In Which Ren Is Pierced by the Obvious Solution

May 16, 1164

Ren tapped on the door to her father's study, then stepped back and waited for a response. It had been more than half a year since her mother's passing, but it seemed to her that her father was still in mourning; perhaps he always would be. As such, she had taken to treating him with the utmost sensitivity, as being respectful of his grief helped her cope with her own. Maybe she was being selfish in that regard, but she had yet to find any better way to make things easier for the both of them. Her father was not one of her younger siblings, who could be soothed by mere cuddles and lullabies.

"Who is it?" called her father's voice from the other side of the door.

She inhaled deeply; as much as she loved her father, his once warm presence had become a stifling cocoon of misery. "It's me."

A sigh of relief could be heard from the study. "Ah, Ren! Just one minute, dear--I'm with Lady Felonis."

Lady Felonis was here again? How many times had she visited in these past months? Far too many for Ren's taste. While she had nothing personal against Lady Felonis, there was something suspicious about her now-frequent intrusions; she could not recall that woman and her father ever being close friends until recently.

"So... July, then?" her ladyship's light voice echoed through the wing like the pounding of a battle drum. Ren raised an eyebrow. What on earth could her father and Lady Felonis possibly be setting a date for...

She cringed as the obvious solution pierced her in the heart like a flaming arrow. They couldn't possibly... could they? Would he? How dare she! Why? Oh, her poor mother! That vile witch!

"I was thinking maybe the fifth," her father agreed, the wound in her heart widening with each barbed word. "What about your children? I would accommodate all of them, of course."

"Well, the twins will certainly come with me, but I believe I shall give Jedaline and Searle the choice of staying with Nythran if they so choose; they are rather attached to Felonis."

"I see. Regardless, they are certainly welcome here if they would prefer."

A step-family--not just a stepmother, but a whole bloody family! Ren had to admit that it had only been a matter of time before her father found a new bride, but one who already had her own gaggle of screaming brats? And had it been too much to hope that Ren herself would have been married and gone before her father took a second wife?

It seemed that it had. She would have to witness her mother's replacement firsthand. What greater pain could there be than watching her baby siblings toddle toward Lady Felonis with an excited squeal of "Mama!"? It seemed there would not even be time to tell them about their real mother before this false one filled that niche in their eyes. She would have to light a candle for her mother tonight--perhaps she would make her father do the same.

Unable to stomach the thought of the two of them alone together, Ren pushed open the door and stepped inside. To her great relief, there was quite a bit of physical distance between the two of them; she also noticed that her father seemed reluctant to meet his betrothed's eye. She was not quite sure what to make of this.

Her father's back was turned, so it was Lady Felonis who noticed her first. She greeted her with a smile, but Ren thought this rather too familiar. "Good day, Surenica."

Ren stiffened. "Good day, my lady." Who did this woman think she was, addressing her by name? She was not her stepmother yet!

Lady Felonis nodded, then turned back to Ren's father. "Anyway, Oswald, I should probably leave before it gets dark. Why don't you ride out to Felonis around this time next week?"

He remained motionless; the fact that he remained standing was Ren's only assurance of the fact that he was still breathing. "I do believe I shall. Thank you for the invitation."

Well, at the very least, she wouldn't be here.

"Oh, it's my pleasure," Lady Felonis assured him. "I shall have the cook prepare your favorite meal."

"I eagerly anticipate it."

"I likewise. Now, farewell, Oswald, Surenica."

en's father nodded. "Farewell, Meraleene. Have a pleasant ride!"

"As you wish it, I shall."

She lightly brushed her lips against his cheek, then stepped around the pair of them and filed out the door. Ren dared not blink until it had was firmly shut. Even after, she listened until the woman's footsteps had faded from the corridor, then turned to face her father.

"It's rather soon, don't you think?" she demanded, biting her lip as she spat the last syllable. As little as she cared to chastise her father, to avoid doing so was more difficult than she had expected.

Her father sighed. "Ren..."

"Father!"

Her father's shoulders arched in discomfort. "Ren, I do think it rather do soon, but I cannot be two parents at once, nor do I think it fair to expect you to mother your younger siblings. If your Aunt Holladrin was still living here, I would not feel this haste, but the fact of the matter is that I have young children who need a mother-figure in their life; likewise, Lady Felonis has young children in sore need of a father."

Ren sniffed. "So it's just for the sake of convenience, then?"

"Of course," he replied, his mouth collapsing into a broken frown. "I have no idea how Meraleene feels about me, but do you really think I could love so soon after the death of your mother? In fact, it is out of love for your mother that I would take a second bride; she would not want her children without a mother's love."

"I doubt she will love any of us as her own," dismissed Ren, rather hurt by his cold logic. "And Mother loves us regardless--you said so yourself!"

Her father shook his head. "Yes, it's more complicated than that, Ren. Please don't hate me for this."

Trying to smile, Ren leaned to toward him and perched her head over his shoulder, engulfing him in a reassuring hug. "I could never hate you, Father--you know that."

"I know," he agreed. "Thank you."

NEXT CHAPTER:

In Which Alina's Niece is Given a Choice

January 15, 1157

"Brings on quite a few mixed emotions, does it not?" Alina's mother asked of the oldest of her five daughters, who was seated in an ornately-carved chair by the dressing screen. "Your baby getting married, leaving home, off to become a countess in some distant shire... are you sure she's ready, Cladelia?"

Cladelia laughed. "Of course she is, Mother! She's only a year younger than I was when I was married."

"Oh, but I was never sure whether or not you were old enough," Riona pressed. "I never did share your father's urgency, you know. Fortunately, I managed to convince him to wait a little longer with your sisters."

"Oh, never mind that, Mother! Meraleene, how does she look?" demanded Cladelia of the second sister.

"As lovely as her mother," Meraleene assured her from the other side of the dressing screen.

"Oh, I don't know about that..." muttered young Lileina meekly.

"Nonsense!" Cladelia snapped, her barely-pregnant bulge somewhat visible despite her tight gold dress. "Lileina, I'm sure you look just fine. Renata, can you see her? I'm not sure I trust Meraleene."

"Are you calling me a liar?" hissed Meraleene; Alina could perfectly picture her face, her eyes narrowed and her teeth clenched.

Cladelia rolled her eyes. "Of course not, dear. I'm just taking into consideration the fact that you aren't particularly bright, and therefore might not have the most trustworthy opinion. Renata has always been the sharpest of us, you must admit."

"Don't be an idiot, Claddie," Renata scolded her. "You don't have to be a genius to see how beautiful your daughter is. I can see her just fine from here, and I can assure you that if the twins grow up to be half as radiant as your Lileina, I shall be the proudest mother in Dovia."

Cladelia's eyebrows arched dangerously. "Well, you never know; perhaps come June, that enlarged stomach of yours will reveal itself to be a much prettier daughter for you and Arkon."

Suddenly, Renata looked as though she was about to leap from her chair, four-month belly and all, and squeeze her older sister's neck until her head shot straight to the ceiling. "And just what do you think you're saying about my girls?"

"Girls, please!" screamed their mother before Cladelia had a chance to reply. "Meraleene, you're not dim, Cladelia, you're not an idiot, and Renata, your daughters are beautiful! Now, we can't ruin Lileina's wedding with our petty fights, so if none of you have anything pleasant to say, I suggest you just shut up."

"Shut--up?" Laralita repeated in raptured shock. "Mother, you're so... vulgar."

Riona bit her lip, likely in an attempt to keep herself from belting out every obscenity that Alina knew--and likely every one that she didn't. "Never mind my vulgarity. Lileina, did your Aunt Meraleene do a decent enough job with the sewing?"

"Oh, I do think so, Grandmother," answered Lileina. "It's lovely, and very comfortable."

"Hmm. I think I'll go take a look at it anyway," Riona insisted, making her way to the side of her eldest granddaughter.

Meraleene's jaw dropped, Alina was sure of it. "Mother, she just said--"

"Meraleene, I hate to admit it, but Cladelia's right; you aren't exactly the sharpest nail in the fence. I'd feel much better knowing I'd examined the dress myself."

"So, Alina," Laralita addressed her as their mother began to carefully study the seams of the wedding dress. "I hear you had a son in November?"

Alina nodded. "I did. His name is Jadin, for Viridis's father."

"Lovely. It's such a weight off your chest, isn't it? Now you never have to bother sleeping with your husband again."

"Are you kidding?" she laughed. "I jumped Severin five minutes after the midwife cut the cord! It was the best sex we ever had."

Laralita's eyes bulged; she always had been a terrible prude. "You... you like it?"

"Try 'love'," Alina corrected her with a grin. Tormenting Laralita had always been a favorite pastime of hers.

Her older sister continued to stare, her mouth wide open. "Why?"

"Because I love him, maybe?" she replied. "It isn't my fault you don't give poor Karlspan a chance--might as well, seeing as the poor man probably won't last many more years anyway. Renata, back me up here."

"Lita, it is rather fun when it's with a man you love," agreed Renata, "although I suppose that might not be the case with a man you don't. But maybe Alina's right; it's the least you can do for a dying man. And don't you pull a Medea on us and say he's beneath you, because he's not--he's an earl, and you're the daughter of a count."

Laralita sighed. "I do take pity on him occasionally, I assure you. I just keep a careful eye on my monthly and make sure I only sleep with him right after I stop bleeding--no sense going through another nine months of horrid discomfort when I already gave him a son, after all. Now, if you'll excuse us, Meraleene and I have to go and oversee the flower arranging."

"We do?" asked Meraleene.

"You certainly aren't on top of your game today, are you? Come along, no sense keeping the florist waiting any longer."

Meraleene was quick to leave, shortly followed by Laralita. Quite frankly, Alina was not sad to be rid of either of them; in fact, she only wished they had taken Cladelia with them. With the exception of her darling Renata, she had always been much closer to her brothers than her sisters, especially now that they were older and all married women. Cladelia and Laralita were much too political for her tastes, she found, and there was just no spark in Meraleene. Her stupid, playful brothers were much more tolerable.

"Perfect," muttered Riona at last, finishing her inspection and stepping back from the young bride. "I'll have you know that the dress you're wearing is older than your mother; not only did she wear it to her wedding, but I wore it to mine. It cost a pretty penny back in the day, but it seems to be one of those dresses that just looks lovely on anyone... mind you, some brides are perfectly content to be married wearing only a nightgown under a man's traveling cloak, isn't that right, Alina?"

"It turned out not too badly; I wouldn't have had him tearing an expensive dress right off me," Alina laughed, remembering the elegant, but somewhat pretentious-looking dress that had been made for her wedding to Rudolphus.

"Well, when a man undresses his bride himself, of course," agreed Cladelia as she approached her mother and daughter, "but most women have their ladies. Lileina certainly won't have to worry about Cambrin... tearing her dress right off her, as you put it?"

Lileina shifted uncomfortably. "Could we... not talk about that, please?"

Cladelia chuckled. "We've scared her, ladies! Lileina, don't worry about it--even if you don't love him, it's not the most horrible thing that will ever happen to you."

"No, that comes nine months later," added Riona, earning her a sharp glare from her oldest daughter.

"Anyway, you look absolutely ravishing, baby," declared the mother of the bride, "and I think your grandmother and aunts can all agree. Now, I'm going to leave you for a few minutes while I track down Father Quartus. Mother, are you coming?"

"As long as Septimus isn't with him," Riona answered as the two of them made their way toward the door. "The gall of that boy! Would you believe that he told me he'd like to anoint me with his holy water?"

Renata glanced upwards at Alina, a smile on her glowing face. "So, how are your babies? I do hope to meet them one day."

"Oh, they're wonderful," Alina assured her. "I'm thinking it's about time to have another one, though."

Her older sister sent her a quizzical look. "Already? Alina, Jadin's not even two months old yet."

"I got pregnant with Jadin when Raia was four months old. Two months isn't that much of a difference. Besides, it's nice to have siblings close in age, isn't it?"

"I'm closer in age to Meraleene and Laralita, but I always got along better with you," Renata insisted. "Besides, everyone in your household so far has a birthday in the last three months of the year, and so will your next if you get pregnant now; don't you want some occasions to celebrate from January through September?"

Alina couldn't help but grin. "Renata, that is the silliest argument I've ever heard from you."

"Well, I'm in the middle of very silly pregnancy. I daresay this one will be the clown of the family."

"Aunt Alina?"

"Yes, Lileina?" she addressed her niece as the girl approached her.

"I'm sorry if I'm prying, but I just have to know," Lileina began hastily. "Why did you marry Severin instead of Rudolphus? My mother spoke of nothing else for months, you know--how you must've been out of your mind, I mean. She says she would've married Rudolphus in a heartbeat, even if he's rather dull, since he'll be duke one day. You were supposed to marry him, but you didn't. Why?"

Alina wasn't sure whether or not she should be amused; regardless, that she was. "Lileina, understand that I love your mother dearly, but we will never fully understand each other. I didn't marry Rudolphus simply because I didn't want to, and I didn't want to marry him because I don't love him and never did."

"So love is more important than politics, then?" the girl surmised, her teal eyes widening sorrowfully.

Suddenly, Alina understood--or at least, she thought she might. "You have a Severin of your own, Lileina?"

"Oh, no!" she protested. "I mean... I'm only thirteen. I haven't had time to find one, and if I ever do... well, I guess it'll be too late for me. I guess I just don't want to be a pawn for Cambrin and my father."

Alina knew what she was talking about. She had felt the exact same way during her betrothal to Rudolphus--like some disposable playing piece, being strategically moved from square to square doomed to be used in setups to conquer castles and bishops until being taken by the queen or checking the king--or, in her case, being liberated by her rogue knight. Her children would not know that fate, her husband had decided; she couldn't believe it had not occurred to her how thankful she should be for that before now.

Someone knocked at the door.

"Who is it?" called Renata.

"It's Cambrin," the young earl replied from the corridor. "May I come in please?"

Lileina quickly ducked behind the screen while Alina made her way to the door and opened it, revealing the bridegroom.

"Hello, Cambrin," she greeted him stiffly, unsure of what to think of him after her little talk with Lileina.

"Hello, Alina," he replied politely enough. "If you don't mind, could I please speak to Lileina?"

Alina's eyes narrowed. "You aren't supposed to see the bride before the wedding, in case you've forgotten."

"Oh, yes, of course," mumbled Cambrin under his breath. "Lileina, can you hear me?"

There was a quick squeak of "Yes" from the other side of the room. Cambrin took a deep breath, then began, "Look, Lileina, I've been thinking and... you're only a girl. This wedding isn't fair to you. If you don't want to marry me, all you have to do is say so and I'll call it off. My mother died when I was born, so I don't remember her at all, but my sister tells me she was an unhappy woman trapped in a marriage she never wanted and went half mad near the end, and I don't wish that same fate for you. So if this isn't what you want, then please, just..."

He trailed off, his eyes widening as Lileina emerged.

"Cambrin..." she addressed her betrothed, "thank you. Of everyone involved, you're the first to give me a choice about any of this. You're a better man than most, and... well, thank you."

Alina stepped to the side as Cambrin made his way into the room. "I'm sorry you had to go through all this. I'll tell your father--"

"Don't tell him anything," Lileina cut him off promptly.

Cambrin raised an eyebrow. "...Sorry?"

"I didn't have a choice until you gave me one just now," she explained with a smile, "so I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to marry you. But now you gave a choice, and I know that I do want to, so don't tell my father anything."

"You want to marry me," Cambrin mouthed breathlessly. "I'm sorry, I just... never thought anyone would ever say that to me."

Lileina beamed up at him. "Oh, but why? You're so considerate, and very kind; you'll make a wonderful husband, and a great father."

"Lileina, can I... hold your hand?" he asked her, as if shocked by his own daring.

She giggled. "Go ahead."

Gentle yet determined, he proceeded to do so.

A wave of sweet relief washed over Alina. The secret of life, she knew, was an elusive thing that was often not obtained by those of high birth. Through her and Severin's own initiative, they had acquired it--through Renata and Arkon's persuasive natures, they had as well. Cladelia, Meraleene, Laralita... they had either never been given the chance to find it, or simply never bothered to look.

It was a tricky thing to find, that she knew, and oftentimes it was mimicked by more fleeting, impermanent things--but for Lileina, Alina was pleased to see, it was starting to seem real enough.

NEXT CHAPTER: