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In the cold months of winter, one of the days where the weather wasn't so harsh and travel was easy enough, the castle was bringing in a new host of visitors.
Visitors of a sort that Phil knew his wife would delight in, and would cause the guard to likely despair before this overnight field trip was over. The thought just made him chuckle, walking through the grand hall and once again making sure that nothing that could be easily broken, stolen, or stained had been left within easy reach of their guests.
Said guests would be something like a hundred children of varying ages, from the orphanages around the kingdom's capital. It was a chance to enrich the children's lives, to give them a glimpse of more of the world around them. Perhaps some of them would even end up working in the castles in the several years to come.
Phil hoped they got the chance – he tried to make sure that even those from the poorest districts of his city got chances to live comfortably, even if he couldn't always help. Politics and dealing with the economy of an influential kingdom was a bitch unfortunately, and there were always some who slipped between the fingers of his reach.
But for now, their visitors were just kids coming for a field trip. They would likely cause chaos around the castle for the time that they were here, livening it up a bit. It would only be an overnight stay – a mass sleepover of sorts – but he was sure that the kids would be delighted.
“Phil!” Kristin called out to him, her dress whispering against the floor of the grand hall as she hurried over with a wide grin. “Come on, the kids will be here soon, the carriages are just arriving now.”
Offering his arm to his wife, he gave a grin in return and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Alright, I guess we’re greeting them at the doors?”
“Of course,” she said with a giggle, one of her webbed wings nudging against his feathered ones. As he had suspected, she already adored the children that she hadn’t even met yet. Kristin came from a kingdom where she was much more directly involved with the youth of her people as a princess. Phil knew that sometimes she missed her old duties, though he still had yet to find a way to fill that void.
As they passed through the halls of the castle, he glanced at the marks that encircled his wife's neck – a match for his own three. It was just another confirmation of the fact that they were soulmates, to share the marks of a family outside of their own mark stamped over their hearts.
He squeezed her hand that laid on his arm as the guards pushed the grand doors of the castle open for them to greet their big gaggle of guests.
~~~
Tommy had never seen anything so big be so… clean. As he stared up at the pillars that held up the domed roof of the grand hall where they would be sleeping, he couldn’t believe how bright the white of the marble was. He was used to the general dirt and grime of the statues of the little market square that he lived by.
He was pretty sure that the stone was the same, but the statue in the square had been worn by the harsh weather of the Antarctic winters, leaving it pockmarked and patchy. Dirt clung to every little dip in the stone, making the creases of the clothing that the stone angel wore even more obvious compared to the smooth surfaces on it.
But not this white marble. The only thing that marred the surface of it was the webbing of grey and black veins running through it – he swore that he could almost see his reflection in it, even!
He could see why the caretakers had all of them wear their nicest clothes, now. Tommy didn’t like these clothes very much, they were all stiff and itchy around his neck from the fraying hems. But at least they weren’t getting the castle dirty, he was sure that the people that had to clean all this wouldn’t appreciate him being all dusty and muddy.
“Keep up Toms,” Wilbur said, tugging at his hand as they made their way through the hall.
Techno was leading their little troupe, all the way back into a little corner where they wouldn’t bother anyone else. Tommy knew that the two had a plan, if they wanted to be alone then they must be up to something.
Bouncing his hand in Wilbur’s grip, he got his brother’s attention and looked up at him. “What are you gonna do here?”
Quickly glancing around, Wilbur leaned down and whispered to Tommy. “We’re not going to be doing anything, alright?”
“But you’re trying to get away from the others, you always do that when you’re-”
“SHH-” Wilbur put his other hand over Tommy’s mouth, making Techno glance behind him before the older twin slowed down. “Tommy, we’re just gonna be staying with the group, okay?”
Tommy frowned at his brother, before licking his hand. The brunet gave an offended yelp and frowned, wiping his palm over his pants before they continued on after Techno. “But-”
“Tommy! C’mon, why don’t you tell us about that cool bug you found the other day?” Wilbur gave him a somewhat strained grin.
And, well. The blonde knew that Wilbur was changing the subject, which he didn’t like. That meant that they were gonna try to do something without him. Which Tommy also didn’t like.
… but, if they were going to try to do something without him, then he’d just follow along anyways. Maybe then they’d learn not to leave him behind like a couple of dickheads.
For now, he shrugged. “It was all weird, y’know? The eyes were all big and it had these freaky long claws, it was nearly as big as my hand!”
Wilbur gave a quiet chuff as his tail waved behind him, nudging Tommy to continue, so he did.
He was really good at pretending, the best even. Wilbur and Techno would be very surprised to see him in whatever they were planning, he was sure of it.
~~~
The day had passed surprisingly quickly, Kristin had to admit – between the morning’s preparations and the planned activities that they had run the kids through, she was pleasantly worn out.
Unfortunately Phil was still king, and still had duties that only he could perform. It had pulled him away for most of the day, and when Kristin had decided to finally settle down for sleep she had found it unwelcoming without her husband beside her.
Which now found her in a more casual dress than what she had been wearing earlier, walking through the halls towards Phil’s office. Perhaps she would also take a quick stop by the grand hall to make sure that the children were settling into sleep. She knew that at least a handful of them would still be awake, whether it be caused by the new friends they found or the nerves of sleeping in a new place.
She pulled her shawl around her shoulders a bit tighter in the chill of the nighttime castle and reached for the handle of a side door to the grand door, pulling it open-
Only for a small form to stumble into her knees with a surprised squeak.
Kristin was just as shocked as the child obviously was, seeing the small boy flush with embarrassment before he scrambled to his feet, tiny wings fluttering on his back.
“Oh, hello there,” she said softly, giving the boy a smile.
He straightened up more, little fists clenching at his sides as he looked away. “Hello ma’am- your ma-jesty?”
“It’s pronounced ‘majesty’,” Kristin gently corrected. “What’s your name?”
“Tommy!”
“What are you doing up, little one?”
“U-uh- nothing, I just…”
“Did you want to see more of the castle?” Kristin asked mischievously.
The boy paused, staring up at her with wide eyes. “I- well…”
With a laugh, the queen held out a hand in offer to the boy and crouched down to his level. He couldn’t have been more than seven, maybe even more like six – all bright eyed and innocent, but Kristin could tell that he was a little troublemaker. Not that she minded at all, she loved seeing what kind of creative, lighthearted chaos such kids could get into.
“Do you want me to show you around a little?” She grinned a little wider when the boy’s eyes went even wider. She knew the answer was yes already, and really she shouldn't be enabling him in his attempt to break the rules… but he was very cute. She could already feel her instincts kicking up as she took in the golden shine of his hair. It would be perfect for her hoard, a precious treasure.
She wasn't expecting the way that he raised a hand to brush against the base of her neck.
“You-” The boy gave a gasp, nearly vibrating in place before his free hand waved wildly, flapping in apparent excitement. “You have our marks!”
Kristin blinked, taking a moment to understand what the boy was saying. When she did, her eyes tracked down to where three marks were placed upon the boy’s neck – a crown, a music note, and a curving feather.
They were the same marks that her and Phil both had, their familial marks. The marks of their family, the children they assumed would come in later years, when they were ready.
Who knew that holding a fun little event in the castle would end with her finding her son?
Blinking in shock, Kristin couldn’t stop herself from leaning forward and pulling the boy into a hug. She breathed a sigh of something of- relief, perhaps? She wasn’t entirely sure what she was feeling, other than a surprised sense of joy.
“Oh- oh, little one, do you know the others?”
“Yeah! Techno and Wilbur!” The boy didn’t seem to have a problem with the hug, clinging onto Kristin just as tightly as she held him.
Scooping the boy up into her arms, she smiled as she stood and stepped towards the door to the grand hall. “Well, why don’t we go see them? I want to see my boys.”
At that, the little blonde – gods, he looked just like a tiny Phil all the way down to his wings, how perfect – froze up for a second and clenched one little hand in her shawl. “Um… they’re not in the hall.”
Kristin’s heart dropped slightly, worried. Were the other boys much older, had they already aged out of the orphanages? “Where are they?”
“They snuck out, I was… gonna follow them.” Blue eyes peeked up at her, and Kristin melted at the sight of the boy’s pout.
With a grin, she hefted the boy up a little – he was concerningly light for a boy his age, but perhaps that was a hollow-boned bird thing like Phil. “Alright, do you know where they were going? We could go get Phil and play hide and seek with them, how does that sound?”
Tommy then gave her a wide grin and nearly wiggled right out of her arms. “Yes! I’m the best at hide and seek!”
The queen gave a laugh, throwing her head back with the sound. “Alright little one, let’s go get Phil. He really wants to meet you.”
“Okay,” the boy said with a grin, clinging to Kristin as she continued the journey that she had planned on taking in the first place, now with an extra prize.
~~~
Phil stared at the child in Kristin’s arms, blue meeting blue. He was confused, but he knew that she probably had a good reason. “Ah… who's this, Kristin?”
“Tommy!” The blonde child said, perhaps a bit louder than what was proper for the hour. But then he reached out an arm to point, his legs kicking and little wings flapping as he grinned. “You’re our other soulmate!”
Shocked, Phil looked to his wife with wide eyes, before she giggled and raised one hand to Tommy’s chin. With gentle encouragement the boy tilted his head back to show off the marks that did indeed rest on his skin.
“You- he-” Baffled, he looked at Kristin as he stepped closer, allowing his wife to pass Tommy over to him.
With a growing grin, Kristin watched the two of them. “The other boys are here as well.”
A breath seemed to be punched out of Phil’s chest, as Tommy reached up and carefully toyed with the braid in the king’s hair, decorated with a purple bead. The bead had been from one of the first gifts Kristin gave him, a bracelet that had unfortunately been broken after years of wear – the first gift between romantic soulmates, when they were sure they were ready to try a proper relationship.
“Where are the others?” Phil asked, glancing at Tommy in his arms. Maybe it was a placebo effect – it almost definitely was, it had to be – but he swore he could already feel a bond with the boy. His son, oh gods. Phil didn’t feel ready to be a father, but it looked like he was getting chucked into the deep end anyways.
Tommy met his eyes and shrugged, releasing his braid. “They snuck out of the big room we’re sleeping in, they were planning something, without me.”
“Planning something?” Oh gods, his sons were already causing trouble. “What were they planning?”
“I dunno!” Tommy said with a scowl. “They wouldn’t tell me, they kept fuckin whispering to each other, it’s not fair.”
Phil blinked at the use of language, perhaps hearing a six year old curse shouldn’t be so amusing but he couldn’t help his chuckle. “... we need to find them.”
“Mhm,” Kristin confirmed with a smile. “I was going to take Tommy and play some hide and seek with them?”
“They could be anywhere though, if they’ve gotten out of the grand hall without anyone noticing,” Phil fretted, feeling his wings flutter with nerves.
Thankfully though, Kristin knew her worry-wart husband well enough to step forward and take his hand. "We'll find them, love. They'll be just fine."
He squeezed her fingers between his with a grateful smile. Right. As long as the boys didn’t wander into dangerous areas in the castle, which were admittedly fairly few and far between, they would be fine. They would just have to send guards to go look at them in those places first, and narrow their search from there.
“Right. I’ll have the guards just walk through the dungeons first, I don’t need them wandering through there – and then maybe go through the kitchens, the dragon pens, and the hoard?”
Kristin gave a quiet purr and nodded, eyes flickering down to Tommy in Phil’s arms once again. He knew her instincts must be having a wonderful time with the boy’s golden hair – it was what she had dealt with when they first met. He wouldn’t be surprised if he found Kristin resting in the hoard with their new son by the time the other two were found, honestly.
The dragon queen would want to add her gold to the pile of shining treasures, after all. The ultimate form of affection for a dragon hybrid.
“I’ll see you soon, love,” Phil murmured, kissing her forehead as he passed Tommy back into her arms.
“See you soon,” she agreed. “Try to hurry, I want to meet the other two.”
Phil nodded with a smile, and gently ushered the two out of his office, watching as Kristin carried the boy with her.
Now, he just had a couple of young rascals to find.
~~~
“Shh!” Techno hushed his brother, slapping a hand over Wilbur’s mouth, pinching his nose for good measure to make sure that he couldn’t keep humming. “You’re gonna get us caught!”
Wilbur smacked at his arm for a few moments before Techno released him, immediately giving the elder twin a scowl. “There’s no one in the hall, you don’t need to fucking suffocate me-”
“There could be people just around the corner, idiot,” Techno retorted.
In return Wilbur simply rolled his eyes, but they both knew that Techno was right. This time, when they once again went scampering off down the hall, Wilbur was as silent as he needed to be, and Techno was grateful.
The plan was pretty simple – sneak out of the grand hall, find something pretty and valuable to steal, and sneak out of the castle to hide it somewhere that they could get to later.
Unfortunately, it seemed like a lot of the doors around the grand hall were either locked, or they led to boring rooms that didn’t have anything that looked worth the attempt to steal.
They just needed one thing. Even just a ring from the castle would be worth dozens- maybe even hundreds of silvers, which the boys desperately needed. It wouldn’t be long until they were expected to work around the orphanage as secondary caretakers, which meant pitching in some money to help with things.
If they wanted to get away from the orphanage, they needed money. But money was in short demand for two ten-year-olds, not to mention piglin hybrids. While the Antarctic Empire was one of the safest countries out there for hybrids overall, it didn’t mean that the more ‘dangerous’ hybrids had a great reputation, no matter how young they were. It didn’t help that they were also nether hybrids, which meant that as they got older they would start hibernating in the colder temperatures of winter, and-
Yeah. Techno shook his head to clear his thoughts. They needed something to sell, and they needed to be able to hide it and get back to the grand hall before the guards – or worse, Tommy – noticed that they were gone.
He took Wilbur’s hand and dodged down another side corridor. It looked like this one didn’t have as many guards, which gave Techno the courage to start moving faster. He didn’t mind the way that his hooves clacked against the polished floors, keeping an eye out for interesting looking doors, but this time it didn’t seem like there was much in this hall.
Were the rooms on the other side just really big, or what? There had to be entryways, right?
Techno looked behind them and gasped as he saw torchlight coming closer to the crossroads. Wilbur saw the same thing, and they quieted their steps as they pushed themselves to go faster, faster, until-
There! A door, perfect.
With a yank in that direction, Techno led Wilbur over to the door and prayed that it would be unlocked as he shoved his shoulder against it. It was a heavy, metal door, his hooved feet slipping on the stone with a scraping sound before the door squeaked open and the two boys were able to dodge through it.
Heaving a sigh of relief, the two orphans looked at each other and gave a small grin. They were both okay, they hadn’t been caught.
Looking up properly, Techno knew that they had gotten even luckier than he had thought just a moment before.
In the lower, flickering light of the fire that was embedded in high-seated sconces, Techno could see a mountain of glittering treasure.
Gold, jewels, crowns and goblets and necklaces and rings. Silver bands, sapphires and rubies and shimmering opal that caught the light as he stepped forward.
It was everything that they needed and more-
A purr built up in Techno’s throat. He had never seen so much gold in his life, he could feel himself being drawn closer. Wilbur too, dazed at his side and kneeling down to pick up a golden chain that had a massive black gem hanging from it.
Techno bumped his head against his twin’s shoulder and chuffed. He could feel his instincts swallowing him up, being in the middle of a literal treasure trove of gold. He was safe here, in the heated room of gold where shoats were meant to be.
Safe, safe, warm, safe.
Unfortunately, he was startled out of the peaceful lull of those instincts when he heard a growl reverberating through the room. It was a disorienting sort of whiplash that had him shaking as he looked around to try to pinpoint the source of the sound.
He could see something move in the dim light of the treasury room, something that seemed to make up the whole of the ceiling, letting in some more light from the moon through the dome of glass that had been blocked by the big something that was moving.
The form dropped, and both twins let out small whines of fear as a massive head slithered closer to them, leaving them face to face with a dragon.
~~~
Kristin watched as Tommy raced down the hall ahead of her, calling for his brothers. He already knew them as his brothers, it was delightful – she couldn’t have asked for a better situation.
“Wilby!” Tommy whined slightly, stomping his foot as he got to the end of the hall and apparently found no sign of the twins. “Techno, come on! Get out here already, you have to be somewhere!”
“Come here, treasure,” Kristin called, and the child scampered back towards her, rushing straight back into her arms so she could lift him up again. It made her purr, pressing her smile into his golden curls as her wings curled around both of them for a moment. “Are you getting tired? I know that it’s late now, Phil will probably have to be the one to find them.”
Tommy just whined, hiding his face against Kristin’s neck as his small hands balled into her dress. “But I’m supposed to be the best at hide and seek,” he complained.
“I know darling, but maybe they’ve hidden somewhere that you can’t get to. Sometimes that happens, and sometimes it means that someone bigger has to find them and help them out of where they might’ve gotten stuck.”
The boy gave a huff and kicked his little legs in frustration. “Well then, they shouldn’t do that. They’re supposed to be with me, they promised.”
“Promised what, treasure?”
“They promised that they would stay with me tonight, so I wouldn’t have any nightmares,” Tommy whined quietly.
Kristin forced her purr a little louder to comfort him, and Tommy seemed to nestle even closer. “Oh, little one. Do you have nightmares in new places, or all the time?”
“Mmm… all the time,” he muttered. “They’re really scary, Tech calls ‘em night terrors or something.”
“I’m sorry sweetheart, that doesn't sound fun at all. Do you want to see if there’s something that could help you fall asleep in my hoard? You can meet Clementine if you want.”
Blue eyes peeked up at the queen, and Kristin smiled at the wonderful sight of his childish, innocent curiosity. “Who’s Clementine?”
With a grin, she bounced Tommy a little higher on her hip. “She’s a dragon, one of my friends. She guards my hoard when I can’t be there – I’m sure that she would love to meet you.”
Tommy’s eyes opened wide in wonder, sitting up to attention. “A dragon?” He breathed, awed, even without seeing the dragon.
“Mhm. She’s big, at least three times as big as a horse, and she has the prettiest orange scales you’ll ever see,” Kristin explained as she started carrying her boy towards the hoard room. Perhaps she could sleep there, with her new son and the rest of her treasure. She could get Tommy situated in it, drape him in gold and all the affection that a young child like him needed.
The queen continued to explain to the boy as she made her way through the halls of the castle. She saw some guards rushing around, no doubt being led by instructions from the king, but Kristin wasn’t at all concerned.
She knew that the princes would be found, and they would be delivered into her arms before long.
When she got to the treasury, she found the fire already burning low, moonlight being allowed to fall in through the glass roof and leaving her treasure glittering in silver hues.
“Clementine,” Kristin called quietly, knowing that her friend would rather be woken gently. “I have a guest for you to meet.”
With a grumble, a mound of the golden mountain shifted and Clementine’s head poked up, staring at the two with a slow blink. Clearly she had been sleeping well, though Kristin was a little confused – usually her dragon friend preferred to usher the queen into the nest of gold herself instead of letting the hybrid mess with the carefully maintained piles.
“What is it?” Tommy glanced between the dragon and the queen.
In return, Clementine gave a long sigh, her long tail unraveling and reaching out over the distance between them. Kristin hummed in curiosity and let the dragon guide her steps, until she was only a few paces away from the curl of the dragon’s body.
Then she caught sight of what Clem was guarding, and Tommy lit up.
“Tech! Wilby!” The blonde immediately wiggled his way out of Kristin’s arms and scrambled over Clementine’s side, only to drop down onto his brothers.
He didn’t seem to mind the way that the twins groaned with sleepy growls, or the way that the pink-haired piglin boy forcefully tucked the blonde under his chin to cuddle. Tommy just shifted to a comfortable position, smacking the brunet with one tiny wing, and settled between them.
Kristin purred at the sight, and Clementine gave a huff herself.
“I’m going to call for Phil, friend,” Kristin said with a smile. “He’s been looking for them.”
The dragon huffed and pressed the flat end of her snout to Kristin’s head in acknowledgement. In the time that it would take for Phil to get to the hoard the dragon would probably leave, and take her time in her own home for a while.
Kristin would be soaking in her hoard for a while, with her new kids.
The queen only slipped out of the treasury for a minute to find a guard to run for Phil, and when she returned the dragon was indeed gone. It left Kristin enough space to let her wings go free, wrapping her boys in them.
She met the eyes of the brunet boy and noted the tail flicking behind him – another piglin, apparently.
Kristin chuckled at the revelation. The boys were probably completely lost in their instincts, leaving them soft and pliant.
“Hello, my little treasures,” she said gently. The brunet gave a quiet chuff and his tail curled around Tommy’s leg, infinitely precious. “It’s so good to meet you all.”
The brunet gave a long blink as Tommy reached out to hold onto his hand, and Kristin simply hummed. Slowly, she watched the boys drift off together, and basked in the peace of knowing that her family was finally all together.
~~~
“Sir, Queen Kristin has found the boys,” Sam called as he jogged closer, and Phil whipped around to face him.
As soon as he registered the words, the king gave a relieved sigh. “Good- where is she now, do you know?”
“She’s in the hoard, your majesty,” the creeper hybrid replied with a bow. “I believe that she is awaiting your return.”
“Thank you, Sam. You can gather up the rest of the guard and return to normal duties for the night.”
Another nod, and the guard was again heading off to gather his men from the far corners of the castle that they had been sent off to. It left Phil to rub at his temples in an attempt to ease the forming headache that came with the late hour.
They had found their boys, finally.
He turned around to head towards the hoard room, nodding to the few guards that he ran into on his way until he had arrived. Inside it was just about what he had expected to see – Kristin’s large, dark wings wrapped in a large bundle around her, leaving little but a few pairs of feet exposed for him to see.
When the door closed behind him though, her wings moved out of the way so that she could give him a smile.
“Hide and seek was successful, then?” Phil kept his voice low, matching his wife’s smile. The boys were curled around her – a brunet on her left, Tommy and another boy with pink hair on her right.
Kristin gave a vague shrug. “More or less. Join us,” she whispered.
He nodded and made his way carefully over the mountains of precious gold, settling on Kristin’s left with the little brunet boy.
“They’re both piglin hybrids,” Kristin continued with a purr of delight. “I’m sure that seeing the hoard threw them into their instincts and caught them here, Clem was curled up with them when we found them.”
“Oh,” Phil breathed in awe. He reached out and ran a gentle hand through the brunet’s hair, noting the pointed ears and tail, the obvious tusks of his brother. “They’re perfect.”
Kristin gave a quiet giggle and squeezed the boys close together, and Phil was pulled into the curl of her wing. His own feathered wings extended out and curled around them all as a second layer, further securing them in a cocoon of warmth.
“They are,” the queen whispered. “Our perfect sons… they’ll be wonderful princes, I can feel it already.”