January 19, 1186
"Maeja?"Harsh a thought it probably was, there were days when Severin had forgotten that Roderick had ever rounded up a party of eligible bachelorettes in an attempt to rope him into a politically beneficial marriage. Of those bachelorettes, Maeja Ingolfsdottir had been the last one he would have even considered marrying. Not because of her personality--hell, she'd been the most agreeable of the lot--but simply the fact that she'd been far too young to be married at the time, much less to someone Severin's age. She'd have made a vastly more appropriate match for Jadin or Searle.
When Severin had married Nora, Roderick had sent Maeja off to Dovia, where she'd later married at the tender age of fifteen. Her husband, Marsden, was only Severin's junior by about a year and a half... but as disgusting as that looked on paper, the fact that their first (and so far only) child had been born six years after the wedding probably meant that consummation had at least been delayed. Plus, Severin had grown up with Marsden, and he knew for a fact that Marsden had never paid much attention to dainty ladies or fiery young women or anything in between--and rather a lot of attention to lean stable-boys and muscled blacksmiths. So, he'd been able to rest easy that the poor girl hadn't been thrust into the worst of all possible situations, even if he still found the whole thing rather nauseating.
But regardless of how she was doing, Severin hadn't expected to see Maeja again, certainly not without some polite notice. "I can't say this is expected."
"I know, and my apologies for not writing first, but it's kind of urgent." Ice blue eyes narrowed and pale lips pouted. The way adults pouted. She was a grown-up now, here on grown-up business. "It's our mutual nephew. Searle."Searle. The name of his first father-in-law. The man had sired ten children, all of whom had lived to have children of their own. "You'll have to be more specific."
"Vulcran's son. I hope you don't mind, but I brought him with me. He's with your daughter and granddaughter now."
"This would be Eumelia's mystery child?" He did remember Eumelia. More specifically, he remembered that bruise she'd left on Jadin's face. Any suspected product of demonic meddling could not have fared better.
"Yes."
Damn. "Let me guess: Vulcran is useless.""The epitome of such." Of all the men who never should have reproduced. And all the women. Figured that they would have done so with each other. "It got to the point where Marsden and I went to Oswald, and he allowed us to take custody of Searle back in December. But his parents were only a ride away, and our staff kept whispering about him even when we tried to crack down. We thought maybe he'd be better off getting out of Dovia for a while. I'm sorry for just assuming you'd help, but..."
"No need. I understand." As well as he could, at any rate. Poor kid. "He can stay here for the night. One of my sons will be able to house him long-term."
"Thank you." She bowed her head, a little color in her pale cheeks. She might have felt like she'd failed. He hoped that one day, she'd see otherwise. "Marsden and I will visit him whenever we can."NEXT CHAPTER:
6 comments:
Last final tomorrow. :S
So what are we going to call this Searle? Born Dead Searle? Because Cambion Searle does not narrow it down.
Good luck on your final!
Is there another Cambion Searle? I think either one works just fine.
The final... was not good. The previous one went much better, because it was math and was therefore all about understanding the concepts and being able to work through the problems. This one (psych) was pretty much a memory fest of awful. Worst part was, it didn't have to be.
Well the important thing is, it's over now, and you never have to do it again (unless of course, you do).
Hunh. Was Sunny Searle already married when Maeja came around? Do you think the two of them might have worked out okay? What am I saying? It's a bit much to ask someone to be fine with their spouse being madly in love with another person. And isn't Sunny Searle a cambion lite?
Wow, Lonriad is taking on another (potentially damaged) child right after his wife died and left him with a new baby. He is a brave soul.
Indeed. Even if I failed it and therefore fail the class, it's not a credential I for sure need. And for all I know, I might have passed it (though probably not by much).
He's a quarter--but he already has Sunny Searle. And he was unattached when he met Maeja, but he wasn't looking for a wife just then. As for whether they would have worked out, I think she would have come to terms with him being in love with someone else, but she probably wouldn't have been as outright and immediately cool with it as Lettie was (for all she has not been immune to other Searle-related grievances).
As for Maeja and her current husband, Old Searle was the mastermind behind that. I think he has his suspicions about Marsden's sexuality, but damn it, a gay son of Old Searle can still marry a woman and be seen with her in public and just screw men in secluded rooms behind everybody's back. Maeja knows about Marsden's preferences, and if she had feelings for him at any point, she doesn't now, though they're good friends presently, semi-comparable to Casimiro and Ellona.
(Fun fact: Marsden is currently having an affair with the Crown Prince of Dovia, who is married to Severin's little sister Taimyra.)
Lonriad is indeed a brave soul. But I think he's the sort who heals best when he's kept busy, so there's that.
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