DANIELLE
It felt as if I was dying. The pain was unbearable, and no amount of magic in this world could ease the pains of labor.
It felt as if my entire body was pulled in different directions, and that it was never going to stop.
They had to send Marick out as he fainted.
It made me so mad—what a wuss.
He left me alone on this bed with the only woman in this family who knew what I was experiencing right now.
"C'mon, Danielle, you can do this,” Mila, Marick's sister, said as his mother just dabbed me with a cold cloth. Both of them had taken their blonde hair up into tight buns.Magdel looked way too young to be a mother, but she gave birth to three children and I was listening to every word that was coming out of her mouth.
"One strong push, it's all you need to do," Magdel said again, and I pushed with all of my might.
I felt a slight bit of relief when the physician took out one of the babies. I've never been this tired before, but this wasn't over yet. There was one more, and it needed to beborn.
But right at this moment, I couldn't breathe, as my baby wasn't crying.
It finally bawled its little lungs out, and for some reason, I started to cry too.
"Congratulations, it's another prince, your highness," the doctor spoke to the queen.
"Oh, Danny, that is wonderful." Magdel had tears in her eyes as the doctor gave the baby to a nurse that came with him to the palace. She was so different from that first day I saw her in that limo, when she wanted to give me the forgotten potion.
"What do you say, Danielle, ready for the next one?" Magdel smiled.
I wasn't, but my stupid head bobbed. I had no choice.
"Let's do this."
Marick's mother and sister both held my hands, and the contraction pain started all overagain.
A scream left my mouth as I was determined to get the baby out of me, but it was just as painful and challenging as the first one.
Why twins of all things. Why me?
It actually happened faster this time around, and by the third strong push, my second baby was born.
"Another prince," the physician said when the second baby started to cry. Two boys.
Marick was going to be out of his element.
"Rest," Magdel said, and she didn't have to ask me twice.
I was beyond tired.
I was finally a mother of two baby boys, not just two average boys, but two warlock princes.
When I woke up, the room was dark. Only a small light was lighting half side of the room.
I heard soft murmurings and looked to the corner of the room, where I found Marick sitting in the rocking chair with one of his sons in his arms, speaking softly to him.
I smiled.
I didn't feel as sticky as I thought I would be and assumed some sort of magic was involved.
I was dressed in a nightgown too.
He lifted his head and saw I was awake. Gasped playfully and got up from the rocking chair in one fluent movement and came over to me, lying on the bed.
"Say hello to your mother, Emile," Marick said, and he put little Emile in my arms.
He was beautiful. Had dark blonde hair like his father with the greenest eyes I'd ever seen. There was a bit of me in him too.
I laughed at the joy that bubbled in me, and tears flooded my sight.
Marick crawled in next to me as I cuddled Emile.
"He is so beautiful."
"They both are," Marick spoke softly. "You did a great job, Love. Sorry that I was such awimp."
I laughed.
I felt his lips on the side of my temple as I just stared at the perfect little creation that was a mixture of both of Marick and me.
"Where is Joshua?" I asked.
"A real Sleeping Beauty that one," he spoke softly as Emile sucked on my finger's tip.
Marick clicked his fingers, and I only saw the pacifier floating in the air when it appeared close to Emile's mouth.
I chuckled. "Magic sure has its perks," I said and took it hovering in the air and placedit into Emile's mouth.
This was my family, and a part of me wished to share it with my mother. But she wouldn't believe any of this. Not by a mile. As witches just simply didn't exist.
Days passed, and I was already up and moving, creating a routine for the boys. The birthing pains long forgotten.
Emile and Joshua were identical. Josh was born first.
It was hard to see the difference, but the way I'd been staring at them when they breastfeed, I could tell the difference between my boys. A mother always knew.
The royal family was starting to plan the Christening. It was a bit different than normal human Christenings and a big affair. The royal Wisp was going to make her choice now that they were born.
She hadn't even made her acquaintance yet, and way at the back of my mind, Ariel's words were bothering me a lot.
She said that it wasn't the babies at all that Fibbs was pulled to but me.
I was no magical being, but still, her Wisp found me addictive, like I was catnip, and she said that was why Minaut was acting so strange. That she was a snob as no Wisp ever left a witch for a human. It was usually the opposite. Wisps only parted with a witch fora more powerful one.
It was the babies. It had to be one of them.
The day of the Christening finally came.
Everyone came from all over. I felt so out of it, and yet, Marick tried his best to include me into his world.
He introduced as many of the witches as he could that was present, even if they just gaveme the raised eyebrow or a sniff of the nose.
I felt like the plague.
Marick got called into a meeting while we all roamed around in the voyeur. I stood one side, just looking at everyone. I couldn't help but think about the fact that he said all the witches were vain.
It was something one could see a mile away. The witches and warlocks all wanted to be more beautiful than the next. Not just in clothes but in appearance too.
I decided to take a stroll and made my way to the entrance.
"They are half breeds. I feel sorry for Magdel and Eli. How could Marick even do that to them? Humiliate them like that."
I froze as the woman spoke to a group of her lady friends inches from me.
Her back was turned to me.
"Katia was such a powerful choice. Everyone was so looking forward to meeting those offsprings."
"Half breeds or not. They are your future princes. I've learned that the weakest pup usually becomes the strongest wolf." Another lady said, and I tried to see who it was. "Excuse me," she whispered, and I only saw her back. She was beautiful, had dark hair cascading down her back.
"Don't listen to Ru, she sees the great war, doesn't know a thing about witches affairs."
I made my way out of there.
Half breeds. Half breeds!
They were innocent babies, not monster spawns.
I finally burst out the door and stood at the balcony that looked over the garden. The dress I had to wore was cutting into my sides. The corset made it hard to breathe, and the pants were so tight that I could hardly go to the toilet. Long flaps of material cascaded down my legs and arms, and I had no idea what the designer visioned with this design. I looked like a human raven as it was all black.
The witches love their color, and it was woven into all their designs.
I tried to calm down. Just listening to that woman's words. What were they even doing here if that was how they feel about all of this?
They shouldn't be here.
"You okay?" A deep male's voice said behind me, making me jumped slightly.
"Sorry," he apologized. "Didn't mean to startle you. What does a rare beauty do in a place like this?"
I just raised my eyebrow at him.
He was attractive. Was Marick's size but extremely broad in the shoulders, and he had long dark brown hair cascading over his shoulders in waves. His messy beard would put Santa Claus to shame, but something about his demeanor protruded importance.
"Name is Heiko." He reached out his hand for mine, and I was ready to shake it, but he grabbed it gently and kissed me on top of my hand.
His lips were warm and soft, and my skin tingled softly.
He was a supernatural, alright.
"You can speak, right?" He looked at me with dark green and brown eyes.
I chuckled nervously, which made him chuckled seductively.
"Sorry, yes, I do speak." I swallowed hard.
"So, what brings you to the witches’ affair?"
I left out another nervous laugh and took my hand out of his grip.
"I make you nervous?" He squinted as his lips tugged around the corner.
"You are extremely direct." I smiled at him.
"I can tell by the way you shy away from me, but there is a smile on your face, and your heartbeat is rapidly beating faster than it should be."
"Oh, and you can hear all of that by standing next to me."
He laughed, showing pointy k-nines, and for a short moment, I felt a tinge of fear. Vampires can hear far. What if this wasn't just a witches’ affair? But Vampires didn't have an alliance with anyone, and I saw pictures. This brute of a guy didn't have any of the vampire markings.
"What are you doing at this witches’ affair?"
"My duty to give my blessings to the half breeds."
"Seriously," I got upset. "Why is everyone calling them half breeds? They are babies." Isnarled, grabbed my flaps, and stormed down the steps away from whoever that brute was. Half-breeds. I hated that word.
"What did I say?"
He didn't follow, and I fumed all the way down to the garden.
I found myself near a maze and seriously didn't want to be at that gathering.
My kids were not half breeds. They were babies, and they were beautiful.
Stupid idiot.
"The maze looks so beautiful this time of year." I heard a female voice on the other sideof the mage, close by.
"Remember how we used to get lost in this garden." She giggled as she spoke to no one in particular.
I kept listening to her childhood memories of this place. It didn't sound like Mila, andI doubt that I ever met whoever this woman was. But why was she speaking to herself?
Our path's met at the end of the passageway. I had to grab my heart again as the lady and a guy sitting in a wheelchair almost bumped me.
"Sorry," she said. "We didn't mean to frighten you." She smiled. She was a blonde and had the softest blue eyes, like the sky. She was a beauty and really friendly. The guy inthe wheelchair was making a funny noise like he was laughing. He was disabled, badly.
She laughed at the guy in the wheelchair who thought it was hilarious. "Okay, let me rephrase. I wasn't, but I can't say the same for Eric."
I smiled. "It's okay. You are Sebastian's family?" I heard about Eric. The guy that was cursed. A curse could do that to you?
"His brother.” She gestured down at Eric who had more or less the same scruffy hair as Bas. “Not mine. Thank heavens for that."
I laughed again.
"My name is Francine," she reached out her hand to me.
"Danielle. The human." I touched it, and we shook once.
She had a firm handshake.
She smiled. "Ignore them. Sebastian has told us a lot about you. How you changed his best friend from being a royal brat and idiot to someone who can have become one of the greatest rulers the witches ever had?"
"My fault too. Sorry."
"Don't apologize, Danielle. I think it's romantic. He fell in love with someone that wasso against his law. Fight for it. I'm a sucker for forbidden romances."
I chuckled as she walked further with Eric, pushing him down the direction I came.
"I didn't want him to give this up," I spoke over my shoulder, and she stopped again.
"A crown prince giving up his kingdom, sure is a prince worthy of a crown." She smiled.
I laughed the way she said it. It made sense, but he was never going to get the opportunity to wear the crown.
"They are calling my babies half breeds. This world is not going to be easy on them, are they?"
She gaped and chuckled. "You're serious? They are royalty. You show me the witch who is going to dare say something remotely cruel at their faces, and I'll show you a dead witch.”
She was funny, spoke the truth sternly. I liked her.
"And ignore the witches calling your sons half breeds. They are vain and filled with jealousy that a mere human snatched their crown prince's affection. From what I heard, Minaut will mark them today and choose which of the lucky half breeds will be her master."
I get what she tried to do. My babies might not be full witches, but they sure were powerful already to own a Wisp.
"Here you are, Love," I heard Marick's voice up ahead and saw him running toward me.
"Francine, Eric," he said, surprised, and touched Eric's arm, and kissed Francine on both her cheeks.
"Marick," Francine bowed at him and pushed Eric further through the maze. He looked at me. "What are you doing out here?"
"I needed fresh air. These people..."
"Are our guests," Marick smiled, and I grunted.
He chuckled. "Come, I need to introduce you to someone."
"Francine is really nice."
"Yes, compassion is her gift." He spoke as we made our way back to the castle.
"Wait, compassion can be one of your gifts?"
"Yes, she was Eric's best friend, and she didn't leave him after he got cursed but fell in love with his older brother, Darius. They got married a few years back."
"Poor Eric."
"Don't say that, Love. Please."
We walked up the stairs to the balcony again and entered the gathering.
He took me straight to a big group, and I saw the back of the guy who spoke to me outside on the balcony, the guy who called my children half breeds.
"Heiko, I would like you to meet my wife, Danielle," Marick said, and he turned around. He smiled when he saw me. I just glared at him.
"Love, this is..."
"I know who he is. We had the pleasure earlier today."
"Oh, you try to sweep the love of my life off her feet now, Heico?"
"Marick, I didn't know she was the love of your life. I didn't even know she was yours, or that her name is Danielle. Very French."
His friends laughed, and Marick just smiled.
"Heico is the alpha of the wolves, Danielle."
"Okay, that makes a lot of sense." I chirped, and they all laughed again.
"So this is the human that has the witches realm up in flames. She looks harmless to me, Marick." The way he looked at me made me feel uncomfortable.
Marick chuckled.
He spoke to Heico in a different language, and everyone gasped. The alpha indeed looked at him impressed, but then he turned his gaze from Marick back to me, and I felt uncomfortable again by the way he stared at me as if I was a prize to be won.
Alpha or no Alpha, he gave me the creeps.
Heico finally laughed. "I'm impressed, your Highness." He just winked at me, making me more pissed off, and then he turned back to his pack as Marick led me away.
"What did you say to him?"
"I told him..."
"The Christening of Emile and Joshua Young is ready to begin." The pope or whatever theycalled him appeared from the room's doors where the Christening was going to occur. As one, everyone turned to the entrance and slowly made their way inside.
