October 18, 2011

In Which Sparron Is Unsurprised

August 19, 1176

Camaline had never cared for Sparron's bedroom and made no secret of the fact. 'Too drafty,' she'd claim, or 'Too bare' or 'Too small'. Fair enough; she had her own chambers, and on the off-chance they spent the night together, the understanding was that it would be in her bed. She checked up on him every so often, but she'd usually just stand at the foot of the bed and look him over; if she was joining him, then she wanted to talk about something. "Husband."

"Wife." She smirked; after five years, they'd taken the conventions of an upper-class marriage and spun them into a series of private jokes. "You're home early."

"My stepmother returned from Garrett and Elhina's a little sooner than anticipated; you'll understand that I didn't care to linger." Fair enough. "My father was enough to endure on his own today."

Sparron frowned. As far as he was concerned, that was nothing remarkable, but it was a different thing entirely for Camaline. Yes, the king was a pompous windbag, but he was still her father; what could he have done to drive her away from a mere afternoon visit? "Did something happen?"

"Only if you call the observation that we've been married for five years and still don't have a child 'something'."

Hmm. In all honesty, he couldn't say he was surprised. His own father and stepmother seemed a bit troubled about that as well--or at least, so he could guess from all the glances at Camaline's stomach and the inquiries about their relationship--but they were too polite to say anything outright. Camaline's parents had always been pushier; in hindsight, some point-blank question had been inevitable. "I take it there's been no change on your front?"

She shook her head. "You think I wouldn't have told you if there had been?"

"No, of course not."

This was ridiculous. Camaline didn't even want children. Nor did Sparron, for that matter, or at least not anymore--not if he was going to pass along what his mother had given him. He had two little brothers, his stepmother's boys, neither of whom were at risk for the illness so far as he knew; they could be his heirs as far as he was concerned. It would probably be better that way.

Not that logic was the king's strong suit. Poor Camaline. "I don't know what we can do, then."

"There's nothing we can do." Her resignation was obvious, but regardless she still sounded upset, hurt. Her very purpose had been questioned by an idiot who knew nothing about anything she was going through. Must've been so tough, being a woman; all these years and no one had ever assumed it was his problem. "Not unless there really is a stork."

A hollow laugh rang from her mouth, but even in its contempt it never made it to her eyes. He would have reached over and embraced her if either of them had been the type who cared for hugs.

NEXT CHAPTER:

9 comments:

Van said...

Aaaand back to studying :(

Van said...

Ack! Before I forget: all founder downloads are now up, plus a few bonus Sims.

http://dinurielhq.blogspot.com/p/downloads.html

Penelope said...

If they could conceive, would they? I mean, it would be unfair to their hypothetical children for a lot of very serious reasons just to pop out some offspring because of familial pressure.

Van said...

Sadly, they would probably feel the need to at least try for an heir :(

Anonymous said...

Aww, Camaline. Even if she doesn't want kids, it can't be nice to feel like a failure in everybody's eyes. And you know ... I don't think she would necessarily be that bad of a mother, if she got the opportunity. (Which she won't.) She's icy but she does have a heart underneath. (See: Sparron, relationship with.)

And Sparron too. He would have been a good father, if he could have been a) in a relationship with someone he could reproduce with and b) some way to ensure that he never passed on his mental illness ... looking at what it did to Medea's mother, Medea and now Sparron, I can't blame him for not wanting to pass that on.

*sigh* Can I give them both virtual hugs? Will they accept those? Or how about cookies for them and a muzzle for Roderick? ;)

Penelope said...

I second the Roderick muzzle.

Van said...

I don't think anyone would object to a Roderick muzzle ;)

Camaline never liked kids even as a kid, but I think she could find room in her heart for certain youngsters. We know she has a soft spot for Aydelle's girls.

But yeah, she's not big on being perceived as essentially failing at life for something she can't help and wouldn't even care much about otherwise. Who would be? :(

Although... it might be worth noting that just because a woman can't get pregnant, that doesn't mean she can never be a mother ;)

As for Sparron... well, he did want kids at one point, before his genes started taking over. His reservations are purely based on that. But I think he could be a good father, at least while he's still mostly lucid. Having a kid to take care of might help take his mind off his own problems too, at least to an extent.

I think even non-huggy people need hugs sometimes. Cookies never hurt either ;)

S.B. said...

Poor Camaline. I don't really feel very sorry for Sparron who didn't want kids and isn't being judged because he's not producing any.

Strange, icy but oddly close relationship they have, don't they? They probably understand one another better than most couples do.

Roderick needs a ball gag.

Van said...

Camaline's definitely the one who's under fire. Actually, if Sparron went public about why he didn't want kids, he might even get some understanding. Not that that has anything to do with his sex, but there is a double standard, for sure.

They are quite close in their frigid, sexless way. There's a lot that goes on between them that just doesn't need to be said. They're very in sync with each other.

Roderick does need something else to do with that big mouth of his...