March 14, 2011

In Which Eilyssa Finds the Air Bitter

November 20, 1172

"Lyssie! My goodness--you're as tall as I am! And even prettier than the last time I saw you!"

Before Eilyssa could even say a polite hello, Xeta's mother's arms had snapped around her and locked her into a tight, gentle embrace. It was true that they hadn't seen each other much since Celina had relocated to Sir Ovrean's manor and while Eilyssa did miss her--and her wonderful hugs, of course--her familiarity made this all the more difficult. It would have been hard enough talking to Lorn and she'd been well away of that--but escorting Xeta back to the keep only to find that Lorn and Leara had taken Ricky to visit at the castle, leaving Celina here in their stead?

How was she supposed to do this? It had been such a trying morning already. After a couple weeks of relentless illness, Xeta had finally been well enough to spend a night at Eilyssa's house--or, so they'd thought until Eilyssa had woken before dawn to the sounds of her friend vomiting over the side of the bed. She'd spent the next several hours holding Xeta's hair back for her after running to fetch a bucket. Breakfast and its aftermath proved to be even more of an ordeal as Alsina seemed to be suffering from a similar ailment. While the two of them had been making their sacrifices to the basin deities, Eilyssa had asked her father what he thought might have been wrong; he'd said he had his suspicions about Alsina's sickness, but Xeta's was a bit troubling. She was old enough to figure out what he could have meant by that.

So, during the walk back the Lorn's castle, Eilyssa had confided in Xeta that she'd let Fenrick touch her breasts; after all, everyone knew that the willing reveal of one secret meant that the one received in turn had to be even more incriminating. And Xeta... well she certainly had confirmed a few things, or at least the possibility of that one important thing.

Eilyssa was not a tattletale. Had Xeta mentioned sleeping with Jadin under less worrisome circumstances--had she not been so suspiciously ill, and had she not admitted to a lack of course as a troubled afterthought--then Eilyssa would have taken that secret to the grave. But she was worried about her friend... and surely it would be better if they acted now, while her stomach was still flat and any baby that might have been in there could have been passed off as premature? Sure, Lorn would force Xeta and Jadin to get married--but hadn't Jadin told Xeta he wanted to marry her anyway? And surely Xeta wouldn't have slept with a man she didn't think would marry her? She was smarter than that.

Yes, in the long run, this would be best for Xeta. Could she really do this to Celina, though? The former duchess was the closest thing to a mother that Eilyssa had--Alsina was lovely, but she was closer to Eilyssa's own age than to her father's and felt like more of an older sister than anything else. Celina had given her a home and a family, the opportunity for her to stay with her father instead of being whisked away to the orphanage. There wasn't a person alive to whom Eilyssa owed more.

And yet, here she was, about to wreck Celina's world forever.

"Lyssie?" The woman's lip quivered slightly as she looked Eilyssa up and down. She knew something was wrong--she just didn't know how wrong. Yet. "Lyssie, are you all right?"

It's for the best, Eilyssa told herself. Xeta will forgive you. This will hurt a lot less in the long run, for everyone. It's best that it gets out now.

Yes, she could tell herself that. She just wasn't sure if she believed it.

"Lyssie?"

Eilyssa swallowed. The air tasted bitter in the presence of betrayal. "It's about Xeta."

NEXT CHAPTER:

9 comments:

Van said...

Hey, remember when I said that order would be restored? Well, apparently, I lied.

Sorry about that. Today was a bit of a time crunch, and while I don't think the next IFV would have taken much more time than this post, I haven't really thought much about the pictures need for the chapter after that, and meanwhile the previewed post here has been gnawing at my mind for quite some time.

Epi said...

Oh Xeta, you didn't learn from Raia did you?

Looks like Severin is going to be as inundated with grandkids as he was with kids!

Van said...

At least she has arguably better luck in the sense that she doesn't have to wait for a divorce to finalize first? :S

With the way Jadin gets around, Severin's probably already inundated with grandkids :P Actually, he probably has a handful back in Dovia from his pre-Alina days too.

Ann said...

gosh, poor Lyssie. And poor Celina.

It would be fun to find out just how many kids and grandkids (and brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews) Severin does have exactly. And how many of them will be/are called Alina or Severin. ^^ Both their families are certainly prolific.
One day Ietrin will be neck-deep in Kemorins. And I'd like to see him when that happens. =D

Van said...

Heehee... I was just thinking this morning that we might need a "Severin Descendant Counter"--or maybe a "Lonriad Descendant Counter" would be more appropriate? ;)

Heh. With the lazy way I've been naming everyone, I'm sure each of Severin and Alina's kids will end up with a son named Severin and/or a daughter named Alina (Raia's second baby has already been born in the game--three guesses as to what his name is XD).

Thanks Ann :)

Anonymous said...

A Lonriad-descendant-counter would, I think, swiftly reach infinity and then break, taking the whole site down with it, or else your game, both of which would be bad. ;)

And poor Lyssie. I think she really is doing the right thing here, though. I mean -- what else is she supposed to do? Wait until Xeta starts busting out of her dresses? It would be one thing if Xeta wasn't pregnant, then that would be a secret that could be kept. This is going to come out no matter who Lyssie does or doesn't tell.

Still, poor Celina. But at least Xeta picked a (mostly) good man to get in trouble with. Jadin would certainly never treat her the way Ietrin treats Jeda ... Lonriad would never treat a woman that badly!

Van said...

XD

Yeah, I think Lyssie really did the right thing here, even if she's feeling guilty (which she is) and even if Xeta gets mad at her (which she might). But I think Xeta will realize she couldn't hide it forever and that what Lyssie did will end up being for the best, and really, she probably would've done the same had the situation been reversed.

But yeah, it's going to be a sucky situation for a while. And yeah, better to be married to Jadin (or Lonriad!) than to Ietrin :S

S.B. said...

oh my god, she isn't...and Lyssie is going to be the one who tells. It isn't as if it's a secret that will be kept, though. Xeta will show and she needs help and support. Marry Jadin? Well at least they like each other. At it is definitely a better choice than either Lonriad or ACCKKK Ietrin!

Van said...

Ietrin is probably the Least Marriageable Guy in Naroni right now, and that really says a lot :S

Yeah, at least she and Jadin like each other. And it's not like it wasn't going to get out anyway, so better sooner rather than later, I guess.