The square transformed after the vows were spoken. Lanterns swung overhead, laughter rising as villagers filled the space with music and clapping.Someone plucked at a lute, another beat a hand drum, and soon feet stomped against the packed earth in celebration. The air smelled of roasted meat and s
LilaThe whole village gathered in the square that afternoon, a hush of anticipation woven through the air.Lanterns hung from wooden posts, their light flickering against the oncoming twilight, casting gold across faces who had been kind and welcoming.Wildflowers lay scattered across the clearing
Lila“Finally, some quiet.” I muttered to myself.The cabin was blissfully still. For once, the air wasn’t thick with the babies’ cries. They both slept curled in their baskets, soft breaths puffing against the fabric of the blanket.It was rare, this kind of quiet. Rare enough that I didn’t waste i
RonanThe days blurred together, but not with the same chaos that had marked the birth.Wake, work, patrol, repeat.Thalia moved through it all as though she had always belonged here. Where I faltered, she stepped in. Where exhaustion would have crushed me flat, she steadied the weight before it bro
LilaThe weeks blurred together into more of a rhythm than a tracking of time.Wake, feed, rest, repeat.I lost track of where one night ended and the next began, of when the sun rose or set beyond the windows. All that mattered was the tiny weights pressed against me, the soft cries that summoned m
LilaI sat propped against the headboard, my arms cradling both of them, their tiny bodies swaddled in linen, pressed close to my skin.My children. The words still felt impossible. I had dreamed of this moment, feared it, prayed for it in quiet broken moments. But the reality of their warmth agains