A/N: I own nothing except for the plot. Enjoy!
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Percy was quickly heading towards his bedroom where slight moans of pain could be heard.
"Father!"
Two pairs of little feet scrambled down the hall and began tugging at Percy's legs.
"When is Mother coming out?"
Percy bent down and picked both his sons up, one in each arm.
"What did I tell you about running down the hallway?" Percy scolded gently.
"But we didn't bring our swords this time," the boy in his right arm chirped up.
"And we weren't caught this time by Mother."
Percy winced. Annabeth had chewed off the sword instructor for letting their children run away with swords unsupervised. Granted, the swords were wood and dulled so the most injury there could be would be some bruising. Unfortunately, the sword instructor was Percy himself.
He had only looked away for a few seconds when one of his staff members had come up to report about something happening in the royal castle. By the time he looked back, the twins were already running away, cackling at the top of their lungs for their father to play tag with them. Percy hadn't known how fast six year old legs could run, and there were two boys he had to catch, and both had run in different directions.
The eldest son, Henry, was the miniature version of his father, with messy black hair and green mischievous eyes, while his nearly identical younger brother, Kyle, had slightly curlier dark hair and grey eyes. Both of them were devout troublemakers, with Kyle often being the instigator while Henry just went along and indulged his brother's antics. It was most likely the steadier eldest son who was going to inherit the Ducal title while Kyle was already showing more aptitude in swordsmanship as a great military general in the future.
But for now, Percy just hugged the rambunctious twins closely. It was far too early to think about their futures when the children themselves did not know what they wanted to do when they grew up. He would miss these days when the little ones were too big for him to pick up with one arm one day. But not now as he winced in pain as Kyle grabbed his father's hair.
"Kyle, Henry," Percy said, patiently. "Let's not disturb your mother any further. We want your little sibling to come out safely, right?"
"Will Mother be all right?" Kyle's big grey eyes rounded as he listened to another hiss of pain from the bedroom.
Percy walked a little further away from the bedroom so the twins didn't have to hear the sounds of pain. "Of course she will be. Your mother is strong."
"Just like Father is!" Henry shouted.
Percy smiled, but the furrow in his brows indicated that he was quite anxious.
After the births of the twins, Percy had been so worried about Annabeth's pain and health that he couldn't bear for her to have another child. Childbirth was dangerous and too painful, and Annabeth's labor had gone on for ten excruciating hours. He already knew from what Annabeth had shared with him that she had been severely weakened by childbirth in her first life. During their, ehem, nightly activities when the children were asleep, both he and Annabeth took precautions with contraceptive potions. But who knew that somehow fate was not to be? But since there was to be a third Jackson child, the whole family was still overjoyed.
This time, Percy had been in the midst of work when a servant had come with a message that the Duchess was going through labor, and this time, the baby was coming out quick. Percy had rushed home as fast as he could, then bathed quickly so he would not bring any outside diseases or dirt into the bedroom that had now been transformed into a birthing chamber.
Henry tugged at Percy's ear anxiously. "If we get a little sister, I'm still the older brother, right?"
"No, I'm going to be the older brother this time! You got to be the older brother all this time." Kyle pouted.
"Both of you are going to be older brothers, regardless if the baby is a boy or girl." Percy explained. "Both of you have to promise that you'll take care of your little sibling, all right?"
"Yes!" They both said in a chorus of voices.
"That's my good boys," Percy praised, giving each a gentle kiss on the forehead.
"Can I name the baby?" Henry asked.
"No! I wanna name the baby!" Kyle complained. "Father and Mother got to name us, so it's my turn!"
"What names did you have in mind?"
"Pancakes." Henry said with a serious expression.
"No, I like Bacon better!" The other shouted. "Or Milk! Milky Jackson should be the baby's name!"
The twins dissolved into a fit of giggles.
"..."
Their father set down the twins and beckoned for their nanny to watch over them. "Pancakes and bacon, huh? Is that what you had for breakfast today? Well, I'll let your Mother know about your suggestions."
The twins settled down at their nanny's coaxing, allowing Percy to finally enter the bedroom. Annabeth was lying propped up in bed, a midwife wiping the sweat off her brow as Annabeth concentrated on pushing.
"Your Grace."
The attendants bowed to the Duke as he walked in briskly and washed his hands carefully. Percy waved their bows off and took his place by Annabeth's side. She looked up and gave him a wane smile as he reached for her hand.
"You came back faster than I thought," Annabeth greeted with the little bit of energy she had left for talking.
"Well, I couldn't leave you alone, could I? The child is a couple weeks earlier than anticipated." Percy returned. "You're doing great."
He took the cloth from the midwife with his free hand and continued to wipe soothingly at Annabeth's forehead. Suddenly, the grip in Percy's hand tightened as Annabeth was hit with another contraction.
"They're getting more frequent now," one midwife muttered. "Prepare some more hot water and cloths," she ordered to some maids.
An hour later, a bundle was finally placed in Annabeth's arms, and Percy could breathe a sigh of relief. The baby was healthy, and so was Annabeth, albeit a little tired.
"She's so red," she murmured.
They could tell by the few wisps on the baby's head that their daughter was blonde. Both Henry and Kyle were born with slick dark locks.
Percy's heart ached with tender joy as his daughter whimpered and cried. She was smaller than his sons had been but had equally healthy lungs as his daughter began to use her vocal cords.
"You know, Henry and Kyle want to name their siblings from these three options: Milk, Pancakes, and Bacon."
Annabeth looked up and gave him a tired smile. "What's funny is that they had oatmeal and fruit for breakfast this morning, and none of those three things."
"Perhaps it's their subtle cue to have the head cook make them pancakes and bacon for breakfast next time."
Percy gently poked his daughter's red cheeks. They would be squishier as she grew up. Annabeth always had such fun poking Henry and Kyle's cheeks full of baby fat. They would both miss when the twins no longer allowed them to pinch their cheeks. Children grew up so quickly as the years passed by. Percy smiled as he gazed down at his daughter. For now, those years seemed to be far in the future.
"Well, what should we name her?" Annabeth asked drowsily.
Percy sat on the bed while Annabeth leaned against him.
"Hmm, we talked about Dahlia and Aileen earlier."
Annabeth played with their daughter's little fingers. They were so small, hardly able to grasp around her much larger finger.
"How about Aileen?"
And so, Aileen Jackson became the newest addition to the family.
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"Don't go too far! And Kyle, you be careful, you just recovered from your cold!" Annabeth called after her children as they trotted on their horses. "And don't lose Aileen!"
"Yes, Mother!"
Annabeth shook her head at her three children who cheerfully galloped away.
"I'll take care of them, Duchess Jackson."
Annabeth smiled and nodded at the future Crown Prince. Although he was only fourteen and smaller than her two sons, she could tell that the future King of Cuora was a steady and trustworthy child.
"Aileen is turning thirteen this year, isn't she?" Queen Thalia took a sip of tea. "They grow up so fast."
The women turned to watch Aileen's golden hair fly out in a braid as she urged her horse to catch up to her older brothers. She was already turning into a fine beauty, reminiscent of her mother, as Percy like to say. Indeed, Annabeth was already fielding play dates and tea party invitations for Aileen, whose golden hair and green eyes were quite catching. The crown prince and his aide caught up to her before following the Jackson twins.
"I think Aileen has a crush on your son's aide."
Both turned to see Percy.
"He's the third son of a marquis, isn't he?" Annabeth looked back at the aide by the crown prince's side. They were both the same age. "To be the third son yet manage to climb all the way to the crown prince's favored companion is no small feat."
"Still, we shall see," Percy commented. "Aileen is far too young to be thinking about that."
Annabeth's eyes met Thalia's as both stifled their laughs. The whole Cuoran nobility knew about Duke Jackson's absolute adoration of his daughter.
He frowned as he saw his precious daughter's braid being tugged by Kyle.
"That brat," Percy complained, though his voice was undoubtedly full of loving exasperation.
Of all the children here, Kyle was still the most troublesome, though as a nineteen year old, he was starting to mature. Annabeth had been slightly worried that her son would lead the crown prince astray, but thankfully Henry, forever the patient older brother, kept his brother straight. The crown prince's aide urged his horse forward to insert himself between Aileen and Kyle, only for Kyle to laugh and loop an arm around the aide's shoulders.
"I wonder who he gets it from." Annabeth said.
"Not me."
Percy took Annabeth's tea cup and finished the tea before Annabeth could snatch her empty cup back.
"Phooey, why do you always have to steal my tea? Go get your own."
Thalia tactfully looked away at the couple's lovey-dovey actions, used to it by now. She almost wished her brother was back, but both Prince Jason and Princess Piper were touring the neighboring kingdoms. On second thought, Thalia relinquished her brief moment of insanity. Her brother and her sister-in-law were just as besotted as the ducal couple were. Her own husband, the Queen's consort, was taking a nap in the lounge inside the castle. Well, she had exerted a little too much effort last night so it was understandable that her husband needed some time to recuperate...
Annabeth and Percy were unaware of the Queen's thoughts, only talking cheerfully as Percy fed Annabeth a slice of fruit. She smiled as he poured her another cup of tea. Over twenty years and he was still the most handsome man she had ever met. His dark hair was still luscious as ever, and his green eyes, with a few wrinkles added with the years gone by, were still bright and full of expression. He had never strayed by her side, and their love had never dulled.
How good would it have been that this was what had happened in her first life? But Annabeth dismissed those lonely thoughts that had popped in her mind for a brief moment and concentrated on enjoying the present.
This was her life now, and that was all that mattered.
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A/N: Thank you for reaching the end of "Revenge of the Duchess." In the future, there might be a fourth side story but for now, I will be concentrating on my other stories. Again, thank you for walking on this journey with me. Onwards to other adventures!