Three kids under four years old, it turned out, was a lot to handle even for two Queens who had a full staff to help them.

“Tor, stop running,” Nora half-yelled after her son, who was running in his potty-training diaper, holding his favorite stuffed animal in one hand and a red marker in the other.

“Where did he get a marker?” Alice asked when she walked into the room just as Tor got to the door. “Hi, baby. Why are you running?”

“Mama,” he said excitedly and wrapped his still slightly chubby toddler arms around Alice’s left leg.

“What did he do this time?” Alice asked through her laughter.

“Stole that marker from me and ran for it,” Nora replied and walked over to pick Tor up. “Buddy, you can’t take markers from me, okay?”

“But it was fun,” he said.

Nora took the marker from her son’s tight grip.

“Where’s the other one that can walk?” Alice asked before she kissed Nora’s cheek.

“She’s behaving,” Nora replied and nodded behind her.

Alice looked around and smiled that smile that was only reserved for their children. Nora had her own special smile, too, but she loved the one Alice used for their little ones.

“She’s reading,” Alice said.

“Sounding words out. She’s doing great. This little guy here was doing the same thing until he took off his shirt and pants, grabbed the marker I was using to make notes on a speech, and decided to take off.”

“Tor, why did you try to run away?” Alice asked. “We’d miss you too much if you left, baby.”

“Sorry, Mama,” he said and held his favorite stuffed rabbit close to his bare chest.

“Don’t do it again, okay?”

He nodded, and Nora carried him as they walked back over to Julia, who looked up at them when they sat down on the floor next to her.

“Hi, Mama,” she said.

“Hi, honey,” Alice replied and kissed the top of Julia’s head before Nora handed Tor over to her. “Are you reading?”

“Yes,” the little girl replied.

The quieter of the twins, Julia, didn’t say much, and Nora often wondered what was going on inside her daughter’s head. Tor generally took most of their attention – along with Gunnar, their almost one-year-old, because he was younger – and Tor was a handful. It was Julia who would be Queen one day, though, as the older of the twins and their firstborn. So far, Julia was the thinker of the two of them while Tor was the impulsive one. Nora knew they were still young and that Tor would grow out of this phase eventually, but she wondered if Julia ever would or if she was always going to be the quiet Princess and, later, Queen.

“So, I now have all the RSVPs back,” Alice announced.

“You do?” Nora walked into the nursery, where Gunnar was starting to request an exit from his crib.

He’d started to walk after only a brief time crawling and had taken to trying to escape his crib on several occasions, so they’d moved his crib into the room right outside of their bedroom to keep a better eye on their little climber.

“Yeah, we’re good. Bex will be here with Alex, and Sophia and Leif are going to come with Palmer and Elizabeth.”

“What about Elin and Ingrid?” Nora picked Gunnar up and held him tight as he yawned. “Still tired?” she asked him softly.

He nodded against her neck, and she smiled at him. They were only this little for so long, and she would miss this, but they weren’t having any more children. For one, they’d only wanted three, but Alice had run into some complications during Gunnar’s pregnancy, so the doctor had suggested that she not put her body through that again. They’d both agreed beforehand that Gunnar would be there last, but after that, it was clear that their family was complete at five.

“What are you reading?” Alice asked Julia when they walked back into the room.

“It’s about a monkey and a cat.”

“Yeah? Are they friends?”

“Best friends,” Julia replied and held up the picture book for Alice to see.

“I see. Can you read me some?”

Julia looked at Tor and then, up at Gunnar.

“Why won’t we give you two a minute?” Nora offered. “I can take the boys for their baths if you can take her later.”

“Of course. Thank you,” Alice said. “And Elin and Ingrid will be here. No one else, though.”

“No? Mari? Lillian?”

“Nope. Just the two of them.”

“Okay. Well, that’s fine with me. Tor, come on. We’re going to take a bath.”

“No,” he replied. “I don’t want to.”

“Buddy, I need you to go with your mama and take a bath, okay? You can play with your water toys and with Gunnar.”

“Gunnar is little.”

“Gunnar can still play with you. You can teach him, okay?” Alice tickled his stomach.

“Mama!” He giggled.

“Go on. Be a good boy for me, okay?”

“Okay,” he agreed and walked over to Nora.

“You always get him to listen,” Nora noted and used her free hand to pull Tor into her side when he leaned against her.

“He listened to you last year. I think it’s just my turn,” Alice offered with a wink.

***

“Oh, my God! Why did we decide to have three children?” Alice asked a few hours later when she climbed into bed next to her wife.

“We thought it was a good idea at the time,” Nora said.

Alice pulled off her shirt and watched her wife’s eyes widen.

“Are we sleeping naked tonight?” Nora asked, her voice a little higher than it normally was.

“No.” Alice kicked off her pants.

“No?”

“Nope.” She removed her underwear and stood at the side of the bed naked, watching Nora’s eyes darken.

“The kids are–”

“All out. And I have the nanny on call. I put Gunnar in his actual bedroom just now, and he was out, so it’s just us in here.” Alice knelt on the bed. “Should I put my clothes on?”

“Absolutely not,” Nora replied and yanked off her own shirt.

After they’d had Gunnar, Alice hadn’t exactly been in the mood, even when the doctor had given her the all-clear to have sex again. They had nannies and people who helped them run the country and their lives, but Gunnar had been a clingier baby than both of the twins, and Alice had been more tired this time than she had been before, probably because of her age and the complications. Their sex life had been hit pretty hard as a result, but recently, she was starting to, well, get horny every time she looked at her wife, so she was glad that her libido was, apparently, returning.

Nora was naked in a split second, indicating to Alice that her wife was more than ready for them to reconnect this way, which they’d not done often enough, in her opinion, this past year. Alice moved to lie down on top of their duvet, knowing that Nora would want to be on top as she usually preferred. When she did, Alice wrapped her arms around her neck.

“I’ve missed you,” she confessed.

“I’ve missed you, too,” Nora replied.

She pressed her forehead to Alice’s, and Alice spread her legs, allowing Nora to settle between them.

“I love you so much,” Alice said. “And I’m sorry I haven’t been–”

“No; you don’t need to apologize for anything. Alice, you gave me my children.” Nora kissed her nose. “Our beautiful children. I am patient. I just missed you like this.”

“But you know it’s not that I don’t want to. I do. I always do, really. I–”

“I know,” Nora interrupted and kissed Alice softly on the lips. “I know. And we can keep talking – we can talk all night, if you want – but we rarely have a whole night where someone else can keep an eye on our children, including the one who likes to climb and the one who likes to run, so, if it’s all right with you, I’d prefer to…” She rolled down into Alice.

“Oh, yes. I think that’s a much better use of our time.”

Nora kissed her then, and as they made love, Alice knew it wouldn’t just be once tonight, like it had been the few times they’d done this since Gunnar. She wanted to wake up exhausted tomorrow and deal with the repercussions of that because she never wanted Nora to stop touching her. When she came the first time, it was quietly because she’d gotten used to having a baby in the next room, but when she came the second time, she let out her pleasure a bit louder. The third time, she screamed her pleasure, and Nora had to cover Alice’s mouth because that scream could’ve made the bodyguards in the palace worry that something was wrong with their Queen.

Nora was usually quiet in bed, so when she came for the third time, Alice was surprised to hear her wife yell her name into their bedroom. She kissed Nora hard and made sure to let her come down all the way before she collapsed on top of her.

“God, I really missed that,” Alice said.

“Yes.” Nora wrapped her up in her arms, and Alice felt sleep begin to take her.

Then, the baby monitor went off, and she turned her head to check the video screen on her bedside table. Little Gunnar was attempting an escape.

“Not again…” she said.

“Let the nanny handle it. I don’t want to move right now,” Nora replied and tightened her grip on Alice.

Alice kissed her neck and said, “Okay. Just this once, though.”

***

“Gunnar,” Elin said and held out her arms for Gunnar to move into. “Hi, my little love. How are you?”

Gunnar didn’t say anything. He did hold on to her, though.

“Still shy?” Elin asked.

“Only with pretty women,” Ingrid said and wrapped an arm around Elin’s waist. “Happy birthday, Gunnar.”

“Gunnar, say thank you to Aunt Elin and Aunt Ingrid,” Alice said and rubbed Gunnar’s back.

“Thank you,” he mumbled and shoved his fist in his mouth.

“He’s still adorable,” Ingrid offered.

“Takes after his mama,” Nora shared. “Thank you both for coming. I’m sure the birthday party for a one-year-old in Kleinland isn’t how you want to spend your time.”

“What are you talking about? We love this little guy and your other two. Where are they?” Elin looked around the small ballroom they were using for Gunnar’s party.

“Julia is playing with Alex and Bex. I don’t know where Tor is,” Alice replied, also looking around. “Um… Babe? Where is our son?”

Nora looked around the room, and then they all heard Tor’s laughter.

“Palmer,” they said at the same time.

Palmer had picked Tor up and was holding him by his feet as he laughed.

“Can you not drop him? He’s kind of important,” Alice joked.

“Drop who? He’s doing this himself,” Palmer said. “When did you learn to fly upside down, Tor?”

He laughed again. Alice saw Sophia, the oldest of all of the kids, sitting by herself and watching Leif, who was only a couple of years younger, play with some kind of handheld video game.

“She’s so grown up, isn’t she?” Alice asked Nora as she leaned into her side.

“She is. Looks just like Elizabeth.”

“I think she takes after Palmer,” Elizabeth noted when she approached. “Which I know doesn’t make biological sense to people, but you know how it is, right?”

“I do,” Alice said. “I think the twins take after Nora.”

“They do not. They look just like you.”

“It’s in the eye of the beholder, babe,” Alice said to her wife.

“Hi, Gunnar. Happy birthday!” Elizabeth smiled at him.

“Hi,” Gunnar said and put his fist right back into his mouth.

“Do you want to take him?” Elin asked Alice.

“Yeah, I’ve got him. Thanks.” She took Gunnar from her friend and held him to her body.

“How is he?” Elizabeth asked.

“He’s good. All healthy and hitting his milestones,” she replied and tickled his tummy at the same time. “They’re just all growing up so fast, aren’t they?”

“Tell me about it. We’ve got two that seem to grow an inch every day. Where’s my wife, by the way?”

“Hopefully, not dropping my son on the ground,” Nora answered as she pointed.

Elizabeth laughed and said, “Sometimes, I think she wants another one. Then, we go home and talk after we visit you two, and she’s exhausted and is very clear about two being enough for her.”

“Is two enough for you?” Elin asked.

“Oh, definitely.” Elizabeth laughed. “I should go get Tor from her before all the blood rushes to his head. Thank you for inviting us.”

“Thank you for coming,” Alice said. “Gunnar loves all of his aunts. Don’t you, baby?”

“Um…” Ingrid pointed at him.

Alice looked down and noticed that her son, the guest of honor at this party, was asleep.

“It’s been a long day for him. He didn’t nap well. Want me to put him down?” Nora asked.

“I thought he’d at least make it another thirty minutes and then we would take them up to bed.”

“I’ve got him,” Nora said and took Gunnar from Alice.

“Mama,” Gunnar mumbled when he clutched Nora’s neck.

Alice melted at how he just clung to her.

“Yes, love?”

“Tired,” he said.

“I know.” Nora placed a hand protectively on his back just as Julia and Tor hurried over to Alice’s side and grabbed a leg each.

“Hi. What’s going on you two?”

“We’re playing hide-and-seek with Leif,” Tor announced.

“And you’re using my legs? How big are my legs? Babe?” She looked at Nora.

“Your legs are perfect,” Nora replied and leaned in. “I would know – I had them wrapped around me the other night,” she whispered and kissed Alice on the cheek. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to put him down, but ask the nanny to make sure he stays that way.”

“Okay.” Alice smiled at her as she walked off. “You would all tell me if my legs were big enough to shield four-year-olds during hide-and-seek, right?”

“Yes, we would,” Elin said with a laugh.

“I think you have great legs,” Bexley said as she walked over. “Julia, why are you hiding behind your mom? Leif can find you. Hide under the table.”

“Okay.” Julia ran off to hide under one of the banquet tables they’d set up for the event.

“Wait!” Tor ran after his sister.

“Where’s your little one?” Elin asked of Bexley and Alex’s infant daughter.

“She’s with the nanny tonight. It’s way past her bedtime,” Bexley replied.

“I believe I overheard you commenting on Alice’s legs. Should I be jealous?” Alex asked as she wrapped her arms around Bexley’s waist from behind, kissing her wife’s neck.

“No, I like yours better.”

“Hey!” Alice exclaimed with a little laugh.

***

“Our baby is one,” Alice said later as she snuggled into Nora’s side.

Their friends were all in their beds at the Kleinland palace, and their children were out like little lights in their rooms. Even Gunnar was in a crib in his bedroom and seemed to be so out, it wasn’t likely he’d make an escape attempt tonight.

“I know. They really do grow up so fast. I’m so glad that I retired. I get to spend so much time with them now,” Nora said and kissed Alice’s forehead. “But I am exhausted, my love. Can we get some sleep?”

“You’re not interested in having my perfect legs wrapped around you again tonight?”

“Is that an option?” Nora asked in a much more awake voice.

Alice laughed and patted her wife’s stomach under her shirt.