m: 'Come What May' belongs to whoever sung in the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor or something like that.

Chapter Two

"Ano!" cried a cheerful AJ as his father entered the room. Nathyrra smiled and watched as AJ ran over to Ano. The two year old twins had recently learned how to walk and speak. Ano grinned and picked up his son. "Hey, buddy."

"Ano!"

"No, AJ. That's what grownups call me. To you, I'm dad."

"Da…da…Dano!"

Ano blinked. "Right." He put Ano down and walked over to Nathyrra. His wife smiled and handed Ana to him. "Mommy." she said a bit mournfully. Ano scowled, feeling a bit rejected.

Nathyrra laughed at his expression. Ano shook his head. "Can you say, 'Daddy'?"

"Mommy's slave."

"What?"

She pointed at him. "Mommy's slave."

Ano frowned and handed his daughter to a laughing Nathyrra. "Where did she learn that? And where did AJ learn to call me Ano?"

"Well, Drak was here the other day…"

"I'm going to kill him."

"Drak go bye-bye." commented AJ.

-

Several days later, the family sat inside Ano and Nat's room. Joragin and Sharwyn's wedding would take place later that day and the parents were trying to get their children prepared for the ceremony. "Anathyrra Vasenna Derlyn, sit still." snapped Nathyrra. Ana scowled and crossed her arms over her chest as her mother ran a brush through the child's hair.

"Ano, fix AJ's hair."

"Huh?"

"Put a part in the middle of his head. Why is it spiked anyway?" she asked rhetorically. Ano took a comb and fixed AJ's light brown hair.

-

The family walked. AJ frowned and looked at his father. "Ano, this sucks. Let's go."

"I told you not to use that word. Call me daddy."

"Ano." he said a mocking tone. Ano glared at him. Ana and Nat rolled their eyes. Nathyrra, Ana, and AJ sat in one of the isles while Ano took his place as the best man. The music began to play.

"Here comes the bride, all fat and wide. Here comes the groom, skinny as a broom…" Ana muttered. She was silenced by a harsh look from Nathyrra.

Everyone turned around and looked as Sharwyn walked down the isle, Daelan at her side. Joragin smiled as she approached. She smiled back and turned to face the priest. The man began to speak, "We are gathered her today to witness the joining of Joragin and Sharwyn in holy matrimony." He continued with the traditional speech.

"…if anyone objects speak now or forever hold your peace."

A devious grin crept over AJ's face. He started to say something but was quickly silenced by his mother's hand over his mouth.

"…You may now kiss the bride." the priest commanded. Joragin bent down and pressed a kiss to Sharwyn's lips.

-

At the reception, the family sat at a table. Ana and AJ had abandoned their seats, preferring to sit on their parents laps. Ano was trying to convince Ana to eat broccoli. "Come on, Ana. It's good for you."

"No."

"Please, precious?"

"No."

"If you don't then you won't grow up to be big and strong."

"Shut up, stupid male."

"What?"

"Mommy says it to you all the time."

"That's different. Eat your broccoli."

"No!" She cried. Before Ano could blink, she used her newly discovered divine magic to dump the contents of Ano's water glass on his head. Ano stared at her in shock. "You are in so much trouble when we get home, Anathyrra." he declared. Ana merely stuck he tongue out at him and shifted her position, deliberating sticking her wings right in Ano's face. Nathyrra turned her head to hide her snickering.

Drak flew over. "Hey."

"DRAK!" the twins cried in unison. They ran over to the dragon and grabbed him out of the air in a bone crushing hug. Drak flapped his wings wildly to escape the hug of death. "Ah! Alright! Alright! It's good to see you too kiddos."

"I wanna play a game!" proclaimed AJ.

"Play a game with us, Drak!" ordered Ana.

"No. I'm off duty."

"Pleeeeease?" they whined simultaneously.

Drak sighed. "Fine. Go hide somewhere on the ceiling. I'll count to one million and come find you."

They nodded vigorously and ran up the wall. Nathyrra glared at the dragon. "Drak, you know I hate it when you tell them to walk on walls. It means that I can't get to them if they've misbehaved."

"But I can so we're good." Ano stated.

Joragin sat down across from his brother. Ano grinned. "Hey, Jor. Where's my new sister-in-law?"

"She's talking to Linu and Tomi." He replied. "Where are my niece and nephew?"

"Uncle Jor!" cried two voices. Joragin looked up at the ceiling. "There they are." He said, chuckling. The twins jumped down, landing on their feet with the grace of a cat and running to their uncle.

"Hey there, twins." He said affectionately. "What have you been up to?"

"We figured out how to walk up walls like Dad!" announced AJ.

"So I see." said Joragin.

"And I used my magic to pour water all over my dad." Ana informed him. Ano nodded, his smile a bit forced. Joragin sniggered at his brother.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you, Jor." said Sharwyn as she approached. He gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry, Shar."

"Don't worry, Jor. You can make it up to her on the honeymoon." said Ano, winking at the couple. Joragin and Sharwyn gave him a half-hearted glare.

"How?" asked Ana.

Ano reddened a bit. "Err…"

"Is he gonna make her cookies?" asked AJ innocently.

"Well…maybe not in the way that you're thinking…"

"How else do you make cookies?" demanded Ana.

Anotalex gave Nathyrra a pleading look. She shook her head. "You got yourself in this mess. Get out of it on your own."

Ano sighed. "I'll tell you when you're older."

"But-"

"No buts."

"You have to give them credit, Ano. They made you blush." said Joragin, smirking.

Ano glared at him. "I'm gonna get you back for that…"

-

Ano walked onto the stage. "Hello everyone. I'm Anotalex Derlyn, also known as Joragin's older brother."

The guests looked at him. Ano continued, "I'm sure you're all wondering the same thing so I'm going to tell you before I get started. The reason I'm wet is because of my lovely daughter, Ana. Thank you for pouring that water glass on me, Sweetie."

The audience chuckled.

"Anyway, I've noticed that at wedding the father of the bride sometimes comes up and tells a long, pointless, story but since he's 'unavailable' I suppose I'll have to tell the story."

He took a breath and continued, "This morning when I got up, I walked into the bathroom as usual. I found my toothbrush but saw that my toothpaste was missing. No big deal though, I could just take some from my kids' room. So, I brush my teeth and reach towards the place where I keep my comb only to finds out that it's missing too. I start walking around I accidentally step on something. I let out a yelp, which wakes my up my wife. In truth, I love her but she's not a morning person." He put on a mocking voice. " 'Anotalex! You imbecile! I am trying to sleep. If you're gonna yelp like a little girl do it in another room!' she yelled before going back to sleep."

Nathyrra raised an eyebrow, remembering that she had called him something far worse than 'imbecile'. The drow decided that her husband substituted the word due to the fact that there were children in the room.

"It turns out that what I stepped on was my comb. Grumbling, I brushed my hair. Then I reached for my razor only to discover that like my comb and toothpaste, it was missing. My dog trots into the room, my razor in his mouth. I'm getting annoyed now, and I took it away from. That was probably a tactical error on my part, because later that day he took a whiz on my bed. Not on my wife's side, my side."

The audience laughed.

"I then realized that I kept loosing thing and even though my daughter has the potential to be a fantastic healer, I was afraid to use the bathroom."

The audience burst out laughing. Nathyrra shook her head, quite used to her husband's antics. Ana blinked. "I don't get it. What does magic have to do with Dad going potty?"

"Don't worry about it." said Nathyrra. She wasn't about to tell her daughter that Ano was afraid that he would lose a piece of his anatomy.

Ano shook his head. "Anyway, I'm rambling…which was probably what I was supposed to do but…never mind. With out further ado, I'd like to ask our new married couple to come on stage and show off their skills as bards." He gestured to the piano. "Come here and sing, Jor and Shar!"

The guests cheered, encouraging them to go up on stage. Joragin shrugged and stood up. Sharwyn took his hand and walked towards the stage. The couple took their places and began a song.

Never knew I could feel like this
Like I've never seen the sky before
I want to vanish inside your kiss
Seasons may change, winter to spring
But I Love You, until the end of time

Come what may
Come what may
I will Love You
Until my dying day

Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace
Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste
It all revolves around you

And there's no mountain too high
No river too wide
Sing out this song,
I'll be there by your side

Storm clouds may gather
And stars may collide
But I Love You, I Love You,
Until the end of time

Come what may, come what may, I will Love You
The greatest thing you'll ever learn...
I will Love You, Come what may, Yes, I will Love You
Come what may, I will Love You, Til my dying day

They stood up and bowed, grinning as the audience applauded.

-

"Well, we'd best be going. My children are asleep on their feet." said Ano, gesturing to the sleepy twins with their heads resting on the table.

"It's fine. Go home and put them to bed." said Joragin.

Linu smiled at the children. "They must be exhausted, the poor dears."

Ano picked up each child and walked towards the door with Nathyrra. "So what did you think of that song?" he asked his wife. Nathyrra shook her head and put a finger to her lips, pointing to her children's pointed ears. Ano nodded with understanding and fell silent. He lasted for a few minutes before speaking again. "But-"

"Be silent, Ano."

"Shut up, Dad." said a sleepy Ana.

"Shut up, stupid male." added AJ.

"What?"

"I just wanted to see how it felt."