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Jan 9, 2025

Chapter 1: Reluctant Allies

Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3

Warnings: Trauma, mentions of abuse, Blood drinking, and Cursing

Rating: 18+ (Adult, Minors DNI)

Additional tags: Protective father, Protective husband, Astarion has a wife at the beginning, Astarion is a dad at the beginning, Dadstarion, Tavstarion, Astarion is feral when it comes to protecting his babies and his wife.

Summary: Astarion, his wife Artemis, and their six-year-old elflings are captured by the Nautiloid and crashed on the revered beach with Shadowheart and Lae'zel.

A/N: Astarion and his childhood love, Artemis, who eventually became his wife are turned into spawn by Cazador. Artemis gave birth to the twins late into their slavery. Astarion and Artemis were able to keep the twins, but Cazador was cruel even to them.

A/N 2: Their kids names are Aster (son) and Astra (daughter) They are their "Little Stars." As they like to call them.

Chapter 2 Link Below:

Crimson Tide Chapter 2: A mother's fury

Two of the pods, hissed as they opened. Artemis inhaled sharply as she held her throbbing head, she sat up, holding onto the side of the pod for balance. She had a splitting headache from that damn tadpole the mind flayer put in her eye. She stumbled out, falling onto her hands and knees. She groaned as she regained her balance and stood.

She looked over when she heard a familiar voice, Astarion stood by her holding his head.

"Gods above, I have a blazing headache." He groaned.

"What happened, where are we?" She rasped at him; he looked over at her.

"I'm not sure, moonflower." Astarion replied, his voice was groggy, he was still dazed.

"Weren't the twins with us?" Artemis questioned as her ruby eyes darted around the area. Their panic set in, their eyes darted around looking for their six-year-old, elflings, Aster and Astra. They were right next to them when the Nautiloid attacked.

Astarion's eyes landed on two pods next to his and Artemis's, he went over and peered inside, he saw his children inside. He growled, a low rumble from within his chest.

"They are in these pods." Astarion hissed to his lover, Artemis hurried over to the opposite pod from Astarion's.

"Don't worry, little star. Daddy's here." He said, before punching the glass of one of the pods. His hand bloodied as he cracked the pod open, Aster was the one he pulled out, he set him down and checked him for injuries.

"Daddy? What happened?" The boy asked groggily as he wobbled,

"I'm not entirely sure yet little star." Astarion replied honestly, his bloody knuckles healed significantly fast, given his nature as a vampire, he was able to regenerate wounds.

Artemis punched at the second pod, where her daughter, Astra lay inside. She punched until the pod cracked and gave way, allowing her to reach in and pull her out safely. Her knuckles bloody as well but they healed within seconds.

"Mummy?" Astra's youthful voice was strained.

"You're safe, little starling." Artemis told her daughter in a hushed voice as she set her down. She grimaced as she held her head.

Suddenly their minds connected with strong telepathy, something potent. Astarion and Artemis realized then, their poor babies had tadpoles like they did.

It put a deep ache in their chests, knowing their elflings had the same twisted fate, yet again. As if being under Cazador wasn't tormenting already, now they had these blasted tadpoles to share as well.

Astra and Aster were so uncomfortable, feeling the foreign squirming, they began to panic. They started sobbing simultaneously. Astarion and Artemis stood there frozen for a moment, not knowing what to do at first.

Then their own panic set it when the tears didn't subside, usually when they cried like this it meant danger for them. Cazador hated their cries and would often lock them away to shut them up, only causing the twins to cry louder.

Astarion and Artemis knelt in front of their crying elflings, hushing them with words of affection.

"My darlings, I know you are uncomfortable, but we mustn't linger. We need to get to safety first." Astarion told them as he pet their faces in tandem. He wiped their tears away with the pads of his thumbs. Artemis sat there rubbing Aster's arm to calm him down.

The parents stood, each of them picking up a twin. Astarion took Aster on his hip and Artemis held Astra, the family a vampiric elves hurried out.

The family ran through the Nautiloid, they saw the raging battle taking place in Avernus. The dragons roared above, spewing fire at the ship.

"Are we in Avernus?" Artemis questioned as she looked at the blood red sky and the ashy ground, the volcanic mountains were enormous. Before Astarion could answer, a Githyanki warrior leapt off the ledge from above, she landed with grace and held them at the edge of her blade.

"Abominations! This is your end!" She snarled, pointing her blade, before Astarion could even say anything. A terrible pain ripped through his mind. His head throbbed and his skin tingled. Visions rush past: A dragon's wing, a silver sword, and a flash of his face through the strange woman's eyes.

"My head...what is this...ngh." The woman writhed as she leaned forward. Astarion looked at Artemis, she was writhing too. It had affected them all. He adjusted Aster on his hip, who cried in his arms. Astra was right with him.

"Daddy, why does my head hurt." Aster sobbed; his boyish innocence made an ache rush through Astarion. Astra hiccupped in her mother's arms as she wiped her eyes as her tears flowed freely.

"We need to find a way off this ship!" The woman said.

"She's right Astarion, this is too dangerous." Artemis agreed as she adjusted Astra, trying to calm her.

"Then let's go. We mustn't linger much longer." Astarion replied, they hurried off further through the ship.

The imps screeched upon their arrival. Astarion handed Aster to Artemis,

"Stay behind me. I'll handle this." He told her, she reluctantly took their son as she watched Astarion follow the Gith into battle. There were only a few imps, but Artemis still worried none the less. She stayed low with the twins.

Astarion was graceful with his dagger, his fighting style was like a dance. Then with the Gith's power attacks, the imps were no match. They were dealt with quickly.

Astarion grabbed two scimitars and a crossbow. He strapped the crossbow to his back. he used the dual swords, leading the way. Artemis followed suite.

The family and Githyanki warrior, traveled across the ship, looking for any survivors and a way to get out.

Upon arriving in a control room, they heard a woman banging on her pod, pleading for help.

"Leave her, we are already slow with your screaming babes." The Gith, they knew as Lae'zel now, told them. Astarion growled low,

"We are not slow; we are making good time." He said with a deep scowl.

"She might be useful Astarion, we can't leave her." Artemis countered as she adjusted the twins on her hips again. Astarion went up to the panel, he investigated it.

"It needs some type of key." He said, Artemis looked around, setting the twins down for a fleeting moment as she searched. Astarion went to the back room and ended up finding a rune of some kind. He came back out.

"I found this." He said holding up the rune, he placed it into empty socket of the machine, and it hummed to life. Astarion carefully placed his hand on it and a hideous squirming could be felt. He winced, then a strange feeling washed over him. A feeling of authority.

Astarion willed the pod to open with his mind and it worked, the pod hissed and the woman inside fell out. Catching her breath as she slowly stood.

Artemis grabbed the twins again and walked over to the woman with Astarion, Lae'zel was less than pleased, a scowl on her face as she crossed her arms over her armored chest.

"I thought that damn thing was going to be my coffin. Thank you-" The woman started, but that strong link between their minds connected again.

Astarion and Artemis saw, wariness, caution, and a hint of fear.

"You keep dangerous company." The woman said wrinkling her nose as she looked at Lae'zel with distain.

"Dangerous company is something we need, darling." Astarion said with his charming tone.

"Shadowheart is my name, pleasure." The woman said, the elven rogue bowed as he spoke his name in a voice honey sweet.

"Astarion."

Shadowheart looked over,

"You have children?" She asked,

"Yes, my family and I were swept off the streets of Baldur's Gate." Astarion's face contorted with displeasure as he spoke.

"Enough! We need to get moving!" Lae'zel snapped,

"I don't remember anyone putting you in charge." Shadowheart scoffed.

"Kainyank." Lae'zel snorted back.

The elves and Gith warrior hurried off to the helm of the ship.

When they arrived at the helm, they were met with a huge battle between hellspawn and ilithid.

"Spawn, connect the transponder, we must escape." One ilithid commanded,

"Do it! We will deal with the Kaik after!" Lae'zel told Astarion. He looked over at Artemis, who nodded. Astarion took out his swords, inhaling before darting forward.

"We'll cover you!" Shadowheart called to him, Artemis followed behind Astarion with the twins in her arms, he cleared a path. His moves graceful yet again, his blades were precise as he cut through the enemies.

Artemis ducked and dodged on coming attacks, Astarion was a force of speed and grace.

Finally they reached the transponder, Astarion sheathed his swords, Artemis was with him. He connected the tentacles together, he looked up when he heard the dragon's roar.

It landed above, the hole in the ceiling of the ship was gaping and allowed the dragon to stick it's entire head into the ship, sensing danger. Astarion didn't hesitate. He faced his wife and shoved her away with their twins.

Just as she landed with a thud, the dragon's fire spewed inside. Where she stood, she would have been burned. Astarion got singed and patted his fine garments to douse the flames.

The ship suddenly surged forward, sending Astarion flying back. Artemis too, she held the twins as tightly as she could. They tumbled and got dragged across the ship.

Astarion flew and caught the ship's transponder for support, so he wouldn't fall to his death. Artemis was tucked away safely with the twins elsewhere.

Astarion used all of his strength to climb to reach the tentacles again, he gritted his teeth and reached.

Finally, he managed to grab hold of it and was able to twist it. Which sent the ship through another plane. Sending Astarion flying once again as the ship leveled out. He tumbled across the floor of the ship. Artemis was with him.

They looked at each other with worrisome expressions as they looked down at the ground, it was coming fast as the ship plummeted to the ground.

Artemis lay sprawled on her back amidst the wreckage, her silver hair splayed like threads of moonlight against the scorched sand. The Nautiloid had plummeted into the coastline, leaving survivors scattered along the beach.

Artemis's eyes fluttered open, ruby-red irises catching the sunlight for a brief moment before she winced. The bright sky above felt almost mocking after the horrors they'd faced inside the Nautiloid. Blinking against the brightness, she focused the sun bore down on her.

She jumped up quickly, she wavered slightly, the ground beneath her still unsteady from the crash. Instinctively, she raised a hand to shield her face, looking for shade to hide, half-expecting the searing pain she'd come to dread in her undead existence. Instead, there was only a strange tingling warmth dancing across her skin, foreign but not unpleasant.

She looked around, when she realized Astarion and the twins weren't with her.

"Astarion!" She cried desperately as she trudged along the beach, he wasn't far, he was sprawled out on the beach. She hurried to him and shook him awake, his crimson eyes fluttered open.

Upon seeing Artemis in the sun, he quickly grabbed her and pulled her into the shade.

"What in sweet hells! Come here!" He cried, panic etched in his voice as he held her close,

"Star, it's okay. The sun doesn't burn us, look." She said, holding her arm out into the light. Astarion watched in awe as she twisted her arm, and no ash came from her skin.

They could walk in the daylight again. It was a miracle from the gods.

"Where the twins." Astarion said suddenly, he looked around and saw them a few feet away. He crawled over to them with Artemis, when their elflings woke up and whined, they sighed breaths of relief, despite not really needing it.

They scooped up their babies. Artemis and Astarion walked along the ravaged beach holding each twin. They didn't get far before seeing another survivor. They hurried over to her. It was Shadowheart.

Artemis set Astra down and knelt by Shadowheart, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her awake. She opened her eyes and looked around,

"What, happened?" She said, disoriented as she stood slowly with Artemis's help.

"You survived too!" Shadowheart voiced as she looked over at the elven woman and man before her. Their minds connected then. They could feel everything each other was feeling at that moment.

Fear, confusion, wariness, and distrust.

"We need to get these little monsters out." Shadowheart commented, the half elf's face was distorted as she frowned deeply.

"Do you know anything about these parasites?" Artemis questioned as she folded her arms over her chest.

"No better than you, I'm afraid. Just that they eventually turn us into mind flayers." Shadowheart replied truthfully.

"Turn us into...ahahaha!" Astarion laughed, but it wasn't joyous.

"Of course it'll turn me into a monster." He said with distain.

"We really should work on finding a healer." Artemis suggested.

"And I suppose you mean for us to travel together?" Shadowheart said warily.

"We can do that better together." Artemis added. Shadowheart was a bit more reluctant, so naturally she was more cautious as she agreed.

"Where's our Gith friend, by the way?" Artemis asked, noticing Lae'zel wasn't on the beach.

"I would reconsider calling her a friend, it seems she up and left us behind." Shadowheart grunted displeasingly as she folded her arms across her chest. Tilting her head slightly to the side.

"We should look for other survivors." Shadowheart suggested.

The three reluctant allies agreed to search for other survivors. They headed up the beach, searching the coast and scavenging for supplies.

They scavenged the wreckage; they found food and backpacks full of pots, pans, and tinder.

They went further up the beach and came across a magical portal inside a rock.

"What's wrong with that rune? It looks unstable, somehow." Artemis commented as they approached it. Shadowheart was the one to investigate it first, she slowly reached up.

The portal then zapped her, she cried out and withdrew her hand, inspecting it for spectral burns.

Suddenly a hand reached out, a man's voice followed afterwards.

"A hand! Anyone!" Shadowheart was wary at first but then took the man's hand and started to pull.

"That's it! Keeping pulling!" The man said. Shadowheart pulled with all her might, with one final tug, the man flew out and crashed into Shadowheart, forcing both of them to the ground.

Astarion and Artemis stood back a bit watching the exchange. The man stood and groaned, he dusted off his robes, he was clearly a wizard. Shadowheart stood afterwards.

"Hello, I'm Gale. Pleasure. I'm usually better at this." The man said cheerfully as he shook Shadowheart's hand. She looked at him with distain.

"At introductions?" Astarion snorted in a haughty tone.

"At magic." Gale corrected him with a genuine smile, Astarion just rolled his eyes.

"I'm Shadowheart, that's Artemis and Astarion." The Cleric introduced the party.

"I assume you all have an intrusion in the ocular region?" Gale said, pointing to his temple.

"Couldn't have said it better." Artemis replied.

"None of you happen to be Cleric do you?" Gale questioned,

"I am, but this is beyond most Cleric's abilities." Shadowheart replied.

"That's enough chit-chat. The sooner we find a healer, the better." Astarion countered, cutting the conversation short with irritation. All he was concerned about was his elflings and getting them cured of this parasite.

"Fair enough, do you have room for one more?" Gale smirked,

"Sure, you can join us." Shadowheart replied, more of obligation than companionship. Gale looked over at the two pale elves, that's when he saw the smaller stature elves.

"And who do we have here?" Gale said in a soft tone, he tried approaching and Astarion stepped forward,

"Do not take another step wizard." He growled; his crimson eyes gleaming dangerously. Gale laughed holding up his hands defensively.

"Little territorial we are, okay." He said, stepping back. Astarion was careful to not reveal his vampirism yet. He had to be careful.

"We should look for more survivors." Artemis eased the tension. Astarion relaxed somewhat but kept his eyes on the wizard.

They traveled up into the wilderness away from the beach, Artemis was leading the way, she saw two Tieflings ahead and approached them with caution.

Upon getting closer, she saw Lae'zel in a hanging cage. Her stare was white hot as she lurched into Artemis's mind. Lae'zel spoke then, her lips unmoving, but her voice as clear as day.

'Free me and get rid of them, I don't care how you do it.'

"I wouldn't trust her." Shadowheart snorted.

Artemis turned the Tieflings and turned on her vampiric charm as she spoke,

"This is a dangerous creature; you should let me handle it. Get yourselves to safety." Her crimson eyes burned into their very souls.

"We'll be sure to, good luck." The man said.

"If you need shelter after, we have a grove not too far up the road." The woman added. They hurried away, leaving Artemis to deal with Lae'zel.

Astarion used his crossbow and aimed for the base, he shot at it, and it cracked, but didn't break. He shot it again and it collapsed, Lae'zel fell out. She stood and dusted off her armor.

"Looks like the worm hasn't consumed all your senses." Lae'zel growled as she clapped the dirt from her hands. A deep frown wrinkling her features.

"A thank you would suffice." Artemis frowned. Shadowheart smirked.

"You might as well ask a wyvern bow to worms. The cure I offer will suffice as thanks." Lae'zel said, raising her head proudly.

"Fine, you can come along." Artemis offered,

"I'll trust your judgment-but I won't trust her. Not until I've gotten the measure of her." Shadowheart explained.

"You've a sharp tongue, elf. Would that your mind proved it's equal." Lae'zel retorted.

"Half-elf. I suppose the finer details are lost on a creature like you." Shadowheart shot back. Astarion snickered and Artemis smirked.

"Our first priority is to find a healer; we should head to that grove." Gale suggested.

"I agree, we need to find a way to get rid of these little monsters in our heads." Shadowheart explained.

The group continued forth in search of the grove the Tieflings had mentioned. As they walked, Shadowheart started up a conversation with Gale,

"So, Gale. You seem to know a lot about our condition."

"I do; I've studied on it enough to get an idea of it. It's called Ceremorphosis and it's to be avoided." Gale explained.

"It's a painful and horrific process." He added.

"Great, I look forward to it." Shadowheart said dryly as she scoffed, looking away.

"I hear shouting." Artemis commented as she looked over at her husband.

"I do too, let's be careful." He warned her. They approached and saw a group of adventures outside of a wooden gate. They assumed this was the Grove they were told about.

Astarion leaned into Artemis and spoke,

"Take the twins and keep your distance." Artemis nodded in response and took their elfings, she ushered them back down to the beach. Astarion then approached the gate with Shadowheart, Gale, and Lae'zel in toe.

"Let us in!" A human cried,

"The Goblins are right behind us!" He added.

"You led them here! You fool!" The Tiefling man wailed, his tone was rageful.

Artemis meanwhile got enough distance, she looked back towards the wilderness, a look of wariness on her timeless face.

"Mummy, is daddy going to be okay?" Astra asked, her youthful voice was distressed. Artemis smiled gently at her daughter as she knelt.

"Yes, Moonbeam. Daddy is going to be just fine. I promise." She said as she brushed a stray strand of silver hair from Astra's face. Aster stood next to his sister, clutching her hand tightly. His untamed silver curls whisked around from the light breeze.

"We just need to stay here for a bit, daddy will take care of the monsters." Artemis explained, she painted Astarion in a heroic light. The elflings admired both parents, but especially their father. He could do no wrong in their eyes.

Artemis sat down on a bit of debris, setting the twins down with her. She took this time to rub the smudges off their faces. Then she combed her fingers through their hair, untangling it to the best of her ability.

Astra's hair was easier to untangle, but Aster's unruly curls seemed to have a mind of their own. He wriggled in his mother's lap and whined.

"Aster please." Artemis told him as she fought with his curls. Astarion's genes were strong. Finally, Artemis got his curls to look tamer. She let him go.

She turned to Astra and began to braid pigtails for her. Her fingers wove through her daughter's silky-smooth hair, Astra inherited her mother's hair, so it was easier to tame than her brother's.

"Mummy, can you make my hair look like yours?" Astra asked, bending her head back as she looked at her mother, Artemis smiled,

"Of course, Starlight." She replied softly. Astra referred to the two buns and braids Artemis wore. She undid the braid and worked with her daughter's hair. It was longer, so it should be easy to recreate her own hairstyle.

Aster played in the sand in close proximity to his mother, she could keep an eye on him easily where he sat now.

By the time Artemis was finished with Astra's hair, that's when Astarion came down to the beach.

"Daddy!" The twins called in unison as they towards their father, he was covered in blood, but Artemis knew it was his by the scent of it. Astarion embraced his elflings as his wife approached him, she hugged him tightly.

"Is it safe?" She asked, her ruby eyes meeting his crimson ones, Astarion nodded, he looked exhausted. Artemis knew the reason; he hadn't fed yet and he was spent after fighting.

"It's safe now, my Moonflower." He said, his voice was strained, but calm.

"Come along, the others are already inside the Grove." Astarion ushered his family back towards the Grove.

"There are children here you fool!" Zevlor cried, he was clearly upset.

"We was running for our lives and you refuse to open the gate because you're a coward!" Aradin snapped. Zevlor tried to find reason in that response but couldn't find one.

"I want to protect my people, we have the druids to deal with already!" He wailed.

"Now, hold on. Let's not make things worse." Astarion said, his voice was authoritative, but calm. Aradin glared daggers at him,

"No one asked for your opinion, knife ears." He said coldly, Astarion looked at him like the insult physically struck him.

"Excuse me? I am the one who saved your asses." He barked with a biting tone, his face contorted into a scowl.

"This man did save your life; you owe him thanks." Zevlor countered, Aradin spit on the ground at Astarion's feet. The elf's lips twitched; he was losing his patience.

"I didn't ask for help from no, Fey mongrel." Aradin spat with distain, his nose wrinkling in disgust.

"Stop insulting my husband." Artemis defended Astarion.

"Oh another, Twigger. Great. With their own brats." Aradin rolled his eyes in distain as he looked at Artemis and the twins who hid behind her.

"You can insult me, but not my wife and my babes." Astarion growled, before Aradin knew what was happening, Astarion's fist collided with his jaw, knocking him out cold.

Astarion winced and shook his hand as he looked up at Zevlor,

"Thank you again for your help." He explained.

"Pleasure, but I'm not staying long, I need to find a healer." Astarion replied as he rubbed his sore knuckles.

"Goblin got you? There's a healer here, further down in the Grove, her name is Nettie." Zevlor explained to him.

"I appreciate it." Astarion said as he started to make his way towards the inner grove, Artemis, the twins, Shadowheart, Gale, and Lae'zel all followed. No one said anything.

Upon finding Nettie, Astarion and his companions were met with a dead-end.

"I can't provide a cure, only a way out. I'm sorry." Nettie explained,

"This is just great." Shadowheart scoffed as she folded her arms across her chest. Astarion reluctantly took the Wyvern poison.

"If you can find Halsin, he may be able to help you better than I could." Nettie offered a solution, Astarion sighed, this wasn't on his agenda today, but for the sake of his family, he agreed to find the Arch Druid.

"I'll look for him, you have my word." Astarion said thickly. Nettie sighed in relief,

"That's good news to hear for once. Thank you." She breathed. Astarion nodded, he stepped out and his party of companions followed in toe.

When they got outside, Astarion met with Arabella's parents. Locke and Komira, they thanked him for saving their daughter and gave up their locket to him. He took it with a gracious bow and left the family to discuss.

He looked over at his own elflings, Artemis had a hand on each other their shoulders, both of them yawned as they rubbed their eyes.

"We should look a place to camp soon, they need rest, Starlight." Artemis told him in a soft tone. Astarion agreed with her, and they went to the vendor to purchase supplies and possibly tents, if he had any in stock. They raked up enough gold for now.

Once enough was purchased, the party of allies headed out of the Grove to look for a spot to set up their camp.

After two hours of looking, the party of companions found a suitable clearing in the wilderness.

"This looks like a good place to camp." Gale noted as he looked around the area. They had bought and scavenged enough camp supplies to get them started.

"We should set it up and keep it set up, so we can just retreat here after the day's end." Gale continued, his suggestion was met with mutual agreement from his companions.

It was late afternoon, around 4:30pm. The companions scattered around the camp and picked their spots to set up their tents. Astarion and Artemis set up Astra and Aster's tent first.

The twins went down to the water to play, intending to explore, looking for bugs and frogs. They found sticks and ran along the water, pretending to be valiant heroes.

Gale set up his area to his liking, unpacking his scrolls and books. He noted they needed some furniture. Tables, chairs, etc. He heard the laughter of the children and smiled fondly.

He watched them run around for a moment, then he headed towards them, with the innocent intention of introducing himself to them. He didn't even think about the possible consequences of his actions.

Aster and Astra kneeled in the dirt, giggling as they played. Gale with a friendly smile approached them.

"Hello, younglings." He smiled brightly as he waved, Aster and Astra looked up at him with wide eyes. The fear of Cazador resurfacing, they didn't know if this was a bad man. Just yesterday they were living with Cazador, their tormentor.

The twins were paralyzed with fear, they held on to each other and trembled. It didn't go unnoticed by Gale; he knelt down in front of them.

"It's okay little ones; I won't hurt you." He said with softness; he held out his hand and conjured a colorful orb in his palm. The twin's eased a bit but were still unsure. Gale reached out further.

"Take it." He said softly, Aster reached out and took the orb, briefly their hands brushed. Gale smiled, not knowing of the brewing storm just a few feet away.

Astarion had witnessed this, he turned feral. Shadowheart was setting up the rest of her tent, when she looked up. She saw Astarion's fangs unretract, and he was over by his children in a blur of motion. Her eyes widened.

Gale stood slowly, but before he could even react, Astarion's hand was clasped around this throat, and he was slamming Gale into the ground. He stood above him; he titled his head and bared his fangs angrily. He was a predator now. Gale was shocked.

"You dare approach my elflings without my permission, you dare touch them!?" Astarion was livid, his crimson eyes glowed and his face was contorted in an expression, that scared the grown man below him.

Gale stammered as he spoke or as best as he could with Astarion choking him.

"I-I didn't mean no harm-I swear!" His words were strained and his face fearful. Astarion didn't lighten up, he leaned down, his voice low, he spoke in a deep guttural growl.

"Consider this your only warning, wizard."

Astarion let go and stood up, he turned to his elflings, his expression softened immediately. Shadowheart hurried over and helped Gale to his feet, Artemis went over too.

"My love?" Her voice broke through the tension of the air, Astarion turned to her.

"It's okay, my dear." He told her gently. He knelt before his elflings.

"Is he a bad man?" Aster asked, his young eyes full of innocent wonder. Astarion sighed,

"I don't know yet, he's our companion for now, but you cannot trust everyone so easily Aster." He told his son. He kissed both of his children's foreheads, then he stood and held his wife close to him.

"You're a vampire?" Shadowheart asked.

"We all are, yes." Astarion snapped, he wanted to keep this hidden longer, but the damned wizard got noisy, and he had to step in to protect his babes.

"Your children are vampires too? They were turned that young?" Gale asked, his voice that of dejection and his eyebrows fell in a sorrowful manner.

"No, they were born." Artemis said shakily, still not fully trusting, but she felt the need to share it.

"Born vampires? That's such a rare anomaly. Fascinating." Gale chirped with curious eyes. Astarion stepped forward,

"Hands to yourself wizard, my elflings are not your experiments." He warned. Gale held up his hands defensively.

"I have not that intention, friend." He said, Astarion glared at him.

"We're not friends." He said,

"Well we have to be something if are going to be working together." Shadowheart countered boldly.

"We will be acquittances, but we are not friends." Astarion said holding his head up as he held Artemis closer to him.

"So, I guess that means, I'm only cooking for three." Gale joked suddenly, Astarion looked at him, he was making jokes after having a vampire father on him threatening his life. Fascinating.

"Yes, I can provide food for my family." Astarion told him confidently.

When the canopy of night encapsulated the wilderness. Astarion and Artemis went out to hunt with their twins. Their forms moved like shadows in the cover of darkness, their footsteps feather light.

Astarion stayed low, he was a stalking predator now, all his mannerisms were absent for this time being as his eyes surveyed the area looking for prey. Thanks to his vampirism, he could see in complete darkness.

His vision allowed him to find warm blooded creatures to hunt. His heightened senses were prominent because of his gnawing hunger. His sense of smell was immaculate, and his hearing was even better. His skyward ear twitched when he heard something.

It didn't go unnoticed by his wife, her voice was barely above a whisper,

"What do you hear?" She asked, the twins at her side. The wind shifted and the vampires could smell the fresh blood nearby. It was a pack of wild boars if Astarion's hearing, and smell didn't fail him.

"Follow me." He whispered as he trekked through the wilderness. His steps were cautious as they got closer, finally in a clearing of trees, they saw the pack of boars. There was seven of them that they counted. Astarion looked at his wife and nodded, she responded with a quick nod of her own.

"Stay here, little stars. Mummy and daddy will feed you soon." Astarion told his twins, they nodded in response to their father. They kept themselves low in the darkness.

Astarion and Artemis stalked their prey, their eyes hungry.

Then in a blur of motion, the vampires attacked. They were ferocious as they bit into the boar's necks. They managed to bring down four of the seven. The rest scattered back into the thick trees.

"Aster, Astra! Come here, darlings!" Astarion called, the twins came out from their hiding place and approached.

"Pick which one you want." Astarion told them standing above the corpses. Aster and Astra picked their dinner, Astarion and Artemis knelt down and fed on their own boars.

For the first time in their exsistences, the family of vampires could drink greedily with no consequences, quenching their thirst that had tormented them for so long.

The warm blood rushed into their mouths, making them dazed for a few moments because of the satisfaction of it.

When the boars were drained, the family was more than satisfied, they were happy. Their stomachs full and their cheeks flushed. Artemis and Astarion walked back to camp, indulging in conversion while their twins ran circles around them.

Once getting back to camp, their companions had long since fallen asleep, Astarion and Artemis tucked their twins away into their bedrolls.

They yawned again, more aggressively this time. They made cooing noises as they settled into the warmth of their beds. Artemis took out Astra's braids and buns so she could sleep more comfortably.

Before long, the twins slipped into their reverie. Artemis and Astarion snuck out and headed to their own tent, just a few steps away from their children's.

Once inside, they got comfortable. Artemis let her hair down, letting it fall along her back. Her hair fell like liquid starlight cascading down her back. It looked ethereal against her milky skin. Astarion's breath hitched, he had seen his wife plenty of times before, but this time felt different.

Maybe it was their freedom and no fear of Cazador looming over them constantly. Astarion reached out, hesitantly at first, but once his fingers brushed her skin, she turned to him.

Her ruby eyes illuminated, half lidded. Her eyelashes kissing her sharp cheekbones as she blinked slowly. Astarion was captivated, had his wife always been so beautiful? So otherworldly?

With the recent consumption of fresh blood, Astarion felt the heat rush to his cheeks and the tips of his ears. He was entranced by his wife. Despite being together for over 200 years, he found himself feeling like he was a young boy falling love all over again.

"You're staring, Starlight." Artemis said meekly, her own cheeks and ears flushing a deep red. Astarion blinked at her,

"Am I?" He asked, his voice was thick and distant, he was completely lost in his wife's eyes, drinking up her beauty. Astarion leaned in and captured Artemis's lips in tentative kiss, exploring her all over again freely.

They had intimacy often, but they always had to be discreet and careful that Cazador didn't catch them. Astarion disobeyed often with the rules and was defiant, he refused to let Cazador ruin intimacy with his wife. She was the only good thing he had for years, to lose her would be to lose himself. He was resilient and didn't allow that to happen.

Their intimacy was their sacred escape, to get lost in each other and their pleasure. They didn't lose it, Astarion thanked all the gods, whoever would listen.

Now as he freely kissed his wife again after so many years of torment and shadows, it felt incredible to let go for once. To let go of the lingering fear that they could be caught by their master.

Astarion rolled over on top of Artemis, his lips moving in tandem with her own, his tongue pushed into her mouth and tangled with hers. He ghosted his hands over her body, debating where to touch first.

He was drunk on love and decided to just touch every inch of her skin; she did the same. Feeling every part of her husband that was exposed to her fingertips.

It was pure bliss for the husband and wife. They could finally love each other freely once more.

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