A/N As fall progresses, my schedule will continue to fill up. Unfortunately, this means updates will become infrequent for at least the next few months. I'm sorry about that, but it is out of my control.
"You know," Kyminn gave a grunt as he heaved the heavy harness off the gelding's back, "I'm beginning to think that raising these children is giving us a warped idea of parenthood."
"How so?" Cydris led the animal forward and out of Kyminn's way.
"Well," he slung the harness onto the wooden pegs on the side of the wagon and commenced untangling the strands, "just look at the kids. When you were their age, would you have run off to do chores after sitting cooped up in a wagon all day?"
Cydris looked up from brushing the horse. The girls had headed into the woods to collect firewood while Ansen was hauling water from the little rill that bordered the meadow. Each child was accompanied by an attentive dog who served as both guardian and companion. "Definitely not," she allowed, resuming her task. "But by any measure, these are not typical children. And I'm not sure we'll be typical parents."
"What, do you mean to say that not all parents get a fully formed family and then run off into the wilderness while people are trying to kill them?" Kyminn gave the hanging leathers a final tug and flipped down the oiled canvas that would keep dew or rain from soaking the harness.
"I'm reasonably sure that no, it usually doesn't work that way." She scanned the wood-line in a sense of now-well developed maternal caution. "Kyminn, in many ways these children raised each other, older caring for younger, with few adults to rely on. As near as I can tell, the camp cooks fed them and the camp followers tried to attend them, but aside from that odd little cult of theirs, no one actually raised them. They have had to be self-sufficient from a very young age."
Cydris stopped brushing and looked over at Kyminn, her expression grave. "Honestly, the longer they are with us, the more astonished I am that they didn't turn into wild savages. Gods know that the Tedrels themselves were brutal beyond measure. That the children, each and every one of them, came out of that camp with compassion, humour and an understanding of right and wrong…Kyminn, that's not just astonishing, it's a miracle." A headshake, "I honestly believe that there was something else at work in that camp, something intervening for the children."
A long hesitation. Finally, "You may be right. I certainly have no better explanation. I've seen enough over the years to realize that there are things…beyond our ability to understand."
Cydris smiled to break the gravity of the moment. "At least they will be excellent examples for their younger sibling."
He laughed. "Just as long as we don't let Niyeh babysit." Little Niyeh, affectionate and endearing, also had an insatiable curiosity and fearlessness that was constantly getting her into scrapes. Fortunately, she usually stopped long enough to consider the consequences of failure before proceeding. These pauses more or less served to weed out anything really dangerous, but life was suddenly very unpredictable with her around.
Unsurprisingly, the children had adapted well to life on the road. For them, it was a far more normal lifestyle than their very brief stay in Haven. Sleeping rough, dealing with weather and the many tasks of road life – to them, this was comforting and oddly stabilizing. Until the defeat of the Tedrel army, the children's only experience of settlement had been the Tedrel winter camps or sacked villages. Clean, orderly communities with permanent structures and a functional populace had come as a profound shock. Fortunately, the long trip back from the border to Haven had allowed the children to digest the concept and begin piecing together an understanding of Valdemaran society. This trip was allowing them to build on those beginnings.
Among the many necessities, Cydris had packed some children's primers and slates. The many candlemarks on the road offered ample opportunity to start the children's educations in earnest. Both Kyminn and Cydris were firm in the belief that once the children could read, their understanding of the new world they inhabited would grow in leaps and bounds.
It had been disquieting when Ansen brought them a picture of a farming family gathering to celebrate harvest and had asked what the picture meant.
"They are celebrating." At Ansen's puzzled expression, Kyminn tried again. "They are happy. They have food. They have homes. They have family. They celebrate."
Ansen looked at the picture questioningly. "Which one is mother? Which one is father?" He pointed to the several adults pictured and looked back at Kyminn.
Kyminn indicated one of the women. "This word is aunt. She is a mother and a sister." He pointed again. "Another aunt." "Uncle." "Grandfather." "Grandmother."
"But which one is Ama? Which one is Eda? Where is family?"
"Ansen, they are all family. All to all."
Ansen gaped. "All? All are family?" He pointed and counted. "Three mothers? Three fathers?" Clearly, he was trying to picture the family structure.
Kyminn was flummoxed. How to explain the concept of extended family to a child just coming to terms with the notion that he now had parents? It hadn't occurred to Kyminn that knowing one's parents and siblings and cousins was unusual knowledge. Oh, he'd known the children were orphans and didn't know their origins, but he hadn't considered that they might not have any understanding of 'family' beyond oneself and one's own parents.
A slate was too small, so Kyminn flattened a patch of dirt. He placed a pair of pebbles at the very top.
"Cedran Bellman. Anya Bellman." Kyminn looked at Ansen and the lad nodded his understanding.
A line drawn down from the top pair to four branches and four new pebbles.
"Shanen Bellman, Keli Bellman, Davyd Bellman, Seth Bellman." Another nod, although Ansen was looking puzzled.
Kyminn placed a pebble beside the Keli Bellman marker. "Berrin Danner." Ansen perked up at recognizing a name.
Another line drawn down from the pair, this one with five branches. "Val, Celisse, Benn, Kyminn, Nalla."
Ansen looked from the pebbles to Kyminn. "Sisters? Brothers?"
"Yes. My brothers and sisters." Kyminn handed a pebble to Ansen. "Cydris."
Ansen hesitantly dropped the new stone beside Kyminn's pebble. Then, with a glance at Kyminn to make sure he was doing it correctly, Ansen found more stones and dropped them underneath the Kyminn and Cydris pair. "Renya, Ansen, Mehrhet, Niyeh." He paused for a moment and then added a small pebble. "Baby."
"Yes." Over the next while, Kyminn filled in the drawing, naming his siblings, cousins and other relatives. He waved his hand over all of it. "Family. These are all your family."
Ansen rocked back on his heels, taking it in. "You know…all?"
A nod. "Yes. Anya," he touched the appropriate rock, "Healer. Helped me." He pointed to his mother. "Healer."
Ansen looked up at Kyminn. "Family is big." He seemed surprised at the idea.
"Yes, you have a big family now."
Ansen opened the book again and regarded the picture with new understanding. "Your family?"
A headshake. "No, not mine. Just a family."
Ansen closed the book carefully as though it contained something precious and stared at the dirt drawing, lost in his own thoughts until bed time.
SCENE BREAK
Kyminn twisted back to look over his shoulder. They made a rather impressive cavalcade. In addition to their own wagon, there was of course Hugo, the massive warhorse who was the ostensible reason for their trip. Hugo was alternately led or ridden by Kyminn, depending on the circumstances and whose turn it was to drive the wagon.
Accompanying them were four Guardsmen, all carefully screened by Talamir. The Guardsmen were actually from the north, having joined the war from lands around Forst Reach. They were all scout-skirmishers, mounted on shaggy mountain ponies and armed with powerful short bows. Each of the four was a veteran who had been mustered out at the end of the conflict. None of the quartet had been averse to earning an additional few sennights pay for making a trip home that they had been intending to take anyway. As a fillip for their extra service, each was being sent home with a remount, additional breeding stock for the northern herds. At present, those remounts were carrying additional supplies, mostly grain and dried goods for the trip.
"They're going to think we're an invasion", Kyminn muttered as he returned his attention to the road ahead.
Cydris snorted. "Kyminn, you could be a prince of the royal line and I'm pretty sure my family will look at you sideways."
"I think this is the part where you're supposed to be supportive." It was a grumble.
She sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just that I'm rather expecting my family might be a bit difficult."
"So you've said, but you haven't offered any specifics. Given that we'll be there in a couple of candlemarks, do you think you could expand on that a bit?"
Cydris shifted on the bench, then sighed. "I'm the youngest child of my father's second marriage. He married very young the first time, shortly after he joined the Guard. He and his first wife had three children in very short order, all of whom joined the Guard as soon as they were able. Sometime around the time his then-youngest daughter was about 15, he met my mother. They promptly had two children – Cissi and Barritt. When his first wife found out, she dissolved the marriage. To the best of my knowledge, she and my half-sibs never spoke to him again. I've never actually met any of them."
Cydris gave a wry grimace. "My father was in his early 40's when he married my mother. She always told me she never knew he was married, but I've never pressed her on that score. I do know she's got extremely strong feelings about spouses who stray." It was dry.
"Can't imagine why…" Kyminn shook his head.
His wife nudged him but continued. "He left the Guard when his first wife left him. She got the bulk of his pension, so he had to start over.
"Bear in mind that I am ten years younger than Barritt and twelve years younger than Cissi. I was four or five when Cissi married and left home. I know she has a son and a daughter, but I haven't met either of them. Barritt is my father's factor and is on the road a fair bit. He's married and has two young children, but that's all I know."
"You said your family is in trade?" Kyminn prompted her.
"Yes. Father is actually the second largest landowner in the area. Our town is at the junction of two major roads and a couple of small local tracks. Father runs a general goods store. He buys things from a variety of traders and people come from all over to shop with him." A shrug. "The traders don't have to travel all over selling their goods one item at a time. They can sell my father 10 kettles and when someone needs a new one in a few months, they know where to get one."
She paused to order her thoughts before continuing. "Cissi married the son of the local innkeeper. The inn will pass to them – if it hasn't already, I'm not sure on that score. My brother married the daughter of the local brewery. The brewer just happens to be the largest landowner since he has extensive wheat and barley fields. So my family pretty much has all the trade and all the major lands all sewn up."
"Hm. I suppose that's not a bad thing, provided they're good managers." Kyminn was thoughtful.
"I have no idea. Remember, it's been over a decade since I've been back there and a lot of this took place after I left. I don't even know what kind of people my siblings are. I remember Cissi as kind of bossy and Barritt as always in trouble, but I was just a child then!" Her smile was rueful.
"Well, let's hope they've all grown up to be lovely people, shall we?"
SCENE BREAK
"Cydris, my dear!" Although well into his sixth decade, Hallis Lancolme carried his years well. His thick white hair was neatly trimmed and his dark eyes missed little. His embrace was formal, the actions of a man unused to displays of emotion. Hallis pulled back and regarded Kyminn.
"So. You're him then. Cydris's husband." The tone was forthright, but not hostile.
"I am, sir. I am happy to meet Cydris's family at long last." The outstretched hand was part offer, part challenge.
Hallis Lancolme was at lease beyond petty hand-crushing games, but there was no warmth in the hand clasp.
"And these are our children," Cydris introduced the silent trio clustered around her legs.
"So I am given to understand." Her father shook his head. "Can't see why you'd do it, but on your own head be it."
Kyminn stiffened, but said nothing. He was beginning to think he and his father-in-law would see eye to eye on very few things.
"Come in, come in. Sit! Your mother and sister will be back shortly. They wanted to get some things for dinner. Cissi's husband can't come, but Cissi and your brother will be here for dinner."
It was an awkward candlemark or so as they attempted to make conversation. Hallis at least had a good notion of what a Healer's life was like and they were able to stay on fairly safe topics such as life in the Collegium or their respective service with the Guard. Kyminn was grateful that Hallis saw no need for 'war stories' and the like. Most of Kyminn's war stories were the stuff of nightmares these days.
"Cydris!" this then, was Cydris's mother. Younger than her husband by quite a few years, Enika Lancolme had nonetheless aged with grace and dignity. From the warm hugs Enika offered all of them, Kyminn got a keen sense of where Cydris's strong spirit had been nurtured.
"Cydris, it will be a while before dinner's ready and I bought the children a treat. Not much, just some bread in sugar and spices. I've given them to Shasta – he's in the back garden if the children would like to go get some."
A brief nod and the children disappeared in a flash. Cydris laughed. "Some things don't need translation!"
"I'm surprised they know any Valdemaran at all." Kyminn turned at the newcomer's dismissive tone, bristling with anger.
"Hello Cissi," Cydris sounded resigned. "Lovely to see you too."
"Of course it is!" The false laugh grated on Kyminn's nerves. "It's been so long, I know you've been dying to see your dear big sister!"
"Naturally," Kyminn's anger dissolved as he heard the eye-roll in his wife's voice. He suppressed a grin as Cydris added thoughtfully. "You are, after all, my older sister."
There was a pause as Cissi tried to decide if Cydris had been intentionally insulting or simply offering agreement. Eventually, Cissi gave a regal nod of acknowledgment and Kyminn notched a point for Cydris. His new sister-in-law was a woman trying very hard to be beautiful, but seemingly unaware that she was completely missing the mark. Cydris's jab her sister's age had been intended to prick Cissi's vanity, but Cissi hadn't noticed.
Kyminn very much wanted to settle in for what was shaping up to be a very entertaining, if one-sided, battle of wits, but Ansen's silent presence in the doorway drew him to his feet. He followed his son, leaving the family to their reunion.
"What is it?" Kyminn looked down at the boy in concern. Ansen seemed oddly troubled.
"The boy. He gives none." Ansen pointed to the garden.
Kyminn limped to the window and looked outside. A young boy of about seven was ostentatiously licking his fingers, his face smeared with sugar. An empty basket sat at his feet while Mehrhet, Niyeh and a child of about four looked on.
Kyminn turned to Ansen. "The boy ate it all?"
Ansen nodded, troubled.
Kyminn understood the boy's concern. For the Tedrel children, one of the most profoundly held tenets had been that of caring for one another. For one child to refuse to share was simply outside Ansen's experience. It was as though a bedroll had sprouted wings and was breathing fire.
How to explain this one? It needed vocabulary and candlemarks that they lacked. Finally, Kyminn simply tapped Ansen's chest. "You learn reading, right?" Ansen nodded, puzzled.
Kyminn pointed at his greedy nephew in the garden. "Shasta…needs to learn giving."
Ansen blinked, absorbing this. "You will help him?"
A sigh. "I will show him. You will show him. It is his parent's chore to help him."
Ansen sniffed in disdain. "Mother should show him NOW."
Kyminn rather had to agree.
SCENE BREAK
Shasta, it soon developed, was very much his mother's child. Supercilious and unchecked, Kyminn very quickly developed a cordial dislike for both his sister-in-law and her eldest child.
The stolen treat? "Oh, well, he must have been hungry. Boys will be boys you know."
Kyminn gritted his teeth.
At dinner, Cissi insisted that Shasta eat first of the children, "Since he's the oldest grandchild."
When Cydris pointed out that in point of fact, Ansen was the eldest, Cissi sniffed and added, "Of the true-born grandchildren, of course."
Kyminn said nothing and simply cut the choicest slice of meat he could find and plopped it on Ansen's plate.
When Ansen whispered "She should show him NOW!" Kyminn could only smother a grin and nod.
Determined to remain courteous to his new relatives, Kyminn cut a small piece of meat and gave it to Kiko, Shasta's sister. Kiko was four and was the other child Kyminn had seen in the garden.
"Not too much dear," Cissi admonished her daughter. "If you get too fat, no boys will like you."
Cydris nudged him under the table and he managed to bite his tongue.
"Hey!" The cry from the other side of the table distracted them. Mehrhet was looking indignantly at Shasta. The boy was calmly chewing a nut tart.
"Did he take your tart?" Cydris asked. At Mehrhet's nod, Cydris shrugged. "Take his."
Given permission, Mehrhet retrieved a tart. Shasta's retaliation was swift and Mehrhet squalled in pain at the savage pinch her cousin delivered.
Kyminn swept his crying child up, glaring at Cissi. "I think your son owns Mehrhet an apology."
"She took his tart!" Cissi scowled at Kyminn, drawing her son to her side.
"No, she took her tart. One each." His words were terse and barely still civil.
A sniff. "She should have just given it to him if he wanted it. He's older. Besides, she doesn't need sweets anyway. She'll just get fat."
Kyminn cradled his sobbing daughter, his fury rendering him speechless.
"Cissi, I am not going to let Shasta bully my children. This is the second time today that he's taken something that's not his and now he's hurt my daughter. I won't tell you how to raise your child, but I also won't make my children put up with him." She gathered up Niyeh and Ansen and addressed her parents. "If you'll excuse us, we'll tend to our children and get them settled."
She slammed the door behind them. It was childish and petty and Kyminn wished he'd thought of it.