Kieran and Kiera sharply round the final corner to the Infirmary and eventually spot their father, who unexpectedly exit from within the infirmary room.
"Daddy!" The twins loudly screech as they dash over to their father, who was in complete awe to see his children stand directly in front of him.
"We heard mommy screaming…" Kieran starts to explain when Kiera concludes "…and we rush over to check on her."
'They heard screaming?' He silently pondered before he connected the dots to Eva given birth to the triplets.
An "oh" expression forms on his face, places one of his hands against the crown of their heads and squats to their level.
"Your mother is perfectly fine." Aikka reassures his kids with a wide smile, ruffles their hair and resumes his normal height.
"Do you want to go and meet your new siblings?" He abruptly inquired, which caused their eyes to light up once they heard the word siblings.
They simultaneously nod their heads up and down out of excitement. Their father closes the door to the Infirmary and leads them to an adjacent room.
The older man holds the door open for his twins as they stroll inside of the room, wait for their father, and follow behind him.
He manages to roll three plastic bins toward the twins.
They attempt to peer over the edge of the rim only to notice three infants fast asleep.
"What are their names daddy?" His princess curiously poses as she intently stares at the only girl among the three while her twin constantly glances between the two boys.
"Kiera, that's your baby sister, Irene. Kieran, that's Aiden and Aeolus." Her father reveals the names of the three newborns to his older two children.
"Hey there Irene! My name is Kiera. I'm your older sister and the only other girl you got besides our mommy." She introduces herself to Irene as she touches her small palm with her large hands.
Aikka chuckles at how she greets her baby sister. He then shifts his focus on to Kieran and his younger brothers.
"You have to grow strong in order to protect mommy, Kiera, and Irene. I'll be sure to teach you the ropes once you are older." He was running down the guidelines to his sleeping brothers about their responsibilities now that they were born.
"Alright you two, let's give them some time to rest." Their father quietly orders as he silently shuffles his children out of the room.
0000
Minato was leading Natalie down a small embankment until gliding over a river that was guiding them to a small wooden cottage with a brick chimney.
They landed a good distance in front of the residence when they heard Queen Noi's angelic voice sung a melodic tone.
"Ah…looks like we have visitors." She shouts in the open window once her eyes land on Minato and Natalie, who then step off two metallic boards.
King Lao emerges from the cottage, spots the two new visitors that grace their land and cordially greets them, "Minato and Natalie, hello there."
Natalie opts out to return the pleasantries before she promptly discloses the reason behind their sudden presence, "Excuse us for our sudden and uninvited intrusion,"
"But we have been ordered to inform you that there are three new additions to the Royal Family."
Queen Noi unintentionally drops the metallic bin in her grasps, which causes some vegetables to spill out on to the ground.
King Lao's face displays shock.
"If you will…we were ordered to bring you there immediately." Minato adds as the pair approach the King and Queen.
"How will we get there?" Noi curiously inquires about the mode of their transportation.
The blonde simply presses the middle button and the hover board materializes in front of them.
"I am not getting on that!" Lao protests as he watches the board aimlessly floats on air.
The former queen rolls her eyes at her husband before she suggests, "Ah live a little!"
"Since you are so scared, I will ride with Minato."
"If it's for my grandchildren then I will do it." He firmly states with a slight nod of his head.
"I knew you had in you." She congratulates him with a peck on the check right before she claims, "Alright Minato, I'm ready to go."
"All you have to do is step on and hold on to my shoulders the entire time sir." The raven haired woman calmly instructs to the frantic former King of Noursaia.
"Keep it simple." The young woman advises her companion once she feels King Lao step on to the metallic board.
"I know. You have a baby on board." He quips at her because she was slow to ascend in the air since King Lao was nervous about the board.
"I see you and Minato are still at war with each other." Lao mentions as they pass over the river and travel up the embankment.
"War, I can deal with. Minato is a moron, who doesn't think he just acts." The solider explains.
They then descend on the country landscape of Noursaia.
"…sounds like the rational idea of a young male to me." He agrees with her rationalization about Minato.
"Trust me on this one, that one special woman can make a man complicate themselves for that woman's attention." The older male vouches as he lightly taps her right shoulder for extra emphasis.
"King Lao, with all due respect sir, I don't disclose personal issues to other people." Natalie solemnly asserts as she continues to tail behind Minato and Queen Noi.
"I know. That's why I was only teasing you."
"It's the only thing we old people do to pass the time." He jokes along with a deep chortle.
"I'm just happy to hear that the Iron Fist Natalie has finally been blinded by love."
"Now you can't completely focus on your duties and responsibilities as a military officer." Lao happily utters to himself before he observes the scenery around them.
"I see you and Natalie have gotten pretty close with each other since the last time I saw you two." Queen Noi suddenly declares.
Minato emits a "humph" and claims "…more like on the far opposite ends of the scale thanks to me."
"I honestly don't think it is that bad Minato, dear."
"You're actually closer then you think you are…there's just last obstacle you have to hurdle over and you are there." She reassures the blonde with a nod of her head.
"I appreciate your kind wisdom Queen Noi." He was politely thanking the older woman with a smirk on his face while swerving to avoid a protruding rock.
"Oh this just comes with age, dear, but nevertheless you are quite welcome." Noi plays off with a bat of her right hand.
0000
Jordan briefly paused to himself as he finally processed the tense conversation he just had with Minato about Natalie.
'That twit will try any and everything in his power to prevent Natalie from being around me.' He notes from the overprotective behavior of Minato whenever he was around her.
The Avatar briefly reflects on his time travel adventure through Natalie's life, which prompts an idea to surface to his thoughts.
'That's right…I can test run my little experiment.' The young man declares as he floats to his destination before he catches sight of Princess Mai.
'Remind me to get rid of her once her purpose has been fulfilled.' The golden figure inwardly grills in his temporal lobe as he falsely greets her, "Hello there, Princess Mai,"
"For you to be this almighty Avatar, you tend to make human mistakes." She verbalizes once he enters her line of vision.
'This little brat has some nerve to say that to me! Why I should fry her on the spot!' The intergalactic dignitary angrily thinks while he narrows his vision on to the woman in front of him
"I mean I can tell that you really and I do mean really like Miss. Natalie but…" Princess Mai speaks up before Jordan cuts her off, "…but what?"
"You're going about it the wrong way." She comments with a gesture of her hands to emphasis her point.
"Okay…I'm listening…"
"As you can see Miss. Natalie isn't a damsel in distress like I tend to be from time to time."
"She's fiercely independent and doesn't like to talk about what is normal for women and that is...feelings."
"You and that young man both force your feelings on her, which causes her to retreat in her iron shell of comfort. I believe if you give her space and respect then she just might be your friend."
"Do small displays of affection and then bam…you have her as your girl." Princess Mai outlines Natalie's personality from a woman's perspective.
"That sounds like an excellent tip, Princess Mai." Jordan astonishingly agrees to the plan.
"I'm a girl after all. I pick up on these types of things." She proudly mentions with a wave of her hand near her face.
"I guess I should finish up what diplomatic errands I need to complete before I take leave of Noursaia." He abruptly announces as a means to get away from the woman and her pointless conversation.
"If you stayed this long, you might as well stay for the Dance of the Flowers."
"I hear that it's such a lovely experience that you will never forget." Mai proposes to the Avatar.
"Dance of the Flowers, huh?" The young man repeats while he slowly nods his head up and down at the idea and adds "I think I just might consider staying until then."
"Maybe then you could ask Natalie to be your date for the ball." The princess suggests as a possibility for him to stay
"…but don't let me hold you up any longer than I should."
0000
Aikka unleashes a sigh of exhaustion once he settles in next to his wife, who was sound asleep after her strenuous day of delivery.
He brushed some stray strands of hair that were not matted against her dampen forehead off to the side and admired her face.
'She's simply amazing.' The Noursaian declares about his wife when her eyes start to flutter open.
Her crimson eyes scan her surroundings and land on him.
"Aikka," Eva dryly mutters once she glances up at her husband with a meek smile present on her face.
The young man knew he should not strain her but he was so excited to hear her voice so he asked, "Yes, what is it Eva?"
"I hate being fertile." She jests as she leans in to her husband's body and appreciates his warmth.
The male gently wraps his arm around her head, cradles her closer to him, kisses the crown of her head and leans against her body.
"I know you don't mean that." Aikka claims before he adds, "I rather for you to be fertile then to be barren or we wouldn't have such beautiful children."
A dry laugh emits from his wife at his comment, "They better be beautiful since they get their looks from me."
This time it was his turn to laugh at the statement, "I wouldn't have it any other way then."
The orange haired male feels his wife head lift up from his chest, stares him in the face, and wonders, "Have you seen Minato and Natalie yet?"
The king shakes his head left and right, "No, not yet. Rick ordered them to retrieve my parents so they could see the children."
Eva sleepily lays her head against his chest again, "Good, I haven't spoken to them since the baby shower they held for me."
"…speaking of children, Kieran and Kiera finally met their younger siblings."
"How did it go?"
"You should've been there. Kiera told Irene this …Hey there Irene! My name is Kiera. I'm your older sister and the only other girl you got besides mommy."
His wife erupts in to a chuckle at their eldest daughter introduction to her younger sister.
Once the young woman finally catches her breath, she then asks about Kieran's reaction.
"He told his brothers that they have to grow strong in order to protect you, Kiera, and Irene. He'll be sure to teach them the ropes once they get older."
"Those two…" The young mother states as she wipes tears from her eyes before she adds "…are a handful."
"You should probably rest up until they get back. You know so you can have strength to speak and keep up with everyone." Aikka kindly advises her.
"Aikka…" Eva speaks up and waits to be acknowledge, "Yes, my dearest Eva?"
"You make an excellent pillow." She playfully jokes with a wide smile on her face as she snuggles her head against his body.
"I will take that as your special way of telling me to stay." He teasingly claims as he peers down at his wife with a smile on his face.
2222
Author's Note:
12.12.16 Major editing revision
04.10.17 Minor editing revision