Talya had just glanced out her old bedroom window or Sanya's actually when she saw her husband's ship on the horizon. "Praise the salt gods!" she whispered and made the sign. She hadn't really doubted that he would return but Dalla could be convincing when she spouted her gloom and doom.
She regretted not grabbing more than a shawl when she ran down to the dock to see if Yutton had succeeded in his mission to bring back supplies to her family. She was sure he would have. He had proved himself to be very dependable. And as soon as he had unloaded those supplies they could be on their way, home, to Bralyk Keep!
Talya looked back up the hill at the large manse where she had grown up and at the disused ship building warehouses. When had she stopped thinking of Harkon Hall as home? It might have been as far back as when Sanya had left it. Her twin had always seemed to be the heart and soul of the place.
Her other secret hope was that while he was running his errand that her husband might have seen Sanya's sail heading in this direction. She knew it would do her father good to see his favorite child. Talya admitted that the wayward twin had always held that position.
She didn't see any other ships, herself as she scanned the waters behind Yutton's ship so Sanya's ship didn't appear to be following. Maybe they had stopped at Blackhold. She was sure there would be lots of explaining to do when Jamos arrived back at his family's island after so long away and bringing home the woman he loved and wanted to take for his wife.
Talya chuckled to herself. She still couldn't really picture Sanya standing before the Blackwells and having a civil conversation with her prospective in-laws. Maybe the pirate queen would just lay siege to the island and take it for herself as she had the ship meant for their second son and they young man himself.
As soon as Yutton's ship reached the dock he was down the gangplank and gathering her into his arms. It hadn't been that long since they'd seen each other but his kiss was like that of a man dying of thirst who had finally found a spring of fresh water.
She blushed when they broke apart not wanting to step away from his warmth. "You brought the supplies for my family?"
"I loaded up with everything that I could," he assured her.
"And… did you happen to see the Bloody Galia ?" she asked hesitantly. That hadn't been part of his mission but he must know that she would be curious.
Yutton shook his head. "We weren't really in the direction we expected them to be coming from but I had to make the trip from Fartrad's with all sail piled on."
"You did seem to be coming up very quickly from the east," she complemented.
He caressed her face. "I couldn't wait to see you again." Then he sobered. "But there's something else. I'm afraid we won't be able to sail back to Bralyk Keep just yet, my love."
"Why not?"
"The freeze is coming." He sighed. "I know it's been since the Blood Moon that we've seen anything like it. We've had so many mild winters, but the climate seems to be going back to the way it used to be. The oldun's who have sailed these waters far longer than I have and know how to read the sky and the water and listen to the brylks have seen it coming. I don't think it's safe to take you out on the water for a long journey like the one back to our home."
Talya took a breath as she digested the information. She looked to where the ship was being unloaded with all the supplies her husband had procured. Then she gave him a steady nod. "We'll stay here then. Your crew will be welcomed at the inn or we can make over one of the old warehouses into a sort of boarding house for the season. We could even tow your ship there into dry dock and they could continue to sleep in the hold if they are more comfortable."
He marveled at her ability to make do in a trying situation. "As long as I can… stay by your side."
The heat rose to her face as she knew what he really meant was that he wanted to sleep by her side. But he also noticed then that she wasn't wearing her coat. "You must be freezing." He rubbed her arms up and down with his own big strong hands. "Let's get you back up to the house and we'll tell them all what's up." Before they made their way he took his own coat off and wrapped it around her shoulders.
…
Talya took control of the situation at once. She made preparations for the delivery of all of the cargo that was brought off the ship and saw to the temporary housing of the crew. She looked to her husband for advice on some matters but in most things she was the expert having grown up on the island and knowing the town below the manse and the people who lived and worked there.
She also went to her father's workshop personally and managed to coax the man to come up for supper with the constant encouragement that she had seen Sanya only a few days ago and surely her twin would come for a visit soon. She had no way of knowing that, in fact it might be an utter falsehood given that Nya and Jak and their crew will also have had to find a safe harbor for the freeze. Surely they would come as soon as the sea thawed, however, and it was only the first freeze in many years so perhaps it wouldn't last that long.
With all of the work she had been doing it wasn't until bedtime that she realized she had planned for everyone's sleeping arrangements other than that of she and her own husband. She led him rather sheepishly to the suite of rooms she had shared with her sister. He had his sailor's napsack over his shoulder and he looked so big and tall when she pointed out the door. "We can figure out something else tomorrow," she promised.
"As long as we're together I'm sure it will be fine." He bent to kiss her, tossed his bag into the room without looking and very likely would have carried her right to her bed when they heard a noise from down the hall.
He let her down onto her toes and then she plopped down to flat footed once again. "I'll just go see what that's about, if you want to get settled."
"Don't be too long. I've been waiting for this moment all day."
Her stomach fluttered as she watched him survey his new surroundings. Then she cleared her throat and made her way back down the corridor to where she knew her sister-in-law was waiting for her. "Dalla, was there something you needed before I turn in for the night?" she said, almost politely.
"Talya!" she whispered excitedly. "I think that young man is honestly in love with you."
"Well I should hope he loves me. He is my husband."
"How did you do it in such a short amount of time?"
"I…" Talya glanced back over her shoulder. "I don't know. He said on our wedding night that we didn't have to… that he would give me all the time I needed since we hadn't had a regular courtship."
"So you haven't consummated? You've just been stringing him along?" Dalla could hardly believe what she was hearing.
"No, we have, I mean…" Talya stumbled through the explanation. "I told him on that very first night that I was ready and I was rather adamant about it." She said more firmly. She had definitely become more confident and commanding in the last couple of weeks.
"Then," Dalla looked at her sister-in-law in a new light. "I'll just wish you and your husband good night."
Talya nodded and turned on her heel, striding back down the corridor to her own room that she would now be sharing with said husband.
She entered the room to catch him staring at her bed.
He laughed when he saw her there. "It's eh, kind of small."
"It is." Talya agreed. She hated that she hadn't thought about how they would make this work earlier.
"And what's through there?" he pointed at the door in the opposite wall from the entrance.
"That's the 'fresher," she explained. "And on the other side of that is… Nya's room."
"Oh." He nodded. "Do you mind if I…" He gestured in that direction.
"No, please go ahead." She attempted a smile. "What's mine is yours."
He smiled too and when to check out the rest of their shared domain. When he called to her again she could tell he had gone all the way through. "It's just the same as yours."
She followed him. "That's right, twin rooms but with enough privacy so…"
He was standing at the window looking out at the sea. "And this is where you set the lantern, the signal for me to come and get you?"
"Aye." She came and stood next to him but they didn't touch each other. The sea looked as smooth as glass in the moonlight. It would be soon, if he was right and the freeze had begun to take hold.
"Well, I can sleep in here for tonight." He broke the silence that had fallen. "And then tomorrow we can figure out what's to be done. It's been a long day and I imagine I'll fall asleep pretty much as soon as my head hits the pillow." he chuckled but the sound died away quickly.
"Alright." She wondered if he could hear the disappointment in her tone. "I'll just… We can take turns in the fresher. If you'd like you can go first?"
"Thanks." he cleared his throat and watched her go back through to her own room and close the adjoining door.
She didn't want it to be like this. Especially after she'd just gotten done telling Dalla about how she and her new husband loved each other, and how she had become so brave now that they'd had their wedding night a few weeks ago. Talya wanted to march back through that door and tell her husband that they would make it work however small the kriffing beds were.
Her hand covered her mouth even though the words hadn't actually left it and she giggled at the very thought of the profanity. Talya loved her husband. She had missed him desperately in the short few days in which they had been apart. And now that he was right on the other side of that door she wanted him.
Quickly she changed into her nightgown and then she knocked on the door.
"I'm finished," he called. "It's all yours."
Talya opened the door slowly but he had already retreated into the other room. She didn't stop in the fresher but went straight to where he sat on the edge of the narrow bed.
He gazed at her but he didn't press his advantage. "Was there something you needed, Lya?"
The word came out as a breath as she launched herself into his arms, "You. I need you."
…
Dalla sat before the fire with her husband next to her and her hands resting on her round belly. She had certainly popped out in the last couple of days or maybe she just wasn't trying to hide it anymore. Her sister-in-law looked happier than Talya had seen her in years! With Yutton's delivery of the supplies that would get them through the winter and the promise that someday soon Lord Blackwell would learn that his younger son had been in possession of the ship that was rightfully his for some time now, she seemed to have come to terms with the idea of carrying the heir of Harkon Hall. Her son would have his inheritance and her girls would be well taken care of.
The big matriarch cog, Brona, stood guard as sentinel watching as her latest litter rolled around on the hearth rug with Betha and her new uncle and Talya marveled at the way her husband seemed transformed into a child himself.
Talya still couldn't quite believe her luck when he looked up at her and gave her I wink and a smile. It hadn't been that long ago that she had believed she would die an old maid and now she had a husband who adored her. This is the way it was supposed to be, warm and safe with her family, and preparing for the salt and light season.
And yet there was still something missing. Sanya should have been there with them. Talya knew her father was thinking the same thing. She had managed to bring him into the warm house from his cold workshop but he still glanced fervently to the door or the window every few standard minutes in the hope that she would appear.
She and Jak were so perfect for each other. Talya had seen it when they were young and visited Blackhold and he had invited Sanya to see those awful Drexl eggs. And she had known by the way he seemed to look right through her during the betrothal negotiations. He had agreed to take Talya in front of their families but he had always wanted it to be her twin instead.
And Talya remembered the way Sanya had called out for him when she was lying injured in her cabin on their way to Braylk Keep. She hadn't told anyone about that. She'd been too busy thinking how she wished she could have what Jak and Nya found in each other, an equal, a lover, a partner for life.
Yutton was laughing as Betha held up one of the little cog pups and it gave his face a tongue bath. "Oh please stop! It's going to eat me alive!" He teased and then grabbed his niece and tickled her.
He was a good man and he would be a great father to speak nothing of his own upbringing. He was also an amazing lover, tender and compassionate when the mood called for it and then rough and exciting like a sudden storm on the sea. And yet he was always conscious of her needs and wants. From what Dalla described Talya had never imagined it could be that way.
Her sister-in-law seemed happy enough sitting submissively at Herron's side expecting his babies. Sanya certainly wouldn't sit still under similar circumstances.
Similar circumstances… was that even possible? Sanya had told her twin that her old medic had given her something that made it possible for her to be with Jak and not have to worry about… similar circumstances. But the new nurse, Jon, had really wanted the chance to give the captain a physical examination and not just because of the injuries she had received during the fight.
Talya wondered about that medication her sister had been given. Dalla had outlined a few methods for avoiding pregnancy but they obviously hadn't worked in the present case. If there was a way though… She knew that if Dalla got her boy this time around she would certainly like to be done with the process.
But what about Talya herself. She loved Yutton. She did want to give him an heir some day and she knew it wouldn't just be a vague entity to carry on his name. But right now…
Suddenly restless, she rose from her seat on the sofa and crossed to the window looking out at the falling snow and wrapping her arms around herself. Sanya was out there somewhere. She and Jak were together and happy presumably unless they had gotten stuck at Blackhold for the duration of the freeze. She couldn't imagine either of them being thrilled with that eventuality. But still, they had to have found a safe harbor somewhere.
Her sister and Jak Blackwell were both experienced sailors. They would have seen the signs and known it was coming. But then they were both young children the last time the northern winter had gotten this bad.
They were fine, she told herself once again with a sigh. She just wanted them to be here.
A single drop leaked from the corner of her eye and trickled down her cheek. She wiped it away just as Yutton stepped up beside her and slipped an arm around her waist.
"Hey," He kissed her cheek. They were still navigating the territory of what was acceptable behavior when they were in public and she glanced back at the family to see her mother quickly turn her own gaze back to her sewing with a smile.
"You alright?" her husband whispered in her ear and pulled her even closer. He always made her feel so safe and warm and wanted.
"Aye." She wove her fingers with his.
He stole another kiss and she wondered if he might be thinking about calling it an evening a bit early. But it was quite early considering the fact that Betha hadn't been sent to bed yet and they didn't want to be rude.
Still holding her he looked out the window as well. "It's really blowing out there, isn't it?"
"Aye," she said again and then looked up at him. "Are you sorry that we couldn't go right back to Bralyk Keep?"
"Not at all." He shook his head. "I'm glad we're here to celebrate our first salt and light with your family. It would have been pretty dull back at the Keep with just us and my…" He trailed off and then smiled and started over. "It really gives you a new perspective seeing it all through the eyes of a child, aye?"
He turned her so they were both facing the room again and nodded toward their niece.
"The two of you seem to be getting along very well. I had no idea you were so good with children. I'm sure that Dalla appreciates having someone to keep her busy so she can sit back and relax."
The hand of the arm that had snaked around her waist landed lightly on her flat stomach. "Maybe someday soon…"
She interrupted him before he could finish, spinning away playfully, "wouldn't it be wonderful if everything could stay exactly how it is right now?"
He chased after her with a gowl which alerted Betha and the pups that the game of chase had begun. Talya squealed in gleeful alarm and hid behind a chair before taking off again with her husband close on her heels followed by the cogs and their niece.
She was glad that at the end of the evening the little ones of both the beast and human variety would again become the responsibility of Herron and Dalla. Talya wasn't ready to be a mother quite yet. She just wanted to enjoy this time alone with the man who loved her before some other little person demanded all of their attention.
She wasn't sure how long she could get away with the methods she had been taught to avoid a conception of her own or even if she would be more successful than her teacher had been. If it happened soon, it would be the will of the salt gods, she knew, but it wouldn't be for lack of trying to remain as she was now.
Talya ran out into the hallway and around a corner and edged into a doorway hiding place, holding her breath to try to fool her pursuers. She pressed her hand over her mouth so she wouldn't start giggling as they came closer.
Yutton must have divined her hiding place or at least had a good idea of where it might be because he sent Betha back to look in the opposite direction and waited a moment before he moved in for the victory.
"Here you are," he said breathless, an arm to either side of the alcove to pen her in.
"Here I am," she gazed up at him.
"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable." His gaze dropped away. And then he seemed to say exactly what was on her mind. "I didn't marry you purely so I could get an heir. I know it's important but…" His eyes met hers again. "I meant what I said about not pushing you into something you're not ready for."
She slipped her arms around him and he returned her embrace. "I would like to just be able to focus on you and me for now and if and when…" she took a shaky breath, "the salt gods decide to bless us with a family, I suppose that they know what's best and that the time will be right?"
In answer he kissed her, pressing her back against the wall. It was the kind of kiss that made her wonder if he might just lift her skirt right there in the hallway. And she just might have let him if the sound of light, quick footsteps and sweet high pitched voice had not interrupted them just at that moment.
"Uncle Yutton, I can't find Aunite Talya anywhere," Betha huffed with innocent agitation, little fists planted on her hips.
Yutton turned to face her keeping his wife hidden behind him. "I think maybe she slipped past us and went back to the sitting room with your Momma and Papa, Aye?"
The little girl gasped as if she hadn't thought of that. "Aye!" she whispered conspiratorially. "I'll go check, shall I?"
"Aye, you go do that." He grinned as she ran off.
"You're so good with her," Talya giggled. "I know you'd like it if we had our own…"
"But there's something I've realized," he cut her off.
"And what's that?"
"Once you have one, how on Duxn do you have the time or energy to make any more?"
They both laughed and then kissed and then made good use of the solitude.