Obligatory note to say that the characters of Edgar, Terra, Sabin and the rest don't belong to me.

"Daddy, tell us a story!"

Edgar removed the cup of tea from his lips, and turned his gaze to the side of him to regard the owner of the small voice that had just spoken. Clinging onto his left arm, smiling a wide smile, was the small pajama-clad form of his daughter, with wet, pale green hair falling damp around her face and sapphire eyes shining with hope. He smiled down at her, "Hasn't your mother already read to you?"

"Well, yes, but I want a story from you!" she pouted, clasping her hands together, "Pretty please?"

He sighed, putting his cup down on the small table by the fireplace, before turning to face the girl properly. He could never say no to those eyes, "All right then. Where's your brother?"

"Right here!"

He barely had a chance to blink when the body of a small boy flew fast over the sofa they were seated on, landing with a soft thud beside him. The boy grinned wildly, wiping his shoulder-length blonde hair from his face, "Hi, Dad."

"You're going to hurt yourself doing that one of these days."

"You sound like Mum and Matron."

Wow, never thought he'd ever hear those words. His daughter pulled on his arm, "Can we start the story now?"

Stories. He wasn't the greatest story teller in the world, especially not compared to his wife. Terra was surprisingly good at telling stories, and the children certainly enjoyed their time with her, resting their heads on her chest while she spoke soft words to them. No doubt a result of all that time she'd spent raising those orphans. Sabin was also pretty good at telling stories too, if he recalled. Likely because he'd been ill a lot as a child so the nursemaids would always read to him to help prevent him from going completely stir-crazy. No, Edgar couldn't tell stories as well as those two – talking politics, yes, nobody could probably compare – but stories suitable for the ears of an eight and six year old? That was a fair bit harder. Still, he wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders, whilst offering his other arm to his son, "What story would you like me to tell you?"

"The one where you met Mummy."

Well, that made things easier. He could remember that day as if it were yesterday. Heck, he could even still see her. A shy, frightened young maiden hiding behind his friend, the thie- no, wait, treasure hunter. Terra would not appreciate him telling their children that Locke was a thief. Especially not when their young son would gladly repeat the knowledge to Locke's young sons on their next camping venture.

So he began to speak. He told them all about how such a beautiful young woman had come to stand before him in his throne room, and how he had chivalrously allowed her to stay without threat of harm. Of course, he left out a few details... things that they didn't exactly need to know yet.

"Was she pretty?" the girl asked eagerly. Edgar nodded, "The most beautiful woman in the world."

His son made a loud gagging sound beside him, causing his daughter to shoot him a nasty look. Edgar couldn't help but chuckle. Some day, son, you shall come to understand the magnificence of women.

He went on to tell them all about the Returners, how he and their mother, along with Locke had escaped to the Returners' hideout, encountering their Uncle Sabin along the way. How they had traveled north to Narshe together, while Locke had left for South Figaro where he would encounter Celes for the first time and Sabin had taken an… unexpected... detour that led to him meeting Cyan and Gau. As the story went on, he could sense their eyes on him, both eagerly drinking in every single word. Even his son, whom normally fidgeted or would find something else to be interested in, was listening with rapt attention.

When he reached the part where Kefka destroyed the world, the little girl buried her head into his pajamas while his son scoffed. "Clowns aren't scary, little sister! Grow up!"

"You shut up!" she said into her father's pajama top, "Clowns are scary! Especially that one!"

"But he's dead, Maddie, so you're being silly!"

The girl had removed her head from hiding, shooting a dark glare at her brother, "I'm not silly Leo, you are, so shut up!"

"Easy, you two," Edgar intervened, turning to his son whose expression remained defiant, "There's nothing silly about finding the whole thing frightening, Leo. Heck, we were scared of him."

The boy's face shifted to one of shock, as if struggling to comprehend that his father, a fully grown man and the King of Figaro could feel fear, "You were?"

"Yes, we were."

"Even Uncle Sabin?"

"Even Uncle Sabin," he leaned down, encouraging the children to move closer, "Though don't tell him I said that." The children giggled.

The tale continued for at least another fifteen minutes. He told them of how he had found their mother raising orphans in Mobliz and how she had eventually joined them for the sake of ensuring their future. Of Cyan on top of Mount Zozo, writing letters to a woman who had unknowingly lost her love. Of Locke, searching the Phoenix Cave for magicite that would bring back someone he cared about (he didn't go too into detail on that one – the last thing he wanted was for his children to believe that people could be brought back from the dead). Gau on the Veldt. Cheeky Relm in Jidoor painting a commission for a wealthy man named Owzer. Her lively old grandfather Strago snapping out of a trance at the sight of his precious granddaughter. The mysterious ninja Shadow who sadly disappeared the day the world was saved – though he was careful not to clearly state what he believed the man's fate to be. The children listened through it all with only the occasional question.

As he ended the story, telling of them soaring through the skies on top of the Falcon with Kefka's tower crumbling behind them, he heard soft footsteps behind him, "What are you still doing up?"

He turned to see Terra – his beautiful Queen – smiling softly at their children, green hair resting loosely around her shoulder as it mostly has done since the day of Kefka's defeat. One of her hands rested on her very pregnant belly.

"Daddy was telling us a story," their daughter piped up, "He told us all about how you all beat up that nasty clown!"

Terra raised an eyebrow at him, causing him to grin sheepishly, "Did he now?"

"Yes, and he told us all about how he met you and he said you were the most beautiful woman in the whole, wide world!"

Terra's smile widened, catching his eye once more, "Did he now?"

"But Daddy," the girl immediately turned back towards him, "When did you and Mummy get married?"

Edgar opened his mouth to answer, but Terra softly interrupted, "Not now, sweetling. It's time for bed."

"But Mummy-"

"I'm sure Daddy will tell you all about it another day. Come on," she said, taking the girl's hand and helping her to her feet before looking towards her son, "You too, Leo."

The boy groaned but reluctantly got to his feet, grumbling under his breath, "When I'm King, I'm going to go to bed at whatever time I want."

Edgar had to stifle a laugh. He turned to his daughter and kissed her forehead before attempting to hug his son, who ducked underneath his arm and giggled. "Night, kids."

As they left the room, he examined his cup of tea, which had unfortunately now gone cold. Of course, he mused, the story hadn't ended when Kefka fell, not truly. Just merely that chapter of their lives had ended, and a new one had begun soon after.

After Kefka's defeat, Edgar had returned to his castle in Figaro and set back to work governing as he had before. Sabin had spent a few months helping him as rebuilding the world post-Kefka was set to be a difficult and arduous task. It was only for a few months, however, as his brother had realized his desire to spread Duncan's teachings, and… well, Edgar hadn't rigged that coin toss for nothing. Cyan and Gau had also come back to Figaro – Gau was very attached to his brother and followed him everywhere, while Cyan needed some time to work out what he wanted to do next – Doma needed to be resurrected, that much was certain, but it held a lot of memories for him, not all of them pleasant, and nobody was even sure if the King of Doma had any living heirs. Relm and Strago returned to Thamasa. Setzer took to the skies once more, presumably towards Jidoor and that Maria woman he'd tried to kidnap that one time. Locke and Celes had taken off treasure hunting. Mog, Umaro and Gogo went to their respective homes. Terra had returned to Mobliz to be with her orphans because there was nothing in the world that would have kept her from them once the world had been saved.

Things slipped back into an ordinary routine after that, and it had stayed that way for a few years. Many ladies had come and gone before him, and while he could never deny their beauty or intelligence, the desire to chase simply wasn't there any more. He'd initially put it down to him getting older. Perhaps he was 'finally growing up', as Sabin had once so impolitely put it. Or perhaps Kefka's attempt to end the world had done something – such a monumental event impacted everything and everyone, he wouldn't necessarily have been immune. Or perhaps he had slowly been taking steps in that direction ever since Terra had appeared before him in his throne room all that time ago. So shy yet so beautiful. He hadn't been kidding when he'd said he'd been dying to know if he was her type, even if he had said it to other women before. Something about her had intrigued him from the very first moment. Yet for as much of a ladies' man as he was – and he was – he didn't immediately recognize what perhaps he should have done. He knew attraction well enough, but love? Well, that was something else entirely.

Irregardless, when it came to helping rebuild Mobliz, it was a task that he eventually wanted personal involvement in, and nobody was going to talk him out of it. He'd set off on Setzer's ship and arrived there the following morning, much to Terra's surprise. He spent the next few weeks at Mobliz, and whenever he wasn't drawing up designs for houses or overlooking the work, he spent time with Terra and the children. They were quite a likeable young bunch, and they took to him quickly enough. Things were going well.

That was until, rather shyly, Terra had informed him that Locke had confided in her that he had feelings for Celes. Looking at her coffee cup and mumbling, she had implied that she was feeling lonely, and that perhaps she wanted to be loved in that way. Of course, she never said it in those actual words – she couldn't quite articulate it, but the implication was certainly clear. Irregardless, like a fool, he didn't take the hint, which led to her insisting that she was fine and quickly hurrying off to do some laundry. She'd stopped speaking to him properly after that. Whenever they were in the same room, she would quickly make an excuse to leave, be it because of a chore or because she needed to locate the children (despite the fact that she knew where they all were more often than not). She wouldn't meet his eyes any more, and would flush when he attempted to speak to her.

Things reached a bit of a head when Katarin had nervously approached him with a strange knowing look in her eyes and asked him to speak to her on the cliff just north of the town, insisting that Terra wanted to reach out but didn't know how. So he'd attempted to speak with her, though it didn't necessarily work out. She had closed herself off completely, though when he had suggested she was lonely much as Katarin had before, she had simply whispered 'if only it were that simple'. The following day he returned to Figaro Castle. The workers were doing relatively well without him, the progress was good and they certainly didn't need him around. That, and it had been far too long; he'd no doubt the Chancellor would have pitched a fit if he'd stayed away for much longer. He'd said his goodbyes to Terra, leaving her behind; looking back on that day, he'd realized that she hadn't wanted him to go, not truly, but she was unable to explain why at the time.

The following several months were mostly spent in the castle, carrying on with life as usual while trying to keep his mind off of the beautiful woman he'd left behind in Mobliz. She had been invading his dreams frequently by that point, sometimes even naked. His lips curved upwards thinking about it now; he could never forget those ones and he certainly, unashamedly, didn't want to. That aside, Sabin would drop by from time to time, filling him with stories of his travels and the many young pupils he had taken under his wing, with two of them being a couple of Terra's orphan children. It was through Sabin that he had learned that Locke and Celes had entered a relationship, which, if he were to be perfectly honest, had taken them long enough to do. It was also through Sabin that he'd learnt that Terra had been asking about him, how he was doing, and oddly enough, if he was married yet. Of course, he'd found it strange at the time. It didn't help that Sabin had a stupid, smug grin on his face that suggested he'd known something he didn't, and that grin had only widened when the new maid had taken their wine away without Edgar even attempting to flirt with her once.

Some weeks later, the letter arrived. Ah yes, the letter. He could still remember the words written so neatly even now.

Dear Edgar,

It's been a while. How have you been? The children have all been well. Thomas and Jonathan have been studying martial arts with Sabin and they're doing extremely well. Hope has been starting to say normal words, though 'mama' and 'dada' are still her favourites. Katarin and Duane are overjoyed. Emily keeps asking when you're coming back to visit.

I've been… okay. I've had a lot of things on my mind lately. Things I've realized I need to talk about. I know you've got a kingdom to run, and that you're probably very busy, but if you get the chance, I need to speak with you, for my own peace of mind if nothing else. It's not important though, so there's no need to rush. I'll see you when I see you.

Terra

Of course, he had immediately hurried to his Chocobo and taken off eagerly, despite the persistent flustering of the Chancellor. Nothing would have stopped him, and nothing did. He arrived in Mobliz a few days later, and after greeting the children (who had grown a fair bit by that point, with many in their teenage years) and Katarin, he'd found Terra waiting for him on the cliff once more. She had been a tad distressed and frustrated to say the least. It was like she knew what she'd wanted to say but had a hard time trying to find the words. She had brought up Locke and Celes' new relationship. He could still remember the exchange; how could he not, when it had changed his life and hers so much for the better?

"You're not… You're not in love with Locke, are you?"

Terra looked stunned, her eyes widening as she shook her head furiously, "No! No, that's not it at all! I don't feel anything like that for Locke! I mean, I love him, but not in the way Katarin loves Duane!"

Edgar let go of the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, "So… what is the matter, my lady?"

"I-" Terra licked her lips, "I don't really know. It's just… I'm really confused. How do you know for certain? Katarin told me that she felt butterflies in her stomach with Duane, and I get that too. She said it feels good when he touches her, like it tingles, and I get that too. She wants to be near him all of the time, and I want that too. She even dreams of him… and I dream too! I just- my head hurts."

"Slow down, Terra," Edgar took her hands in his again, "Now start again. Are you telling me you have feelings for Duane?"

"No!" she cried, pushing him away, "Not Duane!"

It had hit him then in that instant. He'd been such a fool to not recognize it earlier. The distance she had put between them. The way she wouldn't meet his eyes any more. The sudden shyness. The tears. The questions she had asked Sabin about him. That annoying knowing look Sabin wore on his stupid, smug face when he spoke of her. He'd known, of course, as had Katarin, but both had chosen not to confide it out of respect for her feelings. Throwing all caution to the wind, he had kissed her and she had responded in kind. He'd perhaps reasoned that, up until that point, he had merely been attracted to her. That was the moment he'd realized he loved her.

Things looked up from that point onward. He started to spend more time with her and the children, and she'd opened up a lot more, eager to learn as much about their new relationship as she could. Some of his favourite memories were of the two of them lounging in the sunset on the grass outside, his head in her lap as she tenderly played with his hair. Of course, it wasn't always like that. He was a King and had his duties, so he'd spent a lot of time away from her at Figaro Castle. He'd offered her and the children a home within the castle, but she had politely refused; Mobliz was the children's home and she wasn't willing to uproot them all to a place they didn't even know, with a completely different climate to boot, and especially not since some of them were only just beginning to find their independence, with some of them even having moved into their own newly built homes entirely. During those times, he'd had to settle for writing to her and then taking himself off to bed to dream of her at night… and yes, some of those dreams were a little on the dirty side. He'd wait for her though, for as long as it took, succession be damned. He had too much respect for her to rush into anything, and he knew that their duties and her love for the children took precedence.

About a couple of years after, it had been Locke and Celes' wedding. It had been quite an amusing, yet surprisingly heartfelt event. Amusing in that one of the ladies attending the wedding (a friend of Celes' that she had made on her travels) had started hitting on his brother, and it seemed like Sabin had not quite known what to do about it – he'd never gotten Edgar's talent and charm with women, after all. Heartfelt because it had taken Locke and Celes so damn long to get to this point, and after all the grief and misery they had experienced at the hands of the Empire and Kefka, he couldn't think of two people who deserved it more.

When the day was through and everybody had settled into the inn that had been hired, he'd felt a burning urge to see Terra. He'd knocked on her door, she had answered with a soft, inviting smile, and he hadn't come out of her room for the rest of the night. He smiled softly to himself; he'd lain with plenty of women before that particular night, but being with her had felt so different. More meaningful. Their relationship only went from strength to strength from that point onward, with him finding more excuses to go to Mobliz. The Matron had started harping on about succession even more; he was near enough in his late thirties now and he needed to think about siring an heir. Fortunately, he was able to get her off of his back quickly enough, albeit unintentionally.

It had only been around a year since the wedding when Terra had started undergoing… changes. She was pale, more easily exhausted and found herself vomiting at the sight of potatoes. It had been Katarin who had informed him via letter (he had been at Figaro at the time), noting that she had experienced much similar when she had been pregnant with her daughter Hope. Edgar had the best medics sent to her and they confirmed what had been suspected. Terra was pregnant and that knowledge had caused him to become filled with panic. Of course he'd have to marry her, he'd wanted to do that for several years already, but there was the matter of the orphans to be dealt with, as well as his own feelings of concern. His and Sabin's own mother had died birthing them, and horrid thoughts filled his head of Terra meeting the same fate. Irregardless, he'd headed back out to Mobliz. He and Terra sat on that cliff a few days after news of her condition had reached him, and while she ran her fingers over some of the regrowing daisies, he'd asked her to marry him.

"I had a feeling you'd ask and yes, of course I will," she smiled, though there was something… odd about it, like there was something on her mind.

Edgar had an idea as to what that might have been, "What of the children?"

"I've been speaking with them about it. Well, more like they've been speaking to me," she sighed, running a hand through her green curls, "They… they said they don't want to hold me back. That they're more than capable of looking after themselves now. And they are! I mean, Thomas is the youngest and he's sixteen now! All of them have been living on their own for several months, so it's just me in the house most days," her eyes gradually began to fill with tears, "So… so they've basically told me I should go."

"Do you want to?" he said softly, taking a hand and planting a gentle kiss to it.

"Yes, but..." her lips quivered, "I shall miss them so much. I gave them everything for so many years… I know they're not mine, but it feels like they are. I love them so much…"

Edgar pulled her closer, allowing her to rest her head against his chest as she sobbed, "They will always be welcome at Figaro, you know. And you will always be welcome to visit them."

As difficult as it was for her, she had made the move to Figaro with him; the children had most certainly made it clear to them both that she needed to go and live out the rest of her life and that they wouldn't allow her to stay – not out of lack of gratitude but because they'd loved her so dearly. She'd cried for several days, even upon arrival, though he had reason to believe that the pregnancy wasn't helping in this regard – it didn't take much to reduce her to tears.

They had married within a month. It had been a spectacular affair. Of course, it couldn't be a nice, quiet ordeal like Celes and Locke's wedding had been, not with him being the King and her being crowned Queen. They were, however, able to have all of their friends and the children in attendance. Luckily, she wasn't showing at that point. The Chancellor and Matron were aware, of course, that she was already pregnant, but the last thing he had wanted was for her to have to endure all the bureaucrats and ladies making snide remarks. Goodness knew some of the women would already be jealous enough!

Fortunately for her, she'd adjusted to being Queen relatively well, even if she didn't much enjoy all the frivolity surrounding it. The pregnancy also ran it's course well, though that didn't necessarily erase his own personal fears from his mind. It was Sabin who'd ended up doing that, on the day his son was born, with some reassuring words.

"Brother, she survived the Empire. She survived Kefka. If she can survive all of those things, she can survive this easily. She's strong enough."

He'd been right, of course. Terra had birthed their son, Leo Stewart Figaro, with no complications and she had recovered well. Leo himself was a beautiful babe. Holding him for the first time was emotional to say the least. He'd never truly pictured himself as a father, and while he'd gotten on very well with the orphans of Mobliz, he never saw himself as a father figure to them. Still, he'd settled into the role well enough and tried his damnedest not to let his duties get in the way of spending time with his child and witnessing his first laugh, first steps and his first words. A little over two years later, Madeline Christiel Figaro joined the family. That labor (and the pregnancy too, now that he thought about it) had been a little less kind to Terra and the babe; Terra had grown incredibly tired and weak from hours of what seemed like endless pushing and had to have intervention. Madeline developed jaundice, and had to spend several days under specialized lights. For several hours, he'd feared for their lives. Both managed to pull through however, and with that, they'd assumed their family was complete; a relief to him, to be certain, as he feared another labor like the previous one.

Child-rearing was much an adventure in itself. Leo was a very clever lad – Edgar was certain he would be more than capable of being a wonderful King when he got older and the time came for it – but he was also an extremely adventurous and daring child. He'd lost count of the amount of times the boy had been told not to try leaping over anything taller than himself or not to sit atop the battlements with his legs dangling over the edge. Edgar was almost certain that Leo's antics were responsible for a few of his grey hairs, something Sabin seemed to find hilarious. Oh, his brother didn't always help matters in that regard, as he'd often laugh and clap, insisting that it was good that the boy kept him on his toes.

Madeline, on the other hand, was the definition of spoilt princess (not necessarily in a bad way, as she had a heart of gold and a generally sweet disposition). As much as Edgar would try and deny it to Terra and his brother, the girl knew how to wrap him around her little finger. Her eyes might be as blue as her brother's, but everything else was all the woman he loved, from the green curls to her little hands and feet. To be certain, she was the very definition of a daddy's girl. Heck, he dreaded the day she'd start noticing boys. He remembered Locke had remarked once that he wouldn't be surprised if she wound up being greatly interested in boys as a teenager and that it would be karma for all the flirting and womanizing he had done in the past. He didn't really have much to say to that.

Edgar sighed to himself, placing the cup back on the table. And now two is set to become three. It hadn't been planned – not at all – and yet Terra had fallen pregnant for a third time (she'd guessed that perhaps the new contraception potion she had started taking hadn't worked properly). Now she was already eight months into the pregnancy. The memories of Maddie's birth still ricocheted around his head to this day. He knew that when Terra went into labour again, he'd likely be a nervous wreck. Fortunately, Sabin had offered to take the children with him to his house just outside of South Figaro, enabling him, the medics and midwife to focus entirely on Terra while the children would get to see Locke and Celes' boys. The thought of Sabin having to deal with the children on his own made him smirk a little; he partially hoped Leo would keep him on his toes throughout the whole stay. Goodness knows he'd need something humorous to take his mind off of his fears…

"Are you alright, love?" he felt a small, tender hand gently touch his shoulder. He turned to find Terra, smiling softly at him, "You seem lost in thought."

"It's nothing," he smiled, placing his hand on top of hers, "Did they go to bed alright?"

She nodded, taking a seat beside him and resting her head on his chest. They sat like that for a few minutes in silence, until Terra looked up at him, "I know you're still worried."

Edgar grinned wryly, "Was it that obvious, my dear?"

"We've been married for nearly nine years. I've gotten good at telling when there's something on your mind," she smiled, kissing his cheek, "You don't have to worry. It might not be like before. The midwife said things are going really smoothly this time around. She doesn't think anything will go wrong this time."

"I hope not," he sighed, smiling softly and stroking her hair, "I wouldn't cope without you. I imagine I would go completely grey within a year."

She giggled, placing a hand on her belly. Her face suddenly lit up, "The baby's kicking." She gently took his hand and placed it across the large bump; sure enough, he felt the small pressure pressing into his hand, and his heart swelled. She leaned towards him, kissing his cheek again, "It will be okay this time. I can feel it."

"I trust you," he whispered, gazing into her beautiful green eyes. His lips curved upwards, "I hope this one has your eyes." She smiled, resting her head against his chest again. As they sat there together in their warm embrace, he found himself beginning to relax. Perhaps she was right; perhaps everything would turn out okay. Then a new chapter of their lives would begin once more.

-WRITER'S NOTE-

Pretty much started writing this almost as soon as I'd finished Maternal. I love this ship so much, so I really wanted to write something for it. Anyway, thank you for reading!