Aw, I can't believe I did this… so sorry for the stupid mistake.
Thank you very much Finduilas for your review (which alerted me) and for your suggestions. I removed the offending "kid" and removed some lines on difference of size. Thank you again :-)
Chapter V. Hasty return
Suddenly there was a commotion in the entrance, the door being swung wide open on the rainy night. Guillaume shouted:
"Who dares…"
Then he kept silence. Amousca gestured her children to stay where they were, and quickly stood and went to the door to see what was happening.
A tall man was standing in the doorway. For a moment Amousca felt her blood run cold, wondering if it was a vampire who had not been invited in, but then the man moved, and she recognized her husband.
"Anomen? What's wrong?"
She ran to him, who staggered in, and let himself drop into a chair. He was draped in a dark, ragged cloak, with a bulky stuffing at the shoulders; she had not recognized Anomen under it. He removed the hood and Amousca stared at him.
"I'm tired," he said. "Baldur's Gate's far. The horse needs a rub down."
"You come all the way from Baldur's Gate?", Amousca asked, not really understanding what he was doing there and still suspecting some serious business.
He nodded once.
"Is there no restoration scroll in store somewhere?", he finally asked. "I'd like to tell properly to my wife and children that I am happy to be home."
The three teenagers were still in the dining room, but their three heads were very visible in the doorway.
"I am afraid not, my lord, but Guillaume can go to buy one."
The butler put on his cloak, and thanked the lady for the water-proof cantrip she cast on his clothes. She gave him enough gold to buy the scroll, and he went out in the night.
"Let me explain later," Anomen begged, letting his head rest on the back of the chair, closing his eyes and almost falling unconscious.
The three children could barely contain themselves; they wanted to run to him to greet him, but he didn't look so well, so they obeyed their mother and stayed in the kitchen.
Amousca unfastened the cloak and pushed it backwards, freeing Anomen's face and shoulders of the heavy, drenched cloak. He was wearing his armour and had his weapons; right now he was leaning on the Dragon shield, fastened to his back. There was no blood visible; he just seemed tired. Amousca was truly intrigued; he must have rode non-stop for close to twenty-four hours, changing horse at least three times, to come back from Baldur's Gate that quick. Why would he do that? If something truly important had happened, shouldn't he have gone to the temple or the Order's headquarters?
She watched his near-unconsciousness for a short while before Guillaume returned, his cloak dripping, but her cantrip still holding. She took the scroll and read it herself; maybe Matteo would have been more efficient with it, but she wanted the children to stay a safe distance away until her husband recovered. The scroll gave him back some strength, apparently, because he sat, unfastened his weapons and shield, and stood in front of his wife. He said, looking briefly at the servant:
"Guillaume, would you please go to the kitchen, and prepare some tea while my wife welcomes me?"
"Very well, my lord," he said with a bow of the head.
He left the hall and went to the kitchen, closing the door behind him; three pairs of eyes were visible until at last the door closed. Anomen was removing his armour as the servant left, and suddenly Amousca put a hand to his arm, trying to stop him, and asked:
"What's wrong, Anomen? Why are you back so soon?"
He finished to remove the red dragon scale despite her questions, and finally let the scale fall on the chair with his shield and Crom Faeyr. Then he turned to look at her, and he was so grave, it frightened her.
"What is it?", she asked finally, her voice full of terror.
Then he took a step forward, took her in his arms and held her so tightly to him that she almost couldn't breathe. Tears welled up in her eyes as he hugged her so, all bend over her because he was much taller than she was. Finally he unsqueezed her some and said, voice shaken, his face in her hair:
"I had to come back. I couldn't miss the children's vacation."
She pushed him back suddenly to look at his face. He was looking guilty and tired.
"That is quite apart from your behaviour as of late," she underlined, trying to keep a neutral tone.
His face expressed another degree of guilt and he said:
"I will explain what brought this realization as soon as we have another minute in private, but for now I believe my daughter and sons await to see me."
She bowed her head, saying she agreed, and followed her husband as he walked towards the door of the dining room.