Warmth (WMMAP fanfic)

Prologue - Lovely Princess

Penelope ran as fast as she could.

She ran because her life depended on it. She ran because the baby in her stomach depended on it.

She ran and ran, never looking back, before stopping at the House of Alpheus. She begged Duke Alpheus to let her stay until the the baby was born, and had him promise to take care of her child once it was born.

Penelope hated the pain. She hated the kicking in her stomach, and she hated the cramps and migraines. She took magic pills, to soothe the pain, but she swore the pain only came back twice as terrible after the effect wore off. She kept ingesting the pills as time went on, hoping that if she took enough, she would get used to the pain.

Penelope knew these pills couldn't damage the child since they were light magic pills, and light magic was harmless in the form of painkillers. But unbeknownst to Penelope, her child was a bit different. As the amount of painkillers she ingested started building up, the bundle of black magic in her womb started to act up. The black magic reached out to the light magic of the painkillers, causing a ruckus in the poor woman's womb. Penelope doubled over in pain, quickly grabbing the pills and ingesting another one without hesitation. However, this only worsened the situation. The light magic had lingered on for too long, and too much was stuck in Penelope's body. The light magic had started clumping together, unknowingly forming a new life form.

As Penelope stayed at the Alpheus Manor, she swore that her stomach was bigger than it was supposed to be. She was sure she only had one child, but it felt as if she were having two. Soon, the woman was so weak, she couldn't even leave the bed. Penelope stayed in the Alpheus Manor guest room and never left, with only the maids coming in and out to help her.

She put her hands on her stomach. She hoped that her child could grow up and live a long life, so that it could continue her legacy. Every night, she cursed Anastacius, yelling at air about how she wouldn't be in hiding if it wasn't for him. The workers of the House of Alpheus were afraid that the lady had gone mad, but Duke Alpheus had made sure to keep everything under control.

It was on one faithful night, that Lady Judith finally gave birth. But that night, shock was the only present emotion for the lady. It seemed that instead of birthing one child, as she had anticipated, she had now given birth to twins. But nonetheless, she held them in her arms. One was a male, and the other was a female, the male being a few minutes older. Penelope wrote two names on a piece of paper: Jennette and Aelin. She looked at them with tired eyes before drifting into the darkness. As she saw Duke Alpheus rush into the room, she quietly whispered:

"He's blonde...Just like him..."

❦ ❈ ❦

Roger Alpheus looked at the two children in the crib. It had been two weeks since Lady Judith had died.

"He's blonde...Just like him..."

The words haunted him. He knew very well exactly who Lady Judith was talking about. Roger sighed, it was too much, and he still had his own son to take care of.

He could take care of the girl, but the blonde...
It was too much of a risk. If he was caught taking care of a child with the blonde hair of the Royal family, who knows what could happen to him. He decided to have a few maids raise the boy in a different place instead, it would also decrease his workload.

"Jade! Ivy! Selena!"

Three maids entered his office as he called for then. They bowed to him.

"Yes, My Lord?"

"I need you to take the boy and raise him in Pearl Mansion. Make sure the boy doesn't come near the House of Alpheus, and especially keep him away from the Royal Grounds. And don't come back unless it's an emergency."

The three maids widened their eyes in shock, but didn't dare drag out the request any longer.

"Yes My Lord, we will raise him to the best of our knowledge."

The black haired maid, Selena, walked towards the crib and picked up the baby boy. The baby squirmed, but stopped once the maid started rocking him back and forth. The maids were lucky that the two babies were asleep, or else who knows how loud it would've been when they moved the child. They turned towards the Duke and bowed.

"Farewell, My Lord."

They quickly stepped out of the office and quietly closed the door. The maids packed their things and left for Pearl Mansion.

"Hey Lena?"

"What is it Ivy?"

"How...exactly are we going to take care of a child?"

"Didn't you work as a babysitter before Ivy? Oh right you were fired. *snicker*"

"Jade you have five seconds-"

Selena sighed.

"Stop it you two, you're going to wake the baby."

The two arguing maids immediately silenced after the other spoke. As they neared Pearl Mansion, they couldn't help but gape. Sure, it paled in comparison to Alpheus Manor, but for an abandoned guest estate, it was impressive. The condition of the house wasn't bad either, it looked like it was taken care of every once in a while. As the three maids entered the mansion, they immediately headed towards the nursery.

The room seemed like it was prepared beforehand, with a crib, some toys, books, and other accessories. Selena carried the sleeping baby to the crib and gently set him down. She watched him sleep peacefully before sighing.

This was going to be a lot of work.

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I TRIED TO UPDATE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE

I feel like I rushed this chapter,,,,it feels too short,,,,

aaaaaaaaaaaaa

I hoped you enjoyed it anyways,

Remember to take care of yourself, stay safe, and hydrate!

Kiwii, out!
-🥝