A visit to the Arbor

"The Sentinel Houses are well-versed in quick mobilizations, Vedran, and a portal ritual only takes ten minutes to perform. With a sending at the proper time, those ten minutes might be all that's required to summon a significant force. Nerath became quite adept at such rapid deployments during the Ahkasic conflicts."

"Yeah, I remember my father telling me about battles like that - not that he talked about the war a lot, but..." Aleyn trailed off, feeling Vedran's and Jesseryn's eyes on him. "Um. I'm sure they could do it if they wanted, is all I meant."

Vedran smiled at Aleyn, and then nodded. "Right. I'm sorry - I should know all that.... I suppose if they are already watching Nachtur there is nothing to stop them from setting up their own portal ahead of time, in case they wind up needing it."

Jesseryn nodded, his expression otherwise neutral.

"Vedran, I believe Macen is in the South Garden with Marys, hopefully not uprooting anything important. I assure you, the stone will be safe here with Mr. Harrowden and myself while you retrieve him."

While Jesseryn's tone remained amiable, Vedran could recognize a dismissal when he heard one.

"Of course." Vedran could see Aleyn's eyes widen, and flashed him what he hoped was a reassuring smile as he rose to exit. "I shouldn't be too long, then." he hoped leaving them alone together would wind up being beneficial, but he still felt guilty for abandoning Aleyn, knowing what his lover thought of his father.

Aleyn tried to stay calm and smile back for Vedran as he left, but he was nervous about what Jesseryn might be going to say to him, and had no idea how much he already knew about their situation. He settled for sitting back in his seat and folding his hands (mostly so that he would have something to do with him) as he waited for Jesseryn to speak.

Jesseryn waited for Vedran to exit before turning to Aleyn.

"Can I offer you anything to drink? I have some excellent tea cultivated here in the Arbor that should largely mitigate a lack of sleep, at least for one night."

"That would be nice, thank you," Aleyn replied. "It's been a busy few weeks, but fortunately there haven't been too many sleepless nights."

"Wait until you have the children living with you," Jesseryn commented, rising to inform the servant waiting outside the door he would like some tea brought.

His face remained passive as he turned back to take his seat.

"I think its time you and I had a frank discussion of the situation as regards you, my son, and your soon to be mutual wife."

"Ardith and I prefer 'partner'," Aleyn said calmly, or as calmly as he could. "And Macen is with us about half the time, so I'm already somewhat accustomed to his occasional ...interruptions. But go ahead. What did you want to discuss?"

"Duly noted," Jesseryn replied, pausing before he continued.

"There are a few issues I believe it will be beneficial for us to resolve before things progress. For instance, I believe you believe I disapprove of you personally. Assuming I'm correct, I'd like to dispel that notion."

"I'm not sure you know enough about me to disapprove of me personally, unless it was irrationally, and I've never heard it said that you were irrational," Aleyn replied, polite but somewhat stiff. "I do think I'm not what you wanted for your son, however."

"I'll easily admit to that, but I would hope you wouldn't take it personally."

Jesseryn paused, considering his comments.

"I do not care that you are a commoner. I do not care that, until very recently, you were not affluent. I do not care that you are male."

He paused again before continuing.

"I care that you are a commoner, and lack wealth, and are male. None of these traits are in anyway reflective of you personally, and none of them individually would present an insurmountable problem in a partner for Vedran. All three of them together, however, in a partner, make my son's life more difficult. Were it in my power to make this not the case, I would do it, but no one in Nerath has that broad of influence."

"You see this as a grave injustice, to yourself and my son, and blame me and the system in which he was raised. You separate Vedran and his people in your mind, as though he is the man you love despite his family and upbringing, rather than because of it."

Jesseryn neither rose nor raised his voice, but Aleyn could sense the degree of passion behind his words.

"If you believe nothing else about me, Aleyn, believe that I will always have my family's best interests at heart."

It was nothing that Aleyn hadn't expected to hear, but it still made him angry. He tried to keep himself under control, though - it would do no good at all to blow up at Jesseryn.

"Do you know," he began slowly, with an icy calm, "what has made your son's life more difficult? The wife you chose for him, I'm sure with your family's best interests at heart, who hurt him so badly it nearly broke him. I don't blame you for wanting him to marry again - I can see what advantages it brings, things I could never offer him, or you. But the only reason - the ONLY reason - that he's able to do this without going mad is because he has me by his side. I don't say that lightly, because it's not in my nature to overestimate my own importance, but it's the truth. So, with all due respect, I think you owe me your thanks, because someone needs to have Vedran's best interests at heart. My lord," he added as an afterthought.

"You're the only reason Vedran is able to carry on?" Jesseryn asked, managing to keep his voice calm, though he leaned forward as he spoke.

"Not his many supportive friends? Nor his mother, who's been a balm to him throughout the ordeal? Nor me, who offered him the way of out his damaging marriage? Not even his son, who's existence made sure Vedran always has something to live for?"

"You don't want to 'overestimate your own importance,' but you are the sole reason Vedran is functioning today after the hell that woman apparently put him through?"

Jesseryn's voice did raise slightly as he continued.

"You're going to sit there with your false humility and fail to mention that the reason that Vedryn, of House Callais is leading an invasion in the next two weeks while simultaneously remarrying and orchestrating one of the largest shifts of political and legal opinion in the history of the Confederacy is the fact that he is one of the strongest men I have ever met!"

Aleyn remained quiet for a moment in the face of that speech. "He is strong," he agreed simply, "or he'd be dead by now. And he does have other help, for which we're grateful. But I'm the one who sees him in the middle of the night, when all of that falls away, and he's scared and helpless."

Jesseryn was quiet for a long moment, holding Aleyn's gaze. At length, he sighed, looking, more than anything, tired.

"And for that I thank you," he said, his tone genuine. "Whatever concerns I may have, I am happy that he has someone to be there for him."

Aleyn nodded curtly - it was as close as he was likely to get to approval from Jesseryn, he figured. "If you do have specific concerns - aside from whether I make your son's life more difficult - I'm willing to discuss those."

"Do you understand what marrying Vedran, and Ardith, means for you? Your life is about to change in some very drastic ways. I think your disdain for the nobility may blind you to the reality of your situation. You may not be becoming a noble in public, but you very much will be one in fact."

"My wife holds a certain affection for Jacinthe, in no small part, I believe, because of her dislike of Vedran. Or, to be more accurate, the idea of Vedran. I have no love for the girl myself, particularly not now. And yet, even after the divorce, she retains the Callais name, and the prestige and protection that goes with it."

"You may not be receiving the name, but I assure you, you will be considered by all aware of the arrangement as part of this family. That association carries with it both benefits and obligations. I guarantee you, Modwen Aethelin, as much as she is aware of the situation, will have similar demands. I want to make sure you are considering all these factors."

"You're wrong if you think I have disdain for the nobility as a whole," Aleyn replied. "Maybe for some of its rituals and conventions, but for the individuals, the ones who actually hold up their end of the deal and meet those obligations you mentioned? Someone has to do it, and when they do it well, I respect them for it. If I'm going to be expected to do so too, in whatever capacity I'm able, then so be it. I hope I can bring something useful to the... the family."