Bak to Chapter 10
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Eight months.
Had it had been more? It was different with the twins. Laun’s body had changed and grown and now was fighting her every time she wanted to do anything.
Anything.
Babies were not unusual for large households. Having five babies born in a month was starting to put a strain on everyone’s nerves. They had not lost any of the mothers, but it was close. Blood loss was a fear for all the healers and they started asking for supplies.
As Laun lay on an improvised cot in the Great Hall during morning meeting, it was discussed how to get the supplies. Some of the herbs they had on the land and Lucaris volunteered to teach anyone who wanted to learn how to recognize the plants they needed, her household apprentice smiling and nodding as the shaman talked. The rest had to come from outside.
Outside was not as scary as it could have been. More messengers and people were coming from the outside, most with good things. The false King’s messengers had reached their people and had been sent back with more messages. Neither claimant seemed to want to fight. Something about seeing one of the messengers being thrown into the back of the wagon stark naked made both of the men emphatic about keeping the peace with Falmir and the Salam-Dir household.
Peace from Rosemond was also claimed by several messengers over a week’s period. Individual nobles who had the Rosemond Mercs on their lands all said that they did not have good ways to send the men home and were using them to help with the first harvests. Laun was not the only one to give it credence at arms length. But the messenger from the Ambassador was back with a note saying that the Rosemond people were scheduled to leave at the end of the season and that any military action was not condoned by the Rosemond council or Monarch.
The Midlands’ Ambassador to Rosemond himself showed up at the barricade around Salam-Dir. Launs uncle was left outside as others were brought in until Falmir could convince Laun that he was on Midlands business and needed to come in. Laun was not happy, but she had some consolation when she saw how ragged he looked. Heran bowed to her and then knelt to Falmir, pledging himself to his King and Kingdom. Falmir and Dreng then took the man aside and talked with him as Launs medicine took ahold and let her rest without too much pain.
Falmir had surprised Laun with a Mason and his crew. They came in and started to work immediately, claiming that the quarry that was on the land needed to be cleared for more stone cutting and that the silt from the volcano was perfect to make the mortar needed for the keep’s repairs. Laun was not able to go and see what they were doing. Laun assigned Ali to keep an eye on them, and told her about the peridot. Ali was to gather any of the crystals she found as the masons’ people gathered silt and bring them to Laun.
The carpenters were both happy and unhappy about the Mason. There was quite some friction and the Mason was told in morning meeting that his work was important, but that he was not to order anyone not in the Mason’s crew to do anything. It took two days for it to sink in, but after having to ask for help in a morning meeting and being told that they would have to wait until after the harvest of a certain field, he understood. He set his men to surveying the keep for repairs.
Morning meeting was becoming much more ritualized than Laun had remembered. She had her own ritual that she could not do any longer. She could not stand for more than a few minutes at a time and she could not put names to all the faces any more. There were just too many people. Orgia would speak first, the household matters being the most important. The protectors would speak next, the days roster being told to everyone. The soldiers had started to have their officers speak after, mostly to reinforce the protectors. Things that needed to be done but had not been brought up yet were discussed. And then any other announcements.
Laun had talked to the protectors and Edgar stepped forward at morning meeting. “The household of Salam-Dir would like to open our training to anyone who is interested. Our protector teams are constantly working on our skills and with so many people here, we would like to learn from you as well as teach you what we know. If anyone is interested, please gather in the outer courtyard after meeting.” He sat on a bench near Laun and seemed glad that was over.
It was the last announcement of the day. The group started to break up and go to where they needed to be. Laun stayed on the cot, watching the flow of legs around her. The Great Hall was not empty, but was much less crowded when the young tumbler from the troupe shyly came up to Laun.
Laun looked at the girl. She was wearing just a long, lightweight tunic patched in various colors above a pair of sandals made of rough rope. She was well fed, seemed happy, but had a look that told Laun that the child needed to talk.
“Wanda? What do you need, sweeting?”
The child smiled and sat cross legged on the floor by Laun’s cot. “Can... Can I do the training, too?”
Laun smiled. “You have the body for it. Strong and you are agile enough to be able to get under most blows. If you want to, talk with Edgar or Silar.”
The girl nodded. She picked at a toenail and looked at Laun. “Laun... Can I stay and train?” There was a shy expectation in the girl.
If Laun had been sitting, she would have tilted her head as she watched the girl. As it was, Laun propped her head up and looked at the twelve year old. “Have you been talking with people in this household?”
She nodded and looked down at the toe she was fussing with. “I don’t like the kitchen stuff. I have to do that in camp anyway. I like the fighting an’ the archery an’ the wrestling.” Her eyes had a happy gleam to them when they looked back at Laun.
Laun nodded. “I didn’t like the kitchen stuff, too, when I was younger. Without all that cooking and cleaning, we don’t get fed, do we?” The girl shook her head. “And we can’t be training all the time.”
“I train a lot with the troupe. Hours and hours a day.”
“I used to, too, when I was a dancer. Six or seven hours a day, and I still helped in the kitchen when I was needed.”
Wanda’s eyes went big. “You were a dancer? I thought you were a Princess.”
Laun smiled and leaned forward a little. “It is always good to have many things you can do. List the three things you know you can do best.”
The girl looked down and blushed. “Um, I don’t know...”
Laun tisked with her tongue and said, “I know you are a tumbler. A good one, too.”
“But that isn’t noble stuff.” The girl shook her head as she looked at her foot.
“It doesn’t have to be things you think are noble. Well. Hmm. List three things you think are things nobles do.”
Without hesitation, Wanda said, “Ride and eat and dress pretty.” She smiled at Laun but looked back at her foot after a moment.
Laun giggled. “I guess that it looks like it, doesn’t it. Do you know how to ride a horse?” The girl shook her head. “You do know how to eat, don’t you?”
“Ya! As much as I can. I’m always hungry. But nobles always have the sweet stuff and the good bread.”
Laun nodded. “Only if we can get the grain harvested and dried.”
“That’s for the peasants to do.”
Laun narrowed her eyes at the girl. “Stop right there. If you are going to be here, learning from this household and myself, you need to understand something. We all do what we can to help the household, the family, survive. If I wasn’t taken down by the babies, I would be out there myself.”
The girl shook her head. “Girls don’t do that kind of thing.”
Laun was getting angry. She levered herself up to raise her eyeline above the girls’ and her voice dropped in pitch, giving it a strong, deadly quality. “Who the hell has been feeding you that crap? In other households, women may be coddled and kept in bowers to sew and have babies. In this household, we do everything the men do because we have to. If you want to train with the fighters, then you are going to be able to work in the fields. If you don’t think you can do what I have done, then perhaps you are not right for training in this household.”
Tears started streaming down Wanda’s face. She started sobbing and Laun had a pang of grief go through her. “I wanna stay! You’re meaner than I thought!” There was a big pout on the girl’s face, her lower lip out so far that Laun could see Wanda’s lower teeth.
Laun tried not to laugh. She sank back down into the cot and held her belly as she laughed. “Oh, just try that on Orgia! You think I’m mean?” Laun continued to laugh until she saw the girl go from pouty to angry to laughing with her.
They both calmed down and Laun held out her hand to the child. “Sweeting, it will be different here. Your family will be welcome to come and stay when they wish, but when they go, you stay here. Do you understand?”
Wanda took Laun’s hand and held it, palm to palm as if they were walking together. “Yes, Laun. Adi talked to me a lot about things being different. But I think I’m ready.”
Laun tightened her grip on the girl’s hand. “It is your choice. You need to go tell Adi and the rest that you will be staying here. They will then come to me and we will do the rest of the stuff needed to get you officially warded. I wanted you to come to Salam-Dir willingly.”
Wanda nodded and put Laun’s hand on her cheek. “Thank you, Laun.” There was a flash of something and the girl’s face dropped a little. “Laun... Will I have to sleep with people to live here?”
Laun’s heart gave a pang and Laun had to speak before her throat closed with emotion. “You are as safe here as you want to be. Your body is yours to keep or give, but I would hope that you keep it for just yourself for a few more years. Please don’t feel like you have to do anything just to live here. If anyone tries to do something with you that you don’t like, yell and scream and I personally will kick their ass.” Laun looked at her belly, glanced to behind her, and then smiled at Wanda as she said, “All right. I will have Edgar kick their ass.”
Wanda nodded and pressed Laun’s hand to her cheek again. “I should go.” The girl dropped Laun’s hand and pushed away from the cot, tumbling a few turns away and standing without much effort. Laun clapped her hands and waved to the girl as she left the Great hall.
“Get me to kick their ass, hmm?” Edgar had been behind Laun for much of the conversation with the girl and had an amused tone to his voice.
“I’m just kicking my own ass the last week or so.” Laun leaned back and tried to touch Edgar, missing completely. “Damnit! I can’t do anything at this point!”
Her Love leaned over and grabbed her hand. “Soon you will be going through the pain and we will have the babies. Your body will be better after that.”
Laun swallowed hard. “I am not looking forward to it.” She held his hand and gripped it hard for a moment. She let go and rolled forward again. “I should start on my morning migration.”
Edgar knelt behind her and kissed her on her ear. “I can carry you, My Lady Love. You do not have to walk on your own.”
Laun smiled at the rumble and warm breath from the head wardsman. She sighed and said, “As soon as I can’t walk on my own, that means I am bedridden. I cannot effectively lead if I am stuck in bed.”
He kissed her neck below her ear and said, “There are other things you can do in bed...” The tenor of his voice resonated through Laun and she felt the reactions deep in her, but she also felt her back cramp as the waves of pleasure hit and turned on her.
She could not hold back the sob. Edgar backed off for a moment and then put his arms gently around her. She breathed through the pain until it became less and she was able to relax again. Tears were going down her face as she lay on the cot in the Great Hall.
The cot was near one wall, some space around it blocked off by several benches. People going by nodded to Laun but did not stop as Edgar was there to comfort and help their Lady.
“Well, perhaps today I am bedridden. Damnit. I needed to go sit with the prisoner.”
Edgar moved around the cot so that he could see her face. “How is that going?”
She shrugged and then grimaced. “He is still under lots of medication and has to be taken care of. But he has started to talk some while I am there. I have not asked him anything, just start to talk about the weather and stuff. He starts talking back about things and I think that he regrets being an assassin. Deep sadness comes out like little bubbles and then he mumbles about trees and cities.”
Edgar nodded, worry on his face. “Consistency is the key for that. Perhaps we can get a cot into his shed and you can lay next to him for a while.”
Laun sighed. “Yes. That would be good.” There was tired sadness in her voice and Edgar put his hand on her cheek to try to comfort her.
Laun could not do much. She could not walk. She could not stand. She could hardly lay still without having overwhelming pain. If she could get into the mind of the assassin and try to get information out, she would try.
The shed had been built in the garden against the wall shared with the laundry. It was a rough structure, mostly a plank roof and poles for the walls. Canvass was draped from the roof at night and when it was raining but was left rolled up during the day for air and light. The sentries on the walkway now had two directions to watch and the archers could see when people went in and out of the shed.
The cot that the assassin was on was built partially into the wall to help with the support of his shoulder and arm. He needed to be kept as still as possible, slings attached to the shed poles keeping his weight from pulling on his broken collarbone. There was enough room in the shed for many people to stand next to the man, but with a cot for Laun, it became crowded, an aisle just big enough for one healer in to see to the man.
Laun watched as the assassin was fed a very liquid gruel that Laun suspected included the drug that kept him mostly asleep. His throat was rubbed to make him swallow and there was a slight cough as water was dribbled into his mouth. Lucaris stayed for a few minutes to make sure he was right and then offered Laun some water.
She drank it and felt some better. The shaman had a gleam in her eye and said, “You have about ten minutes before that hits you. Get comfortable.”
“Why are you healers always putting me to sleep? If I could, I would pin you down and-”
“If you could, I would let you. You can’t, so let the sleep take you when it comes. I’ll be in the rose arbor.” Lucaris kissed Laun’s cheek and made her way through the small walking space and out to the garden.
It wasn’t going to take ten minutes. Laun could feel the odd lack of pain already. She had to talk to him, get him to let his mind slip and say something. “The healers mean well. They really do know everything. It is just hard to take the medicine when I need to do so much.”
He mumbled something and Laun saw his eyes flicker. He took in a breath and sighed.
“So much to do around here. The Mason has been pushing to get more long boards from the carpenters so that he can do some sort of scaffolding in the quarry. As long as the keep is fixed before the first snows, I will be ecstatic.”
Laun saw him nod. He took in a breath and she could make out, “ ... the streets are pretty after the first snow...”
“It makes everything white and sparkle. And then you know Winterberry jam is coming soon.”
He smiled. It changed and a sadness went across his almost sleeping face. “... haven’t had jam since they died. They always wanted more...”
Laun had finally hit on something, and it wasn’t the odd bursts of sadness. It was something she could work with. “You always gave them what they wanted. You were supposed to.”
His brows came together slightly. “From my own plate. Their mother always gave me extra so I could...” A tear ran down his cheek and the breath he took in came out more as a sob.
Laun started to talk softly, almost sing-song to calm him as he cried in his drug induced sleep. “It’s all right. Remember them in the happy moments. Remember being with their mother. Hug her and kiss her and tell them that you miss them. You are well and you can see they are too. Listen to them playing and asking for the jam. They miss you, too. But you are well. You are safe. Remember them...”
Laun felt sleep coming for her. She changed from talking to humming a happy children’s tune as she felt the drug take effect. She tried to keep her eyes open, but it could not last long. She took a deep breath and sighed as she felt her mind submerge into sleep.
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