A/N: Thank you for the faves, the follows, and the reads. Thank you for reviewing Dragon lord Syed 101, Akira-Hayama, Admiral T. DeVanto, and LordChaos for being so kind in the reviews on the last installment.

'Til next time.

Aurora

He thought he would stop fearing for her life from the moment he'd learned everything he knew about her… But that simply wasn't the truth. The fear was real, and the concern was all too palpable — not just for this, but for every instance where he'd felt her grip on life loosen the tiniest bit. In the best of times it was ridiculous — laughable really. But after all this time, he'd come to know that it was simply a natural response.

When you loved someone, you feared for their safety and their well-being all the time, didn't you?

He felt that way for his best friend and his precious sister to this day.

So why wouldn't he express concern and fret over his other half?

Of course, it didn't help that he knew next to nothing about he was supposed to do at the moment. One wrong move — one misstep could endanger not just his wife, but his daughter's as well.

His best bet was to trust the professionals. It didn't mean he wholly liked it though. He wanted to be in that room with her.

But if he did, no one would be outside to comfort his petrified son…

His Empress said as much when the worst of the labor pangs hit. She'd beseeched him to stay outside for the sake of their little Prince who was worried about his sister hurting his Mommy. So he cleared her face of heavy sweat in vain and kissed her lips in comfort before leaving the room to come face-to-face with a three year-old boy on the verge of bawling his eyes out.

The father did his best to distract his son as the heavy rain pelting their roof did little to mask the sound of his wife's whimpers and her cries. He'd tried coaxing his son to stay far away from the bedroom where his mother was laboring, but the boy had refused adamantly — so stubbornly that he had no choice save for staying put.

What felt like ages only spanned hours. His son had given into fatigue and was softly snoring on his father's shoulder when the silence finally materialized only to be shattered by the cry of a needy infant. It was the sound that prompted him to rise to his feet — little boy cradled in his arms, and the midwife opened the door a tiny bit. The laugh lines on her face grew more pronounced — beaming at him as she cleaned her hands with a damp towel.

"How are they?" He found himself saying.

The kindly lady must have read the expression in his eyes because she opened the door wider and insisted that he should come see the tiny miracle for himself. He'd been expecting bloodied sheets, but it was evident the experienced midwife knew how to clean quickly and sufficiently. It wasn't perfect, but for one of the few times in his life, he cared less about the state of the room.

What held his attention was the exhausted yet satisfied mother nestled underneath clean sheets with a tiny wrapped-up bundle cuddled to her chest.

"Have you come to meet your Princess?" She teased, mirth glittering in her eyes — overtaken with happiness for the newest love of their life.

He greeted her cheekiness with a smirk, lowering himself to sit on the bed. Gingerly, he laid the boy on the empty space next to his mother, where the love of his life immediately made room to hold her first baby just as close.

"He's not going to wake up to meet her anytime tonight, is he?" She chuckled quietly, stroking her son's cheek as he moved and wriggled in his sleep.

"He was worried about you."

"Come see her."

The invitation reminded him why he had come in again. In offering, she held out their daughter to him — imploring he come and see. Come and marvel at the ethereal beauty of this fragile yet precious life. The daughter that embodied their everlasting dawn.

"She's lovely." He whispered reverently. "So this is how it feels to hold your baby for the first time."

He brushed his fingers across thin wisps of raven hair; let his finger trace the bridge of a delicate nose. She had such plump cheeks and long dark lashes. Even her tiny breaths were precious. Just the sight of her was enough to make him want to melt all over again.

"That her?" His son's tiny voice joined his father's sense of wonderment.

The boy yawned and groggily rubbed his eyelids, all the while hugging his mother as tightly as he could.

"Your sister." His mother murmured into his ear, stroking his hair fondly. "You're a big brother now, Alexander."

"She so small~" Enthralled, he rose to his knees to take a closer look at the latest addition to their family.

So she was in that chicken egg inside Mommy the whole time, wasn't she? No wonder she was so tiny. She had to be to fit in that egg. Unknowingly voicing his thoughts, he couldn't quite understand why his father looked at him funny. Alexander didn't find anything funny about it, but maybe Papa thought it silly that his sister was so small too. Who knows?

Their baby girl yawned, eyelids pulling back like shutters on windows, revealing the most entrancing golden eyes. As lovely as her mother, this one…

"She's pretty." Alexander rasped, still very much mesmerized at the tiniest things his baby sister did after a few minutes out of his mother's womb.

"Just like Mommy wouldn't you say?" The father teased, but Alexander agreed vigorously.

Yes, his new sister was as pretty as Mommy. He was sure she looked like their mother too. He'd heard plenty of times that he resembled Papa. So it was only right that his new sister looked like Mommy. It was so perfect! He even resisted the urge to squeal. Because he was a big brother now. Big brothers don't squeal like babies.

"What her name? She need name."

Their son gazed up at them with innocent eyes, blinking once, twice — waiting for his parents' answers.

But he really didn't have to wait long… They had a name for her already. From the moment husband and wife first found out, the list of names materialized into existence. And it kept growing shorter and shorter as the days and the months passed — until one fitting name stood out from all the rest.

For their princess — their golden dawn.

For Aurora…