Race for the Throne

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Jasmine laughs at Brandon. "Serena you have my permission to tease him when I get pregnant." She opens the door. "I suppose you guys are hungry. I just want Sakura."

"Baby snatcher!" Vincent crys out. "Brandon, better be careful you may never see your kids."

"Do you want to? You have no ties to the Miranda name, and neither do I really. I told you from the very beginning that I will be proud to be a Sentali. The nobles can just kiss my ass if they don't like it." Jasmine crunches her nose.

~~~~~~

"Well we have a long time to worry about that." Vincent touches her stomach again. "They aren't moving anymore."

“Not really, I changed my name to Sentali to give myself a new beginning, but I am a sentali by birth.” Brandon said. “I have no ties to the Miranda name. I just thought that maybe it would be easier for you. I don’t want you to have troubles because of me.” He explained.

~~

Serena swallows her bite. “They stopped moving a few minutes ago. They have been more active today though. It is an amazing feeling, but at the same time it makes me tired. I have to admit that I am excited that you can feel the babies move now though.”

"I am going to be the first ruling Queen of Moldova. There is going to be problems with that. Brandon, you never have to do anything like that just to appease the nobles. If they had their way, I would be a baby factory and you would rule." Jasmine sighs.

~~~~~~

"You will have to let me know when they are moving so I can feel. them." Vincent kisses her stomach. "I love my little boys." He then kisses her lips. "And I love their mom."

Brandon pulls Jasmine into his arms. “We are and should be who we choose to be, not what they want us to be. You may have our children someday, but it will be when the goddess wills it.” He said. He caressed her face gently. “I’m sorry I even thought of it.”

~~

Serena deepens the kiss between her and Vincent. “I love their father.” She said with a smile. “I love you so much Vincent, don’t worry I will always let you know when they are moving. I just want you to be prepared for some of that coming from the public. Especially when we are able to see that they are moving.” She was running her fingers though his hair in the early spring evening breezes. She kissed him again. “You are the best thing to ever happen to me.”

Jasmine is glad he didn't ask her to elaborate about her outburst. She is still upset that the ladies want her to step down. She is the true heir to the throne, and the one that has been training for this for her whole life. Not that she won't need Brandon's help, but she is not going to give up the throne.

"We better get back. If we are lucky, the nobles will be ready to leave."

~~~~~

"Just let me know and I will step in. I know you want to be close with the people." Vincent instructs her. "I love you so much. I am still humbled that you chose me to be your husband."

Brandon kissed Jasmine gently before they walked back inside. It looked like a few had already left. “It looks like we might be in luck.” He said. They walk in to see a few of the nobles talking to his grandparents. He wonders if the men told him what they thought.

~~

Serena laid her head on Vincent’s chest. “I knew I wanted you and that was all that mattered. Don’t worry about me and the people. If I need you I will tell you.” She said as she closed her eyes. She was so tired. “I just want you to hold me. I hope you never stop loving me.”

Lawrence sees the couple and motions them over. "Our guests are leaving and would like to say their farewells."

Jasmine walks over with Brandon. The nobleman shakes his hand. "Please consider our proposition, and congratulations to both of you."

His wife hugs Jasmine. "I cannot wait to hear that you are pregnant, your babies will be so beautiful."

It took everything within Jasmine not to tell both of them where to stuff it. The smile is plastered on her face as she wishes them farewell. After the crowd is gone she turns to Lawrence. "Thank you so much for doing this. I am going to get some rest myself. We are in the final countdown for the Solstice and there is so much to do."

~~~~~~

Vincent holds her and sings a lullaby. He knows they should be heading back soon, but he does not want to leave yet. The guards quietly begin to pack up the items. Soon it is just Vincent holding Serena on the blanket. He watches the sun go down, not sure if she is still awake.

He looks down and sees her sleeping. He picks her up and carries her to the carriage. With help he gets her in without waking her. He holds her on the way home and carries her into the house. He brings her to the room and lies her on the bed. He dismisses the guard and covers her up. He kisses her forehead. "Rest well, my love."

Brandon bites his tongue and simply nods his head to the nobles. He is thrilled that everyone is gone. He looks up at Jasmine and sighs before looking at his grandparents. “I too am tired. I am going to walk Jasmine to her room and then go to bed myself. Thank you for hosting this for us¸ I learned a lot tonight.” He said.

He offers Jasmine his arm. “We have so much to finish up before we get married. I think we both had one of those nights.” He said.

They walk to her room. Jasmine is a bit quieter than usual. She wonders if the nobles will take her seriously as a queen or if they will go to Brandon. She looks up at Brandon. "You will not take the Miranda name no matter what. The people will have to deal with m...us on the throne." They get to her room and she opens the door. "I hope you are staying tonight. I think you need some comforting."

Brandon looks at Jasmine and lifts her chin. “It sounds like you need as much comforting as I do. Tell me what happened.” Brandon said as he looked into her eyes. He could see the emotions swirling in them.

"It wasn't as bad as you, but they did get under my skin." Jasmine tells him. She pulls him into her room. She kisses him passionately, hoping to distract him. She begins to take off her clothes.

Brandon looks at Jasmine after she kisses him. "What do you mean under your skin?" He asked. He kissed her again before unzipping her dress for her.

"Oh the typical neanderthal have all the babies and let the man rule the nation." Jasmine mutters. "Put me to bed Brandon I need the comfort of your heartbeat."

"And I need the comfort of you being in my arms." Brandon said. He took his clothes off except his boxers and picked Jasmine up. He kissed her softly as he carried her to bed. "You are not below me and I am not above you. We are equals and we will do this together."

Jasmine is surprised when Brandon picks her up and carries her to bed. She lies on his chest and listens to his heartbeat. Her rest is not peaceful though. She opens her eyes and slowly gets up. She does not want to disturb his sleep. She puts on a robe and takes a walk.

She ends up in the throne room. She stands in front of the road and stared at it. One day she will be sitting on the throne. Will she be strong enough to do it? Can she be Queen and mother? Will the people accept her, or should she let Brandon rule in her place?"

Serena wakes the next morning in her own bed. She doesn’t remember coming to bed though. The last thing she remembers was being outside with Vincent. She can feel the babies moving and puts her hand on her stomach. She smiles when she feels the movement that Vincent had felt yesterday. She snuggles up to Vincent as she puts his hand on her stomach.

~~

Brandon wakes up and Jasmine is not in the room. He panic’s slightly and wonders where she is. He gets up and goes to the bathroom but she is not there. He gathers his clothes and goes to his room via the secret passage way. He takes a quick shower and dresses and begins to look for Jasmine. He is wondering through different rooms when he walks into the throne room. Jasmine is there asleep on the throne. He walks over, thankful that she is alright. He walks over to her and caresses her cheek.

Vincent feels something moving against his hand. He opens his eyes and looks down. "Good morning to you as well boys. I can't believe they are moving. They don't sleep in do they?" He looks up and kisses her. "Good morning to you as well, my love."

~~~~~~~~

Jasmine swats the thing on her face, thinking it was a bug of some sort. Her eyes flutter open. "Brandon, oh my neck." She rolls her head around. "Why is my neck so sore?" She looks around. "What am I doing in the throne room?"

Serena smiles at Vincent. “Good morning to you too.” She said. “They will be like me, early to rise. They are beginning to wake me up most mornings.” She said as she sat up in bed. She looked down at her stomach. “I feel so fat.” She said wrinkling her nose.

~~

Brandon looked at Jasmine puzzled. “I was hoping you could tell me that. I woke up this morning and I was panicking because I thought something had happened to you. You are going to need a massage after sleeping like that.”

Vincent shakes his head. "You are not fat. You are carrying our boys." He kisses her again. "Now why don't we get some breakfast and head up to the castle. We have to get ready to go to Moldova."

~~

Jasmine puts on a flirty smile. "I guess I can head to the infirmary unless you know someone else who can work out the kink." She slowly gets up. She walks a little bit with Brandon before looking over her shoulder at the throne.

Serena sighs as she looks at Vincent. “You are right, I guess.” She said. She rubs her stomach. “I have an appointment later on today. I know we are leaving tomorrow I think, right?” she asked. She stood up to take a shower and to get ready for the day.

~~

Brandon raised his hand and winked at Jasmine. “I think I can handle that.” He said. As they leave the throne room, Brandon notices that Jasmine turned her head to look back. He looks at her and raised his eyebrow. “A penny for your thought.” He said.

"Yes and we are taking our time. I know Dad wants to be out there, but someone has to stay since your parents are coming with us. We have some extra time scheduled for both you and Reginald." Vincent gets up. "Do you think she will do an ultrasound again?"

~~~~~~~

Jasmine sighs. "There is going to be a lot of changes for Moldova when I become Queen. I just hope the people and I can handle it." She whispers softly.

“I’m sure she would indulge us if we asked.” Serena said with a smile. “It would be nice to be able to see our little ones again. I am glad that they are scheduling extra time to travel. I don’t know if I can deal with anything like the last trip too Moldova. That was almost too much.” She gets her things out of the dresser and then walks to the bathroom. She looks at herself in the mirror. She didn’t even feel attractive anymore. Did Vincent find her pretty still? She bit her lip.

~~

Brandon stopped her and put his arms around her. “If anyone can do it, you can. You won’t be alone either, I will be here for you and I will be here to help you. I believe in you and that is all that matters.” He said as he lifted her chin to look up at him.

Vincent watches Serena closely. He comes up behind her. "You are beautiful, my love. I cannot wait to see you in your bridesmaid dress." He kisses the back of her neck as his hand roam her front.

~~~~~~~

"Thank you Brandon. I know we are on the lookout for your family to get here. I hope they love Moldova." Jasmine holds him for a little while. "Ugh that throne is not comfortable. I am surprised I fell asleep in it."

Serena looks at Vincent though the mirror. “You always know what to say. How do you even know what I am thinking?” She asked. She turned around and hugged Vincent. It was getting harder to do. “I can’t even hug you.” There were some tears in her eyes.

~~

“Come, we will have breakfast delivered to the study and I can massage your body while we wait for them. They are due sometime today.” Brandon said as he held her. “I would think that next time you would sleep with me.” He said winking at her.

"Your body language says it all. I know you will not believe me, but you are beautiful. Your eyes sparkle like the ocean and there is a glow about you." Vincent rubs her shoulders. "I love you so much.

Now you go get ready first, and I will get breakfast ready."

~~~~~~~

"Thank you so much for everything. Grandpa will be giving the speech tomorrow to officially open the festivities. The Pageant will be two days after that along with the parties. In the meantime we ladies have the final fittings. Everything is finally coming together, and yet there is so much to do." Jasmine closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

Serena wipes her eyes as Vincent rubs her shoulders. “Thank you Vincent.” She said. She kissed him and then turned on the water to get it hot. She then gets naked and gets into the shower.

Once finished she gets out and dries off. She puts her robe on and heads to the bedroom. She puts on her clothes and heads downstairs. “So what is for breakfast?” She asked.

~~

Brandon stops and asked an attendant if they would have breakfast sent up. She nodded her head and left to do as he asked. He takes Jasmine into the study and wraps his arms around her. “It is so close yet so far away. In just a short time I will be able to hold you every night in my arms and not have to worry about anything.” He kissed her neck softly and smiled. “You make me so happy and I am thankful that the goddess allowed me to have you in my life. I could never love another as much as I love you.”

"Lee Ann and I made some eggs benedict with some hashbrowns." Vincent looks up from the table. "Actually she did most of the work. I was telling her that we are going to Moldova tomorrow."

"I have a gift for the Highnesses." Lee Ann points at a box by the door. "They are a cute couple and remind me of you two."

~~~~~~~~~

"Awww you are going to make me cry Brandon. I cannot wait either. I hate the sneaking around." Jasmine sits down with Brandon. The servant arrives with a tray. "I am starving."

Serena hugged Leigh Ann. "We will miss you while we are gone. I hope you take some time for yourself. I will make sure your gift gets to them." She said as she took her seat.

~~

Brandon takes a seat beside of Jasmine. "Everything will work out. I promise." He said. They began to eat breakfast. "This is really good. I wonder when my family will be in." He said.

After breakfast, Vincent gets ready. Then they head up to the castle. "Do you want to spend the night at the castle. If I know your parents they will want to leave early."

They enter the castle and head up to the infirmary. He has some one on one training sessions later. "Good Morning Amelia, one pregnant mom and two rambunctious boys reporting for an appointment."

~~~~~~~

There is a knock on the door. A guard enters the study. "We just spotted the carriage with your parents. They are about an hour out."

"Thank you, oh Brandon, I am so excited. Should we tell my parents? Oh I still need to get dressed. Maybe I will greet them with the traditional gear." Jasmine winks at him as she gets up.