The worst storm in decades had been battering the Ishgar Continent for the last several days, heavy rain and fierce winds keeping everything inside for their own protection. This included the Castellon Estate in the Valyra Empire.
While everyone else in the empire had been bemoaning the dangerous weather and being forced indoors, the members of the household had been focusing solely on the Castellons, specifically the ruling head of family.
"Gods Damnit! Get this little fucker out of me!!!!" In the mansion's master bedroom laid a tall woman with golden brown skin, high cheekbones, a sharp jawline, and rich chocolate eyes. Her usually long, bouncy silver hair was wet and matted to her skin as she laid in bed surrounded by her nurses, maids, and her doctor.
This woman is Duchess Alexandra Castellon, ruling head of the Castellon Dukedom, one of the three duchies of the Valyra Empire.
She was giving birth to her second child. Although this birth was proving to be much more difficult than the first.
"It's okay darling, you're almost there. Just keep pushing." The person speaking was the Duchess's husband, Lord Jeremy Castellon (formally Hill). Jermey was a tall man, standing at six foot three, with short curly black hair, pale ivory skin, lush forest green eyes, and dimples that popped out of his soft cheeks as he smiled down at his wife.
Alexandra glared at her husband, grabbing the collar of his shirt, and pulling him close to her face. "Listen here! If you tell me that I'm 'almost there' one more time, I will fucking gut you, Jeremy! I swear to the fucking gods!"
Unlike the others in the room who flinched and stuttered at the woman's threat, Jeremy remained calm. "Okay, Alex. I'll just keep quiet then, my love."
Alexandra was going to say something else but let out a loud groan instead as the pain became more intense.
"I see the head my Lady!" The doctor at the end of the bed exclaimed.
"Arrrggghhh! You are never fucking me again, Jeremy Castellon! You hear me?!" The Duchess roared.
Just as suddenly as the pain began, it ceased all together. The room grew silent, the only thing that could be heard was Alexandra's strangled breathing.
"What-what is wrong? Where is my baby?!" Alexandra cried out, struggling to sit up with not only her exhaustion but Jeremy pushing her down.
"They-they are alive, Your Grace." The doctor quietly spoke as he stared down at the baby in his hands, his eyes meeting the baby's unwavering gaze.
"Why are they not making any sound?" Jeremy asked.
"I am not sure, Your Grace." He said before handing the newborn over to the midwives to be cleaned and clothed while the others prepared bath for their lady.
"It's okay, my love. They are alive." Jeremy whispered to his wife.
"If that were really the case, they would not look so nervous, Jeremy." Alexandra was unnerved by the whole experience, first her child was making no noise, and secondly the nervous and confused reactions of the doctor and nurses.
The conversation ended when the doctor returned with the newborn wrapped in a black blanket but was hidden from their view.
"My Lady, my Lord. We must speak with you about the babe." The head doctor spoke, his face gravely serious.
"What's wrong with them? I thought you said they would live." Alexandra narrowed her eyes at the men.
"They will, my Lady. But we are worried about their... body."
"What is wrong with their body?"
"When I first held the babe, I was sure they had been born male but after being washed that had changed..." The doctor paused, flinching slightly when he saw Alexandra's glare grow fiercer.
"The babe was born with both male and female genitalia, My lady."
The chamber fell into dead silence, no one, not even the newborn, made a sound as if they too understood the gravity of what was said.
"What?" Jeremy whispered.
"My Lord, we speak the truth. Although we believe that the babe is primarily female given, they have more hair on their head and bigger eyes." The doctor spoke.
"So, my newborn daughter has a cock?" Alexandra immediately asked.
"Alexandra!" Jeremy yelled, partially scandalized by his wife's bluntness, and worried over the news that was just given to them.
"We believe it best to give the babe the mercy of a quick end-" The doctor was cut off by Alexandra's magic swirling around the room, a particular blast knocked the doctor back a step.
"How dare you?! You want to kill a daughter of House Castellon, My daughter?!" The Duchess roared.
The doctor bowed his head, "I apologize my Lady. But I believe it will be the best outcome. There is no telling if the child will survive the cradle with their... condition. And if they did, others will think her an abomination."
"We will not be giving her mercy as you suggested. She is the daughter of a Duchess, and she shall live as such. Hand her to us, now." There was a coldness in Jeremy's voice as he spoke, one that was reserved for those who dare thought to cross him and his family. His magic reflected this as the temperature in the room dropped, snowflakes formed on the windows, and everyone could see their breath.
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"O-of co-course, my Lord!" The Doctor's teeth chattered together as he rushed to get the words out. The temperature soon returned to normal once the doctor handed the newborn to her father.
"Now leave."
No one needed to be told twice, the Castellons being the only ones who remained after a few seconds.
"Damn, when's the last time you've let your anger get the better of you?" Alexandra asked her husband once the room had been cleared. She liked the rare moments when Jeremy acted like this, as it usually came from a need to protect the ones he cares for. Jeremy losing his temper is how this little one came to be in the first place.
"Hehe, sorry about that, Alex. I do not know what got into me." Jeremy replied while scratching the back of his head.
"Don't be, I liked it. I liked it a lot." Alexandra smirked back.
A bright red hue overtook the man's face, he knew what his wife meant and was thrown back to how they ended up here in the first place. He was forced to break eye contact with her, staring at the floor as Alexandra chuckled at his reaction.
Jeremy cleared his throat, trying to shake off the embarrassment he felt. He leaned down and showed the bundle in his arms to his wife. "She looks just like you, Alexandra."
Alexandra opened her arms as Jeremy handed their daughter to her. He was right, she did look just like her, her daughter had a small tuff of silver-blonde hair and caramel brown skin. As Alexandra held her, the newborn opened her eyes revealing large emerald orbs that seemed to sparkle in the light, the same as Jeremy's.
"She does, but she has your eyes, Jer." The Duchess softly spoke, gently trailing a finger down her daughter's squishy cheek, a large smile overtaking her face when the baby giggled.
Jeremy grinned at the scene in front of him, it was rare to see Alexandra act so tender and caring towards another person. He had seen her act that way with their son, Maximilian, but it seemed different this time.
Maybe it's because Alex has always wanted a daughter? He thought.
"What should we name her?" Jeremy asked. Alexandra had given him the choice to name their first child so he knew she would want to name their second.
Alexandra thought about it as she continued to look down at their daughter. The newborn was looking around the room with innocent wonder in her eyes giggling as she did, she already knew that she would do anything for her baby, but this just solidified it.
Alexandra smiled, "Kayana. Her name will be Kayana."
Jeremy returned the look, "Kayana Castellon. The perfect name for a Lady of our house."
Alexandra broke the silence that they entered, "Jeremy. You know that others will think of our daughter as a freak of nature because of this."
Jeremy's jaw clenched, "I know."
"I don't care what anybody thinks of her, she is our daughter. Anyone who thinks of hurting her or speaking ill of her will die by my hand." A flash of magic appeared, causing spider cracks to form on the windows.
"And I feel the same, Alexandra. Such reckless fool would not deserve to live a minute longer." Jeremy answered.
Alexandra let out a bark of laughter, "I love it when you and I are in sync."
"Ooh! I have to get Max so he can meet his new sister!" Jeremy exclaimed, ending the moment between them, laying a kiss on his wife and daughter's heads, and running out of the room.
Alexandra just rolled her eyes, looking back down at Kayana. "That, my dear is your father. I know, I must apologize for allowing half your blood to belong to him, but he used his cuteness to hide his stupidity and make his way into my bed. Don't be like your mother, don't fall for an idiot's cuteness."
Kayana let out a loud shriek, waving her arms around as she gave her mother a toothy smile. Alexandra chuckled, grabbing one of Kayana's hands and shaking it. "That's right, don't be like mommy." She said in a higher voice.
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A few minutes later, the door of the bedroom burst open, and Jeremy walked in with a toddler in his arms. The young boy looked a lot like Jeremy with his curly black hair, chubby cheeks, and cute face. They differed with the deep brown eyes he had gotten from Alexandra and his slightly darker skin, being a light bronze color. He was wearing night clothes, and rubbing his eyes, indicating he was sleeping before Jeremy pulled him out of bed.
This boy was Maximilian Castellon, the four-year-old son of Alexandra and Jeremy Castellon and future ruling Lord of the Castellon Duchy.
"Papa, why did you wake me?" Maximilian mumbled before letting out a yawn.
"I am sorry Max. We wanted you to meet someone!" Jeremy said with a laugh.
Maximilian looked towards his mother, hoping she would make more sense than his father, realizing that she was holding a baby in her arms.
"A baby? You had the baby!" Maximilian yelled.
"Yes, we did. Say hello to your new little sister." Alexandra said as she watched her husband placed their son onto the floor and the young boy raced to the bed, leaning over the edge to get a better look at Kayana.
"Hello!" He exclaimed, "Wait, you said you would let me know when she was born!"
"And we are, darling."
"But I wasn't here to see it!"
"Childbirth isn't something for children to see, Max." Jeremy answered as he stepped behind his son, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders.
"Why?" Maximilian asked with a tilt of his head.
Jeremy stuttered and his cheeks pinkened as he tried to think of an answer to his son's question without telling him the truth. This only got worse under his son's unwavering gaze, there were times like this where Jeremy noticed that despite their physical resemblance, Maximilian was just like his mother.
"It evolves a lot of kissing." Alexandra cut in.
"Gross!" Alexandra laughed and Jeremy sighed in relief at the boy's statement and the disgusted expression that went along with it.
"This is Kayana, your younger sister." Alexandra said once she stopped laughing.
"Hi, there Kayana. I'm your big brother Maximilian but you can call me Max! Well, you can call me that when you learn to speak. I'm going to teach you so much stuff that all the other babies are going to be super jealous!" Maximilian spoke excitedly, barely taking the time to breathe.
Jeremy chuckled, ruffing up his son's hair. "I'm glad you like Kayana. You know that you now have a special responsibility now, don't you?"
"Responsibility?"
Alexandra took over, "Yes, responsibility. Kayana is... special and a lot of people will not understand it and treat her differently. As the older brother it is your responsibility to look after Kayana, to protect her from anything that would do her harm. Do you understand, Maximilian?"
Maximilian did not understand what his parents meant; Kayana looked like a normal baby to him but the thought of others treating his sister badly made him furious. Anyone who thought of even laying a finger and her head would have to deal with him.
"I'll protect her. I swear it!" A look of fierce determination formed on his face, righteous anger burning in his eyes as he stared at his family.
I'll kill anyone who touches them... Maximillion thought to himself.
Alexandra gave Maximilian a savage grin, "That's my boy."
"I wish you wouldn't encourage his bloodlust." Jeremy sighed.
"Don't try to change us, Jer. It's a losing battle." Alexandra quickly bit back.
"Us?"
"Max, Kayana, and I."
"You and Max maybe, but Kayana is going to be just like her old man." Jeremy replied while rubbing his daughter's cheek with his thumb. "You're going to be a civilized member of society, yes you are." He smiled when Kayana nuzzled into his hand.
"Just keep telling yourself that, Jeremy. I'm sure you'll believe it one day." Maximilian laughed at his mother's remark as Jeremy halfheartedly rolled his eyes.
And so, the great hero, Lady Kayana Castellon was born, marking the beginning of her legendary story...