14.5
Eunika still had to check for the special mark of ink on her twin’s face or feel at the specific texture of beads at her wrist to recognize which one of them she was.
Gem had flipped a coin for which would be which, and Eunika had ‘won’ the prize of having her own face being unmarked to let Jadwiga know whose eyes she was looking out of. It worked great when they were together, but required careful memorization when apart, also it meant that they had to wash their faces together and reapply the mark before either of them forgot.
It would have been awkward, and perhaps she wasn't actually technically the one named Eunika on their naming day. The winter and following seasons, none of herselves had been as attentive as they should have been.
Still, Jadwiga and Eunika had decided that she would be Eunika out of the two of them and they were holding to that now.
It worked when they were together.
But that was not going to always be a certainty, which was why Gwenn was such a wonderful sister.
“Bracelets! One for each of you, that way you can always know who you are.”
Her dear sister-aunt had not been doing all that much better with Father’s loss, certainly not better than her selves had. More so the years they had been apart due to the tour and then the war had left Eunika missing Gwenn becoming no longer a girl.
It had slipped away from them both and suddenly the youth was a young woman!
And yet Gwenn had still made a gift for them that was so touchingly personal, a trinket that might have been expected from another, but for the undeniably martial bearing and hardness that Gwen had taken upon herself, it was even more precious.
Eunika shared a glance with Jadwiga, their eyes rising to meet one another as one. A glance from each to the other’s wrist where the gift had been kept, and then glancing back up to smile.
It had been good to visit the family home in Rochford on the way to the Capital of the Realm.
To see their brother-uncle, to tend to their mother-grandmother in her ongoing grief, to see Gwenn. Although not all the tidings were so welcome.
“Are you seriously considering marrying me off to that count-son?!”
She didn't even have to look to tell that her twin self was wincing, Gem sitting on a stool high enough to bring her level with Gwenn did not shift uncomfortably, except for her tail twitching where their sister aunt would not see.
She still probably caught on anyway.
“We’re not marrying you off, Gwenn. There hasn't been a decision, but Thurzó has sent an offering of betrothal to his son and heir Imre! Arva has been a steadfast ally, they sent their muster in support of us in the war, and Imre by all word has grown into a fine young man!”
Gwenn scoffed at Gem, but she spared a glare for all three of them meeting with her.
“If he’s so fine, why don’t one of you three marry him then? You have a far higher rank as Daughters of the Countess! I’m just a Barondottir! And I’m not even directly in line anymore, Brother is Baron of Rochford now!”
Gem winced at that, oh bother, just seeing the flinch brought to mind what she was going to say, Eunika could feel and on Jadwiga see the flush rising to their cheeks.
“I’ve not bled, Gwenn, nor gone heavy with egg, I’m a diminutive dwarf at best, and a wyrmspawn besides, by all counts I’m barren!”
There was a shameful heat to the tone that she could feel even if their thoughts were not one at the moment. It made Eunika squirm, and in her shifting she saw that Jadwiga did as well. How was Gem able to be so still saying that?
Their sister-aunt winced at the tone but her eyes were still furious. Which of course meant Gem Continued.
“And Eunika and Jadwiga have barely seen their second winters, there is no certainty they will be any better then I am, Thurzó requires his son to have an heir and you are the closest unwed daughter of my House. A marriage without children will forge no alliance.”
Gwenn scowled.
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“You could marry off one of Bathory’s family, you are the highest ranking member of that house too.”
All three of them shook their heads at that.
“Any of the living Bathories as a wife would make for no alliance with me or Viznove, and house Thurzó has no desire for such a match either, if Paul had bedded a concubine and sired an heir right when we married maybe it would have worked, but...”
Gwenn huffed and nodded.
“Despite all the bard’s tales of his vigor to lay a dragon he’s still being a suffering fool over actually dipping his wick.”
Eunika could not stop the chortle of amusement coming from her throat, and only a moment later realized that she had been the only one overcome with the humor of their sister-aunt’s words.
Gwenn’s face lit up with a bright smile meeting her confused gaze, Jadwiga and then Gem had to stare for a moment before they caught onto whatever tickle had struck her. Echoing a much quieter snort in synchronicity.
That felt, so peculiar, to have fallen out of sync with her other selves.
But there was still the matter of her discussion with her sister-aunt.
Gem took up the words gently, softer than before.
“We’ve not announced or written our acceptance of a betrothal Gwenn, but we can’t afford to wait much longer, Thurzó is not well enough to travel and has not been for years. If we don’t secure an alliance before he dies I will be negotiating with Imre’s regent, and I can’t promise that won’t end poorly.”
Her sister-aunt’s good mood fled like it had washed away in rain.
“Why are any of you bringing this up to me! It’s obviously not up to me! All of you are the Countess! It’s your right to do what is best for Viznove and the realm with me! Sell me off like cattle!”
All of them flinched at that, none of Bethica’s children and grandchildren had gotten as close to them as Jewel had been with their matriarch, but she still cared about them, none of them had been sold without their say so!
“Because you are my sister Gwenn! And Imre is a kind boy and he is heir to a County that borders Viznove! You’d be able to command your own footmen as his wife! You’d be close enough to visit and with someone worthy of trust!”
Gwenn’s fury remained on her face, only barely was she holding back shameful tears. The glittering wobble in her eyes before Eunika’s sister-aunt turned away to wipe her face. All three of her sister-selves avoided comment.
“But if you truly would not suffer to wed him, I won’t force you. The Count of Arva has requested it, but if you are entirely against it we will send our refusal, he will likely seek other peerage in the realm’s vassals to bind in alliance and-”
“Oh shut up, you stupid lizards! I didn't say no!”
The thickness in her throat came through, the fury, the anger, the pained tone. It made her voice raw and bestial, not unlike what any of the spawn could manage, but a pale imitation of their mother-self.
“Gwenn-”
“Shut it you little midget! I won’t say no straight off, send a, the word, ah! A ‘provisional’ acceptance for the betrothal. Say it in whatever fancy speech you need to make that polite, but I want to meet the young man myself and judge him myself! All we know about this boy is when you met him as a cowardly child!”
Her sister-aunt was practically snarling now, but there was a fire to her eyes, an animation to her motion.
Then an expectant stillness as Gwenn glared at their smallest-self, before glancing up with a raised brow for first Jadwiga and then herself, Gem was silent, it took Eunika a moment to realize just what was going on and silently groaned at what her other selves had decided without her!
Now that she understood she accepted it of course, it made sense.
So by unanimous decision, convened and decided in a few glances and an ear twitch from Gem Eunika had to struggle with her throat, working over the mostly unused muscles til she found the right ones and managed to croak out in a trilling voice.
“Very well Gwenn, we will send the missive and arrange a meeting for Imre of Arva to attempt to court you.”
The smile that forced its way through their sister-aunt’s scowl was worth the difficulty and embarrassment of how strange the twins’ voices sounded. Neither like a woman or a calling bird, yet akin to both, far sharper and more musical than any beast Jewel knew.
But buzzing and guttural beneath.
The glittering Mischief in their sister-aunt’s eyes made Eunika and her twin shift towards greater alertness.
“Oh my, your voices have gotten so pretty! We need to have a singing round!”
Gem was laughing, not outwardly enough for Gwenn to likely catch, but the way that tail was twitching was blatantly obvious. Eunika shared an agonized moment commiserating just how embarrassing this was about to become with her twin-self.
Then they began the round of singing together. It was worth it.