Arranged marriage. (DrinkToMeOnlyWithThineEyes.)

[SilentFeather]

(We can, and I will start us off.)

King Tristan nodded, soon yawning as he grew sleepy. He slumbered for a while, dreaming about many peaceful things. He smiled, staying as close as what was possible to his husband. He remained asleep and did not awake until the very next dawn. He yawned softly, stretching as he was ready to tackle another bright and early day. He was always blessed to be with his husband, never ever wanting to leave his side. He was eager to get the chance to hold their newborn child in his strong but gentle arms. That bright day, he was getting light work done when a violent kick sent him off guard, causing him to hunch over. A hand went to clutch his swollen stomach. He grew fearful, trying to get back to Erumollien and his shared room but was not sure if he could. He was frozen. He felt as though he was a block of frozen ice. He did what he was able to do, he called out to his beloved loud as he could. "Erumollien!"  He hoped his husband would respond to his shouts.

King Tristan was tired but did not ever give up because of pain. He was soon to give birth to a son. He was proud. The newborn would be a Prince and would learn all about the kingdom and so much more when growing up. He would.

[DrinkToMeOnlyWithThineEyes]

Erumollien was recovered enough to return to his kingly duties that day though he permitted himself a few more moments of sleep. By the time he awoke, he had immediately gotten changed into his formal robes and had put on his circlet once more. His cousin had checked on him while Tristan slept and he was told that he could finally go back to running the kingdom that morning.

He did not expect to hear Tristan's panicked cries and he felt a nervousness in him rise. Running out the room, he saw Tristan hunched over, clutching his swollen belly and his breath hitched. Running to Tristan's side, he picked Tristan up and allowed his husband to burrow closer to him.

"Tristan, what is the matter?" He asked, worry tainting his voice as he held his husband close, steps hurrying to reach their bedroom as soon as possible.

Upon reaching their quarters, he set Tristan down and glanced at Tristan, drawing upon what Bonds he could, he saw the child's fëa anchored to the body and he felt his jaw clench. So today was the day?

Shrugging out of his outer robe and removing his boots, leaving him in his tunic and trousers and circlet, he laid it on Tristan and got on the bed beside his husband, holding Tristan close as he attempted to offer support to his husband through the rise and fall of contractions.

[SilentFeather]

King Tristan tried to breathe normally but it seemed as though it had a mind of it's own. He despised that. Truly he did. He wanted the intense pains to stop, feeling his aching body struggling to cope with each and every single one. 'This will be a long day' he thought to himself. He tried his very hardest to be strong, not wanting to be branded as weak or pathetic. He wanted to be with his husband and only him, not trusting others in the kingdom. He whimpered like a wounded pup, feeling as if he was drowning in an endless sea of pure, annoying pain. He was happy that his lover was by his side through it all. He struggled to focus, getting halfway through but failing to resurface above the waves of agony. He tried to speak but couldn't get out a single word. He never felt such pain before in his entire life. This seemed to be beyond the word intense. He was happy that his husband was healed, trying to smile but he was too tired and the pain was also a issue to overcome.

King Tristan waited for his water to break. It would be such a grand entrance for the Prince. And easier birth as well for both father and son. He relaxed, only to wake up and feel his upper thighs soaked with water. Finally .. his water broke. Finally the birth would approach. He sighed in relief, waiting impatiently for the child to move around and was soon time.

King Tristan tried hard to relax, panting heavily as if he were in a race. He closewd his eyes, trying to relax and cope with the child's rough movements, knowing that his stomach could not grow further. The babe was cramped inside of it's depths.

[DrinkToMeOnlyWithThineEyes]

Erumollien had figured that his husband would rather be just with him and had decided to be the one to deliver his first babe. He placed a hand on Tristan's belly, feeling the kicks and thrashing of the babe, he winced at the idea of his husband enduring all this. He swallowed thickly before looking at Tristan with a gentle smile.

"You are free to scream and cry out," He whispered, leaning close to his husband to kiss Tristan's forehead, "You have every right to do so." He whispered as he held Tristan close, "You are not weak if you scream or cry out, even my mother screamed and she was a frightfully strong warrior." He whispered before peppering Tristan's face with kisses, "You are strong even if you succumb to letting out the pain as the labour progresses." He murmured, feeling the babe giving stronger kicks and punches to Tristan.

The babe on the other hand, began moving down to Tristan's opening, the complication however was that the babe's back was coming out first, a sideways breech. It was not the child's rear end coming out, but the back itself.

[SilentFeather]

King Tristan whimpered a few times more. He felt as if he was a punching bag, enduring the sensations of nausea and pain combined. He was truly delighted to be only be with his lover and him alone. He listened to his lover, relaxed that he was able to fully express himself. He was soon in suffering, trying to focus more on getting the babe out of his body safely, not wanting to hurt him in any way, shape or form. He breathed harder and harder with each kick and sharp motion of the soon to be born Prince. Life was to be created. Soon it was to be, crying out in a way that let many lives of the kingdom hear his outbursts. King Tristan cared only about his husband and their soon to be born son. Life was all about living and enjoying.

As time passed he grew tired, feeling a strong pressure approaching his sore opening. He was not entirely sure as to what was happening but stayed alert. He was tired but eager. He loved it that his husband was with him all the way and more.

King Tristan screamed, surprising even himself with how much discomfort he felt between his shaking upper legs. He reached out, gripping the covers of the bed, never giving up. He felt as though he could do anything with his husband beside him. He tried controling his breathing as to not cause the babe to suffer, controlling over it as long as he could.

"Erumollien? .. I think something is wrong." King Tristan said breathlessly and wearily, feeling the unborn babe struggling.

[DrinkToMeOnlyWithThineEyes]

Erumollien had feared such a thing would happen and he had noted the fact that he'd forgotten to remove Tristan's lower clothes. When he'd done so, he looked at his husband's opening and he frowned, the babe hadn't made much of an appearance yet.

"My love, I still cannot see it." He said, unaware of the fact that he called Tristan his love. Concern being the only thing that he had managed to focus on that moment.

The babe gave a strong and violent kick as if to demand to be let out by its father. Erumollien placed a hand on Tristan's belly, he recalled the healers doing something similar with his mother. That was how he learned that Glandur was only one child. Perhaps, he will be able to find the reason behind his husband's struggles through such a method? Pressing against the skin of his husband's swollen middle, he attempted to search for any hint, he felt the child's position and his eyes widened, but that was not the only thing he felt. He felt another head and he felt the blood drain from his face.

"Our firstborn is to be born sideways and..." He trailed off and looked at his labouring spouse, "you are to birth twins." He whispered, feeling a sharp kick from one of his children.

[SilentFeather]

King Tristan felt as though it would be a long time for the child to be born. He continued to try to get the child to energe, wanting him to take his first breath. He was eager to hold the babe in his arms. He wanted to hear his son's first cries. He was not aware but he would be giving birth to twins. He looked at his husband with wide, surprised eyes. He felt blessed and so much more. He was confused at first but then accepted things as they were. He smiled up at his husband, feeling honored to be carrying twins. He decided to love the twins. Double the twins meant double the love. It would be two Princes instead of just one. It was true and adorable. He was proud, wanting to hold the twins and love them unconditionally and so much more. He began to bear down, pushing for as much as he could until resting.

King Tristan used his strength in a positive way, wanting the first of the twins to be born without difficulty. He grunted, groaned, cried out and screamed to the heavens above. He pushed on and off, only doing what his fatherly instincts had told him to do. He sighed from time to time, trying not to be impatient. He knew that childbirth would be painful. It was meant to be that way. He was gentle in his pushing, trying not to harm any of the unborn twins. He was happy that the twins were active even though their movements were quite harsh. He was beyond tired after a few hours, the sunset had lowered itself beneath the horizon line which caused a thick darkness to descend over the vast lands.

"Twins? .. well .. I am at quite a loss for words." King Tristan said softly, expressing a weak smile at his lover.

[DrinkToMeOnlyWithThineEyes]

Erumollien smiled, "My aunt and father are twins, it had been common in my line for twins to be born once or twice in a row. My siblings and I are the only ones that had not yet had a set of twins born to our line." He rubbed Tristan's belly as he felt it tense in another contraction, he moved away fro a bit to look at his husband's progress and smiled in relief.

"The babe is starting to come." It was a sliver of skin he saw, and he knew that the birth will be more painful due to the back stretching the skin of Tristan's opening, but what matters was the fact that his husband was doing well and that their firstborn was to arrive p soon.

Figuring his husband may want some water, he went to the door and summoned a guard, asking for a pitcher of cold water, a glass, a basin and a towel and that the items must be brought to their quarters immediately.

Coming back to Tristan, he smiled and took his husband's hand, pressing a kiss to Tristan's fingers. Guiding his spouse's hand to Tristan's opening, he had Tristan feel the babe's back.

"That is our firstborn, and you are helping them come into the world." He murmured, leaning towards Tristan's belly to place a gentle kiss on it. He smiled, "You are doing wonderfully."

[SilentFeather]

King Tristan smiled as well, looking up at his beloved Erumollien. He was beyond the word known as weary. As much as he wanted to be over and finished with his birthing process he sighed once more, letting his tired body relax for a while. He needed to do such in order to regain every single bit of his strength back. He wanted to walk around but was not sure if that was wise. After all it would probably be dangerous while the first of the twins would probably fall to the floor so he stayed in bed. He would walk around later but as for now being in bed and staying there until the process of birth ended would be best. As for now he was slowly birthing the first twin, feeling his body shaking with much effort as he pushed a few times more. He wanted to get the first twin to enter the world in a possible time. He was truly worried, he was also scared as well.

King Tristan closed his eyes, making sure he would be able to wake up after that. He was eager to soon be a father and so was his husband. He was also to be a listening ear for his beloved and the two twins when they would grow older. He was also eager to be able to care for an innocent life and those were the twins. He was blissful and beyond happy. He was happy, wanting to love the twins as if they were already born but knew that they were both soon to be born in the world.

"I am blessed to birth our twins." King Tristan said with a smile to his beloved Erumollien. "Thank you Erumollien, I am honored to be your lover, truly I am." He smirked playfully but soon it faded. He gasped while feeling his stomach painfully tense up beyond his control. It made him feel as if parts of his body were having a life of their own. It terrified him badly.

King Tristan felt the first babe's back, gently touching it as to not startle him. He expressed a smile, his spirits staying up.

[DrinkToMeOnlyWithThineEyes]

Erumollien chuckled and nodded, leaning close to Tristan to press his lips against his husband's. "And I am blessed to have you bear my children and for you to have had endless patience with me." He whispered.

A hand remained at Tristan's opening, feeling the babe's back stretch Tristan's skin even more as it was pushed further out. Hoping to somehow ease his husband's pain and to help Tristan through the burning sensation of the child stretching his husband's skin, the Elvenking began massaging the skin of Tristan's opening as he held Tristan up in a semi seated position, whispering words of encouragement to his husband despite knowing that the pain would just worsen as time went on.

There was a knock and a servant entered with the pitcher of cool water and a basin, glass and towel. They only cast one look at the labouring consort before nodding and dampening the towel before handing it over to Erumollien who pressed it against his husband's clammy skin.

"Would you like a drink?" Erumollien asked, concernedly eyeing his husband as yet another harsh contraction took hold of Tristan.

[SilentFeather]

King Tristan felt a very strong urge to bear down. He was now beyond tired but did not dare to give up or give in. He felt as if his body was guiding him through the hard trial known as child birth. He wanted to get the two unborn twins from his aching, laboring body. After a few more hours passed the presence of another day had bathed the vast lands in bright, blinding sunlight. So far it was two and a half days that the young man had been laboring with just the first twin, he now knew that ther first twin was to be born sideways. It was going to take a long time. He was proud being with his beloved husband, truly he did and so much more. He sighed happily, taking easy on conserving every single ounce of his strength. He may have been tired but he was remaining hopeful and proud. He wanted to hold the two babe's in his arms or atleast one of them. Sometimes life was rough but he would do a saying that his father said to him. It was to "roll with the punches". He would birth the children, doing it with his husband by his side. He gripped the covers of the bed in his hands.

King Tristan sighed with relief as his face was being touched by the cold towel. He was happy. He felt as though each painful contraction led him to where to be. He did not rush the process. It would be dangerous for the twins if he did that. Dangerous indeed. Birth was not to be taken lightly. It was a process to bring new life into the world. So very beautiful.

When his sore opening was massaged by his lover's skilled fingers King Tristan felt relaxed, feeling in sync with his breathing as he was calm. He was happy that he had a chance to birth the soon to be born twins. He was truly happy.

"Yes, I would. Thank you, my love." King Tristan said softly with a smile. He was many miles past concerned as well, trying to be gentle as he could. His goal was to get the child to emerge safely. He spoke softly, wanting a nice cold glass of water. He needed it to boost his energy. It did not occur to him that he was thirsty but now he felt as if his mouth was drier than a desert. He tried hard to not cause harm to the children that he was slowly and patiently birthing. He was so very weary, knowing that it was not wise to give up. He was focused on his goal, that such goal was to safely get the children out as sofates he could. He did not want them to die. He was worried of that outcome but tried not to think of such a fate but he would not let it be that. The twins would be alive. It would be a hard process but was ready to bring them into the world. 

King Tristan cried out, beginning to pant beyond his control. He held his stomach in agony, trying not to move too much.

[DrinkToMeOnlyWithThineEyes]

Leaving his husband's side at the bed for a moment, Erumollien filled the glass with the cool water in the pitcher and went back to Tristan, helping his husband by holding up the glass.

"You are doing so well, Tristan." Erumollien whispered as Tristan's opening parted even further when the babe's back had stretched Tristan's opening to the widest.

"Just a bit more and the child will be out." He whispered, the time it had taken for the babe to make an appearance to the world was common for Erumollien's people, they often laboured long and hard with the babe's often being difficult to birth but the fact that Tristan had managed to smile every now and again was a relief to the Elvenking.

"Our firstborn, whether a princess or prince shall still be the one to inherit the throne." He explained as he pressed his lips upon Tristan's brow.

He wanted to know one thing however, "After this, my love, would you still wish to bear me children or will these two suffice?" He inquired as he caressed Tristan's gravity middle.

[SilentFeather]

King Tristan was beyond the word worn out. As much as he desired to sleep he knew that the worries kept his mind awake. He gently sipped the water, managing by sheer luck to not choke on the liquid. He felt the bonechillingly cold water slip down his throat. He rested for a while, feeling as if he could go through the difficulties and so much more if such time was needed. He was soon rejuvenated, ready and prepared to get inch after inch of the first born babe's back to emerging from his hurting opening. When he was complimented on how greatly he was doing he smiled proudly. He and his beloved were soon to be father's for the first time to twins. He was to bring them into the vast, new world beyond his sore, bruised belly.

King Tristan had a bruised stomach because of the two babies rough movements through the full nine months. He winced, trying to breathe calmly. His stomach was tender, wanting the agony in his body to come to an end but was calm.

King Tristan was happy, wanting to hear their twins crying. They were soon to be born but it would take a long time. He drank more water to stay hydrated. He was tired so he relaxed lightly,  closing his eyes. He was assisted by his lover.

"Thank you for the water, Erumollien .. it is quite refreshing." King Tristan spoke. He opened his eyes and smiled.

"Erumollien, you mean a lot to me. I am glad to have you by my side through this." King Tristan said happily to his lover, not stopping from his quest of difficulty known as childbirth. He wouldn't stop. He never ever would. He was strong in his own way, he would use that such strength to his advantage. He was determined to soon birth the first babe and hear him cry for the first time. He was brave because of getting to have a family with his beloved lover and their twins. He smiled from time to time at his beloved, getting ready for each contraction, no matter how rough it was. This was birth. He surprised even himself with how tough he was when it would come to the birthing process and its cruel, annoying pains. His lover was guiding him. He was able to feel the first twin child begin to struggle, feeling as if he was trying to get out but couldn't.

King Tristan waited until the pain ceased for a while before speaking. "Oh my dearest Erumollien., I would love to bear you many children. Soon the twins will be born. They will have many many brothers and sisters to explore with." He smiled up at the other King, feeling as to if the twins would survive. He was worried but tried not to be. 

King Tristan wondered as to just how long the birth would last. He whimpered, groaned, cried out or screamed. The suffering man did not complain one single bit. He only made noises when the pains grew too much to bear. He raised his head to push forth the child, letting his body to lead him to just when the time was truly right to do such.

[DrinkToMeOnlyWithThineEyes]

Erumollien watched as the child's back parted his husband's opening even more, figuring that he must help, he leaned close to Tristan and pressed his lips upon Tristan's forehead.

"My love, I shall be pulling our firstborn out, this may hurt and for that I apologise." He murmured before going between Tristan's legs.

Carefully, he slid his hands into his husband's opening to gently pull the babe out, whispering apologies to his beloved as he did so. When he managed to pull their firstborn out, he noted the gender was female, he smiled and pressed his forehead against the child's and murmured out blessings from father to daughter. Her fëa was strong and she began crying out the moment he finished his blessings. He smiled brightly and hurried close to Tristan's side, handing her to his husband.

"Our firstborn is a daughter." He whispered, pressing a kiss to his husband's cheek, "A future Queen."

[SilentFeather]

King Tristan pushed on and off for a few hours, feeling his strength waning but never gave up. He knew that two lives were on the line, hanging by a thin thread or worse, a cliff. Each moment was of utmost importance. He clenched his teeth, crying out whenever the first child had stretched him to what seemed like no possible end. He panted like a dog baking in the hot sun. He was in pain for two and a half days, worrying as to how much more he could take if the first babe stretched him any further. He was doing greatly, smiling from time to time up at Erumollien, loving to be in his caring and understanding presence. He groaned with each urge, listening to his silent instincts. When he was told about what his lover suggested he nodded, bracing himself for what the pulling would feel like. He was ready, he was. When his husband was helping him he cried out, gripping the covers of the bed and trying hard not to close his shaking legs. He felt nauseous.

Soon, to his eagerness the firstborn emerged into the world .. the child's hair and skin is like Erumollien and dark, seemingly depthless brown eyes like Tristan. It also had pointy ears like the two elven father's. It was the image of the two fathers. The two fathers were thankful for their firstborn being safe, keeping very mindful of their second soon to be born twin.

After being born the newborn child was indeed a daughter, her eyes lightly closed and her breathing calm as she heard her father's beautiful blessing. She listened quietly, taking in each word his lips had spoken to her and truly her alone. The innocent, cute daughter understood her father. She wailed as her father grew silent after the speaking of blessings to her.

King Tristan was weary but alert, reaching out to his lover. He held the daughter in his arms. He hummed softly, wanting the child to be fed with his nourishing milk. He let the newborn babe feed from his chest which was filled with warm milk. He expressed a slight wince of pain at first as the daughter's strong, toothless mouth latched on and began feeding. Soon her tiny stomach was filled up with her first meal. She yawned softly, settling into her slumber in her father's gentle arms and remained that way for a while. She felt safest with her two fathers, dreaming her sweet dreams for the first time after birth.

"Our daughter, she is so beautiful." Softly, King Tristan said to his husband. "And such a wonderful Queen she shall be."

" What name shall we call her? .. I was thinking about Akira. You can name the second twin." King Tristan said, smiling.

[DrinkToMeOnlyWithThineEyes]

Erumollien nodded, the name was unfamiliar to him but that was perhaps because their tongue held no such names. But regardless, he smiled and nodded at his husband.

"That is a beautiful name, my love." He murmured, pressing a kiss to Tristan's forehead.

He looked at his daughter's dark hair and dark skin, he smiled faintly as he traced her features lightly with his index finger.

"Did you know my mother laboured for five days when I was being born?" He looked at Tristan with a small smile, "This is the fastest birth I have seen. Among my people and apparently the same applies to our children, the fëa...the soul of the babe never leaves the body once it is conceived, I needed only to bless their coming into the world to awaken them." He explained as he placed a hand on Tristan's still swollen middle. "The High Elves do not birth easily, the labour is long and painful, my mother was considered the bravest for having birthed me and my siblings. But it had been many a century since twins were born to my kingdom, so you have in some way, surpassed her by birthing twins." He gently took Akira from Tristan and went to the babe's nursery, taking the cradle from the middle of the room, he wheeled it inside his chambers with Tristan and placed her there, making room for her twin.

[SilentFeather]

King Tristan was proud of making it through the birth of the first twin but knew that the second one would soon be emerging. He was quite tired but used the moments of rest would be best till the time of birthing would arrive. He smiled at his husband, feeling his forehead being kissed by his husband's lips in a soft, loving way. He loved it that the family would be truly fulfilled as it was made to be. It was his destiny. He looked back on how difficult it was when he and his lover were first in a relationship but now they were finally in true love and both of them were eager to please each other as their love slowly blossomed from a seedling and into a bright crimson red rose with soft silk like petals. He loved waking each and every dawn with his strong lover laying comfortably close by his side in bed. He was truly blessed to be with Erumollien.

Intently, King Tristan listened to the story about his lover's mother. He wanted a unique name for the firstborn. He loved to be a listening ear and a helping heart. He was tired but he chose to stay awake for a while. He loved his husband more than the word love was. He smiled. "Thank you, my love. I wanted her name to be unique. Akira looks so much like you. She has my eye color though. She is perfect in every way." He said, smiling happily at both his innocent daughter and Erumollien, his handsome, hard working husband. Life was like heaven and so much pleasurable things. He loved each and every single passing second and moment. Life was like a blissful dream, a life that he never wanted to miss any single moment of.

"Your mother must have been strong." King Tristan said. "I am sure that she and your father would be so proud of our twins." He was proud of not giving up, not even after birthing the first twin. Soon the second twin would be born too as well.

"Soon our second daughter or son will be born." Softly, King Tristan said, smiling proudly up at his husband.

"Sweetheart, I shall rest for a while until the second twin decides to come." King Tristan said softly once more, not wanting to startle Akira who was soundly sleeping in the crib. She was peaceful, having a cute face and a small but powerful body.

The second twin was not ready and to that he was relieved to surrender to the realm of a peaceful slumber for a while before the second birth. He yawned, slumbering for a while until he was awakened by the second twin, causing his teeth to clench tightly, keeping his outbursts from being much too loud or startling their newborn daughter, their sweet daughter.

[DrinkToMeOnlyWithThineEyes]

Erumollien had watched his husband rest from the tiring birth of their eldest child and had opted for cradling the babe in his arms as he sang lullabies to her while he rocked her gently.

It was when he saw a stirring in the corner of his eyes that he turned to see Tristan looking as if he was in pain, he nodded and gently settled their daughter down into the cradle before going to Tristan's side.

"Breathe, my love." He whispered, a hand going to massage Tristan's stomach, "Our child shan't be wakened by pained screams, she needs to sleep and will sleep until she wakes by her own." From what he observed, their daughter was more like a High Elf in mannerisms and the newborns of the Favoured were often ones to sleep like the dead when they are born to gather as much strength as much as they can.

[SilentFeather]

King Tristan groaned as he felt the harsh movements of the second twin. He breathed as deeply as he could, holding his sore, aching belly. He naturally knew that the pains were there because the second twin was also a healthy and active babe. He was aware that the second twin would also take a more longer time to be born. He was still tired and weary but was also feeling brave and hopeful. He told himself to remain gentle when soon birthing the second twin from his stomach.

King Tristan only pushed only at the right time after his water broke. He looked down at his bruise covered stomach, each bruise was during his pregnancy because of the constant kicking from the high elf twins. From time to time he felt as if he was in terrible agony. Meanwhile, the newborn daughter Akira yawned softly, ending up falling into a realm of peaceful slumber for a while. Tristan was prepared, his strength returned to normal and for that and that alone he was truly thankful. He closed his eyes, feeling the second twin moving around rough like her sibling who was already born Princess Akira.

Meanwhile, the laboring King Tristan focused only on staying calm. He was blessed to have a time to birth their second child. King Tristan was beyond sore and in agonizing discomfort. He was. He soon felt relieved when his water finally broke after a few grueling hours of enduring such excruciating pains. He never wanted to give up but he was far from his goal.

King Tristan felt as though he would vomit, the pains were beyond normal ones. He only attempted to bear down only when his instincts told him to. He was eager to hold the second twin but knew that he was not close enough. Truly. He was happy to be with his husband and their beloved newborn daughter Akira even though she was asleep in her happy dreams.

King Tristan smiled up at Erumollien, letting him know that he would be alright. He relaxed after strong pushes. He felt as though he was on top of the world, wanting to see the second babe as well but knew that it would take a very long time. He was eager to birth the second twin into the world, also wanting to hear it's first cries and wanting to hold him or her close.

[DrinkToMeOnlyWithThineEyes]

Erumollien felt around on Tristan's belly, pressing in slightly to check the babe, he breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the babe in the proper position. But the concerning part was the fact that their second born was bigger than their first. He bit his lip and he knew how painful this would be for his husband.

He always knew the his people's birth pains tend to be far more intense than that of the other races so he was there, just waiting for the pain levels to rise in his husband. He swallowed thickly whenever his gaze fell upon the bruises.

This second birth might take longer than their daughter's and he could only pray that Tristan could manage...but he doubts it. He had witnessed the pain his mother went through to birth his siblings and her screams and cries were something he can never forget, nor see how she shook and how pale she was.

He held Tristan's hand and pressed his lips upon his husband's knuckles, unsure of how to offer comfort at the most difficult part of High Elven twins' births. The second born was always the hardest and most painful and he worried for Tristan.