Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

The morning sun was warm on his bare feet, tangled in the of the end of the sheets, too toasty to keep them under the blanket. The fireplace had been kept burning all night to chase the early winter chill from the air, and Malcolm had decided to stay in bed and snooze a little longer. A light pair of bed trousers hung low on his hips, his shirt discarded somewhere on the floor. Elsie had awoken him only half an hour before, and hoping to let Elyna enjoy a few more precious moments of sleep, he had slipped out of bed to collect the babe and returned without making a sound. Elsie rested on her stomach against Malcolm’s bare chest, wrapped in her little woollen blanket.
Every now and then she would stretch her little fingers out over the top of her blanket and closed them into tight little fists against his skin. The mortalborn watched as the baby flinched or stretched from time to time, and he raised his left hand to run his fingers across her crown, stroking the feather-soft hair that resided there. He knew her smiles were probably just wind, or dissatisfied little cringes that she wasn't with the parent she might have preferred right about now, but the looks made him smile all the same. Sometimes he felt as if he had stared at her long enough to count every single eyelash, committing every fine detail of her face to memory.
Malcolm hadn't recalled falling asleep, but knew that he hadn't been awake for dinner, his empty stomach reminding him of that. He did remember being tired and wondered what might had caused that sudden drain of energy. The journey home, cleaning and packing, he pondered, though having awoken rather refreshed, let the thought go.
Elsie was so small and fragile that he couldn't face the idea of going back to work tomorrow. Moments like these were too special to tarnish with thoughts of work and duty. The mattress dipped to his right as Elyna stirred beside him, and he wondered how long she had been awake and watching him. He greeted the woman with a warm smile and lifted his arm to tuck under her, encouraging her to move closer.
Look at what we made, his boasting smile seemed to suggest as he stared down at Elsie again. He closed his hand against Elyna's side just above her hip and whispered. “I think she slept all night.” He knew he probably wasn't as tuned in to the babe’s high-pitched cries as the noble woman was, but he was quite sure he hadn't felt Elyna get up in the night, and having newly returned to their bed, thought that was something he would notice.
Malcolm drew his hand up over Elyna’s side as he turned his head against the pillow to look at her and was struck by an overwhelming urge to lean close and kiss her. No, he knew he must restrain himself lest he wished to return to the barn. Instead he held Elsie with his left arm, and turned onto his right side, taking great care to set the baby down between them. His right arm was straightened so that it didn't cause any discomfort from where it resided below Elyna’s pillow, and he fixed Elsie’s blanket with his free hand, careful not to breathe too hard incase it woke her.
“How are you feeling today?” The knight inquired then, and brushed some of Elyna’s hair back from her face.

Malcolm had slept through the delicious dinner Faith had prepared. It wasn’t unusual because Elyna knew that once the Mortalborn feel into a deep sleep, it was almost impossible to wake him. She and Faith had chatted quietly and Elyna had been careful not to mention the fact that Malcolm would be staying inside the house. Uncertain how much he had told the dark-haired girl when she’d been overcome with exhaustion. Elsie had stirred and been fed by firelight as the Slave cleared away the dishes and tidied.
Elyna had felt stronger after dozing for so long, but was grateful to steal back to the room. Creeping over the floorboards to return Elsie to her cradle and slid back into the bed once more. The sheets were cold beneath her back. She listened to Faith checking the locks on the door before going to sleep herself. The noble woman had closed her eyes, listening to the steady rhythm of Malcolm’s breath as it tickled her ear. He was back. The blankets bunched up in a barrier between and she curled up on her side of the bed. Elsie made soft little noises that kept the new mother from falling to fast into dreams once more. It was tempting to bring the baby into the bed and keep her warm and snug, but Elyna remembered Malcolm explaining that this was not a good habit to start.
At some point she must have fallen asleep. Because the dawn painted the curtains the colour of summer roses. Dusky orange, pink and yellow light slipping beneath the fabric. Warm and comfortable she stretched her arms out above her head. Blinking slow she rubbed a hand over tired eyes and turned. Malcolm lay with the baby on his chest and her heart nearly stopped beating. He looked down at the child with such devoted tenderness that her throat felt too close all of a sudden. He loved their baby and nothing would ever change that. In less than five trials the girl had stolen his heart.
Rolling onto her own side, she tugged the shirt across her elbow. The fabric had bunched on her shoulder and pulled tight and uncomfortable. A pair of green eyes met hers, and she realised she was being watched in turn. The sleeping child was set between them. She fussed with the soft yellow blanket, tucking it around tiny shoulders. Beneath the wool, Elsie wore one of the little green gowns made by her mother. Linen to keep little arms warm when they stretched out.
He reached out in a motion so natural and practised, that Elyna could have imagined that there had never been any space or distance between them. Coarse fingers brushed her cheek as her hair was tucked in a gentle motion behind her ear. The Skyrider held her breath, eyes closing as the hand withdrew. He’d revealed the mark on her forehead. The permanent reminder of how her life had changed. His too. Never, could either of them imagined that they’d end up here with a baby between them.
“I feel good,” she admitted, soft. The young woman forced herself to look up at the man beside her. Nearly four hundred arcs her senior and he didn’t look it. He looked like a young man with a new family. Tired from late nights and soothing tears. Determined to protect them both and maybe even strong enough to do it.
He remembered the first kiss. He remembered the first time he’d realised that he loved her. The simple motion of moving her hair was familiar and it caused the beat of her heart to skip. From fear, or desire though she wasn’t sure anymore. The sensations were so similar. Both set the pulse pounding and caused eyes to widen. They made the mouth go dry and the tongue feel too heavy. Goosebumps to prickle along the skin. She’d asked him to stay…but should she have? What if he expected more? What if he forgot that she was broken now? Panic was quick to override any tendency towards passion and the woman let out a slow, uneasy breathe.
Elyna counted silently to ten. She reminded herself that this wasn’t Malcolm’s fault and she forced herself to meet his gaze again. “You missed dinner,” she offered a half smile, “we kept it for you though. You must be hungry,” she touched the tip of her tongue to dry lips, “did you sleep alright? You looked exhausted…and it had to be warmer in here than the barn?”

Elyna's fear was silent, and yet in her eyes it screamed. Malcolm inched away as if to get comfortable, but he knew that look, had seen it before. The groove of his scar looked worse when he lay on his side, making the flesh appear twisted and pulled in. If he were honest, he couldn't tell her rightly if he was hungry or not, as a dull pain remained ever present in his side that matched or perhaps even overpowered the sensation of hunger, easily confused now.
Another smile, though this one did not come as naturally as the first. “I'll eat something soon,” he promised with a nod and turned his gaze on Elsie again.
The baby made a pathetic little sound, sucking in air as if she were about to cry, only to sigh and drift off again, eyes rolling beneath soft lids, aware of the familiar tone of Malcolm’s voice. He leaned in and took her hand, chewing one of her nails that seemed longer than the rest, one she had scratched her cheek with in the night. He picked the tiny piece of nail off his tongue and dusted it from between his fingers over the edge of the bed.
“You should make some little mittens for her hands, might stop her from scratching herself,” he whispered, knowing Elise was on the verge of waking.
Malcolm pressed his lips to Elise’s temple and brushed her cheek with his thumb, stealing away the tiny scratch with his touch, and sharing his strength with her. The baby stretched and Malcolm smiled a sleepy smile, proud of the life they had brought into the world. Her little yawn made him chuckle, and he couldn't help but reach out and touch the little fold in her skin below her chin that formed whenever she yawned.
As Elyna reached out, Malcolm caught her hand and kissed the top of her folded fingers before opening her hand to press his lips to her palm. “It's much preferred to the barn,” he admitted, “there is nowhere I would rather be than right here with my girls.” The knight sat up then and reached out to pick up his tunic, a lot more muscled than he had been before his trip away, even when folded forwards like he was.
More appropriately dressed, Malcolm got to his feet and went to the door. “I'll leave you to feed her and eat what's left of dinner, then I can have a cuddle while you eat breakfast,” he grinned, booking up Elsie’s time, and making the most of his last day off.

His withdrawal provided a combination of instant relief and then disappointment. Elyna propped her head up in her hand, fingers curved around her cheek. Her stomach turned in funny knots as she watched him. Leaning forward she watched concerned as he took off the tiny fingernail, brows raised. He knew so much about what to do with babies. A reminder that for the Mortalborn this wasn’t all new. He’d shared these moments with his wife Vanessa before she had even been born. Jealousy was a strange emotion to feel especially when lips were pressed so tenderly to the back of her hand and then the palm.
Mittens were something she couldn’t knit herself, but she made a note to ask Faith. Malcolm manage to steal the words from her tongue as he sat up. The tightness returned to her stomach and she pressed her lips tight together, holding back a soft noise of desire. Quickly she bent over the child, pressing kisses to the tiny nose and cheek, whispering greetings to the new day. anything other than pay too much attention to the shirtless man at the of the bed. His girls, he’d said and she smiled a little as Elsie opened dark green eyes and shuffled, wriggling on the bed.
The Skyrider remained silent, holding her tongue before she fed the baby. Shirt laced and feet encased in thick woollen socks she padded out with Elsie under her arm. The baby was laid gently in Malcolm’s arms. Elyna fussed over the blanket, fingers brushing against his bare arm. She could smell him, standing so close. Her face just beneath his. The scent of his neck was almost overpowering. She brushed her fingers over his arm again. The skin was warm to the touch and she pulled in a breath before looking up in intense green eyes.
Elyna pulled a breath in and held still. Her gaze dropped over his features the straight line of his nose before settling on his lips. She almost forgot the baby between them and lent forward. A soft kiss brushed his mouth as the woman stood on her toes to bestow it. She sank back, fingers still curled around his arm, “you’ll come home in the nights? After tomorrow?”

Malcolm added another block of wood to the fire before sitting down to eat what was left over of Faith’s delicious home-cooked meal from the night before. The slave had done as he had asked and prepared meat and vegetables without breads, pastries, or any of the fancy stuff she had been keen to impress them with. The postman had delivered letters to the doorstep that Malcolm went through with one hand while he used the other to shovel food into his mouth; when it came to multitasking, this was about as good as things got.
Soon Elyna joined him in the living room and Malcolm got to his feet to take Elsie off her hands. He held her against his shoulder in case she had wind and rubbed his hand against her back in slow circles. Elyna surprised him with a light kiss that saw his brow jump up slowly with his slight shock. “I will,” he told her, “but only for the next twenty or so trials, then I will be on the road, at this stage headed for the Burning Mountains.”
He folded one of the letters and tucked it into his pocket before pointing out the others. “I think most of them are for you,” he smiled, letters congratulating Elyna on the birth of her daughter. “News travels quickly.” Malcolm looked out the window to see Faith tending to the chickens, it seemed she had gotten up before them and was probably collecting fresh eggs for breakfast.
Elsie never stayed awake long, but then that was common of his experience with newborns, good at eating and sleeping, usually whenever they pleased. Malcolm set the babe down in her cradle and shut the curtains in the bedroom, leaving the door open so that they would be able to hear her if she woke up. He dressed out of sight and returned to the living room some time later to let Elyna know that he was going out to shoe some of the horses.
“I'll be in the barn if you need me,” he stroked the back of her head, and smiled as he passed Faith on the way out, bidding her a good morning.

Elyna looked down at the small stack of letters, brow furrowed. The prospect of reading through pages of correspondence was not appealing. She glanced at the Mortalborn wondering if there was a way that she could convince him to read the letters to her. Make a joint venture of constructing polite replies. Or more simply, passing the task to the Warden instead. Malcolm vanished to set Elsie down and she was left, picking through the envelopes with little interest. Her attention stolen by the gentle touch of his hand against her hair before he departed. Elyna was left watching him leave and smiled as Faith made her entrance.
“Very welcome, thank you Faith,” she replied, her gaze still focused on the man for as long as she could see him through the window. Finally she turned and approached the cooking area, examining the eggs without touching them. The hens had done well but she couldn’t help but wonder if they’d keep laying over winter, or if they’d need extra bedding to stay warm and cosy. “I think he enjoyed it,” she peered at the empty dish and found herself grinning a little more, “I think he just prefers simplest food above anything else. Nothing fancy, meat, vegetables, bread,” the woman pulled her bottom lip in, tucking it beneath a row of even teeth.
“Would you make some mittens for Elsie? I need to make her some more clothes, she seems to be growing through gowns like a weed. She keeps scratching her little face though, so Malcolm thought she could use mittens only as you know, I can’t knit,” she admitted with a rueful smile. She trailed her fingertips over the countertop before looking up at the Slave. “I could trade with you. If you have sewing to do for Tristan’s play, I’m more than happy to help. I certainly have some time on my hands…” and it would be less strenuous then training or trying to jump back into her duties as a Skyrider.