~3 hours later~
Aery weakly realized that in a way, Ansel had made good on her promise, in that no one would have to know about Aery's being pregnant. But she also knew that she never wanted to have another baby again. It had hurt terribly, and the damage had been such that Ame had to heal her lest she bleed to death.
Of course, part of the problem was that it was twins, not just one child. At least she didn't have to try to nurse them, for as soon as they'd been born they'd started growing at an accelerated rate and now resembled five-year-olds. No one would ever guess that these twin boys had been born of Aery.
Ame stood in the corner, shaking her head at the sheer amount of magic there. [i]By the Wyrd, Ansel, how many witches did you have to drain to get that spell right?[/i] She didn't entirely want to know the answer.
The boys looked at her like they'd heard her thought. She bit her lip to keep from yelping. "Hi?" she asked.
"Hi!" One of the boys chirped at her.
"Hi! Who are you?" the other said.
"Who are you, who are you?" They both said, running around chasing each other.
"Tag, you're it!" One touched Ame's shoulder.
Ame flinched. She'd never played tag before.
"Tag?" she touched one of them back. He shrieked with laughter and ran around the room, tagging his brother, who tackled Ame, tickling her. She shrieked and flailed, magic sparking around her.
"Boys, don't harass your Auntie Ame!" Aery said. Having changed into a nightgown and slippers (and having thrown away her hair extensions, for by now her hair was back to the respectable length it had once been!) she sat on the bed, looking pale and tired.
"But she's littler than us, how can she be our auntie?"
"Yeah, and she don't look anything like you!"
[i]What're you going to do with them?[/i] Ame asked.
[i]I have absolutely no idea, Amethystia. They're princes but I can't say that without making people suspicious. We could have Silly train them as spies.[/i]
[i]But they're so... Immature![/i]
[i]No, they're normal. You're almost disgustingly mature for your age. But you're right, they're not mature enough to be spies. As much as I hate to say it, we're terribly short-staffed in the kitchen. They'll have a nice, safe place to stay.[/i]
[i]You'll have to name them, then, Aery. Can't refer to them as Thing 1 and Thing 2, now can you?[/i]
Aery sighed, pinched her nose to ward off a headache. She teared up as she thought of names. "Very well then. Aiden and Alek Miner. For two boys who died before their time."
The boys looked at each other. "I'm Aiden." said one. "So you're Alek."
"But I wanna be Aiden!"
"I called it first!"
"So? I'm older!"
Aery sighed, grabbed one of the boys by an arm. "You're Aiden Miner. You've always been Aiden Miner. You are six years old. And you are not in any way shape or form related to me or Amethystia."
The boy nodded soberly. Ame implanted false memories into his mind.
She grabbed the other one. "You are Alek Miner. You've always been Alek Miner. You're six years old. And you're not related to me, or to Ame."
He nodded. Ame implanted the memories for him as well.
Then Aery took her charges down to the kitchen, turned them over to the young woman in charge. She raised her eyebrows but didn't complain; she was VERY short staffed. Aery also grabbed two thick slices of leftover chocolate cake, balancing them on her outstretched palm. She headed back up the stairs, feeling very tired. Aery stopped by Celaena's suite and knocked. "Celaena, can I come in? I brought cake."