This is a little oneshot I've been working on for a while for my best friend, InDiGo- MoOnY- MaRcH, or just Indigo March. Indy, this is for you! Cause I know you've taken a liking to this couple and because I love their family. :)
. . .
Bedtime Stores As Told By Luna
Luna sat on a chair in the living room, the whole house in perfect peace and serenity. That is, until a small noise came from a hallway to her left.
"Mummy!"
"Mummy, we can't sleep."
Luna looked up from her report on Wongdials she was reading to see both Lysander and Lorcan, standing in a doorway that led to their room in pajamas. They were both rubbing their eyes from exhaustion, looking at her in hope.
Luna smiled at them and set down her report.
"What is it?" she asked, bending down slightly and setting her hands on her knees. "Why aren't you guys in bed already?"
"Mummy," Lorcan whined, pouting slightly. "We told you, we can't sleep."
Luna beamed down at the little five-year-olds in front of her. "Well, we can't have that, now can we?"
"Nope," Lysander said simply, swaying from side to side.
"Then let's go back to the room to see if we can get you two to bed," she said, getting up and walking to the room, the twins waddling sleepily behind her.
Once they got to the room and Lysander and Lorcan crawled into their beds, Luna sat down in the chair in between the beds.
"Now," she started, looking from Lysander to Lorcan and back, "why can't you guys sleep?"
"I don't know," Lysander said, shaking his head, his blonde hair flopping all around his little face.
"Me nei-der," Lorcan said, causing Luna to smile at him.
"Well… that means it's time for one of my stories," she said, clapping her hands together in enthusiasm.
"Yeah, mummy," Lorcan piped up, clapping his hands along with his mother.
"We love your stories!" Lysander said, now excited.
Luna laughed softly and said, "Alright, if you want me to tell a story to get you to go to sleep, you have to promise to listen."
"We always listen!" Lorcan said, sitting up a little straighter underneath his bed covers.
"Okay, okay," Luna surrendered, "I'll tell you a story."
She paused for a moment, waiting to see if she had their full attention. When seeing that she did, and that they were anxiously anticipating words to begin coming out of her mouth, Luna went on.
"Can you imagine being the ruler of your own little town? Or maybe… the ruler of your own kingdom… or your own world?"
The twins just looked at her, knowing that her question was not to be answered.
"Well, there was once a place that was in desperate need of a ruler. The people of Quallitopia were without homes, without food. They really needed someone to steer them in the right direction.
"So, they turned to the only two people strong enough to rule the little kingdom: two fearless boys named Lorcan and Lysander, who had royal blood in them, but they didn't know it."
The two little boys gasped in surprise, loving it when their mother inserted them into the stories she told.
"Oh yes," Luna said in reassurance, smiling. "The boys were royal, alright. You see, the king and queen from the kingdom next to them were the parents of the brothers. But they had left them in the forest of Quallitopia because they wanted daughters, and not two sons, to carry their crowns and titles."
"Mummy," Lorcan interjected, "why did you and daddy leave us in the forest?"
"Yeah," Lysander agreed, crossing his arms suddenly.
"What? We would never leave you in the forest."
"But you said that the boys' parents left them in the forest," Lysander argued.
"True, I did say that," Luna said, nodding her head in agreement. "But, the parents who left you aren't your dad and I; they're another pair of parents. A pair that didn't want you. You know that mummy and daddy will always want you." She reached out her hand and tenderly ruffled their hair.
"Ooh," Lorcan said, understanding that his mother never had, nor will she ever leave them in a forest.
"Now, the two boys took on the position of rulers happily, and helped everyone of Quallitopia regain their homes and learn how to get food from the wilderness all around them. They even had their own pet dragons."
"Really?" Lysander asked, both boys smiling from ear to ear now.
"Can I have a green dragon?" Lorcan asked.
Luna smiled, glad the comment about pet dragons had caught their attention. "Yes, of course you can-"
"Then I want a blue dragon!" Lysander said, grinning at his mother.
"Okay, Ly, you can have a blue dragon," she said, taping his nose gently with her index finger.
The boys both smiled and snuggled further into their blankets.
Luna kept going with her tale. "They ruled gladly for a long time, the kingdom never having major problems, like wars or anything like that. But, that was before some evil witches and wizards let some creatures lose in the kingdom, causing confusion, and everyone became afraid of the creatures."
"Were the creatures dangerous, mummy?" Lorcan asked, honestly curious.
"No, actually, all of the creatures were very sweet and loving. But they were so different than what all of the people of Quallitopia were used to, that they all became afraid and tired to kill the creatures."
"Well, what were all of the creatures?" Lysander questioned.
The twins eyes were drooping, but they tried their best to listen to their mother as she explained, "There was a lot of different creatures… there were hippogriffs, Crumple-Horned Snorkacks-"
"Really?" Lorcan awed.
"Yes. And everyone was afraid of them."
"But… Crumple-Horned Snorkacks are good animals, mummy. Why were they afraid of them?" Lorcan seemed to be in complete wonder why anyone would fear these creatures.
"They had never seen Snorkacks before, so they thought they were bad." Luna nodded her head and smiled sadly.
"That's dumb," Lysander said, nodding his head firmly along with Luna.
"Yes it is," she said, agreeing. Then, she went on. "And while everyone in the kingdom was in panic, the two rulers weren't afraid. That was because they could talk to animals, and they knew they didn't mean any harm."
"We could talk to animals? Cool!" Lorcan marveled at the possibility of being able to talk to animals.
"So what happened?" Lysander asked with a little yawn, his eyes heavy, sleep wanting to kick in already.
"I was getting there. They told everyone in Quallitopia that the creatures were peaceful, and didn't mean to hurt them; that they were just scared of the alarmed humans-"
Luna wanted to continue, but when she looked over at the boys, both were fast asleep on their beds, their heads laying down peacefully.
"And they all lived happily ever after, I guess," she said, tucking them in before turning toward the door of their room.
When she reached the door, she turned around one last time to face the boys before turning off the lights and leaving. They were both so quiet… their gentle breathing filled the room.
Luna smiled, proud that her sons had grown to be so healthy in their lives… and that they were such creative boys. She knew that Lysander and Lorcan both had an interesting in eccentric magical creatures. Plus, they had both had already shown that they had magical abilities. Somehow, she knew that they would do great things one day.
But for right now, they were her little boys… and she was happy with that.
"You know… we've done a great job raising them."
Luna turned around, knowing whose voice had come from behind her. Rolf put his hand gently on her shoulder, looking at the sleeping little boys alongside her.
"Hey… so I'm guessing you're done counting the Wackspurts."
"Yeah," Rolf said, kissing Luna lightly on the head. "Great job getting them to sleep. Did you have to tell them another story?"
"Yes," Luna replied, smiling and turning off the lights in the boys' room, heading back to the living room.
"Which story did you tell this time?" he asked as they made their way towards the kitchen.
"The one where they can talk to animals and they are the rulers of a small kingdom called Quallitopia," she said, smiling at the name she had come up with.
"Very creative… Quallitopia?" Rolf asked with a chuckle.
"Yes," Luna said, laughing softly as they got to the kitchen and Rolf served himself some dinner. "I thought it sounded like a kingdom Ly and Lorcan would rule. I don't know, it just sort of came to me."
Rolf smiled and said, "Actually, it does sound like a place they would rule."
"Well, I think I'm going to go to bed now, too," Luna said. "All this story-telling made me sleepy."
"Goodnight," he said. He kissed her before she left, causing Luna to smile, then, as she made her way to walk out of the kitchen to their bedroom, Rolf added, "You know… I bet you could publish a book with all of the stories you tell them. You should really write them down."
Luna grinned inwardly and said, "I should… and maybe I will one of these days."