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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:
January 1, 1194
"Marry me."
"Mmm?" Alya forced herself to break away from the steady stream of incoming kisses. Of all things Roddie could have sighed between the meetings of their lips. "Are you serious?"
"You know I am. This has been a long time in the making." He swallowed--maybe a little downhearted. "Well... on my part, anyway."
"Oh, no! I didn't mean that. Of course I've thought about it." That wasn't a lie. Problem was, the main thoughts about it tended to be the complications. "Just... the legalities of it all..."
"I know. That's why I didn't ask before now." He ran his hand through her curls before lifting himself off of her. "Um... I hope you don't mind--I know we weren't telling many people--but I went to Aunt Lettie. Just to see if she knew if it would be legal."
"And?"
"She said she didn't know of anything that would make it explicitly illegal." Helpful. "But I'd guess that there aren't too many precedents of a man wanting to marry his adoptive half-niece who's more of an age to be his cousin."
"No, probably not." She couldn't say she failed to understand why. It was probably akin to marrying a step-sibling--though that, she knew thanks to Sir Setran and Lady Evera, was perfectly legal.
"So, I ended up going to the queen, since no one can say no if she approves."
"Dea?" Alya sat up. It still felt odd to call a woman she'd once shared a house with 'the queen'. It also felt odd to call the queen 'Dea'. "What did she say?"
"She said that since we weren't blood-related and I wasn't some creepy old uncle figure who just wanted to get under your skirts, she sees no reason not to allow our marriage as long as you're willing. She also cited the fact that King Oswald let Jadin Andronei marry Renata Tamrion, even though he actually is her uncle. I guess 'more of an age to be cousins' and 'not old and creepy' were major factors there." He took her by the hand and pulled her to his shoulder. She had no idea how he did it, but he always smelled rather like cinnamon. "So... since we are more of an age to be cousins, it should be all right, so long as you don't secretly think I'm old and creepy."
"You're not old and creepy." Alya smirked. The thought of her parents' faces when they found out that while they'd been seeing away New Years' guests, their daughter had been getting engaged to her mother's half-brother was too priceless to let fly by unacknowledged. Even if they weren't blood-related. "And I'll definitely marry you."
NEXT CHAPTER:
March 8, 1191
"Teodrin!" Roddie clapped his hands together with that perpetual energy so many Kemorins seemed to have. If he was here to invite Teodrin to a night at the inn again--which of course he was--then chances were his two studying siblings would also be there. Falidor was quiet as far as that family went, but CeeCee was just as off-the-wall as Roddie if not moreso. Teodrin could barely handle one of them at a time, much less together. Plus, all of their friends and acquaintances and practically everyone else on campus.
All in the same inn at the same time. On a Friday night. With plenty of beer.
"Come and paint the town red tonight!"
It took a concentrated effort not to whimper. He got that Roddie meant well, but there wasn't much point in trying even if he did have an interest in that sort of loud gathering. Friends and fun weren't meant for broken people. "I have some work to do..."
"It can wait. I promised your big brother I'd keep an eye on you, you know--and you don't exactly make that job easy, cooping yourself up in your room all the time."
"We don't have to go to the inn if you'd rather not," offered Farilon from a few feet behind Roddie. "There are plenty of other things we could do. Roddie and I promised Alya and Nata a good night, and Adonis might like having another bachelor along rather than being a fifth carthorse."
The third member of their party grinned at him, though Teodrin's socially-induced lockjaw prevented him from returning it. He hadn't seen Adonis Wythleit around campus since he'd been here, but he remembered him from the old school. Of course, Teodrin probably hadn't been significant enough to merit most upperclassmen's notice. "I don't know if we've met. I graduated with your brother and sister."
"I know," he managed after a couple seconds, not so loudly as he'd somehow managed for Roddie.
"Oh, good, you know each other. I didn't know if Adonis would visit after he graduated, but here he is." Roddie smirked. "Probably here to look for a girlfriend."
"For the night, at least," Nythran added with a jerk of the head eastward. East was where the brothel was. There was no way in hell Teodrin was going there.
"I could use a wingman who doesn't have another date tonight," Adonis admitted. "I could return the favor if you like."
"There you have it!" Roddie clapped again. "Come on, it's either you or Searle, and... well, you know how he is."
Yes. As far as Teodrin knew, there was nothing out of the ordinary about Searle's anatomy. "I really should do my homework. I have a lot of it."
"That's a shame." Adonis sighed. "I think we would have had a good time."
NEXT CHAPTER:
January 1, 1189
"You're leaving because of me, aren't you?"
Alya skidded to a halt a couple feet short of Roddie, fighting the urge to pant. She hadn't quite realized it before midnight--not consciously, at least. Roddie was her adoptive half-uncle. She'd always known that, but he'd never felt like her uncle. She'd assumed it was because they were close enough in age that he was more of a cousin, or an older brother. She'd assumed wrong.
"I..." He grimaced. Alya's heart seized. "I don't know. That... that kiss was odd."
"It wasn't odd."
"Yes." Roddie pushed back some his hair, swaying with a marked discomfort. "That's what was odd about it."
"I know." But so what if it wasn't odd? And if that made it odd? "Though, what if that's a good thing?"
"What if it is? Your parents would kill me."
"My parents love you, you idiot." And if they hadn't killed him already for all the trouble he'd caused them as a youngster, surely he had nothing to worry about! "Sure, it might be a bit shocking for them at first, but they'd get over it."
"Maybe." But she hadn't quite convinced that frown into a grin. "Is it legal, though? I mean, I know I'm not your uncle by blood, but--"
"Lady Meraleene's twin sister married their uncle. King Oswald decreed that they were close enough in age that they were more like cousins anyway, plus Renata hadn't really been raised with Jadin as her uncle since her mother died before he was born."
"Meraleene of Felonis? Sir Abrich's wife?"
Alya nodded. "She was visiting Xeta one day when I was calling on Lyssa and CeeCee."
"I didn't know that." But the newfound knowledge helped somewhat, if his eased brows and flattened mouth said anything. Not fully, but somewhat. Enough. "I suppose it would be worth at least thinking about, then. I don't want to force you into anything scandalous."
"Nor I you. Plus I suppose I should at least bounce the idea off of my mother."
"Only if she promises not to kill me."
"She won't kill you." She'd be saying that quite often before they figured this out and her mother proved otherwise, she was sure of it. "We'll figure this out. And if it doesn't work, we could always still be friends."
"I should hope so." Roddie smiled--finally. "There's no friend I'd hate to lose more than you."
That was true. Whatever their relationship, they were always also friends. That was one thing that could never change. "Likewise. Perhaps we ought to leave together and talk on the way home?"
"No. You were enjoying yourself. Plus the distance will give us both time to think." He took her hand in his and kissed it. His lips were soft enough atop her knuckles, but she preferred them on her mouth. "But we'll talk more tomorrow, all right?"
Alya nodded. One sleep would not be long. "All right."
NEXT CHAPTER:
January 5, 1187
It had taken Rina until halfway up the school's stairs to realize just how pointless coming in early had been.
The fall term had been Severin's last at the school, and Rina had known that. She knew very well--too well--that he would not be joining her in the sixteen-year-olds' self-guided university preparations any more, that he would spend January writing diagnostic exams and comparing course syllabi and otherwise charge ahead with the practical side of readiness, even moving himself into one of the student houses near the end of the month so he was settled in for his first classes in February. She knew that.
And yet, she'd left early anyway, as if she'd meet him in the library well before anyone else like they'd done before. Habit, she guessed. That or sheer stupidity. Either way, it was an embarrassment she wasn't quite sure how to handle, and didn't much care to with her cornucopia of pre-existing problems.
But with the mistake came the kick-in-the-gut re-realization that her only friend was gone. She was past the point of disliking her other classmates, even if she wasn't fond of them, but... just that. She hadn't managed to forge a connection with any of her other peers. She might have been close with Alina, maybe--Alina had always been nice, and Alina was popular enough that her approval of Rina had brought with it a number of allowances from others--but of course it would be that Alina was Severin's twin, and was therefore on the same timeline as he was.
Rina wasn't due to start at the university until October. She had little overall cause to wish for a hastened rate of time, but the prospect of nine lonely months was even less promising than what she could gather of the rest of her life. The only upside she could see was that this particular misery, at least, had a concrete end date.
"You're here early."
Roddie--one of only three others currently working on their university preparations. He also had the distinction of being the only student Rina knew who'd be starting university in the same term she did, what with Farilon and Mernolt leaving them in the summer. She supposed she had no problem with him, or hadn't in the past. He'd been friendly on the off-chance they'd talked, but aside from that, he'd been rather skilled at leaving her alone, which she appreciated more than he or any of the others could have known.
But he wasn't leaving her alone just now, probably for the sheer convenience of talking to her. As if sitting in silence hadn't been an option. "I'm usually here at this time. You're early."
"I need to brush up on my biology--and I figured you'd start showing up at a normal time now that Severin's gone."
"Well, I haven't, have I?" she snapped, no thought required or considered. Might not have been the way to discourage him. "Besides, where you're weak in biology, I'm weak in history."
"I don't see a history text."
"And I don't see a biology one."
"Because I just got here?" Was that meant to be spiteful? He didn't sound spiteful, though the words could have been so. He did sit down beside her, as someone who liked her would--or as someone who obsessively loathed her would. If he did mean to be spiteful, she'd leave.
"It's all right to miss him, you know. You seem like the type who'd rather not miss people, if you don't mind me saying."
What the hell did that mean? "You think people are supposed to go out of their way to miss each other?"
"No. You just... you seem like someone who'd find it easier to keep everyone else at arm's length. Not that I think there's anything inherently wrong with that, but... you know. Everyone deserves a few welcome exceptions."
No, not spiteful. Just a little presumptuous. "It's not as if I'll never see him again. We still do things outside of school."
"Severin does things outside of school?" His head turned, blinking the information in like most did when she said almost anything about Severin. Apparently the Severin she knew was hers and hers alone. "Huh. Maybe you don't want him to be your exception, but you'd definitely be his."
Eh? "Severin could find a much better exception than me."
"Are you sure? I mean, you wouldn't be my first pick--no offense--but there's nothing outright wrong with you."
Rina's gut tied itself in a knot and tugged. If he'd known a damn thing... then yes, that would have been spiteful. "There are a lot of things outright wrong with me."
"Maybe." But he shrugged, as if he didn't really care either way. Good. Rina preferred it if he didn't care. If he cared, then she would have had to care, and she didn't have much capacity for that. She'd already given the bulk of it to Severin. "But I think he sees those outright wrongs as something else entirely."
NEXT CHAPTER:
December 28, 1185
As of two days ago, Roddie was uncle to a grand total of nineteen nieces and fourteen nephews. Thirty-three kids in total, though 'kids' could be a stretch for some of them. Alina Wythleit, his eldest niece, was his junior by a mere thirteen months. Even Alya, at twelve, didn't really feel like a niece to him, and not just because they were too close in age. Roddie had been an uncle since he was barely more than a year old, when he'd scarcely known what an uncle was, much less how to be one. The nieces and nephews closer to his age? Well, they'd always be more like cousins.
But the little ones were a different story. The more recently they'd been born, then, tautologically, the older he'd been--and the more of an uncle he'd felt. So never before had he felt like such an uncle as when he'd been handed this newest one, Riona's youngest boy, and he didn't think that was just a result of his having grown up.
Truth was, he'd learned one hell of a lot from Ilvina. Severin de Cervantes was the first of his siblings' children to have been born since Roddie had known her, since he'd learned just how cruel the world and those in it could be. He'd been relieved to hear that Riona had delivered a boy--not because he'd wanted a nephew over a niece, but because he couldn't promise a niece anything without being stifling or patronizing. He couldn't promise her she'd be respected, or even treated half-well. He couldn't promise her that no one would ever try to deny her an opportunity, or that no one would want to force her to be something she wasn't.
But a nephew...
"You're going to be better than that," Roddie promised him. "You're not going to be like Ilvina's father or Isidro's father or any of the other creeps out there. You're going to be good. You'll be assertive enough that no one will walk all over you, but you'll never push another person's boundaries like that. Never. You're going to be good, and people will like you.
"Because you're going to respect them."
Severin only blinked because he hadn't in a while. He was already listening. "You're good."
"How do you know? All he does is cry and sleep."
Alya. Damn, he'd been so focused on the baby he hadn't even noticed her. "Shit. Sorry."
"It's fine. I just got here." Her eyes shifted to the baby, mouth morphing to a grin. Her new brother's birth had been the first she'd been allowed to witness. From the little he knew of birthing, Roddie would have guessed it was a scarring thing to watch, but it wasn't the first time he'd suspected Alya of being tougher than he was. "I just wanted to say hello. I'll leave you two to whatever you were doing."
"Stay as long as you like. It's not like you're bothering us."
"Well, I'm not concerned about bothering you," she assured him, stepping forth to coo over the baby. "But this little one's new. He needs to get a glimpse of the world without being bothered. Don't you, Sevvie?"
"You're not bothersome. But maybe he does need to be bothered." Because who couldn't be bothered by certain things? Like what happened to Ilvina? Not the sort of person Roddie wanted his nephews to be, that was certain. "There's a lot out there to be bothered by--that we should be bothered by."
Alya frowned, dark eyes shading over as they often did when sorrow struck. It was a sad sight, but she got it. She never did need much explained. "That's true."
"But between you and me and your parents, I think he'll turn out fine." Maybe that was wishful thinking. But it would happen if Roddie had anything to do with it, and the worst thought in the world was that he personally could do nothing. Was it somehow out of line for him to want a jump-start on improving the world? It couldn't have thrown a loop to some cosmic plan, his wanting a slightly better foundation for when his own children came to be?
"And maybe he'll help with the world overall. I mean, he's just one baby. But that's a start, right?"
Alya nodded. No, she never did need much explained. "Have to start somewhere."
NEXT CHAPTER:
August 12, 1185
"Roddie?"
He must have lost track of time. He hadn't expected Alya and her siblings to be back from school yet. It felt like he'd barely been back at Isidro and Riona's since his mother had forced breakfast down his throat back home. She'd said he didn't have to go to school if he didn't feel up to it. Maybe the time had passed on the road. He didn't quite remember leaving his parents' keep.
But Alya was here, now. She and the others must have come in through the stables. They must have spent their breaks wondering where he was, dodging Roddie's classmates' questions about why he wasn't there. Alya or Shahira might have gone to Lady Camaline to explain, if she didn't already know. The baron was her father-in-law, after all. She'd probably guessed.
In all likelihood, so had Alya. "Ilvina died."
"Oh." Sure enough--sympathetic, but not surprised. Like his mother, his father, his Aunt Aerina, Riona and Isidro both. Why had he been shocked? "I'm so sorry."
People always said that, as if it were ever their faults. Ilvina's father was the one who ought to have been sorry--but so far, all Roddie had heard about his incarceration was that he'd spent it scowling at the guards and berating some doctor and cursing Roddie's mother for some reason. He'd likely forgotten he had a daughter. Asshole.
"I... I barely knew her, Alya. I met her barely over a week ago. And now she's dead." He'd never really know her. Had anyone really gotten to know her, in the short time she'd had? "It's just... I don't know."
"No one knows." He heard the scuffle of her skirt against the cushion as she sat down, though he hadn't heard her footsteps drawing nearer. "I just... I hope wherever she is, it's better than here."
Amen. Whatever Ilvina's afterlife, it couldn't have been worse than what she'd endured in the land of the living. If it was, then whoever was in charge was a heartless, sadistic son of a bitch.
For all awful things happened, Roddie didn't want to think someone like that was calling the shots.
"I hope so too."
NEXT CHAPTER:
August 2, 1185
Contrary to the beliefs of his "generous" brother, it was not Roddie's first time in a brothel. It was, however, his first time in this particular brothel--and he'd already made up his mind that it would be his last.
This was a Tetranshire brothel, one that Jadin had frequented for some years. He'd said a while back that the place had gone downhill since the old madame had died, but he kept coming back out of obligation to his ladies, which was probably the closest Jadin had to a code of honor. Roddie had no such obligation. He was used to brothels that were warm and well-maintained, filled with smiling and well-fed women in reasonable health. This one was drafty and dirty, and the women were gaunt and unenthused, only Jadin able to summon sincere grins.
So, Roddie had thought it best for everyone that he wait at the table in the entrance, though he'd leave a tip when he left. He got the sense that the money was needed.
Word was that this had been a respected establishment once, or at least as respected as brothels could be. The old madame had been much like her counterparts in the Veldora brothels, maternal and egalitarian and a born peacekeeper. Roddie hadn't heard much about the new madame, if she was even around.
Surely, none of the women had appeared to be in charge...
"Lonely there, handsome?"
If the voice had gone for throaty and sexy, it met a roadblock in the form of phlegm.
And when he turned his head to get a better look, that wasn't a surprise. She couldn't have been any older than he was, if she was as old. She was naturally dark, but that didn't hide the black circles beneath her eyes, even in the dim light of the room. Her bone structure betrayed a small and slim frame to begin with, but the lack of much between skin and bone betrayed her size as more than nature. Her red hair was a mass of tangles, curly and thick and no doubt lovely with proper care, but it had matted in many patches and some chunks hung limp as if they'd halfway fallen out. Even her eyes were put out, more like a well-painted doll's than those of a living girl, not a trace of life behind them.
She didn't want him, nor did she want sex in general. He could not in good conscience take her up on that offer. "I'm just waiting for my brother."
"You're Jadin's brother?"
"Yes." Though... "Um... he and you didn't..."
"Oh, no. He said--" A coughing fit broke up her raspy sentence. "--I'm too young for him."
Roddie guessed that would be the only good news he heard here tonight. "How old are you?"
"Fourteen... almost."
Damn. "The madame lets you work here?"
"There's no mad--" Another cough. And another. Roddie half-expected a lung to ooze from her mouth. "I mean--my mother was the old madame. When she died, my father took ownership."
...what. "Your father has you working here?"
"Well... once I had a woman's body, he thought I had to earn my keep." But she didn't have a woman's body! And who expected a thirteen-year-old to have a woman's mind? "And he says that's doubly important now, since I had to take that--" A wheeze--and a tear? "--break."
He thought he knew what that meant. Thin as she was, there was a slight flab to her belly and her breasts were disproportionate to the rest of her. He had enough siblings and nieces and nephews to have seen that before. "You had a baby?"
"I guess you could call it that. It was... pretty deformed..."
Then it was probably dead. He'd spare her the agony of answering that question. "When was this?"
"Three weeks ago?" Shit. "The days just kind of blur--"
She doubled over, choking on her own tongue. A spurt of blood flew from her mouth to the old wooden floor, narrowly missing Roddie's boot.
Like everything else, that could not have been good. "Can I take you to a healer?"
NEXT CHAPTER:
