Vase Oneshots

Kids!

~ This takes place after Rose and Varian are married~

Idea inspired by yinthedemon

Rose lay on the couch, her hand over her bulging stomach as her two kids, Aliz and Al, snuggled up next to her. It was a cold Winter's day, and they all were cuddled underneath one huge blanket, watching the flames rise and fall in the fireplace.

"Who wants hot cocoa?" Varian asked, bringing in two mugs of it. Aliz and Al sat up, screaming, "Me! Me!"

Varian gave each of the kids a mug, warning them not to spill it. He sat on the opposite side of the kids, next to Rose, and put an arm around her as they watched Al and Aliz drink their hot cocoa.

"Ow! That's hot!" Al yelled, holding out his tongue.

Aliz laughed at him. "That's why it's called hot cocoa."

Rose herself smirked as she leaned her head on Varian's shoulder. But the moment didn't last long, and she felt a pain in her stomach. She clutched onto her belly, gritting her teeth.

"What's wrong?" Varian asked, clearly concerned. Even Aliz and Al looked up to see what the matter was.

The pain subsided. "I-I'm okay." Then it came back again, as if something was pushing her insides all around. "Nope, I take that back," she said in a strained voice.

"Do you think..." Varian left the sentence unfinished, but Rose knew what he meant. The baby's coming.

As if on cue, Rose felt her water break. She nodded. Varian's breathing started to quicken and he quickly jumped off the couch. "I-I'll go get Dad. Someone needs to watch the kids."

Lucky for them, Quirin lived only a few houses away, so you could get there in just a few minutes. Aliz and Al stared in shock at both of their parents. What was going on?

As Varian left the house in a rush, Rose got up-- with some difficulty-- and went to retrieve her coat and scarf. But as she was putting her boots on, the pain came once again, and she almost fell over. Oh, God, let it all be over soon.

About five or so minutes later, Varian came back into the house, Quirin following behind. Varian dashed over to his wife and helped her to the door as Quirin gathered up the kids, who were bolting questions at him.

"Is Mommy okay?"

"What's happening to her?"

"She'll be fine," Quirin reassured them, resting a hand on both of their shoulders.

"I'll see you very soon" Rose told them both. "I love you."

"I love you too, Mommy," they said in unison. Rose smiled warmly at them, before walking into the frigid cold.

There were no hospitals in Old Corona, which meant that they had to travel to the kingdom. They borrowed a horse from a nearby stable, then started their way to Corona. The snow fell hard, causing both of them to shiver. The pain in Rose's stomach intensified, and the cold did not help.

Soon light came into view, and they had reached the bridge into Corona. The kingdom was deserted; everyone was probably huddled inside their homes, keeping warm.

Once in front of the castle, Varian jumped off the horse and carried Rose into the warm building. Finally, they could feel their fingers again.

Queen Rapunzel and King Eugene were in the throne room, going over some paperwork, when they looked up with shocked expressions.

"We need a doctor. Stat!" Varian shouted at them, urgently. Their Majesties led them to the medical wing, where Rose was settled down in a bed.

Rose clenched her teeth as more pain traveled throughout her body. Varian took her hand. "It's all going to be alright."

Rose took a deep breath and nodded. It was all going to be alright.

. . .

Twins! They had twins. Rose and Varian couldn't believe it. But nonetheless, they were overjoyed.

The newborns had been taken away to be cleaned, but huge smiles were planted on the parents' faces. Aliz and Al were going to be so happy!

One of the nurses returned, holding one of the babies. She handed them to Rose; it was a girl. Rose smiled warmly at her daughter, and looked back up at the nurse. Her smile instantly went away as she saw the nurse's expression.

"I-I'm sorry to say but... the other twin has died."

"What?!" Varian exclaimed. "But-but I..."

"I am so sorry, but there was nothing we could do. It was too weak to begin with, it wouldn't have been able to survive long."

Tears swelled in both of the parents' eyes. Dead. The baby in Rose's arms started to cry. It must know that something was wrong. Rose tried shushing her as tears crawled down her face. Varian wrapped his arms around his wife and newborn daughter, letting tears escape his own eyes. Rose rested her head on his chest, letting out all her tears.

The news was even harder to give to the kids. They had explained it to Quirin first, who was understandable, though his own eyes started to water. But now Aliz and Al, who were just nine and four, were sitting on the couch next to Rose, Varian, and the now-named Valerie.

"Y-you see, Mommy had twins," Varian started to tell them.

"Twins?" Aliz looked over at Valerie being cradled in Rose's arms. "But there's only one."

Varian blinked tears out of his eyes. "That-that's because the other one was too weak. He... he didn't make it."

Aliz blinked at him. "You mean... he died?"

Varian slowly nodded. The two kids stared at him, clearly speechless. They hadn't even known their dead brother, but it still pained them to know that he was gone. Gone forever.

"B-but no! That-no!" Aliz shouted. "I won't believe it!" She ran out into her room, shutting the door behind her. Al continued to stare.

Varian sighed. Rose put a hand on his shoulder. "Give her some time. She'll get over it eventually."

"Daddy?" Al said, still looking shocked. "Is-is that true?"

"I'm afraid so," Varian told him.

"But... but he didn't deserve to die."

Varian picked Al up and set him on his lap. "No, he didn't. But life is unfair sometimes."

"Am... am I going to die?"

"What? No, of course not!" Varian told him, wrapping him in a hug. "You're too strong-- nothing can beat you."

Al gave a slight giggle. "That's right."

A door suddenly opened, and everyone looked up to see Aliz, her eyes red. She went up to her parents, then in a strained voice said, "I need a hug."

All of them leaned forward to have one big family hug. Though they had a great loss today, they would remain strong.

I gave the newborn the name Valerie before looking up the definition, but look at this. The name Valerie means strong. Crazy right?

Stay safe, and stay strong.

~Myth