The Cuckoo's Sons - Prologue

Prologue
It should have been a joyous occasion. The Queen Lisbet had just given birth to her fourth child and only daughter.  She lovingly held the squalling baby to her breast, smiling down on her and murmuring softly  to calm her.
“Hush Yuliya, hush now my little girl…”
The queen’s eyes were bright with fever, seeming overlarge in her delicate heart shaped face. Her cheeks were sunken and sallow, her brow drenched with sweat.  Her dark hair fell in limp curls down around her shoulders and onto the feather pillows propped behind her.  She seemed very small and fragile, lost in the huge canopied bed that took up most of the stone chamber.  But despite her evident sickness the queen was beautiful, calm and serene as she cradled her newborn.
Servants shuffled around, stoking the fire in the already hot and oppressive room, refreshing linens and water. A small group of physicians stood to the side of the bed, speaking in low voices. After I while one of them hesitantly stepped forward, a man of middling years with a tall lanky build and prematurely thinning brown hair.  He awkwardly leaned down toward the queen.
“Highness,” he said quietly when he was on level with her, “I beg you, let us take the princess and see to you. You needn’t worry about your daughter; she’ll have the best care possible. It’s time you start thinking about your own health. Let us help you. Please.”
She slowly shook her head, a small sad smile on her lips.
“No, Owyn.” She said gently. “There’s nothing anyone can do for me now. I’m fading, I know that, and it’s alright. I just want to hold my daughter while I still can.” She settled back against the pillows, closed her eyes and breathed deeply, seeming to gather her strength.
“Please call my husband to me. I need to speak with him.”
Owyn looked back to the others unsurely. After a nod of approval from the oldest of them, he quickly ducked out of the room to return only minutes later with the King himself in tow. King Arden was a man in his prime; tall and imposing with a broad build and a hard  strong face that was now creased with worry. He went to the Queen’s side and with a gentleness that belied his large frame, took her small hand in his.
“A daughter,” he trailed off looking at the Queen and the small bundle in her arms. “She’s so beautiful…”
“Of course,” The queen smiled, “she’s ours after all.” Her smile suddenly faded and she hesitated before speaking again.
“Dear, I need you to listen to me. Please, remember that I love you and have always loved you, more than anything.” She steeled herself and looked to the king, her eyes growing momentarily clear. “But you need to know. Our sons. They are not of our seed.”
The King stared at her and abruptly pulled his hand away from hers, letting it drop back onto the bed. “What do you mean? There was, another man?”
“No, never! Please, hear my story through to the end before you make any judgements.” Here the Queen looked over to the group of physicians, as if not wanting to continue in their presence. The King ignored her glance, and after a few moments she went on.  
***
After we were first married we tried for years before I was able to quicken with child. When I finally did, it was such a relief. I had begun to think that something was wrong with me, that I would never be able to give us a family of our own. The weeks went by and the birthing grew nearer and nearer, and I became more and more hopeful. Then it was all over. Our child has gone from the womb too soon, cold and lifeless. It was like I myself had died. Nothing mattered anymore. The only thing that could make me feel anything at all, was watching the court noble children play in the garden. And even that didn’t bring me joy, it only made me miss even more what was almost mine.
One day after the children had gone inside for their lessons, I stayed out in the garden, sitting alone by the reflecting pool. As I sat, there was a flutter of wings and a common cuckoo bird alighted into a bush next to the bench. I didn’t think anything of it at first, after all there is nothing uncommon about a bird in an outdoor garden.  But after a time I noticed it moving through the branches, always closer and seemingly staring at me with unblinking eyes. I didn’t know why, but I felt quite unsettled by the thing, and so even though I thought it a bit silly, I got up to leave. When I turned my back toward the bench and bush, again I heard the sound of wings. The bird flew past and landed on the path right before me. I stopped mid-step. Although I was looking right at the bird, I suddenly couldn’t see it. The air around it blurred and darkened, like the light there was sucked into a void.  The darkness expanded and then condensed, taking on a solid form. A woman now stood blocking my way back to the castle.
She was small and gaunt, an unremarkable looking person, dressed in a simple tan dress and brown cloak all made out of rough spun cloth. Slowly she knelt before me and bowed her head to the ground.
“Majesty,” she said quietly, “please forgive me for the intrusion. I hope I haven’t caused you any further distress in this already trying time.”
“Who - no, what are you?” I replied.
She looked up at me, fatigue and worry plainly visible in her features. “My name is Anya, and I’m a grieving mother like yourself.”
“No. A demon - You must be a demon, come from the Shadow world.”
“I suppose; that is what you call those of us from the realm of magic. But that doesn’t make the rest any less true. I thought if anyone would be able to understand my feelings it would be you.”
“Feelings?” I asked, “What would a demon know of feelings?”
“Even though we come from a world that isn’t your own, we of the Shadows aren’t that different from you here in the Light. We must struggle and fight to survive, and live our lives as best we can. We form bonds with others; we have friends and family. We feel joy, sorrow, pain, fear, and love. And just like you, I want to have my own children and let them experience all these things. But I can’t.”
She slowly reached into the folds of her robe and drew out a gently closed fist. When she opened it there was egg laying in the center of her palm. It was very small, the size a real cuckoo’s would have been, white with specks of brown.
“Not without your help.”
I should have left then. I was suspicious of course, but also curious. The whole situation was so unusual that I could barely believe it was happening. And so I only looked at her questioningly and she continued.
“The Shadow world, as you call it, is a dangerous realm; full of hazardous terrain, great beasts, and strong magic. It’s no place to bring a child into. When I decided that I was ready to have one of my own, I began to collect as much magic as could and save it within myself; enough to break the boundary between the worlds and cross into yours. But I made a mistake. As a Shadow creature, I need magic to remain on the Light side, and though I gathered enough to make it here, I don’t have enough to stay until my egg hatches. And after it hatches, if my child doesn’t have magic to keep him here, he too will fade back into the Shadow world; alone, weak, and vulnerable.”
She paused here and looked at me imploringly. “That’s why you are the only one who can help me. I’ve watched you these past few weeks, sitting in the garden and longingly looking to the children that play nearby. I’ve heard of the great loss you suffered three months past, and I know you are ready to be the mother I cannot.”
“I want a child, not a bird. If a pet could fill the hole in my heart I would have gone down to the kennels or mews a long time ago.”
“No, not a bird. A baby, a human baby. With magic my child will be able to take a human form just as I can.”
“Still, surely there are other women who want a child that could help you. Why do you insist it must be me?”
“Magic. As a noble woman of great wealth you have the means to obtain items of power from the Shadow land. Anything from the Shadows is imbued with it’s magic, although to differing degrees that magic will fade over time here in the Light. Men have crossed into our world to mine stones and gems, harvest plants and herbs, slay creatures for their parts, all because they contain magic. Though these items are rare and highly prized, you’re in the position to get them, and give them to my child, who would then be able to stay here in the safety of the Light.”
“Even if all this is true, I have no reason to help you. I may understand why you would want me to, but why should I? There are plenty of unwanted human children in the world whose birth mothers would be pleased for me to take them as my own. What do you have to offer that they do not?”


The demon smiled, which was not at all reassuring if it was meant to be. “If you take my egg, I will give it to you entirely.”
“And what exactly did you want me to do with an egg?” I asked her incredulously. “Build a nest for it? Sit on it and keep it warm?”
“In a way, yes. You will be the nest. Like the seed of man, plant it in your womb and it will take root and grow. Like any mother and her unborn child, a link will develop between you, only this link will be stronger. It will allow him to learn the human shape, to take on some of your features, to be born as a human baby. No one will know it was not originally yours.”
She locked me with her gaze, waiting to hear what I had to say about this shocking statement. I could only mutter quietly, “I’ll know.”
The demon’s smile faded. She looked away from me and down to the egg cupped gently in her hands. “I see.” she said. “I had thought I might have finally found a way to save my child, even if it meant letting him go.” Suddenly she sprang to her feet and quickly closed the gap between us. One hand still held the egg, the other grabbed mine and pulled it towards her. She looked right at me, eyes wet with unspilled tears, shoulders shuddering as she tried to control her feelings. She put the egg into my hand and gently wrapped my fingers around it.
“Please.” She cried, her voice cracking with emotion. “Please, even if you won’t accept my egg as your own, please at least take it to your mews and see it’s cared for until it hatches. If you can keep my baby safe in Light world, at least until he fledges, then he may have a chance at life when he fades back to the Shadows.” She released my hand and backed away.
“I must leave.” she continued, tears now openly streaming down her face. “I wasted the remainder of magic taking on human form to speak with you. I…”
Before she could finish the air around her went dark, quivered, and then shrank in on itself. She was gone, and I was left holding the tiny egg. It was surprisingly warm to the touch and seemed to pulse with the life inside it’s shell. I was torn; I hated the situation in which I found myself. I wanted to throw the thing to the ground and watch it splatter against the stone path. Instead I carefully cradled it to my chest and took it back to my quarters.
Nine months later I gave  birth to Carrick.
***
King Arden stared down at his queen, speechless for a time. Finally he managed to mutter. “...and Conway, and Cairan?”
“Yes.” The queen said, looking down at Yuliya pressed against her chest, not willing to make eye contact with her husband. “The demon came back when Carrick was two. Poor Carrick was so lonely, not being able to play with other children because they were below his station. He needed a friend, and so I accepted another egg. Then four years later she came again and begged me to take one last egg. She told me she hadn’t meant to get with child, but now that she was, she couldn’t just abandon it. She wanted to be sure it would be well cared for. She promised me that it would not happen again. I took it. She had given me a family after all.  I owed her.”
“And Yuliya?”
The queen smiled looking at her daughter. “No, she is truly ours. I was shocked when I first realized I was with child again. I knew carrying her would be difficult and a great risk to myself, but I longed to have a child that was the result of our love. And even now I do not regret it. ”
She paused here and reached hesitantly toward King Arden. “Please forgive me.” She whisperd. “ I do not want to die knowing you hold me any ill will.”
The king once again took her hand. “Though what you’ve done causes me great pain, I still love you. I always will.”
“Then you’ll make sure our sons are cared for and given the magic they need to to remain human, here in the our world?”
“Sons?” King Arden asked, hurt and betrayal clearly written across his features. “I have no sons.”