SWNOVELS Chapter Epilogue
A few months later,
Chelsea grabs the butcher knife and begins to butcher the deer she had just hunted earlier. She brings the meat to the river and begins to clean the blood of it. This is how her life has been for the past few months. It took her a while to find this cabin that Arthur used to tell to her. Honestly, it has nearly everything she needs. She foraged the forest for wild fruits or vegetables. When it comes to meat, the forest has plenty for prey to hunt. She does plant some vegetables around the cabin. For months, she hasn’t had any contact with anyone else. Chelsea totally secluded herself from the world.
After she’s done cleaning, salting, and hanging the meat, Chelsea retreats into the cabin. Her breath is getting shorter day by day and she’s easily fatigued. She didn’t expect herself to be pregnant at the time of the war. But Chelsea is grateful and happy that she has a precious life inside her womb. The life she created with Arthur. She doesn’t go for any checkups as she knows every pack is still looking for her after her body wasn’t found in the collapsed castle.
Her parents died painfully and slowly as she predicted. Everyone suspected it was her doing. Chelsea didn’t have any remorse. From what she heard, the Council had spent tremendous effort trying to heal the Heart. She didn’t know whether they succeeded or not. But she could feel the energy line was getting stronger and better.
Chelsea changes her clothes into a bathrobe because it’s the only comfy clothes for her pregnancy. She sits on the chair by the fireplace, trying to get a rest. Having no experience about pregnancy, she had to learn the hard way. Because she didn’t do any checkups, Chelsea solely depends on herself to stay healthy.
She almost fell asleep when there’s a soft knock on the door. Chelsea’s eyes widened as she knew she’s not as strong as before due to her pregnancy. She grabs a knife that she always keeps close to her and hides it behind her before checking through the window to see the person who knocked on her door.
There’s a man looking away from the window. He wears black jacket and dark red jeans. Chelsea pulls the door slightly.
“Can I help you?” she asks.
The man turns around and smiles. “Hi, sorry. I’m lost. Do you mind pointing me in the right direction for me?”
“You don’t dress for hiking either.”
She stares into his eyes and then flashbacks happen before her eyes. Chelsea shakes her head and starts to feel dizzy. He catches her and then, she cries right into his arms. She holds into his arms, just bawling her eyes out.
“I’m sorry I’m late. Just having a tiny piece of my soul saved, it’s kind of hard to be alive. And trying to find an appropriate body, even harder.”
“How could you leave me?” she hit him. “How could you die on me?”
“Hey, hey,” he says, cupping her face. His thumbs wipe away her tears. “I might not be whole because that’s the price I had to pay to extract a tiny piece of my soul and kept it inside this body. But, I do know you don’t have to be alone anymore. I’m here.”
“You don’t sound like him.”
“Yeah, that and that. I don’t have all my memories either. I don’t have powers or immortality anymore. I’m just a human. My personality is following the previous owner of this body which was a clumsy person.”
“How is this possible?”
“First, let’s get you up. Come on.”
Chelsea tries to stand when suddenly she feels pain all over herself. Her fingers dig into Arthur’s arms as she realizes she’s about to deliver her baby.
“Oh shit.”
“Don’t swear!” she yells at him. “The baby can hear everything.”
“Oops, sorry my bad.”
He helps her into the cabin and lets her settle down on the floor. Arthur fetches several pillows to support her back. Then, he stands there, not knowing what to do for the first time.
“Don’t just stand there. Grab some towels,” Chelsea instructs him.
“Right, towels.” He rushes to the bedroom and trips himself on the way there. “I’m fine. I’m okay. I’m just an adult baby taking his first run.”
Chelsea almost laughs at his new personality. When previous Arthur wasn’t clumsy or talkative like this one. She used to hear him talking about extracting a tiny piece of someone’s soul and put it inside another body. The dead body would be revived by the tiny piece of soul but it would take time for them to properly function.
He comes back with several towels and sets it down. He crouches at the end of her legs, waiting for instruction again.
“Pull down my underwear,” she tells him.
“W-W-what?”
“Damnit, Arthur. Are you expecting me to deliver the baby while the underwear is in the way? Besides, you didn’t have this problem before.”
“I don’t speak for that Arthur.” he shakes his head. “No, no, uh, uh.”
“Fine, I’ll do myself.”
“No, just stay there. I’ll d-d-do it.”
He takes a few rapid and quick breaths before closing his eyes. Arthur sticks his hands into her bathrobe, blindly looking for her underwear. Chelsea groans in pain once again as the contraction continues to kick in. After a few tries, he finally found her underwear and quickly pulled it down her legs. Chelsea spreads her legs causing Arthur to blush.
“Quit blushing. Check the hole,” she tells him.
His eyes widened. “H-how?”
“Use your fin—” she pauses as she screams in pain. Chelsea takes a deep breath. “Use your fingers and measure the opening whether it’s wide enough for delivery.”
“Are you sure?”
“Arthur, I’d swear to the Goddess that I’ll kill you after this ordeal.”
After a few minutes of barking orders and everything, Arthur seems to have gained a little bit of courage to be a midwife. Chelsea is sweating bullets as she can feel her baby begins to go to the opening. The moment Arthur yells excited that he sees the head, Chelsea begins to push as best as she can. Her claws extended from her fingers and dug on the wooden floor as she made the final push. Chelsea collapses in exhaustion but feels a brief moment of vigor when she hears the first cries of her baby. Arthur puts the baby on the towel before cleaning Chelsea’s private part and making sure nothing is left behind.
“It’s a girl,” Arthur says with a smile. “Look, she has your pretty eyes.”
He places the baby on Chelsea’s chest as she holds her. A tear falls from Chelsea’s eye. She almost goes for a full blown cry when Arthur defeats her to it.
“Are you being serious?” she says in disbelief.
Arthur cries his eyes out. “I’m sorry. I don’t handle my emotion well.” he gets up. “I’ll prepare a warm bath.”
Arthur walks away still sobbing as if someone had stolen his favorite toy. Chelsea laughs at his new personality. It looks like she needs to take care of two crybabies in her life now.