Death: As Natural As Birth

"the baby is coming!!", "where's her Majesty?!" "everyone should stay calm and head to her Majesty's courts!!." The whole palace was in an obnoxious chaos. Queen Arianne was in labor. The king was not himself either, his first child was being born. " fetch the midwives of Middleton, fetch all of them, everyone you can find!!", king Miguel screamed on top of his lungs, pacing to and fro in his throne room.

The curse worked and Queen Arianne got pregnant. It's been nine months since Pandora's box was opened and lady Arianne was in labor.

" Sire the midwives are here already, you should calm down. Everything would be alright", Nessus tried to calm him

"What if something goes wrong, I cannot rest while my queen is in labor. I must go to her at once", king Miguel said rushing for Queen Arianna's quarters.

" But sire, no one is allowed to..."

"Let them try and stop me", king Miguel echoed not stopping to even look at Nessus.

He pushed the door to her room open but he was dazed by what he saw...

He did not see his wife's room. It was that familiar edgeless white room that seem to have no walls, just whiteness that goes on into infinity.

There stood Pandora still looking as breathtaking as ever.

"What is this about! I don't have time for this!!" He thundered as he walked furiously towards Pandora with flame-like eyeballs.

Pandora stood still, expressionless

"Oh don't be silly, you've got some time to spare", she said

"I have surmoned you here to give you what You've asked for. A curse. I have gifted you with what you wanted, now the curse must take its course", she said as the king stood right in front of her.

It was not anger in his eyes anymore but fear. He knew the curse would happen but dreaded what it could be. He stood there trembling, trying to speak but could not. His mouth opened but no words came.

"You have been gifted what you desire most. It has been given to you in double folds but in return you shall lose everything you cherish and they shall meet their end by you hands" she spoke slowly with no pity in her voice.

"I ... I don't understand. What are you saying?", King Miguel asked shakingly as he fell on his knees trembling.

"You have been gifted a set of twins. They would inherit your strength and wit and all your powers and those of your Queen too. They'll grow up stronger than anything that has ever existed but that is if they would survive long enough to see the sun set tonight", Pandora said still standing emotionless in front of the now trembling king.

"You see? You got everything you wanted but would lose it and everything you had beforehand in just a matter of minutes still by ur own undoing. You were warned", she spoke bluntly

"I can never harm that which I love. I've always wanted an heir, why then would I raise my sword and strike down a child talk more of my own children. You do not speak the truth". He said shaking his head in doubt.

"I see you still don't understand. It has already began. As we speak, your sword has been dug deep into your Queen's heart. She's breathing her last", Pandora said with a smirk. She was enjoying seeing the arrogant king shaking with fear. That's not something that happens very often.

"As for your younglings, as soon as you wake from this trance you shall feel an insatiable urge to slay them where they lay. You cannot and would not stop till they cease to breathe. This was what you wanted or am I mistaken?", She added

" What have I done. I plead you Pandora. You cannot do this to me". He said with boiling tears rolling freely down his cheek.

"You did this to yourself Miguel. You wanted to be cursed didn't you? This is what you get when you deal with something you have no control over. I reckon, this must be a new feeling for you, helplessness", Pandora said as she scoffed

"I'll do anything you ask but please reconsider, I plead on my knees. Do you not have any conscience?", The king asked now weeping.

"As a matter of fact I do. I once felt emotions like you do so I do know how you feel. But I cannot lift the curse for it has already begun.I can only but give you time. Go now and say farewell to that which you have cherished to acquire all your life. Give them names of your choice. Hold them for the first and also the last time, that is my Mercy", Pandora said turning her back on the king

"Atleast give me five years with them. Let me watch them grow. Let me ..."

"That would be heartless even for me. You would grow too attached and it would be much more painful when you slay them. FIVE DAYS. That's all you get", she said cutting him off.

Then she waved her right hand and everything turned blurry. He was once more in his wife's room.

"Wh...what just happened? Wa... Was that real?", He asked nobody in particular.

He was woken by shrieks of women.

He looked up from where he was standing and saw the midwives, all with tearful eyes, shrieking, shivering with fear. They were staring at him.

He looked down at his hands.

He was holding his flaming sword.

Half of it was buried deep inside his wife's chest. Burning her up slowly from where the flames from his sword scorched.

She lay there, not moving, staring at him.

Then a smile crept through her lips.

*Cough cough*

"P... please pro...tect them... D... Do not l...et harm..." She breathed her last.

He slowly pulled out the sword.

The flames disappeared as he dropped it on the floor.

He held his wife, his blue eyes blurry with tears.

"What have I done", was the only words he could say.

His tears started dropping, scorching where they dropped like acids on clothes, sizzling.

He hugged his wife while he wept like a child.

The midwives stood at one side of the room, huddled together in fear of being slain next. Staring at their king confused as to what just happened.

The guards had already rushed in trying to figure out what was happening. They just stood at the doorway staring as confused as the midwives.

Nessus pushed through the now gathering guards and servants as he came into the room.

"Sire, what Happened here *Gasps* is...is she dead?", He staggered back as he drew his sword looking around for any threat.

"I killed her Nessus, she died by my own sword. Th...the curse made me do it", he said almost choking on his own tears.

Then he heard there cries, his newborns. He jerked up. He totally forgot about them.

He walked up to the crib where they were kept With Nessus walking closely behind still confused as to what he just heard from the king.

King Miguel stood over them. He was now looking pale from all the crying. His blue eyes dim.

"I name you Cyane, you've got such blue eyes like I do. Yours even looks darker than mine", he said smiling at his son. He had dark blue eyes and blond hair like that of king Miguel.

He then turned to the his daughter with a smile still on his face, " And I shall call you ignis for I sense you bear the Phoenix deep inside you. Your fire would cleanse the world of evil". She had dark hair like her mother with ears that point to the sky like that of a Lycan, 'she probably inherited Arianna's Lycan blood', he thought

"Nessus, surmon my council immediately. We need to solve this and fast",the king said turning to Nessus who is still standing with his sword out still confused...