16.6
Jewel got to see the sky descend down from the firmament once more. She got to see one of the gods arrive to provide a blessing upon the wedded couple.
This time Jewel did not interfere, it was not her wedding and she did not want to risk causing another abomination at her brother’s wedding. Leo stood by with her to let her know what the whole thing looked like to human eyes. She kept a close eye on the way the divine presence touched her brother and his wife.
Braced to intervene if she saw something unacceptable, but there was barely any presence upon either of them left after the whole exchange. Neither Gem or the Twins could see even the cut of the miracles, they could feel the light of the divine presence, but only when they stood well away from Jewel.
The tension when the god returned to the heavens was like she was suddenly free of an entire mountain of lodestone.
The intensity of her relief made the whole affair suddenly rather funny from their perspective.
So funny in fact it was unfortunate how sensitive to laughter Gem had become, great focus and judicious use of Wyrm Flame was needed to keep her from several coughing fits even as the twins were able to silently giggle.
Over a hundred people all acting and moving pensively to something that was not there, a void of presence for them after the intense display of the sky itself dipping down to meet her Brother and his Wife.
Her brother and the Kliatbatrn girl Monika got what Leo said was a very favorable blessing and vow arrangement. They owed only an annual burning of herbs in sacrifice for an assurance of three children over the marriage that shared their bloodlines.
It was according to Leo hardly all that different from what the less ostentatious marriages of peasants received. Jewel for her part had given her yet to hatch True Wyrm Egg to Alexander and Monika as a wedding gift, to much shock and wonder among the guests.
Peter Bulchava’s words had been weighing on her mind, but she trusted her brother and his children would care for it where she struggled too, her future wyrmish daughter would be kept by house Rochford, just as her own egg had been. It might be generations of men until the child hatched but she could not think of anyone she would want to raise her daughter other than her brother’s descendants.
After the celebrations the couple returned to Rochford with Jewel’s party.
Along with not so little Imre in his pursuit of courting Gwenn and his own attendants too of course. My how Jewel’s sister certainly had been putting the young man through his paces, Gwenn was not shy in her expectations of the courter. A Man that Jewel found herself struggling to remember that was not the child she first met, despite the stature he had grown into, she still smelled the little boy who needed to cling to his token of saffron to overcome the fear of her.
A token carefully stowed away for the journey.
On the journey to Rochford (and the Valasect) poor Imre reminded her so much of when he was younger, especially with how utterly ragged he was ending up every evening, Gwenn had insisted that if he wanted to be her husband then they needed to be equals in skill at the sword.
The first bout had seen little Imre completely beaten in moments, the second match he got his wits about him and managed to force Gwenn to yield, only for the third, fourth and every bought after in every following day to be a furious exchange that left Gwenn’s unfortunate courtier gasping for breath and reeking of sweat. He’d not won such a duel for three mornings now. The way he was dealing with it when he thought no one could hear him made it very hard to remember this was a grown man.
“Countess Jewel? Might I beg for your advice?”
Jewel could only just hold back the smile that wanted to crack into a toothy grin, she’d heard Thurzó’s heir working over and practicing his words last night when they stayed in Dariusz’ family inn, now under management of his elder sister.
“Of course young Imre, how can I help my friend’s son and heir?”
She’d also spoken to Gwenn at length as her three spawn, mostly to help keep the gossip discreet and away from prying ears, her Wyrmself was many things but stealthy when she was struck with laughter was not one of them.
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Her ear flicked in the young man’s direction as he struggled to try and find a way to whisper in a way he was confident she could hear, nevermind that his thundering heartbeat was clear to her.
“Your advice please Countess, I beg of you, Have I offended the lady Gwenn?!”
It took all of her practice in courtly intrigue to keep the joy and amusement out of her throat, to merely smile warmly and look down at the boy riding his horse at her shoulder with as guileless a look of desperation as was likely possible.
“Why young Countson Imre?! What ever would give you the idea that you had offended Lady Gwenn?”
He winced before rushing through in a hiss that certainly was carrying enough that Smithson a few horses back had heard. “If I’ve not offended her, why does she come at me with such fury in her blows?! I’m bruised green and blue from shoulders down!”
Her Captain snorted and Jewel caught him gently shaking his head when she glanced back ostensibly to consider her sister.
Quite possibly Gwenn herself had heard that at her place near the rearmost nobility in the caravan, she was talking with Monika on the accommodations available at Fort Rochford for her hobbies, apparently the Kliatbatrn girl shared her family’s traditional love of riding. The stables might actually see full use at last.
Ah, a flash of a grin from Gem a few places ahead of the little grouping was assurance, yes Gwenn definitely had heard that. Jewel could not restrain the tip of her tail snapping left and right rapidly in her amusement.
“Oh, Imre I assure you, if Lady Gwenn disliked you then she’d be insisting that you try your hand against all three of my ‘daughters’ together in a bout and not beating you herself. Did she not say that if you were to be betrothed and wed that she wished the both of you to stand as equals in martial skill?”
The boy, for the way he was wincing and bashfully rubbing at the back of his head for all the growth he’d found in the years since, only reinforced the way he still had the same cheeks and eyes she remembered from his youth.
“Ah, yes she did say that, but I thought it would be a challenge for her hand and she'd accept the betrothal when I bested her in a duel, that’s the way the Martial Ladies act in all the court tales and songs.”
Jewel did not hold back her laughter, and since she was leaning into the more matronly tones her prodigious throat could produce it carried clear across the line of the party along the road and scattered birds well out into the surrounding woods.
“Oh my, I’m sorry to say little Imre that the truth is often far less neat and tidy than any tale or ballad makes it out to be. Gwenn is not going to be won in a duel and be besotted with you forever more, if her wish is that the two of you be of an equal skill then she will assure it with you every day as is her daily habit.”
Jewel curled her neck down, lowering her head in the turn enough so that her eyes met evenly with the Thurzó Heir’s. Moving slowly enough to keep the rather skittish horse beneath him from trying to bolt like it had yesterday when Gem had expelled a particularly loud cough.
“It sounds to me that my sister must find your company pleasing indeed considering it’s been how long since you proved yourself able to best her even once? My advice to you, young Imre is that you should put in a bit of effort to improve your showing against her lest she lose patience and stop asking.”
She slowly leaned past him, snout passing close to the youth’s ear with her lips, he froze in his saddle.
“My sister’s adoration of that ‘delightful musk’ and ‘cute bum’ will only get you so far boy.”
Jewel pulled back and smirked down at the man of a boy as his face fought between whether it wanted to go pale as snow or bright as a ripe apple. His mouth gaping open and closed like a trout pulled from the Vah, before finally finding enough of his wits to nod hard and pull back on his horse, the hackney was already eager further back from biting range of a dragon and gave a little nicker of praise for her rider’s choice.
Chuckling under her breath with a rumble that she knew could be felt in the bones of all her party, Jewel turned back to the road and forest ahead of them, head held higher then many of the trees, giving her a clear view to their next stop.
Suddenly tears were stinging at her eyes. The memories rising unbidden, quenching her joy.
Was this what it had been like for Father to tease her and Alexander so many times? Jewel held her head high and clenched her eyes tightly at the sudden stabbing pain in her chest until the grief passed. If this was what Father felt when jesting and japing against his children? Well, she can’t say she could blame him for any of the times he’d done it to her and Alexander.
The sound of Imre awkwardly inserting himself into Gwenn and Monika’s conversation warmed and stung her heart. The murmur of the voices both balm and lash as the boy turned man asked for pointers on how he could improve in his next bout. How Gwenn replied with earnest advice filled her chest and flame with a rising bittersweet warmth which simultaneously hurt and soothed.
Jewel snorted hard, blinking twice to clear her eyes, she didn't deserve how kind her Father had been to her.