• Mature • Tea

[Elyna]

28th Cylus 717

Elyna stood at the window with Elsie balanced on her hip. She’d pulled her hair up and out of the babies grasping fingers. The child was curled up against her shoulders, red cheeks damp with angry tears but at least, thank the immortals, she was asleep. It had taken over a break of work and wrestling with flailing fists but finally she’d succumbed. Elyna wasn’t sure that her ears were ever going to stop ringing, her head pounded and tears threatened behind her own dark eyes. In thick woollen socks she padded across the small room and bent, laying Elsie down in the cradle.

Elyna hardly dared to breath, air held tight in her chest as slowly she extracted her fingers from beneath the child’s back and withdrew. Creeping across the room in the shadows of Cylus. The floor was strewn with discarded wooden toys and the Skyrider held back a shout of pain as her foot landed on an unforgiving block of wood, lovingly carved into a triangle. Fists clenched she knelt and collected the toy, palming it before stretching out and slipping out of the door. Breath still held she turned and pulled the portal shut, lifted the catch and finally let out a sigh of relief as it closed fast behind her. The young mother waited, ear pressed to the frame and counted to ten.

No sound, she sagged with relief and turned the toy over between her fingers. If she ever managed to get out of the room, Elsie would usually sleep through a few breaks at least. Satisfied that Jesanine had cast a loving blanket over her daughters dreams, Elyna opened the front door of the house and hurled the offending block outside, as far as she could throw. A rush of cold air blasted against her and she was quick to shut the door again.

The skyrider and noblewoman turned and surveyed the devastation that a mobile baby and young puppy could cause. Sweet potato had been smushed into the table top. A stack of books pulled off the bookshelves and lay tangled on the floor like defeated soldiers. Pages torn and chewed. Vara, the pup looked up from her bed beside the fireplace, whip-like tail beating from side to side with excitement before she whined, dark eyes accusing. The puppy wanted to go out, but Elyna wouldn’t risk simply letting her bound around free, not while she was so young and unlikely to come when called.

Elyna fussed the creature though, as she knelt, stacking wood for a fresh fire, the old one had burnt out and left the room cold, even before the blast of wind had robbed the last whisper of heat. Vara bounced up from her bed and leapt around her as she worked, setting the wood and sparking the flame. She coaxed the flame into life and sat back, waiting for water to boil. When had her life become this? Legs crossed the young woman pulled Vara into her lap and the puppy curled up, head resting against her thigh as Elyna bent. She told herself it was because she was tired, that everything seemed so much worse. Elsie wasn’t giving her much time to sleep. The demands of being a Colonel were overwhelming and she wasn’t sure how she could carry on with her commission. Not now. There was a hundred things that needed to be done. Clothes to be mended and washed. The room to be cleaned, table to be wiped and waxed again. Elsie was weaning and Elyna had run out of the small packages of food she’d managed to prepare for her. So there were vegetables to wash and shop and boil and mash. Now?

A soft wail started in the guest room. Something had woken Elsie.

The first tears came despite her attempts to stop them.

“I’m just tired,” she promised Vara but she bent, wrapped her arm over the dog and pulled the blanket down from the chair, pulling it over her shoulders and attempting, unsuccessfully, to hide from the world. Just five bits, just one. Just the time to count to a hundred and she could fetch her daughter.

[Malcolm]

The road was long, long and winding, and cold. Mithril made it part way up the drive before coming to a halt. They had been chased by wolves on the journey home, and while Malcolm had managed to cut the animals down and string them to the back of his house, the mare had suffered a bite to her hind leg and was now lame.
In the barn the animals were resting, stirring only for a moment as moonlight was replaced by the glow of a low burning candle. Malcolm had left the wolves strung up under cover, tending to his mount before taking to the beasts with a knife. Their skins came away easy, the bulk of their bodies still warm, while their limbs were as icy as seawater in Cylus. He left the pelts stretched over a post to dry, and cleaned the knife before washing his hands to the house.
The warden was tired, completely exhausted, death warmed up as Benjamin had so politely put it before he had departed from the barracks, but not tired enough to fall asleep at the table, as it seemed Elena had managed. The left side of his mouth turned up in a weary smile, and reluctant to wake her, Malcolm slipped into the bedroom to fetch Elsie.
Their daughter had shot up like a bean sprout in Ashan, and didn't appear to be slowing down. They had come home from the campaign to find her twice the size they had left her, and were it not for her stunning eyes, the two of them might have questioned where their daughter had gone. Elsie was special, and both of them knew it, quietly and without question. The child stopped crying as soon as Malcolm spoke, eyes searching with wonder at the familiar sound of his voice.
Time flew by whenever he held Elsie in his arms, and by the time she had fallen asleep, Malcolm wasn't far off doing the same. There was something about the child that both relaxed and wore him out. After tucking her in, Malcolm returned to the living room to wake Elena, closing his hands over her shoulders with care, not wanting to startle her.
“Ely,” he cooed, “come on sweetheart, let's get you to bed.”
Malcolm helped Elena to her feet and paused, caught and succumbed by her stare. The woman looked about as good as he felt, but still she was beautiful, more beautiful than he gave her credit sometimes. Malcolm was a man of few words, but something in that moment had caused him to voice his thoughts.
“You take my breath away, woman.” He smiled, closed his eyes and leaned close so that their noses touched. “Even with sick-up on your shoulder.” Malcolm grinned, Elena really was good mother, and a wonderful companion. “I missed you,” he whispered and closed his arms around her. He didn't want for anything, but to hold her near and exist for a little while, locked in that moment.

[Elyna]

Elyna was fighting with herself, struggling to find the will to stand and collect the crying baby. Just as she summoned the strength however the door opened. She rested her face in her fingers, was she the worst parent in the whole of Idalos? Other parents said they were tired but they said that it also got easier, sometimes. If anything life with Elsie was getting harder and she was growing so fast. Malcolm's deep and lilting voice broke the persistent cry and had a similar effect on Mother and Daughter. With Elsie settling and Vara sleeping on her lap, Elyna closed her eyes for just a moment.

She woke at the gentle touch on her shoulder. Blinking tired eyes she looped an arm around Malcolm's shoulders as he helped her stand. Vara scrambled into the floor and dashed around the man's legs, standing on her back legs and demanding his attention. It was Elyna though, who realised that for a rare instance, she held his attention. His eyes were the deep green of the cylus sea. The world beyond the window was grey and misty and a breath, Elyna held his gaze. He looked tired and his words coaxed a smile from the exhausted Skyrider. In the house at that moment, she held more then she'd ever dared to hope for.

Her bottom lip trembled and dark eyes shone with unshed tears, the water collected on her lashes and she blinked again. "Mal," the woman lifted a hand to his cheek. His skin was cooler to the touch than it usually was. The fire-light casting shadows on the planes of his face. He was more than she had ever deserved. What was she going to do?

"If you've ever had any doubts, or thought to chose another path without...all of this -" she gestured to the devastated room, avoiding the baby - sick on her shoulder and the frantic puppy at his heels, "I'd never blame you. You get to choose and I'd not hold you to this life," but she needed him and she was afraid. Though somehow, if he wanted to walk away she'd find a way to survive. The air burnt her lungs like there could never be enough.

"Malcolm," it was a sob, "I'm pregnant, again."

[Malcolm]

It was a serious moment, and thus the man was stern, eyes searching those of his lover, his friend and companion in all things. Elyna was always so ready to be abandoned, and Malcolm remained her rock. She was the ocean, and he her island, battered and worn down by the tide, they leaned on each other, and this it seemed would just be another trial for the two of them to overcome together.
A soft knot formed at the centre of his brow, unraveled momentarily by the news, only to tighten again as he did the maths. It felt an age since they had slept together, perhaps even before the campaign in the Eastern Settlement. Elyna looked as if she were about to cry, and Malcolm just about joined her, only for different reasons. Their relationship had been strained long before Elsie's birth, and had only just learned to walk again, would this news change that, he wondered.
Malcolm pulled Elyna closer, as if she were sand slipping through his fingers, and pressed a kiss to her temple. He couldn't help but smile, and perhaps she felt the grin, cheek tightening against her own as he bowed his head to kiss the bare skin at the base of her neck.
“It's going to be okay,” he promised her. “I'll be right here.”
They stayed like this for a while, standing in the middle of the small living room in each other's arms. The dog soon gave up on her bid for attention, and curled up at their feet with a disgruntled whine. The low burning coals in the fireplace glowed red hot, and Elsie continued to sleep.
Malcolm drew his hand up the length of Elyna’s back kissed her again, this time on the lips before putting a few inches of space between them. “I'm not going anywhere, you're stuck with me.” He smiled, the gesture easy and warm.

[Elyna]

He was happy? Wrapped in warm arms it was hard to remain unyielding. Elyna couldn't credit her lover for always being around when she needed him, but she could never fault him for his absences either. Vanessa had kept him distant a first and then her own promised marriage. Since the revelation of her first pregnancy though it had been the immortals themselves that had divided them and then her own foolish actions. Elyna knew that she would never experience a love like this with any other. She'd tested the idea with vakhanor, a man with a claim on her heart. She had, in moments of darkness convinced herself that Marcus wasn't so bad...but there was no one like the son of Vri to claim her. Sometimes she couldn't help the feeling that she'd been made for Malcolm. He'd been her intended destiny no matter what the world threw in their path. What did that make her though? A victim of destiny?

He was watching her, as she sometimes found him watching her. As though perhaps afraid she was going to run out the door, climb onto the back of a volareon and leave his world forever. The way he watched her after she'd stood on the edge of a cliff and debated whether to jump. Worse, she couldn't blame him. Still he was happy and her own heart was thudding with panic, "I'm sorry," she felt compelled to apologise. She hadn't taken moseke mist when they'd come together at the end of vhalar, it had fallen by the wayside and so this pregnancy was of her making. He was going to stay and her legs nearly buckled beneath her. "You're happy though?" Her bottom lip quivered again and she looked up at the ceiling in her fight for control, "this isn't what you planned, it's my fault...immortals Malcolm I don't know what to do I don't- I don't know what I would ever do without you," she looked down instead, "I've never deserved you but I love you so much."

[Malcolm]

The worn pads of his thumbs brushed away the tears poised ready to fall from the corners of Elyna’s eyes. It was all very unexpected news, and after the woman's promotion earlier in the season, he was sure his lover was bound to be feeling the pressure of her personal and professional lives clashing. How were they going to survive another child when Elsie remained so demanding. They needed help, there was no question about that, but would Elyna accept it, he wondered.
“I'm happy.” Malcolm smiled, because he was.
As daunting as the surprise should be, he was determined to see it as a positive for the two of them. Their relationship had been uneasy for the past few seasons, and so anything that might help reconcile things was good. Still, Malcolm couldn't help but let some doubt creep in. He didn't know how stable Elyna was or whether or not she had recovered from the events in Zi'da. She had, after all, run away with the intention of ending it all.
“Why don't you get ready for bed and I'll join you soon.”
Malcolm took off his cloak and hung it up before ditching his boots at the door. The floors would need a sweep tomorrow with all the mud he had managed to carry in with him. He drew a shallow bath, choosing to keep the water on the cooler side. Too deep or warm and he would have risked falling asleep. Clean, he then joined Elyna in bed and left a candle burning while he studied her. Elsie was still sound asleep, and while he knew the two of them should be making the most of the peace and quiet by attempting to drift off themselves, he could tell Elyna wasn't ready to close her eyes. She had that look about her, like she wanted to say something more and was waiting for him to initiate the conversation.
“Have you thought about work?” It was the most obvious question. After being newly promoted, it would be difficult for the woman to get time off, especially now they were coming out of Cylus.
Malcolm moved closer to get comfortable, as he often did, and put an arm around Elyna, burly fingers combed through her hair to tuck the silky strands behind her ear.

[Elyna]

Even in an insulated house with a steady fire, cylus was still bitter. Wrapped up in soft trousers and an old shirt, Elyna refused to shed her thick woollen socks as she curled beneath the blankets. Malcolm hadn't replied he loved her, nor that she was wrong about her feelings of inadequacy. Perhaps he had given up trying to fight with her? Was she imagining distance between them or did it remain the same vast chasm that had existed since his departure in Ymiden? Maybe there was no way to close the silence, maybe it had been too long. The first flush of love faded into duty and nothing more. Then she was prone to thinking too much. The news was a shock and Malcolm had had even less time to digest it.

Elyna turned towards him ready for bed. Immortals, he was still a gorgeous man. Enough so see her sad and sluggish heart quicken and her breath catch. That was how they'd ended up here after all. A dangerous attaction that even his marriage hadn't stopped her from feeling. There had been a point in Krome where she'd accepted her fate and leapt without fear into the future, blind and naive. Fear, it seemed, had a way of following her footsteps and finding her when she felt weak.

Tucked beneath his arm, Elyna could feel the unnatural warmth of his heritage. "I have," she admitted. "How long until people realise that you don't age? Five arcs? Six" Elyna watched the final flame dancing. "If I continue as a Skyrider, I'll hopefully be bound to a Jacadon." She swallowed, it had been her dream for longer than she could imagine. the Jacadon called to her, much like Malcolm had summoned her heart. "And then...I wouldn't be able to leave Rynmere." The woman bit her bottom lip. "I'm going to resign."

[Malcolm]

Malcolm sat up all of the sudden. Resign? The covers fell away from his bare upper body, and his arm straightened to prop him up, muscles rigid beneath his taut flesh, pale for lack of sun.
“Resign? Elyna you can't resign, you're one of the best riders they have, and you have the respect of the people,” which was more than Malcolm could say for himself.
It was true, people had already started to question the man’s ageless state, those who hadn't worked closely with him. In thirty years, only ten had gone by for him, if that, and only due to the stress using his abilities had on his body. Raising two sons had made him more protective than he had ever been, and now he had a daughter, perhaps two if the fates willed it. There was no telling what challenges he would face in future. The last incident with Avari had earned him a grey hair or three, and he was sure Elsie would only help add to that.
Malcolm relaxed visibly. “You can't live for me, Elyna, you get one chance at life, you have to fill every trial with the things you love and avoid choices that will lead you down the path of regret.” Don’t regret anything, he seemed to dare with a look. “You've wanted to ride since you were a child, and now you're almost there.”
The warden did not always tell Elyna that he loved her, not with words. However, his actions boasted his love. Malcolm couldn't give her the world, but he could help her achieve her goals and dreams. He was determined to be anything but a burden.
“In a few years I will be expected to retire,” he said the words in a low tone, as not to wake Elsie or startle Elyna with the news. “Soon I will be granted the title of lord, awarded land, and will be able to farm it in peace. There really is no need for you to resign.”

[Elyna]

Elyna turned, head on the pillow and dark hair fanned out behind her. She studied the wide green eyes that seemed to narrow in the near darkness. Unable to resist she reached out, trailed her fingers over the extended muscle of his upper arm and explored the smooth skin of his chest. Her pulse flickered in her own limbs and neck and her mouth was dry. Retire? The world though that Malcolm Krome was advancing through his sixties despite his appearance. The truth was unbelievable, that he’d lived for almost four centuries before she was born.

“You’d want that?” she studied his features and sat up in her warm, loose shirt. “Malcolm, I can’t imagine you managing lands and sitting back to watch the world pass by…” she pressed her teeth into her bottom lip, “what if my dreams are changing?” She smoothed her thumb over his collar bone and edged up again. “I don’t know how I’m going to manage this pregnancy with my command. It was hard enough with Elsie and I can’t imagine they’re going to be happy with me taking things easy and resting for the next few seasons.” She grimaced and shuffled towards him closing the distance in the dark.

“I’ve missed so much of this time with Elsie,” she whispered, “I don’t want to do that again…” Elyna watched her hand as her palm sank lower and onto his chest, smattered with dark hair. She needed to think and hard about the future. This time, this time at least Malcolm hadn’t breathed a word of question or suspicion. He hadn’t needed to ask if the baby was his, she let out a slow sigh of relief.

[Malcolm]

“Then I agree, it's a good thing, something to consider over the next few trials,” he encouraged, but tried not to add any pressure, this had to be Elyna’s decision. “I'd much prefer to see you enjoying your children and sharing in their lives than working yourself to the bone for the kingdom.”
Malcolm sunk back against the pillows then and tried to get comfortable again. Elsie had flinched, but otherwise remained asleep. The baby didn't seem to mind the two of them talking, something Malcolm had mentioned once or twice that she would just have to get used to.
As soon as his head hit the pillow, Malcolm found that he was fighting sleep. Could he imagine himself settling down to farm the land, he wondered, and closed his eyes, trying to envision a time when he hadn't worked or done something to keep busy. Working as a knight had been a highlight, but it was also a very challenging role, and there was little reward to follow the hours, days, and sometimes weeks of of time he spent away on missions. “To Warrick next season,” he mumbled, “close to home.”
Before he knew it, his senses were dulled by a half sleep-like state that had fallen over him, eyelids heavy and limbs lost. The muscles in his arms and back still hurt from all of the fighting and riding he had done throughout Cylus, but he would make no attempt to shift now, teetered on the edge of consciousness, ready to fall into a deep, blissful sleep.