ACH: Empty Cradles (8): Innocents

Writers: Estelle, Lexy
Date Posted: 19th April 2005

Characters: Enrizial, Anaia
Description: Enrizial and Anaia try to comfort one another after the kidnapping of their children
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 5, day 1 of Turn 3

Enrizial followed his wife dazedly through the hallways and corridors of Amethyst Cliff Hold and was lost at once. He could feel his face swelling around the eye where Alajeran had struck him, but paid little heed to the pain. He'd not seen Anaia for what seemed forever, but he found himself once again entranced by her as if she had never been absent..

Her chamber turned out to be spacious and well-appointed - he could not fault Lord Alalir's hospitality, at least. The only fault he could see was that the bed had not yet been made, and that likely because the Hold was in such turmoil that the drudges had no time for their usual duties.

"My Lady...I don't know what I can say." He raised a hand, probing the tender flesh around his eye with a wince. "I hoped to come here under better circumstances - I swear I never thought that harm could come to our daughters at Amethyst Cliff, or I would have been here sooner."

Anaia drank in the sight of her husband through the tears in her eyes. Reaching up, she gently touched his cheek before sighing in frustration. Her voice however was soft, her gaze pleading, as she said, "Enrizial, will you please stop this. This could have happened just as easily at home as it happened here. It isn't normal practice to keep a guard on the nursery doors. It's never been needed. Please, don't push this..."

"Lord Alalir had responsibility for their safety..." Enrizial's voice trailed off. It was hard to remain angry, even at the Amethyst Cliff Bloodline, when she pleaded with him so. "I just want them to be found, and quickly."

"I do as well...and they will be. They _have_ to be." She fought back tears, refusing to give in to the despair and hysterics she'd managed to fall into the night before. Gripping his hand, she pulled him over to the couch and sat.

"Ana..." He slipped an arm around her almost without realising what he was doing. "I'm sure they'll be found safe and well. They're innocents, and precious to me - to us. It would make no sense to harm them."

"Oh, Enri, I hope so! I just worry...what sort of people could just take innocent babies like that?" She leaned into his shoulder, allowing him to share in the load and fear of their girls being gone.

"What worries me most is that the search is in the hands of the very men who allowed our daughters to be taken in the first place," Enrizial said darkly, his free hand tightening into a fist as he remembered the insolent attitude of the Hold's Heir. "That farmer was not born to leadership and it shows."

"I have every faith in Amethyst Cliff's ability to find them." Anaia sat up slightly and met his gaze steadily, but her voice was soft as she pleaded with him. "I wish you would stop focusing so much on Lord Alalir's parentage. His father was a Master Craftsman, and he's proven himself through working as Steward here at Amethyst Cliff for many turns before he even became Lord. And he's been wonderful to both me and Lindria and your Mother..."

Her voice drifted off, her eyes silently pleading with him not to be angry with her words. Perhaps it wasn't the perfect time to ask these things, but if he was going to stay while their children were searched for, then it would go a long way towards making the time less stressful.

"I didn't know that," Enrizial admitted. He had assumed, in his dislike for Alalir, that the man's parents had been common fieldhands. "But even so, you cannot believe that he is worthy of my Lady Mother!"

"I think that she is happier than I have ever seen her. If you watch while you are here you will see." She squeezed his hand briefly, smiling slightly. "Either way, it would be easier on everyone if you just didn't mention it while you are here."

"I suppose you're right." He touched his swollen eye gently and grimaced. "It would seem to be a somewhat dangerous subject at any rate."

Reaching up, she cupped his cheek. "Well, it could have been worse. He could have broken your nose."

"He caught me off guard," the young Lord replied, his pride stung. He was sure that he could beat that farmboy and his foppish brother easily in a fair fight.

"Enri, right now it doesn't matter. Let's just focus on our daughters and getting them back." For she had no doubt that her husband had probably deserved the punch, and even though she was happy to see him she wasn't blinded to that fact.

Last updated on the July 10th 2006

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ACH: Empty Cradles (8): Innocents