Walking over to rlin's house, we looked like an eager little group, ready for a Christmas carol or sothing. Well, it did feel like it, and that made smile even more because looking at the snow-covered city that we had built over these decades, with the glowing lamp posts and the stone houses... All of it had the just-right amount of modernity. The perfect touch of... style. And decor. It had life, really. Much more than the cities in my old mories, with blocky, glass buildings devoid of decoration, only the utilitarian nonsense. Although planned, for , walking through my Avalon felt like living in the nineteenth century with a touch of... extra. Mostly the touch of magic.
I'm not sure if others felt similarly or if it was just for , thanks to my previous life experiences. But I loved the atmosphere we managed to create. I couldn't help but feel proud of myself, watching the warm light spill from rlin's windows, painting the snow golden colored before us, and for once, I let myself stop thinking about monsters and war machine designs and possible dangers coming from beyond the third pass.
Life was good. And it was thriving.
Sasha was the first to get to the door, and she knocked gently, though she didn’t wait for a reply before stepping in, the rest of us following with arms full of gifts. It wasn't much, more like... necessities that rlin probably forgot to buy. We brought enough bundles to clothe a regint of babies and toddlers, mainly from the old clothes of our kids, along with a lifeti's supply of diapers. After Sasha was in, Mikan led the way for the rest of us, already babbling excitedly when seeing Elena sitting in the living room, holding her newborn son. I was next while Luna peeked around the back of with a grin, amused by the fact that rlin, for once, wasn't jumping around, just sitting silently, lost in marveling at his own son. Finally, it was Yuri who closed the door behind us while she carried a basket filled with stuff that would make an excellent dinner for Elena. To... recover so strength.
Inside, the air was warm, just like back in the castle, and I knew many of the families in my city were enjoying it just the sa right now. rlin was sitting next to Elena, his hair more unkempt than usual, and this ti around, the dark circles under his eyes were there for a different reason, not for staying up for days on end working on a new magic circle or sothing similar. Still... he was smiling with a stunned kind of joy. From what I learned later, Elena had been in labor for about the whole previous night and a bit more, making rlin panic more than once. No wonder he looked even worse than his wife, huh?
Well, as I saw it, everything turned out well in the end, as she sat propped up on the cushioned sofa, her face a bit pale but peaceful, holding the tiny, swaddled bundle in her arms.
"Aw..." Sasha exhaled softly beside . “So small…”
"Yet it hurt like hell pushing him out," Elena looked up at us, chuckling. “Co on, sit down! Don’t just stand there like it’s a funeral. Quite the opposite!”
We moved all at once, of course. The hugs ca first from my wives, followed by all of our congratulations. Then ca so jokes from Luna that made Elena laugh and wince at the sa ti, describing how hard it was for her to push Galahad's big head out... This was then corroborated by Yuri, who began quoting her exact words when giving birth to my son, but she didn't get far as Sasha held her mouth shut. Good catch... No need to let the newborn learn all of her curse words on day one, after all.
"He looks really healthy~!" Mikan said with a shine in her eyes, beaming with genuine happiness.
As they talked, I glanced at rlin, who tried to look dignified but kept glancing down at his son as if checking whether he was still real or not. Duh. It was a real kid. One that you helped to make. Good thing I forced you to lose your virginity, eh? Hehe... You are already better than your previous incarnation. Eventually, Elena pulled back the blanket more for us to see the newborn’s face in full, latched onto her nipple, hungrily suckling while sleeping. Of course, it was red-cheeked, with a surprisingly thick patch of dark hair and with a tiny fist curled under his chin.
As if realizing we were there, he finally let it go, trying to open his eyes, looking towards the source of the noise and new voices. I bet he didn't see much of us yet, but he didn't look frightened either, as he didn't start to cry.
“May I?” Sasha asked softly.
“Of course,” Elena said, handing him over with a mother’s care, smiling proudly.
"Hehe," Mikan peeked over her shoulder. “He looks like rlin, doesn’t he?”
“Poor child,” Luna teased.
"Err..." rlin flinched, wanting to say sothing, but for the first ti ever, he had no words.
“He’s pudgy,” Yuri whispered, poking his face with a finger, and for so reason... Sasha passed him gently to .
Luckily, with five kids, I was a pro at handling a newborn by now. Huh... He was lighter than I expected. Or were my kids too heavy? Well, they had Mikan to help them feed... Thinking about that, I stared at the tiny little boy, and for a mont, the war maps in my head stopped moving. I’d held my children like this once... I rembered the feeling well and how much I enjoyed it... Damn. Was I thinking about wanting another child? Well... looking up at my wives, the light in their eyes was... pretty obvious. O-oh... My back began tingling already.
“What’s his na?” I asked, gently handing him back to his mother, pushing back my thoughts and trying to dodge my wives' gazes.
After taking him, Elena looked at rlin, who straightened a little, cleared his throat, and tried to speak like a scholar, but his voice wavered way too obviously.
“His na is... Percival.”
My dear boy... I wanted to say while smiling. It seems he took the naming convention we had been using for a few decades seriously, and I wouldn't bla him for it. I did tell him about the legends, after all.
"Good." Sasha nodded imdiately. “A strong na.”
“A proper Knight material,” Yuri added, her lips curling upward. "Nice."
“A bit dramatic, but it suits him,” Luna chid in, though she smiled warmly at the new parents.
"He could still be a mage." Mikan reminded us, "It would show in a few weeks if that is the case~!"
While they were talking, I looked down at the little one again. Percival, hm? Well, there goes one of the nas I cannot use if I have another son. Oh well. There should still be enough to pick from!
In the end, we spent another hour or so there, just talking and laughing, eating bread and cheese, and sipping warm cider while Yuri and Sasha whipped up a proper al for Elena. As they did so, Mikan made the newest mother of the group promise to let her babysit when needed, which was, of course, agreed to. Not that I would make the two work and forgo their role as parents.
Eventually, thinking about that part... I stepped outside with rlin for a quick talk. The wind had picked up, so the cold bit through my coat, but I didn’t care; it was a good feeling for a brief mont.
“You want to co with ,” I said, without preamble.
"It is my job to be with you on the Calot," He stated without hesitation, “Of course I do.”
“I know.” I shrugged, shaking my head.
“The Calot will need—”
“rlin,” I cut in, turning to face him. “You just beca a father.” He looked away, pouting, knowing where this was going. “I know you think it’s a must to fight, especially with the early winter and all. To support as you always did. You ca with as a kid when we went to get Yuri... Heh. I rember it well... But that was then. Now it's a bit different!"
"It isn't..." He grunted, his pouting intensifying.
"It is. Your place is with Elena and Percival.”
“They’ll be safe. Avalon is guarded—”
“I don’t an protection. I an presence, rlin.” I explained it, cutting him off a second ti. I expected another grumpy comnt... but he said nothing. “Look... I’m not asking,” I added more gently. “If I have to, I’ll order you. Stay with them.”
"..." rlin flinched like I'd slapped him, but then exhaled, closing his eyes as I saw them move behind his eyelids. When he reopened them, his expression was calm, and he was wearing a slight smile. “Yeah... Yeah... I know... You’re right.”
"Of course I am!" I nodded, slapping his shoulder and squeezing it. "I am a dad, after all."
"And now I am, too," He looked back toward the entrance to his ho. “He’s so small.”
“They always are. But they grow! And when they do, they’ll need their father there.”
"I do hope he grows... He has to be taller than !" He added, shaking his head and turning back to .
"Well," I teased him, "You know how it goes... Like father, like son!"
...
....
.....
Only three days later, the Calot was ready for its longest tenure, probably spending the rest of the winter traveling between the two passes, wherever it was needed the most. I was stretching, still feeling a bit sore between my legs from what happened in the previous two days... I was drained. Completely. I even wondered if it would work anymore... Nah, it will be fine. It must be.
Ignoring the numbing sensation, I stood at the base of the ramp, overseeing the final supplies being loaded, when I heard footsteps. By the crunching of the snow... There were four sets of them.
When I turned, I saw Sasha, Yuri, Luna, and Mikan standing in a neat line, cloaks drawn close on them, bags packed and ready.
“You’re not serious,” I said, raising an eyebrow at them.
“We are,” Sasha exclaid with force.
“You’re all staying in Avalon.”
“No,” Yuri corrected just as sharply. “We’re going with you.”
“I need you here. Sasha, the Council. Yuri, logistics. Mikan—”
“We have already delegated everything,” Luna said with a wave of her hand. “Efficiently and all those things.”
"But the Princess–" I started, being cut off by Yuri.
"We will bring it along. You can deploy then whenever needed."
"What about my boats?" I tried pushing, but now Sasha was the one shooting it down.
"I looked it over and sent it down to the corresponding departnt. They are good and capable. They can build sothing like that without our supervision. You raised good people, Leon. They can handle it."
"What about the kids?!" I tried my last resort, my final approach, but with little success.
"Arthur and Leyla are still away, as you asked. They are working to ensure that all other Union mbers are stable. Lancelot is with your Dad. Galahad is where we are going... And Morgan is keeping yli company while Louise looks after them." Mikan bead, explaining everything. “Everything is smoothed over.”
I opened my mouth to argue but... stopped. Looking at the four of them, I knew I had lost already. But true... everyone was doing their own thing... Even the girls from Khulman. Seltana was also coming with us on the Calot, along with Oleg, as she had beco his full-ti assistant by now.
“Fine,” I sighed. “But don’t bla when the beds are cold and the food starts to taste like military rations. I am not planning on returning to the palace for the foreseeable three to four months! I don't want to hear moaning about little stuff!”
“We’ll bring the spices,” Luna winked.
"And do the moaning under you!" Yuri added as the two grinned at .
"I will make sure they cause no trouble," Mikan promised, making sigh with a smile.
"Sure... then this will be a family trip." I raised my hand, giving up, "The longest winter cruise we have ever done!"
Reviews
All reviews (0)