In Which Severin Has One Less Uncertainty

June 25, 1175

Severin picked absent-mindedly at the fabric of the couch cushion. This was supposed to be a happy day--a special day. There should have been a banquet tonight. There should have been dances and gifts and more sweets than his children should have been allowed. But no... no, it was just any other day, only made worse by the knowledge that it should have been something more. His little girl was fifteen today and he didn't even know where the hell she was. She could have been dead for all he knew and the last thing he'd said to her was to go to bed.

His girls. Viridis was married and abroad and her letters weren't quick, and now Riona had run off and he could only hope against hope for her return. He saw Raia more days than he didn't, but it wasn't the same as it had been when she'd be living at home. It was only a matter of time before Vera left him too. At least he still had CeeCee... for now. And at least while he had no news, he could tell himself that Riona was fine--unharmed, in good company, enjoying herself. The problem was that he knew better than to believe it.

"Severin?" Nora's light tap on the door was a welcome distraction, but only in the seconds after its fall. She would have news one way or the other and he didn't know how he'd feel about either outcome. Maybe he'd ask her to keep it to herself for today. Then again, maybe that was just one more uncertainty. "Can I come in?"

Repressing a sigh, he pulled himself to his feet. His wife had already seen more of his moping around than he would have preferred. "You don't have to ask."

Nora opened the door just widely enough so that she could slip inside, then shut it behind her. "How are you holding up?"

"Well enough, I suppose." What else could he have said? It was a lie and they both knew it, but sometimes lies were all that kept people from falling apart. "Did Arydath leave?"

"Yes, just now."

"What did she say?"

Those pretty blue eyes vanished beneath a pair of heavy eyelids, a touch of moisture on their dark lashes. "January."

A curious thing, really--just how many ways there were of saying 'yes'. "I see."

"I--I hope you're not thinking I mean it to be a replacement." At the sound of the last word her eyes widened, as if she regretted blurting it out--not that she needed to. The thought stung, but Nora was too kind and too clever to have entertained the idea of 'replacing' Riona. This hadn't been planned on either of their parts. It wasn't an inconvenience but the timing was all wrong. "Arydath even said that she was already getting boy vibes--"

He pressed a finger to her lips. His other hand took to hovering about her middle before landing gently on the soft surface of her gown. She was already a little firm. "Do you think they'll ever meet?"

"Of course they will."

He doubted she meant it but that hardly mattered. It wasn't what he thought to be true but it was what he'd wanted to hear and he'd yet to receive any surefire evidence to the contrary. Maybe if he tried hard enough he could trick himself into believing--for all of their sakes. It wasn't much--it wasn't anything--but at this point, it was the only thing he could do.

Struggling against the sudden weight of his own boots, he took a short step forward and placed a kiss on Nora's brow. "Then let us hope it's soon."

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