Torgan Wine Ch 40

Huge thanks to Todger65 for help in editing and Nthusiastic for beta reading and making good suggestions!

*****

Dressed and with her hair braided and covered, Isonei came out of the bedroom on Draeseth's arm. The Hallocs and all four midwives were seated comfortably and sipping from wine glasses, enjoying what sounded like a pleasant conversation.

Halloc Urroth rose with a smile as he noticed her, "I was told you were generous, Duchess, but to share Lord Vigrim's wine is a pleasure I did not expect."

"Such good wine is meant to be shared." She beamed at him as he offered her his seat. "Thank you, Halloc Urroth."

"My wife's generous spirit is one of her many fine traits. I have never met a woman as forgiving and gentle."

"Halloc Aurim told me of the village she visited. The Duchess made a lasting impression. Some of the craftsmen have offered their services to the sisters at the convent. The boys have begun learning carpentry and building looms."

Isonei looked at Draeseth in surprise, "They'll need material to use on the looms!"

Before she could insist that he send some Halloc Urroth laughed and nodded, "The women of the village have sent skeins of rough spun threads and the older girls are making trips to the village to learn how to gather the fiber and spin it."

She placed her hand over her heart, "They were wonderfully warm people."

"Halloc Aurim also spoke of your bravery, the villagers and his own priests were afraid when Prince Draeseth arrived in a temper." He glanced at the Prince, "But you rushed out and put yourself between them to make peace and compelled his Highness to promise them a school as an apology."

"Did he keep his word and give it to them?" Isonei tilted her head slightly.

"He did, Duchess. Did he not tell you? Koinzost Ernelis was built immediately and they are taking children from surrounding villages. For payment, the children's parents are required to perform kindnesses for others. I have been told, widows have never eaten so well in the Kroscur." The Halloc beamed, "Sellac Gesosin sent a letter praising you as well. Much of this was your idea?"

"It was. But she thought it would be too difficult to put into practice. It was felt I didn't have a good grasp of the effort I was suggesting be undertaken." Isonei offered a delicate shrug. "She wasn't wrong. It seemed like the perfect way to give the children some of the skills she said they would need, but I've never done any of the work myself."

"All ladies weave..." He looked slightly baffled.

"That is not a skill my wife was taught. She can tend a hive, brew honey beer, and she said she can make silk flowers." Draeseth gave her a proud smile. "My Duchess was born to a life of leisure."

It was difficult not to laugh at the Halloc's stunned look. "I offered to learn to do something. I suggested I could help with the cows."

Draeseth broke into laughter and then coughed, struggling to compose himself.

"Lislora nearly laughed herself sick as well, my flower wine. It was obvious to her I'd never been near one."

"You would be insisting the herds be bathed and scrubbing yourself raw after a walk through the barn, my soap loving wife. Tending cattle is a job better suited to those who do not fear dirt." He began laughing again as she made a face at him.

One of the midwives asked a question and Mes began talking rapidly with a great deal of amusement in her tone. The Munian woman looked startled when Halloc Aurim barked a laugh. He gestured for her to continue, asking a question of his own.

The Torgan Prince came to stand next to her as he listened to the conversation. "Would you like some wine, my Isonei?"

"No, but I would like the juice I was drinking earlier. I think it's still in the bedroom. Have you had any of the wine? It was lovely when I shared some with her Imperial Highness." She smiled as Krouth brought her a cup almost before she finished speaking. "Thank you, Krouth."

"I have. I prefer wine from the Kroscur but it was pleasant." He took the glass Krouth brought him with a curt nod. "Krouth is meant to be my servant, but you imply you wish me to drink a glass of wine and he fetches it."

"Is it my wine or your wine?" She fluttered her lashes, "Knowing Master Krouth he fetched you the wine you enjoy."

"Your wine is my wine, woman." Draeseth took a sip and gave her a look of annoyed amusement. "Flower wine."

"You can't possibly pay him as much as he deserves."

He glanced at Krouth and made an amused sound in his throat. "I had never seen the man be pleasant until you came. He was always loyal and reliable; you make him beam with pride."

"He should be proud! You would be lost without him." Isonei sipped her drink as he gave her a black look. "You would! Can you find anything without him? I can't."

Draeseth's eyes began to glitter. "He does that deliberately, my Duchess."

One of the midwives stood up speaking sharply and he looked her way in surprise. His reply in Torgan was cool but when Halloc Aurim spoke with a scowl, Draeseth inclined his head and offered the woman a shallow bow.

Isonei reached out and touched his arm frowning faintly. "My-"

"He should not give you such looks, Duchess." Halloc Urroth spoke quietly. "A wife should be cherished. Your hesitation to marry him properly begins to make sense when I see such things."

"His expressions only look concerning if you don't know him. His eyes glitter when he's amused and he-"

"He should not give you such looks." The Halloc frowned at her.

"She has never feared my scowl, nor should she." Draeseth placed his hand over hers on his arm. "I have promised the Kamrus that I will better control my temper, she may tell me if my expressions upset her."

"When you're truly angry they do, when you're annoyed or just making a face to get a reaction from people I enjoy it. The way you can scowl with amusement glittering in your eyes is actually something I find charming." She gave him a genuine smile and watched his face soften.

"When you look at me that way, I know I have made the right choice, my Duchess."

Halloc Urroth made a soft sound of annoyance and Draeseth's face soured again. Isonei gave the man a peeved look.

"What were you able to keep down for lunch today, Duchess?" His frown deepened slightly. "You seem cheerful except when you tire or are hungry."

"I haven't had lunch, Halloc Urroth. I was woken just before the midwives arrived." She sipped her juice. "But I can drink today. That makes me a little more cheerful than I was. Yesterday was awful."

"You should eat something. The midwives were of the opinion that anything that appeals to you should be permitted." He glanced at Mes. "Have a meal arranged for your mistress."

"Honey and pickled onions sound good to me, maybe another shade pepper or two." Isonei inclined her head. "I kept down the two I ate earlier."

"Shade peppers?" The Halloc narrowed his eyes. Draeseth began speaking quietly in Torgan and the priest nodded and gave a command to Mes.

"He says I should give them to you sparingly, your Grace. He thinks peppers are unhealthy." Mes was attempting to school her face to neutrality as Krouth often did, but her anger showed through.

"Peppers are very common in Ara and Mun, Halloc Urroth. I ate them, freshly picked, with my father in the garden as a child. A little heat in your food doesn't harm you. These have been pickled and are milder because of it."

"Perhaps you would let us taste them and judge?" He spoke quickly to Halloc Aurim who nodded and gave Mes another command.

The Munian woman stiffened and looked at Isonei for permission. "You may fetch them, Mes. And cut up one in small pieces so our guests can taste it." Isonei looked at the Hallocs with some amusement. "His Majesty and his sons didn't find the taste pleasant, but none of them spat it out. I would offer you a whole one but they have a wonderful flavor and I would be very unhappy with you if you wasted one."

Draeseth made an amused sound in his throat as Halloc Urroth relayed her words to Halloc Aurim. "The only flavor I tasted was my tongue burning, my Duchess."

"Torgans have delicate palates where heat is concerned." She offered him a look of mock commiseration, "You were born in the cold and greyness of Torga, peppers taste like the heat of an Aran summer. You would melt under the sun." Holding her impish grin back became impossible as he made a sour face.

"They did not say I should refrain from putting you over my knees, woman."

"I'm almost certain you didn't ask them. I haven't seen you blushing." Isonei fluttered her lashes at him and his lips twitched as he tried to hold his sour expression.

°°°°°°°°°°

Isonei tried not to laugh as Halloc Urroth chugged down his sour milk. The midwives had listened when Draeseth had cautioned them and not attempted the peppers. Halloc Aurim, on the other hand, was eating the bites from the plate with relish. As she took a second pepper for herself to eat she pulled out another for him as well.

He shook his head and pointed to the onions as he said something in Torgan.

"He wants to try an onion, your Grace." Mes came forward eying the extra pepper in her hand and Isonei offered it to her with a warm smile.

"I want to try some of them too, but I'd like to have honey with them. Krouth should be back in a moment." She beamed as Mes took the pepper and slipped out of sight through the doorway to devour it.

"You should not let her eat your food." Draeseth scowled down at her.

"You tease me for being selfish with the foods I enjoy, Mes and I both miss the tastes of home. I'm glad to share with her. If you and Krouth were living in Ara, would you truly do anything differently?"

"I would share such things privately."

"I couldn't put it back in the jar and I'm trying to be sparing with them." Her wide-eyed, deliberately innocent expression earned her a growling grunt.

"If our son has your charm my father will not allow me to dedicate him to Ganas. He will keep him at Court."

"Only for a short while, your father enjoys jesting with me but if he had to endure me for any length of time he'd put me in a barrel and send me back to the Kroscur." She tried to give him a sulky expression but it was difficult to hold as his face split in a broad grin.

"If you give him least one pale granddaughter he will forgive you anything. Once our son is born I will try harder to give you the daughter you wanted."

"You make it sound as if I'm unhappy about having Mallath instead of Kothesei. I was just so certain it had to be a girl..."

"Forgive me, Duchess," Halloc Urroth interrupted curiously, "You have no concerns about your son being dedicated to Ganas despite your... beliefs?"

"A child belongs to his father's House. He should share his father's religion. Why would I have concerns?" She gave the priest a warm smile as Krouth returned with a tray. "I have a great deal of respect for your religion. I don't need to share it to see the effect praying has on Draeseth or the kindness of the priests." Tilting her head she made a face and amended the statement immediately, "Most of the priests."

"I am saddened that the Kamrus has not been allowed to see you this way. It would change his view of you."

"Even if he were here, he would be viewing my words and actions differently than you do. The man hates me. He hated me before he met me and nothing will change his mind."

Isonei fished out several of the pickled pearl onions and put them on the plates Krouth offered. He'd brought soft goat cheese and honey, as well as the twice baked bread slivers and a small selection of meats and cheese for the other guests. Halloc Aurim followed his pickled onion with goat cheese on a sliver of the bread with a pleased expression as Urroth spoke to him in Torgan.

Her first onion she drowned in honey. The Hallocs were talking to each other as she ate the second with both honey and goat cheese, closing her eyes in delight for a moment before pressing the back of her hand to her mouth. After a few moments and a spoonful of plain honey, the feeling of nausea went away.

"Did you feel that Halloc Aurim was fond of you when you met him?" Draeseth asked quietly.

"No. When I first met him I was afraid of him. He was very sharp and stern but he wasn't cruel, his kindness showed through very quickly. There's nothing wrong with being sharp or stern as long as you temper it with kindness."

"He and Kamrus Gillaugrim shared the same opinion of you." He gave her a stern look as she shook her head.

"Draeseth, Halloc Aurim didn't take my every word and action as a personal insult and he didn't assume everything I did was an attempt to deceive him the way the Kamrus does. Even when I didn't know that man was watching he assumed everything I did was a show put on for his benefit." Isonei could feel tears welling and angrily tried to blink them back, "It goes beyond distrust or disrespect, he hates me. Hates, Draeseth."

"No, Duchess!" Halloc Urroth crossed to her and knelt with a frown. "He is angry at the changes in Prince Draeseth. Before he met you his Highness did not dally with strange women, nor did he participate in the rituals of false gods. Since his return, he has been disrespectful and he spends more extravagantly than his brothers, very much like his father. The Kamrus believes something has been done to him to make him behave this way."

"I have told him not to blame her, my faults are my own. They were easier to conceal when I had less to lose." Draeseth offered her a grim smile.

"Someone who suits you well should bring out the best in you." Isonei tried to stifle a yawn, the discussion was making her feel tired.

"The Kamrus said the same." Halloc Urroth rose looking bemused. "I think I better understand now why Halloc Aurim changed his opinion of you."

"At their cores, our religions aren't so different. My Gods expect many of the same things from me that your God does of you."

"That is why you wished to add Ganas to your Gods." He had begun to smile. "And why you have no fear of your child being dedicated to him. Why do you resist being fully reclaimed?"

"You want me to give up my Gods. I love them; I wouldn't choose to give them up any more than you would choose to give up your God."

The next yawn wrenched itself out of her and she covered her mouth, blinking as her eyes watered.

"The Duchess is tired. We should let her rest." Halloc Urroth spoke to the midwives in Torgan and Halloc Aurim rose reluctantly, eyeing the jar.

"I can have Mes ask the cook if he'll pickle some onions for you, Halloc Aurim. Oh! And he's been given room to grow the peppers in the winter garden here. I'm certain he'll be glad to know someone else enjoys them." She beamed as her words were relayed and the stern man smiled at her, stepping forward to cover her face and murmur in his language as he slid his hands outward toward her ears.

He spoke to Draeseth for a moment with his hand resting on her head before they departed.

"What did he say?" Isonei smiled at the pleased looking Prince as he escorted her the few feet back to their bedroom.

"The blessing? That Ganas will reward your generous spirit and keep your soul safe." Draeseth kissed her forehead as he helped her out of her overdress. "I will return before dinner, rest my Duchess."

Mes entered as the Torgan Prince was leaving, holding a book. She let him close the door glancing furtively at it as if she expected it to reopen at any moment. "The cook found a book he thought you might enjoy, your Grace."

"The cook? That's very kind of him I'll have to learn his name and thank him." Isonei gave the nervous looking woman a curious smile. "Are the two of you..."

The Munian woman dropped her voice and came closer, "He's my brother. He could have left but..."

Krouth opened the door with a frown, "Allow her Grace to rest."

"I can rest and talk, Master Krouth. Come onto the bed with me, Mes, I want to hear all about him," she gave her a deliberately impish smile. "Out, out, Krouth! This isn't for your ears."

The slim Torgan pinched his nose and muttered something peevishly that Isonei couldn't understand before he left the room. Mes climbed onto the bed and arranged herself as if they were going to have a conspiratorial conversation.

"Your brother?" Isonei asked in a hushed voice.

"Yes, you knew him as Xago the glassmith but-" She stopped and gave her dimpled smile as Isonei beamed and took her hands. "He knew I was here and he came to be close and buy my freedom if he could."

"I've been trying to have Draeseth do that. No one should be-"

Mes disentangled a hand and quieted her. "We want to go home together, and we want to take you with us." She pressed the book to Isonei's chest. "There's a Lerian who says he knows you, he sent this. He promised to help all of us."

Isonei looked at the old book with a feeling of excitement and trepidation stirring inside her.

Aran Myths

was written across the front in formal Aran script. And it smelled much like the crypts of Liadith.

The inscription inside was in Lerian,

For Hesh Caeridith, may these tales ease your mind

.

"Hesh..." Isonei touched the words feeling calmer.

"He said to let you read it and then find a way to bring you outside of the palace to speak with him."

She nodded and lifted her gaze back to Mes, "Whenever I lay this book down it will need to be put out of sight. Both Draeseth and Krouth know Hesh, or of him. And they can both read Lerian. Perhaps keep it with my jewelry?"

"Of course, your Grace. Master Krouth says I should be more attentive." Mes made a face and Isonei giggled.

"Stay with me whenever Draeseth isn't. And tell me more about your brother! I liked him when I met him, he reminded me of home when I desperately needed it."

"His name is Xagorath, and please, don't mention to anyone that he's my brother. They separate siblings in Phaethia, the Torgans do it too."

°°°°°°°°°°

Isonei had looked over the book carefully before reading it. It was older than she had first thought. The pages were discolored with age but to be as old as she suspected, a gift from the daughter who had married the Aran King so long ago, it was stunningly well preserved. She was certain it had been kept in the crypts.

The stories inside were mostly familiar but a few were different than she'd ever heard. The tale of the wretched traveler and the jester was certainly different. Here it was called

Obnerath and the Old Woman

. Instead of being a story mostly of the wretched traveler, this was of the jester, the son of Udnerath and Obris, the God of jests and the ringer of bells.

As in the tale she had grown up with and loved, the pair had jested back and forth more and more extravagantly until the jester went too far. The woman had wailed in grief as her bag was tossed into the sea. But in this tale, the jester asked his father to bring it back. The price of putting things right again was his godhood.

When she learned what it was to cost him, she tried to give the bag back to Udnerath to spare the jester. The mother, Maeralya, took the bag and the jester's godhood and gave them both youth and the blessing of children instead.

She gave the book back to Mes grudgingly when Krouth peered in sometime later and chided her for reading instead of sleeping. The slim servant had looked after Mes with a frown as she carried the book into the closet.

"I want it kept safe. Keeping it with my jewelry seems like the best place for it." Isonei smiled wryly at Krouth's curious glance, "I don't think you or Draeseth would approve of it lying around. It's a book of Aran myths, a surprisingly old one. I love stories and I'd hate for it to vanish just because it mentions Aran Gods."