In Joy or In Sorrow
The predawn silence was shattered suddenly by the dull tolling of a bell...the Death Bell. Beside him, Talia sat straight up, her eyes wide in the darkness. Both of them waited, listening, for the Herald's identity to come to them.
Talia's Gift brought her the answer first. He saw her flinch, as if someone had struck her, her shock and grief roiling down their lifebond. "Selenay..." she whispered, then collapsed against him, sobbing.
Dirk hadn't seen his lady all day. The Queen's death in the middle of the night threw the realm into a chaos of grief and succession. After the first bout of sobbing, Talia had shoved her grief aside and gone to do her job, first comforting others then hammering out the succession.
Dirk, meanwhile, had spent most of the day with Ahrodie and his children, Chosen and not. All of them missed their Queen greatly, and were happy to grieve with their father. And all of them thought that their mother needed time alone to grieve.
All of them, he felt, were wrong.
Talia had never been one to hold her feelings inside. Or rather, she had, but it wasn't good for her. The very nature of her Gift was shouting her feelings to the world. If she was allowed to hide in her grief now, it was likely she'd never come out of it. Which was why he was currently trying to find her. Emphasis on trying.
:Rolan's sure he hasn't seen her: he asked, again.
:Yes: Ahrodie said, exasperation tinging her Voice slightly red. :I've asked him three times and all three times, the answer has been the same:
:Well, excuse me for being worried about her: Dirk retorted, running a hand through his hair. :I just...'Rodie, Talia can't be alone now. You know that. If she isn't with Rolan...:
:Then she's shutting herself off even more. Yes, I understand. Well, she has to be somewhere in the Colligium. I know you've checked your rooms, and the Queen's, and Elspeth's...and she's not in the Field...where would she go:
:Um.: Dirk bit his lip. :Dev hasn't seen her, so she didn't go to Healer's, and she doesn't know anyone in Bardic well, so I doubt she'd go there.:
:Mari: Ahrodie pointed out.
:Who has been Chosen and confirmed as a Herald and is even now with Myste: Dirk said. :No, not Bardic. Where...: He snapped his fingers, suddenly, and headed for the gardens.
He was gratified and relieved to see that he'd been right. Talia was huddled beneath a tree, knees drawn up to her chest, curled up so small she would seem a child if it weren't for the gray in her hair. She didn't look up as he approached.
"Talia?" He called her name, softly.
She still didn't move, but a small strand of love curled around him and drew him closer. "How are you doing, little bird?" he asked, kneeling beside her.
A shudder came from her then, and he wrapped his arms around her, knees and all. "Selenay..." she whispered.
"I know, love. The Healers said she didn't hurt at all...but you knew that already, didn't you."
She nodded, against his chest, but said nothing.
"She is happy, love," he said, as reassuringly as he could. "In the Havens. She'll get to see her father again, and Daren."
"I don't cry for her," Talia said, at last. "I...I cry for us. For Valdemar. Because she was a good Queen, and because we will never see her like again. Never."
With that, Talia let herself go, and began to cry quietly into Dirk's chest. He held her, and kissed the top of her head, and cried with her, as Valdemar mourned.
