Chapter 64
I was led into a dress shop and made to change from my habit into a noble gown, and thereafter I was kidnapped by Yseldra to her city residence. In truth, I did not resist. I wished to see Aelunira.
Before the warm hearth, a large white blanket had been spread. Upon it lay strings and beads of every color scattered in disarray. At the center of it all, Aelunira slept peacefully, her small hands clutching what appeared to be a rolled paper.
The maid within the room bowed and withdrew.
Yseldra smiled with fondness as she seated herself beside Aelunira, her hand lifting to gently stroke through the child's hair. "She has been clutching the letter you sent her each night as she sleeps."
My chest tightened. It had been nothing more than a simple letter, devoid of tenderness. And yet, she had cherished it so dearly.
I moved without thought and lowered myself beside Aelunira. I had never truly studied her features so closely before. She was… unbearably lovely.
Her cheeks held a gentle flush, her lashes long and red, resting so delicately against her skin. Her nose was perfectly formed, her lips soft. The shape of her face mirrored Yseldra, that same curve. She resembled Yseldra far more than I thought.
A female physician entered bearing a medical case and lowered herself beside Yseldra. She unwrapped the cloth that Sir Lorcan had bound about the wound, and at the sight of it once more, I felt a displeasure. How reckless she had been to engage a man thrice her size.
"Did you truly believe you would prevail?" I asked, my voice touched with reproach.
She winced as the physician began her work, then smiled at me with a slight tilt of her head. "I had a chance. I am swift. You know that I am."
"How am I to know? I have never witnessed you in combat."
"Oh, you know. Recall the many times we had sex? I am rather swift in my movements."
Pardon? Did she truly liken the act of thrusting to a swift maneuver of physical combat? She was indecent then, and it appeared she remained just as indecent now.
The physician gave a most audible sigh. "Your Majesty, I am still present."
"And why should I pretend to modesty before you?" she replied with a laugh. "You know well I have ever spoken my mind."
"Yseldra," I said. "Mind your words."
"You know," she continued, a mischievous glint stirring within her gaze as she moved closer to me, forcing the physician into an awkward advance, "I did consider taking you back to Dunverra against your will. I entertained many wicked notions of how I might make you mine. This very day, I had planned of doing something quite dreadful, yet seeing that you still care for me…" Her lips curved with satisfaction. "I shall instead court you properly once more."
"You are… truly something,"
At the sight of Aelunira, a measure of ease returned to me, and so I rose with the intent to depart, yet Yseldra reached forth and caught hold of my skirt.
"Hang on, Naevia," she called up to me, only to wince sharply. "Ouu!"
"Cease your movement, Your Majesty!" the physician rebuked. "Should you stir once more, I shall have no choice but to bind you!"
"Caelisse, you are insufferably cruel!" Yseldra returned at once.
"Release me, Yseldra," I said.
"Mother?" Aelunira's gentle voice stilled us all.
She sat upright with sudden haste, a bright smile threatening her composure, her hands lifting toward me before she faltered and folded them neatly upon her lap. "Have you come for me?"
Yseldra's gaze snapped between us, keen and searching, for she sensed that something was amiss. Indeed, something was wrong, for in any ordinary moment, after such time apart, we would already be in one another's arms. Though I had missed her, I found that to embrace her now felt… awkward.
However, as Charles had said, I must make the attempt.
I lowered myself once more upon the blanket and extended my arms toward Aelunira. In the very next instant, she flung herself into my embrace. "I miss you, Mother."
The sensation of her within my arms felt so unfamiliar that my breath faltered.
She lifted her gaze to mine with a radiant smile. "I love you."
Yseldra leaned nearer. "I love you too."
Yseldra at last had her wound stitched and bound, and I found myself remaining still. The three of us sat upon the blanket with our shoes set aside.
"For you, Mother," Aelunira said shyly as she offered the bracelet she had fashioned with Yseldra's guidance. The rounded beads were green.
"Thank you," I replied, slipping it upon my left wrist. She returned to her next craft, her small tongue peeking from the corner of her lips as she worked with earnest focus.
Yseldra then extended her own creation toward me, a bracelet of white pearls. When I gave no sign of accepting it, she slowly lowered her hand. "Nerissea has departed the palace. She has taken the vows of a nun. With Millicent's support, I severed her contract with Duchess Rowena. She is free."
"Such a life does not suit her. She is far too brilliant for it."
"I am rather glad she released you. I was jealous, you know."
"How could you be jealous when you devised the very shape of our relationship."
"Even so, I was jealous. In any case, are you proud of me for adopting Millicent's antislavery law?"
Some years prior, the kingdom of Dunverra had been rendered free of slavery. The matter had filled the papers for months, and it was this very reform that secured Millicent's alliance, as my father had once explained.
"Aelunira," I said gently. "Observe with care."
She continued her attempt to thread a bead, though this one bore too narrow an opening for the thickness of her string. It was plain why she failed.
"Something is wrong," she murmured, her eyes narrowing at the pieces in her hands.
I had taught her that when faced with difficulty, she must pause and consider a solution before seeking aid, and she had followed that lesson with admirable diligence. How I wished such counsel had been afforded to me in my own youth.
Yseldra nudged the small roll of string toward Aelunira, and I extended my leg to return it to its place. When I withdrew, she nudged it forward once more.
I cast her a flat look, and she answered me with a bright, unrepentant smile.
"Mother, the hole is too small," Aelunira said, lifting the bead toward me before turning it toward Yseldra. "Look, Mother Yseldra."
Mother Yseldra? It seemed she had guided the child to such an address, no doubt to spare confusion, as we were both women.
Yseldra bent toward her with fondness. "Let us see what troubles you. Ah, it is indeed too narrow for the string. What ought we do?"
"Do you have a smaller string?"
With sudden delight, Yseldra seized her and drew her into a tight, playful embrace, tickling her without restraint. "My clever child."
Aelunira laughed with a fullness I had never once drawn from her. They tumbled upon the ground in careless mirth, and Yseldra pressed a generous kiss to her cheek. "My dearest, have you ever ridden a horse?"
"Yseldra!" I called sharply as I pulled Aelunira into my arms on instinct, a cold horror seizing me.
Yseldra slowly sat up, a faint confusion settling upon her features.
She had once posed that very question to me, and then instructed me in the manner of riding a man's cock. Was she truly about to impart that same indecency to Aelunira? I knew her to be careless, yet to speak so before a child?
A quiet anger stirred within me.
"Why are you angry?" she asked.
"Refrain from corrupting Aelunira with your indecencies."
"Pardon?"
"You asked her if she has ever ridden a horse."
"I asked her so that I might take her riding. I needed to know her level of skill, that I might prepare accordingly. What did you imagine-" she paused, her lips curving with knowing mischief, "ohhhhh…"
"Mother Yseldra, your arm…" Aelunira asked as she clung to me. "There is blood…"
Yseldra glanced down, and indeed the bandage had begun to stain a deep red. I could hardly be surprised, for she had been tumbling about the floor with reckless abandon.
"Ah!" she exclaimed. "The wound has reopened. Caelisse gave me a generous portion of pain relief, so I quite forgot. I shall return shortly."
She rushed out in haste, neglecting even to close the door.
Aelunira rose and pressed a timid kiss to my left cheek. "Mother Yseldra is very kind to me. We made many things. I wish to show you…"
"Aelunira," I said softly, placing my hands on her small back. "What is it that you like?"
"I like whatever you tell me to do. I like listening to you."
"No, Aelunira. Tell me what you truly like."
She flushed. "Umm… I like puppies..."
"I shall purchase a puppy for you."
"Mother Yseldra has already done so. A servant has taken him for a health check. I named him Veevee."
"Then what else do you like?"
"Spears. I like poking things with them."
"I shall gift you a most splendid spear, then."
She nodded brightly. "Mother Yseldra gave me one too. It is small, just like me. The handle is set with diamonds, and my name is upon it. Would you like to see?"
"When next you find yourself desiring something, might you tell me first? I shall see it given to you."
Ah… what was this sensation that took hold of me so suddenly? Why did I feel… jealous?