I.V. New Life

Life was pretty good at the moment for the Silverthorn family. Rebecca's stomach was swelling by the day and William seemed pretty happy too. The summer was long and their child would be born before it's end. Of course, there wouldn't be much summer left after that. Fall was coming and Winter after that.

A month prior there had been a huge announcement; the Queen had given birth to a son, the Crowned Prince Abner. It made Rebecca feel a little safer, they would be focused on the growth of their son rather than hunting down herself and William.

William loved the fact that she was carrying a child and often spoke to her tummy, listening for answers after. He was going to adore their child, she knew that much and she found some peace during her pregnancy. They both did. While they both worked very hard to earn money, they were doing it for more than themselves now. Now they were trying to earn money to help their child. The sooner they could buy their freedom, the better.

That night, they decided to camp out on the abandoned beach, far from where most people lived. William set up the tent for her and scouted the area, making sure that no one was around. He didn't want her to become uncomfortable, especially with her due date any day now.

In fact, on this rainy night, she felt the first of the contractions, forcing her awake. She grabbed at her stomach, surprised her little one wanted to be born so soon. It felt like only yesterday she was telling William that she was expecting.

"William! Will! Wake up! He's coming! He's coming!"

William was up in a flash, packing their tent and leading her off the beach to a nearby forested area. She would be more comfortable there and they were less likely to be seen or heard by anyone who might be lingering nearby.

William hurried to light a fire so that she and the baby wouldn't be cold or uncomfortable. She could only try and keep quiet. Though they were in the dark and the night was quiet and no one was around, she didn't want to risk alerting anyone.

In the early morning hours, she gave birth to a daughter that she named Claire. Claire was quiet and soon went right to sleep, almost as soon as she was born. Rebecca was just as exhausted as her daughter seemed to be. William set their tent back up and the three of them crawled inside, ready to fall asleep at last, In the morning, she figured, they would think about things some more, including how they were going to take care of Claire despite their lack of home,

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Fishing with their daughter wasn't as hard as she thought it might be. She set her under the closest thing to a shelter they had and she walked only a few feet away. She wanted to keep close, though she figured that Claire would be safe enough.

She would sleep peacefully as her mother and father worked on catching fish or finding stones or flowers upon the ground. Sometimes they would just walk, one of them holding her in their arms. Claire was the greatest thing that had happened to them. They both agreed on that.

William was willing to fish all night if it meant that he could drop their Outlaw status so his daughter could sleep indoors by winter. While the summer was still upon them, he and Rebecca both feared the coming winter. Food would be hard to come by and it would become impossible to fish. It was a frightening reality. But it was the one they had to live with, Their lives would not improve unless they made them so.