September 2, 1171
"Lorn, you and I both know that you haven't eaten since breakfast; yes, you found a bit of meat between your teeth earlier, but now that it's gone, it's not going to spontaneously come back."It was logical, but somehow, not too assuring. For his mother's sake, Lorn grimaced, his reflection in the mirror looking as sheepish as he felt. "I know, but..."
"But it's your wedding day."
Amused, his mother took him by the hand and turned him around; for a woman of her size and demeanor, she was surprisingly strong. "I've been there--twice. I won't even tell you how many different hairstyles I tried the day I married your father. It's good to be nervous; it shows that you care."Lorn squinted. "You think?"
A twinkle in her eye, she winked at him. "Lorn, I'm your mother--I know."
He supposed she would. And yet... "Do you think Leara's upset about this whole thing?""What, marrying you?" His mother laughed. "Lorn, a blind man could see that Leara is crazy about you! Why would she be upset about marrying you?"
Lorn sighed. The idea had been eating at him for a while now, and he didn't think it could be dispelled by anyone but Leara--and yet, he didn't think he could lie to his mother. Not on his wedding day. "Well... this was supposed to be her day, you know? Just a nice ceremony back at our castle, and everyone could admire her with her gown and her hair and she'd be the center of attention, but then the king blew it out of proportion and now the whole event is just big for the sake of being big. Her father doesn't want to make this special for her--her or Camaline or Jeda. He just wants to throw the biggest wedding; it could be anyone's for all he cares."Shaking, he raised his hand to his forehead and pushed back his hair; it seemed so much more real now that it had been said. "This was supposed to be Leara's special day. It's not special anymore."
His mother stared at him for a minute, an odd sort of frown on her face. Had he just said something horribly wrong? She didn't think he was getting cold feet, looking for a reason to back out of this--did she?
But then, she smiled. "Oh, you silly little darling! If you think that the only reason a woman will marry a man is for the chance to be the center of attention for a day, then you aren't quite so grown-up as you like to think you are."Lorn raised an eyebrow. He got that she was trying to be reassuring, but she almost sounded like she was scolding him--just a mothering thing, he supposed. "I know it's not the only reason, but... it would be nice, wouldn't it? I mean, it's the only wedding Leara's ever going to get, unless I end up dying young."
"Oh, don't even think that!" Her eyes wide, she cuffed him across the arm with the back of her hand. It had been a long time since she'd last done that; he didn't recall her knuckles having quite that sting. "Don't ever talk like that!"
"Well, you know what I mean!" Trying to ignore the pain in his bicep, he clenched his hands together in a tight fist. His blood pulsed with such force that he could feel it within his fingers. "Most girls get an occasion--a celebration. Leara just gets to be part of some stupid display."Unconvinced, his mother shook her head. "She's not going to feel that way, Lorn. She won't even notice if she's not the center of attention."
"But she will!"
"But she won't." A soft smile on her face, his mother placed his hands on his and gently pried them apart, the blood-flow stabilizing under her light, loving touch. "Everyone's focusing on her, no one's focusing on her... it doesn't matter. She won't know because she's not going to be focusing on everyone; she's going to be focusing on you. As long as you're looking at her--as long as you're making this her special day--then she'll have all the attention she wants and more."Daring to look up for just a minute, Lorn wrapped his fingers around his mother's palm and squeezed. "You're sure?"
"Of course." She let go of his hand, then pulled him into a firm hug, burying her face in his shoulder. "You just go to that alter and make her feel like the only girl in the world--I know you will.""And that will really be enough?"
Not breaking the embrace, his mother nodded. "Just love her, and let her know it; that will be enough."NEXT CHAPTER:
11 comments:
Shout-out to the supremely amazing Gayl, who generously took time out of her hectic life to convert some tunics for Lorn, Sparron, and Ietrin. You are super awesome and you did a wonderful job and I can't possibly thank you enough :D
*hugs*
Well... At least one happy marriage promises to come out of this fiasco. I hope those trained doves take a poo on Roderick's head.
Yeah, I can't see Lorn and Leara being too miserable.
I believe that would be what they call "karma" ;)
I hereby nominate Celina as Naroni Mom of the ... Decade? A year just doesn't seem like enough.
And I think she's absolutely right, if Leara knows that Lorn is looking at her and only her, it wouldn't matter to her if half the country was getting married that same day.
I have to wonder, though, if maybe Lorn is upset a bit on his own account? He wants what he and Leara have to be special. He wants a celebration of that specialness. He wants one day when it can just be him and Leara. And instead dear Roderick, who I hope ends the day doused in dove doo, as Penelope put it, has to turn the wedding into something that, in the end, is all about HIM.
But still! Lorn is adorable! I will cling to that and try not to think about the Worst Monarch of the Decade. ;)
Naroni Mom of the Decade would so go to Celina! Then again... how much of the more-commonly-seen competition is left alive? It's not like it takes much to beat out Laralita :P
But regardless of the competition, Celina would probably win anyway :)
Heheh... Lorn could easily be projecting some of his own feelings onto Leara here too--"No dear... you want the wedding to be about us. I'm just agreeing with you." *smiles and nods*. But then again, no sane engaged couple would want their wedding to be about Roderick. :P
When did Lorn get so big? And AWWW! I love him even more now. He's so sweet, but sometimes he seems so unsure of himself.
And his mother... an aww for her too. She knows just what to say here, plus she's so right.
To think, this time next "year", he'll be in the adult stage! How time flies :S
He can be pretty unsure of himself--that seems to be his major character flaw so far. We might see a bit more of that in the coming year.
Thanks Lunar :)
Awww... Celina is such a sweetie. And it was so cute watching Lorn fuss and fret. I think these guys are going to be a very happy couple. At least there will be one!
Oh, I think they'll be quite happy :)
Aww, you're welcome Van...
Again, reading backwards...but even had I not, I would have known that Lorn and Leara were going to be happy with each other. That he cares so much about how she feels speaks volumes to the kind of man he will be.
And Celina said all the right things. It must be so bittersweet for her.
Thanks again, Gayl--they turned out great :D
And they will be very happy with each other; I don't foresee much drama in this relationship, for sure.
Celina probably does have some bittersweet feelings about her baby getting married, but she knows he's getting older and she must feel as though he's ready for this, even if he is still quite young. That and if any of these adults are excited for grandkids, it's Celina.
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