A very short chapter that was so saccharine it left me with toothache - but we need this one for the next couple I have planned to make sense, so excuse the fluff overload!

Chapter II

Bells were ringing out across Atlantis, swinging merrily for three gay peals, then pausing for a heartbeat, before ringing twice more. Three heartbeats of silence followed, before the rhythm was repeated over and over again.

They were ringing to tell the country that their Queen had been safely delivered, and delivered of twins at that. A healthy boy to be their Crown Prince – hence the three peals – and a beautiful Princess too.

Securely ensconced in the luxury of her silken sheets in her royal bedchamber, high above the city, the new mother heard the merry peals sending out their blessed message and her heart swelled with delight. Cradling a child in the crook of each arm, Ariadne laughed breathlessly, beaming as she lifted each of them up to kiss their soft downy temples.

"That's all for you, my darlings. That's all for you," she whispered, "That's all for you because you've made your father and I so extremely happy."

As though he knew she had just mentioned him, Jason tapped on the door and pushed it open, "Can I come in yet?"

"Of course!" she exclaimed, shifting in the bed to make room for him as he crossed the room in two strides and sat down, gazing rapturously at the tightly swaddled bundles she held in her arms.

"Our children, Ari," he breathed, "Our children!"

Ariadne wanted to respond, wanted to say something in return, but her joy was too great to let her do so. It was choking her and threatening to make her burst all at once. All she was capable of doing was reaching out and gently placing their daughter in Jason's arms, whispering, "Meet our little girl, Jason."

"Our little girl. Our Princess," Jason murmured, his smile widening with every word until it was splitting his face from ear to ear, "Our little girl, Ariadne. I can already tell she's going to be as beautiful as her mother."

Ariadne blushed, "Flatterer."

"She needs a beautiful name," he continued, pausing to think.

"Actually, Jason, I'd like to name her Danaë after my mother, if you have no objection. I've always sworn my first daughter would be named for her grandmother."

"And how can I refuse that, sweetheart? A vow before the Gods can never be broken, otherwise we risk their displeasure. And since I myself am touched by them, I definitely can't afford to anger them. Rest assured, darling, Princess Danaë of Atlantis she shall be."

Yet, despite his best efforts, Jason couldn't quite keep the disappointment out of his voice. He'd hoped to have at least a partial say in their little girl's name. He'd been trying out names in his head ever since he'd first found out Ariadne was pregnant and, while he knew his wife would never allow him to name their oldest daughter after her, he'd had various other names he'd been hoping she might like instead. Anthea, for instance, which meant blossom, for he'd been sure she'd be as beautiful as a flower, like her mother was. Or Melissa. He'd always liked that name, even as a boy back when he was just sailing with his father, even before he'd fallen into Atlantis. But now Ariadne had taken that decision out of his hands. Danaë was a beautiful name, he couldn't deny that, and he understood why she'd chosen it, but he just wished he'd got a little more of a choice in the matter.

As though she could sense his disappointment, Ariadne reached out and placed her now free hand on his wrist, "I'm sorry. It's just..."

"You needn't explain, it's fine," Jason managed a smile, "I'd want to do the same if I'd known my mother and she hadn't been a witch and a murderess."

"You can name our son, if you like," Ariadne offered, wanting to be generous with him in order to ease the tension that was suddenly spiking in the room as he brought up the delicate matter of his mother, "Name him anything you like and I won't protest, I promise."

"Really? Anything?" Jason raised his eyebrows and Ariadne chuckled, relieved to see him back to his usual teasing self so easily.

"Well, I might have a bit of a problem with you naming him Pasiphae," she joked, "She was a traitoress, after all."

"I won't do that then," Jason promised, glancing down at his son and scrolling through names in his head, muttering strings of them under his breath, trying to decide which of them best suited the squirming bundle in his beloved wife's arms.

At last, satisfied with his decision, he looked up, "Perseus. It suits him perfectly."

"Perseus. The destroyer."

"Destroyer of our enemies," Jason confirmed, "We'll raise him to be the King your father promised to be before Pasiphae got her claws into him and no country will ever dare to stand against him for fear of his wrath."

"He'll be as brave a warrior as his father," Ariadne smiled, cradling the little boy even closer as she spoke, "It's perfect."

The two of them shared a long look of adoration and then Jason placed Danaë back in her arms and kissed her cheek.

"I'll go and speak to Melas and Cassandra now. We'll have their names announced on the third high tide, as tradition demands."

Ariadne nodded, offering him a soft smile as he stood up. He hesitated, looking down at her for a moment, "I do wish you'd get some rest, love. You look dead on your feet."

"I'm not on my feet," she retorted, but succumbed as he arched an eyebrow and half-frowned at her.

"When Selena gets here to look after them," she promised, naming her favourite maid in waiting, who had served her faithfully as a child and fled Atlantis for fear of her life when Pasiphae took power, only to return to carry her train at her coronation.

Jason nodded, turning back to the door. On the threshold, he glanced back. What he saw melted his heart.

Perseus had started to fuss quietly and Ariadne had lifted him to her shoulder, letting him nuzzle into her ebony curls as she patted his little back to soothe him.

In that instant, Jason knew for certain that he was, as Medea had once called him, 'touched by the Gods'. Thanking them from the bottom of his heart for granting him such favour, he hurried off to set in motion the next set of ceremonies that would assure the people of Atlantis that their land and throne and royal legacy was secure for at least another generation.