Princes and Princesses

Artemis pov

"How are you feeling Milady?" Zoe asked.

"Tired." I replied looking down at the child in my arms "But otherwise fine."

"Would you like me to take him so you can rest?" my sister in all but blood asked. I nodded gently and allowed her to take my son from my arms before closing my eyes.

Four years had passed since I married Borthomire and I had given birth three times in that duration. The first pregnancy had resulted in my three eldest sons. Inspired by the Eastern cultures I named the oldest Shirou and the youngest Natsu. I allowed my husband to name the middle child who became known as Cloud.

Shirou while still young was my little helper being extremely selfless and unusually obedient for a three year old boy. He tended to do little chores without asking and practically preened with joy when thanked for his efforts. His hair was the same reddish color as mine and his eyes were a golden brown with just a hint of his father's green eyes mixed in.

Cloud was quiet and while he didn't seem to hate people, it was clear he preferred small groups and isolation. If others intruded on his 'quiet time' as I called it he'd give them the most adorable glare and walk away to find a new spot, usually at the base of a tree on a hill so he could see farther. Recently he's started trying to climb the trees which has scared me half to death on a number of occasions. Cloud had blond hair and blue eyes making him look much more like a child of my brother Apollo than my own.

Natsu the youngest of the triplets was my little ball of energy. That little boy could run from sun up to sun down without stopping which tended to leave either myself or those watching him profoundly exhausted. He also seemed to equate fighting to fun and wouldn't hesitate to launch himself at his father or brothers. He never actually tried to hit his brothers preferring to simple pin them down. Shirou would try to push back though he didn't really seem to care whether or not he actually won. I suspected he did so merely to make Natsu happy. Cloud on the other hand would become downright furious at Natsu's action often leading to fierce fights, well as fierce as a pair of three year olds can get. Natsu had dark pink hair and tan eyes with a slight greenish tint.

It was only a few months after the birth of the Triplets that I learned I was once again pregnant. Having gone through the process once before I felt I was better prepared this time around. Unfortunately an Olympian council meeting landed during the worst of my mood swings. As a result I lashed out quite harshly at my brother Apollo and my Father, both of whom kept their distance for a while after the incident. When I could think clearly again I was furious with my own actions because until that event it seemed as if my father was trying to reconcile with me, now he was colder than ever.

Upon going into labor a second time I learned that I had been blessed with twins. Atlanta, who had learned her lesson about honey water, had performed spectacularly as the midwife. When she held up the eldest of the twins showing that I had been given yet another son I nearly screamed in frustration, was it really so much to ask for a single baby girl. In my mind I wondered if Thalia was right and this was some kind of punishment for all the men I'd killed and castrated over the years. Then we the second baby was revealed to be a girl I cried in relief.

The boy was named Sora and by all accounts he seems rather normal compared to his siblings. He's very curious and likes to explore his surroundings. He also has a tendency to find baby animals and bring them back to camp. What confounds me is that he often appears with animals that should be in the area he finds them in. Only last week we were on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and he walks back from the shore holding a little polar bear of all things. Sora had reddish brown hair and blue eyes.

The girl was named Morgiana at Borthomire's suggestion. She was very quiet for a two year old and exceptionally stubborn. If she didn't want to do something she would dig in her heels and latch on to the nearest object. Once Zoe was trying to give her a bath and Morgiana grabbed a rock three times her size by the river in the hopes Zoe wouldn't be able to get her off the rock and into the water, she was half right. Zoe who had been somewhat frustrated grabbed Morgiana by her waist and lifted her up thinking she'd be unable to maintain her grip on the rock. Instead she stood there in shock as an oblivious Morgiana effortlessly held the sixty to seventy pound rock in the air just as Zoe held her by the waist. She didn't let go until her feet touched the water and she realized it wasn't going to save her. Morgiana had red hair and eyes both resembling the color of magma.

When I learned that I had gotten pregnant for a third time I was positively gobsmacked. Goddess normally are only blessed with a godly child or two in their entire lives. Some like Hera and Aphrodite got lucky with three or four, yet here I was having already been given five children and about to have a sixth and possibly seventh if my record of twins and triplets held true. My final pregnancy was by far the easiest on me and even the delivery was relatively painless. This time I only had one child, another boy whom I named Selvar meaning of the moon.

Selvar in his short time in this world had already given us a fair number of surprises. On the day of his birth after being cleaned up he was placed on the bed with me to sleep. After a few moments he rolled himself onto his stomach and simultaneously shifted form from that of a human to a fox of a similar size. None of our other children besides Lupa had manifested the ability to shape shift which left me understandable shocked at the occurrence. Since that day though Selvar has remained in fox form and shown no sign of changing back. The last surprise was much less pleasant. Selvar was born as a nature spirit, a fox spirit to be precise, not a god. I went into shock when we learned that because that meant I would soon be losing my newest child, a hundred and fifty years was almost nothing to a god. I locked myself in my chambers with Selvar for months following that revelation refusing to let him out of my sight. In the end Borthomire coaxed me out with a promise that he and the Council would make our son an immortal at the very least when he became older. Selvar had silver eyes like mine and red fur the reminded me of burning coals in a fire. The kind with a deep, swirling red color that radiated warmth.

Since then things had been rather hectic as I was balancing being a goddess, and a council member on two separate councils, and a mother to seven children though Lupa mostly took care of herself. One thing that did blow me away was how much my children ate. I'd taken care of countless children and infants before becoming a mother myself so I knew they needed a fair amount of food on a regular basis but this was just ridiculous. Within six months of being born all my children transferred from milk and soft foods to more grown up foods. I was worried but Borthomire assured me that this was normal for children of a werewolf. I wasn't sure if that carried over to gods but let it go nonetheless, really I had more pressing issues. Before my children were born we could hunt down a few deer and have food for a month, now seven children alone could eat an entire small deer by themselves in a week. I feared how much they'd need when they got older and made a mental note to teach them how to hunt for themselves as soon as possible

I felt the bed move slightly and cracked an eye open to see Morgiana and Natsu climbing on the bed. Feigning sleep I watched them crawl over to me and curl up at my side before going to sleep themselves. After waiting to ensure they were truly asleep I rolled over slightly and threw an arm over them and pulled them close. It may be a lot of hard work, but I loved being a mother.