Yelena huddled in the room where she was forced to take shelter as during the conflict. Only the true royal family were allowed in the Siege palace, her position as princess meant nothing as she was only royalty by marriage. The shifter was afraid for her mate, but also for herself and the biggest concern...her unborn.
Yelena shifted between forms trying to get comfortable despite the swell in her belly. She finally shifted into her hind form and laid down, her snowy belly fur gently pressing against the cool tile of these lower rooms. Yelena was worried about Brences, her beautiful stag. She did not care about Rurik, the old king was a hard man, she hated him with every inch of her being, but she wanted him to live...for her mate would get some more time before it happened.
The smooth body stirred a bit, then some more. The doe was trying to get comfortable without really thinking much about it. But slowly she grew more restless and squirmed, trying to adjust her position to take less pressure off her baby. Natural instinct slowly came into play, forcing the hind onto her feet with pain in her eyes. It was time that a new royal came into the world.
Yelly stood there, her flanks heavy from the spasms of birth. Her neck dropped as she winced, such pain this was. All other thought was gone. The conflict with the outsiders, worries about her own safety. Yelena was in her own world, the world of a mother trying to bring life into the world.
The young mother might had been blanked out to the world, but not the servants who were set there by Brences to keep her safe. One instantly hurried off to inform the third prince that he was soon to be a father.
Yelena trembled against Brences. The hind was laying down once more as she began the task of pushing. Her coat was damp with sweat and her swollen belly shook with intense spasms. The birth was long and tense and Yelena was growing exhausted which meant risk to mother and child. When she felt her mate's tongue across her forehead, the hind weakly raised her head to rub against Brences's throat sack.
The tender gesture was short-lived as Yelly cried out and then her body slumped, her neck resting on the soft cushions that a servant had fetched to give her some comfort during her labor. Despite her soreness and exhaustion, Yelena lifted her head and turned to peer at the little life that she brought into the world.
The small red deer fawn laid still, covered in blood and other fluids which stained one of the old blankets lying under it. Its flank was still, it's body was motionless. Yelly couldn't help but fear the worst, did her long labor end up killing the precious calf?
Once more natural instinct took over. The hind began licked the tiny mass. Gently rasping her tongue over the delicate body, she was now trying to make it draw air, to live. The fawn didn't respond but Yelly kept licking and then she felt the stir as the fawn's body awoke. Air began to fill the tiny lungs and then bright eyes blinked over. The calf rolled onto his stomach and sat there. Twitching his large ears and lightly flicking his tiny tail. His eyes widened at the new scents that greeted him though what they were he had yet to learn.
Yelena kept her gentle cleaning, slowly wiping away the blood to reveal a woolly fawn coat that was a lovely shade of red and spattered with little white spots. The fawn's own instincts began to come into play. The little animal slowly began to try standing up, but his first attempt failed, as did his second and third try. It was the fourth that he was able to stand, splay-legged, with his tiny form trembling as he got use to his balance.
The next step was...well steps. A few wobbles resulted in a reward, his first drink of his mother's milk.
Yelena rested against Brences, watching as the little calf was asleep. After filling his belly, he had looked around the room; he looked at his father, the servants, the snowflakes outside the windows. Once his exploring was satisfied, the fawn drank some more then settled down for a nap.
Yelly was more focused on another thing. A name for their little son. While she was resting she had thought about good names but none could fit. But it came to her almost instantly and she gazed at her mate then focused on their child. "Your name shall be Brechin."
