A Few Too Many Blessings

It was taking way too long. Was it supposed to take this long? Seriously, how many hours did it take to give birth to a baby? Well...two, if the doctors were to be believed. Twins. Holy crap, I still can't believe it might be twins...How was anyone supposed to adjust to having no babies and then suddenly having two? I wasn't so sure I was up to the challenge.

Rapunzel's father had given up almost an hour ago and he sat, dozing in a chair beside the door, though I knew that if I even breathed too loud he'd be awake in a heartbeat. I hadn't quit yet though, my feet still wearing away at the carpet as a paced back and forth in front of my own bedroom door.

How did I get here you may ask? Well, that, my friend, is a tale for another day, but the short of it is...well, I met a girl. A girl who turned me away from my life of crime with her naive optimism and her simple, silly dream. Yeah, sappy, I know. Sometimes I don't even believe it, but here I am, a married, mostly honest man, pacing the hall and waiting for news.

At first, I wasn't even sure I wanted kids. It wasn't that I didn't like them, hell, I took care of the younger kids at the orphanage almost as much as the adults did. I'd read to them and break up fights, and general act like the cool big brother, but, well, that was years ago. Now...I wasn't sure how I would feel holding a baby. Would I feel the joys of parenthood? Would I feel like a dad? Or would I feel like an imposter; a criminal holding this little miracle that I never should have had the priviledge to help make.

I know, I know, too gloomy right? Still, I'm sure you can see my point. I was a thief for years, stealing whatever item of value I could find, lifting anything that wasn't nailed down. I mean, come on, I stole from this very castle! And now I live here, married to the lost princess I accidentally found while running away with the crown meant for her. It was all pretty confusing, but honestly, I wouldn't change a thing. Not a single decision I made from the moment I met the naive little blonde with the wicked frying pan swing.

Alright, I admit, its not just the father part I'm worried about. There was a little more to that cute blonde than your average kidnapped princess trapped in a tower; in fact, it was the whole reason she was stolen from the palace in the first place. She had magic hair. Yes, I know, bring on the doubt, god knows I didn't believe it either at first, but it's true. Hold the hair to you, sing a special song and poof, magic. Any wounds would be healed, and the wrinkles would just disappear, like the hands of time themselves had been rolled back to a time when everything about you was perfect. I watched her heal a gash on my hand the first night we met. And later, a single tear from her saved my life, but we won't get into that now.

Where was I? Oh yeah, so Rapunzel got this magic hair thing because her mother drank soup of a magic flower made from pure sunlight when she was pregnant and the flower's magic power transferred to the baby inside her. Still with me? Seriously the whole tale is written down if you want to get into the backstory. As long as you can deal with more of my rather round-about story telling.

Now the magic in Rapunzel's hair, like the flower, was activated by singing, but her hair could never be cut, because if it was, her golden locks would turn brown the magic would die, hence the reason why we needed a tear to save my life. I had cut Rapunzel's hair in an attempt to save her life, even though it meant I would die, so her magic was gone. Her hair, though very flattering on her, was just hair now, and now amount of singing could bring back what was lost this time. And yet, we both couldn't help but wonder...was it completely gone? Was this the end of the flower's magic, or was it still dormant inside her somewhere. And if it was, would it stay there except in moments of overwhelming need for it, or would it transfer again?

I know it doesn't seem like much, but these questions kept me up at night. Having a child with that kind of power would be a gift to say the least, but it could also be a curse. I mean, could you imagine what people would do if they knew? Everyone would be begging to have their ailments cured and they wrinkles erased. And you can't just go giving people eternal life. As much as we might want to, people aren't meant to live forever. So how do you tell someone you have the secret to eternal life and aren't going to share it. If you did...well let's just say your popularity as a royal would drop drastically. It would have to remain a secret.

And that, my friends, is the other reason for my endless pacing. Not only am I about to become a father, but one, or both of my kids might have a major burden placed upon them from birth.

I sighed, turning on my heel once again to walk the other way. "We'll just have to test it right away!" Next to me I heard the king sit up in a sudden jolt, but he settled back into his seat once he realized I was talking to myself. "Sorry." With my voice now lowered to a near whisper, I went back to tossing my ideas out, trying to clear my head. "As soon as the baby...um, babies are born we'll sing the song. And then...well, then hopefully nothing and we can just deal with the normal responsibility of raising two newborns." I stopped in my tracks, my face completely unamused. "I don't like that that is my low stress option."

Maybe I was wrong to hope for no magic, maybe the flowers gift really was a miracle that I should want in my life, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the amount of trouble it would cause would far outweigh the positives. And, well...I just wanted my kids to grow up happy and normal. Heh, 'my kids'. I didn't think those words would ever be coming out of my mouth.

It was close to another hour before we got any news; the midwives and the queen had stopped poking their heads out and every few minutes I could hear the pained sounds of my wife in labor, stifled by her will though they might be, coming from behind the closed door.

Exhaustion was starting to set in, hours of pacing and stress will do that to a man, but I remained at my post. Hey, if Rapunzel could give birth, I could stand and wait, but it was becoming harder and harder to fight the urge to lean back against the wall, and I did not trust my eyelids to keep up the fight.

I must have started dozing on my feet because a new sound, a high pitched crying reached the hall and my eyes snapped open. The poor king actually fell out of his chair in his haste to reach the door and we stood, side by side, each with an ear pressed to the wood. There was a stretch between the two births, punctuated by the encouraging "push!" from the queen and "almost there!" or "just a little more" from the midwives. And then there it was, the second cry, and an exclamation of pure joy from the new grandmother.

This was it, my babies were here, and I was officially a dad. Suddenly I didn't care if they had brown hair, magic hair, or never grew a single strand. These were my kids, mine and Rapunzel's, and I couldn't wait another second to hold them.

Cautiously I pushed the door open, peeking my head around it to survey the scene before I set foot into the room. The chaos, it seemed, was finally ebbing; the midwives were cleaning two mewling bundles while the Queen saw to her very exhausted child. I've never seen Rapunzel so beat, and yet she still seemed to glow, the tired smile on her face full of such joy and pride that...well it was contagious.

I grinned at her and hurried to her side, clasping her free hand in mine, the other brushing back the few hairs clinging to her sweat dampened brow. My voice was barely above a whisper, but all the same i winked and gave her my winning smile. "Hey there, gorgeous. You come here often?"

Her laugh was genuine, though her fatigue was obvious in it. "Eugene..." Her gaze met mine and she smiled a bit wider, and the happiness was overwhelming in her eyes. "He was right, Eugene...we...we have twins."

Before I could ask a voice chimed in. "One of each, and healthy as can be." One of the midwives approached us with a bundle in her arms. "Would you like to hold the little prince, your highness?" I froze for a moment, breath caught in my throat, but I forced a nod and she placed my son in my waiting arms.

He was pinker than I thought he'd be, and to be honest a little weird looking, but the queen had assured me over and over that all babies started that way so I ignored it. Instead I focused on his perfect fingers, his tiny, upturned nose, and the few strands of brown plastered to his otherwise smooth head. Something in me gave in and I felt a tear run down my cheek. This was my son, my boy, my heir. The one who just might inherit my smile but hopefully not my knack for getting into trouble. I had so much to teach him, and I couldn't wait to start.

And her. I looked over at the bundle being places in Rapunzel's arms. Her I would spoil rotten. I'm sure Rapunzel would insist they both learned the same things, for equality and all, but I challenge any father not to feel like I did just then. That she was something to be protected, like a delicate flower.

THE FLOWER. The thought hit me hard and studied my wife's face, looking for any sign of worry or fear, but she was beaming down at our little girl. "Rapunzel...is she...?"

She laughed, tears of joy in her eyes. "She's perfect, Eugene. Absolutely perfect." Rapunzel pressed her lips gently to the baby in her arms, and whispered to her. "You hear daddy? He's worried about you already." I moved closer, sitting on the edge of the bed, stretching to catch a glimpse of...

...fine hairs of pure gold, slowly drying to stick up at funny angles. My heart began to sink but Rapunzel kept talking. "It doesn't have to be a curse, Eugene, and she doesn't have to keep it. A few snips and she'd be free of it." Her eyes turned back to me. "But I think we should let her decide. When she's old enough to understand. It's not our gift. Not my gift anymore."

I sighed and pressed a kiss to my wife's forehead, but I found myself smiling. "Well then, I guess her brother is going to have his hands full guarding his sister." My lips just barely brushed the boy's head as I kissed him too. "It will be our secret."

Smiling, and still a bit teary I might add, Rapunzel nodded at me and returned her attention our daughter. It took me a moment to realize she'd started humming softly, a very familiar tune.

And the faintest golden glow glistened off the tear rolling down her cheek.

"...let your power shine..."