Pellus was regretting allowing his wife to drink.
Not that he ever wanted to deny her anything, of course. She was in charge of her own body, and it never even occurred to him that he could attempt to control the choices she made regarding it. But in this instance, he found himself wishing that he had tried to discourage her from having so much alcohol with her friend.
It had started out innocently enough, a drink between friends to break the ice between himself and his newfound cousin. He also knew that Lithera was thrilled to be rekindling a friendship that she had dearly missed from her past life. And Pellus had trusted that she knew her own limits with alcohol. But the current situation seemed to oppose his deep-seated trust of his wife's judgment.
At the moment, the two women were very loudly discussing men. Lady Teika was shouting, "And that prince! He's just no good! Who does he think he is? He's so arrogant all the time! He thinks I'm not capable of anything." She paused to take another long swig from her glass.
Lithera took the opportunity to add her agreement. "That's right! He's a useless man! Jealous, overbearing, and dumb. And you know what? He isn't even worth it! Bah! Who needs him?"
Lady Teika nodded vigorously. "He's just dead weight, with all of his awful qualities."
Lithera stood up suddenly, and Pellus raised his arms, ready to catch or steady her as the situation called for. She declared, "He certainly has a lot of those! But we all have our demons." She looked down at him, and her reddened face relaxed into a loopy smile. Throwing her arms around her husband's neck, Lithera declared, "This one's mine!" She dissolved into giggles, then repeated, "Yep, this is my demon! Isn't he just the best?"
Pellus felt his face growing as red as his wife's, and he tried desperately to avoid eye contact with Javier as he mumbled, "Lithera, that's enough. Don't you think maybe you've had enough to drink now?"
"Nooope! Why would you say that? I'm right, aren't I? You're mine! And you're just the cutest husband who could ever exist! Look at this face!" She shifted her grip so his face was sandwiched between her hands, puffing up his cheeks. Pellus could smell the wine on her breath as she laughed. "See, the cutest! Just a big fluffy teddy bear!"
Pellus heard his cousin stand up, and his voice speaking softly to Lady Teika. "I think you've probably had enough to drink, too."
Her voice protested in a slur, "Nonsense! I'm not drunk! I'm just fine!"
"Excuse me, Lady Teika."
There were some shuffling noises, then Lady Teika began yelling, "Put me down! I am not drunk!"
"That's our cue, my dear," Pellus said, standing up and scooping his wife up in his arms in one motion.
She tittered at him, "What cue?"
"To go to bed. You are also drunk. Now come along." The two men exchanged sympathetic glances as they began carrying the women to their respective bedrooms for the evening, followed by the drunken protests of Lady Teika and the ramblings of his wife exclaiming over how cute he was.
Pellus made a mental note to remind Lithera of this event the next time she began drinking. Not that he minded being praised by his wife, but some things were best kept private.