"Give me my hunting knife," Mori says panting between pains. If she knew that she was that close to giving birth she never would have climbed the damned tree.

The one she dubbed Tweedledum looks where she's pointing and finds her hunting knife and gives it to her. Mori puts it under the pillow. She takes off the valued quilt from the bed and gently folds it. Perhaps Nocturne will bury her in it when she's gone. She hopes that he will bury her near her mother.

Another pain hits and this one doubles her over in pain. She hisses at both the vampire's and they remain as far from her as they dare. Once the pain subsides enough Mori speaks, "Go and feed. One at a time, I'm going to need more blood. You might want to bring a couple of the older females here to help me. Bring some to snack on as well if you must, I don't know how much blood I'll need." Mori finishes her instructions as another contraction rips through her.

Tweedledee takes off hunting. He'll bring enough for himself and his friend for now and for later if it will be necessary. He also intends on finding someone to help Mori with the birth since Lord Terrance and Nocturne still aren't responding.

"I should have waited and let you feel what I feel you bastard," Mori grits out through her teeth.

The contractions aren't getting closer together and an hour passes. Mori continues walking, pacing around the small cabin. Tweedledee watches her anxiously not knowing what to do.

Tweedledum finally returns and has the people enter the cabin. When Mori sees who he brought with him she groans in despair.

The girl stops taking her coat off and looks at Mori, "I know we aren't friends Mori, but I do know what I'm doing. I'm a certified midwife and although I've never learned how to deliver vampire kin I've read up on it. We have't had much practical around here for that until now."

"Karen, well at least you've got to be better than these two useless lumps." Mori says as she's hit with another contraction harder than before, more vicious. Mori screams in pain.

"Give me some more of your damn blood!" Mori orders the two guards. They both hurry to comply one after the other. Mori sighs, the blood helps her deal with the pain. It also helps to keep her killing wish down. Perhaps they won't deserve to die after all.

"Get everyone out of here," Mori orders. When they gather up Karen with the others Mori steps in again. "Not her you idiots. How can she help me if she's out there?" The two guards look at her sheepishly and finish herding the others out of the cabin.

"Okay, Mori, I need you to lie down on the bed. I need to see how things are progressing. That's right. Now put your feet more towards you and spread you knees." Karen takes a look and the blood drains from her face.

"Stay in bed Mori, I see the head of one already," Karen hopes that every thing is going right because there's no time to stop it now if it isn't. How had Mori not pushed if she was this close?

"Next contraction I want you to push Mori," Karen says soothingly.

Mori starts pushing as soon as the contraction starts. The pain is intense and the damn thing is just sitting there and not moving. "Get it out of me now!" Mori yells. She knows if it would just move a bit more then the pain would lessen almost completely.

"On the next contraction Mori, I think the baby will come free." Karen hopes so anyway. She doesn't like the look in Mori's eyes right now. She's seen a lot of strange things helping to deliver babies, but glowing eyes has never been one of them.

Another contraction hits and Mori pushes and the shoulders slide out. Mori takes a deep breath of relief. That damn thing was finally out. The midwife takes the baby and cleans it up or at least tries to but it looks at her and just by looking scares the hell out of her. Karen just ties off and cuts the umbilical cord.

"Do you wish to hold you daughter?" Karen asks. She had been shocked at the gender of the child. Everyone knows that vampires always have boys. They can't have girls that's why they use humans as broodmares.

Mori looks at the midwife like she was smoking something. "You mean the boy?"

Karen shakes her head, "No I mean your daughter. It's a girl, I don't know how or why but this baby is a girl."

"No, the child is Nocturne's. He's made it perfectly clear, the children are his heirs, not mine." Mori won't even look at the child. Karen nods in understanding, she'd heard that vampires treated their heir like that.

Just then Mori gives another loud scream. The second child is coming. After several minutes of intense pain and some very heated words on Mori's part the second child is born. "Ah, the long awaited heir." Karen says with satisfaction. She doesn't bother trying to clean the baby up, she'd learned her lesson with the girl, she just ties off and cuts the cord. Mori passes the after birth and she lays in bed just trying to catch her breath.

"Lady Mori?" Tweedledee asks coming into the cabin softly.

"Take the children and keep them safe," Mori says too weak for anything else.

Tweedledee refuses. He goes to Mori and slices his wrist and before the fascinated eyes of Karen, Mori drinks the blood of the vampire. But it isn't enough. "More, I need more." Tweedledee nods and goes to get his friend.

"Wrap the children up. They will be leaving soon," Mori instructs.

Karen is too in awe of her to dispute or tell her the children are too young she just does what she is told.

Tweedledum comes in and offers Mori his wrist and Mori latches onto it hoping it will be enough. "Thank you, feed again and then take the children to safety. Let Nocturne know." Mori blinks back her tears. She won't be seeing Nocturne again, she can feel it.

"My queen," Tweedledum says tears choking him. He takes the children and hands one to his friend even as he quickly drinks from a villager. Then the two leave.

"Karen, take yourself and the others back to the village. It isn't safe here now." Mori all but orders the other woman out of the cabin.

Karen gets a mulish look on her face and refuses to move. "You may be the vampire queen, if that idiot vampire is to be believed, but you are still Mori and I don't take orders from you. Let's get you cleaned up. You must be exhausted. I've heard that it isn't likely for humans to survive giving birth to vampire twins."

"I may have survived the initial birthing, but there is a much more dangerous person coming that I'm not likely to survive. You have more sense than most Karen, get out of here and take the others with you. There is a reason I sent the children away. This valley was protected but it may no longer be so. Go!" Mori orders after Karen manages to finish cleaning her up and changing her clothes.

"I hope you're wrong Mori. I know we haven't been friends but I hope that maybe that could change." Karen says giving Mori a handshake goodbye.

"I would like that Karen. I wasn't the one that refused to be friends," Mori replies before falling back on the still bloody bed. She'd never before realized just how delicious her blood smelled.

There is no doubt in Mori's mind that if Vena can break the enchantment he'll come directly to her cabin. Call it fate, karma or what have you, it will be for the same reason Nocturne came all those months ago.

Mori wakes from a restful sleep as she senses the strange presence near her door. She slides her hand under her pillow and grabs her knife and brings it by her side where it won't be seen.

Like it happened with Nocturne the locked door blows open. Although this time it is because the door is broken not because the locks are undone.

"Some people have no manners. Do you have any idea how long it will take to fix that damn door to withstand the storms? You are one of the most selfish of a selfish race." Mori says calmly watching the prince enter the cabin. He doesn't look like Nocturne, but not all twins do.

"For a human you are awfully uppity bitch!" Prince Vena says sneering at the exhausted woman on the bed.

"Well according to the king I rank even you bastard prince. So I guess we're at an impasse aren't we?" Mori does her best to sneer and make him angry. She figures if she can make Nocturne angry than making his upstart brother angry shouldn't be hard. She smiles as she sees her friend death waiting by the door.

"A human bitch outrank a prince of the blood? Oh I don't think so," but he is nervous. Mori laughs to herself. He's not nearly as good at hiding his emotions as Nocturne. She feels energy flow into her. She wonders if this is somewhat similar to what vampires feel when they feed off of emotions.

"Whatever princey. You're nothing but a second rate vampire anyway. Lands confiscated, outlawed and hunted. So yes, this human bitch does outrank you since you lost your ranking by being outlawed. Hm, I wonder if the law still holds on the not killing vampire's if they are hunted by their own kind?"

"What a human take down a vampire? A female weak from childbirth at that? Oh pulease! there's no way you could take down one of us." Vena says as he saunters over to the bed.

Mori feigns weakness, unfortunately she doesn't have to feign very much. She watches Vena closely and waits for her chance. She won't get a second one, she's not sure that she'll make it for the first one even.

Vena is fascinated with the human that is obviously his brothers mate. She is loud and obnoxious and has no respect for the vampire people. But she is beautiful and her blood calls to him. The fact that she just gave birth means that he should go hunt down his nephew but first he wants to have some fun.

Mori holds herself very still when Vena touches her. She has to breath deep to keep from wanting to vomit all over the man, vampire whatever he is. She doesn't like him touching her where only Nocturne and Jerus have touched her before.

"How did you find this valley?" Mori doesn't expect him to answer her but being so superior to her he decides to humor her.

"An informant of mine, name of Jerus told me of this lovely little valley and this great big bitch that my brother seems infatuated with." Vena speaks as he runs his hand down Mori's breast. That she's just given birth won't stop him from taking want he wants from her.

"I owe my brother for taking my mate. Did he tell you about her? No? Well I imagine he wouldn't want someone so pure as you sullied by his works.

"He found her and made himself look like me. He raped her several times before he brutally murdered her." Vena bends down for a kiss and to smell her blood even better. "Although I have to say, her blood was never as sweet as yours, or as pure. My little mate liked the opium I'm afraid." Vena removes the sheet that covered Mori.

Smiling he rips the nightgown that Karen had just put on Mori.  When he shifts to cover her body Mori strikes faster than a snake. The vampire blood still fresh in her veins making her faster than Vena could have expected.

Mori's strike is true from years of hunting and killing with just a knife. Vena looks at her in surprise as he falls down on top of her. Mori not knowing if a kill wound in the heart would be enough takes the time to remove both the head and the heart just to make sure.

When she's done she pushes the body off her and stumbles off the bed and tries to make it to the bathroom but stumbles and falls to the floor. The last thing she knows is the blackness setting around her and voices yelling for her.