A/N: The following takes place nearly a year after the events of Chapter 39: The Union.
Rough ages are as follows: Johan at 73, Clara at 54, Olivier at 29, Lena at 23, Astra (and the unseen Tara) nearly 21, Sterling at 17, Maglina at 15, and Seren at 9.
Chapter Forty-Seven: A Summer Reunion
The midsummer morning was cool and bright, comfortable enough to nearly allow the citizens of Gallifrey to forget the heat that would be upon them that afternoon. It was the sort of calm which put Lord Johan Lonan, Marquis Kasterborous and Gallifrey, on-edge, and it was nowhere as obvious as at the breakfast table. Fidgety and cantankerous, he gave off the air of someone who truly did not wish to be bothered by anything or anyone, despite the fact his beloved wife and four of his children were at the table with him.
"We need to prepare for a heat wave—I can feel it in my bones," he scowled into his tea. It was lukewarm—the hottest he could take it that day—and the taste made him nearly want to cringe.
"Karn had a snowy winter, so there should be no doubt about the river and reservoir's reserves," Lena reminded him dully. She picked at her eggs, not entirely feeling like eating. "Any lack of rain should be supplemented by the fact the warmth would take its toll on the mountains as well, giving us more melt, even if the heat we have here is enough to dry the wells normally… or did you forget that while listening to your bones?"
"I have not, starlet," he frowned, "though I can sense something ominous approaching, and we are due for a heatwave." He stabbed a piece of fruit with his fork and ate it slowly, glad it was still cold. "What do you think, dearest?"
"…that you are overreacting to something," the Marchioness deadpanned. "Lena is correct though—if things become bad enough to create a drought, we can open the irrigation tunnels and divert some of the river flow, making it…" She was accidentally cut off by the butler bringing in the morning post, apologetically offering her an envelope on a platter. After thanking him, she opened it and read the contents whilst most of the remaining members of her family received their various correspondences. She waited until the butler was out of the room before glancing around the table excitedly. "It appears as though Astra and Olly return next week!"
"Really?!" Seren gasped, overjoyed. "I wonder when I can stay over at Sladen House!"
"Give them a chance to settle in before becoming a bother," the Marquis scolded gently. He gave his youngest son a wink, however, which caused the boy to stifle a giggle. "Do they say anything of their plans for when they return?"
"Unpack, rest, and oversee the branch's startup, mostly."
"Olly said that he was going to end up occupying two offices: one in Gallifrey with the other near the estate," Lena mentioned. "I imagine that he will have plenty of back and forth between the two, at least to start."
"Speaking of," Sterling piped up, "I was wondering if I could take Seren with me when I go and check on the new office for Olly. We both have the day off from our studies, and it will be a good change of scenery for him."
"That depends on how much you need to check," the Marchioness said.
"Not much—Olly had sent me a copy of the building plans and some instructions for what he wants to have done," Sterling explained. "It is brand-new construction, and it seems to be going according to plan so far. As long as someone checks in, it is fine, but a direct member of the governing family who is also related to the man commissioning the work makes it so that no one would dare cheat on anything. I usually go by myself on days off, though I think it would be good to have someone else with me today."
"Oooh! That sounds like fun! Can I go?! Papa?! Mama?!" Seren pleaded. His eyes nearly seemed to inflate as he silently begged, which only made his parents chuckle.
"As long as Papa doesn't have anything planned," the Marchioness said.
"I don't see why not," the Marquis added.
Seren cheered and quickly gulped down his tea so he could dash from the room and prepare for the day ahead. His parents and siblings could only shake their heads at his enthusiasm and energy, wondering where it all came from.
"Good," Maglina said. "At least this means that Ori and I will be able to get some work done. He never seems to go away when we need to study seriously."
"Just wait until it's your own children," the Marchioness warned through a snicker. "Any time your papa and I have gotten to ourselves in the past twenty-three years has been little short of a miracle."
"…yet you still managed to give me five siblings," Lena said. "You clearly found at least some time."
"More than you know," the Marchioness replied, throwing the Marquis a sultry glance across the table. The children all squirmed in disgust, not wanting to imagine the thought of their parents in an intimate setting, though it was too late and they would be stuck with the unsolicited image for days.
Sterling scribbled down the last of his notes on his pad of paper and nodded at the construction manager next to him. "It looks good, thank you—Mister Peladon-Lakertya will be pleased." He shook the woman's hand, glad that he would soon be leaving.
"I do hope so," she replied. She then motioned towards the door, which was over on the other side of the large hall they were in, which was still littered with scaffolding and building supplies. "May I see the Young Lords out?"
"No, that won't be necessary, thank you," he said. Sterling then glanced across the room, over to where Seren was watching people plaster walls. "Time to go!"
"…but Sterling!"
"We need to get to Sladen House, write down the report, and return home before dinner," the elder brother warned. Seren groaned in frustration before reluctantly complying.
The brothers went outside and hopped on their horses, walking them towards the Sladen Estate. In the year's time since Olivier had purchased the manor and its lands, the entire place seemed to have transformed with a new breath of life. Gardeners were prepping the grounds, stablehands hand farmers were caring forvarious animals, and house staff could be seen at nearly every turn, opening windows, shaking out rugs, and cleaning furniture in the open air.
"Ah, good to see you again, Young Lord Sterling—and you brought your brother this time too," the house butler said cheerily once he saw the visitors. He waited until the brothers dismounted their rides and passed the reins over to a stablehand before leaving his post over the house staff to greet them. "Do you have the report for Mister Lakertya-Peladon?"
"I do," Sterling affirmed, holding up his notes.
"It was interesting seeing a building not-finished!" Seren added. "Olly and Astra are going to love it!"
"Good!" the butler chuckled. "Why don't you go inspect the gardens while your lord brother writes his notes in the ledger? An honest opinion would be helpful."
"Leave it to me!" the young boy said proudly. He scampered off, allowing Sterling to head into the house and find the room set aside for Olivier's private office unencumbered. The ledger concerning the new building was precisely where he left it, making quick work of copying his notes. Sterling was glad he agreed to help with the project, even if it had been plenty of extra work and learning thus far; any work experience was good experience for him at the moment, since he was still unsure of what to do come the following summer and the end of his compulsory studies.
Sterling replaced the ledger and found the front of the house again. Instead of leaving, however, he found Olivier and Astra in the main hall, directing staff on where to put the things they had brought with them from Rhylls.
"Astra! Olly!" he grinned. The teen greeted his sister and brother-in-law with tight hugs, glad to see them. "Mama received a letter this morning saying you were about a week away yet!"
"It must have been delayed," Astra figured with a frown. "I sent that with plenty of time to get here."
"Doesn't matter; we're home now," Olivier said. He looked around the hall, nearly as though he could barely believe it. "We really are home."
"You're back!" Seren gasped from the doorway suddenly. He ran to Astra and Olivier, bouncing in excitement, and jumped into his new brother's arms. "I missed you two! Never stay away that long again!"
"It was only a bit less than a year," Astra reminded him. She hugged her baby brother and ruffled his hair, stopping when she noticed a sudden change in his demeanor. "What's the matter?"
"You feel different," he said, intensely confused. "Why do you feel so different? Is it because you were in Rhylls?"
Although it was subtle, Sterling noticed Olivier and Astra both stare at Seren in something akin to panic. He watched as they exchanged a glance before turning their attention back to the boy.
"A little," she said, "though we really should be with everyone before we talk about our time away."
"I never get to know anything first," Seren pouted.
"You knew Astra accepted my proposal before anyone else," Olivier reminded him. "Don't worry—we can have a good visit soon enough. We do owe you a sleepover, yeah?"
"Yeah! You do!" Seren said, immediately perking up. "When will that be?"
"If you give us a little bit, we can go back to Castle Gallifrey with you and find out."
"Okay!" Seren then began to look through the boxes and chests that were scattered about the hall. Sterling, on the other hand…
"What's the matter?" he asked, making sure his voice was low enough so that only they heard. "You gave each other a look…"
"Nothing's wrong," Astra defended. "We truly just want to be with everyone before we start discussing how things have been while we were gone."
"You're acting like you're hiding something."
"Now we're—stars! Seren! What the…?!" Astra panicked when she saw her youngest brother approaching with her corset, of all the things, in his hands.
"I took care of finding this for you," he said matter-of-factly. "Mama says that it's easier to travel without one, but Rhyllish food must be too heavy or something, because you never had a tummy before, even a little one, and Mama says corsets help with that."
Sterling instantly knew what was going on and, in an effort to divert attention away from their sister, smacked the back of his brother's head just hard enough for the boy to feel it. "Seren! It's rude to say things like that! I'd like to see how you do at the end of a cross-country trip—you wouldn't want to wear one either!" He did have to give it to Astra and her flowing Rhyllish dress though, for it hid things well. "Now what do you say?"
"Sorry, Astra," Seren muttered, eyes turned to the floor. Their sister only laughed and ruffled his hair.
"It's alright; let's take some fresh horses from the stable and see how Mama and Papa are doing. I'm sure they'll be happy to see us." She passed the corset to an amused maid and ushered the boy out of the house. Sterling joined them as they went to see the horses, and Olivier did as well once he was finished giving instruction to the butler and head housemaid concerning the trip's luggage. They mounted the horses and slowly walked them back towards Gallifrey, Seren animatedly describing the year's events as they went.
Before long, the small group was back behind the city walls, with clouds tinted green and yellow across the violet horizon. They entered the castle grounds and left the horses in the care of the stables, Seren pulling Astra through the corridors of their ancestral in an attempt to find their parents quick as possible. The rest of the family was sitting in the lounge, everyone waiting for the cook to send word that dinner was ready and plates would be saved for the young lords. Soon as the sisters saw one another, though, they ran towards one another, Lena and Maglina both enveloping Astra in a tight hug.
"I missed you!" Maglina sniffled, clinging longer than Lena. Astra kissed the top of her youngest sister's head, nearly ready to cry.
"I missed you too," she said. By then their parents had approached them and she moved on towards them. "Mama, Papa, it's good to be back."
"It's good to have you, sweetheart," the Marchioness replied. She gave her daughter a hug and stepped aside, watching her husband carefully as it was his turn.
"Great to see you, starlet," the Marquis smiled gently. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, only for his eyes to go wide and his brows raise; his mind had brushed against hers, just as it had since she was a child, yet this time there was a new presence that he accidentally bumped against… one that made his eyes well up in joy.
"Johan…?" the Marchioness wondered. She put a hand on his arm, calling his attention to her. "Johan, she wasn't even gone a year."
"…yet our owlet has returned to the nest with more than just her husband." He held his daughter's face and kissed her brow. Tears dripped into his whiskers as he choked up, unable to say another word.
"Does this mean what I think it does?" the Marchioness asked, her own eyes inflating. Astra nodded, which caused her mother to hug her again happily.
"What's going on?" Seren wondered. He looked around at everyone, rather upset there were no answers as to why greetings were so suddenly derailed. "I don't get it."
"Your sister is going to have a baby," his father explained. He bent down and put a hand on his youngest's shoulder to make sure he was alright. "She shall be a mama and you shall be an uncle…" He glanced at Astra, who was already being barraged with questions and hugs by mother and sisters.
"…the Violet Sky, Grandpapa," she chuckled. "The physician in Rhylls said the baby should be born around then."
"Most likely between your birthday and midwinter," Olivier explained to his youngest brother-in-law. "You'll be ten then—can we trust you to be a good uncle and help teach the baby all there is to being a kid in Kasterborous and Gallifrey? I'm afraid I don't have much experience with that."
"Yes!" Seren agreed. He looked at his sister, then back towards her husband. "She doesn't look like she's going to have a baby."
"It's still very small," Olivier said. "The baby won't be big enough to notice for a months or two yet, though Astra's corset is already too tight on her thanks to how big it is already."
Seren stared at his sister, his brow furrowed like their father's often became, and tried to imagine her as a mother. It was not difficult due to all the things that she had done for him over the years, though something about it seemed wrong somehow.
"What will the child call you?" the Marquis asked Olivier. The younger man beamed at that, as though he was still getting used to the idea.
"I know Oriana calls her parents Mum and Dad, and I think that's great that they're keeping that, but I would much rather Astra and I be Mama and Papa."
"You don't want to be 'Dad'?" Lena wondered, overhearing him. "Wouldn't you want to do better by the title than what you grew up with?"
"The more I thought about it, the less comfortable it became," he admitted sheepishly. "Our child will still have a gran and grunkle on my side, but I still prefer 'Papa' for myself." He was clearly embarrassed by the way his skin flushed and he turned his gaze towards nothing. The less he could be reminded of his absent father, the better.
"It doesn't matter what you're called; what matters is that you are the best parents you can be," the Marchioness said. She held Olivier at arm's length, looking him in the eyes. "Just like with marriage, you saw what not to do first-hand as you grew. I have little doubt that you have the makings of a fine dad and a doting papa, just as I am certain you are a loving husband."
"You… you really mean that…?"
"I would have never allowed you to marry my daughter so easily if I didn't," she replied. The Marchioness hugged Olivier as he began to choke back tears. Though her words did not surprise him, it was stunning to hear all the same, as no one had yet bothered to claim his fears unfounded.
He and Astra were going to be parents.
That night, as the castle lulled itself to sleep, there were two members of the governing family that were still wide awake. The Marquis paced around his quarters as his wife sat up in bed reading, the man nearly threatening to wear a spot in the rug.
"You're overreacting," the Marchioness said dully, never even looking away from her page.
"Clara, our daughter is preparing to bring a life into this world—possibly the first of many—and you do not seem the least bit worried!"
"I am too worried."
"Yes; sitting there reading your tripe makes you seem so anxious you could scream."
The Marchioness rolled her eyes and grunted in irritation at what she knew was the severe end of her husband's personality. "At least I am able to control myself—look at you, acting as though she's been given only days to live—you're being ridiculous."
"You know my concerns are not unfounded," he muttered, knowing she was correct.
"…and you know that she is young, strong, and healthy; our daughter could birth ten children before the age I was when I had the first of our six." Peeking at her husband over her spectacles, she watched him fret silently throughout the room. "Come to bed, Johan."
"I am still too awake," he claimed.
"…because you are worrying yourself into a stupor," she warned. She closed her book, setting it and her spectacles atop the nightstand. "Not all women can, and not all who can do, but most women are capable of handling carrying a child to-term without harm to them or the child."
"…and not only am I a father, but I am now soon to be a grandfather, meaning my worry has doubled." He sat down on the edge of the mattress next to his wife, taking her hand in both of his. "I am still not ready for any of our stars to be another's moon, but to have starlets of their own…?"
"It only means there are more stars for our sky with the addition of grandchildren," she reasoned. "It is only natural to worry, but it is also so to be completely enamored when our child lays their child in our arms for the first time." The Marchioness exhaled as the Marquis lifted her hand to his lips for a tender kiss, using her free hand to caress his face. His eyes were rimmed in red and filled with tears and it nearly broke her hearts. "Come lay with me, Moon of My Sky. Hold me and remember the night we renewed our vows, for I am more certain of my devotion for you now than I was even then. Our grandchild being born into such a loving, large family will be proof of that."
With tears finally escaping his eyes and flowing freely, the Marquis leaned forward and kissed his wife, too emotional to reply with words. The kiss deepened and he indeed joined her in bed with wandering hands and deft fingers, lavishing her with a love and devotion that had also grown since the night of their second wedding bed. His actions clarified his thoughts: the fact they were to be grandparents did not mean that they were to set aside their desires, nor did it mean that they found themselves less drawn to one another. He made her gasp silently to the dark, red night and she made him whimper in the bedding, knowing full-well that down the corridor, their daughter and her husband chastely slept together in her old room, unaware of what was taking place.