Chapter 38.
Ana.
Ana slowly opened her eyes and squinted a little as she looked around the room to see that Huldah, Kate, Artemis, and Izzy were all still fast asleep. They had glamoured another bed thankful that the room was large enough for one to fit so that she was sharing a bed with Izzy and Kate while Huldah was sharing with Artemis.
She silently slipped out of bed and shimmered to the front room not wanting to wake anyone. She wanted today to be perfect for Huldah starting with breakfast in bed. Once she appeared in the front room she was quickly greeted by her mom Pythia and the children. "Mommy is Aunty Huldah awake. She needs to wake up she is getting married today."
"Shush sweetheart, I thought we could let her sleep a little bit longer, and then we could bring her breakfast in bed. So we have to keep our voices..." She was just about to finish but before she could Abigail squealed and ran towards the bedroom door when she heard it open and a very excited Huldah came bouncing into the room.
"I'm getting married today. I can't believe my day is finally here. Can you believe it, Carla? In just a few hours I will finally be a wife." Carla was stood facing Huldah and smiling lovingly at her and Ana could feel happy tears burning her eyes knowing just from one look at her mom's face that this was something she had always wished for Huldah. So now that the day was finally here the happiness in the room was overwhelming.
"Good morning Huldah honey. I was going to bring you breakfast in bed but now that you're up is there anything I can get for you?" She placed a bouncing Abigail down on the floor and walked over to Ana pulling her in for a tight hug.
"I have everything I want already, besides I am way too excited to eat right now. Let's just order food and I may pick at it when it's here is that ok?"
Ana held Huldah back so that she could look into her beautiful face as she spoke. "Huldah today is your day. You can have whatever you want. You don't have to ask anyone if something is ok today whatever you need or want you only have to ask."
"Thank you, Ana, that means so much. I owe so much to all of you. If it wasn't for you all I may never have met Beal so I will forever be grateful to you for bringing this man into my life."
"I wish I could say that you met Beal because of me but I can't take credit for that it was after all my mom who summoned you to help us, and I am so pleased that she did because not only did you get to meet the love of your life and have your gorgeous son, but it gave us all the chance to get to know you. I could never imagine you not being in our lives. You truly are a ray of sunshine in all our lives."
She was fanning her eyes trying to stop the tears from falling before she hugged Ana once again. "Ok enough of the mushy let's get some breakfast and some mimosas while we all get ready. You know that I don't want a big fuss so I don't want people here doing our make-up or hair. I just want it to be us and no strangers."
"That sounds perfect. I need to ask though because we still don't know. Where is the wedding being held? And what is the theme?"
"I will tell you that it is being held at Mandalay Bay but I won't be telling you any more than that because I want it to be a surprise. Trust me you will love it and the best part is the whole thing will be in the same room so the ceremony and the dinner will be in the same place. I just want to be his wife and then party with the people I love."
Knowing Huldah and her quirky personality had the excitement building knowing that no matter how much Huldah said it wouldn't be a fussy wedding she knew that it would be spectacular and unforgettable.
"Ok, come and sit because we have some things that we need to give you. Beal has dropped something off for you this morning." Carla had grabbed Huldah's hand and was pulling her towards the sofa. Huldah was positively giddy when she saw the boxes that were clearly for her.
"Ohhhhhhh he brought me gifts. He is so sweet. Are they all from Beal?" Carla sat down and lifted the big box first smiling as Huldah's eyes lit up.
"No, this one is from me. You said that I could get you your shoes for today so I wanted to incorporate the something new and something blue. You will also find something borrowed in this box as well. So these are from me." She placed the box on Huldah's lap then sat back nervously as Huldah opened the box.
"Oh wow, Carla these are gorgeous." She pulled out a pair of Jimmy Choo embellished pumps that were covered in Swarovski crystals. The name of the pumps was Ari 110 Embellished pumps with a transparent crystal flower that had a hint of blue that shone when the sunlight hit it. They gave off major Cinderella vibes and were incredible.
"I had them trim the inside with blue so these are somewhat custom made for you. I know that the crystal flower has blue in it but I wanted it to be a little more obvious that it was your something new and something blue." Carla looked so nervous but she really didn't have to be because the joy on Huldah's face was blinding.
"Carla they are perfect. Please tell me they aren't also my something borrowed because I never want to give them back." She laughed as did everyone else as Carla shook her head.
"No sweetie, these are your something borrowed. She handed her a pair of diamond earrings that were both unusual and stunning at the same time. Ana vaguely remembered seeing them in her mom's jewelry box, the one that no one was allowed to play with when she was growing up.
"You're letting me borrow the Piaget sunlight earrings? For real? You would never let me even touch these let alone wear them. Are you sure you want me to wear them?" Carla grabbed her hand tight to stop her fussing.
"Huldah, this day has been a long time coming and I honestly couldn't be happier that you have finally found the man of your dreams and today is your special day. I knew that you loved these for as long as I can remember. I want you to wear them. They will look beautiful with your dress and your shoes so please accept this from me."
When Ana looked a little closer at the earrings she noticed that the diamond that sat along above the row of diamonds underneath wasn't actually a diamond. It almost looked like it was moving as though it was alive.
"What is that mom? Why is it swirling?"
"I don't know this was a gift of my fathers. He never told me what it was, to be honest, I was very young and never thought to ask." She shrugged her shoulders and smiled as Huldah held them to her heart and closed her eyes sighing blissfully.
"Ok, this next one is from Beal." She handed over the next box and everyone watched in anticipation as she opened the box to reveal a stunning necklace that had a circle with a smaller one inside and an arrowhead attaching the big and smaller circle together. It was covered in the most beautiful diamonds and the symbol was attached to a long diamond chain.
"What does the symbol mean?" Ana was expecting her mom to answer thinking that Beal would have told her but it was Huldah who explained never taking her eyes of the necklace.
"It's the symbol for 'Envy'. I should have known after all he is the King of Envy which means that this will be my symbol soon when I become his Queen." Ana smiled loving that no matter who these men were they always had the perfect way to melt their woman's heart. Their level of romance and love would never stop surprising her.
"Ok well I am going to order breakfast then we will wake the others and start getting ready because I don't know about anyone else but I can't wait to see what Huldah has been planning for today." Ana was trying to stop the tears that threatened to spill over at the beautiful gesture that Huldah was currently gushing over.
"Mommy, can I go wake everyone please?"Abigail was tugging Ana's hand and batting her long lashes up at her.
"Ok, but do it nicely, don't go in shouting and screaming." She hadn't even finished speaking before all of the children other than Ava all ran for the bedroom, showing her that the only part of her sentence that they had listened to was 'ok' the rest had been lost in their excitement.
She shrugged her shoulders then called for room service before taking a seat on the sofa and giving up on trying to get the children to stay calm. They were way too excited and she couldn't really blame them.
About twenty minutes after room service was ordered tray after tray arrived in their room filled with every kind of breakfast you could wish for and it all looked mouth-watering. Pretty soon everyone was sat around the room picking at all the different foods and the adults were all drinking mimosas and chatting excitedly about the day ahead.
"Huldah I have to ask how you and Beal have found the time since we have been here to plan the wedding. I'm only just realizing you have pretty much been with us all the time. When did you get to plan it?"
"I looked at a few things on the plane ride here it's one of the reasons I needed that time on the plane. Then I simply handed what I wanted over to Christian and he sorted it for me. I wanted it to be as much of a surprise for Beal as it was for you guys. Besides he would have gone to the little white chapel and had it done in seconds if I had let him be involved. He hasn't stopped moaning about why we couldn't have just gone and got married the night we arrived. He can be such a big baby when he wants something, but he is my big baby and I wouldn't have him any other way, besides I wanted the children to be there with us so the little white chapel drunk wasn't ever going to be an option."
"You would think considering who our men are and how long they have lived that they would have a little more patience and be a little bit tougher. I have to agree though Huldah no matter how much of a big baby they can all be knowing that they are ours is the best feeling in the world."
Huldah smiled dreamily as Ana mentioned how amazing it felt that they were their men. The love was so clear on everyone's faces at the mention of them as it should considering what was to happen today.
Huldah shook her head then stood from her seat and clapped her hands. "Ok enough of the soppy, for now anyway at least we need to get ready. Can someone clean the plates in here while I go and sort the room into our dressing room? Please?" She looked a little worried that she sounded bossy but seemed to relax when she saw everyone smiling at her.
"Huldah sweetie you go and do what you need to do we will sort things out here." She clapped excitedly then spun around skipping to the master bedroom, quickly followed by the children. As soon as Huldah was out of the room everyone got to work made a lot easier thanks to magic. Once the room was clean they all made their way into the makeshift dressing room and smiled when they saw the room covered in powder pink and ivory balloons and flowers with a few powdered blue balloons that Jamie and Theo had informed them were thanks to them.
There were several make-up stations spread throughout the room which was when Ana noticed that the beds were all gone including the bed that the hotel provided. When Huldah noticed where Ana was looking she smiled sheepishly. "Don't worry Ana I promise everything will be back to normal before anyone sees."
"Huldah please promise me you will stop apologizing, especially today and especially about things like that. Everything can be fixed with magic so please sweetheart just enjoy your day. Stop stressing and go for your bath it's all been set up." Huldah squealed excitedly, quickly hugged everyone, then ran off to the main bathroom.
After everyone had showered and bathed they were all doing their make-up and hair while the children all danced around to the music played in the background. Once they were all done it was time for everyone to get dressed and Ana could see now that Huldah wasn't just beyond excited she was now looking a little nervous. She smiled knowing what that feeling was like.
Ana had decided on an emerald green of the shoulder balloon sleeve Bardot mini dress with matching emerald green shoes and clutch to match the dress fit her like a glove and was both sexy and classy at the same time. As there was no theme everyone was dressed in completely different outfits something Huldah seemed to love as she praised everyone when they walked out after changing.
Izzy was wearing a burgundy off-the-shoulder skater dress with black shoes and a clutch. Kate had on a blush pink spaghetti strap embellished mini dress with nude heels. Artemis chose to wear a studded cut-out wide leg jumpsuit in black again with black heels and a clutch.
Her mom had also chosen to wear pants and was in a stunning powder blue buttoned blazer and pocket design pants with a powder blue lace bodice underneath finished off with nude heels.
They waited for a few seconds for Pythia to come out but she seemed to have been taking a little longer than everyone else so Ana knocked on the door to check on her when she walked in she found her sat on a stool panting a little. "Are you ok sweetheart?"
"I'm ok, it's just hard to get clothes on these days." She laughed then stood up to reveal a stunning black body con dress with ruffled sleeves that came of the shoulder and covered the front bodice. The dress clung to her bump like a second skin while the skirt was a lotus leaf skirt that was longer at the sides than the front and the back. She had on some embellished black kitten heels and stood in front of the mirror nervously.
"Do you think this is ok or is it too much? I mean I'm huge this is probably not appropriate I should get changed." Ana was just about to tell her not to even think about it but was beat to it by Huldah.
"Do not even think about it. That dress is incredible and it looks stunning on you. I wouldn't be surprised if after tonight you are the next one down the aisle after Artemis and Benji. Shit, I never looked that hot when I was pregnant." Pythia's eyes lit up as she broke out into a huge smile at Huldah's words.
"Thank you, Huldah that means so much but enough fussing over me, it's time for you to put on your dress I have been desperate to see you in it." Huldah clapped her hands and shooed everyone out of the room. While Huldah was getting dressed they all dressed the children. They decided on simple ivory dresses for the girls and a more grown-up version for Ava. The boys were all dressed in blue shirts and dressy jeans with black sneakers. They all looked gorgeous.
A few minutes later Huldah walked out in her dress and the room went still and silent. She looked incredible. The dress looked so much more beautiful than the picture. It was short but modestly short and made her legs look impossibly long, toned, and tanned. It showed off a little cleavage but not too much. The jewelry and shoes matched the dress perfectly.
She had her hair up with loose tendrils falling around her face making her look effortlessly, classically beautiful. Her stunning lilac eyes looked around at everyone expectantly but no one could speak she had literally made them all speechless.
"Guy's come on you need to tell me what you think. Does it look ok? Is it too much? Shit is it not enough? Should I glamour something else? I knew I should have shown you before today. It's ok right let's figure out something..."
"Huldah stop, I think we are all just taking in how incredible you look. The dress is perfect it's everything and so much more believe me you do not need to be finding another dress. In fact, I would fear for our lives if you did and Beal found out he had been deprived of seeing you in this dress." Carla was wiping her tears or more like dabbing them so as not to ruin her makeup as she spoke.
"Oh really, you guys think it's definitely the one?" They all nodded their heads rather than speaking as they were all still speechless. Huldah seemed a little frustrated that no one was talking which snapped Ana out of her shock.
"Sorry honey I know that we are being quiet it's just that the picture you showed us didn't do this justice. You look incredible as we all knew you would. I just think seeing you now in front of us in person in the dress you are breathtaking." She nudged Kate and Izzy telling them to speak.
"Yeah, Ana and mom are right you look amazing. Beal is going to find it hard to control himself around you that much I can promise you." Huldah looked positively giddy at the thought of Beal losing control.
"Oh, I do hope so that will make tonight so much more exciting than it already will be if he has spent the day wanting to... well you know. I don't think I should say anything more in front of the children."
"I agree, besides I think we can all guess what you're talking about. Why don't we get a glass of champagne before we head to the venue?" Everyone agreed and made their way back to the front room but not before glamouring the room back as it should be. When they made it to the front room they all stopped when they saw the most stunning wedding bouquet lying on the bar.
"Oh wow where did that come from? Huldah did you do that?" Huldah turned to Carla shaking her head.
"No, I left Beal in charge of the flowers because I was doing everything else." The flowers were grey and iced lilac, Lillie, and purple gyp, and entwined throughout were strings of what looked like lilac diamonds or crystals but knowing Beal and how extravagant he was they were likely diamonds.
Huldah walked over to the bar and picked up the bouquet and held it to her face smiling as she inhaled. "They are the color of my eyes, can you believe it?" Ana walked over to her and reached to hold her hand as she smiled softly at her.
"Of course we can sweetheart. He loves you and your eyes are what we all catch him staring at regularly so why wouldn't he have flowers that reminded him of them." She squeezed her hand as Carla wiped a stray tear from Huldah's eyes.
When she looked down she saw a note buried carefully in the flowers. "Huldah there is a note sweetie." She looked down and pulled it out careful not to ruin the bouquet. Ana stepped back not wanting to know impose on the private moment that Huldah was having as she read what Beal had written. Once she had finished she held the card to her heart before handing it to her mom. she then passed the card around for everyone to read bringing on fresh tears in everyone.
'Huldah, my beauty I never believed that this day would ever come for me as I know that you never believed that it would come for you. We have walked through this long life never realizing that we had been waiting for each other. Now that I have found you and I am making you my wife I will never let you go. I will never let you down. I will spend eternity making sure you are happy and feel loved. You and our son are the best part of my world. I can never thank you enough for the light and love you have brought to my life. I can't wait to meet you at the altar, my love. I will love you always. Beal xxx'
"Ok, we need to pull ourselves together before we ruin our makeup. Come let's have a glass of champagne and go meet your future husband."Huldah took a deep breath and nodded her head placing the bouquet down gently as Artemis handed everyone a glass of champagne and a non-alcoholic one to Pythia.
Carla raised her glass and made her toast. "To my sister, you have spent your life being there for everyone and being the best sister I could have ever wished for. I am so pleased that I can now share you and your amazing soul with everyone else. To see you today ready to walk down the aisle and marry the man you have been searching for your whole life is the biggest blessing to share with you. Well other than the birth of my perfect nephew of course." They all looked down at Liam who was in a pushchair fast asleep unaffected by what was about to happen between his parents.
"I love you so much Huldah and I can't wait to share what is sure to be the best, most fun journey of your life. I can't wait to watch you blossom as the powerful Queen I know deep down you were always meant to be, alongside your King who I am sure you will drive crazy with your quirky ways and make him fall in love with you more and more every day. Congratulations, I am so happy for you."
By the end of the speech, everyone was crying and laughing as they cheered and tapped their glasses. "Ok let's fix our faces, drink up, and get going. I don't want to wait any longer to become Beal's wife." They all smiled and did as she had asked and made their way out of the suite and to the waiting limo that was hired to take them to Mandalay Bay.
The excitement in the car was palpable not just because of the upcoming wedding but because they were all excited to see what Huldah had set up and the children being so excited being in the limo added to the mood.
A few minutes later they pulled up to Mandalay Bay and are greeted by several members of staff who escort them to a room that is apparently of the main venue. As they walk into the room much to Ana and the twins delight they are greeted by Christian who immediately stood and walked over to them to kiss her and the children. "Hi Kitten, I have missed you so much."
"Hi baby, I have missed you too but shouldn't you be waiting with the guys what are you doing waiting in here on your own?"
"That would be because of me." Ana turned to Huldah confused.
"What do you mean?"
"I asked him to walk me down the aisle. It just felt right. We have been planning this together and he is Beal's brother and he has grown to mean so much to not just me but all of us. Look at what you and Christian have done for all of us. You have given us the most incredible life. You pushed both Beal and me together in the beginning, allowing us to be together much quicker than it would have happened had we been left to do it ourselves because I know that I was unbelievably shy about how I felt about him from the second I met him, but you telling him to escort me forced me to get over my shyness. I know that my sister summoning me was the reason that I met him but you both are the reason that I am here today. You are the reason I have my son here on my wedding day. You are the reason that this didn't happen months maybe years from now. In fact, now that I think about it you both are the reason we are all here now. We went through so much the past couple of months and we all survived it because of you. So I asked Christian to give me away but what I didn't ask is for you also to walk me down the aisle as my King and Queen, and as my family."
Ana couldn't stop the tears that flowed down her face at Huldah's words and when she looked around the room she noticed that she wasn't the only one crying everyone was smiling at her and Christian and nodding their heads.
"Huldah I would be honored to walk you down the aisle but I have to disagree with you. We are not here today because of me and my husband. We are here because of us. We all fought. We all protected each other, and we all won together."
Huldah wiped her tears and hugged Ana before stepping back and taking a deep breath. "Ok let's get me married." Ana squeezed her hand and stepped back while everyone hugged her then followed the manager to the room next door. She heard the excited squeals of the children as they entered the room which had her intrigued as to what they were seeing.
"Are you ready honey?" Huldah snaked her arms through Christians then Ana's arms and nodded her head.
"I'm ready." The second the words were out of her mouth the familiar sound of Why I love you by MAJOR began and the doors opened telling them it was time to go. The second they entered the room Ana gasped as she looked around.
The room was filled with chairs split down the middle to create an aisle. There were the same flowers that Huldah was carrying but much larger bouquets spread throughout the room and at the end of the room were clusters of round tables enough for them all to sit and eat with a larger table in the middle of all of the smaller ones so everything was literally happening in this room.
That however wasn't what had Ana gasping as beautiful as it was what really caught her eye was the fact the room was a massive aquarium. The walls around the room had massive squares filled with the views of sharks and tropical fish swimming past them, it was incredible. "Wow!"
Huldah leaned in and giggled. "Do you like it?"
"Huldah it's incredible." She smiled then faced the front of the aisle and the smile that was already on her beautiful face became blinding when her eyes landed on her soon-to-be-husband waiting for her with a smile that matched hers. Ana looked over to Christian who was watching her with eyes filled with love that reflected her own.
They walked down the aisle slowly and listened to the song playing over the speakers and as they reached the makeshift altar Beal eagerly took Huldah in his arms and kissed her with enough passion that she looked away and saw the other adults covering the children's eyes and laughing.
Beal pulled back from the kiss when he heard the laughing and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not saying sorry last night was torture and look at her she looks like a dream. You can't blame me for needing to kiss her." Ana hugged him laughing softly then stepped back to allow Christian to hug his brother. They then turned and walked to their seats next to the twins.
They had both chose to write their own vows which once again had the women in tears. Beal was first up to say his and Ana held her hand to her heart when he stepped closer to Huldah and held her face in his large hands.
"Huldah you are the best part of me my darling, my love, my wife. I vow to give you everything I have, everything I am. I vow to risk everything for you. To protect you. and to love you every day of forever. You amaze me every day with your pure heart and unconditional love. I am proud to take you as my wife, as a mirror of my love. You are my everything. My wife, my lover, my friend, the mother of our son, and our future children, my Queen. You have taught me how to be a better man and how to love. There are no words and no proper emotions for what I feel today. The knowledge that you will soon be my wife is overwhelming. I am truly the luckiest man on earth and I am honored that you chose me to walk through this life with. I love you."
Huldah was openly crying practically sobbing now and Ana couldn't blame her how these men came up with such heartfelt stunning words of love was something that would forever be shocking. Huldah took a deep shaky breath and held Beal's hands in hers as she spoke her vows.
"Beal my love, my heart, my world. You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I've ever had, and no matter what the future holds every day with you is a dream come true. I will love you when you are in my arms, and when I catch a glimpse of you across the room, and when you are away I will pine for you and rejoice on your return. Without your love I am incomplete. Only with you as my husband can I feel whole. I always dreamed that someday, somewhere, someone would walk into my life and make me realize why I was meant to be. The first time I saw you I realized that you were him. It was you. Thank you for making me a bride, your bride. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for being my husband. Thank you for this day, a day I have always dreamed of. Thank you for our son, and thank you for everything that is to come. I can't wait to go through this crazy wonderful life with you by my side as my King, as my husband, as my best friend, as the father to our son and our future children. I love you so much."
Ana could see tears in Beal's eyes as he stared down at his beautiful wife. Looking at them now she could see how perfect they were together they were made for each other and she felt so blessed to be a part of this moment, to be a part of their lives.
The rest of the ceremony was beautiful and emotional and brief as neither of them wanted to wait longer than they had to to be pronounced husband and wife. As they sat at the round tables and ate the meals that were provided Ana looked around the room and realized just how lucky she was.
Sure they dealt with more than most could ever imagine or handle, but she had the most amazing family to go through it all with.
"What's going on in that beautiful head of yours kitten?" She turned to Christian who was smiling down at her.
"I was just thinking about how lucky I feel to be part of such an incredible family. I'm just feeling soppy." She laughed as Christian held her hand to his lips with one hand and stroked her hair with the other.
"I don't think I have told you yet but you look sensational in that dress. I'm not sure I am going to last all night until I am buried inside you. He placed her hand on his crotch to show her how serious he was with that statement but they were swiftly interrupted by the twins running over to them. She pulled her hand away and leaned into him.
"You're just going to have to be patient for a little while longer handsome. You are also going to have to do something about that." She looked down at his very obvious erection and laughed before turning to the twins who had just made it to the table but not before she saw him adjusting himself under the table.
"Mommy, did you see the fish? Look at that huge one what is it?" It was times like these that reminded Ana that even though they looked like toddlers they were technically only weeks old and obviously wouldn't know what a shark was.
"Sweetie that's a shark. Here, why don't you take my phone let me find something that will give you the names of all the fish and you can see which ones you can find." Theo practically Pushed Abigail out of the way much to her annoyance. Abigail turned to Theo and pushed him to the ground which Ana just watched with shock and amusement. She had never seen them be anything but loving and gentle with each other so to see this she wasn't sure if she should be angry or amused.
"Hey, Abigail you can't do that to your brother now say you're sorry."
"No mommy he pushed me first."
"He didn't do it because he was trying to hurt you he was excited. He shouldn't have pushed you out of the way but you shouldn't have done that. Now both of you say sorry to each other." Theo stood and folded his arms over his chest in a huff and Abigail soon followed him and folded hers across her chest.
"I'm not saying sorry I didn't mean to push her."
"Well, then I'm not saying sorry either." Ana was still in shock but clearly Christian wasn't as his booming voice came from behind her drawing everyone's attention to the sulking twins in front of her.
"You will both say you are sorry or I will take you up to our rooms and you will go straight to bed. If your mommy tells you to do something you do it. Now say you're sorry." Abigail looked horrified that her daddy had just shouted at her and Theo looked like he was about to burst into tears.
They both turned to each other and whispered a quiet "sorry" then turned back to them."Now that you have said sorry to each other you can apologize to your mommy for being disrespectful."
They both looked at her with tears in their beautiful eyes which broke Ana's heart. "Sorry, mommy." They both spoke at the same time and then grabbed each other's hands as though they needed the contact for comfort.
"Give mommy a hug. We don't want you upset today is a special day so why don't we forget about what just happened and start again." They took a deep breath and nodded then hugged her but never let go of each other. They then walked around to Christian who held his arms out for them.
"Daddy doesn't like telling you off and we don't like seeing you upset. It's all forgotten just make better choices next time ok?" He hugged them tight and she watched as Abigail closed her eyes and a tear fell down her cheek. She reached over and wiped the tear from her face and smiled softly down at her.
"Sweetheart you don't need to cry it's all over and done with. I used to get into arguments with my brother and sisters when I was younger. It's part of growing up but we are your parents so we have to teach you how to treat people, that's all. It doesn't mean we don't love you or are upset or disappointed with you." The twins stepped back and both dried their eyes and once again nodded their heads and took deep breaths.
"Ok, let's find you the pictures of the fish and you can get your cousins and search for them." Their mood lifted more and they now looked back to their carefree happy little selves much to Ana's delight. The second she handed her phone to Theo they both ran off to Mia and Jamie.
"I hate telling them off." She turned her gaze from her children to Christian who looked miserable.
"Honey this will not be the last time that we have to do that trust me, and while I hate it just as much as you do it's good for them because it will teach them to be good, kind, and respectful. They have one heck of a life ahead of them. They cannot go through this life as spoilt, entitled people. I know it hurts to see them upset but it doesn't last long. Look at them they are having fun and what just happened will soon be forgotten. With the powers that they are going to develop allowing them to fight each other or hurt each other is dangerous because if we don't stop that behavior now what's to say that when they are older and go to school that they won't get angry with someone at school and really hurt them. We have to be harder on them than normal children, unfortunately."
"Fuck I hadn't even thought of that. Do you think they should be homeschooled?"
She laughed softly and shook her head. "No, I don't. I want them to be around other children. I want them to have as normal a life as possible. They will have enough to deal with when they are adults I want them to have a happy fun childhood filled with friends." Christian looked thoughtful and stayed quiet as he sat back and once again held her hand to his lips.
"What are you thinking?" She had to know why he looked so thoughtful and worried and he seemed to be blocking her from his thoughts.
"I'm thinking about how much my life has changed in such a short amount of time." For a split second, her heart dropped at his words until he smiled down at her lovingly. "Don't look so worried beautiful I wouldn't have my life any other way. Sure I hate when we have to do what we just did and I don't ever want to see them or you crying and I know that there will be days when this happens again but I wouldn't change my life for anything."
"Good, I was worried for a second. You do remember that you want to have more children don't you?" He laughed and stroked her cheek prompting her to lean into his touch.
"Yes, I do. Now that you have brought that up when can we make baby number three? You did say we could do it once the wedding is over so how about we make tonight one to remember."
"We will see. Let me think about it." He nodded in agreement and leaned forward to kiss her. She was just getting caught up in the kiss when she felt movement at the side of her. She reluctantly pulled away to see Huldah and Beal staring at them.
"You guys ok?"
"Well now that you have stopped practically humping in front of everyone I was coming over to tell you that Demeter and Hestia are on their way down for the children. It's late and we have noticed that they are all getting tired and cranky so we thought now was best for them to go up to the suite and get some sleep."
As if proving Huldah's point Abigail and Theo came running over once again pushing and being mean to one another. "Mommy Theo won't let me play with the phone and he has had it for ages. It's not fair why does he get to hold it?" Ana was just about to reply when the room broke out into chaos as Abigail's little fisted hands burst in white-hot flames and Theo stepped back, dropped the phone, and fisted his own hands. At that very same moment, several members of staff walked into the room to collect their plates and immediately freaked out at what they were seeing.
"Oh fuck Christian!" Christian was up and the room froze as Ana dropped down in front of Abigail and grabbed her hands pouring magic into her to put out the flames as she was still glaring at Theo. When Ana turned she noticed that Theo too had flames covering his fist and just as she was about to turn to him Zeus was in front of Theo blocking his view of his sister and holding his hands in his much larger ones.
"Abigail calm down right now!"
"But mommy it's not fair." She was crying now her anger long gone and now there were just tears of frustration.
"I do not care what you don't think is fair you never EVER use your magic on anyone especially you brother. Do I make myself clear?" She was clearly just about to protest when she felt a hand on her shoulder and when she looked up she saw Christian stood above her.
"I have dealt with the staff. Abigail answer your mother right now!"
She took a deep breath and nodded her head but this time a silent reply wasn't enough she needed to hear the words because what just happened can never happen again. "Use your words. I need to know you understand that that can NEVER happen again."
"Yes mommy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to I promise but Theo was being really mean and I was angry. I didn't know that would happen." She always forgot just how young they still were even the ages they appeared were technically just toddlers but they spoke like they were much older but looking at Abigail now she realized that they were still essentially just babies which calmed her down a lot.
She picked Abigail up and grabbed Theo's hand to pull him towards Christian who picked him up and sat down in front of her and Abigail. "I understand that you are still learning about everything and I understand being so young that it will be hard to control your anger but you need to because you can't let that happen again. I know you are both tiered so Demeter and Hestia are coming to get you all. It's been a long day but I need to know that if you go with Aunty Hestia and Aunty Demeter you are going to be good for them. If you can't be nice to each other then stay away from each other until you can or would you rather your father and I take you back to our suite and you can go to bed and not get to watch a movie with your cousins?"
"No mommy, we are really sorry aren't we Theo? We will be really good and we will never fight or be mean again, we promise. Please, mommy." She wanted to laugh at Abigail's innocent words because she knew that of course, they would fight again, and of course, they would be mean again. That's just part of being a child, but when she looked at her children's hopeful faces and dried tears her heart melted.
"I want you to say sorry and give each other a hug I then want you to say sorry to Uncle Beal and Aunty Huldah for fighting at their wedding." They immediately jumped down and squeezed each other tightly all traces of anger gone and their familiar love back. They walked hand in hand over to a crouched Beal and Huldah and took turns to hug them and say sorry. Ana looked around to see everyone watching them with soft smiles and tilted heads like they could sympathize with them.
Once everything died down and Hestia and Demeter came to take the children Ana picked up whatever drink Christian had been drinking and downed it. This was not something she had seen coming today at all and it was a shock. She felt someone sit beside her and turned to see a concerned-looking Christian.
"Are you ok kitten?"
"Oh, I'm fine honestly. It was just a shock and unexpected." At that moment Izzy and Elliot sat across from them with huge smiles on their faces.
"Why are you smiling like that? What's going on?"
"Well, we just thought we would come and inform you about what happened tonight. Ana, Christian, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you just experienced the terrible two's for the first time. Which is usually bad enough with human children but your little fire starters are much, much more, and that my friends is the thing nightmares are made of. You sure you want to make baby number three right now?" Elliot was having way too much fun with this but Ana and Christian just slumped back in their chairs mouthing a quiet "Shit" at the same time.
She suddenly felt her once empty hand filled with a glass with a dark liquid in it when she looked up Elliot winked. "You looked like you needed it." She shook herself out of the dread she was feeling determined that this could be dealt with tomorrow and not on Huldah and Beal's special day.
"I'm not thinking about this tonight. We can deal with it tomorrow. We have lots of partying to do tonight this problem will still be here tomorrow. Besides Izzy, Elliot, and anyone else here who thinks this is hilarious just remembers when you guys have children who reach the age of two you will all be facing similar issues." She looked around and felt a little smug at the sudden look of horror on everyone's faces even her mom looked horrified.
"Mom why do you and dad look so worried your children are all grown." She laughed but when she looked at her mom and dad's faces the smile soon disappeared. "Are you guys gonna have more children?" All attention was now on her parents much to their embarrassment.
"Well we have talked about it but after tonight we may need to talk more about it. Anyway so what if we want to? There is no reason why we can't have any. When you have lived as long as I have age means nothing. So it's a very real possibility and is highly likely at some point going to happen. So let's all go and have a good night and like you said Ana we can think about all of this tomorrow."
She watched as her parents finished their drinks and stood and walked to the door effectively shutting the conversation down. They all decided to take her mom's advice after all for them the night was still young and they had a lot more fun to have before they returned to the real world and all its issues.