4. Is it worse than the Joining?

Alistair could hear the hurtful moaning his wife was making from the other room. The heir was on its way… and yet Alistair couldn't see the child until the mage did. To make sure, the King had to stay behind the door and couldn't be with his wife before they called him in.
Something to do with the taint…but he was certain that nothing would be wrong. He knew somewhere deep down that the baby would be normal… unbelievably strong willed and physically too, considering who its parents were.

After a couple hours of labor Alistair could finally hear a baby. A fine set of lungs. You could hear sighs of relief from everyone in the room. "Get a second Mage in here!" Called a guard from outside the door, he was a couple meters from Alistair's position. A second Mage? Alistair was worried now. A single child required 2mages…

Wynne had entered almost immediately when the second mage was called. The Queen always wanted Wynne to be there. Her usual party was all there in fact, waiting at the door.

Alistair, Wynne, and the War Hound.

"My King?" A nurse had finally called him in. He didn't need to be told again. Alistair walked in and saw the Mage with a small bundle of blankets in his arms, ready to give it to him. Alistair took the child gently… his child. His healthy beautiful, Strong child…

"It's a boy." He announced to the King.

"A boy?" He asked, the Mage nodded.

Alistair smiled as tears started to almost surface and walked over to his wife, who was utterly exhausted. He sat down on the chair next to her and smiled even more.

"It's a boy." He saw the faint glimmer of her eyes gaze at the child.

"What do we call him…?" She asked him, turning over to face them both.

"What do you want to call him?" He asked her.

She touched the new baby boy's cheek and smiled. "Duncan." She smiled and looked up at Alistair. "We'll calm him Duncan." She couldn't stop smiling… neither could Alistair.

"Thank you." He kissed her. Wynne came in bearing the same bundle. "You wardens have so much surprise in you…" She smiled. Alistair looked at her somehow very confused. "This is his twin, a girl." She handed the girl to the Queen who started tearing.

"A twin?" She asked the old woman, tears coming down her cheeks. Wynne smiled and nodded. The queen looked down at the child. She was already moving her hands and fingers like if they were reaching out to take her's. The Queen's finger was enveloped in the baby girl's tiny hand and that made her smile. "You can name her Alistair." She decided.

"Bronwyn." He answered. His wife looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"I've always liked that name." She chuckled.

"Our little Bronwyn and Duncan..." She whispered. "Our little bundles of joy."

*********The Next Day*********

Alistair woke up to the peaceful faces of his new family… Bronwyn resting in his arms and Duncan in his mother's… they all had their eyes shut.

Surprisingly the twins didn't wake up their parents during the night, no doubt the first babies in history to not have, but once again they were Warden Babies.

Alistair leaned and kissed his wife's lips tenderly. And like she did to him, she woke up smiling.

"Good morning Ally." She was still a little tired from the events of the day before but she would recover quite quickly.

"Hey." He whispered back. He leaned to kiss both his children and thanked the Maker that they were blessed with 2beautiful children without risking another Brilliant plan for fertility.

Out of the blue Alistair was struck with a question that no doubt his wife could answer.

"My dear, I have a question."

"Ask away." She murmured back, she had her eyes closed her eyes for a couple seconds before opening them once more.

"Did labor hurt more or less than the joining?"

The Queen smiled and chuckled. "Alistair… don't ever change."

The sun came up; the servants started pouring in the day had started.

The first official day of them being parents.