Chapter 131 - 132
Alistar stared at the wide-eyed infant with a tender expression, amazed at how much she’d grown in such a short time. Patricia had given birth to Little Lauren during the week that Alistar’s relatives had visited back in the summertime, which put her age at almost six months now that the last of the autumn leaves had fallen from their bleak-bodied perches. She already had a small head of hair that was a similar in shading to her mother’s long, sable strands, the two sharing the same dark eyes as well.
Wondering which of his parents he’d resembled more as an infant, he felt a bit of bitterness at the thought that his parents had managed to raise him up from a similar age in the dreaded tunnels of Crystellum. Knowing what sort of hardships they had suffered through in their final years, he could only imagine the strife and struggle that must have gone into keeping him safe and well during his youngest years.
"Whatever you’re thinking, I’d suggest you stop." Stason proffered his daughter with gentle hands, holding her in front of Alistar with a warm look in his almond eyes. "Why don’t you hold her? It’s a wonderful feeling, that."
Alistar hesitated, glancing at Patricia where she sat beside her husband at their usual spot around the dinner table.
"Go on," said the young mother, her smile as captivating as ever as she fixed him with an encouraging gaze from across the table. "She’ll be living here alongside us from now on, so you’ll be something of an older brother to her in the future. There’s no need for any shyness, Alistar."
"A brother...?"
"Does that mean I get to be the sister?" Anice stood up from her seat at Patricia’s side and rushed around the table to give Stason an excited look. "If Alie won’t do it, then can I hold her?"
Sensing a potential disaster, Alistar instinctively reached out for Little Lauren—a nickname that Madeline had given the girl upon first laying eyes upon her—and accepted her bundled up form from her father. This brought on a dejected frown from Anice, though he didn’t pay her any mind as he invested all of his focus into being as careful as possible with the tiny life that he now held in his arms. He couldn’t help but laugh when the curious infant looked up at him with innocent intrigue and then reached out to grab at his nose with her pudgy little hands, a slightly ticklish action that he allowed with a smile. His expression was mirrored by her parents along with everyone else that had remained in the dining hall for a post-lunch cup of tea.
"How is it, Alie?"