Chapter 389: Other News
"So Madame Zedya is really going to take Captain Lennart as her first progeny?" Heila said, grinning from ear to ear when Ashlynn finished recounting the story.
Once Heila had a chance to clean up after several days in bed, it was her turn to experience one of the giant meals the staff had learned to prepare for whenever Nyrielle fed on Ashlynn. Though the magical exhaustion she felt wasn’t the same as the anemia that plagued Ashlynn after Nyrielle fed on her, the simple act of sleeping for several days while Ashlynn gave her thin broth was enough to leave her ravenous.
Now, after nearly an hour of eating and stretching as Ashlynn relied on the techniques she’d learned from the Ancient Clan to help work the aches and stiffness out of her diminutive friend’s body, the two women sat comfortably in Heila’s sitting room while nibbling on the sweet pastries the staff served after their meal.
"Probably," Ashlynn said. "I’ve only gotten the details second hand when Captain Lennart discussed it with Virve. Evidently, the two of them were out till nearly dawn, taking a boat ride through the canals to admire the city lights and strolling through the shops. They’ve been spending their idle time together ever since, and I understand that Captain Lennart spent several hours during the day looking for unique yarns for her."
"But Zedya is holding firm on her rule that he takes the time to think about it," Ashlynn added. "It’s a big decision and we’re not home yet. From what I’ve heard, if Captain Lennart is still willing when we return to the Vale of Mists, then Zedya will take him as her progeny."
"We should think about a gift for them," Heila said, already running through a list of possibilities in her mind. "It’s probably going to be a really big deal when it happens. The whole Vale might turn up to join the celebration."
"Why do you say that?" Ashlyn asked, surprised that it would be something that attracted the attention of the entire Vale of Mists. "There weren’t any big celebrations when I became Mistress Nyrielle’s Seneschal. Was there a big celebration for Nyrielle’s other progeny?"
"I don’t know," Heila said, frowning slightly as she tried to recall what she’d heard about the year that Marcell, the youngest of Nyrielle’s progeny, had become a vampire, but even that had occurred years before she was born. "But Captain Lennart would be the first vampire from the Clan of the Great Claw in the Vale of Mists since High Lord Torbin fell. It will mean the world to all of them."
"Ah," Ashlynn said as the pieces fit together. "I’m still struggling with the overlap between the pride of a clan and the pride of a nation," she admitted. "It feels like the latter is more important most of the time, and I forget that a person’s sense of belonging to their clan doesn’t just escape the borders of their nation and tie them to the rest of their clan, it also echoes within their nation as a different form of pride."