12/8/06
The major characters and the settings are the sole property of Square Enix. The journey on which I am taking these characters is mine alone and no one else should be faulted for what I do and write.
The Dynast
Nooj had never thought he would found a dynasty. His inclination to seek and find an early death would have seemed to preclude such an ambition had he ever imagine it. Yet with the older boy almost nine and the twins turning four, he seemed to be accomplishing that feat in spite of himself. The fact that Paine was pregnant again made the idea nearly a fait accompli.
He and Paine had gone to great efforts to prevent their progeny from being treated like princelings at the establishment in Bevelle. It had not been easy; there were too many people with too little to occupy them in that temple fortress with its miles of secret corridors and unexplored dungeons. The ever present danger of the children losing their way in those hidden labyrinths had necessitated a skein of watchful eyes to form a secure network around them and that had created a psychologically risky environment. Now that Spira was finally calm enough for Nooj to relinquish most of the controls to a recently elected council, he had moved his family to the Mushroom Rock Road. Surrounding himself there with those who shared his fascination with history, he was compiling a series of volumes on Spiran civilization for the use of other scholars and researchers. With his future thus mapped out, he was also finally establishing something resembling a normal life. He was therefore at leisure to worry about things he would once have dismissed.
Paine, also, had not contemplated so large a family. As she observed her steadily more pear-shaped body, she was increasingly aware of other changes in herself. She had been appalled two days ago to discover herself behaving acutely out of character.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed watching Nooj pull his robe over his head before joining her. Suddenly the sight of the old whip marks on his back overwhelmed her.
"Beloved, how could you bear that? I can't stand to see how you were hurt." She leapt from her position to wrap her arms around him and water his scarred back with her tears.
Nooj, his head enveloped in the folds of his cassock, struggled to keep his balance. "What in the name of every aeon on Spira are you talking about?"
"Your poor back. Why did you let them do that to you? Didn't you have enough scars?"
"What are you talking about?" he repeated. "Just let me get out of this thing and maybe I can figure out what you mean." He fended her off long enough to drop the robe on the floor and catch her wrists in his hands. "Now, what's wrong with you?"
"Your back. All those marks. You were just a boy. Why did you let them beat you like that?" She was sobbing convulsively.
"Paine! Stop this right now!" He shook her with a certain amount of impatience. "You've seen those scars a hundred times, a thousand times. They were put there before I met you and I deserved them. Now, stop this. You know why I got them. You've heard the story. Now, hush." He swept her feet from under her and dropped her on the bed.
Sitting down beside her, he drew her head over to his shoulder and pulled up her gown. "Look here - you have the little marks on your belly from the other two pregnancies. We both carry some traces of our past years. My back and your belly are just signs we've lived in the real world. No different." He tenderly stroked her abdomen, attempting to soothe her.
Instead, she had cried harder and held to him as though he was the only refuge from a violent storm. It was a long time before she was able to stop her weeping and hiccough her way to sleep.
The next day she had been her usual self again and when Nooj mentioned her behaviour, briskly changed the subject. Then in the afternoon, she had found herself consumed with anger and burst into the library, banging doors and stamping her booted feet, shouting that this was the very last child she intended to bear no matter what he wanted. This kaleidoscope of feeling bewildered her as much as her mate. Remembering these incidents, she blushed and tried to think why she was behaving so strangely. Neither of her other pregnancies had made her turn into a hysterical, overly emotional blob. She had heard of homone storms but had thought them to be myths or excuses for lack of self-control. Now she wondered and was determined to discuss the matter with Nooj that very night.
The evening ritual was a time-consuming one. Leaving Nooj to hone his skills at bonding with Jarl, the older boy, over a game of kext, Paine saw to the bathing of the twins and their tucking in. While these moments were precious and important to the entire family, they did take time and could not be hurried. Paine would have felt deprived to miss the chance to kiss the damp, fragrant faces of Avtor and Aliela and feel their chubby star-shaped hands against her cheeks before she drew the covers up to their shoulders. She stood over them for a few more minutes, reflecting that time did not play fair where children were concerned. They grew up too fast. Jarl was already insisting on being treated as more than a child and the twins would soon follow that path as well. She rested her hand on her abdomen. At least she had another on the way to prolong the joy of discovery.
Returning from the nursery just as the game finished, Paine paused in the doorway to watch the two males with an indulgent eye. They were so much alike, both in appearance and in personality. Jarl was gaining height by the day and gave every impression of becoming a man as tall as his sire and with the same breadth of shoulder; he had copied Nooj in the grave courtesy with which he treated other people and often seemed older than he was, just as his father had. When the boy bowed to his mother and wished her a good night, she held herself back from hugging him as she longed to do and treated him with the respect befitting his growing maturity. The years had gone by so quickly and there was so much she had learned in those years, she mused as she linked hands with Nooj and they finally headed toward their own rooms.
After pulling on the scarlet cassock he used as a houserobe, Nooj drew Paine down with him in the large chair near the window, a favoured place for serious discussions. It had served that purpose since before Jarl was conceived and had become a symbol of their mutual commitment.
"Paine, love," he started as he settled her snugly in his lap and rubbed his chin against her head. "Do you really want to go through with this new baby? It seems very hard on you this time and we have what most people would think of as enough family already. Damn, that boy's going to beat me at kext one of these days."
Paine wriggled, making the minor adjustments to accommodate his prostheses, movements which had become automatic over time, and laughed against his chest. "Do you think after five months, I can just decide to resorb this child of ours? It doesn't work that way, sweet idiot. We passed the choice time long ago and anyway I do want this baby and any others we care to produce. This isn't something that just happened when we weren't looking. We knew what we were doing, at least I did. You do understand that when we decide for me to stop taking the herbs and we keep on doing those things we both enjoy so much, this is the usual result, don't you?" There was a growing edge to her voice.
He kept his mouth shut, calculating correctly that there was not a thing he could say which would sound right at this precise moment. He just held her gently until he felt her muscles relax and sensed the storm blowing itself out.
Paine spread her hand on his chest and sighed. "Sorry, love. I don't mean to be so prickly. It's just ... We've done pretty well so far and it's just my body chemistry cutting up rough this time. It'll pass." She kissed him on the edge of his jaw and pressed even closer. "So Jarl is getting to be a real contender? How will it feel to be defeated by your replacement?"
"I don't want to talk about it." He grunted into her hair. "You sure? About the baby? I don't want you to suffer for my vanity. I never did. To tell the truth, I would still sacrifice everybody else on Spira, even our three children to spare you an instant's discomfort," he declaimed in extravagant tones.
"Now you're talking nonsense - but keep it up. It's like lotion on an overstretched belly." She rubbed the still modest swelling beneath her waist. "Tell me, Nooj, are you ever sorry you made the decision to live?"
He gave the question the attention it merited. "When I am holding you or looking at you or dreaming about you - no. You are still my anchor to life and you know it, you hussy." He slapped her lightly on her hip before placing his hand over hers on her stomach. "In four more months ... do you know what this one is going to be?"
"Yes, shall I tell you?"
"Not this time. But it would be nice to have an equal spread." He suddenly widened his eyes in alarm. "It's not another set of twins or triplets or anything like that, is it?"
Turning in his arms, Paine wrapped herself around him and chuckled. "Not bloody likely. Rest easy; it's just a singleton. But I thought you'd probably rather have another boy so you can build up your own personal corps of fighters."
"And what about females makes them ineligible? I have a faint memory of a slim, glorious woman who was one of the best Warriors I ever knew until she retired into a career of producing more Warriors. I wonder what happened to her."
She drew back and grinned widely. "You'll find out within another half year once she gets her figure back and can get back into real training." She struck forward like a serpent and seized his lips with hers, kissing him so deeply as to render them both breathless.
"That's another thing ... I keep having these sudden attacks of passion when I desire you more than ever. I thought motherhood was supposed to tame this sort of thing."
Nooj stroked the length of her body. "Ixion! I hope not. You are the most provocative woman I've ever known and there is not one day when I don't hunger for you." He parted her robe and lifted a breast. "Will you let me taste your milk again after?"
"Yes, I love that part. To feel you taking nourishment from me ..." She shivered and arched up to his touch. "There is so much pleasure ... more than I ever dreamed when we first came together. After ten years, we're still finding new ways to ..."
Instead of answering, he bent to the proffered nipple and continued his caresses. Her body was warm and responsive and she became increasingly excited until she slid from his lap and, taking his hand, drew him to the waiting bed.
"I think Aliela is going to be a scholar instead of a Warrior." She gasped as he moved over her.
Nooj did not pause in his actions. "That's for her to decide. We won't force her."
"Both the boys seems to be militarily inclined. - Don't stop!"
"We'll see how they turn out. You like this?" He continued doing interesting things.
"Yes, yes, yes. Don't stop!"
He thrust home smoothly and she clung to him as the world exploded around them in shards of colour and light.
When they lay, recovering their senses, he murmured into still vibrating air. "Do you want to have a commitment ceremony? Either before or after this new one is born?"
Startled, she turned to gaze into his eyes. "What! And spoil what we have going between us? What ever made you think of that?"
"I'm not sure. I think it might be I want to make sure I have a legal claim to you." Nooj muttered half under his breath.
"Maybe you could just brand me." She smiled. "You don't have to worry. I'm not going anywhere. After the effort I put into keeping you off the FarPlane, you think I'm going to let you get away now?"
He pulled her to him until the full length of their bodies was touching. "I have nightmares of losing you and ..."
With a deft movement, Paine flung back the covers and bent to take him in her hand. She noted he was beginning to harden again and slipped down in the bed. "I'm here and I'm staying."
Then there was only silence save for his soft moans of pleasure and the rustle of the sheets.
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