Jewel was closing up the shop in time for her and Julian to leave for the Palace, in time to prepare for the Masquerade with plans to attend with the rest of her family. Just the sounds that everyone running around were long since gone when she could hear herself locking the front door echo around a empty room. Leaving her to grow quiet as she flipped walked to the front counter with a sigh on her lips. Stopping to look down at a familiar deck, that she had with her when she and Julian started out as strangers. Out she would reach both her hands to shuffle the cards individually before cutting the desk in half and then back down to the center of the counter.
"Jewel!" She heard Julian call her name.
She didn't answer him right away when she ended up just staring at the desk and wanted to start drawing the cards to see her future of her family. Wanting to know where they were going from here after everything that happened. Fighting the urge by crossing and tucking her arms under the shawl she wore while Julian's foot steps were getting closer. Away she stepped by a few inches not wanting to pull the first card as countless questions concerning her children bubbled from the back of her mind.
"Jewel?" Julian called out to her again.
She still couldn't bring her self to notice how close Julian was getting close to her when her eyes just stared at desk with temptation to do it was so overwhelming. Had her backing up once more when she ended up bumping into solid wall of pale skin and muscle dressed in a billowy shirt. Who blinked a few times to figure out what was wrong with his wife and her tarot deck. Since she usually is seen messing with the cards when she is doing a reading for a local or a visitor during their business hours. He'd ended up placing one of his hands on her covered her shoulders to remind her he was here and wonder what problems she had with her deck.
"Coin for your thoughts?" He whispered in rather worried state. "Since we do have places to be."
"Our future," She mumbled. "What else is there?"
"Grandchildren and old age," He musingly mumbled. "I think I would look dashing with a few grays."
"You are already working the wrinkles," She felt at ease.
"Your not so bad yourself." He wrapped his arms around her. "Still the saucy little number that rings my bell."
He got elbowed in the chest by her before she stared back at the deck with a sigh escaping her lips while she reclined back into Julian's embrace with her choice finally made. This time around she wasn't going to rely on the cards to tell of her future that her and Julian were already living with grown children in their jointed business. To his hands she would reach with her own to eave their fingers together and allow the urge to just faded away with each calming breath with Julian's scent filling her nostrals.
"Let's get ready." She looked up to him.
"Goody." He looked down at her.
She then pushed upward on her tiptoes to be at her full height when their lisp ended connecting in a sensual kiss that lasted or a few seconds since Jewel pulled away from his arms. Slowly walking backwards snatching one of his hands in her own to lead him to small storage area and get their stuff together before their ride were to show up. Julian whined about not getting a quick make out session out of her before he had to finish getting dressed and then wait outside for a carriage to show up.
"Maybe if your behave," Jewel hinted at something. "We can get turn that make out session in something else."
Was enough motivation to get Julian to finish getting dressed and wait with Jewel outside the shop's back door after locking up with ideas for the costumes already picked out. Ready to mix and mingle with faces that already knew them by their reputations from a tale that people outside of Vesuvia shared among them selves as everyday talk. Not like they always had their own questions for the pair every time they were in their presence while wanting details the tale didn't have or wanting to see the tarot cards. Always ended with Julian embracing Jewel from behind to simply hug her and grandly speak about the children they popped our after settling down. Those children in the company of their respected loved spouses or partners with news of their own that would end the night and answer Jewel's questions about future.
*8*
A boy with hair the color of the sun with Auburn and Blond highlights mixed into a crown of peachfuzz on ahead of pale skin as eyes that glowed with blue sky during the daytime. Was born to Narseh and Juliana on a stormy autumn night with thunder crackling and gale-force winds blow so hard the calmest of waters had a wave or two. Within the walls of the Mazelinka's house during a family meal on a Sunday, labor left Juliana in so much pain a low dose of opium incense was used to dull aches that came. Julius working with his dad during the birthing process for his sister become grueling on her mother, Narseh, grandma Mazelinka, and Kipling with each passing hour. Moans of pain loud enough to wake the dead of the Vesuvia were followed by a father and a son yelling at each other with the clanging of their instruments to follow. Staring at the clock the whole time a wail was heard made worry about both of them coming out alive added to the worry each one of her family felt. Jewel and grandma Mazelinka were trying their best to keep Narseh from running in by soothing him with stories of childbirth, two had experienced over their years. Kipling would share his own tale of how he was the last of his kin to be born to his parents during a 56 hours child labor with aid of midwife and family doctor.
To only bring Narseh from the edge of his emotional state and relax to start planning how he was going to break this to his parents since Portia was trying to ease her into being a grandmother. Would be set aside by him so he could recline and look toward the section off area where a curtain blocked his view of his wife and newborn. He wanted to be holding Juliana's hand while she was wreathing in pain with aid from her brother and father in bringing their firstborn into this world without him. Had him praying to the Arcana and God for some type of miracle when he empties yet another cup of tea given to him since he refused to actually eat anything. Kipling was left to do must of the errand running for them, meant repeated walks in the rain and visiting in local markets that were still opened, passing operating hours. Requests he made for certain items that they needed, somewhere herbal mixtures from Muriel and Asra that was going to needed to help recover Juliana's body. To already made meals from local vendors for everyone to eat since nobody was in the mood for actual food with the screams that were coming.
Soon ended after 18 and a half hours of labor
Nabil Satrinava was brought into this world and wrapped in a table cloth before he was presented to her father by tired Julius after Julian fainted still holding his son's hand. Narseh would soon be allowed to be by his wife's side as he still held their daughter still in his arms and stay by her side until she could move a week later. Where a nursy for the new heir as her mother healed enough for her to leave her husband's bed and join their family in a three-day celebration the countess hosted. Giving much needed to join everyone for a few months until Consul Valerius summoned Juliana and her father to his vineyard when Lady Nessa went into false labor pains.
*8*
A girl with hair as purple as grapes used to make his wine with eyes the red as the aged liquid beside a boy with dark brown hair and haunting silver eyes ended up coming into this world. Practically sliding out of Nessaea without much struggle within the first few hours of Juliana and Julian worked together to bring these set of twins in together. Light whine wouldn't last when the two were checked over, bathed, and wrapped into a specially crafted blanket before being handed over their father, a shocked Valerius. He had to put his wine glass to hold both his children in each one of his arms while he looked into the smallest eye he even has seen with odd warmth in his chest.
Not much time would be given to smother the children when Nessaea started to postpartum hemorrhaging with bradycardia when she started to moan from a surging pain. One that came with a slow heartbeat and loss of blood that Julian was having a hard time stopping even with his daughter's help. Didn't mean they wouldn't give up on stabilizing Nessaea enough to be able to sit up in the bed she currently laid in and hold her children. Meant using what herbally mixtures and drugs they could to get her heart to start beating at a normal rate and stop the blood loss one from uterotonic agents. Taking careful measures to nor us to much or too little between usage a few milliliters at a time while careful using a low dose of optimum incense.
Ended up working into wee hours of the second day, when a weaken Nessaea was able to be in the minor company of Valerius for just a few hours. He was told she needed a long rest or could be bedridden for a few months. He accepted as long as he could be by her side for short periods of time with their children in the care of a governess. Making a promise with her that the two of them would be standing together with their newborns in their arms to greet a new day as a family while deciding names. Weren't hard for Nessaea, when she wanted to stick to her mother's family tradition of naming their daughter while Valerius already knew what to name their son.
Being Nance Satrinava for the girl and Vasilijus for the boy
Just Nessaea would be too weak to set their children in their nursy or breastfeed them. A wet nurse handled the feedings as a nanny looking after the children in her steed for a few months. Surprising fact Valerius didn't touch a drop of wine the whole time he ran his vienyard with everyday duties from overlooking the latest batch to inspecting the grapes. Slowly become lonely without snarky remarks or suggestions about the kind of fun they could have were missed from a woman unable to move. He would hold out for the day he wore a smile once more with one of his arms being gripped when he led her around what had become her new home since their marriage. Came when he found her months later singing to their children within their room when he came home from a meeting with the countess for lunch.
*8*
Kipling and julius stayed away from telling anyone how they came by their own children after Julian was surprised by a set of crying from what was once Juliana's bedroom turned nursery. Julian found tow cribs laying on either side of the room with a single baby swaddled inside and becoming quiet as soon as he looked into their little eyes. Noticing they were a girl and a born with matching traits from hair color to skin tone that took him by surprise while he ended up having an odd staring contest with them. Lasted a few hours before he was caught by his son just standing in the room's center without moving a finger just staring outward before asked to leave.
Which he refused to do when he ended up being fished in helping bottle-fed to quiet mouths that kept staring at him the whole time he moved around. Which he thought was the cutest thing they ever did before asking about their names. The boy he was holding and feeding went by the name of Julyan Devorak as the girl he held and fed was Porcia Devorak. Julius kept the detail of how these creations came to be from his father when asked about their means of conceiving a pair of identical twins.