The Hyperboreans (working title) chapter 5 rough draft

The marathon

Boreas stayed by Choine’s side as she labored through the night. The early contractions where easy, easy enough to talk.

“Ah! At last, Boreas. They are coming. I’m afraid but...my desire to have them out of me outweighs my fear. It’s been...so long.”

Boreas rubbed her vast belly with his cool hands. “Indeed. I am so proud of you, dear one. This has been a labor worthy of Herakles. And you have borne it, with grace and courage, with many trials. Only one trial now remains.”

“...the greatest yet…” Another pain seized her. They were still far apart, but getting stronger. She closed her eyes and breathed through it, as Boreas held her hand.

“You will conquer this as well, dear one. Your journey has not gone unnoticed by the gods, and they will be watching. And I will always be near.” He looked away in sadness. “Though...I am no midwife. The mortals will learn of your birth pangs, and attend to you. And when they come...I must hide myself.”

Choine’s face fell. Months ago, she would have broke down on hearing that. But now, she nodded. “I know. You can’t reveal yourself. But...will you be with me all the same?”

“Have no doubt of it, Choine. Though I will be invisible to you, I will help and defend you all I am able.”

“Good. I think I will need it.”

A pause from Boreas. “I have...pondered the words of the prophecy. It’s ending line: that my sons will fly over the mountains, and be unknown to men. I know not if that means that they shall fly themselves, or be taken. And if taken, by me, or another who will steal them away? This is still a puzzlement to me. All I can tell you is what I desire: that when this is over, I shall take you all with me to my domain, in Thrace. It is beyond the mountains, far to the north. There I will make you my wife, and an immortal. I need never leave your side nor hide from you then. We can fly whenever we wish to Hyperborea, the land of forever spring, where even my touch brings neither frost nor cold. A place of perfection, where our sons can be raised in peace, and we can be happy for all time.”

Choine put a loving hand on his cheek. “May fate grant us such an ending, my love.”

She kissed him. And then did more than kiss. In between contractions, Boreas comforted her with sex. His great penis could no longer go in as far as it did: her womb was descending, her canal shortening, her cervix softening and thinning. Hours of this: pain, then pleasure, then pain. Each time, the interval got shorter, and the contractions got stronger and more painful. Boreas conjured chunks of ice in his hand, and she sucked on them as the pangs squeezed her tighter and tighter.

Dawn came, and Choine was struggling not to cry out. If she did, people would hear, and Boreas would have to go. She wanted to keep him by her side as long as possible. She squinched her eyes shut, sucked on her ice, sweated, and seethed. The times between contractions were getting too short for sex, and she knew that soon even that comfort would soon be gone. When her belly relaxed again, as she lay on her side, she raised up a leg and invited her god in one more time. She implored him to make it a good one. He obliged her, taking hold of that leg and sliding his godly cock home between her folds. He pistoned her, blew on her gently with a cool breath, enough to give her goosebumps and cause her dark nipples to stand on end. With his free hand, he played with her chin, her breast, her belly, her clitoris. Choine moaned, tried to savor it, knowing it might be the last before hours of torture. It the first time she wanted love making to be over quickly, before another birth pang gripped her in a vice.

But no. As the hormones, waves of pleasure, and her god’s manhood surged through her, another contraction began. Her moans took on another quality. What was this? Her pain and her pleasure built up together, in a way that was both horrible and incredible.

“Ohhhhhh, Boreas! It’s so ah, ah, AIEE—”

Both her contraction and her orgasm peaked at once, in an explosion of sensation too intense for reason, and she could hold in a cry no longer.

“—EEEEYYYAAAAAAAAAH!”

Footsteps tramped quickly up the ramp. “My lady! What’s wrong? Is it time?”

Choine opened her eyes. Boreas had disappeared. All she saw was Phoebe, who beheld her lady laying on her side, naked and leaking from her vagina. Her waters had broken. Tears burned in Choine’s eyes, from the pain and from knowing that she was on her own now.

“...yes Phoebe. It is time. Get the midwife.”

Her rooftop home got hot and crowded, as the midwife and a flock of assistants filled the space. They fed her potions, powders, extracts they said would help relieve the pain and speed up labor. They made appeals to Hera, to Artemis, to bless the birth and give strength to the mother. None of those appeals mattered to Choine: as the contractions gripped her over and over, she grit her teeth and tried to remember that her Boreas was near and to not be afraid.

The sun rose. And then it set again. Choine and the midwifery team sweat together. They paced with her, helped her go to the toilet, mopped her brow, told her that she was doing great, and supported her as she moaned long and loud as the contractions gripped her.

They checked inside between her legs at sunset. And in the evening. And at midnight. Every time, the midwife shook her head and let Choine labor. Assistants came and went, to eat and get a few hours of rest. But there was no rest for Choine. Over and over, her enormous womb seized up, her body broke out in a sweat, tears formed in her eyes, and she moaned.

Dawn broke again the following day, and Choine’s moans turned into screams. Her belly, it felt like it was being stabbed! Her lower back, it felt like it was being crushed! Her cervix, it felt like it was being stung by jellyfish! When these new contractions passed, she sobbed.

“Please...oh gods, no more...where are you, Boreas? Why have you forsaken me?”

“Be calm, my lady,” said the midwife. “This is the transition to the next stage. It will pass quickly.”

“Quickly” turned out to be all morning. Screaming, sobbing. She cried out more than once for death to take her. But Hades was not so merciful. On and on, Choine screamed.

And then as the sun reached its peak, the pain died down. Choine wept for joy. These contractions were like bellyaches compared to the last ones! When these ones came, she still moaned...and then she grunted.

“Do you feel pressure, my lady?” asked the midwife.

“Yes...oh yes. So much pressure, deep down inside…”

“Resist it the best you can. You are not yet ready. Blow instead, like this—”

Choine blowed like the bellows, as she fought the urge to bear down. She grew enraged at the midwife as the waves of unbearable pressure kept coming, and she continuously told her, not yet, not yet, not yet!

Come on, you goat, she raged inside. My babies want to come out! I have been carrying these children for 15 months, I have been 5 months overdue, and laboring for nearly 2 days! Let me bear them out, and be done!

As the sun started to come down again, at last: “You are dilated.”

Choine’s heart leapt with joy, then sank with apprehension. It was finally time. Time to get in the chair.

It took all the assistants to lift her and her giant belly into the chair. They set the back so it was upright. They set her legs in the rests, in a normal sitting position. They adjusted the arms so that her own arms rested on them comfortably. She grabbed the handles. She felt the breeze pass over her genitals through the opening in the bottom. She remembered that Boreas was near, and her sons needed her. She took a deep breath in...and let it out. She was ready.

“Very good my lady,” smiled the midwife. She turned to her assistants. “Stay focused now girls! This is a day you should always remember. You are about to watch gods be born!”

She turned back to Choine. “Alright, I see a contraction coming my lady, do you feel the pressure?”

“Yes I do.”

“Then take a deep breath in with me now...hold it...feel that pressure build...and PUSH! Push down, my lady!”

Choine squeezed the handles tight, and pushed. She bore down with the enormous pressure, and it was oh, so satisfying! To push that pressure away felt intense, exciting! Her magnificent belly flexed, and became solid and erect. A monument of straining muscle.

“That’s it, hold it! Keep going!”

She kept pushing. Her face went dark, and her teeth bared. She felt both great pain, and great power.

“Harder, harder now!”

She let out her breath, her chest rose and fell with exertion.

“Can you do another? Give me another if you can.”

She took a breath and strained again, a quick shove, before the contraction broke and her belly sank back down.

“Good effort, my lady! But you’re pushing a little too much with your face. Relax your bottom and thighs, focus your power down, and let your baby come.”

“I...understand.”

“Rest now, until the next contraction comes.”

She did, her heart was happy. And when the next one came, she took another breath and pushed again. She focused the power in her belly down, and felt the enormous mass in her pelvis shift down.

The chair was a marvel. It let her shift positions at will. She brought up her legs in a squat, and vigorously pushed down many times that way. She tried raising and lowering the handles, to get the best leverage: she pushed high; she pushed medium; she pushed low. They leaned her back slightly and gave her the rope: she seized it, her feet came back, and she heaved on it with a yell of effort.

But it was taking a long time. The sun set again, the moon rose, and while Choine she was bearing down heroically, it was clear that something was wrong. The baby was not coming out. They tried all kinds of positions, and angles. They lay her on her back and made her put her chin to her chest. They got her out of the chair, and made her squat down. They lay her on on her side and lifted a leg. They had her pull on a rope while standing. Then while squatting. Then they got her back in the chair. As hours passed, the midwife’s encouragement began to be less gentle.

“Come on, Choine! These weak pushes are not getting us anywhere, you need to give it all you have, or we’ll be here all night! Don’t be lazy!”

“I’m...trying…!”

“You’ve got to do better! On this next one, I want you to give me a proper push! Breathe in! 3-2-1-Push!...Harder!...Harder I said!”

The moon began to set again. Over and over, she did what she was told and bore down as hard as she could. Choine grunted, moaned, groaned, and her massive belly rose and fell like the tide. As she pushed. And pushed. And pushed.

“Come on, Choine!” the midwife barked, as Choine’s teeth clenched and her whole body shook with the strain. “Is this the best you can do? You’re pushing out a god! Act like it! All you got! Down! Down! Harder!”

The birds began to chirp at the coming of the dawn. When she rested between contractions, she had trouble staying awake. How long has she been doing this? She couldn’t remember. It seemed to have no end. Her bottom felt so full of something, and she just couldn’t get it out no matter how hard she tried. She had to recover her strength...after a quick nap...only for a contraction to wake her again.

“Stay with me! We can’t have your babies for you! You’ve got to work! Find the power! Push again! Come on, again! PUSH!”

“—nnnnnAAAAAAAAAHHH--”

As the sun rose on the third day, Antigonos came up the ramp to see what was taking so long. He saw a rooftop full of assistants, lying exhausted where they could. The midwife sat on a stool with her head in her hands. And Choine, still vast and pregnant as a whale, lay lax, semi-conscious, and panting in the chair. A pool of blood was growing under her.

Antigonos cleared his throat, and the midwife stirred awake. She looked up at him and shook her head in resignation.

“She isn’t doing well. Each child is over twice the size of an ordinary baby. And I think this first one is facing up. If she’s part divine perhaps we can keep at it, but…”

Antigonos nodded. Then went to Choine’s side. She turned wearily to look at him.

“Antigonos...it’s taking...longer than I thought…”

“I know, Choine,” he soothed. “It’s alright. You have done your part, and then some.”

He put her hand on her belly, huge and drenched in sweat, and patted it appreciatively.

“You have grown them big and strong. They will be mighty gods indeed. You have done well.”

Choine’s eyes widened, and her blood ran cold.

“I’m not done yet! I’m giving birth to them, right now! Why are you even up here? You’re not supposed to be here!”

“Someone must make sure that the prophecy comes to pass, and the divine children arrive as foretold. I am sorry, but it seems the task is too much for you. I must make sure that the sons of Boreas are saved.”

“No! Don’t touch me! I can do it! I swear!”

Antigonos gave that same smug expression that Choine always hated when he was still his boss.

“Then I would like to see it. I never seen a birth before, and certainly not one of a trio of gods. Go on then, bring them forth. I will watch.”

Choine’s insides recoiled as he sat down and gazed at her privates. Her faced burned with outrage.

“How dare you! I am still the consort of Boreas! The head of this temple! You dare threaten me! I—OOOHH--”

“Hush, Choine, it seems another birth pain has taken hold of you. Use it, if you can, and show me what you can do. I will wait.”

Her anger gave her a burst of strength. She would show him...She seized the handles on her chair fiercely. She panted until the contraction peaked in strength. She took a deep breath...and HEAVED.

“mmmmmmmmmmMMMMMMMNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Choine fell back, breathing hard. The midwife raised a finger timidly. “You’re letting your breath out, my lady.”

“SHUT UP!” Another deep inhalation, and another HEAVE.

“HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRHHHHH! HA, HA! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGUUUUH!”

She felt she had enough contraction for one more push, and prepared to make it count. She drew up her legs, put her chin to her breasts, squeezed the handles tight, focused on her lower belly...and HEAVED!

“hmmmmmmmmmmmmMMMMNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—”

Not far from the temple, Hylonome was leaning against a wall, grimacing as she heard the grunting screams of Choine from the temple roof. The entire town could hear them, and had been hearing them for days. Everyone knew it was the Sacred Mother finally giving birth to her giant godly children, and that she was struggling mightily to do it. Few could work while her cries echoed over the town. The people prayed, and made sacrifices to the goddesses so that the 3 sons might be successfully delivered, and all would be well.

Hylonome did not pray much. She only held vigil, about as long as she could stand it. She kept leaving and coming back, and her friend still kept screaming up there. Poor, poor woman! She must be really having a hard time getting those kids out. Hylonome knew they must have gotten pretty big. Was she going to die? If prophecies and the love of gods was worth a damn, she was supposed to be alright. But...she didn’t know. And there was nothing she could do about it.

A blast of cold wind hit her out of nowhere, and she shivered. It was sudden, and somehow...ominous. It gave her a bad feeling. A wind that gave forebodings.

She turned to the temple. The noise had stopped. Something was wrong.

On the roof, Choine and her belly sagged in the chair after a round of furious pushing, gasping, spent. Another trickle of blood dripped from her bottom. Antigonos yawned.

“Well, that was very loud, and dramatic. But I don’t see any babies. Did she make progress? Check her, please.”

The midwife peered into Choine’s vagina. “Some. But not much.”

Antigonos stood, satisfied. “It seems that you are an unworthy vessel. We can wait no longer.”

He leaned in close to Choine and whispered: “I too, have been waiting a long time for this. Because of you, I lost my reputation. My station. My calling. Your ungrateful, whoring ways have taken it all away from me. But now, I will fulfill the prophecy. I will please Boreas by saving his children. And I will please myself, for finally getting rid of you.”

He produced a knife, and raised it in the air. It’s edge caught the morning sun. A flash of bronze!

But then, a sound. A scuffle, and exchange of oaths from somewhere down below. And then the sound of thundering hoofbeats trammeling up the ramp. On the upper landing, Hylonome skidded to a stop, a shortbow drawn and aimed right at Antigonos’ face.

“I knew it!” snarled the centaurine.

“Wait!--”

She did not wait. She loosed her arrow, and it went THUNK right into the traitor’s nostril. He dropped his knife, and fell dead in a heap. Hylonome tossed down her bow, and with a grunt, lifted the old man’s corpse over her head, and with a savage yell, threw it over the railing and off the edge of the cliff.

Breathing heavily, she turned her attention to Choine. “Are you alright? Did he do anything?”

“No...but he wanted to kill me and take my babies…”

“He won’t be doing that anymore.” She looked Choine’s bloated body up and down, and whistled. “Damn! These kids have not been making it easy for you, huh?”

Choine chuckled weakly. “No...no they have not.”

“Doctor, how’s she doing?”

The whole midwifery team was now wide awake and petrified after seeing a man try to murder his own high priestess with a knife, then get murdered himself and thrown off the roof. But the midwife, the coolest of the bunch, recovered first.

“I’m uh, not a doctor. But the babies are very large and progress is slow. Her ladyship is very resilient, but I fear that at this rate, she or her children, or both, are in danger.”

“Hylonome!” called Choine. She reached her hand out to Hylonome, and she took it. “If...things go badly...and fate is not kind to me after all...I ask you to do what Antigonos tried to do by force...please...save my sons…”

Hylonome squeezed that hand and gave her friend a hopeful smile.

“Don’t you talk that way. It’s not so bad as all that. I mean I know it’s easy for me to say but...I think I got this useless reverse wind machine downstairs that might not be so useless after all. You rest up now, and I’ll be right back.”