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August 29, 1199
"Look, I get that the baby is the cute one," Alina groaned from the bed, "but I kind of just shoved him out of an area that didn't quite accommodate his size, you know--just in case either of you have forgotten."
"Forgotten?" Shahira rolled her eyes, though she didn't waste a second before turning them back on little Bernardo. "I don't know where you've been for the past several years, but we've each done that twice."
Alya turned her head just in time to see Alina stick out her tongue. She had to chuckle. "No, seriously, Alina--we're very proud of you. But this is the first time you've had any amount of space to yourself in nine months." As if to prove her point, her new nephew nuzzled himself against her arm.
"It is--and it's quite the adjustment. Get over here, all three of you."
"As your majesty commands," Shahira sassed, nonetheless turning away with a quick smirk and joining Alina on the bed. "Never mind any crap we give you, though; no matter how awful we are, you know Gualtiero's obliged to wait on you hand and foot until this little fellow gives him some grandchildren."
"Maybe longer, if you end up still having children of your own past then," Alya chimed in, though she privately shuddered at the thought.
Alina did the same--only not so privately. "The last thing I want to think about right now is grandchildren--and children younger than grandchildren."
"Good thing you waited for Mother to leave the room before you said that!" Shahira chided--and not without cause, given that their youngest brother was a mere two months old while her own son would be seven in January. "At least Casimiro didn't have to wait long for a nephew he won't be getting hand-me-downs from."
"Speaking of hand-me-downs, I'm still waiting on those old things of Izzy's you promised for Severin."
"And you'll get them--when I get those clothes of Riona's you mentioned for Thetis."
"My God." Alina sighed. "In a few years time, I'd better still have more interesting things to talk about than children's clothing."
"Really, Alina: we're only insufferable around you. Amongst ourselves, we discuss much more interesting things."
"Such as the making of the children that wear those clothes."
"Exactly."
"Right." It was Alina's turn--and not an unjustified one--for an eye-roll. "Ugh. I hate to say it, but I'm so sore down there that I don't even want to think about that just yet."
"Ah, that's just as well." Shahira flexed her hands out in front of her and cracked her knuckles. "Gualtiero's going to be so busy catering to your every other whim that he'll be much too tired for that anyway."
NEXT CHAPTER:
May 16, 1198
"You should definitely go with that last one you tried on. It looked amazing on you!" Alina asserted once again now that she and Laveria and Yvanette had returned to Taurus House. Yvanette fidgeted as Laveria blushed at the compliment. Both of the other two had weddings scheduled for the end of the year, and after a prolonged morning burning off any required transformation time in her room, Yvanette had joined them for an afternoon of dress-hunting. She couldn't expect her life to ever be half-normal if she didn't occasionally go out and about with people who might have been close-ish to being her friends, after all.
But of all her uncomfortable topics--and there were quite a lot of them--weddings had a spot rather near the top of the list these days.
"Aww, thank you! But it couldn't have been nearly as perfect as that first one you tried on!"
Alina laughed. "I did like the style of that one--but it's a little late for me to be wearing white! Perhaps Yvanette might try something like that when it's her turn?"
Yvanette rubbed at her forearm. She was, indeed... qualified for a white dress, as she was damned terrified of transforming mid-coitus and Sevvie either understood that or was too polite to argue. There were also the certain complications that a pregnancy would bring. If she transformed with a baby in her... would it transform too? Could it transform back? If it didn't, wouldn't it be too big for her body?
And yet, Sevvie's eyes kept skipping any time anyone ventured a hint about any upcoming nuptials. Yvanette hated feeding him that false hope. It might have been kinder to steal away to a nunnery and leave him to find someone else: an actual, proper person.
Not that she dared mention any of that to her roommates. "Maybe..."
"You would look good in it," Laveria agreed, locking eyes with Alina for the nod. "Though, if you did decide to speed things along before the wedding, I doubt anyone would really know any better if you wanted to wear white anyway. Sevvie's a Kemorin, after all, and so is his father; Lonriad's not about to bother with anyone checking your sheets."
Yvanette curled her toes inward, rocking somewhat in her too-tight slippers. "We're not even betrothed..."
"But it's only a matter of time!" Alina winked--if only to showcase that she had the same deep blue eyes Sevvie did. "He's my cousin, after all; don't think I don't see him just as often as you do, and don't think he always keeps his musings to himself."
No--unless it was someone else's secret, Sevvie never did keep much to himself. Given enough time, who was to say he wouldn't expect the same from her eventually?
"I, uh... well, I still have a year left here; I should focus on my studies before getting worked up about a wedding that may or may not happen."
Teasing, Alina stuck out her tongue. "You dork. Any chance we can change your mind if you join us for a cake tasting at my grandfather's castle next week?"
Yvanette shrugged. She doubted a week would be long enough to get over this first bout of endless wedding talk, but... well, normalcy.
For all she feared she'd get poor Sevvie stuck married to her merely for want of normalcy. "All right..."
"Good!" Alina smacked her hands to a fold as she turned back to Laveria. "Yvanette can mediate if we both decide we want the same flavor."
"Who's to say we can't have the same flavor?"
"Oh, please. Your wedding is only six weeks before mine, and my grandparents are your aunt and uncle, and your betrothed is my uncle; we're going to have all the same people at both weddings, and they're not going to want the exact same cake only six weeks later."
Perhaps that wasn't the most ridiculous thing imaginable. Yvanette was invited to both weddings, and she doubted she'd be able to work up the energy for Alina's only six weeks after Laveria's--especially since Sevvie would also be attending both.
Not that either of her roommates--or anyone--knew it. Or could know it.
"I think you underestimate the skill of the bakers. If it's a good enough cake, they'll all be wanting it every Tuesday."
NEXT CHAPTER:
April 21, 1197
"My father is remarrying."
It was hardly their usual joking, flirty conversational fodder. Gualtiero had asked after Alina quietly, and she'd found him sulking on the couch when she'd come down to greet him. As he'd said it, he barely met her eye, opting instead to direct his gaze to the window behind her, as if the outdoors were another year.
Alina, with the luxury of both parents still living, didn't know what to say to that. "Oh."
Gualtiero shuffled. What did he want? Comfort? Empathy? Reassurance? She could tell him it would be all right, agree that it wasn't, or convince him that it already was.
Or, she supposed, she could joke. "Well, I'm not surprised. Have you seen your father? He's probably the most handsome bachelor in the kingdom."
Gualtiero sniffed. "He'll be forty-two in July."
"Aged like a fine wine." Alina winked. One of her mother's favorite ways of teasing her father was to remark loudly how attractive she found Sir Bernardo, and as they'd grown into their appreciation of the male form, Alina and her sisters had to admit that the joke had rooted with a seed of truth. "Who is he marrying?"
"Maddie. You know, the innkeeper here on campus."
"Of course I know--she's my step-cousin, after all. But you like Maddie." Everybody liked Maddie! She was lovely. And she sold them alcohol. "She's not closing up the inn, is she?"
"No, she just plans on commuting. But that's not the point." He sighed. Sighing didn't suit him. Alina was sure he'd be back to his old self once things settled, but this angst would be a painful sight while it lasted. "I mean... I know that my mother's been gone a while now, and that my father has to move on with his life. It just doesn't seem like it's been as long as it has, you know?"
"Well... you know I don't know firsthand, so I won't pretend otherwise." Though, she did have to admit, it was difficult to imagine either of her parents with anyone else, even if the other had been gone a decade. "But I suppose I can understand, at least. You'll always miss your mother. And even if he's marrying someone else, I'm sure your father will too. Maddie still misses Artan, after all."
"That's true. I guess they at least know each other's loss." Gualtiero slid to the center of the bench and slung an arm around Alina's shoulders, pulling her close in a half-hug. "Thank you. I hadn't really considered that. Not that it makes me feel entirely better, but... I don't know. You always make me feel a little better."
"Guess I'll take what I can get, then." Alina let her head fall to his shoulder and smiled. "For what it's worth... I'm sure your mother is happy for your father."
NEXT CHAPTER:
January 5, 1197
"So, what's this I hear about you pestering my parents' household every day this year so far?" Alina smirked as Gualtiero kissed her hand. "If your goal is to make it through next New Year's Eve, don't get your hopes up. My father would have had you barred from this place yesterday if my mother hadn't intervened."
"Well, that's a little harsh. It's not my fault that you never told me you'd be spending an extra few days with your sister after she gave birth."
"Well, it's not my fault that you never thought to stop by at Alya's."
"With a new baby there? The last thing they need is me causing any trouble."
Alina rolled her eyes. In truth, her new nephew was quite possibly the easiest, calmest newborn she'd ever come across. "You do realize that my parents have two babies here."
"Well, yes... but they can at least support their own heads."
"Doesn't change the fact that there are two of them."
"So the house with the childbirth and the days-old infant was a reprieve. So much for being on break." Gualtiero sighed, finally dropping Alina's hand. "I miss seeing you every day."
"Don't be clingy, Gualtiero. It doesn't suit you." His grin slumped somewhat--so she had to prop it back up with a wink. God, men were so insecure. "But I like seeing you every day too. Most days, anyway."
"Most?" Odd, how such a large man's features could contort like a confused puppy's. "Eh, I'll take what I can get. Anyway, since you've been stuck taking care of babies all break, do you maybe want to go down to the inn for a drink? Head-supporting or not, there shouldn't be too many small children around there."
"Now that sounds like a reprieve." And if she wanted to spend some time with Gualtiero, then it would probably be in everyone's best interests if it were somewhere away from her parents. "I'll go get my cloak."
NEXT CHAPTER:
January 31, 1193
Alina had never been fond of winter at the best of times. She hated being cooped up in the castle, the world outside at a standstill until spring. She liked fresh air, the smell of earth, grass beneath her feet. She liked coming and going as she pleased, meeting whoever she happened to meet, waking at the crack of dawn and not retiring until well past midnight. November through March made for a bleak cage, and that had been before her older sister found herself in trouble.
To be fair, her parents hadn't been explicitly stricter with her, even if they'd been more jittery than before at the prospect of her in the unsupervised company of young men her age. And, to be fairer, they'd been just as jittery with Nato whenever he'd headed off to a potential lurking place of young women. But between their nerves and Shahira's approaching time and the sheer dull of winter, Alina had been growing more and more restless by the day. She had hoped that Alya's return home would improve things somewhat.
But, as she should have figured given the circumstances, Alya had spent much more of her time fretting over Shahira than keeping Alina from going mad. Even now, the two barely noticed her as she poked at the fire like a mindless husk. It took a lot to make Alina wish that her brothers were around, but today--the straw that broke the camel's back--her sisters had managed it.
"I'm just sorry I couldn't tell you what to expect. I feel as though I'm falling short of my responsibilities as the big sister."
"No, don't feel bad for being smart about it. Plus, now you're have someone else to tell you what to expect--assuming it doesn't kill me, that is."
"It won't kill you. And don't even joke about that!"
Privately, Alina didn't think much of it. Shahira had something of a morbid streak to her; reassuring herself with jokes about her own death might have been a way of keeping things normal. And if Alina had read enough into that to get it, then she must have been mad indeed. What a way to spend a winter, stuck with a sister about to pop.
And then the rest of winter would be spent dealing with the baby! What she wouldn't have given to blink and find it springtime.
"Are you all right?"
Alina rolled her eyes. Shahira must have been so sick of that question, having heard it at least once an hour since the middle of October.
But--for the first time in all that time--she didn't answer.
"Shahira?"
On Alya's prompting, Alina looked over to the couch where her sisters sat. Sure enough, Shahira was a little pale, a little still--and a little fidgety, all at once.
"I... I think it's time."
NEXT CHAPTER:
August 8, 1181
"Now, you behave yourselves for your grandparents, all right?" Isidro warned as he and Riona swapped their older girls for their parting hugs.
"Yes, Papa."
Alina had chimed in on her sisters' chorused phrase from Severin's arms; Nato, of course, just gurgled into Nora's shoulder. For his daughter and son-in-law's sakes, Severin hoped the boy would save his first words until after they returned. Probably thinking the same thing, Nora turned the little tyke around to face his parents. "I'm sure Nato will be good too. Won't you, Nato?"
"Gah!"
Riona smirked. "I'm taking that as a promise, buddy."
"Don't think we won't hold you to it." Isidro planted a last kiss to Alya's forehead and ruffled her hair; as was typical of a kid that age, she made a point to be annoyed. "Well, I'm sure you're thoroughly bored of us now. Why don't you girls run along and find Lyssa and CeeCee?"
Neither waited long to take that suggestion to heart--no doubt expecting the typical long-winded goodbyes adults bade each other after parties. Severin wondered if they fully registered that their parents would be gone at least a month. Or maybe they did, and the brief farewell was a just a means of coping, maintaining some degree of normalcy or at least the idea of such. At least they got the farewell at all; some parents had no qualms about walking out in the middle of night, not to return for years if they returned at all, not so much as the word 'Bye' scrawled on a scrap of parchment.
It figured that Viridis's letter would have arrived this morning, and Xeta would be visiting with Tivie in the afternoon. It was a horrible thought given her longing, but maybe it was lucky that Viridis didn't have a baby of her own. If Searle ever returned to his flighty, wandering ways, that was one less person to abandon.
But he didn't want to think that of one of his sons-in-law. Not today. "I believe they're in Lyssa's room."
"All right."
"We love you!" Riona called after them.
"Love you!"
And with that, Alya and Shahira scampered off. Hopefully Lyssa and CeeCee would be able to hold their realizations at bay for a while yet.
"They sure tire of their old grandfather quickly these days, don't they?" A small fist formed around a lock of Severin's hair and tugged; he retaliated by tapping little Alina on the nose. "Oh well. At least you still like me."
"Severin, please. They're kids. Let them run along and play." Nora shifted Nato downward to keep him from clinging to her neck. "And speaking of kids, I take it Roddie is still--?"
"Taking his sweet time in the stables, moping about how he's old enough to stay on his own and we're treating him like a baby by sending him here?" Riona snorted. "Pretty much. So much for thinking we'd make his life so miserable he'd be begging to run back to Mommy and Daddy."
Nora shrugged. "Never mind, we know how to handle him. Extra desserts the first few nights to make him start to think this is a nice vacation, then before he knows it, the vegetables return to his plate."
"Tell the cook to make them extra bland."
"Done and done." Severin shot the pair of them a wink. Really, Riona had almost never looked more older than Roddie to him, even with both eyes open. His grown children rarely did. "Just don't be surprised when you come back here and find them on your plate as well. I don't think I trust you two not to live off sweets yourselves."
"Not even with Lonriad watching us?" Isidro teased with a dry sniff.
"Especially not with Lonriad watching you! Perhaps I ought to ride over there and tell Ashe to keep an eye on all three of your plates." If he even trusted Ashe with that! Frankly, they were all still kids to him, everyone born in those couple decades, even if he'd never known them as children; to know that they were of age with his own was close enough. "But in all seriousness, take care of yourselves. And try not to do anything stupid."
"Try." Riona rolled her eyes. "Hear that, Izzy? He thinks we're a lost cause."
"Oh, I know you're a lost cause." His granddaughter prodded his shoulder and his wife snickered, and yet all he could see was his daughter--impulsive, reckless, and magnificently wild as the day she'd come screaming out of the womb. "Try anyway."
NEXT CHAPTER:
September 28, 1179
With the exceptions of their own children, neither Isidro nor Riona had much claim to being a 'baby person', so it was almost amusing to see Riona making the effort with her newest little nephew. Then again, it stood to reason that she was obliged to at least try. "Huh. One of my siblings finally has the good sense to name a kid after me and the little scamp comes out with the wrong parts."
"What, you think the plan was to actually go with 'Riona'?" Knowing Riona, she probably did. The fact was oddly endearing. "Yes, you won the sibling draw, but we weren't going to use anyone's actual name; that was just for a basis for a derivative. We wouldn't have given a girl your exact name either."
"Then it's a good thing he's not a girl, because I might have been angry about that." She made a clumsy attempt at a baby-sized wave, but her stiff hands turned the minute motions to twitches. Isidro couldn't blame little Rio for shying away. "Already afraid of Auntie Riona, I see. Well, you're smart to be so--isn't that right, girls?"
Alina showed no sign of having heard while Shahira just glanced at her mother and shrugged before returning to their game. Isidro smirked. They were fearless, his girls. When they were old enough to argue, it would be the three of them and Riona shouting every which way while he sought refuge under the table. He just hoped he wouldn't have to emerge at some point to keep them all from killing each other. "They think you're all talk."
"No, but they plan to resist. Girls fight to the end. Boys give too much too soon and they're under your thumb before you know it. Maybe we should have one for an example." She shot him a wink, plus a rather obvious two-handed gesture that prompted a snicker from Raia. Not immune to the giggles herself, Riona turned back to the baby. "How would you like that, Rio? A little cousin to kneel beside you when you bow to Auntie's wrath?"
The baby just gurgled. Another glance back at his younger two, Isidro fell to a slouch. He supposed he didn't not want a son, but from all he'd heard they were an unprecedented responsibility. The best way to raise a daughter was simply to love her, let her be herself, show her that you wouldn't trade her for the world. A stricter hand was needed with boys because whether or not they were actually more capable, men did run the world. Maybe that would change one day. For now, though, a boy had to be taught that possession of a cock wasn't a license to be a self-entitled ass. A boy had to learn that historical favoritism was not a basis for one's value as a human being. And no matter how hard you hammered those lessons in, there would always be outside forces at work trying to pry those nails back out.
That was how men like his father came to be.
Thank God for Raia. "Thought you wanted to space them out a bit more, Ri."
"Eh. I don't need to actively try for one." Riona swayed from side to side, skirts swishing as they brushed across the floor. "Just saying that if it happened, I wouldn't be opposed. Besides, the girls could use a little brother to beat on."
Raia chuckled. Isidro opened his mouth to say--well, he wasn't sure, exactly--but he was spared the agony of a reply by a knock at the front door. "I'll get it."
"You don't have to."
"It's really no problem." He got up and brushed past his wife and her sister, stopping only to tickle the baby's toes. The little mouth released a contented sort of squeal. "Probably more well-wishers for little Rio."
"Oh, probably." Raia sighed as the baby took to swatting at a lock of her hair. "Tell you what: if they're new, they're allowed in."
"Right."
Whoever it was, they were still hammering at the door when Isidro left the bedroom, when he reached the stairs, when he'd stepped off the last of them. Of all the qualities Raia looked for in a friend, patience must not have been one of them. "All right, I'm here. You can stop knocking now."
They didn't. Lip clenched between his teeth, Isidro grabbed the handle and yanked open the door. "You know, anything over four knocks is really pushing--" He had to stop and stare. He knew that blue tunic and grey leather surcoat, but it was a shock to the system seeing it with dark hair. "Umm... aren't those Jadin's clothes?"
"That's Raia's red-haired brother, right?" He nodded. The newcomer's grin only widened as he shrugged. "He won't mind."
Hmm. No doubt Jadin spent more time out of his clothes than in them. Still... "It's kind of rude to steal people's clothing."
"Borrow," the other corrected. "You're the brother-in-law?"
"And you're... the strange naked friend with a minimal command of the language?"
The creature laughed. "Oh, I speak the language with the utmost mastery. Don't go around telling everyone that, though; there are certain things one can't get away with if others are certain of his understanding."
"All right?" Somehow, he doubted he'd received sufficient warning about this man.
"Good. Your compliance is appreciated. Perhaps there's something I can do for you." The stranger gave him a pat on the shoulder. He was too stunned to shrug it off. "I take it that they didn't tell you, but did you know that a couple of your knights ran into my grandfather a while back?"
He took it right. "The homicidal maniac?"
"Yes, him." He confirmed it with the casual, almost bored tone he might have used had Isidro said 'cooper' or 'wheelwright'. "He probably threatened them out of telling anyone, but he won't make do on anything he promised. The ancestors are no longer amused with his antics and told him he'd meet a fiery end if he didn't stop with the killings and the other serious redirections of any mortal lives. You have nothing to fear from him but the odd practical joke."
"Uh... good to know?" He supposed he trusted Raia enough to believe her if she vouched for her friend's character. But if this information was true, wasn't it a little too great a reward for simply keeping someone's lingual capabilities a secret? What could the forest dwellers possibly stand to gain if everyone knew they were now all bark and no bite? "Seriously, why are you telling me this?"
"Why not? Grandfather's not the only one who likes to mess with people's heads." Of course he wasn't. "Anyway, I'm just here to see the baby. Is that all right?"
"It should be. Everyone's upstairs in Raia's room right now. Go right in."
It seemed a simple enough instruction. The stranger, however, had to raise a brow. "Don't you have anything to add? A 'there', maybe? Or 'if you will', or 'unless told otherwise'?"
So much for thinking that this odd, odd conversation was over. "Why would I need to add anything?"
"If that's all you have to say, then someone could use a language lesson." Raia's friend smiled, his eyes glinting with primal amusement. "In this language, it's grammatically incorrect to end a sentence with a preposition."
NEXT CHAPTER:
