Race for the Throne

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Vincent scratches his chin. "I don't know..." He sticks his tongue out playfully. "Don't worry I will get you some." He makes the tea first and brings it to her. Then he starts to make lunch for the two of them.

Upon finishing he brings a tray into the living room. "I hope you are hungry."

~~~~

Jasmine shrugs. "I don't know, but we will think of something. The room will be our room after we get married. Unless you want to have a different room. Mine is more than big enough for the two of us."

They get downstairs and there is a meal waiting for each of them. It is a simple lunch of a creamy broccoli soup with ham sandwiches. "Thank you so much Tina, this looks delicious."

Serena smiles at the young man before looking at Vincent. “I was trying not to complain. I didn’t want to make the trip any harder than it already was. Oh thank you, if you can do something for these sore muscles in my back, I will love you forever.” She said.

~~

Brandon’s face flushes slightly. “Thank you, I still say you look gorgeous in that dress as well.” Brandon said as he offered her his arm. “We should take Daniel off their hands.”

Serena and Vincent are each shown to a chair. The young man sits behind Serena. "My name is Corey and I am an expert with pregnant women. I can just imagine how your back is feeling." He goes to work on the muscles.

There is another employee who does the same for Vincent.

~~~~~~~~~

"That would be helpful for both Nathaniel and my parents. Jasmine opens the door and sees Madeline walking around. "Oh good morning. I suppose you are here to help. Berenson is somewhere with Daniel."

Serena sits down in the chair and Corey goes to work on her back. “This is goddess sent.” Serena said with a deep sigh. “Remind me to ask for you again when I come back in a few months.” She said as she closed her eyes. She was beginning to relax as he worked on her back. It didn’t take long before she was purring. For that matter, she was asleep and resting comfortably.

~~

Berenson comes down with a screaming Daniel in his grasp. “Daniel, I told you not to do that!”

“But dad!” Daniel said. he was kicking and screaming as Berenson tried to keep hold of him.

Brandon looked at Jasmine and then at Madeline. “We can Daniel off your hands for a little while if you would like.” He offered.

“NO DAD!!!” Daniel could be heard screaming as Berenson spanked him in the living room.

“You will learn to listen to me when I tell you to do something!” Berenson said. Brandon could only clear his throat as he looked at Jasmine.

Cory looks over and sees Serena sleeping. "I take that as a compliment. Her back was really tense."

"Thank you so much both of you. I hope you don't mind her taking a quick nap. We have a wedding to attend later." Vincent asks politely.

"That would be Prince Nathaniel and Levi's wedding. They are such a cute couple. And she can sleep as long as she wants. King Lawrence told me to give the both of you the best service, and I am not one to disobey the King." Cory smiles and stands up. "Stay as long as you like."

~~~~~

Jasmine cringes hearing Daniel and Berenson come into the room. "I think we will take Daniel. We have an extra surprise for Nathaniel as well, but you can't tell him."

"He and Levi are making final preparations, so they are not here." Madeline tells her.

"We have unexpected guests, Serena and Vincent are at the castle. They rode through the night to get here." Jasmine smiles. "Oh they are having twin boys! Now Daniel, if I bring you up to the castle, you have to behave. If you don't, I will spank you and then hand you over to Dad."

"I pwomise. I wanna see Sewena." Daniel sniffs at her.

Berenson looks up at both Jasmine and Brandon. He wants to scream no at both of them, but he keeps his mouth closed. He promised he would not hurt their relationship anymore. He will do as he promised his daughter. “Thank you both for coming. It is wonderful news that they were able to come. That must have been some trip. The spring festival started yesterday.” He said. He smiled at them. His heart was really breaking inside though. Both his son and daughter were getting married and here his daughter was looking beautiful with her future husband. His only daughter at the moment. He put his arm around Madeline and tried to comfort her.

“Thank you both for taking him off our hands for a while. It is gladly needed.” Berenson said.

Brandon smiled as he looked at Berenson. “You are more than welcome. I love this little man and I am certain that we can find lots to do before the wedding. Vincent came too, do you want to see him?” he asked Daniel.

Jasmine watches the myriad of emotions in her father's eyes. He cannot hide that from her. She goes over to him and gives him a quick hug. "Thanks Dad for keeping your promise." She whispers in his ear. "Now come on little man, we need to surprise Nathaniel. Mom, you take care as well and we will be back in a little while."

Jasmine takes Daniel's right hand and Brandon takes his left. He bounces around. "Is Lucas hewe too?"

"No sweetie, just Serena and Vincent. You will have to be careful with Serena, she is pregnant with two babies." Jasmine informs him.

"TWO babies, like you an' Nathaniel. Mommy is weally gwumpy today, and so is Daddy." Daniel tells them as they walk to the castle. "She is wubbing hew back."

Berenson hugs his daughter. He wipes a tear from his eye before looking at her. All he can do is smile at her and nod his head. He watches them leave and looks at Madeline. “It’s hard to see them leave the nest.” He said. He then continues to help her.

~~

Brandon is holding Daniel’s left hand. He looks up at Jasmine as he talks about his parents. “Sounds like she was up all night.” He said.

“That’s what daddy was telling gwandpa this mowning.” Daniel said. “Is that bad?” he asked.

“No Daniel, it just means your mother is restless. She is not sleeping well at night.” Brandon explained. He looked at Jasmine. “It also sounds like she is in the beginning stages of labor. I wonder if she is having contractions.” He said.

"Should we tell Nathaniel and Levi? I would feel bad if Mom goes into labor during the wedding." Jasmine asks as they approach the castle. "Why don't the two of you go bug Junaluska and I will find Serena and Vincent."

"Yay, I wondew if she will have fwuit for me." Daniel cheers.

Jasmine goes to the room where Serena and Vincent are at. He is watching Serena sleeping in the chair. "Is she getting a nap in?"

"She needs all the sleep she can get. So are we ready to head out?" Vincent asks her.

"I think we are shortly. I want to get her ready to go at least. We do need to take a short carriage ride to the beach where the wedding will be. Brandon is ready with the medical supplies just in case." Jasmine sighs.

Brandon nodded his head to Jasmine. “Just in case.” He said. He and Daniel then go to see Junaluska and Lawrence.

“Well hello there buddy. How’s the big man himself doing today?” Junaluska asked as Brandon and Daniel asked. She hugged Daniel before pulling an apple from behind his head. “There you go, an apple for today keeps the doctors away.” She said with a smile. “How is Madeline?” She said looking up at Brandon.

“I think she is in early labor, but I’m not positive. I packed my medical things for just in case.” Brandon said as he hugged Junaluska.

~~

Serena begins to stir in the chair. She can hear Jasmine and Vincent talking. She yawned and stretched. “Did I sleep through the massage? Oh goddess…it felt so good that I couldn’t help it. It was so relaxing.” She said. She looks up at Jasmine. “is it almost time for the wedding?”

"I know she's been grumpy for the past couple of days. Remember when Nathaniel and Jasmine were born?" Lawrence asks Junaluska giving her a kiss on the cheek. "We will watch over him if you want to catch up to Jasmine."

~~~~~

Jasmine smiles at Serena. "Good morning sleepy head, if you want to get changed then I recommend getting up. Although the dress you are in is nice. Vincent do you need to shower or anything?"

"No I am fine, I showered before coming here." He helps Serena up. "That is what the doctor ordered."

Junaluska smiled as she thought about when the twins were born. “That was such a wonderful time. I believe we were having the celebration during that time at the ball.” She said.

Brandon smiled. “Thank you, I will go meet up with her and we will meet you at the carriage house.” He said. He then heads up to meet Jasmine and the others.

Serena smiled and shook her head. “This is the dress that I am going to wear for the wedding. I knew they were going with the outdoor one so I wanted something nice.” She said. They headed out of the room when Brandon walked up.

“I’m glad you guys walked out. I was unsure which room to choose.” Brandon said chuckling. He walked over and kissed Jasmine on her cheek. “Grandma and grandpa have Daniel. I told them we would meet them at the carriage house when it was time to go.”

"They are going to be so surprised. I cannot wait to see their faces. We did tell Mom and Dad though. I want her to make it through the wedding at least."

"Is there something wrong with Madeline?" Vincent asks.

"We are on high alert for her. She's been so crabby lately." Jasmine does not want to worry him.

“No need to worry yourself over it Vincent, she will be just fine.” Brandon said. He didn’t need any of the men to go crazy while they were at the wedding, much less continually asking him questions.

Serena looked at Jasmine and nodded her head. “I understand.” She said. She could only pray that Madeline didn’t go into labor beforehand. “Thank you for warning her.” She said as they walked. “So are we are we ready to head to the carriage house?”

Jasmine leads the way to the carriage house. They are readying two carriages. "I won't feel offended if you wanted to ride with your grandparents. I know you don't see them every day."

"Thank you Jasmine, that is very considerate." Lawrence helps Junaluska in.

Vincent helps Serena in and slides next to her. "Thank you so much for arranging the massages, they were welcome, trust me."

~~~~~

Jasmine goes in the other carriage with Brandon and Daniel. "We have to pick up mom and dad first. I know the others are at the beach already."

Serena sits down in the carriage and smiles at her grandfather. “I took a nap, it was that good.” She said.

Junaluska chuckled. “I knew Corey would be great. He always does a wonderful job and I have heard Madeline say he is great.” She said. “Do you have pictures for the Lanes?” She asked.

“We do, I bought enough copies for Nathaniel and Levi to have a set as well.” Serena said with a smile.

~~

Brandon smiled as they loaded up in the carriage. “That is alright, I know he is worried about your mother.” He said. He put his arm around Jasmine. Daniel was busy looking out of the window as the carriage moved. “Think he is excited?”

"Thank you for bringing us the pictures. I never thought I would live to see great grandchildren." Lawrence sighs.

"Honestly we didn't plan to get pregnant so quickly either, but the Goddess had other plans for us." Vincent chuckles. "I cannot wait to see Madeline and Berenson. We still have to thank them for the house."

~~~~~

The carriage with Jasmine arrives at the house. Jasmine steps out. "Hey Mom, how are you doing?"

"I am fine, I am so excited about the wedding." Madeline smiles at her as she walks over to the carriage.

Jasmine looks at Berenson. "Daniel is calmed down now. He got an apple from Junaluska. They are in the other carriage."

Serena took Vincent’s hand as the carriage left the castle. “I personally wanted to wait, but the goddess gave us two beautiful little boys. Oh grandma, I am so excited.” She said. “At the same time it is a little scary but I know that the goddess has given us a special gift.” She said.

Junaluska smiled. “The goddess does things when she wants too. I never thought I would see great grandchildren either, but both of my grandchildren are giving them too me.” She said happily.

~~

Berenson was scared half to death. “At least he has cooled off. I didn’t think he would ever calm down.” He said. He took a seat beside Madeline after they helped her into the carriage. The carriage heads towards the beach. “Today is really important and I swear that boy doesn’t know how to calm down. He runs on ten all the time.” He said with a sigh.

Brandon chuckled. “Don’t worry Mr. Lane. Hopefully he will grow out of it.” He said.

“Not that boy…” Berenson said with a sigh. “The other three were never like that.”

"We will be out here as much as we can to visit." Vincent promises.

They travel along a while and finally get to the site of the wedding. There are a few houses in the background, but the beach is a private one. "Stay in here and I will make sure it is safe. Unless you want to surprise Nathaniel and Levi before the wedding."

~~~~~~~~

"I am sowwy Daddy. I am just excited. Levi is going to be my bwothew today. I like Levi. And I like you too Bwandon." Daniel hugs him.

Jasmine's eyes widen. Daniel is not much for showing affection. "Wow Daniel, I guess you are excited."

They finally get to the beach. Berenson helps Madeline out. They are greeted by Kristen, Sam and Linda, and the others. Daniel is next out. He almost plows into Sam.

"I will check on the others." Jasmine tells Brandon as he helps her out.

“Make sure it is safe, I want to surprise them.” Serena said smiling. She looked at Lawrence and Junaluska. “Don’t worry about me, if you want to go ahead then please go on. I am going to wait until Vincent comes back for me.”

“I know Lawrence is officiating today. We should probably go on a head.” Junaluska said looking at Lawrence.

~~

Berenson raises his eyebrows. He has never seen Daniel be to affectionate towards others outside the family. Just a few select others that he has known sense birth. “It is alright Daniel.” He said.

Sam is almost knocked down by Daniel. “Ach…ya wee little laddie, it’s good ta see ya.” He said as he ruffled the young boy’s hair. “I’ah think ya grew a little sense I’ah saw ya last.” He looked up as Brandon walked over to them. “It’s good ta see ya as well laddie. I’ah remember ya from Rosario.” He looked at Daniel. “Daniel, I’ah want ya to meet mah good friend here, her name is Linda.”

Vincent looks out and steps out of the carriage. "We need to find Jasmine and Brandon." He carefully walks over to where they are.

Jasmine sees them approaching. "Mom, Dad, go sit down with Vincent and Serena. I hate to cut it short, but we will distract Nathaniel and Levi."

Jasmine hugs Sam and Kristen. "I am so glad you guys could visit."

Daniel looks at Linda critically. "Sam, she is a giwl. Does that mean you have a giwlfriend?"

Serena walks over with Vincent. She smiles as she sees Sam and Linda. She put her fingers up to her lips. “Shhhh we aren’t here today.” She said winking at them. They walked over and took a seat with Berenson and Madeline.

Sam smiled and so did Kristen. “I’ah wouldn’t ‘ave missed it for tha world.” He said. He bent down and looked at Daniel. “Aye ya wee laddie. Tha lassie done gave meh the dreaded cooties.”

Kristen popped Sam on the back of the head. “Don’t tell that poor man that...Goddess he will always think girls have cooties.” She said.

Daniel's eyes grew big. "But Sam you awe tough. Dat's it I am nevaw getting a giwlfwiend. Giwls are icky."

Jasmine shakes her head and walks away with Brandon. "I am not going to be the one to tell Dad that." They meet up with Nathaniel and Levi. "Brandon and I will walk down the aisle together first, then you two. Wow I am so lucky to be surrounded by such handsome men." Jasmine winks.

They walk over to the end of the aisle. Benjamin begins to play the ukelele as Brandon and Jasmine walk down the aisle. She is turning the eyes of the males and Brandon is doing the same with the ladies.

Once they reach the end, they go to their opposite sides. Then Nathaniel and Levi walk down the aisle together. Jasmine only has eyes for Brandon. This will be them in about a month and she can't wait.

Nathaniel is looking around at the crowd as he walks down with Levi. He looks at his parents. Then he stops. "Oh Goddess, what are you doing here?" He pulls Levi over the Serena and Vincent. "I thought you guys couldn't come." There are tears in his eyes as he hugs both.

"Did you think I would miss my best friend's biggest day?" Vincent smirks at him. "But...shhhh we were not here."

Brandon watches the guys as they look at Jasmine. He is jealous, but he knows she only loves him. He cannot take his eyes off of her as they take their separate sides. All he can think of is that this will be them soon.

Serena watches as Levi and Nathaniel walk down the aisle. They look wonderful together in their outfits. She smiles as Nathaniel sees them. She hugs him and smiles. “We couldn’t miss your wedding. We are family to both of you and we wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She said. “Now shoo, go on and get married!” She said to Nathaniel and Levi.

Lawrence coughed slightly to get their attention.

Nathaniel jumps. "Oh yes." Levi pulls him back and they stand next to each other up front.

The service was short, but beautiful. Jasmine was so proud of her brother. She can see that he is truly happy with Levi. She glances over at Brandon as they kiss and winks at him.

Vincent watches as his best friend gets married to the man he loves. His hand is rubbing Serena's stomach. He notices Madeline fidgeting slightly in her seat as well.

Nathaniel and Levi walk down the aisle followed by Brandon and Jasmine. Then everyone mingles and congratulates the newly married couple.

Serena watches as Nathaniel and Levi say their vows. She is so happy for them. She is leaning her head on Vincent’s shoulder as he rubs her stomach. She is happy and content with her life and knows that Nathaniel and Levi will be as well.

When the service was over, she claps for them and they walk over to greet Nathaniel and Levi. She hugs them both. “Ohh, we are so happy for you both. Levi, you were already family before but welcome to the family.” She said as she hugged him.

Berenson had noticed that Madeline had been fidgeting during the ceremony. He was so happy to see his son happy that he had for a moment let go of his worries for her. He takes her hand as the others greet the new couple. “Madeline…are you alright?” He asked.

Brandon had enjoyed the ceremony but his eyes never moved from Jasmine’s. He smiled at her as she winked at him. As they walked back down the aisle together he put his arm around her. “You know this will be us in just a few short weeks right?” He looked over and saw Madeline fidgeting more. He nudged Jasmine. “Your mother is restless, even more restless then before. I think it’s almost time. I wonder if she would be willing to go back to the castle now?”