A Crown of Thorns

Chapter Ten - A pretty name

I stared at the man in confusion as the fire iron clattered to the ground. He seemed surprised as he contemplated his next response.

“Look,” Seiya interrupted as she wrapped the blanket around the slumbering infant. “I was merely helping her fall asleep,” she said as she swaddled the small bundle.

“She doesn’t need help!” I snapped, ignoring Rius as I bent down and picked up the fire iron. “All she needs is me!” I stated as I shoved the pointed end at Seiya.

“What’s her name?” Seiya gently asked as she rocked the sleeping infant in her arms.

“Name?” I asked, confused.

“Yes, her name, what do you call her?” she asked again as she cautiously approached me, ensuring I could see that the infant was unharmed and relaxed.

“No name,” I muttered under my breath as I looked at the infant for a moment longer before dropping the fire stick to my side and looking away ashamed.

“No name?” Seiya asked, surprised before nodding knowingly. “Alright,” she murmured as she hummed a lullaby.

Seiya rocked the infant in her arms as she hummed the sorrowful lullaby. My hands began to shake as I watched her with my child. Her tone soothed my growing anxieties as a memory of my mother broke free and floated to the surface of my mind. It was of a time before Rezel killed my mother and warped my mind and my memories of her before he stole and hid me away to achieve his sickening desires. She was as beautiful and as vibrant as the ethereal orb that heated the blue sky. Her singing was like honeydew as she held me to her breast and melted me through her embrace.

Seiya’s voice filled the room as she kept her eyes on my nameless child.

“Where learn that?” I asked, my words choppy as I struggled to remember the language Rezel taught me.

“It’s the song of the fairies,” Seiya said after a moment as she approached me with my swaddled infant. “It’s said that the gods brought down songs that were meant to heal and soothe others,” she said with a sad smile as she raised her arms and motioned for me to take the swaddled bundle.

I remained silent as I took the infant back, the stuffy sensation within my chest subsided the moment I pressed her against my bosom and watched her sleep. I sighed relieved as I pressed my face next to my child’s and inhaled her scent, relishing the fact that she was still safe.

“I name her Moss,” I said proudly as I thought of a word to name her.

My cheeks blazed from passion as I recalled the moss and precipitation that clung through the cracks in the walls, they were a means of survival. The earth provided ways to feed and enrich me while it could, the soil kept out the blistering cold climate and the strong walls held over the years and never crumbled and crushed me from under them. There were many words I thought of to name my child to show appreciation for my survival.

“Um,” Seiya hummed skeptically as she raised an eyebrow. “How about something else, Moss is a certainly pretty word but Moss doesn’t seem to suit this pretty girl,” she said with a faint smile.

“It doesn’t?” I asked clueless as I glanced down at my child who did not indeed resemble moss, instead, she looked like a vibrant new moon.

“Moon!” I stated firmly.

Rius erupted into laughter from behind us, his face grew red as he covered his mouth and attempted to look away, hiding his expression as he attempted to regain his composure. Seiya glared at him heatedly before glancing back at me and thinking for a moment.

“How about Eursa?” she hummed curiously.

Her words stroked a chord in my ears as I stared at the baby, her silver eyes opened at the mention of the name and sighed delightedly as if the gods themselves had decided the very name for her.

“Eursa,” I mumbled under my breath as I attempted to master the pronunciation of it.

“Yes,” I said as I nodded in agreement.

“Move!” a young boy with fiery red hair shouted as he burst into the room and ran past us.

“Stop him!” another boy shouted as he ran through the room.

I stared in bewilderment at the two young pups as they chased each other around in circles, the room felt more lively the moment they entered with the surroundings igniting in excitement. I stared in bewilderment as a boy with white hair stepped before me, he halted in his tracks as he pressed up against me and sniffed my long hair curiously. I stared at him in confusion as he seemingly lost interest in the chase. His eyes widened as he looked up at me with eyes of two different colours. I leaned forward and examined his face curiously, one eye was an ocean blue while the other was a deep green moss colour.

“Who is this?” the white-haired boy asked as he turned to look at Seiya, his nose no longer just inches away from mine.

“Yeah, who is she!” the red-haired boy asked as he turned on his heels and joined his brother.

I stared at the two in awe as I realized they were the mirror image of one other, the red-haired boy had a white streak in his hair while his eyes were the same as his brothers. I wanted to pluck their beautiful eyes out and cherish them forever. I reached a hand out as if to touch the red-haired boy before Rius spoke up, shattering my thoughts as he stepped between the boys and I.

“That’s enough,” he shouted. “Jasper, you should know better than to be causing a ruckus in the house!” Arius snapped, annoyed as he glared at the white-haired boy.

“And Sven,” he breathed, frustrated, as he pressed his hand against his face in exhaustion. “I know you took your brothers seeing stone again,” he stated, dropping his hand to his side.

“Return it,” he ordered.

“But!” Sven pleaded as he gripped his fists desperately around a small round object.

“Now!” Arius howled angrily.

His voice was booming and menacing as it echoed throughout the room, it shook me to my core as I realized it belonged to a man who should have been an alpha.

Who is he? I thought curiously.

Sven pouted, his cheeks appeared chubby as he threw the delicate stone at his brother before marching away. He hated losing and being overwhelmed by others and yet was eager to wreak havoc for those around him. I stared at Sven’s retreating form, he was still a child and yet I sensed his first shift looming, it was subtle and yet the boys were meant to mature within the coming days.

I've never seen a wolf take form, I thought, my interest piques.

“Jasper, take your mother's heirloom and hide it away so that he won't find it this time,” Arius said as he ruffled the boy's messy white hair.

Who are you? I wanted to ask as the man before me grew increasingly familiar.