The Tale of the Lotus Heart

Chapter 32

One hundred years. We spent one hundred years on Floral Island like that. Our peaceful little life was protected under the watchful eye of Goddess Peony. She kept the unwanted visitors away and let us relax in peace. I'd become a pro at gardening and making remedies. I even found that I had a knack for growing rare plants with my spiritual energy. I was living up to my name as a prodigy. Yong seemed more relaxed too. He's long been healed completely, and his spiritual energy was even boosted from being around such spiritual plants all the time.

I was in the garden, tending to my rare plants when I felt it. Something popped in my stomach before a rush of liquid fell between my legs. A painful cramping began between my hips as I tried to stand. I groaned as I held my stomach gently.

"Aivi! Aivi, what's wrong?" Peony asked as she rushed to my side. The pressure eased up before coming back. It felt as if my stomach was hardening and tightening on its own. I had the strong urge to push as I yelled out and squeezed Peony's hand in mine.

"What happened?" Yong asked as he rushed over.

"The baby is coming. Help me get her to the birthing room," Peony said quickly. Yong cradled me before flying us to the birthing room Peony built next to the main hall for me. After laying me on the plush bed, Peony called some fairies over for assistance.

"Yong, get out," she said sternly.

"But-"

"Yong, I'll be fine," I breathed heavily before another contraction had me yelling out for a different reason. I squeezed the nearest fairy's hand for dear life as I went with my instinct and pushed. Yong hesitated before leaving the room. Peony lifted my dress over my hips before pushing on my stomach gently. I groaned and yelled as my body morphed in a way I wasn't used to in order to push the child out. After about an hour of cringing, withering in pain, and pushing, the pressure finally let up slightly as a crying baby caught my attention. I panted with relief as I let go of the fairy's hand. Peony sighed as she held the baby for me to see.

"It's a boy," she smiled. After clipping the umbilical cord, she cradled him. She was about to hand him to me when I felt the pressure build again.

"Something's wrong," I said before I felt like pushing again. Peony handed the child over before going back to her position at my hips.

"There's another one. The head is already coming," Peony said. I didn't have time to be surprised as I was pushing again. After another 15 minutes and pushing and screaming, the second child was out too. Peony clipped the cord before wrapping the second child in a blanket.

"It's a girl," Peony informed me. The pressure finally disappeared completely and I was able to truly breath again.

"Got any more in there?" Peony joked as the first child was finally handed to me. Yong was allowed to come back in after my long dress was covering me once again. He looked to Peony and smiled at the little bundle. Peony handed our daughter to him before he came to my side. A look of confusion crossed his face when he saw the bundle in my arms. Peony only chuckled before patting his shoulder.

"Aivi had twins. A boy and a girl," she told him. He looked less confused and more surprised.

"Twins?" He asked. I could only nod. It surprised me too.

"What should we name them?" I asked him. The boy in my arms cried and flailed as he tried to get closer to my chest. I chuckled before letting my dress down to breastfeed him. Once he was successfully latched, he calmed down and opened his eyes for me to see. I was taken aback by his lavender colored eyes.

"Floral Goddess! Multicolored birds, auspicious clouds and a rainbow are all circling the island," a fairy rushed in to inform us.

"The twins are blessed to be met with such good birth signs," Peony said easily.

"Her eyes are a light purple," Yong said in shock.

"His are as well," I said. "What about Tyrian and Amethyst. The name matches their eyes," I suggested. Both of them had heads full of jet black hair as well.

"I love those names," Yong said as he lovingly rocked Amethyst. Yong scanned them both before looking at me in shock.

"They both have a lotus petal," he noted. My eyes widened as well. I wasn't aware that the Lotus Heart could transfer that way. If they both had just a petal, did that mean my life force weakened? But I didn't feel any different. Yong was quick to place seals in them both. Peony spaced out before looking back to us.

"Daisy, Lilac, Marigold, get Princess Aivi and the children bathed and changed. We have visitors," Peony said before vanishing into thin air. I could only guess who followed the auspicious signs to the island. Yong went with the children while one fairy stayed behind to help me. I was helped to the Rejuvenation Spring and seeped in the water. I felt the healing begin as my hips reset and my soreness went away. After wrapping in a lightweight dress and leaving my hair down, the fairy led me to my hut where Yong was already waiting with Tyrian and Amethyst. They were wrapped and swaddled in soft white blankets. I laid down on the bed in exhaustion as a fairy handed a crying Amethyst to me. I rolled to my side and laid her beside me as I fed her. When she finished, Tyrian was laid beside her as well on the bed. I put an arm over both of them as I pat Tyrian gently. They were quickly falling asleep. A short time later, Peony came back with the Emperor, Empress, Tase, and Zinnia in tow. They saw the children sleeping and quieted themselves.

"I saw the auspicious signs over Floral Island and had a feeling you gave birth, so I brought Royal Father and Mother. Twins?" Tase whispered as he came closer. I smiled down at the sleeping children as I nodded.

"One boy, Tyrian, and one girl, Amethyst," Yong answered.

"A little prince and princess," Zinnia cooed.

"What unusual names. What made you chose those names?" The Empress asked Yong. Yong didn't take it to heart as he smiled lovingly at us.

"They're unique children. After seeing their eyes, the names just fit. Both have purple irises," Yong explained. All four of our visitors eyes widened in shock. I knew there was a lot I still didn't know about the Heavenly Realm, but I thought different colored eyes were normal. I guess purple eyes was unseen of here, too.

"Purple?" The Emperor asked. Yong nodded.

"They just went down for a nap, but when they wake up, you'll see them clearly," Yong replied.

"Which child was the auspicious sign for?" Tase asked.

"Both, I assume," I answered.

"Which was born first?" The Emperor asked.

"Our little Prince, Tyrian," I smiled at my children. It felt surreal that I was a mother to two children now. Even staring at them like I was now, it still felt like a dream.

"The auspicious sign was greater than anything I've ever witnessed before. Even the Crown Prince's sign wasn't that grand. It also lasted for quite some time," the Emperor admitted.

"Any child from Aivi will be special. They may even have the same god of gods spiritual energy that Aivi has," Tase smiled proudly. Although it helped with Emperor and Empress, I didn't care. I just wanted my children to be happy and healthy.