Dusk to Dawn -- Book Three: Air

Chapter Fifteen

            They are simply children, Naomi. They need a Mother, just as you have always needed one.

            Stepping into the throne room completely, I could see Father and Mother sitting on their thrones, their hands intertwined, while a smile sat on Mother's face. Father's eyes were bright, golden, yet there was a sense of unease that was rolling off of him. So it would appear that I am not the only one that is anxious about this meeting.

          My siblings stood beside Father and Mother, eyes seeing all, faces neutral. But, who's eyes surprised me, was Killian. Though he could not physically see, I could tell that how he saw the world was far more in depth than what we could see with our own mortal eyes. His brows were slightly furrowed, concentrated on the movements in the room, allowing him to noticed the slightest change.

            And then, my attention moved forward at the fire pit. Three small children stood, two boys, and a young girl who seemed far too out of their element.

           They all held dark brown hair, though it held no curl or wave, simply laying flat against their heads. The eldest stood to the left, his arms placed behind him back, looking ever the part of a prince. He seemed to be the age of testing, having stepped into the changes of life, growing into a man practically overnight.

            He held small brown dots on his left cheek, seeming to be hiding a dimple beneath them. Large black eyes seemed to know all, looking around the room quickly, only to come back to me as I was moved forward with Vedil. The eldest looked like Vedil, yet younger with white skin. I had never seen someone close to the color of a cloud, yet here he stood. Did he never step into the sunlight?

              The young girl was next. Her hair was long, flowing down her back to the top of her hips. She stood with a lovely little pink gown, hints of yellow and orange in the skirts, along with long flowing sleeves that hid her arms and hands from view. With fingers knotted in an elegant form in front of her, her large cheeks held her youth and spirit. Eyes of a blooming meadow in spring watched my every move as I came to stand in front of them. She smiled slightly, showing that she too held dimples in her cheeks. Yet, unlike her older brother, she held no imperfections of her soft skin.

             She looked like that of a doll: perfect and precise in every way, without a hair out of place.

             A princess in every sense of the word.

            And then, last but not least, beside his sister and furthest away from the eldest, stood the young toddler who was slightly jumping in place. Dark, practically black, brown hair lay across his face and to his shoulders, freckles littering across his cheeks, though there were no signs of dimples. He was younger than the twins, by several cycles at least. And like his older brother, he wore royal robes of gold and yellows, shoes made of the finest leather, and not a stich of clothing out of place.

           Looking from them to Vedil, he looked down at me, his dark eyes soft as he looked at his children then to me. They all looked similar to him, yet there was something that made them all look different. They looked like their Mother.

            Though I had never seen a portrait of her, nor heard much of how she looked, I could see her in all of them. She was beautiful, graceful, and her daughter seemed to be a spitting image of the woman I could see in my mind. The only difference was the color of their skin, hair, and eyes.

             "Darling, I introduce my children." Vedil said with a smile, looking down at the three of them. "My eldest, Baelish." The eldest son stepped forward, his eyes looking up at me, only to smile softly, showing his dimple as he bowed at the hips. Long lashes fanned across his cheeks, showing the darkness of his eyes as he looked up at me threw them. I found my heart fluttering from the sight of him, a protective need to keep him close to my side at all times washing over me, causing my fingers to itch.