October 2, 1181
"Why are you even asking me this?" Ietrin's father was not known for being the cleverest of men, so it was never a good sign, finding himself on the receiving end of that grey-eyed 'you're an idiot' glare. "Do you have any idea how absurd you sound?"And that was why it was never a good sign. It meant his father had misunderstood. "I don't see what's so absurd about wanting my son for my heir."
His father sniffed. "Your bastard son."
"Clearly I wouldn't be here if I had a legitimate son." A legitimate son would have been a given. A legitimate son would have been a non-issue. He wouldn't have had to ask to let a legitimate son inherit--that was just the way things were. "But I've been married ten years now and I'm not getting any younger and my wife isn't getting any fatter--or, she is, but not in the desired sense." He shuddered in distaste as he considered the flab of her thighs during their more recent bedroom ordeals. If Jeda couldn't give him a son, would it kill her to at least keep her figure under control?"I've noticed that, and you have my condolences. But if Jeda never gives you a son, you do still have younger brothers. I shan't scorn them, and their mother, and the kingdom--and myself!--by giving your bastard a higher place in line."
"Do you really think any of my brothers would make a halfway decent king?"
"Would your bastard? He's still a child. They all are. Give your brothers a chance." That was so easy for his father to say. His father didn't have any younger brothers. "I'm sorry, Ietrin, but unless you can divorce Jedaline for infertility--which I don't see how you could, given your daughters--all you can do is wait for her to give you a son, and to accept that your brothers will inherit if she fails to do so."
Because he hadn't waited long enough, apparently, hadn't agonized over the future of his kingdom, hadn't seen the other heirs with their sons, their secure futures. Lorn had been married as long as Ietrin to the day--about half an hour less, perhaps!--and he'd had a son in his arms within the year. Jadin and Xeta's little accident had been a girl, but sure enough, it hadn't been long before Xeta's waistline had increased once again, this time to the effect of a boy. Even Sparron had a son--Sparron, Jeda's brother, a man from a family where near-sterility must have been the norm!Of course, Ietrin did have a son. The problem was that he wasn't Jeda's, but it was only a problem because his father refused to let it be otherwise. "I'm not content to wait any more, Father. If there's anything I can do--"
"Well... I suppose you could increase the frequency of your marital duties."Of course. The one thing he'd already done. Long ago, in fact.
Thanks a lot, Father."And if it's any comfort, you have no immediate need of an heir anyway. I do plan on living for a long while yet."
NEXT CHAPTER:
7 comments:
Back from the trip! Thanks again for your patience. :)
Anyway--I start my new job on Monday, which also happens to be the next planned update day. I don't know yet how the job will affect posting, so for now, I figure it'll be easiest to try to keep to M/W/F and see how it goes for a few weeks. If it's not working, I'll adjust it.
Welcome home, Van! I hope you had a fun time!
And ... ugh. Ietrin. Jeda's been married to that idiot for ten years? Poor her! At least she got Medea and Geneva out of the bargain. Seriously, I want to nominate her for sainthood, since she hasn't clobbered him with a frying pan or strangled him in his sleep yet. I doubt I would have had that kind of patience.
*sigh* I REALLY hope it's him that Elarys has sent the assassin after. But if she wants her grandson on the throne of Naroni, that would be a really dumb thing to do. Roderick would have no problem passing the throne along to his younger sons.
(Also, I vote for putting Medea and Geneva and heck, even Kaldar and Ella, in line ahead of Roderick's younger sons. Naroni needs some Jeda or Ellona genes on the throne desperately -- I shudder to imagine what would happen from a dose of just Roderick and Laralita!)
*starts plotting Ietrin's murder, since it's doubtful anyone else will*
Yep, Jeda has endured a decade of Ietrin. :S She does deserve a sainthood, though I'm not ready to kill her off just yet.
Elarys would indeed need Ietrin alive if her end-goal is to get Kaldar on the throne, or at least until he can arrange for the new line of succession. After the paperwork is done, though, Ietrin is entirely disposable, and maybe Elarys won't be keen on waiting out his natural lifespan. ;)
Queen Dea does and always will have a nice ring to it. Her uncles are... well, I imagine they're quite Roderick-like at this point, though I've done nothing with them and they might surprise me. They may not be at Ietrin's level of jerkiness, but Naroni needs someone with half a brain on the throne, and Dea has plenty more than that.
If you're plotting Ietrin's murder, can I please plot Mordred's? :)
Hope your trip was a great one!
Ietrin, Ietrin, Ietrin... Dea would make a better queen now than you ever would a king, so shut up. And commenting on Jeda's figure? If she actually is gaining weight, it's probably in the hopes that you (you too, Roderick) give up on treating her like a piece of breeding livestock.
Ietrin's thoughts on the Tamrion line's fertility were worth a huge laugh. Jeda would probably have more babies than limbs if she was married to anyone else.
Oh, and... just yet? *Off to figure out if there's an endgame in assassinating Jeda*
Dea would absolutely be a better ruler than Ietrin, even if he, Roderick, and all of Roderick's other sons dropped dead in the next five minutes. She's smart, she's fair, she's just, and with a mother like Jeda, she's probably got at least some patience and compassion.
If Jeda is actually gaining weight (could just be Ietrin's "grievances" playing with his mind), it may very well be a subtle means of protection. Or possibly it's stress, in which case, it's largely Ietrin's fault in the first place. :S
Given that "Tamrion" is the most common last name in my database... yeah, I don't think there's anything wrong with their fertility, even without the Kemorin libido. Jeda might have had a baby a year if she'd married one of her cousins, or some horny punk like Jadin.
No one has any reason to be assassinating Jeda. Even Ietrin isn't enough of an ass to send a hired sword after his wife. She's certainly not the target of Elarys's man.
OH THANK GOD. You scared me there, Winter! Because I could see Elarys's plan working out like so:
1. Murder Jeda.
2. Murder Casimiro.
3. Threaten to take Ellona's kids away from her again unless she marries the newly-single Ietrin.
4. Have Ietrin make Kaldar and Ella legitimate.
5. Profit.
However, since that's not the plan, I can live in hope that eventually Jeda will blow up at Ietrin and blame him for their trouble conceiving. Preferably in public. Also with Florian looking on, so he can make some smart comments to back up what Jeda is saying.
And Van, of course you may plot Mordred's assassination. Ietrin may be an ass, but at least he's never killed anyone (that we know of).
A plan like that could very well suit Elarys's purposes if Roderick was dead. While he's still alive, though, he has to approve of any match Ietrin attempts to make for himself, and he would not approve of Ietrin marrying Ellona (even if she hadn't previously been a mistress, she's only a knight's daughter and therefore too low-born for Ietrin in Roderick's mind). If Elarys were to off Jeda and Casimiro while Roderick lives, she'd have to either off him too or wait until he dies; if she chooses to just wait it out, she runs the risk of him arranging another marriage for Ietrin, or of Ellona marrying someone else.
Of course, she could always have the new spouses offed as well, but there's got to be a more direct way. ;)
A public calling out of Ietrin with Florian as a witness would be amazing. XD
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