Lasrua awaits her time to dance
“Rua? Are you feeling ill?”
Lasrua was not listening. She paid no attention to any of the voices in the room until she noticed they had all fallen silent, and then – what had Edris said? Was she ill? She shoved her tingling arm off her lap and looked up.
Gwynn’s face was white. “Should we send for help?”
“No, no!” Lasrua shook her head until her beaded tassels of hair battered her ears. “I was…”
She was ashamed to admit she had been listening, but she wanted to hear another’s opinion.
“…simply listening to outside in the court. Gilpatrick is speaking Gaelic to some little girls. I think Aengus’s girls…”
Gwynn smiled in relief and looked away, apparently of no opinion at all. Lasrua pulled her arm back onto her lap and smoothed out her sleeve. Beneath it her numb flesh felt like a second sleeve over her bones.
Edris said, “Oh, good! I hope Aengus is coming tonight after all. He needs to get out a bit. And his girls are too small to grieve the way a man does, the poor dears.”
“Domnall said he was coming tonight,” Margaret reminded her. “Perhaps it’s only Domnall coming early, and he brought them. Is Domnall here, Rua?”
Emma said, “Ha! It would take more than elf ears to hear Domnall.”
Lasrua whispered, “I think I heard him.”
Baldwin ducked and clapped his hands atop his head. “He can’t come! He’ll see me without my mane!”
“Oh, forget your mane for five seconds, you big ninny,” Emma groaned. “Tell him we’re rehearsing!”
“But if everyone sees us rehearsing, no one will be surprised by the play!”
“Who’s everyone? Only your mother, Gwynn, Rua, and Domnall.”
“And Ete and Aileann!” Baldwin protested. “And Bruni!”
Brunhilde sat up and demanded, “What?”
Lasrua blurted, “And Aengus!”
All eyes looked to her again.
She added softly, “And some men.”
Edris’s hands flopped onto her skirts. “Some men with Aengus, you say?”
Then Gwynn’s face began to glow like an ember, casting the others into shadow. She whispered, “Gaelic-speaking men?”
Lasrua bit her lips to prevent a smile.
Gwynn hopped up and thumped down closer to Lasrua’s hips. “Oh, Rua! Is it Malcolm? Has your husband returned?”
Lasrua had been asking herself the same question all along, but it was only upon hearing it spoken by another that a rush of giddiness tore through her. It could be he!
But she must not allow herself to appear excited. “I have not heard his voice…”
She closed her eyes and listened through the hush that had fallen over the room. The castle was a noisy, chattery place, and the shouts outside were muffled by wood and stone and distance. Surely that velvet voice could not carry as far as Gilpatrick’s braying laughter and the girls’ indignant squeals. It was too soon to expect to hear.
But it was never too soon to hope – so did Britamund remind her every day.
Margaret took a sneaking step backwards. “There’s only one way to find out…”
Gwynn gave Lasrua’s good hand a squeeze and hopped up. “And I shall be the one to do it,” she announced as she sidled past her sister. “During Hetty’s quiet time, I am hostess here, and I must welcome our guests – ”
“Only if you beat me to it!”
Margaret hefted her peasant skirts up past her calves and dashed for the door, with the others right behind her.
Edris shouted, “Meggie! Not in your bare feet!”
“Not dressed like a slave girl!” Gwynn wailed. “Margaret!”
But Margaret’s bare feet easily outpaced Gwynn’s heeled boots, Emma’s sultan robes, and Baldwin’s usual half-walking, half-trotting state of indecision. Margaret flung the door open with her body, and it slammed shut upon Gwynn’s fruitless commands to walk like a lady, and Margaret hooting at the cold as her bare soles slapped across the flagstones.
Brunhilde sat back and huffed. “Where are they going?”
Edris snuggled the girl against her hip. “They’re simply going out to see who’s here, sweetie.” She looked up at Lasrua. “You haven’t heard him?”
Lasrua shook her head.
Edris shrugged, her smile unperturbed. “Perhaps he isn’t talking much. He’s bound to be nervous. Ah, men!” She sighed and settled back against the cushion. “They snort and they swagger, but there is no more skittish creature than a bridegroom on his wedding day. And night! Cenwulf was whiter than the sheets!”
She leaned her head back against the wall and smiled up at the ceiling. Lasrua heard laughter and commotion as Margaret ran through the gate with a ginger-haired sultan and a maneless gladiator lion at her heels, but not the soft, sly chuckling she sought.
Edris sat up and looked keenly at her. “Has Hetty or Brit or someone talked to you and told you what to expect? In your bed together?”
Lasrua felt a blush rising, and she hesitated to give it time to cool. “I… know all about that, of course. Cat talks… a lot.”
Edris laughed. “Doesn’t she? But I daresay even Cat may hold a few things back from a maiden that one ought to tell to a bride. Have you talked to anyone since you were married?”
A bride… married… Inside, the words stirred up glittering motes of secret delight every time she heard them said, but she meant to keep her outside blank. She shook her head too slowly to make her tassels do any more than sway.
Edris shrugged. “No matter. You and I shall have a talk with Hetty and Brit and Leila before anything happens. It’s a pity Eadie can’t come tonight.” She snorted and laughed. “Welcome to the world of wifehood! You are about to discover entire topics of conversation you never knew existed, when all the matrons gaggle together without the girls. Simply put a few cups of wine into Eadie, and you’ll learn the most surprising things about Sigefrith!”
Little Brunhilde looked up at her. “What things?”
“Ach! I forgot you were here, sweetie. Such as… ahh… how he can whistle with stones in his mouth! How very surprising!”
“I can whistle with stones in my mouth!” Brunhilde countered.
“You can’t even whistle!”
The door opened.
Lasrua was not ready. She had envisioned the commotion as still standing in the gate. Her heart was suddenly pounding, and she tried to relax her shoulder, fearful of a patched-up artery giving way.
But the door only opened a crack and slammed immediately after. Margaret’s bare feet pounded across the floorboards, followed by Emma’s slippers and Baldwin’s leather boots.
“False alarm,” Margaret panted as she scuffed her soles over the floor to warm them. “Sorry, Rua. He isn’t here, but you know, it’s too soon to look for him anyway, if he made it all the way home to Scotland.”
Emma said, “But guess who is here…”
“It’s his family,” Margaret explained. “Everyone in Lothere, that is, with Sir Malcolm leading the charge. And Connie’s here, so don’t expect to see Gwynn again today. They heard you came downstairs today, so they’re here to call on you, all kilted up and looking fearsome and hairy. But since you like that sort of man…”
Emma cried, “And Iylaine!”
The outburst was somewhat irrelevant, but it had its effect. Lasrua stiffened in shock, startling herself with a jolt of tingling pain from the arm she had carelessly lifted from her lap.
So encouraged, Emma turned to Edris and crowed, “And Colin!”
“Ach! Good heavens!” Edris groaned. “I knew it! And today would be the day I didn’t wear my hair in a scarf!”
Margaret attempted to reassure her. “At least you didn’t leave any curls hanging down beside your face this time. At least he won’t try to touch it.”
Lasrua slid to the edge of the cushion and steadied her feet on the floor. She wished her father had not gone out for the afternoon. She needed him there. But perhaps that was why they were coming now, if the elf Iylaine was with them.
Edris patted her neck, searching for stray locks of hair. “And if he tries to touch it anyway?”
Emma laughed. “Baldwin will defend you! A pity you forgot your mane!”
“He only needs his roar,” Margaret said. “I’m certain he’s been saving up his first roar for just such an occasion!”
The door opened again, but it behaved more like a door slamming shut, cutting off the muffled giggles and shouts Lasrua had heard welling up behind it. Only the clacking of booted heels continued unabated, crossing from flagstones onto wood. The swish of kilts and the tinkling of buckles sounded like a stray shower of sleet that had slipped indoors before the great door swung closed.
Lasrua stood.
The men filed in: Malcolm’s godson and namesake, his cousin Aengus, his uncle Colin. Their wordless, gravely glittering entry awed even Brunhilde into an open-mouthed silence… even Aengus’s little daughters peeking past their grandfather’s kilt… even the black-haired baby Lasrua glimpsed in the arms of a tall blonde.
Malcolm stopped before Lasrua. He leaned forward as if to bow, but instead murmured near her ear, “We are come to take you into our family. Malcolm would not want to leave you unprotected. We must take out our knives. You will not be afraid?”
Protect her from whom? Do what with their knives? Lasrua dared not ask – any more than she had during the wedding ceremony – for fear she would lose something important by admitting she did not understand. She shook her head, and was reassured by the faint clacking of her familiar elven beads.
Malcolm stepped back and laid his hand on his hip. Aengus and Colin stepped up beside him and did the same. All together, they drew their knives from their belts and flipped them point-downwards, the blades laced between their fingers and their thumbs on the hafts, making them all but useless as weapons.
Lasrua shuffled back. Was she supposed to take them?
Then Malcolm spoke. She understood nothing of the Gaelic but her own name at the beginning and the oath at the end, the three men swearing together: “by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Flann had taught her several Gaelic prayers, but the middle part had resembled none of these.
Only at the last did Lasrua notice that the gleaming knives with their long blades and their iron guards had the form of a Christian Cross.
The men kissed their knives where the blade met the handle, and all three together sheathed them at their hips. Lasrua heard Gwynn whispering something to Condal in a breezy sibilance like blowing rain. Everyone else was so quiet.
Malcolm stepped up to Lasrua and laid his hands on her elbows. “Cousin.”
He kissed her cheek and then the other, clattering her beaded tassels with his nose.
Hearing her father’s handiwork of the morning, she was reminded that this was the man who had cost the elves so much, caused so much suffering – but it had been through no fault of his own: only by being alive, only by falling in love.
And as her tassels quieted she reminded herself that the same elves had turned their backs on her, through no fault of her own. She was free to live and love as she chose.
“We have taken you unto us,” he said. “And sworn to defend your life and your honor with our honor and our lives. Malcolm must have sworn the same thing. Did he?”
She drew back her head and looked over his face for signs of his namesake. Aside from the nose they did not look much alike. This young man was neat everywhere her husband was shaggy, and broad where he was lithe. But it was said that Malcolm was very fond of her husband, and she felt a surge of fondness for him.
“He said some things in Gaelic… it must have been that. Without the knife!”
“Mmm.”
He looked down at her a little longer than seemed necessary, smiling a thin, slight smile. His gaze never came to rest on any part of her face, but it flickered over and over her eyes and – she thought – the tips of her ears.
At last he squeezed the elbow of her good arm and released the other to step to her side.
“You know his Uncle Colin – his mother’s brother.”
Colin stepped up and said something of which Lasrua understood only “Malcolm” and great enthusiasm.
But Condal gasped and pressed her hand over her mouth. Aengus tipped back his head to grimace at the ceiling. Lasrua looked to Malcolm.
His eyebrows were too sleek to ever resemble caterpillars, but for the moment his forehead was wrinkled enough that they bristled all the same. “It doesn’t translate, but I assure you he meant it for flattering.”
Before she could brace herself, Colin grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close to plant a wet kiss on both of her cheeks. He did not reek of drink this time, but it seemed that even sober Colin had a smell.
“Bless her!” he cried.
That much Gaelic Lasrua understood. She unstuck her rigid jaw well enough to whisper, “Bless you.”
Colin laughed. “Ach! Bless me! Bless me!” The louder he said it, the louder he laughed.
Malcolm slipped himself between them, freeing Lasrua to swipe at her face with her sleeve. He smiled, but he said something over his shoulder at Colin that involved the Devil.
Colin’s reply to this was a swift smack to Malcolm’s behind and a hooting “Bless him!”
But as soon as he spied Edris on the couch, he pulled himself up, put on a dour face, and bowed. “Goot day, my lay-dee.”
Edris blanched, but Brunhilde laughed with wicked glee. “Did you just spank Malcolm?”
At last the frigid solemnity was shattered, and people began to titter and stir out of their places.
No longer the center of attention, Lasrua rubbed her arm and sent a few cautious glances around at her new family. She looked up at Domnall standing beside Gwynn and Condal, chewing his bottom lip and looking no one in the eyes. She looked at Aengus’s daughters fidgeting behind their father, not quite touching, but clinging as close as a girl and her shadow. She looked as far across the floor as the hem of Iylaine’s black dress.
Then a pair of black boots stepped across her gaze. For an instant she thought…
Then she looked up into Aengus’s face.
“God bless you and keep you, darling.” He laid a hand on the curve of her waist and leaned in to kiss her cheeks. “We do rejoice for you.”
The deep laughter and girlish squeals of the others closed around the sound of his soft voice like a shell. Lasrua leaned her head near his and shut herself up with him inside. Malcolm turned his back to them, but he kept close, serving as a shield.
“In the Bible,” Aengus said, “it is written: To every thing there is a season – a time to mourn and a time to dance. But sometimes those seasons are being a bit like the spring – storms one hour and rainbows the next.”
He tried to give her a wry smile, but he could not help his eyes. Whatever he might do with the rest of his face, it seemed that look of sorrow was there to stay. And it seemed he knew it, for he did not hold her gaze long.
He worked up a weak laugh. “One day, I’m a-swearing I will never dance again. And the next, I swear…” He lifted her hand and kissed the backs of her fingers. “…I’ll never dance again until I dance with you, on the day your man returns. If you will?”
He looked up. On an impulse, Lasrua said, “And I swear I will never dance again until I dance with you.”
“Ach!” He looked down and looked up again at her, and his eyes grew dim above his brightening smile. “Better let your man have the first go. Even before he limped, I always was the better dancer, and he’ll be sore.”
He winked without thinking, and batted a tear loose from his lashes. He dropped her hand to rub it away, shy as a boy, and the sight of him made her own eyes flood over before she could dry them.
When she looked up again she found him staring just below her eyes: at her cheeks, where her tears had abruptly vanished. His shoulders sagged.
She imagined he was wishing she could teach him the trick – as if that were all it took to be happy! Tears were nothing, she wanted to tell him, no more than rain falling from on high.
But he whispered, “So you do cry.”
Lasrua’s face crumpled, and she swayed as her carefully erected wall of indifference collapsed upon her. She felt his hands on her shoulders, and she longed to go limp and let him hold her up like an empty dress. But she had to get her face under control. She had to start stacking her bricks again straightaway.
“Let them come, darling,” he said when she opened her dry eyes. “Every tear you cry now will be redeemed by his joy when he learns you’re alive.” His voice cracked, and he stepped away from her. “How I envy him…”
No messengers on fast horses raced towards Aengus from the land where Maire lay. Lasrua lifted her hand, and Malcolm turned to reach out to him, but Aengus slipped past them both. He did not stumble or stagger, but simply walked to the fire, his shoulders stooped and his head bowed. A nervous hush ran through everyone’s chatter, and their laughter ebbed into self-conscious tittering. The sound closed up around him, leaving him alone inside. Lasrua almost envied him his shell.
Malcolm said, “Baby?”
He laid a hand on Lasrua’s back, and she jumped and whipped her head around, coming face-to-face with a blonde beauty with pointed ears.
Vash! Poor Vash! Lasrua’s braids clattered around her head like the Temple’s beaded curtains. For an instant she imagined she could grab Iylaine and drag her out the door – kidnap her and take her back where she belonged. Both of them! Back where they belonged!
Malcolm said, “Cousin, meet my wife Iylaine and my son Duncan.”
Lasrua gasped and came back to her senses. She looked aside, hoping to compose herself, but her gaze met another that set her beads clacking again.
Sir Sigefrith! With a stare so steady that he must have been staring a while, waiting for her to look up, and a face that was sad until he caught her eye and smiled.
“How do you do?” Iylaine asked.
Lasrua looked over in time to see her bob in a slight curtsey – when it should have been Lasrua to bend her knee to the floor for her!
“We are so glad to meet you at last,” Iylaine said. “Unfortunately I could not bring our little Maud with us, but I hope you will soon be well enough to call on us at home and meet her there.”
Lasrua said, “Thank you…”
Iylaine turned abruptly to Aengus’s daughters and chirped, “Your turn!” She strode past them to join Aengus beside the fire. Lasrua heard Malcolm suck in his breath and hold it. She supposed Iylaine heard it too. Still, his smile held fast.
Aileann darted past her sister and flung her arms up into Lasrua’s skirts, reaching as high as she could.
“I’m so glad you can be our cousin now!” she said as Lasrua bent to kiss her. “You’re so pretty!”
This brought chuckles from most of the crowd, and once it had been explained to Colin, a exclamation of apparent agreement that nevertheless made Malcolm wince.
“Being pretty is not a good enough reason to be our cousin!” Ete protested after she had had her kisses. “She ought to be clever too! And nice!”
Domnall said, “I’m your cousin, and I lose on all three counts.”
“But you’re nice, sometimes!” Ete pointed out.
“And stupid and ugly therefore?” Malcolm asked.
Ete laughed, quick to see the joke. “And you’re clever!”
Domnall pretended to grumble, “I wasn’t aware we needed Ete’s approval before choosing a bride.” He stood on tiptoes to kiss Lasrua’s cheeks.
“Why not?” Aengus asked. “Surely you’re having someone nice, pretty, and clever in mind?”
Domnall dropped back onto his heels, red-faced and wide-eyed. Condal stepped past him, ready to take her turn.
“Welcome to the family, Cousin,” she said shyly between kisses. “I’m certain Cat’s so happy for you. We all are.”
Poor Cat! Cat had not doubted Malcolm for a minute, not since that kiss in the rain. And Lasrua did not know when she would see Cat again to thank her. She closed her eyes, intending to wait until the need for tears had passed, but then she remembered everyone was watching her. She opened her eyes and simply blinked.
Malcolm touched her shoulder. “Have you kissed everyone who needed a kiss, then?” he asked, smiling as he stepped around her. “Mind, it’s but a taste of what’s awaiting you back home.”
He did not ask to be answered, but Emma answered anyway. “She never kissed Iylaine!”
Malcolm kept smiling, but his eyebrows bristled. Malcolm’s smile was beginning to seem a remarkably durable thing. He did not look at Iylaine, and so long as he did not, Lasrua did not dare. But everyone else was looking that way. Their chatter died off in receding waves.
Then Gwynn laughed, tossed back her bouncing hair, and skipped away from the wall. Her smile and her dancing step transformed her from a slouching, pale form, half-hidden behind a dark curtain of hair, into an almost luminous figure. Now no one was looking at Iylaine.
“Sigefrith hasn’t had a kiss yet!” Gwynn said. She hooked her arm through Condal’s and danced her half-way around to curtsy at Lasrua and gesture gracefully back towards the pillar. “And I bid you note he is conveniently standing beneath the mistletoe at the present time.”
Everyone laughed, and Sigefrith loudest of all, looking up. “Good Lord! I never noticed! And I’ve been standing here the entire time!”
Gwynn turned up her nose and perched prettily on the sofa, followed soon after by Condal’s thump and awkward giggle.
“Why, Sigefrith!” Gwynn scolded. “What an unintentional hussy you are!”
Sigefrith said, “You might have kissed me, since you noticed my predicament and were standing right there.”
“No, sir, I could not, for brides come first in all things, including kisses.”
Brides… kisses… Lasrua could almost see the glittering sparks whirling up inside of her like dust before a storm, but she gave Gwynn merely a polite smile.
Then Malcolm brushed her arm and leaned over her shoulder to whisper, “Sigefrith wanted to have a word with you…”
He touched the small of her back, giving her the gentlest of pushes. Lasrua took a small step, and then another, treading softly. Her braids swung in silence past her ears.
A word with her… She knew that Sigefrith was her husband’s friend, but Sigefrith had always shied away from speaking of him. Now, however…
Perhaps Malcolm had headed east instead of north that night, passed through Raegiming, and seen Sigefrith. Perhaps Sigefrith knew something Malcolm’s own family did not. Or perhaps… perhaps… Malcolm was waiting for her, and Sigefrith could tell her where…
She forgot her resolution not to look too hopeful.
Sigefrith said, “I swear I’d forgotten about the mistletoe. But as long as I’m here… Don’t mind if I do.”
He gently pinched her chin between finger and thumb and kissed her smile. His fingertips were broad and rough, like a man’s, but he laughed like a nervous boy.
“Mistletoe or no, somehow I fear I oughtn’t kiss a man’s wife before he has kissed his fill of her!” He stroked her chin and rubbed his fingertips together. “Oh well, I don’t think I rubbed any of the kissable off.”
Lasrua giggled – a silly sound, but all her giddy excitement was sparkling very close to the surface.
“Have you had word from him?” she whispered.
At once she knew he hadn’t; his face went from boyish to sad. Her excitement vanished like sparks from a doused fire.
“No, I haven’t, I’m sorry,” Sigefrith said. He lowered his voice and added, “But he has been known to write to me when even his family did not know where he was. And I promise you, the moment I hear from him I will be in the saddle and on my way to tell you. Even if it’s the middle of the night.”
Lasrua thought she ought to smile in gratitude, but she found she could not. Sigefrith spoke as if he did not expect anyone to hear from Malcolm for some time. She hung her head, shaking it slightly until her beads clicked – left, right, left, right. Her good arm hung as limp as the numb.
“But I do have this for you,” he said.
His hands dropped into her field of vision. Too weary to look away, she watched them open the purse on his belt and unfold the little linen-wrapped packet they found inside. She saw a spark of light and a tumbling black cord.
“Here.” He lifted the cord by its ends and held it up. A silver disk swung between their faces for a moment before his shyness seemed to get the better of him, and he dropped his gaze and lowered his hands to her shoulders. The cold disk clapped against her breastbone, and she noticed then that he was not wearing the necklace he had always worn.
He interrupted as soon as she said, “But – ” He must have prepared for her protest ahead of time.
“I know, but I think you should have it. He gave it to me when I was young and stupid and needed a big brother… Not to say that you are young and stupid, or… well…”
The more he fumbled for words, the more he frowned and fussed with the clasp behind her neck.
“Or that I am no longer young and stupid. Uh… though hopefully not so much.” He peeked around her head to give her a rueful smile. “Not so young in any event.”
Finally the clasp caught, and he let the necklace slip to its proper length around her neck.
He rubbed his forehead and laughed. “Let me start over. He gave me that necklace to protect me, in case we were ever separated. We were surrounded by a lot of bad men in those days, but if anyone saw this necklace they would know I belonged to him. So this way… Well, not to say you’re in danger here, but you are separated. And I think he would be glad to know you have it.”
Lasrua’s mouth was stuck in a smile as pained and as inflexible as Malcolm’s. Like Aengus’s, her eyes swam with tears that never flooded high enough to fall or be dried.
Sigefrith stepped closer to whisper a secret. “He used to chew on it when he was a boy. If you flip it up, you can see the marks of his teeth along the bottom. In case you ever fear he might have been a dream.”
Lasrua choked. Her rigid smile contorted into a grimace, and a pair of tears squeezed through her lashes.
“He isn’t, you know,” Sigefrith said. “Oh, God, I’m sorry, Rua.”
She shook her head, but that made her beads clatter, and the sound made her sob like a little girl. She wanted her father. She wanted her old family – she wanted Cat and Paul, she wanted Vash and Aunt Madra. She wanted to go home – to a house burnt to ashes, to a gate that was barred.
Her new family had a language and a religion she did not understand. Her new home – if she had one – was six days’ ride away in a country she had never seen, and she did not know whether her husband of half an hour would ever return to take her there.
And still she wanted to go. She wanted him. One minute she wanted Malcolm to be a dream, and the next she wanted him to come true.
She almost envied Aengus and his steady hours of grief. Her seasons were not even spring storms with patches of rainbows, but like dodging between raindrops falling from on high.
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Poor Rua. So young and in love and uncertain
Hopefully Magog gets back soon...
I felt so bad for Aengus here. I know a lot of it is his own fault, but you just can't help but feel for the guy. No unexpected messenger is ever going to show up on his door and announce that Maire lives.
LULZ at Colin having the hots for Edris. Do you by any chance remember where you got Edris's hair? It's no big deal if you don't. And I must have blinked like eight times when I first saw the kids in costume. And Aileann is going to be very pretty when she grows up. And I wonder if Gwynn picked up on any of Domnall's signals. It would be a huge confidence boost for her if she did.
And Young Sigefrith is such a sweetheart! I think that last picture is the most Leofric-y look I've ever seen on him.
I'm going to have to guess a fairly recent Peggy for Edris's hair, but I just can't remember where I get hair any more. It's the downside of downloading sprees.
Aileann is going to be really pretty. She's a little Girl-Aengus. Ete is going to be pretty-yet-freakish like her mom. And it seems like personality-wise they are definitely taking after the appropriate parents.
I think it would be rather cute if Gwynn didn't pick up on Domnall's "signals" until she naively asked someone why Cedric and Domnall aren't getting along lately.
How sad. How terribly, terribly sad.
Poor Aengus. Poor Rua. Poor Maire's children. Poor Vash. (Yes, it always must come back to Vash!)
I didn't ever think of how much she would miss her family, her old life and community. It must be terrible to be literally barred from her home. Where is home for her now? A burned house, a barred gate, a land she's never seen?
Poor homeless Rua.
" No unexpected messenger is ever going to show up on his door and announce that Maire lives."
Thank god for that.
Colin and Edris would make a very interesting pair.
I hope Malcolm comes back soon, his wife needs him. I'm kind of hoping that Malcolm will now live in the valley since he married Lasrua. Cubby can be with his siblings and friends and wee Lasrua will still be near her family.
If Malcolm does come back maybe they should stay in Egelric's castle until he comes back, the place is kind of empty.
Wow, so many things to comment on!
My, my, Emma really does love to cause trouble. She sounded exactly like a child saying something she shouldn't, but at the same time she sounded like a cunning girl because she knew it.
Heh, Edris is a lot less of a prude than she used to be, isn't she? I wonder if she likes Colin's advances. They certainly don't seem to displease her.
Dear Rua! It was about time she let go a little. I had completely forgotten about Sir Sigefrith's relationship with Malcolm; but my heart melted with his little exchange with Rua there.
Meggie looks great in her costume! Will we get to see that play?
And yay, Connie is back! That picture of her and Gwynn on the couch is lovely.
I eagerly await for Cedric to realize he has competition (other than Finn).
Where's Osh? I assume he's already seen Paul the King of Emo, so hopefully he's with Kraaia?
Poor Malcolm. Things with Iylaine seemed really tense. And why the hell did she refuse to kiss Rua? Malcolm did!
I'm seriously considering pulling a Devin and start campaigning for Iylaine's death.
Oh noooooooooooo, she didn't.
Vashlaina will happen. Even if it is an April Fool's joke.
What is Iylaine's problem? Lasrua never did anything to her. She's so stuck up in her ass.
By the way Meryt great job well worth the wait.
I feel like a little kid, but besides the fantastic writing I really enjoyed just staring at the pictures. Say what you will, but Iylaine really appears stunning here, as does Edris. I think I want to hug and squeeze little Brunhilde, she is so adorable. I wonder if like Aileann she will be pretty? I completely realize I am not focusing on the main and important events of this chapter, and I am sad for Rua, but I am going to cross fingers and just hope there is foreshadowing. After all, Rua's dance skills can't just go to waste. Cearball would object!
Lol Tiffany. And yes I did.
Seriously, I'm usually very understanding with all the characters but Iylaine... Argh. I don't know if it's the fact that we've seen her grow into what she has become: a bitter, haughty, old-before-her-time woman, or what, but unless Jenny does a 180-percent turn on her, I don't see a future where I could like her. I think I even prefer Myrddin over her. At least Myrddin has his evil-magic-plus-immortality thingy going on.
But yeah, she did look very beautiful here. And she's wearing the Widow gown! I tried recoloring it, but all I got was a highly flawed burgundy, a ridiculous purple, and an icky dark blue.
I see what you mean there. I liked Iylaine when she was younger, and I get that she's had a hard life, but it just seems that she hasn't matured at all emotionally since she was quite young, and at this point, it would be almost out of character for her if she suddenly did. That's just my opinion, though.
Aw, I don't really blame Iylaine. She's always been irrationally jealous and now Rua is there getting the elf family AND the Scot family that Iylaine never really felt she had. She actually behaved better than I thought she would, although that probably says more about my low expectations than it does about Iylaine herself. (Also, she looks goddamned breathtaking.)
Anyway: Rua. What a poor dear thing, so in love and so overwhelmed. I loved her giddy excitement when she thought about Malcolm...I love that she is so not a nervous bride. She is uncertain about everything EXCEPT for that. When she and Malcolm do meet again, it's going to be one hell of a wedding night.
I have to admit I was grinning through the welcoming Scots. My heart was bursting for Rua a little bit - overwhelmed as she is, that must feel pretty amazing.
Poor Aengus, seriously. Even so this was the most noble we've seen him in awhile, I think. And the moment with Sir Sigefrith at the end was very beautiful and poignant - and I absolutely loved the conversation between Rua and Edris at the beginning. It's like a secret society!
Also, Meggie? If ConRAD! were there, I bet he wouldn't be able to keep his hands off of her.
So, yeah. Seriously wonderful chapter all around.
Poor, poor Rua. She's feeling so...conflicted. She wants to be an elf, she wants to be Malcolm's wife, she wants to be a little girl in her daddy's arms, she wants to be with Cat and Paul, she want to go to Scotland, she wants to stay in Lothere. And on top of all of that, she's dealing with what sounds like a fairly serious injury. It doesn't sound like her arm is totally paralyzed, so maybe its just temporary while the nerves heal? I hope so.
Iylaine was...well, she was Iylaine. At least she didn't outright refuse to speak to Rua. Who knows why she's upset with her. Maybe because Rua knows what it is to be an elf, while Iylaine never really has? She did look breathtaking here, I loved her hair. And it was nice to get a glimpse of the little turtle
.
Sir Sigefrith was adorable in his awkward attempt to bring poor Rua some comfort. I forgot all about that necklace, but it was so good of him to pass it on to Rua, and to tell her about Malcolm's teeth marks on the bottom of it.
Gwynn showed some real depth here! She acted in very Gwynn-like fashion, but she saved Rua and Malcolm from some very real awkwardness. Such a sweet girl. I'm very glad that she got to see her "bosom friend" Connie again as well.
Colin and Edris certainly would be an...interesting...couple. What is Edris up to these days anyway? We haven't heard from her in a very long time.
Wow, so much to comment on in this post
Banner! Colban!
Talking about pictures, I too must say that all characters are so beautiful in this chapter. (Even Colin yup) Those costumes are great. Does Young Sigefrith have his mother's eyes, btw?
I don't want to know! ;D
Its interesting that Iylaine was in the same room with Colin and Aengus after all that mess that went down as a result of her father.
So much to comment on in these comments!
You may be interested to know that in my first draft it was Ete who said "She hasn't kissed Iylaine!" That would have been very in-character for her, both as herself (she loves telling people they're wrong) and as a 6-year-old in general.
And in my second draft, it was Brunhilde. I think that would have been in-character for her too, but she's not quite four, and it seemed a tad young for her to have come up with such an observation. Or if she had it, she might have pointed out that Rua hadn't kissed Edris, Emma, Meggie, etc., either.
Then I thought: Duh! Emma! She was the one who was all wickedly gleeful about OMG IYLAINE! and OMG COLIN! at the beginning anyway. Emma is turning into the real drama-loving shit-stirrer around here. I expect her to enter Devin's pantheon of Greater Gods any time now.
Also, I'm not sure about Edris welcoming Colin's advances, maruutsu. More like valiantly enduring. I'm not sure who WOULD welcome Colin's advances. I do wonder what she's saying in that first picture where Rua is talking to Aengus. She appears to be attempting to break through the language barrier by making frantic gestures and speaking very loud. Either that or she is trying to wave down a helicopter so she can make her getaway.
I do, however, think there is great potential for fun if Colin continues his pursuit. Edris is too polite to tell him to buzz off outright, and Colin seems constitutionally incapable of taking a hint.
What is Edris up to these days? Just taking care of her kids, really. She doesn't play much of a hand in the administrative side of being a Countess. She sends Baldwin off to Sigefrith every morning and hopes for the best.
She was probably Maire's closest female friend, and they spent a lot of time together. Thus she is close to Maire's children, which means Colin has a great excuse for bumping into her -- whether Edris stops by herself to visit them, or she has them visit her, and Colin "drops by" to "pick them up". *rubs hands together*
Currently Sophie and her flock are staying with Edris until Stein gets home, and now Estrid is there with her kids as well, until Brede returns. (Which gives her much easier access to K.)
Aaaand Edris does try to spend a lot of time with Emma, but that's not always to Emma's liking. She would much rather hang out at Nothelm and drink wine before bed and run around outside in her bare feet.
We won't get to see the play, sadly.
It was probably quite amusing: Meggie the Christian slave girl, Emma the evil sultan, and Baldwin the gladiator lion (WTF, Baldwin? gladiator or lion, pick one) to the rescue. And I agree with Cassie's comment: Meggie in peasant dress with bare shoulders is hot stuff (not to mention the bare calves). You see, this is why the Nothelm crowd has a reputation for being fast.
Osh went out "for the afternoon" which means he couldn't have gone as far as visiting Kraaia. I am sure he will soon, but today is Twelfth Night and he will be expected to be there for the party. He probably went out either with Alred, or on some business for him. Maybe just to hunt a deer.
He hasn't seen Paul or Cat yet. That fact will be revealed in the chapter after next.
As for Iylaine and Malcolm... I don't know what, exactly, her problem is today. I don't think it's something personal against Rua, although Cassie and Alicia both have good theories about why she might be jealous of her, so I won't rule it out. I also think Iylaine has been wanting to see Rua and forbidden by Malcolm to see Rua for so long that her thwarted desire has turned all ugly and self-devouring, as always seems to happen with Iylaine.
I believe that the tense scene we witnessed was much more of an anti-Malcolm thing than an anti-Rua thing, however. I am certain they had a big knockdown fight just before coming today, and Iylaine swore she wouldn't come and wouldn't speak to Rua and so forth, and Malcolm laid down the law and got her to come. And then Iylaine got back at him by doing the barest, most frigid minimum.
I can see why Iylaine might protest -- he has been forbidding her to see Rua all these months, and then Rua marries Magog and suddenly she is eminently worthy of visit. Because Iylaine's kinship with Rua does not count AT ALL, but Malcolm's kinship with Magog surpasses all earthly laws, or whatever.
But once she has had time to cool, I admit it's possible Iylaine will find all these reasons to be jealous of Rua, and things won't get any easier. Iylaine did get the whole I-swear-on-my-knife treatment when she married Malcolm in Lothere, and again when she went to Scotland, but if nothing else, she is no longer the only elf married to a man of the clan, and Rua is extra-interesting because she's new and tragic. And also because Magog is the family rock star. So jealousy, jealousy.
And Rua, in herself, is not the sweestest little ball of fluff of a girl, so I have a hard time seeing them making friends. You have to ignore Rua's coldness and give her repeated applications of friendly before she will warm up to you at all. (Brit and Dunstan have succeeded here, however. Bless them!)
Devin, that's a good point about Aengus and Iylaine being together. That may have been one of the reasons why Iylaine put up a fight about going. Although it should be noted that so far, Aengus has done nothing against Egelric. Even though he probably should have, and probably wishes he had. If anyone has a grudge against anyone in the room it ought to be Aengus against Iylaine for pretending she didn't know where Malcolm and Cearball were that night. But this is Iylaine, and her grudges don't necessarily need a good reason to exist. Like Devin, she may dislike Aengus merely because he mourns Maire.
However, one way or another, this little meeting could be evidence of Malcolm putting into practice his recent resolution to boss this family around. It seems to be working. Ferdie and Lugaid have left the valley, too, not coincidentally.
Nimue, Bruni is going to grow up into one of my most captivating Sims. There is something utterly seductive about her face and eyes. And her personality so far has been a combination of grim silence, and huffing and puffing and rolling her eyes... basically a bershon master already at age of 3. She should be fun to write.
(I do sense of wee bit of Ethelwyn accumulating in her by osmosis.)
ermine, young Sigefrith has the same eyes as Caedwulf. I changed them both around the time of "Caedwulf takes his first steps". No one else has them so far. They were the first eyes I got with nice sclera, so until I got the wearable sclera I can use on any eyes, I was tempted to put them on everybody. But then again those eyes are sort of dreamy/woozy-looking, which is nice for seductive fellows like Caedwulf and young Sigefrith, but not so great on someone like... oh, King Sigefrith.
My point exactly!
Ugh, poor Rua. I hope her excitement over being a bride hasn't turned to bitterness by the time Malcolm shows up. We still don't know exactly how it was that they came to be married...
I hope Iylaine gets a talking to from Malcolm tonight. I think she and Rua actually have some things in common and could be friends, if she let herself. Aside from the obvious elves marrying Scots thing, they both rely heavily on never letting down their guard in public. In Rua's case she probably just seems quiet and stoic, and in Iylaine's it manifests as that haughtiness.
I'm rooting for Colin and Edris
There have been 5 Elf + Scot marriages
Sela & Egelric Iylaine & Sir Malcolm Paul & Catan Osh & Flann And now Rua & Magog. I don't think Sela, Paul, abd Osh got recieved this knife ceremony though. And Meryt I agree with you about Iylaine and I resenting Aengus for mourning the witch.
Iylaine and Rua becoming friends I'm hoping not. Has Rua met Wulf and Gils?
Devin, Cat and Flann are women. They married out of the clan. That's also one reason why neither of them were there today. It's up to their new families to protect them now.
That leaves only Egelric and Sela. And Egelric did not marry Sela, whatever you might like to believe. I don't think that men who kiss the Cross and swear on the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are going to line up to recognize Egelric's pagan "marriage ceremony" to a pagan elf. You have to scrape pretty deep to find the Christianity in Egelric as it is.
Anyway, Egelric has no clan besides himself. Nobody to swear. The people there today, welcoming Rua into the family, are strictly of Gog's family. (The fact that Domnall is among them is therefore significant, though I haven't started exploring that yet.) Egelric is only considered a member of the larger clan of Black Colin by a sort of nostalgia/poetic rightness, and because Gog and Magog were damned fond of him. But that's a tenuous bond.
His great-grandfather quarreled with the family and turned his back on them forever. Egelric just happened to inherit a knife and a ring, or he would never have known anything about his family at all, since his grandfather either didn't know the story or didn't tell. And his tie to the family comes through his mother -- who married A SERF, who did not even own his own freedom, whereas these are the lords of Galloway we're talking about here -- so yeah. He's kind of unofficial.
And now he is most likely going to be shunned and his descendants ignored, as Gaethine predicted. He slept with Aengus's wife, so he pissed off Aengus's family; and he raped Aed's daughter, so even if Aed is going to pretend she never existed, Egelric has just won himself the unspoken enmity of most of Galloway. Nice going. Maybe he should make it official and marry a daughter of Conngalach's clan, or perhaps the daughter or sister of one of the Norse warlords currently gunning for Diarmait. At least then he might get a few high-fives and some powerful people on his side. (Hmm.... *wheels start turning*)
Rua may have met Wulf and Gils. Egelric was quite welcome at Cat's house, even if he didn't call very often. And Rua did sometimes go to Aengus's, so she might have seen them there. However it's not impossible her father conspired to keep her away from them. Even if she did see them, I am sure she avoided interacting with them, as she did with mostly everybody she met who wasn't one of her own family. Most of our early scenes with Rua show her sitting stiffly on a chair pretending that she was alone in the room.
Well they were bonded and connected which is much more than a marriage imo.
Colin/Edris: the best crack pairing since Dantalion/Sweetdew.
There's something going on with Aengus. He used to be this sweet, simple guy who we didn't pay much attention to, but now that he's grieving he's turned all dark and mysterious. And now he's comforting young girls in a fatherly way... It's like he's the new Alred!
There was so much going on here that I don't even remember all of my comments. Ack!
How miserable. Looking around and noticing that your life is moving forward without any chance of return to the way things were, headed into all of that alien uncertainty. I can sympathize but obviously, that's a thousand times worse than anything that I have ever personally experienced. Still, Rua is holding up pretty well, considering.
It's really really hard for me to imagine Iylaine belonging amongst the elves at this point. That is so not her home or her family or even her culture. Other than Vash, that entire world is foreign to her.
Heh, Edris was adorable. "What if he touches my hair?????"
AND I LOVE BALDWIN SO MUCH IN HIS LION OUTFIT! AAAHHHHH!!!!
*snickers* "Devin's pantheon of Greater Gods"
EDIT: And Sigefrith was weirding me out a little bit here. I'm not sure why. Maybe it was all of the creepy staring and awkwardness.
Iylaine's jealousy of Rua might be attributed to the closeness Rua shared with Vash while growing up. Iylaine must realize that the "Vash Four" would put him in constant contact with Rua since it seems Paul was his favourite .... she could learn about all the little things that she was never privy to. Of all people, Rua would be the perfect "new" best friend for her, learning about the life of Vash, her real parents and the culture of the elves. I wonder how the people in the room would've reacted if Rua had performed a deep curtsey to Iylaine as Khora. She is still Khora, is she not? Technically she is still married to Vash? Rua could become the key to "Vashlaina" becoming a reality. In the storyline, it seemed she was awed by the Iylaine's presence in being there, thinking that she should be with Vash. What could stop her (other than Jenny's writing direction) from uniting the two, as so many desire. (I don't though .... I'm all for Malcolm).
Edit: BTW, this waiting for new chapters .... a killer!! How have you all survived ...... ?! Ooops, kept spelling Iylaine wrong!
I thought of that, too. Rua has been friends with Vash all her life and has gotten so much from him that Iylaine never had. I definitely did not think of her thereby being the key to Vashlaina, though. I like it!!
(Much as I am on team Kraash, I definitely think that Vash and Iylaine need to have some closure at the very least.)
I meant to comment on Emmie's shit-stirring, too. (That was the exact term I was going to use, actually.) She really is so much like her mother lately. Also, every time I came to a picture of her with that giant bow on her head I wanted to start laughing all over again. That girl is too much!
And I agree with you about Aengus, maruutsu. Some people really do gain more depth with tragedy and he appears to be one of them. Go Aengus! I'm looking forward to seeing how he evolves, and how his girls will too. I'm particularly interested in Ete...
I agree with Cassie. Vash and Iylaine need to meet privately and get it over with. I know the diehards are going to disagree, but I want Iylaine to find a happiness she has never attained growing up. And I want her to finally realize that her happiness is named Malcolm. (God,she looks fabulous in the photos, Jenny ..... Regal. First thought I had when I saw her.)
And Cassie's point about Aengus .... "depth with tragedy". Never mind Colin/Edris ..... what about Aengus/Edris!!!! How deep can they become with the tragic events in their lives. How long ago was it that Edris was widowed? Not that long ... is it?
Plus, a BTW, Jenny. Now that you helped me realize that I needed to recalibrate my monitor ..... OMG, the pictures are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! Why I never asked earlier ..... DOH!
Vashlaina does need closure. I firmly believe that if they realize they've been idealizing each other their whole lives they'll come to their senses. But the thing is, Vash refuses to let go (by keeping himself bound to her), and so does Iylaine. Neither want to give the other up because either they enjoy suffering, or they think that in that suffering they're loving each other.
I'm also very interested in seeing how Aengus moves on (or doesn't). Now that he's brooding and hot and Alred-y I'm fangirling over him.
I really want Edris to remarry, but she doesn't seem unhappy or lonely. Although she could do it for Baldwin's sake, if she realizes that he needs a father figure and someone who can man him up... which I'm not sure is what Aengus needs right now. I'm trying to think of someone else who's single, but right now, anyone who gets involved with Aengus will likely end up with a broken heart. The man is grieving not one love, but two. Poor Alred-y Aengus.
Ete... maybe she could marry the Old Man?
Heh, I don't know. Vashlaina seems to be having a fizzle out, fade to black that would be independent of whatever closure can be had. In fact, I can't really see any closure happening from an encounter between the two. That seems like it would only reopen the wound.
Likewise, Iylaine and Malcolm aren't terribly happy together. They were maybe a bit too young and clueless when they married. And there's just been way too much external strain, compounding the internal strain of Iylaine being a complete brat and Malcolm being a little too controlling.
Aengus: the new Alred? I don't think Aengus is going to reach Alredian summits of "thinking about ladies' feelings" delicacy. Even Aengus's nobility has an "only human" aspect to it, unlike Alred, who was so often sublime.
But Aengus has always been very friendly and generous with his time and his company. Aengus is always up to going along with whatever the gang wants to do. He'll even drive. He might not notice you got your hair cut but he'll tell you it's pretty if he does. And he'll totally help you move next weekend so long as you have beer in the fridge.
But now that Aengus has had such a huge wallop of tragedy in his own life, it seems to have put him more in tune with other people who are suffering. If anything it makes his natural generosity and compassion shine all the more.
And I definitely do believe it is causing him to rethink his approach to life. He will no longer always interpret things "in the manner most favorable to him, as was his way." He will no longer just do whatever feels right at the moment without thinking of tomorrow. It seems that with Aengus growing up the way he did -- the kid with the world's most humiliating dad, the kid always being picked on -- he learned to gather his rosebud moments of happiness whenever he could, if he ever wanted to have good times at all. But these recent experiences may deepen him and make him more deliberate. In a good way.
And still I'm not sure I would leave him alone with my daughter/sister/wife. Maire was The One, but I don't believe she was the Matilda to his Alred. I think Aengus probably could get over her. And even if he didn't fall in love again, I think he's capable of fooling around. Aengus needs affection... to give it, as much as -- if not more than -- to get it.
Aengus and Edris... that would be ooky if his dad really does have the hots for her. Colin would make the most embarrassing wedding toast ever. Also, Edris is 40 and Aengus is only 34. I don't know how everyone would feel about that.
I do think Aengus ought to remarry though, unless Cat and Paul are going to move in forever. Those kids of his really need a mom. He's a great dad, but... he's not a mom.
I don't think Edris is looking to remarry either. Not saying she won't, but she seems to have settled into widowhood without much fuss. Father Brandt lives with her, and she also has Sigefrith as a sort of foster father to Baldwin, and to make sure her legal rights are respected and whatnot. Nobody is saying she needs a man around the house (unlike what people are already whispering about Aengus). So if she remarried I presume it would be for love.
As for Iylaine and Rua... I will have to think about it. Really, I hadn't put too much thought into how their relationship might evolve. I don't think Rua will be craving a relationship with her -- precisely because there isn't anything elven about her -- but Iylaine might want to get to know Rua. And I would bet you anything Osh is going to tell Rua to stay as far away from Iylaine as politeness allows. Really, that would kill Vash to know that Rua's been hanging out with Iylaine.
Iylaine is no longer bound to Vash so she is no longer Khíra from the elves' point of view. That's why Ris and Madra are supposed to have a baby. The elves have given up on ever seeing Iylaine among them again. I think Vash is largely responsible for making them accept this. I can imagine there were not a few elves (Paul obviously among them!) who were asking "Why not just kill Malcolm and take her?"
I have no further comments about Vashlaina except that this is still looking to be the Year thereof.
Pen, as for Sigefrith's slight weirdness, I'll tell you what I think it is. I think he has a slight unrequited love for Magog and always has. Nothing overtly homosexual, just A Thing. A fatherless, brotherless teen's crush on a hot and fascinating older man who took him under his wing for a while. And now Magog went and GOT MARRIED. And Sigefrith is supposed to feel happy about that. Y'know. AWKWARD.
But he DOES want to help Rua as much as he can because he's just so damned sweet. Giving her that necklace was one of the classiest things anyone has done in Lothere in years. Also, I have the feeling that Sigefrith is the only person in that room who is really facing the possibility that Magog is going to disappear again. Since when has Magog ever "just gone straight home"?
Aengus remarrying won't be a bad idea but to whom? Unless you have someone in mind Meryt. Surprise me I love surprises. Happy surprises that is.
Aengus and Irene would be cute together. Irene would be such an awesome lady to have around for a guy who likes to make people laugh. She laughs like a little girl, so not self-conscious at all.
Aengus and Irene would be cute together... but then who is there for Yusuf?
I'm afraid there can only be heartache for Yusuf + Irene, him being a Muslim and all. He's not going to convert for her.
Even so, Aengus + Irene would be the messiest love triangle ever, now that I think about it. Yusuf in love with Irene, forced to watch while Aengus makes her giggle till she snorts, while she twines a strawberry-embroidered ribbon around her finger and secretly pines for Egelric, who is lying with his back torn open thanks to sleeping with Aengus's dead wife... oh man oh man oh man.
...Um, whoa. That's maybe not such a good idea, then. Yikes.
They would be cute together, though.
I hadn't realized that Edris was 40, Aengus only 34. Today it would be "So What?". I guess back then it wouldn't fly, eh? I guess I could start reading the character files on Verso. I didn't want to before "catching up", in case there were spoilers. If I had I would've known the age difference.
Irene daydreams about Egelric?! But will he be allowed back from exile? I guess with Maire dead it wouldn't be an issue anymore .... or could it? (Everytime I think "Maire dead" I can imagine a squeal of glee emanating out of New York.)
Wait. Listen. "Maire's dead." Did ya hear it!!!
I heard it all the way from here!
What worries me is that Irene daydreams about a man who is a known rapist. That's ookier than Myrddin.
Oh, Aengus... *Cassie-like sigh* I'm seriously infatuated with the man now. What is it with brooding Scotsmen? It must give The Nose extra powers or something.
This is Vashlaina's year? I didn't know that. Tiffany must be happy, though.
I don't know what Irene thinks about Egelric nowadays. In "Yusuf gets a taste of his own medicine" she was wearing the hair ribbon he gave her, so it seems she did have a crush on him, but that was before she had learned about what Egelric supposedly did to Maire.
I had planned a chapter where Irene arrives at Nothelm and learns about Egelric. Hetty (who is among the very few who know that the charges against him were partly false) was going to go into hysterics and try to tell Irene something along the lines of "Don't believe everything you hear about him!" before she got ushered up to her room. And Irene was going to be all stunned. Maybe something like that happened, but I really don't know, since I haven't visited Irene since "Yusuf gets a taste."
Now, I think Irene's thoughts about Egelric could go in two directions. On the one hand, she might think "Wow, he wasn't kidding when he said he was a bad man! That was sure a close call!" End of story.
On the other hand, she might think, "I KNOW he isn't really bad, now I just have to make him/everyone else understand that." Because Irene is just about the only person who has seen Egelric behaving with kindness and compassion lately, and seen him awkward and shy and fumbling with his hands, and so on. And for some reason she seemed really determined to convince him that he wasn't bad the last time they met. "Oh yes I am!" "Oh no you're not!" Etc. It would have been cute if it hadn't been so twisted.
It all depends on what kind of person Irene is. Is she the kind of person who responds to "No, you better not do that" with "Oh, yeah, just try and stop me!" Would she get a thrill out of being the one brave person standing up against popular opinion to defend this misunderstood monster? Is she the kind of woman who believes that she is THE ONE who can reform this bad, bad man who is hiding a heart of gold? Because there are plenty of women who think that way, after all. They either end up in shitty or abusive relationships in real life, or they at least like to fantasize about that sort of thing, since there are tons of romance novels that follow that pattern.
Or maybe she's just a girl with a "butterfly attention" as Father Faelan said, and she's already forgotten all about him. However, in "Father Faelan is the bearer" I definitely did have the sense that Faelan underestimates the depths of Irene's attention. I think she's so deep he mistakes her for shallow.
It's also probably worth pointing out that practically everything I said above also applies to Gwynn + Egelric. Romantically or otherwise. I can still totally see Gwynn, Irene, and Hetty banding together to form the Egelric Wodehead Prisoner Defense Fund. (Which would also get Gwynn bonus points with Finn, even though they probably wouldn't be speaking at that time, for some reason that makes sense only to them.
)
Aw, that thought is too sweet. Irene is pretty awesome, I must say.
Also, would that make Irene band together with Gwynn to join Lar's "noble cause," as well?
(I had completely forgotten about that Gwynn and Egelric moment. That was absolutely amazing and one of my very favorite chapters in recent memory. Awesome, awesome, awesome.)
And, you know, if Irene came to the conclusion that Egelric really was a bad man, and wow, close call, OR if she decided that he really was good and hiding a heart of gold under there - the crazy thing is, she'd be right either way.
ETA: I awwed at Sir Sigefrith's man-crush on Magog. It's true that he's always had that kind of cool-older-guy, hero-worship of him. He must be bummed that Magog isn't going to come and play with him anymore. Also, that makes me love Sir Sigefrith all the more, naturally. So predictabuls, is I!
That's true, some women do think like that. "Oh, I'm so special, I'm so different, I'll change him with the power of my LOVE!" Now that's stupidity at its finest.
Anyway, I really don't see Gwynn making up her mind on that matter until she sees Egelric or hears about what happened to him. Then I'm sure she'll be all pro-Egelric, since it suits her mentality quite comfortably and it allows her to continue to believe in romance and the power of love and whatnot.
Hehe, I'm sure they'd even discuss the reason: Finn- I was trying to give you a help, you ninny! Gwynn- You insulted me! You're even insulting me now, you double ninny!
Yeah, not only is that stupidity at its finest, but it's not even romantic. Someone willingly changing their own ways for someone they love? Yes, that's romantic. But someone trying to mold another person into this nauseatingly perfect ideal so they can actually be proud to "love" them, as well as to prove a point about how awesome they themselves are? Not only is it stupid, but it's also both vain and cruel. I like to think a sweetheart like Irene is above that.
I think Irene is above that too, Van. In her case it would be more an act of compassion than of vanity. (Even if ill-advised.) As Cassie said: bad man or heart of gold, she would be right either way. Irene may even realize that. She does claim to know what a bad man is.
For what it's worth I think Cearball has already run into the other kind of woman that you're describing. From "Cearball is laid out by a girl":
As the spokeswoman of Vashlania United, I will not address nor confirm these allegations.
Thank you, have a nice day.
I <3 Rua + Malcolm, and can't wait until the day they will meet again... because they will meet again, won't they?
I thought it was funny how Colin was acting toward Edris. Poor Edris! But Edris looked really pretty too with her hair like that. Also I think Emmie and Baldwin look cute together even though they have opposite personalities. Crazy hijinks for the future? :O
Glad to see Connie out and about as well.
And I am excited to see turtle Duncan!! Can't wait to see what he looks like (and acts like) once he gets older!
I must be the only one who's actually curious about what Eadie says about Sigefrith when she gets tipsy! Actually, I'd love a chapter where a bunch of the married women around that age sit and gossip about their husbands...and alcohol always makes that sort of thing better.
Loved this chapter...Iylaine looked gorgeous and I just wish that she and Malcolm were getting along better.
I agree, Karen, that would be a fun chapter. Maybe I will write that scene after all -- when Rua has her last-minute question-and-answer period before her wedding night. (Assuming her "wedding night" isn't taking place on top of a CLIFF in the pouring rain...) With Eadie in attendance so we learn something surprising about Sigefrith!
And once they had determined that Rua understood the Tab-A-in-Slot-B mechanics, the ladies could regale her with stories of their pre-wedding talks.
Eadie got her talk from Lady Eadgith, and Brit got her talk from Eadie, so it would be fun for them to compare notes. Brit will be all, "You didn't tell me any of that!" And Lady Eadgith (if she is there) will be all "Why didn't you tell her any of that??"
And Edris got her talk from OMG MATILDA! That could be interesting, to say the least. Leila probably didn't get a talk at all, and Leof had to show her how it was done. "Trust me, this is really how it works."
And Flann could tell us if there are any differences between men and elves!
I think I saw Ilyaine's reaction in a different light to everyone else's. I don't know why but I thought it was awkwardness in that she was finally allowed to meet Rua. I mean, hasn't she been pouty that she wasn't really supposed to or invited to socialise with them and everyone else was. I didn't think she was being haughty... I thought she was probably feeling as awkward about it and strange as Rua. I mean, she would have grown up with Rua had it not been for the elves giving her away. I imagine her feelings are a lot more complex than she is being giving credit for. Sure, there might be some pouty and maybe haughty there but I think it is more a layer covering her fear that Rua will reject her for some reason. Also she must be feeling a little bit peeved at Malcom, that now since Rua is part of HIS family she is suddenly being dragged along to be introduced. That's how I saw it anyway. BUt maybe I am remebering things wrongly. I know that to a certain extent Ilyaine has kept (or been kept away) from their family because of what Paul did to Malcom. But I thought it has also been obvious that a large part of her yearned for contact with her elf family. It must be really upsetting/irritating for her that now that Malcom wants it she forced to fall into line.
Hehe... I have just been reading through the comments and I see that you already said some of the things I thought when I first read it (I always write my comments as I read through the other comments so I don't forget what has been said and what I want to say to it). So sorry for parroting
I have to cringe a little at Flann telling Rua the differences between men and elves at her pre-wedding night talk. Ugh. You so don't want to hear about your Dad's sex life. Double ugh... from the woman you see as the hussy who turned him away from his life as a celibate widower. Would Rua even want Flann there? Or would she have to stoically accept her presence for her father's sake.
Maruutsu... don't a lot of women think like that at some stage in their life?! Right... guys *stands alone looking forlorn*. I for one have definitely fallen victim to the "my love for him is different and special and he will see it and I will be the woman to change him from his bad bad ways". I mean, sure, I was a lovestruck teenager and I have learned from the mistakes of those days and ended up with the nice guy. But am I really the only one who has thought that? Come on, own up guys? Guys...?
Yeah Verity, I've seen it and felt it too. Seeing someone you know is acting out because of past trauma just kicks off that mother instinct in some women. "Oh honey. Not every girl is going to cheat on you, so you don't have to be so jealous and angry all the time." Or "Sweetie, just because your father says you're a useless sack of sheep dung because you don't like football doesn't make you less HAWT." A lot of times, I think that's what the 'bad' boy really might need and things work out fine.
Its only when its done to excess that it becomes... ooky. The girl that constantly cries because her boyfriend shoves her around and calls her a slut and a whore, so she breaks up with him, only to get back together with him when he comes crawling back with an "I'm soooorrry! I looooove youuuu!" I think some of them feed off of the attention and sympathy they get from others because of the relationship rather than any desire to help the guy, though they may not understand their own motivations. Even when jerk off boyfriend is not being a douche, often the girl in question will find some way to manipulate him into acting like one, and then its all his fault. A sort of Munchhausen syndrome by proxy, but they allow themselves to be victimized instead of doing it to others. I hate to say that I can only tolerate so much from these kinds of people... they just irritate me! Of course my mother is like that, so I have a rather unflattering view of it. I'm probably a little biased, too.
But yeah, the desire to help someone past a trauma or a 'hurt' is not intrinsically bad. Certainly Gwynn is too young and her emotions too immature to know which kind she is. I think this is a phase she'll grow out of, myself. Irene I don't think is the kind of girl that wants to be victimized for attention... she seems more the sort of girl who would try to fill the holes and pains in another person with such liberal quantities of love and care that they simply have no choice but to see the world as a better place. I'm not sure that's what Egelric needs though... it would just make him feel even more useless than he already does, being fussed over and loved like a baby.
Aengus or Yusuf on the other hand... I think they'd respond to the gushiness really well. Yusuf because he's stable enough in his own mind that the attention would just be comforting, and Aengus because he seems the sort of guy that would just soak up love and care like a sponge.
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