Post by Zen on Jan 9, 2023 4:27:57 GMT -5
Turn 2758
Podrell Age: 18
Podrell Age: 18
“What a surprise to find you in the library… again,” his sister’s familiar voice interrupted his concentration as Podrell paged through a book, standing in front of the shelf he’d taken it from.
He looked over at Pollifa with a quirked smile at her playful sarcasm, “You ought to start placing bets on my whereabouts. I could make you a rich woman.”
She laughed, “Honestly, Pod… you’ve just walked the tables, can’t you put studying aside to visit with your family properly?”
“Knowledge is power, as they say,” he murmured as his hazel gaze slid back to the page he’d paused on.
There was a moment of drawn out silence before she spoke again, her voice soft, “Might you spare a moment for your sister, then?”
Something in her tone had his brows drawing together in concern before he’d even looked up again, and he took a moment to study her. There was something uncertain… there was worry in her. He closed the book and slid it back into its place on the shelf, “I shall always have a spare moment for you, Polli.”
“Might we… take a walk? On the beach, perhaps? It is such a nice day…,” she trailed off, looking down at where she had laced her fingers over her belly and quickly shifting her arms to her sides instead.
“As you like,” he agreed, moving toward her and resting his hand over her own when she took his arm. She seemed almost frightened, suddenly unable to meet his eyes, but he didn’t press her until they had gone from the Hold and made their way in companionable silence to the beach. He got the sense she was trying to sort her thoughts, and wanted to give her what time she needed. He was somewhat surprised, and amused, when they reached the sand and she immediately slid out of her shoes, releasing his arm to take several steps into the soft white sands Cove was so well known for. She sighed softly, the wind toying with a few loose strands of her hair as she faced the sea and took a deep breath of fresh salty air.
He leaned against a stunted and windblown tree to unlace his own boots and pull them off, before picking up his sister’s shoes and setting them at the base of the tree for them to retrieve later. The sun was hot, the breeze from the sea cool, and overall it was a nice day for a walk on the beach, but such weather was rather common in Cove. “What do you think? Sea or sand?”
“Hm… a walk in the surf sounds lovely,” she reached for his hand and led him to the water’s edge, where they turned and made their way along the beach at a leisurely pace.
“Your dress is getting wet,” he pointed out, as normally she would hold it up and out of the waves, but she was simply letting it trail along in the water now.
“Mm,” she agreed absently with a faraway sort of expression.
“Polli… whatever is on your mind, you can tell me,” he insisted softly. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and her free hand came up to rest over her stomach.
“I… I’m afraid… you’ll be disappointed in me,” she murmured, looking down.
“I could never,” he told her instantly, firmly, “Polli… what is weighing on you? Let me help you carry it, if it is too much bear alone.”
When she looked up at him, unfallen tears shone in her eyes, and a few slipped down her cheeks after a quiet moment, her words blurted out before she lost her nerve, “I’m with child, Pod.”
The admission had him simply staring at her silence for several heartbeats as he processed the words, and then he began to put it together, and an anger like nothing he’d ever felt before boiled inside him, “Taskent? Where is he? At sea now, fortunate for him. Well tonight I-”
She reached up to grab for his arm, to regain his attention, “No, Pod, no… don’t… it’s not like that…. He knows and… he’s promised we’ll be married. Soon. Very soon. Please… he doesn’t deserve your anger.”
“No?” Podrell hardly agreed, “He ought to have married you first.”
“Podrell… it takes two, you know,” she insisted, reaching up and wiping away at her tears, “I was… I was hardly unwilling.”
“He didn’t pressure you?” he was actually quite surprised. He hadn’t imagined his sister would have ever been intimate with a man before marrying him.
She shook her head, “No… no, he was… he’s always been a gentleman. I don’t really know….” A nervous laugh escaped her, “I don’t know how it happened… not the first time.” She looked away, embarrassed at the topic, “Everything just… feels right, with him.”
Podrell grimaced, not entirely pleased with the topic either, “But you… you… wanted...?”
She sighed, nodding, still not looking at him, “Yes, Pod. I’m sure… he would have stopped if I’d only asked, but… I didn’t want him to.” Her voice got very small, and the way she hunched away from him, hugging herself, spoke of her shame.
So he brought them to a stop and wrapped her in his arms, “Polli… you haven’t done anything wrong, you know.”
“Haven’t I?” she whispered, burying her face in his chest, “Mother… she would be… she will be so disappointed in me.”
“If you’re married soon, she doesn’t have to know,” he insisted.
She laughed softly, humorlessly, “She will know… she knows how long it takes for a baby to come…. Maybe not right away, but… she’ll know.”
“Do you want it, Polli?” he asked softly, and she looked up at him at last, looking rather perplexed by the question, so he clarified, “The child? Do you want it?”
She looked horrified at the insinuation, “Yes!” She pulled away from him, took a step back, her hand coming to rest over her belly in what he could only imagine was a protective gesture, “Of course I do! I could never....”
He followed her, pulled her gently back into his arms. “I didn’t mean to upset you, nor to suggest…. I only meant, if you want it then… then it’s your choice, Polli. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.” His hands slid down her arms and he took a half step back to look at her properly, “And Taskent? He’s prepared? You’ve spoken to him, you said?”
She nodded, “He… he says he is, anyway… and I believe him.”
Podrell’s brow rose slightly, “Would you like me to speak with him?”
She laughed, it was brief, but genuine, “No… no, Pod… don’t frighten him off.”
“Why would he be afraid of me? I’m a pleasant man,” he grinned facetiously, and she laughed again, shaking her head.
They stood there for a moment, letting the waves wash gently over their feet, before she sighed again, “I don’t regret it, Pod… I don’t regret… any of it. I just… people will talk. I will try not to listen, but there will be unpleasant remarks, about me, about Taskent, about this child…. Will I still be allowed to remain here, do you think?” She looked up at him, doing her best to hide her desperation.
“I hardly think you’ll be exiled for having a child,” he tried a bit of humor, but she only looked away, and he sighed, because that was hardly what she was asking, but he didn’t really know how to answer her. This might bring shame to some in the family, but he thought it was fortunate Polli was only a granddaughter rather than a daughter. Lord Porrinsen seemed to have far more patience for his grandchildren than his children, and perhaps more lenience. “If you’re married soon… perhaps it will be alright in the end. But… you want the child, I’m not questioning that, Polli… do you want the man? I don’t want you to marry him just because you’re having his child, if you think there’s a possibility it will make you unhappy in the future. Are you sure...?”
She smiled softly at him, “I would not have given myself to him if I did not intend to marry him, Pod.” She reached up, tucked a wild strand of hair back behind her ear, “I had hoped we might have a bit longer of a courtship, but… I was prepared, when we… became more physical.” Letting out a soft laugh, she clasped both hands behind her back in a manner that seemed to Pod to make her look more girlish, reminding him how young she still was, “Besides, I’d certainly be disowned if I didn’t.” It was her own try at humor, but it was a bad joke, and she seemed to realize it as she looked away from him, “Don’t worry… I do love him. And I do believe he loves me too. Maybe it’s all a bit fast, but… but I’m ready.”
She looked quite resolute when she met his eyes then, the juxtaposition of the confident young woman and the uncertain girl that were both within her in that moment so jarring to him. She was going to be a mother, but it was difficult for him to think of her as old enough for that. Not that he didn’t have every confidence she’d be a great mother. She had been almost like a second mother to their sisters for most of her life. She just had a certain touch with children, a natural talent. He reached out to take her hand, laying his other hand over it, “This child will be incredibly lucky to have you for its mother, Polli…. No matter what happens, you will always have my support.”
A sad, uncertain smile pulled at her lips as her eyes filled with tears again, “Even… if I’m sent away?”
“Always,” he repeated, reaching up to wipe away the tears staining her cheeks with shimmering rivulets, but she brushed past his hands and buried her face in his chest again, clinging to him as a sob shook her, and he wrapped her in his arms once more. “You won’t be sent away, Polli…,” he murmured reassuringly, even though it might be a lie in the end. He would speak for her if it came to it, fight for her. It was an unfortunate thing, but he did think their mother would disown her for this, if she didn’t constantly defer to their father. Their father had more progressive tendencies, and he didn’t think he would want to send his daughter away when she needed her family the most. Rellifex hadn’t married Lord Porrinsen’s daughter for social status, but for love. Any shame Polli’s premarital relations might bring would matter little to the man. And Podirra would do as her husband dictated.
Podrell was less sure how their grandfather might respond. If the man was concerned about the shame of the situation, he may well decide Polli was no longer welcome in his household, and though Pod would try to persuade their grandfather, Porrinsen was legendarily stubborn. They could only hope the man simply wasn’t paying enough attention and wouldn’t realize the situation was what it was, after Polli was married. The marriage would cover the problem, for most, though as his sister had said, there would still be whispers when the child came less than nine months into her marriage. It might be overlooked simply for the fact that she was not a direct child of the Lord of Cove, and not in the initial line of succession. Were she a daughter of their uncle Ikarsen, the Heir Apparent, it would be bigger news. He sighed. Only time would tell, but he would do what he could for her… even if the worst did happen.
