He couldn’t believe it, she was really pregnant “and you think it’s been two months?”

“Yeah and…I’ve been suspicious for about a month now so I’ve had a lot of time to think. I really want to seek out my parents. I’ve wanted so badly to introduce them to you, Pretoria and Brynmor anyway and now that they’ll have, well, sort of their first grandchild it’s time. I know you’re scared for me to leave but you three will be right with me Rees” She had returned to him almost three years ago and as frightening as it truly was she was right so he fought down his protective instincts and agreed they should journey to find her parents. “How will we find them though” she walked over to a nearby drawer and pulled out a necklace.

“My dad first put this around my neck as soon as he could trust me not to choke myself. This is also why I haven’t pushed to see them because I know if they had really needed to see me they would use theirs. Basically all I have to do is hold it and ask it to guide me to them and it will. Theirs will also tell them I’m looking so they will stay put until we catch up. When I was a child it was incase I wandered off or was kidnapped but now its so we can separate and we don’t have to worry about finding one another”

“we need that too. Would he make that for the kids and I so we cant lose you” she smiled and pulled him down for a kiss “I know he would” It was nearly lunch time so they went into their kitchen to prepare something but found the kids were already on it. They helped Pretoria and Brynmor so they could hurry it along. Once they all had food Aurelia announced that she was pregnant and asked her kids if they would come with her to find her parents. “Of course we’re coming” Brynmor said and Pretoria added “we can’t wait to meet them and our new sibling” Brynmor chuckled “it’s going to be such a mind fuck for people when we say we all share the same parents since he or she will be half elf” Pretoria shook her head and took a bite of food.

After lunch they all packed and Rees made sure everyone was armed. He knew they were all strong, that he himself would be able to kill anyone who threatened them, but he wanted to make sure nothing ever happened to Aurelia again. Losing her had been the most traumatizing moment of his life and he knew he wouldn’t survive it a second time. “Are you ready?” Aurelia asked.

“Yes, well no, but yes.” Rees answered. “Just stay close to me my love.”

“I will, I promise.” She reached up and grabbed the necklace. She felt it grow warm. “This way.” She took Rees’s hand and they left their home, Brynmor and Pretoria talking excitedly about their grandparents and if they would be surprised by them.

“They will be surprised but overjoyed. I think this is something they can accept easily”

“I know you traveled a long time. I hope they aren’t too far though”

“well you have to consider all my stops. I mean, I didn’t realize I was traveling with a mission. Since we have a known goal it should be a lot less time”

“as long as we don’t run into any trouble” Rees added which caused Aurelia to squeeze his hand. “we’ve got mom, nothing will be touching her dad. You know it” Brynmor said in an almost amused voice. He nor Pretoria were near as worried. They had suffered greatly from her loss as well but last time she had been ambushed by skilled hunters. She was out numbered, alone and they had the element of surprise on her. Not only that but they had planned what they did, they had realized she took walks by herself. She wasnt alone now and wouldn’t be during this trip, the three of them could make sure of that.

“If the necklace leads us around there can we stop in and see Juldoc?” Pretoria asked. Aurelia was quick to answer ‘I’d love that, do you think you’ll want a tattoo?”

“Yours are so pretty”

“He’s amazing at what he does. Even if we don’t get lead in his direction we should go see him after we find my parents”

“We should go and see Oliver as well, he hasn’t been by in awhile.” Brynmor added.

“We will, I’d like him to know about the baby.” Aurelia said. Oliver had become part of the family, but she worried sometimes that he thought he might be imposing.

“Let’s focus on your parents first love.” Rees said and she smiled up at him. “Sorry, I know I’m being ridiculous.”

“You’re not, truly, you just love us.”

Rees knew he needed to relax and enjoy their trip and knew he was being paranoid. He and both of his children were there and he knew logically that nothing could take Aurelia from him again. His heart wasn’t so keen on listening though and he stayed as close as he could. “Perhaps I’ll get a tattoo too.” He said, trying to keep his mind off his worry.

“You?” Pretoria teased.

“Maybe something for you kids and your mother.”

“I’m pretty sure the world is ending.” Brynmor said with a laugh.

“I love the idea. I hope even more we end up passing through where he lives. If not though that just means another wonderful adventure for us and don’t worry about me being pregnant Rees. Nomads travel all the time and I promise to tell you guys I need a break the second I need it”

“and if you’re hungry”

“Of course” she grinned again. He ran a hand down her hair, marveling at how happy and excited she was. It gave him all the more determined not to bring the mood of this trip down by being over protective. They were well into the second day of travel when Pretoria asked “would you mind if I helped you deliver my sibling instead of dad helping? I’d love some experience with it” Pretoria looked over at her father “you can watch and coach me dad if you think I’m not doing well”

“Is that okay with you Rees?” Aurelia asked.

“Of course, all that matters is that they are brought into this world with love.” He looked to his daughter. “I trust you with your sibling’s life implicitly.”

“I can’t wait, it’s going to be an amazing experience.”

“Or terrifying.” Brynmor teased.

“Maybe for you.” Pretoria nudged him. “You’re right though, I’m already a little nervous.”

“You’ll do fine sister.”

“He’s right baby so don’t worry.” Aurelia said with a warm smile. The area began to look familiar to Aurelia and she directed her family off the path they had been taking.

“Where are we going mom?” Brynmor asked.

“Do you remember Rees? The ruins we found?”

Rees smiled. “I do. It was before you two were born.”

Slowly Aurelia had been remembering more and more about her old life but still, everytime she brought up a memory it brought warmth and excitement to Rees and their children. They would be eternally grateful that they got her back. “It was beautiful last time we were there, hopefully it’s still as beautiful and peaceful”

“did you two figure out what it once was?”

“It simply looked like an abandoned town. It looked like the inhabitants took great care and time making every building given the designs and quality materials. They would of had to have been wiped out by some disease or something then their town was left to rot and fall apart”

‘How’s the overgrowth?”

“even thats gorgeous, they had a lot of flowers blooming around them so they’ve grown all over the place. They have some unique vines growing around there too”

“It sounds like a place worth restoing one day” Pretoria noted and Rees chuckled “we’re making far too many plans at once”

“it doesn’t hurt to have endless ideas of things to do together. We’ll never be bored”

Chapter Two

The ruin was even more beautiful than Aurelia remembered, the flowers blooming there were vibrant pinks and blues, the grass a lush green, and the buildings were so much a part of nature now. She fell in love with it all over again and she couldn’t wait until they could work on it. “I truly missed this place.” She said, a smile pulling at her lips as she remembered moments she and Rees had spent here. He wrapped his arms around her and she looked up at him. “We should stay here tonight, explore a little.”

“Alright my love.”

“This place is amazing.” Pretoria said as they walked around the old town.

Brynmor shoved one of the still intact doors open, looking slightly embarrassed when it broke off its hinges. “Sorry.” He said as he propped the door up against the wall.

“You’re going to bring the rest of the building down.” Pretoria teased.

Aurelia and Rees laughed before Rees said “I’m going to start hunting. You three can walk around and find a nice spot to cook and eat” Aurelia almost told him he could take one of the kids but he could hunt on his own and she knew he needed the peace of mind that they were both with her. Once they found a nice spot Pretoria asked “so do you remember the lullaby’s you sang us when we were little mom?”

“yeah, I plan to sing those and the ones my mother Taamira sang to me. The elven songs are gorgeous”

“could you sing one”

“yeah, please” Brynmor added. Aurelia smiled then began her favorite one, wrapping her childrens attention. She placed a hand on her stomach, hoping the new little one enjoyed it too. “That really was beautiful mom” Pretoria expressed before Brynmor noted “it’s so cool you’re an elf this time, that our souls really do change species sometimes when we’re reborn”

“I feel fortunate I got kind parents this time around though my Uncle Brynmor gave me a good life too when he raised me”

“If only we could find his reincarnation”

“we just might one day”

Rees gave the area a quick sweep while he hunted, wanting to make sure there wasn’t anyone or anything dangerous lurking in the woods. He then scented out and killed a couple of rabbits and quickly returned to his family. He couldn’t help but pause and watch them for a moment. He felt so lucky to have them, that his children had stayed after he had nearly lost his mind, and that he now had his sweet, beautiful Aurelia. “You okay dad?” Pretoria said and he blinked then smiled.

“Yes, sorry.” He held up the rabbits as he moved closer. “I bring food.”

“I’ll clean them if Brynmor gets wood and starts a fire.” Pretoria said as she stood.

“Will do.” Brynmor replied. “You just relax with mom.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, we can manage.”

Rees sat and Aurelia snuggled up to him. he smiled, putting his arm around her. He sighed with relief and kissed her head “how’re you feeling?”

“amazing, I’m so happy we’re back at these ruins. Everything about this trip makes me happy.” Aurelia touched her stomach again as the two just sat in happy silence. They had a peaceful evening together and woke when the suns rays played across their faces. Aurelia felt a little nauseous this morning so they gave her time to make sure she didn’t need to throw up then Rees lifted Aurelia, just having her tell him which direction they needed to go in.

“I know we went off route a little bit to go there but I think my parents moved from where they were. They must not have felt that where they were was a good place to meet. I wish this thing had some sort of call function” Aurelia was fighting off sleep she had been so comfortable when she felt Rees tense, holding her a little tighter. She looked in the direction he was looking, seeing a man approaching. He was tall, around the height Rees was. His hair was long, falling a little past his hips. If the wind was lightly tussling his hair around she wouldn’t have noticed that it was dark black on top but under it was light, almost neon shades of blue pink and purple.

He walked with confidence and maybe even a little anger. When he was close he said coolly “Rees…Pretoria…we meet again” Pretoria moved so she was the one directly infront of him. She looked him in the eyes as she spoke “we’re traveling with my mother. She wants to see her parents” He looked over at Aurelia “I thought you were dead. That was this beasts excuse for his crimes anyway”

“I was, I’m a”

“reincarnation?” he finished and she said “yeah”

“Please dont cause us any trouble Xidis. My dad has laid dormantly peaceful for so long and now he has mom back We arent out doing anything bad” He laughed but it was a little bitter. It made Aurelia nervous Pretoria was so close to this man but even she could see the difference between how he looked at Pretoria and how he looked at Brynmor and Rees. He liked her so she was assuming they figured there was less chance of a fight if Pretoria spoke. Xidis stared at Pretoria a few long moments before sighing “I suppose we’ve already worked this out and I’ll stick to my word of leaving you all alone but you keep your father in line Pretoria. It wasn’t easy to get the beings you asked me to back off to actually leave your father alone”

“I know and I already thanked you for that. My dad wont be causing any trouble just because hes out of his castle.” There was another long pause before Xidis asked “why was that our only date?”

“because how romantic, your condition for leaving my dad alone was me going on a date with you”

“the date wasnt romantic?”

“the date was fine but you hate my father and I love him so please just buzz off” he sighed again “I did and will, you can’t blame me for hating him Pretoria”

“I know I cant but you cant blame me for not being interested in you back”

“I am sorry.”

“You should be, using me as some sort of bargaining chip was rude and uncalled for.”

“What if I asked you our properly? Would you go out with me again?”

Pretoria shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe if things change, if you can learn to let things go and move on.”

“So that’s not a definite no?”

“It’s also not a definite yes. So, can we go now?”

He sighed. “Yes, of course. I guess I’ll see you later then.”

“Maybe, we’ll see.”

He nodded and moved out of the way, waving them on. Aurelia couldn’t help but look over Rees’s shoulder at him as they walked away. He looked like a whipped dog. She relaxed back against her husband. “He really likes you sweetie.” She said to her daughter.

“I know.”

“You know it’s fine if he hates me, Pretoria, it’s to be expected.” Rees added.

“Daddy.”

“I’m just saying I understand, I really do. I did something monstrous.”

“Lets just go back to having happy family time.”

“well…thank you again Pretoria”

“for going out on a date with him?”

“That and everything, thank you to the both of you for loving me anyway”

“never worry about that date dad. He really did make the day nice and he didn’t even try to get me to sleep with him. I was kind of expecting he’d try but it was a real date. Some beings may have demanded more of me in that situation. The whole give me a date thing and I’ll make sure your dads left alone still pissed me off but I do have to give him a little credit”

“well maybe you should give a real date with him a try when you get back. It couldn’t hurt. I mean, it really does seem like he cares about you”

“are we still going the right way?” Pretoria asked softly, wanting the topic to be changed. Aurelia held the necklace again “yeah, we are still far from them though” The next time they rested Aurelia noticed her daughter awake and looking up at the stars. “Pretoria” Aurelia said as she sat down next to her daughter “feel better?” she had heard her mother go to throw up “yeah”

“do you need a late night snack mom?”

“No, I just wanted to sit with you since you’re awake”

“Oh, okay.” She sighed.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, just…you know.”

“Xidis?”

“Yeah. It’s not that I don’t like him, I really do. He’s actually very sweet, it’s just…I don’t know. Boys are so stupid.”

Aurelia let out a soft laugh and took her daughter’s hand. “I think love makes you that way sometimes.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t want to ruin the trip.”

“You’re not honey and neither has he. Just give it time, who knows what might happen.”

“You’re right, thank you mom.”

She hugged her daughter. “You’re still my baby and I’ll always be here if you need to talk.”

They stayed up together a short while before laying down with Brynmor and Rees. Pretoria was almost soundly sleeping when she heard something dragging. She sat up, listening intently. The dragging sounded again. Instinct told her to get up and investigate it on her own but she couldn’t be wreckless so she grabbed her fathers shoulder, knowing it would be enough to wake him. He sat up carefully, managing not to wake Aurelia whom had only just fallen back a sleep moments ago. “do you hear that dragging dad?” she whispered. A crazed looking creature came into view, dragging a dead bears body. Neither Rees nor Pretoria could tell what it was. It had a human shaped body with creepy long fingers that were covered in blood.

The creature had horns almost a foot long and the eyes as it looked at them were all white. They could only tell it was looking at them because there was a feint light grey circle in them, just enough so you could tell where the thing was looking. They could see every bone in its body which probably meant it was malnourished but it only added to how creepy it was. It stopped near them, staring at Rees. A chill fell over the air as the white began to leave Rees’s eyes, becoming completely red. Rees made a noise almost more disturbing than the creature and the thing took it’s bear and went away.

Rees calmed down, now looking as he always did “good job Pretoria. Go back to sleep. I’ll be sitting up” Pretoria laid down, not waking again until morning. In the morning they told Brynmor and Aurelia about it “you don’t know what it was?” Aurelia asked her husband “No but I knew it was good we weren’t all sleeping at the time. We would have fought it off but someone would have gotten hurt”

“Hopefully that bear will be enough to keep him in wherever he lives” Pretoria expressed. Brynmor shrugged “If dad slipped into one of his psycho states and that thing felt his presence when he’s like that I’m sure it’s eating and doing his best to stay out of dads way.”

“hopefully we find our own bear. We could eat awhile without hunting”

Brynmor now spoke again “no matter what way moms necklace takes us at this point we’ll hit a big city within a day or two, we can buy some stuff” Aurelia held her necklace again and soon they were all moving. The city that came up proved to be a fun stop. It was massive with so much going on they stayed a few days. Aurelia had planned for this to be a fun family trip even though they had a goal and Rees felt more at ease anyway here. Less went wrong in developed areas like this.

Final Chapter

Once they were finally back on the road, Rees felt more at ease than before. He knew it was better to enjoy the journey with his family than miss everything because he was worried. “You’re much calmer.” Aurelia said as they walked.

“You deserve to have fun without me constantly stressing.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“Amazing, even with all the nausea.” She rubbed her abdomen. “I can’t wait to meet our new little one.”

“Have you two been thinking of any names?” Pretoria asked.

“Not really, but it hasn’t been that long.” Aurelia answered.

“What about Micha? That’s a nice name. Or Sacha?” Brynmor said.

“What about Fenella?” Pretoria added.

“That sounds like a food sister.”

“It’s still cute” Brynmor thought a few moments then said “I really like Praval for a boy or maybe Siya for a girl” The kids went back and forth, honestly, Aurelia was glad for the ideas. She hadn’t had any clue what she was going to name this little one. She wished they knew any tricks to reveal the gender early. Thinking of names would be much easier if she knew what gender she needed. They discussed named until Pretoria brought up “I wonder if dads genes are going to take over again or if this baby will have your green hair mom”

“maybe its not so bad your dads genes seem to be incredibly dominant. You two are adorable, I’m sure Xidis would agree” Brynmor laughed and Pretoria gave her mom a look that had Aurelia laughing as well. Things stayed playful and happy until mountains came into view “did I tell you kids about my journey through those mountains?”

“I don’t think so”

“It was probably the hardest part of getting to you. I still want us to have fun but few things were happy to see me around there”

“we’ve got this mom” Pretoria said and Brynmor nodded “I’m sure it’ll be kid stuff to us. The three of us kept eachother in fighting shape over the years”

“I’ve definitely seen.”

“would you mind me carrying you more there?” Rees asked and Aurelia answered “I’d enjoy it, the paths aren’t very smooth and the last thing I want is to trip and hurt the baby”

Aurelia was right about the dangers that lurked in the mountains and Rees cradled her close, letting his aura flow out to warn anything that got to close away. His children chased off wild animals and helped watch out for any rock slides and other creatures. Rees relaxed once they had made it through and Aurelia kissed him to ease the tension in his body. “I think we can stop and rest now love.” She said and he nodded.

Rees hadn’t wanted to stop until they made it through, even when the terrain became rough. They all found a spot to sit down and drank some water. “Holy crap mom, how did you make it through there alone?” Brynmor asked.

“I was very determined.”

“I’m glad we’re with you this time. That had to have been terrifying.” Pretoria added. “I’m so glad nothing got you.”

“I know how to fight. I’m no vampire anylonger but I’ve been raised on the road. Besides, once I started following where my soul was asking me to go I couldn’t stop, I would have gone through anything…I’m just so grateful. I had such a wonderful family waiting for me”

“we should invite Humble and Jase over again when we get back” Brynmor suggested and Pretoria added “we really should do something again for them for giving us mom back. She may have never found us without them” It was a sentiment they had expressed countless times. “and another thing is added to our ever growing list” Rees said with a grin, causing one from his wife as well “as I said, at least we can’t possibly get bored with so much to do. There will be a few days of nothing but if you kids really want to meet Juldoc we can just head his way.” she clutched the crystal “it’s not going to lead us to his town”

“we’ve kept you from your parents so long mom. We’ll see him after we leave them. A Tattoo can wait, I promise. Besides, It’ll be nice to get a long visit in because he sounds really cool in general so seeing him when we get back is probably a better plan” Brynmor nudged her “I wonder what Xidis would think of how interested you are in Juldoc” she shook her head “One, Xidis isn’t my boyfriend. Two, just because I admire him from moms stories doesn’t mean I’m going to want to jump his bones in person” The face Rees made had Aurelia laughing “she is a woman you know, she could have possibly jumped a mans bones before” Rees covered his ears “nope, enough with this”

“What if it was Brynmor?”

“It’d be the same, that’s too much information for a father. As long as they’re safe I don’t want to know.”

Aurelia laughed. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“And I’m really not attracted to Juldoc, I just want to meet him.” Pretoria said. “He seems like an amazing person.”

“Maybe he and Xidis could fight to the death for your love.” Brynmor said. “It’d be so poetic.”

“Oh hush.”

They continued chatting, Pretoria changing the subject for her father’s sake and Brynmor stopped teasing her for her sake, not wanting to drive her into complete irritation. They continued on their way once they were all rested and Aurelia directed them to head West.

A few days later Aurelia seemed to laugh randomly “whats so funny?” Rees asked and she answered “I dont know it just seems so much easier and faster to make this journey now but I suppose I have a true sense of direction. I’m also not curiously exploring and I think any potential monsters are terrified of just your presence Rees”

‘dad is pretty scary if you don’t know him, heck, Brynmor is too. He’s just not as scary as dad’ Pretoria remarked and Brynmor added “yeah. I’ve scared plenty without even meaning to. Dad is purposefully putting out a dont fuck with my family vibe”

“Your mother doesn’t need any stress.” He picked her up again and she kissed his cheek, relaxing against him afterward. It didn’t bring Rees a lot of comfort when the next day Aurelia said “I’m no longer familiar with this place. I didn’t come this way” Brynmor was the quick voice of positivity for his father “but we’re still fine. Between us three nothing is going to touch mom”

“He’s right dad” Pretoria chimed in for more assurance. A few hours more and Rees heard jingling “bells” he whispered and everyone stopped. “It could just be another traveler” Aurelia whispered and Rees pulled her close. They walked slower, more carefully and just as Rees feared, an arrow zipped past them. Rees could tell they were poisoned tipped and before Rees could even say anything Pretoria had taken Aurelia and gone up the highest tree she could find. The boys could fight, Pretoria would make sure nothing happend to Aurelia or the baby. It was Brynmor that made the grim realization first that they were vampire hunters “dad, you’re not a monster, remember that. Don’t you dare go psycho on us. We kill only if we’re forced. We’re just knocking them out if we can okay dad…dad…you promise me. Moms up in the trees, she’ll see you”

Rees didn’t answer but he didn’t have much time to. The hunters were there, four of them “vampires, we werent even hunting right now. Weren’t there some females a second ago” Rees growled, fighting down his rage so he wouldn’t lose himself “we aren’t hurting anybody”

“you’re vampires”

“and you’re a racist asshole” The man pulled out a sword and moved to swing at Brynmor but Rees had him around the throat first. He wanted to crush his windpipe, he could do it in a second but he wasn’t a monster, he wouldn’t let them make him into one. He squeezed, wanting to make him pass out. Brynmor began keeping the others with him away from Rees until the hunter laid asleep on the ground. Three more were left and he noticed his son already had a wound from keeping the others at bay.

He had another man in his grasp before any of them could even blink, his fangs exposed, his energy sending a shock of fear through the man. He could see it in his eyes, that he knew he was looking death in the face. He threw the man into a tree, forcing himself not to use all of his strength so the hunter fell unconscious to the ground. He was too fast for them and he could see they knew it because they looked at each other, the need to retreat clear on their faces, but he refused to let them get away unpunished. One took a punch to the stomach and the last he pounced on, driving him to the ground and pinning him there.

“You are all murderers, I should rip you open, I should leave your meat for the animals.”

“No, please.”

He snarled. “You are lucky, lucky that my family is here, that my wife is present or I would rip you to shreds.” He drew closer and the man flinched. “I’m leaving you awake to tend to your vile little friends, let them know that I will not show mercy a second time.”

“I…I understand.”

“Brynmor, collect all of their weapons and stash them away, I wouldn’t want them getting any ideas.”

“Yes sir.” Brynmor replied and as he started picking weapons off the hunters, his sister dropped down with their mother.

Aurelia went to Rees, letting her hand rest on his shoulder. “You can let him go now, love, I don’t think he’s brave enough to do anything.”

Rees kept his eyes locked with the man’s as he slowly released his grasp and moved back to take Aurelia into his arms. The man didn’t even move to set up, to scared of the monster before him. “Are you tow alright?” Rees asked.

“Of course.”

“Brynmor was injured.”

Aurelia turned toward her son who waved her off. “I’m fine mom, it wasn’t that bad. It’s practically healed by now.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m alright, I promise.”

They were soon off again, moving quickly to put some distant between them and those asshole hunters. Rees had been holding Aurelia and for at least today, she wasn’t going to ask that he put her down. She just occasionally kissed or caressed him to try and bring Rees some comfort. She knew before they left running into a group like that was his worst nightmare, a group like that had been the ones to kill her in her past life. That evening as they laid together Aurelia expressed “I’m so proud of the control you had Rees. I wish you didn’t still look so distressed but I understand”

“It was hard enough living without you the first time. I never want to go back to that…I cant do that again”

“You three are so watchful over me. I think I’m going to be completely safe the rest of my life”

“I’ll relax more tomorrow okay? I promise”

“I’ve had a lot of fun out here with you three” Rees pulled her close and soon she drifted to sleep. Rees just listened to her breath, almost scared to fall asleep until Pretoria whispered “dad, go to bed. We’re all okay. I’m sure even the new little one is okay”

“You should be sleeping too”

“I knew you’d have trouble so I’m up to kick your butt if I have to. Go to sleep, vampire hunting groups are much rarer now. It would be ridiculous odds for another to stumble upon us”

“alright…I know you’re right” He closed his eyes and soon managed to sleep as well, hoping that the rest of their journey was truly vampire hunter free.

~ The End