December 7, 2011

In Which Nora Removes the Other Ears

April 29, 1177

It was clearly the same illness that had stricken Riona months prior, but whatever it was had affected Severin somewhat differently. He'd been a lot worse at the onset, and that initial phase had lingered longer... but now that it was past, he seemed to be recovering much more quickly than his daughter had.

In fact, Nora suspected that the only thing keeping him from being up and about was the resulting influx of overbearing company.

"You do look a lot better than the letter led us to expect, dear."

"You should have seen him last week."

"Falidor said the same, yes."

"Are we sure the pretty young wife isn't just wearing him out, if you catch my drift?"

Nora groaned. To think, she'd very nearly gone there once. "Your grace, I'm right here!"

Her father-in-law chuckled, earning him a smack on the arm from his wife. Nora half-expected Laveria to say something clever--Lord knew she always did when Lonriad was around--but her whole world seemed to consist of her son. Not that that was any surprise, seeing as that was how it had been since he'd fallen ill. "I thought I told you not to let him touch you."

"You said nothing of the like." Severin shut his eyes, his bare toes twitching in an annoyed wave. However he'd hoped to recover, it obviously hadn't been like this. "Besides, I already told you what happened. It's not as if I went in for a handshake or anything."

"I did tell you to stay away from him. You should have left it to Falidor. Or Nora; he couldn't have done anything to her."

Oy. "Again... right here."

Beside her, Severin sniffed. "So it's the bloodline, then."

"I never said--"

"But it's what you meant," Viridis concluded. "First this Remiel character does this to Riona, and now Severin. And since Lorn's family seems to be safe, it must be something on your side."

Laveria's heavy eyelids dropped, but she said nothing. Instead, it was Lonriad who took the opening. "You never did tell me anything about your family."

"There's nothing to tell."

Severin coughed. Efficient, really--clearing his lungs and calling bullshit with a single sound. But this wasn't going anywhere. Laveria wasn't about to budge. Not around Lonriad and Viridis, at least. Maybe not even around Nora herself. There were some truths meant only for certain ears.

Trying not to squirm beneath her best grimace, Nora peered over at Lonriad and Viridis. Oh the things people did for love. "Say... you two haven't met all of the children yet, have you?"

NEXT CHAPTER:

9 comments:

Van said...

I kind of hoped this chapter would write itself. It didn't (though it would have been nice to have a scapegoat for the prose).

Anyway. I really don't know if I'll be able to post tomorrow. I have kind of an important appointment in the afternoon, and then I have an exam the next day and while I'm fairly confident about the subject, last-minute panic always has the potential to set in. So... I'll give you guys the choice. If--if--I get around to posting tomorrow, which would you prefer? Either I could try to get a new OU out (even though I still don't have the outline at the stage I want it), or I could just do the next post here. If anyone has a preference, feel free to make it known.

Van said...

And by "tomorrow", obviously I mean "today, December 7th". (As far as I'm concerned, sleep is the line between today and tomorrow, not midnight).

Anonymous said...

Grr, I really hate Remiel. They should just chop his bloody head off.
Severin is catching on isn't he? I think Laveria needs to wake up to the fact that her son is not an idiot and the longer he's in the dark the longer he's at risk.

:)

Ann said...

My my. So now even Lonriad and Viridis know that something's up.
It's definitely time for Laveria to spill the beans before something else happens. She can't protect him any longer, by keeping him in the dark about his heritage, that much is clear.

If you do have enough time and/or would stress yourself too much without having something to distract yourself (like writing), I would rather have the next Naroni actually.
I am dying to know what will happen in OU, but I'd really rather wait for it until you are satisfied with the outline and know where it's all going. ^^

Good luck with your appointment and the exam! (And I totally agree with you. "Tomorrow" is when I wake up.)

Joseph said...

OK I don't know why but I really enjoyed this post. This story arc really intrigues me.

REMIEL IS DEIAN IN DISGUISE!!! This is all some half-cooked plot to scare the 'Dovans' into leaving. Of course that wouldn't explain why only Kemorins are getting ill at Remiel's touch.

If you don't mind, then I'm with Ann. Next Naroni please!

And good luck with your exam!

Van said...

EkhoGirl: Severin's a fairly active man whose been bedridden for the past couple weeks. He's probably done quite a bit of thinking and/or reading...

It's definitely past time that Laveria told, for sure :S

Thanks EkhoGirl :)

Ann: Yeah, he's not a kid any more. He's the patriarch of a family facing a serious threat and he needs all the knowledge he can get.

One vote for Naroni. Noted :)

Thanks Ann :)

Joseph: LULZ at your Remiel/Deian theory. I'm sure Remiel would find Deian fascinating. And I'm sure Deian would find Remiel crunchy.

I'm thinking next post will be an expository dump that reveals most if not all. 'Cause I'm lazy like that ;)

Two votes for Naroni!

Thanks Joseph :)

Van said...

*who's been bedridden

(Blogger needs to make comments editable.)

Anonymous said...

I add my vote for Naroni!

And I'm with Severin: He needs to know what Remiel is up to. Yesterday. These are his kids who are in danger.

Also, everybody talking about Nora around her was ... somewhat amusing? I'm afraid that it might be a product of her class, but when I look at the offenders -- Lonriad, inveterate cad no matter who is in the room, and Laveria, who isn't in a position to complain about what social class her son marries into -- I guess social class has nothing to do with it. :) Which places the conversation firmly at the "amusing" level.

Can't WAIT to find out what's going on!

Van said...

Noted :)

Laveria definitely should have told Severin sooner. Definitely :S

Heheh... well, Nora's kind of awkward around Lonriad, and not without good reason. She did almost sleep with him once... and then before she knew it, he was her father-in-law. And I think Lonriad kind of picked up on that and knowing him, he enjoys toying with her a little. As for Laveria... well, she's just kind of distracted all-around :S

Thanks Morgaine :)