Private Tales A Heart's Desire

[Kristen Pirian]

VEL NUMERA​

"I wish your help in finding a suitor."

And so there it was, out at last. Many restless nights had led up to it, now that Kristen lacked the terrible immediacy of war to distract her.

Indeed, upon her return to Vel Numera, it was one of the first things to come to mind, wrestling with matters of her Ladyship, duties and possible duties of her Dreadlord title, and other domestic concerns. Mostly at night, when at last she had found a comfortable spot in her bed, did these thoughts of suitors and marriage and children assail her. She knew the well-trodden road already: her crush on Dorian, her relationship with Drastus, and her relationship with Alistair. And with a most special eye to this third part of the road, Kristen lost many an hour of sleep considering how things could have went differently, to which she found no shortage of answers—"if" is a dangerous word, invoked at night.

When at last she could stand it no more, she sent a letter to her Uncle Tobias, the Head of House Pirian, and to her father, Neil Taeris Pirian. She'd a mind to take some step forward, some certain step, for to wait interminably was a torment.

So Lord Tobias and Lord Neil arrived in Vel Numera, and Kristen received them at the door to the Pirian Manor. All due pleasantries were exchanged, and during these Kristen kept her excitement (which had an awful caustic feel to it) and her sorrow—her emotions all—well-veiled. They retired then to one of the drawing rooms. Drinks and snacks were served as requested, more pleasant small talk. And then the servants left the room, and only was it Kristen, Tobias, and Neil.

Stately was her composure, much befitting the Darling Daughter of House Pirian, and yet there was a slight tremor in her human hand, which she had folded in her lap. She tried to hide it with her artificial hand, having laid that one over top.

She began calmly, and came straight to it, saying, "Uncle Tobias...Father...I feel with ever increasing lament that, while I may be attending to my duties as Lady and Dreadlord with satisfaction, I am failing...I have failed...in what is far more important. And in this my great fear is that I cannot, I must not, dally long."

And out it came: "I wish your help in finding a suitor."

Relief came as a cooling tide, but close behind a new and uncomfortable anxiety (attended quite naturally by grief). For now that she had said this, the raw potential of what might come of it well and truly yawned wide open. She knew not what the future could hold.

Tobias Pirian

 

[Tobias Pirian]

A matter of great importance called Lord Tobias to the splendor of great Vel Numera. His niece, the acting Lady of the city, had reached out in a heartfelt letter. Just what was it she could be so missing that she felt need to make a request of her uncle, the lord and paramount of their noble house?

"I wish your help in finding a suitor."

Tobias blinked slowly, then blinked again. He look from Kristen to Neil, then back to Kristen. Perhaps he should have expected this, given some of the wording in her letter, but still...he did not.

"Um...Kristen, dear...it is not beyond me to aid in this regard. Arranged marriages are hardly unheard of in Vel Anir, even now, but..."

"You always seemed so independent, dearest," Lady Henrietta chimed in from behind, the more nurturing of the heads of House Pirian by far. "The very turning point of your life in joining the Dreadlord Academy was your idea, was it not? And the young men you've fancied since were of your choosing as well. Are you certain you wish for your uncle and father to, ahem...'help,' in this regard?"

Tobias looked from his wife to Kristen once more. He could not have put it more eloquently himself.

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Neil shared in his brother's surprise, as was clear by the mirrored expression he gave back in the glance to Tobias. Then both Tobias and Henrietta spoke, and Kristen, quite visibly, hung on to very word, as though the voices of her uncle and her aunt were as a balm to a wound.

"Yes, Aunt Henrietta, I believe...that this will be for the best."

Neil held up his hands. "Perhaps, Kristen, before we make any commitments, you would like to discuss why you so suddenly feel this way?"

She took a moment, her composure still keeping the contents of her heart from spilling over, and then said, "Aunt...Aunt Henrietta is right, of course, that the young men whom I have fancied were of my choosing, and...and yet, here I am, bereft of courtship, let alone the prospect of marriage. And my great fear, in my darker moments, is that this...oh Aionus...that this speaks ill of the chooser."

Tobias Pirian

 

[Tobias Pirian]

Tobias spent a long moment in thought, arms folded across his chest and a knuckle pressed to his mouth. When he finally made to speak, he began by removing his glasses and wiping them with a bit of soft cloth he kept within his coat.

"While I don't believe you are at fault in the ill fates of your past romances, Kristen, I am not opposed to aiding you. I suppose what must now be asked is, 'what sort of man--' or, indeed 'woman'--do you seek? What qualities do you value in a suitor?"

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"Foremost do I desire a man who will uphold our Pirian values, who will do us all proud, though I shall come to bear his name, as will our children." She sighed lightly, averted her eyes for a moment, and said further, "I...cannot help but think my words and my desire sound hasty; that bemusement reigns because of them. But I tell you, spending nearly a year at war, alone, far from hasty is this desire of mine, for I feel that time may yet run from me like an unbridled horse if I allow it."

Neil cleared his throat gently. "Kristen, I speak only of the fact, not yet for means of persuading or dissuading. And the fact is this: you have seen only twenty summers. You are still very much young."

"Yes, Father, you are right, but did you and my Mother not marry when you were my age? I wish, as close as I can, to follow your example, because I see the fruits of it and they are good. If sacrifice is needed, so be it. For the sake of family and my House, at once would I lay down my Ladyship of Vel Numera, at once would I discard this title of Dreadlord—if only such were permitted."

Tobias Pirian

 

[Tobias Pirian]

A long sigh escaped Tobias. There was someone that came to mind, but he wasn't entirely sure how much he liked the idea, nor how much Kristen would.

"I...have been keeping close tabs on a young man who might fit your proclivities. Someone whom I have sponsored, and whom you are familiar with. He is not of noble birth, but he carries himself as though he were..." Tobias recanted as though he were merely thinking aloud. A glint shone in his eyes as he replaced his glasses and eyed Kristen carefully.

"And you seemed to care enough for him to aid him out of a very...unfortunate position, once before. Such that you wrote me about it, I'm sure you'll recall."

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen, surprised by (and hopeful of) the alacrity of her Uncle's budding suggestion, nevertheless found herself at a bit of a loss; though some names swirled about in her mind, the sheer anticipation, as it were, clouded much of her deduction. And she knew how uncouth it would be to guess, if she proved to be wrong!

"I trust in your judgment, Uncle Tobias, for that is the very reason I have written to you. But tell me..."

Blushing preceded her question, and indeed, a blossoming smile as well.

"...who do you have in mind?"

Neil glanced to his brother, a smile of his own—a knowing smile—on his countenance.



Tobias Pirian

 

[Tobias Pirian]

"You know him well. One Sable Pembroke," Tobias put forward as matter-of-factly as ever, though he wasn't certain how Kristen might feel about it. "It's been roughly a year since he was released into the care of the Anirian Knights, and he's had nothing but good behavior. A brief stint of poor attendance, but he more than made up for it in the months following. You were right about him; he's a model Anirian now that he's been given a second lease on life."

"Dearest, are you certain a suitor not born of a noble house is an ideal fit for sweet Kristen?" Henrietta chimed in, and Tobias let out a soft chuckle.

"I think you'll recall there was a time when we were considering marrying Percival to Evangeline in an attempt to set him straight. Gone are the days of old. We do not need to worry about clinging to every scrap of political power we can scrounge for any longer, through clever marriage arrangements or otherwise."

Tobias looked back to Kristen.
"It is merely an option, one of many, I'm sure. Call it intuition that young Ser Pembroke came to mind first. Even as we make our suggestions, the choice is still ultimately yours, Kristen."