Chapter Sixteen
"Malcolm!" Nel cried out, rushing through the door as soon as the healer opened it, sweeping him into a tight, bone-crushing hug.
He laughed at her exuberance, hugging her back.
"I'm so happy you came!"
"An entire plague wouldn't have stopped me." he said, pulling away so he could look up at her, "But I do have to say, when I said I hoped to see you soon, this isn't quite what I meant."
Nel laughed, "Me either. Where are the others?"
"Will made off with them as soon as we arrived." Malcolm rolled his eyes, "I get the boring introductions and tour of the castle while Trobar and Will get to gush about Shadow being pregnant. It doesn't seem fair, does it?"
"Not really." she joked, "But I can't say I'm not sorry for the chance to talk."
"Come on in then," he waved her over to the couch. Nel followed and in no time at all, she was babbling on about the progress she had made in her encyclopedia. He listened patiently, smiling as he watched her go on and on.
After a little while though, he stopped her, placing a hand on her knee, "I'm glad you've kept up with your work."
Nel beamed at him, "I enjoy it, you know that."
"I do," he nodded. "I was just surprised that you found time for it at all considering you've had to plan a wedding as well."
At that, she blushed, looking a little shamefaced, "W-Well, I did sort of use it to avoid the wedding plans for a bit."
He snorted, "Of course you did."
Nel smiled again, knowing she'd never be able to hide it from him.
"Anyway," he said, "Out of everyone I've met today, your fiance was not one of them. What's he like?"
"He's…not what I expected." she admitted, "Very forthright, but kind. Extremely devoted to his country. He…He's definitely trying, that much I know."
"But that's it?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow, "All you have to say?"
Her smile turned a little sad, "It's an arranged marriage. It's not like we actually have feelings for each other."
"You could, someday."
Nel was silent for a moment, thinking it all over, before asking, "Have you ever been in love?"
Malcolm looked at her curiously, "Isn't this something you should be asking your father?"
"I know Dad loved my mom, but he hates talking about her. If it wasn't for Uncle Crowley, I'm not sure I would even know her name." she explained sadly.
The doctor sighed, leaning back in his chair, "I fancied myself in love once or twice when I was young, but not enough to ever consider marriage. After I began healing, I became so caught up in helping people that before I knew it, the opportunity had flown right by me."
"Do you…regret not marrying?"
He shook his head immediately, "I make it a point to regret as little as possible in my life. If I had gotten married, I wouldn't have the life I do now."
She fell silent again, thinking over his words. Malcolm looked at her curiously, "Why do you ask?"
"I-I don't want to regret this." she admitted, "You're supposed to only marry once and I don't want to mess this up. I-I don't want this to be the wrong choice."
"I wish I could tell you it would all work out for the best, but I can't tell the future." he said, smiling sadly at her, "I do know that the only thing you'll regret most is not trying. If you don't even attempt to make this work, you'll hate yourself."
Nel reached forward, grabbing his hand, "Thanks."
"Anytime."
The wedding was only a week away. Decisions had been finalized, dancing mastered (or at least, passable), clothes made, flowers picked out, and everything else that could possibly be involved in a wedding, was finally done. The only thing left was the rehearsal, set to take place in approximately three days.
Selethen stood outside the door to the stables, nervously clenching his hand around the hilt of his sword. Despite what he had told the Baron, the Wakir hadn't actually interacted with Halt very much since his first night in Araluen. They exchanged pleasantries whenever they saw each other and there were no more veiled verbal attacks, but that was it. The bare minimum of politeness.
This man was going to be his father-in-law. There was some small part of him that desperately wanted his respect, to prove himself, to show that he was the right choice for Aranel. He didn't know why, but he wanted Halt to see that.
Overall, Selethen was a realistic man. Even without the threat of the world going to war, the chances were slim that he would meet Halt many times in the years to come. But with the war? This might be the last real chance he had to spend with the ranger. He wasn't going to waste it.
Setting his shoulders, the Arridi walked into the stables, easily spotting Halt brushing the mane of his small, stocky horse. Luckily, there didn't seem to be anyone else there.
"About time you came in." Halt's gruff greeting reached him immediately, "You've been staring at the barn doors forever."
"How did you…" his voice trailed off, looking at him in confusion.
"I'm a ranger. Forgive me for knowing when someone was watching me." Halt turned to raise an eyebrow at him, "Get over here then."
Selethen wasn't sure how such a small man could look so intimidating. Walking forward, he approached them. As soon as he was in range, the horse leaned forward, sniffing and nuzzling him.
"He's looking for carrots." Halt explained, "Tug loves apples, he loves carrots, and they both think everybody new is going to have some for them."
The horse snorted at Halt who simply glared at the creature. Selethen smirked at the sight, raising his hand to pat the horse's nose. It had almost seemed like the two were communicating for a moment.
"He seems like a good horse."
"One of the best." Halt agreed.
They fell into silence for a few minutes, Halt going back to brushing. Now that he was actually here, Selethen felt like an idiot. Did he really plan to change Halt's mind in one conversation?
"I hear that I owe you a thank you," the older man said, causing Selethen to look at him in confusion.
"A…thank you?"
"For putting Svengal in his place." he clarified, "He's a good man, but he has no filter, and an astounding way of speaking. You called him out on it."
"I didn't know you had heard about that." he muttered.
Halt nodded, "Word travels fast in a small place like this."
"So it seems." Selethen had to agree, "I just hope she wasn't too embarrassed. The whole situation was an accident. She shouldn't be ashamed."
"I agree."
The silence returned, although it wasn't uncomfortable. The Wakir continued petting the horse as Halt brushed him.
It was once again Halt who broke the silence, "Are you ready to be married?"
He pressed his lips into a thin line, thinking over his answer carefully, "As ready as I can be, given the circumstances. Most people are lucky enough to have a long engagement to adjust to the idea."
"The time frame is less than ideal, that's true." Halt said, still focused on brushing his horse, "But marriage is more complicated than you might think, this one even more so."
"I'll accept any advice that you have."
Halt smirked, "Don't mess with her books or her work. That's half the battle."
He looked at Halt, brows furrowed, "Why? What happens?"
"Gilan spilled coffee on a medical book one time. She put laxatives in his coffee for a week after that." Halt chuckled at the memory.
Selethen's eyes went wide, "That…doesn't seem like Nellie."
"It is once she starts to trust you." Halt moved to brush a different area, Abelard stomping a hoof in what seemed like gratitude, "She's slow to open up to people, always proper and professional, completely respectful. When she does open up though, it's wonderful. It's like she's a whole other person."
"I can only hope to get to that point then." Selethen said.
Halt huffed, "That's entirely up to her."
"What about you?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
"How long does it take you to trust someone?"
"Longer than we have now." his tone was harsh, not even glancing at him.
Selethen sighed, "Halt, we just said that the timeline wasn't the greatest. That doesn't mean we can't work with what we have. Yes, the situation looks bad, but with the treaty, we are-"
"I don't give a damn about the treaty!" Halt finally snapped, looking at him furiously and throwing the brush on the ground. Abelard started at the sudden outburst, backing up as far as he could in the stall, watching the two men cautiously. "I care about my daughter! I'm tired of hearing about the treaty and how she's doing the right thing! She's throwing away everything she's worked for, and for what?! A life she was never prepared for, handed off like some prized jewel Duncan had lying around!"
"I swear, I do not see Aranel that way!" Selethen yelled back at him, "I would never assume that!"
Halt snorted, "And yet, here we are."
Selethen glared at him in anger, muttering in Arridan for a minute before responding, "Have I done anything to make you assume that Halt? Anything at all? Or have I gone out of my way to do everything I possibly can to make everyone here happy? To mend the relationship between our countries?"
He scoffed in disbelief, "You say you don't see her that way, yet you're still spouting off about the countries."
"Of course I am!" he practically roared, "I don't know if you've realized this yet, but there are more lives at stake here than just Aranel's! I, for one, don't want to see my home overrun by the Temujai and I know that she doesn't either! You can't blame me for her sense of duty, she got all of that from you! Now, I am going to do my very best to make sure she is happy in Arrida, to make sure that she wants for absolutely nothing, and that she lives a long, healthy life! She is going to be my wife and that makes her my first priority, but that doesn't make her my only priority. I can't just ignore everything else in our lives!"
Selethen took a deep breath, feeling a little satisfied at the ranger's stunned look, before continuing, bracing himself for what he had to say, "I came to ask for your blessing Halt. I feel like everything would go a lot smoother if I had it, but I know you won't give it. You don't have to, but I refuse to stand by and let you insult me and my country any longer. It's time you put all this into perspective, the world isn't going to wait, not even for you."
Selethen finished his rant, watching and waiting for the ranger's response. Halt was staring at him. First in shock, then with sadness.
"Nel's mother and I were also in an arranged marriage." he heard him say. He looked at the shorter man in confusion. Why was he saying this?
"I never told Nel." Halt continued, moving his gaze away from Selethen's, "She has so few memories of her mother as it is. But Claire and I were lucky. We did fall in love. Everything was against us at the time, yet somehow, we made it work. She was my whole world, the only real family I had for a while."
"What happened?" Selethen heard himself asking.
"We…We were forced to leave our home, go into hiding. There was someone who wanted me dead and he wasn't afraid to hurt Claire to accomplish that. She and I had to flee. While I trained as a ranger, we also had Nellie." Halt's voice was quiet, soft, as he told the painful memory. His horse turned a bit, trying to nuzzle himself into his master as if he could sense his pain, "I almost lost them both in the birth. There were complications and she lost a lot of blood. The thing is, she didn't care. All that mattered was our little girl, that she would be ok. She made me promise to take care of Nellie first, in case she didn't make it. Made me promise that if I ever had to make the choice, to choose Nellie before her. I…I couldn't say no. Luckily, they both lived, but it was weeks before they were completely healthy."
"I'm sorry." Selethen whispered.
"I came close to losing my daughter then. Things like that open your eyes to how fragile children are," Halt let out a soft breath, continuing as if the Wakir hadn't said anything, "I was stupid, just assumed everything would be fine. And now, I'm losing her in an entirely different way. Her mother wanted every possible happiness for her, but that is being stolen away under the guise of 'duty'. This is the exact opposite of what Claire wanted."
Selethen sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I understand. This is-"
"But you don't." Halt cut him off, looking back up at him. The Wakir was stunned at the tears in his eyes, barely held back with immense restraint, "You can't understand. Not until you have a child, a daughter of your own. Not until their future has been stolen in front of your eyes. And worse? Your child willingly gave it up because that's the only real choice they have."
Halt brushed his hand off his shoulder, stepping away from his future son-in-law, "You're a good man. In another world if you and Nellie had chosen each other of your own free will, then I wouldn't hesitate to give you my blessing. I'd welcome you with open arms. But I can't. Not like this."
Halt sighed, turning to walk away from him, hands stuffed in his pockets, "I don't blame you for any of this, despite what all my words or actions may have said. I actually feel sorry for you. I know that we are at war and that we all have to make sacrifices. I know this is more important than me and my family, that any one of us could die because of the Temujai…but she's my daughter. I don't have the luxury of simply accepting the situation, certainly not being happy about it."
The ranger left the stables without another word. Selethen simply stared after him, dumb-founded.
This wasn't what he had expected when he approached him.
However, the 'Legendary Halt' suddenly seemed more…human.