Page 32 of Minotaur's Secret Baby
He wastes no time tearing the meat apart, practically shoveling it into his mouth. His grunts are enough to make me laugh.
“I take it you like it then?” I ask.
“Are you kidding me? This is delicious. You’re a good cook Kyra.”
“Back when I was living with Mosar, I always had to cook his meals for him. I guess it’s just one of those things I got better at from having to do so often.”
“Well I’ve certainly been eating better since you came along,” chuckles Zy.
“I appreciate that,” I reply with a smile.
Seeing how much he enjoys my food makes me feel nice internally. It all just feels like another day spent with my loving partner… except that’s not who Zy is. Yet, that didn’t change how good it feels to be enjoying his company like this, and I wanted to cook for him as a way of saying thank you.
Not every minotaur in Milthar is willing to open up their home to a human like me. I’m only halfway through my own food when Zy fetches a second portion for himself. Soon, we finish our meal.
“I’ll take care of the clean up,” he says.
“Alright, I’ll go get the rest of the laundry from outside. It should be dry by now.”
I grab the empty basket sitting on the edge of the bed and make my way out the door. Walking around the back to a small garden, I come to a washing line upon which hangs a small sorting of clothes. I’m throwing them into the basket just as the kick in my belly comes again, this time it’s painful.
“Fuck!” I snap, clutching my belly.
Taking a deep breath, I lift the basket and go back to the house entrance.
It’s been nine months now that I think about it,I ponder as I open the door.I could be due any day now-
“Agh!” I snap, dropping the basket just inside the door.
“Kyra?” exclaims Zy, spinning around and rushing to my side.
“The baby…” I groan. “It’s coming…”
“Shit, okay give me a moment.”
He grabs some of the fallen towels from the floor and rushes to the bed. There, he lays them out swiftly before turning to my side. He gently lifts me up and carries me to the bed, laying me on top of the towels.
“There’s a healer living just next door,” he says. “I’m going to get her, stay right here okay?”
I look up at him in frustration.
“Well I’m hardly going to run off anywhere am I?” I snap.
Zy spins around on his heels and takes off out of the door. I take deep breaths as the pains grow more frequent and pressing. Clutching the sheets and towels in my hands, I squeeze them as I grimace from the agony.
Just a moment later, Zy emerges through the door. Following in behind him is the healer, dressed in black robes. She carries in her arms a bag of equipment. Approaching me, she wears a war smile on her face, the sight of which in itself is reassuring and calming.
“Hello Kyra,” she greets. “We’ll skip the formalities for now. Call me Phemes.”
She places the bag down at the end of the bed and comes closer. Taking a pillow, she lifts my head up and places it underneath.
“Zy, fetch me a bucket of warm water,” she asks as she removes a canister of oil from her bag, “Put three drops of this into it and bring a cloth too.”
Zy makes haste doing the errand as Phemes checks my temperature. From her bag, she removes a pair of surgical gloves, slipping them on as Zy returns with everything. There waves through the air the floral aroma of rirzed from the water.
Phemes submerges the cloth inside the bucket, swirling it around before wringing it out. She then places it on my forehead, dabbing it around my face. An instant wave of relaxation comes over me, momentarily distracting me from the pains.
“There now,” she whispers.