Maven

The walk back from the cold, damp, dank dungeons to the warm, welcoming room called our bedroom was interesting. When leaving Aunt Elena's cell, I had to drag Mare away from questioning her. She was speaking so quickly that it seemed like gibberish. On the stairwells, Mare was fretting about the names she chose, and about the last thing, Elena told her. Then, when we got to the home stretch, she starting happy crying that the babies are mine.

Babies.

It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that Mare is carrying twins. I can guess that she is pregnant with twins since it runs in my family on the Merandus side.

Now she is lying face-up on the bed, staring at the ceiling. I stand at the foot of the bed, watching her.

"Elena said the birth will be tragic," She says, lifting her hands straight up as she speaks. She plops them back on the bed when she's done.

"That's about 8 months from now, no need to worry about it," I try to calm her nerves.

"That gives me 8 months to worry about it! I don't think worrying is good for them!" She exclaims, sitting up from her post.

"Mare," I say to her, sighing as I do so. "I am sure everything will be just fine."

"But what if it isn't," She tells me defeatedly.

"But what if it is," I raise my eyebrow at her. She leans back down onto the bed, going limp. The mattress shakes at the impact.

"Look," I walk over to where her feet are. "We have the best nurses here, if anything happens to you or our girls, they will know what to do."

Mare looks up at me, lifting her head alone. Her eyes are welled with fresh tears. She inhales a sharp breath. "Our girls."

I smile warmly, tears sting my eyes as well. "Our girls."

I get on the bed next to her, the bed dipping as I crawl toward her. She rolls onto her left side so she can face me. I lay down on my right side and draw her into me. Her arm wraps around my waist, mine does the same. Our entwine is loving and warm, like they always are. I protect her body since mine is larger, but she comforts me since hers is softer. Yin and Yang.

"You'll be fine," I whisper to Mare, my chin idling at the top of her head. She takes a deep breath, an engaged inhale and a relieving exhale.

She removes her head from where it rested, causing my chin to move.

"I guess everyone in the High Houses knows now," She says solemnly. "And eventually everyone will know."

"That wasn't how I planned for it to come out," I decompress. "I will call a broadcast and let the people know, I've got it under control."

A smile tugs at her lips, but she defeats it quickly.

"I should probably do that right now, though," I tell her with a monotone in my voice. She gives me a tight hug and whines in protest.

"Do you have to go?" She cries like a baby leaving its mother.

I chuckle playfully. "If you want me to announce this to the world, then yes, I have to go."

She snuggles me even closer, squeezing the space between us even tighter until it goes away. "No." She moans out.

I continue to chuckle through my nose. "I know how to make it up to you."

She looks up at me with curious eyes. "You can give me ice cream?"

"No, that wasn't what I was getting at. You don't have to come with me,"

Her eyes light up. "Meaning I don't have to go on live tv? I can stay here and be a slug and not do anything?"

I laugh at her quarrel. "You can do whatever you want."

"So I can go in the kitchens and get ice cream?" She asks me gleefully.

I shake my head as I laugh. "I think that qualifies as anything."

She gives me a victorious smile before hugging me tight again, her head by my chest, arms around my waist. I rub the top of her head before kissing it gently.

We stay like this for a while, until she removes her head to yawn.

"Tired?" I ask her.

She nods her head. "Today has been a long day."

Mare sits up, rubbing her eyes. "Making a new human is exhausting,"

I sit up as well. "Two new humans," I politely remind her.

"Even more exhausting," She mutters. "How long will you be out?"

I decompress again. "About an hour maybe, depends on how quick people are."

"Just enough time for me to get ice cream and come back here," She smiles laughingly.

"What if they don't have ice cream?" I ask her teasingly.

She gives me a vexing smirk. "I can tell them to get me some, I am the Queen now, they have to listen to me."

I snort at her response. She isn't wrong.

"You know I love you, right?" I ask her lightly.

Mare puts her pointer finger on her chin. "Well, you married me, got me pregnant, hmm," She pauses, her eyes looking upward. "Yes, I know you love me."

I beam at her before putting my hand on her cheek, her warm and flushed cheek. "I love you too," She says sweetly.

Mare

Maven left about 15 minutes ago. He gave me kisses, and the girls kisses as well before he left swiftly. Now, I am in the entry hall on an adventure to look for the kitchen. It's easy to forget how the castle can be a maze. I find another hallway and figure I should try that one to find the kitchen.

My idea of ice cream was a great one, and I intend to go through with it.

I start to walk toward the hallway, but I hear the front doors burst open.

"Your Majesty?" I see someone in a guard uniform.

"Yes?" I ask, putting my regal voice on.

"There is a distressed young lady at the gates, saying she needs..." He trails off. "I honestly have no clue what she requires, she is in discomfort."

The guard looks uncomfortable. I raise my hand. "Don't worry, I think I can talk to her."

"But she is-,"

"I can handle it," I tell the guard firmly. He gives me a firm nod before backing away. I turn to face the huge front doors before they burst open. A young lady, about my age, is in the doorway. And I can say that distress was an understatement.

I was getting deja-vu from when this happened with Evangeline not so long ago. The young girl with dark brown hair and light skin was drenched in silver blood, with a pregnant stomach.

"Get a nurse!"

***

The young girl whose name I still am unaware of is in the hospital ward of the castle. She wouldn't stop screaming, the volume of her hollers could be audible to all of Norta.

Thank goodness I am expecting, and I have done my research, and I did this with Eve.

"Get her an epidural," I tell a nurse quickly. I don't look back at the nurse I just spoke to, all I can hear is retreating footsteps. I look at the girl, sweat glued to her face, blood-stained to her clothes.

"I need you to listen to me," I look at her eyes, her blue eyes. She nods her head, moans escaping her lips. "You are going to have a baby, okay?"

"Yeah, I know," She strains out before tilting her head back again.

I roll my eyes sarcastically. Well, she's a bit stuck up.

"Breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth. We have a nurse giving you something to help with the pain, is that what you want?" I ask her with an authoritarian inflection. She nods her head.

"Alright, it's in the form of a shot," I explain as the nurse comes in with a needle filled with serum. She injects it in the girl, patches it up with a band-aid, and throws the needle away. The nurse locks eyes with me, and I immediately recognize her.

"Rei?" I ask her, shocked.

She looks just as shocked as I am. "Your Highness," She dips her head slightly. "Fancy seeing you here."

I give her a nod as I purse my lips.

"I heard Maven's broadcast that you are expecting twins, I already knew you were expecting but twins? Wow! That is amazing, congratulations!" She tells me with a forced smile and enthusiasm. Her smile seems nervous, suspicious as the last time I saw her.

"Have you been taking the vitamins I gave you?" She asked me quietly.

"Now isn't an appropriate time for me to have a check-up, I am trying to help this young woman deliver a baby, which you should be doing," I tell Rei firmly, my voice filled with annoyance.

She gives me a frightful nod before dashing off.

I hear the door open behind me, but I don't bother to turn. Fixated on the young girl moaning in pain.

"Mare?" I hear a familiar voice. "What are you doing here?"

I turn around to see Maven, his blue eyes filled with worry and curiosity.

"I was walking to get my ice cream and this girl burst through the front doors in labor, I couldn't just leave her there."

Maven sighs in realization. "Who is she?"

I shrug. "All I know is that she is a Silver since Silver blood is spilling out of her."

"Wonder what happened to her..." Maven ponders.

"Maybe we can get something out of her soon, we gave her an epidural so that should calm her down."

Maven looks at her, his eyes narrow.

"This is going to be happening to you in a few months, huh?" He asks me, trying to lighten the mood. I give him a look with my eyes up, glaring at him seriously.

"What? I'm just asking," He shrugs his shoulders. "I don't want-,"

Maven is cut off by a loud scream coming from the girl. Maven covers his ears and winces, the maids continue to do what they were doing, but I sense something off. I can feel an electrical surge pulse through the room, wave through my veins.

The lights flicker, before they strike out, sending a bolt of lightning around the ceiling. I quickly strike at it, the lavender bolt webbing out of my palm and fingertips. I collect the lightning in my grasp before it pans out and hurts anyone. I douse the lightning as quick as it came.

All eyes are on me, everyone here knows I was an electricon, but those bolts didn't come from me. They came from the girl.

Maven and I exchange glances. I know we are both thinking the same thing. I thought all of the electricon Silvers were gone, but now we have this one.

Maven walks up to the girl, who is now gasping for breath. I stay close behind.

"Your Majesty," She says breathlessly, her chest rising and falling. "I-I'm sorry that you must see me like this."

"No worries," Maven says reassuringly. "I have a few questions for you, now that you are not screaming."

I hold back a chortle at Maven's comment.

"Who are you?"

She breathes heavily. "Thora Titanos."

Maven looks over his shoulder at me, his expression confused.

I thought all the Titanos' were eliminated. This was the girl I was acting as is real.

***

After three hours of Maven taking notes and me helping Thora, her baby arrived. She is holding her small baby boy right now as he sleeps.

"That was an interesting evening," Maven states the obvious.

"Maybe now we can ask her questions,"

"Agreed," Maven walks in front of me, I follow behind.

"Congratulations, Thora," Maven says. Thora looks up at Maven and gives him a weak smile.

"I can assume you have questions for me," Thora says with a chuckle.

"Yes, we do," Maven says, he turns to me. I stand at his side; I clear my throat before I speak.

"I know your name is Thora, but who are you," I ask her.

She looks down at her son and sighs deeply. "I never met my parents, they died when I was a baby. Some villagers found me a few days later and took me in for a while, but they didn't know I was a Silver until I was about 9 or 10. They kicked me out when I found out, leaving me to wander all by myself. Some boys found me and took me in. The first few years were great, but when I turned 15, this one boy, Nick, took advantage of me. He got me pregnant and didn't know what to do. Two days I ran away. I decided to come here since I heard there was a Red Queen. This afternoon, I decided to see the Honeymoon walk, but I started having contractions. I didn't mean to barge in, but I was freaking out and needed help. Thank you so much for helping me."

Maven looked just as shocked as I did.

"I am so sorry all of that happened to you," I say to her. She yawns as a response, the tiredness reaching her eyes.

"We will let you and your son sleep," Maven says, stepping away from the bed she lays on.

We leave quickly without a trace. Maven leads us to our room.

"I have a surprise for you in our room," He tells me slyly.

"Hmm," I tell him, raising my eyes with interest. "What is it?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise," He tells me, looking over his shoulder at me.

I do a quick walk to get back to our room, the anticipation killing me. Once I get to our room, I burst the door open and see a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream on the nightstand.

"Really? Ice cream?" I ask him with awe. "Is it melted?"

He purrs out a chuckle. "No, I had a maid send it in a few minutes ago."

I practically run to the ice cream and the spoon next to it. I sit down on the bed and take off the lid and dig myself in. As soon as the first scoop of rich, cold goodness hits my tongue, a moan of relief comes out of me.

"That happy?" Maven asks me.

I nod, my mouth full of the cold minty ice cream.

"If this is the start of your cravings, I am in over my head," Maven says as he shuts the door.

I continue to shove ice cream in my mouth. He sits down next to me. I grab the spoon and put it in front of him. He looks at it longingly and puts the spoon in his mouth. I never thought I would see the day where I fed Maven ice cream.

After us talking and laughing, the ice cream disappeared, and so did our will to be awake.

It was an amazing night, us falling asleep in each other's arms.

Hello, my dudes, sorry I didn't post on Monday, it was my birthday.

But I am back.

I'm trying to get a job but failing miserably.