Woot, hey, new text! That took quite a while, but I'm suffering from Writer's Block at the moment (or well, 'desire to do anything' block would be more accurate). Anwyay, this doesn't have anything to do with ToI, but I couldn't resist once I had the idea. Not quite satisfied with how it came out but meh... you've gotta just go on sometimes.
Here comes!
***
The baby wailed. He put every inch of his tiny lungs into his screams, stopping only to catch his breath. He cried on and on, his shrill voice echoing through the rich manor's corridors and halls. The sound reached out to every living being in the house. Cats hid under sofas and bookshelves while fish swam towards the bottom of their aquarium. The exotic birds flew around their cage and answered the scream with their own screeches. The servants moved about with hands on their ears, cursing after the newly born baby. He had been on this earth for only two days now and they already found him unbearable.
The nurse hired to keep watch over him tried every trick she had. She spent her entire days with the baby, cuddling and cooing him. Sometimes he stopped crying for a minute or two and everyone – servants and noble alike – would heave out of relief. It never lasted. The moment she put him back down in his cradle, he wailed again and there was nothing she could have done to make him stop again.
The good nurse was a dedicated person, however, and she spent days and night attempting to ease the newly born baby's crying. She fed him often – more than would normally be advised, but at least he could not yell when he drank – and wrapped him in a warm and soft blanket. His clothes were always completely clean and indeed the baby seemed to like the fresh scent of recently-washed fabric. He would sniff for a few seconds before crying once more, reaching out for the nurse.
Every second of her time was devoted to the baby. When no new ideas would come to her, she would sit in a rocking chair next to the cradle and wait. She rocked herself back and forth endlessly. Her thick body would move forward and backward at the same rhythm than the baby's cries. He screamed and rocked forward. He took a deep breath and she went back. Soon, she grunted with his cries. His wailings regulated her life entirely. His wailings were her life.
Yet she did not understand why he would not stop. Normal babies would sleep after their meals, not cry until their throats grew parched. Normal babies would reach for her fingers and giggle when she brought her hand close, not roll away and yell harder. Normal babies were adorable and people gathered around to watch him, not little pests that made everyone flee. This wasn't a normal baby, though, and the nurse knew it. It had been crying for one hundred ninety two hours without stop. The wailing drove her crazy. It had to stop. She would make it stop.
With a grim determination, the nurse picked the tiny bundle of clothes in which the baby was. It stopped crying to stare at her but she ignored him and headed straight for the balcony. As soon as they'd stepped outside, the minuscule human let his lungs loose once more. The nurse grunted angrily and moved to the railing. She stretched her arms in front of her, holding the baby by the armpits. His blankets fell off, slowly twirling down the two stories.
As it touched the ground, the baby shut up. He looked at the nurse, his wide blue eyes filled to the rim with tears. His lips stopped trembling and he giggled happily, tiny fingers grasping for her larger hands. The nurse stared at him as he cooed and smiled. It was one of the most beautiful babies she had seen in her entire life. She brought it back, wondering how – even for a single second – she could have thought of dropping it over the railing.
Then the baby began crying. It had to stop. She would make it stop. She could make it stop. The nurse put the baby down and brought her hands to her ears, but it was not enough to block off the sound. It had to stop. She would make it stop. She could make it stop. With a final grunt, the nurse jumped over the railing.
The crying stopped as she hit the ground.
Although he was alone on the balcony without a blanket to protect me, the newborn had indeed stopped wailing. He could hear alarmed cries from below. He could hear people running around, some screaming. He did not understand the commotion. He did not know what had caused the mansion's attention to divert away from him. He didn't like it. Taking in a deep breath, the baby cried out again.
Someone indeed came. Delicate hands picked him back up and brought him into a cream-white robe. It was soft velvet and the tiny baby grabbed it and clung to the breasts behind, his mouth close into a smile of satisfaction. Long blonde hair cascaded around him. This was a warm and comfortable place to be.
“No need to cry, Fezim,” a voice said, rather annoyed. “You caused quite a mess, darling, but you will be fine. We will find you a new nurse.”
The baby giggled and looked up at the woman's face. She had a long and delicate nose, as well as thin lips and a sickly pale skin. She looked down on him with only a weak, disinterested smile and put him down in the cradle. He sniffed loudly and stared up at her, eyes wide.
“Well, aren't those pretty blue eyes?” she said, her smile widening slightly. “I bet they'll turn grey like your father's.”
The woman then turned around and walked away. When her form left his sight, Fezim Aulm took a deep breath in and cried out. The baby wailed – again.
