Rossweise's due date was drawing near, and the entire Silver Dragon Sanctuary was filled with a sense of eager anticipation, all preparing for the new arrival.
In truth, there was little practical help anyone could offer for the act of childbirth itself. Most of the activity around the sanctuary was about providing emotional support or simply finding ways to feel useful.
It was the Queen herself who finally gave everyone a clear, common goal.
"Why don't we decide on a name for the baby before the birth?" Rossweise proposed.
This single, simple suggestion gave the entire household a united purpose. Leon, the children, and everyone else suddenly had a tangible and important task to focus on.
On a bright and sunny morning, the family gathered under the shaded gazebo in the front courtyard. Muen and Aurora carried out a colorful, hand-made sign.
The sign read: "The Melkvey Family's Third Council Meeting."
The number "three" was visibly patched on, hastily cut from a different piece of paper—a clear sign of the girls' preference for quick fixes. Instead of making a new sign, they had simply edited their old one from the second meeting.
It was a small detail, but Leon, watching them, felt a surge of fatherly pride: That cleverness runs in the family.
Aurora, who had not been born during the first two meetings, looked at the sign with curiosity.
"What did you all talk about in the last two meetings?" she asked.
Muen crossed her arms and thought for a moment. "The first meeting was to vote on whether Mom and Dad should move into the same room. The second was to decide what your name would be. Yeah, that is right."
Aurora's eyebrows shot up, her bright eyes wide with surprise.
"Wait, Dad did not sleep in the same room as Mom?"
Muen nodded earnestly.
"Nope! Back then, Dad always slept in the nursery. They only started sharing a room after Mom got pregnant with you."
Aurora tilted her head, deeply intrigued.
"Is that so..."
For the first time, the mischievous youngest daughter felt she had been born too late. She thought that if she had arrived earlier, she might have witnessed her parents in their earlier, more awkwardly sweet phase.
Shaking off the thought, she quickly asked another question.
"So, you held a whole meeting just to pick my name, but ended up with something as simple as Aurora?!"
"No, no!" Muen waved her hands. "That meeting ended without a decision because of an... incident."
The "incident" she referred to was the day Rossweise went into labor, which was also the day the Crimson Flame Dragon King Constantine attacked under orders from the Empire. Rossweise had fought him off and left him battered at their doorstep. Soon after, Leon had to return to the Empire to investigate the treason, leaving Rossweise to recover elsewhere. It was General Leon who managed the chaotic five days that followed and finally gave Aurora her full name: Aurora C. Melkvey.
However, because Muen kept mispronouncing it playfully, the couple had settled on "Aurora" as a simpler nickname, inspired by the beautiful "Little Light" of the northern skies.
"Alright, the third family meeting is now in session," Leon announced, clapping his hands together. He placed a large whiteboard on the stone table in the center of the gazebo. "Today's topic: naming the fourth child."
The family dove into the discussion with full enthusiasm.
Rossweise sat at the table with her three daughters, all of them looking as serious as executives in a corporate boardroom. The atmosphere was unexpectedly formal for a family gathering.
Muen was the first to raise her hand, practically vibrating with excitement.
"Me! Me! I have so many ideas!"
"Alright, Muen, go ahead," Leon said.
"Star! Let's name them Star!" Muen exclaimed, unable to contain her joy.
Leon raised an eyebrow. "What is with your obsession with stars?"
"What is wrong with stars? Aurora, do not you think Star sounds beautiful?"
Aurora, wanting to be supportive, nodded cautiously. "It is... nice. Yeah, nice."
"See? Aurora agrees! We should have named her Star back then!"
Aurora froze, pointing at herself in horror.
"Wait, Star was originally supposed to be my name?"
"Of course!"
"Thank goodness... thank you, Mom, Dad, and Big Sis, for sparing me that name."
"What is wrong with it?" Muen pouted, genuinely offended. "Star totally fits a divine being like me!"
"Then how about something similar to Star, like... Stella?" Aurora offered, trying to compromise.
Leon grimaced visibly. "Not Stella."
Muen tilted her head, confused. "Why not, Dad?"
"Your father has a general under his command whose dragon is named Stella," Rossweise interjected with a knowing smirk. "It would not feel appropriate to use the same name."
"Oh... okay," Muen conceded, a little disappointed.
"I think Blaze would be a good name," Noah suggested calmly.
"Big Sis, you are one to talk!" Muen retorted immediately. "That name is just as wild as Star!"
"Blaze is not wild," Noah shot back defensively. "Aurora, what do you think of Blaze?"
Aurora, having learned from her earlier mistake, chose her words very carefully. "Um... it is... fine, I guess?"
"See? It is a great name!" Noah grinned triumphantly. "It is a shame we did not name you Blaze, Aurora."
"That is no shame at all, Big Sis."
"You are right. Blaze is way too wild for someone as refined as me," Aurora declared firmly.
At this point, the meeting felt less about naming the new baby and more like a session for Aurora to critique her sisters' naming sensibilities.
"Alright, Aurora, do you have any ideas of your own?" Rossweise asked, steering the conversation back on track.
Aurora grew uncharacteristically serious, thoughtfully tapping her chin.
"Violet... or Muse."
Leon and Rossweise exchanged a glance, both nodding slightly in approval. It seemed the youngest daughter was proving to be the most reliable namer this time.
"What made you think of those names, Aurora?" Muen asked, her curiosity piqued.
Aurora leaned gracefully against the gazebo's railing, gazing out at the sunlit garden as a gentle breeze rustled the leaves and flowers.
"Violet means 'eternal beauty and love.' It also symbolizes the coolness and freshness of summer," she explained, turning back to her family. "Since the baby is going to be born this summer, Violet seems like a very fitting name."
Noah and Muen looked at each other, impressed.
"That is definitely better than Blaze," Noah admitted.
"And much better than Star," Muen added.
Rossweise chuckled softly. "And what about Muse?"
"Oh, that is from a book I have been reading," Aurora replied. "In it, Muse was an ancient goddess of art and music, famous for her dancing and singing at the gatherings of the gods."
She paused for a moment, a mischievous glint in her eye, before adding, "Recently, we have all been hearing music from Mom's piano room—along with some... other sounds. Something we had never heard before, but it was strangely energizing."
Aurora shrugged casually.
"Whether it is graceful piano music or whatever that other instrument was, they are both artistic in their own way. So if this baby grows up to love art or music, Muse would be a great name."
Her explanation was so thoughtful and thorough that the parents silently decided the choice for their new child would be between Violet and Muse.
As a warm midday breeze swept through the gazebo, Rossweise rested a hand on her rounded belly. Leon smiled and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders.
Meanwhile, their three dragon daughters had already moved on, busily doodling together on the whiteboard behind them.
This harmonious, loving family was soon to welcome its newest little member, whose name was now nestled within two beautiful, carefully chosen words.