Horned Heiress

Three nurses hurriedly pushed a mysterious-looking, heavily pregnant woman, who was screaming in excruciating pain, into the bustling hallway. Hecate Elphaba's green veins emanated from her face down through the sides of her neck, looking like a threatening thunderstorm about to strike. Her thick, long green hair and eyes were a testament to her rare kind. She was white and extremely beautiful.

Two theatre nurses took over the trolley and pushed her into the labour ward. Doctor William, a man in his late 50s, entered the labour room in his blue scrub suit. He was greatly astonished and gently stroked her hair; her eyes sent a threatening danger to William as he studied her closely.

"Who brought her in?" William asked.

"I don't know; we saw some nurses moving her in," Nurse Andrea replied.

"Get me one of the nurses who brought her in," Doctor William added.

Nurse Andrea left the labour ward and entered the hallway, where she saw one of the three nurses who had brought in Hecate Elphaba. The nurse was holding a file and rushing to an unknown destination when Nurse Andrea bumped into her.

"Hello! Angel, Doctor William wants to see you immediately," Nurse Andrea said.

They rushed into the labour room.

"You called me, Doctor William?" Angel asked.

"Yes. Who brought this lady in?" Doctor William asked.

"I don't know. We saw her lying helplessly outside the hospital, so we decided to save her life first and get to know her later," Angel replied.

"Okay, you may go now," Doctor William said.

Nurse Angel left the labour room , and Doctor William looked at Hecate Elphaba with pitiful eyes; her energy and breath were failing her.

"Alright, ma'am, you have to help us by helping yourself to give in as much energy as you can and push," Doctor William said.

Hecate Elphaba replied with a vigorous nod and push. Doctor William tried to rescue the baby as Hecate Elphaba pushed for the first, second, and third time, but to no avail. Her green veins bulged like thunderous lightning, seeming to swell to the point of bursting with each strain. Exhaustion was etched on her pale face.

"Okay, ma'am, let's go again; push!" Doctor William exclaimed.

Hecate Elphaba pushed and could not push anymore as she suddenly became silent, oblivious to the heart-fainting, curious eyes staring at her.

"Hurry and get the surgeon! Hurry!" Doctor William screamed with urgency.

Andrea ran out of the labour room. Soon after, she entered with Francis, a 54 year old surgeon in a blue scrub suit.

"What's happening to Doctor William?" Francis asked.

"I don't know. I think she gave up due to lack of energy. No time; let's operate on her to save the baby," Doctor William replied.

"Casey, get me the operating materials quickly!" Francis exclaimed.

Casey got the operating tools within the room. Francis opened up Hecate Elphaba's stomach, and behold, a beautiful crying baby girl with short horns on her head and claws like those of an eagle on her fingers and toes appeared.

The baby had very long black hair and held a little rattlesnake in her right hand. The pupils of her eyes were like those of a burning flame, with her sclera green in color. The nurses were terrified of the odd-looking creature.

Suddenly, the hospital bulbs began to shake as everyone paused, looking up curiously in fear, as if expecting some frightening creature from the ceiling. The flickering lights sent horrible signals across the hospital and suddenly went off.

Doctor Francis dropped the crying baby onto her mother's open stomach and ran out of the labour room with Doctor William and the other nurses. They shouted and scampered for safety in the dark hallway, with some nurses' phone lights hardly illuminating the corridor from afar.

While everyone in the hallway ran for the unknown, the little rattlesnake slipped away from the baby's hand, onto the ground, and crept away.

As the dim surgical light shook, Gwydion, a man looking to be in his 80s, wearing a brown, wet, dripping coat, ash-flat cap, and black shoes, entered the labour room, facing down, obviously avoiding being seen. He was average in height, with gray hairs on both sides of his bald middle head and a gray, curved moustache covering his top lip.

He carried the baby, a fulfilling smile beaming across his face as he aimed for the door. Peeking into the chaotic, light-flickering hallway, Gwydion turned off the lights from the wall switch next to him and made away with the baby.

On the streets that same night, while it was raining heavily with terrifying thunderclaps and thunderbolts striking repeatedly, Gwydion carried the baby to a place that seemed like a garage from the outside as he pulled up the roller shutter and entered the dark space.

It was a chamber filled with large, thick books. He dropped the baby on the long table in his chamber and began to search for a particular book in his bookshelf.

"No, no, no, no, I need to hurry, before she gets to her," Gwydion hurriedly said as he searched for the book in his bookshelf.

He suddenly paused, his eyes fixed on a book, and pulled it out: an ancient-looking book with "Cast Spell" written on the cover page.

He flipped through the pages of the book, curiously looking for a particular page, and suddenly paused on seeing something that caught his attention. He placed the book on the table and began to mumble indistinctly, words from the book, as if in a trance.

He stretched forth his hands, gesturing to the crying baby lying on the table. A sound was suddenly heard in the background as he mumbled; it sounded like the Gyuto Monks' Tantric Choir. The gold signet ring on his thumb began to emit green fiery smoke as he mumbled, his eyes rapidly shutting and opening repeatedly, his palms giving off blue smoke into the crying baby as the thunderclap became more terrifying.

After he mumbled for about two minutes, the baby's claws reduced to human nails, both fingers and toes.

"Why are the horns still there?" Gwydion said. He stretched forth his hands again onto the baby's head and began to mumble. A blue, fiery smoke emitted from his palms into the baby's head, but could not do anything. The thunderclap grew louder as Gwydion's mumbling intensified, and everything began to shake.

Gwydion's body suddenly caught up with the blue fire that emitted from his palms, and just then... Gwydion exhaustedly fell to the ground, and everything went dark.