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News » History of Mardon Castle - 17A
History of Mardon Castle
Chapter Seventeen
Part 1
...
The cut of the gown did not declare the lady as having much status. Renwyn had not said that he came from a important family, but Terniff would have thought the lady to have dressed better to make a positive first impression. A thought that the lady had stopped out of fear did not gain support in looking at her face. She had a serious expression of appraising the worth of a person. Terniff showed no fear in being visually studied, and simply looked back and waited for the elder lady to speak.
“My son says that you took care of him.â€
The words came strong, although Terniff felt a need to use a softer tone in her response. “It was a horrible war. I helped others as well.â€
“He says that he loves you.â€
“He tells me the same thing. If he is lying, at least he is consistent about it.â€
If you want to know the history of a land, you learn about the people.
History of Mardon Castle
Chapter Seventeen
Part 1
Terniff laughed as she felt very happy. The journey from Lake Nemistry to Sekurd had been plagued with bad weather, which only increased her anxiety in bringing her husband home. Once within the walls of her family castle, everything went very well. Zuzolt and Shuloft had tested Renwyn, but had not done anything harsh or unfair. Terniff remembered once protecting him from such treatment, but seeing him easily counter some stunts brought her relief. Listening during the evening meal of her husband speaking to all of his early days of being with her caused her to accept that there were no bad memories. Retiring to her bedroom enabled her to show Renwyn things about herself that he had yet to learn, then they shared things that they well knew about the other. Now sparring with her husband, Terniff felt that she had chosen someone that truly could be a part of her life, and she voiced her joy with each successful move.
She turned with alarm when Renwyn signaled a stop as his eyes focused on something else. Terniff truly expected it to have been another lady. Her sister was now coming to age, and had decided to test some of her skills on the new addition to the family. Terniff had expected her sister to gather some of her friends and again focus their attention on Renwyn, so turned with the intent to ward others away from her husband.
He had locked his gaze upon a group of ladies, but Terniff could not identify them. It was not her sister or any of her friends. All of the women appeared rather mature. The look upon Renwyn’s face declared that he recognized them, and he simply motioned with a hand for his wife to follow him as he began to rush toward them.
The elder of the ladies lifted her skirt as she ran to meet the man. While her form showed some fat, she ran with ease. She barely stood high enough to put her head against his chest, but the armored man came to a stop when she wrapped her arms around his sides. The elder lady showed that she did not fear the powerful man by grabbing his jaw and examining his face with a confidence that said she could handle him.
Almost crying, Renwyn turned back to yell to his wife. “Terniff, this is my mother!â€
The elder lady left her son to rush to Terniff. She did not know this lady, but accepted that the one coming to her was who her husband said she was. The problem was that Terniff felt improper meeting someone in her armor after some heavy exercise with her husband. Whether the lady thought it the same, or only sensed some uncertainty in the one she approached, the elder lady stopped.
The cut of the gown did not declare the lady as having much status. Renwyn had not said that he came from a important family, but Terniff would have thought the lady to have dressed better to make a positive first impression. A thought that the lady had stopped out of fear did not gain support in looking at her face. She had a serious expression of appraising the worth of a person. Terniff showed no fear in being visually studied, and simply looked back and waited for the elder lady to speak.
“My son says that you took care of him.â€
The words came strong, although Terniff felt a need to use a softer tone in her response. “It was a horrible war. I helped others as well.â€
“He says that he loves you.â€
“He tells me the same thing. If he is lying, at least he is consistent about it.â€
The face of the elder lady now broke to show some quivering at the lips and the start of tears coming from her eyes. Her arms went wide as she began to step forward. Terniff tried to be careful in approaching, as she was wearing armor and was larger than the lady. Feeling herself squeezed, Terniff looked to her husband that was also in his armor and even bigger than she. The elder lady had displayed no fear in embracing him. After a period of contact, she broke her hold to speak.
“Terniff, welcome to the family. You can call me ‘mother.’ That lady there,†Terniff looked to where the elder lady pointed, “is Renwyn’s oldest sister, Cherasha. The other is just the mage Neroshey who brought us here.â€
Something about the moment bothered Terniff forcing her to hold back tears of her own as she asked, “Why did you come? We were going to come live with you.â€
“Renwyn said that you were alone. He said that you needed help choosing a staff.â€
“I was going to get…â€
Terniff had to pause. She had intended to hire a couple of maids from her home, but had no idea of the process or who to ask for advice. Her own mother was dead. Her own sister was still young. Suddenly, Terniff felt glad to have this lady present.
“Yes. I could use the help, Mother.†Terniff could not hold back her own tears as she said that, and while wiping her eyes she gave an explanation. “My mother is dead.â€
“I know. Renwyn sent letters telling us all about you. The recent one spoke of his joy in being restored from his wounds and having you as a wife. The messenger that brought it came with a delegation from Salinok. It seems that the mother of your viscountess wanted to go meet her daughter, but all the mages in her kingdom were dead. She thus came to Brigallick to see if we could recommend someone. Neroshey lives nearby, but is a rather aloof. Not wanting to be associated with the mages at war in the nearby kingdom, she has been even more reclusive in the last few years. Having a group of ladies at her door however forced her to interrupt her research and perform a service. Neroshey should be rather tired from working the magic, so might need a place to rest.â€
“Of course.†Terniff turned to speak to a nearby guard, but saw a mass of people moving from the castle so instead replied to the elder lady. “I will make the request after having you meet my family.â€
While Zuzolt and Shuloft had been rough on Renwyn, they were very pleasant around the new arrivals. After assuring a proper welcome and that certain arrangements would be made, Terniff felt glad that they allowed all time to refresh themselves. Zuzolt’s wife had stressed to her to attend the afternoon social with her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, and Terniff agreed feeling that the surrounding ladies would help soothe any problems that might have occurred in the initial meeting.
Renwyn’s mother voiced surprise in seeing the apartment that the castellan opened for her. The high servant stated that the room had actually been chosen for Terniff and her husband, but they had only recently returned. The elder lady said that it would probably be for the best that they switched rooms, to which Terniff found her husband support her in saying that they enjoyed being close to each other. He then showed his mother about the apartment before mentioning that he and his wife would return after they had cleaned up from their time exercising.
The lady did not allow the couple to leave, but held onto her son as she asked, “What are your plans?â€
“There is a terrible curse in this land that I am going to help them remove. Besides simply gaining me some more fame, it is giving me time to meet Terniff’s family. Winter is coming, Mother. I however believe that I would have been home by summer.â€
“But what were your plans then?
“My plans?†Terniff saw her husband look to her for a moment before he turned back to the elder lady. “I am a knight of Brigallick. I will go back to my king, give him a report of my deeds, and see what further plans he has for me.â€
“You have a wife, Renwyn. You need to settle down.â€
“Terniff is a knight as well, Mother. She is not simply a pretty lady. I have helped Viscount Tasbirn. We will see what request that King Azamull desires.â€
“Your father has gone to the king to feel him out about prospects for you.â€
Terniff had to hold back tears at hearing those words. Her father was dead. Suddenly, she not only had parents, but those that cared for her and her husband. Her eyes turned to the other mature lady present. Renwyn had not only this older sister, but two younger ones. He also had three older brothers. This lady had however traveled a great distance to meet her absent child and the new wife. Terniff controlled her voice as she tried to tell the lady she appreciated the topic of discussion.
“Renwyn and I have accomplished a lot. Your king should not consider us as normal vassals, but as experienced leaders. Tasbirn would agree to any request I or my husband would ask. I do not know the politics of Brigallick, but I don’t believe that your king would simply assign us an apartment in his castle.â€
“I would hope not,†the elder lady strongly declared. “I met your Viscount Tasbirn and his new bride. They spoke highly of both of you. He promised me that he had sent a letter to King Azamull on your behalf. Both of you should have a good position to raise a strong family.â€
Renwyn said in return, “We can talk of this later, Mother. Let me and Terniff wash up, then we can talk some more.â€
The elder lady turned to Terniff to say, “Have Renwyn take us about town. If I am to help you hire some maids, I need to know something about where places are located.â€
“Certainly, but come here.â€
Terniff took the elder lady’s hands, and led her to a window. She thought to mention to Zuzolt that she did not like the room, as it did not look directly out over the ocean. Realizing that she would not live here for that long of a period of time, she went ahead and pointed to what she wanted to show her new relatives.
The farms had nice rows of soil between channels of water. The paths were soupy lines through swamp plants. The houses were on top of stone foundations that rose above the shimmer of a layer of water that covered the ground. Looking around the edge of the window frame, no apparent line could be seen between the ocean and the land.
“By the gods,†the elder lady gasped, “how do you live here?â€
“We of Mardon began discussing that during the war. While Renwyn was suffering with a dream of things being better, we were speaking about how better things were in the foreign land and how much we would suffer upon our return home. I brought Renwyn home and restored him, and now he is helping me restore my land.â€
Cherasha had not said much, but she looked to her brother to ask, “You are going to be able to restore the land?â€
“Well, not just me.†Terniff sensed actual tones of modesty in the words of her husband, although they slowly regained their usual positive cadence. “After being rescued by Terniff, I found myself with a group of people more than able to achieve the impossible. Being the husband of this lady is the best thing that could have happened to me, and I promise that when I come before King Azamull I will have more than a pretty face to claim my honor.â€
“Labrioll and I always wondered what type of lady you would marry. It seems that you somehow managed to find someone that is like you.â€
Terniff could only smile as her husband wrapped an arm around her while replying, “She found me.â€
Cherasha put a hand to his chest as she said, “You have done well for yourself, Renwyn. I could not be more proud of you.†She then turned to Terniff to say, “I have had four children. The last birth was quite painful, so I am not presently in the mood to have another. My husband allowed me to come, as he does care for his youngest brother. There seems to be a lot to learn about you, Terniff, so I am glad that I came.â€
With those words, the two ladies seemed ready to refresh themselves after their journey. Terniff thus found herself being escorted through the castle by her husband. She held his arm tight while walking with him, then after closing the door to her room she embraced him.
“I am so glad that you have parents, Renwyn. I really miss mine.â€
“Yes, and I have brothers as well. Mine are older, so I did not get the respect from them that you seem to have with yours.â€
“I was so worried about going to your land. It was the politics that bothered me. I really never thought of your family. I now feel that I have something to look forward to in going to Brigallick.â€
Renwyn kissed her before saying, “Besides me.â€
“I have had you with me all this time. I never thought of losing you.â€
“Yes, don’t you worry about that. I will always be with you.â€
Terniff tightly hugged her husband, then shared kisses with him. As she removed her armor, she did further things to show her husband her joy in being in his presence. While she did spend time with him, her thoughts stayed on choosing an outfit to properly spend time with the ladies that were now a part of her family. Up to now, Sekurd had been the only home she knew, but now she felt excited about traveling to Brigallick that seemed to be more complete. With a strong smile of happiness, she cleaned herself up and put on a dress ready to spend time with the ladies of her husband’s family.
And ladies arrive out where they are excavating the castle.
Posted by TerishD on Thursday, March 11, 2010 (12:02:29) (198 reads)
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