Bonus Scene: What’s in a Name (Pt 1)

What’s in a Name Part 1
Copyright 2024, Yasmine Galenorn
Do not reproduce anywhere.

“How are you doing, love?” Herne asked, peeking into the room.

I was sitting up, back against the headboard, sore as hell. The whole natural birth thing wasn’t a go for me—Ferosyn had quickly determined that I wasn’t built to spurt out three babies in a row, so he had put me under and when I woke up, I was neatly stitched up and high as a kite on pain meds. The triplets were all good, and now—a few hours later—I was comfortable as long as I didn’t move around much, and the babies were all in their sleeping baskets, sitting on the bed next to me. The wet nurses were there, ready to feed them. The medication I was on wasn’t safe to pass through to the girls, and Ferosyn said that from what he could tell, my milk wouldn’t be enough to feed all three. Mr. Rumblebutt was sleeping on the other side, snoring away.

“I feel like somebody punched me in the gut, but the drugs take the edge off,” I said, still staring at the babies. It amazed me that they had come out of my body, that Herne and I had created these little blobs of joy who would grow up to be goddesses. The girls were tiny—so tiny it frightened me. I wasn’t a maternal person, but I already knew I’d fight to the death to protect them. I loved them fiercely, but I was grateful for the nannies who would step in and help make the job so much easier.

Herne settled down next to the three baskets on the massive bed. I’d never seen him look so proud as he leaned down to inspect his children. “They’re beautiful. Even though they’re fraternal, I think they all look like you,” he added, glancing up. “I know this sounds whiny, but I wish I’d been able to see Danielle when she was a baby. I wish I’d known about her from the beginning.”

Herne’s other daughter was the result between Herne and an Amazon. He hadn’t known about her until a few years ago, but he was doing his best to make up for the missing time. In fact, she was waiting for me to feel a bit better to come in and visit.

“You know that she’s part of our family,” I said. “Danielle is your blood, and there’s no way that I consider her any less your daughter than these three here.” I wanted to make certain that Herne knew that I wouldn’t ever push Danielle to the side. In fact, she and I got along great now, and I looked forward to her visits. She was excited about the babies and wanted to be here to help with them for the first month.

The room felt cavernous. Our castle was massive, and we had enough room in our suite that I could have fit my whole house back on Earth inside. Cernunnos had sent us hundreds of lightning flits and they were scattered around the castle, illuminating the chambers and hallways. They provided a soft, comforting glow.

“I know, and I’m grateful that you accept her so readily. Her mother certainly leaves a lot to be desired,” he said, grumbling. “So, what shall we name them? Their name-day is coming up shortly and we have to make the announcement to the village.”

I still hadn’t gotten used to the fact that we were in charge of an entire village of people—that we ruled over a massive area of land in Annwn. We had talked about going back to Earth to live, and Herne was there part time as it was, running the Wild Hunt since Yutani hadn’t been able to make a go of being the leader. But leadership wasn’t Yutani’s forte. In my heart, I felt it had been unfair for Herne to ask him to take the job. Everything was sorted out, though, and Herne was back at the job he loved. But I didn’t want our children growing up on the streets of Seattle. When they were a bit older, maybe. I missed my home. But I was growing used to the wilds of Annwn, and the vast sea a thousand feet below where our castle overlooked it had become an old friend. I would go there and sit by the shores, thinking and interacting with the elementals.