Free Harness by Viola Grace

next baby girl came into the world with dark gold eyes and a shock of deep green hair.
    Neeva-sur was full term and her mind grabbed at Fred’s the moment she was no longer physically connected to her mother.
    “She has a very strong mental grip.” Fred smiled at her daughter while she worked at binding the incoming census.
    Deborah was holding her granddaughter and rocking her back and forth. “You did as well. Yeren-las had to break the bond between us, and it almost killed me.”
    “Who gave me the book?”
    “That was Yeren-las’s idea. The book was mine.”
    Fred wiped her hands and got up, opening the hidden door to expose her private library. “I have rebound it a few times, but here it is.”
    Bound in leather, studded in gems, the plain book of English poetry.
    “I had always thought that the nun gave it to me, but I went over what the records said, and it said that she had a book in the bassinet and so Sister Hecuba named her Alfreda after Saint Alfred . It had not occurred to me that it might be a gift from my parents.”
    “You kept it all these years?”
    “It was a touchstone to the first record of me in this world. I am guessing that I was a home birth?”
    “Oh yeah. I am amazed that Yeren-las still wanted to touch me after that, but he brought you into the world without so much as a whimper.”
    “And obviously, it didn’t freak him out too much.” Fred chuckled and watched her mother run a hand over the bound volume.
    “It did for a while, but the loss that we suffered bound us together in a way that neither of us had anticipated.”
    “Why were you a minor when the report was made?”
    “It was the day before my eighteenth birthday. We anticipated the legality.” Deborah made a face.
    “It had to be that way or I would have found you.”
    “I wish you had.” Deborah’s face showed her regret.
    Fred changed the topic. “So, do you want more little ones?”
    “Of course. Yeren-las is hoping for another daughter. He was delighted beyond all bearing when he saw you. The first girl in generations.”
    “And now, the second is having a nap in your arms and trying to consume her fist using slobber.” Fred checked in on Neeva-sur. The baby was clean, fed and having a nice nap.
    Fred returned to the book she was working on and continued the binding process.
    Deborah asked, “How did you learn to do that?”
    Fred smiled, “It was the first touch of the Elders. They taught me this skill to keep my mind from going crazy when my body was out of my control. You can always put the pages together and bind them. I was like a broken book. The whole story was there but the pages needed to be put in their proper order. Now that it is, I can tell the story without hesitation.”
    She wiped her hands and took the baby back. “New book for you little Neeva-sur. A journal will be made of everything you say and do. When you can write, you can make your own story. We will be there helping you every step of the way.”
    The baby opened her dark gold eyes, and she blinked slowly before returning to her fist-sucking sleep.
    “That is a beautiful sentiment.”
    “I am glad you think so. I have a journal for you as well.” With her baby in one arm, she reached out and pulled out a massive journal. “I am missing a few years of your life; I would like to learn about them if you will share them with me.”
    Deborah smiled and clutched the huge tome. “I will be delighted to start with the night I met your father.”
    “Thank you. It will help finish the start of my story. So far, I only have the middle.” Fred sat back and rocked her baby slowly with her mother sitting down at the table and opening to start the journal.
     
    It took one year to finish the story of the Yeren-las and Deborah union. Their three children and their place in their life were all described in detail.
    When Fred finished reading, the family had just landed on Arxuxsa and they were on their way to meet with the Consul. She closed