"The minsters are still on hunger strike." Jungkook reported, his eyes fondly following Jimin's every move, the spirit user had Aurora in his arm and was making cute faces, while the baby watched with no expression whatsoever. Kai could guess his shadow guard was imagining a future child of their own, even though neither Jimin nor Jungkook had the ability to carry a child. Maybe they would adopt one. Kai had seen Jungkook making trips to the new orphanage several times a day. Sehun laughed at something Baekhyun said, and Kai couldn't help the stretch of lips as he glanced their way. Sehun was surrounded by his family and friends, all couldn't seem to stop gushing over the babes after the initial surprise. None of them expected Sehun to suddenly have the kids this early, just like Kai. But he had learned not to question his blessings. Irene and her wife had cut their honeymoon short, the moment she heard the news of Sehun's birth and had rushed back to meet the new born. As it was, Kai was in the process of getting back in her good grace. She didn't fail to show and tell Kai how disappointed she was with him for putting Sehun behind bars. He didn't try to defend himself, only vowing to do right by Sehun from now on. That had seemed to please her, telling him to hurry and gain back her trust. "Damn you." Irene said to Wei Ying. Her cheeks were puffed up like a chipmunk, an adorable habit that was a good gauge of her irritation. She was glaring at Wei Ying, that had refused to give up Jae-in. The Unseelie was very much happy to hold his grandson for eternity. She grumbled to her wife, waving her arms around as she searched for words. She didn't find any, leaving it at that. The Byuns three kids, four including the faun Kai had never heard of until now, were bantering among themselves. Chanyeol that had declared himself a part of the Byuns was having an arm wrestling with the huge Byun Alpha, while his wife cheered for her son in-law. Taemin had moved away from Minho to watch the match with rapt attention and Kai could see him placing a bet next to Minseok. Said Kitsune had a constant bored expression as he alternated between watching the match and Sehun, however the expression disappeared from time to time when his eyes landed on the new born babies, that were being passed around to be held. Everyone couldn't seem to get enough of them. Kai couldn't blame them, he was smitten with his children too. Zitao, the skin walker had his arm around Luhan, that had taken a strong fascination with Jae-in's tiny feet. Like a puppy, he was following anyone that happened to hold the boy, and would occasionally run his fingers down the tiny feet with a marvel look, like he couldn't believe a tiny being exited. It was probably his first time seeing a new born considering not many were born. Jumnyeon let out a soft laugh, he was having a conversation with his cousins –Taeyeon and Taehyung. Taeyeon had both arms around Taehyung's waist, clinging to him like spider. Kai expected their baby brother to push her off or elbow her in the gut. That was the script, and they'd worn it into a comfortable rut, but their youngest sibling, had his whole attention on whatever Jumnyeon was saying. Stood a little farther away from the Kims was Yoongi, with a pout, nodding to himself, as if having an internal conversation. The earth mage would smile his signature gummy smile, when he caught a glimpse of the babes. The royal parlor was filled like a common room, but since Sehun didn't mind, Kai didn't too. Anyone here was either a friend or family. Speaking of which, his beloved was sat
with his legs propped on Lan Zhan's lap that was massaging Sehun's ankles and would pause when his attention was taken by either his husband, daughter or the babies. Sehun had a certain glow to him that called Kai in like moth to fire. Clad in a simple a jeans and a silk button up shirt, Sehun might as well be adorned in most finest clothes.   "Should we send them away?" The shadow guard asked and Kai glanced his way to see Jungkook looking away from Jimin ,when the spirit user passed the baby to Hyunjin's awaiting arms. Kai giggled from the way Hyunjin accepted the bundle as if it were his lifetime achievement. It had surprised Kai the amount of affection Hyunjin had for his new siblings. The young prince couldn't seem to stay away from them for more than an hour. If he wasn't in school then Hyunjin would be found around Sehun and the twins, not even Felix or Bang Chan could compete. And that was saying something. It had been three days since Sehun gave birth– which still felt like a beautiful dream– and Kai hadn't attended court. After leaving the Royal hospital, he chose to stay with Sehun and their babies. Sehun was practically living in Kai's quarters, he had insisted Sehun stay with him for his protection but most of all, so that Kai could have them close. Half of the courtiers had ganged up on him, kneeling in front of his apartment for the past two days, begging Kai to reconsider his decision. Minho, Wonho, a couple of other shadow guards and of course the hellcats had taken the task of guarding the doors 24 hours a day. Thus Kai didn't fear anyone coming in to disturb their peace by trying to harm Sehun and the babes. Zach the wild cat was scheduled to join them later today, according to Mr. Byun the cat was eager for Lyla. Kai couldn't wait for the infamous hellacat. He had a feeling Zach would guard Sehun well. Though Kai guessed if anyone would harm Sehun and the babes, were likely the consorts due to jealousy, which could send to do the unthinkable. Since the initial announcement of the birth of the new royals, none other than Rue had come to personally congratulate Sehun. She had been coming since just to see the twins. It was the first time Kai had seen Rue's genuine smile for weeks. Her eyes had soften at the sight of the twins, running a hand down her own barely noticable belly while stealing glances at a certain maidservant– which the lady was oblivious to. Rue had a thing for the maidservant for quite sometimes and Kai had a good guess why she hadn't acted on her desires. The thread that separated a commoner from a noble born. It wasn't against the rule, however it was frowned upon. "Wendy can you Rue to her quarters with those ,when she's leaving?" Kai had suddenly pointed at some random books piled on the coffee table. The maidservant started, like she didn't expect the request or probably for Kai to address her directly. After a moment, she nodded with a smile. "Of course majesty!" Kai wanted to help his friend. At least having a moment with Wendy would give her opportunity for something. Kai bet Rue was thanking him internally for his subtle meddling. Right? Maybe not, given the look Rue slanted him under her eyebrows. Grinning at her, Kai raised a shoulder in a lazy shrug. She had let out a sigh as though exasperated, shaking her head. His eyes found Sehun again. His mate was still engrossed in whatever Baekhyun was saying. So beautiful. Even after giving birth, Sehun didn't change much, he was still as alluring. His two colored hair was braided, falling to his side, just like that time during Kai's birthday party and Kai had to force himself not to take the braid and wrapped it around his fingers. "What you say?" Jungkook's voice snapped him back to attention.  Kai had to take a moment to remember what they had been talking about. Sehun did that to him. Alright. "Don't bother. Leave them be, when they feel about to die they will give up." They should realize by now, no amount of self torture was going to make Kai take back his words. For all he cared, they could go on for years without food, anyone that had a problem with Sehun should die in that spot. Kai would just replace them with someone better. Sehun was worth it. Life without Sehun wasn't even an option. Kai couldn't– for the life of him– live without him, didn't want know what it was like to exit in a world without Sehun again. He had tried and it was so ing hard. Anyone that had a problem with his happiness, namely Sehun, didn't deserve to exit. The one person that was against him that mattered was his mom, but even though she hadn't came to officially meet her grandkids, Kai had– more than once caught a misty figure at night watching the babes' cribs when she thought they were all asleep. Sehun was the first to notice, and when Kai had attempted to leave their bed to investigate, the Fenigriff had shook his head, grabbing Kai's hand. "Family" was all Sehun said his eyes flashing golden as he pulled Kai to lay down. And out of all the royals Kai and Hyoyeon were the only two that could take a mist form. It was clear Hyoyeon accepted them, but her pride wouldn't let her openly acknowledge them. It was only a matter of time before she gave in. Letting out a sigh, Kai glanced to his side and he smiled. Aurora, still being held by Hyunjin was gazing and holding Mina's finger, refusing to let go even as Heechul try to get Aurora's attention, by waving the new doll in front of her. It nearly made him laugh, it wasn't like Aurora would be able to play with it for years to come. Well Kai couldn't blame his uncle, Heechul had never had a girl, all his kids were boys. The only girl he had raised was Taeyeon and she wasn't the typical princess, she rather play with swords even as child, than dolls. Kai observed the youngest Byun and just looking at her brought a peace to him that he couldn't explain, maybe it was probably the fact that she had heavenly energy flowing inside her. Mina was a shy kid as she leaned forward to smile at Aurora and Kai almost swore his daughter smiled back. But that wasn't possible, she was a new born.   Shaking his head, Kai opened his mouth to speak only to slam it shut when he caught sight of Lan Zhan. The ice mage was on his feet, his shoulders tensed, sniffing the air, while Sehun gazed at his father in confusion. Lan Zhan had a frown, storm clouds gathering on his brow and obscuring the bright, happy eyes that had been there moments prior. Before Kai could ask what was wrong, a gasp made him looked back to Hyunjin. Aurora was no longer in his arms, Jae-in too. The two babes were suspended in the air, literally floating. That wasn't all, they were shrouded in brightness. In the space between one heartbeat and the next, all the hair on the back of Kai's neck stood on end. Trepidation tried to worm its way up his spine, but he crushed it ruthlessly, keeping his eyes on the babes. It was blinding, but Kai couldn't look away even as it spread, surrounding them all, the parlor and beyond. When it became too much, on instinct, he shut his eyes for a moment. He opened them to see the light had dimmed to a bearable degree. In place of the twins were something else. Kai had to rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing right. A tiny green dragon, with crystal like scales and an equally tiny shiny ball? No pearl. His brain supplied. A thrill skittered across Kai's skin, making his heart thud heavily in his chest. "Ai you two are so impatient." Blink appeared out of nowhere, her black wings hovering over the two like an umbrella as if to protect them from rain. Dumbfounded, Kai watched as magic force left her in waves to surround the dragon and the pearl. Kai couldn't breathe around the lump in his throat. His heart was pounding, the room shaking with each beat like an earthquake. Before he could decipher what was happening, the babes had changed back to human. Blink placed gentle hands on their chests simultaneously. Jae-in's chest shone with the image of a pearl, while Aurora's with that of a dragon, before the light faded altogether. Letting out a sigh of relief, Blink flapped her wings softly as the babes slowly descend. In perfect sync Sehun and Kai had stretched out their hands, to catch the babes. Kai kept his head up, tension climbing up his spine, until the babes were safe in their arms. "What–" Sehun began to say, but shook his head, glancing between the twins. Oh mothers! What the heck just happened? He wondered sharing a look with Sehun, Kai's brain unable to cope with the shock. "It's alright now, just make sure to keep them close to each other." Blink said.  Kai's eyes was glued to Aurora. The baby gazed at him in return for a while. She blinked slowly, yawning adorably and she was fast asleep. Just like that.  It was the commotion that snapped him out of his trance. Kai finally tore his eyes away from his daughter to look. Deliriously people pushed into his chambers– mostly the protesters –while the, cats and guards tried to stop them but failed. Minho leaped form the door to land ahead the people. His gun drawn out, as he fired a warning shot, that did nothing to deter them, like the shadow guard didn't just shot a gun. Minho had to take several steps to keep himself from being tangled in the crowd. What in the name of the goddesses? Were they coming to dethrone Kai's because he refused to listen to their demands.  No that wasn't it. Kai knew something called to them. It was like a priceless treasure was hidden inside Kai's parlor that everyone wanted to get their hands on. When the people were at least fifteen feet away, they abruptly stopped in tracks, like an invisible barrier was preventing them from advancing forward. And when Kai squinted his eyes, he could pick out Heechul's familiar magic. What happened next shocked them even more, all the people wearing a celestial stone trembled visibly, even some of Sehun's guardians and Kai's shadow guards. The stones pulsed as though about to come alive, then paused and began to vibrate vigorously before shattering to pieces the next breathe. Everything froze, even the bead of sweat rolling down Kai's cheek hesitating from the shock. It was completely silent, everyone sharing glances as If hoping the person next to them would shed some light on what just happened. Kai's eyes roamed around the room, different magical energies swirling in one place that almost made him sick. It was like every mage in the room had their magic amplified. "The curse breaker, my magic is flowing without the celestial stone." A man shouted, his voice thick with disbelief as well as hope. And many voices rose with similar claims. Kai snapped his head to Sehun and the paladin shook his head. It wasn't him. Every muscle in Kai's body was tight, the whole world stretched too thin as his breath threatened to cease, when realization dawned on him. One of the twins was the curse breaker? Kai thought it was Sehun, considering all the evidence pointed at him. But Sehun hadn't done anything, Aurora and Jae-in had. Oh goddesses. They just got into the world, couldn't even recognize their parents. How could they shoulder so much responsibility of an entire continent? The minister that spoke first let out a shuddering breathe, falling to his knees. As if on cue everyone dropped to their knees. Kai blinked, even the guards had stopped trying to prevent the people from coming in and were on their knees. Only Kai, Sehun and Blink seem unaffected, and Mina too. The girl was blinking around at every in obvious confusion, before her eyes settled on Aurora and reminded there. The fire-hounds were one of the few that never needed a celestial stone to access their magic, however even the Byuns were on their knees. Baekhyun had retreated to the farther end of the room, his body was on fire, so powerful that Kai feared it would consume the entire room, but for some reason it didn't.Chanyeol was holding Baekhyun in his arms, and surprisingly even though the fire had engulfed him too, he didn't seem to be in pain. It was probably due to being Baekhyun's mate.  "Too much." Baekhyun gritted out. "I know, I feel like my magic is about to shatter me too." Chanyeol grunted, hands tightening around his mate. Two of the cats remained stood by the door, while the other two padded toward them and for the first time since they entered the palace no one bat an eye at their presence, even when they brushed passed people to reach Baekhyun and Chanyeol. Lyla opened and In a rapid-fire turn of events, she in the fire into herself as though it was merely smoke. That was new. Kai never knew she could do that. Baekhyun let out a sigh, smiling softly at the cat. "Thank you." He said, her fur. The cat bobbed her head and strode toward Kai, rubbing against his thighs. "They're the curse breakers?" Sehun said, his eyes sliding left and right as if someone might overhear. "No you are." Blink corrected, she had been working on suppressing the magic to a bearable degree.
Walking to stand in front of her son, her dark wings waving in gently, she nodded at Sehun. Sehun opened his mouth to argue, only to be cut off by her stern glance. "I am?" He ended up asking, tone laced with uncertainty. "Yes," she said with another nod. "A pearl is the curse breaker. Without him/her Varal wouldn't be free of the curse." "But–" Sehun began to say, yet again Blink stopped him with another look. It was only now that Kai took a moment to observe her. Today she was in her usual black clothes, a long robe that swept the floor as she moved, her hair tied in a ponytail, wings tucked behind her. As young as she appeared, she was Sehun's biological mom, Kai's mother in law, a fact that didn't surprise Kai much when Sehun had told him. It was a little surprising to think she was a goddess that chose to give up half of her powers and live amongst mortal for her son's sake. Having her in this timeline really made a difference. Kai was well aware, without Blink many things wouldn't have been possible as well as unfold smoothly. "They're not originally the dragon and pearl destined to save Varal. You and Kai were, however due