25. A shameless mermaid
Get ready, the baby is coming!" Lachesis shouted warnings to the other people who were close to the choir, and everyone was excited when the cow finally managed to expel the calf from the inside out.
A few hours ago, while I was helping the castle's cook prepare dinner, the animal caretaker called me to tell me that there was a pregnant cow that was having complications in labor. And since the nearby town was too far to call a veterinarian, the caregiver was going to take the risk of delivering the cow, even though he knew the cow could die in the process. His intention was just to let me know, but I thought it was best to go help him, and now here I was practically giving birth to the cow.
I pulled the weak calf out of its mother and removed all the excess mucus that was in its nostrils. "It's a healthy kitty." The caregiver spoke in celebration.
"Do you think the mother will die?" I asked fearfully fearing for the animal's life.
"You were a great midwife, so there's a good chance the animal will survive.
I smiled happily at the news and my maids celebrated. "You were great, congratulations."
So when we left the castle's extensive corral, my dress was all dirty and sticky with the cow's blood and secretions, as were my arms. "What will the calf you helped deliver be called?" Clotho asked as the four of us walked back inside the castle.
I had been married to Lucca for three months and my life was simply at its best, Lucca was fulfilling his promise to make me the happiest woman in the world and our marriage was to be envied; his father hasn't bothered me since what happened at that dinner table thatnight when he and Lucca almost fought over me, I rarely saw him, because sometimes he went on a trip for several days and when he came back he was always locked up in his laboratory in the attic of the castle, apart from dinner time that I I had to bear him close to me, even though he didn'ttalking nonsense about me, it was already a huge inconvenience having him around, but I was having to put up with him for my husband. After all, despite everything the count was still his father.
With each passing day, I became more and more familiar with the supernatural creatures that inhabited the castle. Lucca once said that before he returned, everything there was a mess; everyone was fighting and talking at the same time, which made it impossible for a human to live in those conditions, so he had to organize them all into wings or rooms (which some of them liked to call cells) for each one to stay in their proper space. Even the ghosts that freely crossed the walls were prohibited from haunting other people's rooms, which made the place less confusing for a human to be able to inhabit. The human in this case would be me. But they were free to roam around the castle, so I ended up meeting them from time to time. They always treated me with respect and consideration, especially because I didn't do them any harm either. After a while, you end up getting the hang of how to interact with the paranormal guests of your paranormal husband's castle.
And it would also be better for me to become friends with these creatures than enemies, because that way they told each other about who they were and about the life they had left behind. I was completely different from them, but I had also left a life behind, I even had a new name now. I thought about that when Cloto asked me what name I was going to give to the calf I had helped give birth.
"Nova, which represents a new beginning." I spoke and Cloto smiled pleasantly.
"Nova is a beautiful name." The other two agreed.
"By Triton's beard, how disgusting!" Izzy the mermaid exclaimed as soon as she saw me passing by. She was sitting in the outdoor pool in her original form with a large and beautiful fishtail that was waving carelessly in the water while her forearms rested on the solid part of the pool. "Are you getting off on killing someone, you infamous human?" She wanted to offend me; she was always like that. It seemed like she couldn't deal with the fact that Lucca was now a married man and that he respected his wife.
"Miss Crystal was helping with Nova's birth." Cloto explained to her trying to defend me.
"Lady in name only, right, because with that behavior of a maid, your lady will never hold a candle to a real lady." She was criticizing the fact that I didn't like just staying in my room all day taking care of the girl and painting my nails, because I looked at it asA waste of time, there was so much to do in this castle that they would better occupy my time than just playing the role of a bourgeoisie, something I wasn't and never was.
"At least she's doing something useful than you who just stay in that pool all day doing nothing useful." Átropos criticized her, also defending me in the process.
"If it were just that, it would be better, Atropos. Because she keeps hitting on other people's husbands too!" Lachesis accused. They had already warned me that Izzy kept tempting Lucca whenever she got the chance, and she didn't even have any remorse for what she did.
She was smiling cynically, her red hair falling over her shoulders and back like heavy, billowing curtains. "Well, if this little woman continues to not take care of herself, it's certain that Lucca will come back to me sooner or later."