Chapter Fifty
A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play. Everything else belongs to either Disney or the Greek Myths.
Dear Gods do I love NaNo time! I know, I know, it's early days but I've already gotten two chapters done when normally it's been talking me at least a week or maybe even more to get one chapter done. I'm sure at some point I'll hit a wall or the thrill of the challenge of writing 50k words in 30 days will wear off but for right now, I'm riding tall!
Speaking of riding tall, how about the fact that we're now at 531 reviews! Thank you all so much, you've no idea how much this means especially with how FFN is acting up!
Estela234: I'm so glad you liked it! :D
OceanBlueSeaEyes: Oh of course! Flower girl is 100% Helena's!
AmethystDragon14: Oh yay! :D I know! It happened! :D And you're so right, that line is perfect for a Hook proposal! How could you not love it?
bal4ever: Glad you liked it!
crrimsondragon: In all honesty I'm not sure, the books only refer to them as the evil step-granddaughters.
Hope you guys enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think! :D
Estelle sighed as he trotted after one of Mali's pups, the one with the purple fur. He was happy to look after them, he knew she had to go be the Alpha but for the love of the Great Alpha in the sky, did her pups have to run around so much?
At the very least, it'd be nice if they could stay in their den but they were always climbing and and getting into things. Though, Estelle wasn't going to lie, it was nice when the pups stayed human. Human pups were easier to corral than scaly pups or even Cerberi pups!
Whoa! Estelle thought and gently grabbed the collar of the male pup's shirt as he began to make his way down the stairs. It was a good thing Estelle had been there since the way the pup was facing, he would have been tumbling down the stairs head first.
Come on little pup, let's head back to your den with your littermate and Nyx, Estelle thought as the male pup, 'Reese' as the humans called him, chattered away happily; swinging merrily from his spot in Estelle's jaws and his little feet kicking away.
Every so often, one of the humans that Mali called 'attendants' would stop and look at the two of them but didn't say anything. It often wasn't long before the attendants would just walk away. Sometimes Estelle even heard some of them say they weren't paid enough to deal with that.
I don't know what they're talking about, Mali gives me and Nyx a bone each every time we need to watch the pups. If that's enough for us, that should be enough for the humans, Estelle thought as he hopped over the barrier that stood in front of the pups' den.
Oh you found him! Where was he? Nyx thought to Estelle. Honestly it had been a bit of an interesting discovery finding out that Cerberis had the same mental link as the humans that the pack dad would call imbeciles he was unfortunate enough to be related to.
But it was nice to have someone who spoke the same language as you. Plus, even though it was the same style of link, the humans' link didn't interfere with the Cerberi link so there wasn't the risk Estelle would hear Mali's conversation or vice versa.
He was going down the stairs, Estelle thought to Nyx, gently putting Reese down on the floor. At least they're doing it one at a time. Imagine if they decided to pair up!
We do have three heads each, we could handle it, Nyx told him. Just as long as it was just Mali and her mate's pups. I couldn't imagine what it would be like if the other pups were around more than every so often. Despite the fact that they only have two legs, these hairless puppies are faster than you think! And to top it off, no sense of self preservation! I mean the dark furred pup the other day licked cold solid water that just came out of thin air!
But the pups love seeing them and we can handle some rambunctious pups for the next couple of months.
Estelle…I'm worried about the pups. You've been around humans a lot more than I have. Is it…is it normal for human pups to lack self preservation? Even the pack leaders don't seem to realize how much the pups are lacking. Plus…they're rather slow growing aren't they? Pups should be double their size at this age.
The pack leaders don't seem too concerned with the growth of the pups so maybe being slow growing is normal for human puppies, along with a lack of self preservation, Estelle thought and gently licked Nyx's cheek. Besides, this is tame for humans. Mali's pack mate apparently would slide off of roofs when he was bored, according to Mali's youngest pack mate.
May the Great Alpha help us if Mali has any more pups though, Nyx shook her head. These two have been wild enough to last us a lifetime.
Estelle snorted, though if he was honest he wouldn't mind another pup or two from Mali. She only had so long before she couldn't have pups after all and Estelle didn't want the window to catch her by surprise!
He shook his head before looking over at Effy and Reese. Okay you little hairless balls of energy, stay put.
You know they can't understand you, right? Nyx asked.
Oh I know, Estelle nodded as he sat down. I got fewer looks today from Mali and Benny's attendants. I think they might have had words with them, you know since they're pack leaders and all.
The other humans do seem to listen to Benny, Nyx nodded in agreement as she plopped down next to Estelle and rested her left head on his right one. Unfortunately it didn't seem like their relaxation was going to last as Effy and Reese started to fuss and Estelle and Nyx looked at each other.
What do we do? Estelle asked.
I think they might be hungry, that's the sound they usually make before someone comes in and feeds them, Nyx said and stood up to walk over to them. Gently, she licked both Effy and Reese on the face; hoping to at least sooth them. Thankfully it seemed to work as the fussing died down slightly.
So…do we just wait? Estelle asked.
Unless you want to go fetch Mali or Benny? Nyx suggested.
On it, Estelle told her and got up to trot off, hopping over the baby gate with such ease it was like it wasn't even there. He hoped to find Mali first—of course he loved Mali's mate but he'd always be partial to his girl!
Mali! My human! Estelle thought and gave a doggy grin as he finally came across her. Yes, it had come to his mind that he could have just gotten James and the attendant could have gotten Mali for him but Estelle wanted to see his girl!
"Hey boy, did you come for a cuddle?" Mal asked as she looked at him and gave Estelle a big smile.
Estelle gave a small yip and shook his head. Sorry Mali but not this time, he thought as he gently pulled at Mal's sleeve to try tot get her to come with him.
"Oh you're on babysitting duty right now…I guess one of the twins needs me?" Mal asked and her eyes went wide as she looked at her watch. "Oh no wonder! They're probably hungry by now, I'm surprised I haven't heard them over the baby monitor…oh there goes Reese!"
She turned to the other man in the room and it was at that moment that Estelle realized that Mal hadn't been alone. "Cogsworth, I'm terribly sorry but do you mind if we take a brief recess?"
"Your highness, I'm not going to raise a fuss for a mother wanting to tend to her children," Cogsworth told her. "And I'm certainly not going to raise a fuss over a Queen wanting to take a break."
"Thank you," Mal said and gave him a relieved smile as she got up to walk out; Estelle trotting at her heels. Of course the lack of nagging or nerves from Cogsworth was aided by the fact that Lumiere was often over at Jane and Carlos' house to help Jane take care of the two kids. Lumiere and Cogsworth may have gone through ten years of being household decor together but the two of them rarely got along and Mal just didn't have the energy to deal with their bickering.
"Maman!"
"Maman!"
Mal smiled as she heard the exclamation of her children. "Hello my little ones. I think it's time two wonderful someones had their lunch."
"Yay!" Reese and Effy cheered and Nyx seemed to sigh in relief.
Mal's smile only grew as she scooped up her children and looked over over at Estelle and Nyx. "Thank you both so much for watching them, and for coming to get me boy. Remind me, I owe you both a dog bone for this."
Estelle gave a small yip and Mal shook her head.
"Yes each boy, that's why I stated I owed you both one," she said, more than a little amused by her dog.
Estelle and Nyx gave a small yip in response, wagging their tails and giving Mal a doggy grin.
"Are Ni Ni and Stell coming too Maman?" Effy asked.
"If they want to Effy," Mal told her and looked back at the two Cerberi. "Want to come with, you guys?"
Estelle and Nyx nodded and followed Mal out to the kitchen to get lunches ready for the kids.
"What would your papa and I do without them, huh?" Mal asked the twins.
"We love Ni Ni and Stell, maman," Effy said with a big smile.
"Yeah! We love them lots!" Reese nodded; his smile matching his sister's in size and intensity.
Mal, though, had no problem matching her children's smiles as she looked at her kids. "I'm glad to hear that, because they love the both of you too," she told them.
She's got that right, even if the pups refuse to have any semblance of self preservation…or if Effy sometimes turns into a scaly pup…or even if Reese sometimes makes our ears hurt with his cries…Estelle thought as both he and Nyx gave a small yip to indicate that they agreed with Mal's statement.
Mal smiled before getting the twins safely secured in their high chairs. "Okay then, what would you two like for lunch?"
"Samwich maman?" Effy asked. "With purple jelly like Reese's hair?"
"No! Red jelly! Like strawberries!" Reese said, his eyes wide as if he was worried he wouldn't get his favorite sandwich.
Mal chuckled and shook her head. "How about we do one of each? That way, everyone gets what they want."
"Okay maman," Effy and Reese nodded.
"Okay then," Mal nodded and quickly got out the ingredients. The twins were still in their twos and while they were overall fairly well behaved, Mal didn't want to risk the chances of that changing.
There was a reason why one of the rare sayings that involved dragons in Auradon emphasized the importance of not messing with them.
What was the saying again? Oh right! Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup. …Wow that got rather dark for making my kids their lunch. Still true though.
"Maman?" Effy asked, her small voice pulling Mal out of her pondering.
"Yes honey?"
"Where's papa?"
Mal shook her head slightly. "He's most likely in his office, sweetheart."
"Oh," Effy said.
"Why is he there maman?" Reese asked.
"That's a very good question sweetheart," Mal told him.
Effy shook her head. "I don't think papa likes it there mama. It always messy."
Mal couldn't help the sad smile that pulled at her lips as she sliced the sandwiches for her kids. "Papa's got an important job, honey, so that's why he has to be in his office even though I know he'd rather be here for lunch time. How about this, after you two eat, we'll drag your father out of his office so he can have some lunch too? Do you like that?"
"Yay!"
Mal's smile lost the sad edge to it as she handed the twins their sandwiches. "Well then, eat up and we'll go and see him."
"Yes maman," Effy and Reese nodded and Mal's smile grew as she watched her kids eat. There was a bit of speed but it wasn't the speed of a VK desperate to keep all the food they had. Rather it was the energy of a young child, eager to go do the exciting thing they had been promised.
Of course, this had the natural consequence of ending up with more jelly on their faces than in their mouths.
"Here we go," Mal said as she grabbed a nearby wet cloth and began to wipe off their faces. "You want to be nice and clean when you see papa don't you?"
"Yes maman!" Effy and Reese nodded and Mal smiled as she helped them down so they could toddle along side her holding her hands; Estelle and Nyx trotting along behind them. They quickly made their way to Mal and Ben's shared office, Mal lightly knocking on the door before opening it a crack.
"Hey, you busy?" Mal asked, sticking her head through the door. "I have two very important people here to see you."
"Papa!"
Ben chuckled and grinned upon hearing his children's voices. "Come on in, I was just wrapping up anyway."
"And just what were you working on?" Mal asked as she opened the door wider for Effy and Reese to toddle into his office.
"My speech for the Learning to be Royal banquet we're hosting in two months, it's apparently close to when the club was founded and they asked if I could speak since mom was one of the founders," Ben told her as Effy and Reese began to climb up him. Ben smiled as he hosted both of them up onto his lap before giving a sheepish smile to Mal. "Sorry I left you with solo kid duty."
"It's fine, it's easier as the twins get older," Mal told him. "But it is time for lunch."
"Yeah papa, maman made us sammies!" Reese nodded.
Ben snorted before looking over at Mal. "Did Akiho corrupt you or something?"
"Keep teasing and I won't ask Mrs. Potts to teach me how to make her grilled cheese," Mal teased.
"Oh now that is just wicked!"
"I'm a VK Benny, wicked is what we do!" Mal teased once more, a friendly smirk on her lips.
Effy shook her head. "That's not nice papa!"
"Yeah, Maman's not wicked!" Reese nodded. "She's maman! Mamans can't be wicked!"
Ben smiled and gently kissed Reese on the head. "You're absolutely right there, Reese. Your maman is anything but wicked."
Mal smiled and shook her head. "Come on, I may not be as good as Mrs. Potts or Chip when it comes to making sandwiches but I think I can make you a BLT for lunch. You deserve it after all this work you've done."
"You don't have to do that Mal," Ben said, shaking his head but stood up; the twins grinning in delight as he held them in his arms. "But thanks. It's been some work to arrange the guest list for this."
"Why?" Mal asked.
"Well we have a lot more members now and parental duties have to be juggled," Ben told her. "Robin and William had a daughter a few months after Effy and Reese turned one for starters, and Willam just sent me a message saying that he can only come if he can confirm Robin can be with one of her sisters since he doesn't want her to be outnumbered by the kids."
Mal shook her head. "I'm sure Wyatt and Willow won't outnumber them…but not a bad idea on William's part. Any other possible no-shows?"
"Conner's a definite, he said Rowyn and Chloe have been looking forward to this girl's evening for months," Ben said and Mal smiled at the thought. Rowyn had had her daughter Chloe a few months or so after Effy and Reese had turned one and maybe it was odd, but Mal was just happy her kids would have so many friends around their age.
"What about Roland? Didn't he and Kitty have a daughter last year?" Mal asked.
"Yeah but he and Bobby have already confirmed since Kitty and Lucy are going to spend the evening at their parents. Remember Lucy had her son Brandon last year too so Elliot and Katie will get to play with their cousin."
"Oh right, right…how did I forget that? We talked about it at the banquet that Ginny and Chad hosted back in March too," Mal said and shook her head. That was one of the rare evenings she and Ben had had to be alone since they became parents too. Not that she would trade the twins for anything but...the alone time was still nice.
"To be fair, you do have a lot of things to do Mal," Ben said gently as they entered the kitchen. "I can take some stuff off your plate."
"Ben, you taking stuff off my plate means you overworking yourself," Mal told him. "Now sit, I'll make you some lunch which you will eat."
Ben nodded and sat down. "Note to self, call up Akiho and make sure he hasn't died and possessed my wife," he muttered.
"I heard that!"
Ben snorted and Mal couldn't help but smile as she got the stuff for the sandwich. "You know, why don't they bring the kids here? I'm sure Effy and Reese would love to see their friends during the banquet," she said.
"Because we promised your parents they could watch the kids during the banquet since mom's a Learning to be Royal club founder and dad needs to be supervised to make sure he doesn't get into a gift giving competition with your dad again," Ben reminded her. "Chip's also going to be there with Lucas for a bit, to tag team with Virgil since your dad still has to work and the twins have all that energy so it wouldn't be fair for just your mom to deal with along side your sister."
"Oh right, right," Mal nodded. "I'm surprised I forgot that."
"We want to see Granddad Hades!" Effy spoke up. "We play with Auntie Rea!"
"And sometimes Auntie Geene too!" Reese added.
Ben chuckled. "You ever think your life would include your little sister who's younger than you by about twenty years being friends with my little sister?" He asked Mal.
"I can tell you honestly Ben, nothing about how my life had gone is how I ever pictured it would," Mal told him as she placed his BLT in front of him. "But it's been worth every twist and turn."
"I certainly agree with you there," Ben nodded with a small smile as he bit into his sandwich. Was it a bit of a challenge eating with two kids sitting on his lap? Of course. But there was no way Ben was going to send his kids away from him.
Mal smiled and turned to open a nearby jar of dog treats. "As promised, two big bones for the two of you," she said as she turned back to Estelle and Nyx.
"Let me guess, they were on nanny duty?" Ben asked.
"They always are," Mal nodded with a small chuckle.
The two Cerberi grinned and wagged their tails as Mal handed them their bones. They didn't know where Mali was able to get bones big enough for all three heads to chew on at the same time but they weren't about to complain.
Do you think we'll ever have pups of our own someday? Nyx asked Estelle as they began to chew on their bones.
Maybe some day…remember Mali made us promise no pups until her pups were six. That's doable right?
It'll have to be, I don't want to go against Mali…I guess then Reese can be our pup. When he turns into a Cerberus at least. Which I hope isn't all the time, as enjoyable as it is. I'd miss his and Effy's color arguments.
Sounds like they're having one now, Estelle thought in amusement.
"Purple better! Maman purple!"
"Unca Carlos has red! So does Unca Harry! Red better!"
"No one better than Maman!"
"Nu-uh! Papa's better than maman! Even though he no have red!"
Mal shook her head with a small chuckle. "Oh I'm hurt," she said with a small smile pulling at her lips.
"You hurt maman Reese! Say sorry!" Effy said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Maman best!"
Reese frowned at the idea of hurting his mom. "Sorry maman," he said softly. "Papa still better though!"
"And why is that?" Mal asked though she wasn't hurt in the slightest.
"Papa reads more stories at bedtime!" Reese said with a grin and Ben gave a sheepish chuckle.
"He pulls them out of thin air and you know I hate interrupting cuddle time—."
"Ben, you and I both know you would gladly read our kids all the books you possibly could," Mal shook her head and gently kissed the top of his head. "If that makes you the 'best' in our son's eyes, I'm all for it."
"Reese wrong though!" Effy cried. "Maman best! Maman a dragon! And purple!"
Mal and Ben chuckled softly at the pure innocence of their kids.
"You know, I'm off for the rest of the day. Do you three want to go down to the playground and play?" Ben asked.
"Swings!"
"Color!"
Mal shook her head. "Why not both?"
"Yay!" Effy and Reese grinned and Estelle and Nyx yipped softly in agreement.
"Oh yes, you two can come to," Mal nodded as she looked over at the two Cerbi.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Ben asked.
"You to finish up your sandwich I believe," Mal teased and Ben shook his head before quickly finishing up his BLT and taking his plate to the sink. The palace grounds would later be filled with the sound of the giggles of toddlers and the excited yips of Cerberi while two parents looked on with contented smiles.