Chapter 1

• -1-
• Redrey's POV
• I gritted my teeth as a wave of agony rippled through my belly. Each contraction caused me to move into the fetal position. The affliction is getting stronger, seemingly lasting longer as the time between the cramping grows closer. My body tensed! Automatically, I try to close off the back of my throat. I gritted down on the sheet that was in my mouth. Still, the cry of agony slipped out despite my efforts to suppress it. The discomfort was relentless, an unbearable force tearing through me, leaving me breathless and trembling.
• The moment I was brought to the dungeons, I feared that something would happen before I could leave this place. I tried every rise and fall of the moon to comfort my worried mind. I could sense that something was gravely amiss. The tightness in my chest chewed at me, always clawing at the edges of my mind.
• Another contraction paused my thoughts. I desperately wanted to scream out for the guards, to plead with them to summon a doctor. If not for my own sake, but for the delicate life fighting to emerge from within me. "Don't bother Redrey! Their indifference is colder than the winter winds!" I spoke my thoughts out loud.
• Closing my eyes, I rode the wave of labour pains, trying to listen to anything that would distract me from the hardship of childbirth; I had no choice but to endure alone.
• The muffled sounds of the fortress beyond felt distant. Haunting even! The world had shrunk to this single moment, and the stakes were higher than I could ever imagine. In the stillness, I listened to the sound of my heartbeat. A rhythm that was faster than before. Yet, it allowed me to know I was still alive and going strong.
• Lying on my side, I waited for the pain to return. I wondered how much time had passed. With each surge of pain, I found myself mentally counting the contractions. I realized that I had already endured twelve of these agonizing episodes. As the intensity increased with each episode. Disquieted, I wondered again if I should call for a doctor, if only to ensure the well-being of my baby. Yet, sadly, as swiftly as that thought emerged, I pushed it away. I understood the unspoken rules of this place. I had no choice but to swallow my concerns. This was my punishment for an accusation I had not committed. I was to give birth to a child alone, in a cell that was as uncomfortable as they could make it without endangering the unborn child.
• Only on the date I was scheduled to give birth would a doctor come to check on the condition of the unborn child. Once the assessment was completed, the doctor would leave. The door would be closed, and I would have to endure this by myself. A guard would stand outside my cell door. Only when they hear the infant's cries will the door be opened. I would be taken straight to the five brothers. There, I would be released from my sentence and sent to wherever they wished me to go.
• The light above my head emitted a constant, low hum. In my mind, the low hum had become a small voice of encouragement, letting me know that this was almost over and that I would be released from my confinement.
• The lights were never turned off. They were deliberately designed to mess with my mind and distort my senses. In truth, they had worked to a degree! I was hearing voices that weren't there, losing my mind to the intense brightness. However, losing my sense of time, that was something I had not lost. Unlike other girls, my father had educated me. Something no one knew of.
• The food was delivered twice a solar day, nourishment for the growing infant. I had kept count of all the meals I had been given. After receiving twenty-three meals, divide that by two; I have been in the cell for eleven solar days and a bit.
• The solid metal door was always sealed and locked. Severing any connection, I might have had with the outside world. It had a narrow slot in the middle, covered by a hatch when not in use. This served as the sole way for my food trays to reach me. Twenty-three times, I thanked the person who gave me the food, regardless of whether I could see them. I would not hear a word, only the sound of a cart being pushed. Letting me know that the other prisoners would also be receiving their meals.
• Placing a hand on my swollen belly, I reminded myself several times that this could only last for so long. Telling myself that women give birth every solar day... successfully. I'm just being paranoid about a natural occurrence.
• Bracing myself, I could feel the tightening of my sides, seeking relief on the thin straw bed. Resting my head against the rough texture, I placed a trembling hand on my forehead. My temperature was rising. The cool floor no longer gives me comfort. The cramping gets stronger as I brace myself for yet another flood of pain that will crash through my abdomen, challenging my ability to remain quiet.
• This time, the agony radiated up my back and to my shoulders. Clenching the wool blanket, I held my breath. I buried my face into its coarse, itchy fibres, muffling my groans. The tightness slowly eased away. My breaths came in short gasps. No matter how many times I tried to think positively. I feared for the safe arrival of my child, praying that strength would find me in this moment of what I considered my doom.
• My thoughts drifted to the five brothers. I bitterly laughed at the irony of this. They promised to protect me.
• Gifted to them as a sign of peace from my twin sister's husband. I had been dragged from the harem, which I was all too glad to leave. To this land where the warlords ruled with an iron fist. The five brothers took the peace offering, making me their gifted wife. Adding to the ranks already designed.
• I did not once complain, as I completed all the tasks assigned to me. I was quiet, compliant, and obedient. For this, the brothers whispered words of safeguarding and a life that would bring me abundance.
• A single tear rolled down my face as I lay my head on the bed. "And here I am! Framed for a crime I had not committed." I coldly whispered to myself. They believed their first wife without allowing me to say a word in my defence. She claimed I had stolen a pendant, the very first gift the eldest brother had given her. I tried to speak, yet the first wife's words were spoken louder, and I was overshadowed without a second thought.
• I can still hear her shrieks and cries as she pointed her finger at me. They dragged me to the dungeons, disregarding my pleas for the safety of the unborn child.
• I can not let things end this way. I have to try to save the life of this wee one. With weak arms, I push myself up to a sitting position. I can now feel warm liquid between my legs. Lifting the hem of my tattered dress that was once teal in colour, I placed my hand between my legs. Covered with a sticky, warm liquid, I brought my hand to my face. I could hear my heart picking up. Shifting my body to my feet, I could see the blood oozing down my leg and dripping onto the floor.
• I glanced over at the door, willing for no tears to fall. Reacting would only be received with unanswered silence. Slowly walking over to the door. Pounding on it, “The baby is coming!” I bellowed with fear clear in my tone. "Please, someone help me!" Looking back at the trail of blood from the bed to the door. Where I stood, blood still oozed from the womb, dripping onto the floor.
• I leaned my head on the door, praying they would send a doctor. The whole time I had been locked up here, I did not cry. I refused to beg. Even though I had done nothing, I took the punishment with my head held high.
• I listened as a set of feet pounded the floor, heading toward my door. I had to think positively. 'They wouldn't endanger an unborn child! This is their blood that grows inside of me!'
• I heard the heavy footsteps getting closer. I backed away so the guard could see me. I waited silently with a pleading expression on my face. A grizzly man glared at me with yellow eyes; his breath smelled as if he had just finished licking his arse. “Your date of giving birth isn’t scheduled for tosolar day!” He slammed the hatch shut.
• I shouldn't have been shocked, yet I was. I leaned my back on the door, and psychotically, I began to laugh as if the birth of a child was solely granted for one solar day after generations of females giving birth to sons and daughters. Early arrivals and stubborn little ones who don't want to leave the warmth of their mother's womb. How can one be denied proper care for only one date?
• Biting the inside of my mouth, I gritted down as the pain was worse than the others before. I braced myself, knowing it would only last for so long. Cautiously, I plotted out my next move. I knew that I would receive no aid. Only when the cries of a child are heard would they believe me. That is when I will be released from this prison and allowed to rejoin the other eleven wives.
• I know I will be made to kneel on my knees and beg their first wife for redemption. Swearing that I have learned my lesson and will never repeat my actions. If I am lucky, the first wife will not take my baby from me as compensation.
• That thought alone was more than enough to allow the tears to roll down my face. Leaving a string of wetness, proof of the emotional turmoil I have to bear.
• Placing my hand on the side of my rounded belly, I could feel my baby kick; it was weaker than it had been yestersolar day. He or she was trying to get out but was stuck and unable to emerge into this world properly. Slowly, one foot in front of the other, I wobbled over to the straw bedding. An unsettling thought occurred to me. The alarming thought that had been nagging me came to the forefront of my mind. One hand on each side of my belly. I felt for my baby's position.
• In the back of my mind, reality was the only thing that remained. I knew then we were not going to make it out of this cell alive. I had limited knowledge of birthing. But I knew one thing, the baby's head was to be the first to come out of the birth canal. My baby was lying sideways. I could tell by the position of the head and the little kick. Without proper medical care, my baby would be stuck in me.
• Any hope I had was gone. I could care less now, with the straws poking into my skin. I lay down. I placed both my hands on my belly. With tears in my eyes, I whispered the song my father once sang to me as a child.
• I had come to the decision, and with each contraction, I would not hold back the shrieks of agony. I already know the guards will ignore every sound that comes from the cell. Or maybe they will get annoyed enough and barge in through the door, seeing the blood on the floor. My baby might have a chance at life. Or maybe the guards will only come through the doors when the screaming stops. With my lifeless body lying on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding me.
• “One hundred times!” The back of my throat bobbed as I sarcastically laughed. I hissed as the beginning of a contraction started. "This will mark one hundred times!"
• There was pounding on the door as a guard yelled at me to shut up. I no longer cared about being obedient. I continued to laugh at the mockery of everything that was happening around me.
• I stopped laughing as I leaned my head further back into the bedding. Gritting my teeth, I hissed loudly as the pain radiated throughout my whole body. I can feel the warmth of my lifeline pooling underneath my hips. Closing my eyes, I beg and plead in my mind for all of this to end. No more pain! No more reliving this nightmare! I pleaded with the Creator to end my misery once and for all. Loosening up the hold in the back of my throat, I screamed a blood-curdling sound that would make anyone pale in complexion.
• Avoidance was the response to my screams of suffering.
• Time slips by, as it always does.
• I can no longer feel the movement of my baby. The beating of my heart slows down. I have no fear or pain! Only emptiness is there. The last bit of air slips past my lips, signalling my death.
• My spirit stood there, gazing at the empty shell of what had been. Recalling all of my one hundred deaths. Each of them was different from the one before, but one thing remained, I would wake up in my parents' home as a child.
• I have yet to understand it! Why do I relive this life over and over? I have tried desperately to break the wheel. Thus far, I am the only one who remembers everything. The main events that occur repeatedly. The cruelty of my twin sister and the one she marries. I can never escape it!
• My mind drifts to the five brothers. I want to hate them, desperately I do! But I place all the blame on myself. What a fool I was! I allowed them to make me feel safe, secure, and wanted, believing that this would break the fate that had been given to me. It's a curse to die and repeat everything over again.
• What a cruel mistress fate is!
• I could not resist it. I giggled, not a kind of humour as if a joke had been spoken. But out of a mark of bitterness! After hours of screaming until, my throat was raw. With no life in this cell. This is when the guard opened the hatch and bellowed that my meal was here.
• The same guard who told me my birthing date was not scheduled for tosolar day. With no response from me, I listened to the jingling of the keys as the solid door was unlocked. Muttering words that I could not understand. I watched the guard holding the tray of food take one step in. As quickly as he took a step in, he left, leaving the door wide open.
• In the blink of an eye, I find myself before the five brothers. They're joking around, chattering with each other. It was clear that they had not yet received the news.
• Turning my head to the ruckus. The thundering of feet bounced off the stone walls as three warriors came rushing into the area. Quickly, they bowed their heads, showing their respect. With their heads lowered, they informed the five brothers of the situation the guard had told them. "Your gifted wife has gone into labour."
• The eldest of the brothers angrily stood to his feet. Declaring that it was too early for me to give birth to their child. "The doctor had explicitly stated that the date was to come in 7 moons." He muttered, "Just another lie of hers ... leave her where she is!"
• It was clear he still had resentment towards me; that was a bitter drink I could swallow; I was used to that type of pain.
• The warrior stuttered as he explained what the guard had told him. "The Gifted Wife had been screaming for some time." He kept his head lowered as he continued to speak. "Knowing that the scheduled date was not near. The guards had left her believing she was lying."
• I snorted out a bitter laugh as I placed a hand over my mouth. The warrior had not gotten to the part where, in a cell located in their dungeon, lay the body of the woman they swore to protect. And with her, the body of an infant that could not reach this world.
• The eldest brother, still enraged over my supposed disobedience, scoffed, "If she has gone into labour, where is she?" He wanted to know why they hadn't brought me here with the child in my arms.
• "My lords, after hours of the Gitfed Wife's screams ... everything had stopped!" I watched as the warrior nervously found the words to break the news to the five brothers. Letting them know that there would be no extension to their bloodline and that their Gifted Wife would not meet their presence again.
• I would never know the reactions to the five brothers, nor would I find out if the news of my passing would invoke an emotion. The light was small at first, and the words were muffled in the distance; all I could see was a blinding light. I held my breath, praying that fate would grant me mercy and I would no longer have to repeat this over again.