maybe to Lucia, but she was so tired she couldn't tell.

"Hurry up!" She hissed. "Push it out!"

"If you have a cheat code for how to get things moving quicker, you are welcome to share with the class," Lucia grunted. She had been medically induced and left on a dirty mattress in a dungeon, there was really nothing more she could do than breathe and hope for the best.

A monumental crash outside seemed to snap Alyssa's final nerve. She jolted, glared at the locked cell door, and turned on Lucia with twitching fists.

The crazed woman moved in a blur. Too fast for human eyes. Alyssa lunged at her like a feral animal and all Lucia registered was a spray of blood, a squelching sound like wet paper being torn, and then a croaky cry.

And then he was there. Baby Bonnet. Held up in the dim light like a wrinkly potato.

And then the metal cell door was ripped from its frame. And he was there, too. Her husband.

Elijah's eyes were wild and his clothes were ripped. His teeth were bared, pearly white with flecks of blood. The skin of his face was contorted, creasing around his mouth and across his forehead in his rage.

Lucia’s veins were flooded with comfort, a sense of security that released the tension from every sinew. A tremble remained, adrenaline shaking her from the inside out. And pain. Pain that grew and deepened as her fear dissipated.

Alyssa’s body jerked backwards, head first. Elijah had one hand in her hair and the other wrenching Baby Bonnet from her grasp. Lucia could only watch the scuffle, limp and barely lucid on the floor. There was blood everywhere. No one in the room was clean of it.

Baby Bonnet was coated in slime and blood and tucked into the crook of Elijah's arm, crying. Lucia's heart hurt more than her stomach. Her baby needed her.

Her husband was fighting off his deranged sister with one hand and one leg, using the others to hold his child and stabilise himself. Lucia wasn't sure if she was hallucinating, but she was pretty sure he was winning. He kicked her through the busted door and called for reinforcements. As soon as Alyssa had crawled back through the frame she was snatched back into the hallway by an unknown pair of hands and screeching ensued.

Elijah's focus was returned to Lucia immediately. With Baby Bonnet tucked to his chest, he used his free hand to snap the chains around her like they were plastic instead of metal. The crying had stopped.

Another figure entered the room in the cavernous door space that Elijah had created.

Lucia blinked slowly. "Dr Farris?" she wheezed.

Apparently she wasn't hallucinating, because Elijah could see him, too. He snapped his head round and beckoned the good doctor over to the grotty mattress. Nurse Julie followed in behind, decked out in disposable surgical gear. She took their baby from Elijah's arms gently and began to check him over. As long as he was still within Lucia's eye-line, she wasn't worried. No doubt in her mind that Nurse Julie knew better what to look for if something was wrong. Lucia had counted his fingers and toes while he was in Elijah's arms and decided that was enough. She was so tired. She hurt so much.

Dr Farris and Elijah were bent over her, heads together. Lucia watched their mouths move, but her focus was waning in and out. One eye on baby, one eye on husband. Her two boys. Elijah took her hand in his, it was perfectly cool and only a little damp with blood.

"-disinfectant is my favourite medical discovery, you know," Dr Farris rambled, unpacking his travel bag. Elijah appeared to be mid-aneurysm. Lucia was more worried for her husband than herself in that moment. Dr Farris was unperturbed by Elijah's wild-eyed stare that was silently begging him to quit the commentary. "-infection is what will get you more than the injury itself-"

Lucia squeezed Elijah's fingers in what she hoped was a small comfort.

He glanced down at their entwined hands as though he didn't remember grabbing hers in the first place. "I felt two of her fingers move!" he announced.

Lucia wanted to give him a look to inform him he was deep in panic-mode, but moving the muscles around her brows seemed too taxing. She settled for a dead-pan stare that earned a quiet laugh from Dr Farris. She was rewarded with a shot of something and she hoped it was a drug so strong she'd never feel anything again. She didn't even feel the needle, but Elijah winced on her behalf watching it. She waited for the relief to hit her patiently.

Elijah dithered, Dr Farris prattled, and Nurse Julie cleaned up Baby Bonnet. Lucia watched them with lazy eyes. This was close enough to what she had been expecting her birthing experience to be like, she supposed.

The words infection, blood loss, and mortality were peppered into the conversation taking place just above her head and Lucia realised she may be in more danger than she felt.

"Are you gonna-" she was forced to pause to clear her throat. "Are you gonna turn me into a vampire?"

Elijah looked to Dr Farris.

"Is that a good decision? For her health, I mean."

"She probably won't die if you don't," Dr Farris said carefully. Tasting his words thoroughly before allowing them out of his mouth. "We'll be monitoring intensely for signs of infection. She will spend weeks recovering from this slaughter of a caesarean, though." He tilted his head from side to side, physically weighing up the options in his mind. "If you turn her now, she won't need to heal at human pace, only to be put through the transition at a later date." He looked to Lucia, eyes set and serious. "As your doctor, I certainly wouldn't recommend a second pregnancy."

Lucia nodded tiredly.

"Whatever you want, my love," Elijah whispered. "It's your choice."

But he looked petrified, and she knew why. If she turned, she had a one hundred percent survival rate. Why risk an infection to be human? What did human life have that she wanted? Maybe it was the super-powered post-partum blender sending hormones swirling through her, and the magic of drugs, but the decision seemed so clear.

"How long does it take?" she asked.

Dr Farris shrugged. "A day, if that."

"Okay, I just..." She looked to Baby Bonnet and a surge of longing cramped up her stomach. "I don't want to miss him."

"It will be a long nap for you, you won't be aware of your surroundings," Dr Farris advised gently. It was the softest Lucia had ever heard him. The good doctor was very good at separating his emotion from doing his job well. Something she usually appreciated. "Your son and husband will be with you for every moment, I'm certain."

Elijah nodded vigorously.

"Let me hold him," she croaked. "A cuddle before I go to sleep."

As Julie lowered him into her cradled arms she murmured, "completely healthy. Congratulations, Mrs Bonnet."

"Thank you," Lucia whispered, but she daren't take her eyes off Baby Bonnet for a moment once she had him against her chest.

Everything about him was perfect. Plump little face, sleepy eyes, a wet tuft of dark hair. His lips were pouting and she couldn't resist the urge to tap them with the pad of her pinky. He gave a little gassy smile in return.

"Elijah," she said quietly. "I'm ready now."

He nodded and crept closer to her, as though she were a skittish animal that might run from him. In this scenario, technically she was his prey, she mused.

He dipped his face into the crook of her neck like he would when kissing her tenderly in bed. She felt his mouth open against her skin. When his teeth pressed into her, testing the placement, she shivered under him.

Her last thought was gratitude at his sudden jerk forward, fulfilling her wishes quickly and almost painlessly.