The Royal Twins

Chapter 6

(Ash)

I walk inside and I hug Rose and walk away from her. I rush up the stairs and into my office. Very few people know that I have a secret passageway in here that leads to a safe. I press the hidden button and watch as the bookshelves move and open access to a dimly lit hallway.

I walk down the hallway and at the end there is a pathway that leads to the safe and a pathway that leads you out of the castle. This was added to the castle plans after I took over. I wanted to be sure that there was some sort of escape plan to get out of the castle undetected.

I take the hallway that leads to the safe. I make sure that I place the dagger back in the box at the very back of the safe. This is where it has been stored for many years. This dagger only comes out for special ceremonies, so we keep it locked up for protection.

Once I am sure that the dagger is safe and secure in the safe, I turn around to head back to my office. Once I get to my office I see that Maggy and Raymond are there as well.

"Is everything okay?" I ask them.

"Yes, everything is fine. I was just coming to let you know that my friends and I have set up a barrier around the kingdom. So nothing magical should be able to get past our defenses." Maggy answers me.

We both turn to look at Raymond.

"Everything is alright with us. I also have groups around the border. They are placed inside the border and can notify us if anything comes through." Raymond explains to us.

I nod at both of them in understanding. They have done all that was asked of them for the day. I wanted to be sure that everything was well guarded and protected. Today is the baby shower, so I want Rose to be able to relax and enjoy herself. She is only a week away from giving birth to the twins. However, the doctor says she can have them anytime, and it is not uncommon for multiples to arrive early.

"Well let's get downstairs so that we can enjoy our day. Thank you so much for making sure the kingdom is well protected." I say to them as I walk towards the door. They follow me out and we go downstairs.

We get down the stairs, and Maggy and Raymond wander off to talk to others. I just stop and look around. I smile as I see Rose. She is surrounded by our family and close friends. They are all talking and laughing with one another. Rose smiles as she sees me.

I walk over to her and give her a hug. I place my hands on her belly and I can feel the babies moving around. I smile dowm at her.

"Miss me?" I ask her with a smirk.

"Maybe," she says to me.

"Excuse me can I have your attention?" My mom calls out over the crowd.

In just a few seconds the whole room becomes quiet and everyone turns to look at her.

"Thank you. Now that everyone has eaten, it is time for gifts. So will everyone please have a seat? "Rose and Ash, I have chairs here for you." She says to us, and we all take our seats.

I can see that everyone is watching with smiles on their faces, but Rose looks uncomfortable.

"Is everything okay?" I ask her.

"I don't know, I am having a few pains. I think I'm okay, though. After this I am going to lay down again." She explains to me.

Once everyone is settled. My mom comes over and sits on the floor by Rose. She has a notebook in her hand. I watch her confused.

"This way we can keep track of who gifted what, and you can send out thank yous to them." She explains to me before I can even ask.

"Now, Raymond has offered to bring you the gifts to open, so just list the name of who gifted it and I will write it down with what it is after you open." My mom explained to Rose, who just nods her head.

I smile as I watch Rose open her gifts. We have so many clothes now for the babies as well as toys. Someone gifted us car seats, another gifted us a stroller. The list continues on and there is so much stuff.

I smile as I see Raymond bring over the last gift. This gift is from my parents, her parents and myself.

She opens it and looks inside. I watch as she lifts a key out.

"What is this for?" She asks me confused.

"That is the key to the nursery." I tell her with a smile.

"We don't have a nursery." She responds to me, with confusion written on her face.

"I will show you, but first let's thank our guests so they can head home or to whatever they have planned for their evening." I say with a smile as I stand up.

I watch as my mom helps Rose stand.

"Thank you all for coming today. It does mean a lot to us. We are so thankful for all the love and support that we have received." I call out to the room.

"Yes thank you for being here for us. We will be sure to let you all know when we are ready for visitors after the babies come." Rose says to everyone.

Everyone says their goodbyes. We watch as the last visitor leaves.

"Now Rose are you ready to see the nursery?" I ask her with a smile.

"Yes!" She exclaims.

Our parents laugh and start their way up the stairs. Rose and I walk behind them.

We walk into our suite. It has a bedroom, an office, two bathrooms, a few closets for storage space and a small kitchen area (only used for snacks and drinks). I watch as Rose walks around confused.

"This is just our suite, nothing in here." She says still looking around.

"Well maybe you should check our coat closet." I say to her with a smile.

She walks over to it and opens the door. She gasps as she steps inside.

"When did you do this?" She asks turning around to look at us.

"The last few weeks we have been busy." My dad says to her.

"Most of the walls of the palace are soundproof. So no sound outside of the suites can be heard by others. So you didn't hear all the work we did." I say to her.

I watch as she walks around.

It's not really a nursery. It's more like an addition to our suite. I cut out part of the wall inside the closet to make a doorway to the suite next door. We converted the empty suite into two bedrooms with a play room.

One room is set up with blues and greens for our little boy. The other room is set up with purples and yellows for our little girl. And the play room is forest themed, with a mural on the wall of my wolf and Rose's wolf. Once the babies have their wolves we will add their wolves to the mural as well.

We have already set up the rooms with cribs and dressers and some of the things Rose had already bought for them. The play room has a rocking chair and a book shelf that is full of kids' stories. We also have some swings and large toys set up out here for the babies.

"So now if you look at that door. It will lead to the hallway. We can keep it locked at all times with that key. As they get older we can leave it unlocked so they can get in or out of that door. But until then, we can take this door off and just have access from here." I explain to her.

"This is amazing. Thank you all so much." Rose says to us with tears in her eyes.

I watch as she walks over to sit in the rocking chair. She has tears in her eyes.

"Is everything okay?" Kat asks her.

"Oh, yes everything is okay. These are happy tears. Now we have a place to put all of the things we got today." Just as she finishes talking, Raymond and some of his friends walk in with all the things.

"Figured we would bring these up to you." Raymond says with a smile.

I watch as his smile falls and he looks at Rose.

"Rose are you okay?" He asks her.

"I am having a few pains every now and then, but I think I am fine. Why?" She asks him.

As Raymond walks closer to her, he says, "Your heart rate is elevated and your scent has changed more than normal."

"I think you are in labor." He says turning and looking at me.

"I don't think I am," Rose says as she stands up from the chair.

She takes one step and then there is a splash. We all stop talking and look at Rose who is looking at the floor with her eyes wide.

"I think my water just broke." She says to us as she looks up at us.