Chapter 3: The Father
Jugdral, 762
Thracia's role in the war mimicked Grannvale's, they also allied with one of the four provinces. Connacht betrayed Leinster during their march and King Calf was killed. Thracia swept over the land faster than Bloom expected, but the people of Leinster and Munster fought savagely, with years of ancestral hate fuelling them. By the time the tide of war reached Ulster, the Thracian army was exhausted. Bloom countered and quickly gained the upper hand. Raydrick of Connacht betraying Thracia at the battle of Melghen Valley was what finally forced them to approach Bloom with a nonaggression pact. Travant was a proud man, a man who was inches away from achieving the ultimate goal of his dynasty, but Bloom had all the power, and power decided everything. Grannvale became, unquestionably, the strongest kingdom on the continent. Dannan was right, within a year; people had started calling it an Empire.
Bloom managed to return home once, before the war was over; when his army was still stationed outside of Ulster. He met Alvis' cousin, Hilda, on the way back. She was a stunning woman. Her sense of style and poise outpaced that of anyone else. She was from Miletos, but she constantly talked about Grannvale and the things she loved about the country. She was very impressed by his status as a duke and for the first time since he initially left Grannvale, she made him feel good about the war. Made him feel patriotic, convinced him the he was aggrandizing Grannvale with his actions.
Like the priest from Edda, it wasn't long before she asked to see Mjolnir. Where the priest had touched it with quiet reverence, she stroked the binding with an admiration that bordered on lust. He was captivated by her. Before they were even half way to Friege, he had sent word ahead to arrange the marriage ceremony. His wedding was a joyous affair, but there was an emptiness in his heart. Ethnia was the only family member in attendance, Tailtu's location was still unknown and everyone else was dead. All he could do was smile, and resolve to build a new family with his new wife. He returned, just in time to see his children born.
Grannvale Empire, Friege, 763
Bloom sat outside waiting while Hilda screamed in the birthing chambers. He had only arrived two days ago, had only spent one day with his wife before the child arrived. She had looked so different, heavily pregnant, but still extremely sexy. Part of him wished he had waited longer, spent some more time with Hilda before starting a family. A larger part of him was happy to become a father, and an even larger part of him was apprehensive. Since becoming duke, he had slowly become aware of how little Reptor had prepared him for this life. Of how selfish his father had been by always pursuing his own career over being with his family. He desperately didn't want to make those same mistakes, but if he was called to go to war again, he wasn't sure how he could avoid them.
Suddenly he heard crying from the next room. He stood up so suddenly, the bench he had been sitting on toppled back. He hesitated before knocking on the door. When no one said anything, he let himself in.
Hilda was lying on the bed, breathing heavily. In the arms of cleric beside her was a baby. The cleric looked up at him and smiled. "A boy," she said.
Bloom's face turned from uneasy apprehension, to pure joy. "I have a son," he cried. "I have a son!"
His wife suddenly let out a cry. The cleric with the baby passed the tiny little creature to Bloom and returned to Hilda's side.
"What's going on?" Bloom asked. "What's wrong?" The baby in his arms was crying loudly. "Do something. Help her!"
"Everything is okay," the lead cleric reassured him. "It's just another baby."
"Twi-twins." He looked down at his son, uncertain of his feelings. His mind had been filled with all the things that could go wrong, a second child was the last thing he had expected.
Hilda let out another groan of anguish. Bloom didn't know what he was meant to do. Should he leave? Was there anything he could do to help? Was he still meant to be holding the baby? Gently he rocked his son up and down, hoping to keep him quiet as he waited for the second child to arrive.
"A girl," the junior cleric eventually said. She wrapped the baby in a blanket and tried to hand it to the mother, but Hilda waved her hand, indicating she didn't want it.
Hilda slumped back in the bed and let out an exhausted sigh. "Never again," she murmured. "Never again."
Bloom walked around the bed and stood beside the cleric. They held the two babies close to each other. For a moment they stopped crying, somehow becoming instinctually aware they were reunited with their twin.
"I bet they'll be wonderful mages," Hilda whispered. Her eyes were closed, almost as if she were asleep. "They're well breed. Can you see any marks on them?"
"The Holy Blood brand doesn't appear until adolescences," Bloom informed her, remembering the delight he had felt when he discovered his own brand.
"Who do you hope will have it? The girl, or the boy?"
"Maybe both," Bloom suggested.
Hilda laughed. "So long as it's one of them."
Grannvale Empire, Barhara, 763
Things were quiet for the next few months. Bloom didn't have to do much when raising the twins, he had people for that, but he still spent a lot of time with them. Just holding them and being present in their life. They eventually settled on the names Ishtore, for the boy, and Ishtar, for the girl.
Coincidentally, Queen Deirdre had also given birth to a pair of twins at the same time. Bloom had only seen Alvis once since the war ended and was eager to show off his children, but they decided to wait until the children were a few months old. Alvis was instituting a lot of changes to the system. Bloom was charged with constantly sending out the Gelben Ritter to patrol for bandits and implementing a wider support system for the populace to report their issues. Most of the problems the lower classes had were trifling affairs, but a few genuine crimes were brought to light and Bloom was called upon to enact justice on some truly despicable people. To his surprise, the nobles also used this system to bring to light scandals that had previously been buried.
When the children were six months old, Bloom and Hilda finally travelled to Barhara to visit Alvis, who was now universally called the Emperor, rather than the King. Bloom still felt unsettled by this and he suspected many others were of similar mind, but the common people loved Alvis and wanted to exalt him as something beyond the kings that had come before.
Bloom, Hilda, Alvis and Deirdre, sat together in the palace garden. On a blanket nearby were their four children, now old enough to sit and investigate whatever they came into contact with. The sun was shining and all around them flowers buzzed with the sound of bees and the sight of butterflies. Everything was peaceful, Bloom could not recall a happier time.
He had not seen Deirdre since that first meeting. She looked fuller now, more human. More like she should be. Although she was still quite reserved, she talked a lot more. He discovered her history, which had been the source of much gossip. By her own admission she had amnesia, she couldn't remember anything before meeting Alvis, who had found her by sheer coincidence near the castle one day.
"So he was the brave knight who saved you in an hour of desperation," said Hilda.
Alvis laughed. "Please. I was always too busy being a duke to achieve knighthood."
"It's not untrue," Deirdre whispered. She held Alvis' hands in her own. "Without you I would still be lost."
"So even after several years, you haven't recovered any memories?" Bloom asked.
Deirdre shook her head. "No. But some people…Some people I feel like I knew, from before. Nobody has stepped forward to identify me."
"Where did you get your name?" Hilda asked, her face a strange mix of curiosity and disinterest.
"I always remembered that. I don't know why."
"It probably shouldn't be too hard to figure out who you are," Bloom said. "We know your approximate age and your father must be prince Kurth, from there it's only a matter of determining which of the women he was interacting with around the time you were born. When I first saw you, I thought your hair was similar to my own. Perhaps Kurth had an affair with one of my late aunts. We could be cousins."
Alvis' eyes suddenly widened. He grew agitated, like when Deirdre had asked about Sigurd. This time, however, he hid his discomfort better, possibly indicating such bouts of distress had become habit for him. Deirdre didn't seem to notice. "Who I was isn't really important to me," she said. "They're the only thing that matters to me now." Her gaze was fixed on the children playing on the blanket.
"It's fortunate," said Alvis, looking to Bloom, "that you had twins. One can be heir of Friege, and the other can be heir of Munster."
Bloom suddenly sat up straight. "What do you mean?"
"I allowed Danann to declare himself King of Isaach. I thought it only natural then, that I should offer you the position as King of Munster. I was very impressed by your campaign. You did a good job, Bloom, you deserve to be honoured."
Hilda had also snapped to attention. "We accept!" she said eagerly.
"Hold on," said Bloom. "What about Friege? I can't abandon it. That's my ancestral home."
"You did a good job of conquering Munster," Alvis said. "But the district has been restless ever since you left. I put Cowen in charge, but he can't handle it alone. You're the only other person I trust for such a task."
Bloom was still reluctant. "What about my children? I want them to grow up in Friege, where I grew up."
Hilda placed her hand on Bloom's shoulder. "I will raise our children. You have no reason to worry about it. This will be good for them. They won't simply be heirs to a duke. They will be a prince and princess. This is our opportunity to establish a dynasty."
"I'm already part of a dynasty," Bloom objected.
"I'm going to feed the children," Deirdre suddenly said, evidently not wishing to be present for the argument.
"You of course have the right to refuse if you wish," said Alvis. "I won't begrudge you that, Friege is your home, I understand that. I had to give up Velthomer to become Emperor. I miss it a considerable amount, even though it's less than three days ride from here."
Hilda leaned closer to Bloom, pressing the full weight of her body against him. "Do you want your children to live as you lived, Bloom? Or do you want them to have a better life? The life of royalty. They won't simply be another duke. They will be the first imperial children of a united Munster. People will remember their names for generations." Hilda's mouth was right by his cheek now. The soft touch of her breath was distracting.
"I can see you're not entirely convinced yet," Alvis said. "How about I offer you something in return?"
Hilda suddenly leaned away from Bloom and locked her eyes on Alvis. "A marriage," she said, quickly. "Our son and your daughter."
Alvis chuckled. "Let your husband speak, Hilda. What do you want, Bloom? What can I do for you?"
Bloom was quiet. He looked at his children. Deirdre was sitting beside them now, breast feeding one of her own. "My sister," he finally said.
Hilda looked disgusted. "You mean the traitor?"
"Find my sister and I'll become King of Munster."
A sombre look passed over Alvis' face. "I already know where she is."
"What? How long have you known? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't tell you, because I wasn't sure what to do. I knew you wouldn't like what it entails."
"Tell me now, and I'll decide that."
Alvis sighed. "She's in Sileese. The previous queen, Rahna sheltered Sigurd and his rebels. The current king is one of those rebels. The most powerful one, Lewyn, the wielder of Forseti. They refuse to hand Tailtu over to us. The only way to get your sister back is a full scale invasion. Ever since you secured Munster and made an alliance with Thracia, certain people have been pushing to have me invade Sileese. If I do, the continent would truly be unified." He sighed again. "I'm not sure, what do you think?"
It's only been six months, Bloom thought, must I go to war again?
"I can tell by the look on your face that you don't relish the idea of invading," Alvis said. "Don't worry, it needn't concern you. I have other co-"
"No," said Bloom. "I'll handle the invasion myself. It's the only way to ensure Tailtu's safety. When I've return, I'll become your king."
A moment of quiet passed over the three of them, Bloom, Alvis and Hilda. Even though all of them got exactly what they wanted, none of them seemed satisfied with the result.