A baby's piercing shriek echoed throughout the duchy, putting an end to the tranquil silence.
The two maids hustled around frantically, trying everything from silly faces to strange sounds to soothe the baby's wails, but nothing seemed to work.
Vela's cries continued unrelenting, giving no pause for rest or relief.
As if on cue, everyone stopped to listen, unable to sit still as her cries echoed throughout the dukedom.
Outside the room, Don and Raphael eagerly stood on their tiptoes, attempting to catch a glimpse of the newest family member.
"I'm sure she'll have red hair, just like mine," Raphael confidently declared.
Don shook his head in disagreement, gently patting his own tuft of charcoal hair. "No, black," he countered.
"Or perhaps she'll have hazel eyes like both of us," Don added.
The maids who knew the answer watched from afar, muffling their laughter with their hands.
Their young masters were too adorable to separate.
Don wanted to see for himself what his younger sister looked like. yet, he wasn't even allowed get close enough to look into the bassinet.
Vela's head pulsed with excruciating pain, rendering her limbs as heavy as lead, unresponsive to her will.
Attempting to communicate, she opened her mouth, but only unintelligible sounds tumbled out. Confusion welled within her as she scanned her unfamiliar surroundings.
The maids swiftly gathered around Vela, wielding a set clown toys and mimicking peculiar animal sounds in their efforts to comfort her.
Two of them playfully hopped onto the bed, engaging in rollicking antics, attempting to create an atmosphere of pure joy.
But Vela observed them with a somber expression, as if the meaning of their gestures eluded her entirely.
She spoke aloud, her voice tinged with bewilderment,
"Why is everyone so large, or why am I so tiny?"
Her words, however, resonated only within the confines of her own mind.
"Little Miss is so cute! Just look at those beautiful blue eyes; they are simply captivating, just like our Duchess!"
one of the maids exclaimed, her tone affectionate as she gently pinched Vela's cheeks.
Only a few steps away, the other maids huddled in the next room, their faces wrought with fear.
Fiona, One of them murmured dismally,
"Ah…Duchess Alhena," her voice almost imperceptible. "She may not make it," she added helplessly, heaving a long sigh.
Mia felt an indignant rage rise to her throat as the other spoke and had to quell a sharp rebuke that threatened to escape her lips.
Instead, she spoke firmly,
"Don't even speak such words!"
Fiona retorted quickly, tears beginning to form at the edges of her eyes and her fists clenched tightly by her sides.
Her voice shook with anguish as she uttered,
"Do you think I'm saying these things without reason?! I heard what the doctors said - that Duchess Alhena is far too weak now..."
Although defeatism was thick in the atmosphere, Mia refused to be overwhelmed by hopelessness;
instead, she stood tall among them all – uncompromising against fate itself – before whirling on her heels and storming out of there with anger.
For Mia understood more than anyone else what the Duchess meant to her; after all, she had been serving the Duchess from the day she arrived in the duchy.
The sound of baby noises emanated from the crib, her small fists waving in the air like a conductor's baton.
The maids scrambled to her again, adopting funny faces and outrageous performances to bring out another laugh.
Vela tracked them with naked amusement, almost knowing that they were there for nothing more than her pleasure.
"Why me…" Vela murmured.
Maggy gently lifted Vela from the crib, rubbing small circles on her back while swaying back and forth. Slowly, Vela's eyelids grew heavy.
"I've returned to the past once more," she whispered dreamily.
"Things just keep getting worse," she added softly, a look of distress crossing her face.
Finally, sated with all the attention and lulled by Maggy's lullaby-like rocking, Vela drifted into a deep slumber as Maggy tenderly put her back into the crib.
"Ahh... At last, she is quiet,"Maggy whispered to herself as she watched over Vela's serene slumber.
Maggy wheeled the crib purposefully towards the labour room with a heavy heart.
As she stepped inside, an oppressive stillness descended like a shroud.
She could feel eyes boring into her from every corner and hear sighs of sorrow from all around as she approached the bed.
Nearing it, Maggy saw Mia, tears cascading down her face.
"Mia?" Maggy said softly, her heart in her throat.
Mia hiccupped and looked up at Maggy, grief-stricken.
The physicians bowed their heads, not wanting to be part of a scene they all knew too well.
An eerie silence pervaded the atmosphere.
"Duchess Alhena?" Maggy called out dreading the answer she already knew in her heart.
No reply came; only a heavy stillness lay in its wake. At that moment, Maggy remembered how this same woman would always greet her with a wide smile when she called out her name.
"Don't tell me... " Maggy cast an imploring look at Mia for confirmation.
Mia dejectedly nodded, unable to bring herself to accept that Duchess Alhena was no more.
"WHERE IS ALHENA!!!!" Duke Kaylon bellowed with an unbridled fury, his voice echoing throughout the castle corridors like thunder.
"TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!!!" HE roared again,
Each word reverberating through the halls. His dominating aura caused terror to ripple through the servants and maids, who lined up fearfully, almost instinctively a trembling finger arose, pointing towards an adjacent room which caught the Duke's attention.
The Duke Kaylon crashed through the delivery room doors, eyes brimming with desperation and fury.
Maggy and Mia sobbed uncontrollably, their cries echoing throughout the stark chamber.
The physicians scurried away like mice, cowed by the Duke's presence.
"What's the meaning of this" The Duke Scowled
He unsheathed his ceremonial sword, and the flickering candlelight glinted off its diamond-encrusted hilt.
The physicians all stood in tight corner in terror at the sight of it.
Yet Duke Kaylon remained still, his knuckles white as he gripped the weapon tightly.
With a deep breath, he slowly slid it back into its sheath, preferring to take a more peaceful approach to this situation.
Having composed himself, Duke Kaylon hesitantly crossed over to where his wife lay and knelt beside her bed.
He tenderly caressed her cold cheek with trembling fingertips, a momentary spark of warmth contrasting starkly with the chill that emanated from her body.
With a heavy heart, he leaned in close and placed his forehead against hers - desperate for a sign of life from his beloved. But no matter how hard he yearned for her touch, she never moved again.
A shrill cry ripped through the stillness of the chamber, halting Duke Kaylon's actions.
His attention shifted to the crib across the room where Vela lay, squirming in her swaddle, her sobs fading away as soon as their eyes met.
Maggy and Mia remained frozen in shock, desperately trying to comprehend the hate radiating from the lord's gaze, fixated on the helpless infant.
"Get rid of the child," His thick fingers clamped onto the crib's handle.
"The late Duchess Alhena wanted her to be safe," Mia retorted firmly, the hope of protecting Vela filling her with strength as her heart raced against her chest.
"You are willfully disobeying my orders?" His voice reverberated through the walls as he tightened his grip on the crib.
Mia quailed under his gaze, sweat trickling down her forehead as she uttered meekly, "Duchess Alhena declared that no harm should come to this child."
Her eyes brimmed with tears as they stepped back when Duke Kaylon advanced towards them, wielding his sword menacingly.
"Are you implying that she was willing to sacrifice herself so this thing could live?" His eyes burned into her very soul.
"It is your child, and it shall be your responsibility," Mia took a deep breath before declaring these words bravely, though terror bubbled beneath her skin.
Her words hit the Duke like lightning; he halted immediately, sneering at the maid who had managed to stand firm against him even in the midst of such fear.
"Then I shall do it myself," He stepped back towards the crib.
Vela looked up at the daunting figure before her, futilely attempting to recognize the man above her; his hand closing around her throat with a grip that would crush it.
"Your Grace!!!" Maggy bellowed in terror.
Vela tried to say something, yet whatever she wanted to express seemed stuck in the back of her throat.
Vela's eyes widened as she stared upon Duke Kaylon, a little smile tracing across her lips.
"Alhena," he uttered thoughtfully, her crystal-blue gaze softening as it reminded him of his late wife.
"Vela was the name given to her," Mia murmured quietly.
"My Answer" The Duke muttered the meaning of her name.
Without warning, his sword fell to the ground, and he turned away from them all, trailing off into the distance without a single word.
"Father?" Don inquired after him, seeking some sort of response - but none came.
Before he could follow suit, Raphael screamed out from the labor room.
"Raph!!"
Don entered as fast as he could, screaming out his name in fear of what may have happened.
His breath caught in his throat when he saw what had occurred - Raphael had cradled the Duchess' body tightly, desperately shaking and begging for her to awaken from her eternal slumber.
Raphael held her hands firmly between his own, tears-stained cheeks pleading for her to remain with them.
Don stood in silence, his face twisted into a mask of grief. But then he heard it - a sweet mewl that melded the heavy air.
A baby was cooing in the crib only feet away.
Slowly, Don walked towards the sound, and when he saw Vela nestled in the blankets, she seemed to be illuminated by something just out of sight.
A thin smile spread across his lips at the sight of the crying infant.
"We were both wrong; her hair is pink", he murmured softly, motioning for Raphael to join him with an outstretched hand.
Threading their fingers together, his grip tightened in a gesture of support and comfort before they both looked into the crib beneath them.
Vela looked up and felt as though reality had been ripped away from her; everything became distorted like a TV on static.
A cry of pain escaped her lips as she took in the unrecognizable sight.