In Which Ietrin's Heart Hits a Wall

March 3, 1173

Ietrin could have spent all day playing with his son, but the reality was that Kaldar needed to sleep every once in a while. Of course, it wasn't as if he and Ellona couldn't entertain themselves during these periods.

Or, so would have been the case if not for the knocking at the door. "Ietrin? Ietrin, are you in there?"

Well, so much for having a sanctuary. Annoyed, he peeled his lips from Ellona's and shot a quick glare toward the door. "Who's there?"

"It's me--Sparron." In its slight panic, his brother-in-law's voice had failed to register in Ietrin's mind, but now he recognized it. But what was Sparron doing here? As far as Ietrin could tell, he and Ellona weren't exactly fond of each other. "Are you dressed?"

"You should go talk to him," Ellona muttered, shrinking away in a fashion most unlike her. It was the way of shy violets, fading out of reach, not wanting to be touched but not wanting to offend. But Ellona was a wild rose; if she did not want to be touched, then she could and would make use of her thorns. "He sounds a little urgent."

"He can hear me through the door." He tapped her on the nose in an attempt to reassure her, but those pouty lips told him he'd failed. Why was she acting like this? Prior to this, anyone who dared interrupt their sessions was met with Ellona's own brand of seething, fire-eyed rage; why was she making an exception for Sparron, or all people?

His brother-in-law's fist pounded thrice more against the door's surface. "Ietrin! You asshole! Come out--now!"

"Kids." Ietrin smirked down at Ellona, who grimaced and nudged him with her leg. Was she trying to kick him off of the bed? "El? Are you all right?"

"Yes--I just don't think your brother-in-law would ride all the way out here if it wasn't important." She caught him off-guard with a swift blow to the shin and scowled--now this was the Ellona he knew. "Stop being an idiot and hear him out."

He sighed. At the very least, he could always tell himself that the sooner Sparron said his piece, the sooner he would leave. "Fine. What do you want, Sparron?"

"My father told me to find you." A sharp breath could be heard from the corridor; Ietrin's brow twitched as if by reflex. "It's Jeda. She's having the baby."

A disorienting stupor washed over him as his heart sprouted wings and flew laps around his core. His son! His heir! And to think, he'd thought it would be at least another week. "She is?"

Ellona sat up and smiled smugly. "Told you it was something important."

Laughing, he kissed her on the brow before leaping from the bed. "Yes, and thank God at least one of us is clever. But my God! Two sons--I'm going to have two sons, all in the space of a few months!" He slipped into his boots and sprung toward to door, a skip in his step that he had lacked even as a child. A son... an heir...

"Uh, Ietrin?" Sparron's voice wavered; Ietrin's heart slammed into his ribcage like a bird too high on life to watch where it was going, thrust to a sudden halt and leaving a bloody downward trail as gravity took over. "Please hurry up. When I left, it... uh, it wasn't really going so well."

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