In Which Riona's Heart Doesn't Skip

May 17, 1175

"Oh." Riona had thought she'd been discreet leaving the clearing, but she must have been noticed if she'd been followed. It seemed that Casimiro too didn't find the arguments all that restful. "I wasn't expecting company."

Casimiro gave a small, half-forced laugh. "Well, I figure better you than... well, them. At least they're talking, though?"

"I guess." Really, the screams were still audible from here. Riona shook her head. "Even I don't fight with my father like that."

"Your dead father?"

Oh. She'd forgotten about that. Her father was alive and well, but Searle's... "When he was alive, I mean." She wasn't sure if it sounded natural, but if Casimiro was still suspicious, he hid it well. "Why do they hate each other so much, anyway?"

The boy bit his lip. She could tell from the look in his eye that he had an answer. He was just trying to decide how to say it--or if he wanted to. "Well... I wouldn't say they hate each other. They think they do, but that would be too simple. It's more complicated than that."

Riona raised an eyebrow. She knew it probably wasn't her place, but... "How so?"

"It's a sad story." Casimiro pulled a loose string from his sleeve and flicked it to the ground, then glanced toward the leaf-obscured clouds above. "My uncle used to be... I don't know. A hero, I guess. Respected, successful, probably happy... I don't know, it was before my time. He had this wife and I don't know how he felt about her, but she had eight kids and the first seven died really young. She died giving birth to the eighth."

"Izzy."

"No--Fortunato." A puzzled sort of flush washed across her face. Was she supposed to have heard that name before? Regardless, she let Casimiro continue, though it might have been kinder to stop him. "I don't know if he loved her--Magdelena--but her death kind of pushed him off the deep end. Everything just went downhill from there--his drinking, his lack of tact, everything.

"Anyway, he was down south some years later on some errand and he got an invitation to a party at the home of one of the Moorish generals. He went, had a little too much to drink, ran into the general's daughter and...

"Well, you can probably guess. He raped her."

A nauseous wave welled in Riona's stomach. She thought she understood. Poor girl--and poor baby. "Izzy."

Somber, Casimiro nodded. "I guess you can fill in the rest of the blanks yourself. Shahira's father found out about the pregnancy, made her marry my uncle, and then she had Isidro. She had some other children after, but they all died and my uncle was cruel, so she ended up hanging herself." Riona shuddered; as if just thinking about it made him weary, Casimiro bowed his head. "Isidro was the one who found her body."

Oh Lord. That explained... well, quite a bit. "Oh my God."

"Exactly." Somewhere above, a bird whistled a bitter note and Casimiro's eyes fell with it. "That's not all, though. Not even a year later, Isidro and Fortunato had an accident trying to ride my uncle's unbroken stallion. Fortunato was killed. Isidro got out of it with all those scars and a broken leg and my uncle never forgave him for it."

What? "For surviving?"

"No--for surviving when Fortunato didn't." A quick, cold gust ruffled through Casimiro's hair. He raised one hand to smooth it down, then shook his head. "Fortunato was the sort of son every man hopes for. He was big and strong and charming; everybody loved him, my uncle and Isidro especially. And he was Magdelena's son--he was well-bred, the grandson of a lord, indisputably Christian. Isidro... well, he's runty and reserved and his mother was a Muslim. It's sad, but it's just how my uncle sees things. That's why he's so hard on him."

There was a note of finality in his voice, which was just as well. Riona wasn't sure how much more she could have taken. This was... bizarre. It was bizarre and chilling and horrible. And she missed her father. "Casimiro..."

"Please don't tell anyone I told you." Wary, Casimiro glanced in the direction of the others and sighed. "I think things have cooled down over there. Don't want to keep them waiting, do we?"

Shaking her head, Riona turned and took a few dragging, heavy steps back toward the clearing. Why hadn't she just minded her own business? Isidro would explode if he ever found out the she knew any of that, she was sure of it--and yet, when they got to the next inn tonight, she doubted she'd be able to keep herself from giving him a hug. He'd probably think she--

"Searle."

Riona stopped. She was probably going to end up answering calls for her brother whenever she got home but that seemed like a petty concern just now. "Yes?"

"I know this probably sounds inappropriate just now, but... I feel really comfortable talking to you." Surprised, she turned around to look at him; he'd sounded embarrassed, but nonetheless he wore a smile. "We'll have another chat soon, right? About something happier?"

So. Casimiro liked spending time with her. She'd figured that knowledge would have made her heart skip, but it didn't. Maybe she was just too bogged down with unexpected pity for Isidro to appreciate it--yes, that had to have been it. The joy would hit her later. "Of course."

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