The woman's screams echoed through the meager house, bouncing off the stone floor. Finally, the cries of a baby drowned out all other noise.

Alya wrapped the newborn in a blanket, swaddling it tightly, before giving it to the mother.

"It's a boy." Alya strokes the baby's soft forehead as the mother drew him close to her breast, cooing quietly.

Alya sighed in satisfaction. She grabbed her supplies, stuffed them into her satchel, and quietly slipped out of the house.

While she was walking home, a soldier in black armor approached her. "The king demands your presence without waiting for an answer, he grabbed her wrist and dragged her towards the castle.

'What could the king possibly want with me?' Alya thought. 'The queen is not pregnant.'

Pushing her forward, the black knight thrust Alya into the throne room. She stumbled and fell to her knees.

"Is this all of them?" The Kong's voice was smooth but laced with anger.

The guard made no answer, but must have nodded, because the king dismissed him.

Lifting her head for the first time, Alya found three other woman kneeling beside her - the other midwives of the kingdom.

The king stood, stepping down from the dais. His soft eyes and pleasant features tried to hide the rage burning inside him. He stood before them, projecting his authority. "I have a task for you." He placed up and down the line of women. "There is a group that betrays this kingdom by disobeying me - a rebellion." He stopped in front of Alya and waited for her to look at his face. "Their numbers grow every day." He placed once more. "What I require of you is simple. When helping birth a child, of it is a boy, kill it; if a girl, bring it to me."

The words sent shivers down Alta's spine. How could she murder an innocent newborn? What did the king have in mind for the girls?

Beside her, Alya noticed a look of horror on her neighbors face - an expression, no doubt, similar to her own.

The king returned to his exaggerated throne. "You are dismissed."

Alya stood, trembling, and walked out of the room, her mind racing. She couldn't do this.
————
Alya smiled as the cries of the infant filled the small room. She cradled the baby gently in a soft towel. It was a boy. Her hands trembled as she recalled the king's command. How could she defy him? But... how could she murder an innocent baby boy? He'd done nothing wrong.

She could fell the mother staring at her curiously, so she handed the child over and, as she watched the woman cradle her newborn, she knew that she could never kill this little boy. The king was a monster for demanding such a thing. Who could condemn an innocent with no evidence or wrong to justify it?

As Alya picked up her thigs, she found an elegant belt among her supplies. It's silver buckle was etched with fine lines and inscriptions. She stroked it admiringly.

She'd worked with the rebels more than once. She didn't know much of their rebellion, but she did know that all of them wore a belt of similar style to the one in her hands. She quickly placed the accessory in her bag, slung the satchel over her shoulder, and left the woman holding her tightly swaddled newborn son. She had defied the king. From this day on, she was a rebel.
————
Alya trembled as she knelt before the king. One of the midwives sat beside her. Alya noticed a glint of silver in the woman's bag. Looking closer, she realized it was a belt of the same style as her own. The markings were almost identical. This woman must have defied the king as well.

"My soldiers report that you have allowed the baby boys to live." The king's voice was steady, but Alya could hear the anger laced beneath. He leaned forward, almost on eye level with Alya. "Why have you done this?" He moved to the other midwife. "Why have you defied me?"

Alya took a deep breath. "We have not defied you, sire."she bowed her head as he whirled around to face her.

He snarled. "Then why do the infant boys endure?"

Alya glanced at her comrade, who nodded urgently. "The woman are giving birth at a faster rate then anticipated."

"What's more." The other midwife broke in. "Some of the women have taken to hiding the boys."

The king stalked to his throne and slouched into it. He stroked his clean-shaven chin and examined the midwives. "Very well." He straightened. "You are relieved of this duty. Go." He motioned for them to leave.

Alya stood and hurried out of the room. Could that really have happened? Was she really free to go - rid of this burden? She left the castle and raced home, her heart leaping for joy in her chest. It was over.
————
The newborn's cries filled the quaint little room as Alya wrapped the precious twins in a blanket. They had gorgeous cobalt eyes and soft black hair. The girl yawned as her brother screamed, struggling against the blanket.

Alya smiled and handed the fussy boy to his mother to calm him.

The mother stroked her son's plump little cheek and stared lovingly into his sparkling eyes. "Johnathan."

Once the child was calm, Alya traded the mother for her daughter.

The woman rubbed the girl's head gently. "Liberty."

The boy began to cry again and the mother cradled him in her arms, while Alya tended to the baby girl.

Suddenly, two soldiers burst through the door. One of them marched over to the mother and ripped the baby boy from her arms.

The mother, weak from childbirth, was powerless to stop him. Alya places Liberty in a basket of towels and confronted the soldier. The one standing by the door smacked her across the face and drew his sword threateningly. He followed his comrade out of the house.

Alya followed them at a distance, leaving the wailing mother with her serene baby daughter.

The soldiers left the city and made their way across the country side to the river.

Alya gasped as the soldier carrying the child, grabbed it by the ankle and dunked it halfway into the water. Alya screamed and rushed out of hiding. When she drew near, the other soldier back handed her and she toppled  over.

Before she could intervene, the bench stopped struggling and the bubbles stopped rising. The soldier released the infant and Alya watched in horror as the tiny body floated down the river.

The soldiers walked off, but Alya stayed, kneeling on the muddy shore by the water, tears blurring her vision.

From farther up river, a group of infant corpses were carried away, flowing right passed the recasted witness. Alya couldn't tear her eyes from the scene, no matter how gruesome, how heartbreaking. Eventually, she stood, unsure how to tell the mother that her newborn son had been drowned - murdered.
————
Alya stood in the grove of trees and dropped her pack. She couldn't do this anymore. She pulled a short dagger from among her supplies and held it to her chest.

"Wait!" Someone called from the surrounding trees. A man in fu, silvery armor stumbled into the open. He removed his helmet, revealing his short-cropped brown hair and his bright eyes. He grabbed Alya's armed hand and gently lowered it. "There is more for you to do here."

Alya failed to hold back her tears. "I failed. What more can I do?"

The man grinned. "The girl - liberty. She will need you again."

Alya remembered the beautiful baby girl she had helped birth. "How can I help her? The king knows me to be a traitor."

The man offered her his hand. "Come with me."

In that moment, Alya felt a power and love that was unmatched. She took his hand without hesitation and followed him into the woods.
————
Alya screamed as the pain shot through her body. She had never experienced this much agony, but it was worth it, when the soft whimpering cries of a baby girl reached her ears.

She took the sweet child in her arms and rocked it gently.

"She's beautiful." Her husband knelt beside her, squeezing her shoulder.

"She's perfect." Alya stroked the babies tiny chin. "My Nadia."