Episode 111 Ambushed
Ambushed
“You should eat something, Rominy,” Tharios says after his parents leave.
Rominy understood enough of their Elvish conversation to be very glad Elowyn heard none of it.
He knows a lot more about life magic now, too. Stars above. Why couldn’t Elowyn have that one?
Not that he wishes for a moment that she were anyone other than who she is. His Elowyn. Fire and water. Strength and softness. His perfect match.
“Is it all right for me to leave her side?” Rominy asks. Not that he wants to. But he needs to stretch his legs. Visit the water closet. He sniffs himself. Shower.
“Follow what you feel, all right?” Tharios says. “But it should be fine as long as you don’t go far.”
“I’ll sit with her,” Grandmera offers, and Rominy nods as he gently extricates himself from Elowyn’s side.
“Thank you. All of you. For everything.” He catches another whiff of himself. “Do I smell as bad to the rest of you as I do to myself?”
Father chuckles. “Why don’t you get cleaned up? Take a few minutes to breathe?”
“Does anyone know where my trunk went?”
“It’s in our room,” Father says. “To get it out of the way.”
“Is it far?”
“Just a few doors down.”
Rominy glances at Tharios, who inclines his head.
“Maybe I’ll use your water closet, too,” Rominy says. It would be less awkward than using this one with everyone right here.
Father pushes himself to his feet. “I’ll go with you.”
Mother glances their way, clearly wanting to follow, but Father shakes his head, and she offers Rominy a smile. “You’ll feel better once you’re clean.”
“I’m starting to think I smell worse than I realized.”
The others hide smiles that convey far more than their words do. It’s a wonder Elowyn wanted anything to do with him.
He looks longingly back at her, and Tharios claps him on the shoulder. “She’ll be fine. And we know where to find you if she needs you.”
Rominy exhales slowly and nods again before following Father into the hallway. Father’s guards trail behind them on the short walk to the door to his and Mother’s room, and Rominy looks around. “Isn’t this Arisanna’s room? Or am I imagining things? Everything’s a bit of a blur.”
“We traded rooms. They’re far away in the honeymoon suite. They don’t seem to mind.”
Rominy snaps his eyes toward his father. “This hotel has a honeymoon suite?”
“It seems that it does.”
“Is that where they keep disappearing to? You know what? Don’t answer that.”
Father laughs as he pushes open the door. Once they’re alone in the room, Father draws Rominy close, and Rominy returns his embrace. Father’s hugs aren’t as solid as they used to be, but the familiar hold is comforting.
“I have something I need to say to you,” Father says.
“All right. Well, here I am.”
To Rominy’s surprise, Father pulls back and takes Rominy’s face in his hands, looking into his eyes. “When I thought we might lose you, I realized how many things I meant to tell you that I never got around to. Things I feared I might never get the chance to say.”
Emotion clouds Father’s voice, and a lump forms in Rominy’s throat as Father continues.
“We waited so long for you, and every year, every tear, was worth it. I would endure every moment to have the chance to know you. You, Rominy. I see your fears. Fears that you’ll never be enough.
You are enough. You have always been enough.
And the man you’ve shown yourself to be every moment of every day since Lorial crossed the border between our kingdoms is someone I couldn’t be more proud of. ”
Stars above. Rominy fights back a shuddering breath and a wetness in his eyes, but his emotions are too near the surface.
“I won’t always be here to watch you grow and come into your own, and I wish we could have more years together. More than we will. But I rest easy every night knowing I will leave Nunia in good hands when I’m gone. In your hands, Rominy.”
Rominy shakes his head, blinking rapidly, but Father doesn’t let go.
“Believe in yourself the way I believe in you. The way Elowyn believes in you. These doubts that grip you—let them go.”
A shudder fills Rominy, and Father pulls him close again. Rominy struggles to breathe as he clings to his father.
“Do you really feel that way about me?” Rominy asks through a halting breath.
“If you could see inside my heart, you would never doubt it.”
Father just holds him for a few minutes. Rominy feels like a child again, but it’s soothing, and it leaves him more whole.
“I’m sorry I ambushed you like that,” Father eventually says, “but life is short. My life, at least. And I didn’t want to wait in case I never got another chance to tell you how proud I am of you.”
“Ambushed is right. Stars above. Can we pretend I’m not crying like a baby now?”
“I promise not to tell.” Father frames his face again. Wipes away his tears. “It comforts me that you’ll have Lorial to guide you when I’m gone. He is a good man. A good king. Trust him.”
Rominy nods. “I don’t want you to die, though. You make it sound as though you’re on death’s door.”
Father smiles. “Watching you almost die made me acknowledge my own mortality and the things I need you to know before I’m gone. But I hope it will be a good many years before you take my crown.”
“It had better be.”
“I love you, Rominy. Never doubt that.”
“I don’t. I won’t.”
“Good. Now, why don’t you take a shower. Get cleaned up. Feel human again. So you can be strong for that elf in there who looks at you like you’re her entire world, all right? I know that’s where you want to be—always by her side. And right now, you feel like half your heart is missing.”
Rominy laughs, but it sounds strained. “You’re going to make me cry all over again.”
Father squeezes his shoulder and smiles before letting go.
Breathing out slowly, Rominy finds his trunk sitting near the window. His guitar leans against it, and he runs his hand along the black case. “Did you pack this for me?”
“I did.”
“She helps me find my music,” Rominy says softly. He wasn’t sure the magic would allow him to say that.
“She helps you find yourself.”
Longing to return to her fills him.
“Clean up,” Father says. “She’ll be there waiting when you’re done.”
Rominy takes another deep breath and nods before reaching for his trunk.
By the time he’s washed and dressed, Rominy’s need to return to Elowyn gnaws at him. He runs his fingers over his prickly jaw before shoving away from the mirror. Maybe he’ll grow a beard. Beards are in style these days.
He doesn’t bother with his waistcoat, either. Mother will probably be horrified. It’s a lot of fuss about something that hardly matters. Cerian just wears leather all the time. And Tharios wears some sort of linen tunic over leather trousers.
No one will care if Rominy is formally dressed or not. Other than Mother, but she probably won’t fuss. She saves most of her fussing for Arisanna, which hardly seems fair, now that he thinks about it.
He doesn’t stop for his shoes, either. None of it seems to matter as much as returning to Elowyn as soon as possible. Not that he’s any more worried about her than he has been. He just needs to be with her again.
Father watches him from the chair across the room. “Feel better?”
“Yes, though I think perhaps I’ve reached the limit of my ability to cope away from Elowyn.”
“Just so we’re clear, is your state of dress a conscious decision or an oversight?”
“This is me not caring about waistcoats right now.”
“I would join you, but I have a feeling my wife would be far less understanding than yours.”
Rominy’s mouth slips into a smile at that.
“Shall we?” Father pushes himself out of the chair, but before he reaches the door, Rominy pulls him into another hug.
“What’s this for?” Father asks as he wraps his arms around Rominy and holds him close.
“For being the sort of man I want to be. And for being here when I needed you.”
“Now you’re making me teary.”
“I promise not to tell.”
Father laughs, and Rominy lets him go. Together, they pass through the door and into the hallway.
Elowyn’s heartbeat remains steady in Rominy’s chest. She must still be sleeping, which is a relief.
Mother stands in the hallway, and she only eyes Rominy’s garb briefly before giving him a hug.
Then she and Father return to their room together.
When Rominy pushes open the door to Elowyn’s room, it’s quiet inside, the magic elven lights dimmed.
“Welcome back,” Tharios says. “Your mother sent for food while you were gone.” He gestures to the tray on the table, and Rominy nods.
“Thank you. I’ll eat in a minute.”
“Elowyn’s just asleep,” Tharios says. “A normal sleep. She’ll probably sleep a lot in the next few days. Her body needs rest.”
She looks less pale than she did before. That’s a good sign.
“Eat, and then you can try to sleep,” Tharios says. “Grandmera will watch over you while I rest for a few hours.” He leans closer. “She said she’d drag me to my bed and tie me to it with my own vines if I don’t go willingly.”
“That threat would hit differently coming from your wife.” The words are out before Rominy can stop them, and horror fills him as Tharios bursts into laughter.
“The thought had crossed my mind as well,” Tharios says.
“That’s a relief. I can’t believe I said that.”
Tharios laughs harder, and Rominy fights the heat climbing his neck.
“It’s too bad Elowyn doesn’t have plant magic, isn’t it?” Tharios says. “Or is it my life magic you envy most?”
Rominy smacks his arm. “She has water magic, you know.” The heat spreads to his cheeks. “Let’s pretend I didn’t say that.”
“I heard it. You can’t take it back.”
“She’s your sister! This conversation just got very awkward.”
“If you heard half the conversations I’ve had this week, Rominy.” Tharios shakes his head as he chuckles. “I could use some levity to go with them.”
“Then I guess I’m glad to be of service.”
“I think you and I will get along just fine. Now, food and then sleep. For both of us.”
“Or neither of us.” He’s already up to his neck in this. He may as well do a proper job of mortifying himself.
“If we’re lucky,” Tharios whispers.
“Yeah, this isn’t awkward at all.”
“Brotherly bonding. I’m enjoying it. Cerian just tries to singe my eyebrows. He has plant magic, too, you know.” Tharios lifts his brows and grins back at Rominy as he goes to check on Elowyn again.
“That was just cruel!” Rominy rubs his eyes and tries not to smile too widely.
He needed some levity, too.