As they walked through the halls back to their room, Natasha saw Sienna. She had learned the woman's name from one of the other maids after inquiring about a particular maid who had a fancy for her husband. The little wench was trying desperately not to look at her. Her eyes were glued on Marcello, though. She watched as those chocolate brown eyes briefly drifted over to her abdomen. For a second, a flash of something close to jealousy shined in them before locking back on her husband.

She had to wonder if the girl had ever wanted to bear his children. She wasn't royal, Natasha assumed that was a qualifier, and of course, she'd been turned, probably before they ever became intimate, possibly before they'd ever met. Still, she knew the pang of wishing to be a mother, and she wondered if Sienna regretted it after the fact.

As they walked back, Marcello noticed Sienna staring at him. He had avoided her advances multiple times in the past few weeks, but she had been getting bolder with her attempts, going so far as to approach him when he had been painting alone. It had been a feeble attempt at seduction, but one nonetheless. He did feel some guilt about it. She had been his lover, and he had feelings for her back then—But Natalia had changed everything! From the moment his parents had announced that he would marry, he'd made it quite clear they could not continue.

He had not shared Sienna's advances with his wife, though. He hadn't wanted to stress Natalia, especially in her delicate state. It was perhaps a little secretive and underhanded, he knew, but he would tell her eventually, when her life was not in mortal danger. Besides, he relied on her trust to know that he loved her wholly and completely. He had never strayed, and he would not.

They finally made it back to the room, and she laid down on the bed, feeling tired as her abdomen started to move. Barely detectable features pushed through the skin as they moved around. The cream was working, and though it felt odd, it wasn't painful.

She pulled her dress up all the way to expose her abdomen so they could watch them more clearly. What could only be a head or butt—an orange-sized bump—moved across her abdomen before disappearing back inside. "I think they're playing..." she laughed.

He sat on the bed with her as she lifted her dress to watch the two children move. "So long as they play nice. They need to know how to share. As well as not use their mother as a boxing ring." So long as she was happy, he was too, and the two babies definitely seemed happy. He rested his hand over them, feeling them push against it as they played. "I wish I could somehow draw this. Them moving so happily."

"I suppose you could draw several images that as you looked through them seemed like movement. Though, that would probably be quite taxing..." Then her face lit up as an idea washed over her. "Oh! You could show the drawing of the foot to the doctor and see how far along he actually thinks they are! Well, at least one of them." She wasn't sure if they were the same size or not. There was no way to be sure of that.

"He should be able to judge about how big they are by that... right? I mean, he saw the bruise but..." she looked down and it had vanished. She wondered if it was the cream or her own body that was causing her to heal at an alarming rate. "There's no bruise," she said almost sadly. As badly as it had hurt, she'd loved the little imprint of her child's foot on her. If she could've had it forever engraved on her, she would. It would be a beautiful memory one day.

Marcello retrieved his drawing supplies and began to sketch the little movements. He could fill a gallery of just his beautiful wife carrying his children. She had been exquisite before, but now she was simply breathtaking. As he laid down his pencil, Marcello once more placed his hand on her stomach.

One child seemed to respond by pushing their own tiny hand through and stroking his larger one. It amazed Natalia how aware the baby seemed to be. So she put her hand beside his, and the child performed the same action.

"If you can tell we are out here, can you hear us? If you can hear us, will you touch my hand again?" The child repeated the motion. "How about that?" She raised her brows. "Do you know if you're a boy or a girl? If you do... touch my hand..." the hand touched hers once more.

How was it possible that something so tiny could already be so aware? She pried further. "Ok then. If you're a boy, touch once. If you're a girl, touch twice." The little hand gave her two quick jabs.

She looked over at her husband. "Twice! And do you have a brother or a sister in there?" The little hand touched her just once. "If they're to be believed, we have a daughter and a son." She'd couldn't fathom how smart and interactive these babies could be. Human babies could barely even kick in the womb, let alone give responses to questions. It was amazing!

He watched on as the little girl pushed against her mother's hand. A smile growing wider and wider on his face until it was almost ear to ear. A boy and a girl! Exactly what they wanted! Better yet, they could hear them and communicate. He lifted his hand and hugged Natalia so tightly. "Dante and Sibella! Our little babies. They're right there! I already love them so much!" Overjoyed was an understatement. He was ecstatic! This day had just done a full turnaround. Suddenly, he felt like nothing could stop them.

He put his hand back on her abdomen and leaned down to speak to them both. "Hello angels, it's Daddy." He felt a little hand push against his. It was so small and delicate against his own. "I need you to not hurt mommy, but you also have to let us know when you are ready to come out." He felt a little hand thumping against his, and he laughed. "No, not now! When you're really ready..." Maybe they did not understand yet, but hopefully they would. Even just the part about not hurting Natalia could go a long way in keeping her alive without breaking.

He looked back up at Natalia, his eyes glowing with happiness. "I just never thought it would be like this. I love you. I love them. I love us!"

She beamed, watching him talk to the little child inside her. It was an amazing sight. She kissed him gently. "I do too..."

Life seemed absolutely perfect. The only thing that could've made it more perfect would've been to not have the looming fear in the back of her mind, but she trusted it would all be alright. At least she hoped it would.

Natalia stroked his face for a moment before plunging her mouth onto his. It was a hungry kiss, brimming with want. She pushed herself against him. That in itself was getting more and more awkward by the day. Her stomach kept them from being able to meld into one another as they once had. Her hips couldn't meet his even if she tried—at least not front to front on their sides like this. Either of them could mount the other as long as they stayed upright, or perhaps the easiest position was simply being on all fours... that way he could use her much wider hips as grips and feel her now quite plump behind against him as he worked his way Inside her.

Her mouth pillaged his, as though there were treasure to be found if only she worked hard enough. She felt her nipples standing at attention, and her folds becoming moist just from the kiss. One child kicked inside her, against his abdomen, clearly also excited by her heart racing. It was strange to feel both sexually charged and be the carrier of two rambunctious children all at once. Natalia tried to push the more maternal feelings aside and instead continued on kissing him fiercely.

Her kiss seemed to rise from nowhere, but he had no complaints. She was kissing him as if they were horny newlyweds again, and he instantly reciprocated. When he tried to come closer towards her, the ever-expanding bump got in the way, and he could feel one of them bouncing away in excitement as the room heated up.

They had been calmer the past couple of weeks, as she got bigger and their concerns became her health above all. This kiss was the buildup of all that pent up passion. He laid her down as they kissed and moved his hands up to her breasts. His fingers teased them through the dress, tracing her nipples and feeling them harden. He knew even that would get her going. She had made it clear how sensitive and tender they were.

He'd watched her body continue to become more and more breathtaking by the day and was revelling in the fact he could finally enjoy it. He pulled away to let her breathe and ran a hand down her body.

"My beautiful wife, who grows even more beautiful every day she carries our children..." He sighed happily, raking over her with his eyes. Her eyes were more green than he'd ever seen, her lashes dark and alluring. She was picturesque, lying like this, and he wanted to remember it forever. I'll fill a thousand canvases just with this image.

She pulled the dress all the way up over her head and tossed it on the ground beside them. Her body had expanded so quickly these last few weeks, leaving her feeling like a stranger in her own skin, but she looked like a goddess, everything still in perfect proportion despite the growth. Her breasts were full and balanced the bump perfectly, and because of the beautification influence, her stomach didn't bear a single mark. Had this been a purely human pregnancy that had progressed so quickly, her perfect skin would've been marred with stretch marks, but not a one appeared. She definitely had that glow that people swore pregnant women had, but hers was especially alluring because of the children inside her.

She'd laid there a moment after to just let him take her in before diving back into the kiss. It had been days. No, well over a week since they'd been intimate. The sickness that had overtaken her had been hard on them both. But now... she felt that spark again and wanted him... badly.