A soft breeze gently rustles the leaves in the trees that surrounds the beautiful marble gathering hall. Large pillars keeping the roof up are decorated with the greenest of grape vines and golden threads. Large tables filled with the finest food, richest wines and delectable desserts ran all along the hall. Status of the greatest heroes and the loyalist servants of God shone brightly in the powerful rays of the golden sun. Laughter is heard echoing off the walls as jokes were told amongst long-time friends and new acquaintances. A toast is shared between those rejoicing the peaceful times, hugs and handshakes are exchanged between family members. Fake swords and bows swing in the air as children giggle and shout as they chase each other around the hall. At the front of the hall a mighty painting of a great battle hangs above the head table where the host and his family sit having a casual conversation while they eat and drink.
"You know Arthur if I didn't know better I'd say your eyebrows got bigger," states a redhead that is seated to the right of the host, Arthur; he has a sly smirk on this face as he sips his wine. His gray tinted white wings jerk slightly as he chuckles at Arthur expression.
"Very funny Alistair." Arthur mumbles sipping his tea, then placing the cup down to be replaced with a fork and knife. Running the knife through the meat on his plate Arthur eats silently, trying his best to ignore the laughter from his family at Alistair's childish comment. Glancing to his left he notices that even his wife is laughing at the remark. He wonders if he is honestly the only adult sitting at this table filled with little children who laugh at anything that comes out of Alistair's mouth. Arthur sighs heavily and continues to eat in his bubble of silence, watching his siblings talk amongst each other; albeit exceedingly loud. His brother Alistair, the second oldest, is patting their youngest brother, Liam firmly on the shoulder, avoiding his pure white wings while they laugh at shenanigans Arthur also finds childish. No matter how much older Alistair is then him Arthur always thinks of himself as more mature than his older brother. His oldest brother Owen is quiet and the referee for the family when their mother and father were not at home, but Arthur has to admit he did a fairly good job at being so kind-hearted no matter the situation, he sometimes finds it hard to believe Owen and Alistair got along at all. Finally, his older sister Niamh is sitting next to Liam and across from Owen; as far away from Arthur as possible. Niamh and Arthur had a falling out a few years back over Niamh not wanting Arthur to marry his wife and they have not seen each other since today.
"Arthur, love, what's wrong?" A soft voice to his left brings Arthur out of his thoughts and he looks down at his hand, which has his wife's over top of his.
"Oh, um, nothing, just thinking is all." He replies with a smile and looks up to his wife who smiles back with the kind of smile that makes days like today tolerable. His wife is the most important person in his life, she brightens Arthur's day no matter what and usually it is just with a smile, no words required. Her long blond hair is pulled back into a bun today but is usually in pigtails. Through her glasses, soft emerald-green eyes are filled with life and love. Her strapless dress is a soft blue, hugging close to her body. White wings hang from her shoulder blades with rare cyan feathers mixed with the white feathers closest to her shoulders. Arthur takes his wife's hand in his own and gently kisses the soft pale skin. Letting go of her hand he smiles lovingly at her, ignoring the whistle from Alistair. "Nothing you need to worry about Alice."
Alice smiles sweetly at her husband and gives his hand a gentle squeeze. She knows that Arthur isn't overly fond of his brothers making fun of him and it doesn't help that Arthur is nervous about leaving their year old son at home with the maid. She thought it best if their son remained home so it would be easier to socialize at the party. Arthur had protested immensely, being afraid of leaving their son for the first time, but Alice convinced him that they'd have to leave home without him eventually. Reluctantly, Arthur and Alice had left their son in the hands of their most trusted maid, Mari-Ann, however, Arthur is still slightly on edge.
Becoming a father has been one of the best things that ever happened to him, but it is more terrifying than anything. He is afraid of becoming his own father, distant and uncaring, so he spends almost all his time with his son. He'll make sure he grows up strong and passionate in following Arthur's footsteps as head of the sixth realm of Heaven. Arthur smiles at the thought of his son succeeding him, he will make Arthur proud, and the beta has no doubt about that in his mind.
Arthur returns to looking out over the table at his family, seeing them laughing and mostly getting along makes his heart swell with bliss. The stress of leaving his son slowly fades as he eats and drinks with his family. His eyes catch his older brother Owen's eyes, and he offers Arthur a gentle smile along with a nod that Arthur returns with a small smile of his own. The thought of having another meal with his brothers and sister again seemed impossible to Arthur, but he is ecstatic it has turned out so well.
A sudden rush of wind enters the hall, making the hair on Arthur's neck stand on end. The chill he got makes him suddenly uneasy and shift uncomfortably in his chair. Pushing the odd feeling away and clearing his throat Arthur returns his attention back to the table. It wasn't a moment later that another gust comes through the hall, ruffling the pure white feathers of his wings. The odd uneasy feeling returns and the hairs on his neck once again stand. His wings twitched uncomfortably as Arthur bites his bottom lip in thought. What is this feeling? Could it be he is still paranoid about leaving his son? No, it is a different feeling of paranoia that is heavy in the bottom of his stomach making him feel light headed and nauseous.
The distant sound of crying catches Arthur's ears and he is snapped from his thoughts. He looks to his family, but none of them have seemed to hear it. It baffles him that they hadn't heard it, it had been such a sharp sound and has hit directly to his heart as he recognizes the sound as a babies cry and thinks of his son straight away. He glances to his wife to see if she has heard and recognizes the sound. Feeling Arthur's eyes on her, Alice turns to look at him, she notices the uneasy look on her husband's face and returns his gaze with a puzzled frown.
"Arthur what's wrong?" She asks.
"Did you hear that?" Arthur asks, ignoring Alice's own question.
"Hear what?" Her look of puzzlement now turns to a look of concern as she watches her husband turn his head left and right, looking around the hall.
"It would seem it was just my imagination." He concludes, turning back to his confused wife. "Apologies, I didn't mean to frighten you." He takes her hand in his, lightly stroking it to help her worry go away.
"If you say so…" Her words trail off, knowing that something is still bothering Arthur. She thinks it could still be his worry of leaving their son, but a curling feeling in Alice's gut tells her it might not be that. Arthur's shoulders are more tense, the feathers of his wings are puffed out and twitching in agitation. She looks to the other members of the table to see if they've noticed Arthur's sudden odd behaviour. Alistair has obviously noticed, his face is twisted in a snarl of confusion and is pointing in Arthur's direction asking what his problem is. Alice merely shrugs, not having an answer to her brother-in-laws question. Liam and Niamh are too engrossed in their own little argument to notice, which Alistair soon becomes a part of at the mention of his name. The older beta spares a quick gander at Arthur before he too is distracted by his siblings bickering.
Alice herself being an omega never tries to get herself involved in breaking up Arthur's beta family when they come to a disagreement. Arthur tells her it's her God given right as his wife to tell them off, but Alice sees it as overstepping the boundaries she was taught as a child; an omega never goes against the word of a beta and especially never the word of an alpha. Her family's traditions in status has been different than the one that most angels went by. It was taught to all young angels that no matter where you were born or what status you were born with everyone is a child of God and has a chance at being part of each realm of Heaven. Of course that excludes demons, humans and hybrids, anything with tainted blood isn't pure enough to be a servant of the Lord.
The loud scraping of a chair on the porcelain marble floor silences the majority of the hall and turns the heads of every member of the head table and a few other Angels in the hall to stare right at Arthur. Their host is standing at the head of the table, his wings have snapped out to their full span. His face has fear written all over it, his eyes are wide with panic and a few drops of sweat drip down from his hairline. Arthur's hands are resting on the edge of the table keeping him up as he takes a few deep breaths.
Alice is the first to move, she reaches out across her plate to put her hand over top of her obviously panicked husbands. She draws her hand back close against her chest when Arthur jerks his hand away before she can touch him. Alice sits staring at her husband in shock, taking a few moments to compose herself before she opens her mouth to confront her beta, no matter how much it might bug her omega instincts. She hardly gets a sound out before Arthur is pushing away from the table and darting out of the hall between two of the white pillars yelling back at Alice that he'll see her back to their dwelling.
"Wait Arthur! Come back here!" Alice yells out to him, getting up from her chair but not going more than a few feet away from the table. Letting out an exasperated sigh Alice turns back to all of her confused guests. "Please don't mind him and return to your previous activities." Low murmurs sound out around the hall as the guests return to their conversations. Alice sighs again and sits back down folding her wings tight against her back. Trying to ignore the stares from the four other betas at the table Alice picks up her fork and knife and continues to eat.
Arthur runs as fast as he can after disappearing behind the back wall of the gathering hall. His breathing is ragged and comes in quick pants as he dodges branches and trees in the forest surrounding the hall. It would've been in his best interest to fly over the forest and scan from above to find the source of the crying, but he can't stay focused enough to fly safely. The sound of the crying has only gotten louder as he'd been sitting in the hall, but when the sound of a pained sob accompanies the babies cry it has been the last straw for Arthur. The mere memories of the bawling and sobbing makes Arthur's wings twitch in agitation, it makes him think of Alice when she'd had Alfred and the cries and screams that had come from the room. The beta can't even imagine a situation where Alice would've had to run off to an isolated forest to birth their son. Just musing that idea has his fist clenching and his wings snapping out, only to hit a nearby tree and have him stumble and fall to the ground. Slamming his fist to the ground Arthur takes a moment to calm himself, if he calms down enough and takes a second to think properly his sense will return to normal and he'll be able to find the source of his agitation.
"Bloody hell," he whispers to himself when the scent finally fills his nostrils. It's the smell of an omega and blood, lots of blood. Scrabbling to his feet the beta takes off in the direction of the scent, this time with his wits about him and his wings hugged tight to his back and out of the way. Taking another sniff of the air he makes a sharp right, willing his feet to take him faster. As he gets closer he notices another thing, the smell is void of a beta. There was at least always one beta around to help an omega birth while the mate – normally an alpha – would stay close by and keep away any offending danger. Which brings up another thought, the scent is also void of the smell of an alpha. No beta. No Alpha. There is an omega in the middle of nowhere having a baby. A surge of anger runs through Arthur's bones, giving his body the last burst of energy he needs as he gets closer to the scent.
Eventually, he comes to a clearing in the forest. The canopy of the trees only letting in a few rays of sunlight. The ground is mostly soft moss and long grass, long enough that Arthur almost misses a spot of white laying in the center of the clearing. On his way here he thinks that it might have been his own paranoid state that clouds the scent of the birthing omega, but to Arthur's surprise it is what the omega has used to have their child on that masks most of the scent. There right in the middle is a large piece of cloud, a Heavenly cloud at that. Normally clouds are taken to put over the bodies of the dead, not only for the look and the purity of the white, but to mask the smell of flesh till they were taken away by the caretaker Angels. Arthur finds it quite ingenious that the omega thought of using cloud to mask the scent of the birth.
Speaking of the omega, Arthur pulls his gaze away from the cloud to glance around the clearing. He sees nothing that indicates entry from the ground. His gaze moves to the canopy again and he notices that there is one spot in-between the branches that looks like it's been tampered with, so they'd flown and landed in this clearing. It wasn't an easy job for omegas to be with child and fly, which must have made this omega very strong willed to have flown out this far on their own.
A sudden shrill cry from the cloud brings Arthur back from his digressing thoughts. He timidly walks closer towards the cloud, his feet sliding gracefully through the long grass tickling the bottoms of his feet as he tries staying as quiet as possible. If the omega shows up suddenly he doesn't want them to think he's a danger and attack him, so he takes his time getting closer to the sound of crying and smell of birth. Being careful not to get too close, Arthur leans over the cloud to peer into the groove of the white fluff where a single child lay screaming for warmth.
The child is still covered in blood and small clumps of blood blackened tissues. Its eyes are squeezed shut as it squirms around, throwing its limbs around looking for some kind – any kind – of contact. The second the child stops flailing Arthur notices that the screaming child is male. Letting his eyes scan over the newborn offspring once more he looks specifically for the wing of the babe. The wings of any normal new born Angel are pink – the white feathers having been stained with the blood of their omegas womb. After a few weeks of washing and grooming the pink stain would fade and the perfect white feathers beneath would be on full display. Arthur's son's wings still have a light pink colour on his small primary feathers, but overall they are white almost a year since his birth. However, this child has wings that make Arthur gasp and take three paces back. Small black, blood soaked feathers peek out from beneath the infant's shoulders. Only twitching slightly on their own because of the lack of space to extend them; plus lack of natural muscle.
Glancing around the clearing, once more checking to make sure the coast is clear of an angry omega, Arthur moves in closer towards the infant Angel. With a second glance he confirms that his eyes are not deceiving him, this baby has black feathered wings. This baby angel is a hybrid, an abomination to the children of the Lord. It makes no sense to him why an Angel would let something so foul grow inside them? A few situations come to Arthur's mind and the most logical solution is that an omega Angel was kidnapped by a repulsive demons, forced to carry its child only to make an escape and go into labor just mere hours from home. It is clear now to Arthur why the omega isn't around, they've abandoned this vile creature and with good reason.
Seeing no other option, Arthur concludes that the only way to fix this problem is to go with the most logical solution. He'd have to kill this beast in the place of its omega. Any Angel in their right might would do it, Arthur just happens to be the only one around. Being the Angel that he is, he'll make it a quick and painless death, a mercy that not many others would show to a hybrid. It would be seen as an act of kindness, not only to the disgraceful offspring, but to all other Angels as well. No one would ever have to bear witness to this imperfection.
Nodding his head with resolve Arthur moves to kneel next to the puff of cloud and reaches into the groove of it, grasping the child by its sides and lifting it up. The now silent child is upright and seems smaller than the blond-haired Angel has first thought. Without much of a thought to the gore still covering the child or that it is a disgraceful creature, Arthur brings the child to his chest – being careful to mind its wings – and cradled it in his arms. As he thought, the infant is just big enough to fill both of his hands, which aren't very big in the first place. Letting his gaze once again trail over the newborns body, Arthur examines him with curiosity and maybe a bit of interest. The boy's eyes are closed tight and his mouth opens and closes; probably looking for food. Through the blood caked on the infants head he notices that a small tuft of strawberry blond hair rests on the top of the child's head. Arthur's gaze drifts down the small body when he finally spots dull markings on both of the small boy's tiny hands. Seeing them makes him realize how instinctively tender he's holding this beast.
He harshly thrusts the baby away from his chest and stares at it wide-eyed. It starts to whimper as fat tears slide from its closed eyes, frightened by Arthur's harsh actions. Breathing deeply for a few moments Arthur is able to compose himself enough to glance at the tiny fist of the hybrid. Wrapping around the boys middle fingers and trailing down the back of his hands to wrap around his wrists is a white tattoo-like marking. The marking of the infant's status, his status as an omega. A male omega, Arthur is not only holding a hybrid, but something that is very rare. Male omega's can only come from just that, another male omega. Arthur has seen a male omega of course, but most have been dead, ran away from heaven or were killed. Only a select few have lived peacefully among other Angels. Male omegas are made by God as temptation, able to do everything a female omega can, but not to be treated the same. A male omega can work his way into respect and then, and only then will he not be belittled by his brethren, but he is forbidden from bearing any children. It is prohibited for them to lead good alphas and betas astray from the word of the Lord. And here he is, a good beta holding the offspring of a seducing slut.
Every nerve in his body is telling him to kill this monster before the male omega comes back for its bastard child. Arthur shifts till he was kneeling on the soil of the ground, laying the child onto the ground at his knees. Then places both of his hands on the sides of the baby's face, lifting it up off the ground slightly and letting a shaky knee hover just enough over the boys torso to keep his body still. He'll be quick, it'll be the only amount of mercy Arthur will show because after all, this monster is only a baby. The older Angels muscles tense as he prepares himself to snap the weak bone of the newborns neck.
Arthur's breath suddenly catches in his throat. A lump of despair, guilt and regret settles in the pit of his stomach, making him want to vomit. The child's eyes have opened to gaze up at Arthur, the eyes staring at his offender are sad and watery as if he knows what Arthur is doing to him. However, that isn't what has Arthur taking his hands away from the child, now panting harshly to try and regain his lost breath. No, it is the colour, the blue orbs of a newborn baby that watches him, the same blue eyes that had been on his son when he'd been born.
He knows this monster isn't his son, he knows that. His son is bigger, a pure angel and an alpha. This beast is nothing like his son, but the instinct that washes over Arthur's body is one that tells him that he is not allowed to kill this child. He looks away from the child's eyes and down at his own hands, now covered in blood and remnants of birth. This boy looks so much like his son, his perfect, beautiful son, and he'd thought that killing it would be the only option. If someone had told him to kill his own son he would've killed himself first, so what right did he have to take this child's life. This child that is so different from his own, but really not that different at all. Both are just innocent babies, and it isn't the infants fault for the choices his omega made. Arthur feels disgusted with himself for wanting to kill something so innocent.
He makes haste grabbing the collar of his white shirt and pulling it over his head. He grabs the infant – who is now beginning to cry, probably in hunger Arthur thinks - with the soft fabric shirt and cleans its face of blood. Bundling up the infant the best he could and holding the boy to his bare chest, Arthur stands and spreads out his wings. His wingspan isn't much bigger than the hole that the omega has made, so with a few strong beats of his wings he is off the ground and flying through the canopy of the forest.
Arthur holds the child just tightly enough not to hurt him as he soars through the sky heading back to his dwelling. He makes sure to stay clear of the gathering hall and flies as fast as he can without losing focus; the baby is starting to squirm in his hold. His home soon comes into view and Arthur smiles gently at the sight of it. Being the Head of the sixth realm of Heaven definitely has its perks since he was given such a beautiful home. The main building's exterior wall is made of red brick and has white garden fences with various flowers and plants grown on them going up both sides of the door. The main building was fairly large, with the main floor consisting of the main entrance, a fairly large sitting room, a dining hall and a few spare rooms, offices and bathrooms. The second floor is mostly bedrooms for his family, guests and his son's nanny. The second building is attached to the main house and is made of gray stone. It is well maintained and is just large enough to accommodate all the cooks, maids and helpers that work for Arthur. A single tower is at the farthest corner of the workers home.
Arthur lands softly and quietly on the ground by the back entrance of the servant's quarters. He pushes the door open and is immediately met with the kitchen area. The main floor is where the kitchen, laundry room and a small dining room are situated for all the house keepers. The second floor is bedrooms and a few small bathrooms. Most of the appliances of the kitchen are new and all have a clean shine to them. An island in the middle of the kitchen space has multiple cutting boards on it and a basket of fresh vegetables from the garden outside.
Closing the door behind him, Arthur walks across the wooden floor to the island. He places the infant gently onto the wooden surface and goes to a drawer off to the side to grab a spare blanket. He goes back to the child and removes the now blood stained shirt from its small body. Now exposed to the cold air and still hungry for its first meal the boy starts to cry, his arms flailing around in his uncomfortable state. Arthur quickly wraps the boy in a light purple blanket. The fabric is coarse and it probably isn't a very comfortable fabric on the baby's new smooth skin, but it is all he has for now. He bounces the boy in his arms and hushes him, willing for him to stop crying so that no one will hear them. Still rocking the boy in his arms, who has now stopped crying, Arthur paces the kitchen as he think of a plan. He has to do something with this child, he can't raise him himself, now that would be impossible. He doesn't trust to give it to another family and he certainly doesn't want anyone to kill him. Arthur's thoughts come to a halt when the door on the opposite side of the kitchen opens and a woman walks through the door.
She is a short woman and larger around the middle. Her hair is a rich chocolate brown and pulled into a tight bun wrapped in white cloth. Her simple green dress goes down to her ankles and she has a white apron tied around her waist. Brown shoes replace sandals or bare feet to protect against rocks and dirt from the garden. Her wings are white and smaller than a normal beta's normally were, her primaries only reaching to the top of her thighs. The woman is carrying a small tub filled with water that seems to be a red colour. Her brown eyes are open wide with surprise and shock at seeing Arthur standing in the kitchen. She immediately puts the tub of water on the island, brushes her hands along her apron and bows her head at Arthur.
"Milord, please pardon my intrusion I wasn't expecting you until later this evening." Her voice is calm and sweet as she apologized to Arthur. She lifts her head back up and her eyes are immediately drawn to the blanket in Arthur's arms. She opens her mouth to ask what he has but her answer comes in the form of the infant beginning to cry again. Swallowing thickly, her eyes meet Arthur's, who beckons her over with a nod of his head. Even if Arthur's eyes are showing fear his body doesn't, he trusts this woman. The same beta woman he trusts to take care of his son, this woman is Mari-Ann, his most trusted and loyal nanny.
Her steps are cautious as she gets closer to Arthur. Her eyes meet his again, silently asking for another nod of approval, which is given. The blanket is moved aside so Mari-Ann can see the crying baby. She gasps and covers her mouth with both of her hands. The thought that Arthur has brought something like this into their home shocks her to no end. Her hands fall from her mouth as she frowns at the baby, doesn't her master know that this can get not only himself in trouble, but his whole household? Of course he knew that, then why? As if reading her mind. Arthur answers her in a soft voice.
"He looks just like him." And Mari-Ann can't deny that Arthur is absolutely right. Looking at the baby's now opened and watery eyes he looks just like the little prince. His skin is tinged pinker because of the lack of a bath and his eyes seem to have hints of purple in them and of course his black feathers and omega markings. Under different circumstances Mari-Ann would have assumed this infant to be a relative of the young prince or his twin brother. She nods her head in understanding when the infant begins to cry again and leaves Arthur's side to get a bottle and milk formula.
"What do you plan on doing with him?" She asks Arthur as she watches him rock the child gently. "You can't tell anyone about him you know that right?"
"Yes, I know." Is Arthur's calm response. "I couldn't do it, I was going to, I swear I was, but then he looked at me and all I could think about was I'd rather kill myself instead." A dry laugh escapes his lips as he hears himself say those words. He ponders to himself how it is even possible to have such a strong feeling for a monster. However he may feel now, no matter how much Arthur doesn't like it, it is the truth, he would've rather killed himself than this child.
"I don't think I could even understand the position you are in Milord, but you have my sympathies." Mari-Ann tells him as she walks over with a full bottle of milk. Standing at Arthur's side again she turns the bottle upside down on the inside of her wrist, testing the temperature of the milk. Deeming the temperature satisfactory she looks at Arthur and holds out the bottle to him. He looks at the bottle for a long moment, but turns his head away and hands the baby over to Mari-Ann. Placing the bottle on the island the brown-haired woman takes the fussy baby into her arm and tucks him close to her body. A heavy silence falls over them as Mari-Ann feeds the newborn. The more the silence drags on the more awkward the two feel as they watch the hybrid baby happily down his bottle of milk.
That silence, however, is interrupted by another person walking in through the same door Mari-Ann come in through. A man stumbles in clutching his bare stomach, panting heavily and sweating profusely. The door slams closed behind him and he leans against it, tilting his head back and exposing his neck. His wings are slack behind him, the ends covered in dirt from dragging on the ground.
"Mari-Ann, the medicine." He says to the roof, breathing weakly. "Please," he adds as he slides to the wooden floor of the kitchen, screwing his face up in pain as he did. Mari-Ann makes quick work of pulling the bottle from the baby's mouth, dumping out the vegetables in the basket on the island and laying the baby down in it. She ran to the cabinet above the drawer Arthur had pulled the blanket from and searched for bandages and medication.
Arthur recognizes the man right away, this is a soldier that works under him, he'd been sent on a mission to earth a while ago. This man is the only male omega Arthur has as a soldier. His name is Simon and is a friend of Arthur's and also someone he trusts almost as much as Mari-Ann. Arthur walks over to his side and helps him sit in a chair Mari-Ann has brought over for him to sit in, his wings stay slack even as he sits and only twitch when he moves the wrong way. They are all silent as the beta woman feeds Simon a teaspoon of purple liquid and dabs the pale skin of his forehead. Arthur takes notice to the way his skin was more pale than usual and his sandy blond hair has become brighter from his time on earth in the sun. His dark blue eyes don't shine like they did before and his bright smile and positive attitude as replaced with sorrow and pain.
"What happened to you Simon?" Arthur asks when Mari-Ann lifts the man's hand away from his stomach to show off a long stitched up cut across his lower abdomen just above the waist of his knee long brown pants. Simon hisses out in pain when Mari-Ann asks him to lean forward so she can put the bandage around his abdomen. There are spots of fresh and dried blood around the area of Simon's swollen stomach. The skin around the cut is red with irritation. Arthur doesn't get much more time to look before Mari-Ann finishes her work on Simon's wounds. Gently, to avoid putting pressure on his exhausted wings, the omega is helped to sit back in the chair. He sighs and takes a few moments to collect himself before he starts to talk.
"I was attacked by a demon on earth, and right before my mission was to be completed, if you can believe it." Simon says, finally answering Arthur's question. "It was pretty serious, I couldn't heal it on my own so I came back here. Thanks to Mari-Ann the bleeding stopped and she cleaned and sewed me up." The omega takes a deep breath, feeling exhausted even if he hasn't spoken very much. He runs a hand down his face and lets it fall past his chest, down to his swollen belly. "Thank you Mari-Ann, I don't know what I would have done without you." Simon turns his head to look at the beta who is standing to his left.
"I only did what anyone else would've done." She replies putting a hand on his shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I suggest getting you to bed and-" her sentence is cut short when a cry comes from the basket on the table. Arthur and Mari-Ann moved from Simon's side to the basket. The brown haired woman takes the crying infant into her arms and then brought the half empty bottle of milk back to his mouth. The baby sucks greedily on the nipple of the bottle while Mari-Ann holds the bottle for him.
"Is that Alfred?" Simon's sudden question has both betas looking at the confused omega. Simon has his hands on the seat of the chair and attempting to flap his wings, trying to lift himself up to get a peek at the feeding baby. He winces and drops back down in the chair, clutching at his abdomen.
"I'll take him, you get a wet cloth for Simon." Arthur says to Mari-Ann, holding out his arms to take the infant. Mari-Ann takes the now empty bottle from the baby's mouth and lays him gently into Arthur's waiting arms.
"Make sure you burp him" She tells Arthur as she goes to get a wet cloth for Simon. Arthur nods and walks to Simon's side, kneeling down so the wounded angel can see the baby. Simon doesn't react as much as Arthur thought he would, he seems very calm as he lets his eyes trail over the newborn. He feels Mari-Ann wipe his forehead and doesn't take his eyes off the baby even when she starts to wash his face, neck and torso. "Milord, you'd better burp him before he falls asleep." Mari-Ann says in a scolding type tone.
"I want to." Simon says finally. "Can I please?" Arthur gave the pleading omega a curious look then looks back down at the baby who was in fact starting to drift off into sleep.
"Very well" Arthur replies and holds out the infant for Simon to take. Simon reaches out for the baby, biting his lip to keep the pain away as he reaches into the blanket and pulls the unwashed naked baby to his shoulder. The omega rubs the infants back between its tiny wings then pats him gently in the middle of his back. "I'm leaving him to Mari-Ann, do with him what you will but don't slack off on what my son needs, Alfred comes first." Arthur instructs as he stands from his kneeling position. "I don't even want to hear about him again, especially from someone other than you" He addresses Mari-Ann personally.
"Yes, Milord" Mari-Ann says with a bow of her head.
"And don't forget that this child is a monster and a disgrace, it shouldn't learn to love and don't learn to love it." Arthur says grabbing the blanket and giving it to Mari-Ann. "And Simon it'd be best if you stayed away from it or people with think something is amiss when then smell the scent of a baby on you." Simon only nods, focused deeply on the process of burping. The male beta turns to the door and opens it. "Alfred is napping in his room then?" he asks.
"Yes, Milord" Mari-Ann replies. With a nod Arthur is gone, the door closing behind him.
"What'll you do with him?" Simon asks, pulling the child away from his shoulder after he's finally burped. Mari-Ann hands him the blanket which he wraps the baby up in. Bringing the infant close to his chest Simon gently rocks the infant into its first sleep.
"I'm going to keep him in the tower, no one uses it anyway." She waves her hands dismissively in the air as she begins to talk to herself about having to move a bed and a few pieces of furniture into the tower's single room. "I don't know how long it'll stay up there, but we might as well make it comfortable right?" she asked looking down at Simon.
"I want to name him, I'll never have a child of my own so I want to at least give him a name." Simon says suddenly, ignoring the betas rambling. The brown haired woman frowns slightly, but nodded slowly.
"Alright, what do you want to name him?"
Simon looks at the child for a long moment. He reaches up with his finger and trails it down the sleeping baby's nose, smiling gently at the baby when it wrinkles up its nose at the touch.
"Matthew, his name will be Matthew."