Affinity: Chaos

Emberfield town.

In a little shack far away from the main town, surrounded by trees, the screams of a woman could be heard inside the building, and outside the building was a man pacing back and forth. His eyes showed weariness, but they were steadfast. His long brown hair complemented by his eyes gave him a serious look. The eye bags beneath his eyes showed he had barely gotten any rest in a long time. His sleeves were clean, but they had a shady look, and his plain trousers didn't do any justice to it.

The man continued pacing outside while the screams of the woman increased. The man looked to be in his early thirties, but his visage looked that one of a forty plus old.

A young lady walked from the side of the lake with a bowl in hand as she rushed into the building.

The man attempted to stop her, but he stopped himself when he saw the speed with which she was moving.

He continued pacing about outside, his hands placed behind his back, but his fingers were tightly locked together, as if he was gripping firmly to something unseen.

The atmosphere was tense due to the screams of the woman who seemed to be in severe pains.

As the screams grew louder, the atmosphere started to grow gloomy, the reason for this was from the screams of the woman, one could faintly hear the signs of her being at her limit. If this continued, she might die.

The woman's screams started to grow weaker. Like a soldier with no strength left to fight, her screams reduced, and one could only hear the loud groans of pain that were also getting quieter.

The man pacing outside felt like his heart was about to burst out of his chest. He took a step forward, and without hesitation, he pushed open the door. Just as he was about to take a step into the room, he heard a new voice, strange yet soothing, even though it was that of someone crying.

He knew all the people inside the room and knew that this was from someone he had never seen yet he was so familiar with. He took a step inside the room, and the single bed that was on the room had a woman lying weakly on it. On the side of the bed, an old lady could be seen holding onto a little figure that was quickly wrapped with a cloth even though he was bloodied. The sound of crying the man was hearing was from the little figure in the hands of the old lady.

While the old lady carried the little one, the other young lady the man saw with the bowl was using the water from the bowl to wipe the head of the woman that was lying weakly on the bed. She was covered with the sheets of the bed, and there was barely any light in her eyes, but she stared straight at the little one being held by the old lady. Her eyes turned to the man and a smiled bloomed on her beautiful face.

The lady was drained, but even in that state, her smile was the most pleasing thing the man had ever seen.

"Our son is here." She said softly, her voice barely audible.

The man could sense the strength fading away from her body. His eyes became watery as he walked towards the young lady that was lying on the bed, he sat down close to her, his hands shaking, but he caressed her face ever so softly.

"What will we call him?" He asked, his voice as gentle as he could make it.

The lady, with the blooming smile still on her face replied, "Zyler, Zyler Ackerson."

"Zyler, such a great name." The man nodded in approval.

"Of course, he's our precious boy. Our miracle." The lady, even in her weakened state replied matter-of-factly.

The man smiled, proud of his wife's reaction towards their son.

"You need to rest, there's still much for us to do." He said with a soft voice.

The lady looked at the man and gently held the hand he used to caress her face, her voice was calm as she said, "I don't have much time."

The room fell silent, and other than the gentle crying of the newborn in the old lady's arm, everyone else froze. Even the young lady that was cleaning up the lady paused, unsure of what to do.

"Don't say that, you're only tired. If you rest you will be fine." The man was calm as he spoke with the lady.

The lady didn't let the smile leave her face as she said, "Have you forgotten I'm the best healer in the town?"

She locked eyes with her husband and said, "I don't have the strength to come back."

A teardrop slid down the face of the man, his  face still had the same gentle look, but his eyes showed a different emotion, one could see that he was torn apart at the moment.

The lady gently raised her hand and cleaned the teardrop, "Don't cry, you don't want our son seeing you in such a state, do you?"

The man knew she was only trying to sheer him up, but he found it difficult to accept.

"It's all my fault." He dropped his head, his eyes watery but he made sure nothing fell from his eyes.

"It has nothing to do with you, I chose this." The lady said as she looked at the Old lady, struggled to get into a sitting position and asked, "Can I carry my son?"

The Old lady nodded and brought the newborn close to his mother.

When the lady carried the baby, her eyes glowed and she muttered softly, "Such high magical density."

She looked at the little face of Zyler who opened his eyes to look at the lady. His golden pupils captivated the heart of anyone who looks at them. Just like his father, he had brown hair.

Afyer some time, the lady's eyes started to grow dim, she kissed the forehead of Zyler and handed him over to his father who was sitting beside her, "Take care of our son. I'll always be with you two."