Sean.
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Alexis was chopping fresh vegetables on the wooden table to the sound of chopping wood outside. "Did your father not need your help?" The woman looked pointedly at the young man with the silver eyes who was relaxing in one corner with a book in his lap.
Gareth had traded a family heirloom to the last peddler who came through town for a set of history tomes. Sean looked up. "He said I had worked long enough and should work on more important things like gaining knowledge."
The boy glanced back at the page, his mouth moving at odd angles as he tried to sound out a word silently. Smiling, Alexis watched him for a while before finishing her task. Her heart was filled to see something she had taught him being used so diligently. Behind her, the baby babbled by herself, seeming to have her own conversation with some imaginary friend.
Placing the vegetables into a pot over the fire, Alexis beckoned her adoptive son. "Come to the table and read to me and Haven."
Sean turned from his head from his pages to his sister, who was crawling around in a small area enclosed by wooden slats. She was reaching out toward him, calling him. Now that the little girl was mobile, everything was a hazard for her including the hearth. Gareth had built the tiny fence to prevent the child from getting injured. Getting up from the ground, the young man sat at the freshly cleared table.
Alexis gathered up Haven in her arms and brought her over to sit in her lap. "It is time for this little one to rest. Perhaps something soothing might be appropriate." The lady narrowed her gaze in mock judgment. "No wars or inappropriate bits, do you hear me?"
"Yes, ma'am," Sean flipped through the pages. He cleared his throat. "Although Prince Clover..."
"His name is Colvyr, dear," Alexis corrected him. See the position of the 'o' and the 'l'?"
Nodding, the young man continued. "Although Prince Cole-vehr," he over enunciated as he grinned mischievously, "did not take the throne and become Emperor until he was advanced in years, he vowed to rule justly and ushered in a period of peace. The Emperor married Arro-hah, and together they had many children including: Prince Hyd-rick, Princess Addel-ade, and..."
Sean stopped, pressing his thumb and finger into his eyes. "I should have picked a different passage. So many names. Why?!"
"Sometimes names are the most important part," Alexis chided him gently. "Without the knowledge of who someone is, how are you ever to understand what they have been through. Do you think those names are accidental?"
The young man looked at her blankly. He had never really thought of where names come from before. Swaying the baby in her arms as she rocked in her chair, Alexis began to explain. "Colvyr means 'dove of peace'. Don't you think his parents had some hope or expectation when they named him? Did their hope come true?"
"It looks like it," Sean admitted. He cupped the back of his neck. His curiosity was piqued. "What about the others?"
"Arroha means 'love.' I suppose her parents wanted her to find love or be loving. I believe that she fulfilled both. Heidrich?" Alexis closed her eyes for a moment as she searched for the information she wanted. "Yes, that is it," her eyes popped open as she smile. "Heidrich means kind and mighty ruler. What do think the Emperor hoped he would become?"
Sean rolled his eyes. "That one is very obvious, really..."
Chuckling, Alexis could not help but nod, "As for Adelaide..."
"Let me try the last one." The young man puzzled on the problem for a long time, pulling apart the name in every way he could. "Does it mean 'noble'?"
The blue eyed-woman lavished a brilliant smile on him which he felt in his toes. "Well done, son. And she was quite a noble woman."
"How do you know?" Sean flipped through the pages trying to confirm her claim.
Alexis reached out and laid her hand on his. "They are a part of who I am," she answered. Before he could follow up to know what she meant, his adoptive mother released him and went back to patting the baby gently on her back. "And you did the same as all of them when given the chance. Or else why did you pick the name 'Haven', hm?" The little one shifted in her mother's embrace upon hearing herself be called.
"That is easy. I chose it because she is my safe haven just like you...oh I see what you mean." Sean had been picking apart others' choices when he had also given a name as a blessing. Suddenly, he became wistful.
Noticing the change in the boy's demeanor, Alexis pressed her lips together. "Something else on your mind?"
"It's nothing. Just...do you think my parents, the ones I was born to I mean...do you think they named me with a hope or a blessing?" There was a longing in the young man's voice that cut at Alexis's heart. However, she had an answer ready.
"I know they did because I know how precious you are. You may think me a fool, but I looked for the meaning in your name shortly after you came to us. If it had been a poor meaning, I would have found another name more fitting to call you, with your permission, of course. Sean means 'the Maker is Gracious'. The meaning is quite lovely."
"I had no idea you were so fond of names, mother. If you like what things mean so much, why in the world did you let me name Haven?" The more Sean learned about his adoptive mother, the less he felt that he understood her.
"I knew you would pick a name worthy of a princess." Alexis closed her eyes, a sad smile on her face.
Sean looked down at Haven, who had drifted off to sleep almost as soon as he had begun reading. "Princess Haven? I rather like it. Everyone will say she rose to the occasion, but really she should have been born into it, in my opinion."
"You have no idea, son." The woman quickly wiped the melancholy expression from her face as her handsome husband graced the front entry with his presence. Holding an armful of lumber, his face was glistening from hard, honest labor.
"There are the three people I love most in the world!" he said proudly, only to be shushed gently by his wife. He noticed the sleeping baby. "My apologies, my love," he whispered.
Gareth walked over, kissed Alexis on the head, and set down the wood by the hearth. Joining the others at the table, the man picked up the book which had been closed.
"Are you learning your lessons, son?" he asked with a satisfied grin.
"He is doing splendidly," Alexis confirmed. "I could not ask for a better student."
"You are better than me, my boy. Despite your mother's courageous efforts, she never could teach me to put words together and read them." Gareth laughed quietly. He turned the book upside down and pretended to study it carefully. He peeked over the cover and winked at his audience.
"You have other skills," the woman argued, "skills that put food on our table, which is arguably far more important. You know I would not have married just anyone."
Gareth flushed, his cheeks which were red from exertion reddening further still. "You honor me, my good lady," he said humbly. He looked at Sean. "You have no idea how blessed you are to have such an amazing mother teaching you about life."
Alexis tilted up her chin with a delighted smirk. "And you have an amazing father teaching you how to live."
Not to be left out, Haven gurgled and cooed in her sleep, causing the family to chuckle quietly.
Sean looked around the table at those who loved him, quite content. "I am well-named," he said at last, his eyes beginning to sting. "The Maker is truly gracious."
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"Princess Rose! Princess Rose, can you hear me? Your Highness, wake up!"
The princess's eyes shot open. "That's not my name," she rasped.