Through Ages of Weary Fulfillment: Ch. 16

Two (Three) Announcements at Once

Notes:

A CHAPTER WHEN SOMETHING IS REVEALED!!!!

The chapter title seems mildly humorous. This chapter is not humorous.

*****

There was tension at the dinner table for some reason, Janner knew it. And it was exhausting. 

The strangest thing was that it wasn't the sort of tension that had persisted for the past few weeks that was a mess of worry about Anniera and rebuilding and Kalmar and him and quite likely everything under the sun. It had always been a worry shared by all of them, except for the guilt that usually lingered as well. That was Janner's contribution to the mess. 

This tightness—that was so palpable he felt sick—came from Artham and Arundelle, the two last people he expected anything—

He stopped himself. That wasn't true. Arundelle was the last person he would expect to worry, but Artham was probably the first. Artham had worried at a constant rate from the moment Janner’s eight-year-old self had first laid eyes on Peet the Sock Man. Arundelle, however, did not seem like the type to worry quite so much. Why, then, was the trouble in her eyes so clear now?

“How was everyone’s day?” he asked awkwardly, forcing himself to look at his family (plus Sara and Arundelle) instead of the ruined walls of Castle Rysen, now turning gold and pink in the sunset, surrounding them. He really would have preferred as little conversation as possible, since conversation led to energy expending which led to exhaustion. Unfortunately his desire to somehow right the tangled currents, or at least find out the reason behind them, won out over personal preferences.

Nia shot him a glance, and Janner shrunk back in his seat, smiling at her sheepishly. It looked as though she was about to say something along the lines of “you need to stop tiring yourself,” or “work less,” or something else he had grown painfully accustomed to. At that point he might not have minded so much, as a comment like that was a segue to sleep, but considering his intent was to settle the tension, such a thing would not work in favor of...well, settling tension.

Leeli inadvertently decided for them and spoke up. “Thorn and I were able to help in the gardens and we caught thwaps and we built pens for animals and fed animals and I found some really cute puppies and we talked to them in dogspeak and taught them some tricks, and one really wanted to come home with us, but Baxter wouldn’t like that.” Baxter, who was watching over Leeli from several feet away, woofed in agreement. 

Janner began laughing but stopped as soon as the threat of a cough sparked in his chest. Thankfully, no one noticed, since Leeli’s declaration impressively spoken in one breath made Nia and Sara chuckle and Artham and Arundelle smile. 

Any amount of mirth in Janner’s heart faded seconds later, and he felt even the smile wavering on his face. It had to stay there, though. It couldn't leave. If it left, everyone (or at least Sara) would know that the way Leeli rambled, the way she spoke without taking a break, even the light in her eyes—oh, it broke his heart reminding him of Kalmar! She and Kal weren’t the same, not in the very least, but…it didn’t matter, since now the thought was on his mind. He wondered first when it would leave, then if it was wrong it wanted it gone.

“My day was good, too,” Sara added with a smile. “My Orphans—well, I guess they're not Orphans anymore, nor are they mine—rather, the children are doing really well. I checked on them, did a few things in town, washed clothes, had a nice walk on the beach.” She winked at him, and Janner felt his cheeks warming. The family had convinced him to work only in the morning and rest in the afternoon, but they had also posted a watch to make sure he didn't sneak off and overexert himself in said afternoon. Sara had been “on watch” that day, and they had taken a walk along the beach simply to pass the time. And he enjoyed it. And felt a little guilty. 

Nia eyed him quizzically. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

Clearing his throat and risking a coughing fit (it was worth diverting prying eyes, though) Janner looked at Artham. “Uncle Artham, how did work on the Striggs’ home go this afternoon?”*

His blue eyes staring off into space, Artham did not respond until Arundelle nudged his arm with her fork, at which point he blinked. “I’m sorry, what was your question, Janner?” He repeated himself, and Artham smiled boyishly. “Well in that case, it went rather well, and I believe you have another young lady interested in you.”

Janner nearly choked on his sip of water. Actually, he did choke and it went down the wrong way a bit, which did make him cough. “I’m sorry, what?!” he wheezed after several moments, inwardly grabbing his hair because of the way Nia was looking at him.

“Why, Galya, of course,” Artham replied nonchalantly, thankfully seeming unconcerned about his well-being. It was strange, but honestly a relief. “You weren’t aware before? I guessed it the moment you first met in the forest.”

Janner couldn’t resist pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. “I…I didn’t mean to make her think anything!” The cough he had tried suppressing managed to escape. “I just wanted a friend to make small talk with!”

Light laughter that sounded a bit odd escaped from Sara, and it was accompanied by several snickers from Leeli. Baxter began thumping his tail on the ground, as if chiming in with them.

“What is it?” Janner asked, looking at both of them. “It’s not funny! I don’t want to have to deal with that.”

Leeli’s eyes sparkled with mischief, but she still collected herself sooner than Sara and took over the role of responding. “Nothing much more than some concerns and a bit of spying. But it’s not important.”

“That may not be,” Nia said, interjecting unexpectedly. Janner glanced at her and saw that she was eyeing Artham and Arundelle suspiciously. “Is something going on between you two? And are you planning on sharing with the rest of us?”

They exchanged a look, an odd look, a look that seemed to be a mixture of relief and concern and fear and uncertainty. Janner couldn’t help but puzzle at the exchange. It wasn’t normal, not for them.

“Well, there is something we need to tell most of you, other than Nia,” Artham began. “Arundelle and I, we—”

Leeli jumped up in her seat and blurted out, “YOU’RE PLANNING ON GETTING MARRIED?!”

“No,” Arundelle stated shortly. “We did that already. And we’re going to explain everything, but it all pertains to a very pressing matter that just can’t wait for discussion.”

Everyone except Nia stared in surprise as Artham put his arm around Arundelle and whispered something inaudible in her ear, something that was enough to quiet the franticness blooming on her face. 

“Yes, so,” Artham began after clearing his throat, eyeing each of them in return. “Arundelle and I legally eloped as per Nia and Esben’s suggestion four months before the Fall of Anniera. Leeli was two months old.”

Janner stared at him, shocked and a bit unsure as to what he should think. He certainly wasn’t angry, just a little confused. “Wait, but why elope?” The fact that Artham and Arundelle were married brought much more sense to Arundelle’s recollection of her reaction to seeing Artham leaving Throg and certainly explained her happiness upon hearing he was alive. He did his best not to focus on the fact that Kal had been there with him when Arundelle had told them, and that it was when he had first heard he would be a seed. He had been a seed. As had Kalmar.  

“Traditionally,” Nia explained gently, answering his question and drawing him out of his thoughts of grief. “The Throne Warden dedicates his or her life to serving the monarch and Anniera. Many consider having a family a burden or an inappropriate choice on the Throne Warden’s part. A number of Throne Wardens choose not to marry simply for public appearance.”

Arundelle cleared her throat and gave a slight smile. “Artham was going to choose the same but—”

“That didn’t happen,” Sara finished her sentence this time, nodding understandingly. “Mrs. Wingfeather, I am very glad you convinced them otherwise.”

Nia laughed. “And I as well.”

Despite the smiling faces and his urge to congratulate his uncle and aunt, Janner couldn’t help but see how worried they were. Something was wrong, dreadfully wrong, and it had something to do with their marriage, though there was a flicker of familiar guilt in Artham’s eyes. “What is actually wrong?” he asked promptly, knowing everyone would prefer it if they got to the point.

“Something I didn’t tell anyone,” Arundelle said in a choked whisper. “Is that I was pregnant. When we were sacked—”

Nia’s hand flew to her mouth. “Arundelle, they didn’t—”

Arundelle shook her head. “I had the baby in Throg,” she whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks. “A girl. They took her away, said she died a few hours after she was born.”

Janner’s heart ached for his aunt and uncle. He wondered if Artham had known it, had seen it. Based on the pain in his face and his eyes, he had. How much more grief and hurt lied beneath the surface of their family’s already obvious pain? What more would they discover in this broken land of memories?

He wasn’t sure if he felt guilty or not for mentally calling Anniera a broken land of memories. It seemed as though that was all it was, all anyone he knew had felt there. Or at least it was all they remembered.

After he had drawn Arundelle into a tight embrace, Artham pulled a relatively crumpled piece of paper out from who-knew-where and passed it to Nia, not quickly enough to hide the fact that his hand shook, with fear or anger, Janner wasn't sure. “We found this on the beach,” he explained briefly, his tone clipped.

Silence prevailed over the group, other than a steady growl from Baxter, and Janner knew his eyes were not the only ones fixated on Nia as she smoothed the paper and began reading it, her brow furrowing, a sheen of surprise coming over her, then darkness settling in her eyes. “How do you even know she’s telling the truth?” Nia demanded, her hand clutching the paper tightly. “You have no proof this is even true!”

Who is “she”? Janner’s mind screamed. And what did the note say? As much as he wanted to ask, it was better to wait. Emotions and mental states were roiling, and it was not the time to upset someone.

“How can we assume anything else?” Artham retorted, eyebrows knotting together in fear and anger. “I won’t risk it Nia, I won’t. I can’t. I can’t fail her too.”

Janner’s head spun and a chill flooded over him along with realization. “Oh, Maker, help us,” he whispered. Sara’s fingers brushed against his arm, and though his heart sped up at the contact, he did his best to ignore the way it felt and instead focused on what the gesture meant. She wanted to know what he had realized. “Someone has their daughter,” he said simply. “Someone from Throg. It can’t be Davion, so it has to be either Amrah or Murgah.”

“It’s Amrah,” Arundelle choked out. It looked as though she planned on composing herself, but by the way her eyes still trembled, Janner guessed that wouldn’t happen anytime soon. “She has her.”

Artham kissed her head and laid his cheek against it for a moment before continuing tersely. “And she’ll kill her if we don’t rescue her in the next month and a half.”

“It says you, Artham,” Nia inputted worriedly, her eyes wide with concern. “You’re the only one who’s allowed to get her.”

*****

Notes:

*The Striggs are the name I gave the elderly couple who took Galya in^^

PLOT TWIST!!!! I did go back and read the section of TWatWK where Arundelle is talking to Janner and Kalmar, and I didn't see anything for or against a possible elopement (in fact, I feel like there's more evidence for an elopement than not....). So anyway 😄😄😄😄😄

And, yes, Sara's frustration about Galya is now assuaged because she knows Janner didn't intend anything other than a simple friendship.

Please let me know about anything that is dreadfully noncanonical :D