"We'll be waiting outside until you're both done," the Village Chief said before he stood up and left the room.
After they had left, Orion turned to Anara, raising a curious eyebrow. "What was that all about?" he asked.
Anara chuckled as she met Orion's gaze.
"They are all curious about the announcement I'm going to make now that you're back," she responded.
Orion furrowed his brows, pondering the nature of Anara's announcement. Then, it struck him. During his absence, the tree nymphs had informed everyone that Anara was unwell, experiencing pain throughout her body to the point where she had to be placed in her tree for recovery.
With this in mind, Orion reached for Anara's green hand and gently began to rub it with his thumb.
He spoke softly, his gaze fixed on her. "When did you wake up?" Orion asked, his tone filled with gentleness.
"I only woke up yesterday," Anara responded.
Orion nodded in response, then continued, "Did anything strange happen while you were asleep or when you woke up?" His eyes subtly glanced at her stomach.
Anara noticed his brief glances and pressed her lips together to stifle a chuckle at his behaviour. "So, you knew," she asked, her expression bearing a smirk.
"Knew what?" Orion asked with a raised brow, maintaining his pretence of obliviousness to Anara's clear remark.
Anara shook her head, her amusement evident, and then sighed. She stood up and gestured for him to follow. "Come with me. I want to introduce you to someone."
Orion felt a little suspicious but decided to stand and follow her.
They walked out of the first large hut, near the second hut where Aunt Greta was still peacefully asleep. Orion didn't want to disturb her, so he instructed Lola to look after her until he was ready to take her back to their hut.
Surprisingly, Orion noticed that the Village Chief and the others were still waiting outside. Anara paid them no attention and simply continued walking. He followed behind her until they reached her tree.
"What are we doing here?" Orion asked.
Although he still felt a little suspicious about the situation, he knew that confirmation would only come from Anara herself.
Anara, instead of answering, said, "Close your eyes," her gaze filled with warmth.
Orion watched her briefly and then nodded, closing his eyes.
After a few seconds of anticipation, his mind raced to figure out who Anara was about to introduce him to and what announcement she had to make.
"You can open your eyes now."
Hearing Anara's voice, Orion slowly opened his eyes.
Orion's eyes widened immediately at the sight in front of him.
"This…" He snapped his head upwards to look at Anara, locking his gaze with her warm gaze.
In Anara's arms, there was a little girl with a full golden skin hue who bore some resemblance to him, yet still managed to possess the same smooth, green hair as Anara.
The girl's eyes flickered open as she slowly woke up, and Orion could see bright golden irises as she stared at him with wide, curious eyes.
Anara nodded at Orion's dumbfounded expression, "When I retreated into the tree to heal from the pain I felt throughout my body, I realized that my intake of energy had doubled. On top of that, my stomach felt several times heavier than it ever had before. Though I couldn't wrap my head around how and why this was possible, it took me quite some time to understand that I was pregnant.
"Before I knew it, I had a daughter of my own, a feeling I'd never experienced. I didn't even know how to react when I first held her because the emotion was so strange, unlike anything I'd ever felt before," she said with a light chuckle, "If the village healer hadn't been there, we might have continued staring at each other in curiosity."
Orion watched as the baby alternated her gaze between Anara and him several times, before she playfully erupted into brief laughter, and then repeated the process once more.
"Let me hold her," Orion said as he stretched out his hands.
Anara nodded sweetly before she handed their baby over to Orion.
Orion held her gently in his hands and stared into her curious eyes briefly before saying, "She looks just like you."
Anara snorted at his comment before jokingly saying, "She has your face."
"I meant as beautiful as you," Orion said playfully, with a smile as he continued to gaze at the baby's golden eyes that were staring back at him curiously.
"I understood what you meant; I was just joking," Anara responded as she stretched her hand and laid it on top of Orion's arm.
"I haven't yet thought of a name for her, so I decided to wait until you come back so that we can figure out a name for her together," she added, observing as Orion drew his attention towards her.
A sudden thought appeared in Orion's mind, causing him to turn his head towards the two large huts in the distance, where the Village Chief and the rest were waiting for their return.
Orion quickly refocused his gaze on Anara, "Wait, is this the reason why the Village Chief and the rest are waiting for you to return?"
Anara nodded in response. "Yes, they were all curious, just like everyone else, about how a tree nymph, or more specifically, an Overseer tree nymph, could give birth and who the father was. So, I told them that I would share all the details once you returned."
Now understanding why they all looked disappointed and had even decided to wait outside, Orion could guess from Anara's words that many of them might have already suspected him as the father and were seeking confirmation or clarification.
"Alright," Orion said before he shifted his attention back to his daughter. "Let's call her Grace," he looked at Anara and asked, "Do you like it?"
"Grace," Anara said, letting the word flow from her lips. "Though I've never heard of anyone named Grace, it's certainly a unique name."
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