A Matter of Blood Pt. 07

"Oh," I said, and then with a lack of thought that I am famous for, "is that all?"

Raisa stood up and looked down at me, her anger flashing in her beautiful eyes.

"What in the hells do you mean, 'Is that all?' Did you not hear what I said? The child is a Weirdling. Not a Pureblood!"

"Yes, I heard you. Did you truly think that I wouldn't love our child because of that?"

"Well, no, but...I know how our family deals with this kind of thing. They give the baby away to some gods forsaken temple. Or leave it out on a rock somewhere to die. Or..."

I laughed. It was not tactful and I feel very bad about it now, but I couldn't help it. Raisa hit my arm and I saw that she was about to launch on a tirade that would make Adewyn proud.

"Wait! Peace, wife!" I said desperately, and she stopped and looked at me, suspicious but patient, "I do not laugh at you or the idea of hurting our child. But we won't hurt this child, or send it away, or...well anything we're rumored to do. Those stories are just stories, at least in our family."

"Really?" Raisa said, with great skepticism. Our family was infamously cruel, even for Purebloods. Impaling had at one time been the common punishment for poaching.

"Yes, really. You can't have a Pureblood family without Weirdlings. And Purebloods breed true with them, so getting rid of them would be foolish, even for ruthless types like father."

It was true. Weirdlings were called such because of their rather strange appearance and extremely varied natural abilities, which often manifested completely out of their control. They were rare enough to have all manner of stories told about them. Some were even true. Your 'typical' Weirdling had hair of an unnatural color. Not even white like a Pureblood, or deep forest green like some Wyldbloods, but sky blues and bright greens and even royal purple. And their eyes were, without exception, entirely black, which everyone quite unfairly assumed made them sinister. Some were sinister of course, but that was by choice, not inclination. Their power would not, typically, be the same as a Pureblood, but they could still learn magic nearly as effectively. It was simply the social stigma of acknowledging them that was the issue.

I could see that Raisa still wasn't convinced, so I went on.

"You never met her, but grandmother was a Weirdling. She wore wigs and cloaks and such and used enchantments to hide her eyes, but around her rooms she went about naturally. She married and obviously had Pureblood children. She could also quite naturally float a bit and make people temporarily forget huge swathes of memory if she desired. She was great fun at gatherings. You can ask my mother if you don't believe me."

Raisa laughed now, and I joined her. This was truly joyous news. If the child had survived being struck by lightning and the kind of reckless healing that I had done, then they would surely be strong. The abilities could be trying at times, especially during childhood, but it didn't matter. I was going to be a father, yet again, and Raisa would finally have the child she so desperately wanted. Our child.

"Good. Well, I'm glad that's settled," Raisa said, visibly more relaxed, her small hand unconsciously resting protectively over her belly, "Now, when are you going to marry Merwyd?"

This was the very favorite topic of every woman in my family except Merwyd, although I cannot imagine she was unaware of the pressure the others were putting on me. I had yet to marry her, even in an informal manner as when I'd given the rings to Raisa and Adewyn. I went to the high priest of the Temple of the Law and had both of those confirmed, and it turned out that the marriage was legal and with full rights as soon as rings were placed on fingers. They were witnesses for each other, and they both agreed that Raisa had been selected as First Wife. So, if anything happened to me, there would be established regency and succession.

That being said, they all wondered when I would make Merwyd my third wife. I gave Raisa the same answer I always did.

"When the time is right, and that time is none of your business."

She then gave the same response that I always got.

"She's my sister, so it's my business."

But she was smiling. It was one part ritual, one part joke, and one part deadly serious reminder that sisters took care of one another and I best move quickly if I wanted to keep getting laid on the regular. But it wasn't the right time. Not yet.

One might wonder how I could one the one hand say that I trusted and loved her but on the other refuse to marry her. For her part, Merwyd didn't complain or even bring it up. She understood I think. I was to be king and I had killed my brother, without remorse or forgiveness, and then taken his First straight to my bed. Marriage after this required a mourning period, and, preferably, some kind of formal religious declaration of expiation. The same priest who confirmed my other two marriages told me that king or no king, no such declaration would be forthcoming, at least until the high rites of summer. This was, he assured me, the appropriate amount of time, after which any good Pureblood would be expected to get back to breeding.

He was, however, generally agreeable. I took care of two other legal matters of some importance. One, I adopted Gwyn, which everyone more or less agreed was a good idea, as it gave her a home, security, and made it much harder for anyone to use her as a pawn in a game of succession. Two, and known only to myself and her, I married my mother. That raised his eyebrows a bit but he acquiesced when I told him that there was every chance that she might bear my child in the future, and we didn't want any royal bastards running about, did we?

Yes I know its quite unusual, which is why I kept it secret. It was a bare minimum of legal protection for her, in case things went very badly and she had to escape to another land. It also gave her the right to sit as regent, if needed. Or any child of hers by me be eligible for the throne. I'd been doing a lot of thinking about the worst-case scenario lately.

Now to ensure that it didn't come to pass.

* * *

When I was woken up the following night at around the same time, I was ready to tall whoever it was where they could go and how fast. That was until I heard Raisa as she rather rudely poked me in the side. A messenger was standing just inside the tent, looking uncomfortable. I'd apparently slept through his arrival.

"She's having the baby! Get up!"

I got up, fell over, tangled in sheets, pulled on a shirt, ran outside into the night. I realized that I'd forgotten my boots, turned around, and Raisa handed them to me with an indulgent smile, a sheet wrapped around her lovely shoulders. I put them on and jumped on the horse, no cloak in the chill early morning. I cursed myself for not thinking to leave Caliban with Adewyn and just having her draw me to her. I wondered idly if she could do that over such a distance. I'd have to ask her for future reference. I was quite actively distracting myself with pointless thoughts because my horse could only gallop so fast.

"Dammit they'll have their first birthday by the time we get there!" I yelled at my steed.

Wulf simply whickered and kept up the very fast but safe speed. He was a good horse for me, because he knew when to ignore me for my own good. I stopped swearing at him and promised him fine oats later for the midnight ride. It wasn't his fault his rider was a jackass. I rode into the city, the guards opening the gates for me, well in advance of my arrival. I'd have to send them something too. Whiskey maybe. Northerners did like their whiskey.

After about a hundred years we arrived in front of the mayoral palace. I was ushered into the foyer and up the stairs to the rooms where Adewyn was staying.

Merwyd was there already, reading, and Gwyn lay sleeping on a couch nearby. I saw the closed door on the other side of the room open and my mother exited. I started to head towards the door and she held out her hand, palm towards me. Despite me being far larger than her, she didn't move and simply narrowed her eyes at my grunt of annoyance.

"No, Finn. This place isn't for you. You are here for when things are done."

"But I'm right here! She's only fifteen paces that way! I was there not two nights ago!" I said, nearly shouting. I probably sounded like an idiot for trying to oppose almost a thousand years of tradition. I started to move around her. She grabbed my arm.

"Don't make us have you removed, son."

I laughed. Mother did not. I looked at the guards who had followed me in. They looked uncomfortable with the situation, but I considered whether they would listen to me or my mother when it came down to it. I considered whether anyone besides myself would be foolish enough go against Pureblood women when a child was on the way. I stood down, admitting defeat, and put my hands behind my head, letting my anxiety manifest as something other than anger.

"Dammit, I should have just waited for Raisa," I said, feeling particularly stupid.

"Nonsense," Merwyd said, finally, "Raisa knew you would be this way and she'll be along soon. I just stayed here since we knew that Adewyn's time was approaching. And she may need more than one of us. In any case, Finn, Adewyn doubtless heard you. She'd be mad at you if you barged in there against her wishes, but knowing you are here will be a comfort to her."

I sighed and sat down next to Gwyn. This was the Merwyd I was more used to. Logical and sensible and a good counter to my emotional ways. Mother looked at me as though she didn't quite trust me to behave, but I had made up my mind. If I wasn't half-asleep I would never have tried to go in.

I had accidentally woken Gwyn with my antics, and she sat up and looked at me with pity.

"Do you want me to tell Auntie Adewyn anything for you?" she asked.

"If you would tell her that I love her and am thinking of her, I'd very much appreciate it."

Gwyn nodded, then went into Adewyn's room. No one tried to stop her.

"Is it all right for her to go in there alone?" I asked.

"Of course," Merwyd said, "She can help, too."

Mother and her shared a small secret smile before Merwyd returned to her book.

"Your father never would have tried something like that," mother said, but then surprisingly she favored me with a smile, "but then he never would have shown that much concern for his women, either. Adewyn is going to pay back your devotion with interest."

"She's done more than enough. All of you have."

So we waited. I heard Adewyn cry out once, then again. Gwyn came out of the room but didn't look particularly upset. Mother and Merwyd went in. The cries increased in volume and intensity. It occurred to me that while I had happened to be around to hear babies being born in inns and temples, I'd never been anywhere near a Pureblood birth.

Adewyn's cries were much sharper than I would have expected. I didn't realize that I was tapping my knee nervously until Raisa took my hand. I hadn't noticed her enter. She had sat next to me, on the other side of Gwyn who had dozed off leaning against me.

"Don't you need to go in?"

"They'll call me if I'm needed. They have a priestess in there too. It will be all right."

I sighed. Adewyn screamed. It wasn't like the noises I'd heard women make before in the pains of birth. It was a lot closer to the enraged cries of a wounded berserker on the battlefield. I looked at Raisa, but she remained utterly calm.

Adewyn cried out once more, much more softly. I wondered if it was over. Then the floor shock and the doors creaked from a hidden force as bright light flashed from underneath them. The air was thick and sticky with magic. Then silence.

I blinked in surprise but Raisa stood up, calmly.

"Come on," she said, "it's time to meet your child."

* * *

Adewyn looked flushed and more alive than I'd ever seen her. She also looked less tired than I expected, though that might just be because she was generally in excellent condition. She was holding a swaddled bundle with a tiny pink form inside of it. I felt the great responsibility of this new life settle on me, but it wasn't unwelcome. Rather, it aligned with my very being, provided context for who I was and who I had grown to be.

"What shall we name him?" Adewyn asked.

"I like your original suggestion for a boy," I told her.

"Really? You didn't like it before."

"Well. I have a better understanding of father now. His name should be remembered."

Adewyn smiled.

"Good. His name is Artan."

I reached out and she reluctantly let me hold him, clearly unwilling to be separated despite her trust for me.

"Don't worry, I'm not taking him out of the room. We can't do the rites for him properly until we're have a men's sanctuary to work with."

I beamed down at him as he looked up at me, quiet and thoughtful despite having undergone this trial with his mother. I felt resolution to be a good father, a present one, better than my own. It was a truly good day.

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CHAPTER TWENTY

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The day started well enough. I woke up and signed some papers in the headquarters while I read reports. Gwyn came in and we drank tea while she told me about her new tutors and the new magic she could do. Her power was far from being unlocked, but her natural control was truly prodigious. She typically called me Finn, as her mother did, and we did not stand much on ceremony.

She was very young, but intelligent enough that she would soon understand that I had killed her father. What impact that would have on her was anyone's guess. He had never been doting and often been cruel, but as I could attest, children are often irrationally attached to such men. That was for the future. In the now, she accepted me as a new friend, and that was good enough.

Adewyn insisted on working as soon as possible, although she didn't like constantly fobbing young Artan off onto wet-nurses and nannies, so he was often near by. She did her best to keep up with all the news and needs of the army, and even started to go out and drill them a few times a week. The troops started calling her the Ice Dragon again, and this secretly pleased her. She had all the signs of being an excellent Pureblood mother. I spent far more time than I expected simply holding the boy and speaking or reading to him, or bringing him to Adewyn for feeding at night. I was told over and over that a king wasn't supposed to do such things. I reminded people that a king who did what he wished was the most powerful sort of king, and also that we used to hang people here for backtalk.

Raisa was barely starting to show, and chafed at being unable to be my bodyguard any more. She was now relegated to duties that exposed her to a minimum of danger. She still worked as my spymaster, a role that was becoming more important by the day. And, if anything, she shared my bed with more frequency as her libido picked up. There are few things more beautiful in their desire and demanding in their need than a pregnant Pureblood woman.

Merwyd was being the dutiful and penitent sister, by which I mean she was distributing alms in cities and villages all over the north, while being seen to attend services at many temples. This would, the high priest of the Temple of Law assured me, show that she would be a worthy wife for a new king. It also gave her something of a vacation and a chance to consider her own future. There was a part of me that worried that I was forcing her into new marriage straight from a bad one. She insisted this was untrue, but time to reflect was probably wise. For her part I knew that she was afraid that I was sending her away, even though I assured her that I was not. Ideally, I would have made the trip with her. The fact that she left Gwyn in my care after so many years of her being used as leverage against was a testament to her trust.

Ironically, mother was, that very day, to begin a trip to the continent. She knew many ancient families there, and not just Purebloods. She would set forth her case for King Finn and try and get their support, not in coin or men, but in acceptance of my claim. And not incidentally lobby to keep them from deciding to attack us while we were weak. She had been meeting with Adewyn to plan strategies and so she could say goodbye to her grandson before she left.

Despite what happened, I am daily grateful. I am grateful because Merwyd was away, Raisa was well outside the camp in a small manor house designated for her use, and Gwyn was sitting in the headquarters tent with me a significant distance away. She was just explaining to me the mechanics of conjuring a small ice spirit when the scream rang out. It was a man's scream, and not simply of pain. There was deep and dire fear in it. Without thought I called Caliban to me. She formed in my hand. I was prepared to run out to whatever awaited me when I remembered Gwyn. She looked up at me, sitting across from me in a tiny chair, confused and afraid.

"Gwyn, I have to go help. Do you remember Caliban?"

She nodded, looking wide eyed at the spear.

"Good, because she's going to stay and protect you. She'll stay next to you and speak with you, and if you let her, she can use your magic to help. Do you understand?"

Gwyn nodded again. I'm sure it was very confusing but she did understand some things quite well. And I could see that she was excited to get to play with a new toy. Caliban expressed a degree of trepidation and disinterest in her new task, she was not the sort to settle down and care for a child, but I imparted upon her my feeling of protectiveness towards Gwyn. Caliban floated over, and I could see she was establishing contact with the girl by the way her face lit up.

There were more screams outside. At least Gwyn would be protected. I ran out into the new world of madness that confronted us all.

* * *

As I was not there to see it start, I'm going to describe things as my sister-wife Adewyn saw them. She was there from the beginning to the end, and later would insist on me knowing everything that happened. I believe she expected me to pass judgement on her. The only thing I could say for sure was that I would have done no better, and perhaps worse.

Adewyn insisted on returning to the camp two weeks after giving birth. The priestess assured me that she would be fine for work as long as I minded my place and didn't try to fuck her for two months. As if I would be the one initiating sex. In any case we found a larger tent and put it right outside of mine. Someone even found a sort of collapsible basinet for Artan to use. It was quite homey.

Adewyn was speaking outside to Kyrza, who by now was a General in her own right, trusted with all of our cavalry. Mother was inside, playing and talking to Artan, who had taken a liking to her already. Kyrza looked up, and shouted: "What the fucking hell is that?"

It was an appropriate question. It flew but it was most definitely neither bird nor wyvern. Whatever it was, had arms and legs, but they were greatly elongated, as were its hands and feet. It had a torso, but it too was distended and stretched in strange ways. And its head, oblong and searching, was too large for its frame. It's huge wings combined aspects of both a bat and an insect. In the light of the sun not much else could be made out save that its black skin shone like the carapace of a beetle.

Adewyn, thinking fast, threw a gout of fire at it. It ignored it, letting it wash over its glossy, unnatural skin, and as if responding to her worst fears, it headed directly for the tent where mother and Artan were. As it grew closer, she could see that it had no visible eyes, ears, or nose, merely a jaw like a predatory fish, but filled with many needle sharp teeth. It had six fingers and toes on each hand and foot, and each was tipped with a razor sharp transparent claw. It dove for the tent, but seemed to understand that it wouldn't support its weight, and instead of diving into it, shredded the roof as it passed.