March 11, 2009

In Which Nora Scales Mount Olympus

December 20, 1156

Falidor must have been sent out on a favor, seeing as no one had been there to see Nora in. It was just as well, though; he probably would have sent her home anyway. As far as he knew, she had no business being there.

Oh, but she did.

He'd be angry if he knew she was here, especially if he knew why, but Nora knew that Falidor didn't have the guts to ask Lord Severin himself. It had to be done, however; things couldn't continue like this. She knew he was miserable in that house, despite his efforts to put on a brave face, and quite frankly, she didn't want to risk a run-in with his father-in-law every time she visited.

She could only hope that Lord Severin was as good a man as everyone said he was.

Behind her, the study door swung open; Nora jumped slightly, turning her head to catch a glimpse of a man out of the corner of her eye.

"Well, wouldn't you know it?" he joked in a light, teasing manner. "When I was a lonely bachelor, I never had any unannounced visitors of the feminine persuasion whatsoever, but now that I'm a happily married man, I'm finding young, beautiful women everywhere. How's that for irony?"

"Are you Lord Severin?" Nora inquired of him. If he was, then he was exactly as she had imagined him; tall, clever, friendly, and very handsome.

He bent down and placed the little girl he'd been holding on the floor. "Perhaps. That all depends on why you're looking for him."

Nora nodded. "I need your help."

"In that case, then yes, I am he--and please, none of this 'my lord' nonsense. Might I ask your name, Miss...?"

"Leonora Wythleit," she introduced herself, "but you can call me Nora. I'm Falidor's sister."

Lord Severin smiled knowingly; he had lovely white teeth. "A pleasure to meet you, Nora. Your brother speaks of you often--although I must say, he failed to mention just how pretty you are."

"He didn't say anything about how handsome you are either," Nora laughed as he sat down beside her on the couch, "but he did say that your wife is very beautiful."

"Well, that fact cannot be argued against," he agreed. "Anyway, what can I help you with? Is this about your mother?"

Nora shook her head. "Mother is the same as always, thank you for asking. I'm here about Falidor."

"What about Falidor?" inquired Lord Severin, his brown eyes meeting her own blue ones. Oh, how a girl could lose herself in those eyes! Surely Lady Alina liked nothing better than to share longing gazes with her husband across the crowded castle dining halls--or across a durable mattress.

"Well, you know he got married recently, right?" she began.

He laughed. "I think everyone in Naroni has heard that story by now. Continue."

"All right. I want you to give him a house."

Lord Severin raised an eyebrow. "Sorry?"

"For him and his wife, I mean," Nora continued. "They're living with her family now, and he's completely miserable there. Ailede is a piece of work herself, and every single one of her family members is either just as bad or even worse. They basically treat him like some sort of slave."

"That would certainly explain why he's been asking for longer hours recently," Lord Severin mused aloud. "Does Falidor know you're here?"

"Oh, of course not! But I knew he wouldn't ask you himself, so I came instead."

Her lord nodded in agreement. "I agree that I can't picture him doing so. He's old enough to have his own household, and in addition to that, he does have a wife now and it's only a matter of time before they have children, so your request is certainly not unreasonable. Thank you, Nora; now I finally know what to give your brother for a wedding present. I certainly admire your initiative."

"Thank you," she acknowledged him. "I daresay I'll need it; with Falidor out of the house, I'll have to find a job soon."

"You don't say..." he began to mutter under his breath, but he was interrupted by the arrival of a beautiful red-haired woman carrying a baby.

"Entertaining barely-legal girls while I nurse your heir?" Lady Alina teased her husband. "At least you had the sense to choose a pretty one, I suppose."

Chuckling slightly, Lord Severin pulled himself to his feet. "Princess, this is Nora--Falidor's sister. Nora, this is my wife, Alina."

"And don't forget our children!" she scolded him. "That's Raia on the floor there, and this is Jadin."

"Let me see him; you've been hogging him."

"Well, you hogged the last one," she laughed as she handed him the baby.

"Hello, Jadin," Lord Severin greeted his son before turning back to his wife. "Alina, you haven't thought of anyone to fill that position yet, have you?"

"You mean my new maid?" clarified Lady Alina. "No, I have not."

Lord Severin smiled, then looked down at Nora. "You said you needed a job?"

Nora's eyes widened; this was quite an extravagant job offer for a simple farm girl. "Really? Me, a lady's maid?"

Lady Alina laughed. "Why not? It's not a difficult job, and you're rewarded with a decent wage and pretty dresses."

She couldn't believe her luck. Falidor would have told her not to come, had she told him she was going to in the first place; he would have told her nothing good could possibly come of it.

Stupid boy.

NEXT CHAPTER:

9 comments:

Van said...

And that post is the last of 1156. The next post will be dated January 8, 1157. Anyway, let us review the five babies born in 1156:

July 22 - Octavius and Medea had twins, son Sparron and daughter Jedaline (Jeda)
October 3 - Florian and Electra had a son, Setran
November 12 - Severin and Alina had a son, Jadin
December 30 - Roderick and Geneva had a daughter, Camaline

And just because I forgot at the end of 1155, let's review those babies (now one-year-olds) as well:

March 17 - Octavius's brother Tertius and his wife Nearina had a son, Garrett (okay, so they don't live in Naroni, but they're in my database)
September 2 - Dalston and Celina had a son, Lornian (Lorn)
October 17 - Severin and Alina had a daughter, Rahileine (Raia)
October 20 - Roderick and Geneva had a daughter, Learianna (Leara)
November 6 - Ailede's parents, Lonel and Madelheina, had twin sons Oswald and Roderick (they both died within a day or two)
November 10 - Norwan and Thetis had twins, daughter Evera and son Byrn
December 18 - Adonis and Honora had a son, Hadrinian (Had)
December 25 - Halford and Arydath had a daughter, Lyraina

Hmmmmm, a lot of samey birthdays. I'll have to do something about that.

Phoenix said...

Good for Nora! I'm glad she went to Severin! Now my boy will get out of that house and maybe his wife will chill a bit AND Nora gets a job!! YAY!! It's going to be great!I would want to work for those two if I was Nora!

Van said...

Falidor must have passed on the get-go genes when he was in the womb, allowing Nora to capitalize on them shortly after he left.

Things will probably be better for Falidor in his new house. Probably. I've actually moved him and Ailede into their new house already--I think it's one of the nicer houses I've made.

If I had to work for anyone in Naroni, it would definitely be Severin and Alina. They're just so nice and fair--in fact, I'd even go so far as to say Severin has the ladder of medieval society upside-down in his mind, or at least sideways, so that works out perfectly well for a peasant girl like Nora. The fact that he's rather easy on the eyes is also a bonus :P

eclectictsunami said...

Way to go, Nora! *Does bunny dance in Nora's honor*

Okay, not really, because I'd look like a complete idiot even to myself. But you can imagine it. :P

Van said...

Yaaaaay for the timeless bunny dance! :D

Penelope said...

I've done the bunny dance. Don't do it! It's completely absurd!

But if Nora starts working at Severin's, then her brother will know that she went there to plead for him!

Well this should be interesting. Now if only we could get Thetis out of Norwan's house.

Van said...

Since it actually worked, he'll probably thank her. He might scold her for sneaking into Severin's study, though... but that might motivate him to become a better steward.

Thetis is in a completely different situation. She's married to Norwan, so she's pretty much stuck with him. If that wasn't the case, then Nora would have asked for a house for only Falidor, and Ailede could have stayed with her parents.

Penelope said...

I'm kind of excited to see Dalston with his hair back. :p

Van said...

Unfortunately, the next chapter is very short. I could have probably had it up today if A) I had finished taking the pictures for the one after and therefore had a preview picture and B) I wasn't trying to get Ashelia Chapter 9 done first. It will be up soon enough though.