In Which Kaldar Doesn't Tear the Dress

October 15, 1193

"So, my Lady Ravenhold," Kaldar teased as he carried his wife--God, it was odd even thinking that!--into their bedroom, "shall we indulge in a premature christening of our marital bed?"

"There'd better not be anything 'premature' about it." From her position in his arms, Alina tickled his neck. Kaldar choked, struggling not to drop her.

"You're sure you don't want to just break up the party and get our respective groups up here to undress us?"

"Nah. This way, we get to have twice the fun." That, and sneaking off during parties had become a bit of a tradition for them by this point. Why should their own wedding have been an exception?

"I don't know. You tend to tear my clothes, and this was my grandmother's dress."

"Ah, fair enough." For all she'd been dead before Kaldar had been a quickening in his mother's womb, Lady Alina was one of those dead figures whose presence still lurked about the kingdom. A tear in her old dress wouldn't have been good form for the fledgeling Lord Ravenhold. "We can just fool around a bit."

"Sounds good," Alina agreed as Kaldar lowered her to the bed.

Mindful of her skirts, he eased himself upon her and engulfed, his tongue running laps around her mouth as she counted his teeth with his. His father would have said that it was the way a man kissed his lover--not his wife.

Good thing Alina was both.

"Mmm... Kaldar?" she muttered as they broke apart, his mouth trailing to her jawline en route to her neck.

"Mmm?"

"I... I've been off my herbs for about a month."

"Oh?" Kaldar forced himself off of her and met her eyes. They hadn't been intimate in that time--she'd been living with her parents since his graduation--and of course they'd talked about children. He hadn't been quite sure, however, that she wanted to start trying right away.

"Yes. I think we're ready." She smiled. There wasn't any hesitation in her lips. "Do you?"

Kaldar nodded. "I do. I guess we've been practically husband and wife for years now anyway; we've had plenty of time, just the two of us."

"We have. But maybe we should enjoy whatever span of privacy we have left." She wrapped one hand around the edge of the mattress and pulled herself to the edge of the bed. "I'm going to put my grandmother's dress away."

NEXT CHAPTER:

In Which Alina Gets an Early Wedding Present

October 1, 1193

"Oh, good. I was starting to think I'd missed you entirely."

Alina gave her grandfather a polite smile, but she couldn't help but dwell on the wasted day. Her wedding was in two weeks and she still didn't have a dress. She'd spent the afternoon shopping with Riala and Maddie--not her favorite pastime, but a necessity, and a welcome distraction for her recently-widowed sister--and if anything, she was even further from finding a gown! Every seamstress she'd seen had bombarded her with fabrics and cuts and colors she'd never even heard of. So many options almost made few, especially with only two weeks left for preparation.

"It's good to see you, Grandfather--though I wish I could say so after having accomplished my goal for the afternoon."

"Ah, yes. The wedding dress. Your mother was saying as much." Her grandfather nodded, almost half-winking to her mother as he stood.

"I know my opinion as an old man is worth nothing in the realm of wedding attire, but I hope you aren't too worried about it. You'll look stunning in whatever you wear."

Alina sighed. "I wasn't worried about it until the wedding was a month away, and that's precisely the problem."

"Ah. Well, if it helps take your mind off things, I brought you an early wedding present."

Alina doubted any wedding present could supply much distraction from the persistent lack of dress. But, to in spite of it, her mother rose from her seat and tilted her eyes toward the staircase.

"It's in your room. You really should take a look at it."

"My room." Alina sniffed. Her old room was now Sev's, since it was the largest and he'd be the only one who ever had to live here after his marriage. While she and Kaldar kept apart for appearances' sake, she was stuck in Sev's old room, now Viridia's room, while a grouchy Viridia bunked with Lonria. Granted, the room probably had the best view in the house, but it was hardly of a sufficient size for a woman grown. "Right."

But she headed up anyway, brushing some hair out of her face as she shut the door behind her. She turned around and caught site of something blue upon the bed. Something of a rather finer material than the blanket.

*

"My God!" Alina's mother grinned as she stepped back into the sitting room. "You look beautiful, darling."

"Thank you." She indulged herself in a quick twirl about. It was unlike her to be so giddy over a new piece of clothing, but she'd never owned something so fine. "Grandfather, where did you find this?"

He smiled--a bittersweet smile. "It was your grandmother's."

Alina's arm dropped from her hip. Her grandmother had died several years before her birth, and all she'd ever known of her had been the stories of a graceful red-haired beauty who'd gone too soon. The dress was a concrete proof of the fabled woman's presence that she hadn't quite expected. Her presence, and the preciousness of the thing. "Oh. Oh, Grandfather... I don't know if I can take this. Shouldn't it be Mother's first?"

"It's a little fancy for me," her mother insisted with a wink. "Besides--I'm not the one who needs a wedding dress."

Her wedding dress? She flushed. She felt instantly stupid for not having considered that. "You think I should wear this?"

"Absolutely." Her grandfather stepped up to her, taking her by the shoulders and kissing her brow. "You are your grandmother's first grandchild, and the first granddaughter to bear her name. I believe she would have wanted you to have it."

"Does Shahira mind?" Perhaps it was a straw-grasping question, but her cousin had been the first of the grandchildren to be married.

"I talked to her. She said that the dress deserves more ceremony than she'd had at her wedding anyway. That, and your build is closer to your grandmother's." He put his hands to his hips and looked her over, glad and sad and wistful all at once. "Please, Alina; it would mean so much to me and your mother and your aunts and uncles if you wore it. It's about time that dress belonged to the living again."

Belong to the living.

How did a person argue with that?

"Thank you, Grandfather."

NEXT CHAPTER:

In Which Alina Is Queen of Her Own Castle

December 6, 1192

Not being the official Lady Ravenhold just yet, Alina wasn't sure she ought to have taken up residence in Lady Ravenhold's bedroom. But none of the other bedrooms had been furnished yet, and Kaldar had told her not to worry--Ella had stayed in the master bedroom when she'd been acting lady, after all.

She sat down on the bed--her bed, she had to assert in her mind--and wiped a couple of specks off her skirt. Bread crumbs. Not something one wanted to see on a new dress, even if it wasn't technically new. She'd had one of her day gowns altered in the style her Aunt Riona had donned at the masque some years back, much more splendid than it had been; even if she wasn't Lady Ravenhold yet, it wouldn't do to man this castle looking like a steward's daughter.

But she was a steward's daughter. She didn't doubt her capabilities, but things like that mattered to some. Kaldar may have been a bastard who was only lord by the mercy of his half-sister, but he was still the son of a king. A son of a king could do better than a steward's daughter, even if her mother was the product of two powerful houses.

Perhaps she and her mother had averaged in the marriage department. In the world's eyes, her mother had married beneath her, while Alina would marry above her status.

At least Ravenhold was a new enough shire, populated largely by young people, many of whom she'd known before. Her half-brothers were here, one of whom was a bard--who'd likely be quick to sing his baby sister's praises whether she deserved them or not. There was Alina Tumekrin and Rina Tamrion at the bank, the shire's economic center, neither of whom she knew too well but both whom were modern enough to see some flexibility in class and influential enough to sew such seeds of thought.

And hadn't her aunt fared well enough, once the scandal of a lady's maid wedding a lord had died down? Nora Wythleit had been born a peasant, lower than Alina had ever been. She was now a great lady.

But Alina's brain could rationalize all it wanted. Her gut remained in knots.

She'd have to make the most of Kaldar's remaining time at the university. She'd have to prove herself, if only to herself. She'd have to pick up the reins of this young stallion of a shire and break it, train it up to a suitable standard so Kaldar didn't graduate to find a mess. He trusted her to do that, and she couldn't bear the thought of letting him down.

Whether it was truly hers or not--whether she deserved it or not--she was queen of the castle now.

NEXT CHAPTER:

In Which Alina Is Rather Less Scandalous

October 9, 1188

"Whoa!" Kaldar stumbled back as Alina sprung into his arms, clearly not expecting such a greeting. How could he not have, though? It had been far too long since they'd had a minute alone. "My stepfather's in the next room."

"I doubt Casimiro will think us wanton. Besides, we're adults. I'm older than my mother was when she had me."

Kaldar chuckled. "I suppose we have done some pretty adult things."

"None of which your stepfather can fairly shame us for, given the existence of your little siblings." Alina kissed him. She could taste whatever syrup he'd soaked his breakfast with, and gross as it may have been, she rather liked it. "So. How are you, Lord Ravenhold?"

"I'm well, thank you. Still kind of baffled about the whole thing. And how amazing my sister is."

"She is kind. Clever, too. I swear, that group project was the only reason I passed Philosophy." A credit to Dea's mother, no doubt. Alina's mother thought very highly of Queen Jeda. Of course, she wouldn't mention that to Kaldar. His mother may have been well over his father, but it couldn't have been good form, a light mention of the man's wife.

"Not that you had any problem passing anything else on your own. Thanks for saving my ass in Physics, by the way." He repaid her with another kiss. His lips, she was sure of it, made the syrup all the sweeter. "Sit with me?"

Alina smirked. "If my lord commands it."

Kaldar laughed, then took her by the hand and let her lead him to the couch. She took the nearer seat and he set himself beside her, his arm behind her back, her head on his shoulder.

"God damn, I love you."

"And God damn, I love you too." Alina snuggled up to him a little further. Her hair ruffled beneath his jawline, but she couldn't pretend to care. "So, when are you heading out to your land?"

"Dea says the castle should be ready for me by the end of the month, so I'll move there in November. Ella will to come with me, and Casimiro will stay there for part of the week while I'm at the university, just in case she needs help keeping an eye on things."

"Not a bad arrangement." Either Ella or Casimiro could have kept the shire running on their own, so the two of them would be even better.

"I agree. But I could improve upon it, if you're willing to hear me out."

"Oh?" She perched herself upon his lap as his legs nudged against hers. It sounded like a 'look me in the eye' kind of statement. "How so?"

"Well... you'll be graduating a few terms ahead of me, so I was thinking maybe you could take the reins after you're done at the university. Then when I get back, we can rule the shire together."

...Interesting.

"Is that a marriage proposal?"

"Well, I think everyone will be expecting there to be a Lady Ravenhold eventually." He nudged her hair back with his nose and pecked her on the cheek. "And I can't think of anyone I'd rather that be than you."

"A steward's daughter as a lady? How scandalous."

"Lord Severin's granddaughter is rather less scandalous. And Alina Wythleit is even better."

Damn right it was. Alina laughed. "My grandfather will feel so old, knowing he has a granddaughter who's engaged."

"Never mind all of our parents," Kaldar agreed. "But they'll just have to get over it."

NEXT CHAPTER:

In Which Roddie Takes a Stab at the Jealous

January 6, 1179

"And you want to know the scariest thing?"

Sev's eyes grew while the rest of him shrunk, mouth agape in that way mouths were when they didn't want to know but had to. As squeamish as his nephew was, though, Roddie couldn't blame him; he'd been damn shocked when he'd found out too. "They can bleed for a whole week--without dying."

At least jumping served to make the kid taller. "No!"

"Uh-huh."

"All of them?"

"Well... not little girls, and not old ladies. And not pregnant women either, for some reason." Roddie hadn't quite figured that part out yet, and he wasn't quite sure he wanted to--not that he was about to admit that to one of his admiring nephews. "But the rest of them do. Almost all of them, anyway," he added, just to cover any exceptions he might have missed.

Sev stood, blinking and blinking like he was about to cry. But to Roddie's great relief, he swallowed back his fear like a man and straightened out of his slouch to protest. "Not my mama."

"Yes, your mother too. Your mother, and my mother, and everyone else's mother. Except when they're pregnant. That's why men are afraid of women; if a man bleeds for a week, he dies."

His nephew's head lulled to the side. "Men are afraid of women?"

"Of course! Why do you think there are so many things women aren't allowed to do? It's because the men know that if they let the women do them, the women would do a much better job and the men would feel inadequate."

Hmm. Maybe words like 'inadequate' were a little big for a six-year-old. Nonetheless, Sev probably got the point. "Are you afraid of women?"

Or maybe not. "Nope. No reason to be afraid of a woman as long as you're on her good side. And things ought to be done by whoever does them best and enjoys them most, not by whoever has the right stuff between their legs--that's what my father says, anyway." Roddie's father knew more about women than any other man alive; enough, he'd claimed, to know that questions about women were better directed to women themselves. "Besides, women don't like men who are afraid of them, and it's important for women to like you."

"Oh." Sev wrung his hands in time with the twisting of his mouth. "Why?"

"Oh, you'll know when you're older," Roddie assured him with a wink, the pretty kitchen girl's week-old kiss still warm on his cheek. "Just don't tell my sister I told you, all right?" Not that that ever worked with Sev, but at least Raia would find it amusing. Who knew, she might even thank him.

Sev nodded. Roddie indulged him with a fraternal pat on the shoulder as the door behind swung open. "Hello, boys."

Sev's big sister led the charge, Alya in tow. Roddie acknowledged them with a raise of his brow. "Nieces."

Alina's brother took a different approach. His greeting took the form of a disbelieving stare, followed by his bolting from the room, the echo of his shout of "You can bleed for a week without dying!" left childishly behind. Maybe he'd been too young yet.

Alina shot Roddie a dark look. "Great. Now I'll have to explain it to him."

He shrugged. "You'll probably do a better job of it anyway."

"Yes, but you still owe me one."

"One what?"

"Oh, favors are better saved whenever possible, but don't forget about this." Alina held out her hand for a shake; Roddie figured it would be better in the long run if he took it. "I just came for Sev, anyway. Our mother's here."

Good. Raia would probably do an even better job of it. "All right. Have a nice walk back to your house."

"Bye, Roddie." Roddie winced. The problem with nieces and nephews nearly his age was that they often forgot the honorific of 'Uncle'. "Bye, Alya."

"Bye," Alya replied as Roddie waved. Alina raised one hand, then slipped back through the door, leaving Roddie alone with the younger girl.

"Roddie? You know everything, right?"

Oh great. She was going to ask what he and Sev had been talking about, wasn't she? And if Sev was too young for it at six, then surely Alya at five...

But she was a girl, wasn't she? She'd take it better, no doubt--if she didn't know already. "Sure do. What do you need, sprout?"

"Roddie, what's a dopted?"

It was strange how quickly fears could become wishful thinking. "You mean... adopted?"

She nodded. "Yesterday, the cook's kids were playing tag in the courtyard, and I asked if I could play too, but they said no because I'm adopted. So what's adopted? Is it bad?"

Why couldn't she have asked before Alina left? "No, it's not bad..."

"It is, isn't it?" Great. At least when Sev cried, he was quiet. "How bad is it? Who else is adopted? Are they bad? Or am I the only--"

"Alya, no! No, it's not bad. It--it's good." She pulled her face out of her hands, the tears still streaming but the frown pulled to a listening line. Now if only he could back that claim. "What it means is... well, it just means that someone loves you a whole lot. A lot a lot, like your mama and papa love you. And some people have a problem with that because they're jealous."

Alya sniffed. "Why?"

"Because they're stupid and ugly and they smell bad." There was probably more to it, but at least it got a little giggle out of her. "Anyway. I can't really explain it any more, but you should ask your parents about it. They'll know what to do." Or would they? Now that he thought about it, all he could see his sister doing was going after those little brats with a belt. "Or... ask your papa, at least. But for now, just know that it's good, all right?"

Just a nod. It would have been nice to see a little more. "How about a smile?"

It took a few seconds, but she managed it. Roddie returned the grin and pulled her into a hug.

"That's my girl."

NEXT CHAPTER:

In Which Raia Sees the Point

March 20, 1177

"Ha! I can jump higher than you!"

"Nuh-uh! You just think that because you're taller!"

"Prove it!"

"I will!"

The sun had come early this year, but the past week had been plagued by such fierce winds that the children had been confined to the house despite the inviting skies and it went without saying that they were all feeling a little crowded. At least Alina and Sev had another live-in playmate for the time, Raia figured. Her nephew Dalston had come down with some nasty fever near the beginning of the month, so her father had sent the younger children away out of fear they'd catch it as well. Roddie was with Riona, which was just as well considering that Isidro had been meaning to take him as a page anyway. Lyssa and CeeCee were at Searle and Lettie's while Lonriad and Asalaye had taken Donnie. That left Raia with Falidor, which had led to some confusion with her husband of the same name and all... but he was Alina's age almost to the day and they played well together.

Most of the time, anyway.

"Rai-uh! Alina's trying to push me off the couch!"

Maddie giggled. Not really sure how concerned for anyone's welfare she was at the moment--she hadn't had a moment to herself in a good week, after all--Raia turned back to her grandmother. "But you did get your money in the end, right?"

"Raia, honey--I always get my money in the end." She winked, the hilt of a dagger peeking out from her belt. "That husband of yours owes me a couple of coppers, by the way; would you believe he got all the way to the baker's before he realized he'd forgotten his wallet."

That did sound like something Falidor would do. "I believe it."

Her grandmother laughed. "Good thing that man's head is attached, that's for sure. But on a more positive note, I saw little Dalston today. Still a frail little thing, but the worst of the fever's gone now. I'm sure young Falidor here will be going home soon."

"Aww!" moaned Falidor from the couch. "That means I'll have to start eating vegetables again!"

"Ha!" Alina chirped. "Grandpapa and Auntie Nora never make me eat vegetables."

"But my sister does."

"Shut up!"

Raia sighed. Even if they could sort of watch themselves now, she kind of missed the days when they couldn't talk. At least Sev was being nice and quiet, even if he was bothering the puppy. At her side, her grandmother chuckled. "They grow up so fast."

"Too fast," Raia agreed. And not fast enough!

Ah, but they'd been jumping for a good half hour or so; they were due to tire themselves out any minute now. When they did, they knew better than to come crying to her. She had a guest, after all.

"Anyway. I was thinking of riding up to Armion tomorrow to visiting Lear--"

However her grandmother managed to cut people off with the twitch of an eyebrow, she wished she knew. "Oh no. No, you are not going to Armion."

Ack. Remiel. Not that she wasn't suspicious of the man--after what he'd done to her little sisters!--but she couldn't understand why Laveria's forbidden sphere kept growing. First the chapel--fair enough, that was obvious anyway. Then the castle's entire south side--understandably cautious. But the whole shire? Brother Remiel couldn't be everywhere at once. "I wasn't planning on stopping by the chapel."

"I don't care. I don't want any of you within a mile of that man--not even your father, for all he thinks he can take care of himself. Duchess or not, your friend can visit you here."

But there were nannies at Leara's castle. Nannies! It was too much to ask of Maddie, watching four children under six and a puppy just so Raia could catch up with a friend. "But it's much more convenient--"

"More convenient? Ha!" As if she found anything funny. "I'll tell you what's convenient, girl: staying the hell away from that man, that's what. Now, don't you be running off where that son of a bitch might find you. And if you won't think of yourself..." The old lady grabbed the edge of the table and leaned forward, peering into the sitting area. "Think of your children, at least."

Raia glanced down at her son, who was still rubbing his face against the squirming Shadow's back, then up at her daughter and brother--still bouncing but not with the energy of before, thank God. Her babies. Christ, how they drove her up the wall, both of them. And yet, daily life would've been the dullest sort of hell if they didn't.

Defeated--graciously so, almost thankfully so--Raia locked eyes with her grandmother and nodded. "I see your point."

NEXT CHAPTER: