We're within the last few chapters here so we're ramping up. This story will wrap at chapter 24, so we're coming to the climax very soon. Happy New Year and keep Colorado in your prayers. We're hoping snow will put out the horrific fires burning through neighborhoods.

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Chapter 19

Once Christmas had come and gone, Isabella felt the days passed too quickly. She continued to work on her spell casting. Edward found it amusing when she'd use it for mundane things, but every single time she was able to do it, he was proud.

"They won't stand a chance against you."

January passed in a blur, but when Seth came to get his father's salves because his mother was unavailable, she knew that Alice was close to giving birth. It was only a few days later that the announcement was made. His Royal Highness, Prince Brandon Whitlock was born and both mother and child were well.

Isabella was adamant about seeing her friend, so Edward hitched the horses to the carriage and rode to the palace. Jasper was beaming at the couple as they entered the Throne Room, offering their congratulations to the new father.

"Sue is waiting to examine you. She said she was overdue for a check in with you, and Alice told her to stay put because you'd be here before supper."

"It was almost before noon, but I took my time on the ride through town," Edward interjected.

"Hush both of you. I have a prince to meet and a mother to congratulate."

Emmett motioned his sister towards the door and the pair walked the halls until they reached the Royal chambers. Isabella was granted entrance and as she approached the bedside, Sue spoke.

"I believe you're right, Your Majesty. She is showing as if she's carrying twins."

"I didn't look that far along until a month later, and I know my friend kept true to tradition in regards to her wedding night."

"Of course, Your Majesty. No one would question Isabella's honor. She's a trusted member of the community and the court."

"I would hope my virtue isn't the subject of gossip," Isabella said.

"No one has said a word," Alice assured her. "Now, come here and meet your godson."

Isabella took the boy in her arms and smiled down at him. In a matter of months, the child she was cradling would be one of her own. Alice asked Sue to give them some privacy and once it was just the two of them, she turned her questions away from the subject of babies and pregnancy and onto more important topics.

"How do you feel your training is going?"

"Well enough. But I don't know what I'll be facing. Edward is working hard on his glamours because he thinks distraction will be a big help against the elves."

"Anything you can throw at them will be helpful."

Isabella looked around the room and noticed some new portraits on the walls. "Who is that?"

"Queen Esme, the wife of King Carlisle. He was killed by a foreign enemy and then she was one of the casualties in The Great Massacre. King Carlisle's nephew, King Garrett was the one that enacted the Women's Protection Acts after the death of his aunt and nearly two dozen other women in the wake of Carlisle's death."

"How long ago was King Carlisle's reign?"

"About a half millennia ago, why?" Alice asked.

Isabella gasped. "Alice, half a millennia ago was when everything with Edward and his parents happened."

"I don't understand," Alice said.

"Edward's parents were faeries like him. They were the protectors of the high priestess and her family. But they were concerned about their young son and instead of going to the priestess, they left her and her husband unprotected. The death of her husband rattled her, and was also a domino effect. The faeries abandoned their charges and the witches fell. That was when the High Priestess cursed their kind and it is how Edward was trapped in his slumber, for lack of a better term, until I was born. Then he remained a firefly until I began to learn about my kind."

"Oh, my word. One of the queens was a witch?"

"It would appear so. How will I win when a queen couldn't?" Isabella asked.

"She didn't have her protector and husband at her side. You need to have faith that you will win this, for all of our sakes."

Isabella nodded, and with a hug for her friend and a kiss to her prince's head, she went in search of Sue.

The examination was uncomfortable, but when it was done, Sue seemed to echo Alice's vision. "There are two babes in there, I'm sure of it. That means you'll give birth by the beginning of June."

Isabella took a deep breath and thought of the months ahead, wishing she could savor the time until the birth, but not feeling like she'd be granted the opportunity.

As she moved into the end of the second trimester, she was equal parts energized and exhausted. When nightfall came she would either collapse into her warm bed, or jump her husband, needing to feel him.

Edward never minded those nights and was always ready to bring his love to her peak before following her into the abyss.

On nights they made love, Isabella's dreams were particularly vivid; he'd let her words guide him as he kissed and caressed her to another orgasm.

"Sleep, my love," he whispered.

"You're the one who woke me up with that mouth of yours," she teased.

"Well, when you're begging me to make you feel good, I'm hard pressed to leave you wanting."

"I hope we never stop being like this."

"As long as I live, I'll want you. And as long as I want you, we'll be like this."

Her elevated hormones and his sweet words brought tears to her eyes. "I love you, Edward."

"Always, Bre," Edward said as he pulled her close and kissed her temple.

While the hormones brought on impressive mood swings, they also increased the strength of her spells. Whether that was the power of her children inside her, or her protective instinct increasing her power, she was happy for it. As April turned to May, moving around became harder. Edward was tending to Isabella's gardens, something she was adamant about maintaining, while she prepared for the children's arrival. The nursery was fully decorated and the house had been organized and reorganized more times than Edward could count.

Alice visited with Brandon, and having the prince in her arms was the only time she sat still. While she cuddled and cooed the baby, Alice went to speak with Edward.

"How is she doing?"

"Some days she's focused and on those days she's a force to be reckoned with. But on other days she fixates. I'm worried about her."

"I was the same way later in my pregnancy, and I didn't have a battle waiting for me at the end of my confinement."

"We have to survive this, Alice. I don't know if either of us would do well if the other perished. And the idea of our children never knowing us—"

"Don't think that way. Doubt is a dangerous thing. You have to believe with everything in you that your family will come out of this intact. Isabella will need you in the next few weeks."

"I'll be here for her, every moment," Edward swore.

"I know you will. I'll be by again once my godchildren are born."

Alice went to sit with Isabella for a few moments and then with a tight embrace, she took her son from her friend and left the parents-to-be alone.

Emmett paid a quick visit, checking in with his sister before he rode after his queen.

As June approached, Isabella felt her childrens' movements slow and when one would land a particularly strong punch, Edward was right there to soothe the ache.

Sue was making daily visits, and as she came by on May twenty-eighth, she looked between Isabella and Edward with a stern expression.

"No venturing off the property, Isabella. Your babes have dropped and I believe you'll be seeing them in the next few days, if that."

It was only two days later that Edward came in from tending to the horses to find Isabella in the spare bedroom with the blankets thrown to the floor.

"Go and get Sue. The babies are coming."

"You're sure?" he asked.

"I've been feeling pains since mid-morning and my water just broke. They're definitely on their way."

Edward rushed over and kissed Isabella soundly. "Hold on, Bre. We'll be back in a flash."

As Edward ran from the room, Isabella took in a deep lungful of air. Her babies were coming, and soon, the storm would follow.