It was a chilly fall night. The castle was in uproar about the baby. It was too early, they knew that, and maids were rushing back and forth, carrying bowls of hot water and towels. The Prince and King were once again away, thinking it to be safe since the baby wasn't due for another month. Cinderella was terrified.
Babies born early often did not survive, and she was worried that she'd lose her child before it was really hers. Prudence, the Grand Duke, and Lady Tremaine were all pacing in the hall outside her bedchambers. Occasionally, screams were heard, and whispering was heard afterward. After what seemed an eternity, the midwife poked her head out. She opened her mouth to speak, but waited as a scream floated out from the room behind her.
"She wants you, Madam," she addressed Lady Tremaine.
Her head snapped up and she quickly followed the woman to the bed where her stepdaughter lay writhing in pain and sweating. She grabbed the young woman's hand and tried to give her a reassuring smile. She herself was worried, not only for the baby, but for the Princess. She had been in labor thirty-six hours, and that was never a good sign. She winced as her hand was practically crushed as another contraction ripped through the small blonde's body.
"I'm...sorry,...Stepmother," the younger woman panted after the contraction ended.
"Hush child, it's perfectly all right. I've given birth myself and remember the pain quite vividly."
Her stepdaughter smiled at her, and she smiled back. She noticed the midwife examining her, and raised an eyebrow at the woman. She shook her head sadly, and she sighed. If this went on much longer, the small woman wouldn't make it. Forty-five minutes passed, then an hour, and there was no sign of the baby.
Cinderella was exhausted, and she couldn't sleep because of the pain. She was deathly pale, and sweating horribly. The dark rings under her eyes were easily visible, and she was panting instead of breathing normally. Her head rolled to face her stepmother.
"Stepmother, how much longer?" she gasped.
The woman was about to answer but was interrupted by a cry from the midwife.
"She's crowning!"
The room relaxed a fraction, though they were still on edge as they awaited the birth. Lady Tremaine stood up and firmly gripped her stepdaughter's hand. She needed her now more than ever.
"On the count of three push, Cinderella. One, two, three!" The young woman screamed, but did as asked. "Again!" Three pushes later, and the baby was halfway out. "One last push, darling, you're doing wonderfully!"
"Stepmother, I don't think I can do this! What if I'm not a good mother?!"
"Ella," Lady Tremaine said firmly. "You are the kindest person I know. I don't know of anyone that would make a better mother than you."
Her stepdaughter looked at her with wide trusting eyes, and then pushed. A baby's wail filled the air, and the room went silent. Cinderella cried silent tears of joy as her child was placed on her stomach.
"Congratulations, your Highness. It's a girl," the midwife said.
"She's perfect, absolutely perfect," the new mother whispered quietly. One by one, the servants slipped out until only Cinderella and Lady Tremaine were left. "I'd like you to meet someone special," she said to her newborn. "This is your grandmother, Elanor Tremaine."
She handed the infant over tiredly, but kept her eyes open long enough to witness the meeting. Lady Tremaine looked at the child in wonder. She never expected to become a grandmother since both her daughters hated children, and she certainly never imagined it would be her stepdaughter's child. But here she was, a newly announced grandmother to a little girl. She cradled the child close as the little girl stared at her with wide green eyes like her father.
But everything else was a spitting image of her mother.
"What are you going to name her?" she asked, her eyes never leaving the child's face.
"Eden Adara. It means perfect and beautiful. Fitting, don't you think?"
"Indeed. Hello, Eden. I'm your grandmother, though I imagine you'll call me something else when you learn to talk. It doesn't matter, I'll love you anyway."
She handed Eden back to her mother and let her nurse.
The castle was once again in an uproar. It was Princess Eden's third birthday, and last minute preparations for her party were being seen to. The princess herself slipped down the hall to her grandmother's room, or as she called her...
"MOMO!" the child yelled as she ran into the room. The name stemmed from mama, which she had mistakenly called her grandmother when she started talking. "Momo, wake up! It's my birthday today, 'member?"
Lady Tremaine rolled over, used to being woken up like this nearly every morning.
"Yes, darling?"
"Mommy told me to come wake you up 'cuz it's late!" the child replied as she scrambled onto the large bed.
"And what time is 'late'?"
"Eleven o'clock. Mommy said you better get up if you wanna make it to the party on time."
"Eleven?! Are you sure?"
"Yep. Mommy said so."
"And you let me sleep this long?"
Normally her granddaughter woke her up at eight or nine.
"Uh-uh, Daddy said to let you sleep. He said you was getting old and needed your sleep."
"Oh, he did, did he? Well, do you think I'm getting old?"
She reached over and began tickling her granddaughter. They were interrupted by a small cough from the door.
"Well, I see Eden successfully woke you up, Mother," Cinderella said from the doorway. They had agreed soon after Eden was born to call her mother as they felt stepmother would confuse the child. Her two-month-pregnant belly stood out from her slim frame, creating the image of a swallowed basketball. "Eden, darling, I asked you to wake her up nicely, not jump on her," she said with a smile.
"But Mommy, you said to wake her up fast so's she could get ready for the party."
"Yes I did, sweetheart. Now why don't you go find Daddy? He said something about a birthday surprise."
She smiled as the toddler zipped passed her out the door. She sat on the edge of her stepmother's bed with a sigh, rubbing circles on her stomach as she did so. Between a three year old, preparing to take over the kingdom, and being pregnant, she was exhausted.
"Remind me why I got pregnant again?" she asked wearily.
"Hmmm, oh yes. I seem to remember a second honeymoon and too much wine. And you had been talking about a second child for some time," Lady Tremaine said as she sat up.
"Oh yes, that's right. This is the unplanned/planned baby. Oh well, I was going to have another sooner or later anyway."
Lady Tremaine laid a hand on the expanded stomach.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say there was two in there."
"There better not be. You don't really think there are, do you?" Cinderella asked in a slightly panicked voice.
"Of course not, Ella. Now shoo, so I can get dressed before Eden comes looking for me."
"Momo!"
"Better hurry up, Momo," Cinderella said with a smirk.
"Oh, hush."
"Mommy, I want Momo," Eden cried from her nest of blankets.
'This day just gets better and better,' Cinderella thought as she lowered herself onto her daughter's bed.
"Sweetie, I told you you can't see Momo today. She doesn't feel well either. You need to stay here and get better so you can go see her tomorrow."
"But I want to see her now!"
"And I told you; no."
The Queen pushed her way into a standing position and swayed as she tried to regain her balance. Being six months pregnant had its disadvantages. For instance, almost falling over when you stood up. She kissed her daughter's forehead and waddled down the hall to her stepmother's room to check on her. She had a bad chest cold, and the young woman thought it had something to do with the snowball fight her daughter somehow coaxed the older woman into.
She rapped on the door lightly as she entered, more for warning than anything else. She was greeted by the sound of harsh coughing that made her wince in sympathy. Her stepmother was propped up in bed so she could breathe, and there were tissues everywhere.
"Feeling any better?" Cinderella asked as she sat beside her.
"No," Lady Tremaine replied before sneezing. "You shouldn't be in here. You'll get sick."
"Are you aware your granddaughter has a cold as well? Would you happen to know what caused this epidemic?"
She raised an eyebrow at her stepmother.
"We were playing in the snow."
"Go on."
"And she might have...we might have gotten a bit warm and taken off our outer wraps."
She blushed and looked down at the quilt on top of the pile.
"Honestly Mother, I thought you knew better. You're sixty-two, you can't keep behaving like this." She winced and clutched her stomach as the baby kicked. "It seems as if this child loves you already. He just kicked me for scolding you."
Lady Tremaine managed a small smile.
"Eden is going to be very jealous you know."
"Yes I do. How...how was Drizella when Anastasia was born?"
"Horrid. She threw tantrums at the slightest provocation, clung to her father, told me she hated me, and when Anastasia's hair began to get long she cut it off."
"Oh dear, I hope Eden won't be like that."
"She won't be, she's too much like you."
Cinderella struggled to stand.
"I have to go and check on Eden now. She was throwing a fit when I left because she wanted to come see you. I told her no."
She sighed.
"So I should expect her in about half an hour?"
"Most likely." She leaned over and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Feel better."
When she entered Eden's room she was still, and she thought that perhaps she'd cried herself out and fallen asleep. She slipped out to go to the throne room, missing the eye peeking out from under layers of blankets. The Princess waited a few minutes to make sure her mother was actually gone. Satisfied, she snuck out of her room and down the hall, careful to avoid any maids or guards. Her grandmother's room was dark when she entered, but she could make out that the older woman was sitting up.
She went over to the bed slowly and climbed up on it.
"Momo?" she whispered, unsure if her grandmother was awake.
"Yes Eden, I'm awake." She sneezed and turned back to her granddaughter, raising an eyebrow at her. "I thought your mother told you to stay in your room."
"She told you?"
The child looked down in shame, flushed cheeks making her blush easily visible. Lady Tremaine's resolve melted when she noticed her granddaughter's feverish flush that was so similar to her own.
"Come here, darling," she said, holding up the corner of the blankets to allow the young princess in. Eden moved swiftly, cuddling close to her grandmother. "There now, feel better?" She nodded. "Good. I think this has taught us both a lesson, what do you think?"
"Yes, Momo." She broke off to cough, and Lady Tremaine winced at the sound. They were deep and came from her chest. In fact, they were almost identical to her own.
"Don't take off any wraps if you're gonna play in the snow."
"That's right, sweetheart. Now, why don't we take a nap and see if that helps."
Later that afternoon, when Cinderella went to check on her daughter, she wasn't surprised to see that she was missing. She calmly went down the hall to her stepmother's room and opened the door a crack. There she was, curled up next to her grandmother, both sound asleep. The Queen simply let out a good natured sigh before stepping in to check on them both. Just as she predicted, Eden's fever had broken and she would be up and about the next day.
Her daughter didn't stir when she kissed her forehead and adjusted the blankets. She also wasn't surprised to find that her stepmother's fever hadn't broken yet. After all, the woman was sixty-two, she wasn't going to bounce back as quickly as a three year old. After fixing the blankets on that side of the bed, she left them to go meet her husband.
"You had better not be this much trouble," she said to her rapidly expanding belly as she entered the throne room.
It was a beautiful May evening, warm and calm. But for a certain Queen giving birth to her second child, all was not so calm. Her husband, father-in-law, the Grand Duke, Prudence, Lady Tremaine, and Eden were all in the hall outside her bedroom, waiting for news. Just as before, Cinderella had been in labor thirty-six hours, but now it was beginning to look like the baby would never come. There was even less hope for this one than for Eden.
The midwife poked her head out into the corridor and called for Lady Tremaine. She entered, leaving the three year old with her worried father. She grasped her stepdaughter's hand tightly and waited. The night came and went, and there was still no sign of the baby. The midwife had begun saying that if it didn't come soon both mother and child would die.
Finally, finally, at nine o'clock, the midwife announced the baby was crowning. Cinderella had been in labor fifty-one hours. The midwife said it was a miracle she had lived. As she coached her stepdaughter through the birth, she felt a sense of relief that soon the ordeal would be over. The Queen collapsed back onto her pillows as the baby was born.
"It's a boy!" the midwife cried in excitement.
Boys were preferred, but Eden was the eldest so she would become Queen. The room relaxed and filled with chatter as the infant was cleaned and wrapped in a blanket. But something wasn't right. Cinderella's stomach had not gone down. Lady Tremaine's fears were confirmed when the young mother screamed again.
"There's another, your Majesty. You're having twins!"
Cinderella screamed in anguish. All her strength had been spent on her first, she didn't think she could have another.
"Mother! Mother, I can't! I'm so tired!"
"Yes you can, Ella. You have to. There's another wonderful little baby waiting to meet his or her family. Come on, on the count of three."
The blonde screamed again as she pushed. And pushed. And pushed. The room went suddenly quiet.
"Majesty, it's turned the wrong way. We have to be careful now, otherwise it won't live. Don't push unless I tell you to."
The midwife took hold of the feet so she could support the body.
"Push."
If Cinderella thought a normal birth was agony, she was wrong. This was ten times worse. Every push felt like her skin was tearing. After an agonizing half an hour, she felt the baby slip free. But there was no crying.
Too weak to sit up, Cinderella couldn't see either of her children.
"Mother. Mother, what's going on?" she asked in a panicked voice.
The older woman was reluctant to answer, as she had seen the infant as it was carried away. The child had a blue tint to it's skin, and there were currently three women working over it.
"I'm not sure Ella, but it doesn't look good." Tears came to the young mother's eyes, and the older woman wiped them away. "Shh, there's still a chance."
Just then a weak cry was heard, like the mewling of a kitten. The women let out shouts of joy as the cries increased in volume. Cinderella smiled and cried out of joy.
"Congratulations your Majesty, you have two healthy boys."
The Queen took one in each arm, and was pleased to find they were identical. The one on her left was the surprise.
"Hello, Aaron Matthew." She looked to the other, which was the eldest. "Alexander Oswald. Miracle and strong defender."
She suddenly felt a surge of pain between her legs, and a rush of something wet. She gasped, and the midwife rushed over.
"Madame Tremaine, take the babies! She's bleeding out!"
Lady Tremiane gently but quickly took the children out of their mother's arms and handed them to a maid. She could feel the fear creeping up her spine, but suppressed it. She had to be strong for the young woman on the bed. Minutes passed, and she saw the maids remove several cloths, all soaked in blood. Cinderella was growing paler by the second, and all involved were beginning to worry that she wasn't going to make it.
Just before her eyes slipped closed, she grasped her stepmother's hand weakly.
"Take...take care of...Eden," she whispered.
"No, no, Ella. You're not going to die, do you hear me?" Lady Tremiane asked with tears in her eyes.
The Queen just smiled.
"And watch out...for the twins. Make sure they...know about me. Tell Henry...I love...him..."
Her sentence trailed off as she closed her eyes.
Six year old Eden and three year old Aaron and Alexander raced around the palace gardens. Lady Tremaine sat on a bench nearby reading, occasionally glancing up to check on them. The boys were growing up quickly, and Eden was already in lessons. She sighed, remembering the night her granddaughter was born. She just thanked her lucky stars that the child still liked to cuddle.
The boys weren't quite as affectionate, taking after their father in that they'd rather be outside than cuddling on bench or in bed. Her musings were interrupted by a cry of Momo. Eden had not been pleased that her brothers had taken up her nickname for their grandmother. She looked up, calmly waiting for her granddaughter to come within eyesight.
"Momo, Alex pulled my hair and Aaron pushed me!"
"Are you hurt?" she questioned calmly. This was a habit for Eden. She'd tell on her brothers for attention or just to spend some alone time with her grandmother. The child shook her head no. "What have I told you about telling on your brothers?"
"Not to," she said sheepishly.
"That's right. And why do I tell you that?"
"'Cuz you're their Momo too, so I shouldn't be jealous of them spending time with you."
"Good girl. Run along now. Alexander Oswald! Aaron Matthew! Get over here right now!"
"Yes, Momo?" twin voices chorused in an innocent tone. The elderly woman rolled her eyes. "Now boys, you know you're not supposed to pick on your sister."
"Yes, Momo."
"Run along now. And if you do it again you won't get to go to that festival you've been talking about, understand?"
"Yes, Ma'am," they said as they ran away, no doubt taking their grandmother's threat to heart.
She sighed as she sat back. Her hand automatically went to her temples, rubbing away the headache that was forming. She loved her grandchildren, she really did. But she absolutely hated babysitting them. It was easier when it was just Eden, who could be satisfied with cuddling or a story.
But the boys always caused trouble, and somehow Eden got sucked into it with them.
"I'm getting too old for this," she mumbled.
She knew she had to play a part in the children's upbringing, but sometimes she just wanted to scream.
"Really Mother, you don't look a day over fifty."
The Queen emerged from behind the bush where she'd been hiding to watch the events unfold.
"Thank you, darling. Sometimes I feel as if I was raising the girls again."
"I'm sorry, Mother. I don't mean to force them on you. But with Henry away so often and the political meetings, I need someone to watch them. And you know how they treat their governesses."
True, more than one governess had retired after trying to watch the royal children.
"MOMMY!" three voices chorused.
Cinderella barely had time to lower herself onto the bench before three bodies slammed into her.
"Careful children, don't hurt the baby."
The midwife had been worried when she found that Cinderella had conceived again, but there was nothing they could do about it. Lady Tremaine hadn't been pleased either, having been beside her stepdaughter when she'd almost bled to death.
"Have you had fun with Momo today?"
Three voices overlapped as each child told about their day. The Queen looked at her stepmother over their heads and smiled. She couldn't help but smile back. If someone had told her seven years ago that she'd be a grandmother of three and living in the palace she'd have laughed in their face and asked what they had been drinking. But here she was, happy as could be. And she wouldn't trade her family for anything.