Magdiana had turned fifty a few days ago, and Astero a few months before that. On their anniversary, they'd taken a month off of work and spent the time together on The Raven. The day before, they'd had dinner with friends and family- steak and eggs- Magdiana didn't care that it was a breakfast dish. It was her favorite. After a round of hugs and goodbyes, Magdiana was barely holding it together to leave in the morning.

She didn't want to make Astero feel any worse than he already did, so, once he'd fallen asleep that night, she cast silence on the bathroom door, and cried her heart out. Before going to bed, she carefully removed her clothes, and placed them in a sealed bag. She hid them in her dresser drawer with the others, locking in the scent for him for when he needed it. She wrote him another letter, hiding it from him for him to find, along with many others that he still didn't know about. She was as ready as she could ever get.

Far too late, in the early morning hours, she joined him in bed, not sleeping, but enjoying his embrace nevertheless. When he awoke in the morning, she kissed him on the lips, lingering for a long moment. "Good morning, dear."

He savored the taste of her on his lips, as he looked into her eyes. "Good morning."

"Lumillon will be here any minute." She reminded him. "It's a long flight."

He sat up and quickly put on some clothes. "Then, I want to be there to see you off." He said getting ready quickly.

"What? You're not going with me?" She asked him quietly, starting to get dressed herself.

"Why do you think I am getting dressed?" He told her. "I want to be there to see you off." He repeated.

She dressed, leaving all of her daggers behind, staring at them with a bit of sadness. "Thank you." She frowned, setting her jaw into a firm line. "I'm ready." She told him, sitting on the bed and waiting. Her hands were shaking, so she balled them into fists.

When Astero was done, he sat down next to her. He put an arm around her, and held her close. "I know." He told her quietly. "I know." He said, trying to be as strong as possible as he could for her.

She leaned into him. "My Knight." She whispered as she heard the knock at the front door.

He sighed, and stood up holding his hand out for her. "My Queen."

She took his hand, and slowly walked downstairs. Each step filled her with dread, and the lump in her throat felt larger and larger. She opened the door, and greeted Lumillon cordially, if a little more muted than her normal self. The trio walked out of town before Lumillon transformed, and the Vosson's climbed onto his back. "Alright, in-law, please don't drop us." Magdiana joked.

Lumillon smiled back at her. "Don't worry. You will make it there in one piece." He said calmingly.

They took off, and it took awhile to get used to the feeling. After about an hour, the air felt almost calming. Magdiana gripped onto Astero, holding him tightly around the middle, enjoying the closeness as they flew overseas as the air cooled around them and snow began to fall. She hadn't bothered with winter clothes, not feeling like she would be around long enough for potential hypothermia to matter. Instead, she just sidled up closer to her husband, keeping him near. She knew that they were close when the familiar architecture of Evermore appeared below them. She squinted into the distance, and, eventually, a castle in the mountains appeared. A shiver ran up her spine. She hugged Astero tighter.

Astero held her back tightly, making sure she was close. As they got closer to the castle, the area surrounding it began to look different. From the height they were at it almost looked like trees, but as they got closer it became clear that they were not trees, it was undead. As Lumillon got closer to the ground near the castle, the undead separated, and gave them a place to land. Lumillon touched down and looked to the couple. "This is your stop." He said to them. "I will wait here."

Magdiana patted Lumillon's side. "Thank you, old friend. See you in the next life." She told him, gripping onto Astero's hand, and walking towards the doors of the castle. "I love you." She whispered to him as they walked past the legions of undead.

"I love you." He whispered back. He looked around at the legions, and shivered. "At least it is a pretty safe place." He hollowly joked.

They made their way into the drafty palace. "It's the safest you'll ever be." She assured him, rubbing his hand with her thumb. "You're with me and The King. Nothing can hurt you here."

"I wasn't worried." He told her honestly. "I am just nervous is all." He said rubbing her hand in kind.

She squeezed his hand. "I know." She told him, seeing The King just ahead. She gulped audibly. "Hey." She greeted anxiously.

"Hello." He said warmly. "I am glad you made it here safely."

"Thanks." She said, releasing Astero's hand to hug the lich. "Good to see you again, old friend."

The King hugged her back, and gently pay her shoulder. "It has been a while." He said quietly to her. He pulled away and greeted Astero. "Hello."

"Hey." He said quietly.

Magdiana stepped back and pulled a bag out of her pocket. She handed it to The King. "I made chocolate chip cookies this time."

He gently took the bag and smiled. "Thank you." He told her, gesturing them down the hallway. "I will have some a little later."

Magdiana's hand took Astero's again. "Kinda figured." She muttered, kissing her husband's cheek and following The King's lead. "Hey, As?" She whispered to him.

He looked to her. "Yes Mag?" He asked her quietly.

"I didn't want to tell you sooner, but… Mask is going to be checking in on you while I'm gone." She admitted. "Ahem… Divine intervention."

"Thank you." He said kissing her cheek. " It will be nice to know that I will have a bit of you watching over me." He smiled at her.

She nodded. "You're welcome. There's a couple other things at home for you… to help. My dresser has all of my dirty clothes from the last month in it bagged up so you can smell me if you need to, and I've hidden… I don't know how many letters around the house. Lost count three weeks ago."

He felt his eyes water a bit, and wiped the tears away. "Thank you. You are going to make me look like a crazy person." He joked.

"You'll find them naturally. You don't have to go on a scavenger hunt on day one." She giggled, but it didn't sound right. "I will love you until the end of your days and beyond."

He smiled at her. "And, I will love you until time itself stops." He said squeezing her hand.

They reached a room at the end of a long hallway. "My Knight." She kissed him, lingering to enjoy his taste.

"My Queen." He said with teary eyes, savouring every last moment of her.

She looked away from him and to The King. Her voice caught, and she didn't want to worry Astero any more than he already was. So, she just waited for instructions quietly.

The King silently waited for them to have their moment. When she looked at him, he gave a nod to her. He gestured to her and opened the large doors to reveal a large chamber, with a platform in the middle. He gave a small nod to Astero, as a sign of 'this is the end, I'm sorry'.

Astero took a few steps back but kept facing the door, he was going to wait until he could see Mag no more.

Magdiana blew him a kiss, throwing it at him like they had back in his room at The Rook all those years ago. She smiled at him before turning and taking The King's hand. Hers was shaking, but she still didn't let herself cry. This was hard enough without them. She didn't need to cry. There would be enough tears without adding her own to the mix today.

The King began to gently lead Mag into the room. She had made it several feet in before a magic washed over her body and pushed her out of the room with some force. The King looked at his hand, and then to Mag in shock. He stood quiet.

"Uh… I take it that's not normal." She asked, voice wavering.

The King glanced around the room before his gaze rested on Mag. He briefly he looked to Astero, and sighed. "I cannot accept your soul." He said in a voice of sadness, and confusion.

"What… just happened?" She asked, equally confused. "Why did it… refuse me?"

He made a face, unsure of how to properly respond. "Did you two… have sex recently?" Has asked bluntly, not mincing words.

Magdiana blushed. "Well, yeah, but we've been using the spell."

The King looked at her intently, making sure that she was being truthful. After a long moment, he sighed deeply. "Then, it would seem Mask favors you far more than you know." He said taking a step out and shutting the door, ushering them away from that door.

"Wh- what?" She asked, starting to get flustered and looking to Astero. "What?"

Astero looked to Mag, and looked to The King. "Okay, I don't want to sound rude, but could you please explain what the fuck is going on?" He blurted out. "There are way too many emotions to try and process this right now."

The King sighed and looked to Astero. "When I am offered a soul, I am very sure to not take a child." He said with a pause.

"But, I don't… I'm not." She got a funny look on her face for a second and cast the pregnancy detection charm on herself. "I'm going to kill him. I'm going to plane shift to mount Celestia, and I'm going to fucking kill a god."

"For what? Bringing you life?" The King asked her curiously.

"Mask has never had to go through childbirth." Magdiana made a face.

Astero looked to The King. "We went through all this emotional and psychological turmoil, just to not have to do any of it?" He asked, clearly annoyed.

The King nodded. "Yes." He told him simply. "I am also annoyed."

"I'm sorry." Magdiana told him honestly. "I didn't mean to…" She trailed off, finally letting loose on the tears she'd been holding back all day.

The King gently patted her back. "It's fine. It was not your fault. It is also not the first time this has happened." He told her calmly.

Magdiana walked over to Astero and pulled him into a hug, crying heavily. "My god is an asshole. He could've just told me to say no… twenty years ago."

"Yes he is." Astero said crying into Mag.

"I love you." She whispered into his ear. "I love you. I love you." She started to say more desperately over and over as she cried into him.

"I love you." He told her on repeat, as he held her tightly held her.

"As?" She asked him shakily, her entire body starting to give out in his arms.

"Yes?" He asked her, wiping away tears.

She pulled away, but only just. "It's twins again… that asshole."

Astero hung his head for a moment, and then began to laugh, falling over in laughter. "That asshole." He said holding his sides, and trying to calm down for the emotional whiplash he just experienced.

"Hey! That was my worst pregnancy." She complained, looking at him with soft eyes, "And, you're not as young as you used to be."

He nodded and sat up to look at her, before turning to The King. "I know, and I am sorry for laughing, but Mask didn't want to just be sure you didn't get taken… He wanted to be doubly sure." he chuckled. "Sorry." He said looking at The King apologetically.

"This is morbid, but it really doesn't feel like a blessing right now. He made me fucking look death in the eyes, and, then, took it away and said, 'Oh, hey, by the way, I know you haven't had an infant in sixteen years, but here you go'!"

Astero nodded and let out a sigh. "How are we going to explain this to the kids?" He asked her seriously. "They were more ready than we were."

Magdiana shook her head. "I don't know." She looked over to The King. "I'm sorry. Really, I am, had I known… we might have done things differently. I guess, we'll get out of your hair, so to speak. Just let us know if you need anything, and we'll take care of it."

The king shook his head at her. "No. You have no reason to be sorry. You did nothing wrong." he told her comfortingly. "It literally was an act of a god." He said with a sigh. He shook his head a bit, and pulled out the cookies to eat one. "These are delicious." He smiled at her. "I do hope we can still have our tea times. They are nice." He told her confidently.

"Of course. Just sending and we will set a time and date. I'll think of something good for next time." She told him.

He gave her a nod. "Will do." He smiled, before beginning to usher them out. "Now please go enjoy the rest of your life. This is no place for a pregnant woman." He told the both of them.

"This outfit in this weather is not good either." She suddenly realized how cold she was. "I wasn't exactly planning on it mattering."

The nodded and a few moments later a few undead arrived with some warmer clothes for the two of them. "There that should help keep you warm." He said smiling.

Magdiana pulled on the coat and leaned into Astero for warmth. "Thank you." She told him. "For everything you do." She grabbed Astero's hand. "Let's go home."

Aster nodded and looked to The King. "Again thank you." He told him, before turning and starting to walk out with Mag in hand.

The King smiled and waved them off. "Take care!" He called out to them, as they left.

The pair walked outside to a very confused looking gold dragon. Magdiana looked to her in-law. "Uh, apparently, I didn't know I was pregnant again." She blushed.

Lumillon blinked several times, and shook his head. "You can explain it when we get back." He sighed, leaning down to let them get on.

Magdiana mounted the dragon behind Astero, and held his waist. "I love you, As." She told him.

Astero turned and stole a kiss. "I love you, Mag." He said, turning and leaning into her.

Hours later, they arrived back home to a very confused family waiting back at the Vosson family home. Magdiana looked to Astero for support. "It's complicated." She started.

"Complicated is basically our middle name at this point." Astero sighed. "To put it as simply as possible. Your mom is pregnant." He said bluntly.

"Like what happened with Nora. Mask turned off the spell again." She added. "We obviously weren't trying."

"Definitely weren't trying." He added. "The only difference this time is that we are getting another dose of double trouble." He said looking to the twins.

Magdiana sat down heavily on a chair before tears took her full force. "I'm so sorry I put you through all of that. You shouldn't have had to say goodbye like that only for this… I'm so sorry."

Astero sat down next to her. "I am just glad I get to see more of you." He told her honestly, pulling her in for a tight hug.

Jasper and Iris followed suite, and moved in to hug their mom. "We would rather have gone through that a thousand times, if it meant seeing you for just another minute." Jasper said to her.

"Yeah." Iris added. "We want to see as much of you as possible, any more time is good enough for us."

Magdiana looked to the twins, holding her arms out for them, "Get over here, you two." They ran in for a hug just as Nora started to speak.

"When I asked Mask for more time with you, I wasn't expecting this." She said crying as she walked to hug her mom. "I love you."

Magdiana hugged her eldest. "It would be you." She giggled. "Your prayers have been answered. I'm going to be around for a long time. I want my dagger back."

Nora chuckled. "I will give it back to you, you big goof." She said squeezing her mom tighter.

Magdiana looked to her youngest. "Please don't tell me you prayed to Mask too."

Whitney simply nodded. "Yeah, sorry. I didn't want you to go." The sixteen year old started crying, joining Nora in their mother's arms.

"Well, that explains the twins. Literal bastard." Magdiana laughed.

Astero smiled at his wife. "I am thanking him, just this once." He told her. "I really didn't want to lose my best friend." He said teary eyed.

"Four of our six children are thanks to that deity." Magdiana complained. "It's honestly, a bit of a relief, though. I wasn't as ready as I was playing at." She sighed, patting her non-existent belly. "Shit was terrifying."

"I could tell." Astero told her honestly. "You were shaking, the closer we got to Yutan."

"As, I didn't dress for the weather. I was cold." She laughed. She stilled. "If anybody finds a letter around the house, don't read it. Those were for when I'm gone. I will cut you otherwise."

Nora laughed hugging her mother. "You're a dork… I found mine this morning, and you're not getting it back. You sentimental old lady."

Jasper raised a hand too. "Yeah hiding it in the cookie jar wasn't the best place for mine." He joked.

"Yeah, could have put mine in a less obvious place too, Mom." Iris smiled.

Whitney pulled a letter out of her pocket. "My baby girl," She started to recite from the letter before the room suddenly and inexplicably went silent while Magdiana turned red.

A minute later, the room had noise again. "Alright, fine. If you find any other letters, don't read them." Magdiana sighed. "At least, you found them. Jeez."

Astero slowly raised a hand. "If I am being honest, I have already found several." he told her honestly. "But I haven't read any of them." He added, leaning into her to whisper into her ear. "I was going to wait."

"That was kind of the point." Magdiana groaned. "And, I now have a month's worth of laundry to do and no clean clothes."

"Well at least you know someone who can help." he told her with a smile.

"At least, I don't have to take a year off of work again. I already quit." She tried to look on the bright side.

"Yeah, you retired early." astero told her. "I still have a few more years before I even think of that." he said with a sigh.

Magdiana looked at his greying hair and frowned. "Yeah, we have some small mouths to feed now. And, I don't need to retire. Just… maternity leave."

Astero saw her eyeing his hair, and shook his head slightly. "We are still loaded after what was left on The Raven… money is not an issue." He told her honestly.

"I know, but what am I going to do for… Soo many years without work to fill my day?" She asked him seriously.

Astero smiled at her, and looked to the hanging picture frame above the door. "Well… you could always take up a hobby of puzzles." He joked at her.

"Oh, no. That one puzzle took us two years. We kept getting interrupted." She looked like she'd be backing away if she weren't sitting.

He chuckled a bit. "And now the only distractions we will be having is kids, and I would say we are pretty good at dealing with them." He chuckled looking at his children.

Magdiana looked to her kids and back to her husband. "Would you mind if we had a moment alone?" She asked the kids quietly.

The kids quickly and quietly got up and filed out of the room, retreating to the backyard. Leaving Astero and Mag alone together.

"As," Magdiana looked at him with soft eyes. "I need to be able to support two twins and an aging husband. I can't just… not work."

Astero grabbed her hand, giving her a nod. "I know, that was why I worked so hard to make sure we didn't go into the savings," He told her honestly. "I made sure to just use the money I made, I did dip in a bit, but not a disgusting amount." He told her seriously.

"I'll be with you until the end." She finally assured him after staring into his eyes for a minute. "After that, I might go back to work." She gulped, chest tight. "I never prepared to lose you."

He placed a hand on her cheek, and leaned in to give her a kiss. "A knight is prepared to serve his queen until the very end… no questions asked." He smiled at her.

Magdiana's eyes sprung up with tears. "Please don't… a queen can move anywhere she wants, but, without support, she's just as useful as a pawn."

He shook his head a bit. "A queen is the most powerful piece on a board. A knight is the trickiest." He told her. "Knights are a distraction for the true show to begin."

"But, I don't want our game to end." Her throat was thick. "I need you still."

He looked into her eyes for a long moment. "I will always be there for you." He explained to her. "I still feel my parents watching over me, and i know i will always be watching over you too. Making sure that your dreams are nice and peaceful."

"It was supposed to be me protecting you. You were supposed to live." She sniffed.

"My parents wanted me to live a long and happy life… if that means that I know you will be alive when I pass. Then it is a happy life for me." He told her honestly.

She held his hand, crying hard now. "I'll be there until the end. Until my own. Until the end of time itself." She promised. "Gods, I'm sorry I did this to you, you asshole."

He pulled her in for a tight and comforting hug. "I will love you, until time runs out." He whispered to her, rubbing her back soothingly. "It's okay."

She hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Astero… for giving me a chance."

"My only regret is not doing it sooner." He whispered to her.

"None of my regrets involve living." She repeated her words she'd said to The King six years before.

He gave a slight nod. "Just knowing you were there is good enough." He told her.

"Until the end, My Knight." She promised.

"Until the end, My Queen." He promised in kind.

The End