Chapter 23: All in the Family
Usual disclaimers: Most of the characters are owned by Obsidian and a lot of other people and not me, except for a bear-lovin' ranger and an occasional NPC. Warning, lots of fluff and a bit of "M" language ahead.
Casavir caressed her short moonlit hair as he searched her eyes for a few quiet moments. He swallowed nervously and said, "I wouldn't blame you if you hated me when you hear what I have to say, but ...as long as we're being honest about our pasts..." He released her and sat forward as he struggled to find the words.
Dee answered him with a most unladylike snort and bit back a mild blasphemy. "Hate you? There's nothing you could tell me that would alter my opinion of you, Cas." She leaned forward and gave him a fierce kiss to emphasize her resolve. "I won't believe you kick puppies and steal sweets from babes. You are good, and generous, and kind, and faithful, and I will keep telling you this until you believe it because otherwise, you prove me a liar."
He grimaced. "You make me sound like a dog."
She scowled and folded her arms across her chest. "Cas, you know what I mean."
He watched her quietly for a few moments during which he looked as if he was summoning the courage to go on, and then she stuck out her tongue at him. "Very well then. Several years ago, this was back before I went to Old Owl Well, right before the war, and before Tyr called me to service as his paladin, there was a woman with whom I was...intimate; her given name was Hulda, though at the time she was going by Little Ophala, and soon after she changed it again to Opal because the real Ophala objected. Anyway, she was from my village, another survivor of the pestilence, the sweating sickness."
He closed his eyes and took a few breaths to compose himself before he continued. "We hadn't been friends as children, though my older brothers were counted among the throng of admirers that followed in her wake. She was a pretty, lively girl, a few years older than me, and always the center of attention, while I was a quiet boy and usually had my nose stuck in a book when I wasn't clinging to my mother's skirts or helping my father in his studio."
Dee nodded to encourage him to go on while she poured him a goblet of wine from a decanter next to the divan and handed it to him. He drained it and handed it back to her, and she took his hand in hers and snuggled close as she listened. "Thank you, my lady...Dee. I hadn't seen her for years obviously; she was from a life I had tried to forget. I ran into her—literally—one day at the farmer's market while I was helping the temple's cook with the shopping. She recognized me at once despite the years that had passed since we had last seen each other and greeted me like a long-lost friend, though she couldn't remember my name. She told me all about herself as I juggled the cook's baskets and made me promise to meet her the next day at the festhall where she worked. She said she was a dancer and had aspirations to join an acting company and tour the Sword Coast, though she had other aspirations which I would discover later...I met her as we agreed at highsun that next day, and the day after I came to watch her dance, and after she finished we would talk, though it was always more her talking than me. One thing led to another."
He looked away, flushing deeply. "Within a tenday she invited me to her bed. My aunt Griselda, who had raised me after my family's death, told me I had to strive to control a man's filthy urges after she caught me kissing the scullery lass when I was fifteen. I was suitably chastened, unable to bear the look of disappointment on her face after all she, a poor spinster, had done for me. Thus I hadn't even kissed a woman afterwards much less..." He flushed with guilt.
Dee squeezed his hand and said softly, "That's the way it's supposed to go between a man and a woman, since the beginnin' of time, and there's not a thing wrong with it unless you had taken a vow of celibacy. Not to go against your aunt's admonition, but there's nothin' filthy about it either. It can be a loving and even spiritual act." Maisie Jons had said that one day while they examined the site of the festhall, and it stuck with Dee. She wasn't sure if she agreed with all of Sharess's tenets, but she could see the truth that the act could be deeply spiritual. "That seems a rather harsh judgment for a kiss anyway, even from a spinster."
He ran his hands through his hair and gazed at her with that same earnest look. "It was a rather...passionate kiss. She had my shirt off...and had opened my trewes. I had pushed her skirt up over her hips when my aunt walked in on us, and I think you can imagine where her hand was. The poor woman nearly fainted and dropped the tea tray she was carrying."
Dee stifled a chuckle at the mental image of the old spinster walking in on two teens in heat. He raised an eyebrow at her, but she had successfully covered the chuckle with a cough. "No, I hadn't taken that vow, though there are constraints upon us. It is allowed to have a...liaison with others of our faith, usually members of the clergy or fellow paladins, for mutual benefit. Indeed, there are rooms set aside for such at most of the larger temples. Nonetheless, I had been chaste. It wasn't a tryst as far as I was concerned. I suppose in retrospect I was lonelier than I realized at the temple with my aunt gone. My aunt was able to persuade my grandfather, her brother, to pay for my tuition at the temple college even though he had cut my father out of his will and out of his life, and I had devoted myself to my studies. I had friends—I was captain of the hurley team, after all—but it wasn't the same. I think in truth I fell in love with what Opal stood for, the link to my childhood, as much as I did with her. We were so different when I think back on it, and we had almost nothing in common except our past."
She murmured words of comfort. "Your intent is what matters then, my dear. Tyr sees your heart and knows the truth of your motives."
He gave her a stricken look like she had just declared his greatest fear and continued, "I tried to be with her whenever I could, three or four times a tenday, but I feared that I was neglecting my studies. There were signs I should have seen—her insistence that I didn't just drop in when I got time away from the temple for one. I had studied Canon Law at the temple college but also had a mind to enter the clergy before Tyr called me to serve as his paladin during the war. Because of my training I was assigned to assist one of the justicars who advised the Council. Yet I was becoming disillusioned by my excursions into the snake pit of Neverwintan politics, and she encouraged me to vent my frustration. She was the only one with whom I could share my feelings of discontent. I asked her to marry me more than once, but she would only laugh and say we were too young to get married and that we had plenty of time."
"And you believed her. Why wouldn't you." Dee took the blanket and draped it around both their shoulders and poured another goblet of wine for them to share, handing it to him first then taking a drink herself.
He sighed deeply. "Honestly Dee, I had no reason not to. Despite what you might have heard, we don't have an innate ability to detect untruth. It's an active rather than passive ability, and as I said, I had no reason not to trust her. We had only been lovers for a short time, not even two months, when I found her in tears in her room one night along with Mordren, a man that she had previously introduced to me as her cousin. I begged her to tell me what was the matter. She said through her tears that she had been threatened by a man, whom she claimed was an admirer who had a dangerous obsession with her. She said she was afraid he would do harm to her because of his obsession. It just so happened a year prior that a festhall courtesan had her face viciously slashed by a jealous client."
Dee gasped, "Oh how awful! The poor woman!"
Casavir took a drink and handed the goblet back to her, and Dee refilled the goblet. "Yes, it is terrible what people will do out of what they perceive as feelings of love. It was quite a scandal with many believing the man avoided gaol because of his connections to one of the best families in the city. I admit that was still fresh in my mind, and no doubt hers as well. I insisted she tell me who the man was, and she gave me a name—Harcus Pierval, and her cousin confirmed this and told me where I could find him. I sought this Harcus out at once that night at a tavern he frequented and I confronted him while he was playing Knaves...he didn't even look up at me, just played his hand and then said some absolutely vile things about her that drove me into a rage! I struck him across the face and demanded he take them back."
He paused and wiped at his eyes. "Harcus drew his sword and demanded satisfaction. As I said, I was considering joining the clergy, so I had trained primarily with a war hammer, the favored weapon of Tyr's priests. I had little experience using a sword other than some lessons with a fencing student my aunt had paid for. I told him I was unarmed. One of his friends tossed me a blade, and I was forced to fight him. I didn't mean to kill him, and he could have easily killed me truth be told, but he was toying with me for sport. But then he must have slipped on something on the floor and fell on my sword...that was the first time I killed, and I'll never forget his eyes as the life departed from them."
He shuddered and trailed off folding his arms across his chest then said bitterly, "I was sick about what I had done, but I thought it was justified if it was to protect her. I went to her straight away and told her what had happened once the Watch had taken their report. However, her reaction wasn't at all what I expected. She was eerily calm and assured me that she had no doubt I was forced to kill him and that I shouldn't trouble myself on his account. I assumed she was in shock. She asked me to leave her as the hour was late. I instead took her in my arms and insisted again that she marry me. I pointed out marriage would not only be a deterrent to suitors, but she would also have protections under the law against men like Harcus Pierval that an unattached woman didn't have. I sought to overcome her objections by telling her I wouldn't expect her to give up her dancing. I understood how much she loved the stage. I insisted we be married the next morning and told her I wouldn't take no for an answer."
"Yet she refused to marry you." Dee knew the type and had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as she sensed what he would say next.
He put his face in his hands and shook his head. "She pushed me away and laughed at me! How did she put it? She said I was a sweet fool but informed me that as I had no family, no money, no prospects, and therefore nothing of any consequence besides...my physical attributes..." He remembered angrily her exact words—"How did she put it? She said I had nothing to tempt her save a fair face, strong back and a ready cock, and that wasn't nearly enough. Mordren burst into her room just then and told her I had ruined everything, that Lord Pierval blamed her for his son's death and had banished them both from his sight. He said he was leaving the city at once and suggested she do the same. He was in such a state that he didn't notice me in the shadows."
Dee put her arms around him and murmured, "There there love, let it all out."
He still kept his arms folded across his chest but didn't resist her efforts to draw him closer. "She flew into a rage and screamed at me to get out and struck me with her fists, but I had heard enough. It was utterly humiliating to discover from her that I had been nothing more than a diversion to her while she tried to snare a wealthy husband. I learned later from Lieutenant Ballard...you remember Black Ballard whom you met at Lord Taverick's estate?" Dee nodded. "He learned during his investigation that Mordren was not only her cousin, but another of her lovers and possibility her pimp as well. I wasn't aware that she entertained customers. And do you want to know the worst part? It turned out that the man I killed was no madman but instead a loving son trying to protect his father from a scheming young woman he suspected was only after his father's money. If only he had said something to me, but then again, would I have listened if he had? I think not."
He wiped his sleeve across his face and took another drink. "I stormed out of there before I did something else I would regret, turned myself in to the Watch, and informed them all the sordid details. But Lord Pierval didn't want the matter made into a public scandal, and I respected his wishes. It seems Mordren had gone and told him the reverse of the story that she told me, that I was the one with the mad obsession and I had killed Harcus for defending her, but Lieutenant Ballard had already told him the truth when they took his son's body home. Indeed, he was the one who thrust the sword into my hands. He shared my feeling of guilt for goading us to fight, and he swore to me he would investigate the matter. Enough of the story got out anyway, though it was twisted in the telling, like most gossip. Lord Pierval's solicitor informed her employer, and she was discharged as well. She left the city for a time, though I've seen her a few times from a distance in the street after the war. I'm just thankful my aunt wasn't here to see my fall."
Dee stroked his raven-black hair. "No wonder you're so reluctant to trust your heart to another. You couldn't have fallen far if your god didn't turn from you, Cas, and he must have forgiven you if he called you to his service." Dee felt a sick certainty that the woman hadn't just used him to satisfy her lust, but also had seduced and entrapped him to remove the inconvenient son of her intended victim, but she kept that to herself rather than rub salt in the reopened wound.
He lay his head upon her shoulder. "No, I sought spiritual counsel in which I was advised by the Prior to devote myself to service, working amongst the poorest citizens of the Docks District. As I said, that was mere tendays before the first outbreak of the Wailing Death. There was so much misery with that and then the war that I was able to work myself to exhaustion every day. It was during the war that Tyr called me. I tried sincerely to forgive myself for what I had done, but as hard as I worked, I still felt tainted. In addition, I was still frustrated with the politics of the city government and of my order after the war...Trying to get Neverwinter to act on the suffering of the people inside and outside of the city was beyond me, and too many of my order were unwilling to go against the city fathers. Finally I turned away from my vows and left the city, and eventually found myself at Old Owl Well, where I saw I could make a difference, or die trying."
The anger, shame, and bitterness played across his features. Dee exclaimed as she wiped away a few tears, "Oh Cas, how terrible to use anyone that way! You were most cruelly deceived, and you must forgive yourself for what wasn't your fault! You don't have to go on if 'tis too painful to talk about."
He nodded and said tersely, "Perhaps another time." He took her face in his hands again and looked into her eyes searchingly. "And now that you've heard my sordid story...most women would walk away quickly and not look back."
She took his face in her hands and kissed him softly on the lips. "I have a better understanding of your fears. Some women would indeed run away screaming, but I think you're worth the effort." She poured them another drink and handed it to him. "But Cas...I don't want to pry into your past to dig up more painful memories, but what became of the scullery maid, the one you were caught with? Have you seen her since, and do you still have feelings for her?"
"Bettie? I was but fifteen and she was only seventeen. I don't think I was old enough to have real feelings anywhere but in my...My aunt was going to sack her, but I talked her out of it with the assurance from both of us we would end our dalliance. I was due to start the college shortly and would be moving into the temple dormitory. Bettie married a cooper a few months later and has given him six healthy children. I have kept in touch with them. In fact, I'm the godfather of the third boy and got him enrolled in the temple school. I can take you to meet them, if you wish."
She smiled at him and put her arms around him. "You're full of surprises, my dear. I would like that, yes." There was so much she was learning about this man that she struggled to take it all in.
He drew her into a soft kiss then took his arm from around her and sat forward, stifling a yawn and saying with a regretful sigh, "We really should get to our beds soon." He chose his words carefully to avoid further embarrassment to them both.
She sighed softly unwilling to leave him while she was unsure he wouldn't slip back into a dark mood. "I know, though we have a little time yet, and besides, look, Selune's just overhead and that meteor shower Aldanon predicted for tonight is starting soon." She gestured towards moonlit sky. "'And forgive me, but I don't want to leave you alone now." He grunted at that, and she poured him another goblet. '"Tis not like we're settin' out at first light. I've already packed. I told Kana I planned to sleep in for once, and I'm tired enough the dreams won't come to haunt my sleep. Cill won't mind sleepin' in either. He's fightin' all his natural instincts just staying awake to be with me."
He chuckled softly as he listened to her prattle on and put his arm back around her. "Very well, my lady, for the bear's sake." He kissed the top of her head then leaned back to watch the moon. She drew her legs up and readjusted the blanket, and he put his arm around her waist and watched the sky show quietly with her.
After a while he broke the silence. "Your dreams—that one you had last night? You say you have dreams that haunt you, as you put it?"
She stiffened, caught her breath, and looked at the floor as she changed the subject away from her lie to a different truth. "All the time. I had the one about the falling rocks again too the night before last. Sand and Elanee agree 'tis simply my anxiety about us prowling around those old Illefarn ruins."
"Falling rocks? Again? It's a reoccurring dream then?" He turned his head and looked at her with concern.
She shrugged indifferently and poured them another goblet of wine. "A few times, yeah. The first few times was after we got Shandra back from the Githyanki. Bishop used to get mad when I woke him up, but it wasn't like he didn't wake up screamin' from his own nightmares often enough, and he never would tell me what they were about. I had it a couple of times since we retook the Keep, then again two days ago."
He looked back at the moon as a brilliant spark corkscrewed out of Selune's Tears and replied, "Have you considered the possibility that they're prophetic and that Tyr or Mielikki is trying to send you a warning? Perhaps we should consult the Prior about them before we explore the ruins."
She said dismissively with more bravado than she felt, "Fate would be a really evil bitch to stick me with this shard and groom me all my life to fight an ancient evil just to let me be killed in a collapsing ruin before the big fight is engaged, don't you think?" She tried unsuccessfully to suppress a shudder. "No, Sand is right, and 'tis nothin' but anxiety. He called me umm, what's the word, claustrophobic. That means I don't like bein' closed in."
He chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Yes, I know what it means."
She stuck out her tongue at him and shrugged. "Well I didn't. I didn't have any trouble in the orc lair or those Ironfist ruins though. But sometimes I have such a feeling of foreboding when I think about this journey, it's like someone's walkin' across my grave." She shuddered and leaned close to him.
He gave her a squeeze and kissed her forehead and changed the subject as she did so often for him. "I was thinking too about that other one you told me about. The one that's not too erotic?"
Even without looking at him she could feel the heat of his blush, and she blushed in return. "Yeah. Those. I'll whisper the other ones in your ear some other time. No, I don't think I have the gift, but if they're prophetic, mayhap that means we're meant to survive, and survive well."
He grinned and replied softly, almost in a teasing whisper, "So bad you have to whisper them? I admit, I'm intrigued. The reason I brought it up...I told you my mother was fair like you while I favored my father. But my second oldest brother Derivir had bright red hair such as you described on the child in the dream, as did my Aunt Griselda in a portrait that was painted when she was young." He shuddered, overcome by the painful memories. Eventually he sat back and whispered, "Forgive me. Are all first dates so cathartic?"
She kissed his forehead and whispered back, "Hush, there's nothing to forgive."
There was no more talk of the need of getting to bed. He put his arm around her shoulder again, she slipped hers around his waist, and they sat entwined sipping the wine and watching the moon silent other than gasping and pointing at the meteors. They took comfort in one another's presence, and without realizing it, they both drifted off into a deep, restful, dreamless sleep, the best either of them had felt in days.
Dee awoke as the sun's rays streamed into the room and moved to stretch the stiffness from sleeping on the divan from her limbs. She became aware of Casavir still there there behind her spooning with her, his left arm draped over her. It took her only a heartbeat longer for her to become aware of his left hand cupping her left breast and his thumb stroking her nipple, which while pleasant, caused her to awaken in the first place. Then she became aware of him pressing against her hip and she chuckled softly, thinking, "Not bad at all, feels like he must be what Neesh calls a 'grower.'" Her movement caused him to stir, and he murmured something that sounded like "sleep a bit longer" before he jerked awake and pulled away from her with a gasp. She turned over and smiled at him and murmured, "Must've been the wine. I don't even recall going to sleep."
He disentangled himself from her and began stammering apologies as he sat up tying his robe and trying to cover himself. "Forgive me, my lady."
She sat up and and stretched and regarded him with a bemused smile. "Forgive you for what? I should thank you. I didn't dream at all last night! Must be that paladin aura."
"But your reputation! What will people say when they learn we slept together, and all for naught?" He stood and stepped towards his door.
She snorted as she stood and folded the blanket and out of habit, he came back and helped her with it. "Half the people here think we're already lovers, and the other half wish we were as they're of an opinion that getting laid would help remove the sticks they think are lodged up our backsides. Nothing happened, and if it had, it would be no one's concern but ours anyway. Now come on, let's go to breakfast so we can get on the road. Cill's scratchin' at the door to go out. I've got to figure a way to make him a bear door off the balcony or somethin.'" She lay the folded blanket down and turned to look at him over her shoulder as he again turned towards his own room. "You could at least give me a kiss."
He sighed turned back, took her in his arms and gave her a soft but still hesitant kiss. "Very well, my lady. I am pleased at least that my presence kept your dreams at bay. You best go tend to your bear now before he removes the varnish from the door."
They arrived in the city late in the afternoon of the next day and stopped at The Sunken Flagon first thing. Duncan grabbed Dee in a bear hug as soon as she stepped through the door and assaulted her with a barrage of questions. "There's my favorite niece! When did you arrive? Gods, you're a sight for sore eyes! Aren't they feedin' you? How long are you staying? How's Sal doin'? Has Qara burned down the Keep yet? Your old room can become available, if you want to wait a bit for me to have the lass change the sheets. I'll get it ready after you eat."
She cast a sidelong glance at Casavir standing just behind her. "That's alright, Uncle. I'm not particular, and I'd rather have a different view anyway."
To his credit Duncan didn't react at all to the look that passed between them but told him all he needed to know about the change in their relationship. "Sure, lass, Room 4 is open." That one not only had a bed wide enough for two, but the bed was long enough to accommodate two tall occupants. But Casavir looked down and made the excuse he business to attend to at the temple and would be staying there. Shandra rolled her eyes as she came up beside Cillian. Duncan could have kicked him for the look of disappointment that flashed across Dee's face, but he merely shrugged and said flatly, "Your room's waitin' here if you change your mind, lad."
Dee left Cillian in her room and walked with Casavir as far as the temple, neither speaking much along the way. He sighed thinking that he had offended her, and he longed for her chatter on as she did about anything to ease the silence. Finally he could stand it no longer. He turned to her at the entrance to the temple courtyard, took her by the shoulders, and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "It's better this way, whether you believe me or not. I don't think I could even trust myself to give you another innocent foot rub without ending it in your bed." She merely shrugged at him and pulled away. He caught her hand and smiled sweetly at her. "I'll see you in the morning, and don't forget I've promised to go shopping with you after temple." He gave her a quick, chaste kiss on the lips.
She looked away at the peal of bells from Castle Never. "I have to move if I'm gonna make the last session." She sprinted off then froze in her tracks and turned to see him still standing there watching her. She ran back and gave him a kiss on the cheek and whispered, "Until tomorrow then."
She made it just in time for the afternoon session of Court to give Lord Nasher a report on her progress at the Keep, then reported her progress to Sir Grayson at his manor, who ran his fingers through her hair, tsked, and insisted she see his barber at once where after a few minutes hesitation, she asked for a man's short cut. She longed to drop in on Lord Taverick on her way and inquire how much he wanted for the painting, but thought better of it. Instead she knocked at the door and presented one of the calling cards Sir Grayson had made up for his squires to use and asked his butler if she might be allowed to call on Lord Taverick on the morrow, making a mental note to bring along Shandra and Maisie Jons in one of her low-cut gowns. She dropped by the Watch headquarters to see Cormick, who finally seemed to be on the mend, filled him in on the West Harbor gossip, and gave him a progress report as well to be spread on the Harper network. With that finished, she resisted the urge to go by the temple and instead jogged back to the tavern and took advantage of the bright moonlight to take Cill down to play in the water by the dock while she answered her uncle's questions.
Casavir left his room at the temple the next morning and asked if he might have an audience with the Prior, but he was out investigating a reported breakout of the Blue Pox on a merchant ship that had been quarantined in the harbor . With the Wailing Death so fresh in peoples' minds, it was best to take charge instantly to avert panic even if it was only Blue Pox, and he had gone as soon as the outbreak was reported. Casavir was torn, pleased that things were moving along so well with Dee, but still struggling with his fear that things were moving too fast. Judge Oleff came up behind Casavir in the foyer as he talked to the Prior's secretary and hailed him. "Casavir! Come in to my office, lad. I can hear your confession or give you advice as well as the good Prior." He took his hand and led Casavir to his office.
Casavir agreed, albeit reluctantly. It was no small thing to be granted an audience with the High Justicar, let alone have him hear his confession. After exchanging formalities and making small talk over coffee and cinnamon rolls, Casavir let the story of his growing relationship with Dee unfold. He was the High Justicar, but Oleff had such a kindly, benign expression he felt he could tell him everything, so he told him of his past advice from the Prior and of his past failure as well as his fears that entering into another relationship might make him stumble again. His greatest fear was that he would fall utterly if it happened again. He put his face in his hands. "Can you see my dilemma, your honor? I have strong feelings for her, and I feel our Lord has called me to stand beside her in her fight with the King of Shadows, but what use will I be to her if I fail her by falling from grace because I can't control my urges?"
Oleff shook his head firmly. "My son, first of all I advise you to compare this young woman to the woman who led you astray. She is very different, is she not? And you said she shares your feelings?" Casavir nodded his agreement. "Think of it this way. If you fear she will cause your fall, aren't you equating her with that other woman, and by extension, saying you feel all women are alike and not to be trusted? Is that what you believe?"
Casavir sat back with his chin in his hand and considered this. "I hadn't looked at it that way. No, I don't believe that at all. It's not so much that I don't trust her as I don't trust myself, I suppose. I must confess I was even beginning to eroticize the scourging. Instead of relieving my urges, it was making them worse. I also find myself rushing to protect her in battle before any of our companions, and some of them need more protection much than she does. It also would be too easy to give in to our urges and turn what could be between us into a mere tryst. What's more, you know we don't exactly have a long life expectancy. Is it just to leave her a widow, possibly with small children to raise alone?"
Oleff leaned forward and patted him on the shoulder. "The rumors of the short life expectancy of paladins is highly exaggerated as you should realize by looking around at your brethren in the temple. My son, the best advice I could give you is not to find yourself some day as I am, old and alone. My faith is strong, I've lived a good life, but I must admit my life is rather empty at times." He sighed deeply and rubbed his bony hand across his bald head. "I've known love several times, my son, but I turned my back on it and chose my calling every time, never dreaming I could have had both until it was too late." He sat back drinking his coffee, deep in thought. "My advice? Accept the gift of a companion through your life's journey that the gods have given you. Nurture your feelings for her carefully, and they will flower beautifully." He stood and opened the door. "There's the bells. Come along, we can talk more after the service."
Dee was already sitting with a few of her squire brothers and sisters when Casavir came in the temple, smiled at her, and took his place with the other paladins and priests. After the service Dee ambled over to Oleff and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. "It's good to speak to you in person and not only through our letters, Your Honor. I would still like to have that glass of wine with you later, if you have time."
Casavir walked up beside them, and Oleff smirked and said, "No time like the present, my child. Come along, both of you. I have a bottle I've been saving for just this occasion, and it's late enough in the day I think I can open it." Neither of them would argue with the High Justicar though it was not yet highsun. He led them to a small well-furnished sitting room in his private quarters and whispered orders to an acolyte assigned to him then motioned them to a pair of chairs opposite his.
They made perfunctory introductory small talk, and then he listened intently as she told him what she would about her dreams. "My advice? Pray about the dreams then try to write them down immediately so you don't lose any detail. My guess is they're not so much a warning as a sign that you will endure many trials but you will persevere through them in the end."
He poured them both a glass of wine as he reminisced about his time traveling with Daeghun and told her a few anecdotes about Esmerelle before he brought up the matter he called her in for. "I sent a priest and a clerk to West Harbor to certify you as Esmerelle's natural daughter. Daeghun was off in the swamp, but one of the women who was present for your birth swore to the fact and made her mark, then Daeghun arrived before they left and also signed a sworn statement. I have a letter for you they brought from him. I was going to forward it to you with my next letter. Now what did I do with it?" He got up stiffly and fumbled around in his writing desk. "That's the problem with growing old. There it is!" He handed her a piece of parchment, carefully folded and sealed with wax, which she put into her pouch to read later.
He sat back heavily and drank another glass of wine before he continued, grinning at the way they smiled at each other as they sat holding hands. "As you know, I've been working on settling Esmerelle's estate for your sake. Two of her cousins claimed some of it last year, having been twenty years since she had vanished. One of them is a young rake you would be better off not knowing who has managed to drink and gamble the bulk of what he got away already. As for the rest, she left a townhouse in the Merchant Quarter that has sat empty for years as well as some holdings near Amphail where she had more family—the Amcathras of Waterdeep."
Casavir gasped and sat forward. "Amcathra? My father was related to that family as well. One of them visited him when I was a boy, the notorious one who eloped with the Luskan pirate. That would mean...we're related!" The blood drained from his face as he turned to Dee.
Oleff chuckled and patted his arm reassuringly. "Don't worry, my son. You can trace the genealogy in the Archives, but I seriously doubt you're more than second cousins at the most. Such is often the case with noble families. As a matter of fact, Dierdre, we're also distantly related on Esmerelle's mother's side through Lord Galvaran, one of the original Nine. We're something like sixth cousins once removed." He looked back at his notes. "Now where was I? Oh yes, the estate. Esmerelle's father owned another manor house which she had let to tenants, but it was burned during the war, and obviously there's been no one to rebuild it. If I were you, I would sell the vacant land as it has an excellent view of the lake and Castle Never, and use some of the proceeds to pay the back taxes. There should be a tidy sum left over even after the tax is paid. Oh, and while I was researching any other existing portraits for you, I learned she modeled for the statue of Sune at the shrine here. You must see it before you leave."
Dee did not know that and assured him that she would indeed. She was still in awe at all the news he had to tell her. Casavir took her hand and kissed it, and she smiled and put her head on his shoulder, murmuring "second cousins..." Oleff grinned at them and stated matter-of-factly, "You two do make a handsome couple. Have you talked of marriage yet?"
Casavir flushed, looked at her then at the Justicar. "It's all so recent, not even a tenday since..."
Dee leaned forward and answered for both of them. "Aye, 'tis not even a tenday since we've discovered our feelings. We're nowhere near ready for that step. We're still getting to know one another, and I'm not one to push him to marry me just to satisfy our desires. And there's still this threat of the King of Shadows looming over us. I can see us being together, someday, once the threat is over."
Oleff reached over and patted her hand. "You are wise not to rush into marriage, but there are other options, and you'll find that 'someday' never seems to arrive if you wait for your lives to become perfect. However, there is an old ceremony called a handfasting. Are you familiar with it?"
Casavir looked intrigued. "Yes, it was originally an Dwarven ceremony, and it's used more in small villages without any regular clergy. It's a sort formal betrothal, isn't it?"
Oleff stood stiffly and pulled a book off his bookshelf and placed it on the small table in front of them. "See here. More of a trial marriage than a simple betrothal. In ancient times when it was important to have children to work in the fields, it was a way of ensuring the union was fertile before the couple entered into a binding arrangement. It was a very practical ceremony. Also if either found they weren't compatible in any way, they were free after the end of the arranged time, which by default is a year and a day, to go their separate ways with no scandal or fault to either side. My advice is that you two consider such an arrangement. I would gladly perform the ceremony myself. That way, there's no fault if you give in to your...carnal feelings for one another. Discuss it and let me know your decision. Now I'm sure you two young people have more to do today than talk about the past with an old man." He stood, took Casavir's hand, and kissed Dee on the cheek, and walked them to the door.
They walked on in silence towards the Moonstone Mask, both casting surreptitious looks at one another. He smiled at her and took her hand. "I think we should give it some thought, as long as we don't turn out to be more than second cousins."
She took his hands and turned to face him. "Even if we are, we're surely not closer than first cousins, and that's perfectly lawful, isn't it?"
He glanced about and whispered, "It's said Lord Nasher's parents were first cousins." He flushed as he realized he was spreading gossip and she chuckled. "I think you're a bad influence on me, my lady."
She leaned up and gave him a kiss. "I know you're a good influence on me. Come on, we have enough time to go to the tailor shop to get you something more colorful to wear before I have to meet Shandra."
He returned the kiss and looked around again. "I can't believe I'm doing this on the street in broad daylight." He sighed, "It doesn't matter to me if you're my first cousin or my half sister, but we will need witnesses."
She grimaced. "Half sister? Our children would have tails like Neesh's. Aye, witnesses we have plenty, though Neesh will be so disappointed she wasn't here. We have Shandra, and Duncan will be there for sure, and Sand and Khelgar."
He nodded and ruffled her hair. "It's very short, but it suits you."
"On the morrow then?" She raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't we think about it overnight and make sure 'tis not the wine talkin'?"
He chuckled and gave her another kiss despite their being on the street in broad daylight. "We had one glass. I'm sure it's not the wine talking. Very well, let us sleep on it tonight. But not together."