Vasso has such a soft spot in my heart, and it looks like Soren was correct about the color coding.
According to his brothers, Vasso looked forward to his meetings with Ike and Soren. It gave him a chance to "see" the outside world, while Ike and Soren found a way to vent themselves. His attitude was a pleasure, he was more than willing to make light of his disability, though he also made it clear he did not want assistance.
After two meetings with his brothers at his side, he demanded one take notes for him, if they were to hover over him.
It also gave them details on what was going on. There had been talks of preventing a coupe, but the deals were not working out. The islands south of the continent needed help, but the king was looking to avoid confrontation if he could. Tensions were high in the castle, as Vasso could sense, and he looked forward to the easy going Ike and to Soren, who was always tense, even if he was not in a threatening position.
One day, Soren came to ask a queston that opened the gates for more. "Why are you always in black?" He had noticed it, every outfit the prince owned was black.
Vasso laughed and ran his hand over the sleeve of his tunic. His fingers traced the embroidery, simple swirls of silver. "It was my mother's idea, she felt this way, I would not have to worry about matching or going out in clashing colors. I suppose my room is much the same. I have to thank you, I wondered on occasion if my brothers, or perhaps some of the maids, had ever played a cruel joke on me, with shocking colors that I'm not aware of and no one warned me of otherwise."
Oisin looked horrified. "We would never!"
Vasso only smiled. "Perhaps it is good that I'm the blind one, and not you, Brother?" He chuckled, perhaps sensing the look of shock on his brother's face. He turned in the direction of Soren and said, "You two barely ask anything. May I know why?"
"You said you wanted to hear from us," Ike admitted. "There are things we'd like to know, but this is for your benefit."
"Please, don't have that idea! Go on, ask!"
"You mention the gods a lot," Soren commented. "What sort of gods do you have?"
"Unlike your country, with one goddess, ours follows several. Their are the more important and higher ranking deities, of course, but the minor ones get more attention. Gods of the harvest, of the frost, of the spring and the woods, rivers and seas, and even lake goddesses to hear the priests tell. To be honest, I do not recall all of them, probably not even half of them. It is very easy to sleep through services unnoticed."
"Vasso!"
"You know I have trouble sleeping at night," Vasso replied. "Anyway, even those who have little to no faith are often shouting about the gods. But most could only tell you the names of two. The goddess, Daylin, and her lover or husband, or even rival depending on who you ask, Nox, the god of night."
He reached for a glass of water. Oisin passed it to him. After a sip, he said, "The story goes the two can only be together twice a day, at dawn and dusk. I'm sure Oisin's wife could tell you the story better than I. She finds it romantic. I guess if I knew what dawn and dusk were, I could find it that way, too."
He turned towards the door. Ike and Oisin looked up as well, waiting for someone to appear. Soren was writing and did not seem to notice that Vasso heard someone approach.
A young maid stuck her head into the room. "Prince Oisin, your father needs you immediately."
Vasso sighed as he and his brother rose from the table. "I suppose we'll have to talk religion another day." He reluctantly took his brother's arm and followed him from the room, tossing a wave over his shoulder before they left.
"I feel for him," Ike remarked after the two princes had gone. "Sometimes I forget he can't see."
"He seems so bored," Soren agreed. "I guess he just sits all day, listening to people." He rustled the paper he held, and then added, "I almost hate to think of leaving him."
"What do you mean?"
Soren inclined his head towards the door. "I have the feeling we'll be back on the road soon enough. The king needs his crown prince for something." He pushed himself from the table and rose to his feet. As he stretched, he added, "Since we'll be going back south, you can see Selyne again."
"It's not set in stone, Soren." But as Soren spoke it, Ike did not doubt the king would be sending soldiers to fight for his allies before a full blown war could break out.
"It's all right," Selyne began gently. She placed her hand on her growing stomach in an attempt to soothe the flutters inside. In an effort to find peace and quiet, she sent Lena to pick up a few things at the market, then she had retreated outside to her garden.
The sunlight felt good against her face and hair. She had hardly come outside once she started to get bigger and the baby started moving. Lena had taken it upon herself to have some of the women nearby come and tend to the cleaning and plants. She had complained, but Lena would hear nothing of it.
"Maybe your dad will be back soon," Selyne murmured. She had heard nothing from her letter, and no one had seen any of the prince's fighting men. She wondered vaguely if they had traveled, perhaps some daring fight overseas.
Her mind wandered a lot. She tried to keep the more unpleasant thoughts at bay. Her thoughts would turn to baby names, or if he or she would get to see where his or her father came from. That would be something, she had decided, to see Ike's homeland. If he would go back. "I guess you'll like it," she said aloud. "I wouldn't know."
That was another thing that bothered Lena. Selyne would talk out loud. She had the thought that her voice did work to comfort the baby, but she had no idea of knowing. It also made her feel better to have someone to talk to. "You've got an aunt, I know that. Not on my side, though."
Lena's approached reached her ears. She sighed wearily and went inside to meet her.