September 15, 2012

In Which Octavius Makes an Effort

January 6, 1180

The reunion of Sparron and Prior hadn't progressed much since Octavius had stepped out of the room, or so he found upon his return. The little boy remained in his father's arms, staring back at Sparron with a wide-eyed smile so like Sparron's own it almost hurt. But it shouldn't have stung so much, not really. Sparron might not have smiled like that any more, but there was always the hope that he might one day. At least he was here.

Not all children were so lucky.

"Gampa!" Prior's tiny hand reached through Sparron's hair, stubby little fingers outstretched. It was good to know that the awkward first months of his life hadn't permanently marred his opinion of Octavius, even if logic dictated that he'd missed Sparron more. "Gampa back!"

For his grandson's sake, he tried to return the grin, but he doubted the effect was enough for even a one-and-a-half-year-old. Still. For the children's sake, he would have to make an effort. There would be time for grief at night, when the little ones were safe under cover of sleep. "Yes, Prior, Grandpa's back. And Papa's back." If only Auntie Pandora were back as well. "And I brought back a new little playmate for you. She's a little too young now, but I'm sure you two will have some fun in a couple of months."

Prior's new playmate was down for her nap in Prior's own crib, her Dovian wet-nurse in the next room no doubt taking the chance to mourn her own stillborn babe, and Octavius wasn't sure how he felt about that. He'd been more than willing to take her, of course--what doting grandfather wouldn't?--but what troubled him was his son-in-law's insistence. Perhaps there was some solace in knowing his daughter had been so loved that her husband couldn't function without her; not so much in knowing Karlspan couldn't bring himself to be strong for the only child Pandora would ever have. At least he'd been man enough to admit he couldn't, but that didn't change the fact that he wasn't here. There would be hell to pay if he didn't at least visit little Holladrin before long.

"Sparron, maybe I'll sleep here tonight so I can keep an eye on your niece. You and Prior can have my bed."

"All right." Sparron bounced Prior in response to a tug at his collar, but his eyes remained on Octavius. Odd that with all the losses they'd had in the past couple years, Sparron had managed to stay more or less lucid, moreso than Octavius himself in some ways. He was convinced that Sparron's accompaniment had been the only thing keeping the trip from feeling any more difficult than it had been by necessity. Having been strapped for good omens, Octavius would take that as such. Unlike Karlspan, Sparron was strong enough to hold on. "How is Laney holding up?"

"Well enough, physically. I had Florian send for Mistress Fedurin just to be sure, but she thinks she should be able to nurse Holladrin for at least a few months longer." And for that he was grateful. If only it hadn't come at such a cost to the poor woman herself. "Emotionally, though..."

He couldn't bring himself to finish, not with Prior's concerned, innocent stares bearing down upon him. Sparron swallowed back a catch in his throat. "I know. With any luck, taking care of Holladrin will help somewhat?"

And to think, he'd been hoping that same thing for himself. "With any luck."

NEXT CHAPTER:

5 comments:

Van said...

Weirdness with both Blogger and Photobucket in the process of posting this. Photobucket wouldn't let me upload the pics for the next post in any of my browsers (even one at a time), so there must be a problem there. Loaded preview pic to Imgur instead, then Blogger's pic importer... wouldn't take it. Good thing I had the HTML copied down in preparation for Blogger's awful new interface (which still hasn't been forced on me... yet).

Also, for those of you who followed my other stories, I'm hoping to get those back up soon (as I've said about eight times over the course of the past forever with pretty much no action), but first I've got a quick question for everyone posted at my blog.

Anonymous said...

Well, I'm glad you were able to get the preview pic up in any case, because Armor-Farilon and baby Yvanette playing together is just so cute!!

*ahem* Anyway, the post at hand. Poor Octavius -- and for once, not poor Sparron. As Octavius pointed out, Sparron is still lucid, and in the face of the loss of the only mother he ever knew (not counting the horrible voice in his head), and the loss of his little sister, and effectively his daughter, and Searle ... holy crap, that's a good thing.

Prior adoring his papa so much is also a really good sign. Maybe Sparron is finding a way to pull himself together, most of the time.

And I have to admit I was a little surprised that Karlspan-Pandora's-husband sent his own baby away. Was it just grief? Or is there something else at work?

Van said...

I was hit by the idea of Farilon playing with his nieces and nephews and I just couldn't resist photographing an instance :)

Sparron is coping pretty well, at least openly. He might be trying not to burden Octavius any further, or it might be for Prior's sake, but whatever it is, he's resolved to hold up.

As for Karlspan, it was probably just grief, possibly coupled with "Oh God, I know nothing about babies!" That, or there may be an element of the baby being the cause of Pandora's death, and maybe he needs the distance before he can really see her as anything but :S I guess we'll see if we ever meet him.

Anonymous said...

Poor baby Holladrin. It's not going to be easy growing up named after a dead woman and knowing that her father couldn't deal with her presence after her mother died. I hope she finds some happiness with her cousin.

- Scribbles, who isn't immune to toddlers.

Van said...

To be fair, a good 90% of the characters in this story are named for dead relatives, but I see your point, especially since her grandmother hasn't been dead all that long. I definitely agree on the father front. :(

From what we've seen of Prior so far, he's a nice little kid. I'm sure he'll be a friend to little Holladrin.