Unexpected News of the Scary Kind

Writers: Heather, Miriah
Date Posted: 13th August 2020
Series: The Hallmaster's New Wife

Characters: Thayde, Enamra
Description: Enamra gets some unexpected news
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 5, day 7 of Turn 10

Thayde

Enamra

Still dripping wet from her swim, Enamra sat numbly on the couch, a
towel wrapped firmly around her as she stared blankly forward. How
could this have happened? What would Thayde think? She'd had no clue.
Absolutely none. She idly picked at her cuticles as she sucked in her
lower lip.

Swimming with the dolphin pod had been so fun, especially with her
siblings. They'd loved playing with them in the shallower water, but
when one dolphin, thankfully not Thayde's, and piped up with his news,
all of her siblings had heard it.

"Baaaabeee! Tineee baaabeee!" Squeals of delight from the pod and from
Roblyna and made her stumble in the water and flounder for a moment.
She had hushed Roblyna and made her promise not to say anything. Not
yet. She was too stunned. She'd sent them home to their foster parents
shortly after and simply came home.

In his office, the Hallmaster was also sitting numbly, a piece of
parchment held between his fingers. The words were nearly floating off
the page. "Jalodwyn has delivered a healthy baby girl." Crumpling the
parchment into a clenched fist, he closed his eyes, a muscle ticking
in his jaw as he exhaled slowly. **There's no evidence that it is
mine. All babies look like shriveled tubers anyway,** he thought,
tossing the letter into the wastebasket in the corner.

Glancing at the timepiece on the wall, he shoved back from his desk
and walked to his quarters. He wouldn't say anything about it to
Enamra, there was no point in upsetting her, and he had been keeping
the tabs he kept on Jalodwyn a secret. Thayde wanted to know, he
wanted to be prepared, but he did not want to give his young wife the
impression that he was _interested_ in Jalodwyn.

When he entered the sitting area of the Hallmaster's quarters, he was
surprised to find Enamra sitting on the couch, still in her swimsuit
and towel. She was normally bustling about, sometimes cooking,
sometimes in the office he had set up for her working on crafts, or
whatever else it was that she did. "Just back from a swim?" he asked.

Enamra looked up as Thayde came into their home and slowly nodded. "A
little bit ago. I took everyone out for a swim and the dolphins were
out there so... They really liked it. Ada wasn't there though. " Her
voice, still sounding stunned, trailed off as she blinked and
swallowed. Licking her dry lips, she tucked her towel a little closer
around her middle. "Thayde... one of them. He said 'tiny baby'. The
pod got really excited. I think...I think he meant that I'm pregnant.
"

Thayde's eyes widened, his heart leaping in his chest. They had talked
about a baby, he had been ready, but Enamra had wanted to wait, so
since then they had been taking careful precautions. Seeing the way
she kept her towel tightly around her, he came and knelt down in front
of her, resting his hands on her knees. "Do you want me to get Ada to
confirm it? Or would you rather go to the healer?"

Enamra was fairly certain that the dolphin had been right, but what
if he wasn't? She knew Ada, so maybe that would be better. And
despite Thayde having helped her give birth before, he was a dolphin
healer, not one for people. "Maybe let's get Ada to be sure he was
right. It _was_ a young dolphin. Maybe he was wrong." She exhaled
and whispered softly. "I'm scared."

"If you are pregnant.... you don't have to keep it," he said softly,
despite how much the words pained him.

It wasn't hard to see what Thayde wanted. She'd seen the excitement
in his eyes and the expression on his face now didn't hide how he
felt. Slowly, she shook her head. "I wouldn't do that, Thayde. Not
ever." She sighed softly and rose.

Thayde stood, hand raking through his hair, which he subconsciously
realized was longer than he had ever worn it before. "Let's go see Ada
then."

She nodded and took his hand, her own trembling in his much larger
grip. The calluses she felt were a comfort. **Would it be so bad?**
Surely it'd be different if she was having Thayde's baby. He loved
her. She was safe here and she wouldn't be tossed away. She'd have
plenty to eat and no one would think badly of her here. She was
married now. But the thoughts didn't stop the niggling fear in her
belly. "Okay."

~*~

The tropical waters were warm and comforting to Thayde and being in
the ocean helped calm his thoughts. They had already rung the Dolphin
Bell, and it took only moments before he saw a familiar dark shadow
approaching through the crystal waters.

Ada's dark, shiny wet, bottle-nose appeared out of the water, followed
by her sleek round melon head. "Thayyyyyyde! 'mmmraaaaa!" she said
also in greeting to Enamra.

"Ada," he greeted her, reaching out to rub a hand along her head.
"Thank you for coming. Can you examine Enamra and see if she's
carrying a baby?"

The dolphin squeed in affirmative, her head bobbing back beneath the
water as she neared Enamra in the water, her nose touching Enamra's
abdomen lightly.

"Hello, Ada." Enamra held still and kept her grip firmly in Thayde's,
tightening it slightly. Had she forgotten to drink her morning tea
once? She could have. Some mornings, she got so busy. Her heart
hammered in her chest as she waited for Ada to either confirm or
refute the younger male dolphin's exclamation.

Ada's head broke out of the water again. "Bayybeee! Yeeeees!" The
dolphin confirmed.

Enamra's breath exploded from her at the announcement and immediately
looked at Thayde. Slowly, she offered a smile and tightened her hand
on his. "I guess that means you're going to be a father." She released
his hand and moved to wrap her arms around his neck in a full embrace.

Thayde wrapped his arms around his wife's petite frame, face buried in
her hair as Ada swam excitedly around them. Because of the letter he
had received early, he could not help but compare how he felt now,
knowing Enamra was carrying his baby, to how he had felt when Jalodwyn
had said she was pregnant. "I love you."

"I love you, too." There was still fear there, fear and dread of a
pregnancy she wasn't ready for, but there was also love for the man
who held her. He wanted this and she could give it to him. Not only
was it her duty to give him children, but she also wanted to make him
happy. Her heart still beat rapidly in her chest and she squeezed him
tighter, burying her face in his chest.

Last updated on the September 19th 2020

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Unexpected News of the Scary Kind