Chapter 46 A/N Don't own Merlin, blah blah blah. I finished Agents of SHIELD! Wow, that show took me on a freaking rollercoaster with Fitzsimmons! And, I hate that they killed off the Aussie hottie, Lincoln, I remember him from when I was younger in the third season of H2O. Cannot believe I didn't know about him being in this earlier, I would have watched it on TV just for that, although I hate that on TV you have to wait the week for the next episode, I prefer to just binge it in one, which is probably not that healthy. Also, that Ward is unkillable, even after they killed him, and the alien body snatcher in him, he still came back in the framework! Like come on! Aida couldn't have brought back Lincoln?! Maybe, Daisy would have stayed-not really she wouldn't have stayed, but still. Anyways, you obviously know which of the three of Daisy/Skye's love interests I liked the most! Shake n' Bake 4 evah!-(fifth grade me coming out to play!)
"Enter." Cassie said in a sleepy voice when she heard a soft knock on the door.
"He found my room, brought me here." Owaine said sheepishly as he opened the door.
"C-can I stay here Cassie?" came a small voice from beside him.
"Alex? Come here, are you hurt, what's wrong?" Cassie said gently as she sat up and opened her arms.
"Nightmare." Owaine said, leaning against the door and looking at the two with loving eyes.
"Get in here you lump, you're freezing." Cassie said, rubbing Alex's arms fervently to create friction.
"Goodnight. Get some sleep you fool. You need it. You too, Alex." he said playfully, straightening himself up and turning to leave.
"No! Don't go. Stay, please." Alex cried as he climbed over Cassie into the covers.
"I don't know, Alex. It might not be such a good idea." Owaine said, his hand resting tentatively on the door.
"Oh, please won't you stay, Owiaine? Mum and dad always let me sleep between them when I had bad dreams. It's just not the same if it's just Cassie. Please!" he pleaded, his eyes going wide and tears swimming in them.
"He's a nightmare!" Owaine said amusedly. "He'll be a terrible teenager." he added to Cassie in an undertone as Alex laid down and snuggled against Cassie.
"Hmm." Cassie hummed in agreement as she hugged the small boy close, taking Owaine's hand with her free one.
"Cassie?"
"Yes, Alex?"
"I miss my mum and dad." Alex said quietly
"I know darling, I miss my family too." Cassie whispered back.
"Thank you for taking care of us. Me and Taran."
"What was your nightmare about, Alex? Did you dream about your parents?" Owaine asked softly, stroking his hair with his free hand.
"No, it was the thorn bush. I dreamt that after I fell on it there was so much blackness and then there was a light and I saw mum and dad and then I saw Cassie and her pretty blue eyes, only they were scary. They looked yellow and then I felt like my insides were burning." he said, turning his head to look at him, missing how Cassie's eyes grew dark with fear and concern.
"Maybe you did see them, you were unconscious from the pain. And you saw them so that you wouldn't feel so much pain." Owaine said softly. "And you know that Cassie would never hurt you. She loves you like family."
"I know. I love both of you, too." he said, giving them big hugs and snuggling back down to go to sleep, not noticing how Cassie was looking at Owaine over his head.
A few hours later, Cassie slowly got up, disentangling her arm from the small boy and walking quietly across the room to get the crying baby from the adjoining nursery.
"Shh, baby. I'll get you some goat's milk in a bit, but first you have to quiet down. Can't be walking around waking everyone up." Cassie said gently, rocking the baby back and forth. As she paced the nursery, humming a lullaby quietly.
"Or you can send me for it." Owaine said quietly from the door.
"I thought you were asleep. You were snoring like you were." Cassie teased quietly as she walked over to him.
"I don't snore, Cassie!"
"Yes you do." she said with a giggle. "Here. I need some air and the walk would help."
"He didn't mean it. You know he thinks of you like a sister. He even said as much, he loves you, Cass."
"You can't love someone you don't know." Cassie said quietly.
"I did. I fell for you long before I knew much about you. That day when we were gathering herbs. I knew I loved you then. That I would someday marry you. And all I knew was where you were from and that you'd never been kissed before." he said with a wide teasing smile.
"Owaine!" Cassie hissed playfully.
"What? It's the truth. Okay, maybe I knew some more, but that's just a few details here and there, I a-" Owaine said, chuckling lightly when she playfully punched his arm and glared at him.
"I'm going for some milk. Don't wake them up." she warned, donning slippers and walking out the door to go into the corridor.
"Well, you took your time getting back." Owaine said amusedly from where he sat in front of the lit fireplace.
"I needed some air, I hope you don't mind." she said awkwardly from the door, biting her lower lip.
"He woke up a few times while you were gone. Did you bring the milk?"
"Yeah, It's right here." she said, handing him the ceramic bottle after she took it out from her sleeve and walked across the room.
"It's warm, how?"
"Magic, it was a bit windy out on the battlements so I made the cloak keep me warm and figured it would work two-fold so I made a sort of pocket for it. Warm the milk and keep me warm." Cassie said, shrugging as she sat down next to him and watched him feed him. "You're a natural, my Knight."
"And I can't wait until we have our own." he said, "Or how much fun we'll have making them."
"Shh! There are delicate ears here!" Cassie chastised with a flush creeping up her cheeks.
"Yes, and sleeping children, too." he concurred thoughtfully.
"Shut up, Owaine." Cassie said, not being able to keep the smile off her lips. "He's full." Cassie pointed out after a while when the baby started fussing in his arms and began to push the bottle away.
"How do you know?"
"His hands, they're not clenched. And he's fussy." Cassie said with a smile, looking down at the boy in his arms.
"How is there so much to learn?" Owaine asked her in astonishment.
"You learn as you go along." Cassie said with a soft laugh, her eyes following him as he lulled the baby to sleep while he paced the room. When little Taran started yawning and closed his eyes, she watched them fondly as Owaine walked across the room into the adjoining nursery.
"Cassie?" he asked after they sat there in companionable silence for a while in front of the flames.
"Yes, Owaine?" Cassie asked, glancing in his direction before looking back into the fire.
"What Alex said, are you okay?"
"I won't lie." Cassie said simply.
"He doesn't mean it, it's all that he knows. Until I met you it was all that I knew, too." Owaine said softly, taking her hand and giving it a tender squeeze. "Growing up in Camelot, the King instills that fear in you. I was terrified of what it would do and I didn't even live there when I was growing up. Imagine Alex. He just needs to learn that." he continued, stroking her hand with his thumb gently.
"I love you, you know that." Cassie said, moving closer to him and giving him a deep kiss.
"If I didn't, that kiss certainly confirmed it." Owaine joked breathlessly.
"Shut up, Owaine." Cassie said lovingly, leaning back against the backrest and shaking her head in amusement.
"I think we might want to not talk so loud, they'll wake up." he said, eyeing the stirring figure of the boy.
"Guess you're right, maybe we should go back to sleep. I am meeting your sister for the first time tomorrow."
"More like in a few hours, Cass. Look at the moon. Sunrise is in two and a half hours."
"How long was I out?"
"Few hours at most. Don't worry, they didn't notice."
"I wasn't worried about that." Cassie said softly.
"So what were you worried about? You said you weren't worried about that."
"Guess, I don't know. There's this serving girl, Sara. Well, more woman than girl, she has kids and everything, but still. She knows who I am, and I think she doesn't like me for some reason. Her husband left her and her children, he was caught using magic to talk to someone in Spanish, but no one knows what he was saying. Although, judging from how she interacted with me, I don't think they like me. I never got a chance to ask Adalberto about it, but he's always treated me with kindness and respect. With deference. And when I first met her, she didn't seem to know who I was. I don't understand why, though. And I don't know who he was talking to, or why he had to use magic for it." Cassie rambled on quietly, pausing here and there to collect her thoughts.
"Why are you worried, though? Maybe there was a woman and that's why he left, or there was someone who taught him magic and-"
"I don't know why I'm worried, Owaine. I don't even know if I have a reason to worry, but something's telling me that whatever he was doing, it was rather unsavory."
"Let's put it from our thoughts right now. At least have an hours' worth of sleep. You'll look tired tomorrow when you meet Katharine."
"You know me too well, Owaine. Come on." she said taking his hand and steering him over to the bed.
"Get some rest, my love. I'm sure Alex will wake us up in no time at all." he told her, gently taking his hand back and giving her a quick kiss.
"'Night, Owaine."
"It's morning, Cassie." Owaine corrected with a smile as they held hands above Alex's head and she wrapped her other arm around the little boy.
"Cassie! Wake up!" Alex said, shaking her awake.
"No, let me sleep." Cassie groaned into her pillow, burying her face under the covers.
"You have to get up, Cass." Owaine said, an evil glint in his eyes as he winked at Alex. "Unless you want me to tell him exactly how to wake you up."
"Owaine, you wouldn't!" Cassie said, throwing a pillow in the direction of his voice, and missing spectacularly.
"You're right, I wouldn't say anything." Owaine said, pausing before a wicked smile appeared on his face and he winked at Alex. "That's not to say I won't show him!" he cried, then proceeded to tickle her until she got up.
"Owaine! Owaine, stop it!" Cassie squealed, laughing at the four hands attacking her with tickles. "Stop it, please! Owaine! Alex!" Cassie said through peals of laughter. "Okay, all right. I'm up, you fools. Stop!"
"Victory is ours, good sir!" Owaine cried loudly, high fiving him as they got out of the bed.
"Now look what you've done!" Cassie said, huffing indignantly as Taran began crying from the nursery.
"Let's see how quickly you can get him to laugh, Alex." Owaine said, giving Cassie a quick kiss before following after the small boy, making Cassie roll her eyes and start to giggle at how silly he was being.
"You should get dressed, Alex. I'll drop you off at Aldith's so you can play with your new friends." Cassie said, taking the baby from Owaine. "You too, fool."
"I get to play with Alex's new friends?" he asked with wide excited eyes.
"Ha ha. You get to play with your old friends, Owaine. At least until your sister gets here, then you're mine to boss around."
"Who said you get to boss me around?" Owaine asked, a mock hurt expression on his face.
"I did, good sir." Cassie said teasingly. "Now, go get dressed. I'll see you later."
"Fine. But just so you know, I'm just gonna go back to sleep for a while."
"Sure you will." Cassie said, a smirk on her face.
"I hate that look, you know."
"I do! Now, go. Come on Alex, I'm sure Dicun's really excited to play with you again. Owain got you another wooden sword to play with." Cassie said, holding out her hand and steering him out to the village.
"Hey Alex! I got a bunch of other kids to come play with us today. We ca…" Dicun said excitedly to him when Aldith opened the door for them.
"Guess they've become the best of friends rather quickly, haven't they." Cassie said with a fond smile as she stopped listening to their excited child-like chatter.
"Yes, they have. Why don't you two run along." Aldith said, her smile mirroring that of Cassie's.
"Okay! Bye!" the two boys said as they raced out the door with boyish laughter.
"He's had some goat's milk an hour ago so he might not be very hungry." Cassie said with a sheepish smile. "He was crying a lot and I couldn't think of what to do."
"It's fine, my Lady. Would you like me to stay up at the manor today?"
"No, it's fine. I was probably going to spend most of the day out in the garden today with the Ladies Morgana, Eleanor and Katherine. I can find you whenever he gets hungry." Cassie said simply as Aldith took the baby to the back and nursed him. They made idle chatter for ten or so minutes before Taran was full and Aldith reappeared at the front of the small cottage.
"Here you are my lady." Aldith said, passing baby Taran over to her arms.
"Thank you, Aldith. Really." Cassie said, gently squeezing the other woman's hand before she got up to leave. She made it halfway to the door before Aldith couldn't hold it in anymore.
"My Lady!" Aldith cried out impulsively, making her turn around and look at her curiously.
"Yes?"
"C-you look t-tired. Perhaps I could watch Taran for today so you can get some rest." she finally said, chickening out and changing tactics. "My Lady." she added, remembering who she was speaking to.
"Alex had a nightmare and Taran was crying." Cassie said by way of explanation.
"Hungry, possibly." Aldith said, her face tingeing pink with embarrassment.
"I think he misses his mother, actually." Cassie said softly, taking a few tentative steps forward. "I thi-I'd like for you to take care of Taran today. I would appreciate it. And I know he would too, not have to wait to be fed and all." Cassie joked lamely, trying to lighten the mood.
"Of course, my Lady." Aldith said, taking the baby back in her arms and smiling slightly. "I'll send someone to find you if something should happen, my Lady. Although I highly doubt it." she said, finishing rapidly.
"Don't worry Aldith. I trust you with Taran and Alex. I assume he will lose track of time again today and have lunch out here."
"Yes, of course, my Lady. Thank you." she said, unshed tears shining in her eyes.
"I'll be back in the evening, Aldith." Cassie said with a smile, already hoping that Owaine and herself could talk with the two of them.
"Yes, my Lady. Have a good day."
"Thank you, Aldith. You as well." Cassie replied with a kind smile as she left the small house and made her way up to the manor to get ready for the day.
An hour and a bath later, Cassie stepped out onto the gardens completely renewed and longing for some girl time. It took her ten minutes to find the Ladies, and ten seconds for them to start barraging her with questions.
"Okay, spill. We know Owaine spent the night. And we want all the salacious details!" Alys said, taking her by the hand and steering her over to where they were sitting by the shade of a large oak tree.
"There are no salacious details, we just talked." Cassie said, following the trail of a butterfly lazily with her eyes.
"That's such a lie! There's no need to hold back on the details, we don't blush easily." Ellie said.
"You may not blush easily, but I do!" Cassie cried, "Besides, we really did just stay up talking. Alex had a nightmare and dragged Owaine over to my room, between his nightmare and getting him to sleep, and Taran crying all night, we were talking!"
"We'll see what he says. Pell and Arthur are sure to be asking him the same thing right now." Morgana said with a smirk.
"So, do you know when Katherine's getting here?"
"Nope, stop changing the subject. If not last night, then I'm sure you two have done something. I mean, Owaine's slow and all, but not even he's that slow!" Alys said, using her eyes to get a rise out of Cassie.
"They've definitely done stuff. Last time they were here, as a matter of fact. And when she told us it sounded super romantic!" Gwen said with dreamy eyes.
"Ugh! Stop fantasizing about you and Merlin after saying what you just said I said!" Cassie told her doe-eyed brunette friend, taking some dirt in her fist and throwing it at Gwen's face.
"Oh, you asked for it Cassie. Either you tell them or I do." Gwen said, trying to wipe the dirt off her face but only managing an even larger black stain on her milky face.
"Fine! Only because I know you'll embellish." Cassie relented, going into the full story with the three Ladies and Gwen.
"Ah! There he is! Didn't take Cassie for the type to keep you in bed until late morning!" Mor called out loudly, laughing along with the others as Owaine growled in response.
"Someone's a bit touchy, today. Must have something to do with getting no sleep last night." Pellinore teased as well, laughing when all Owaine did was give him the evil eye and grab a sword.
"Next person to say something along those lines gets challenged." he warned.
"I don't know. Cassie is beautiful, but she's a handful. Proved that last night, didn't she?" Merlin said smiling cheekily as Owaine threw the sword at his feet.
"I warned you, now suffer the consequences, Merlin. Maybe we'll make a decent swordsman out of you yet!" Owaine said, swinging his sword expertly around in his hand with a dangerous smile on his face.
"It's hardly fair!" Arthur scoffed, turning around to face Owaine. "A Knight of Camelot against this weakling?" Arthur asked, clapping Merlin on the shoulder. "Unless you really are so exhausted from Cassie that he's the only one you can beat."
"Not that it's any of your business, my Lord, but we just talked." Owaine said, nodding to Arthur who was joining him to spar.
"Oh, is that what the kids are calling it these days?" Mor said with a wicked smile as Arthur and Owaine's swords clanked against each other as they fought. Parry, thrust, parry, thrust, feint and repeat.
"Alex had a nightmare and dragged me over to Cassie's room because he couldn't sleep. That's it, we got him to sleep and then we talked for a while, and then the baby woke up." Owaine ground out between hits and blocks.
"How is it you two behave more like a married couple than me and Eleanor?" Pell asked with his face twisted in confusion and disbelief.
"She likes me better than Ellie likes you, I guess." Owaine panted, his sword now on the ground as Arthur had disarmed him.
"Ha ha." Pellinore said, turning around in time to see them walking over. "Speak of the devil and she may come!"
"Who's the devil in this scenario?" Ellie challenged.
"Ah, who else but the blushing bride." Mor answered
"Lady Katherine's almost here, we saw her carriage coming nearer."
"Meaning you are now mine to boss around, Owaine! Remember what Alex said." Cassie said with a smirk as she dragged him away from everyone else.
"Oi! The rooms on opposite ends of the manor have their purpose, you know!" Mor called out to their receding forms, laughing at the obscene gesture Owaine sent his way behind Cassie's back.
"Yeah, we're going to greet Katherine with them as well. Coming along, darling?" Ellie said over her shoulder, expecting him to go along with her.
"Yes, my love." he said, putting his sword in its scabbard and handing it to Merlin.
"You too, Mor." Alys added, a tinkling laugh emanating from her as he repeated his brother's words and action.
"Suppose I'll go and greet Lady Katherine as well," Arthur said, sheathing his sword and giving it to Merlin, leaving him there with the swords in his arms. "My Lady?"
"My Lord." Morgana answered, looping her arm through his and giving Gwen a pointed look that said, 'now's the time! Kiss him!'
"Need some help with that?" Gwen asked him timidly.
"Sure, Gwen! I was just going to find one of the other servants to tell me where their rooms are, leave them there and all." Merlin answered, giving her one of the swords.
"Cassie seems excited. I've hardly ever seen her smile or blush this much, and it's Cassie we're talking about. If she's not smiling or blushing, she's asleep."
"Or helping a mother give birth. I still can't believe she was able to do a Cesarean and keep both mother and baby alive!" Merlin said. "It was like she was someone else. So what's Lady Katherine like?"
"I don't know, never met her." Gwen answered as they quickly made their way through the manor and put the swords in their owner's rooms. "I think she has children though."
"It'd be nice for Alex to have someone to play with. Where is he anyway?" Merlin said.
"Playing with someone." Gwen answered vaguely, laughing at his annoyed response. "One of the village boys and his friends. They played all day yesterday and will most likely play all day everyday while we're here."
"Didn't notice, I figured he was wherever Cassie was yesterday." Merlin said as they made their way to the front of the manor to stand behind Arthur and Morgana.
"Sometimes you're so unobservant, and other times it's like you see everything." Gwen observed, shaking her head curiously as the carriage came to a stop in front of them and a tall, muscular man hopped off the perch and opened the carriage door for them.
A beautiful four year old girl hopped down in a fit of giggles and ran around the garden gaily as the man offered his hand to the Lady inside the carriage. She gracefully accepted his hand with her smooth, milky one, then stepped down from the carriage, her shoes glinting on the footplate before she leaned out slowly and walked down with a wide smile.
"Katherine!" Mor called out happily, walking forward with wide arms to embrace her before greeting her husband in the traditional way of gripping their forearms. "Harold! I see my favorite niece has gotten so big!"
"Hey! The Ellies and I resent that!" Pellinore said playfully, kissing his sister as well before he punched Mor in the arms.
"All right, enough of that you two." Katherine said, pushing past them and beaming at the party at the door. "My Lord, my Lady." she said, bowing to each royal before turning and heading straight to Cassie and taking her hands in her free one. "You must be Casiopea. I've read so much about you in the letters. It's nice to finally put a face to the name."
"Likewise my Lady. Although, your brothers didn't do your beauty justice." Cassie said, returning the wide smile. "And who are these beautiful children?"
"My daughter, Diot. And this little bundle of joy is Jocosa." she said, tilting the baby down so that Cassie could have a better look at her.
"She's beautiful, my Lady." Cassie said, smiling at the big blue eyes looking up at her curiously.
"I'll have none of this formality nonsense. Katharine to you." she said with a smile, squeezing her hand and greeting her sisters-in-law.
"Come on, it's been far too long since I've seen Mother and Father. Where are they?" she asked Alys.
"Locked away in the Great Hall. Making sure Cassie doesn't sneak a peek inside."
"I resent that! I wouldn't sneak it."
"No, you'd blatantly burst in the doors and look around." Owaine said, a teasing smile playing at his lips.
"Shut up, Owiane." Cassie said sweetly, smiling up at him dangerously.
"Can't boss me around yet, not my wife." he said, pressing his lips together to keep his smile at bay.
"That'll be fixed in four days' time. Leave us, o brother mine. Girl time and you're only the topic of it." Katherine said waving her hand dismissively at him.
"Here we go." he mumbled, rolling his eyes and sighing. "I'm taking my niece with me and there's nothing you can do about it!" He said playfully, picking up the squealing girl and running around the garden with her happy giggles.
"He's going to be a great father someday." Katherine said fondly, following the two with her eyes.
"He is a good father." Cassie said quickly.
"No! That's why you're getting ma-"
"No, no no!" Cassie said quickly, her eyes darting to where Arthur and Merlin stood with amused expressions. "No, there's these two boys from the town in Camelot who just lost their parents." Cassie explained quickly, her face completely red.
"She and Owaine have been taking care of them for now. At least that's what they say. Seems to me they're already a happy little family." Morgana said, getting nods from everyone else around her. "Now, if you and Merlin could so kindly leave. Girl time." Morgana said, turning to the two with a smirk.
"I am still your Prince, Morgana." Arthur said with a roll of his eyes.
"Yes, and I'm still older than you, now go."
"By less than a year!"
"Goodbye, Arthur." Morgana said, rolling her eyes at him and turning around to speak with the rest of the ladies.
"My Ladies." he said with a bow at them, taking Merlin with him as he went back to the small training area at the back.
"Finally! No prying ears, no children around."
"Well, none that know what's going on." Ellie corrected, looking down at both babies in their arms.
"I want all the juicy gossip on Court. It's been too many years since I was last there. And apparently Mother and Father are hidden from Cassie's view." Katherine said, walking with them all to the far gardens.
They spent most of the morning gossiping about under the shade of the trees, only leaving their spot to have lunch before they returned to the gardens.
"Tell me about your homeland. I'm very curious."
"What would you like to know?"
"Everything. What's it like? Does it snow? What do the nobles wear? Are the men handsome? Tell us everything."
"It does snow, but I never really saw much of it. We'd always go to the coast."
"Can peasants do that?" Katherine asked confusedly.
"Oh, she worked with the royals. Lived in the palace and everything."
"So you're a se-"
"I did the princess' hair." Cassie cut in, not wanting to keep lying or hearing her lies. "And as for the men, there were very attractive men, especially the soldiers. Not so much as the Knights of Camelot, there were no knights, just soldiers and their commanders, and both nobility and peasants rose to the positions, although the noblemen had more opportunity and plenty of schooling for it. I could go into details about how it worked, but even Owaine and Arthur got bored after a few minutes of me trying that. And the clothes were beautiful, the dresses the older princesses wore were extravagant, embroidered and beaded and they had the most beautiful…"
"I can't believe we've been out here all day." Ellie said when the sun was starting to set.
"I can, Cassie talks a lot." Morgana said, smirking at her friends' indignant huff.
"I'll see you at dinner, I better get washed up first. Didn't bother doing so when I got here and it's been all day." Katherine said, bouncing her daughter on her hip.
"Okay! You, Cassie, are coming with us. Final fitting for your wedding dress." Morgana said. "Bye, Ellie. Alys."
"I thought that was last week." Cassie said confused, knowing they wouldn't let her see the dress yet anyway.
"There's a few…things we've added." Morgana said simply, steering her along by the shoulders.
"I hate being shorter than everyone." Cassie mumbled in complaint. "Might just go find Alex or Diot since I am taller than them. And they don't seem to find it funny when I blush." she kept on mumbling as they pushed her down the corridor, ignoring her and giggling.
"Okay, behind the screen. And stop your mumbling." Morgana ordered, not unkindly.
"Yeah, okay." Cassie said with a lighthearted roll of her eyes, undressing behind the screen and reaching out for whatever they were making her put on. "What's this? How do I put this on?"
"Really, Cass?" Gwen asked, surprised that she didn't figure it out by now.
"Yes, really. Come help." Cassie said exasperatedly, putting on a dressing gown and letting Gwen explain to her how to put it on.
"Legs through there, now we lace this up, make it nice and tight to show off all your curves. And now we slip this over your head. And done! Go on, step out."
"Please tell me this stays under the dress." Cassie said nervously, walking out timidly and blushing when she looked at her reflection.
"For the most part. Now, stop fussing while I make some adjustments."
"Is this another of Lady Gordon's creations?" Cassie asked, blushing as she remembered the last time she had worn one of her designs.
"Yes, it is. Now, a little higher for the hem, and I think I can afford to make this slightly tighter, what do you think 'Gana."
"Any tighter, Gwen and I won't be able to breathe!" Cassie said.
"Okay, now we have to decide. With or without the slip. Which do you think Owaine will prefer?"
"I don't know. Cassie? You know him best. Which will boil his blood more? Slip or no slip?"
"S-slip." Cassie stuttered out, suddenly feeling extremely nervous.
"You okay?" Morgana asked, noticing her change in demeanour.
"Y-yeah, just nervous. Excited, I'm not sure where one ends and the other begins, and it's not even my wedding day yet." Cassie said, giving a nervous laugh at the end.
"Why are you nervous? Surely not to make love to him?" Morgana said softly.
"N-yes, actually. I've dreamed about this and, well I-I'm afraid if I'm not good enough. At it."
"Cassie, it's something you feel. I was completely drunk my first time, not much thinking involved, and it was wonderful. The physical feeling at least. I've never made love to someone I was in love with, but I've heard it's so much better." Gwen told her kindly. "Besides, practice makes perfect. And you two will most likely be practicing all day every day for the next week, and at least once a day after."
"I say twice, he's a knight, and you've seen her spar. She's got stamina."
"Gwen! 'Gana!" Cassie cried, her face now beet red at their comments as she disappeared behind the screen and changed back into her clothes.
"It's not like we're lying. I'd be genuinely surprised if you weren't pregnant three months from now." 'Gana said while Cassie changed. "That is, unless you decide to officially take in those two boys?"
"I don't know, 'Gana. Part of me wants to, but part of me thinks they'd be happier with another family." Cassie answered truthfully as she walked out from behind and went over to the ivory-colored three point duffield settee.
"That's not true! Alex loves you! And Taran does too." Gwen said, kneeling in front of her and squeezing Cassie's hand gently.
"Yes, but we wou- we um. Alex had a nightmare last night. And I think it was kind of my fault." Cassie said sadly.
"Cassie, it can't have been your fault. Nightmares happen. Trust me, I'm practically an expert on it." Morgana said, looking into Cassie's eyes. "Besides, the boy obviously looks up to you. From what I've heard, he's liked you since you met, which isn't hard to believe. And you have always been there for him."
"His parents loved you, too. Cassie. Dreams can't be controlled, or nightmares. But those two boys love you." Gwen added.
"They love me like a sister. And it just hurts too much, because they remind me of my brothers, and sometimes, when I close my eyes, I see them dead. Killed just like my family was. Just like how my nieces and nephews were killed, at the same age."
"Oh, Cassie." they both said softly, sitting on either side of her and hugging her gently.
"We should finish up here. Dinner to be had and everything." Cassie said after a few minutes of their hugging, wiping away the tears that had fallen with a delicate finger and taking a deep breath before standing up. "Thank you. It means a lot to me that you two were here for me."
"Cassie, you're our best friend. Of course we're here for you. We'll also be here for you the morning after your wedding, and you had better spare no detail." Morgana said with a beaming smile and a sly look in her eyes.
"We're all finished, let's take a stroll outside?" Gwen suggested, holding out her arms for them to take.
"I think I'll go wash up before dinner, actually." Cassie said, smiling at them. "I will see you at dinner."
"Yeah, see you later." Morgana said with a wide smile, turning around to look for her needlepoint, intent on advancing at least partially until dinnertime arrived.
"Aldith, is dinner ready?" Col asked as he opened the front door, having finished his work in the fields.
"It's on the fire! I'll be out in a bit!" she called out from the back room.
"I'll wash up in the meantime, then." Col said, going back out the door with a bucket to fill with water.
"There you are, love. Good day today?" she asked, serving herself and sitting down across from him.
"Yeah, long, though. You? Spend it up in the manor?"
"Not really." she admitted. "Lady Cassie thought she might leave Taran here today, instead of going back and forth to nurse. He's asleep right now."
"Aldith." Col said gently. "I know you well enough to know what you're thinking."
"Col, don't you remember why she has them?" Aldith asked him with gleaming eyes.
"Because they're orphans, darling. They have a home in the city, friends. Don't get too attached to either of them. I've seen you hurt before. Quite recently, my love. We both were."
"But Col-"
"Aldith! I don't want you to bring this up with Sir Owaine or his bride. And that's final."
"Yes, Col."
"Al. Don't look at me like that." he said softly, seeing her tilted head and tearfilled eyes looking at him in rancor.
"I was just thinking." she mumbled, taking a bite of the stew and looking down at the table.
"Al. I want a family as much as you, but I don't want to see you hurt. If we get our hopes up and they don't- I'm sorry." he said, standing up and going out, getting some air and sitting on the stoop.
"Hello, Col." Cassie said with a broad smile as she and Owaine walked up to him, her arm looped around his.
"My Lady. My Lord." he greeted, standing up and bowing to each. "Come on in." he told them, opening the door and stepping aside and letting them in.
"Thank you, Col." Cassie said, stepping inside ahead of them and smiling at Aldith.
"Oh, it seems we've interrupted your dinner." Owaine said, eyeing the plates on the table.
"Nonsense, my Lord. I'll get Taran." Aldith said, standing up and going to the crib they'd gotten for their child.
"Actually, we wanted to speak to you about him. And Alex." Owaine said when she leaned down to gently pick him up.
"My Lord?" Col said, only sitting down after they had.
"We, Cassie and I, thought that maybe, um. You do it I'm no good at this." he said nervously, whispering to Cassie when he got stuck.
"What Owaine is trying to say is that we'd like it if you would at least consider taking them in. Alex and Taran. I know it's a lot, and you've only known me for a day, and you're perfectly within your rights to say no, don't think you have to say-"
"Yes!" Col said, interrupting her rambling with a wide smile.
"Really?" Cassie asked, looking at their hopeful eyes with happiness.
"Yes, my Lady. We'd love to." Aldith said, her smile widening as she looked at her husband with wide eyes.
"W-wait, at the end of the day, Alex should be the one to decide." Owaine said, stopping Cassie from speaking.
"You're right. I don't really know how to broach the subject with him, though." Cassie said, her previous mood changing.
"I have a proposition to make, my Lady." Col said, looking at his wife quickly. "You are here for the rest of the week, yes?"
"Two weeks." Owaine answered.
"Wait a week, before saying anything to him. I-if he still doesn't want to stay after, we'll have to accept that."
"A-are you sure?" Cassie asked, thinking that if it was her, it would be too hard to get close only for him to possibly spurn her.
"If nothing, it's a week." she said softly, adding barely audibly. "It's more than we might get ever."
But what she whispered was lost as Alex and Dicun raced in, laughing and panting from excursion.
"Al, can we stay here tonight? Mum already said it was okay and that I could." Dicun asked happily, looking at her and Col with expectant eyes.
"It's up to Sir Owaine and Lady Cassie." she answered simply, looking at them with the same hope shining brightly as it had been since the two nobles sat down.
"Come on, Alex." Cassie said, holding out her hand and winking at the couple across the table.
"But Cassie!" he started to complain.
"But Cassie what? I'm just taking you to get some clothes, you do need to be dressed, you know."
"Really? I can stay?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes, you can stay." Cassie said laughing.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he cried, hugging her tightly and running out the door up to the manor with her following behind, yelling at him to slow down.
"Here, best not to-" Col started to say, handing him the fussy baby.
"Best not to what, Col? We've accepted your proposition, a week. Then we ask Alex what he wants."
"Thank you, my Lord." he said.
"Thank you for what?" Dicun asked, looking between the adults confusingly.
"I'll tell you when you're older. Go on, get ready for bed then come back. Give mum a kiss for me." Aldith said, ushering him out the door and turning back to Owaine with tears in her eyes. "Thank you, my Lord. Truly, thank you."
"Here, he should get used to you holding him, Col." Owaine said, returning the baby like a sack of hot potatoes and asking for some water. "I just hope this works out for everyone." he said, accepting the cup of water handed to him. "Besides, seems like Alex found his new best friend."
"It does seem that way, doesn't it?" Aldith said with a tinkling laugh
"Is Dicun back yet?" Alex asked excitedly as Cassie walked in panting.
"Clothes for tomorrow. Good luck, talkative one, he is." Cassie joked, catching her breath and leaning against Owaine.
"Thank you for letting him stay tonight, my Lady." Dicun said shyly.
"Well, to be quite frank, if I hadn't he'd have kept me up all night talking. Again. Have fun." Cassie said, giving Alex a quick hug before going out the door with Owaine and leaning her head against him. "I hope he says yes." she whispered to him after they were far enough away from the village.
"I do too, they seem like they would make good parents."
"Don't they." Cassie agreed, walking through the moonlit gardens and sighing thoughtfully.
"Thrymsas for your thoughts." Owaine said, steering her over to their tree and leaning against the trunk while she looked off over the smooth surface of the lake.
"I was just thinking. Aldith and Col, how could they stand to get attached to someone with the possibility of having their hearts broken. I don't think I'd be strong enough to do that."
"You said they just had a stillborn, Cassie. Think about it, maybe they want a chance at a family, even if only for a short time. I know I'd give anything to be a family with you." he said, walking up behind her and kissing her neck tenderly, his arms holding her flush against his body.
"That would just make it worse for me. I'm not strong enough." Cassie said, turning around and wrapping her arms around him.
"You, Casiopea, are the strongest person I know. And you have the biggest heart. I have no doubt you would do what they did, were we in their position. A chance at a family."
"But I'm giving it away, aren't I?" Cassie asked, her voice bittersweet.
"No, you're not giving it away. You're doing what's best for him. For them." he corrected her softly, stepping back and lacing his fingers through hers. "If Alex really wants, he'll tell them so. He's a good kid, and I can see him loving them."
"You're right." Cassie acquiesced, sitting down on the ground and pulling him down with her.
"As I always am. We've three days until the Ides, and I have a feeling that tomorrow is the last day they'll let me see you until after we are wed."
"I can't wait until I can call you 'husband' my Knight." Cassie said, leaning back against his chest and placing her hand on his knee.
"Nor I call you 'wife'. I love you so much." he said, using his fingers to gently turn her face towards his and kissing her deeply.
"Can we just stay here all night? I don't want to sleep alone." Cassie breathed out, closing her eyes and nestling closer to him.
"So stay with me. No one will know." he whispered back, making her open her eyes and look up at him.
"I don't know how they do it, but they always know. Suppose it's one of my last nights sleeping alone. I'll have you next to me from now on."
"Unless I'm out on patrol or have night duty." Owaine said, laughing when she playfully slapped his arm.
"Guess it'll be practice then." Cassie said with a sigh, getting up and pulling him to his feet. "Walk me to my door?"
"Always." he said, taking her hand and lightly brushing his lips over her soft skin.