July 1, 1172
A pity that she'd probably end up like her mother. Perhaps Jeda would make it her cause to prevent the baby from becoming another Laralita. Such a project might--if nothing else--make life here a little more worthwhile.
Ah, but such thoughts were unbefitting of a princess! Granted, so was everything else she did these days, from running through the halls to wearing her hair loose to putting her little in-laws down for their afternoon rest. She didn't see what the problem was--nothing she'd done since her marriage might have harmed someone, she was sure of it--but no matter what she did, no matter how she behaved, the king and queen remained quietly unsatisfied and Ietrin was as indifferent as always.
And by this point, she growing somewhat indifferent herself. She just wished the process would hurry itself up; she didn't much care for apathy, but anything was better than sheer disappointment.
She'd never thought she'd yearn for that gloomy, almost dungeon-like castle, its stone walls and its cold tile floors and all the green decor that the eye could handle. Green. She'd never much cared for green as a girl--she saw so much of it every day that she'd tired of it before long--but now, her heart skipped every time she saw the barest hint of it. Green was comfort, and it was love. Green was home.
"Jeda?"
"Good day." He listened for the sleepy murmurs of his small siblings, then shut the door and gestured the couch. "Might we have a word?"
He didn't have to ask and they both knew it. Jeda dragged herself to the couch and sat. She thought she knew what he wanted to talk about, and while she didn't care to discuss it herself, it was inevitable; it was a battle that was not worth fighting. "Fine. What about?"
Not sure what else she could do, Jeda frowned. "It's a little early to tell, if you're asking what I think you are."
"But it is possible?" He leaned in a little closer, the smell of Ellona's perfume wafting off his form. A bit of leftover nausea from hours prior wedged itself in Jeda's throat as she nodded, but Ietrin didn't notice. "Good. It's about time, you know--people have been talking."
Trying to ignore one's feelings made one examine the facts with an almost obsessive scrutiny. Ietrin had been routinely bedding Ellona for nearly a year before he'd married Jeda, and only now did she have a bulge beneath her gown to prove it. Ietrin had been going about his rounds of chambermaids and kitchen girls since his voice had begun to crack and never once had Jeda heard a whisper of some servant's bastard with violet eyes or golden curls. So far as she could tell, there was no proof either way in regards to her fertility; if there was a problem, it seemed more than likely that it had nothing to do with her.
But Jeda had never been a bold girl--at least, not bold enough to insult a prince's virility to his face. "I know."
"All right." She didn't know yet whether or not there was an it to be careful with, but she would be careful anyway. She was tired of trembling as he crawled into bed beside her and pushed her nightgown to her waist, climbing between her thighs and telling her he'd try to be quick. She was tired of his grunting and his panting and his almost militant thrusts as the sweat pooled on her brow and she tried to stop herself from crying. She was tired of a lot of things, but if there was something to be careful with, then at least she could have a break from all that.
"Good. I'm glad we have an understanding."
But no one would see her logic. She was a woman, and the wife of the crown prince. As far as anyone was concerned, providing an heir was her only purpose--and if she couldn't do that, then she must have been lacking in all regards. It was the reasoning of an idiot, but it was also the reasoning of the world. So far as the people of Naroni could see, there could be no other excuse for her lack of a child.
10 comments:
I have no idea what's going on with the lighting in the next post. GLOWING SPACE HAY! Either that or Rumpelstiltskin lives in the loft of Adonis's barn.
Oh my God! I wanted to reach through the screen and strangle that boy! Seriously, where does he get off?
I hope Octavius comes for a visit and sees how unhappy she is. He did threaten to skewer Ietrin if she wasn't happy. I think he needs to repeat that threat. Possibly follow it up with action.
*sigh* And Jeda needs a man. A real man, not that sniveling boy who thinks he's a man. Let's see, the Kemorin boys are pretty well accounted for, but how old is Lorn's next youngest brother? Does he have a sweetheart? Oh, or what about Falidor's Fenrick? With any luck, he'd have just enough of his father's sweetheart-ness and his mother's, er, strong will to make him a perfect lover for Jeda.
Oh, no, wait! I've got it! One of FLORIAN'S kids!
It could be worse. Medea could be living with them. Oh the horror of that.
Epi: Ironically, if Jeda was more like Medea (err, in personality, not in mental constitution), she might be somewhat happier here. She might have turned the tables here--got him to realize that he was at her mercy reproductively and made him kiss her boots for an heir.
But alas, poor, meek little Jeda is not the type to do so :(
Morgaine: Threats seem to bounce right off Ietrin. Jeda must be a pretty good actress whenever she's with Octavius, though; otherwise, I'm sure he'd have some things to say/do to Ietrin >:(
Lorn's brother Abrich is a little too young for Jeda, as are Florian's kids (well, except maybe Alyssin--that would break Ietrin's brain, for sure :P ). Fenrick is only a year and half younger than Jeda, but he's actually been courting Lyssie in the background for the past year or so (not sure if I should have let that slip, but I figure it's not a major spoiler? I don't know if/when we'll see them).
So... sorry :( But who knows? Maybe someone new will come into the story at some point?
Joseph: Heh... at least Medea would have put Ietrin in his place? Had him all trained up for Jeda.
Every time that boy is in a post I....ugh... I'm with morgaine again. I wanna strangle him!
I feel sooooooo bad for her. Please tell me she gets a boyfriend! PLEASE!!
lol
He's definitely very... strangleable :S
Jeda's fate isn't set in stone just yet, so there's always hope for her. Maybe not much in the immediate future, though :(
I hate that idiot. How is it possible that Ietrin never put two and two together? It's Jeda's fault that she didn't get pregnant instantly? The way he treats her is shameful. What a heartbreaking, dismal, lonely future she has.
I think the saddest part here is that he doesn't even seem to realize how badly he treats her. Maybe he just figured that whoever he married would jump at the idea of being queen someday and happily bow to his every whim.
But yeah, it's not like Jeda has control over her own fertility--and there's no guarantee that she has any problems either. Unless every woman Ietrin ever slept with is sterile (and that's not true--I believe I mentioned somewhere, possibly on his profile, that he slept with both Aydelle and Ailede, who have kids), then he seems to have either tricky luck or a problem with the swimmers; whatever the problem is, it's most likely nothing to do with Jeda.
*sigh*
Well, you know, 10 months isn't really that long to be trying for a baby. For some people, it takes several years.
All for the best though. Imagine having 20 little Ietrins running around!
No, it's definitely not a long time. Actually, considering the apparent lack of Ietrin spawn, Jeda must be pretty damn fertile.
But it's probably a good thing that there aren't too many little violet-eyed brats :S
Post a Comment