The end of her Sleep had her listening to a whistle of wind.

Xenia stirred, curling a little bit into herself under fur blankets, eyes slowly opening and blinking groggily.

Slowly, she pushed herself up, rolling her neck and yawning. Bones and joints popped from disuse.

She slowly looked around, flitting through memories to try and figure out where she was.

Home. Her cabin.

Her hearth was stone cold, not a hint of the warm glow of fire left, just gray ashes. Xenia took her blankets off, sneezing at the crisp air and the dust that seemed to have invaded the premises.

She stood up, cracking down the rest of her spine and rolling her shoulders. She stepped slowly to her door, her slippers to the right. She slipped her feet into them and opened the door.

Sunlight and sharp air greeted her. There was a slight breeze, and she could hear birds singing and one particularly loud woodpecker pecking away.

She stepped out onto her porch, shuffling around as she untied a piece of twine that bound her hair. She stuffed it into her pocket and started to unwind the rope she had twisted her hair into before she Slept.

Her garden was growing nicely. She was glad that she hadn’t missed the harvest this year, it had been quite annoying to wait for traders to arrive in Hestia to get her herbs. A little further, halfway hidden behind her house, was the beginning of her little apple orchard. Under the bright sunlight, she could see shiny red gleaming.

Nice. She always had a craving for apples, but always waited ‘till Autumn. It wasn’t satisfying otherwise.

Now completely free, she scrubbed her fingers through her scalp to let her hair fall naturally, wincing at the mild sting that said it had been bound for too long. Her hair bounced in two large coils, a side effect from the way she twisted her hair. She sighed and went inside again, rummaging around for her comb.

Once she found it, she set it on the table and began to change out of her nightclothes. She gently ran the comb through her hair until it was mostly straight again before braiding it and winding it into a large bun at the back of her head.

She stepped into her boots and grabbed a basket, wandering outside to start to tend to her garden.

She cut the herbs she needed, pulled out some of her root vegetables, then went to the orchard to pick out a few apples. She bit into one but saved the rest for later when she went into town.

With the gardening done, she started to prep the herbs that needed to be cut and dried out for the winter, wandering out to the shed in the back to store them before coming back.

She packed up everything she needed to bring, then opened her jewelry box. Silver glimmered at her as she started to methodically put the numerous silver hoops and cuffs in her ears, silver bands on her fingers, and solid, silver bracelets on her wrists.

She finally grabbed the basket of goods and shut the door behind her as she walked out and into the forest.

----------------------------------------

“I was worried, yanno?” Rowan rambled.

“Oh?” Xenia noted down the woman’s vital signs and basic health numbers in her notebook. About six months along, the babe had gone through a growth spurt or something in her womb since the last time Xenia had last seen it, Rowan plumper than most women at this period of pregnancy.

“Yeah, cos’ you were gone for so long.” Xenia’s hands paused, and she looked up at the woman. A nervous smile met her gaze.

“I’m very sorry for making you worry.” Xenia said softly. “I wouldn’t willingly abandon you or your child.” She had been preoccupied. The last time she had come to Hestia, there had been two births, a bout of the flu, and a broken arm. Nothing she couldn’t handle, but all had happened within the span of a week and by the end of it, Xenia almost hadn’t made it home before she fell Asleep.

Rowan didn’t know that, though.

Lady Xenia, the wandering sage and healer, or Ms. Xea, “the bestest teacher” if you asked the children, came and go to Hestia with no rhyme or reason. Xenia had never told the town such, they just came up with their own explanations. For that she was glad, she didn’t want to lie directly.

“Aw, don’t worry about it, doc.” Rowan flapped a hand. “We can’t rely on you all the time. We’ve held up fine before, and we still got it.”

She wanted them all to rely on her, though. It was her responsibility.

She didn’t say that, however.

“Alright, let’s see what’s going on.” Rowan had been complaining about increased sickness and back pain, and Xenia refused to take any chances with the children of Hestia, born or unborn. She hadn’t taken a close look inside of Rowan on her wishes, wanting everything to be a surprise, but Xenia insisted this time, promising to not tell her anything unless absolutely necessary.

Xenia subtly took off a ring on each hand, slipping them into her pockets with her notebook. She held up her hands. “May I?”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

“Mmhmm.”

Xenia pressed her hands onto the woman’s stomach. “You may feel a slight tingling sensation,” she warned.

“Gotcha.”

Xenia sent Magic into the palms of her hands, then closed her eyes as she forced it into Rowan’s skin, then muscle, then organs.

“Oh, hello,” Rowan giggled. Xenia huffed out her own breath.

The Magic seeped into the outline of her uterus, deeper.

Pa pa pa pa pa pa—

Xenia’s eyes flew open as the heartbeat sounded in her head. Too fast. Far too fast.

“Doc?” Anxiety leeched from Rowan, snapping at Xenia’s Magic.

“Shush.” The word was clipped, fear rising in Xenia. What could be wrong, what was—

Pa pa ba ba pa pa ba ba

Her fingers spasmed on Rowan’s stomach.

“Oh.” Her hands left, covering her mouth and looking up at Rowan.

“What’s wrong? Is something wrong?”

“No.” Xenia laughed, a tad hysterically. “Oh, Rowan, you’re having twins.” It hadn’t been one too-fast heartbeat, just two hearts out of sync with each other.

Rowan’s mouth opened, closed, opened again.

“Twins?”

“Twins.” Xenia couldn’t stop smiling.

Rowan stared in shocked silence before screaming and throwing her arms around Xenia.

“Twins! I’m having twins! Holy Mother below!” Rowan’s Magic burst in the air around them, little iridescent scales starting to form on the woman’s skin.

Xenia wrapped an arm around the woman, petting her crimson hair. “She certainly blessed you, Rowan. Congratulations.”

“Auntie?” A high pitched voice asked from behind the bedroom door. “Are you ok? I heard you screaming.”

“Ah.” Rowan giggled, letting go of Xenia and walking to the door to open it. “Welcome back, Marley. I’m fine, just excited?”

“Why?” Marley peaked into the bedroom, meeting eyes with Xenia. “MISS XENIA!” She shrieked, just as loud as her neighbor-turned-auntie. She darted over, jumping up and clinging to

Xenia like a monkey. “You’re back, you’re back!”

“I’m back, Marley.” Xenia patted her head. “Do you mind getting off? You’re a big girl now, and I’m weak.”

“No way, you’re the strongest,” Marley slid off of her anyways.

“Marley?” Rowan asked.

“Yeah?”

“Do you think you could grab Magnus for me? As fast as possible?”

Marley perked up. “Fast?”

“Super fast.”

“Ok!” Marley stared up at Xenia. “You have to stay for at least a week.” She demanded.

“I’m not planning on being away for a while.” She was going to have to keep a close eye on Rowan’s pregnancy. Having one child with mixed Bloodlines was always a challenge, though it was usually nigh impossible without Xenia’s expertise. Twins… twins were something new. Xenia was pretty sure it had never happened before. “Go now, yes?” Magnus would need to hear this news. He now had to build twice the furniture, since the stubborn Zephyrus insisted on building everything for his new child by hand.

Marley grinned, flashing two new teeth missing. “Okay!” And then she was gone.

Xenia turned to Rowan and sighed. “I’m going to get more medicine ready for you. You’re going to need more nutrients. If you can find cherries, get those and eat as much as you can. It’s good for your blood. In the meantime,” she grabbed an apple from her basket, “apple?”

----------------------------------------

Hestia was buzzing with life when Xenia emerged from the Rowan’s place and headed towards the Singing Bird, the local Tavern and the closest building in Hestia to the Forest.

Xenia wandered around the tavern to the front entrance, swinging the door open.

“We’re closed!” A woman shouted.

“Even for me?”

“Yes, even for—“ a small woman stepped out from behind the wall of liquor that made up the back of the bar area, scrubbing at a glass. Gray eyes blinked at Xenia’s silver ones.

“…you.” She set down the glass gently, bracing herself against the bar and staring hard at Xenia.

Oh dear. She was angry.

Xenia held up an apple. “I come with a peace offering.”

The woman was gone in a flash, vaulting over the bar and running over to Xenia, gripping her by the arms.

“Where the Hell have you been?”

That wasn’t a good sign.

“How long have I been gone?”

“Are you serious?”

“You know I can’t tell time.”

“Xenia!”

“Iskra.”

Iskra continued to stare, gripping onto Xenia hard. Xenia manouvered against the other woman’s grip, angling the apple to her.

“Apple?”

Iskra closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Lips pressed together, she snatched the apple and stormed back to the bar, sitting on one of the stools and aggresively biting through the apple.

“You’re an ass, you know that?” She growled behind her hand as she chewed.

“Mmhmm.” Xenia settled at one of the tables.

“It’s been two months!”

“Oh?” Longer than she expected. That would put them…

“If you weren’t here for the Equinox, I would have sent Sasha after you.”

Xenia laughed.

“Oh yeah.” Iskra swallowed, then turned her head and hollered “SASHA!”

Padded footsteps and tiny clicks against the floor approached them until a giant Wolf-Beast came out from behind the bar.

“Look at this dipshit. Back from the dead.”

The Beast huffed and wandered up to Xenia, resting it’s head in her lap and staring up at her.

“Sorry, Sasha.” Xenia started to stroke its ears. “I didn’t have time to make jerky.”

The Beast huffed again and removed its head from her lap, instead laying at her feet and resting its head on its paws, deciding it was time to take a nap.

“Swear to the Mother he likes you more than me.”

“Nah, just knows I give bribes.”

Iskra took one final bite of her apple before tossing it behind her. A swish-thump announced a perfect shot into the trash bin.

“What drugs do you put into those apples?”

“Blood.” Xenia said dryly.

“Ha.” Iskra rolled her eyes, hopping over the bar again to start working on her glass cleaning. “I’m telling you, woman, bring those apple trees to the Capital and you’ll be richer than the Prince. Fucking ambrosia or something.”

“Nah, just love.”

“Is that what we’re calling it?”

Xenia shrugged.

“Oh yeah, speaking of the Capital, I got you something.” Iskra went around the wall of liquor.

“It’s supposed to be an Equinox gift, but I don’t want to hold onto this thing any longer than I need to!” She called from the back. She came back out with a small wooden box, wearing a leather glove on one hand. “Gives me hives just looking at it.”

Xenia walked up to the bar. “Do tell.”

Iskra opened the box, revealing a length of thin, silver chain.

“It’s the special grade stuff, hot from Dokkabei territory.” She picked it up with her gloved hand, pinched between her thumb and pointer finger and held it away from her.

“Oh, this is lovely.” It was an infinity chain, made so one could wrap it around in a bracelet or necklace or any other way, thin and fine enough to almost feel like silk. “I think I’ll put it into my hair when I do it up again.”

“Mother and Father above.” Iskra muttered. “Sasha, tell her she’s nuts.”

Sasha opened one eye, blinked, then closed it again, used to their antics.

Xenia hummed and started to wrap it around her neck in the meantime.

“Stooooop.” Iskra dragged the word out. “Holy Hells.” Her hand fluttered to her neck, as if trying to guard the sensation even if the silver wasn’t on her skin.

Xenia chuckled. “What can I say, I’m a masochist.” It didn’t do anything for her, just a faint hum, which was more then her other silver pieces did. Dokkabei silver was just something else.

“There’s being a masochist and then there’s flirting death.”

Xenia rolled her eyes. “Thank you for the Equinox gift, Iskra.” She hefted her basket. “I’ll see you later.”

“It better not be months later!” Iskra called as the door swung shut.