"I still would prefer you not accompany me," Lysander tried again to convince his wife not to come.
He had spent years telling her exactly what to do and not to do in a domineering way, and shied away from it now. It hurt him more than he could say that he had been cruel enough to his wife that once he was replaced by a Rhone spy in disguise, she had not immediately realized it wasn't him.
Why had it taken such an extreme shock to his system to make him realize what he had become? Why couldn't he have seen the signs sooner that he had become infected with an evil desire for power that made him crush the spirit of the woman he loved, and neglect their only daughter?
"Well, that's too bad. I'm ashamed I didn't think of the idea of coming along myself. I loved the sea! To go back again would be wonderful for my disposition and health, I'm sure," Dierdre insisted. "Why are you against it? There's no danger."
"Only danger of you thinking even less of me than you must now," Lysander confessed. "I negotiated that treaty in good faith, and then drove Klain to break it off only a short time later. It shames me greatly that the betrayal of their trust was one of the first steps down the path I took."
His eyes were on the ground as they prepared to board a modified lake-fishing boat to take them to the sea, along with ten young Rhone women who had volunteered as brides.
After the initial group left over land, the Council, and its new Provider, had worked to find boats suitable for the transportation of the incoming brides to the sea. The land journey was long and arduous compared to a downstream boat trip.
One was ready for them now, with the Council confident that it would hold up for its purpose. Lysander looked at it with regret, remembering all he'd done since the last time he'd been to the sea.
The great weight of shame for all his actions was a heavy burden. He'd spent a year in the Darkness with nothing but his own thoughts and an occasional visit from Titania, who would come to torture him.
He wasn't sure whether being alone with his own mind had been better or worse than the torment of the Void creature masquerading as a woman.
"I will not think less of you, My Heart," Dierdre assured. She had forgiven him all of his transgressions, known and unknown.
He had been all but entirely broken by the freedom with which she'd taken him back into her life. He did not deserve her in the least, and would not have blamed her for never speaking to him again, or inflicting her own form of emotional abuse on him as punishment.
He would have deserved every bit of it.
Because of her absolution of his wrongdoing, he went to great pains to make sure he did everything in his power to make her happy, no matter the cost to himself. She demanded almost nothing from him.
Still, he did not want her on this journey. He remembered the pride of the Sea People from their trip there around twenty years ago, and could not predict that they would forgive easily. He could not complain about any ill treatment they chose to subject him to.
It was for this reason that the Council had allowed him to travel to the sea with an official apology for his previous actions. He had said as much to the visiting emissary, but he thought, and the Council agreed, that going in person to beg their mercy would be warranted.
It would be a show of good faith to put himself willingly into their hands after his betrayal. He just didn't want whatever they chose to do to him to be in front of his saintly wife.
"Everything almost ready?" Riley strode up to his in-laws.
Though Lysander was technically a traitor and criminal, he knew Ceto better than anyone else in Klain, and his suggestion that Riley be appointed as an ambassador and negotiator was taken under consideration.
The younger man was of high enough rank and of heroic renown that the idea was deemed to be a good one. Even the Cetoans had gotten word of his bravery somehow.
Ashley and Dierdre's insistence on coming was met with mixed reactions, but there was no official reason to stop them. On assignments that were deemed to be non-dangerous, an officer's wife would sometimes accompany him.
So Lysander had to resign himself to the fact that his wife and daughter would bear witness to whatever shame he had coming. It was a sobering thing.
The day was beautiful as if to spite Lysander's gloomy thoughts, and the loading went quickly. Ashley was on an errand for Finn, and Riley expected her back anytime so that the boat could depart.
"What's keeping that wife of yours?" Dierdre accused Riley, causing him to chuckle. Whenever Ashley was behaving well, her mother referred to her as 'my daughter', or 'Ashley', but when she was being ornery or difficult, suddenly she was referred to as 'Riley's wife'.
"I'm not sure. She went to visit a friend of Finn's, since the new mother is still bedridden. Apparently Finn and Mayra normally take him food of some kind. Finn asked if Ashley would do it instead this time."
______
Ashley felt silly standing by the boulder holding a butter tart. If it weren't Finn who asked her to do the favor, she wouldn't have done it at all. She'd only gone out once before with the other two women to meet their strange little friend.
He was disagreeable, and smelled, if she were honest. She knew he was instrumental somehow in saving Klain, but wasn't entirely clear on all the details.
Mainly, she knew that he was the primary source of the magical herbs and recipes Finn was often trying. Apparently Finn did him various favors in return for teaching her.
"Jimmy?" Ashley called, self-consciously. "It's me, Ashley. You might not remember me, I'm a friend of Mayra and Finn's?"
"Did you bring it?" A gruff voice asked from behind her, causing her to jump.
"Um, I brought you a butter tart!" Ashley held it out. "Mayra had to leave for the Sea for a time, so I made it myself. I hope it's to your liking."
The little man made a sour face at her, but took the offering. "Finn too busy to come? Ain't nobody have time for me anymore."
"She just gave birth, and is a little the worse for wear, I'm afraid."
"Oh? Something go wrong?" He seemed irritated more than curious, as if her indisposition was more of an inconvenience to himself than to anyone else.
"She had triplets!" Ashley exclaimed, shaking her head. "THREE babies! I've never heard of such a thing. Twins are rare enough as it is."
Jimmy stared at her silently for several moments.
"Do you know about the little experiments she does?" He asked cryptically.
"You mean the recipes you give her? I know some, yes." Ashley tilted her head. "I think the healing tea was instrumental in helping her survive the difficult birth."
"Not the tea. A poultice. I gave her a recipe nigh on two years ago for a poultice, and she'd been working on gathering the ingredients a while back, before she came with child. Did she use it?" His tone and expression were that of disinterest, but there was something urgent under his words.
"I don't know," Ashley didn't keep up with all of Finn's affairs that closely. The young mother had plenty to do, and so did Ashley. They talked often, but not about every detail.
"Thanks for the tart. Bye." Jimmy suddenly walked away grumbling to himself, leaving Ashley in bewilderment.
"Is it me, or does he get stranger every time I hear about him or see him?" She whispered to herself.
"I heard that!" He shouted back, and she cringed.
She glanced at the sun and realized she'd better get going. Mounting her horse, she kicked it into a steady trot and pondered the strange occurrence.
From what she knew of Jimmy, he wasn't a particularly curious fellow, especially about personal matters. Why did he suddenly want to know if Finn had used a poultice?
Did it have to do with the children?
She'd visited the sweet babies several times now. They all seemed healthy and thriving as Finn healed. Surely he couldn't be concerned that something was wrong with them.
Besides, he hadn't asked about the babies themselves… only about whether Finn had used the poultice before she was pregnant.
Surely he would have asked about the health of the children if they were at risk somehow?
She would have to find time to talk to Finn about it at some future time. If she didn't go straight to where Riley and the others waited, she would delay the trip. Maybe a letter could be arranged? That seemed reasonable. It hopefully wasn't incredibly urgent. After all, everything seemed fine for now.
It didn't stop the fact that the interaction nagged the back of her mind. She'd have to write it all down soon so she didn't forget, just in case it was important.