"Your Highness! Your Highness, please come out!"
"Prince Dharmir, where are you?!"
The maids and nanny ran around in the garden, frantically searching for the young prince. They looked everywhere they could think of, but couldn't find him. Eventually, the three women split up, one running towards the hedge maze, another heading back to the main palace, and the other running towards the conservatory.
None of them had thought to check behind the bushes of the small gazebo. If they had, they would have seen the little boy crouched down and holding his hands over his mouth to suppress his giggles. He should have been with his tutor by now, but he wasn't interested in reading boring books or going over letters and numbers. He had done that for weeks straight; he wanted a break. And he knew just the place to have one.
Once he was certain the women were gone, Dharmir crawled out from under the bushes. He dusted himself off, leaves and dirt scattered around him. Taking one last look around, he grinned when he saw he was alone. As quickly as he could, he ran down the long pathway that led to his favorite spot to play.
He would have flown, but he still wasn't very good at flying yet. His father was still trying to teach him; being half human didn't help much either, his wings not being as strong as a regular demon's. But his father said he was getting better. Honestly, if his teachers would teach him how to fly properly, he would have been more interested in his lessons.
The stone path soon led into a grassy path surrounded by a large meadow. Around the path were beautiful flower shrubs, and beyond them were so many vibrant and pretty flowers that stretched towards the tree lines. He smiled at the sight of it all, eager to start playing. As pretty as the main palace garden was, this garden was special. He couldn't really explain it. Everything just felt so much more serene here. Almost like someone had casted a spell on this place.
As he came to the center, there were three different gravel paths. One led towards a small gazebo that was next to a well. The other led to a large tree that had a swing attached to a branch. The third led to where his grandmother was, where she was "resting," as his parents had put it. And when he looked down that path, he saw a figure in the distance near the grave.
Curious, he quietly walked down the path. As the young boy drew closer, he could see the person – a demon – kneeling down next to the grave. The demon's head was casted down as they rested a hand on the gravestone. There was a small bouquet of sunflowers placed on it, right next to where his hand lay.
Dharmir hesitated to get closer. He wasn't sure why, but something told him it was best to leave the other alone. Yet, before he could turn around, his foot stepped on a stray twig and cracked underneath his feet. His eyes widened just as the figure's wings twitched. Then the demon turned around, Dharmir still standing there like a startled deer. But seeing a frown cross his father's face made the boy sheepish and avoid his gaze.
"What're you doing here, Dharmir?"
The young prince bit his bottom lip "I... got bored."
Marak huffed and rubbed his eyes. Slowly, he rose to his feet and approached the boy with a stern look. "The Crown Prince doesn't get to just goof off whenever he wants to, Dharmir. These lessons are important."
"But..." Dharmir casted his head down. "I wanted to practice flying."
His father didn't say anything for a moment before he let out another sigh. Then he kneeled down in front of the boy, gently lifting up his chin. Dharmir still had a guilty look on his face; at least he knew that what he was doing was wrong. He didn't run away often, but it was enough that his nanny had complained and begged for help watching him.
Still, he couldn't say he hadn't done the same when he was a little boy. When he had been naïve and selfish, running away from lessons to do whatever he wanted instead of what his mother had asked... His son was almost exactly like him, not just in looks but personality. And he couldn't stop the thought from bringing a small smile to his face.
"I promise I will teach you," he said as he patted his son's head. "I will even ask my secretary to rearrange time in my schedule so we can practice every few days."
The little boy beamed. "R-Really?"
Marak nodded.
A bright smile came to Dharmir's face. Then he reached up and wrapped his arms around his father's neck. Marak chuckled, but hugged him back with a pat to his head. The boy would still be punished for running away from his nanny and his lessons, but he supposed that could wait for now. Besides, they were both out here already. It wouldn't hurt to get some practice in.
But just as he let the boy ago, he could hear rapid footsteps approaching. He let go of his son and stood up, not surprised to see a few people rushing down the path and towards the garden. He recognized Dharmir's nanny along with the two guards, though he was surprised to see his wife with them and her maids. She had panic written all over her face, which only made him huff.
"Come on," he said, gesturing to the boy.
Dharmir nodded and followed his father back down the gravel path.
Evangeline managed to reach them first, relief washing over her as she saw her son at her husband's side. "Dharmir!" she cried.
"Mama!"
The little boy rushed towards her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing his face into her stomach.
"Gods, how many times do I have to tell you?" She hugged him back tightly, her shoulders slumping as she finally was able to relax. "You can't run off like that! What if something happened?!"
"I'm sorry, Mama..." He nuzzled her stomach before looking up at her with big, pleading eyes. "Don't be mad."
"I'm not mad, sweetie." She leaned down to kiss his forehead. "I just worry."
At least she knew that nothing bad had happened to him. Still, he couldn't run off like that. When the nanny had told her he was missing, she had nearly had a panic attack. She was just glad that she hadn't been in the middle of any important meetings or hadn't been meeting with other nobles. When it came to her children, she wasn't the best at hiding her anxiety.
"Dhar!"
The new cry caught her attention. Looking over her shoulder, she saw her maid struggling with a wiggling little girl. With a sigh, she nodded to the demoness to put the child down. Vala looked revealed as she set the three-year-old to her feet, who immediately waddled over to her big brother. Dharmir smiled and moved to hug his sister, both of them giggling as she snuggled against him.
Evangeline sighed softly at the sight. Well, at least one good thing came out of this. She had been playing with Keishara earlier, but the little girl kept asking for Dharmir. Despite being three years apart, she loved her big brother and spending time with him. And thankfully, Dharmir was more than happy to play with his sister.
Sparing a glance at her husband, they both nodded to each other. Then she turned back to her children and pointed towards the gravel path in front of them. "Come along, you two. Let's go play for now."
"Okay!" they both cried, bright smiles coming to their faces.
Marak just watched on silently as Evangeline guided their children towards the swing. A small smile came to his face when he saw Dharmir hold little Keishara's hand, making sure to keep her on the path while she kept trying to run after passing butterflies. He was so protective of her... and probably a good thing too. He sensed that Keishara would grow up to be an even bigger troublemaker than her brother.
Then, his expression turning serious for a moment, he turned to the servants and guards. Immediately, they stood at attention and awaited his command.
"You may leave. Unless there is an emergency, leave any paperwork with the Magister. Lady Trilgereth has been complaining about not having enough to do."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the nanny said, all five of them bowing. They quickly excused themselves and headed back down towards the palace. Once they were officially out of sight, Marak relaxed his stance and went to follow after his family.
He soon came to the tree. Keishara was sitting on the swing while her brother pushed her, the little girl giggling as she rocked back and forth. Evangeline was sitting on the grass against the tree, watching their children with a serene look on her face. It was enough to bring back his own smile before he sat down beside her.
She seemed surprised by his presence, but didn't resist when he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled him against his side. "Don't you have work?"
"An hour with my family won't ruin the empire."
She rolled her eyes, but did eventually lean into his embrace. "I suppose not."
Then the two of them turned back to their children, Keishara squealing in delight as she was pushed higher and higher. Dharmir laughed too, though he was constantly checking to make sure she was okay. Of course, despite how high she was, Keishara didn't seem to care and kept demanding to be pushed.
Marak couldn't help but chuckle. She was so spoiled... It made him wonder how she would react when she learned that she would no longer be the baby of the family. She was used to being doted on by everyone, after all.
The very thought had his hand move over to Evangeline's stomach. "What did the doctor say?" he murmured, rubbing over the small bump.
"I'm in good health," she assured him and placed her hand over his. "But my mother sent me some old family recipes that are supposed to help with the swelling. Sebastian is also looking to create some elixirs for the fatigue."
"You have been tired a lot more lately..."
She laughed. "I'm having twins; what did you expect?"
"True; but my boys are keeping you up at night, and I worry."
Evangeline gave him a look again, a mix between annoyed and amused. "Why do you always assume you know the gender?"
Now it was his turn to laugh. Then he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her hair. "I told you – it's instinct. Need I remind you that I predicted both our children's genders correctly?"
She rolled her eyes, but couldn't deny it. The first time, she had just figured it was a lucky guess. But the fact that Marak had correctly guessed their second child would be a girl both bewildered and annoyed her. Especially since now she was starting to believe that his instincts were right, and she really was going to have two more boys.
Still, she wouldn't give up that easily. "Well, if one of them is a girl, I want to give them my mother's name as their middle name. But if they're both boys, one of them is getting my father's middle name. We have to honor my family too."
He raised an eyebrow. "As I recall, you decided on both of our children's middle names."
"I'm just saying it's what I want."
He chuckled, but nodded in agreement. He had been surprised when Evangeline had suggested middle names for both of them. He had expected her to suggest more human names, as both children had come out looking more demon and they had settled on demonic first names for them. But instead, she had suggested Solomon for Dharmir and Ulra for Keishara, as a way to honor those who had loved him most.
Evangeline didn't say anything when his embrace tightened. She merely smiled as they both looked back towards their children. Their two beautiful, healthy, happy children, playing happily on the land where she and Marak had first met. A land that carried so many painful and heartbreaking memories, but were now slowly but surely being replaced by the ones they were creating as a family.
She never would have guessed that this was where her life would lead. To be married to Marak, the illegitimate prince that became emperor, to fall in love with him, to have his children, to be a family... So much had happened, and so much more would continue to follow. Good and bad, but she couldn't care less. She had her friends. She had her family. She had her children. She had her husband. She could never ask for more than that.
XXX
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate all your views and your comments. I read every single one, and some of y'all really put a smile on my face. Please feel free check out my other works as well! I'm currently working on other stories that are of the same smutty monster genre. I appreciate all the love and support! It means a lot!