"My lady," the girl murmured. Alanna looked at her curiously, bowing back.
"Can I help you?"
"You are Alanna of Trebond. Lord Thom's sister." A statement, not a question.
"Yes."
"I—I'm Selia Draper. I'm from the City of the Gods. I came with the priests, the one for Si'cham." Alanna was surprised, and tried not to let it show. What did one from the City have to do with her?
"Are you a mage, Selia Draper?"
"Not a very good one, my lady. Lord Thom tried to teach me…this is my brother, Arram. He's a much better mage than I." The man looks at her, their dark eyes meeting in understanding. His voice was soft, with an odd lilt to it that put Alanna at ease.
"Lord Thom was my mentor for the year before he left, Sir Alanna. His death…it has shocked us all. I am truly sorry for your loss. He was like a brother to me. I came for his funeral, and to bring my sister to you."
Alanna looked at the man. He was tired, his eyes heavy with a sadness she understood only too readily. His dark hair was cropped just long enough to be pulled back in a short ponytail. So this was Thom's pupil. He had written about the younger man before. Somehow Alanna had never imagined ever meeting him, ever meeting someone who had truly known Thom, known the magic part of him that she had not been privy to. It made her sad, and suddenly unreasonable jealous, that this man should know a part of her brother that she did not. Controlling her voice took effort.
"Thom wrote about you several times, Arram. He told me he expected great things from you." Arram looked surprised, as if he could not have imagined such praise, then embarrassed. He looked at his sister, almost pointedly. The woman scuffed her toe in the rock and looked at Alanna.
"There's something you should know. Thom…well, he and I…we were lovers, before he left. I—he proposed, before he left. He said he'd come back for me, for Arram, if he wanted to come. He knew, I think, I was pregnant." Alanna looked at the child tied to Selia's front. Her eyes widened.
"Thom…had a child?" She couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe her brother, aloof as he was, had ever looked at a girl twice, let alone bedded one. Selia nodded.
"A son. A year old. She slowly unwrapped the child, who stirred briefly and opened his eyes. Purple, though flecked with the deep brown that came from his mother, stared back at Alanna. His hair was darker than Thom's had been, a fine red-brown that curled across his forehead and ears.
"What's his name?" Alanna whispered, unable to tear her eyes away from the child as she noted each of her brother's features in the boy's face.
"Calvin, my lady. I—I thought you should see him." Selia's voice broke, and Alanna looked at her, suddenly. Carefully she put her arms around mother and child and hugged them, pulling away to smile at the young boy who began to wake at the fussing.
"Can I hold him?" she whispered, hopeful. Selia nodded, and handed the child to the knight. Alanna held him carefully, brushing the hair out of his face. The child grasped her left forefinger, tugging it curiously, and Alanna ran her thumb over the boy's fingers and wrist. He laughed, eyes shining up at her. Thom's laugh, she thought, wordlessly handing the boy back to Selia.
"I'll send money," she whispered. "Please, let me help. You could stay at Trebond for a while, if you need a place, or I can care for him--" her voice faltered and Selia interrupted.
"No, my lady, I don't need any favors. We do well enough on our own, it'll be alright. Maybe, when he's older he can come stay with you for a bit."
Alanna nodded.
"I—I'd like that. A lot. Do you have an address? For Midwinter, or birthday?" Selia smiled as Arram rummaged for a loose parchment and quill, producing both from a bag he carried under his arm and quickly scrawling Selia's address onto it.
"I'll be in Carthak, should you need me for any reason," he added, writing in smaller letters a second address before blowing on the ink gently and handing it to Alanna. He placed his hand on his sister's shoulder. "We should go," he said quietly. "It's a long ride home."
Alanna hugged him fiercely, fighting the tears that were threatening to spill out of her eyes again. The mage kissed her cheek before stepping back to allow Alanna to bid her nephew goodbye. The Lioness touched his small head, and kissed it before hugging and kissing Selia's cheek as well. Gripping her shoulder, Alanna looked at her
"Sister, if you ever need me, I am yours to command," she whispered. Selia's face flushed and she nodded mutely. She wrapped the baby once more around her and turned, following her brother out the chapel. At the doorway they stopped and turned, raising their hands in farewell. Alanna stared after them, not knowing that finally she was smiling.
Thom wasn't completely gone, after all.