"Maddy!" Her mother called as she watched the teetering child try to walk along a bench.
"I'm good ma!" Maudeline of Conte called, her red hair fluttering. Big blue eyes stared back at her mother.
"Of course you're good. Your nurse however is worrying herself sick! I thought your father raised you better than that." Alanna chided, taking the five year old by her hand and leading her inside.
Three year old Cora tugged at her mother's skirts quietly, begging for attention. Trying to stop an upcoming tantrum, Alanna picked up her daughter and carried her with her left arm while using her right arm to separate her oldest children. Cora had her mother's eyes and father's hair, but she had lungs of someone else.
"Ma…!" Roald called, "Ali's locked herself in her room again!"
"Don't do a thing Roald. You better not be bursting the lock with your gift." Alanna warned.
She put Maddy in the hands of her nursemaid and turned back to her other children.
"Roald, what did I tell you?" she asked disapprovingly.
Roald grinned sheepishly, "She had my book." He had his father's looks, coal black hair and chilling blue eyes. He just turned fourteen and was still a page. The training master always had a complaint about him, but he was hard working and patient, most of all he was kind and loving.
"Ma, tell Roald he can knock on my door next time." Ali replied. Alianne of Conte had her father's hair that fell to her waist, and her mother's stunning eyes. She was a stubborn fifteen and a handful to look after.
"Roald, that door is there for a reason. You can't use your gift whenever you please. Ali, don't taunt your brother." Alanna sighed, tired already.
After she sorted out the small bickers of her children she checked the nursery.
Alan and Jasson, her twins slept in the room, quietly and peacefully. Alanna sighed, Alan had his mother's look, where as Jasson had his father's. She smiled, and quietly shut the door.
"Why did we have children?" she asked, entering her husband's study.
"Hmm? You mean the bundles joy?" He asked sincerely.
"If they're so joyous you can care for them." Alanna sighed, sinking into a chair.
Jon looked up from his paper, "I'm sure that running a country is harder than taking care of children…" he muttered.
"I'm sorry?" Alanna's voice was deadly.
Jon looked up, "I'm sorry I didn't mean…"
"I know exactly what you meant!" She snapped, "Fine, then you can take care of them!"
"Alanna that's hardly fair...I rule the country I can't just put that down because you want me too..." Jon said, tired.
"I'll run the country for a week, if you take care of the children." Alanna offered, smiling slightly.
Jon paused, "I didn't want it to come to this, but a vacation would be nice, besides how hard could it be?"
"Famous last words..." And for a moment her smile seemed sinister.
Jon stared at the mess in front of him. Ali's door had been fixed, but Roald was banging at it, his blue gift seeping out of his fingers.
Jon gave him a warning glance. This apparently did nothing for his son, so he tried, "Roald please don't break your sister's door." In his iciest voice.
"Da…She's got my mirror."
"So get another one!"
"Da, that's not fair."
"Fine…" Jon banged on the door, "Ali open up!"
"I don't want to."
"At least give me the mirror." Jonathan sighed, sensing the teenage hormones rising
Ali heaved open the door. "Why do you always side with Roald, I didn't take a mirror!" Ali slammed the door in his face.
"Ali…" He stood in shock.
"Da…Da watch me!" a voice called from outside.
Jon turned to see Maddy hanging from a branch outside.
"Mom's going to kill you for that…" Roald muttered, whistling softly.
"Thank you for that note.." Jon sighed tiredly.
"Maddy…stop that…Maddy!" He called.
"Da…DA!" Maddy felt her grip slipping.
"Maddy!" Jon sent out tendrils of his own gift to carry his daughter and gently put her on the ground.
"DA!" Maddy tried to hug her father but found herself unable to move. Her father's gift had tightly wrapped her up, and Maddy started to cry.
Jon gently picked her up and handed her to a nursemaid.
He sighed, feeling sweat start to form. At least that was it, the children were accounted for. With that cries broke out from the nursery.
The twins were simply dirty and needed their diapers changing. Jon sighed, going into the hallway, where he found his crying daughter running to her room.
Jon knocked on her door quietly.
"Ali?"
"Leave me alone…"
"Ali It's your father, what's wrong?"
"You don't understand…"
"I was teenager once, I might understand it better than you understand it." He sighed.
The lock clicked, letting Jon open it.
"What's wrong?" he sat beside his daughter on her bed.
"I hate life. Boys are trouble…Life is nasty…" She sobbed, tears rolling down her face.
"It's okay…shh…" Jon did his best to comfort her.
"Thanks Da." She smiled slightly and then hugged him, "You're right I should invite Arnold to meet you tomorrow."
"What…but…"
"Thanks da, I knew you'd understand. I mean so what if he's courting another…"
"Ali…I think…"
"You're totally right, he said he loved me, not that hussy." Ali smiled slightly, "I'm sure you'll like him da, he's so good, even though he can be rough sometimes…"
"Ali, you and him haven't…" Jon blushed.
"Not exactly…I suppose that's the next step though. I could...that would certainly ensure that he'd stay with me. Oh Da you come up with the best of ideas!"
"Alianne!" Jon had a look of horror on his face.
"Thanks Da!" Lianne kissed her father's cheek and skipped out.
Cora looked up at her father with large purple eyes, she moved her arms up to carry her.
"Where's mommy?"
"She's not here right now sweets."
"I want mommy."
"Mommy's busy…"
She pouted and then started to cry, which led to a full blown temper tantrum.
Jon sighed tiredly, and threw himself into a chair.
"We have demon children." He told his wife, "Not only did I deal with a five year old who believe that's she is the greatest adventurer ever, I had two very smelly and temperamental twins, a whiny and tantrum throwing three year old, a fourteen year old who's thinks he's too big for his breeches, and if that's not enough I think I told our daughter to jump into a haystack with a violent man who's seeing another woman." Jon rubbed his temples.
Alanna laughed, "The bundles of joy?" she teased, to which Jon shot her a look.
"I'm thinking of letting capital punishment being someone to watch our children for a day instead of going to the mines..." he sighed.
"That's just cruel..." Alanna teased again, "But we still have each other."
"I was wrong and you were right, I've lost the wager and will do anything you require."
"All right...then I'm going to go visit Keladry in the training yards..."
Her husband shot her a look.
"That's hardly fair."
"I know dear, but Roald's been passing notes to her, so be patient you don't need more conservatives storming here, all right?"
"I hate being queen."
"Just spend some time with the little ones, and you'll forget everything...oh by the way I'm not sure how much power I put into that spell with Maddy, so she'll stay frozen for a while..."
"I remember why I love you..." Alanna sighed and kissed him, before returning to the bundles of joy...her bundles of joy.
"So did everyone do as I ask?" She smiled at her children.
"I did, I ran around for minutes and kept Daddy busy."
"I tried to be as whiny as possible mother." Roald said from a book.
"I trew a tantwum..." Cora said.
Ali laughed slightly, "Father's going to thinkg twice before trying to set me up..."
"Very good, Maddy and Cora, the cook has surprises for you two, Ali and Roald I left ...gifts... in your room..." Alanna smiled as she watched them leave, that would teach Jon for underestimating their children...
That was the last chapter I'm sorry to say, I love you all and I'm going to have a new story coming out soon, so look for it!
For the last time, I bowand the curtain comes down...
-MK