{Welcome to the Dawn}

Sixteen years before Under The Mountain...

The High Lord of the Dawn Court entered his room, exhausted from spending many hours on his throne and going over procedures to protect his court.

Thesan walked into his closet, removing his heavy royal attire, leaving himself only in his underwear. He placed a golden-silk robe over his shoulders, tying it closed. He stepped into his bathroom, doing his usual night routine. After he was done, he looked at himself in the mirror for a moment, seeing the lines of exhaustion under his eyes.

He scoffed, washing his face and patting it with a towel.

When he stepped out, he looked over to his bed. His lover, Zephyr, was soundly sleeping. Thesan admired him for a moment, taking in his every feature. There wasn't one thing that he didn't love about him.

Zephyr was the captain of the Peregryns, species of fairies who resided in the Dawn Court. He was a strong-built man, his upper body lean and capable of destroying anyone who crossed him. When he was not with Thesan, he would be out, making sure that the court was well and protected. There were people who were afraid of him, but those who knew him well understood why he was serious.

But when Zephyr was with Thesan, there was nothing but radiant kindness and happiness that flowed out from him. Thesan was the only one who truly knew who his lover was, knowing his secrets, his dreams, and the goals that he wanted to achieve. The connection that he felt with Zephyr was indescribable. There were times where he felt undeserving of the powerful male.

Thesan walked over to where his lover was asleep, leaning down to place a kiss on his forehead, the dark skin warm against his lips. He gently moved away from him, walking over to the grand piano that sat in the corner of the room.

He sat down, opening the piano fold, revealing the white keys. Thesan took a deep breath, putting his hands onto the keys, starting to play a random melody. He let the slow flow of music fill his ears, imagining a life filled with more than just his court.

He imagined having a family, imagined marrying Zephyr, imagined his court soaring and becoming stronger each year that passed. Thesan let those dreams become a reality in his mind, wanting nothing more than for them to just appear before him.

But as several moments passed, Thesan opened his eyes. He finished his melody, letting it end on a gentle high note.

When he took his hands off of the keys, he could hear the rain pouring out through his court. The wind pushed it towards the windows, water colliding with the glass. Thesan stayed there for a moment, staring out into the dark beyond, wondering what the future would bring him.

He stood up from the seat, turning off the light, before heading to his bed and snuggling up to Zephyr, who gladly went into his arms. The rain was drowning out the silence and Thesan wondered if the noise was going to keep him awake, but minutes later, he quickly went into sleep's embrace.

---

The High Lord woke to a loud knock on his door.

He groaned, not wanting to get out of his partner's warmth. But it was Zephyr who shifted, making himself get up and walk over to the door.

Thesan kept his eyes closed, overhearing the conversation.

"I am sorry to interrupt your slumber this early in the morning, captain," one of the guards said, "but there has been an unusual delivery at the front of the palace." He says.

Zephyr's groggy voice sounds, "What are you talking about? Why is there a delivery at this hour? And why at the front of the palace?" He asks with a hint of irritation.

Thesan hears the guard shift in his metal attire, "Well, captain, this isn't just some delivery. There were two fae babies that were bundled in a basket. They were soaking in the rain before one of the maids heard small cries coming from outside the doors. She is tending to them downstairs in the kitchen as we speak." He explains.

Thesan immediately gets up from the bed, heading over to the door. He walks out of his room in his robe, Zephyr joining him moments later, a purple silk robe wrapped around him.

They both rush downstairs, heading towards the kitchen, where the maid is bathing one of the babies in warm water, washing their hair with dish soap. The other babe lays in the basket, its eyes closed and a thumb in its mouth.

The maid turns to her High Lord, "I apologize, sir. I know that this isn't appropriate, but I could not leave these babies to shiver in the cold rain. I had to get them warm as soon as possible." She tells Thesan, but he only looks at the babe in her hands.

He walks towards the maid, "Who would abandon such little creatures?" He asked her.

The maid shrugs, "I'm not sure, my High Lord. But they are very beautiful." She looks down at the little one in her arms. "This one is a girl," she looks over to the basket, "That one is a boy. I just finished washing him. I believe they are twins." She says to him.

Thesan looked over his shoulder to see Zephyr with the boy in his arms. He smiles down at the caramel-skinned youngling, cooing to him and brushing the hair away from his little face. The baby shifts in his arms, whimpering but grabbing his fingers, trying to grasp it in his small hands.

The maid taps Thesan's arm, holding the baby girl out to him. She was wrapped in a white towel, her eyes wide open, looking all over the place. The High Lord hesitates for a moment, but he brings his hands out, gently bringing the girl into his hands.

He looks down at her and she looks at him, her arms shifting in his grasp. Thesan smiles at her, taking her small hand in his. Her skin, the same as her brother's, was soft at the touch. "Where did you and your brother come from, little one?" He whispers and the baby immediately looks at his face, the sound of his voice soothing her.

Zephyr goes up to his lover, "What are we going to do with them? Are we going to turn them into the orphanage?" He asks, but Thesan shakes his head, unable to turn away from the little girl's eyes. It was like she had put him in a trance of some sort, unknowing what she was doing to him.

Thesan turned to his partner, "Why don't we adopt them?" He asks.

Zephyr is taken aback for a moment, confused as to what he is asking. "Thesan, what do you mean?" He asks.

Thesan nods, "We'll raise them as our own. They will be our children," he explains to him, "They will grow up knowing the ways of the Dawn Court. You and I have always talked about having a family together. This is our chance, Zephyr."

Zephyr looks down at the two little lives, knowing that Thesan is right. He had always wanted a family with him, to raise children as if they were his own. It seemed like a dream that was decades far, but there was an opportunity right there in front of him. He would have the family that he wanted with the High Lord he deeply loved.

He looked at Thesan with glimmering eyes and nodded.

---

The twins were named Damian and Auriella, children of the High Lord of Dawn, and the Daughter and Son of the Dawn Court.

Two years later, their existence was spread all around Prythian once Thesan announced their official adoption to his entire court. The High Lords expressed their congratulations to him with different gifts that represented every court.

Kallias, the High Lord of Winter, gifted the children a frozen snowflake that would never melt, even in the hottest of days. It was Auriella's favorite. She let her fingers smoothly trace through the cold sculpture, becoming numb after a while.

Beron, the High Lord of Autumn, gifted the twins a whistle of fire. When Damian got his hands on the small object and blew into it, he almost seared Thesan's face. Damian immediately threw it, fearing it would get him in trouble. Thesan made sure to hide the whistles, making a mental note to write a heavy worded letter to Beron about them.

Helion, the High Lord of Day, gifted them with a book of easy spells. Once Auriella was old enough to read, she grabbed the book and chose a spell at random. She read it, not understanding what the meaning of it was until there were five bunnies hopping around the castle, taking a whole day to catch them.

Nostrus, the High Lord of Summer, had sent a floating water orb to the twins, which distracted them for hours. They would bring the orb everywhere they went, trying to do different tricks with it and wondering how it worked.

Tamlin, the High Lord of Spring, sent the children a small rose plant that radiated a tantalizing aroma once it was put down. Auriella adored the smell of it, her room filled with the delicious scent. Damian hated it. Zephyr moved the plant into his daughter's bathroom, letting her have both of them.

Finally, Rhysand, the High Lord of Night, gave the twins each a telescope, letting them look up at the stars that shone every night. Damian was fascinated with it for a while, studying the beauty of astronomy and learning of the different constellations as he grew older.

The people of the Dawn Court loved seeing the children with their father. They were beloved by everyone, accepted as Thesan's children, even though they were in no way related to blood.

But because they were not related in blood, the children were unable to become heirs to the throne. That would pass down to one of Thesan's cousins, letting him rule over the Dawn Court if something ever happened to him.

But the High Lord of Dawn did not care if his children were heirs or not. He raised them as if they were his own, teaching them the ways of his court, making them understand how everything functions, and loving them unconditionally. His children, along with his lover, were his every joy and his reasons to be content every morning.

Damian had grown up to be a gentleman and a jokester at the same time. He was polite to any kind of company that came into the court and offered to be of service to them if they needed any. His reputation around Prythian was glamorous, letting the other courts know he was a fine male for any of the females to swoon over.

But when Damian was behind closed doors, it was a different story. He would run around, planting little traps for the maids and butlers to get caught in. They would always call out his name, knowing that he would be the only one to do those types of reckless things. Thesan and Zephyr would scold him for his actions, but they secretly loved that their son brought some life into the palace.

Auriella was a bit different than her brother. She loved music, especially singing and playing the piano. Thesan had taught her how to play, remembering when she woke up in the middle of the night, crying because of her bad dreams. She would enter her fathers' room, curling up next to Thesan. He would carry his daughter to the piano, sitting her on his lap and playing music until she fell asleep once more.

As Auriella got older, she fell in love with music, singing until her lungs told her to stop. She loved everything about it, learning new melodies, or playing them in front of guests that came into the palace. For her, there was never a dull moment.

But even though the twins both had a passion for something, their fathers' wanted them to learn combat and train themselves to be strong warriors. The twins did not argue.

When they had turned twelve, the twins were wielding wooden swords, learning the basics. They spared together, dueling each other to the best of their abilities. They were extremely competitive when it came to training, wanting to be better than the day before. Their fathers oversaw their sessions, seeing the powerful strength they both held.

And as they got older, that strength never resided.

A couple of months after the training began, the twins had moved onto steel swords, using all of their skills and practice to the test. Auriella was successful at parry and her movement was fast, dodging almost every hit that came at her. Damian was the same, having the same movements as his sister. Both of them were on their way to becoming powerful fae warriors.

But when a few more years went by, the twins were now sixteen and considered adults in their court. Damian had grown to be muscular and lean, his constant growth and training building him up into a fine male.

Auriella grew up to be slim and flexible, her body trained to move swift and fast, letting her be near impossible to catch. She used her skills to her advantage, dueling her brother to the point of exhaustion, knowing that they were both trained to equal strength, but not agility.

But even though Auriella grew up with strength in her veins, her love for music never faltered.

She always made time for it. She learned new songs, created melodies, hummed out rhythms, and mastered the beauty of music. Sometimes, Thesan and Auriella would play the piano together in the grand ballroom, her singing, and his piano skills filling the room with elegance and passion.

Auriella admired her fathers, especially Thesan. She knew how they found her and Damian, bundled up in a basket, and left out to shiver in the rain. Her blood boiled at the thought, wondering why they were abandoned or not wanted.

She didn't put much thought into it, knowing who her real family was. In reality, she didn't care who her biological parents were, but she just wanted her questions answered by them. She could care less if they gave a damn about her or not.

Auriella was grateful to have her fathers, seeing how much they loved and cared for her. They treated her like a treasure that could never be replaced. She thought of their souls as pure as the dawn, beautiful and radiant. There was nothing that she didn't love about them.

When he wasn't busy, Thesan would join his daughter in the music room, playing the piano with her until he was needed again. He would hear her sing and make up music as they went, letting the majestic sounds guide them to a perfect rhythm. Auriella cherished those moments with him, knowing that he could have done anything else, but he chose to be with her instead.

Auriella had everything that she ever wanted. There was nothing more that she could have asked for and she knew that what she had learned built her into the woman that she had grown up to be. And her fathers' were at the core of it all.