fandomania | The Adventure continues... (Reply)

Our eggs:

Our hatchlings:

Our Story:

I woke up much later to find Donal asleep but holding me in his arms. I felt warm and safe there.

It was very dark, but I heard or felt the bedroom door creak open. Rosa crept in holding a single candlestick for light. When she approached the bed, she whispered, “Patra, please wake up?”

I whispered back, “I am awake. Is there a problem?”

“You are needed in the nursery.”

“Ah. I will be right there.”

I gently tried to remove myself from Donal’s embrace, but still managed to wake him anyway. “Is everything all right?” he asked sleepily.

“Yes, dearest. It is feeding time.”

“Oh. Okay.” And he fell back asleep.

Slowly, I eased myself off the bed and took a few tentative steps. Rosa quickly came to me and offered me her arm to steady me. We slowly walked to the nursery, which fortunately was the next room over. I could hear both of my sons crying away. There was a nice young woman, trying to get Vâlen to suckle, but he was resisting mightily. His little face was red with effort and crying. “I am sorry, Madam Rosa, he just won’t take from me.”

“Lady Patra, this is Skyla. She is to be the night wet nurse, to help you with the night feedings. Skyla is the young widow of one of our sailors who lost his life at sea a few months ago. We felt that, as part of our company family, she would be the perfect person for this position. It would give her something to do, while she decides what she wants to do next.”

“I am happy to meet you and I am so sorry my son is giving problems already.”

Skyla got up from the rocking chair and offered it to me. When I was seated comfortably, she handed Vâlen to me. He calmed down rapidly when I held him. When I offered him my breast, he quickly started to suckle. I let him go for about ten minutes and decided to experiment. He became very indignant when I took him from my nipple. I then indicated for Skyla to take him and try feeding him again. Vâlen continued to resist, but this time, I cradled his head in my hand and led him to her nipple. I then whispered to him, “This is acceptable, dearest. It is just like Mommy’s.” He hesitated for a second and then took the proffered nipple and began to suck. When it became close to when he would be full, I repeated the process with Gælen and it worked with him also.

I spent a few more minutes watching my newborns. With Rosa’s help, I got up and also checked up on Jayzon and Loysa, before returning to bed.

The next week was mostly bed rest, spending time with my babies in the nursery and the occasional interaction with an adult. Donal would join me frequently in the nursery, because, as he said, “I don’t want to miss out in all the fun.” I knew that he was a good father and he made very sure that I wasn’t bearing too much of the burden of parenthood alone. Even with nursery maids, he spent his fair share of time changing diapers and he especially adored bathing the boys. Rosa started muttering amusedly under her breath about how we pampered the servants, instead of the other way around. But I could tell that she was very pleased that Donal was proving to be a ‘hands on’ father. And he didn’t just spend time with his babies, but he also helped with Jayzon and Loysa too, as he had previously. Plus from snippets of things Rosa said, Donal even took time to spend time with my older children. I was very grateful to hear that, but also felt very guilty that I was neglecting them over the babies. I made a mental note to schedule some more family time into my already busy timetable.

Aunt Suthi came by for my semi-weekly check up and deemed me well recovered and, finally, allowed me to take a full hot bath. I had been so looking forward to this. After she left, I had Mahli draw me a bath. I luxuriated in it, allowing my sore muscles a chance to relax.

“Ah, there is my siren of the bath!”

“Donal? How did you know that I was taking a bath?”

“I didn’t, love, I just lucked out. But, even though I can tell you are enjoying it, I have to ask you to get dressed, please?”

“Why?”

“Because the boys are one week old today and it is time for their public presentation and the issuing of their birth records. I thought you would remember this.” Donal looked at me puzzled.

I blushed and sat up immediately in the tub. “No. I totally forgot. I am an idiot. Jaizel was always telling me how inadequate I am because I forget things like this. And he was correct. I am an idiot.” I covered my face with my hands and I began to sob.

Donal put his arms around me and held me tightly. “No, no, Patra, love! Don’t cry! There is no need for crying. I should have reminded you. You are not inadequate. You are a wonderful, but very busy mother. I should have reminded you. I love you. You are not inadequate.”

It was a few minutes before I could compose myself again. I almost went off again when I noticed how wet I had gotten Donal’s beautiful clothes. “Patra, love, they are clothes. They will dry. I also have many other clothes that I can wear. But I have only one, very beautiful and worthy wife. She is much more important than any piece of cloth any day. Now let’s get up out of this bath, dry and into something much more suitable for public viewing. Okay?” I nodded. Mahli helped me out, toweled me dry and helped my into my dress. While she was working on my hair, I noticed that this was a new dress. I asked about it. “Madam Rosa ordered it for today. New outfits for you and your children. She said that your clothes were, um…, how did she say it? Meager. That’s what she said. She said that you spend too much of your time thinking of others and very little time thinking of yourself and that consequently your wardrobe was meager. I think that she has ordered a whole lot more for you, but they aren’t done yet.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing. I let Mahli babble on until she had finished drying my hair.

The dress was a beautiful lilac colored light-weight wool dress with just the simplest of embroideries at the neckline and the wrists. The dress was beautifully shaped; with tight sleeves from my shoulders to my wrists, a deep cut décolletage bodice that fit tightly at the bust, but draped loosely over the rest of my body. I was a little uncomfortable with the depth of the décolletage, but there was nothing I could do about it now. I had Mahli adjust my chemise upwards, so that I felt more modestly covered. I told Mahli to leave my hair loose. She looked disappointed. She kept asking if I wished to wear any jewelry or add jewels to my hair, but I declined, saying that my wedding ring was my most important piece and that it was all that I cared to wear.

Donal came in wearing a different outfit and expressed his approval of mine. He escorted me downstairs to where every one was waiting.

I saw that Rosa had indeed ordered new outfits for my children. The older girls looked beautiful in their new daffodil yellow dresses that mimicked mine in style. Loysa was wearing a dress more appropriate for a toddler in orchid. But Reuel was harder to see. As I looked for him in the crowd and finally found him, I could hardly believe what I saw. Without noticing it, Reuel must have had a growth spurt. Some of his round baby face had slimmed out and he now looked so like his father that I almost fainted just looking at him.

“What is it Patra? You are almost as pale as a ghost!” Donal asked me anxiously.

“I have seen a ghost. Look at Reuel.”

Donal did, and some clarity came to him. “Yes, I can see the resemblance. But Reuel doesn’t have anywhere near his temperament. He will be what Jaizel should have been, but wasn’t.”

“I know I am being stupid and foolish. But this is the first time I have seen this. It just threw me for a moment.”

“You are neither stupid nor foolish.”

Reuel ran over to me. He had one of Tauntie Rosa’s prized roses in his hand. “Mommy! Mommy! I pricked a flower for you to wear, because you are so pretty!”

“Why, thank you, Reuel! It is so beautiful. I will wear it close to my heart, because I love you so much.” I took the purloined blossom and stuck it in my neckline, so that he could see me wear it. I gave him a hug and a kiss for it. I made a mental note to apologize to Rosa for it later.

Getting impatient, Pahpey rounded everyone up and got us all outside and into the carriages that waited for us. They drove us to the city hall, where we went inside. The mayor of the city and several important looking officials were waiting for us in a room full of clerks and scribes.

The mayor beamed at us appropriately for the politician that he was. “I have heard that you recently increased the population of our fair city, Donal conAgri. I have heard that you, not only have been fruitful, but economical as well, getting yourself two sons for the price of one! Ha! Ha! Ha!” The mayor seemed much taken with his little witticism.

“Yes, sir. I have. I wish to formally and publicly declare before the entire world, that I, Donal conAgri, am the father of my two sons, presented so lovingly to me seven days ago, by my beloved wife, Lady Patra conAgri. These two boys are to be called henceforth Vâlen conAgri and Gælen conAgri, Vâlen being the elder son by thirty minutes. These two boys are the heirs of my body, I so publicly declare.”

“I, as Lord Mayor of the city of Daihor, in the Kingdom of Alfaria, do hereby witness your declarations and do sign these documents attesting this.” He then took the documents handed him by his chief clerk and signed in the appropriate place. Donal and I then signed our names to the record where the clerk indicated was appropriate.

“Well, I always love these little ceremonies. Very fulfilling. Is there anything you would like me to do?”

“Actually, yes, there is,” declared Donal, and proceeded to startle everyone, especially the mayor.

“Oh? I wasn’t informed of any other ceremony. What would you like me to do?”

“My beloved wife, Lady Patra, was a widow when I married her. She has five children from her previous marriage. I would like to legally and formally adopt her children to be my own and let them carry my name as if they were my own children.”

“Do you? From the look on your wife’s face, it would seem that you haven’t spoken to her about this.”

“He may have surprised me over this, but I can tell you honestly and truthfully, it is something that I have no objections with.” I replied.

“Sir?” piped in Celianne. “We were the ones who asked Donal to do this. My brothers and sisters and I. We all, very much, want Donal to be our legal daddy.” All of them nodded their heads vehemently in agreement.

“Well, everyone seems to be in agreement over this. I don’t have any objections. I hereby declare you, Donal conAgri to be the legally adopted father of Celianne, Melia, Melisant, Reuel and Jayzon. Do you have all the children’s paperwork, so that the changes can be made?”

The children went crazy with cries of happiness. It took me a few minutes to shush them quiet.

“Yes, sir.” Uncle Brian handed Donal a bunch of papers. “These are the birth records of all of Patra’s children.”

I could see all of the birth records that the mayor was leafing through. There was even a record for Jayzon’s birth. Where had he gotten that? That was something that I was going to have to ask him about, much later and in private.

The mayor handed the records to his chief clerk, who distributed them to various other clerks.

“I am sure that this will take my clerks a few minutes to make the changes. I am not sure if I want to ask this again, but do you have anything else for me to do for you?”

“Yes, sir, I do.”

“I was afraid of that. Now what is it?”

“My beloved wife’s sister and her husband died during the invasion of Freedonia and left their only daughter, Loysa, in the care of my wife. Since Loysa is an orphan, my wife and I would like to formally adopt Loysa as our daughter, with all the rights and responsibilities of such an adoption. Unfortunately, because of the chaos in Freedonia, I have not been able to get or find any of Loysa’s records.”

The mayor looked at me and asked, “Do you swear that Loysa’s parents are both dead and that she is free to be adopted?”

I looked the man straight in the eye. “I so swear.”

“Well, by the rights and powers given to me as Mayor of the city of Daihor, in the kingdom of Alfaria, I do declare that all the adoptions to be legal and valid.” He then ordered his chief clerk to handle the paperwork for Loysa’s adoption.

The first records started to come back and the mayor, Donal and I spent quite a few minutes signing wherever indicated. Loysa’s paperwork came just a minute or two later and with its signing, everything was done.

The mayor looked at Donal with a bemused look, shook his head and said, “Is this all?”

“Yes, sir. This is all.”

“Good! Then let us now go and celebrate!”