Topic: An Awkward Beginning

Esmerelda Kramer

Date: 2018-03-18 09:33 EST
June 1617

One thing that could be said for having a princess around was that events moved swiftly. By the evening of Rolanda and Hugo's arrival at Ansburg, Esmerelda and Leopold were married; the duke had confirmed his grandson as his heir and named the newly-weds as legal guardians of the children; Hilde had been sent for to join them the next morning; and plans had been laid for the journey they were to undertake the next day. The duke himself would remain in Ansburg until he was a little stronger, under the protection of Captain Brunei and the loyal guard, and word had been sent to Rift Fell for an escort to join the party at the inn where the princess and her knight had stayed just one night before. A lot had happened in just twelve hours, but some things not even a disaster could have changed ....that two small children were tucked into bed by people who loved them every night.

It wasn't so much different from any other night really, except that the children were sleeping in a beds that wasn't their own, and they were being tucked in by both their aunt and their uncle, who had together become their legal guardians. It was almost, but not quite, like having their parents back. While Matias, at least, would never forget them, he was happy to be part of a proper family again, and he couldn't have asked for better parents than that of his aunt and uncle.

"Do you know any good stories?" he asked of Esme, as he climbed into bed beside his sister and snuggled down into the blankets.

"Do I know any good stories?" she repeated fondly, helping to tuck him in as he snuggled down beneath the warm blankets. No doubt it was a softer bed than he'd ever slept in before. "That all depends what kind of story you want. I know a few - fairytales, and legends. Stories about warriors and dragons and monsters and kings."

"Do you know any stories about dukes?" he asked, curiously. He didn't think dukes could be heroes. Heroes in stories were always princes or knights, and it was something he so desperately wanted.

"I do, actually." Esme chuckled for a moment, smoothing his hair as she glanced across to where Anna was burbling nonsense to Leo in an attempt not to fall asleep too quickly. "There's a story about the first Duke of Ansburg, whose son went on to become the first King of Carantania. They say he had the sea in his blood, and the land in his bones, and when invaders came from across the ocean, he fought them with a sword forged from the heart of a star."

"A star?" Matias echoed, eyes wide with wonder. He'd never heard this story before. "Where is the sword now" What was his name" Did he defeat them?" he asked curiously, in a tumult of questions.

"His name was Martas," she told him, glad he didn't seem to have heard this one before. "And he did defeat his enemies. They tried to invade and conquer us four times in his lifetime, and the last time they came, the legend says that he called on the Goddess to save his people, and the land rose up to bar the invaders' passage, and the sea swallowed them whole as they tried to escape. His sword was melted down when he died, and made into two swords - one for the king, which the king still wears, and one for Ansburg, which was set into the walls of the harbor, to guard against any other attack from the sea."

"Oh!" Matias exclaimed, clearly in awe. It did not miss his attention that the hero's name was similar to his own, though he did not point that out. "Can I see the sword when we visit the castle?" he asked, unsure if he'd be allowed to see the one that was guarding the harbor.

"I'm sure the king would be happy to show you the sword when we reach the castle," Esme assured him. "And when we come back, we can go down to the fort on the harbor wall and see the other sword, too."

Matias smiled happily, not only at the prospect of meeting the king and seeing the legendary swords, but simply happy that they were a real family again. "Thank you, Aunt Esme," he told her, sighing contentedly as he let his eyes drift closed. It had been a long day, and he was tired, but he was going to sleep contented and happy. It would take a while before he called her Mama, but it would come in time.

She smiled, leaning over to kiss his brow affectionately. "Sleep well, darling," she whispered back to him, watching as he relaxed into the warm blankets. "We'll see you in the morning." Barring any foolishness on the earl's part. She rose to her feet carefully, making her way to the other side of the bed to kiss Anna goodnight as well.

Leo did the same, kissing each child in turn. He worried he hadn't been enough for them, but it was a foolish worry, now that he was married to Esme. He might be able to be a father to them, but he could never be a mother. They would have a mother in her, one who was patient and loving and kind. He could see that in her - he had seen it the very first day she'd arrived at their home in Ansburg. He watched her now, the affectionate way she kissed each of the children and tucked them in, as if she loved them already. Did he dare hope she might ever love him like that?

Anna was already asleep, nestling down into the soft bed with her arms wrapped about Avy, the doll Esme had given her when they'd first met. Esme rose, wrapping her arms almost self-consciously about her waist as she stepped back from the bed to stand beside Leo. My husband. That was a strange thought.

"We'll keep them safe," she promised him softly.

"We will," he agreed, his voice quiet. We must. He started toward the door, pausing to wait for her to join him. There was no need to post a guard, as their rooms were attached, guards posted in the corridor with orders to let no one intrude, except in the case of an emergency. "It's been a long day. Come to bed," he bade her, as he waited for her at the door.

And what an intimidating sentence that was. She felt her cheeks warm at the quiet order he gave her, though she knew he didn't mean it as one, turning away from the sleeping children to slip through the door.

All he meant was that she needed rest, but now that they were married, asking her to come to bed could be presumed to mean more than that. He could not deny that he found her attractive - beautiful, even - but he did not want to force himself on her or force her into anything she did not want. Wedding night or not, if all she wanted was sleep, that was what he would give her. He paused a moment at the door to look one last time at the children, sleeping like angels, before he closed the door and followed Esme from the room.

At a loss for what to do or say, Esme found herself leading the way not to the door that would take them into their own bedroom, but toward the hearth in this sitting room, reaching to pour two glasses of spiced wine. "I am sorry if I am not the ....the eager bride you might have wished for," she apologised awkwardly. "I-I have never been so truly alone with a man before now."

"Nonsense," Leopold replied, as gently as he could, despite the way he was contradicting her. "We have been alone before, just not as husband and wife," he pointed out, with a strained smile of his own. He followed her to the hearth but instead of taking a glass, he looked to the flames in the hearth. "When my brother married, I thought how lucky he was to have found a woman who loved him so much she would give up her life as a noblewoman. And then they had children, and I thought they were the luckiest people in all the land. They loved each other, and they were happy, and I was happy for them. I wished I could just have just a little of their happiness, and then they were gone."

Esmerelda Kramer

Date: 2018-03-18 09:34 EST
She joined him to look into the flames, both glasses held uncertainly in her hands. "I was angry with them for a long time," she confessed softly. "I was jealous of Ernst. I felt as though he had stolen my sister away from me, and she had abandoned me to live in this old place with an old man who was more angry than content most days. I never saw them together. All I had was Avila's letters, but ....I could see how much she loved him. And I envied them that happiness, that freedom." She passed him one of the glasses, raising her own to her lips. "I did say I was a spoiled child."

Her voice drew him back to the present and he turned to face her, pausing a moment before taking the glass. "They were selfish, but they were happy." And if they'd lived, none of this would be happening. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"There is something to be said for being selfish every now and then," Esme mused quietly, still staring into the flames. "I was expecting you to hate me," she confessed. "For being my father's daughter, for not doing more to stay in contact with my sister. I'm not entirely sure why you don't hate me."

"Why would I hate you?" he asked, frowning in confusion at her statement. "Avila loved you ....and missed you. She spoke of you often. She regretted hurting you and your father, but what?s done is done. And because of them, we have Matias and Anna," he reasoned, gently.

"I never meant for my presence in your lives to rearrange everything you know," she apologised yet again. "It seems so dreadfully unfair that you should have to change everything familiar, simply because my family is too close to the throne to allow a challenge to our authority."

"Is that what you think this is all about?" he asked, brows arching upwards over the rim of the glass he'd just taken a sip from, before setting it aside on a nearby table. He reached for her glass, to set it aside, too, before turning back to her. "I thought this was about what?s best for the children."

"It is what?s best for the children in these circumstances," she agreed, meeting his eyes uncertainly, "but you can't expect me to believe you would have ever asked me to marry you if we had not been put in this situation by one man's greed." She tilted her head, almost daring him to lie to her. "You said yourself ....we are friends, Leo, and there is the potential that we could be more, but without the princess' interference, would we ever have come to this point?"

"Does it matter?" he asked, a soft smile on his face as he reached for her hands. "Arranged marriages are common, even among those who are not noble. Those who marry for love are rare. Who is to say what might have happened if the princess had not interferred" Would you rather marry someone you might come to love or to hate?"

She laughed quietly as he spoke, glancing down at her hands in his. "That is a ridiculous question, Leo," she pointed out, but her smile was warm as she said it. "We might be at court for quite some time. Perhaps we should pretend to loathe each other, just to keep the fops guessing."

He chuckled a little, but he didn't seriously consider that idea. "It would only hurt the children to think we hated each other," he pointed out. "We are in this together, Esme, for better or worse," he said, not even realizing he was quoting their vows.

"True," she agreed. "They seem ....content with our new situation, don't they' Anna, I think, is a little overwhelmed with everything that has happened today, but Matias ....does he mind, do you think" You know them better than I."

"I think it will take them some time to adjust, but they're young ....resilient." More resilient than their adult counterparts in some ways. "We are the only family they have left, but I am not my brother, and I cannot pretend to be my brother. I will do my best, but I can only hope to do well by them."

"Of course you will do well by them," she assured him. "You are their uncle, and they love you. You will always have time for them. That is all children need - to know that the people who care for them love them and have time to share with them."

"Then I think we will both do well by them, Esme," he assured her, though it was uncertain whether he would do well by her. "It's been a long day. We should get some rest," he suggested, though he knew the matter of the marriage bed was an awkward one.

"We should," she agreed, unable to disguise the flush on her cheeks that rose in response to the thought of sharing a bed with him. "We will be traveling for most of tomorrow, and the day after."

Leo had been with a woman before, but judging by Esme's blush, he was fairly certain she had not been with a man. They had not even so much as shared a kiss, and yet, were expected to share a bed. "Would ..." he stammered, licking his lips, a sign of his nervousness. "Would you prefer I sleep on a chair?"

Despite her nerves, Esme shook her head, biting her lip. "We are husband and wife," she reminded him quietly. "And what would the children think if they came in and found you in a chair" I ....I do not believe you are a man who will become overcome with lust at the sight of my unbound hair or one of my ankles. I-I feel ....safe, with you."

Overcome with lust' No, but desire" Perhaps. Still, he was not the kind of man who would force himself on a woman, even one who had become his wife. "It has been ....some time since I've been with a woman," he admitted, with the faintest hint of a blush coloring his cheeks.

"Oh. Oh, of course." Her smile was both nervous and apologetic as she stepped away, turning toward the bedroom door. "I-I did not think you wouldn't ....that is, I have ....Well, obviously, I have never been with a man."

"You need not fear me, Esme. I will not force you to do anything you do not wish to do," he assured her, as she started toward the bedroom. She had already assured him that she felt safe with him, and yet, he felt the need to reassure her further.

She paused, looking back at him. "I am not afraid of you, Leo," she assured him in turn. "I know there are ....duties expected of a wife. But ....would it be awful of me to ask if we not engage in them until ....Well, at least until the children are not within earshot of us?"

He was frowning again for some reason. "I would prefer you not think of them as duties," he said. "But I understand." Or at least, he thought he did. He did not think it was entirely about the children, but he did not say so. He had told her he wouldn't force himself on her, and he meant it. "Would you, um, like some privacy?" he asked, assuming she had to change her clothes and might feel more comfortable doing it without him in the room.

"Oh! Um ..." Esme glanced down as she realized she was rubbing her hands nervously at her waist. "Ten minutes?" she suggested. "And-and, of course, I will give you the same privacy."

"Of course," he replied, the faintest trace of a smirk on his face at her remark. It wasn't amusement exactly. He wasn't laughing at her, so much as feeling some sense of affection for her at seeing her nervousness. She was nervous because of him. It seemed almost absurd. "Ten minutes, then," he agreed.

"Thank you."

Perhaps it would be unkind to describe her as fleeing into the bedroom, but there was a fair turn of speed to her step as she slipped out of sight. Thankfully, she wasn't a woman who needed a maid to help her undress, but Esme still rushed to slip out of her dress and chemise, out of her shoes and stockings, and into the voluminous and decidedly unattractive nightgown that swamped her slight figure. Wrapping a robe about herself, she collected her comb and a length of ribbon, turning to slip back out of the room with the intention of letting down her hair while he changed for bed himself.

Esmerelda Kramer

Date: 2018-03-18 09:35 EST
There was no point in wasting what wine was left in the glasses. It would help him relax while he waited for ten minutes to pass and stop him from thinking about what she might be doing in the bedroom or what she might look like with her hair down, clad in only a robe that did little to hide her shape. He gulped down what was left in his own glass before draining hers. It wasn't enough to make him feel even a little bit woozy, but if nothing else it might help him sleep, knowing she was lying just on the other side of the bed. He watched the clock on the mantel, listening to the minutes tick by. Ten minutes seemed like a long time when one was watching the clock.

At last, he moved to the bedroom and rapped his knuckles gently on the door. "Esme?" he called quietly, wondering if she was already sleep.

The door opened almost immediately to reveal his pale-faced bride in her robe and gown, clutching a hairbrush to her chest as her other hand tugged a handful of pins from her raven-dark hair. "I-I was just coming. I'm sorry, I didn't realise I was taking so long."

He tried to keep his gaze focused on her face and not let it drift to the fall of her hair or the change of her clothes. It wasn't like she wasn't properly dressed; it was only that he had never seen her dressed for bed before. "You're not ....you didn't," he was quick to assure her. "I wasn't sure if you were ready, and I didn't want to startle you."

"Y-you didn't startle me," she assured him, edging awkwardly from the room. "I, um ....I will wait out here." She couldn't guess how long it would take him to be ready for bed, but she had at least thought far enough ahead to have something to keep her hands busy in the meantime.

He stepped out of her way, so that she could move past him without seeming to impede her in any way. The warmth of friendship that had been growing between them seemed to cool with the prospect of bed. "Very well," he replied, thinking that best. He didn't want to shock her by seeing him naked before she was ready for it, after all - if she was ever ready. "Ten minutes," he said, doubting he'd need even that long. He didn't have hair to unpin or a corset to unlace, after all.

"Ten minutes," she agreed, already turning away to untangle her hair and comb it through, to work it into a loose braid for sleep.

He idly wondered what it would feel like to run his fingers through her hair or even to help her brush it out, but he had a feeling it was too soon for that. Instead, he slipped into the bedroom and closed the door behind him, so that he could shed his own clothes and don his nightshirt. Once that was done, he turned down the blankets to warm them, though the nights were slowly growing warmer.

It was closer to fifteen minutes before Esme knocked on the door, having taken her time in braiding her hair and putting out the candles that illuminated the sitting room. Her knock was quietly uncertain, even that betraying her sense of nerves at the thought of sharing a bed with a husband she had never expected to have.

He felt kind of silly in his nightshirt, almost naked without quite being naked. Thankfully, he'd had the forethought to leave his braies on, so at least, one part of his anatomy wasn't so obvious. "Come in!" he called back, nervously smoothing his hair back and shuffling uncomfortably from foot to foot as though he was uncertain how he should greet her.

There was a moment's pause before the handle turned, and Esme slipped into the room, too shy to look anywhere but at the flicker of her own bare toes beneath the hem of her own nightshirt and robe as she closed the door behind her. "I-I blew out the candles."

He tried once again to focus on her face, as she joined him. "I turned down the blankets," he said, with the wave of a hand toward the bed. "Which, uh, side would you like?" he asked further. Whatever his preference, he'd allow her to choose.

"Thank you." Taking a deep breath, Esme made a supreme effort to speak without stammering as she crossed the room, setting her comb down on the windowsill. "I usually get into bed on the side nearest the window," she admitted. "But if you would rather, I will switch."

"I have no preference," he told her. Though that wasn't exactly true, it hardly mattered. He'd been used to sleeping alone for too long, though there were mornings when he awoke to find himself sandwiched between two small children. "After you," he said, with that wave of a hand toward the bed again.

A flash of a smile flickered across her face in answer, her head dipping as she undid the ribbon at her breast to remove the robe that covered her, unaware that she was silhouetted within the folds of her nightgown by the moonlight shining in through the window. "I don't mean to be difficult," she apologised. "I do like you, Leo."

He couldn't help but let his eyes linger a moment before turning away to allow her a moment of privacy as she removed her robe and presumably crawled under the covers. "I like you, too, Esme," he assured her, before blowing out the last candle still burning. He couldn't deny that she was a lovely sight in the moonlight, but he didn't want his thoughts to wander too far in that direction.

She was quick to slide beneath the blankets, feeling her cheeks flush as the nightgown rode up to her thighs with the motion of tugging the covers to her waist. Feet wriggling noticeably, she waited until he joined her, turning her head to look over at him with an embarrassed, self-conscious giggle. "Hello."

He looked over at her from where he was bent over the candle, a small smile on his face, though she might not see it in the dark. How could he not smile when she was giggling like a schoolgirl" "Hello," he replied, that smile in his voice, even if she couldn't see it on his face. "Would you prefer if I sleep on top the blankets?" he asked, uncertainly.

"That does seem a little unfair to you," she pointed out, somehow more confident now darkness had descended on them. It was heartening to hear the smile in his voice, at least. "If I promise not to force myself on you like a lust-filled dowager with more money than sense, would that make it easier to sleep comfortably?"

He chuckled a little at her question, guessing she was trying to make a joke to ease both their nerves. "What makes you think I wouldn't enjoy that?" he asked, as he lifted the covers and slid himself beneath them.

"Um ..." For a moment, Esme was lost for words, but she did make an attempt to rally. "If your tastes run to dowagers, I'm sure we could find one for you at court."

His chuckle deepened. "That is not what I meant, but never mind." He turned to face her and settled his head against the pillow, watching her in the moonlight that was shining through the window. "I am sorry if I ruined your plans for marriage," he found himself saying.

Lying on her back, she let her head turn, meeting his gaze in the moonlight. "I didn't have any plans," she admitted quietly. "Foolish expectations, maybe, but I knew the best I could hope for was to be married off to someone not too objectionable. Being your wife is hardly something to object to. But I never asked if you had any plans, if you were harboring hopes to wed someone else."

He hesitated before answering, preferring to hear her story, rather than tell his own. "There was someone once, but it was a long time ago," he admitted, though he did not bother to mention just how long ago.

"What happened?" It wasn't a question she would have asked him even this morning, but this morning they had not been married to one another. Some questions, a wife was entitled to ask, even if she did not truly expect an answer.

Esmerelda Kramer

Date: 2018-03-18 09:35 EST
He shrugged one shoulder, as if it no longer mattered or didn't bear mentioning. "She married someone else," he explained simply. It hardly mattered who.

Beside him, his new wife twisted onto her side to face him, reaching out to touch his hand. "I'm sorry," she apologised, perhaps even on behalf of the woman who had spurned him so long ago.

"No matter. It is probably for the best," he said, though again, he didn't bother to explain why he'd said it. Perhaps he was only thinking that if he'd already been married, he could not be here with her.

Faced with his unwillingness to speak or accept her sympathy, Esme hesitated, drawing her hand back to tuck her fingers beneath her cheek as she looked at him. He really was very handsome, she finally allowed herself to admit, but Leo was more than just a handsome man. He was kind, and intelligent, disciplined in body and mind. He was too good a man to be forced into the ranks of the nobility, really.

He immediately regretted whatever he'd done to cause her to withdraw her hand and grow quiet, and yet, it was not easy for him to understand what she wanted from him or how he might have disappointed her. Perhaps it was his turn to apologize. "I do not mean to be short with you, Esme. It is just it was such a long time ago, I hardly think of it anymore. I have ....more important things to worry about these days." And those more important things included her.

"I didn't mean to pry," she murmured softly. "My mother always said that the one person a woman should give and expect honesty with is her husband. I suppose I am reaching for something I have not yet earned."

"I suppose it will take some time to get to know each other and some time before we are comfortable with each other," he said, unsure just how to speed that process up, except to let it take its natural course. "I do like you, Esme. I like you very much. I have watched you with the children. You are kind and caring and honest. They could ask for no better mother and I no better wife," he said, daring to search for her hand in the darkness.

"You have such a high opinion of me," she marveled, letting him take her hand easily. "I wonder that you can be so confident of me. I knew you through Avila's eyes before we ever met - I liked you then. I like you even more now. I will love the children as much as they allow me to. And I do not think it will be difficult to love you."

He might have asked more about what her sister had told her about him, but her mention of love sent him off course, his thoughts going in a different direction. He found his heart yearning for something he had given up on long ago, something he'd no longer thought possible. "The children love you already," he said, pausing a moment before continuing, his heart beating hard in his chest for some inexplicable reason. "I do not think it would be hard for me to love you either."

Slender fingers in his grasp twisted, lacing between his own as her eyes lowered to their joined hands. "It is ....it is probably dreadful of me to think this, but ..." She hesitated. "Would ....would it be terrible to ask ....why you did not kiss me this afternoon?"

"Why?" he echoed, a little surprised at her question. It wasn't that he didn't want to kiss her, only that he thought it would be a little too forward, a little too brash of him. "Did you want me to?" he asked, licking his lips nervously again.

She hesitated yet again, shyness battling with her stubbornness and finally losing. "It seems rather forward to say yes, but ..." She bit her lips together in a silent display of nerves. "I-I was expecting ....that is, I think I would like ..." She fell silent, sure she had crossed a line.

There was only one way to respond to that really, and it wasn't with words. Instead, he eased closer, his fingers finding her face to caress her cheek before his lips found hers. It was the same kiss he might have given her earlier had he been brave enough, had he not worried she might not welcome it. It was a sweet kiss, lips surprisingly soft and warm and lingering a moment longer than necessary. He found himself enjoying the feel of her lips against his, that kiss sparking some long forgotten flame deep inside his heart.

It was Esme's first kiss, and the fact that it was happening in her marriage bed on her wedding night was not lost on her. She squeaked in surprise when his lips found hers, tense and stiff for a long moment before she let herself relax into the startlingly warming simplicity of that unexpected brush of affection. Her fingers uncurled from between them, hesitantly offering the barest touch to his chin, his jaw, afraid to do more than merely offer that touch in case it was not welcomed.

He was not afraid to go slow, even if his body was telling him differently, and he made sure to keep enough distance between them that his body's reaction to that kiss wasn't too overtly obvious. Still, his lips warmed against hers, softening into a kiss that was passionate but not demanding.

For someone who had never even been embraced by a man who was not her father, it was an overwhelming experience to be kissed. Not just kissed, but kissed with meaning, kissed by someone who wanted to kiss her and knew what he was doing. She gasped as the kiss softened and deepened, her fingers forgetting their fear to cling to the collar of his nightshirt as she shifted awkwardly, aware of a crackling warmth deep inside.

There was something about a first kiss between two people that proved whether there was an attraction or not. Though Leo didn't consciously realize this, somewhere deep inside, his body reacted to her kiss, his heart opening to the growing feelings between them. There was an ardent warmth that came from that kiss and slowly radiated through his body, and it was a feeling he had never really felt before.

It was Esme who broke the kiss, gasping for breath even as she clung to him in the moonlit darkness. She didn't quite know what had just happened. Was a simple kiss supposed to maze your mind and leave you burning for something you couldn't quite identify' Was she supposed to want to be closer now he had given her what she'd asked for, or should she ease away' She didn't know. All she did know was that she was there, with Leo, and if he never kissed her again, her life would be the poorer for it.

He smiled a little as she pulled away from the kiss. Judging from her reaction, she had enjoyed it as much as he had - or at least, he hoped so. His fingers grazed her cheek again in a soft, affectionate caress. "You should get some rest, dear heart. We have a long journey tomorrow," he urged her, making no further demands on her tonight, even if it was their wedding night. There would be plenty of nights to share together.

And another journey the day after, though not quite so long. But he'd called her dear heart. Esme's awed expression softened into another of those shy smiles, somehow more intimate now than before, a smile that perhaps would belong only to Leo in the months and years to come. "You should rest too," she murmured softly, though she still clung to him, as though afraid if she let go, he would disappear forever.

He didn't pull away or seem to mind her embrace, moving closer now that the passion that had flared between them subsided. The endearment had not consciously risen to his lips, but had found its way there of its own accord, given his growing feelings for the lovely, gentle woman who'd become his wife. "I will," he promised, though his eyes remained open, wanting to study her in the darkness where she might not feel his gaze.

Still shy, but somehow comfortable to be shy in his presence now, Esme bit her lip, nestling just a little closer as she let her head relax onto the pillow. "Good night ....sweetheart," she whispered, hastily closing her eyes to avoid seeing his reaction to an endearment of her own.

Though it was hard to tell in the dark, her endearment surprised him, brows arching upwards as a smile spread across his face. Despite the reasons for their marriage, perhaps there was hope for them after all. "Good night," he replied, touching an affectionate kiss to her brow. One thing was certain, he would do everything in his power to protect those he cared for against any danger, and those he cared for now included a wife.

Perhaps it had not been the marriage either of them had expected, or even hoped for, but one thing had been made absolutely certain by the princess' demand that they join. They were a family, and no one - not even the king - would ever be able to negate that connection ever again.