WOO! Hey guys! Thanks Calowiel, Pamie884, radbooks, nanananarich, Tommy14, Laer1472, Julia, Just a Reader, Coolio02, Sandy, Greywolf Starkiller (Oh, my. Thank you so much. That's a massive compliment. Thank you.) huntress73, LJP, Tree Topper, Linwe lossehelin, Sandy (Sorry about that wait! Explained below...heh)! You guys are the best.
Most of you know I always update in the mornings. However, this morning I was called into work at oh...Three In The Morning! That's right! I'm not a morning person, people. Anyway, that's that. And, some of you will be happy to know that the JFT story cover is up! Yay! Go to my profile for the address because this dumb site won't let me write it.
Thanks for everything guys! I am really looking forward to the next chapter of this story. (An interesting character of Ashk's past does not like our March Warden so much - And the March Warden remembers some things about that night five years ago). Enjoy!
NOTE: Any dialog in Italics is meant to be understood as Elvish until noted otherwise.
Heavy Hearted
Chapter Two: Of Secrets and Truths
Ashk
"Will you be gone a long time?" Onduras asked, his little hands smoothing the fabric of my coat as if to keep himself occupied.
"Only a few days, dear," I told him, tilting my head to peer into his downcast eyes. "Not long. You will have fun with your uncles though, won't you?"
Onduras glanced behind him to see Rumil and Orophin standing with Litia.
He looked back at me. "How many days?" he asked and I smiled at him.
"No more than a week," I told him.
"Promise?"
"Promise," I told him, kissing his nose. "No war games inside and be sure that Ana does not do any...tricks," I said, bestowing on him a responsibility to keep his spirits up. He nodded and I drew him into my arms, hugging him as tightly as I allowed myself to.
"Can we go with?" Ana asked, tugging on Haldir's trousers as she peered up at him.
Haldir glanced at me briefly as I stood and took Nethin from him.
We had spoken of bringing the children along to Sarubrim for only a short time. My answer had been the same. Absolutely not. I had no idea what circumstances would turn out to be in the small village.
Honestly, I did not know how much I wanted them to see of what I would have to do. I did not want to risk the fact that they would discover just how they had wedged their way into this world. The two, as of yet, knew nothing of the details before they were born between their father and I.
"No, my girl. You cannot go. Not this time," Haldir told our daughter, hoisting her into his grasp.
"We never get to go anywhere," Onduras pouted.
"You go to Celebruim all the time - That is more than many grown Elves can say," Haldir told him, tapping his chin with a loving smile.
Onduras smiled just slightly and jumped about until he was pulled into his father's arms as well.
"You needn't worry about a thing here, Ashk," Litia told me, coming to my side with a warm smile. "I will be sure to keep a watch on both Orophin and Rumil," she added seriously, giving a look at the two as they came to join us as well.
I smiled. "I would appreciate it," I said, purposely looking at Orophin and Rumil. Especially Rumil.
They both beamed identical grins at me.
Nethin looked at me with wide eyes as though he knew something was different going on around him. His dark hair moved gently in a small breeze and I kissed his tiny nose.
"We should go. We need to be there before nightfall," Haldir said then even as Ana clung to his neck.
I nodded and gave each child a half dozen kisses before Haldir managed to pry me away.
However, Rumil next latched onto me. I grunted, being crushed into his chest.
"Be careful," he said seriously into my ear. "If you need me for anything, I will come."
I tried to laugh, but he was holding me too tightly to do so. I patted his back.
"I know," I wheezed. "Rumil - You are crushing me."
"Oh!" He released me and I sucked in a breath. "I am sorry. I am not used to having to say farewell to you."
I smiled, no longer restrained, and I patted his cheek. "Do not worry so much. I have Haldir with me."
Rumil glanced at Haldir who raised a brow at him in speculation.
"Get out of the way," Orophin said, shoving Rumil aside. "Do not mind him. You spoil him too much and he becomes quickly attached," he told me, leaning and kissing my cheek. "You will be fine and we will see you in a few days."
I nodded and the two exchanged brief farewells with Haldir before he led me down the stairs to our awaiting horses. I glanced back to see the twins waving furiously at us and I waved back.
"How do you do this?" I muttered to Haldir as I turned away again.
"Do what?"
"Leave so easily all the time."
He chuckled. "Not as easily as you might think," he told me, waiting until I was mounted until he went to his own horse; a young stallion rather than the heavy with foal Kali.
I allotted myself one last wave to the children before I let Black follow Haldir. Once past the city's great gateway, he looked back at me as if to ask one last time if I was certain. I nodded and he turned to the path once more, letting his horse into a steady run that I quickly followed in.
We had passed the borders at nearly noon. Haldir had stopped to speak with his second in command Eruidel for a short time before we continued on.
The air of the plains had always been different than the air of the forest. On the open land, it was free and wild. Cold with a biting snap this day, but as it whirled snowflakes and ice over the hills, I found myself smiling at the sight. Not even Celebruim had the easing call these hills did. I knew these hills.
They had once been home.
For just a moment I saw children from days passed running after each other on horses far too big for them. And for just a moment I heard the giggling of three sisters near the creek that we splashed through without hesitation. We were not far from Sarubrim, but to three young girls, we had been far enough to be in another world.
Vaguely, I wondered if Ana would be there. I hoped she would. To see her and Mauriel, our eldest sister, at the same time once again would be the only joy of this cursed trek.
"Do you want to stop for a rest?" Haldir asked then, wheeling his horse back to see me.
"No," I replied, shaking my head and keeping Black at a steady run past my husband. He followed then and we kept at a steady pace through the afternoon and into the early evening hours.
Trotting up a hill that had the marks of coasting engraved into it's snow, I shifted and grimaced in the saddle, slowing Black to a walk.
Haldir caught up to me curiously.
"I am going to feel this ride for days," I complained, shifting again with a cringe as sore pain shot through my thighs and lower back.
Haldir laughed at me. "I warned you to slow down," he said smugly.
The sound of children laughing drew our attention away from each other and instead to several young teenagers racing up the other side of the hill with their wooden sleds in tow. Haldir frowned at them and I could see the confusion in his eyes.
"What?" I prodded.
He glanced back at the young humans who had stopped to look at us - Mostly him. They muttered between themselves of an Elf's presence and what not, but I did not listen.
"What are those?" Haldir asked, baffling me completely. I glanced back at the children who had started racing off again.
I looked back to Haldir. "The sleds?" I asked with a frown. "They are used for coasting. You have never seen them before?" I was almost amused by this. I had never truly been able to find anything Haldir had not seen or heard of in the Elven realms.
"I venture out of the forest only so many times and even more rarely to human villages," he informed me, a bit huffy that I had seemed to let my amusement shine through my face.
I smiled at him with a laugh. "No need to be testy about it. You asked, I told. It's a child's sport, mostly. But, most adults still find a love of coasting as well. Perhaps I will take you in the next few days."
He gave me a look. "Unlikely," he replied.
I laughed again before we crested a smaller hill and my laughter faded away with my smile.
Tiny Sarubrim had not changed a bit. The well boarded homes and buildings still stood strong while the smaller huts were abandoned in the winter time. Fields that were harvested in the summer were now plain with the white blanket of snowy winter. Tracks from horses and people trailed the once flawless cover and as I saw a herd of horses being driven away from the small village, I smiled slightly.
I recognized the men pushing those horses. Dalanor and Renanor, brothers to each other and sons to the best horse tamer in the region Norburd.
The one and only road in the village bustled with people and the sound of their laughter and daily routines struck a familiar cord within my heart. I knew those people and many of them had seen me since I was nothing more than a young child.
"We can wait," Haldir said softly. "Perhaps until night when there are not so many people about."
I shook my head as I looked to the tavern and inn with the name Lofty Inn. I smirked at the name and the sign I could not even see, but I knew was there.
"No," I replied. "It is now or never. We can cut through the back." I turned Black's head to the left and nudged his flanks, moving him forward at a careful walk on the snowy hill. Haldir hesitated until I glanced back at him and he followed me once again.
I pulled my hood over my face as he did while we rode past several small homes towards the back end of the village. The occasional curious look landed on us, but I was relieved no one said anything before we reached the back of the lodge.
Haldir dismounted quickly and moved to my side, helping me down from Black's broad back and to the cold ground in the shadow of the tavern.
The familiarity of the place was choking.
"Are you all right?" Haldir asked quietly in Sindarian. I glanced at him and gave a nod. He tilted his head, his finger hooking under my chin and drawing my face upward. "Stop looking at the ground. You are not unworthy here and you are not a peasant."
I could not help but smile sadly at the comment. "But I was," I replied softly.
The back door to the tavern suddenly opened and a tall, slim figure came out with a crate in hand.
"Well, had you left him be, you would not have been bit! I wish he would have bitten you right in your– "
I laughed seeing her scowling face as the rich sound of her husband's laughter trickled by her and into the air around us.
She froze hearing me and looked at us with wide eyes before they narrowed in suspicion. "And who might you be?" she demanded, not seeing my face under the shadow of my hood.
I pushed the cloak's hood back and the shock on her face was something I would treasure all my days. Mauriel gasped, her hands flying to her mouth and letting the crate in grasp drop to the snowy ground with a crash.
"Ashk?" she whispered and I dared not to move. She was staring at me as though I was a ghost and I could only nod to her.
"Mari, what was that noise?" her husband, Wessen, called from somewhere behind her.
Mauriel's eyes drifted to Haldir who did not remove his hood and looked intimidating indeed. Yet, Mauriel did not seem to care as she kicked aside the crate and rushed at me with warm, flowing laughter.
"Oh, where have you been you crazy girl?" she demanded as she hugged me to her and I heard the awful tears in her voice. She parted with me, drawing my face in her hands. "Silly girl, look how you've grown!" she whispered with a laugh.
I looked down at her, noticing the roundness of her belly with a laugh. "Another babe?" I asked, sniffling with both the cold and the utter joy of seeing my eldest sister again.
She grinned. "Yes, another babe."
I shook my head with a laugh. "Busy, busy," I scolded before she giggled and Wessen suddenly shadowed the doorway.
"Who– Sky's fire, Ashk!"
I was suddenly crushed into his big chest before Wessen abruptly released me and shook my shoulders. "Where have you been!"
Haldir stepped behind me and I felt his rigid body to my back. He obviously did not take an immediate liking to Wess shaking the life out of me.
"Wess, good Gods! Let her go," Mauriel commanded, a delicate hand pushing the house of a husband away from me. I leaned back into my own if only to keep him from lunging at the man. Mauriel suddenly looked a bit nervous and glanced to Haldir behind me. "Have we met?" she said slowly, silently demanding I introduce the two.
"No, you have not. Mari, this is Haldir. My husband," I said slowly as Haldir pushed aside his hood.
Mari's eyes widened slightly either at my declaration or at the mere sight of him.
Haldir
"Haldir, my sister Mauriel and her husband Wessen," Ashk said then, looking at me expectantly with a cutting gleam in her eyes.
I cleared my throat. "A pleasure," I said briefly, forcing a smile to her sister and glancing at the husband who easily matched my height.
"I should have expected no less," said a familiar voice. "All the damned commotion over you two, of course." Ana tromped out the doorway with a beaming grin on her face as she swept my wife into an embrace. "I knew you would come," I heard her whisper, not meant for the ears of anyone else.
She parted with Ashk then and glanced at me. "Where are the children?"
Ashk tilted her head. "We - I thought it was best that they stay home," she said slowly, much to the disappointment of both her siblings.
"I have yet to see the tikes," Mari said rather glumly. "Ana says you have three already!" Ashk offered her a smile.
"Perhaps I will come back with them soon," she said, but I could hear the lie in her voice. The love she held for her sister was obvious, but I knew Ashk well enough to know she would hurt anyone in the world before putting her children in any position of potential heartache.
"She has six," Ana said, jerking a thumb at Mari. "And a seventh on the way."
"Good Lords, Mari!" Ashk exclaimed.
"It seems Ryn and I have fallen behind," Ana laughed.
Wessen shifted and wrapped an arm around his wife in a highly possessive manner. "Come, it is much to cold out for you three to be standing around and giggling about your sex lives."
I was startled by his words and could not help but lose my composure enough to smile at the blushing faces of all three sisters.
Ashk tugged on my hand but I did not move as she turned towards the door.
"I should see to the horses," I told her quietly.
"Hmph - Let Lynile take care of it. He has found himself in a spot of trouble," Ana said before Ashk could reply. "I will send him out for them."
"That will not be necess- "
"Lynile!" Ana screeched inside the door. "Drop the dishes, you have horses to tend to!"
"But, Mama!"
"Boy!"
"Coming!"
Ana tossed Ashk and I a glance.
"What did he do to fall on the dark side of his loving mother?" I asked, barely containing my amusement at her.
"The boy is ten, Haldir. Boys who are ten find all kinds of trouble. You will find out for yourself," Ana told me seriously as a lanky boy came stampeding towards us. He halted with a shriek of his boots. I was surprised at his height and barely recognized the boy from when I'd last seen him only the winter before.
"Aunt Ashk - Uncle Haldir." The surprise on his face was obvious and he glanced to his mother. "When did– Oh, horses."Lyn interrupted himself under his mother's glare and quickly slipped through my wife and I; not before Ashk patted his head with a giggle.
"He is like a weed. Nearly to my shoulder!" Ashk said with bafflement to Ana.
"Yes, and he eats like a damned goat. Anything and everything."
"Mama!" Mari exclaimed inside as we shut the door.
The sheer noise of this entire family had my ears ringing. I could hear children pounding around over the ceiling. Pots and pans were banging together behind a swinging door and someone was singing loudly and quite terribly nearby.
"Mama!" Mari shouted again, starting up the stairs at a jog.
"Mari, for the Gods sakes! You don't need to be running anywhere!" her husband growled as he stomped after her.
I raised a brow and looked down at Ashk. "Now I know where you get some habits from," I muttered to her. She replied to me with an unamused look.
"Come, sit," Wessen said then, motioning us towards a door. Ashk seemed to have her exact barings and so I followed her.
"Look out!" a young voice cried and the door suddenly swung open, narrowly missing both of us as a cat bolted through it will ribbons dangling from it's tail. A child tumbled out after it and tripped over his own clumsy feet to land at my own.
"Gotcha!" he exclaimed, grabbing my ankle.
The blindfold over his eyes made me look at him skeptically as he pulled it away to look at what his hands were wrapped around. I shifted slightly while Ashk burst into laughter.
Wide, brown eyes looked upwards into my own.
"Uh oh."
My brows shot upwards before the child, no more than seven years of age, flung himself back with a shriek and darted off at a dead sprint.
"You frightened him," Ana scolded as she leaned back dangerously in her chair.
"What did I do?" I asked seriously, looking between Ana and Ashk as the child's screaming was suddenly chorused by others.
"Ey! What is all the noise!" Wessen's loud voice shouted as he came down a set of creaking stairs.
"They have never seen an Elf before," Ana informed me. "And you, brother-in-law, are quite intimidating to anyone, much less a child."
I frowned as I pulled a chair out for Ashk.
"You are one to talk, Ana," Ashk said with a smile. "The first time you laid eyes on Haldir you punched him."
"That's right," I agreed, seating myself across from Anamel.
"Yes, well, I had good reason," she said, picking an imaginary piece of lint off her tunic.
"Yarlah," cursed a Gypsy voice as the door burst open near us, "it is cold out!" Snowflakes whirled inside and a man with an armful of wood stomped through and kicked the door shut.
"Ryn, darling, glad you could join us," Ana said with an amused smile as he dropped the wood next to a dwindling fire furnace.
The Gypsy straightened, his hands shaking snow out of his hair before he froze when he spotted us.
"Well, look who it is!" he exclaimed, laughter rumbling as he came around the table we sat at. He kissed Ashk on the cheek and shook my hand with a gleeful grin as he carried on about the cursed weather and our luck for arriving when we had.
Ana, however, had fallen silent. I glanced at her, following her eyes towards the door that opened slowly.
A tiny woman stood there, the shadow of Mari behind her. She was short, even shorter than Ashk, yet she did not appear very old at all. Lines of laughter edged her eyes and grey streaked her hair that was obviously once as dark brown as my wife's.
Silence had fallen like a shadow in the room and Ashk stood very slowly to face the woman that was so obviously her mother. The old woman's soft brown eyes, identical to all three of her daughters, trembled in unshed tears as she stared at Ashk a long moment; motherly gaze taking in every change that was new to her.
Ashk's hands moved behind her back and I noticed the obvious tremor in them. My urge to soothe her was buried as I knew she had forgotten my presence and everyone else's completely.
Finally, the small woman in the doorway moved forward slowly and slipped an arm through Ashk's. Without a word, she led her out the door once again and left the rest of us in silence.
I shifted uncomfortably.
"Do not worry, Haldir," Ana said softly. "Mama has longed to see Ashk for many years." Mari took a seat beside her and their eyes peered at me a long moment.
"So you are..." Mari paused a moment as if searching for the right word. In her eyes I could see some dim accusation, a distant dislike for me and I knew why. "The father of her children?"
"Yes, I am."
She nodded slowly and I fought not to glare at Ana as she stood and left the room with her husband in tow.
"And it was you..." She paused again and the fact that this conversation seemed hard on her made it easier on me. "It was you who she... Five years ago, it was you?"
I nodded. "It was me."
"Hmph." She frowned slightly and leaned forward on the table. "Because I am her sister, her eldest at that, I have no issue with questioning you on any part of your relationship," she said firmly, surprising and amusing me slightly. "However, I will only ask this once and I do hope I will have no further questions after."
I raised a brow. "Very well. Ask."
"Do you love her, or did you marry her for the children?"
I should have expected the question to come, but it still shocked me. It had been some many years since anyone had questioned my true feelings for my wife.
I straightened slightly. "Then you must only ask that once - I love Ashk with nothing less than all my being."
She studied me a long moment before leaning back. "I see," she said curtly, but her eyes were twinkling like stars and that dislike I had seen was gone.
The door opened once again and two children came running through.
"Mama! Darius is not helping with dishes," one of the young girls whined. Suddenly she spotted me and her hazel eyes widened and she stepped back.
I smiled at her and Mauriel reached for the two. "Do not be frightened. He is...Your uncle."
"Uncle?" one repeated before her eyes suddenly lit with joy. "An Elf? Are we part Elf, Mama?"
Mari and I both laughed. "No, you are not," she told her. "Haldir is Auntie Ashk's husband."
The elder of the two girls looked at me with an abrupt frown. "But, Aunt Ashk has no husband."
Mari tilted her head. "Not since you last saw her," Mari said gently. "She is here now visiting with Gran. You will see her soon."
"Aunt Ashk is here!" the eldest exclaimed. "Oh, wait – oh!" She wheeled around and sped out of the room.
The youngest girl frowned as she was no more than five years old. "Who is Aunt Ashk?"
Ashk
"To think, my little girl a proper Lady."
I scoffed slightly. "I do not know so much about the properness," I told my mother with a slight smile. "I do happen to get in a bit of trouble every now and again with Haldir and his nobility."
Mama laughed as she continued to dry her still watery eyes. It pained me to see her cry so, even if she did say they were tears of happiness. I could sorely remember the last time I saw her five years ago, weeping as I had never seen her do before.
"I am disappointed you did not bring the children," she said then, leaning back into the big chair she sat in. It was my father's chair and she was shadowed slightly in it's wake. I remembered many nights finding my father in that chair, reading or whatnot.
The thought of it now made my blood boil.
"I did not think it was the right thing to do, considering," I said, speaking more to the ghost of my father than to my mother before me.
She grimaced slightly and I felt the pang of that. Yet, I silently reminded myself of my reasons here. My wants and longings to put thisformer homebehind me and to very well put my parents in their place.
Yet, as I looked into the eyes of my mother, I could already feel that wall of courage draining away.
"He regretted what he did, you know," she said softly. "He did not say anything about it for a long time. Then Anamel came and - oh, you know her. She was furious with him and, by Gods Ashk, he wept for you."
I turned my head away to look out the window. It was snowing out and the light of the day was dimming slowly into the west.
West where I knew home was. A home that was not this place.
"He never came. He never even looked for me," I replied.
"He was so ashamed, Ashk. He never forgave himself for what he did. He was just so angry with you."
"He was cruel," I quipped, finding myself glaring at her. "He was cruel to his daughter and to children that were innocent. Mama, he wanted me to kill them! He should be ashamed - He should be damn ashamed!"
"Ashk, do not speak like that," Mama scolded with a look in her eyes that was not of anger, but instead something like fear. "He loves you."
"He exiled me!"
She flinched at my voice and her chin trembled as tears filled the corners of her eyes.
I let my anger boil a long moment before I remembered that I was speaking to my mother, not my father. My mother who was losing the man in her life even if I found myself wanting to hate him. She was grief stricken, I could see it in her face, and I immediately felt ashamed for hollering at her so. My anger vanished and I leaned forward to take her hand. "I am sorry, Mama. I did not mean to upset you. We should not talk about this."
She shook her head and stood, walking away from me. "No, we should," she said with a shaking voice. "You do not understand why he was so angry, so disappointed. It wasn't just you, Ashk."
I frowned slowly as her words became more steady as she paced the small study.
"Being with child without a husband to name, Ashk, is a terrible thing. You know that." I did not reply and she did not seem to want me to. "I do, too." She turned and looked at me. "I was nineteen when I met your father. We were young and stupid and...When I became pregnant with Mauriel, the marriage was forced for the baby, not for love."
"What?" My voice was quick and a bit hoarse. My shock was so great it roped around my chest and held my breath alone.
"Oh, I did love him!" she said quickly. "Slowly, I grew to love him and Mauriel. Then Ana came, then you." She approached me slowly. "When you told us of your pregnancy, it was like a nightmare; as though our sins had returned to us through you. We had never wanted our hardships to be forced on you as well. We knew what would happen and that was the last thing we wanted in the world.
"He wanted you to lose the baby and the nightmare and mistake would be over. It was not that he was cold hearted, Ashk. He just never wanted you to go through what we did."
My heart pounded in my ears a long moment before I shoved myself to a stand. "So he exiles me on my refuse! How on earth would that make it better!"
"He was angry, Ashk! He was not thinking."
"Was not thin– Oh!" I interrupted myself with a groan as I turned in a rageful circle. "And you did nothing!" I exclaimed, turning on her in my confusion and rage.
"Yes, I did nothing!" she replied, tears washing down her face. "I never wanted you to go, but you never fought to stay! You left!"
"What was I supposed to do!"
"I don't know!"
Silence fell between us and when I felt a scalding tear streak down my cheek, I scrubbed it away quickly.
"I did not want you to live the life I did, Ashk. You had always been such a bright girl, I did not want you chained to a man you hardly knew."
"Like you had been," I said quietly.
Another tear slipped down her aging face. "Like I had been," she repeated.
I shook my head. I had always thought my mother had been a happy person. I had never, of course, asked to the days of courtship between my parents. Now, obviously, I knew those days were non-existent.
"Does Ana or Mari know about this?" I asked slowly.
"No," she replied before looking down to the floor. "Will you tell them?"
I looked at her a long moment. This could be my revenge. It would be my revenge on both my parents in one swift blow. I would hurt them just as they had me.
But, as I stared at my mother for that moment, I felt ashamed for my thoughts.
"No," I whispered, my throat choked with an emotion that mixed anger, pity, and regret into one clenching hold. "No, I won't."
Evening
Haldir
"I do apologize for my rudeness in not greeting you earlier," Ashk's mother, Eira, said as she forced a bright smile on her face.
Her mask of joy did not fool me in the least. Her eyes were rimmed in the redness of tears while the dark circles under her eyes showed her lack of sleep. She was pale, unhealthily pale, and I could only contribute such things to the state of her husband. Surely she was grieving.
"Think nothing of it," I said, kindly ignoring my observations of her well being as I seated her at the table that was quickly filling with various foods.
The small herd of children had their own table a short distance away. At the moment, they were bombarding Ashk with questions as she dished them their meals.
"Ana has told me much about you, Haldir," she said then and motioned to the seat beside her. I took it a bit reluctantly, unsure of who's place I was truly taking.
"Has she?" I glanced to Ana and barely contained a glare. Ana's overbearing dislike for me had not much lessened in past years, but we seemed to have a tolerable understanding.
Most of the time.
"Oh, yes. She speaks very highly of you."
I raised a brow, looking to Ana again as she clearly worked to act as though she did not hear a word of her mother's voice.
"And those brothers of yours sound like quite the characters," Eira added with a small bit of laughter. "I do believe she adores the youngest."
"Ah, yes. She and Rumil have a keen relationship."
"Yes, which I have been meaning to speak to him about," Ryn said as he sat down beside his wife with a plopping lack of grace. "Playing favorites is not a good idea with the Lucius sisters. Trust in me."
I laughed at him even as Eira passionately agreed and launched into a story about a poor boy who had been caught between all three sisters in his affections when he was very young.
She emphasized he had still not married anyone at all in the nineteen years since.
"Well, you know us," Mari said from across the table. "We leave an impression."
"To say the least," Wessen said casually as he tore a piece of bread apart. "The first thing this one said," he motioned to Mari, "after I had poured out my very heart in proposal was that she would cut off..." He glanced at the nearby children warily and lowered his voice, "..The family heirloom if I ever was infidel to her."
The room erupted in laughter if only for his own words in the situation.
"Ana once told me that she would tie me stark naked to a tree and leave me there for a week if I ever spoke to one particular Gypsy woman again."
"She was a whore," Ana said, stabbing her meal with her fork.
"Ana! Good Lords, the children," Eira scolded.
"They've heard worse," Ana replied evenly with a smile.
Ryn looked at me expectantly. "Well, out with it, Haldir. What evils has Ashk threatened you with?"
I glanced to my wife who looked at me in a bemused fashion.
"Tell them and I will make that threat good," she told me in an innocently sweet fashion, a smile plastered onto her face to fool the family around us.
I cleared my throat and leaned forward slightly. "My wife? She would never make such threats. She is an angel."
Mari and Ana promptly cackled with laughter and Wessen gagged on his drink.
"Right," Ryn chuckled. "When she is sleeping."
"Ryn, I haven't the slightest idea what you are talking about," Ashk said with a beaming smile. "Haldir named me perfectly." Her finger grazed my ear before I jerked away giving her a piercing look. Ana seemed to be the only one to notice as she snorted with laughter.
"None of you are angels, I can promise that," Eira said, looking critically at each of her daughters. "In fact, Ashkalin, you have quite a few skeletons hiding around."
"Oh, I do not think we need to get into that," Ashk said, standing as if to clear the table.
"I disagree," I said, pulling her to sit back down. "You have heard plenty of stories from my brothers, now you can suffer the same torture."
"I have a table to clean," Ashk said then, standing once more.
"Oh, no, please. Sit. We will take care of it," Mari said with a sly smile and I pulled Ashk to sit down once again.
Ashk huffed out a sigh. "Fine. Out with it, Ma. What's first? Herlem's cricket incident, or Lyra's snake surprise?"
"Oh, I had forgotten about the cricket," Eira said with a laugh before turning to me and Ashk groaned. "When Ashk was only about five, she had the most adorable crush on a boy named Herlem." I glanced to Ashk to see her face as a satisfying shade of red before listening to her mother.
Later
Ashk
"Oh, that is a rotten lie!" I exclaimed as Ana burst into giggles. "It was your idea to take the clothes!"
"That's the most horrible thing I have ever heard," Wessen said, choking with laughter. "Those boys were surely scarred for life!"
"I agree," Ryn added with a well played disgusted look. "I would have been mortified."
Ana laughed wickedly. "Oh, trust me dear, you would have no reason to be."
"Oh, Ana! That's too much!" Mari exclaimed with a grimace.
It was late now, well past the bedtime for Mari and Ana's children. We were trying to be as quiet as possible for they were asleep and mother was upstairs tending to our father since sometime after dinner. She had offered me to join her, but I refused.
I was not ready to see that man. Not after what she told me.
In fact, this time with my sisters, their husbands, and my own was well needed. The heated tension that had been building in me for days was fading with out laughter.
Ana gave a sultry look to her husband as he tugged at his collar. "Is it hot in here?"
We laughed, a rich sound that had not been heard all together in so long now; never with Haldir's amused chuckles and it was a sweet sound to my ears.
"Now, when I first met Mari, I thought she was the sweetest girl I'd ever met. I learned differently real fast," Wessen said before receiving a slapping blow to his arm.
Our laughter was suddenly underlined by something else. A strange noise that caught my attention only in curiosity at first, then in a layering dread.
The hacking coughs upstairs were ragged and enough to choke someone. Our laughter and amusement faded away as we listened to Lucius, son of Lucian, cough and gag enough to make anyone's chest contort with raw pain.
The sound of Mama's voice trying to calm him worried me a brief moment before the coughing gagged then slowly faded away.
Haldir gave me a wary look before I turned my eyes to my sisters.
Mari shrugged slightly. "It happens," she said softly.
Ana was biting on her nails, a habit she had only when she was truly unnerved, before Ryn took her hand and squeezed.
"Well, I do believe it is a bit late. Perhaps we should all retire for the night," Mari said, pushing herself to a stand.
I frowned then. "Is the tavern not open now?"
"Oh, it is open. Mort has been taking care of things for the past few days."
The name itself made me feel a bit cold. Of course Mort would help, he always helped. He was always around - a good friend to both my sisters and I.
Yet, for years, we all knew Mort favored me in a different way. He was protective and, at times, a bit possessive. He did not like me working in that tavern in the least. He always insisted I was only asking for trouble. And he was always there, usually helping my father,and always came whenI needed him. He walked me home, pushed away the darker fellows, and always had a smile to offer.
"Your room is open, Ashk, when the two of you are ready for bed," Mari said then, leaning down and kissing me on the cheek. As goodnights were exchanged, Haldir and I found ourselves alone in the common room with that swaying fire.
"I would not have guessed you were such a wild young girl," Haldir said then, smiling at me as he tugged on my hair. "I do hope our Ana does not take after you."
I raised a brow. "You do not have a clean slate either, my dearest."
He chuckled, pulling me to him.
"How do you think the children are?" I asked softly. I had found myself thinking of them many times during dinner, avidly wondering what they were doing and what they were eating for their own dinner.
"Well, as long as Ana has not summoned a storm and Onduras has not led any of the other children on a crusade, I think they are fine," he replied, making me smile and forget my motherly worries. "Do you miss them?"
I sighed. "Yes. Terribly."
"Me, too," he told me quietly.
- - -
All right, well that chapter was to really introduce Ashk's whole family to everyone. I enjoyed writing them, heh. The next chapter, however, will be a bit more...hmm..tense. And I do believe this little 'short' fic will turn out to be five or six chapters. Sigh. You guys know me.
Don't forget to look at the cover! That's dedicated to you guys!
-Slater
Next update: July 21 or 22