Pawns and Queens--A 15th Century Gwynedd Story--Chapter Twenty-Four

[Evie]

Previous chapter: https://www.rhemuthcastle.com/index.php/topic,3244.0.html


Chapter Twenty-Four

August 14, 1464
The Duke of Carthmoor's apartment
Rhemuth Castle
Late Morning

"¡Que mierda!" Lord Riordan hissed quietly as someone tapped quietly on his chamber door then peeked inside. He leaped off his bed, fortunately fully dressed already, having just tugged on his boots to venture outside, and quickly but forcefully escorted his princesa back out through the sitting room and into the larger salon beyond it. "What are you thinking?"

I just needed to talk with you. Catalina had taken pains to look her regal best that morning, Riordan could tell, her garments carefully selected in a palette of Carthmoor colors, the jewel tones of her husband's heraldic colors accentuating her raven-haired beauty. Yet the faint shadows under her eyes and the anxious look on her face belied the appearance of calm, competent control he suspected she was attempting to project.

I am here to listen whenever you need me to. But Dios mio, not in my bedchamber! Do you wish your husband's woman to assume you make regular visits to my bed while the Prince is away fighting in the war? Think of what a weapon that would be to hold over our heads!

She blushed. I wasn't thinking.

Clearly! He sighed. Nor were you thinking clearly last night. How could you endanger yourself so, going through the Portal knowing something was amiss on the other end of it?

Her green eyes flashed fire up at him. And how would you have brought both Salim and Colin's amour back through it together by yourself? Which would you have left behind to save the other? I did what I had to do. If Colin had lost Melisande and I had done naught to save her, I would have lost him also!

If you'd been taken by the enemy, he would have lost both of you and his heir!

Catalina stared up at him, having no answer to that, her eyes filling with tears. His hands flexed at his sides, wanting to gather her in a comforting embrace, knowing that would be unwise. Turning, he walked a few steps away to sit on one of the benches lining the wall. What's wrong, kitten?  Besides us arguing?

She chuckled, settling on the bench beside him. You haven't called me that in years. Glancing back over her shoulder, as if she could somehow see through the wall into the room beyond, she asked him, Is she awake yet?

Lady Melisande? I think I heard her moving around in your husband's chamber a few minutes ago, though to my knowledge she hasn't emerged yet. Then again, I had my bedroom door closed for a reason.

She clasped her fingers in her lap, her knuckles turning pale with tension. I had known it was vaguely possible that she might need to come here. I wasn't counting on it becoming a reality. Now that it has....

He had seen her this vulnerable only once before. The last time, it had been due to heartbreak. The last time, it had been due to him. To him and to her father's command that she look to marry elsewhere.

He rested his hand over her clenched fingers, giving them a light squeeze. Your husband loves you. At her sharp look upwards at his face, he gave her a wry smile. He's occasionally a bit dim where you are concerned, but I think even he has managed to work that much out on his own.

She ventured a slight smile back, though the anxious expression in her eyes only lightened marginally. He still loves her too, though.

So he does. Likely he always will, in some way or another. He has ten years of memories and four children with her, after all, if you count the one she is bearing.

She swallowed. How can I compete with that?

You don't. There is no need. He thought for a long moment. Tell me, who does your father love more, you or your mother?

Catalina shook her head. That's different. I am his daughter, not his wife. Those are two entirely different types of love.

He shrugged. True enough, though I think it's fair to say he loves you both with all his heart, just in different ways entirely.  So how about this? Is he more fond of you or Esmeralda? Or perhaps he favors your sister Leonor? She's a bright little spark. Or maybe Isabella or Reyhan?

Catalina chuckled. Yes, I know, but that's not quite the same either. I am quite certain my father has enough love to go around for all his children.

Riordan nodded. So he does. And now, what of you? Do you love your husband, or do you love me?

His strategy dawned, making Catalina feel neatly outmaneuvered as she realized the parallel. I love you both. I didn't think that it would be possible for me to learn how to love somebody else as much as I love you, but somehow I do.

He nodded again, his rueful smile acknowledging the truth of her words, yet also reminding her that the two loves were still not entirely the same.

But.... There was still one lingering concern. I chose Colin to share my life with. What if he ends up choosing Melisande?

I can't speak for your husband. But I have seen how he looks at you, and while his head might not have caught up with his heart yet, it's possible his heart has already chosen you.

She pondered the possibility. Perhaps. But he only married me because it was his duty.

Sí.  And just because he wed for duty's sake, does that mean that love can't follow? Remind me, why exactly was it that you chose Nicholas of Gwynedd, mi amor?

#

August 14, 1464
The Duke of Carthmoor's apartment
Rhemuth Castle
Afternoon

Melisande stared out the window of her beloved's bedchamber into the courtyard garden below, remembering sunny summer days spent playing in the garden or near the pond in the parklands in the lower bailey below it. Behind her, Anneke and Emmeline played at merelles, her younger daughter having just recently reached an age where she could be trusted not to put the game pieces into her mouth and possibly choke on one. Anneke was trying to patiently teach her sister the game, but Emmeline was too young to grasp the concept yet, preferring instead to simply line up the brightly polished stones into neat rows on the board.

Colin's stunning wife had dropped by earlier in the morning, dropping off the game along with some meat pastries, fruit, and cheese so they could break their fast. Now a quick tap on the door alerted Melisande that she had returned. Melisande opened the door, startled to see the Andelonian Princess slightly staggering as she carried a large leather chest through the doorway.

"Mercy!" Melisande swiftly grabbed the handle at one end of it, helping to maneuver the laden chest into an empty corner of the room and assisting the Princess with lowering it slowly to the floor. "You shouldn't be lifting heavy items like this if you're pregnant, Your Highness! Wasn't there a squire available to assist you?" A swift blush followed the question as she belatedly recognized it was hardly her place to reprimand a princess.

"We're a little short of squires at the moment," said Colin's wife, catching her breath, though an acknowledging upturn at the corners of her mouth caused Melisande to sag in relief as she saw the princess was more amused than annoyed. "I suppose I could have asked Lord Riordan for his help, but I hadn't realized the chest was so heavy when I went to fetch it out of storage."

Pulling a key off the chatelaine hanging from her belt, she turned it in the lock, opening the chest to reveal an assortment of neatly folded clothing in varying sizes. "The Queen says these used to belong to Elisa, and that there are some children's sizes down towards the bottom. I can have one of my ladies bring you a basket of sewing supplies if you need to alter them further." Princess Catherine chuckled as she started to lift the topmost garments out of the chest. "Sweet Jesú, this brings back memories I had hoped to forget! When I first arrived here, I had no clothing with me either, aside from what my retinue and I were wearing. We had been quickly evacuated also, only that was due to an ambush in Fianna rather than from the war.  Fortunately, Colin's sisters and several ladies of the Court were able to assist until the ships bearing my clothing arrived."

Anneke joined them, her blue eyes bright with curiosity. "You needed ships to carry all your clothing?" she asked, her voice hushed with awe.

Catherine burst into laughter. "No, I brought a lot more than just clothes, sweeting. My men-at-arms would have had some difficulty getting here if they'd had to swim across the Southern Sea, especially in full armor." Reining in her amusement, she looked back up at Melisande. "Hopefully you will find some items in here that will fit the girls, and I know my ladies and I still have some of those clothes we needed to borrow when we first arrived, so I'm certain we'll find something from that wardrobe to fit you as well." She sighed. "I asked the chamberlain about that apartment I mentioned to you last night. He said that one has recently been filled, but there is another one he is preparing for your use. Hopefully it will be fully furnished and ready for you and the girls by tonight." She smiled. "I'll get Lord Riordan to assist with bringing the chest of clothing over."

They heard the outer door to the apartment open, but thought little of it, Melisande assuming that the Andelonian lord who had assisted with her family's rescue was simply returning to his chamber after venturing out for the past few hours. Instead, both women were startled when the bedchamber door opened and Colin appeared, his eyes spotting Catherine first since she was standing directly in his line of sight. "Happy early birthday, heart! Sweet Jesú, it took longer than we expected, but things have finally calmed down enough for us to get a Portal set up in Ramos." His gray eyes swept the room, belatedly catching sight of Melisande and their daughters, the emotions on his face rapidly shifting from surprise to delighted joy, followed swiftly by consternation.

"Candor Rhea was captured by the enemy last night," Catherine explained as he turned to her with questions in his eyes. "Our lord chamberlain is preparing an apartment for Lady Melisande's use, but in the meantime, I've given your family the use of your chamber. The apartment should be ready for them to move into later tonight, if you would be so kind as to help your lady move their belongings once it's made ready." She flashed him a quick smile that didn't quite meet her eyes, giving him a swift kiss on the cheek before retreating into her adjoining bedchamber, leaving him to recover his composure and have an unexpected reunion with his daughters and their mother rather than the entirely different sort of warm welcome he had originally anticipated receiving from his wife.

#

Colin stood awkwardly in the doorway of his bedchamber staring at his wife's departing back as she exited via the connecting door between their rooms. He turned to face Mellie, uncertain of his reception as they studied one another in this chamber he normally shared with Catalina.

His daughters, finally recognizing the unshaven stranger in the room, launched themselves at him, interrupting the strained silence with their cries of joy. He bent to swoop them up in his arms, straightening with an apologetic look at their mother.

"Have you been doing well?" he asked quietly, his concerned glance flitting to the swell of her stomach, now seven months gone with his child. His daughters hugged him, wrapping their arms around his neck tightly so he could hardly breathe. He kissed them both in turn before gently setting them back down again to encumber his legs instead.

Mellie nodded. "Life has been mostly uneventful until the past couple of days. I went shopping in the village and heard rumors of the enemy being sighted in Glenvale, but that was a good twenty miles away and across the river, and no one seemed to know more details, so I thought it was just gossip. Then last night I happened to look outside when I was getting the girls ready for bed and saw the glow of fires in Candor Rhea." She looked away, biting her lower lip. "You were right, I should have brought them here sooner. I just never really thought the enemy would come so far south into the heartland."

"Neither did I." Colin took a tentative step towards her, and when she made no move to step away, closed the distance between them, enfolding her in his embrace. "I'm glad you're safe. And I'm glad Camber got your distress call in time."

She pulled away slightly. "He didn't. I think Balian said the King had to send Camber into the field also. Her Highness sent her retainers to rescue us. One was injured, but she and the other Andelonian lord got us through your portal just in time."

Colin stared at her, surprise mingling with shock at how narrow their escape had been, anger at the risk Catalina had taken, and yet pride in her courage. "I'm glad they did!" he said, feeling shaken by the close call. "The injured man, did he survive?"

She nodded, trembling at the memory of her fallen rescuer and how close they had both come to being killed before the others had returned for them. "Your Healer saved him, but he had lost a lot of blood, so I think he is still in the Infirmarium."

Colin stroked his beloved Mellie's hair with a shaking hand. "Would you mind if I take a quick peek at what happened last night?"

She nodded her assent. Holding her close, he extended a gentle mental probe, Mind-Seeing the events as she remembered them.

One detail struck him in the heart, filling him with both joy and consternation, given the circumstances that had led to his discovery of it. Glancing at the door behind him and then back at Mellie, he asked, "She's pregnant?"

Mellie stared back at him. "You didn't know?"

He shook his head. "This is the first time I've been back home since May. She probably didn't want to tell me the news in military dispatches." He glanced back towards the closed door again, his joy over hearing she was bearing his heir mingling with a twinge of guilt over hearing it first from Melisande, knowing what was a cause for happiness and relief for him was almost certainly a cause for pain for the mother of his other children.

He kissed Mellie's hand. "I'll be back, heart. But I need to go talk to Catalina first."

She looked puzzled. "Who is Catalina?"

"Catherine. But she prefers to use her birth name in the privacy of family."

#

He knocked once and let himself in through the adjoining door. Catalina had been curled up on her bed, pretending she was attempting to take a nap, but mostly wishing to be left alone to deal with her turbulent emotions privately. As the door opened, she turned to face him, seeing Amina stiffen and rise from her chair by the window, stalking out of the room at his arrival like an offended cat.

Colin closed the door behind himself and sat on the bed beside her, taking her hand in his. "Mellie allowed me to see her memories of the rescue. Thank you." He gathered his wife in his arms, stroking her hair. After a moment, she relaxed into him, tilting her face up to kiss his cheek.

"You're welcome." She lifted her hand to stroke his chin. "When did you start growing this?"

He smiled. "When it became too inconvenient to keep it shaved off. If you dislike it, I'll get rid of it."

She leaned away, studying his features. "I haven't decided yet. It suits you, or at least it would with a bit of a trim, but I might feel like I'm kissing a stranger."

A corner of his lips twitched upwards. "You've kissed this stranger before. I'm still me."

She kissed the corner of his mouth, just as she had on their wedding night, that first time she had shyly admitted that she had not simply married him out of duty, but had also found him desirable, although they were still strangers to one another. "So you are," she replied. Taking his hand, she drew it to her abdomen, still mostly flat, although he thought he felt the slightest bit of rounding beneath his palm. "Meet your heir, Nicholas of Gwynedd."

He sensed the tiny life force of his son growing deep with her, his heart filling with wonder, just as it had when he had first learned of his other children.

He loved Melisande. He always would. But he could not help but love this woman he was forging a new future with also.

Lifting his hands to cup her face, he kissed his wife tenderly. "I love you, Catalina of Andelon."

#

August 14, 1464
The Queen's Tower
Rhemuth Castle
Late Evening

Nicholas's steps slowed as he carried the trunk of clothing up the tower steps, not because he found it particularly heavy, but because he had belatedly realized which apartment had been prepared for Mellie's use. He set the chest down by the door, taking her hands in his. "Mellie, I'm sorry. If you'd prefer to just stay in my chamber for tonight, I can check tomorrow if there is some other apartment available that we can offer you."

She shook her head swiftly, not liking that alternative either, imagining what it would be like for her to try to fall asleep with the man she loved sharing a bed with another woman on the other side of a closed door, doubtless being given a warm welcome home by the Andelonian beauty who was bearing his heir. "No, this is fine. I have many wonderful memories from living in these rooms when we were younger." She sighed. "Does your family still have the same chamberlain?"

"We do."

She nodded. "Then I'm certain he meant well." He had been one of the few retainers who had treated her with sympathy once her liaison with Colin had been discovered. "Likely he wanted me to feel at home, like when I lived here as a child. And I was happy, back when I still shared these quarters with Miranda." She turned the key in the lock, opening the door so their daughters could precede them into the apartment, watching them scamper like excited puppies into their new quarters to explore the rooms. She caught her breath as she realized the rooms had even been refurnished with most of the same furniture that she remembered, although there were a few changes here and there. The fabric items were all new, a Kheldish carpet sat where there had once been a less expensive rug, and Miranda's bed had been replaced with a couple of pallet mattresses for her daughters to sleep on.

She blinked away tears, turning slightly away so Colin wouldn't see them. "We made so many memories here."

He briefly squeezed her shoulders. "We did. We also made Balian in that bed. Damn, Mellie, are you certain you want to stay here?"

She turned to face him, chin lifted, a smile carefully plastered on her face. "I am." She brushed a kiss upon his cheek.

Sighing, he stooped to lift the clothing chest and brought it into the apartment to set it down where she directed.

#

August 14, 1464
The Queen's Tower
Rhemuth Castle
Night

The girls were sound asleep. Melisande sat in the window niche, lost in girlhood memories.

It had been an August night like this one when Melisande, still feeling flushed and warm from stolen kisses exchanged with Colin in a shadowy corner of the gardens (although that was all they had dared to share yet, that being a dangerous enough adventure), had turned her key in the lock as quietly as she could manage, hoping to sneak back inside without Miranda knowing. With any luck, Miranda would be sound asleep.

She'd been startled to hear the murmur of low voices coming from the adjoining room. She recognized both. Sweet Jesú, she thought she and Colin had been taking a big risk!

"You'll ask him tomorrow, won't you, Joss? Please promise me!"  Miranda's voice had been choked with tears. "I know I should be happy with the match, but I want to marry you!"

"I'll ask your father," the young Earl of Lendour promised. "Tomorrow morning, as soon as I can arrange an audience with him."

"What if he says 'No'?  I've never even met His Hortic Majesty!"

Melisande had seen them silhouetted against the window, him holding the princess close, attempting to comfort her as she sobbed into his shoulder. "I have. Several times." He kissed the top of her head. "Miranda, are you certain? I can give you many things, but this is the Hort of Orsal we are talking about. I'm not the ruler of a kingdom, nor will I ever be." He stepped back, taking her hands in his. "You would be Queen of Orsal and Tralia. And Adémar is a decent enough man, I suppose, and not all that old, maybe in his late twenties. You'd probably even find him handsome enough, maybe."

"I don't want to be a queen, nor do I wish to marry a handsome man, Joss. I just want you!"

He'd laughed. "Oh, thanks!"

Miranda had giggled quietly. "I'm sorry, that came out entirely wrong. You know it did."

He'd kissed her then. "I love you. I'll ask your father in the morning. Just...don't get your hopes up too high."

He'd left her, walking into the outer room and encountering Melisande in the darkness there, only the moonlight streaming through the window illuminating both their faces. "How much did you hear?" he asked.

"Enough. I hope the King will let you wed her. You both deserve to be happy."

"I hope so too." He'd kissed her hand. "Been out with Colin, have you? I know he genuinely loves you, but you know Col, often he's more led by his feelings than his mind. Be very careful, Mellie."

"I will."

#

August 15, 1464
The Castle Gardens
Rhemuth Castle
Morning

Sebastian was just returning from dropping off a dispatch from his father to the King when he spotted two familiar figures on the other side of the castle gardens. He hesitated before making his approach, not at all sure if he would be welcome or if his presence would serve as a painful reminder of events best forgotten. While he was deliberating, Saoirse looked up, spotting him watching. She waved him over, making his decision for him.

He crossed over to where the two ladies sat, the Princess Cécile belatedly looking up as his shadow darkened the page of her book. Sebastian bowed deeply, noticing with a start that she had developed the lush curves of middle pregnancy since he'd last seen her. He glanced away quickly, giving his foster sister a nod of greeting. "Good morning, my ladies," he greeted both. "I hope you are both well."

Well enough, but bored senseless, Saoirse Mind-Spoke, though aloud she merely said "Well enough. At least we have nice weather this morning."

Princess Cécile closed her book, gesturing towards an empty bench across the garden path from theirs. "You are welcome to join us, my lord. I could use a break from studying, and it would be good to know how things are going in the wider world." She blushed. "I'm very sorry, I'm certain you've told me your name before, but I was probably not at my best when you did. Remind me again, please?"

"Sebastian Arilan, Your Highness," he told her, trying not to take her forgetting of his name to heart, even though hardly a day had passed since they'd first met that he hadn't recalled her to mind at least briefly. He took the seat she had offered him, glancing at the book she held. "What are you reading, my lady, if I may ask?"

The princess turned it so he could see the spine. "Lord Riordan has me working on my Gwyneddan grammar and also this simple overview of history." Studying the embossed text on the leather, Sebastian saw it said A Brief History of the Forcinn States. With a wry smile, Cécile admitted, "You would think I might know my own kingdom's history, but I don't."

He nodded, not certain what to say or if he could manage to say it without revealing his anger towards her father. "At least you have a chance to learn some of it now," he finally managed, figuring that was a neutral enough statement.

"Not that I'm ever planning on returning there," she said bitterly, "though I suppose I might want to visit some of the other states in the region someday, at least if it's ever safe to venture out of the Castle again. How fares the war?"

Saoirse perked up at the question, and he gave her a sympathetic smile, knowing his former foster sister would far rather be in the thick of things on the battlefield than cooped up here behind Rhemuth's thick walls which felt too much like a prison for her now. If only Sebastian could have traded places with her, letting her serve as squire and scout while he took over her duties as the princess's companion and protector, he would eagerly do so.

He clasped his hands, trying to figure out where he should start, also knowing he might need to tread carefully. "It's been an eventful month. You know Valoret fell to the enemy at the very end of June, yes?  It was under King Torval's control until this past week, but the Prince's forces managed to retake it, along with Prince Alarikos and the Duke of Cassan, which is how we've managed to get away from the action for a few days to return here so His Highness can spend a few days with his wife, now that he has two able commanders available to watch over both cities in his absence. I think her birthday is tomorrow."

"Both cities? Oh, I suppose you must mean Ramos also," Saoirse speculated.

Sebastian confirmed her guess with a nod. "Ramos was under siege as well, but we managed to take it last month on the twentieth." He found himself glancing involuntarily at Cécile as he added, "King Torval and his men retreated to their stronghold at Valoret, until we took it back from them last week."

Cécile appeared pale but composed. "He's still alive, then? Or...did he...?"

"As far as I know, he still lives. He and his men somehow managed to slip out past our watch. I think he knew his chances of surviving a siege were low once we had additional reinforcements, since the provisions in Valoret were swiftly dwindling and we were intercepting his supply train." He hesitated, not certain if he should tell her more, but deciding perhaps she would be safer knowing. "He knows that you survived and that you're carrying his child."

She turned scarlet, dropping her gaze to her book, clenched so tightly between her fingers that her fingertips looked bloodless. "How would you know that?"

Well, crap. The answer to that was certainly more detail than he had intended to go into. Then again, if she was going to be at the center of a conflict between four warring kingdoms, perhaps she had the right to know.

"We had a parley with King Torval before the battle for Ramos. With your permission, Your Highness, I'll Show you the terms he set before our Prince."

#

Cécile had hesitated at first. She wasn't sure she really wished to know. Also, that would mean she would need to take the hand Sebastian offered, which she was not certain she felt ready to do. For one thing, that would require her to trust him, and while she knew he had once helped save her life, trusting any man was not something that had ever come easily for her. And the one time that it had...well, the child moving in her womb was ample evidence of what had happened when she had allowed her trust for a man to overcome her instinctive wariness.

Also, she suspected his offer was born of something more than mere kindness, and if she was leery of accepting a man's kindness again, she was absolutely not at all ready to entertain the thought of anything more.

She took his hand anyway, because she needed to know.

He closed his hand around hers, his sword calluses reminding her briefly of Torval's. She met his eyes with a panicked moment of realization that she would need to drop her shields in order to allow him access to her mind, and she nearly jerked her hand away, not at all certain she could do that, but then the quiet empathy in his beautiful blue-violet gaze calmed her, giving her the courage to roll her shields back just enough to allow the shallowest level of rapport. His memories of the parley flooded into her mind in one quick burst, then he withdrew, releasing her hand and allowing her a few moments to compose herself and allow those shared memories to settle into a more orderly replay of events that she could comprehend.

Relief surged through her as one revelation stood out above all others. "He didn't know." She lifted her gaze to Sebastian's. "Torval didn't know that Haakon intended to kill me."

Life had been nothing but one long series of heartbreaks for Cécile, but that single fact offered at least one small consolation.

 Next chapter: https://www.rhemuthcastle.com/index.php/topic,3251.0.html

[DerynifanK]

Oh my goodness,quandaries indeed. Love certainly does make for lots of complications. Wonder how they will sort it all out. Colin has to figure out how to handle his love for both women. I'm sure he will never desert Mellie but somehow I don't think she will come first any longer. I do wonder what will happen to her. Has anyone told Cinhil or Soraya or any of the others what's going on. When Colin came to the door I expected Soraya.
I know Colin loves Mellie but it grew from a childhood attachment and I don't think He ever questioned it. He seems to have had little to do with other women until now. I think his love for Catalina is different, more mature. I don't envy him his situation. Hopefully it will be settled but I don't see the way forward right now. Honestly you have created quite a tangle , everyone is in love with someone they can't have. And Monday is so far away.

[Evie]

Oh my goodness,quandaries indeed. Love certainly does make for lots of complications. Wonder how they will sort it all out. Colin has to figure out how to handle his love for both women. I'm sure he will never desert Mellie but somehow I don't think she will come first any longer. I do wonder what will happen to her. Has anyone told Cinhil or Soraya or any of the others what's going on. When Colin came to the door I expected Soraya.
I know Colin loves Mellie but it grew from a childhood attachment and I don't think He ever questioned it. He seems to have had little to do with other women until now. I think his love for Catalina is different, more mature. I don't envy him his situation. Hopefully it will be settled but I don't see the way forward right now. Honestly you have created quite a tangle , everyone is in love with someone they can't have. And Monday is so far away.

Yes, Colin was just in his mid-teens when he fell for Mellie, although she fell for him even earlier. Before his romantic relationship with her started, he had a few very brief liaisons with chambermaids and such, but with no emotional attachment aside from maybe just a little friendly affection. With them, he was just a hormonal teen who had discovered a fun new activity, and had no shortage of willing partners trying to catch his notice, being a friendly and handsome young prince. (While a chambermaid might lose her reputation and her job if she's discovered having such liaisons, she'd also be pretty much set for life, being given a nice pension to provide for herself and her child if she got pregnant, or at least get some nice expensive trinkets as a thank you if she didn't, so she might consider that and her memories well worth the risk.) He's known Mellie since they were both around eight or nine, grew up together, and somewhere along the way she grew up from being just a scrawny kid who shared a room with his sister to becoming a beautiful young woman, and once he realized this young woman found him attractive also (not just physically, since they also share a lot of interests and values), he fell head over heels in love. And then once he discovered his father was planning on marrying her off for political reasons, and that Mellie was panicking over this, he miscalculated by thinking if they went ahead and acted on their feelings for each other, his parents might be upset with him but would eventually come around and allow him to marry her, especially once a baby was on the way. He was too young and politically naive to realize this would have the exact opposite effect, as society would always look askance at Mellie if she ever became Queen someday, since a Queen's reputation has to remain above reproach so that there is never a question that her children are true Haldane heirs and not fathered by some other man (the assumption being that if her morals were so lax that she'd sleep with Colin without him marrying or at least being formally betrothed to her first, she might do the same with others). Even though we know that Mellie has eyes for no one else but Colin, Uthyr knew that there was too much risk of his people forever considering her a fallen woman because of Colin's impetuous decision to "protect" her by making her his mistress. But Colin remained faithful to Mellie for as long as he could, far longer than anyone ever expected him to be, because he genuinely loves her.

Mellie entered her relationship with Colin with her eyes wide open. She is far more clear-sighted and pragmatic than he is, and realized from the start that Colin's plan probably wouldn't work (though she hoped that it would), and that she would almost certainly end up losing him eventually, because it didn't appear likely that Cinhil would ever produce an heir as the years went on, so even in the early days of their relationship she would have at least suspected Colin would someday have to marry someone for political reasons to secure the Haldane line. She agreed to the relationship anyway because she loved Colin, and figured sharing her life with him for however many years they were permitted to be together was worth any cost, including her reputation.

I am certain Cinhil knows Mellie is back. That guy has his eye on everything that happens in his Court, even when he's confined to his bedchamber.    He probably got a full report on things the following morning after the rescue from Candor Rhea, especially since his new weapons master in charge of helping with page training is currently laid up in the Infirmarium as a result, so I can't imagine someone not reporting that setback promptly. Cinhil personally has no problem with Mellie and her children--again, they grew up together and he remembers her fondly.

Does Soraya know? Well, not yet, but she will find out soon enough. Rhemuth is a large castle, but not that large. She's had several months to come to terms with Balian's presence now, though, and has at least come to accept his presence at court, though there's a difference between accepting one's grandchildren and accepting the paramour you hold responsible for your son's dereliction of his duties over the past ten years. I guess we shall have to wait and see what comes of this latest discovery.

[revanne]

Re the chambermaid with a child - some men would object strongly to caring for another man's child. Other men, especially those with a trade to pass on to a son might welcome the proof that their intended was fertile, especially if that proof came with a bit of gold.

[DerynifanK]

I'm sure that Mellie will be provided for in some way. I hope she will find another man to love and build a life with. I think Colin will see to the raising of all his children. He is a loving father and a responsible one. Balian is already in the page school and the girls will go the schola when they are old enough. I may be wrong but I can't see Mellie remaining at the castle when the war is over and Colin has returned. Not sure what will happen here. As always, so many questions and Monday is so far away.

[Evie]

I'm sure that Mellie will be provided for in some way. I hope she will find another man to love and build a life with. I think Colin will see to the raising of all his children. He is a loving father and a responsible one. Balian is already in the page school and the girls will go the schola when they are old enough. I may be wrong but I can't see Mellie remaining at the castle when the war is over and Colin has returned. Not sure what will happen here. As always, so many questions and Monday is so far away.

I'm fairly sure it's no major spoiler for me to confirm that Colin, caring for Mellie as he does, is hardly going to leave her homeless and destitute just because he's married now and has an heir on the way.

As to whether or not Mellie would leave the castle after the war is over, that might depend on several factors. In some ways, that would certainly be much easier than living in the same castle with Colin and his new wife, no matter how gracious that wife might be. But on the other hand, living in the castle or at least much closer to it than Candor Rhea might be necessary for a while because while her daughters need to begin their education as royal daughters sooner rather than later (they might not be princesses, but they are still daughters of a future king, with certain expectations that come along with that), they are both a bit too young to do without having their mother nearby, especially little Emmeline. Not to mention that Mellie is pregnant, and if mother and child both survive childbirth and thrive (definitely not a given in the Middle Ages!), Colin would want to have that child close enough to form close bonds with as well.

Sure, if Mellie returns to Candor Rhea, Colin could use the Portal for visits, but that's not the best of solutions either. With Mellie at the Castle, Catalina can feel reasonably certain that Colin isn't going to resume his relationship with his paramour right under her nose. With her back at the lodge and Colin making frequent visits (which he would, if his younger children were still living with Mellie)--well, Catalina is trusting to a point, but she also knows Colin is no saint, not immune to temptation, and that his love for Mellie is genuine, all of which might make it tempting for him to slip back into old patterns of behavior despite his best intentions, because while Colin is a lot more mature than the boy he used to be when he and Mellie began their relationship, he still has a bit of that inclination to be led by his heart rather than his head. So Catalina might actually find Mellie less of a threat kept under her watchful eye than sent back to the more private but still all too accessible lodgings in Candor Rhea.

That said, there are other possible things that might happen. But discussing those might bring us too close to future spoilers. 

[Demercia]

Another beautifully done chapter, thank you.  Hard not to feel sympathy for Colin when he realised both Catalina and Melie were in the room.

[Evie]

Another beautifully done chapter, thank you.  Hard not to feel sympathy for Colin when he realised both Catalina and Melie were in the room.

Yeah, that would have been super awkward!

[DerynifanK]

But it wasn't as awkward as it could have been. Now it will be interesting when Soraya gets involved.At least I think so. This is beginning to make me think of a medieval soap opera but with mostly nicer characters, at least on Gwynedd's side. Even poor Sebastian has a crush on Cecile.

[Evie]

But it wasn't as awkward as it could have been. Now it will be interesting when Soraya gets involved.At least I think so. This is beginning to make me think of a medieval soap opera but with mostly nicer characters, at least on Gwynedd's side. Even poor Sebastian has a crush on Cecile.

LOL! Yes, of all the girls for poor Seb to get a crush on, it's the one who is the least likely in the Eleven Kingdoms to want a suitor, especially right now! Even if she does think his eyes are pretty.

[DerynifanK]

I wish there was a way to make Monday come sooner. So hard to wait.

[Evie]

I wish there was a way to make Monday come sooner. So hard to wait.

Alas, I don't think there is a spell to make that happen. If there were, I would use it to give myself a longer weekend, not a shorter one! 😂

[DerynifanK]

I wish there was a way to make Monday come sooner. So hard to wait.

Alas, I don't think there is a spell to make that happen. If there were, I would use it to give myself a longer weekend, not a shorter one! 😂

l don't blame you. A longer weekend would be better

[DerynifanK]

Actually Soraya must have known about Mellie and the girls since she told Catalina about the chest of Elisa's old clothes including some in children's sizes for them.

[Evie]

Actually Soraya must have known about Mellie and the girls since she told Catalina about the chest of Elisa's old clothes including some in children's sizes for them.

Alixa was the one who made Catalina aware of those. The evacuation would have happened after Soraya went to bed, and the next morning Catalina would have been much more likely to ask Alixa than Soraya for help with finding children's clothing, since Alixa would be more likely to be sympathetic or at least neutral, while Catalina would not have been as sure if Soraya would react well or badly to Mellie being brought to Rhemuth, even though she has accepted Balian now.

Remember, at this particular time, when Catalina tells Mellie that the Queen told her about the clothing in the chest having belonged to Elisa, "The Queen" is now Alixa. Soraya is the Dowager Queen (as Uthyr's widow) or the Queen Mother (as Cinhil's mother). And just to add to the potential confusion, once Colin becomes King, Catalina would then become the Queen, Alixa would become another Dowager Queen, and Soraya could still rightfully be called either a Dowager Queen or the Queen Mother (since she is Colin's mother as well), but at that point I would imagine she'd more commonly be called the Queen Mother to avoid confusing her with Dowager Queen Alixa.