Chapter 28: Together
Disclaimer: I do not own the Inheritance series. Just the charries that come from my mind.
*Three months later*
Zera hummed as she walked around the room, adding dashes of color to the walls. She and Brom had found a tree house among the dozens of empty trees that were made for the Dragon Riders. Their house was big enough for two dragons, their riders and there was an extra room that Zera was decorating as a nursery. She had chosen lovely colors to paint the walls and was working on getting baby furniture made.
Caleb had secured positions for both Brom and Zera in the Ellesméra Rider Guard. Brom was a captain, just under his father and Zera was a lieutenant. She was on maternity leave, for her pregnancy made her a liability in flight. Not that Zera minded. She had discovered she had a talent for decorating and was enjoying making the tree house a home. She had also taken lessons from some of the elves on how to cook vegetarian meals and had learned to enjoy cooking. Sometimes, she wondered if she should have married back in Daret, for the female's role and that of a mother-to-be delighted her.
"Zera!" Aiedail's voice drifted through the rooms. Zera smiled.
"I am in the nursery, Dail!"
A moment later, Brom's mother appeared in the doorway. Zera noticed she looked much younger, having shed the formal robes she usually wore and donning a colorful flight suit. Zera could almost believe that she had been one of the worst troublemakers in Doru Araeba not all that long ago. Dail hooked her chestnut hair over her pointed ears.
"What are you doing?"
"Decorating," Zera answered as she debated between a spring green and a soft yellow. She glanced at the wall and decided it had enough green.
"Are you sure you should be doing that?" Dail asked, eyeing her suspiciously. Zera blushed.
"According to Brom? No. According to Hadassah, I can, up until…I think for another few weeks." She rested a hand on her belly. "I am enjoying it. It distracts me."
Dail nodded and looked around to room. "You have really done a lot in here."
Zera glanced at the walls. "I discovered I am very handy with a brush."
The walls were a pale blue base. Painted onto the blue were tiny dragons of various shades of the rainbow. They dove in and out of clouds, around mountains and splashed in rivers and oceans. Over the door was painted, in sweeping, decorative lettering, Un du evarínya ono varda.
"Zera, come sit down. How long have you been painting?"
Zera bit her lip. "Umm…I am not really sure. A while."
Dail gently took the paints out of Zera's hand. She led her from the nursery out into the main room. Seating her in a chair, Dail disappeared into the kitchen.
"I hope you realize how lucky you are that I came by to tell you that Brom would be late tonight," Dail said as she handed Zera a cup of tea. Zera smiled.
"Brom is overprotective to the extreme. He makes me mad sometimes."
Dail laughed. "He inherited it from his father. When I was pregnant with Brom and Eldrey, Caleb almost had a heart attack every time I stood up, and that was just during the first few months." She sat next to Zera. "Sometimes, we have to let them fuss. Otherwise, we get no peace and they go crazy. Besides," she smiled mischievously, "sometimes, it is fun to be fussed over."
Zera grinned. "Sometimes." She looked around the room. "I am thinking about painting that wall after the baby comes. Right now, I am just concentrating on finishing the nursery."
Dail sighed. "You know, I often wonder why in Alagaësia you ever took up with my son. I really don't know what he did to deserve you."
Zera laughed. "I wonder the same thing about myself sometimes. I don't know if you know my history, Dail, but if you had looked at me before Beroa hatched for me, you wouldn't believe it."
"Really? Why is that?"
"I grew up in Daret. The man I saw as my father wasn't really my father. After my mother married, my real father stopped caring about me and never spoke to me. I was messed up as a child. I left home as soon I came of age; I wanted to see the world. I made it as far as Urû'baen and stopped. I guess it was fate, because it was in Urû'baen that I signed up for the tests." She shrugged. "I had so many doubts when I first found out I was pregnant. One of the reasons I left home was because someone wanted to marry me. I was scared of marriage, scared of the responsibilities that would come with it. Now look at me. A Rider and mate of…well, the most wonderful man I have ever met." She smiled. Dail laughed softly.
"I won't tell Brom you said that. It will blow up his head."
They laughed together. Then Dail checked the timepiece.
"Why don't I make dinner? Caleb is on an overnight scouting trip and I don't have any other place to be. You go lie down and I will call you when it is ready."
Zera smiled. "Thank you. That would be wonderful." She slowly got up and made her way to the bedroom. She sank onto the bed and sighed. The baby often prevented her from getting a good night's sleep, so the chance to lie down was welcome. She was just starting to fall asleep when the front door opened. She stirred when she heard voices, but she was too tired. She listened idly, letting the cadence of the voices lull her to sleep. She remembered a warm presence next to her then was sleep.
ééééééééééééééééé
Zera awoke to a hand stroking her hair. She opened her eyes and saw her mate watching her.
"Hello," she said quietly. He smiled and kissed her softly.
"Good morning sunshine." Zera frowned.
"Morning?"
"Aye. Matera gave you a potion to sleep," he told her, brushing her hair away from her face. "You slept all night. It is about two hours after sunrise."
Zera sat up and sighed.
"Well, I should be getting up. How was your day yesterday?"
Brom watched as Zera padded around the room, getting dressed. He smiled.
"Well, it was going well until I came home and Matera told me you had been painting all day." Zera winced. "I thought we talked about that."
"No, you just told me you didn't want me painting. That wasn't talking, that is informing. And seeing as we aren't married, I didn't have to promise to obey, so…" she smiled.
Brom sighed. "Alright. But if I asked, would you listen?"
She gave him a considering look. "But then, what would I do with all my time?"
"Sewing? I don't know. What do women usually do?" Brom shrugged helplessly. Zera rolled her eyes and left the room. Brom followed her to the kitchen.
"I will think about it. But Brom, I am almost finished painting and I won't have time to finish after the baby comes." She wrinkled her nose when she saw the cabinets. "Were you going through these last night?"
Brom gave her an innocent look. "Matera might mean well, but she is a horrible cook. I had to eat something after choking down that sludge she called stew." He made a face. "I gave it to Beroa and Vervada. They had no qualms about eating it."
Zera laughed and removed a bunch of fruit from a barrel sealed with preservation spells. "I see. Alright, I will forgive you, but please remember that my cabinets are all in order, so I know where everything is, else I wouldn't be able to find it. So, could you try to learn where things go?"
Brom smiled and pinched several berries from the assortment of fruit on the counter. "All right. I will." He watched her fix a fruit salad. "What can I do to help?" She gave him a hard look.
"Do you have to worry so much? I am fine, the baby is fine. Really, you don't have to worry."
Brom frowned. "Isn't it natural that I would worry?" He grasped her hands, forcing her to turn and look at him. "I won't ask you to stop your painting, and decorating, I know how much you enjoy it. But at least promise me you will take it easy, especially right now. Please?"
She smiled. "Very well, I will take it easy." She pulled away and turned back to the fruit. "What are you doing today?"
"Today I have free, but I have to stay near by in case Patero needs to talk to me when he returns." Zera nodded.
"I am going to Mikayla's shop to see if the furniture is ready. Want to come?"
Brom considered her words. It wasn't often Zera offered to let him come when she went to look for things for their home. He tended to pick out things that clashed with her decorating and the disagreements they had left wounds in their still fragile relationship. He smiled.
"Sure. What wood did you finally settle on? Last time you talked about it, you were deciding between maple and…mahogany?"
"White oak," she said then muttered a spell, causing the platter of fruit to levitate and follow her as she left the kitchen. She let it settle on the table in the main room.
Brom followed her, enjoying the quiet between them. Despite his attempts to get to know her better, Zera refused to tell him much about her past. It frustrated him. Over the past months, he had come to adore her but every time he tried to show how much he cared for her, Zera ignored him or took it as an insult. He watched as she moved around the room, examining the walls, frowning at two streaks of color next to each other.
"Which do you like the best?" she asked him over her shoulder. Brom studied the paint marks. One was a pale sunshine yellow. The other was a few shades darker.
"The lighter," he said eventually. His mate ran her fingers through her hair.
"Very well." She turned back to him. He smiled. She looked tired, her raven black hair hanging around her shoulders in a tangled mess. Her pale green eyes were shadowed, which Brom knew was from lack of sleep. He kicked himself for not thinking of a drought of herbs to let her sleep.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she demanded. Brom raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean? Like what?"
"Like I am beautiful or something." She turned away from him, nibbling on a piece of apple. Brom laughed to himself. Coming up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands on her swollen belly.
"But you are. The most beautiful woman I have ever seen." He smiled when she made protesting noises. "I love you, you know."
Zera snorted. "You just say that because you have to," she said shortly. He grinned.
"Nope. I am not lying. You are beautiful and I do love you." He kissed the top of her head. "Why don't you believe me?"
She turned in his arms, pushing herself away. She studied his face, searching his eyes. He met her gaze and held it. Finally, she looked away.
"I don't know what I think about that. All this…these feelings are new to me." She smiled. "Come on, I want to get to Mikayla's early."
