In Which Ellona Joins the Dirty Mistress Club

January 12, 1173

Whatever the purpose of this visit was, it certainly wasn't a play date. Kaldar wasn't yet three months old and Raia's son wasn't even a month, so proper 'play' was out of the question; all they could do was lie there on the rug, looking cute and wondering about that strange other baby while Severin's older sister ignored them both and went about her own private games.

"I don't think Alina's used to being a big sister yet," Raia mused aloud, leaning backward against the couch cushions. "She seems to think he's just like any other baby who gets brought over here and doesn't understand why he doesn't go home at night too. He worships her, though."

Ellona nodded, though she doubted young Severin was old enough to worship anything apart from the nourishing mounds on his mother's chest. She didn't care much for the company of other women in general--most were either whiny or giggly or holier-than-thou--but for the most part, Raia seemed tolerable. She beat sitting at home alone with no one but Kaldar and the servants for company, at any rate. "I think every boy needs a big sister to worship."

"And every girl needs a little brother to boss around." Raia smirked. People who came from happy families often smirked or smiled or otherwise turned their mouths upwards, Ellona had noticed. "I lucked out in that regard--three while I was growing up, five now."

"I only had the one." It was technically the truth. She was more than a decade older than Landus and had left home when he'd barely begun to walk. Besides, in spite of what her father might have believed, she would go to the grave swearing that the kid was only her half-brother.

Raia nodded. She didn't comment, but she seemed to pick up on some unspoken element. Ellona wasn't sure whether or not she was comfortable with this, but the other girl didn't leave her long to wonder. "Anyway, I didn't invite you over here to talk about babies or brothers."

"I figured as much." Ellona tapped her finger against her lap as she looked Raia over. They hardly knew each other, and the 'hardly' only came from large functions such as parties, to most of which Ellona was no longer invited. But she was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt; she seemed clever enough, and Ietrin held her in high regard, and then there was the simple fact that she'd been bored out of her skull for the past while and any conversation was a good one. "Why did you invite me?"

"A few reasons." Raia reached to her side and adjusted the cylindrical pillow along couch's arm before looking Ellona in the eye. She was certainly the type of girl that Ietrin admired: dark-haired, sharp-eyed, somewhat pretty in an unconventional, exotic sort of way. Ellona had heard tell that Ietrin had attempted a pursuit of Raia in their youth, and she could believe it. If she hadn't come to Naroni, would it have been Raia in her shoes right now? Maybe it was a possibility. Or maybe not--Raia didn't have a scheming bitch of a mother, and was probably too grounded to fall in love with said mother's target even if she had.

"First of all, I figured you were lonely." An incoming ray of sunlight bounced off of Raia's wedding band, reminding Ellona yet again that she didn't have one. "Ietrin's a busy man, and he can't be at your castle every waking moment, and I get the sense that you don't really have any other friends here."

Ellona sniffed. "Damn good of you."

"I hope you don't think of it as an act of pity. I'm sure the boys will play nicely together when they're old enough to appreciate each other's company, and you do seem like an interesting person."

Interesting... was that a compliment? She was never sure. "Well, you seem rather interesting yourself. I'm having trouble understanding why you haven't dismissed me as a whore."

"It would be a little hypocritical if I did, wouldn't it?" Raia glanced toward her children, a loving smile on her face. "Their father was married to someone else until less than a month before Alina was born, after all."

"So this is just a big welcome to the Dirty Mistress Club."

"We have a banner." A devious spark in her eye, Raia crossed her arms over her torso. "But I also wanted to talk to you about something else."

That figured--everyone who dared talk to her always did. "Ietrin?"

"No." Raia's brows knitted together in a peculiar fashion. She looked almost hurt; for once in her life, Ellona felt almost guilty. "Jeda."

Ellona sighed. It was not a name she heard often, but she did recognize it, did have a face to match it. Jeda--Ietrin's wife. "I'd forgotten you were friends with her."

"We grew up together." She spoke those words as if they meant the world; having never grown up with anyone but her own painfully annoying siblings, the tone seemed alien to Ellona. "Anyway, I went and saw her a couple days ago. She knows about you and Ietrin and she's not exactly happy, but to be honest, I don't think it's about you or even the affair."

"Then why are you telling me this?" It seemed like a valid question. If Jeda wasn't upset because of her or her relationship with Ietrin, then what could she do? The girl was pregnant, wasn't she? Maybe it was just the baby taking its toll on her?

"Because it's Ietrin." On the floor, a figurine slipped from Alina's little hand and was flung backward; Raia caught it with the side of her foot, then nudged it back to her daughter. "She's not in love with him and I don't think she had high expectations for his fidelity, but she still needs him to treat her less like a piece of furniture and more like a person. She's all alone in that big castle all day--something you can relate to, I'm sure--and he just ignores her needs and he's so dense I'm not even sure he knows he's doing it."

"So you're asking that I give up some of my time with Ietrin so he can spend more with her." There was no sense beating around the bush. If that was what Raia wanted to say, then Ellona would translate accordingly.

"Yes."

"I see." Ellona felt her lip lock between her teeth as it curled inward. It didn't seem unreasonable, but at the same time--if Jeda really didn't love Ietrin--it didn't seem all that fair either. "And what do you propose I do with my time in that case?"

"You could always come here." Raia nodded toward the children on the ground. Alina was digging around in the rooms of her toy boat as Severin kicked at the blanket beneath him. Kaldar's head rolled to the side, the violet of Ietrin's eyes visible even from Ellona's angle. "The kids look cute together."

She couldn't deny that they did. "I'll keep that offer in mind."

"Please do." Her gaze lingered on the babies for a few seconds longer; at last she closed her eyes turned her head back Ellona's way. "I know it seems like I'm asking a lot, but it would mean the world to Jeda right about now, and it would mean the world to me too. We grew up together."

NEXT CHAPTER: