Fate's Daughter

Fate watched. She always watched. Very rarely did she act on what she saw. The other gods called her heartless, enigmatic. Fate preferred to avoid them. She kept her secrets hidden beneath her mantle of sky and stars, hung with belts of tiny silver knives.

The hood of that mantle obscured her face.

The mortals said that was for their own benefit, that to look in Fate’s eyes was to court madness. This was nonsense, of course. She would never let them see enough of her true form to hurt themselves. There was enough pain in their short lives as it was.

Currently, Fate was watching one painful event in particular: a birth. The baby had just been pushed fully out and was being handed to her exhausted mother, squalling in protest at her rude introduction to the land of the living.

As the baby’s eyes opened, bemused mutterings went up from the other women. They weren’t the normal blue or dark brown of a newborn child’s eyes. Instead they were solid, gleaming black, just like her tiny wisps of hair. Combined with her purple skin, they gave her the look of something not quite human. Accurate enough, since she wasn’t.

Standing invisible in the corner of the worn farmhouse bedroom, Fate sighed. She had known this would happen sooner or later. She had let her guard down, and her brother had escaped. He was this baby’s father, technically speaking.

Chaos, the mortals called him. He was her twin, and they’d been friendly rivals throughout childhood. Chaos and Fate, working together in balance. Until the day the balance had tipped.

Fate shook those thoughts out of her head. She could return to them later. For now, she needed to focus on the problem at hand: what to do with the baby.

If she left to find her brother, the other gods would find and kill the child. Possibly the whole family. They weren’t known for their merciful tendencies.

If she took the child, she’d risk their wrath. It was the better option, but by no means a good one. There had been more than enough rifts between her and the other gods of late. She didn’t want to needlessly cause another.

Perhaps there was a third solution. This tiny girl would be easy enough to claim as her own daughter. Of course, she’d never slept with a mortal, but the other gods didn’t know that and wouldn’t question it. They certainly did it often enough.

Decided, Fate dropped the layers of magic keeping her concealed. It took a few moments for the midwives to actually notice her. Their eyebrows went up, but they continued their work, except for the oldest one, who asked, “What brings you here, My Lady?”

Fate had expected no less. Midwives were generally unflappable, in her experience.

“I’ve come for the child. She isn’t safe here.”

“What?!” The baby's mother demanded. “No.”

Fate knelt next to the bed, ignoring the gasps from the midwives at seeing a goddess bow. “If she stays with you, it will bring death to everyone here. I promise I will keep her safe and well, but I need to take her now, before the other gods notice.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as she clutched her newborn daughter closer.

“What do you want with her?”

“I want to protect her.” Fate said softly. She bowed her head to the young mother. “I will not force you to give her up, Sara. I only ask.”

Sara gulped back tears, then hesitantly took Fate’s hand in hers, her pale skin work-rough and her fingers trembling against Fate’s smooth purple palm.

“Do you promise to love her? I know you can protect her, you of anyone, but will you love her?”

Fate looked up at the tiny, unnamed baby in Sara’s arms. Her brother’s daughter. She had stopped crying for the time being, wide black eyes staring right under Fate’s hood. She looked almost curious. Her tiny, delicate fingers uncurled slightly from their fists to flail through the air, reaching in the Goddess’s direction as best she could.

Something sparked to light in Fate’s chest. A warm certainty settled over her.

“Yes.” She told Sara. “I love her, and I will from now until time ends.”

Sara heaved a shaky sigh. “Alright then. You can take her.”

“Thank you.” Fate said softly. “I will give her all I can.”

She tapped the spot where the umbilical cord connected to the baby’s stomach, letting it dry up and fall away to reveal a cleanly healed belly button.

“What is her name?” Fate asked, scooping the baby girl into her arms.

She pulled a blanket from the folds of her cloak, swaddling her new niece quickly and efficiently. She’d seen every parent since the dawn of humanity do the same. It felt oddly right to finally do it herself.

“Ravenna. I picked it years ago.” Sara said.

Fate nodded. “Then Ravenna she’ll be.”

She turned to the midwives. “For your own safety, all of you, pretend the child is dead.”

Without waiting for their agreement, Fate cradled Ravenna close and stepped back. The baby snuffled contentedly against the crook of Fate’s arm as the two of them faded from sight, then from existence, headed for the Divine Realms. Fate smiled down at her, tucking her cloak gently over Ravenna’s tiny head to protect her from the rushing winds of the spaces between worlds. Her time to stand by watching was over, it seemed. Now, it was time to act.

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