"Attia and Keiro are coming back today," Anne announced as she walked into Finn's office where Casper was attempting to show his natural talent at managing a kingdom. He was about as good at it now as he was last time he ran the kingdom for a week and nearly lost it to a bunch of power hungry council members.

"I knew that," Casper replied as he peered up to watch his wife walk into the room. In one hand he was clutching a paper that needed his signature as Regent, though he had no idea what the document was for. In the other hand, he held a stack of files that were of some importance, but he didn't know why those were important either.

"No, you didn't," Anne laughed as she crossed the room and came to Casper's side. She put a hand on his forearm as she pushed herself up to her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I'll get the children ready for them."

"When if Finn coming back, do you know?" Casper asked as he dropped the stack of files to the desk and wrapped his arm around Anne's waist before she could get away.

"A couple more days," she laughed as she kissed him again but on the lips. When she left the office, she went to one of the courtyards where Charlotte and Kyra had taken to playing together since Attia left for Incarceron and was no longer around to keep Kyra occupied. Visiting Princess Avery was also with the two girls when Anne stepped into the entrance to the courtyard where three supervising nannies were seated on a bench and a combined four guards were standing around the area, two in Finn's colors, two in King Logan's.

"Kyra," Anne called as she stepped into the courtyard and approached the three girls, who were around the same age. "Your mother is going to be here soon. Would you like to put on a clean dress for when you see her?"

Kyra looked up at Anne and scrunched her nose as though some foul smell had breached the air around her. Anne, who already knew the answer, laughed and continued towards the three girls, holding out each of her hands. "Come on, Kyra. At least let me redo your hair. I know your mother likes it pinned up."

"Can you do mine, too?" Charlotte asked as she jumped up to her feet and took one of Anne's outstretched hands.

"Of course, sweetheart," Anne answered with a smile as she bent down to press a kiss to Charlotte's forehead. "Avery, would you like me to do your hair as well? I notice you like to always keep your hair in curls."

Avery peered up at Anne, her eyes wide as she stared up at the unfamiliar face. It wasn't the first time she'd spoken to Anne since she'd come to the Realm with her parents, but Anne had a feeling the young princess had a timid nature. Eventually, Avery nodded and reached out to take Anne's other hand. "Kyra, come on," Anne called as she turned and started walking back to Court, Charlotte and Avery on each side of her. Kyra was following right behind Anne, holding the hand of her nanny while the other two nannies and the guards walked further behind them. Anne lead the girls into her private drawing room, attached to her rooms in Casper's quarters, and arranged a few chairs around the center of the room so each girl had a place to sit.

Anne bent down in front of Kyra first and used a damp towel to wipe the dirt from Kyra's hands, arms, and face before she did the same for the other two girls. With one of her glass brushes, Anne managed to untangle Kyra's hair and restyle the braids. She secured them with ribbons that matched Kyra's dress that day, then pined them up with a few pins she collected from the back of her own hair do. Moving on to Charlotte, Anne had an easier time because Charlotte had more opinions on her physical appearance than Kyra did. She dictated to Anne exactly how she wanted her braids to look as they fell down her back and were tied off with matching ribbons. As Anne moved on to Avery, however, she moved around to the front of the chair to look Avery in the eye.

"How would you like me to style your hair, Avery?" Anne asked wetly as she smiled at the girl. "Do you want me to reset your curls?"

Slowly, Avery shook her head as she held Anne's gaze. After another moment, Avery turned to her side to look at Kyra and Charlotte, who were comparing the flowers they'd found in the courtyard that day.

"Would you like braids, then, like Charlotte and Kyra?"

Avery's eyes went back to Anne's and she nodded quickly as she began to smile. Anne smiled back at her before she stood up and moved to stand behind Avery. She combed out Avery's long curly hair and determined she'd need to wet the hair before attempting to neatly braid it. After a nanny fetched a spray bottle for her, Anne began to spray and separate Avery's hair. After she braided each section, she tied it off with spare ribbon Avery's nanny handed to her, then handed the young Princess a mirror when she was finished.

"Do you like them?" Anne asked and Avery nodded quickly as she handed back the mirror and smiled brightly at Anne. "Why don't you go with Charlotte and you can keep playing until dinner while Kyra and I go looking for her brothers, alright?" Avery nodded as she slipped off the chair and took her nanny's hand. Charlotte, her nanny, and the girl's combined three guards followed them out of the room while Kyra took Anne's hand. They walked through Court until they reached the Royal Guard's training area where Finn and Chris' guards were humoring the boys' interest in weapons.

"Finn! Chris!" Anne called as she looked out at the boys. "Your parents are almost here. Won't you come greet them?" The two boys seemed to discuss the prospect at length before one of the guards rolled his eyes and nudged Finn towards Anne, prompting Chris to lead the way. As the boys reached her, Anne held out her spare hand and Chris took it while Finn lead the way to the main entrance of Court. When the four got there, Keiro and Attia's carriage just arrived and they were walking into Court.

Attia was first to see their children and quickly went to them, Kyra and Chris more interested in her while Finn went straight to his father. Anne only smiled as she watched the pair embrace their children, then trade off so that both were able to see all three. Keiro noticed Anne first and smiled at her before redirecting all his attention to Kyra and Chris. He'd hoisted Kyra up to his hip while he held Chris' hand and the three walked behind Attia and Finn, who were holding hands as Finn recounted to his mother all the things the guards let him and Chris play with in the guard's training area. When Attia casted a glance back at the two guards Finn and Chris favored, they redirected their gazes to the floor, and were saved by Attia's good mood at being back.

Anne left the entrance hall through a different hallway than Attia and Keiro led their children down and went towards Finn's office again. When she got there, however, she found Casper had emptied the room of the courtiers and council members and was seated at the desk, his elbows on the corner of the desk, his face buried in his hands. "Are you managing, Casper?" she asked and Casper's eyes shot up to her like he hadn't heard her come in at all. She smiled sweetly in his direction before gently shutting the door behind her. In the silence of the room, the soft click of the door seemed rather loud.

"I don't think I can handle this for another few days," Casper admitted as he pushed off the edge of the desk and leaned back in the chair. Anne's smile stayed on him as she crossed the room. When she neared the desk, he pushed with his feet on the ground to make space between him and the desk, thus allowing Anne room to slide onto his lap. He put his arms around her waist as she reached out to brush the hairs from his face. "Did he forget all the shit I did last time he left me charge? I was worse than Attia. Worse than Attia, the woman who threatens to execute anybody who defies her."

Anne couldn't stop the laughs from escaping her lips, but she managed to muffle them when she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I want to have another baby, Casper."

"Oh god," Casper said as he pulled away from her and let his head drop back over the top of the chair. "Have you forgotten what it was like with a bunch of babies all over the place?" he questioned as he raised his head to meet her gaze.

"I want a daughter," she admitted, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth like she was worried what Casper's response would be.

"What? Charlotte and Kyra aren't cutting it for you?"

"Casper, I'm serious," Anne replied as she put each of her hands on his shoulders. Casper's lips slowly pulled up into a smile as he held her gaze.

"You know, I was the one who said we should keep trying after Chase, but you said that one was enough."

"I know," Anne replied as she rolled her eyes, but her smile made her pretend annoyance futile. "But I changed my mind now."

"Obviously," Casper laughed as he tightened his grip around her waist and tilted his head to kiss her lips. She returned the kiss eagerly, a testament to their privacy and her desire for another child. Casper, who knew that was the only reason she was so responsive, enjoyed it all the same. He felt one of her arms slide up to wrap around his neck while the other hand slide down over his chest. Her slender fingers pressed through his shirt to feel his muscles and eventually began to slip the buttons through their holes. "Really?" he questioned against her lips, his own lips forming a grin. "Here?"

"Why not?" she asked and Casper pulled back to stare at her in disbelief. He'd always been the one willing to do anything anywhere, whereas Anne had always clung to the safety of their bedroom for such antics.

"Well, alright," he laughed before he kissed her again with more passion than before now that the promise for something more was apparent. "What if we get another boy?" he asked suddenly in between the kiss, but Anne pulled away completely at the question. She rose an eyebrow at him and he just stared at her.

"We'll just keep trying then."

"Oh, we'll just populate the entire royal nursery then?"

"How many sons can we possibly have?"

"I don't think there's a set limit, Anne," Casper laughed, earning a hit on his chest. It was more a light tap, but it was enough to get her point across.

"That's not what I meant."

"Let's go," Casper laughed in response as he released her waist and motioned for her to climb off of his lap.

"Go where?"

"To our room, of course," he replied in her ear before he took the lobe, earring and all, into his mouth and nibbled lightly. Anne gasped in response as she reached for him, her arm wrapping around his backside as he released her ear and led the way out of the office.