In Which Roderick Greets the Newlyweds

September 28, 1161

No sooner had the girl and her new husband strode through the door than she had flung herself into Laralita's outstretched arms. "Aunt Laralita!" she squealed as they embraced.

"Holladrin!" Laralita excitedly addressed her niece. "How long it's been since the last time I saw you! I simply can't believe you're a married lady now--and a future baroness!"

As Holladrin turned her head to lock eyes with Roderick, he smiled. He had always had an especial fondness for Primus's eldest daughter, as she had been named for his sister. In addition to this, she was now the wife of Tarien, whom he had always held in the highest of respects as the eldest of this new generation of the Dovian nobility.

But for some reason, Tarien did not seem himself. It wasn't his marriage, Roderick was sure--the pair had entered hand in hand, with the young man looking upon his new bride with considerable fondness--but something was certainly troubling him. Though happiness may have been at the forefront of Tarien's mind, it was not without an unwanted companion.

"Your majesty," the visitor greeted him at last.

Roderick nodded. "Tarien. Congratulations--it was the thirteenth of this month, correct?"

"Thank you, sire," he acknowledged, "and yes, it was the thirteenth--Holladrin's sixteenth birthday, as her father had always planned. May he rest in peace," he added in an undertone, casting a worried glance toward his wife.

Understanding, Roderick then turned to the young bride. "Congratulations, my dear."

"Thank you, your majesty," she replied, both polite and delicate. "You have a lovely kingdom. I'm truly glad that my husband suggested a visit."

"And I am truly glad that you are truly glad," he declared, taking her hand in his and planting a quick kiss upon it.

Laralita flashed him a wide smile, her pouty bottom lip swelling majestically as it always did. "Roderick, might I give Holladrin a tour of the castle? And introduce her to the children?"

"You may do as you please, my darling," Roderick bade her; oh, how he appreciated a woman who actually treated him like the king he was!

After a quick peck on the cheek, she eagerly took her niece by the arm and practically dragged her from the study, shutting the door behind her with her free hand. Now free of feminine ears, Roderick's gray eyes locked with Tarien's violet. "Now, Tarien... how are you?"

"In terms of my marriage?" the young man began. "Quite well, thank you. She's lovely, isn't she? I must admit, I did have my doubts before--she was always such a shy young girl--but she's really grown into something magnificent."

"She is very much like her aunt in the sense that they are both magnificent," sighed Roderick with a fond smile.

Tarien shrugged. "Oh, but Aunt Laralita was never shy--even as a little girl, my mother tells me."

"Well, what can I say? The Sadiel sisters are renowned for both their beauty and their quantity--not for their timidity," Roderick laughed. "As I married one, I would know. But of course, you would also know, as both your mother and your mother-in-law are among their number. And speaking of your mother and your mother-in-law... how are they?"

A crestfallen expression suddenly emerged on Tarien's previously animated face. "Well, my mother-in-law is well, or at least as well as you can expect of a widow of a year. As for my mother... well, she and my father are the reason I wanted to take Holladrin away for a while," he finished in an undertone, as though he suspected Holladrin was just outside with her ear to the door as opposed to being ushered about the castle by Laralita.

Roderick frowned knowingly; in a marriage between to such strong personalities as Haldred and Cladelia, this sort of thing was bound to happen from time to time. "Are they fighting?"

Tarien shook his head. "No--at least, not any more than usual. They're just a little... preoccupied."

"Preoccupied?" the king repeated. "Preoccupied with what, dare I ask?"

"Well... frankly, there's been some trouble with a couple of my siblings," the younger man informed him. "The twins, specifically. You see..."

Casting a quick, cautious glance toward the door, Tarien leaned toward Roderick and proceeded to whisper the tale into his ear. At the sound of his voice, each tiny hair within stood at attention; when it ceased, not a single one fell limp.

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