Marcello had spent his recent days reading through some of the records once more. Comparing her pregnancy to those in history. One thing he was not looking forward to was the birth itself. Consistently described as a bloody and brutal affair, childbirth tore apart even the strongest of mothers. He had not mentioned it, and she had not asked. He had also been reluctant to hand any of the records over for fear it would only demoralise her, even though she had asked several times.

"You were right. It is really pleasant to be out here. Well, in the shade." He commented, as the conversation had lulled. Her mouth was currently occupied, working her way through the sweet food with some level of determination. Her appetite had clearly increased despite her difficulty in consuming human food.

"I'm hoping I'll feel like just standing in the sun a few minutes... soaking it up..." she replied. "Do those who are turned ever develop tolerance? Or just purebreds like yourself?" Clearly the doctor had enough to not burn alive, but he was ancient and wore long sleeves. He had nothing covering his face, though. So she supposed it must happen, eventually.

He laid back in his chair and closed his eyes. "It all depends on who turns you. As the strongest and purest line in existence, so we boast, you should be capable of building a tolerance. But I warn you, it will take years of practice. So enjoy it while you can now."

She finished up and stood, walking out of the shade to enjoy the sunshine. Natalia then closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth washing over her, but after only a minute, her skin became incredibly hot to the touch. She retreated under the gazebo looking thoroughly sunburnt, even though she'd barely spent a few minutes there. It was quite clear they were affecting her—speeding up the good and the bad parts of being vampiric. She was turning without anyone turning her.

She grabbed his glass of blood he'd been sipping at and downed it without hesitation. There was no recoil of disgust in it. She grabbed the decanter on the table and filled it once more, downing it in a few gulps before sighing and closing her eyes. She looked satisfied and satiated, a drop of blood still on her lip. With a flick of her tongue, she lapped it up like it had been the chocolate from earlier, resting her hands on her stomach as she reclined in the chair.

He could not explain what he had just seen. She simply lay back with a satisfied smile and her eyes closed, cradling her bump after guzzling two glasses of blood without so much as blinking. She had literally feasted on that blood, not wasting a drop, and he doubted it had been so much for the babies' sakes. He saw her reddened skin, and it all formed in his head.

"I never told you how one becomes turned, did I? You never asked. And I never said?" It was a wild theory, but he was staring at the facts right in front of him. She was slowly being turned by their children.

"Sweetheart, you realise exactly what just happened and what that means, don't you?" He sat upright, as she still looked so carefree. He needed to help her understand the gravity of the situation.

"No...you didn't..." she realized, barely opening her eyes. She had always expected it was like the fantasy books—that he bit her long enough that it changed her, but she now realized that had been entire speculation. The situation was dawning on her. The sheer amount of vampiric energy inside her was bound to do... something.

She opened her eyes and looked at him, the gravity of what had just happened washing over her face. "How does one become turned? Are they turning me inside me?" She asked, her eyes growing wide.

And like a true mother, her first thought was not for herself. "If they are, does that put them in danger?" The whole point was that humans could produce life. Vampires could not. If they were slowly turning her, would her life eventually not be enough and reject them?

He had his face in his hands briefly as he thought about exactly the right way to not scare her. He leant forward and stared into her eyes. "The way it works is that. Well, in a sense, we trade blood. I would drain you slowly, letting the blood run into my body, and as its so fresh it would run through my veins, giving me energy before its absorbed into my tissues. Now lets say you're also draining me. Over the course of us continuously doing so, your blood would become for lack of a better word 'infected' with the vampirism from my body." It was a complex process, and typically, it took quite some time. If you rushed it, you risked the human dying. The very nature of it, though, meant that no one could accidentally be turned. It had to be agreed upon.

He could see her figuring it out as he spoke. "Typically, when carrying a baby it will infect some of the mothers blood, but because of the size and proportion, its never enough to turn the mother completely... But twins... the combined energy... well it may have tipped the scales a bit..." He could see her mind run into overdrive, and he took her hand. She was worried she would turn too soon, and both of the twins would die. Truth be told; so was he.

"Now, at a best guess, the rate of you changing compared to them growing. The gap might be a little narrow, and that's if you really are turning, and this isn't just exaggerated symptoms. We just have to monitor it." Turning on its own was an ordeal. After the blood trade was complete, she would go through a period of her body changing, each change being difficult. Combined with bearing children and it would be no peaceful journey.

Her eyes were still wide with fear. "Monitor it?" she repeated. She did not like the sound of it. Her heart was racing. Not only was the reality now that they could kill her, but she could kill them!

"What are the other signs?" She asked anxiously, wanting to be vigilant and watch for them. She didn't want to chance missing something that was a sign, and she would do anything she had to in order to keep the babies safe. This was the only shot she would ever get, and if there was a way—no matter the cost to her—she would do it.

She was now acting exactly the way he did not want her to, working herself into hysteria. Now she would paranoid, and that could lead them into all sorts of trouble. "So, the signs are pretty easy to recognise. But please remember this, it is only if they are slowly turning you. You could become very light sensitive, not just direct contact, but any sunlight you can see will hurt your eyes and give you a headache. The desire for blood will become much, much stronger—you will need it to fuel the change. You will compel people without realising it, it can just happen without you meaning to. You'll see, hear, taste, feel and smell things to a level of detail you never noticed..." He listed them off, watching her memorize them as if her life depended on it, which he assumed, to some extent, it might.

"There are other odds and ends as well: becoming stronger and faster of course, but if you're experiencing most of those, then I would say you're most likely turning." He was scared for her and for their children, but he had to keep a level head for all their sakes. So long as it did not accelerate, his guess was that she should turn either as or just before the babies were ready to be born.

He leaned forward moved her into a hug. He was trying to think of something to say to calm her down, but a hug was the best he could muster.

"How much longer?" She asked, signing against him. "How much longer before they're strong enough to survive even if I don't?" She was still against him, so he couldn't see the fear in her eyes. She knew he was afraid too, and he was trying to hide it for her sake.

"Well, you seem to be about six months at almost six weeks, give or take, but that would be for one baby—" he tried to calculate. "So, maybe a couple more weeks and they would have a better chance at being okay..." There was a real tingle of fear running through him, that both of them could die, and that she could die with them too. It was a lot to bear that he might suddenly lose everything he held dear.

She pulled back finally and smiled sadly, looking into his eyes. He looked so scared. She just wanted to reassure him. "Don't be scared. I will do anything I have to. I will keep them safe..." she said emphatically, and the look instantly disappeared from his face. Her eyes went wide.

"No...no..." she looked even more frightened. Had she just—compelled him? That wasn't what she wanted at all! She was trying to comfort him, not compel him! Her eyes were as big as saucers as she continued to shake her head, not knowing what to say.

When she said he shouldn't be scared, that she would do anything, he believed her. The fright just washed away completely, replaced by a dull calm. Her big green eyes so calm and soothing that he didn't need to worry. However, she didn't look calm at all. She looked... frantic. Natalia was rocking back and forth a little, shaking her head.

Still, he leaned back in and hugged her, completely relaxed. "Natalia, what's got you so worked up now? We're going to be just fine. I can feel it. The babies will make it through, and so will you. There's no need to be scared." He was here for her, and he would always be here for her.

"No...you were panicking. I said not to, and you didn't just relax or put on a brave face. You just... changed... instantly. You just... weren't..." she was panting, not even wanting to say what she suspected. "I think I compelled you. I didn't mean to. But I think I did—" she considered trying it a second time, but she didn't know if there were consequences to compulsion, so she didn't want to risk them. Plus, she'd done it entirely unintentionally. She didn't know if she even could do it on purpose.

"Can you even try to be worried? Would it work? I feel like I need to talk in questions no because apparently statements can be dangerous." She was clearly panicking.

What she was saying made little sense? Could she have compelled him? Maybe. It was royal blood in there, and they would heighten her powers in transition. He felt like laughing as she explained about questions rather than statements until he realised she was actually being very smart. If she could not control it and said things unthinkingly, he could be stuck that way until she fixed it.

He tried to be scared, thinking over Natalia's potential death, their babies' deaths... Nothing. He couldn't feel the fright, only the slight anger, confusion, and hurt. "I don't feel it." He said blankly. "Please try to fix it. Order me to be free. It undoes your previous compulsion!" He knew it was not her fault, and she could not control it; but he could not go on not feeling fear.

Every time she thought she was getting used to her life, it seemed like something else was thrown into the mix. Now she had to watch what she said, along with the constant terror that she was going to die or her children would. She wasn't sure if it would just work the same way as it had when she'd said it before. There had been a lot of emotion behind the words. Maybe that had something to do with it? So she tried to focus on the emotion of needing him to feel with her—to worry and be afraid for her and them.

"Ok.." she tried, "you're allowed to feel whatever you want. Ignore my previous words." She looked at him, wondering if she had any success undoing what she never meant to do. "Did it work?" She asked tentatively, her big green eyes staring back at him with hesitance.

'Did it work?' She asked. Did what work? Had she done it already? If she had done it, and it hadn't worked, he would remember. It must have worked. He closed the distance between them and kissed her. "I'm bloody terrified, Nat," he said with a small smile. He could only assume it was her desperation and want for it. She had wanted him not to be scared so badly, and she must've equally wanted him to be free.

He cupped her cheek and stroked it, trying to comfort her. He could hear the erratic and fast pace of her heart. "The babies will be fine. It's hard to tell just how big they are... Whether they are developing any faster... We just need to take it day by day and keep you all healthy."

He looked into her eyes with a renewed confidence. A bit more hardened than a moment ago. "Maybe we should head inside. If the sun is a bit of an issue for the both of us..."

She smiled at him happily. She never thought she'd be happy to hear him say he was scared, but she was. She was elated. Her heartbeat slowly ceased its erratic pace and became normal. "I think going inside is a fine idea..." she agreed, standing up and taking his arm so they could walk together. She couldn't walk long distances without assistance, but being able to lean on him should suffice.