Natural Rebirth

Book two in Moondancer Drake's Daughters of the Goddess series

Warm sunshine eased its way through the small pane of the bay window and caressed Elizabeth’s cheek. She turned her face upward toward the rays, and closed her eyes, drinking in the bright September morning with sheer delight. She sipped the hot cider and sighed as the warmth on her face was matched with a similar sensation that flowed down her throat into her belly. The baby was sleeping, or Elizabeth guess she was by the lack of jarring pressure being jabbed into her side or her bladder at any given instant. It was a moment of peace, something she’d learn to savor living at the Archiquette farm.

     How long had it been since she left Cicero? Nearly six months now by early October. Some days it seemed like she’d been here her whole life, and the person that live in the city was someone else, a stranger. Maybe that was truer lately then it had even been before. In a few days Elizabeth would leave her past behind, and be renamed a sister of the Clan. She could just forget everything and move on. That’s what she wanted, wasn’t it?

     A gentle knock at the door between her room and the nursery drew Elizabeth’s attention, and the familiar voice that spoke from behind the oak door brought a smile to her face. “Mitexi and I wanted to talk to you ‘bout the preparations for Thursday. Can we come in, lass?”

     “Sure, Greer, come in. I was just enjoying the morning saying hello.” Elizabeth chuckled and turned toward the opening door. Months ago the idea of something as abstract as a time of day saying anything to her would have been an absurd idea at best. Living here with the Clan, she’d come to learn there was life and spirit in things she’d never dreamed up before.

     The two women were so physically dissimilar, that if it weren’t for the fiery red hair Greer had passed on to her daughter you’d barely know they were related. Greer’s tresses were streaked heavily with grey, which only seemed to give the woman a wise appearance that matched her position as the Archiquette matriarch. The Irish woman’s pale skin, parts of it kissed with red from her time working outdoors, contrasted dramatically when compared to the deep reddish brown tones her daughter had inherited from her Oneida father. Yes, if you simply looked at the two women together you might not ever guess they were mother and daughter, but if you knew them and loved them as Elizabeth had learned to, for their strength and their inner fire, you’d see just how alike they were.

     “Yes, Lady Brigid has blessed us with a wonderful sunrise this morning.” A motherly smile crossed Greer’s face as her gaze meet that of the woman that was soon to be officially adopted into her house in the eyes of her Clan. “I can’t tell you how excited we are ‘bout your “Naming”, Beth.”

     “She can’t tell you, but I hear about it about twenty times a day.” Greer’s youngest, Mitexi pushed past her mother, a mischievous smirk on her face. She walked to the window seat and sat on the edge of it at Elizabeth’s feet. “So how’s the sweet little beast this morning?”

     “Quiet for once. She’s been so restless lately I wasn’t sure I was going to get any sleep at all.” Elizabeth caught the exasperated look on Greer’s that Mitexi was pointedly ignoring and smothered a laugh. “I’m almost afraid to more for fear of waking her.”

     Mitexi reached over and gently patted Elizabeth’s stomach. “You be nice to your mommy, now, or I’ll have Grandpa feed her Brussels sprouts.”

     Elizabeth made a face at the thought. “Not much chance of getting me to eat those. I hate them just as much as your kids do.”

     All three laughed at this, and Greer pulled a chair next to the window to Elizabeth’s other side. “So…” Greer fidgeted with the flannel shirt that hung open over her white tank shirt. “You hungry. I can see if there’s anythin’ left from breakfast.”

     “Bardo brought me a plate earlier when he noticed I was up.” Elizabeth motioned with a hand to the tray on the table next to her king sized bed, and grinned. “And no, I haven’t chosen a name yet, but I have a few I’m tumbling around in my head.”

     “I never said…” Greer blanched at the stern look both Elizabeth and Mitexi gave her. “Okay, I admit it, I was wonderin’ if you did. I don’t mean to be a pest, but the “Naming” is just a few days away.”

     “I know.” Elizabeth sighed in frustration with herself. Why was it taking her so long? “I’ve been Elizabeth all my life. It’s hard to find something that feels just right.”

     “Beth, honey, you don’t have to change your name.” Mitexi leaned forward and clasped her hands together. “You can simply reclaim the name Elizabeth as you Clan name.”

     “No.” The word came out so forcefully that Elizabeth cringed and smiled apologetically. “It’s a fine name, but now that I know that the people I thought were my birth parents were frauds, I just can’t keep it. It’d be like living a lie. I don’t know who I am, I mean what name my real parents called me, but I know it wasn’t Elizabeth.”

     “What about your adoptive parents?” Greer asked, compassion swimming in her green eyes.

     “I don’t know. I find myself wondering how innocent they were in the whole thing. How could they not know that those people weren’t my real parents? And if they knew…” Elizabeth closed her eyes and her lip trembled. And if they knew, then they weren’t the good people she’d always thought them to be.

     “Oh, don’t let your fear run away with you, lass. Not until you know the whole truth.” Greer took the empty mug Elizabeth was gripping hard in her hand and placed it on the floor. “Vesta is using a bunch of the contacts she had at work in the sheriff’s department. She’ll get to the bottom of this, it just takes time.”

     Without the ceramic mug to fidget with, Elizabeth began picking nervously under her fingernails. “Your, right, I know. It’s just not an easy thing to do.”

     “A name is very important. Let’s see if we can find some clues for you.” Greer got up and walked to kneel by the truck at the floor on Elizabeth’s bed. “May I?”

     Elizabeth nodded and watched as Greer gently pulled at the sting that held the metal latch fastened. In that trunk rested all the clues she’d ever had to her birth parents, at least to the people she’d believed to have been them. Now she wondered how much of all of it was a lie.