Bonds

Epilogue


Lethe opened the door to the cottage, carrying the bag of groceries. Her eyes fixed rigidly forward she strode through the small living room and into the kitchen, where she unloaded the groceries. Then she walked back into the living room and looked at the chair she had avoided looking at when she first entered. The sight of it nailed her to the spot, took her breath away with its beauty.

Peacefully, one breast exposed, Jill fed Elincia, their first daughter. There was another one on the way, but apparently beorc carried for nine months instead of the usual six. An unkind person might have said that Jill was huge and that was probably true, but Lethe didn't see it that way. For some reason, Jill glowed. Lethe wondered if all beorc looked like when they were with child. If they did then, well, it wasn't much of a wonder that their kind didn't go into heat.

"I'm..." Lethe coughed. "I'm back."

Jill looked up from Elincia's face and smiled at her in a way that made Lethe feel like she could dissolve into a mushy little puddle of happiness any moment now. "Did you get everything?"

"Oh, yes," said Lethe. "Heard some interesting gossip, too."

"I'm not surprised," Jill said, refocussing her attention back onto their daughter.

"If you want to believe Mrs. Rutherford, you slept with a local boy whereas I brought a partner over from Gallia."

"Oh?" said Jill, amused.

"Of course, Mrs. Darlin believes that we choose a single man to impregnate us both."

"She doesn't know about Branded, does she?"

"Don't think so," said Lethe. "Oh, and young Forsythe believes we're both suddenly straight."

"How is he?" Jill asked.

Lethe shrugged. "He'll live."

"There," Jill murmured, carefully detaching Elincia from her breast. "There we go."

"I should have been the one to feed her," Lethe said, but without much accusation in her voice.

"But you were down to the village and she was hungry," said Jill.

"Still..."

"Well, once Leanne is born, you can feed her, how's that?" said Jill. "We'll make a schedule."

Lethe rolled her eyes. "No need to go that far."

Elincia burped, yawned and promptly fell asleep. Jill smiled.

"You know, I've always heard that babies just aren't as quiet and peaceful as this."

"No need to worry," said Lethe. "I'm sure your little girl will be a right little hellion."

"I hope not."

Lethe walked over to Jill and took the sleeping Elincia from her. "I'll go tuck her in."

Jill nodded.

Carefully holding the baby, Lethe made her way to the stairs and up towards the girl's bedroom. At the moment, it was still Elincia's room, but in a week, maybe in a few days even, she would have to share it. Lethe thought the girl probably wouldn't mind.

She carefully put the girl into her crib. Then she took the soft, white plush heron and put it near Elincia. Even in her sleep, the girl put an arm around the much drooled-on toy and pulled it close.

Lethe smiled. 'She's got her mother's eyes', people would say, or 'she's the spitting image of her father'. Lethe had never understood that kind of thing. Elincia didn't look like anyone yet, except like Elincia and that was good enough. More than good enough. Even the blue mark on the girl's right shoulder blade was just another bit of her to love instead of a sign of damnation.

Parentless, that was what they were called. A laguz parent could almost be counted on abandoning the child if its blood was mixed. Lethe wondered why. How could someone, anyone, abandon their own child or simply lack the basic decency to leave it on the doorstep of an orphanage? The concept wasn't just ridiculous, the mere thought of it was... was... impossible.

Lethe only noticed Jill when the girl put her arms around her from behind.

"Thinking again?" she said.

Lethe nodded.

"You can't help it, you know," Jill said. "People are just... people."

"Then they should change," said Lethe.

"Yeah, they should."

Lethe and Jill looked at their daughter for a while, in this soft room of pinks and blues, until the sun started to set.

"We should leave her be," said Lethe.

"Probably," said Jill.

Lethe broke Jill's embrace and, taking her hand, led her to the door.