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."
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."