The Broken Flame

The next memory Celina saw, Herobrine was in the room that she was guessing he now shared with his wife. He seemed very content as he read a book while sitting on the bed. Celina smiled at seeing how happy he looked. “How far ahead is this one, Brine,” she asked.

“About two years. Me and Cebrina had been married for that time. And this was the day that she gave me some wonderful news.”

A creak caught Celina and the young Herobrine’s attention, and they both turned to see Cebrina walking through the door. She had her signature smile on her face, something that Herobrine loved to see each and every day. “Hello, my Princess,” he spoke to her.

“Hello, my dear Brine.” She closed the door behind her, then moved to the bed to sit next to her spouse. “How are you today?”

“I’m good, I’ve been reading a really nice book about jungles.” He chuckled as she leaned down to place a kiss on his cheek. “And how have you been, my darling?”

“Good. I wasn’t feeling very well this morning, but I went to see the priests about it.” 

Herobrine heart sunk a bit at that. Cebrina never went to see the priests. That was her last resort. He gave a small frown. “What did they say?”

Cebrina stood and walked over to the window overlooking the kingdom. The streets were bustling with life and people moving about. It was a nice site to see, considering how barren the village had once been before Herobrine had arrived. “Brine,” she began. “How long have we been married now?”

Herobrine thought for a second. “I think… about two years now. Our anniversary was a few days ago.”

Cebrina nodded, turning her head to look over her shoulder. “I love you so much, Brine. You’ve truly made me happy, happier than I ever could be without you or with anyone else. You mean everything to me. And I’m glad you came into my life.” She turned on her heels. “I… I was feeling sick this morning, so I went to the priests since it wasn’t a sickness I had ever felt before. So, I went to see what it was. They figured it out and…” Tears began to form in her eyes.

Herobrine walked up to his wife and wiped her tears with his thumbs. “What’s wrong, Cebrina? Did something happen?”

“No, nothing happened, Brine,” she answered. “I’m just… I’m so happy.” Cebrina saw her husband give her a puzzled look. “Herobrine… I’m… I’m pregnant.”

Herobrine’s jaw would have fallen to the floor if it wasn’t attacked to his face. He felt something sparking inside of him, a joy he had never felt before. He couldn’t help but let tears fall from his eyes as he put hands to his chest. He had no words for the happiness he felt for a few seconds. Then, he finally whispered, “Cebrina… that’s… that’s wonderful. I…” He let out a happy sob as he embraced his wife, and she did the same to him. The two sat there in each other’s arms, happily crying and sobbing to each other. Celina could hear the two telling each other how happy they were and how the other would be a wonderful parent. She let out a small noise of adoration. These two were so happy, so loving towards each other.

“I was so happy,” Herobrine said from outside the memory. “I was often told that knowing you’ll have a child of your own… it’s one of the greatest joys you could ever feel. It was a feeling I couldn’t describe as anything but pure happiness. I was so excited, I was so happy. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. It felt like such a long time, waiting those nine months. For Cebrina, it must have seemed even longer. But I still remember when those nine months were worth it.”

*****

The memory shifted and now it was the early morning in Cebrina and Herobrine’s room. The sun was just rising over the hills and she could see some of the guards heading back towards the castle. 

She looked over to the canopy bed after hearing something. She could see Herobrine and Cebrina sleeping. She noticed that Cebrina seemed to be shifting in her sleep a lot, and that concerned her. 

The princess suddenly sat up and gasped. Celina noticed the large bump under her dress and how she now clutched onto it. She seemed to be breaking out into a sweat, and after a few moments, she screamed, “HEROBRINE!”

The Demi-God immediately sat up as Cebrina fell back onto the pillows, crying out in pain. Herobrine looked down at his wife and asked, “Cebrina?! What’s wrong?!”

“Herobrine, I--I--AHHHH! IT HURTS!” The woman lightly writhed as she kept one hand on her stomach, feeling her husband take the other.

“Cebrina, where does it hurt?” Herobrine asked, already having a feeling what was happening.

“He--Here…” she strained out, putting a hand over her lower abdomen. 

The Demi-God swore under his breath. “Shit.” He carefully put a hand on her stomach, and the energy signatures coming from her body made him realize what was happening. “Cebrina… you’re in labor.”

The princess looked to him in shock. “What?”

“I can sense the energy from you getting stronger. I’ve felt this same kind of energy when other humans in the village have had children. I know what it feels like… and I feel more than one.”

Cebrina gasped softly, before crying out again. “AHHHHH! BRINE, GO GET THE PRIESTS! HURRY!”

Herobrine jumped to his feet, running to the doors and out into the castle.

*****

The next memory showed Herobrine pacing anxiously outside the doors to the room, a couple of the kingdom’s knights watching him. Celina could see the rest of the royal family outside with him, Tulip looking a little confused. She could hear Rita gently trying to explain what was happening to the young girl. However, the worry on the young Demi-God’s face was what worried her. Every cry seemed to make him let out a tiny howl in despair. He seemed so worried, but for some reason, he didn’t go into the room where his wife was.

Robert put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright, Brine. If she wants you to come in there, she’ll let you know.”

“I know, Robert but… I’m just so scared. What if she…”

Rita looked to Herobrine while Rose simply rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, Herobrine,” the queen told him. “Cebrina is strong, I’m sure she’ll make it through this.” 

“He...Hero--brine?”

A weak voice came from inside the room and the Demi-God looked to the door. He put his ear against it. “Yes, my love?”

“Can… can you come in? Please? I need you.”

Herobrine looked back at his in-laws, who gave him nods of reassurement. He then carefully made his way through the doors.

Cebrina lay in their canopy bed, dressed in a loose pink gown with a white sheet over her legs. She was covered in sweat, her long hair pulled up, and tears still streaming down her face. She turned to look when the door closed, and her gray eyes lit up when she saw Herobrine. He smiled as he walked to her side, taking a hold of one of her hands. “Hi,” he said in a soft voice.

“Hey,” Cebrina responded. She intertwined her fingers with her husband’s, holding on tightly and crying out when more pain came. She looked up at him. “Brine… I’m… I’m scared. It hurts so much.”

“I know, Cebrina, I know.” Herobrine gently pet her hair, placing a kiss on her forehead. “I promise you, you can make it through this. I will be here, no matter what. Just let your body work, and I’ll stay by you… like I always have.”

Cebrina nodded, taking breaths and letting her body work. It took some time, but Celina watched as the priests eventually placed two babies into Cebrina’s arms. A beautiful baby girl who had features like Brine, and an adorable baby boy who looked more like Cebrina. Herobrine’s eyes spilled over at the sight of his wife holding their children. “Cebrina…” he whispered. “They’re… they’re beautiful.” He kissed her cheek tenderly. “You did so well… I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you, my dear Demi-God,” she told him in a soft voice. “I’m so happy they’re here.”

“And so am I.” Herobrine looked at the boy as he opened his eyes, revealing soft gray. “He looks like you.”

The girl opened her eyes to reveal deep emerald colored orbs. “She looks like you,” Cebrina spoke, smiling tiredly. “So… do you want to name our daughter?”

“I would be honored, my Princess.” He thought for a few seconds. “I think… Juliana. Juliana Oakdred-Alstrom.”

“May I name our son?”

“Of course.”

Cebrina chuckled. “Robert Oakdred-Alstrom.”

“That’s lovely, my dear.” The girl let out a small cry and reached her hands up, towards her father. He let her hold onto his finger, chuckling softly. “Welcome to Minecraftia, little ones.”

Celina’s heart hurt, but in a good way. Seeing the absolute joy on Brine’s face and the love for his wife and children was so heartwarming. “You loved them. You loved them more than anything in the world.”

“I did,” Herobrine told her from outside. “I loved my wife. I cherished her. She and my children were the best thing to ever happen to me. At this point… my life was perfect. I had a beautiful wife, adorable children, a kingdom and royal family who loved me; everything was absolutely perfect. I had everything I ever wanted. But… it wasn’t meant to last.”

Celina’s smile fell. “What do you mean,” she asked.

“Do you remember where Rose was at the wedding?”

Celina thought about it for a second. “...Yeah, she was all the way in the back, in the shadow of a building. And… she didn’t say anything to you while you were outside the room when Cebrina was in labor. Did she really hate you that much?”

“She did. She hated me for taking all her parents’ attention. She hated me for all the adoration I got from the citizens of the kingdom. She hated that Cebrina would inherit the throne. With my marriage to Cebrina, Rose would not get the rule of the kingdom. And she was envious of everything Cebrina and I had.”

Celina felt her heart thudding hard in her chest. That didn’t sound good.

“Celina?”

“Yes, Brine?”

“I need you to know something. These next parts of my memories are very intense. And they’re not happy. I need you to know that if you want to stop now, you are more than welcome to. If you want me to just tell you and not show you, please tell me now.”

Celina thought for a long moment. Herobrine’s life was so perfect, so wonderful, and she could only think that something truly terrible must have happened if he had turned from this wonderful person to a completely different person, one with a deep hatred for humans. She couldn’t imagine what that thing could be.

However, Celina had seen some horrible things in her life. And one of those things even happened to her parents. She had seen some terrible things. She had made a promise to herself to help Herobrine clear his head, so if that took seeing what happened to cause his downfall, then so be it.

Celina clenched her fists. “I’m more than ready, Brine. Show me what happened. I don’t care how sad it is. I want to see it. I… I want to know.”

“...Alright. Let’s skip ahead about five years.”