March 30, 1165
Given the circumstances, Nora was surprised at how at ease Alsina seemed with the two-day-old twins, but then again, perhaps it was a relief for her to be around a pair of small people who were so new to the world that they couldn't even sense that anything was out of the ordinary. The poor babies, born during such a time of turmoil for the family--their father's recent death, their aunt's encounter that could very well have been rape for all anyone knew. At the very least, she supposed that things could only get better for them now.At least, she hoped that things could only get better for them now.
"They certainly do like you," she tried to assure her younger sister as she eased the older of the twins, Ceira, to her shoulder, "and the older two miss you, you know. I hope you realize that you're welcome to visit whenever you like."Alsina nodded. "I know. Thank you."
Nora locked eyes with baby Ceira, then smiled and gently placed her in her crib with a quick kiss on the forehead. Behind her, Alsina did the same with Esela. She then trudged away, the hem of her dress leaving a just-noticeable trail on the somewhat dusty floor. Cuthron clutched at his aunt's skirts as she brushed past him on her way to the couch, but she paid him no notice; pouting, he turned back to his toy ark.It was heartbreaking, just watching the girl. She had easily been the most spirited of the five children, more rambunctious and irrepressibly wild than Nora and their three brothers combined. Their mother had always laughed and claimed it would be cold day in hell before anything ever stalled Alsina; Nora had never been so grateful that where their good, kind mother was, she could not test that theory.
Shaking her head, she crossed the room to the couch, stopping only to ruffle her son's hair. She took a seat on the couch next to her sister, then grabbed the girl's hand and gave it a light squeeze. "So... how are things?"Her question was met with silence. For a good minute, all she could hear was Cuthron's playful banter between Noah and the animals, the wife lying abandoned on the other side of the ark.
Even that ceased shortly. Cuthron took to squirming in indignation as he realized that neither his mother nor his aunt was speaking. "Auntie Sina?"Nora closed her eyes; she was proud that her son was a bright young child, but she might have preferred that he hadn't picked up on this uncomfortable tension. "Go back to your toys, love."
One eye still on the little boy, she glanced toward Alsina once more. Her sister's hands were in her lap, the fingers on her right fidgeting with the wedding band on her left. It was twisted upwards... downwards... upwards... Nora could no longer stand to watch it. At last, Alsina let the ring slide back into position, then sighed.
"I lost it."The neutrality of her voice invoked a sudden dryness in Nora's mouth. What could she say to this? 'I'm sorry'? 'Congratulations'? Either one seemed fitting--similarly, either one seemed most shockingly inappropriate.
Indeed, the only way she could think to answer was with a question. "Uh... have you seen Arydath?"
Alsina nodded. "I saw her yesterday. She was very helpful."
Nora frowned. "Does Aldhein know?""Uh... not exactly."
She raised an eyebrow; Alsina was not known for giving such vague answers, but perhaps that had only been the Alsina of Old. "What do you mean, 'not exactly'?"
The younger girl shrugged. "Well... no 'exactly', I guess. He doesn't know."
"I see," muttered Nora, absent-mindedly curling a lock of hair around her finger. "What are you going to tell him?"
Alsina took a moment to think about it, then answered, "Maybe he just won't notice."In a more clearly positive situation, she might have laughed. "Believe me, dear, he'll notice. You have to tell him."
"He's not exactly attentive," Alsina mumbled, her voice both hopeful and resigned.
"Regardless, he still has to know."
Again, she took her time. They sat there for quite a while, their eyes fixed on the wall in front of them, until Alsina finally found something more to say."What can I do if he loses his reason for putting up with me?"
NEXT CHAPTER:
7 comments:
YIkes! That is a predicament, Especially since the man in question isn't the most honorable dude on the block. What if for the rest of their lives, he blames her for trapping him?
:( That sucks but yeah...I agree with Pen! I mean he did grow up some but the reason for the marriage was because she was preggo! Awkward!
*nods* Yep. It's understandable that she doesn't want to tell him, really... although, at this point, the alternative is just waiting for him to ask why she isn't looking any more pregnant than she was when she married him. Worst case scenario, he might think she faked the whole pregnancy just to land a husband, and he and Falidor and Nora were all the idiots who fell for it.
Oh! But she doesn't want to wait with that. It will look so much worse if she waits.
Also, what if Aldhein thinks that the whole family pulled a fast one on him in order to push Alsina off on him? Nora's husband is gone so Falidor is now the sole patriarch and breadwinner. Wouldn't it be easier if Alsina was someone else's baggage? And after Aldhein felt so miserable for her, it would be such a betrayal. A stone cold guy like that lets his guard down and he gets taken in. This is so fraught with drama steak. I'm not even going to type out all the possible places that I could see this going.
But I think the proof is probably in the pudding here. Alsina has changed big time. A man like Aldhein who is liable to think the worst in people might believe that she's just a good actress. But he may believe the truth. But even if he does believe the truth, I can't see him taking it well. Now he's stuck. He needn't have married her at all.
That is also a definite possibility. With the new babies, Nora's not working at the moment, and Ceidrid's still trying to establish himself, and God forbid Ailede should get off her ass and make any money--and Aldhein knows this. Like you said, he's not exactly good with the whole trust thing, so he could easily jump to that conclusion.
But yeah, she has changed, and he has noticed. It's certainly not impossible for him to believe her. I think at this point, it's mainly a question of how he'll handle it.
She has to tell him. Waiting...the longer she waits, yeah the worse it will be. Of course Aldhein would assume it was one big trap. Even if he believes her, wouldn't he feel resentment? One giant joke on him and nobody's laughing...
Whatever the case, he certainly won't be pleased :S
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