THE SHELBY PRINCESS

It was decided that I wouldn't go to check with Bessie.

Although some part of me wanted to go and see her, I knew she wouldn't be at her house and there was no way for me to track her.

If I were in her shoes, I wouldn't want anyone to find me if I had announced that I was about to kill myself to be with my deceased husband.

I would go somewhere that was special to the both of us and I wouldn't let anyone know until it was too late.

Plus, I had my daughter to think about now.

How strange.

To think that I had a daughter now.

"We need to go to Gringotts."

It wasn't surprising that it was Tommy that suggested this as soon as we entered the kitchen. He took a seat, the baby resting against his chest.

He'd shed the blanket she was wrapped in and was pressing her tiny body against his bare chest.

It melted my heart to see him holding her close, her head resting over his heart. This was what it would have been like if he was here when Thomas-J was a baby.

"I know," I muttered, running my hand over my face as I took in the situation we found ourselves in. "There are things we need to plan and discuss before we go."

"We're not waiting like you made me do with TJ."

I almost rolled my eyes at the annoyance he sent my way. It made me smile watching him as he cradled the little girl in his arms, the protective way he was holding her, sending twinges to my heart.

"I'm not going to make you wait. We just need to get some things in order before we go and annoy the goblins."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Well for starters, I think it's important that we discuss her name. The last time I took you to see the goblins, we were lucky that these sorts of details were already organised and set into motion, they didn't have a reason to be bastards," I grumbled remember some not so very fond times when the goblins had been arseholes because they felt in the mood for it.

"Let's name her and get the blood contract sorted," Tommy said, his hand gently brushing over the tuft of light hair on her tiny head.

"Any ideas on a name then?" I asked, hoping he'd had some idea of what he wanted to name a daughter.

He paused and glanced down at the baby that had already stolen his heart. I could tell in the way his eyes softened as he gazed down at her. He had a similar look on his face when he was with TJ.

One day, when Tommy decided he didn't need to make a name for the family, when he came to the realisation that money wouldn't make us, I would remind him of the times he spent with our children and allow himself to stop thinking about the ways he would better himself.

He didn't need to be better than the man I had sat at the kitchen table cradling his new-born daughter.

That was the man I loved.

The one that let himself love his children unconditionally without a care as to what others thought or saw of him.

A man that would shower me in love and make me feel complete.

"I was always adamant I would name a daughter Elizabeth after Polly," he muttered, his eyes lifting from the tiny thing that had come so suddenly into our lives.

"But she's not Elizabeth, is she?" I asked, knowing what he meant.

From the small glance I had at her before I passed her over to Tommy, I knew she didn't look like Elizabeth.

Although it was a tradition in my family to name children after family members, I always wanted to change that.

While I loved my parents and I was sure I would have loved my Grandmother Andromeda, I didn't want to name any child of mine after a family member. It was hard feeling like you were living in their shadow. Even though no one expected you to do better than them, to achieve everything they did, it was still hard because you always compare yourself to them.

I feared TJ would face that as he grew up. Sharing the same name as his father, but I had the feeling that our little Tom was going to be the expectation.

In his own right, he was going to be the best and he would never have to be compared to his dad. Tommy would never let anyone do it.

"No. She's not." My heart stuttered as Tommy brushed his hand over the back of her head, leaning down and placing the softest kiss above her brow. "Perhaps Charlotte? Hmm, or Catherine."

I felt my lips twitch as I was able to catch a glimpse of his thoughts.

"While she may be our princess Tommy, I don't think she suits the names Charlotte or Catherine." I paused, letting my ponder over a thought that had been bothering me.

"What is it?" A small part of me disliked how easy it was for him to see that there was something bothering me, but the larger part loved that he was so in tune with me that he could tell from the small hesitation I showed.

"I've been dreaming of a name for a while now. I thought it was a vision about a child due to turn up at the Home, but I think it might be related to this little one," I told him, coming closer and looking down at the sleeping lamb.

"What was it? The name," he asked, his eyes also dropping down to our newest charge.

"Ophelia."

There was a pause within the house as the name was uttered and to both of our astonishment, the house seemed to grow warmer, the air around us growing tighter before it seemed to pop and a feeling of completion grew settling into place in my chest just under my heart.

I knew Tommy felt the same way from the slight tension in his shoulders before he relaxed.

"What was that?" he asked, slightly breathless. Although he had accepted the magic around him, he still grew slightly cautious when he was faced with something unknown.

"That was the wards accepting her," I muttered, slightly confused because it hadn't really happened before like that. Not so intense. When Thomas-J was born, I hadn't really thought about the wards. I was in distress and concerned that he wasn't going to make it, especially after Merry died. I guess the wards could have accepted him the same way they did with this little one, but I wouldn't remember.

"Ophelia Elizabeth Shelby," Tommy stated, shifting her in his arms so he was holding her in a way in which we could both see her.

Our little princess.

Within half an hour we had both changed and I had checked on TJ and woken a very sleepy Newt to ask if he could listen out in case he woke while Tommy and I popped out for a little while.

The whole process of blood adopting Ophelia was a lot simpler this time around seeing as Tommy and I were already married. There were steps we needed to follow when we completed the process with TJ that we didn't need to do with Ophelia.

I felt I was better prepared this time.

Especially because Bessie had already set up a contract with the Goblins beforehand and all we needed to do was sign it.

She was prepared for this.

I felt like I was prepared for this, this time round.

I had already decided that I was going to mother Ophelia the way Polly wished I had mothered Thomas-J, with the whole breast feeding situation. I had already sent an owl to Anastasia Longbottom in the hopes that she would prepare the potion that would allow me to breastfeed and so she could check over Ophelia and help monitor her over the next couple of months.

"Mama!" TJ yelled, two hours after we left, pounding down the hallway, the large smile on his face as he caught a glimpse of the bundle cradled in my arms.

"Hey, little man," Tommy said, scooping the boy up before he could fling himself at me. "We need to be careful."

TJ was bouncing in Tommy's arms, leaning closer to me to grab a glance at his little sister. Not that I had any idea how he knew about her. I hadn't even told Newt why we were leaving.

"Betsie," he said, making grabby hands at his little sister.

I paused at the whispered word as he seemed keen to get a good look at his sister. That was the name he'd been calling out in his sleep for the last couple of weeks. I shared a look with Tommy, the pair of us wondered if our son had been plagued with dreams of Ophelia like we had.

"Thomas-J, we have someone we want to introduce you to," I told him, carefully adjusting Ophelia in my arms as I took a seat at the table, smiling softly as Tommy dropped into the chair beside me, Thomas-J on his lap.

"Little sister," he said, reaching out and resting his hand on her arm, a proud smile on his face. "Betsie."

"This is your little sister, Ophelia Elizabeth Shelby," Tommy said, adjusting the boy on his lap as he tried to get closer to his sister. "You're her big brother now Thomas-J, it's your job to protect her. She's our little princess, aye, you won't let any harm come to her."

There was something about the way Tommy was watching our two babies that made my heart melt. I wanted this side of him all the time. The soft dad that acknowledged that his children had him wrapped around their fingers. The man that would jump in front of a bullet for them, that would kill for them.

I wanted him like this now and forever.

"My Betsie," TJ cooed, his hand gently rubbing against her cheek as she blinked open her eyes, staring up at her older brother.

My heart absolutely shattered at the pure love in TJ's eyes.

It was hard to think that this little boy was to one day grow in Voldemort. Well, not in this life he wouldn't.

This little thing called love had turned that dark wizard into the sweetest, kindest little boy I had ever known - I may have been biased as his mother, but he wouldn't be the cruel man I had learnt about growing up.

"Yes, Thomas-J, this is your Betsie," I mumbled, liking the name he'd given his little sister.

Introducing Ophelia - or Betsie as TJ insisted on calling her - to the rest of the family was a sight to see.

Arthur had cried upon seeing her, the tiny tuft of red hair a sign that she was going to look like a miniature version of myself. She had her uncle Arthur wrapped around her finger just as she had with Tommy.

John kept rubbing his eyes but swore he wasn't crying. He said there was something about seeing her that reminded him of when his girls were born. There was that special connection between a father and his daughter, and he was happy to see that Tommy was able to experience that.

No one could deny the way Tommy loved his daughter. He was so proud of her and she was only a day old.

Ada had been unusually quiet, her mind full of a thousand questions as she peered down at Ophelia, her eyes sighing with tears - tears I had the feeling weren't from the emotions of meeting her newest niece.

Polly had been flustered at first, especially after we announced that we'd named the little girl after her. Ophelia had stolen Polly's heart as soon as Tommy handed her over to his aunt.

It seemed to be a theme our little girl was playing. Anyone that came in contact with her was immediately besotted.

Newt was my favourite when it came to meeting Ophelia.

It was like he was walking around with hearts in his eyes.

It also seemed that our little princess had found her favourite uncle as well.

From the moment she was settled in the nervous man's arms she was content. If any one went to move her from Newt she immediately started to cry.

The only one that could get her to stop was Tommy.

If she wasn't in her father's arms, she was crying to be held by Newt or was content to be held by me - but that was mainly because I was her food source.

There seemed to be moments when TJ was able to settle her and all he had to do was place his hand on her and she immediately stopped crying.

He seemed to have a smug look on his face because he didn't even need to hold her to get her to stop. She seemed to settle upon hearing his voice too.

A week after her arrival into our family and she was the spoiled little princess I knew she'd grow to be.

I had walked into the kitchen to Tommy muttered down at her, the ting peach fuzz on her hair getting a little thicker with each day - it was clear that she had inherited my metamorphosis abilities - and her green eyes large as she took in the words her father was muttering to her. To be honest, I think he was just talking about his plans and how he intended to deal with Kimber and Campbell but was telling her as if she was actually taking in what he was saying.

"Tommy, my darling, I don't think it's a good idea to talk to our daughter about how you intend on killing a man," I said, leaning over and pressing a kiss to the side of his head.

He'd made it a habit of taking her after her morning feed and bringing her downstairs so I could have more time asleep in bed.

I also think he liked the idea of me staying at home and being a mum and not out working.

I still went to the Children's Home, but with Lizzie taking over while I had some time adjusting to Ophelia being in our lives, it allowed me more time to just be a mum to two and not worrying about being a boss.

I think it helped that Lizzie was head over heels in love with Ophelia, especially when she learnt how we ended up with our little miracle.

Aunt Lizzie was another one Ophelia had wrapped around her finger.

"Just teaching her that her father's always got a way out of everything," he replied, giving me that dazzling smile of his, the one where he smiles with his eyes as well as those lips.

"Yeah? And have you mentioned that it's her mother that often supplies you with the answers to all your problems?" I teased, leaning over and carefully taking her from his arms.

Her tiny nose nuzzled against my neck, her lips puckering and trying to suckle the skin there.

Someone was hungry. Again.

She'd gotten herself into a pattern of feeding every two hours for approximately twenty to forty minutes. She was cluster feeding, something Dora's first born had done.

It was why I was feeling so drained. Because she was always on my tit.

"Can't tell her all my secrets, can I?" he said, a smirk on his lips as he didn't bother removing his eyes from my breasts as I pulled one out to feed our ravenous daughter. "Is that a perk of your magic?" I knew he was referring to the fact that due to my breastfeeding my breasts have grown larger over the last week.

"I guess in a way it is, but no, this is due to expressing milk for this one," I told him, smiling as his eyes lingered a little longer on my breast before looking up and giving me a cheeky smile.

"I missed this with TJ." The smirk on his face had gone, the edges of his lips now pulling down in a frown and there was that signature dent between his brows, one that TJ had when he frowned. God, that boy looked so much like his father. It was like seeing a doppelganger of Tommy. Just a lot smaller. And cuddlier.

"You didn't," I told him, running my hand over Ophelia's back as she clenched her hand into a tiny fist. "I never did this with him." I glanced down at Ophelia's little mouth suckling away before lifting my eyes to meet his gaze. "Things were too hard for me with Merry dying. I couldn't face taking her place in TJ's life, even though I knew that's what she would have wanted."

"You're a good mother, Romy. Thomas-J couldn't have a better mother and neither could this little one."

There was something about the way Tommy was adamant about me being the best mother that made my heart ache.

Even if he didn't believe it, Thomas Shelby was too good for this world.

"Alfie's coming round tonight," I told him, giving him a soft smile as he couldn't help but glance at Ophelia again. I sometimes thought that Tommy was worried she was going to disappear or he was going to make up for a dream and she'd be gone.

"Why?"

"You know why."

"He's already given me a contract," he grumbled, pulling a cigarette out and running it across his bottom lip. He went to light it, but paused, his eyes flickering back down to the baby in my arms. He was smoking less when she was around - not that it made much difference as I had ensured there was a charm on the house that took away the smoke from his cigarettes before they could reach the children.

"That was before she came," I said, adjusting Ophelia in my arms as she unlatched and scrunched up her face. Placing her gently on my shoulder, I patted her back until she let out a burp and adjusted my dress, swapping over my breasts and presenting her to the other one. My brows furrowed as she latched on, the strange feeling of a baby sucking against me still feeling weird. "It's different now that you've got a daughter. There are different rules for that. Alfie needs to present you with a new contract because you have two females to care for now." We both knew that TJ didn't really count. Not in the hierarchy way Alfie and Tommy saw things.

While TJ was to be protected, there wasn't anything as important as the females of the family.

TJ was Tommy's heir, the Prince. TJ was going to be taught everything Tommy knew. He was going to be raised as Peaky Blinder - even if it wasn't something I was keen on, this was TJ's legacy.

Ophelia was his Princess. Born to be spoiled and treated with nothing but respect, given what ever she wanted with a flutter of her eyelashes - not that I would allow her to grow up like that.

I was his Queen. In Alfie's mind, I was what made Tommy a King. My word was final. If I wasn't happy, Tommy had to make that right. If I said something needed to be done, Tommy better get it done.

I didn't believe in all that.

Tommy ruled the way he wanted.

I barely got a say in it unless I could supply him with a better way of dealing with things or it put our family in danger. He wouldn't have a choice but to listen to me then.

Alfie had his way of seeing things and if Tommy didn't agree with it I was sure he wouldn't let us get married this coming weekend.

It wouldn't surprise me if he threatened to take the three of us to London until Tommy agreed to his terms.

Not even Phineas or Newt could go against Alfie's wishes.

It was the way of our wizarding family bond - the emotional and mental bond we'd made through our magic was stronger than a bond of blood in muggle terms. We were a found family and with our mixed magic, there was a law we had to follow. Even though Alfie was a squib - something I strongly didn't believe - he was still the oldest and he ruled over our quartet.

"Where have you gone?" Tommy asked, his rough fingertips brushing against my cheek as he looked down from where he stood above me.

"Just thinking about Alfie and his stupid family values," I muttered, giving him a lopsided smile as he rolled his eyes. "You off to work, Mr Shelby?"

"Hmm, I've got to put things into motion with Kimber, especially if you want to go forth with your plan," he replied, shrugging his coat on, his hands then going to smooth back his hair as he slipped his cap on.

"I think it's the best plan we've got. I'll duplicate the guns, you'll hide them in a property Phineas and Newt find and forge the documents saying Kimber owns it. We'll pay one of our boys to rat on you so Campbell stumbles across the warehouse and thinks he's won. I think it's the best plan we can get that doesn't have anything leading back to you."

"This is why I married you," he teased, leaning down to press a kiss on the top of Ophelia's head. "You'll bring her to me at noon?" I almost rolled my eyes at his insurance. I bring her to him at lunch time. He wanted her to see him during his working hours - not that he'd let anyone else know that he was the one requesting it. He'd been telling everyone that I missed him and needed to see him every day at lunch, not that he was the one that wanted to see his new-born daughter.

"We'll be there for our date," I told him, tilting my head up in a gesture for a kiss.

Tommy obliged me, pressing his lips to mine, a smile shaping his lips as he pulled away and gave me a smirk.

"I'll see you at noon, Mrs Shelby," he said, rubbing a cigarette against his lips before sticking it between them. "Make sure you dress appropriately," he added, his eyes flicking down to my chest where my breast, which had previously been nursing our daughter, hung free, droplets of milk dripping from my nipple.

I felt myself flush as he walked out the kitchen, my hands adjusting my dress as I looked down at our sleeping daughter.

Somehow I knew Tommy was going to enjoy teasing me.