Author's Note: I don't own these characters or this series and I don't wish to make any profit from writing this story.

Lullaby

It was late in the night when Irene awoke. She could have sworn it had been early in the afternoon when she shut her eyes. Yet, the grogginess she felt in her bones confirmed she had fallen asleep when she hadn't meant to.

She imagined Gen was pleased. He had been ordering her to go to sleep for three days now since the twins were born.

Irene had gone into labour early in the evening which had lasted all night. Irene alone, save for Phresine and her midwife. Gen had relentlessly pounded at the door, demanding to be let in. He continued to do so until the midwife flung open the door and demanded that he calm down, or he'd be tied up and taken to his own room.

It seemed pointless to threaten a king, but the glare she gave him seemed to provide the desired affect.

The labour had been much harder and longer than Irene had been told, but no one had been expecting her to give birth to twins.

Irene shut her eyes. Twins,a boy and a girl. She still could not believe it. She could barely grasps the basics of motherhood. And the gods had decided to give her two babies to care for? At least the twins weren't both boys, there had been too many stories in the past of twin brothers fighting over the throne.

The boy had been born first, and it was only after that Gen was allowed to enter. The midwife quickly handed the boy to him while they dealt with the second. She must have predicted holding his newborn son would keep the king quiet, and it did. The girl was born soon after, and Irene had never felt so exhausted in her life.

She remained awake long enough for her and Gen to agree on the names Nikos and Marina and then she slept, but it wasn't for long. Irene had to wake up to feed them, and she didn't like having them out of her sight, even while sleeping.

Irene had no clue if this feeling was what maternal instinct was supposed to be like. All she knew was that she had brought two very defenseless human beings into the world. A baby would be an easy target, especially for a baron that would prefer there not to be a male heir to the throne.

She wondered if it was normal for mothers to be so paranoid that a mere blink would find their child missing. She'd likely be living with this feeling for the rest of her life.

Sighing at her new fate, Irene rose and peered into the small crib where the twins were sleeping.

Her heart stopped. There was Marina, but no Nikos. Where was Nikos? Irene felt sick.

I've barely been a mother for three days, and I've lost my son!

She flung herself out of bed and was about to scream for her attendants, but then noticed Gen's robe lying over the arm of a chair in the corner.

So, I'm missing a husband as well?

Then she heard it, a gentle voice singing softy and oddly. It was coming from outside her open window. Wrapping her robe around herself, she quietly poked her head outside. Peering around, she found the source

Gen was sitting on the roof, with one leg hanging over the edge. He was softly singing a song that Irene was certain was an ancient Eddisan lullaby. Relief washed over Irene as she spotted Nikos sleeping in the nook of Gen's right arm.

She leaned against the windowsill and silently watched the pair. Gen rarely sang. He would hum and whistle tunes, but rarely did he sing, granted that was still more than Irene did.

Gen lifted his head and locked his gaze with her's as he finished the last verse. He silently and carefully rose to his feet, never letting go of his precious cargo. When he got to the window, he handed Nikos to Irene. She gladly accepted him to reassure herself their newborn was safe and sound. She moved aside to let Gen climb back inside.

Irene stared straight into his eyes. "I want to strangle you," she whispered.

Gen raised a bemused eyebrow. "My singing is not that bad."

"For scaring me half to death," Irene snapped back. "I had thought our son had been stolen."

Gen scoffed. "If anything ever gets stolen from me, I have no right to call myself a thief." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry, he was crying and I was trying to coax him back to sleep without waking you."

Irene lightly stroked Nikos fine, silk hair and was certain she had never felt anything so soft in her life. "So, you took our newborn son out on the roof?"

"Where else would I take him?" Gen replied with a smirk. "Although, I'm sure the servants would find it hilarious to see the king singing in the hallway."

He reached out and brushed the loose hair back over Irene's ear. "How are you feeling?"

Irene moved to sit on the edge of the bed and placed Nikos back to join his twin. "As I already told you hours before, I'm fine."

Gen sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "You're exhausted. You need to sleep."

Irene shook her head. "I can't sleep, they're newborns they'll need to be fed again soon."

"And you can sleep until then. I assure you, our children have powerful lungs." He patted her shoulder. "They'll let you know when they're hungry."

Irene said nothing as she stared into the crib. How come she'd never fully realized how small and helpless a baby truly was?

Gen looked over her shoulder as he held her tight. "They won't vanish when you're sleeping, my queen."

"Is that a lie?"

"It's a promise. I won't let it happen" Gen replied firmly, pulling back the bed sheets of the bed. "Now climb in before-"

A small whimper from the crib cut Gen off, and it quickly turned into a hungry cry.

Gen sighed, slouching forward. "First Nikos, and then Marina. I thought twins were supposed to do things together."

Irene gave a small smile as she scooped up Marina and moved to her bed. She felt awkward regarding what to do or say as she held her daughter. Irene kept wondering when this fabled "natural instinct of mother" was supposed to appear. "Gen, what was that song you were singing earlier?"

Gen leaned against one of the bed posts. "It was an old lullaby of my mother's."

Irene opened her shirt to let Marina feed. "Would you sing it again, please?"

"It's normally the mother who sings to her baby."

"I'm not asking for the babies, I want you to sing for me. Besides, I don't know any lullabies."

Gen gave a chuckle and crawled to the spot that was between Irene and the crib by her bedside. Holding Marina against her chest, Irene lay her head on his shoulders as he began to sing and let her eyes close for just a moment.