Sparrow opened her eyes, momentarily surprised to see herself within her home behind the demon door. Her mind was a haze, but she was certain she hadn’t visited Oakfield in a long time.
“Wake up little Sparrow!”
that voice was familiar...too familiar. Sparrow scrunched her brows and buried her head under her pillow to avoid it, to hide away from any painful memories.
“Little Sparrow! It’s time to wake up!” the owner of the voice yanked away her pillows and hit her over the back with them. Looking up Sparrow abruptly met two brown eyes, so much like her own yet darker...and framed by pale pink eyeshadow. Backing up Sparrow blinked rapidly, realizing that Rose was indeed there. Her sister was next to her.
With a cry of joy and victory she leaped at her elder sister, wrapping Rose in a bear hug and making her shriek as the two of them fell back, sparrow burying her face in the crook of Rose’s neck.
“Geeze, wha’d ya have to do that for?” Rose drawled, yet a chuckle escaped her as she rubbed Sparrows back just as she had back when they were children. Back before...Sparrow suddenly couldn’t remember. “You should be savin’ that for the boys, Logan’s got a surprise for ya.”
Her children? Oh yes, her boys. She got off of Rose, unsurprised to see her wearing a similar outfit to Sparrows own, except instead of black and red she was wearing more neutral brown pants and soft pinks in her corset and coat offset by white and brown. Somehow she knew that this was a daily outfit for her.
Standing she brushed off her nightdress, stretching and wincing as an ache in her back reminded her of the twins she’d birthed only a week ago. Looking to the railings she spotted two wooden cribs lined with white cotton and lace, mobiles with bright and colorful objects turning lazily above them as pairs of small hands reached for them from the tiny confines. When Sparrow approached the cribs she found two tiny beings staring back at her with identical brown eyes, their bald heads covered with scarlet and purple to differentiate them. Little William and little...Rose...yes...she was certain that was her name.
“In honor of your auntie,” she cooed at the gurgling baby in a flouncy deep scarlet nightdress, picking her up before picking up her brother in shiny purple silk just as flouncy as his sisters. She chuckled as the babies fought for equal rights to resting on her chest, Rose coming to take and hold as William he cried indignantly.
The sisters laughed at the babies before going downstairs, Sparrow using her now empty hand to hold up the end of her nightdress to avoid tripping. Odd, she was sure there was a ladder previously. When she saw Theresa at the table, calmly eating her breakfast as her seven year old, Adam her heart warmed at the sight of him, babbled on about the new swords in the weapons shop out in Oakfield.
“Maybe if I show mom she’ll buy me one. Or maybe Aunt Rose will!”
“Do you not already have a wooden one?” the seer asked, the disapproval barely hidden under the surface of her voice.
“Yeah, wood. Not steel! I’m ready to train and be a hero! The best hero in the world!” He had stood, knocking over his porridge as he did so, which was narrowly saved by Theresa as if she’d seen it happen already. She probably did. Sparrow laughed, the sound odd in her ears yet so welcome. Adam jumped again, turning deep red as he blushed, hiding his face under his long brown hair and kicking his chair sheepishly. “Well...maybe as good as my mama...”
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be a far greater Hero,” she walked up to her boy and wrapped him in a hug, placing his sister between them to keep her both protected but involved all the same. “But no steel until you turn 13, and only if you can meet the other boys in combat with wood.”
Before Adam could answer her a five year old burst through the door, his dark brown locks wild as his eyes and an excitement beaming through his adorable chubby face. Logan her heart cried. My little King.
“Mama!” he yelled. “Come! Come look! Aunt Rose taught me to shoot!” He proudly held up a sling shot and waved it about before running back outside and to the farm, the sound of alarmed chickens following his wake.
Sparrow laughed in joy, “Is this his surprise?” she turned to talk to Rose, only to find her gone. William gone with her. Confused she turned back to the table only to find Adam and Theresa mysteriously gone as well. She’d never heard steps.
Fear welled up within her, rising her hackles enough that she had to fight every instinct within her. Her flight responses screamed that she fight instead, to shock and light fire to the room. But she did have her infant daughter...if she used her magic she might hurt her little one. Blue glowed beneath her as the candles blew out one by one, alerting her that her will lines were back as a constriction in her ribs caused her to look down. She was dressed in black and scarlet again...prepared for a fight...She still had her daughter though, so she took her sword from its sheathe and brandished it before her, clutching the infant protectively as she began to sniffle and clutch at the collar of Sparrows jacket.
Walking pensively to the door Sparrow kept her eyes peeled. “ Logan,” she called out, her anxieties rising as he did not respond. “Logan!” she called again, more alarmed as her little Rose began to cry. Suddenly something ran past her and she jerked to turn around, finding Theresa standing at the other end of the dark room, Logan in front of her and her hands on his shoulders. While the blind woman had no eyes to speak of, Sparrow still recognized the look in her face.
“Did you truly believe this life could be yours little Sparrow?”
“No,” she muttered, taking a step back before her fear turned to anger. Her once beloved nickname now felt like a bullet in her heart. Her pain and fear began to morph though as she saw Theresa’s hand begin to pet Logan’s head. “No!” she began to march forward, only for her feet to sink into the floorboards. “You can’t have him! He is mine! I won’t let you hurt my boy!” she screeched, Rose’s wails growing stronger as Logan reached out for her, calling “mama” as Sparrow felt herself sinking further, her legs refusing to listen to her as she tried to move.
“You think I would harm him? Not while his destiny is unfulfilled.” The easy calm in her voice just angered Sparrow further, both from guilt at raising her voice at her would-be mother and at being spoken to like a child. She couldn’t do this! Children were not to be molded for destiny they were to be children!
“No. I will give him a push.” with that she tapped at Logan’s arm, making the child move to the side as Theresa folded her arms, a familiar scarlet bundle appearing within them. Shock and horror filled Sparrows system as she glanced to her own arm, finding no more than a single long-stemmed rose within it. Sparrow’s eyes widened and she looked back at Theresa as she sunk further into the floorboards, the word “no” barely escaping her mouth as her throat constricted painfully.
The Queen jolted up in bed, almost shocked back to full wakeness by the cold air from the window and the dreaded softness of the mattress. Next to her, her husband stirred, mumbling something about blue silk and dresses and “abhorrent” tattoos. Shaking Sparrow left the bed, finding a shawl on the table near her and pulling it around her shoulders to fight the chill. And perhaps in a feeble attempt to pull herself together. Walking to the window she shut and locked it tightly, the sharp click assuring her that Ther-no, she mustn’t even think the name of that witch, would remain locked out of the palace and away from her children. Breathing in shaky breaths Sparrow leaned her forehead against the glass, trying to calm and assure herself that it was just a dream. A horrific dream.
A small cry sounded behind her, shortly followed by another.
She turned quickly, clutching her shawl closer to herself as she slowly approached a pair of cribs and finding them filled with two near identical babes. only near as they were of different genders, but otherwise they looked the same. Her husband snored louder, turning over in the bed and taking up most of the king sized, plush monstrosity. She sighed heavily before picking up both babes, trying to sooth them back into sleep, guilt washing over her as she feared she’d woken them. But the beating of their hearts and sniffling cries assured her they were real, they were here, and they were hers.
The door to the room opened slightly and Sparrow turned to find a slight man her own age entering, jolting as he spotted her awake. Jasper, she realized as the candle lit his face. She couldn’t help a small relieved grin from gracing her features as the comfort that it was him who’d come. He’d helped her more than she could count with getting used to being royalty.
“My Queen,” he began, bowing quickly yet careful not to drop the candle he’d brought nor loose the nightcap upon his head. “I did not know you were awake. I heard cries and wished to sooth the twins before they woke you. I shall-”
“No,” Sparrow called softly. Perhaps softer than she’d spoken since she was a babe herself. “No, I could use some help, if you don’t mind. I’ve only so many arms to bounce with.”
Jasper gave a polite yet happy seeming smile as he nodded, walking forward and taking her little girl when offered. Sparrow feared William disappearing again if she gave him away.
“It occurs to me,” Jasper whispered, “that they are a week old yet only Prince William has his name. Is there anything I should call our little Princess until she receives her own?”
“Yes,” Sparrow whispered back as she walked to a rocking chair on the other side of the butler and rocked her son. “Her name is Rose...after my sister.”
Jasper rose a brow at the mention of a sister, a fact that Sparrow had never made public before.
“I do believe it suits her,” was all he said before he softly cooed at the babe. Sparrow held back a laugh, not wanting to ruin the moment between them. Instead she simply sat and rocked her son while her butler, no...her dear friend...rocked her daughter. Soon enough the fear from her nightmare shrank away, and instead contentedness filled her. Not quite the happiness she wished for, but she was happy she got as much as she did nonetheless.
