In Which Aldhein Requests Another Opinion

January 29, 1165

Eilyssa looked as though she was having fun with young Lady Xeta, playing some sort of clapping game on the floor by the foot of the bed. Aldhein's seven-year-old was best friends with the daughter of a duke; seven years ago, he never would have imagined such a thing was possible. Where had he himself been at seven, again? Picking pockets while his father was busy sleeping off hangovers? Sitting alone in the filthy house each night as his earnings were squandered at the local tavern? And who had been his best friend at the time? That old pillow he used to cling to for hours on end, searching fruitlessly for any lingering trace of his long-dead mother's scent?

His father would always stagger through the front door at the crack of dawn, knocking down anything that stood between him and the old couch upon which he made a habit of collapsing. Aldhein would then creep down the stairs, turn him onto his side, and place the frequently-used basin within vomiting distance. He'd pull up a chair and wait, a stolen loaf of bread and plenty of water at the ready. When his father woke, he'd nurse him to as stable a condition as he could manage, then head out with the intention of bringing home any coins he could get his hands on--certainly not what childhood was meant to be, he was sure.

"Papa!" Eilyssa squealed, scrambling to her feet and greeting him with an enthusiastic hug. Against all odds, the girl was growing up well; if there was one thing of which Aldhein felt he could be proud, it was that he had managed to give his daughter a better start than his own father had given him. She too had no mother, but the duchess loved Eilyssa as her own, and her children saw the girl as a sister. Aldhein himself spent far more nights in his rooms in the castle than he ever did at his house, for her benefit; this way, she did not have to sit around alone with the housekeeper while he was working, and everyone she loved could be found in one convenient castle.

She was his sole reason for pressing on, the one thing that made his life worth living; if there were to be any changes, it was only right to give her a say in the matter. "Hello, Lyssie. Can I talk to you for a minute? It won't be long, I promise."

She looked up at him with a slight frown, her eyes--his own eyes--his mother's own eyes--wide as could be and bright as emeralds, regardless of the room's dim light. "Did I do something bad?"

"Of course not," he assured her. "I just need your opinion on something, that's all."

She was positively beaming; according to the duchess, there was nothing a seven-year-old girl liked more than being asked her opinion. "Really?"

Not giving him a chance to nod, she twirled around to come face-to-face with her friend. "Sorry, Xeta. I'll just be a minute, all right? My papa needs to ask me something."

Xeta nodded. "All right. I think I'll go check on my sister--meet me in her room when you're done?"

"Sounds good."

Aldhein took a seat on Eilyssa's little bench as the duke's daughter scurried into the corridor. Eilyssa closed the door behind her, then proceeded to Aldhein. "What did you want to ask me, Papa?"

He really should have thought this through first; how could he phrase this in a suitable manner for a little girl? "Well... you know Falidor, right?"

Eilyssa nodded. He took that as a sign to continue in that vein. "He has a younger sister, and she's, uh... going through a rough time right now. Falidor's a good man, but he's weak, and he has a wife who's both strong and cruel, so he can't quite help his sister as he should. He asked me if I could help her, but I didn't give him an answer because this would affect you, and I want to know how you would feel about it."

Well, that wasn't the only reason... but it was the only one to which he felt comfortable admitting.

More solemn than any child should ever have to be, Eilyssa hung her head and watched as a beetle scuttled across the floorboards. "What happened to her?"

"I'm not exactly clear on the details myself," he admitted, "but it's a grown-up matter; maybe she'll tell you herself when you're a little older, if she so chooses. It suffices to say that she's hurting, and I'm not sure if it's her own fault or if someone else did something horrible to her, but... I went to see her yesterday, at her older sister's house. She used to be so carefree and spirited, but the fires in her have been doused; she's like a completely different person now."

Indeed, the girl who had once so eagerly flung herself into his lap and danced wildly in the firelight had been scarcely recognizable. Alsina was gone, completely, thoroughly--for her sake, he could only hope that the change was not permanent.

Eilyssa's eyes drooped. God, he hated sobering her so; he could only hope that Lady Xeta and Lady Rona would rekindle her spirits when she joined them. "Oh. So... how can you help her?"

"Well, Falidor wants me to, uh... marry her," he muttered, nearly choking on the foreign infinitive. "Admittedly, it's not as if I had anyone else lined up for myself or anything of the like, but if I were to get, er, married, then there would be a few changes."

His daughter's brow arched. "Like what?"

Aldhein strummed his fingers across the surface of the bench. "Well, I don't think I have enough space in my quarters here to permanently house another person--or more, if she has any babies, hypothetically--so we would have to start living in the house. Of course, you could still see Xeta and her family whenever you wanted, or you could come to work with me if you pleased, but it wouldn't be the same as living with them. If you wanted to, you could still live here regardless, but what can I say? I'm a selfish man, and I'd like it if you were to live wherever I lived."

"Well, I must be selfish too," Eilyssa replied shyly, "because I want to live wherever you live... but I still want to see everyone here."

"And you can," he promised. "You will, no matter what. But it's up to you, and I'd appreciate your opinion on the situation in general, and if you need time to think about it, take as long as you need."

She took a moment to consider. Then, she clapped her hands in resolution and grinned. "Can I meet her?"

He had to admit, the possibility had not occurred to him; he felt like an idiot now. "Alsina?"

"The girl you might marry," she confirmed. "If you marry her, she'll be my stepmother, right? And I'd like to meet her before she becomes my stepmother, so I can make up my mind."

It seemed like mixing two separate worlds, the thought of Eilyssa and Alsina in the same room. They'd probably feel awkward; he'd probably feel even moreso. But if he did end up going along with Falidor's half-assed idea, he supposed it was inevitable--and if not, then maybe he'd at least have a valid reason. No matter what he did or did not feel about Alsina, no matter what she may or may not have done, he did not want to marry a woman with whom his daughter did not feel comfortable.

"Yes, you can meet her. We'll go see her tomorrow."

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