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April 29, 1203
"Good morning, gorgeous." Aldhein spun his wife into his arms and dipped her down for a kiss. It was a rare thing, his coming down for a bit of breakfast before she'd barricaded herself in her study for the morning, so they'd both come to welcome the rare morning greeting with a newlywed fervor.
And it was especially welcome now, given the presence of their... um, house guest. The children, at least, had bedtimes.
"Morning, handsome," Shahira obliged as the kiss ended and she stepped back to meet his eye. He knew that look. That was the look of someone very much in need of a passionate night. She was half a Kemorin, after all. "We really did have the worst timing last night."
"In our defense, you can't really plan for someone banging on the door to complain that our kids stole his bow and quiver."
"But we did try, given the hour." As she rolled her eyes, the signature creak of the front door sounded from the foyer. The children wouldn't be up for a while yet; the offender must have returned. "So much for a wake-up call on the kitchen floor."
Sure enough--
"My God. Are you two ever not touching each other?"
Annoyed, Aldhein scratched at the side of his nose as his brother-in-law, fresh from the training grounds and probably trailing dirt all over the floor, barged in. The fallout from his unwitting nuptials still up in the air, Nato had thusfar avoided the prospect of settling it by bouncing from residence to residence every few days, trying to stay one step ahead of anyone who might chase him down and make him face the problem. Given that Aldhein saw Nato's parents every day and could have turned him in at will, he thought he'd been generous enough in indulging him to merit the minimum standard of visitor etiquette, but Nato apparently didn't see things that way.
Particularly if his route to the basin included a swift cut between Aldhein and Shahira with no more courtesy than a kiss to his sister's cheek. "Is he keeping you from your work, sis?"
"No, but if you're planning on recovering here for a while before heading out again, I suspect you might try." Lip between her teeth, Shahira retired to a seat at the kitchen table, probably more to distance herself from the several hours' worth of sweat housed in her brother's tunic than any actual need to sit. If one of them snapped and told him to cut them from his rotation, Aldhein wasn't sure if it spoke well or poorly of him to know that it would probably be Shahira--but, not wanting to debate his own worth as a brother-in-law or a person in general at the moment, he just sighed and joined his wife at the table.
"He'd better wash more than just his hands later. Maybe lock him in the bathroom before you leave, and make sure there's soap."
"I can hear you, you know." Nato took to scrubbing his hands with a new ferocity. "Can't a man go for a piece of bread and an apple before he takes a bath? It's not as if I plan on walking around the market smelling like this."
"No, just other people's houses." Aldhein flexed his wrists beneath the surface of the table. He'd never been a violent sort, but no one could avoid the urge to strangle another person forever. "Going to the market today, then? Instead of--oh, I don't know--talking to your wife?"
Some line of sibling loyalty crossed, Shahira kicked him under the table.
Nato, however, froze for a second before busying himself with the towel in considered defeat. "Aspen doesn't want to talk to me."
"Probably true, given that anyone I know who's had much to say about it says she's barely spoken since the wedding, but you have to talk to her at some point. If I were you, I'd rather do so of my own accord than because my parents made me."
"My parents aren't-- it's complicated, all right?" Nato whipped back around, hands dry to his standard despite the gleam of wet flesh still upon them. "I know, I know, the church says we're married because we did technically consummate it, but there's bound to be something to contradict that. Surely you can't be legally married when you're as drunk as we were. It's just a matter of time before someone manages to find grounds for an annulment."
Aldhein squinted as a second gleam--a different gleam--bounced off Nato's hand as he swatted some hair out of his eyes. Not necessarily the sort of gleam he expected to see from the finger of someone who claimed to be a bachelor.
"So you just... feel obliged to keep wearing your wedding band until that happens?"
No kick this time. No freeze. Just a startled twitch, followed by a silent glare, rooted in more emotions than Aldhein deemed worth the bother of listing.
That, and a bitter groan from Shahira. "Aldhein, go to work. Nato, take a bath--then either go to your next house, or go talk to your wife."
NEXT CHAPTER:
December 12, 1202
"Good morning, Nato." Aldhein clasped his hands together in feigned enthusiasm as he greeted his brother-in-law. Nato had never quite warmed up to him, which Aldhein had come to terms with on account of Nato rarely warming up to anyone. Today, however--well, Nato was bound to be in a bad mood. So, Aldhein figured it was his duty as a good brother-in-law to be as annoyingly chipper and patronizing as possible, just to give Nato a fair target for his discontent. "So! Tax time! And your father's letting you do the books. Excited?"
The battle-axe glare said that Aldhein had succeeded in his intention. "He's not 'letting' me do the books. He's making me do the books, probably at my mother's urging, because Lord knows border patrol is too interesting."
"Oh, yes. And too dangerous."
"Yes, the odds of having to single-handedly take on an invading horde are only slightly lower than those of bleeding to death after getting a paper-cut from the tax books." Nato rolled his eyes. "This is ridiculous. My entire life, anything I've had to do for more than ten minutes has proven to be mind-numbingly tedious. All I want is a life where I can wake up in the morning not being able to predict the day's events to a level where actually living the day becomes pointless, and my mother insists that I keep the books instead--because I'm so helpless and delicate or whatever."
"Don't say that. You're not helpless. If you were helpless, your father would have insisted on supervising you."
Nato was no more amused than Aldhein had ever seen him, but that said little as he didn't think he'd ever seen Nato amused. "I don't think you're here of your own accord."
"Now, now. Somebody has to be on hand in case you get a paper-cut." That might have been too low a blow, but Aldhein would dish it out anyway. If Nato had to be angry, then a short-term bout of fury Aldhein's way would at least distract him from his festering grudge against his parents. "Look, Nato... doing administrative tasks for your father isn't so bad. You're still a knight, you still get to inherit this castle, you're probably not going to die young--"
"Bullshit. They wouldn't have me cooped up in here if I wasn't expected to die young--and frankly, if I'm going to die young, I'd rather die doing something halfway interesting than foaming at the mouth over a pile of tax records. Not that I'm liable to die an interesting death anyway, given that this kingdom isn't worth the bother of invading, but the least everyone can do is give me something to hope for." Without so much as a glance toward the books on the desk, Nato brushed past Aldhein and made for the door. "I'm going out. If I have to spend my days in a windowless room, I might as well at least find one full of beer and naked women."
That, Aldhein had to admit, might have been better for both of them than his plot of strategic vexation. But-- "What about the tax records?"
Nato shrugged. "Tell my father to wipe his ass with them, for all I care."
NEXT CHAPTER:
December 31, 1199
"So I get that this might be a tough concept for your tiny brain to comprehend, but one lousy cold isn't going to kill your little brother." Nato resisted the urge to glare back at the reckless woman on the couch and instead channeled his frustration into the fire in front of him. The poker drove one log to the back of the hearth, burnt bark crumbling off of it as it hit the wall. "You, however, look worse and worse every time you do this--even if it's just a lousy cold. Damn it, Aspen, what the hell is wrong with you?"
On the bench behind him, Aspen sniffed--sniffled, more like. Damn lucky thing her family had decided to stop by on his before heading over to his Uncle Lonriad's castle for the party, really. If she'd grown worse for the wear there and had to leave the party early, then that would be a ruined night for most of the guests, never mind the already-stressed Yvanette who'd probably end up taking care of her. Here, she at least gave Nato an excuse to stay home.
"Sorry for caring about my family, asshole. Why do you even care, anyway?"
"Because you make no fucking sense and that bothers me." That was the only answer he'd managed to think up when he'd asked himself the same question, at least.
"If I bother you so much, then just leave me with a servant; like you said, it's just a cold."
"Don't tempt me." Not that he would, though. His mother had been the one to take to immediately doting, whisking Aspen off to Shahira's old bedroom--the warmest in the castle--and wrapping her up in a robe she herself reserved only for the coldest winter nights. She would have stayed with Aspen herself had Nato not insisted that she'd enjoy the party more than he would. If he left Aspen with a servant, he'd be dealing with her wrath until he was fifty.
Of course, telling Aspen that was out of the question--but he was spared having to do so by Aldhein's knock at the door. "Nato?"
Nato gritted his teeth. His sister hadn't had any interest in attending the party, but her children had wanted to go, so she'd taken them; her husband, meanwhile, had gotten out of it on the technicality that it overlapped with the tail end of his work hours for the day. Frankly, Nato would have preferred it if Aldhein had gone to the party and Shahira had stayed at the castle for a few hours instead. Shahira could have been a firm-but-sympathetic nurse for Aspen for a few hours while Nato worked off his fury as the makeshift steward. "What is it?"
"There's someone here. He asked for your father--"
"My father's not here."
"Obviously. Would I be asking for you if I thought he was?"
Back on the bench, Aspen coughed out a small laugh. "Hmm. I suppose I'm lucky; my brother-in-law never gives me any mouth."
"And if you start taking on other people's tooth decay, don't expect that anyone ever will," Nato hissed under his breath.
"Still alone in that bedroom together? You know, for two people who say they can't stand each other, you have a weirdly intimate relationship."
"Shut up, Aldhein." Nato abandoned the fire and made for the door, opening it just wide enough to greet his brother-in-law with a glare. "Did this man say what he wanted?"
Aldhein shook his head. "No. He just asked for your father."
"Fine. I'll go talk to him then--and I'm also going to send you off to relieve my sister at the party. Aspen, you stay here and think about what you're doing with your life."
"Does wanting you out of it count as a start on that?"
Nato couldn't be bothered with a response, so he slipped out of the door and slammed it behind him, storming past Aldhein as if he were some inconspicuous statue on his way to the front room. Damn Aspen. Damn Aldhein. Damn whoever it was who'd come asking for his father. Was it too much to ask for, really? Just one night where he didn't have to be the only one around with a shred of sense?
"What is it?" he growled as he reached the front room, the worst of the storm that followed him having made it through the double doors.
The man in front of him squinted; given the apparent age of him, that wasn't surprising. "Isidro?"
"He's out." And while he'd been told all his life how much he looked like his father, his light eyes and unscarred face had proven enough to avoid being outright mistaken for him until now. "Who the hell are you?"
NEXT CHAPTER:
March 31, 1197
"So... you live here now?" Izzy asked as Shahira finished pulling his nightshirt over his head, wide blue eyes like his Aunt Alina's every time she'd wanted to tag along after Shahira tagging along after Alya. "Every day?"
"Yes, sweetheart." She hoisted her son to her shoulder and kissed him on the head while he tugged at the neckline of her graduation robes. "I live here every day now."
"Good."
Izzy leaned in and nuzzled his nose against hers. Inside of her, a wave of relief washed from heart to head. In all honesty, she'd wanted to attend university more than she'd wanted to be a mother. She hadn't been ready to be a mother. But, she loved her son, always had, and had worried what effect only seeing her two or three days out of every week for the first few years of his life might have had on him, or on their relationship.
But, whatever Aldhein or the grandparents had told him about his mama's inconsistent presence, it had clearly worked. He missed her when she was gone, he was always excited to see her, but he seemed to understand that she had to spend some time away, for his sake as well as hers, just like his papa had to hand him over to Shahira's mother when he went to the castle so he could perform his job.
"Very good. And I'll be working from the house, so you can stay here with me some days, or you can go to the castle with your papa some days--whatever you feel like."
"Yay!"
"I'm looking forward to it too." She lowered him into his bed and stroked back his hair--raven black, like Aldhein's. It wouldn't be long before they'd have to get him a bigger bed! He was already grown to the point where holding him required a time limit. And when they got him a bigger bed, then it would be time to move him into a bigger room than the nursery joined to the master bedroom. Really, most children his age probably had those bigger rooms already. Most children his age had little siblings in need of a nursery.
"Good night, Izzy."
"'Night, Mama."
She kissed his head again, then watched as he settled himself down, eyelids drooping. She pulled his blanket over his sleeping form, then turned away from the crib, smiling to herself as she made for the door and returned to her own bedroom.
Her own bedroom--where the house's other male inhabitant was swift to greet her.
"Izzy went down just fine, I take it?"
Shahira nodded. "You know better than I do how good a sleeper he is."
"Heh. I don't know, he seems to protest more with me. Maybe when we move him to a new bedroom, he'll be a little more cooperative." Aldhein smirked. "Might realize that it's easier to sneak out of bed and play with his toys for a while when Mama and Papa aren't right next-door."
"Well, he won't have to worry so much about his mama tonight. Four years of university earns you at least one good sleep, and damn it, I'm taking it tonight." And after the endless toasts of the ceremony that morning, and the constant parade of relatives who had been in and out since she'd returned home in the afternoon, she had no intention of breaking that promise to herself. But, for Aldhein--and for herself too--Shahira winked. "After, of course, some playtime of our own."
"Well! I'm not about to say no to that." Aldhein's fingers spidered down her side until they found her hip. But, curiously, they took a detour and leaped for her hand. "Actually, I've been thinking."
"Oh?" Shahira grimaced. With mention of moving Izzy to another bedroom, she thought she could guess what this was about.
"Yes, well... now that you've graduated, I was wondering if maybe it was time for another baby--a planned one this time!" He chuckled at his own joke; jaw locked, Shahira choked out a breath that he might have taken for a laugh. "Izzy seems to do well with younger children. He's fond of his cousins, and of your little sisters. I think he'd like a sibling."
"I'm sure he would." Izzy liked everyone. Izzy wasn't the problem.
Aldhein frowned. He, at least, got that. "What's wrong?"
"Well... to be honest, I was hoping for at least a little time between my graduation and the next baby. Not a whole lot, just... enough to sort of be myself for a while. And to focus on Izzy, since I've missed so much of his life so far."
"Mmm." Her husband nodded, even if he couldn't quite hide the disappointment in his eyes. At least there was understanding mingled in there as well. "Yes, I suppose that's fair."
"But I do want another one eventually. Maybe we can discuss this again in a few months, even? Summer, perhaps?"
"Summer." Aldhein grinned, if only for a minute. "I like the sound of summer, but that's not really so far off. Will that be enough time for you?"
"It will be some time, at least. I can't make up all of the lost time to Izzy, but that should be at least enough time to doll out some serious doting. Maybe it won't be--but if not, I'll let you know how I'm feeling about it."
"Perfect." He smiled again--not so fleetingly this time. "Whenever you're ready."
"And in the mean time..." She drew herself further into him and nipped him on the earlobe. "...I've still been quite diligent with my herbs."
NEXT CHAPTER:
June 29, 1192
"So... this is where we get to have our wedding night." Shahira shut her eyes to the sight of her husband--how baffling it was that she had a husband!--looking around her parents' guest room. She and Aldhein would be sleeping here until his schooling resumed, the day after the queen's coronation. She'd go back to her own room after that, and resume her own schooling from home. "Not that we need a wedding night at this point..."
This had all been a blur. They'd been engaged for all of five days before they'd wed early this afternoon. Shahira hadn't even had a proper wedding dress commissioned, instead wearing an old gown of her mother's they'd had hemmed the day before. Aldhein only had a wedding tunic because his brother Severin had been more than willing to part with his; based on the bright yellow, Shahira could see why, but Aldhein had been a good sport about the color.
And about the whole thing, really.
"Well, maybe we don't need one, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have one." She opened her eyes just in time to see him ease himself onto the bed. "Maybe we can make a twin."
A twin! At least she had the morning sickness to blame for her nausea. She was scarcely ready for one! "Please don't joke about twins."
"All right. Sorry about that." Aldhein reclined back against the headboard and winked. "One baby at a time. And plenty of space between this one and the next--if you want a next, that is."
"It's a little early to talk about the next one." She joined him on the bed, fighting to keep a grin. She did like him. She had felt their marriage had been the best way to go about things. But she hadn't thought she'd be married--or a mother--for a good few years, at least! "I'd like to go through university first."
"Of course. You have far more business being at the university than I do, at least." Aldhein smirked. No matter what he thought of his classes, Shahira hoped he was at least enjoying the parties. "I'll be taking your father up on his job offer. My father supported thirteen of us on a steward's salary without any issue."
Thirteen! Shahira cringed. "We are not having thirteen."
"Oh, God, no!" Aldhein shuddered; good to know they were on the same page there. "But do you want to know a secret?"
Shahira shrugged as he took her by the hand and pulled her toward him. "All right..."
"I think this one's a boy."
It wasn't wishful thinking, not by the tone of his voice, not how some husbands spoke of sons. It was simply a fact, a statement of a sure guess. And, little though she put faith in such things, Shahira wasn't entirely surprised. "That's funny. I have a feeling it's a boy too."
"A girl wouldn't have caused this much trouble. She would have waited until we were good and ready to be conceived." Aldhein's right hand lingered at the side of her stomach before returning to her shoulder. "I guess we'll have to spoil his fun by being somewhat competent."
Shahira doubted they could. But, it was nice to have goals. "I guess so."
NEXT CHAPTER:
December 17, 1189
"I can't say I was expecting you today." Especially not now that the school had closed for the holiday season! Aldhein didn't have any pressing assignments for which he needed Shahira's help, and she doubted he had much interest in getting a head start on the next term's work. It was possible he just wanted to keep his memory fresh, maybe. Yes, that had to be it. "What do you want to work on? Grammar? Algebra? Latin?"
"Latin?" Aldhein snorted. "God, Shahira, our break just started! I don't want to do homework today."
"Then it makes no sense as to why you're here. You only ever want to see me when you want help with homework."
"Or maybe I only ever want help with homework when I want to see you."
Heh. What a kidder. "You don't have to flatter me. You know I'm happy to help--and we both know you need all the help you can get if you want to get into university."
"And maybe I only want to go to university because you want to go to university."
"Right. And I'm the Queen of the Upper Nile." Ass. "Seriously, why are you here?"
"Well, if you put it like that, your majesty--" He grabbed her hand and shuffled nearer. A vein in her arm twitched. Might have had something to do with the fluttering in her gut. "--I was wondering if you'd like to attend Hal Indruion's Christmas party with me."
Huh. It hadn't quite occurred to her that he might have been serious. "Really."
"Really. Is it so hard for you to believe I'd want to go to a party with the smartest, kindest, prettiest girl I know?"
Not so much as it was to believe he wanted to go with her. "Rennie gets better grades than me, you know. And no one's prettier than Lyssa."
"So you say." There was a hint of sadness in his smile, as though it hurt that she didn't quite agree with him. Yet, he kept on smiling. "But you'll notice I'm not asking Rennie or Lyssa."
NEXT CHAPTER:
