Neridie shook her head.

“No... I asked again and they said soon!”

Ashen nodded, but soon was not soon enough in his eyes. He glanced at the doors, not the one the girls had come from, but the large, heavy doors on his left. He wished those weren’t so big and soundproof... There wasn’t anything he could do, though. Hence, he simply paced in the corridor with his two daughters, trying to ease his anxiety and theirs by chatting with them both. Neridie was approaching her seventh birthday already, while Shelie was two years old. The two girls couldn’t have been more different: Neridie was chatty, outgoing, and brazen, while Shelie was always seeking the comforting refuge of familiar arms, and not much of a talker either. The younger sister was happy staying seated in her dad’s arms, while Neridie kept walking around, pacing twice more than her dad did. For the maid who watched on the side, it was a cute sight to see father and daughter sharing their nervousness with similar habits.

After a while, movement was finally heard from the other side. The door opened, and Shelie’s godmother came out first, looking a bit tired. Her little belly was starting to show, but it was too small yet to be of any inconvenience to her. The real reason she was tired was probably not in her body.

“Tessandra,” Ashen exclaimed, walking up to her immediately. “...So?”

“Everything’s fine,” she smiled. “Congratulations, Your Majesty. It’s a healthy boy, and Cessi is perfectly fine too.”

“Can we go in now?” Neridie exclaimed.

“Yes, but be quiet, baby. Your little brother just stopped crying.”

“I will!”

After hearing this, Neridie ran into the room first, but in silence. Ashen let out a faint sigh of relief.

“Thank you,” he said.

“Don’t thank me,” Tessandra smiled. “It’s family, after all. Go and enjoy your family time now. I’ll send everyone else out.”

Indeed, Tessandra took all the maids out with her, leaving the little family of now five alone. When Ashen walked in, still carrying Shelie, Neridie was already on the bed, chatting happily with her mom. A huge wave of relief washed over him as he saw his wife smiling. She was beautiful, leaning against a huge colored pillow with her chestnut curls in a mess all around her head. Little pearls of sweat were still dripping down her temples and hairline. He had been worried because she had to give birth in the middle of a hot, humid summer, but she seemed just fine.

“Mommy!” Shelie said as he gently put her on the bed.

“Hi, my baby,” Cessilia smiled, letting the little girl climb up to her other side. “Do you want to meet your little brother?”

The two girls were already fascinated by the young baby boy sleeping in their mother’s arms. Ashen, however, first went to his wife, caressing her head and putting a kiss on her forehead.

“How are you?”

“I’m alright,” she smiled.

She caressed his cheek with her free hand, and they exchanged a long, gentle kiss. Then, they turned their heads toward the newborn baby in Cessilia’s arm.

“He’s so small!” Neridie exclaimed.

“You were smaller than that when you were born,” Ashen smiled, “and you said the same thing when Shelie was born. Do you remember?”

“No.” His oldest shook her head.

Ashen smiled and glanced back toward the baby. Hesitantly, Shelie held out her hand, and took her baby brother’s. The little baby opened his eyes, making the two girls react. He made a cute little movement with his head, and looked at the faces above him.

“And his dragon?” Neridie asked.

“He’s with Cece,” Cessilia smiled.

She turned her head, and just then, they heard a loud flap of wings. Silver scales appeared on the balcony, and a large eye stared at the little family.

“Cece!” Neridie exclaimed, already jumping down from the bed to go and greet the dragons.

While Cece was too big to come in, three little dragons flew onto the balcony. The biggest of the three was Didi, Neridie’s Pink Dragon, who ran toward her to spin around her. Then came Shelie’s little Dark Green Dragon, Lish, who was followed by an even smaller one. The baby dragon was still barely learning to flap those tiny wings, but was moving around making cute little jumps at its older siblings, and constantly glancing back toward Cece. Neridie walked first to the new baby dragon. This one was of a beautiful light blue color, like the morning sea. It sniffed Neridie’s hand before letting her grab its small body and carry it back to the bed, where the young dragon met its owner.

“Hello,” Shelie said, her big black eyes riveted on the baby dragon.

The dragon rubbed its long body against the baby girl, making her giggle, and curled up in front of her on Cessilia’s lap. The little girl happily pet the new baby dragon. Meanwhile, Ashen put a leg down on the bed, sitting next to his wife and putting an arm under her head for support.

“Hold him,” she said, passing him the baby.

He smiled and took his newborn son in the crook of his arm without hesitation. The baby still had his eyes open, but could hardly decide on the little movement of his face. Twice, his little tongue peeked out cutely, making his mom chuckle. His dad gently held him, effortlessly, his eyes riveted on his latest child.

“...We have to name him,” she whispered.

Ashen nodded. Cessilia tilted her head, waiting for him to say something, but her husband only had his eyes on the baby, seeming a bit nervous.

“Tell me,” she encouraged him.

He glanced at her, frowning.

“...How do you know I already have an idea?”

“I’m your wife,” Cessilia chuckled. “It’s my duty to know what my husband thinks... You reacted when I said it would be nice to have a son sometime. Even now, you’re very quiet compared to when the girls were born. You let me choose both of their names. So, what’s his?”

Ashen smiled. Of course she’d read him... as always. He glanced at her, still hesitant.

“Please tell me if you hate it.”

“I doubt I will.”

“Just tell me. I’m not sure yet. ...I thought I’d like to call him Yassim.”

Cessilia smiled, without saying anything.

“...What do you think?”

“That’s really sweet of you to want to honor him.”

“He saved my life,” her husband muttered.

Cessilia felt proud of her husband. He had never been one to be able to thank people, for a long time... His survival instincts had been pushed to such extremes that he couldn’t trust anyone. Even when his mentor had sacrificed himself for his sake, it had taken Ashen a long time to be at peace about it. Now, he wanted to honor this man through his son... She found that adorable. Especially since Yassim had no children of his own, no one left behind.

“I’m still not sure,” Ashen frowned. “I tried to come up with other ideas, but I really wanted... If I had a son... to honor him in some way. But I couldn’t come up with anything better. And that name was specific to his tribe...”

“I like your idea,” Cessilia nodded. “How about Yashen, then? He’s your son, after all.”

Ashen smiled.