And Delia just didn't see the point. She tried to be sorry for losing him, even feel guilty like her mother wanted her to, but she just couldn't help being glad to be rid of him. He was a bore, she didn't really need him, not with her white knight taking care of her, and being finally able to tell him just that felt great.
Adrian, her white knight, was attentive as ever, both gentle and passionate, and he filled all the empty places that remained in her life. The longer their affair lasted, the more at ease they both were, until they felt almost invincible. Life was good and easy, even with a small baby requiring attention. They just started meeting at Delia's house more often, to stay close to their son, and after a while even Delia's fearful parents stopped trying to stop them.
Devin remained the only one who complained: "Are you sure it's a good idea? That it's safe? I mean..."
"Stop whining already! What could happen?"
Devin could list many things, but it was clear his sister, lost in her fantasy romance, didn't want to hear any of them. In the end he settled for the most obvious danger: "If lady Ellara ever found out you would..."
"She won't!" Delia snapped back. "And even if she did, what would she do against her own husband?"
"Well..." Devin considered saying that it was lady Ellara who had political power in the area and it was her who was the scary one, but stopped under Adrian's glare. How do you tell a noble lord he wasn't scary or powerful enough?
There was a moment of silence and then Devin turned back to his sister. "And how do you plan to live? Who will support you?" He asked, trying hard to sound grown-up and responsible rather than like a whiny boy.
"I will, of course."
Devin turned back to Adrian, who was staring daggers at him. Devin involuntarily took a step back.
"Do you expect me to abandon my own son? What do you take me for? What gives you the authority to doubt me?"
Devin took another step back. He opened his mouth to reply, but found no words that would stand up to Adrian's anger. "I... I'm sorry..." He managed to stammer in the end.
Adrian just walked past him, not really acknowledging the apology, but at least he stopped glaring at Devin.
To be fair, Adrian really did at least try to help.
Devin's bad feeling didn't entirely go away, but what else he would have wanted he wasn't sure himself. Adrian brought them enough money to more than take care of the baby. Devin knew well enough he couldn't expect anything else, marriage would be out of the question even if lady Ellara wasn't alive, and the affair was far too public and official already.
Maybe this was what was worrying him so much. He felt that the anger of discovery was growing every day and his sister just didn't see it. He could see how much Delia wanted a family of her own, but somehow she wasn't able to see that could never happen with Adrian.
And that fear was something no amount of money or fresh venison, however good, could dispel.
And all this time little Edric kept growing and keeping his mother busy. He was a bright child, learning new words and making more and longer steps almost every day, and Delia was more than happy to guide him in everything.
As time passed, she was still content with her life, no matter the reservations the rest of her family had. She had a healthy child, she was in love, and she was happy with that.
The passing time wasn't as good to everyone, though.
Lady Ellara had been doing her best to hide her grey hair and wrinkles, but eventually it became clear even to her that she was just wasting time. Ellara hated not being beautiful anymore and the more she saw other, younger women, the more bitter she became. Her only son was dead, her husband was avoiding her... the only consolation she could find was that the new lady who ousted her from her rightful position wasn't any happier.
But even though she hated what her life had become, Ellara still couldn't imagine it could be almost over. Being old meant being tired, yes, it meant wrinkles and grey hair, but the concept of her own mortality was completely foreign to her until the dark figure of Grim Reaper himself stood before her.
And even then she was more shocked than frightened, unable to believe death could really apply to her.
She stood there frozen until a stern voice which seemed to come from inside her head changed her shock to anger. Her time wasn't yet up, couldn't be, and how dare anyone tell her otherwise.
NO!" She put all her righteous outrage into that one word, all her noble breeding and inborn right to command others. When the hooded figure didn't move away, she reached for the hourglass the Reaper was holding just before her eyes. She wasn't sure herself if she wanted to turn it around or simply throw it away so it wouldn't mock her anymore, but it didn't matter in the end. The Reaper appeared bony and frail, but she was unable to move him even a tiny bit.
The last thing she heard were the words "Nobody can cheat time and death. Now leave this world," echoing in her head just before everything went black.
The funeral was mostly quiet. Adrian wasn't sure whether he should feel sad or relieved or even what his role should be now that his wife was dead. And lady Leandra was clinging to her daughter, only half hearing the funeral speech. She still hadn't stopped wearing mourning for her deceased husband and found it hard to care about any other death, however much she may have wanted to.
Delia's life, meanwhile, went on without any visible changes. Her affair with Adrian had become a routine for everyone involved, to such a degree that it took months for anyone to even get the idea that Ellara's death might affect it somehow. Not that anyone knew what exactly should change and what was even possible.
Delia was mostly content, but then she started feeling ill in the mornings again.
When she told little Edric he was going to get a baby brother or sister, she tried to show and feel only joy. But no matter how much she looked forward to seeing the little one's face, there was still something in the back of her mind, telling her this wasn't how life was supposed to be. That it was one thing to love a baby born out of wedlock and quite another to have a family, with more children, without a husband.
When that feeling didn't go away after a few days, she finally gathered enough courage to tell Adrian, nervous it would break their life together. She was afraid he would be angry, maybe call her a demanding nag like he had so often called his lady wife. But instead he took her in his arms.
"I love you. You know that, right?"
Delia nodded, expecting the inevitable but...
"Then you have nothing to worry about. I will always take care of you and the children."
Soon after that Adrian took her shopping for baby clothes, fancy food and anything else she might need. Delia was so happy at the fact he was taking her somewhere in public she almost didn't hear him say how money was no problem.
That whole day she was almost floating with joy, imagining what the next steps might be. Adrian was clearly planning to make their relationship official, would he move her and Edric to the manor next?
She was so focused on her daydreams she even forgot to watch and enjoy the people in the marketplace. They might become part of her life later, she would be due some respect as Adrian's partner, but right now they were not really important.
But as time passed and Adrian made no further steps to formalise their relationship, Delia grew less sure of his intentions and her future. Edric's birthday came and went, the baby in her womb grew and still nothing happened.
Delia wasn't sure what exactly she was hoping for, what exactly she could expect. She only knew she wasn't content with silence any more, not when there would soon be a second child with an unclear status.
She loved Adrian, she trusted him, and he always knew how to calm her. It just didn't last as long as it had used to.
He invited her to the manor a few times, always half in secret and explained his love and difficult situation. She was heavily pregnant and Adrian swore he would always take care of her and her children, but he had to at least appear he was in mourning. And she always got lost in his eyes and said that she understood. She really did, at that time, while he was near her.
And when the doubts appeared again in a few weeks, she hated them and she hated herself. Anything to stop herself from hating him or his promises.
Her baby was born, a healthy boy who took her mind off everything else. He was much grumpier and more demanding than Edric had been, as if he felt he could have been born in comfort as nobility.
And life went on. Edric was going to school and doing reasonably well. Alysanne was more tan happy to help him with his studies and if Edric was dissatisfied with anything in his life, his family or the way other children treated him, he was keeping it to himself. Baby Lucien was healthy and growing every day.
Everything was well and Delia was doing her best to be happy or at least satisfied, even though her hope for a real family with the man she loved was almost completely gone by then.
At the same time, Devin was making a new friend. He had met Katharyn at the village market and felt immediately drawn to her. She wasn't as exotic as Tiriel, probably not even as beautiful, but it only took a while for them to feel they had known each other for a long time.
Katharyn was the oldest of five siblings and had grown up with her own share of family drama. Like Devin, she was used to be the quiet responsible one, always putting her own desires and feelings aside, but when she let herself relax for a moment, she was great fun to be around as well as a great and generous friend.
If it didn't feel so natural, so easy and pleasant, Devin would have wondered what she saw in him. She claimed to admire him, but Devin couldn't even imagine why.
He wasn't sure when exactly he started falling for Katharyn, when he stopped being in love with Tiriel or if he ever did. But he kept noticing her more every day, thinking about what they could do together. If that was love he wasn't sure, but did it matter?
