It was a cave located deep in the mountains. The whole horizon was covered with a veil of white mist. The snow raged on and harsh winds blew from every direction. The trees were clad in white, and only a figure walking on the deep snow was walking. Outfitted with a cloak, and pulling a sleigh. The man pulled the sleigh with a woman on it to the cave. Nolan Salvatore pulled his mask and hood down. He flicked his finger to the cave, creating a ball of fire that floated, lighting the place. Inside the cave, there was a place filled with thick wool and hay.

The cave was warm and there was a blue crystal on the side of the wall. Nolan pulled the sleigh close to the mouth of the cave. He took Ciara’s hand, and carefully led her inside the cave, watching her every step, with her body leaning on him. She was flaring up, her body heat was melting the snow around the cave. Nolan’s skin was feeling the heat radiating from her skin. She was bright red, and she was panting, holding in the pain of the children that was begging to be let out to the world.

Nolan took her to the woof and carefully laid. He walked up to her and said, “Inhale, and exhale, please calm down.” He took the luggage from the sleigh and took out the materials he got from the herbalist of the village. He took the wooden basin and casts a spell that produced water on his palms. He wrote a runic word and produced a piece of diamond-shaped ice, placing it in the water basin. He fetched a clean white cloth from his bag, dipped it in the basin, and used it to rub on Ciara’s forehead. Her face was crumpled, and she was panting heavily, her chest heaving up and down. Her left hand was convulsing, and she was grunting, clamping her teeth tightly, and locking her jaw while preventing a scream from escaping her mouth. Her membranous sac was still intact and she was trying her hardest to suppress the pain produced by her own body. She was tightly holding on to a chunk of iron, yet it was squished so hard that it became thin as paper.

Her right hand was pounding the cave, and Nolan could only take her hand and caressed it hoping that it would calm her down. Ciara, was in tears, a streak of tears run through both of her cheeks, and she was gritting her teeth. She was strong, therefore the membrane was putting up a fight. Ciara’s body of steel had become a problem, and because of that, she was suffering from internal pain. Her body was going out of control, and if she doesn’t give birth soon, she might just destroy the mountains and the land surrounding it. Light was coming out of her palms, elements that intertwined broke a part of the cave instantly, forcing Nolan to shield the cave, hoping that it wouldn’t cave in on them.

Not having a choice, Nolan forced his body to summoned obsidian pillars that would support the ceiling of the cave. His eyes turned bloody red, and his veins were spurting blood as he forces Ciara down, who was having a fit, she was screaming, throwing her arms around, breaking the floor, and making shockwaves as she swings her arms around.

Nolan was entering his wraith form just to dodge Ciara’s fits. Ciara was screaming, and she had bitten her lip, she was sobbing, veins popping on her head as she desperately waits for her waters to break. She has felt it breaking, however, it took her time to do so. “Nolan! It hurts! It hurts!” She couldn’t help but scream woefully.

“Just endure it!” Nolan said, trying his best to soothe Ciara’s pain. It bothered her, that the war maiden who wouldn’t even budge when hit by a bolt or an arrow would have this kind of reaction. That’s why despite his body taking a beating, he endured, hoping that the waters of her membrane would break. It was then that Ciara suddenly shouted, arching her back. Nolan hurriedly scurried in front of her. She was experiencing contractions, and her uterine muscle was contracting, and water leaked out of her vagina. Nolan could see the baby’s head, no, he could see two heads popping out. Nolan panicked for a second before he started laying out fresh cloth around her privates.

Nolan massaged her birthing area. “Take your time, Ciara, just take your time. Push if you can, okay?”

Ciara didn’t answer, she just gritted her teeth and pushed. Nolan didn’t know what to do first, but he calmed himself down, and opted to go for the first baby, putting his hand under the baby’s head, gently guiding it downward, gradually guiding the shoulders out, one at a time. Seeing the baby coming out, he took the cloth he prepared and gently rubbed the baby down, to stimulate the baby as it starts breathing. He wiped fluids off the baby’s nose and mouth and covered the baby on a cloth. He took the baby, and said, tears running down his eyes, “Okay, child, be good, you still have your sibling okay?”

Nolan hurried and did the same process to the baby. He guided the baby until he wrapped both in a clean cloth. He was about to cry and cheer, but stayed calm, thinking that the placenta should come out of Ciara. Ciara was barely awake, she was looking at her children, although tears were on her face, she was smiling brightly.

Nolan wanted to celebrate, wrapped his arms around the babies, but he couldn’t. He had to wait for her placenta to naturally slip out. He barely could contain his excitement, so when her placenta did appear out of her privates, slipping out. When it did, Nolan checked if the twin’s umbilical cord had stopped pulsing, then, he clamped the cord, and cut the section of the cord, with a piece of cloth underneath it. When it was done, Nolan felt like a weight was off his shoulders, and he stared at the two toddlers crying loudly.

***

Nolan felt like water was rising from the bottom, escaping out of his eyes. There was a knot in his heart that was untied the moment the twins was delivered. A boy and a girl, and they were healthy children, loudly crying, expelling a tinge of their mother’s power. Nolan felt like he was just poured with cold water, and looking at the two, he couldn’t but smile naturally, as if the two were the most precious thing to him. He held himself back and made sure that the babies were warm and safe.

He turned his attention to Ciara, who was knocked out after the second child came out. She was raggedly breathing, and she looked so defenseless. Nolan turned his attention on her neck, a tinge of murderous intent surged out. He then squinted his eyes close, and punched his face for what he thought. He took a piece of cloth and placed it on Ciara’s forehead. “Please rest,” he said gently.

***

Ciara found herself on a void that reflected a blue sky. There was a woman who had the same appearance as her, sobbing, and laughing. The woman turned her attention to Ciara and wrapped her arms around Ciara. “Thank you, t-thank you!”

Ciara couldn’t understand. She only wrapped her arms around the woman and rubbed her back. She took a step back, and saw the face of a woman whose face was covered in tears and snot. Ciara patted the woman’s head, and took a step back. The woman wiped her face, placed her hands behind her, and smiled at Ciara, her figure turning into many lights. Ciara felt a thorn in her heart plucked out, and she suddenly saw a cave ceiling lit up. She looked around and saw that she was lying down on a bed made of wool and hay. She was dazed for a second, until she heard the cry of two children. They were screaming, and a weary voice calmed them, “There, there, calm down, you two, dad is here, don’t cry.”

The two kept crying, and when Nolan glanced to where Ciara was, and saw that she was awake, he said, “Please help me, you should have regenerated right?”

“Ah,” Ciara tried to stand, but she felt both of her legs weak, and she could only crawl to where Nolan was. With hands shaking, she took he babies away, and caressed them with her arms, the warmth of her body radiating to them, the children stopped crying the moment they were in the bosom of their mother. “My children, my flesh and blood?”

“Yes,” Nolan said tiredly. “They are yours, Ciara. Our children, aren’t they healthy?”

The dam of Ciara’s eyes broke, eyes widened, “They are, indeed,” body shaking sobs came out after her, wave after wave. The brave face that she always had crumbled, and all the loneliness, pain, and the weight of the travels gushed out of her this moment. She couldn’t stop shaking, and she could only stare at her children with tears spilling out of her eyes.

“It’s okay,” Nolan rubbed the back of her head. “Don’t cry, okay? I’m here, and if you keep doing that, they might think that their mommy is weak, when in fact she’s the strongest there is.”

“Leave me alone,” she swung her head away, avoiding Nolan’s gaze. Nolan raised a smirk, and then turned his attention to the children. “I, I know that it is complicated between us, but, thank you, Ciara, I thank you for this.”

“I wanted this,” Ciara said. “I just don’t want to be lonely, and I took the chance.”

“I know, I know,” Nolan shrugged. “You can keep saying that.”

“It’s the truth, and I,” Ciara gave up, and hid her face between the babies. Her shoulder was shaking, and yet Nolan had to say those things. Nolan felt guilty, and placed his shoulder on Ciara, before standing up. His shirt was covered in blood, and the scratches and wound he sustained while helping Ciara was still regenerating.

“I’ll clean up and set up protection around the cave. Ciara, do you know any concealment barriers?”

“I know, I will cast it once my body feels right.”

Nolan dusted his shirt. “I’ll prepare a bath so you can clean yourself. If you can’t stand then I’ll help you.”

“No, no,” she shook her head. “I will be fine, please worry about these lovelies.”

“So what should we call them?” Nolan stared at his twins. “I thought of a name for the boy…the girl however, can you name her?”

“What did you name our boy?”

“Rory, it is a name from my home country, the name of one of our High Kings.”

“I see,” Ciara nodded. “I would like to call her, Eira. Look at her, pale as a snow compared to Rory.”

“She seems to like her name,” Nolan nodded. “Rory and Eira, our children, hah, I can’t believe this. It took a lot of time, but it seems that we’ve finally done it, and it has been quite a journey. Time and space, and we’ve even pointed our blades at each other. My heart’s in chaos, but I am throwing it away, for now, it’s shameful, and I know that it is quite maddening that I am this happy. Hah, I can’t believe this.”

Ciara didn’t say a word, she hugged her children as if obsessed, not willing to let them go, a thin shield of light protecting the four of them. “Nolan, you know me, and what I would do for my family.”

“Of course I do,” Nolan smiled thinly. “The woman who escaped from her world to save her adopted family would surely do everything to her protect her child. And to think that I just give you two reason to live now. What a fool I am.”

“Two?” She snorted. “Three reasons now, hate me all you want, love me all you want, but you are taking responsibility, mister.”

Indeed, the two’s relationship is madness, and maybe they’ve become insane along the way, however, at this moment, they were just fools who were glad by the birth of their twins. The maddened and lonely couple were no longer alone. They weren't just two of them now.