Author's Note: I am back from Africa and thus able to continue writing this story. Thank you for your patience!

Lifestyle Changes

The morning after the wedding Laurel woke when she felt Jedrek climb out of bed. Her eyes opened and she sat up, watching him cross the room and disappear through the doorway to their privy. She pulled her knees to her chest under her nightshift and the blankets. The room was chilly since the fire had not been stroked yet. The girl drew a few deep breaths to relax herself. She felt a little sore from the night before, but she thought that Jedrek had been fairly gentle with her.

Interrupting her thoughts was the man himself returning to their bedchamber. As he caught sight of her, he asked "What was that smell you had on yesterday?" The knight began to dress himself for the day.

Laurel smiled. "It's a special perfume only made at a monastery on a small island in the inland sea. I bought some in the marketplace. It's mostly jasmine with other secret scents in it. Do you like it?"

Without looking at her, he replied, "Please, don't wear it again. It gives me a headache."

The girl was taken aback. "Oh, of course," she said quietly. Marriage was compromise, she had been told. If it gave him a headache, it was only reasonable to stop wearing it around him. Anything less would only be mean-spirited.

"I'll be back later," he said as he left, buckling his sword belt as he passed into their main room and then out their door. Laurel climbed out of bed and stepped quickly to her trunk against the far wall. She pulled a pair of slippers out and slid them on her feet. The outer door opened again and she turned, expecting to see Jedrek return for something. Instead, it was a servant come to stir up the fires.

Laurel smiled at the woman as she entered the bedroom and curtsied. "Milady," she said before going to the fireplace. She was probably the same age as Laurel.

The blue-eyed girl shook herself out of her reverie and slipped into the privy. Laurel did not feel like walking to the bathhouse, so she gave herself a quick wash with a cloth. When she returned to the bedroom, the maid was gone. The girl quickly got herself dressed, often glancing at the thin gold band on her finger. It seemed to catch her eye whenever she moved her hand.

After slipping into a warm velvet dress, she ran a brush through her hair. At some point in all of this, she had decided to visit Yuki, the only other married woman she knew. Laurel just had no idea what she was supposed to do now that she was a wife.

Neal answered the door and seemed startled to find her there. "Are you alright?" he asked sharply. Healer-trained eyes scrutinized her face.

"Yes, I just wanted to talk to Yuki," she told him. The blue-eyed girl did not like the way he was searching her for something.

"Let her in, Neal," came Yuki's voice from inside. "Please come in, Hitomi," was the gentler Yamani call to Laurel.

The knight let the girl pass. She replied to Yuki in Yamani, "You're married, so I thought that maybe you could help me. I don't know what to do."

The woman was leaning over a large bassinet in the corner of the room. "Neal was just leaving for the infirmary," she hinted to her husband with a significant glance. The green-eyed man made his excuses and left quickly. "Now, what is on your mind, Hitomi?"

Words cam tumbling out of the girl. "I just don't know what to do with him, Jedrek. He's a complete stranger, but I live with him, share his bed… I don't know how to talk to him, what to say. He doesn't say much to me. You were so lucky to know Neal beforehand. I was told to get married, but I wasn't told what to do after the wedding was over!"

The Yamani gestured to the cushions around the low table, and they both sat. "Why don't you ask him to go to the city with you to spend an afternoon walking, shopping. Go to a bookstore—you can talk about that."

"But what if he doesn't like my books. I don't want him to think that I'm a silly girl. I want him to think that I'm interesting."

Yuki paused and considered the newlywed's words seriously. "You have to be yourself. You're married now, and you cannot try to pretend to be someone else for the rest of your life. Honesty would be the best course."

The women spent a few hours together with lunch delivered to the room. At the close of the visit, Yuki told her, "Don't ever keep yourself from visiting me. I'm always here."

Laurel left with a new sense of purpose. She just had to get to know Jedrek. Then things would be fine. She returned to her rooms feeling relieved and ready to talk to Jedrek again. She unlocked the door, but it swung open before she could turn the knob. "Where were you?" Jedrek asked more forcefully than necessary.

The girl stepped around him carefully, as his body filled most of the doorframe. "I was visiting Yuki for tea, and we ended up eating lunch together."

He placed a heavy hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes seriously. "Don't just leave like that, I was worried—I won't have my wife wandering the palace unescorted."

Laurel tried to reassure him; she supposed that it would be nerve-wracking for your new spouse to go off without a word. "It's the royal palace, Jedrek. It's perfectly safe. I've been here for weeks, and I've never been nervous by myself."

He shook his head slowly, his face coming down closer to hers. "I only say this because I was here for four years as a page: things happen in dark corners. Just ask me if you want to go somewhere, and I'll take you.

"If that will make you feel better, of course," she told him with a brave smile. She did not want to argue with him on their first day as a married couple. He would soon realize that he was being overprotective and relent, she was sure.

Jedrek smiled back. "Thank you, Laurel." He leaned down and kissed her swiftly a few times. She tried to match him, but she was still new at it. The girl still felt clumsy. She let him break it off after a few moments.

"How about we go for a walk in the city, you and me," she offered. "We can get some fresh air, stop by a bookshop, wander, and talk a little bit."

The knight rubbed her arm up and down as he shook his head. "Not today. I have things to do. Maybe later."

The girl gave him another warm smile. "Sure." She risked standing on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck before stepping away. Laurel grabbed her sewing basket off a table in the corner. She settled herself to a new project in a straight-backed chair by the fire, and Jedrek left with his sword on his hip a few minutes later.

Laurel settled into a rhythm as she tried to figure Jedrek out. He arranged for breakfast and a hot bath to be sent to their rooms each morning for when Laurel woke up. He would leave early to train in the morning and return with lunch around midday. The girl took long soaks in the tub to shake off the morning chill, and then passed a few quiet hours reading or sewing. They would eat lunch together with stilted conversations that mostly consisted of questions about growing up and their lives before they met. Jedrek liked to visit people in the afternoon and then pick her up at their rooms to go to an early dinner. Hardly anyone would be in the mess, so they would eat by themselves. At night, she would respond to Jedrek's advances, and he would fall asleep soon after so that he could be up in the morning. The girl would lie awake for awhile until her mind wound down enough to sleep.

One morning, Laurel made sure to wake early when he did. "Can you take me to the infirmary this morning?" she asked as he climbed out of bed.

He turned to her sharply with a look of concern on his face. "Are you ill?"

"Oh, no," she assured him. "I just wanted to help out the healers. I used to before you—"

"No," he said sternly. "I won't have you catching something and bringing it home to me for us both to be ill. The infirmary is no place for a lady." He got up and pulled a pair of breeches out of his dresser drawer.

Laurel was inclined to argue this time. She was getting bored shut up in their rooms all day. "But it's perfectly safe, Jedrek. I was always there in the fall. Sir Neal would never let me go near anything contagious. And I like to help people."

"Absolutely not. You should be here, not with sick people. I worry about you, Laurel. You're my wife and I want to keep you safe." He pulled an everyday tunic over his head.

"The Count will be wanting to see me…" she tried in desperation. How would she convince him?

"My grandfather would respect my wishes," he told her rather harshly. She saw that he was running out of patience as he made eye contact with her. "He would know how important your health is right now."

Laurel swallowed hard at the insinuation. He was waiting for her to get pregnant, the same as her family and his probably were. "You're right. I'll see you this afternoon." The girl pulled the blankets back over her and closed her eyes. She slept for a few more hours that morning since there was no pressing need to do anything else.

The old Count died the next day. Jedrek got a note as they were leaving the mess hall, delivered by a page. That night he was a little rough with her.

After he left for his morning training the next day, Laurel inspected herself in her vanity mirror. Discolorations that would soon turn black and blue spotted her upper arms were he had held her pressed against a wall. She used her small healing Gift to hide these spots. Jedrek had been upset, maybe lost his mind a little. That was perfectly understandable. It was a part of grief.

He was sullen for the next few weeks. Laurel tried to be understanding and let him have his space. One day, as he arrived with lunch, she met him with a kiss to the cheek and a smile. "It's my birthday," she told him.

He looked at her bemusedly. "And you're how old now?"

"Seventeen." She grinned.

Jedrek looked away and set the tray of food on their small table. "You already looked older."

Laurel was stunned. Why was he being so cruel? On an impulse, she stormed into their bedroom and slammed the door. The girl crawled into bed and hugged a pillow. Her throat tightened with frustration and anger. She was tired of him constantly being contrary.

She laid there for she did not know how long. Then, a loud knock came from the outer door. Laurel sighed heavily and got up to answer it.

In the doorway was Ethan. "Happy birthday, little sister. How are you?" he said, offering a bouquet of flowers.

Laurel wanted to cry at the sight of him as she took the flowers. She had to turn away to compose herself. "I'm just fine, and these are beautiful." She set them in a vase on a side table and played with the arrangement until they lay just right.

From behind her, her brother spoke. "The flowers are from the greenhouse here at the palace. I met a lady who likes to work with the plants there…" He cleared his throat a few times. "I haven't seen you around. Neal tells me you were always helping at the infirmary before I arrived."

Laurel turned to face him. "I am adapting to this new life, getting to know my husband. He ran out to train for a few hours. It's the life of a knight's wife…" She gave a weak chuckle to press her point.

Ethan was watching her carefully. "Neal said his wife would like to come by. She hasn't seen you in a few weeks."

She smiled wider at him. "Of course, tell her anytime. I owe her some tea."

After a particularly rough night with Jedrek, Yuki came for a mid-morning visit. Laurel stood halfway behind the door and shooed her away feigning ill health. In reality, she knew what would happen if the woman saw her forming black eye or if her angry husband came home to find a strange guest around.

It was becoming apparent that Jedrek was unstable. With great despair, she knew that that was exactly what everyone had tried to warn her about.

Life became a monotonous routine. All meals were taken in their rooms as per Jedrek's arrangements: breakfast and lunch alone and dinner with her husband. She passed the daytime turning away the occasional social call, reading, and sewing—making baby clothes for the inevitability. At night, she dealt with what happened when it did.

It was in the early spring that the routine changed.

The couple received a personally delivered invitation to Prince Roald's birthday ball, which essentially meant that it was mandatory for the two. Two weeks before the ball, Laurel ordered a new gown from Lalasa by messenger, sending plenty of money and the new measurements that she had done herself since her husband would never let her go down to the city. And she would not want the seamstress to discover the bruise on her ribs that was too big for her small gift to fully heal anyway.

A week before the ball, she decided to save up her gift until the day of so she could at least heal anything visible.

Two days before the ball, she began throwing up her breakfast and knew that she must be with child. It was hardly a surprise. Going from her parents' home to the convent to a quick marriage never gave her the opportunity let alone the need for a pregnancy charm. She had never touched one in her entire life. But the big ball coming so soon—and the dread of Jedrek that ruled her life—gave her no spare moment to reflect on any of that. She made herself dome herbal tea and settled down to her usual morning sewing, working a little bit quicker than before.

The party for Prince Roald was the first real outing in the three months of her marriage. She was in a lovely blue-green confection that Lalasa's shop had sent, but the girl had left her hair mostly loose and straight and put on only a little face paint since Jedrek had told her that he did not like a lot. He had them arrive late and danced once with her before going over to get drinks.

Laurel sat herself in one of the chairs along the wall and watched him, checking for signs of coming anger as she constantly did. To her surprise, she saw her old friends Dom and Merric approaching him, talking to him, and drawing him across the room. Her eyes followed the unusual threesome. They slipped into the side room where Prince Roald was known to have small get-togethers during these grand balls. Was he being summoned for something?

Lost in curiosity, she hardly noticed Yuki walk up, flanked by Neal and Kel. She stood immediately to curtsey to them. "Good evening, ladies, Sir Neal." It had been so long since she had conversed intimately with any of them that she defaulted to formality.

Looking between the three, the girl saw only worry on their faces. Yuki dared to speak first, "Lady Laurel, you have been truly missed these past few months. I have been wanting to have tea with you. And I don't think I ever properly thanked you for the twins' Midwinter gifts."

"That was nothing, milady. Your gift of that beautiful Yamani fan was much more generous." A few weeks ago she had buried the shushuken in the bottom of a trunk of gowns, not wanting Jedrek to know that she had a weapon.

Kel and Neal stepped in closer, blocking Laurel's view of the ball, and also blocking her from sight. It was then that she realized that her old friends had not been talking to her husband out of necessity, but rather to distract him.

Neal reached out a hand to touch her arm and Laurel flinched away, beginning to panic. What if he discovered the half-healed welts on her side, hidden from the eyes by fabric but easily found with magic?

"My wife told me you were ill when she last visited, but you never requested a healer from the infirmary. Are you better now, milady?" he asked insistently.

The blue-eyed girl nodded vigorously. "A small, passing cold—no cause for alarm. I'm fine now."

Kel stepped in now, looking rather reluctant. "Laurel, if you need to tell us anything, this is the time. Jedrek has always had a certain reputation when it came to women and the way he has been keeping you hidden away… we were concerned. You know you can trust us. A word from you and things can be taken care of."

With three pairs of eyes starting her down like a pitiful little girl, Laurel became angry. How dare they interfere in her business? This was her personal life, and they were making too many assumptions. She had things under control—she was learning how to be a good wife. What happened between her and Jedrek was their business alone.

"I'm just fine," she said, raising her chin defiantly. "My husband was just going to get me a drink, so I'd better find him before he worries." The girl pushed her way between Yuki and Neal, escaping her captors. For a moment, a cool hand clasped her forearm, and a shiver went through her body. Laurel shook it off with a strength she did not know she possessed. As she glided away quickly, she prayed that Neal's magic had not discovered anything in that second of contact.

She stormed over to the long beverage table with its fountains of wine and cider and other drinks. Jedrek was nowhere to be seen. Those two conspirators must have still been holding him hostage with the Prince.

Laurel was debating her next move when a man stepped in front of her. With a bow a familiar voice coolly asked, "A dance, Lady Laurel?"

As his head rose, Iden's hazel eyes locked with icy blue. "No," was her flat response. She remembered vividly his last invitation to 'dance.'

Instead of backing off, he grabbed her wrist firmly. "We'll be finished before your husband comes out," he muttered in a hard voice as he dragged her to the dance floor.

Laurel could struggle against him no more than against her husband. Iden placed one of her hands on his shoulder and took the other in his own, entwining his fingers with hers. His arm slipped firmly around her waist and he whisked her across the dance floor. It did not take him long to get to the point. "We know what he's doing to you, and we won't let it go on."

The girl replied petulantly, "I don't know what you're talking about. I am insulted by your slur against my husband." And the father of my child, she added silently.

His eyes bored down into hers, and Laurel briefly wondered how he could dance so smoothly at the same time he was confronting her. And he had always claimed to be such a bad dancer… "Neal saw what you're hiding. Gods, Laurel, you have two half-healed ribs! How can you put up with this? It's disgusting what he—"

So Neal had not found her bigger secret, the child, in his magic check. She cut in, "Lady Laurel to you, Sir Iden. I'd thank you to stay out of my business."

"One day he'll go too far and kill you, and it will be too late for us to do anything to help. If not to us, go to the Goddess' temple. I beg you." He seemed to see something over her shoulder, and he hurriedly dragged her off the dance floor. "If you don't, we will do something. Please," were his last words to her before he disappeared into the crowd.

Jedrek reached her a moment later, looking suspicious. "We're you talking to someone?" he inquired.

"No, just watching the dancers. Did you speak to the prince?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"I want to go back to our rooms." His heated tone of voice suggested a coming episode. She submitted to his guiding hand.