In Which Leara Meets Lorn's Competition

May 3, 1168

Leara felt somewhat guilty about leaving her half-sister with only bookish young Xeta for a buffer--neither Ietrin nor Camaline cared for poor Eilyssa, though Leara didn't see how they could think the whole situation with their mother was her fault--but she wanted to see Lorn. He was the reason she'd come, after all, even if she did enjoy the company of the other girls.

But for whatever reason, he'd made himself scarce. It occured to her that he might have been avoiding her--she did think he'd known she was coming--but Lorn was not the sort who did that to his betrothed... was he? Leara didn't want to think about it. At any rate, she'd found him now. "Lorn?"

He turned around and pressed a finger to his lips. Leara frowned; sheepish, Lorn flashed an apologetic grin. "This little turkey's supposed to be napping."

"Your little brother?" Leara closed the door behind her and crossed the room to the crib. Little Searle was getting close to two months old now, but he'd been somewhat sickly and had yet to have many visitors; Leara herself hadn't seen him.

Lorn nodded. "Somehow, we got stuck with the only baby in the world who never sleeps."

"At least he's quiet." Leara's own little half-brother was two now, and it had taken nearly that long for his infanthood cries to stop ringing in her ears.

"Yes, but on the off-chance he falls asleep, he snores like a beast!" Lorn laughed as he reached into the crib and lifted the baby from its depths. "To think, for nine long and horrible months, my stepfather lived the horrific life of the falsely-accused."

Smiling, Leara tilted her head and watched the baby sneeze quietly; she wondered how old they had to be before that ceased being cute. "At least the baby's all better now, right?"

"Oh, he's fine," Lorn assured her. "He's actually getting to be too cheeky for his own good. Aren't you, Searle?"

The baby blinked. Lorn responded by sticking out his tongue. "I know you are, but what am I?" Searle's mouth fell agape; Lorn shook his head. "He's a lost cause, this one. Maybe you can talk some sense into him."

Wait... what? She'd never even been able to talk to her own baby siblings; how was she supposed to talk to somebody else's? How did anyone manage to talk to babies, ever? "Lorn--"

He'd raised the baby to her level before she could protest. Unsure of what else to do, Leara waved awkwardly. "Uh... hello, Searle."

As she could have expected, Searle only stared; Lorn, however, grimaced. "Sorry if he's at a loss for words. You're the first pretty girl he's seen who isn't his mother."

"I imagine he's seen Xeta and Rona," Leara corrected him, not sure whether or not to meet the baby's wide blue eyes.

"They're his sisters; they don't count."

"It won't be long before I'm his sister too."

Lorn fell quiet, raising his brother to his shoulder and patting him on the back. Perhaps her joke had been ill-placed. Maybe he didn't think they'd be married all that soon. Maybe he didn't want to think they'd be married all that soon. "Lorn..."

He silenced her with a surprising wink, then kissed the baby's cheek. "Hear that, Searle?" he whispered into the baby's tiny, shell-like ear. "You're not going to be my competition for very long! Lucky for me, don't you think?"

Searle balled his hand into a fist and tapped it against Lorn's shoulder. "He's disappointed. He wanted you all to himself."

Trying to ignore the blush warming her face, Leara grinned--at least, she hoped she'd managed a grin. "Sorry, Searle. I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

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