Beware of the Werewitch

It was a typical cold November day in the mountains. This time of year the area usually sees snow by now, but, while the weather had been threatening, it had not snowed yet. Out in the small herb garden, a tiny figure moved with practiced speed, trying to pick the last of the herbs in a garden. The figure stood and stretched, showing that she was a small woman with a very pregnant belly. Looking out over the rest of the herb garden, she saw how much work there was still to do. She reminded herself that if she had gotten started earlier, she could have gotten this done over several days, now with the snow coming in the next day or two, she had no choice but to get it done now. With a sigh she bent over again and began to pluck the tiny leaves from the plant that she had been busy denuding for the last twenty minutes. She spent the rest of the day finishing her harvest of her herbs. These would help her and the people nearby survive the harsh winter. The job did not stop with the harvest outside. Once the herbs have been picked, they need to be dried, or used right away. She knew that she would have a long night ahead of her. It was the first time in months that she felt like she had any real energy. Her pregnancy had been rough from the start. She was terribly sick in the beginning. Her mate wanted to take her to a doctor in the pack, but she refused. Her sickness gave way to exhaustion. That exhaustion was only made worse by a deep depression when she lost her mate only two months ago. She has been alone ever since. Normally, she at least saw some of her neighbors nearby, but even they had stayed away. The loss of her mate was something that she did not want to think about right now. It would only drag her back down into the depths of despair again, and she needed to get this done before the baby came. Yes, this would be their baby. He was so happy the day that she told him. He had picked her up and twirled her around in his arms, and then kissed her until she was dizzy. He said that having a pup was the greatest moment of his life. He smiled for days and wanted to tell everyone the wonderful news. She, on the other hand, was worried and wanted to keep it a secret. That caused an argument between them. She still felt terribly guilty for ruining his happiness with her worry. They sat and talked all through the night, and he had reassured her that there was nothing to worry about. She conceded and decided to keep her doubts to herself. He was happy and that was all that mattered. She would face reality when she needed to and be there for him. Only when that time came, she was not there. She had not known that he had gone to the pack and announced not only their mating, but their good news. She snapped herself out of her memory and got back to work. Wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her dress, she moved back to the table and picked up another bunch of herbs that she had cut from the garden. She had tied them as she cut them so it made it easy to hang them in the house. She had planned ahead and put nails into the beams when she moved here and was not quite so big yet. She would not be able to balance on a chair now to hammer in the nails. Her belly was a giant ball and it threw her off balance every chance it got. She had fashioned a branch this morning, before she started harvesting, so that it would allow her to hang the herbs on the nails above without climbing. It was several hours into the night when she finally had all the herbs hung and drying. She had also made as many jars of poultices and medicines as she could. While her kind did not become ill often, there was always a need to help the healing process, or to nurse someone back to health. What she had been able to grow and put up for the winter should keep her and her neighbors in good health through the winter and until the next harvest. She was exhausted, but she was happy that she got it all done. She settled down on her bed to get some sleep. Tomorrow she would need to take the rest of the herbs that she had collected and boil them to make a few more things to store, but she had gotten the bulk of it done, and she was satisfied with her day's work. She fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. She woke with a start in the early morning. She could see a dull glow outside. She could also hear the soft but constant sound of the snow falling. It had started. A sudden wave of pain washed over her belly. She breathed through the pain. Her eyes going wide, as she realized what the pain was right away. She had dreaded having her baby alone, but that too, it seems, had started. She knew that she would not have too much time to get ready. She forced herself out of bed, and got all the items that she knew that she would need to do this on her own. She had done this so many times for the other women in the mountain area. She had acted as a midwife since the nearest hospital was three hours away. They did not send out emergency crews this far. That was the thing about living way out in the wilderness of the mountains. No one bothered you and no one would bother with you. She had thought this through before now, as to how she would be able to both give birth to and deliver the baby at the same time. She had a basket that she had filled with the items that she thought that she would need some time ago. The items that she had sterilized were still sealed in the jar that she had put them in. Twine, blankets, towels, her mirror, (the only one that she had), and needle and thread. She removed her under-garments, and got the pillows piled up. She leaned on the table and breathed through another contraction. This one was a strong one and her knees almost buckled as the wave moved over her. She was only still standing through force of will. She took a deep breath and pushed herself off the table and out the door as quickly as she could. She did not want to be caught outside in the snow when the next contraction hit. She could see that it was further into the morning than she originally thought, but the gray snow clouds blocked the sun enough to make it look like it was still just after sunrise. She went to the well and grabbed the bucket and threw it in. She watched it sail down into the blackness until she heard a splash. Normally the bucket would float, but she kept a large rock in there so that it would sink. She moved to the crank and began to turn with the little strength that she could muster. The bucket reached the top, and she pulled it onto the side. Grasping the top and bottom of the bucket, she poured it into the other bucket that was waiting on the ground. She dropped the bucket back into the well and reached down to take the now full bucket into the house when the next contraction hit. This one was even stronger than the last and did take her to her knees. As she curled around her middle in a ball on the ground, she could feel the melting snow around her quickly making her night dress soaking wet. Taking only a moment to breathe in relief when it passed, she got herself up off the ground and reached for the bucket. It lay leaning against the side of the well, tipped. She had knocked it over when she collapsed, but it had caught on one of the stones in the side of the well and only lost about half of its contents. It would have to do. She was sure now that she would not have enough time to get another pail of water from the well. She moved weakly into the house, barely able to carry only the meager half bucket of water. She closed the door and shivered, realizing for the first time that she was cold. She had walked out without putting on a coat or shoes. She had not felt a thing. Ignoring this thought, she set to work readying everything around her bed, knowing that the next contraction would not wait. She moved the basket of supplies, the bucket, cup, towels and blankets to the side of the bed. She moved to the other side of the room, and dragged the wooden cradle that she had traded her horse for a month ago. She made it to the side of the bed just as the next contraction hit. She fell onto the bed and tried to breathe through the pain. This time she felt an overwhelming urge to push. She knew that she needed just the time between this contraction and the next to finish getting ready. She resisted the urge, and pushed herself to a sitting position and then got out of bed. She pulled off her nightgown and laid it on the floor by the fire to dry. There was nowhere else to put it since all the regular drying spots were taken up by the freshly picked herbs. She lay down gingerly on the bed and brought the pillows up around the back of her so that she was supported in the right position to push. The contraction was on her before she was ready. This time she gave in to the feeling and pushed hard. She looked up and realized that she had forgotten to put the mirror on the end of the bed so that she could see what was going on. Once the contraction was finished, she panted for a second while her arm reached lazily, fingers touching things in the basket to identify them. Finally, they found the mirror and brought it up to hang on the end of the bed. She had tied twine on it at just the right length so that it would hang on the end of the bed, so she could see her baby being born. The next contraction started before she had a chance to catch her breath and she bore down and pushed with all her might. She had to remember not to scrunch up her eyes and watch what was happening in the mirror. She looked up to see the top of the baby's head. The contraction ended, and again she tried to catch her breath while her hand dropped over the side of the bed into the basket. This time she brought up the jar and took the sealed lid off. She fished out the twine, the needle and thread, and the knife. No sooner had she put them down, then the next contraction was on her. She was now exhausted and could hardly catch her breath. She pushed again. This time she felt the head push out with relief. She looked into the mirror and could see the baby's head and wrinkled red and purple brow. She curled up and, taking one of the cloths, she gently wiped the baby as clean as she could. There was very little time before the next contraction started, and she needed to push again. She lay back, the exhaustion on her like a heavy blanket weighing down her whole body. She could almost feel every ounce of her energy flowing out of her. She pushed again. This time it took less effort. The baby was soon free. She quickly leaned forward and picked up the tiny feet and hung the child upside down. Not a sound came from the baby. Her heart started to hammer in her chest. She used her finger to clear the baby's mouth and wipe away anything around the nose. The baby took a startled breath and opened its eyes in surprise, then let out a loud wail. With a little red face, she turned the screaming baby right side up and placed it on her belly while she worked quickly to tie off and cut the umbilical cord. Once that was done, she swaddled the newborn and held the baby close to let it suckle. She had a beautiful baby girl with blonde peach fuzz and big eyes. She was the picture of her father. It was her job now to protect this little one. She lay back on the pillows trying to regain some of her strength. Her energy was leaving her and that could only mean one thing. She knew what must happen now. There was not much time. She could rest for a short while, and then she would need to leave. She had picked out the perfect family to take care of her baby, but they were a two-day hike, and she knew that her energy would barely hold out for that long, but she had to make it. The next day, she swaddled the newborn and packed her up and headed out of the mountains. On the second day, she was barely able to put one foot in front of the other. If it were not for sheer willpower, she never would have made the journey. She knew she was at the pack border. She could go no further. She placed the note that she had written before she had left on the sleeping child bundled in the small basket. She walked just over the border to the well-worn path of the border guards and placed the basket down. She laid herself down beside the basket and let the pull take the last of her energy. She placed her hands on the tiny sleeping form and closed her eyes as she gave every last ounce of what she had to her tiny daughter. When the sunlight of midday shown through the trees, she closed her eyes and breathed out once more. Her form slowly turned to ash and floated away with the dust motes in the air from the sunlight, leaving her daughter and the hopes for her to grow up safe, in the hands of the strangers that she once feared.