"Something's wrong," Finn sat up in bed. The bad dreams she had were not usually enough to wake her anymore. It must be something else. She blinked in the silent dark of her room.
She checked each of the babies, who were quiet, but strangely awake. Finn fed them all quickly and rocked them back to sleep.
Putting on a robe, Finn crept out of her room and headed for the kitchen. She didn't think it was hunger that woke her, but now that she was conscious, she was starving.
Shuffling through the things in the cupboard, she found some bread and cheese, and sat down at the table with a knife to make herself a snack of it.
"Gwen, if something's wrong with Roland… help him, please. I don't know what's going on. I just have a bad feeling. Thank you… oh, and I wanted to talk to you about that little girl, if you have a chance sometime." Finn paused at the sound of something shifting in the corner.
Though she knew her house well enough to see in the dark without too much trouble, she took the time now to light a lamp. As she did, a pair of bright eyes met her with mild fear from the corner.
"Oh, hello, Quilina. Can't get to sleep?" Finn asked. She thought that might happen, despite the girl's obvious exhaustion.
Once you suffered from nightmares, it became second nature to embrace insomnia instead of risking the fright that came with sleep.
"I'm afraid," The girl replied.
"That's natural. I have bad dreams often, too. I came down for a snack, would you like some?" She offered a slice of cheese and a chunk of bread to the child.
Quilina nodded and slowly came to sit down as Finn got the little girl a plate.
"Have you been to sleep tonight yet?" The woman asked kindly.
"Not yet. I don't want to," Came the small reply.
"I think you might sleep better here than at home. It's a little bit magical." Finn smiled.
"Then why do you have nightmares?" Quilina challenged.
"I've been through some scary things, and I'm told that… actually, this isn't much about me today. I'm doing better than before because I talked to a friend about it. How are you doing?" Finn turned the topic back on the child.
"I'm so tired and scared. I pretended to sleep until Mama went to bed. But I don't want to fall asleep because Tamas comes." She said softly.
"Tell me about that," Finn said gently. Inviting, not demanding.
"He was supposed to be my friend, but now he's so mean. He makes me see mean things, like my family gone and I'm trapped and he laughs at me and it's scary in the dark," Quilina shuddered.
"I'll tell you what, Quilina," Finn said, yawning and finishing her food. "What if we both face our bad dreams tonight? There's a big, comfy rocking chair in the other room. I've slept in it a lot of times trying to get a baby to fall asleep. It's a safe place. We could snuggle there together with a big blanket and protect each other from the bad dreams. How does that sound?"
"I guess we could try," Quilina said around a yawn, causing Finn to smile.
"All right. You go get comfy and I'll get a big warm quilt," Finn patted the girl on the head.
She hoped the babies would stay asleep long enough for her to let the girl get a decent bit of rest. They both definitely needed it.
_____________
The sun was rising when the household began its morning. Naomi was already up in the kitchen preparing a large breakfast for everyone when Finn woke up, a little stiff from being so long in the chair. Quilina was blissfully asleep across the arm, and Finn worked to extricate herself without waking the child.
Stretching, she checked on the babies and quickly dressed before moving to the kitchen to help Naomi.
"Thank you for getting breakfast started, it smells amazing." Finn complimented.
"I remembered from staying with Dr. and Mrs. Sherman that this is one of the first tasks of the day here. I hope it was not presumptuous." The Rhone woman seemed suddenly a little nervous.
"Not at all! That's an enormous help. I'm glad you're here," Finn smiled sincerely.
Some women might chafe at someone taking over their kitchen without asking, but Finn was so grateful for the help that she wouldn't dare give one word of complaint if she found something out of place later.
Everyone filtered out of their rooms at the smell of food, and Finn set the table. Jacqueline jumped in to help after a brief moment of panic since Quilina was not in bed.
"She's still asleep," The mother marveled, looking out to where the little girl slept in the large chair.
"I wager she'll sleep a while yet." Finn smiled. "Poor thing looked exhausted."
She was glad that the child slept, cementing her suspicions that Klain was shielded somehow from direct interference from the Void. The best it could do was to send servants and animals to try to accomplish its bidding.
That was a curiosity. Perhaps it had to do with the Sorcerer? After all, he had set the city here…
"How did you manage it?" Jacqueline interjected. "Is it permanent? Is she cured?"
"That, I can't say," Finn frowned. "I'm reasonably confident that the dreams will stay gone for as long as she's inside the city. As far as after she leaves, I just don't know."
"Well, even a single night's sleep is a blessing right now," Jacqueline tried to look on the bright side.
"There are towns outside the city," Naomi put in as she dished out some porridge. "Perhaps you could try staying a night in one of them as a test, instead of going all the way home just to find out whether the problem is still present or not?"
"That's an idea," Finn smiled, "but please do rest up here a few days before you try. Quilina is so tired, the little dear."
"Thank you for your help and hospitality," Jacqueline's eyes welled up. "It is so incredibly kind of you to welcome us like this."
"It's my pleasure," Finn said.
It really was. To help a child, shelter people who needed it… Finn was beginning to bloom into herself again. It was far easier to accept help from others when she could offer help in her turn.
The confirmation of her suspicions that the city had some underlying protection against the Void would interest the Council. She wondered whether she should go herself when she found time or simply send a note.
King Duncan would be by before too long to walk with Caspian to the Council meeting of the morning.
A thump sounded from upstairs, drawing the ladies' eyes upward.
"I feel I should warn you," Naomi said quietly, "My husband can be… grouchy in the mornings. He does not like much conversation, usually, until later."
"Good to know," Finn suppressed a smile. The man might find the meeting to be tedious if he did not like mornings.
It still perplexed her quite a bit, looking back on Roland's letter revealing that his mother was apparently some kind of Cetoan princess. Well, not a princess, but the daughter of their last ruler.
She thought about their babies in light of the revelation. They had wed, in part, to join the blood of King Itherian and his son Rhonian, first king of Rhone, to break the curse on Roland's people. Royal blood was already in her children's veins.
To find out that yet another royal bloodline converged in her children was startling. Would they be endangered by this?
She would have to have a long talk with Roland when he got back about how to speak with their children about it. It would not do for them to get inflated senses of their own importance. Roland hadn't known he was anything but a street orphan until he was twenty-one, and Finn only found out about her attenuated royal connection around the same time.
Would a child who is raised knowing they are royal be shaped too much by the knowledge? Could the pride of heritage be sufficiently curbed to avoid entitlement?
She considered Edmar's exploits, reported via Roland's letters, and frowned. That couldn't be good. Then again, Caspian seemed kind enough so far.
Another thump and some muttering let her know he'd hit his head on the low beam that went across the top of the stairs, and she grimaced.
King Duncan had turned out all right, despite being raised by the Void in disguise. Perhaps natural disposition mattered more than she thought.
It wasn't like she would be able to hide it from them for too long that their grandfather was the King of Rhone. Sighing, she finished dishing up breakfast and prepared to face whatever the day would bring.
It might be a long one.