Honeymoon in Nachtur!

Aleyn waited anxiously near the portal - Ardith would be arriving shortly. He glanced at Vedran, who looked calmer (although he knew that expectant smile hid some worries of his own.) They had only been in Nachtur a short time themselves, but long enough to try and get their quarters presentable for Ardith, in between their more military preparations. Aleyn guessed she wouldn't be used to roughing it, so the least they could do was get the room they'd claimed in the fortress cleaned up - many years of disuse had left it so filthy even Aleyn wouldn't have slept there the first night. He hoped it would be good enough for Ardith, even if it wasn't luxurious by any means, and still distinctly lacking in furniture. "Soon," he said to Vedran, smiling back.

Vedran nodded, smiling reassuringly. "It will be fine." he had had a chance to tlak to her a little bit more about what to expect on their second wedding night, and he hoped he'd given her a decent sense of what she was in for. She'd reassured him, and he kept telling himself, that what was most important was that they could be together through this. "I do wish I'd been able to go back and bring her through, but it didn't make sense when we had no other reason to go back to Highmark just now."

Aleyn nodded. "I wonder if she's bringing a lot of things through with her..." He had a momentary vision of Ardith hauling dozens of trunks and bags through the portal, but dismissed it as (hopefully) ridiculous. "I mean, I hope she has some good, practical supplies - that would be great, especially if it's things we can use to make the room more comfortable for her..."

"Practical comforts?" Vedran grinned. "I could use some more of those. Just try and relax, okay? We'll sort out what we can once she's here."

"I know, sorry... I'm just worried. I don't want her to be miserable the whole time she's here, or not be able to sleep... or at least, not because the mattress is just a bedroll draped over some straw. Hopefully maybe for other reasons," he added with a bit of a smile. "And at least it's fresh straw."

Ardith stood patiently as the Union magewrights completed the portal ritual. She was nervous, for a host of reasons, and not a little afraid, but she found she was already worried having her spouses off in Nachtur without her. Realistically, she knew there wasn't much of anything she could do there to help them specifically, but the thought of being there with them made her feel better.

The portal shimmered into existence in the circle in front of her, the translucent haze revealing two tall, thin figures she could only assume were Vedran and Aleyn. Smiling, and nodding her thanks to the dour Union caster who'd stepped aside as he finished the ritual, Ardith shouldered her pack and stepped through.

Aleyn grinned to see her appear. "Welcome to the beautiful Nachtur Towers," he announced playfully. "We've reserved the honeymoon suite, now guaranteed rat-free."

Vedran smiled, opening his arms to offer her a welcoming embrace. "Well, we hope. But it will be much nicer to have you here with us."

"Undoubtedly," Ardith said with a wink as she took Vedran up on his offer. She scanned the room to make sure no one else was around, then opened their embrace to allow Aleyn in as well.

"And I'm glad we got here on opening week. I'm sure this place will be all the rage with the upper set soon enough."

Aleyn stepped closer to hug her as well. "Thank you for coming," he said more seriously. "It means a lot to us that you would want to be here."

"It means a lot to me to be here, even if I can't do too much to help," she replied, her tone wistful. "Though I'm a pretty good hand with a set of bandages, at least."

"I'm sure that will be appreciated too when the time comes." Vedran smiled, stepping back a bit to take a better look at her. "Is that all you brought?"

"Here I was, expecting to be a gentleman and help carry your bags, but I guess you can manage them all yourself," Aleyn added with a smile.

Vedran grinned more broadly. "Of course we certainly are willing to fill our gentlemanly role, regardless, if you would like."

Ardith returned the smiles, her hand going to her pack.

"I think I can manage, boys. Care to show me around?"

"Of course - would you like to see our quarters first, or look around the rest of the keep?"

Ardith paused a moment to consider before responding.

"Well, I don't want the food to get cold, so why not our quarters first."

"There's food?" Aleyn looked excited at the prospect. "Well, quarters it is then!"

Vedran looked curious at the prospect, and offered her his arm. "I feel spoiled already..."

Ardith took the offered arm with a smile.

"Well, Brenn helped me pick out some wine he said you'd like," she commented to Vedran before turning to Aleyn to continue," I brought some sweet rolls from that vendor by the Union you showed me, and your mom packed a veritable feast of things I don't really recognize but she said were your favorites."

Aleyn's eyes widened. "You," he said with all sincerity as they began to make their way in the direction of their room, "are wonderful."

"Wow," Vedran added, suddenly feeling a little overwhelmed at her thoughtfulness, and how lucky and undeserving he was of her, of Aleyn, and this perfect second chance. "Definitely spoiled," he managed to add. "Thank you."

As they walked through the halls of the long-abandoned fortress, there were many signs of activity - people hurrying around, heading from the command headquarters to various destinations, or to and from the large hall they'd designated as the mess. Although he wished he could take Ardith's arm as well, or Vedran's, Aleyn maintained a suitable distance, for propriety's sake, with so many others around.

Their own chamber was higher up in the building, one of a series of rooms the Thunderbolts and the Pak and others had claimed for their sleeping quarters. They weren't large or luxurious by any means, but at least they were clean (now) and compared to the soldiers' tents outside, they would be considerably more comfortable in the chilly Byrrus weather. Vedran had thought to bring a small brazier that could heat the room fairly well, and a rug to set on the floor that also helped keep them a bit warmer. They had requisitioned a trio of small folding stools to sit on, and made what would have to pass for a bed out of straw and blankets and pillows.

Aleyn stepped ahead of them to open the door. "Your honeymoon suite, my lady," he said, bowing slightly, while giving Ardith a wink.

Ardith responded with a humorously imperious nod before breaking into a big grin.

"Aww, it's lovely. And here I thought I'd be roughing it out here with you two."

She stepped into the chamber, setting her pack down next to the folding stools. Taking a seat, she opened the satchel and began rummaging through it.

"I know I have a table in here somewhere..."

"You brought... a table?" Aleyn looked bemused as he closed the door once the three of them were inside. "Not just food, but something to serve it on too? Vedran's right, we're going to get spoiled. Soft." He smiled to show he didn't really mean it.