Temperance

Temperance woke as soft rays of sunshine gleamed into her eyes. Her naked skin dripped with cool dew drops. She slowly rose to a sitting position, dark waves of hair falling over her exposed breasts. Her hazel eyes took in her surroundings, trees dancing silently in the breeze. Her gaze falling upon her spotted mare.

She rose to her feet, her back and legs imprinted with each individual blade of grass. Temperance gave the horse a kind smile as she pet it lovingly. The mare welcomed the affection with a quiet snort.

“Good girl,” she says in her almost too faint voice. She took her cloak from the mare’s bare back, slipping it over her shoulders. The wind whistled through her, casting goose pimples across her pale flesh. With a shiver, Temperance took the mare’s reins as she guided her away from their impromptu resting place.

She led her old gal out of the woods, one handing holding her cloak shut while the other held tight to the reins. She walked the longer way around her township, her cheeks flushed with a heated red as the thought of the men there seeing her this way. Not just the men, but the ladies too! Just think of the things they may say about her!

Temperance quickly tied her mare out behind her house, planting a kiss on its head. “Love you, Star,” she whispered before scurrying inside. As she stepped through the threshold, her skin warmed taking the chill from her toes. A sigh of relief escaped her lips.

Suddenly, a shift in the air caused her body to tense up. Beneath her cloak, she felt the crackling familiar intensity ebbing through her veins. “Don’t you dare!” a small voice shouted. “I’ll hex you, Temp!” Temperance rolled her eyes and turned slowly, hands still at the ready.

Standing before her was the angry form of a young ginger girl. Temperance poked her hands from beneath her cloak, magic discharged. A silly grin spread across Temperance’s cheeks. “It’s nice to see you too, Can-Can,” she replied teasingly.

The young girl’s cheeks burned, her freckles lost amongst the blush. “It’s Canitha,” the girl replied sternly, her eyes turning a fierce yellow. “My form may be young, but I am still older than you, Temperance.”

Temperance chuckled, giving Canitha a smirk. “You certainly don’t look it,” she teased.

Canitha rolled her eyes in response, stomping back up the stairs. “I curse Mathilda for this!” she shouted with a dull roar.

Temperance sighed heavily as she followed her to the second floor. She stepped into her room, dropping her cloak onto her bed as she searched for other clothes to don. A knock at the door made the two women jump.

Temperance covered herself as she peeked into down the hallway towards Canitha’s room. Canitha’s head poked out before she slowly began to step out, a wand in hand. “What are you going to do with that?” Temperance asked, her voice shaken. “Poke them to death?”

Canitha glared back at her friend. “Just because I cannot cast spells does not mean I won’t defend myself!” she responded, her eyes turning yellow again. The knocking continued, making both women jump again.

“Would you please just go answer the damn door? Seems a bit easier than committing murder, doesn’t it?”

Canitha shoved the wand down her boot as she made her way down the stairs while Temperance finished dressing. After fastening her top, she snatched her cloak up and hurged after Canitha, hoping she hadn’t impaled anyone.

Temperance froze on the steps at the sight of Canitha standing before a man of the cloth, looking paler than a ghost. She stepped between them, extending her hand. “I beg your pardon, sir. I don’t make it a habit to have my niece answer the door,” Temperance lied, forcing her voice to remain calm. “How may I be of service to you?”

The man looked Temperance over with a perverted eye and she felt Canitha’s glower through her backside. Canitha cleared her throat and the man’s gaze met Temperance’s. “Are you the lady of the house?” He asked politely, pretending that he wasn’t just gazing upon her body with pure lust in his eyes.

“Aye, she just said that,” sassed Canitha. Temperance reached a hand back, giving her a flash of magic. Canitha took the signal and proceeded to bite the inside of her cheek to keep her from saying anything further. The preacher paid no mind, his mind captivated by Temperance’s beauty.

“Yes, I am the woman of the house. My name is Temperance Withermoore,” she gestured to the child behind her. “This is my niece, Canitha.” Canitha upon hearing her name peered around her faux aunt’s back. The preacher smiled at her.

“She’s quite lovely,” he complimented. “I am sorry to bother you so early in the morning, but a member of our parish’s wife has gone into labor. I hear you’re a midwife of some kind?” Temperance nodded her head humbly, tightening her grip on her cloak.

“I am. Has her water broken?” The preacher nodded his head, an odd sort of smile spreading across his face.

“Yes, but she fears the baby may be stuck. Can you come?” He clasped his hands together tightly, knuckles turning white. The women can practically taste his unease in the air as he nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot.

Temperance nodded her head solemnly and hurried after the preacher towards one of the nicer houses in their township. The preacher bursted through the door, leading her up the stairs to the bedroom where a woman laid spread eagle on the bed. A few of the other women in the room shared frantic glances and panicked whispers as the preacher retreated from the room.

Temperance took a deep breathe and removed her cloak, discarding it to the floor with a faint thud. She reached out, running her hand along the engorged stomach. “Is my baby going to be alright?” the young woman asked. Their eyes met and Temperance sense all her fears and concerns for her unborn baby. She cleared her throat and gave the belly a soft pat.

“Yes,” Temperance whispered. “Your baby is going to be just fine.” She closed her eyes and concentrated, searching for the baby’s life force. She leaned over, planting a soft kiss. The infant responded by kicking causing for the mother to scream and Temperance to force back a smile. “I think he’s ready.”

Temperance shooed away the woman seated before the birthing mother, one hand never leaving the swelled belly. “You’re going to push now,“ she said her voice eerily calm amongst the nervous whispers.

“Don’t you need to make sure I’m fully dialated?” The worried mother-to-by asked skeptically. Temperance shook her head, tossing her hair behind her shoulder blades.

“I’ve delivered many babes in my time, Miss, please don’t be afraid. I promise you your baby is going to come out just fine.” Temperance carefully removed the blanket concealing the baby’s entrance into the world. She rubbed the mother’s knees, slowly breathing as she mentally repeated a spell her mother had taught her long ago. One of protection and pain relieving for the baby and mother. “Now, push.”

The woman’s screams of pain echoed through the house, making some of the ladies’ ears ring from the shrillness. Temperance watched as the baby’s head slowly began to appear and she held a blanket out, ready to wrap him in it. When the baby was out, Temperance held him tightly in the blanket as everyone waited with baited breath for the infant to cry out.

When he didn’t, Temperance’s body turned rigid. “What is it?” The mother asked, a friend taking her hand to keep her from sitting up. “What’s wrong with him? Why isn’t he crying?” Temperance stared at his paling face, her heart beginning to ache.

“Pardon me,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper before excusing herself from the room, the baby still in her arms. The mother and a few of the other women protested, but she ignored them as she hurried to another room just down the hallway.

Temperance sighed heavily and touched the infant’s cooling skin. She brought him close to her face, kissing his forehead as she took deep breaths. ‘Please, please come alive little one. Your mother is waiting to meet you,’ she thought to herself as she held him tighter. The babe began to wiggle in her arms, his lungs suddenly filled with air as he let out a piercing shrill scream.

She smiled lovingly at him, feeling a little weak at the amount of magic she was exerting during this delivery. She hurried back to the room, shushing him as they returned into the bedroom. The new mother shot up as Temperance walked in, eyes frantic.

Temperance bounced the newborn babe gingerly, giving her a kind smile. “He had a little fluid blocking his airway, but he’s alright now,” she said as she came over to her. She laid the baby on his mother’s chest as the mother began to weep tears of joy into her son’s soft head. “Oh and…it’s a boy.”

Other women in the room joined the mother in her joyous weeps, reaching out to touch the baby and pat Temperance on the back. “Good job,” some whispered before she turned, scooping her cloak up before exiting the room. She attempted to sneak out but the frantic call of the new father stopped her in her tracks.

“Yes, sir?” She slipped her cloak around her shoulders and folded her hands in front of her.

“My…my wife is she…?” The man trailed off, expecting the worse. Temperance gave him a sweet smile.

“Your wife and son are going to be just fine, sir. You may want to hurry up and greet him before everyone else has gotten to hold him,” she replied sweetly. The man’s eyes widened with joy and without another word, he hurried up the stairs with excited exclamations bubbled from his lips.

She hurried from the house, and upon arriving home, she was met by Canitha’s judging gaze. “You’ve got to quit doing that,” she said with a stern voice.

“Stop what?”

“Don’t be dense, Temperance. You can’t give your life essence to those who’s is fleeting. You either let them die or you let them pass and-”

“You know how I feel about playing God, Canitha.”

“How is bringing them back any different than what you did today?”

“I wasn’t going to let his life essence leave! So I gave him a sliver of mine to strengthen his. What’s the big deal?”

“There’s another way to-”

“I refuse to dabble in the dark arts, Canitha! You knew this when you came to live with me. No dark magic. No sacrifices. No disrespecting my rules in my home!”

“Your mother was one of the most powerful witches in this world. Do you really think she didn’t bring back a few people from the dead in order to increase the happiness of others?”

“If I had resurrected that baby, he wouldn’t have been himself. He wouldn’t have been who he was meant to be.”

“That’s better than being dead if you ask me!”

“Enough!” Temperance finally shouted, causing some frames on the walls to shake. Her eyes were a vivid purple. “I don’t want to hear another word about this. The baby is okay and that is all I care about. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am going to rest up before someone else needs a baby delivered.”

She stalked up the stairs, leaving Canitha standing in the hallway. She collapsed onto her bed, the world seeming to spin as if on a top before her very eyes. Pure exhaustion overtook her body and she began to snore.