16. Future Echoes, Past Reverberations
It took two weeks to make arrangements with Ramona's cousin Arnie, and another two before he could pull everything together on his end. Arnie didn't ask any questions about why the instructions were so specific, or so unusual. Mary wasn't sure if she liked that or not. Ramona assured her that he was trustworthy, and the rest of the gargoyles arrived without any obvious incident. Mary realized long before that the four she had been told were destroyed hadn't been. It was another deception they all thought had been necessary at the time. In the beginning, Mary had been angry about that. As time went on though, she understood the reasoning behind it. Holding grudges wasn't in her nature anyway.
The decision had been made -- after much discussion -- that the others should be in the garden with Esme. Esme liked the idea of having others around her as she rested, even if those others were strangers for the moment. In seeing Aiden and Esme together, Mary realized how social gargoyles were, and how lonely the two of them had been for others of their own kind. As the sun went down on the evening of the arrival of the others, Mary walked slowly around and between them. She told herself that she was deciding on what plantings would look best, but she was really trying to get a sense of who these new ones were.
Of the ten new ones, eight were male. They were all different from each other as well. One of the males appeared to be only slightly taller than she was, but his muscle mass equaled Aiden's. One of the new females seemed taller and slimmer than Aiden, but her forearms were lined with long spikes, and there were shorter ones on the points of her shoulders. There were two who had no wings and no tails. One of the males had what appeared to be a long braid down his back.
"It is not hair." Esme said. After two weeks she had become as fluent in English as Aiden was. Mary was still amazed on some levels, but she was used to hearing the other female speak. "Males in his clan wear a braided headband as a sign of rank within the group."
"What about females?" Mary asked.
"A female always acquires the rank of her mate. Before that, she holds the rank of her father. In clans where outward symbols are worn, she would wear something similar to what her mate wears. You are well this evening?" Esme stroked Mary's rounded stomach.
"Just fine." She smiled up at Esme and started to walk back toward the house with her.
"But something troubles you." It wasn't a question.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but it feels a little odd having the others here." Mary stroked her middle lightly.
"You fear for the child?" Esme sounded surprised.
"I know it's silly. This was all my idea, but I can't help but wonder what will happen if they won't accept me as Aiden's mate. If his child isn't recognized-"
"If Aiden's authority is challenged in any way, he will fight to secure it. From what we have been told, the ones who are here are of the noble clans. It is less likely that there will be such divisiveness."
"The others accepting me and the child is part of his authority?" Mary asked. She hadn't considered it that way before.
"Of course. I believe the males will accept the two of you more easily than the females. Especially if those females are still within their fertile years." Mary stopped and turned to Esme.
"Were you upset or offended?"
"No." She chuckled. "I am several decades older than Aiden's mother. Even if you did not exist, I can no longer bear children so mating with Aiden would have been pointless."
"I'm sorry." Mary sighed.
"The end of childbearing is as natural as the beginning." Esme smiled. "If any female thing lives long enough it will lose its ability to conceive new life. It is a change, but not a lamentable one. If the other females are younger, they may see you as an intruder. The position of chieftain's mate is highly coveted among females. With so few of us, that desire may be intensified. I doubt any of them will even put their feelings to words, let alone act on them though. Matings have always been looked at as unbreakable bonds."
Esme stopped and Mary looked at her curiously. Before she could ask what was wrong, she heard Aiden's wings flapping. Esme took a step back and bowed her head. The behavior had surprised Mary at first, but she learned it was simply a sign of respect for a leader. Mary stepped into Aiden's outstretched arms. He kissed Mary softly, his arms and wings wrapping around her for a delicious, warm moment.
"You had a pleasant walk?" He murmured.
"Yes I did, thank you." His arms tightened for a moment, then he released her. "You rested well, Esme?" He asked. They agreement between everyone was that Aiden, Esme and the others when they were awakened would all speak English around Mary and the other humans. She realized that it made her considerably more comfortable.
"I did, thank you." She smiled. "And yourself?" The three of them began to walk back toward the house. Mary knew that Aiden didn't like the idea of her being outside shouting distance of someone else. Mary still didn't like the constant attention, but she had to admit that he had calmed considerably in the past few weeks. She wasn't sure if she should attribute that to her continued good health or to Esme's influence. She wasn't about to question it though.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Mary lay back on the exam table and let Jenna help her adjust the gown and a sheet to expose her rounded abdomen while still maintaining some modesty.
"Have you ever had an ultrasound for anything before?" Nigel asked.
"No, never. I read a little bit about it online though, when I first found out I was pregnant." Mary answered.
"Then you know it's a simple procedure." Nigel said. "There shouldn't be any pain or discomfort at all, so if you feel anything unusual, just let me know an we'll stop. This shouldn't be too cold." He squirted a thin gel onto her belly, and goosebumps broke out on Mary's skin. "Sorry." Nigel said.
"It's okay, just a little surprising." Mary laughed.
"Now, let's have a look at this little one." He smiled and pressed the probe against her lower abdomen. Mary's eyes were glued to the screen. For a few minutes she didn't see anything other than a grainy black and white blur. The longer she didn't see anything recognizable the more nervous Mary became. Nigel was calmly proceeding though.
"What's wrong? Why can't we see anything?" She asked.
"Everything's fine. Just relax." Nigel said. A few seconds later the recognizable profile of a human being came into view. "There we are." It took Nigel a moment more to get a clear picture on the screen.
"You can see the head and profile." Nigel pointed to the screen. "Two arms, two legs." He pointed to a white line opposite the face. "This is the spine here. If you look here," He pointed to the small chest. "That fluttering is the heartbeat." Mary barely heard what he was saying, she was too transfixed by the image on the screen.
"It's so fast. Is it supposed to be that fast?" Mary asked.
"It's perfectly normal." Nigel smiled. Either the wand shifted or the baby did, because they got a better view of his face.
"What's that?" Mary asked. "On his forehead."
Nigel looked more closely.
