This takes place quite a while after the main story
Ana carefully burped the baby girl in her arms. Natalia had her mother's copper hair, but her father's amethyst eyes. She was already far quieter and better behaved than her older brother, Cassius.
We have our arms full as it is with that little troublemaker...
It was then that she realized something. She hadn't seen her son since Elias had walked off with him that morning. She readjusted her grip on their daughter.
"Shall we go find Papa and Cass?" she asked.
Natalia let out a happy gurgle, making the woman laugh. With that, the two redheads left the nursery and made their way to the little boy's favorite places.
Their first stop was the dining room. Cassius was by far the clumsiest child either Elias, Ana, or their friends had ever seen. If he wasn't crashing into a wall, he was slipping and falling on his butt. It had gotten to the point where the little boy stopped crying altogether; he just rolled to his feet and kept going. Elias wasn't panicking or casting a healing spell, and the furniture was all still in place.
"Where to next?" Ana asked the baby. Natalia responded by clapping her hands.
Next, they went outside. Cassius loved playing in the dirt, making mud cakes, in short, making a complete mess of himself. Ana found it adorable, especially when he walked and offered her one of his mud cakes. Elias never understood it, but he'd still smile when the little boy would show off the mud castles he'd make. But today, the garden looked neat and clean. Cassius was clearly not here. As she inspected the flowerbed, Ana found her husband's wand. She picked it up.
"Seriously, where did they go?" Ana murmured, tilting her head.
The baby giggled and the woman sighed.
"Stay still!" shouted a voice.
Ana and Natalia looked at each other.
"That sounded like it came from upstairs," she mused.
They walked back into the house and headed up the staircase. Thy could hear grumbling from the master bedroom. Ana furrowed her brow and opened the door.
She couldn't have been prepared for what she found.
"What... What are you doing?"
There was Elias, his hair, normally neat, was in complete disarray. He had a bruise forming on his cheek and his nose was red, as though it had been pinched. Meanwhile, Cassius covered in what looked like bubble wrap, his wild golden hair poking out from underneath a helmet. Both were looking worse for wear as they glared at each other.
Ana couldn't help bursting into laughter as Natalia cackled in her arms.
"Stop laughing!" Elias huffed.
Before answering, the young woman grabbed her camera and took a photo.
"What are you doing?" she repeated, "Or rather, what are you trying to do?"
"He keeps running into things! If he would just sit still, I could finish and he could go out and play!" Elias growled, tossing his hands up in defeat.
"And why didn't you use magic?"
"Your son threw my wand out the window!"
Ana fished his wand out of her pocket and handed it to him. He muttered a 'Thanks' before turning back to their son.
"Why do you hate me?" he asked the little boy.
Cassius puffed out his cheeks and turned away. When it came to pouting, Cassius was just like his father.
"He doesn't hate you," Ana reassured him, taking a seat on the floor next to him, "you just need to let him learn. He's a kid; kids get scrapes and bruises. It's just how it goes. You can't protect him from everything."
"But I just want to keep him safe for as long as possible..."
Ana leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"Just let him be a clumsy fool. He'll grow out of it and become all the stronger."
Elias ran a hand through his hair.
"I guess you're right..."
She handed Natalia over to her father.
"Alright, let me go get him cleaned up. Tallie's still at an age where you can smother her and keep her safe from everything."
Elias cradled the little girl in his arms. She fell right asleep. Ana smiled as she offered her hand to their son.
"Come on, Cass. How about you make me a castle out of mud?"
"Yes!" The little boy jumped to his feet and grabbed her hand.
As she walked out of the room, Ana blew her husband a quick kiss. He smiled and lifted Natalia's arm, as if she were waving goodbye.
