In Which Renata Sees and Is Seen

August 30, 1196

"Father!" It was the first Renata had seen of him since her graduation and wedding--and thinking back to years gone by, it was a relief that they could reunite happily. Her grandmother and Lord Severin had come clean to her father about her training in Naroni shortly after she'd begun at the university; he hadn't been thrilled. But, given the obvious joy in all the letters she'd sent him since her relocation, he'd gotten over it, even admitted that she'd make a fine knight. Her mother hadn't been so amiable to the idea, but it was a stretch to expect her mother to amiable to much of anything, so she'd settle for her father's coming-around.

"Ah, Renata." He kissed her on the cheek, then eased out of their embrace, looking her over with a bemused grin. "You look to be doing well."

But as she studied him in turn, she didn't think she could quite return the sentiment. Not with the added bagginess of his same old clothing, the dry lips, the pale of all corners of his face save the bags beneath his eyes. She had heard from the twins that their father hadn't been in the best of health this past while, but when she'd thought that had it been serious enough, he would have asked her to come and see him--and when he'd said he was coming to see her, then surely he must have recovered!

From the look of him, she'd been wrong about that. "It's good to see you."

"And you're in good time to see your new grandson," added Falidor as he lifted the baby from the crib. He'd been the one to greet her father; one look at him and he'd probably feared this would be the only time Abrich the Elder and Abrich the Younger ever met. "I can't believe it. Four days old, and his mother's already back to handing my ass to me on the training grounds."

"An easy baby!" Her father smiled down at her son, who stared--as newborns tended to do. "The best kind to have."

Still very aware of the toll Cat had taken on poor CeeCee, Renata nodded. "Any future siblings Abrich has had better follow suit."

Her father turned his head, simply to beam at her. "You gave him my name?"

"Of course. It's not as if Falidor's father isn't swimming in Severins already, and there could very well be another if Alya's new one turns out to be a boy."

"Arydath thinks it will, according to Roddie." Falidor raised his arms to kiss the baby on the forehead, then nodded back toward Renata's father. "You must be hungry, my lord."

Hunger was surely the least of his problems--but, her father managed a grateful grimace. "Some bread and soup wouldn't be the worst thing in the world right about now."

"Then I'll see what the cooks can do for you." Falidor handed the baby over to Renata and made for the nursery door. He didn't want to be a good host so much as he wanted to give her a moment alone with her father--because he knew what was needed. Falidor always seemed to know what was needed in these situations.

Renata didn't have those sorts of gifts. "His hair seems rather reddish, don't you think?"

"What little hair he has, yes," her father agreed. "Not impossible, given your Aunt Lettie and your Uncle Karlspan. And I believe some of Falidor's siblings have red hair?"

"Yes, though Jadin and Riona would have gotten it from their own mother. But Thetis has a dark red, like Nora's sister."

"Ah. Well, the sure thing is that this little fellow has your own eyes."

"Maelle noted that the minute he opened them."

"I'm glad you and your sister have managed to patch things up. The university has been good for both of you." Her father waved his fingers, probably in some attempt to get little Abrich to follow them. "Will you and Falidor be able to get to Dovia for her wedding this November?"

Renata stifled a sigh. November was two whole months away--but, somehow, she knew he was only asking because he thought that he himself wouldn't be there. "Barring some unforeseen emergency, we do plan on going."

"I'm glad of it." Her father smiled. "And I'm glad to see you now."

Because, quite likely, it was the last he'd ever see of her.

"Tell me you plan on staying a while, at least."

NEXT CHAPTER:

In Which Roddie Wants No One Else

November 24, 1194

"Roddie!" The youngest of Roddie's brothers--and the second to show up--stepped in for a hug. "How does it feel, knowing this is your last day of freedom?"

Roddie didn't have to turn around to know that Falidor was smirking from his seat on the couch. Donnie was not yet nineteen and involved in a not-yet-serious, not-yet-exclusive semi-courtship with their cousin Laveria. In his young and stupid mind, it was still natural--charming, even, or funny--to talk about marriage as if it were a lifelong prison sentence. It hadn't occurred to him just yet that a marriage to the right person at the right time and for the right reasons was precisely the opposite.

"Freedom from what? The knowledge that Riona and Isidro know for a fact that I've seen their daughter naked?" Even that seemed a stretch. Riona and Isidro weren't exceptionally strict parents, nor were they prone to self-delusion about such matters, and Alya had spent more than enough of her time off at Roddie's place unchaperoned that it would take a severe case of denial to think that all their shared hours had been spent fully clothed.

In any case, if they somehow thought that Alya and Roddie were still virgins, Alya's not-white dress would waste no time in correcting them. "Just sit down, you silly little ankle-biter. And you'd better take the desk chair; couches are for bridegrooms."

Rolling his eyes, Donnie did as he was told. Roddie returned to the couch, only half-sorry about not having to push Donnie off of it, and turned to Falidor. "So, what do you think is taking Searle and Lonriad so long? I know everyone else is meeting us at Seoth's later, but I thought all of us brothers were meeting up sooner."

"Beats me." Dismissive, Falidor waved a hand to the side. "I know Melria wants a baby, so maybe she and Searle are working on that."

Roddie cringed. He knew full well that his siblings were sexual beings, and for the most part, he was as used to the fact as he would ever get. But, there was a distinct ickiness about the thought of Searle and Melria. Or, really, Searle and anyone who wasn't his beloved, belated, worst-kept secret in the world. "I didn't need that mental image."

"Too bad." Falidor stuck out his tongue. "Meanwhile, Morgan's not nearly so fussed about babies, so maybe she and Lonriad are just doing it for fun."

"I didn't need that mental image either." Granted, his sister-in-law Morgan was not unattractive. "The Lonriad part of it, anyway."

"Facts of life, brother," Donnie insisted, as if he'd had a meaningful encounter in his life. "Best get over your squeamishness now, before they get here and we all head to the brothel."

Really? Roddie frowned. "That's what we're doing?"

"Of course! I managed to get Lonriad to agree, even though he said he's not about to be an active participant with his wife in the same country. Searle was good for it, though--and Falidor here needs to practice up a bit before his own last day of freedom."

Well... good for them, Roddie guessed. And good for Donnie, if that was what he wanted--which, he was eighteen, so of course it was.

But, it had been quite some time since Roddie had wanted anyone but Alya.

"I think I'll keep Lonriad company as a fellow non-participant. And maybe I'll keep an eye out on you lot too, just to make sure you tip well; any woman willing to endure any of you deserves ample compensation."

NEXT CHAPTER:

In Which Severin Suggests the New Territory

September 3, 1194

"Well, well!" Severin pulled his son in for a hug and patted him on the back. "It's about damn time you asked Renata to marry you. Here I was, thinking she'd have to ask the question herself."

"Heh." As the hug broke, Falidor grimaced. "I don't really want to go into the whole story, but technically, I think CeeCee asked us."

"In hindsight, that's even less surprising."

"Mother said the same thing." And yet--Severin knew, and he knew Nora knew--it only would have been a matter of time before Falidor asked if Renata (or CeeCee) hadn't, all jokes aside. "Anyway... we were thinking maybe some time in June? Renata's family will be in Naroni for her graduation anyway."

"I don't see why June wouldn't work. It's a not-unreasonable amount of time after CeeCee and Farilon's wedding, and certainly well before Sev and Rennie's; I don't see much risk of marriage fatigue with that spacing."

"And uh... well, we'll need a bigger place." Falidor grinned sheepishly. He'd been living in one of the family's auxiliary houses since his graduation, and it had suited him well from what Severin could see. But, a bachelor's house was not a family's house, and certainly not a knight's keep.

Certainly not two knights' keep.

"You know, I was thinking: what if you and Renata were to take a castle in Ravenhold? Poor Mernolt is the only knight there so far; Kaldar will be happy to have another two, and I'm sure Alina would convince him to give you your pick of places."

"Hmm. It's true that they're probably lonely out there--and I suppose it could only be in Farilon and my best interests, keeping enough of a distance between our wives that we can still get our own fill of them."

"Not to mention, all three of will you have careers, and Ravenhold could use Sir Falidor and Dame Renata." Veldora probably had all of the knights it needed for now, and no doubt there would be more when his grandsons finished up at the university. At least Arkon and Sevvie and Nato could inherit their fathers' castles. "I can't think of two better defenders for the domain of my eldest granddaughter."

"And your eldest great-granddaughter," Falidor reminded him--because of course he would. "I'll talk it over with Renata. She might find that exciting, such a new territory."

NEXT CHAPTER:

In Which Renata Forgives the Lack of Qualms

May 10, 1191

"Renata!" CeeCee barely gave her a chance to stand up and meet her. Fridays saw CeeCee off to a later class schedule than Renata, Alya, and Lyssa; she claimed not to mind normally, as some extra sleep in the morning gave her more energy for a night at the inn, but today was an exception to that rule. "Happy birthday!"

"Thank you," Renata choked as her friend eased up on the hug. "And don't worry; none of the party guests have shown up yet."

"Don't Lyssa and Alya count as guests?" CeeCee mock-glared at her nieces over Renata's shoulder. "If my memory is correct, neither served the minimum planning time required of a co-host."

"We would have if someone hadn't taken issue with all of our ideas," Alya muttered, not so quietly that she could have thought CeeCee wouldn't hear.

"If you don't want me to take issue with your ideas, you might consider coming up with some that are actually decent."

"And what, pray tell," Lyssa asked, "is so less-than-decent about making it a formal?"

"Why bother with our best clothes when half the guests will end up taking them off anyway?"

"CeeCee!"

"Oh, don't pretend you aren't at least a little envious of them." There was almost a sigh in that sentiment. Renata had to raise a brow at the un-CeeCee-ness of it. "Anyway, Renata: your present is in your room."

Present? "I thought I told everyone not to get me any presents."

"You did, but what sort of best friend would I be if I listened?" CeeCee winked. "You'll like it. I promise."

"I'd better."

With a smirk to her friends and an encouraging wave from Alya in turn, Renata spiraled up the staircase, two steps at a time in some cases. Scorpio House, like the other university residences, housed eight bedrooms on the top floor, essentially two squares with a room at each corner, one bathroom to two bedrooms forming parallels to the front door. The sitting room staircase emerged in the section of hall between the first four bedrooms, those of the three girls downstairs and Dea; Renata hurried along it and turned at the corner, crossing to half currently home to her and her cousin Celina. She fished the key to her room--Room Six--out of her pocket and slipped it into the lock, trying not to think about how few qualms CeeCee seemed to have about picking it.

But at the sight of what lay on the bed, that lack of qualms was instantly forgiven. "Oh my God!"

It took a conscious effort not to tear the fabric as she shed her dress with glee, flinging it to the floor and not much caring if it crumpled. The black shirt was a perfect match to the chausses she already wore, a subtle plaid pattern just visible enough to make it more interesting. The silver tunic slipped over it with a comfortable ease, and the longer red with more of it after. One belt later and she was quite possibly the most pleased she'd ever been with an outfit lacking chainmail.

"Best present ever!"

"What? We were supposed to bring presents after all?"

It was Falidor's voice. Renata grinned. "Your sister broke my rule--but I'll let her get away with it this time."

"Oh?"

She smoothed the front of the tunic over and opened the door. "My mother would have a heart attack if she saw this."

"If that's true, then she wouldn't know style if it danced naked in front of her." But Falidor's eyes made no effort to hide his widened horizons. "You're so beautiful."

Not a lot of people told her that. But lately, she'd decided that beauty was not so much a thing that some possessed and some didn't so much as it was a thing some simply failed to see.

"I know."

NEXT CHAPTER:

In Which Falidor Gets His Closure

January 1, 1189

"Ah-ha! There you are!" Falidor's sister spun into their mother's sitting room and kicked the door shut behind her. So much for hoping for some privacy. "You missed the stroke of twelve! I'm sure some girl would have wanted a kiss from you."

Falidor sighed. He'd be seventeen in a month. Perhaps that was still young, but he hadn't intended to kiss just anyone tonight. He'd run out of wild oats early. There was only one girl he wanted to kiss, and she'd made herself scarce throughout the party.

So, he'd done the same. But he wasn't in much of a mood to talk about it. "You know very well I can't kiss you."

"Obviously! But there would have been no need. Poor Severin was a bit out of sorts--the first New Year without his brother--so I indulged him when he asked."

CeeCee sighed. Clearly she would have preferred someone else, and Falidor suspected he knew who. But getting her to mind her own business would be difficult enough if he did mind his. "CeeCee, no offense, but I kind of wanted to be alone."

"Of course you did. That's the only reason you ever come in here."

It was. "Then why did you come in here?"

"To warn you, you ingrate." CeeCee sneered, brow arched, neck craned. Most of Falidor's friends had somehow deluded themselves into thinking that his sister was attractive. If she lived to be ninety but never aged a day, he wouldn't see it. "Xeta and Eilyssa and Meraleene have tired of the party. They plan on coming in here to do some embroidery, and you know they're bound to chat."

"Damn." Not that he had anything against any of them, but there was only one exception he cared to make to his solitude tonight. "Any chance I can sneak back to my room without being bombarded by someone asking about my training or school?"

"Not much of one--but you could use that room back there." She pointed to the only other door in the sitting room. It led to a little spare space, more of an alcove than a room if not for the walls. Not nearly so comfortable as the sitting room, but it would do.

"I guess so. Thanks for the notice." He patted her on the arm, then turned away. A little curt, but... well, no one wanted to spend the beginning hours of the New Year chatting with his sister. "Maybe you still have time to get a kiss from someone more appealing than Severin."

"I still got one more kiss than you did tonight." Not that a kid like Severin could have been much good at it yet. For CeeCee's sake--he guessed--he hoped Farilon grew somewhat bolder by next year.

"Then see if you can beat me this morning too. Happy New Year, CeeCee."

"You too."

By the sounds of the doors in near-tandem, they left the sitting room at about the same time. Only--Falidor didn't exit into an unaccompanied space. And it occurred to him that CeeCee may have been well aware of that.

But given who it was, he could forgive her. "Oh. Sorry, Renata."

"Oh, don't be sorry." Renata pushed herself up, a hint of pink in her tawny cheeks. She wasn't as he usually saw her, in a silken gown instead of a tunic and mail and with her hair long and brushed instead of bound in its hasty tail. Objectively speaking--more than one of his so-called friends had pointed it out--she wasn't the most beautiful girl in the world, with her beakish nose and skinny frame and mouse-colored hair. But frankly, she was the most beautiful girl in his world. And she looked very nice tonight.

But he had to admit: he preferred her when she looked like herself, boyish clothes and wild hair and all.

"If anything, I should apologize to you--and to CeeCee, getting her to trap you in here like that."

"We're not trapped if she lied about Xeta and them." Not that he much minded the thought of being trapped. "I was wondering where you were. I didn't see much of you tonight."

"I'm not one for parties." She picked at the laces of her dress. Somehow, the motion was not unlike an animal trying to struggle loose from a snare. "I'm sort of out of place at these fancy occasions."

"No. It's just that everyone else is out of place in your presence."

Renata's head turned. "Is that a good thing?"

Falidor nodded. "I'd say so, at least."

She smiled. Her two front teeth were a little crooked. Perhaps he was mad, but there was a certain sexiness in their imperfection, and he didn't care if he was mad. "That's reassuring. Um... look, about why I asked CeeCee..."

The pink returned to her cheeks as her eyes fell to the floor. CeeCee knew how Falidor used the sitting room, and she'd figured that he'd want to use it tonight. So she'd had Renata wait in the back room, then pounced on Falidor with the lie about Xeta when she had the chance. Such deviousness wasn't characteristic of Renata, whom he'd come to know as honest and upfront.

Though, she seemed to be having a hard time of it now. Maybe--just this once--she needed a little help. "Did you want a New Years' kiss?"

Wherever the pink had been, she was now red. She wore it well--but he liked her best her usual brown. "I--"

"No, don't be embarrassed--though I ought to be if I'm wrong." He chuckled; her coloring faded back to normal, though her eyes remained alert. "I'm sorry if I made a wrong assumption, but the truth is... well, I've kind of wanted to kiss you since I met you."

She blinked. Was that an answer? "Renata--"

She still said nothing.

But he got his closure nonetheless.

NEXT CHAPTER:

In Which CeeCee Keeps Her Voice Down

July 24, 1188

Just as CeeCee's father had said, she and Lyssa found Renata and the other squires at Cuthron and Eleara's house, and not one of them looked pleased to be here. Severin was slumped over on the couch, Donnie beside him with his arms crossed, muttering occasionally. Renata and Falidor stood, whispering about something--something serious, if CeeCee was close enough to make out their expressions. It wasn't much like any of them.

Nor had it been like her parents to make haste down to her Aunt Aerina's shop in the village, stopping on their way out of the castle only to send CeeCee and Lyssa to meet the others, and two messengers to tell Thetis to stay at Honora's house and Xeta and her younger children to stay at Lady Celina's. The others squires, her mother had said, would tell them what had happened. It would be important that they got everyone's side of the story. Sir Karlspan would give his at Aerina's, and the others would give theirs here, when they were up to talking about it.

It didn't take a genius to figure out, between the healer's involvement and the abrupt end of the training session, that someone had been injured--badly. If her brothers and Renata and Severin were here, then it had to have been Arkon.

But how? CeeCee didn't want to ask just yet. Lyssa, however, wouldn't. There were often perks to being the bolder of a pair, but this wasn't one of them. "What happened?"

Severin furrowed deeper into the couch and Donnie shook his head. Falidor and Renata traded worried glances as CeeCee and Lyssa stepped toward them. It was Falidor--not typically the bolder of that pair--who spoke first. "Arkon's horse went wild."

"His horse?" Arkon, as far as CeeCee knew, had been riding the same horse for years. And he'd always been so good with horses! "How?"

"It was a new horse. A stallion. One of the men at the stables was complaining about how he couldn't break it, so..." Her brother cringed. "Arkon said he'd give it a shot."

"It was horrible, CeeCee." Renata crossed her arms together and shuddered. Hardly a characteristic gesture of someone so fearless. "He was barely on the horse when it started bucking, and it flung him right into a post. Then it galloped around in a rage and--" She cast a wary look toward Severin, who'd taken to shaking. Her next words were whispered. "Trampled him. Thoroughly."

"So Sir Karlspan had the men cart him to Aunt Aerina's. He was still breathing when they left, but..." Falidor stopped. This too was probably for Severin's benefit.

CeeCee had seven brothers, six still living. Six was more brothers than many ever had, and even with brothers to spare, the thought of one of them having some freak accident was a nightmare even as a hypothetical.

Severin had only one brother.

So CeeCee kept her voice down too. "Do you think he'll--?"

Renata sighed. "I don't know."

NEXT CHAPTER:

In Which Renata Notes the Welcome Change

July 19, 1184

"Seriously, where did you learn to parry like that?" As with most of his questions, Falidor accompanied it with a grin. Some of the other squires were sore losers, but CeeCee's brothers were not among them--not even Roddie, who might have had just cause to be bitter on the basis of age alone.

But if Renata had a sword to her throat and had to choose which of the two she preferred, it would have been Falidor. She had nothing against Roddie, of course, but Falidor just seemed to clear the clouds on a gloomy day. Always in a chipper mood, always willing to cheer everyone up... but in a sensitive way, a way that actually worked--not the way some optimists seemed to go about "improving" everyone else, with a subtle or not-so-subtle hint of guilt, as if it were a crime to not be happy all the time.

The fact that he was kind of cute didn't hurt either.

"I used to watch a bunch of the knights train back home. Until my mother forbade it, that is." But that hadn't stopped her from sneaking out at night to practice on a makeshift dummy. "I had my ways of getting around her, though."

"That's good. You're good at what you do and you enjoy it; it would be a shame if someone stopped you."

You're good at what you do. The squires in Naroni weren't a bad sort overall, and none of them had treated her rudely, but compliments were still scarce apart from the obligatory "Good fight", and certainly she hadn't had one so wide-reaching yet. What a welcome change from when she'd swing wooden blades with the pages as a child, only to be labelled as a freak and told to get back in the kitchen or given some sexual remark she hadn't understood at the time.

But she struggled to see Falidor or Roddie or most of the others saying anything like that, and with Falidor, his kindness was just that: kindness. Some boys were only kind because they expected to be rewarded, never once considering that kindness ought to have been the default. His parents had taught their kids well.

"Thank you."

Falidor smiled. "Just telling the truth. Anyway, my sister was saying that you two are going swimming this afternoon?"

"Yes, we are." For CeeCee's sake, she didn't mention the reason for the excursion: to celebrate the departure of the 'little visitor'. Poor CeeCee had spent the past week downing potions for the cramps and checking her own back in mirrors and dashing back and forth from her bedroom to change the cloth pads hanging from her belt; after a week like that, who didn't deserve a nice dip in the swimming hole in the heat of summer?

Renata was two months younger, and she knew CeeCee had started early, but she'd asked Aerina about when she could expect it anyway when the healer had showed up with CeeCee's mixture, just so she could brace herself. Aerina had said that thin, athletic girls were more likely to start later than most, fifteen or even sixteen maybe; Renata couldn't say she took issue with that.

Not that she imagined Falidor wanted to hear about any of that--or that she herself even wanted to talk about it. "I'd invite you to join us, but... you know. No boys allowed."

"That's fine. Searle wanted me to start breaking in a new horse any--"

Behind her, the castle gate creaked. Most likely Roddie or Sir Searle--or so she'd thought before Falidor met the sight of the newcomer with a confused frown. "Can I help you, sir?"

"Yes."

Renata knew that voice.

...shit.

"I'm here for my daughter."

NEXT CHAPTER: