Hello!

First of all, thank you very much to Kyubak, Kendris, Arabellaesque and Finduilas for your reviews. I'm very happy that I did manage to make Anomen and Amousca touching. Your reviews happened at a time while I'm under a lot of stress at work (grant request time of the year…) and you've made me smile and forget about the impeding end of the world looming over me from a few days afar. So big thank yous :)

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Chapter VII. He dies in the end

In the following weeks, Calandra's and Matteo's families met a few times, even if Calandra's family was a little intimidated to meet such important people as Amousca and Anomen Delryn. To their surprise, both were easy enough to speak with. They were not nobles, even if the knight was born one and surely had their flowery speech; Amousca was accessible because she was a mother who understood their pride to see their daughter, born a peasant, becoming a priestess of Lathander and marrying such a charming young man. Anomen was somehow familiar to them because he was a priest, as was their daughter, and preached (or spoke…) like one.

The ceremony was a simple one, but the Delryn were now an influential family of Athkatla, and there were many people present, friends of the family and some city officials.

Calandra's family was impressed by the presence of many wealthy nobles, but as the young priestess had said, the Delryn were not snobs, were dressed simply, and were very generous with them, offering them the lodging for the night and a tour of the famous Planar Sphere to the youngest son who had put some foolishness in his head to become a wizard some day.

Calandra and Matteo fled the city on white horses, as was the custom, to go for their wedding trip somewhere in Neverwinter.

ooooo

A mere year later, Calandra had a baby, a beautiful daughter who was prone to smile even in the few first days of her life, and brought much joy to her parents, aunts, uncles and grand-parents.

When the baby, who was named Tani for Calandra's grandmother, was twelve days old, Anomen woke that morning feeling cold.

He did not move or speak, taking a heavy breath to steady his will. He prayed for a few seconds, and then he extended a hand to wake Amousca, sleeping peacefully by his side.

She woke with a start, jerked out of her dreams by the feeling of his cold hand on her naked shoulder, and some elven sense told her immediately, even before she was awake, what was happening. She sat on the bed, turning to look down at Anomen, and she heard his slow, shallow breath. She saw the paleness of his face, the serenity in his eyes. She closed her eyes against the tears. He deserved more strength from her than this.

"Call our children," he requested quietly.

She nodded wordlessly and wrapped herself in a cape. She opened the door to the bedroom and paused on the threshold to collect herself, but their old butler was there on the landing, carrying a few papers upstairs. When he saw the lady of the house there in a cape and her nightgown, his face lost colour.

"Guillaume. Would you ask Jimmy to go get our children and tell them that… that…", she trailed off.

The butler bowed, unmistakable sadness in his eyes. "Immediately, milady."

Reeds was getting a little old to ride recklessly around the city to gather Samir at the Five Flagons and Coreen at the Cowled Wizards' laboratory, and so it fell to the younger stable boy to run this kind of errand. Amousca trusted her daughter to get her remaining brother, who was now with his wife at her family's house to help her as she was recuperating from the birthing. They had left only two days before.

Amousca went back to her husband's side. She sat on the bed, and his hands came up to take hers gently.

"Do not regret me," he said.

She drew a quivering breath. "You deserve better. But I love you, and I will miss you."

He smiled. "I love you, and I will miss you also," he answered. "But I do not regret a moment of my life with you, and neither should you."

As always, her eyes darted away from his, and she fought against tears.

"I do regret turning into the Slayer," she stated weakly.

He hushed her with a press of his hands on hers. "It shall be Irenicus's regret, not yours, Amousca. And not mine… not anymore."

She closed her eyes, and pressed his hands harder.

"Matteo and Coreen might be delayed," she said after a while. "Do you… do you wish me to tell them…"

"No, my love. Helm is close, but… but he has delayed his call for a while already, and I think I will be allowed to see them one last time."

She nodded, even if there was curiosity in her eyes.

"I have been feeling the call of my Lord for a year, now, but I believe he has allowed me a little more time on this plane that I might see my son marry and give us the first of our grand-children."

They kept silence for a long time and, finally, Samir appeared on the threshold. He wore a creased tunic and pants and his usually smooth hair was tangled, as though he had jumped out of bed into the first clothes he reached. He was also breathless, but he entered calmly into the room, saying softly as he came near the bed:

"I am here, Father."

By that time, the house's maid, cook, butler and old stable man were by the door, but they did not come in. The maid was a young girl just recently hired, as the older one had married and left to keep her own household not a year ago. The young maid was, however, crying silently on the cook's shoulder; the older woman also had tears in her eyes, although she refrained. Guillaume, after a while of pondering, closed the door to give the family some privacy.

Samir settled on his knees next to his father's bed, and one of Anomen's hands let go of Amousca to reach for his son. Samir held his father's hand in silence for a while, his eyes slowly filling with tears. There was a long silence, and finally Anomen said, "I have never been good with words, Samir. But I love you, and I am proud of you. Will you… sing for me?"

Samir choked, but he valiantly cleared the tears from his eyes and voice, and he started to sing a prayer to Helm, a chant that glorified the valour of duty and justice that Helm requested of his worshippers. His voice was good, as it had always been, even if a bit quavering. Amousca was moved by this vivid homage their son was paying to his father's sense of duty and justice. Silent tears flowed down her cheeks, but she did not weep. Anomen was also moved, but he was a man and would not cry. Samir, once he had sung the last words of the prayer, forced himself to calm and added, holding tightly to his father's hand, "I love you too."

There was a soft knock on the door, and it opened to reveal Coreen and Matteo. Matteo bore the look of a new father, complete with deep circles under the eyes, and Coreen appeared drained of magic, which was no doubt the case if she had gone to the De'Arnisse lands and back, with only faint black speckles of magic around her hands.

Amousa shifted a little away from her husband to let her other children closer. She whispered to Coreen, "Thank you."

The young sorceress bit her lip, and nodded. Matteo urged his sister first to their father's bedside. She got down on her knees next to Samir, and started to cry in earnest.

"I love you, Coreen. You have made me proud. Know that I will watch you, and you will have words of me if you ever relish that fight of yours against the 'stuffy old figures in dull robes' and their accomplices, the 'stuffy old figures in wealthy clothes'."

Coreen managed to giggle even as she was crying.

"I swear, Father, you've made me far too stubborn to ever stop fighting them." She paused to sob, then she added, "I love you too, Father. I'll miss having words with you."

Amousca smiled fondly as she saw again that Coreen was the only one on Faerûn who could annoy and amuse Anomen so at the same time. But his time was drawing near, and he had no time for "words" now.

Samir and Coreen made a few steps sideways, and Matteo knelt next to them.

"Mary, Mina, Reeds, Guillaume and Jimmy are by the door. They all wanted to say how happy and honoured they are to have served such a just and generous master," Matteo said first.

Anomen made a small smile, which the servants by the door stretched their necks to see. Anomen's voice was weaker now.

"And I thank them. I have much affection for them also."

Mary and Mina did not resist anymore and started crying more loudly, soon being consoled by a pained-looking Guillaume. Then, Anomen's hand reached for Matteo's, and the servants by the door were forgotten. Matteo took his father's hand.

"I love you, Father," Matteo said. "I will pray to Helm…" The half-elf trailed off, not knowing exactly what he wanted to pray for, but he had no time to think on it.

"I will be grateful if you are the one to say the prayers for me when I go." Matteo nodded silently. "I… I love you, Matteo, and… and… I am glad that you followed my steps. I hope… you did not…"

Anomen was fighting for breath now, but Matteo, crying, knew what his father had in mind.

"No, Father. I followed your steps because you have set an example I wanted to follow… I was proud to follow… not because I have ever felt forced to. And I will be proud if anyone says of me that I am honouring my father with my actions."

This brought tears to Anomen's eyes at last. "I am so proud of you, Matteo. But Helm is calling strongly now… his call has reached me at last… Amousca…"

Immediately, the three half-elves drew back to let their mother take back her place by her husband's side. They hugged together, sniffing.

Amousca caressed Anomen's cheek slowly, tears down her face, and she was shaking with sobs she did not allow herself to release. She would not cry before he was gone and would not see her lacking so much strength.

"My love," she said in a broken voice.

"I will wait for you by Helm's side," he whispered. She nodded, squeezing both his hands. And then, he closed his eyes, and did not breathe again.

Amousca fell forward to hug him one last time, crying on his shoulder. His shoulder had been there for her to cry or lean on in so many occasions before, and would never be again, she realized with a heart-wrenching agony. He was gone.

She closed her eyes. She managed to pray.

"You shone on him once. You gave me back my heart and my hope, then. I beg You to shine on him a second time. He is not heading for the Keep of the Eternal Sun, but I request, humbly, if You still have the strength, that You shine on his journey, until he reaches Helm's side. I pray to You, Amaunator."

And then, she collapsed sobbing.

ooooo

Amousca cried a while over his body, but eventually she drew back with an effort, and then she fell in her children's arms, and they cried together a while, until they were gently pushed out of the room by Guillaume. Jimmy again was sent to get the priests of Helm that would take care of the body. The cook gave them some hot tea that calmed them slightly. And so, the bereavement had begun.