I will be your reaper...

Royalty among Royalty.

Third Person POV

"Ah, forgive us. We haven't explained. You know that Hybrids and Tribrids can happen. However, individuals with more than three active bloodlines are unheard of. We are already aware that the twins are wolves, Celeste and Jaxon claimed them to have a magic bloodline and earlier, we saw the ritual to unlock their Elven bloodlines. That's three. However, myself and Quill can sense a Fae bloodline from them and from what I witnessed, I think the others can sense more bloodlines..." Islara looked at Lilly and Quinn with a deadpan expression while the other Royals except Latla and Cal nodded. Latla spoke up "I've already explained that we won't know until we test blood. If they have a dormant Dragon bloodline, it would explain why we can't sense them, but testing their blood will confirm it for us." Lily placed her face in her hands "So what does all of this mean for the twins? If they have all of these bloodlines, will they be okay?" The room fell silent. Minutes passed before Onelya sighed "We have no idea what it means. That's something we'll have to witness when we cross that bridge. What confuses me is the fact I can sense a Demon bloodline within Erebus, but not within Aradia..." Claudia nodded at her "Indeed. I can sense a Vampire bloodline within Aradia but not Erebus."

Nakkel and Gulvdan nodded "It's the same fer us. Young Erebus has a Dwarven bloodline. But Young Aradia has a Barbarian bloodline" Tatoniel nodded in agreement "Perhaps it's due to them being the creators? For example, Aradia has an Angel bloodline, but Erebus does not. Aradia is the one that created us, perhaps it could explain it..." Quinn furrowed his brow at the explanations "But they're both identical twins. How can they have different bloodlines? For example, because they're the opposite gender, they won't share a mate. However identical twins of the same gender have an 80% chance of sharing a mate. So, does it work similarly for bloodlines or what?" The royals shook their heads, truly knowing nothing about how it worked. "We don't know. But I'm sure we all want to awaken their bloodlines." Some nodded. Claudia shook her head "Aradia won't need her bloodline awakened. It will happen naturally. She will probably face some changes starting next year." Onelya agreed "It's the same for Erebus. Vampire and Demon bloodlines, even if dormant, awaken by themselves at some point. There's no need for us to mess."

Islara looked at Quinn and Lily with a sigh "I for one, would like to awaken their Fae bloodline. I can't tell you what the future holds, but we'd appreciate your agreement to let the children be who they are biologically." Lily and Quinn looked at each other. "We can't give agreement. That is down to the twins. If they agree, we will of course allow it." The Fae Royals nodded happily. Diagda cut through the happiness as he cleared his throat. "However...With them having all of these bloodlines, how will the 'mate' process work?" It was a good question. But the people looking around each other at the table were clueless. Diagda sighed "I suppose that's another bridge we'll have to cross when we get to it". The table solemnly nodded and they all stood, taking themselves back to the hall. Quill cleared his throat in front of the twins "Now, we're giving you both this after much thought and conversation with our daughters. They think it's a fantastic idea and so do we..." The two girls ran over with big grins as Islara place tiaras on their twin's heads. Erebus had a black tiara with white gems, while Aradia had a white tiara with black gems. The King and Queen blessed them and welcomed them to the family. "Princess Ardia and Prince Erebus of the Fae. It sounds lovely" Islara clapped her hands and their daughters jumped up and down happily, excited to have more family. Lily looked as though she were dizzy all over again while Quinn tried to fan her. Danisla and Moriel held their hands open for the twins, beautiful green stones sat in their palms. Erebus' eyes sparkled "Ah! They're blessing stones! But...I thought yours were yellow?" The girls nodded with a mischievous giggle "They are! These ones are yours. Mum and Dad spent two weeks in the forbidden forest again so that you could have blessing stones too!" Erebus began to tear up, hugging the Fae Royals tightly while Dia followed behind him to do the same. "Oh my. You two cute kids...You have become our family, of course, we would get you your blessing stones!" The King laughed in agreement at his wife's words and Danisla and Moriel slipped the stones into the pockets of the twins, joining in the hug. It lasted for a few minutes before Dia broke away, turning to her brother to wipe his tears. "Alright alright, come 'ere kids. It's our turn." The twins ran over to Nakkel and Jolunna. Nakkel explained that he wanted to awaken the Dwarven bloodline within Erebus, but Dia didn't have one, so he had a separate gift for her. Dia nodded happily, stepping aside so Erebus could awaken his bloodline. Nakkel instructed Erebus to remove his shirt, the boy was confused but did as instructed. Jolunna and Nakkel mixed their blood together and drew on Erebus' chest, right over his heart while reciting something in Dwarven. The blood hardened like stone and Erebus sighed, mentioning that he felt super heavy. Nakkel burst out laughing and pulled out a hammer and chisel. Lily's heart dropped and Jolunna smiled at her "It's okay. No harm will be done to him, I promise you with my life." Lily settled, watching intensely. Nakkel began to hammer away at the hardened blood on Erebus' chest until it was completely gone, leaving behind a tattoo-like mark. "Ohoho. I've never seen a mark like that before." Jolunna touched her husband's arm while nodding "Nor I. How beautiful and unique." Nakkel motioned for Gulvdan to take a peek, obviously bragging to him. Gulvdan huffed "It's alright, wait until you see Aradias" He grinned while Nakkel huffed. But it was truly a beautiful, one-of-a-kind, Dwarven marking. There was a hammer and anvil that represented the Dwarves, they were coloured blue to represent ice and cold and then all around the hammer and anvil were black shadows. Anyone who didn't know Dwarven history may assume they were black flames. But their creator had nothing to do with fire. Aradia rubbed Erebus' head with a smile, congratulating him but also Nakkel and Jolunna. The two were touched. Other children they had met would have thrown a fit and been jealous of their siblings - Not Aradia. Jolunna asked her why but Dia just smiled at Erebus for a few seconds while he clung to his sister's arm "There will always be things that I can have but Ere can not and vice versa. I know that. Besides, I want him to have all the best things, and be surrounded by all the best people, foods and gifts. I'm his big sister, there's absolutely no reason for me to quibble over things with him when I'm more than likely to give him anything and everything he asked for anyway". Jolunna smiled, "What a lovely child...We can tell that you love him and want to protect him. In such a case, I hope that you love our gift" She pulled out a sword that was currently much too long for Aradia, but would fit her nicely by the time she was fifteen. Aradia's eyes sparkled happily and she ran her small fingers over the blade "It's...So beautiful. The craftsmanship is fantastic. Thank you, I really can't wait to begin my weapons training. As soon as I'm big enough for this sword, I will only use it. For the rest of my life" Dia dipped her head to the two and they smiled. As they were about to move on, Nakkel quickly threw a crown onto Erebus' head, muttered some Dwarven and then cleared his throat like he'd done nothing wrong "Anyway, quickly move on." Nakkel ushered them over to Gulvdan who only stared while shaking his head at Nakkel "You can't ever just be honest with yourself, man..."

Nakkel again cleared his throat and looked away grumbling. Gulvdan explained the situation to the two children but Erebus frowned, remaining silent. Gulvdan was so sure he was getting jealous, but before he opened his mouth to speak, Erebus smiled with a nod "That makes a lotta sense! Dia and I have been researching a lot and in the books, it says that Dwarves are very artistic in many ways, while Barbarians are brave warriors. Dia and I may be twins, but she's definitely the brave warrior while I'm the artist. " Dia gently stroked her brother's hair and Gulvdan smiled, appreciating the awareness of the boy. "Indeed. Your father mentioned to us that you are quite a little artist. Nakkel and Jolunna would be more than happy to set up things for you to do and try your hand at. Your sister has already expressed her love for weapons and excitement for training, she's a Barbarian through and through!" Gulvdan gave a hearty laugh, Dia's face slightly flushing red. "Ah, wait!" Dia skittered back over to the Dwarves and collected Ere's shirt, putting it on for him "Grandpa Oak just said the weather is about to get a little cooler, you're going to catch a cold, Ere." He giggled, allowing his sister to dress him happily.

Hessa, Gulvdan's wife, smiled and stood up "Sweet girl, I will be the one doing your bloodline awakening. We'll need to step into another room so you can wear the clothes I've prepared for you." Dia nodded, offering her hand to the woman. Hessa took it, leading her to the side room with a metal pot in her other hand. When they entered the room, Dia removed her clothing. Hessa wrapped her chest in bandages and gave her a skirt to put on. The skirt had slits on either side to show her legs up to her thighs and when she was done, Hessa smiled, asking her to lay down. Hessa placed a beaded symbol over Aradia's stomach and grabbed the metal pot. It was filled with a red substance. "I need you to hold your breath while I pour this over you. You'll feel a burning sensation in your stomach and the liquid will harden on your body for a few minutes, but I promise that you'll be okay" Aradia nodded, her eyes filled with determination. Hessa poured the liquid all over Aradia from head to toe. When the liquid began to harden and all was quiet, she stood and exited the room. Hessa took her seat, smiling at the confused stares "It will take a few minutes. I'd appreciate it if we could sit in silence until Dia comes out." They nodded, waiting. Two minutes turned to three, four...Five...Lily was getting anxious. She was about to stand up and go see until a cracking sound reverberated through the room. Gulvdan grinned widely "She's ready. Unlike with the Elven awakening, Dia will have her bloodline awakened immediately. As Erebus has with his Dwarven bloodline. If there are any physical changes, they'll happen over the next few weeks". As he said this, the door of the side room swung open and out stepped Dia. Her turquoise eyes were now a beautiful red colour and on her stomach was a mark that encircled her belly button and branched out toward her hips. Hessa's breath hitched in her stomach "Goddess! She's mesmerising! A true warrior..." Gulvdan clutched his wife tightly, tears brimming his eyes "Indeed. Our Angluna...". The tattoo-like mark on Aradia's stomach was red, almost like blood. It depicted a woman with a bow and arrow in her hands, a sword on her back, daggers at her hips and bruised knuckles. Around her was nature, witnessing the woman's history and recording it. Dia sauntered over and stood in front of Gulvdan and Hessa, staring at them with her blood-red eyes. Quickly enough, they returned to their turquoise colour. Gulvdan reached out, cupping Aradia's cheeks and pressing her forehead to his own "Welcome to our family, Dia. The Barbarians are looking forward to meeting you" he said softly, pulling away so Hessa could place a crown made of bones atop her head. One thing the twins had noticed was that all of these crowns they were given disappeared into the body with mere thought alone. "What are these crowns? They've all disappeared when thought away". Gulvdan folded his arms "They are artefacts. They have a mind of their own, they recognise their owners. If you weren't meant for this crown, trust me when I say it wouldn't be sitting atop your head."

Dia nodded in awe. Gulvdan pressed his palm to Dia's forehead and recited unintelligible words under his breath, Aradia's eyes once more flashing red. Hessa squealed excitedly "Princess Aradia of the Barbarians. It has a fantastic ring to it. In the future, even if we have children, you will be the one to take our throne. I just request that if we do have children, you treat them like a sibling" Aradia offered a hand to each of them "That goes without saying. I will love, care for and protect them as I do Erebus. You will never have to worry with me at their side, their big sister will always be there to catch them". Hessa began to cry, touched to her core by Aradia's words. She had always wanted a child of her own, so to hear that Dia already regarded herself as the big sister to the child made her heart swell and soar to new heights. Gulvdan wiped his wife's tears, chuckling. "Come, let's give Erebus his gift" Hessa nodded, pulling a blue butterfly from her fur. She clipped it to the belt loops of Erebus' jeans with a smile. "Erebus, if you ever find yourself in a situation where your life is threatened, remove the head of this butterfly and inside is a cerated dagger. Don't be afraid, protect yourself no matter what. You're an important person, so preserve your life at all costs" Hessa's expression was serious, truly drilling home just how important Ere's life was. He nodded, testing it by pulling the head off and putting it back on. "Thank you! I'll ask Dia to teach me how to use it!" the two nodded. Within seconds, Alafarus had picked up Aradia while Monil had grabbed Erebus. They walked over to their chairs and placed the children on their knees. Onelya laughed at this, staring at her two Kings. "I can feel you've been waiting to do that all day" Alafarus huffed at her while Monil pouted "Of course! Look at them! They're so adorable. I want to be the one to adopt them insteeeaadd!" Monil nodded in agreement with Alafarus' words. Onelya shook her head in amusement "Goodness me...You two are something else. Let the babies down so I can give them their crowns." The two men let the twins down but Lily put her hand up "Wait wait wait. Both of them? But I thought..." Onelya nodded "After a discussion with Claudia, Qhuis and my two Kings, we decided we'll give Aradia the Demon bloodline. Before our creator left, he left behind six vials of his own blood. These vials can give anyone the bloodline. There are five left, so using one won't hurt anyone. Besides, after hearing Dia talk about giving her brother all of the best things and telling Hessa she'd love and protect her future child like they were biological siblings, we'd made up our minds. She'll be a wise, benevolent Princess. I'm looking forward to her future." Claudia nodded in agreement, stating something similar. Onelya gave Aradia the vial to drink while Claudia handed one to Erebus. The two drank it and coughed, spluttering everywhere. "Ack! It's so sour!" Erebus looked at Dia with a frown "Yours was sour? Mine was so bitter..." The adults cackled at the exchange. The twins gave the empty vials back and Onelya placed crowns atop their head, covering the two in dark mist. After a few minutes, the mist dispersed and the twins looked around. They felt no different. But of course, they wouldn't. Not just yet. Aradia's new bloodline would most likely awaken later than Erebus', and vice versa with Erebus' new Vampire bloodline. Mulon and Cheth hugged them tightly, welcoming them to the family. Cheth was especially happy "N-n-now I have a s-sister! It's g-great!" Dia snuggled into Cheth, placing a kiss on her forehead. "You're right! I'll take care of you forever, okay Cheth? I'll beat up anyone who even looks at you wrong." Mulon and Erebus giggled, knowing full well Dia would do as she said and more.

Cheth's eyes sparkled and she pulled a bracelet from her pocket. It was embedded with something called 'moonstones'. They trapped moonlight within the stones, which, for someone like Dia was a wonderful thing. Cheth placed the bracelet on Aradia's wrist with a smile. Dia was captivated by the stones and thanked Cheth. "Did you make it yourself? It's beautiful!" Cheth nodded with a flushed face, shifting on her feet a little. Dia hugged her and thanked her again. Cheth reached into her other pocket and pulled an earring from it, giving it to Erebus. "I-I noticed that you wo-wore an earring d-during the mee-meeting so I made you this. Its an O-On-Onyx stone" She smiled at him as he put it in his ear. "I've read about these! They're a very rare stone that gradually fills up over time with the wearer's magic. They're great for learning control especially!" Cheth nodded happily, her palms pressed together. "Thank you, Cheth! I'll cherish it! I plan to learn magic from Auntie Celeste and Uncle Jaxon, so this will be a great help to me!" He hugged the orange-haired girl, beaming at her. Mulon stepped closer, offering Erebus an egg much smaller than what Noros had given him "This is the egg of the Demon realm's death butterfly. They're gorgeous creatures with exotic colours. You need to feed them with your blood once a day. Their loyalty knows no bounds and they're very cute, in my opinion!" Erebus bounced on his tip-toes while looking at the butterfly egg. "Thank you! I'll take very good care of it and come to show you when it hatches!" Mulon grinned, fist-bumping Ere. He stepped toward Aradia, giving her an egg about the same size "This is the Demon Realm's most vicious animal. I figured, given your fierceness, you'd definitely be able to tame it. They bond by staying close to their future master at all times and eating their aura. So be sure to keep the egg on you! I won't tell you what it is, you'll see when it hatches!" Mulon grinned mischievously, hugging Dia. "How mysterious! I can't wait to see what's inside" Dia remarked, hugging Mulon tightly.

Claudia waved the children over and so they rushed over quickly. She placed red crowns upon their head and pricked their fingers. Dia's blood was placed in a vial with a blue top while Erebus' blood was placed in a vial with a yellow top. She put her own blood into two separate cups along with her husband's and put three drops of Dia's blood in one cup, and three of Ere's in the other. The remaining blood was handed to Latla for testing. Claudia drank from each cup with her husband and then gave the corresponding cups to each child, the Royals uttering blessings as the children drank. When the cup was empty, they placed it down and looked at the smiling couple "Princess Aradia and Prince Erebus of the Vampires" Qhuis grinned. The crowns atop their heads disappeared like the rest. Celia gave them both a hug and passed them a phone of the latest model. "I've put all the numbers in there already, so you can call us all whenever you want. We'll all probably be separated for a while, so I'd really appreciate it if you'd stay in contact." The twins nodded at her, giving the phones to their parents after saying their thank yous.

Tatoniel extended his wings. They were so beautiful, fluffy and white. The twins ran over in awe, the man chuckling. He plucked one of his feathers with a very small wince and placed it atop Aradia's head. The feather glowed white, enveloping Aradia and blinding the people in the room. When it was over, Dia had a pair of silver wings on her back. Everyone stared in complete shock "Your bloodline has been awakened. Your wings are beautiful. You're the only angel with silver wings. You'll need to have training to use them, so I'll request a date with your parents to teach you. Your back may feel a little uncomfortable for a bit, but it's nothing to worry about. For now, I want you to watch me roll my shoulders. As you roll your own, think about retracting your wings". Tatoniel rolled his shoulder backwards and within seconds, his wings were gone. Dia followed suit, failing the first three times. She breathed in, closing her eyes and concentrating and shutting everyone else out. She rolled her shoulders back and thought of nothing but retracting her wings back into her skin. When she opened her eyes, her back was lighter and her wings were gone. Tatoniel placed a golden crown atop Aradia's head with a smile. He placed a hand on his own chest, the other on Dia's while he closed his eyes, his palms a brilliant white light. Aradia's shoulders relaxed a lot, feeling relief wash over her. Aradia was now crowned Princess of the Angels. Tatoniel handed a bag of cookies to each child with a smile "A gift from my daughter. She can't wait to meet you both." They took the cookies, Tatoniel now turning completely to Erebus. He pulled a bottle from his chest pocket and gave a small smile "This is something left behind by our Goddess. It was in a box marked 'to the one I love the most'. After studying the scripts she left behind, we discovered that this is an ability she created for her brother. He had the ability of foresight, but she wanted to gift him something that would see through lies. He was much too trusting and often fell for lies. So she created an ability called 'the eyes of truth'. Unfortunately, it was never used. I gift it to you, its rightful owner. I'll need to sprinkle it in your eyes...But you'll be blind for a while, so I'll sprinkle it into your eyes before bed." Erebus nodded at him, not really understanding most of what he said other than he was gifting him an ability and he'd be blind for a while. Erebus handed the bottle to his mother for safekeeping and quickly followed Dia to where Diagda was sitting. Diagda placed a crown of branches on her head, speaking in a tongue that sounded nice to Aradia, but strange to Erebus. Aradia was now crowned Princess of the Druids, her bloodline would awaken naturally and was already well on its way to doing so. Diagda touched his forehead to Erebus. A green glow passed through Erebus and when they pulled away, a small green leaf mark sat between Erebus' brows. "I pass a speck of our Goddess' healing ability to you. You can't heal others, but you will be able to heal much faster from wounds inflicted upon you". Erebus was excited to have such an ability. It brought him warm, tingly feelings. The children thanked Diagda.

Behind them, Latla pulled out two empty plates. She placed some of her blood on each plate. On the right plate, she poured Erebus' blood from the vial. At first, Cal and Latla looked at each other in confusion as it did nothing, but soon, Erebus' blood swallowed Latla's and set on fire. A stream of black fire a foot high burned until there was no blood left "Well, I'll be. It was my blood that was swallowed. It seems young Erebus will be more powerful than I in the future" Latla smiled at Erebus who was watching with glistening eyes. Latla swapped plates and poured Aradia's blood onto the left plate, barely pulling her hand away before a fifteen-foot-tall white flame swallowed Latla's blood and raged aggressively. Latla was quick to pull Noros away, herself and Cal jumping backwards. The flame was so hot that the people nearby got up to move away as it burned through the plate and almost the table until the blood was gone completely. Everyone looked at Aradia, while she tilted her head to the side in confusion. "I'll need to discuss this with the council..." Latla mumbled to Cal, who nodded with a deadpan face. Lily and Quinn looked drained as they stood at the end of the table filled with concern. Watching the interactions the twins had with these people really solidified just how special they were...But why? Why were these children so special? Given the many titles they had acquired today...They were Royalty among Royalty.